HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2012-12-13 MinutesCity of Miami
City Hall
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33133
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Meeting Minutes
Thursday, December 13, 2012
9:00 AM
REGULAR
City Hall Commission Chambers
City Commission
Tomas Regalado, Mayor
Francis Suarez, Chairman
Marc David Sarnoff, Vice -Chairman
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner District One
Frank Carollo, Commissioner District Three
Michelle Spence -Jones, Commissioner District Five
Johnny Martinez, City Manager
Julie O. Bru, City Attorney
Dwight S. Danie, City Clerk
City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
CONTENTS
PR - PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS
AM -APPROVING MINUTES
MV - MAYORAL VETOES
CA - CONSENT AGENDA
PA - PERSONAL APPEARANCE
PH - PUBLIC HEARINGS
SR - SECOND READING ORDINANCE
FR - FIRST READING ORDINANCE
RE - RESOLUTIONS
BC - BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
BI - BUDGET
DI - DISCUSSION ITEM
MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' ITEMS
M - MAYOR'S ITEMS
D1 - DISTRICT 1 ITEMS
D2 - DISTRICT 2 ITEMS
D3 - DISTRICT 3 ITEMS
D4 - DISTRICT 4 ITEMS
D5 - DISTRICT 5 ITEMS
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
9:00 A.M. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Present: Commissioner Gort, Vice Chair Sarnoff, Commissioner Carollo, Chair Suarez and
Commissioner Spence -Jones
On the 13th day of December 2012, the City Commission of the City ofMiami, Florida, met at its
regular meeting place in City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida, in regular
session. The Regular Commission Meeting was called to order by Chair Suarez at 9: 01 a.m.,
recessed at 12:12 p.m., reconvened at 2: 30 p.m., recessed at 2: 31 p.m., reconvened at 2: 37 p.m.,
recessed at 3: 07 p.m., reconvened at 3: 20 p.m., and adjourned at 6:15 p.m.
Note for the Record: Commissioner Gort and Vice Chair Sarnoff entered the Commission
chambers at 9: 02 a.m., Commissioner Carollo entered the Commission chambers at 9:16 a.m.,
and Commissioner Spence -Jones at 11: 01 a.m.
ALSO PRESENT:
Julie O. Bru, City Attorney
Johnny Martinez, P.E., City Manager
Dwight S. Danie, City Clerk
Chair Suarez: (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F) in these historic chambers. The members of the City
Commission are Marc David Sarnoff, the Vice Chair, Frank Carollo, W fredo "Willy" Gort,
Michelle Spence -Jones, and myself Francis Suarez, the Chairman. Also on the dais are Johnny
Martinez, the City Manager, Julie O. Bru, the City Attorney, and Dwight Danie, the City Clerk.
The meeting will be opened by a prayer by myself and the pledge of allegiance by the Mayor.
Thank you.
Invocation and pledge of allegiance delivered.
PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS
PR.1
12-01394
PRESENTATION
Honoree Presenter Protocol Item
Thanksgiving Donors Mayor Regalado Certificates of Appreciation
Mary Brickell Village
Costco Wholesale
Winn Dixie
Miami Outboard Club
Presidente Supermarket
Emile "Ur -Cousin" Farah
Allapattah NET Office Commissioner Gort Certificates of Appreciation
12-01394 Protocol Item.pdf
PRESENTED
1) Mayor Regalado presented Certificates of Appreciation to Mary Brickell Village, Costco
Wholesale, Winn Dixie, Miami Outboard Club, Presidente Supermarket and Emile Ur -Cousin"
Farah, for their generous donations and support of critical neighborhood projects in the City of
Miami during the Holiday Season; further recognizing that their philanthropic acts serve as a
source of inspiration to all.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
2) Commissioner Gort presented Certificates of Appreciation to employees from the Allapattah
NET Office for going beyond the call of duty by providing 900 turkeys to needy families during
the Thanksgiving Season; further honoring their sincere commitment to civic responsibility and
communal welfare through their unselfish acts.
Chair Suarez: We will now make the presentations and proclamations.
Presentations made.
APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING MEETINGS:
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, to APPROVE PASSED by
the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, to APPROVE PASSED by
the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
Chair Suarez: We will now proceed with the approval of the minutes from the regular meeting of
November 15, 2012 and the Planning & Zoning meeting of November 15, 2012. Is there a
motion?
MAYORAL VETOES
ORDER OF THE DAY
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair. Is there a second?
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Gort. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
END OF APPROVING MINUTES
NO MAYORAL VETOES
Chair Suarez: Mr. Clerk, are there any mayoral vetoes to report at this time?
Dwight S. Danie (City Clerk): No, sir. There are no mayoral vetoes.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Madam City Attorney, we'll now begin the regular meeting. The City Attorney
will state the procedures to be followed during this meeting.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the Commission, Mr.
Mayor, Mr. Manager, Mr. City Clerk, members of the public. Happy holidays to everyone. Any
person who's a lobbyist must register with the City Clerk before appearing before the City
Commission. A copy of the Code section about lobbyists is available in the City Clerk's office.
The material for each item on the agenda is available during business hours at the Clerk's office
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
and online at www.miamigov.com. Anyone who wishes to appeal any decision made by the City
Commission for any matter considered at this meeting may need a verbatim record of the item.
Please, no cell phones or other noise -making devices. Silence them now. Anyone who becomes
unruly will be banned from further attending meetings in the chambers. Any person with a
disability who requires auxiliary aids, please see the City Clerk. Mr. Chair, as you know, this is
also -- these are two meetings that are going to be held today, also having a P&Z (Planning &
Zoning) meeting. And it's up to the Chair to determine what time the lunch recess will begin.
And the P&Z items will begin after 2 p.m.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Madam Attorney.
[Later..]
Chair Suarez: We will now proceed with the order of the day.
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes, Commissioner.
Commissioner Gort: I want to leave -- take off ten minutes to 10. Hopefully, I'll be back by
10: 30.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Hopefully, we'll have a quorum and we'll continue. Is there anything that
you need us not to take up? I know you have a time certain item and that's --
Commissioner Gort: That's at 11. I should be back by then.
Chair Suarez: Yeah, okay. Great. Does any Commissioner wish to defer, continue, withdraw
any item from the regular or consent agenda?
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes, Commissioner. You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: With regards to the time certains, I saw one that was a little surprising
to me. One of my discussion items was actually set for a time certain and I'm not really sure
why. I mean, I know it's an important point thatl brought up and it could possibly save the City
lots of money by having, you know, responsible party pay for repairs of milling and resurfacings
that were caused by them, but I'm not sure why a time certain for a discussion item of mine. I
had no knowledge about it.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Commissioner. My understanding -- 'cause they communicated it to
our office -- was that it was a request of the City Manager, reference to WASA (Water and Sewer
Authority) being able to be here in attendance at that time. But if that's not something that works
for you and --
Commissioner Carollo: No. I was just surprised. I mean, I would not mind WASA being here.
Andl think we've actually have found out that the issue that -- you know, that brought up is
actually not just in District 3; it's citywide. So it'll be great if they show up. But again, I see, you
know, the discussion items as time certain, I don't know anything about it andl was just
inquiring.
Chair Suarez: Yeah. And if there's any -- if in any way, shape or form it was our fault, we, you
know -- I guess I must -- we must have assumed that the Manager reached out to you and cleared
it, you know, with you before asking us to put it on that time.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Commissioner Carollo: Understood.
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Commissioner Carollo: Understood.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Gort: I believe one of the reasons it was set at 4 o'clock is because, if you recall,
this is a problem that we've been having in my district quite a bit. I have a lot of investors that's
coming in the area and they want to build, they want to do something, and they're not allowed to
do so unless they connect. And the reason I asked to have Public Works from the Miami -Dade
County here is because my understanding is they already have a study going on where they're
going to already have the allocation to fix a lot of those things within the City ofMiami. Why are
they requesting our investors to do so when they're going to do it anyway? So I asked to have
Public Works here, andl believe that's the -- about the only time that they could be here to
answer all our questions.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Gort. And you know, like I said, I
think this is an important issue, you know. It's something that would originally cost us monies
because we're investing our fundings to repair streets and, you know, it's an issue that I think
now we're seeing. I think they identified 461 locations where WASA has taken responsibility and
will repair the streets so, okay. Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Is it okay then to do it at that time?
Commissioner Carollo: Not a problem.
Chair Suarez: Okay, great. All right. Is there any --? So --
Commissioner Gort: I think it's two different issues we're discussing right now. The -- his item is
concerning the fixing of the streets, the repair that needs to be done. My item is the underground
piping that they're asking individuals that want to build something and the restriction they have
in Coconut Grove where people cannot get a permit because they will not allow them to. But
we'll take them both at the same time.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay, so --
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: Right, 'cause my item is different. So what you're saying is WASA is
going to be here. You're going to ask those questions anyways.
Commissioner Gort: Right, yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Understood. Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Does the Administration wish to continue, defer, withdraw any items from the
regular or consent agenda?
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Yes, Mr. Chair.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Mr. Martinez: I'll go slowly.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Martinez: FR.1, defer to January 10; RE.15, defer to January 10; RE.16, defer to January
10; RE.23, defer to January 10; RE.25, defer to January 10; RE.27, defer to January 10; and
PH.9, defer to January 10.
Chair Suarez: Can you read those back one more time --
Mr. Martinez: Yes.
Chair Suarez: -- please, Mr. Manager?
Mr. Martinez: Absolutely. FR.1, defer to January 10; RE.15, defer to January 10; RE.16, defer
to January 10; RE.23, defer to January 10; RE.25, defer to January 10; RE.27, defer to January
10; and PH.9, defer to January 10.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Manager. Is there a motion on the deferrals as articulated by the
Manager?
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Chair Suarez: Moved by Commissioner Gort. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signifi, by saying "aye.
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: Motion passes.
[Later..]
Chair Suarez: As soon as we have a quorum, we'll begin the afternoon session of the
Commission meeting. Is -- Mr. Clerk, is the P&Z (Planning & Zoning) meeting a separate
meeting or --
Dwight S. Danie (City Clerk): Yes, it is.
Chair Suarez: -- do we have to close and then open up?
Mr. Danie: Yes, we do. We have to close it down.
Chair Suarez: You want to go ahead and just read the P&Z procedures so we can save a little bit
of time, close and open up?
Mr. Danie: Can you give us just a couple -- one minute or --?
Chair Suarez: Yeah, that's fine. Go ahead.
Mr. Danie: We need a couple minutes.
Chair Suarez: We don't have a third Commissioner --
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Mr. Danie: All right.
Chair Suarez: -- anyway, so we might as well --
Mr. Danie: All right.
Chair Suarez: -- make some progress.
[Later..]
Vice Chair Sarnoff Mr. Chair, I know that -- I know I have to leave very shortly.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Vice Chair Sarnoff And I kind of told you that I have --
Chair Suarez: Why don't we do the PZs (Planning & Zoning) and then maybe -- because I don't
Vice Chair Sarnoff Yeah, I just wanted to -- andl don't know if we're in the PZ agenda, but I
want to defer PZ.15 --
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- andl want to put everybody on notice. I just owe everybody an apology
'cause I thought that the Administration --
Commissioner Gort: I think the City Clerk --
Mr. Danie: Are you going to Planning --?
Chair Suarez: No, no. He's just saying --
Mr. Danie: Okay.
Chair Suarez: -- he's putting on the record that he wants PZ.15 deferred. Is that correct?
Vice Chair Sarnoff Correct. And l just thought the Administration had -- I thought the protocol
was when a Commissioner asks to have something deferred, that the Administration calls the
other side and says the Commissioner intends on doing that. And I apologize to the folks out
there because I had told all along did not want to hear this this Commission meeting.
Chair Suarez: Okay. All right.
Lucia Dougherty: Could we have a date certain on that one, please?
Vice Chair Sarnoff Would be the PZ agenda meeting in January.
Ms. Dougherty: Very good.
Chair Suarez: We can give you -- and we'll give you a time certain. Or whoever the chairman is
will give you a time certain.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Yeah.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
CA.1
12-01298
Department of Police
Ms. Dougherty: Thank you.
Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): I apologize. Will we be taking up the P&Z items? Are
they going to be continued or is that --?
Chair Suarez: No. Let me just -- let me do some housekeeping here for a second. What we have
left is discussion items. I think Commissioner Spence -Jones is not -- is she returning? She is
returning? Does she want to be here for the -- I'm assuming she wants to be here for the special
events.
Unidentified Speaker: Yeah, special events (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Suarez: All right. Okay. I don't know --
CONSENT AGENDA
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ESTABLISHING A NEW SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT
ENTITLED: "RECORDS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT" AND APPROPRIATING
FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $16,445, CONSISTING OF A GRANT FROM
THE MIAMI-DADE OFFICE OF GRANTS COORDINATION, FOR THE
DEPARTMENT OF POLICE; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM,
AND ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE
CITY ATTORNEY, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE AND
ADMINISTRATION OF SAID GRANT.
12-01298 Summary Form.pdf
12-01298 Legislation.pdf
12-01298 Exhibit 1.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0457
CA.2 RESOLUTION
12-01301
Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ESTABLISHING A NEW
SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT ENTITLED: "MIAMI CHECKPOINT AND
SATURATION PATROL PROJECT," AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS,
CONSISTING OF A GRANT AWARD FROM THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION, FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE, IN THE AMOUNT
OF $120,000, TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY;
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT THE GRANT AWARD AND
TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE
TO THE CITY ATTORNEY IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE
AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE GRANT AWARD.
City ofMiami Page 9 Printed on 1/7/2013
CA.4
12-01307
Department of
Planning and Zoning
CA.3
12-01306
Department of
Planning and Zoning
City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
12-01301 Summary Form.pdf
12-01301 Letter - Miami Checkpoint & Saturation.pdf
12-01301 Email - FundsApproval.pdf
12-01301 SubgrantApplication - Highway Safety Funds.pdf
12-01301 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0458
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WAIVING, THE
TEMPORARY EVENT LIMITATION PER YEAR, FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY,
PURSUANT TO SECTION 62-521(B)(4) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, TO ALLOW THE PROPERTY AT 265
NORTHWEST 22 STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, TO HOST FOOD TRUCK
GATHERINGS ON THE SECOND SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH
BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2013 AND ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2013.
12-01306 Summary Form.pdf
12-01306 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0459
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), APPOINTING TWO (2) ADDITIONAL PRE -QUALIFIED
SPECIAL MASTERS, AS LISTED IN "EXHIBIT A", ATTACHED AND
INCORPORATED, PURSUANT TO REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS NO.
320284, AUTHORIZED BY RESOLUTION NO. 12-0294, ADOPTED
SEPTEMBER 13, 2012, TO PROVIDE SPECIAL MASTER SERVICES ON A
CITYWIDE, AS -NEEDED CONTRACTUAL BASIS; AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO EXECUTE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENTS, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM(S), FOR AN INITIAL PERIOD OF
TWO (2) YEARS, WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR TWO (2)
ADDITIONAL ONE (1) YEAR PERIODS; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE
VARIOUS SOURCES, SUBJECT TO BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME
OF NEED.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
12-01307 Summary Form.pdf
12-01307Award Recommendation Form.pdf
12-01307 MartizaAlvarez, PA- Resume.pdf
12-01307 Victor H. De Yurre, ESQ Resume.pdf
12-01307 Pre-Legislation.pdf
12-01307 Legislation.pdf
12-01307 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Chair Suarez, that this matter be
DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
Note for the Record: Item CA.4 was deferred to the January 24, 2013 Commission Meeting.
Chair Suarez: Is there a motion to accept the consent agenda items?
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: I'd like to pull CA.4 and CA (Consent Agenda) -- CA.4.
Chair Suarez: Okay. You're recognized on CA.4.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. With regards to CA.4, I'm seeing here adding or choosing
additional special masters. What's concerning about this to me is that special masters charge
the City ofMiami, where our code enforcement officer -- where our -- I'm sorry -- Code
Enforcement Board are actually volunteers that hear the cases. So on one side, we're getting,
you know, charged for them to hear cases; on the other side, we are not. So I don't want to
continue to add special masters that will be adding -- will be actually charging the City when our
Code Enforcement office -- or Code Enforcement Board, I'm sorry, can actually do the job.
Unless our Code Enforcement Board is saying, Hey, listen, we're overwhelmed with cases, I think
we should try to use our Code Enforcement Board as much as possible so it doesn't cost the City
ofMiami.
Barnaby Min: Good morning. Barnaby Min, Zoning Administrator. Commissioner, the
Administration looked at this issue a couple years ago when we first ran into budget crisis, about
potential ways to save money, and we considered getting rid of some of the special masters and
giving more work to the Code Enforcement Board. There was an analysis that was conducted
and we actually determined that the board is more expensive, even though they're volunteer
members, because they are after-hours. We have to pay inspectors that come overtime or provide
them comp time. We have to provide security for City Hall, since that's where the hearings are.
There's public notice in the media, which is used, which is not used for special masters, so there's
actually other associated costs in addition to just having the board members. And based on that,
the analysis was the Code Enforcement Board is actually more expensive than special masters.
Commissioner Carollo: With that analysis -- andl don't think it's in the backup, is it?
Mr. Min: No, I don't believe so.
Commissioner Carollo: Right. So -- andl could tell you it's not in the backup. Is it possible to
defer this item for at least myself and any Commissioner that would like to see this analysis and
see if it's worthwhile or not?
Mr. Min: Sure. And I'm happy to work with Office of Hearing Boards to get the information.
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Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Is there a motion to defer this item?
Commissioner Carollo: I make a motion to defer CA.4 to January 10 meeting.
Chair Suarez: Is -- it's been moved. Is there a second? Second.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Second.
Chair Suarez: Go ahead. You're the Chair now. I passed the gavel.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. All in --
Commissioner Gort: Discussion.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, hold on --
Commissioner Gort: Discussion.
Commissioner Carollo: -- 'cause I want to see what's the hesitation of deferring this. Do you
think --?
Vice Chair Sarnoff. I -- yeah, I've been privy to this. I was privy to the analysis 'cause I had
thought about it once before. You have to understand that the special masters serve a purpose in
that when they can convene is much quicker than Code Enforcement Board. Code Enforcement
Board, at times, has been at max capacity. You need the special masters. I saw the financial
analysis so -- You know, I don't want to leave us in a lurch for not having masters when it is a
cost-effective way of doing business. Plus, there are certain types of citations, certain types of
notice of violations that have certain time certains that have to be brought up that you need the
flexibility of having special masters. If you also see the record of special masters, their record of
upholding some of these liens and fines and bringing financial resources to the City ofMiami is
significantly better than the Code Enforcement Board's.
Commissioner Carollo: Right. But at the same time, they need to have, you know, some type of
-- I don't want to say leniency, but reasonableness with our citizens at the same time. So I want
to make sure there's a good balance. But not only that, I have not seen the analysis. I think it's
only fair that, you know -- it should have been in the backup, to be honest with you. Andl think
before I make any decision, I think I've demonstrated that I'd like to make sure that have all the
facts before me before determining a case. And by the way, I haven't seen an overloaded Code
Enforcement Board where, you know, there's cases pending and stuff like that. So I don't think
by deferring this two weeks or three weeks, whatever it is, that we're going to jeopardize the City
at all.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. No. I -- and I want you to have all the information that you ever need to
make any decision out here. But on the other hand, I sort of want to suggest to you that if you
look at the analysis that's been done for the Code Enforcement Board versus the special masters
and you see collections -- and I'm not talking about citizens; I'm talking about corporations --
there -- the numbers are significantly better by the masters than they are by the Code
Enforcement Board. But, you know, I want you to have all the information necessary for you to
make an informed, cogent, and good decision.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Chair Suarez: Yeah.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Chair Suarez and then Commissioner Gort.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Basically, for me, it's kind of a no-brainer to defer one meeting
'cause we have the holiday season now and if that -- I wouldn't mind seeing the analysis myself.
I take, by the way, your word and your word for having seen the analysis andl believe that it
exists and that it does, in fact, state what it says, but it's never -- you know, I don't think we're
losing too much by deferring it between December 15 and January 10.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: I feel the same way. I believe any information that's given to any one
Commission [sic], all of us should have it. I mean, one of the things we talked about, we dealing
with the union constantly. We seeing the problem that we have, so we have to be open book and
show people that we are taking responsible -- any time there's a comparison or economic
analysis, I'd like to see the economic 'cause that'll help us make the decision. I think it's very
important. Not that we don't believe it, but we want to make sure it's part of the record and
people know -- and there's people sitting here, there are people that are listening to this
Commission meeting, and it's important to understand what's going on.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Right.
Commissioner Gort: So I don't have any problem in deferring.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. So we have a motion and we have a second. All in favor --
Mr. Min: Mr. Chair, ifI may. The analysis is old, so in order to get an updated analysis -- since
the print deadline is actually tomorrow -- may I suggest it be deferred a little longer because I
don't know if we'll actually be able to get the documentation in time for the print --
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Make -- the maker agree to defer it to the second meeting in January?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. All right. Seconder accept?
Chair Suarez: Sure.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Okay. So it's the second meeting now we're voting on. You have ample time
to do it by then?
Mr. Min: Yes, sir.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. All right. All in favor, then please say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Okay. All right, Chair gets the meeting back.
Anthony Hasten: Can I say one thing about the masters? What's the delay? Anthony Hatten,
union president, Local 1907. I just want to put out there that judge masters are really backed up
on their work, so I'd like to take that into consideration on how long the board --
Commissioner Gort: Well, you help him do the analysis.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Chair Suarez: Yeah.
Mr. Hatten: Okay, sounds good. Thank you very much.
CA.5 RESOLUTION
12-01309
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE
Attorney DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO PAY MARIA OCHOA, WITHOUT ADMISSION
OF LIABILITY, THE SUM OF $46,000, IN FULL AND COMPLETE
SETTLEMENT OF ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS, INCLUDING
ATTORNEYS FEES AND COSTS, AGAINST THE CITY OF MIAMI, ITS
OFFICERS, AGENTS AND EMPLOYEES, IN THE CASE STYLED, MARIA
OCHOA VS. THE CITY OF MIAMI, ETAL., PENDING IN THE CIRCUIT
COURT OF THE 11TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, CASE NO. 09-58905 CA 13,
UPON THE EXECUTION OF GENERAL RELEASES OF ALL CLAIMS AND
DEMANDS, AND A DISMISSAL OF THE CITY OF MIAMI WITH PREJUDICE;
ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM ACCOUNT NO.
05002.301001.545000.0000.00000.
12-01309 Memo - Office of the City Attorney. pdf
12-01309 Memo - Financial Signoff.pdf
12-01309 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0460
CA.6 RESOLUTION
12-01356
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ACCEPTING A
Attorney PAYMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,000 IN FULL SETTLEMENT OF ALL
CLAIMS AND DEMANDS AGAINST C W CONSTRUCTION, INC., IN THE
CASE OF CITY OF MIAMI V. HDR ENGINEERING, INC., ETAL.;
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY
DOCUMENTS IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, TO
EFFECTUATE THE SETTLEMENT.
CA.7
12-01372
12-01356 Memo - Office of the City Attorney. pdf
12-01356 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0461
RESOLUTION
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Office of the City
Attorney
CA.8
12-01312
Department of Parks
and Recreation
CA.9
12-01303
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO PAY JASON BOGDANOWITZ, WITHOUT
ADMISSION OF LIABILITY, THE TOTAL SUM OF $42,500 IN FULL AND
COMPLETE SETTLEMENT OF ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS
AGAINST THE CITY OF MIAMI, ITS OFFICERS, AGENTS AND SERVANTS,
IN THE CASE OF JASON BOGDANOWITZ VS. CITY OF MIAMI, IN THE
CIRCUIT COURT IN AND FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, CASE NO. 11-26124
CA 11, UPON EXECUTING A GENERAL RELEASE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,
ITS PRESENT AND FORMER OFFICERS, AGENTS, AND EMPLOYEES
FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM
ACCOUNT NO. 05002.301001.545000.0000.00000.
12-01372 Memo - Office of the City Attorney. pdf
12-01372 Memo - Financial Signoff.pdf
12-01372 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0462
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT
GRANT IN THE FORM OF IN -KIND MEALS VALUED AT $145,860, FROM THE
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES MEALS FOR
THE ELDERLY PROGRAM TO THE CITY OF MIAMI, DEPARTMENT OF
PARKS AND RECREATION, FOR THE HADLEY MEALS FOR THE ELDERLY
PROGRAM; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE
AN AGREEMENT, WITH THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF
HUMAN SERVICES MEALS FOR THE ELDERLY PROGRAM, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, AND TO EXECUTE ALL OTHER
NECESSARY AMENDMENTS, EXTENSIONS, AND MODIFICATIONS AFTER
CONSULTATION WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY, TO IMPLEMENT THE
ACCEPTANCE AND COMPLIANCE OF SAID GRANT FOR THE PERIOD
COMMENCING JULY 1, 2012 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2015.
12-01312 Summary Form.pdf
12-01312 Meals for the Elderly Prgm.pdf
12-01312 Legislation.pdf
12-01312 Exhibit 1.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0463
RESOLUTION
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Department of Police
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ESTABLISHING A NEW SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT
ENTITLED: "SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER PROJECT' AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS, CONSISTING OF A GRANT FROM THE
MIAMI-DADE OFFICE OF GRANTS COORDINATION, IN THE AMOUNT OF
$16,445, FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE; AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORM, AND ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS IN ORDER TO
IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE AND ADMINISTRATION OF SAID GRANT.
12-01303 Summary Form.pdf
12-01303 Memo - School Resource Officer Proj.pdf
12-01303 Legislation.pdf
12-01303 Exhibit 1.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0464
Adopted the Consent Agenda
PA.1
12-01369
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, including all the
preceding items marked as having been adopted on the Consent Agenda. The motion
carried by the following vote:
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
END OF CONSENT AGENDA
Chair Suarez: Is there a motion on the remaining items of the consent agenda?
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Chair Suarez: Moved by Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PERSONAL APPEARANCE
PRESENTATION
REP. JOSE JAVIER RODRIGUEZ, STATE REPRESENTATIVE FROM
DISTRICT 112, TO DISCUSS THE CITY OF MIAMI'S STATE LEGISLATIVE
PRIORITIES.
12-01369 Rep. Jose J. Rodriguez - Miami's State Legislative.pdf
PRESENTED
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Chair Suarez: We now have personal appearances by two state -- newly -elected state
representatives that had requested that they be allowed to make a brief presentation before our
Commission. They represent parts of the City ofMiami. And we've always been very liberal in
granting a right to newly -elected officials who represent the City ofMiami to make brief
presentation. So I'd like to first recognize State Representative Jose Javier Rodriguez, who's in
the audience. Representative, would you like to be recognized?
Jose Javier Rodriguez: Good morning --
Chair Suarez: Good morning.
Mr. Rodriguez: -- Chair, Commissioners. I look forward in the future to give you guys updates
as to what's going on in Tallahassee that affects our residents, businesses in the City. Today, I
just wanted to introduce myself, Jose Javier Rodriguez. I'm a resident of the City ofMiami. I
live in Shenandoah. Actually, Commissioner Carollo's my Commissioner. We live not far away
from each other. Andl am also a new state representative, representing a lot of the City of
Miami. The district that I represent is 112. It includes where we live, Shenandoah. It includes
the Roads, Brickell, all of Coconut Grove, Silver Bluff Golden Pines, and West Little Havana.
You know, I grew up in Miami -Dade. I served in the Peace Corps as a business advising
volunteer. After earning a law degree, I came back home to Miami and worked at legal services
for many years, so I worked in Little Havana, Allapattah, a lot of the areas in our city. And, you
know, a lot of the issues that come up in Tallahassee are of special importance to us in the City of
Miami in terms of the quality of our -- the access to quality healthcare, the quality of our
education, having sensible policy towardALFs (Adult Living Facilities), having some measure of
protection of homeowners and businesses towards citizens' property insurance and, you know,
the way that we conduct elections in this state. There's so many issues that look forward to
working with you on in Tallahassee. Our office is going to be on -- in Coral Way, 2100 Coral
Way. I would like to just point out that -- Yariel Diaz, who is my district secretary -- and simply
state that look forward to working with you on a lot of these issues that we face. Tallahassee is
500 miles away; oftentimes, it feels further away. But hopefully, we can reduce that difference --
distance. And Chair, I know that we've developed a friendship over the years. I've learned a lot
from you, and l look forward to doing the same with the rest of you. Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Representative. Is there any member of the Commission that would
like --?
Vice Chair Sarnoff I do. Mr. Rodriguez, I thinkl met you at the Golden Pines Homeowners'
Association meeting probably about -- not this one, but the one before. There is an issue that is
pretty near and dear to Coconut Grove's heart, and that would be the Playhouse.
Mr. Rodriguez: Yes.
Vice Chair Sarnoff And the State seems to be pretty -- I was going to use the word liell-bent"so I
may as well use it -- on selling that to the highest bidder. And l just wonder if that's not a good
use of that property, to simply sell it to the highest bidder.
Mr. Rodriguez: I agree with you. I have been in communication with my former state
representative and our property appraiser, Carlos Lopez Cantera, who's briefed me on the issue
and where it stands. I've been in touch with a number of members of the Legislature. My
understanding is that part of the constraint -- they're two pieces to it. As it stands now, it's up to
the Cabinet to decide, you know, what will be the disposition of the property. But that in order
for Miami -Dade County, City ofMiami, any other entity -- any other local government to be able
to get -- you know, basically gifted the property to take the problem off the hands of the State --
to put it that way -- is that there is a legislative change that needs to be made. Because as
statutes are right now, the state would not be able to -- would have to get Market rate 'for the
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
property, and so one of the things that we're trying to see is if we can get an exemption to that so.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Well, I look forward to working with you on that.
Mr. Rodriguez: Thank you. Absolutely.
Chair Suarez: Commissioner.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman, thank you. Rep --
Chair Suarez: He's got more questions.
Mr. Rodriguez: I'm still in the hot seat.
Chair Suarez: You're in the hot seat.
Commissioner Carollo: I wouldn't call it the hot seat.
Mr. Rodriguez: I'm just kidding.
Commissioner Carollo: Not yet anyways. Representative, welcome. Congratulations on your
election.
Mr. Rodriguez: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: And thank you for coming to address us. I haven't met with our
legislative liaison to discuss the upcoming session and our priorities yet. As a matter of fact, I
know he sent the memos late yesterday at some time describing what he believes are our
priorities. But I usually like to follow our five-day rule, and therefore, I'm not prepared to
discuss, you know, our priorities. And hopefully in the near future we could possibly meet and,
you know, discuss some of them. At the same time, more importantly to me is to make sure that
we have your commitment that when an issue arises that negatively impacts the City ofMiami, as
it has in the past, that you'll, you know, make time to hear us out and support us. That's very
important because, you know, it appears that in Tallahassee things move very rapidly sometimes;
and we had an issue, I would say, a year and a half, two years ago, that negatively would have
impacted the City ofMiami. And we just want to make sure that we have that relationship where
we could come to you and discuss it and, you know, know that you will hear us out and support
us because, at the same time, you know, we are a municipality and we depend on the state quite a
bit. With that said, I know with redistricting, there's a lot of changes in Tallahassee. For
instance, the district that represent before only had one state representative representing that
area; now there's three. So the bottom line is, you know, I think we're here committed to work
with all representatives, senators also. You know, we -- at least I demonstrated, I think, a couple
of years ago that I'd like to work with both chambers. And, you know, I look forward to working
with you.
Mr. Rodriguez: Absolutely. And I'll just say that it's very early in the process, but as you've said,
Commissioner, it -- the process moves very quickly, especially toward the end. And that's why
it's very important -- andl appreciate that you made the time for me to come and introduce
myself here because that's absolutely my intentions, to establish communications so that kind of
thing does not happen.
Chair Suarez: You're still not off yet.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Yeah. I apologize. It's kind of two things that are very near and dear to my
heart, andl really wanted to put it on your agenda, andl really want to do it the public way, and
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
I apologize for doing it publicly. But I suspect being a -- forgive me -- fellow democrat, you
might feel similarly as I do. Years ago, I was introducing legislation to this body to ban the use
of plastic bags. Lo and behold, Tallahassee, a week later, passed a moratorium on any
municipality from banning plastic bags. I ask you to revisit that. I have to believe that as a
concerned -- andl saw some of your platform green issue representative that you would want to
see plastic bags severely restricted. They even do it in Africa. They don't allow plastic bags.
The second thing I'd like to ask you to look at -- again, I was about to propose legislation in front
of this board -- and that means -- when I say propose, it was in draft, so people could see I was
going to do it -- and that was restricting the use of graffiting, I call it, the streets and the
roadways ofMiami, where you guys claim, Oh, no, no, you just spray the indications of where
the underground utilities are and they go away in two weeks. Well, if it goes away in two weeks,
it doesn't go away in two years. And the -- Tallahassee passed legislation precluding
municipalities from doing anything to restrict their ability to do that. This -- we put a man on the
moon. We make cars that run on electric. We should be able to find a way of getting some sort
of a marking system that doesn't have to last two years. If you walk up and down Brickell -- and
I suspect you did to get elected -- you'll see that whatever you do on Brickell, a week later,
somebody's going to come by and completely destroy a beautiful roadway simply by marking it
filled with where the underground utilities are. And if you believe that goes away in two weeks, I
could take you by Brickell and show you for the past two years how that acts. Now you would
think you could also pass legislation that says, when they're done, they'll remove the markings.
We were going to pass that legislation, but we weren't allowed to. Two really easy what I call
pieces of low -hanging fruit that I would think anybody would be concerned about would want to
make amendments to the ability of municipalities for restricting plastic bags as well as restricting
the use of these marking devices.
Mr. Rodriguez: Yeah, absolutely. I think the overuse of preemption is something that I'm very
much opposed to. There's so many decisions that are much better made at the local level. I
mean, the -- how to deal with the plastic bags I know is an issue nationally. A lot of localities
have handled it differently, whether it's an incentive program, outright banning them, andl think
that that's something that the locality should be able to consider and design a program that's
appropriate. I mean -- And the issue of the sideway markings is not one that I'm familiar with,
but that sounds absolutely absurd that we can't --
Vice Chair Sarnoff Just the --
Mr. Rodriguez: -- of our own accord, can't (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- legislative change two years ago.
Mr. Rodriguez: Yeah, okay so.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Rodriguez: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Let me just finish by saying congratulations to you as well and congratulations to
you, Representative Richardson, who'll be addressing us right after. I just -- I kind of echo my
colleagues' sentiments. We are in the process of developing our legislative priorities for the next
legislative session. Andl also happen to serve on the Miami -Dade League of Cities as an
executive board member, andl was just recently named to the Florida League of Cities. So I
look forward to working with you and with you, Representative, you know, once all those bodies
establish those priorities. We've had, I would say, a varying level of success. Sometimes it seems
like we have a lot of success --
Commissioner Carollo: We had great success a couple years ago.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Chair Suarez: -- on some things and then on other things, it seems like we struggle, andl think
you've identified some of those, one being ALF legislation that, you know, I don't think has really
reached the level where it's really protecting our citizens. So I look forward to working with you
as the months advance and we head into the next legislative session. Thank you.
Mr. Rodriguez: Thank you. I appreciate your time, and happy holidays.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Thanks.
END OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE
PUBLIC HEARINGS
9:00 A.M.
PH.1 RESOLUTION
12-01299
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE
Community and ACCEPTANCE OF UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
Economic URBAN DEVELOPMENT ENTITLEMENT GRANT FUNDS, IN THE TOTAL
Development PROJECTED AMOUNT OF $20,732,282, AS STATED HEREIN, FOR THE
FOLLOWING PROGRAMS: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT,
HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS, HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR
PERSONS WITH AIDS, AND THE EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT, FOR
PROGRAM YEAR 2013-2014; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO
THE CITY ATTORNEY, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE OF
THE ACTUAL AMOUNTS OF GRANT FUNDS WHEN MADE AVAILABLE FOR
SAID PURPOSE.
12-01299 Summary Form.pdf
12-01299 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01299 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0465
Chair Suarez: Okay, I don't see Representative -- was it Javier? That's a 10 o'clock time
certain.
Commissioner Gort: PH.1.
Chair Suarez: PH.1.
George Mensah: Good morning. George Mensah, director of Community Development. PH.1
is a resolution authorizing the acceptance of US (United States) Department of Housing and
Urban Development Entitlement Grant funds, in the amount of approximately $20.7 million, for
the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant), the HOME (Home Investment Partnership
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
PH.2
12-01300
Department of
Community and
Economic
Development
Program), the HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS), and the ESG
(Emergency Solutions Grant) programs for year 2013-2014.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Mensah. And l just want to preface by saying that any member of
the public who wishes to address the Commission regarding a public hearing item must first
register with the Clerk. In addition, pursuant to City Code, any person addressing the
Commission must limit his or her address to two minutes, unless additional time is granted by the
presiding officer. Finally, any person addressing the Commission must begin by stating his or
her name and street address for the record. I'm going to open up the public record [sic] on
PH.1. Anyone from the public wishing to speak on PH.1 ? Hearing none and seeing none, the
public hearing on PH. 1 is closed, coming back to this Commission. Is there a motion?
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair, second by Commissioner Gort. All in favor, signift by
saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF PROGRAM YEAR
2013-2014 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS, IN THE
PROJECTED AMOUNT OF $4,965,718, TO THE ACTIVITIES SPECIFIED IN
ATTACHMENT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, BEGINNING APRIL 1,
2013; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS,
IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSES.
12-01300 Summary Form.pdf
12-01300 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01300 Legislation.pdf
12-01300 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0466
Chair Suarez: PH.2.
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.2 is a resolution authorizing the
allocation of program year funds for 2013-2014 for CDBG (Community Development Block
Grant) program in the projected amount of approximately $4.9 million, specified in the
Attachment A, 'and Attachment A'fs public service, 744,857; administration, $993,143; code
enforcement, 670,000; economic development, approximately $2.5 million.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. This is a public hearing item. Anyone from the public wishing to
speak on PH.2? Seeing none and hearing none, the public hearing on PH.2 is closed; coming
back to this Commission. Is there a motion?
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
PH.3
12-01302
Department of
Community and
Economic
Development
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair, second by Commissioner Gort. All in favor, signifi, by
saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS FOR PROGRAM YEAR 2013-2014,
IN THE PROJECTED AMOUNT OF $744,857.70, IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE
CATEGORY, TO THE AGENCIES SPECIFIED IN ATTACHMENT "A",
ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR PUBLIC SERVICE ACTIVITIES
BEGINNING APRIL 1, 2013; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE AGREEMENT(S), IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM(S),
WITH SAID AGENCIES, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
12-01302 Summary Form.pdf
12-01302 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01302 Legislation.pdf
12-1302 Exhibit 1 SUB.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0467
Chair Suarez: PH.3.
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.3 is the -- a resolution authorizing the
allocation of program year 2013-2014 in CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds
in the -- approximately $744,857 in the public service category, to the agencies that we have
specified. And the agencies --
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Mensah, my understanding is this is the same agencies that were
certified last year and they'll be getting the same amount if we get the same amount of funding
this year.
Mr. Mensah: Yes.
Commissioner Gort: Okay.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Equally, Mr. Mensah, my understanding is that -- I apologize, Mr. Chair.
Can I be --?
Chair Suarez: No, no, please.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Mr. Mensah, it's my understanding that all of District 2's public service
funding would be held until a further meeting in January.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Mr. Mensah: As an amendment to this particular resolution, yes.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Okay. So I'll make the motion, as amended.
Chair Suarez: It's been moved, as amended.
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Gort. This is a public hearing item. Anyone from the
public wishing to speak on PH.3? You are recognized.
Helena Del Monte: Helena Del Monte, Association for the Development of the Exceptional. I
know it's a very, very, very bad year, and I'm here to say thankyou because all of you have
supported me. Andl trust that you will continue to do so, so just happy holidays and thankyou.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Ms. Del Monte. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak on
PH.3?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Chair Suarez: Yes. You're recognized, ma'am.
Anna Forsciante: Hi. Thank you. Anna Forsciante, from Lotus House Women's Shelter. And I,
too, just wanted to say thank you to the Commission because these funds are really critical for
what we are able to do every day. And this year, we now have 110 women and children daily so
thank you so much.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Thank you both for the work that you do. Anyone else from the
public wishing to speak on PH.3? Seeing none, hearing none, the public hearing on PH.3 is
closed. It's been moved and seconded. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PH.4 RESOLUTION
12-01304
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Community and ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF COMMUNITY
Economic DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS FOR PROGRAM YEAR 2013-2014,
Development IN THE PROJECTED AMOUNT OF $2,557,716.70, IN THE ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT CATEGORY, TO THE AGENCIES SPECIFIED IN
ATTACHMENT "A," ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES IN THE PROGRAM YEAR 2013-2014;
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT(S), IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM(S), WITH SAID AGENCIES, FOR
SAID PURPOSE.
12-01304 Summary Form.pdf
12-01304 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01304 Legislation.pdf
12-01304 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Vice Chair Sarnoff, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0468
Chair Suarez: PH.4.
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.4 is a resolution authorizing the
allocation of program year funds 2013-2014 in CDBG (Community Development Block Grant)
funds in the economic development category, in the total amount of 2 -- approximately $2.5
million. And the agencies are Allapattah Business Development Authority, 90,000; Contractor
Resources Center, 70, 000 for technical assistance to private for -profit entities; Contractors
Resources Center, commercial facade soft costs, for 40,500; FANM (Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami),
for technical assistance to micro -enterprises, for 47,500; Little Haiti Housing Association,
economic development activity, for 50,000; Neighbors and Neighbors, technical assistance to
micro -enterprise, for 80,000; commercial facade hard costs, 652,500; and the rest, which is
approximately $1.5 million, in economic development reserve account, to be allocated at a future
date.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Mensah. This is a public hearing item. Anyone from the public
wishing to speak on PH.4? Seeing none and hearing none, the public hearing on PH.4 is closed,
coming back to this Commission.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Chair Suarez: Moved by Commissioner Gort. Is there a second?
Vice Chair Sarnoff Second, sorry.
Chair Suarez: Second by the Vice Chair. All in favor, signifi, by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PH.5 RESOLUTION
12-01305
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Community and ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE ALLOCATION FOR PROGRAM YEAR
Economic 2013-2014 HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS
Development PROGRAM FUNDS, IN THE PROJECTED AMOUNT OF $12,163,466, AS
SPECIFIED IN ATTACHMENT "A," ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, TO
PROVIDE HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND HOUSING RELATED SERVICES TO
LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS; AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT(S), IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORM(S), FOR SAID PURPOSE.
12-01305 Summary Form.pdf
12-01305 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01305 Legislation.pdf
12-01305 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
PH.6
12-01308
Department of
Community and
Economic
Development
R-12-0469
Chair Suarez: PH.5.
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.5 is a resolution approving the
allocation of program year funds, 2013-2014, in the Housing Opportunities for Persons with
AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) program funds, in the approximate amount of $12
million. And these are the allocations: City ofMiami Department of Community Development,
administration, 316,254; Apple Tree Perspectives, 48,650; Miami Beach Community
Development Corporation, 26,276; Carrfour Supportive Housing, for Harding Village, 27,250;
Carrfour Supportive Housing, for Little River Bend, 17,000, approximately; BAME Development
Corporation, 46, 714. And then for long-term rental assistance, we have Center of Information
and Orientation, 426,242; Empower U, 426,242; Miami Beach CDC (Community Development
Corporation), 338,897; Sunshine for All, 387,810; Spanish American Basic Education and
Rehabilitation, 171,196. Then the City of Miami Department of Community Development for
pay -- rental payments, approximately $9.8 million, and for legal services for the HIV (Human
Immunodeficiency Virus) Education & Law Project, $48, 650.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. This is a public hearing item. Anyone from the public wishing to
speak on PH.5? Seeing none and hearing none, the public hearing on PH.5 is closed --
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: -- coming back to this Commission. Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Gort. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF HOME
INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM FUNDS, IN THE PROJECTED
AMOUNT OF $2,953,344, FOR HOUSING PROGRAMS, FOR PROGRAM
YEAR 2013-2014, IN THE CATEGORIES AS SPECIFIED IN ATTACHMENT
"A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
AFFORDABLE HOUSING; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO
THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
12-01308 Summary Form.pdf
12-01308 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01308 Legislation.pdf
12-01308 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0470
Chair Suarez: PH. 6.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
PH.7
12-01310
Department of
Community and
Economic
Development
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.6 is a resolution authorizing the
allocation of Home Investment Partnership Program, which is HOME funds, in the projected
amount of $2.9 million, in the following categories: program administration, $295, 234; District
2 homeownership activities, $1.5 million; and housing programs, approximately $1.1 million.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. This is a public hearing item. Anyone from the public wishing to
speak on PH.6? Anyone from the public wishing to speak on PH.6? Hearing none and seeing
none, the public hearing is closed, coming back to this Commission. Is there a motion?
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Gort. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT EMERGENCY
SOLUTIONS GRANT FUNDS FOR PROGRAM YEAR 2013-2014, IN THE
PROJECTED AMOUNT OF $649,754; ALLOCATING SAID FUNDS AS
SPECIFIED IN ATTACHMENT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED;
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY
DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR
SAID PURPOSE.
12-01310 Summary Form.pdf
12-01310 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01310 Legislation.pdf
12-01310 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0471
Chair Suarez: PH.7.
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.7 is authorizing the acceptance of
HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) Emergency Solutions Grant funds in the
projected amount of approximately $649, 000 for program year 2013-2014, allocating the funds
to -- in the attachment, which is to Citrus Health, for rapid rehousing and homeless prevention
program, 211,170; Citrus Health, for program administration, 16,244; Department of
Community Development, for program administration, 32,488; and then City of Miami Homeless
Program, NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) office, for street outreach, in the amount of
$389,852.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Chair Suarez: Thank you. This is a public hearing item. Anyone from the public wishing to
speak on PH.7? Seeing none and hearing none, the public hearing on PH.7 is closed; coming
back to this Commission. Is there a motion?
Vice Chair Sarnofff. So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair. Want to go for a --? Is there a second on this?
Commissioner Carollo: Seconds are hard to come by today, huh?
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Gort. No, we had a rhythm going.
Commissioner Gort: No, they're not.
Commissioner Carollo: Second are hard to come by today.
Chair Suarez: All in favor, signifi, by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: By the way, this is a great program, the Emergency Shelter [sic] Grant program.
PH.8 RESOLUTION
12-01311
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE
Community and ACCEPTANCE OF SECTION 8 HOUSING PROGRAM FUNDS, IN THE
Economic PROJECTED AMOUNT OF $3,600,000 FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE, AND IN
Development THE PROJECTED AMOUNT OF $466,000 FOR PROGRAM
ADMINISTRATION, FOR A TOTAL PROJECTED AMOUNT OF $4,066,000,
FROM FISCAL YEAR 2013-2014 ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE
NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY
ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
12-01311 Summary Form.pdf
12-01311 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01311 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0472
Chair Suarez: PH.8.
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.8 is a resolution authorizing the
acceptance of projected -- funds in the projected amount of approximately $3.6 million for rental
assistance and program administration in the projected amount of 466, 000, for a total amount of
approximately $4 million for fiscal year 2013-2014 from HUD (Department of Housing and
Urban Development) for the Section 8 program.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Chair Suarez: Thank you. This is a public hearing item, PH. 8. Anyone wishing to speak on
PH.8? Guys, please. Hearing none, seeing none, the public hearing on PH.8 is closed, coming
back to this Commission.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice -- moved by --
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: -- Commissioner Gort, second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signift by
saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PH.9 RESOLUTION
12-01077
Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), BY A FOUR -FIFTHS (4/5THS), AFFIRMATIVE VOTE,
PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-92(A)(1) AND (3) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC
HEARING, RATIFYING, APPROVING AND CONFIRMING THE CITY
MANAGER'S FINDING OF A SOLE SOURCE; WAIVING THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING PROCEDURES
AND APPROVING THE PROCUREMENT OF SERVICES FROM AT&T, FORA
FULLY MANAGED, HOSTED NG911 SOLUTION, FOR THE DEPARTMENT
OF POLICE, FOR AN INITIAL TERM OF FIVE (5) YEARS, WITH THE OPTION
TO RENEW FOR ONE (1) ADDITIONAL FIVE (5) YEAR PERIOD, ATA FIRST
YEAR COST NOT TO EXCEED $2,577,778.88 AND FOR EACH
SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEAR, AT AN ANNUAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
$577,778.88, PLUS AN ADDITIONAL ANNUAL AMOUNT OF $128,964.96 TO
BE PAID DIRECTLY TO THE STATE OF FLORIDA FOR NETWORK ACCESS
FEES, PURSUANT TO MYFLORIDANET STATEWIDE PRICES, SUBJECT TO
FUTURE RATE ADJUSTMENTS BY THE STATE OF FLORIDA; ALLOCATING
FUNDS FROM THE E-911 SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT NUMBER
19-196003, AWARD 1214, ACCOUNT CODES:
12000.190351.534000.0000.00000 AND 12000.190351. 541000. 0000.00000;
FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER, AFTER CONSULTATION
WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY, TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE A
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORM, FOR SAID SERVICE ACQUISITION.
12-01077 Summary Form.pdf
12-01077 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01077 Memo - Purchase Fully Managed Hosted NG911 Solution.pdf
12-01077 Legislation.pdf
12-01077 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
PH.10 RESOLUTION
12-01314
Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, BYA FOUR -FIFTHS
(4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-92 OF THE
CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AFTER AN
ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING, RATIFYING, APPROVING AND
CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGERS FINDING OF A SOLE SOURCE;
WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE BIDDING
PROCEDURES AND APPROVING THE PURCHASE OF UPGRADES TO THE
TALON ROBOTIC PLATFORM, FROM QINETIQ NORTH AMERICA, THE
SOLE SOURCE PROVIDER, FORA TOTAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
$91,608; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM UASI ACCOUNT CODE NO. 18-180022
02.02.02 1731 REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE 181000.
12-01314 Summary Form.pdf
12-01314 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01314 Sales & Distribution Policy.pdf
12-01314 Purchase of Upgrades Talon Robotic Platform.pdf
12-01314 Memo - Purchase of Kit - Bomb Squad.pdf
12-01314 Memo - Bomb Squad Talon Robot.pdf
12-01314 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0473
Chair Suarez: PH.10. Thank you, Mr. Mensah.
Unidentified Speaker: I believe it's PH.9.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): No. We deferred --
Chair Suarez: We deferred PH.9.
Vice Chair Sarnoff We did?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Chair Suarez: Yeah. The Administration deferred it at the beginning.
Mr. Mensah: I deferred it at the beginning --
Vice Chair Sarnoff Oh, I'm sorry. I see it. You're right, you're right. I see it.
Chief Manuel Orosa: Good morning, Commissioners. Chief Manny Orosa, Chief of Police. The
-- PH.10 is upgrades to our bomb squad robot, and there's only one company, the manufacturer,
that does the upgrades. It's an older version of the robot and we need the upgrades.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Is there a motion?
Commissioner Carollo: Move.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Chair Suarez: Moved by Commissioner Carollo. Is there a second?
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Gort. This is a public hearing item. Anyone in the
public wishing to speak on PH.10? Seeing none, hearing none, the public hearing on PH 10 is
closed. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PH.11 RESOLUTION
12-01313
Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Facilities ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
GRANT OF EASEMENT IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, TO
FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY, A FOR -PROFIT FLORIDA
CORPORATION, FOR A PERPETUAL, NON-EXCLUSIVE EASEMENT OF
APPROXIMATELY TWO THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED FIFTY (2,350)
SQUARE FEET OF CITY OF MIAMI OWNED PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1075
BISCAYNE BOULEVARD, MIAMI, FLORIDA (ALSO KNOWN AS
BICENTENNIAL PARK), AS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT
"A," ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR THE CONSTRUCTION,
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF ELECTRIC UTILITY FACILITIES, WITH
THE RIGHT TO RECONSTRUCT, IMPROVE, ADD TO, ENLARGE, CHANGE
THE VOLTAGE OF AS WELL AS THE SIZE OF AND REMOVE ALL OR ANY
OF THE FACILITIES WITHIN SAID EASEMENT.
12-01313 Summary Form.pdf
12-01313 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01313 Legislation.pdf
12-01313 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0474
Chair Suarez: PH.11.
Henry Torre: Good morning. Henry Torre, director of Public Facilities. PH.11 is a resolution
authorizing the City Manager to execute a grant of easement with Florida Power & Light for a
perpetual nonexclusive easement of approximately 2,350 square feet for property located at 1075
Biscayne Boulevard.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Chair Suarez: Moved and seconded. Any further discussion by the Commission? It's a public
hearing item. Anyone from the public wishing to speak on PH.11 ? Hearing none, seeing none,
the public hearing is closed. All in favor, signifi, by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PH.12 RESOLUTION
12-01315
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Fire -Rescue ATTACHMENT(S), BY A FOUR -FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE,
PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-92 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING,
RATIFYING, APPROVING AND CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGERS
FINDING OF A SOLE SOURCE; WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING PROCEDURES AND AWARDING A
CONTRACT IN EXCESS OF $25,000 FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF EZ-IO
INTRAOSSEOUS INFUSION SYSTEM AND ACCESSORIES FROM
VIDACARE CORP., FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FIRE -RESCUE, ON AN
AS -NEEDED BASIS, FOR A ONE (1) YEAR PERIOD, WITH THE OPTION TO
EXTEND FOR TWO (2) ADDITIONAL ONE (1) YEAR PERIODS, WITH
PRICES REMAINING FIXED AND FIRM FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF THE
CONTRACT, AND ANY PRICE INCREASES/DECREASES THEREAFTER
SUBJECT TO MUTUAL APPROVAL BY BOTH VIDACARE CORP., AND THE
CITY OF MIAMI; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF
FIRE -RESCUE GENERAL FUND, ACCOUNT CODE NO.
00001.184010.552100.0000.00000, WITH FUTURE YEARS' FUNDING
SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL
AT THE TIME OF NEED; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE THE ATTACHED TERMS AND CONDITIONS, AND TO NEGOTIATE
AND EXECUTE ANY NECESSARY AMENDMENTS, EXTENSIONS, AND
MODIFICATIONS, AFTER CONSULTATION WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY.
12-01315 Summary Form.pdf
12-01315 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-01315 Memo - Infusion System.pdf
12-01315 Memo - EZ-IO by Vidacare.pdf
12-01315 Sole Source Letter.pdf
12-01315 EZ-IO by Vidacare.pdf
12-01315 Legislation.pdf
12-01315 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0475
Chair Suarez: PH.12.
Deputy Chief Reginald Duren: Good morning. Reggie Duren, Deputy Fire Chief. PH.12 is a
resolution of the City ofMiami Commission, by a four fifths affirmative vote, approving and
confirming the City Manager's findings of a sole source, waiving the requirements of competitive
and sealed bidding procedures and awarding a contract in excess of $25, 000 for procurement of
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
EZ IO intraosseous infusion system and accessories from Vida [sic] Corp.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Is there a motion?
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair. Is there a second?
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Gort. This is a public hearing item. Anyone from the
public wishing to speak on PH.12? Seeing none, hearing none, the public hearing on PH 12 is
closed; coming back to this Commission. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: Passes unanimously. RE.1.
Commissioner Carollo: RE.1, I thought Commissioner Spence -Jones wanted to be present for it.
Chair Suarez: Yeah, I would imagine so. That makes sense. Let's go to RE.2.
Dwight S. Danie (City Clerk): Excuse me. Do you want to do SR.1?
Chair Suarez: No. We're doing SR.1 at 11: 30 --
Commissioner Carollo: Time certain.
Chair Suarez: -- time certain.
Mr. Danie: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
END OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
ORDINANCE - SECOND READING
SR.1 ORDINANCE Second Reading
12-01167
Department of Public AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER
Facilities 50/ARTICLE V/DIVISION 3 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "SHIPS, VESSELS, AND
WATERWAYS/CITY MARINAS/COMMERCIAL VESSELS", MORE
PARTICULARLY BY DELETING SECTION 50-310, ENTITLED "SIGHTSEEING
BOAT LIMITATION", AND AMENDING SECTION 50-311, ENTITLED
"STANDARDS FOR SIGHTSEEING BOATS AT MIAMARINA", TO ALLOW FOR
FLEXIBILITY TO PROPERLY DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE MIXTURE OF
MARINA TENANTS BASED UPON MARKET DEMAND; CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
12-01167 Summary Form SR.pdf
12-01167 Master Report SR.pdf
12-01167 Legislation FR/SR.pdf
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
13351
Direction by Commissioner Spence -Jones to the Administration, to bring back the final dockage
agreement for the Miamarina to the City Commission for approval.
Chair Suarez: Okay, we have another 11: 30 time certain, which is the sightseeing boat
limitation, SR.1.
Henry Torre: Good morning. Henry Torre, director of Public Facilities. SR.1 is an ordinance of
the Miami City Commission amending Chapter 50/Article V/Division 3 of the Code of the City of
Miami, as amended, entitled "Ships, Vessels, Waterways/City Marinas/Commercial Vessels,"
more particularly by deleting Section 50-310, entitled "Sightseeing Boat Limitation," and
amending Section 50-331 [sic], entitled "Standards for Sightseeing Boats at MiamiMarina [sic],
to allow for flexibility to properly determine appropriate mixture of marina tenants based upon
market demand.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Torre. This is a public hearing item. Anyone from the public
wishing to speak on SR.1? You're recognized, sir.
Mike Simpson: Thank you for allowing me to speak today. My name is Mike Simpson, from
Island Queen Cruises, third generation. I speak today to try to paint the picture of the cap at
MiamiMarina [sic] in Bayside Marketplace. The cap itself consists of eight sightseeing boats
within the marina basin, but I believe we should really look at it as ten sightseeing boats,
including the two out back along the Intercoastal. All these boats are supported within the
Bayside Marketplace, within the kiosks and different ticket counters that are provided by
Bayside. When we actually look at the ten boats that are involved at Bayside -- I know the cap is
the eight -- it's the same operators that are operating all of them. And when we take a look at the
actual capacity that is being run on a daily basis, in the neighborhood of half a million,
compared to the maximum capacity, which would result somewhere in the million and a half, if
all the boats were able to run at a full time, there's a large void there. There's still a lot of room
to grow, and we feel that eliminating the cap to bring in multiple vessels only sorts of cuts the pie
a little thinner. On any given day, there is three to four boats that are not operating within the
cap, and this is due to a lack of demand. We really -- quite honestly, we would love to be running
every boat every day if the demand was there, but it's been a constant growth going through the
economy and different aspects within the Bayside Marketplace relating to the economy and
different things. Also, coming into play on a daily basis, we're dealing with -- not just competing
with boats, we're competing with other outside attractions, tour companies, other venues,
(UNINTELLIGIBLE). We're very prone to the cold days, the windy days, the hurricane days, all
the different things that can affect our business that land -based don't have to deal with, which
results -- makes our yearly calendar become smaller. Operating this in Bayside, we want to
engage with the City to try to generate additional revenue. We understand that that's a tie-in that
the City's looking for. Whether it comes in a surcharge or it comes in relooking at the fuel
surcharge, or even just a dock increase, we are fully understanding and ready to engage. We're
asking to help keep the livelihoods of all the employees, the businesses, and allow us to grow
within the City and in Bayside Marketplace. In a perfect world, we all strive for a full retail rate
for our ticket prices, but we all have to engage in the different price wars and coupons and
Groupons and different Internet affiliate sites that constantly take our retail rate and cut it down
to more of a wholesale pricing rate. On any given year, we are constantly working with different
tour companies and different companies to try to promote different customers throughout the
City, including Miami Beach. We bring about 150,000 people yearly to Bayside Marketplace
working with the different tour companies and third parties to try to allow the price structure to
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
be fortunate enough to invite these guests over to Bayside, which results in city spending. So
we're proud to be a part of that. The main objective we have is to say we're ready to engage, to
find those different -- additional revenue sources, but we believe cutting the cap and allowing
multiple boats doesn't maybe fulfill the revenue -generating aspect that the City's looking for.
The pie has sort of been the same over the years and cutting it thinner doesn't really help the
final objective than working with us on the backside, whether it is the surcharge or some other
type of additional revenue.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Any other member of the public wishing to speak on SR.1? Ma'am,
you're recognized.
Holly Lewis: Thank you. My name is Holly Lewis. My husband andl own Fiesta Cruises down
at Bayside Miamarina. We've been down there about 17 years. My husband is also a third
generation fisherman here in Miami, so it's -- the water has been part of our life. I wanted to just
give you maybe a more true example. We're the little guy down there. Our boat holds -- it used
to hold 86. The Coast Guard has redone our passenger counts on all passenger vessels due to
some of the accidents that have happened in other areas with passenger vessels, and they
changed the passenger weight from 165 to 185. Consequently, that downgraded all of our
passenger counts from -- in our particular instance, it was 86; now it's 73. So we've lost that
right off the top. But to some extent, that hasn't been so much of an effect because I went
through for real numbers and figured, okay, ifI could do four trips a day with full passenger
count of 430 people on my boat, that would give me 10,664 passengers in a month. The actual
average -- and that was the month of December I used -- came out to be more 3,342 passengers
in a month, which we're talking about 30 percent capacity. So the factors that Mike brought up
about weather -- I mean, nobody goes on a boat when it's cold. Ten minutes of rain in Bayside
can clear it out, so we not only lost, you know, those people who might have been there, but now
people have changed their plans because the forecast is for weather or it started to rain and they
left. So those things really have a detrimental effect. The other thing that affects us are those
wonderful events that the City ofMiami brings in that, you know, are important to the City in a
whole. Ultra, I think, is one of the items on your agenda today. Ultra is huge, but you're going
to close down Biscayne Boulevard for two weekends on north bound. Well, people aren't going
to come down and ride the boats when they can't get down there to get parking and that there's a
couple hundred thousand people in the street. The Heat games. Love the Heat, season ticket
holder for many years -- was. And what happens when the Heat game is, they -- the parking
goes up, which is great 'cause that's revenue for the City, but it's also revenue out of our pocket
because it does affect us. Again, they'll come down, fill up the parking, raise the rate to $30.
Nobody comes to ride the boats when that happens. So it does -- those things that are great for
the City and we're thrilled to have them, we already pay a cost for. I wanted to also let you
realize that this is a tourist -based business. It's seasonal. I gave you December. In October,
when we all know that the hotel rooms are not as full, that ridership went down for me to 1,300
passengers for the month, so we're talking a small fraction. I'm not the only one. Obviously,
being a smaller boat in the marina, it has an effect. But there's certainly room for growth. Yes,
the economy's been difficult on all of us, but we're hanging in there. We're doing okay and we
want to work with the Commission to find valid revenue sources to help the City. And it was
interesting to me to sit here because I was listening to some of the things you had approved, the
women's shelter that you approved funds for. Those are areas maybe we can look at helping
contribute to. So we do want to work with you. When this came up, it was really a surprise to all
of us. We had no idea that this was coming up, so we'd like to try and work with you on this.
Chair Suarez: Thank you so much.
Ms. Lewis: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Anyone else? Yes.
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Mariano Cruz: Public hearing.
Chair Suarez: It is. Would you like to speak on this item? You're recognized, Mr. Cruz.
Mr. Cruz: Keep myself in shape. Mariano Cruz, 1227 26 Street. I am in favor of -- the lady was
talking about the people in business. It's very hard for a small business to keep in business with
now so many regulations and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) fee is 50 (UNINTELLIGIBLE). You know,
everything is a hyphen, whatever, BCD, whatever. Make sure don't throw the baby away with the
Chair Suarez: Bathwater.
Mr. Cruz: -- water -- with the bath -- everything. Make sure -- allow -- small business --
remember, here we don't have the Boeing Corporation or (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F) or the big
business. The small business is what keep the economy going in Miami, okay. Andl use the
sightseeing boats before with my children; now with my grandchildren. Remember, Pier 5,
everything, even go to Fort Lauderdale and the different places there 'cause I don't own a boat
anymore. It's better to rent, to be a passenger and go there sightseeing before Pier 5. Now it's
good. So make sure -- realize you vote with the people because the people, we are the voters.
And like I say, I am not a taxpayer, but I vote too. Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak on SR.1 ? Sir, you're
recognized.
Charles Keith: Thank you. My name is Charles Keith, andl'm representing Thriller Speedboats.
We've been in Bayside for a number of years here also. Also want to just explain our stance with
raising the cap and allowing multiple boats in here. There's several different aspects of that that
could affect us. Number one, we are running, as well as everybody else there, somewhere around
50 percent, 45, 50 percent capacity. We could carry about 82,000 passengers on our little boat
in a year in a perfect world, and you know, we get about 40. The other thing we'd like to -- I'd
like to bring up is just the safety of the matter. The marina itself and access in and out of there,
it's a tight little marina. And to -- you know, on any given weekend or holiday, you have all of
the pleasure boats that come in and out of there. And you know, we love to have them, andl'm
sure Miamarina loves to have them, but they are in various stages of celebration that creates
some safety issues there, so we just want to make sure we're acknowledging that factor of
multiple boats trying to run in there on an hourly basis or every other hour or however that
works. It could -- it definitely could create a safety issue, and surely, we don't want to get
involved in that. And just the other parts, you know, we've been good corporate partners here
with the City and we want to continue to do so. Holly mentioned, you know, helping out in some
other ways and, you know, we would definitely look at helping do that with some parades or
some other things. We -- we're all very open to helping the City and move -- get that revenue that
they need. You know, and also, we -- we lack -- you know, we've had rate increases over the
years. The dockage goes up, the dockage goes up, and it's twofold. We also have to pay
Bayside, you know, for our kiosk. So we have two landlords in this issue, but that's not really the
point. But you know, we have lost -- we have one security guard that manages that whole
facility, and you know, there's been numerous break-ins and robberies that affects all of us. So I
just want to, you know -- rates come up. Let's try to get some things back too. And thank you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak on SR.1 ? Anyone from
the public? Sir. Go ahead.
Felipe Caro: Thank you. Mr. Mayor, Commissioners, special delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
good morning. My name is Felipe Caro. Sorry, my English -- I try to -- I will try to explain my
case. I have been in the business for 12 years. We started with -- business with our pirate boat
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) during the first seven years of our operation. Over the years, we purchased
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the vessels Island Princess and Heritage ofMiami too, with the purpose of providing our service
every hour and having an additional boat as backup. For duration, I must assume maintenance
cost, insurance, license, docks, amongst other things. Those costs are for all three of our vessels,
while we only operate two boats at a time. Nowadays, we are moving around average of around
4,500 passenger during most of the year and reaching up to 9,000 passengers in the month of
July is the best month of our business. Our maximum capacity per boat daily is 500 passengers,
but we are working with only 30 percent our full capacity during most of the year. Another
important fact is that while our general admission price per ticket is $25, this actually can go as
low as $6 due to sales, commissions, and special deals and offers. Now about 80 percent of our
sales in tickets generate from our sales about 6 to $12 per ticket, which come from special deals
and promotion like Internet deals offered, Internet website partners, coupons and other
operators. In regards of surcharge -- I'm sorry. Also, I think it's fact that another boat operator
might be coming in to compete with our prices. This might create a complicate situation, risking
our industry since, as of right now, we are only working at 30 percent our boat capacity. Thank
you for --
Chair Suarez: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Caro: -- allowing explain our situation.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Caro: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Anyone else from the public wishing to speak on SR. 1 ? Anyone else from the
public wishing to speak on SR.1 ? You're recognized, sir.
Ron Book: Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission, Ron Book, 18851 Northeast 29th
Avenue, Suite 1010, Aventura, Florida, on behalf ofMiami Offshore Powerboat Tours. We have
attempted to register, Mr. Chairman. The ethics course, which I previously took, couldn't find
the certificate. They've asked us to retake the course. The course wasn't offered until the 17th. I
assume that's acceptable.
Chair Suarez: Does that -- does any member of this Commission wish to --? Let me put it the
other way. Can we waive that requirement for this -- the purposes of this hearing? Any
objection?
Commissioner Gort: What was that again?
Chair Suarez: The question is the ethics -- the next available ethics course which anyone has to
register for is in -- is beyond today, but he would like to make a presentation on behalf of his --
Commissioner Gort: Did he register?
Chair Suarez: I'm sorry?
Commissioner Gort: He's registered?
Mr. Book: Through the Chair to Commissioner Gort, we attempted to file a registration. The
certificate that we had previously had for taking the course, which I had previously taken,
Commissioner, was not available. They've asked us to retake the course since the certificate was
not available. The next time that the course is offered is on the 17th. Our pending -- our
application -- our filing is pending my taking the course on the 17th.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Go ahead. Please continue.
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Mr. Book: Thank you. I listened to the presentations that have been made this morning. One of
the individuals who stood before you has five of the boats operating at the marina and two of the
exterior boats. The other three permit holders have spoken. I got a C in elementary school
math. I got a C in junior high school math. I got a C in high school math, andl got a C in my
college math courses. But even a C math student can do the math on the numbers they put
before you. Now I feel sorry that their business is suffering. I've got a businessman who believes
he can come into the marina and compete. Open competition is good. The last gentleman who
spoke about his July revenues came out to $315, 000 a month for just July. Mr. Simpson's
numbers, assuming what the disclosed to you, come out to be about a million two for just a single
boat. He has five. And the young lady who spoke, my math, based on what she disclosed to you,
was a million six. Now that may or may not be small business. It may be big business. It doesn't
matter to us. I'm sorry that they use coupons to promote their businesses. That's what their
market is. My client wants to come in and help raise more revenue for the City. Today they
represent to you that they want the City to get more revenue for them -- from them. Where have
they been for the last 17 years when the City has been in need? I have a client who simply wants
to come in and have an opportunity to compete. When we asked where the eight -boat limitation
came from, nobody really, in the history of what has gone on, had a very good answer as to
where the eight -boat limitation came from. I'm not sure there's a rational basis for it, one way or
the other, but I believe that your staff believes there is an opportunity for others to go into
Bayside to the marina, have an ongoing opportunity to compete and that that's good for the City.
And must tell you that came downtown during the Ultra Music Festival. Lady's right; there's
a traffic issue, but that's what creative marketing and entrepreneurialship is supposed to be
about. Find a way to run trolleys. Find a way to bring more people down. There's no reason for
people to feel that Bayside Marketplace is shut down through Ultra or any of the other events
that are down there. And frankly, I go downtown for Heat games. There's plenty of opportunity
to get around downtown, whether those Heat games are during the day or they're at night. My
client simply wants the opportunity to compete. The ordinance gives them an opportunity to
compete. We have no assurances that we'll get an opportunity to operate there, but we want the
opportunity to compete, and that's what the ordinance does. We thank you, Mr. Chairman,
members of the Commission.
Chair Suarez: We're not going to have a back -and -forth debate. You guys have had -- everyone
has had equal opportunity, three minutes, to make a presentation. And so if there's any other
person from the public that wishes to speak on SR.1 -- Does anyone else wish to speak on SR.1?
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, I do have a few points I'd like to mention.
Chair Suarez: Yes, but let me just see ifI can close the public record [sic]. Anyone else on
SR.1 ?
Commissioner Gort: Close it.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Public hearing on SR.1 is closed; coming back to the Administration, this
Commission, and then hopefully we can take a vote 'cause I know we have --
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, first off I do want to thank the operators. Thank you for their
tenancy to the City for many decades. This Commission has asked us repeatedly to find
additional revenue sources. We have isolated this area as a very large potential for additional
revenue. Based on the basic economic principles of supply and demand, we have a supply that
we have self-imposed a limitation on. That supply has been occupied 100 percent several
decades. We have a waiting list for that supply. There is a demand, a great demand. I also
would like to mention that the two major stakeholders here, which is the City ofMiami,
obviously, and Bayside -- Bayside has leasehold interest on the uplands. Bayside also has, as
they have mentioned, agreements with them for ticket booths and stuff. Yesterday I met with Mr.
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John Charters, senior vice president for General Growth Properties, who owns Bayside, and they
support us 100 percent in this venture. Other thing would like to mention is in regards to sales
and certain performance critierias [sic] that they have mentioned, up until this point, they were
not required to record sales. We are going to be changing that in the new agreement, but I do
want to mention one thing. We did do an analysis based on what they have advertised as the
amount of tours and their occupancy levels. It was mentioned here that -- one of the people
spoke about that they, like others, have 40 percent occupancy. Well, 40 percent occupancy, if
they're talking about 500,000 visitors a year, in my analysis is less than 20 percent occupancy.
Something doesn't really jive [sic] here. So all I'm asking is for us -- for the Commission to give
us the opportunity to open this up to entertain additional proposers, other business ventures that
want to go in there.
Chair Suarez: I have a couple of questions. I don't know if any of the other Commissioners -- I
just want to -- one question is, What we're doing here would be eliminating the cap, correct? So
you're not --
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Chair Suarez: -- necessarily raising or lowering or doing anything. You're just giving you the
flexibility going forward.
Mr. Torre: We're just eliminating the cap to be driven by the market.
Chair Suarez: And the second question I have is, these operators operate on a revocable license
basis, correct? So you could --
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Chair Suarez: -- in theory, you could remove -- you know, you could revoke one of the licenses
and substitute for someone else that you think might be more profitable for the City or whatever,
but that's not your intent in this case. Is that correct?
Mr. Torre: By adding -- by removing the cap, we have the flexibility of adding an additional one
or two boats, if we like, and keeping the integrity of their operations intact.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Right, but Henry -- excuse me. To add the boats would come
before the Commission because you do an RFP (Request for Proposals) or something?
Mr. Torre: To add those -- no.
Mr. Martinez: You're not just going to pick --
Mr. Torre: We can add another boat without having to come to Commission. That is in Chapter
50. It's the authority of the --
Chair Suarez: Yeah. I guess my question was, right now the eight licenses that currently are
operating are revocable.
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Chair Suarez: So you could, theoretically, revoke one and if you felt another operator was going
to be more profitable --
Mr. Torre: Correct.
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Chair Suarez: -- had a better business model --
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Chair Suarez: -- whatever the case may be --
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Chair Suarez: -- would generate more revenue for the City ofMiami, you could, theoretically,
revoke a license for someone who's underperforming and give it to someone who you think could
perform better.
Mr. Torre: Yes, Commissioner.
Chair Suarez: But that's not your intent.
Mr. Torre: That is not our intent at this time.
Chair Suarez: So that their businesses as they currently stand are not in jeopardy. Andl think
that's --
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Chair Suarez: -- as a business owner, you fear that your business is going to be in jeopardy
when it's regulated by the government, so I think that's important that they understand that.
That's not your intent.
Mr. Torre: That is not our intent at this time.
Chair Suarez: Any other questions?
Commissioner Gort: I have a question. My understanding is, how do this allocated? How do
you get the permit to use the -- individuals or one person can own five different spots or --?
Mr. Torre: The legislation that we're going to be writing is -- Commissioner, honestly, we
haven't gotten to that point. We're in -- it's -- we're deliberating that now. All this item is simply
for is to remove a cap.
Commissioner Gort: Okay.
Mr. Torre: I'd be happy to discuss with you more, but this is phase I of several phases. Phase II
is the ticket surcharge that's coming in January.
Commissioner Gort: Well, I think what we're saying is remove the cap. You still have an
opportunity to sit down, work with them and talk to them and so on.
Mr. Torre: Absolutely.
Commissioner Gort: Okay.
Mr. Torre: Absolutely.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Any further questions?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes, Mr. Chairman.
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Chair Suarez: Go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: Question, How many spots or slips are there?
Mr. Torre: We have at -- well, we have eight marina boats. We have 23 commercial fishermen.
I'm sorry, I meant tour boats. We have 23 commercial fishermen. The rates --
Commissioner Carollo: I'm sorry. Say that again.
Mr. Torre: We have the eight tour boat operators, and we have approximately 23 commercial
fishermen.
Commissioner Carollo: And this would now -- so all slips now are filled, correct?
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: So this now will open it up if another company wants to come in and
pay more money?
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, most likely what we're going to end up doing -- the current rate for
tour boats is $33.25 a linear foot. The commercial fishermen pay 19 dollars and change. What
we'll most likely be doing is opening that spot, removing one of the commercial fishermen.
Commissioner Carollo: Just one?
Mr. Torre: One at this point. You know, I think it's important also to discuss my conversations
with Bayside. While they support us 100 percent in this, they have asked us to try to limit it to a
maximum of two more additional boats. They have some concerns as far as, you know, noise,
traffic fumes. So we're going to try to work within those parameters. Bayside, in my opinion, is
our partner there. Even though they're our tenant, they have leasehold interest for the uplands.
So we do at this -- we don't anticipate going past ten boats, if that.
Commissioner Carollo: So what you're saying is in addition to the 23 plus the 8, 31, you're
going to open up other slips or you're going to --?
Mr. Torre: No. What -- we're not going to construct an additional slip. What we're going to do
is most likely, Commissioner, revoke one of the commercial fishermen. This is not commercial
fishermen. These are the tour boat operators.
Commissioner Carollo: Are they aware of that?
Mr. Torre: I'm sure they are now, Commissioner. I have not discussed it. I have not let them
know that. This is a public item. If they were -- you know, they could have been here.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, and again -- I mean, don't get me wrong. I understand it's a
capitalist country and, you know, we put it out there for everyone to compete and competition is
good. It's not good to have monopolies, but at the same time, you know, I don't know the history
of who's going to be leaving, how long have they been there, and stuff like that. I mean, there's a
reason -- and actually, Mr. Book brought up a good point, Why did we limit it to eight from the
beginning. I think I requested --
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, my understanding, it was part of a settlement --
Commissioner Gort: It was a settlement.
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Mr. Torre: -- agreement from 20, 30 years ago. No one in my staff has that kind of institutional
knowledge to go that far back.
Commissioner Carollo: So what you're saying, at least these operators had 20 years of being
there. I don't want to say a monopoly, but being there without additional competition.
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: And what you're saying is that it's time to open up that competition --
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: -- after "X" number of years, 20 years or so.
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, it's basically we are the owners somewhat of real estate. Why would
we continue to self -impose a limitation on our supply when we have a very large demand? I'm
not saying I'm going to bring in two --
Commissioner Carollo: Understood.
Mr. Torre: -- boats tomorrow. I'm just lifting an unnecessary cap.
Commissioner Carollo: Understood.
Chair Suarez: Yes, Commissioner Spence -Jones.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Before I say anything on the issue, I want to just find out from
Commissioner Sarnoff, you know, his viewpoint on this 'cause I know that this is clearly
something that know that he knows a lot about. I have just issues in general that want to just
mention on the record from the Henry side of it, but I just wanted to get your viewpoint on it.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Sort of Commissioner. I happen to have the settlement documents. I
happen to have all those where this came from. I don't know. This Commission, it's very hard
not -- we need to speak not with a forked tongue, if that's correct English or not, because we
have been talking about raising revenues, creating opportunities, not raising taxes, and there's
only what, 15 quivers in our bow or 15 -- there's 15 ways to do this and this is one of the ways of
doing it. Then you get to sort of the philosophy of it, andl was kind of Googling here for a
moment and I said in 1903 when Mercedes came to America, did Ford and Chevy say, no, no no.
Thanks but no thanks. We got plenty of cars here. We don't need any more cars. And then I just
learned, interestingly enough, they actually built some of the Mercedes in 1903 through 1906 in
Long IslandsoI thought that was interesting. I think it comes down to competition. I think it
comes down to, if we're going to be true to what we say -- I know you wanted the ticket surcharge
last year. If we're going to be true about what we're going to say, then we open it up to
competition. I mean, when you allow people to have an exclusive eight, it is a form of
entitlement. It is a form of saying, you're protected. We'll always make sure it's you. I don't
know if that's right or just. So from my perspective, competition breeds usually good things.
Does it sometimes hurt somebody? Yeah, but that's kind of what capitalism does. That's why
competition keeps us sharp so that we continue to remake ourselves every five or six years so that
every boat says I need to invest in myself. I need to do better. I need to have better courtesies. I
need to reach out to my customers better so they come back. Otherwise, you sort of get old,
stale. And old and stale, you don't reach out to your customers and well, you're not providing
the best service you can, and that's the American way to me.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just wanted to hear your view because, ultimately, I know
Bayside, you know, the area is your -- it's a D2 (District 2) -- it's in D2, so I just wanted to hear
your viewpoint. I'm sure you've been hearing from both sides on this issue. I just had two main
points. Andl know that somebody came up to the mike and mentioned not really knowing where
all of this kind of came from. But I know that this City Commission has given a mandate to
Henry to look at every possible revenue generator, and I'm assuming that's why this came up.
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: As you begin to assess all the areas where we could generate more
revenue, this became one of them --
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- correct?
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: My only concern would be there were two things that were
mentioned, and l just want to make sure we're on the same page. The 252,000 that we receive,
you said, a year from them --?
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Prior to today, that we had -- we were not requiring them to
provide any --
Mr. Torre: Sales information.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- financial documents or anything.
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Do you know the reason why? I'm just curious. It just wasn't a
part of it.
Mr. Torre: It wasn't --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So it just kind of been -- it was something that just kind of went
unchecked or you just --?
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, they were not required to provide sales, financials. All that's going to
change.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So the new agreement --
Mr. Torre: The new agreement, which will be rolled out probably in the next 30 to 45 days, is
going to include a requirement for them to report sales. It will include a requirement for us to be
allowed to audit them, financials, and --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Mr. Torre: -- if we really want to get aggressive, it could include a kick -out clause, which I'm
kind of in favor of which would, if they don't meet certain thresholds, then they're -- we have the
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option to terminate them at any time.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And I'm assuming that you did some sort of analysis -- 'cause I'm
assuming that's the reason why you're pushing this, you know, Henry, because you feel that it's
going to generate at least -- about how much more for the City? I'm just --
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, it depends on -- Again, we don't have the reported sales that have
come in. But item two, which is coming, I believe, in the second meeting in January, is the ticket
surcharge. So it is in our best interest that we have possibly someone new, exciting that can
bring in a new product, a healthier product, healthy competition to maybe spur things up, bring
additional people, you know. Every person who goes on one of those tour boats from now on,
the City will be able to enjoy a dollar of that, so it's in our best interest --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No, no. I got it.
Mr. Torre: -- that there's as much traffic as humanly possible.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And then the issue that was brought up around safety -- because
somebody -- I don't know who it was in that crowd --
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, just so you know --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- was that a part of your --
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- analysis?
Mr. Torre: To be completely honest with you, security was cut in half a couple of years ago due
to budget restraints. Part of the legislation that I am writing for the ticket surcharge is to allow
us to bring that security back to what it was at 100 percent security and to be able to add an
additional person to improve upon our customer service at the marina.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, I don't know --
Mr. Torre: So we're not just asking for more money. We're providing more security and better
customer service.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. I think that -- I don't know if safety was necessarily about
security guards. I think it was more about just making sure from a safety, you know, perspective,
people --
Mr. Torre: From a navigational standpoint, Commissioner, we're good. We're good. I've spoken
at length to our marina supervisors. We've toured it ourselves. So from a navigational
standpoint, we're good.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. And then there was one other thing. I know I wanted to
talk to you about the study on it, (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We talked about the permits. And the last
thing was the issue -- and this is something that me and the Manager talked about. Andl think
that probably all my fellow Commissioners would agree. Whatever the final document is --
because there are a lot of concerns. There are people that have been in this business for 17, 18,
20 years.
Mr. Torre: Right.
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: Before this -- and so their lives will be impacted, so let's not make
light of it. It will be impacted.
Mr. Torre: Correct.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: But I just -- my concern in our meeting was that whatever that
final agreement was, that it would come back in front of the City Commission for us to vote. I
understand that the City Manager has the ability to write and put, you know, the agreement
together, but I think that it's necessary that that agreement is an agreement that we vote and
approve on.
Mr. Torre: Well, just to specify, so you want the dockage agreement, the new one, to come before
Commission?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I think it should because I think --
Mr. Torre: Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- people would probably want -- I think we all need to kind of
weigh in.
Mr. Torre: I don't have a problem with that.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I mean, I -- Do you guys have a problem with that?
Commissioner Gort: No.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Not that I'm taking power from you. I'm just simply saying
it should come in front of us.
Commissioner Gort: I have a question. My understanding is, right now they have month to
month revocable agreement?
Mr. Torre: They have -- what they have there -- we are authorized by Chapter 50 to enter into a
one-year contract that is revocable, 30 days notice.
Commissioner Gort: But with the new concept, they'll be able to have a larger lease or longer
-- 2
Mr. Torre: That is one thing that we are working with Legal on. Right now we have a demand
under the current agreement, which is month to month.
Commissioner Gort: Right.
Mr. Torre: My personal opinion, ifI was a tour operator, I would want -- if I'm going to invest
several millions of dollars in a boat, I would want a longer term guarantee. We are working with
Legal now to put --
Commissioner Gort: Okay.
Mr. Torre: -- that language together to see what our limitations are as far as bringing this
forward to the Commission on a --
Commissioner Gort: Okay.
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Chair Suarez: Thank you. Any further discussion? Is there a motion?
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. This is an --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second, but amended.
Chair Suarez: As amended by --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: As amended.
Commissioner Gort: As amended.
Chair Suarez: -- Commissioner Spence -Jones.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And that is that it has to come back in front of the City
Commission for a final approval.
Mr. Torre: So you want --
Chair Suarez: The agreement.
Mr. Torre: I'm sorry. It's just --
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: The agreement. That's what you just --
Chair Suarez: Right.
Mr. Torre: So the revised --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: With the revised language.
Mr. Torre: Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Whatever the final document --
Chair Suarez: Can we do it like this? 'Cause this is an ordinance so the -- we approve the
ordinance, but with a direction to the Administration that it come back to us. The agreements
that you redact come back to us for approval.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Suarez: Is that okay?
Mr. Torre: The final agreement that we're going to mod.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes, sir.
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Chair Suarez: Right.
Mr. Torre: Okay.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Madam City Attorney.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney.
Dwight S. Danie (City Clerk): Roll call on SR.].
A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above.
Mr. Danie: The ordinance has been adopted on second reading, 5-0.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. We're going to stand in recess until --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Two o'clock.
Commissioner Carollo: Three?
Chair Suarez: -- 2: 30.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: 2: 30.
END OF ORDINANCE - SECOND READING
ORDINANCE - FIRST READING
FR.1 ORDINANCE First Reading
12-01316
Miami Parking AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER
Authority 35/ARTICLE IV OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS
AMENDED, ENTITLED "MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC/PARKING
RATES," MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTIONS 35-191
THROUGH 35-196 TO UPDATE RATES AND FACILITIES; CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
RE.1
12-01317
City Commission
12-01316 Summary Form.pdf
12-01316 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
END OF FIRST READING ORDINANCE
RESOLUTIONS
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ELECTING AND
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
APPOINTING TODD B. HANNON AS CITY CLERK OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, FLORIDA, TO HOLD OFFICE AS PROVIDED FOR IN THE CITY
CHARTER, WITH COMPENSATION AND EMOLUMENTS TO BE
DETERMINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION.
12-01317 Legislation.pdf
12-01317-Submittal-Round 1 Selection Ballots.pdf
12-01317-Submittal-Round 2 Selection Ballots.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this
matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
R-12-0500
Chair Suarez: We're going to do RE.1, which is the selection of the -- election and the
appointment of the City Clerk.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Andl know I have a 3 o'clock time certain. Correct?
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just need to get my --
Chair Suarez: Which one is the 3 o'clock time certain?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: It's the Overtown CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency). We
were not able to have it the last time 'cause we didn't have a quorum.
Commissioner Gort: Overtown CRA.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Do you want to open up Overtown CRA at 3?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. Oh, it's 3 minutes to 3, but that's fine.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Because we have to actually vote and tally on this one, right?
Chair Suarez: What's that?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: We're voting on this item now, though, right?
Chair Suarez: Yes. Do we have the ballots prepared? I think the City Clerk's office sent out
everyone a procedure, and think the way they explained it to me -- the procedure is pretty
simple -- basically, we just rank the top person. And then, if there isn't sufficient votes to select a
Clerk with the first round of voting, then the person who receives the least amount of votes is
removed and then there's like a -- kind of a runoff or whatever, and then we vote for the person
who we feel is the most qualified as well. So I guess (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F).
Commissioner Carollo: Do we have any discussion on it?
Chair Suarez: I'm okay to vote, but if you want to -- I mean, I've interviewed the candidates. I'm
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
okay to vote, but if you want to have discussion, of course, you are welcome to.
Commissioner Carollo: No, it's -- what's the will of this Commission. If you don't want to have
discussion, we won't. I just -- I don't know. All three of them have worked with us --
Chair Suarez: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- you know, for -- in the past --
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: -- you know.
Chair Suarez: Yeah, I know. I mean, I think they're all great candidates. They're all very
qualified.
Commissioner Carollo: That's what makes it a tough decision.
Chair Suarez: And I think it's a very tough decision. And I think -- You know, I know I've
interviewed all three of them. They were all very, very capable and competent and we'd be well
served with any one of the three of them. Unfortunately, we have to make a selection and --
Commissioner Gort: Yep.
Chair Suarez: -- you know, hopefully, the person that is selected will be thankful and the other
two won't be too upset. So do you want to go ahead and cast your vote and then we'll see what
there is? Are you going to be collecting the ballot and --? Okay, great. Okay, without further
ado.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So just so that I'm clear, so we're actually just writing in --
Chair Suarez: You're just going to write a check --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: On one name?
Chair Suarez: -- next to the person's name or a one or whatever you prefer to -- or a box, a
check -- I mean, an il. "And then, if there's more than three people that are selected -- I'm sorry.
If a person has more than three Commissioners selecting them, then that's the person that we'll
nominate; otherwise, we'll have a second round if there's someone that receives two votes.
Commissioner Gort: Let me tell you, it's not an easy task. They're all very much qualified. And
whoever gets selected, I hope they can keep the whole team. I think it be important.
Commissioner Carollo: So we're just putting an X'by the name that we --
Chair Suarez: Right.
Maria J. Chiaro (Deputy City Attorney): Mr. Chair.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Ms. Chiaro: You will need to have these discussions on the record. So if you wish to take the
ballots and read the results of the ballots or the --
Commissioner Carollo: City Clerk.
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Ms. Chiaro: -- or Dr. Anthony [sic] --
Chair Suarez: Yeah.
Ms. Chiaro: -- wishes to read --
Chair Suarez: I'll -- just to --
Ms. Chiaro: -- the results of the ballots.
Chair Suarez: -- to put on the record what I was told, was that one Commissioner voted for two
people against the rules, but that's okay.
Ms. Chiaro: But you need to say which Commissioners voted in which way --
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Ms. Chiaro: -- on the record.
Chair Suarez: I'll -- I will -- I'll list the votes, okay. Commissioner Michelle -Spence Jones voted
for two people. Thank you, Commissioner, for helping us out. Appreciate it.
Ms. Chiaro: You need to say who the two people --
Chair Suarez: I'm getting there. Dwight Danie and Todd Hannon.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Man, ifI wanted to be popular, I could have done that.
Chair Suarez: Commissioner Suarez voted for Todd Hannon. Commissioner W fredo Willy'Gort
voted for Todd Hannon. Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff voted for Dwight Danie. And
Commissioner Frank Carollo voted for Dwight Danie.
Commissioner Carollo: So it's a tie.
Chair Suarez: So it's a tie. So now --
Commissioner Carollo: You --
Chair Suarez: -- we have to eliminate --
Commissioner Carollo: And let me tell you something. And well --
Commissioner Gort: Well, how can it be a tie?
Commissioner Carollo: -- it should be because, realistically, I think they're all qualified. I think
Commissioner Gort: How can it be a tie?
Chair Suarez: Because Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones voted --
Commissioner Gort: Wait a minute. It's five of us.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Yeah. Only we could tie, I got to tell you. Only this Commission --
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Commissioner Gort: Only five of us.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. -- could tie with five votes.
Commissioner Gort: How can we tie; it's only five votes?
Chair Suarez: Anyhow. So -- okay, let's try this again. We're going to thank Ms. Pamela
Latimore for applying, and she's very capable and competent as well. But now we're going to
have another balloting process where this time we will vote for only one person and, hopefully,
everyone will follow the rules and, hopefully, we'll have -- 'cause we can't have two Clerks,
unfortunately. I don't think we can afford it so.
Commissioner Gort: Like I stated before, whoever the person that gets selected, they should try
to maintain the team. I don't know if they want to stay or not, but I think it be very important.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Okay, this is the first round, so you can keep it for the record. Has
everyone voted? We're waiting on you. Come on. I know it's a tough choice. It wasn't easy for
any of us.
Commissioner Gort: No. I'm sure it's not.
Chair Suarez: And it wasn't like it was like a wide gulf between one candidate or another so.
Okay, so round two, we finally have a winner. Commissioner Suarez voted again for Todd
Hannon. Commissioner Gort voted again for Todd Hannon. Commissioner Spence -Jones, thank
you for following the rules. We appreciate it. She voted for Todd Hannon. I know it was a very
tough choice for her, but she voted for Todd Hannon. Commissioner Sarnoff voted for Dwight
Danie and Commissioner Carollo also voted for Dwight Danie. So would you like to make a
motion? Moved to accept Todd Hannon as the new Clerk. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: Passes unanimously. Thank you both.
Ms. Chiaro: Congratulations, Todd.
Commissioner Gort: Well, you don't have to change right now.
Mr. Danie: The resolution says it's effective immediately, right?
Commissioner Gort: No. Does it have to be effective immediately?
Ms. Chiaro: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Gort: Does it have to be effective immediately?
Mr. Danie: Right.
Commissioner Gort: Does it have to?
Mr. Danie: Right.
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Commissioner Carollo: (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F) vetoed by the Mayor.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Right. So it really isn't effective until --
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- couldn't be effective until the Mayor either signs it --
Chair Suarez: Yeah.
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- or ten days go by.
Chair Suarez: What's that?
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Vice Chair Sarnoff It couldn't be effective until either the Mayor --
Chair Suarez: Yeah.
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- signs it --
Chair Suarez: Andl think his appointment -- his temporary appointment was until January 15.
Commissioner Gort: Right.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Okay.
Chair Suarez: So I think --
Commissioner Gort: Yes.
Chair Suarez: -- the appointment, it would be -- the permanent appointment will be from
January 15 on, correct?
Ms. Chiaro: Correct. The resolution is effective immediately, but the appointment begins on
January 15.
Chair Suarez: Right. Thank you. Thank you for the clarification. Thank you.
Mr. Danie: Thank you.
Commissioner Gort: And once again, I would like to see the team remain. I mean, it was not
easy, guys.
Chair Suarez: It was not an easy decision for anyone, I'm sure.
RE.2 RESOLUTION
12-01318
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ESTABLISHING A NEW
Fire -Rescue SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT ENTITLED: "ASSISTANCE TO
FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM FISCAL YEAR 2012," AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR THE OPERATION OF SAME, CONSISTING
OF A GRANT AWARDED BY THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
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RE.3
12-01319
AGENCY, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY,
GRANTS PROGRAM DIRECTORATE, IN THE AMOUNT OF $134,176, WITH
A REQUIRED MATCHING FUND FROM THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY"), IN AN
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $33,544, FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF
$167,720,TO PURCHASE PHYSICAL FITNESS EQUIPMENT THAT WILL
PROVIDE IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF
FIREFIGHTERS AND THE PUBLIC THROUGH THE INCREASED
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FIRE -RESCUE'S ABILITY TO
RESPOND TO FIRE EMERGENCIES, FOR THE PERIOD BEGINNING
SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 17, 2013; ALLOCATING THE
CITY'S REQUIRED MATCHING FUNDS, FROM FUND 11000-SPECIAL
REVENUE -FIRE FEE -PROJECT NO. 18-109001 - TASK NO. 05 - AWARD -
NO. 1017; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE
NECESSARY DOCUMENTS TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE AND
COMPLIANCE OF SAID GRANTAWARD.
12-01318 Summary Form.pdf
12-01318 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Prgm.pdf
12-01318 Panel Review - Award Package.pdf
12-01318 Entire Application.pdf
12-01318 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0476
Chair Suarez: RE.2.
Deputy Chief Reginald Duren: Reggie Duren, Deputy Fire Chief. RE.2 is a resolution of the
Miami City Commission establishing a new special revenue project entitled Assistance to
Firefighters Grant Program Fiscal Year 2012, 'Consisting of a grant awarded by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency grants program, in the amount of $134,176, with a required
match from the City ofMiami, in an amount not to exceed 33,504 [sic], for a total amount of
$167, 720 to purchase physical fitness equipment.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Is there any motion from the Commission?
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. Any further discussion? All in favor, sign
by saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
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Department of NET A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Administration ATTACHMENT(S), ESTABLISHING A SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT
ENTITLED: "2012-2013 HOMELESS HOTEL/MOTEL, FEEDING AND
HOMELESS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM AGREEMENT
("HMIS")", AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
$489,626, CONSISTING OFAGRANTAWARD FROM THE MIAMI-DADE
COUNTY HOMELESS TRUST, FOR AN ADDITIONAL TWELVE (12) MONTHS
PERIOD, TO PROVIDE HOTEUMOTEL ACCOMMODATION TO HOMELESS
FAMILIES, STAFFING FOR HMIS AND FEEDING PROGRAM
COORDINATION; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE
AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM AND ALL
NECESSARY DOCUMENTS IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE
AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SAID GRANTAWARD.
12-01319 Summary Form.pdf
12-01319 Letter - 2012-2013 Primary Care Prgm.pdf
12-01319 Legislation.pdf
12-01319 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0477
Chair Suarez: RE.3.
Sergio Torres: Good morning, Commissioner. Sergio Torres, City ofMiami Homeless Assistance
Program administrator. RE.3 is a resolution of the City ofMiami establishing a special revenue
project entitled 2012-13 Homeless Hotel/Motel, Feeding and Homeless Management Information
System Agreement. "This grant amount is $489, 626. It's basically -- the contract is comprised of
three elements: hotel/motel funding to place families that have no alternative but to sleep on the
streets, so we place them temporarily in the hotel until we get shelter room. The other portion is
staffing for the homeless management information system, and the other is staffing for the
coordination of the indoor meals program.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes, you're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is an issue that it's very important to
me. Recently in Little Havana, there's been certain buildings that have had to have been closed
down andl want to make sure that there are no people that are left out on the streets. What
worries me about this is that the last time that I approved an amount, it was well over $200, 000,
andl specifically mentioned the area of Little Havana, where we've had well -documented issues
of buildings being closed and then I found out that just weeks later, there was no monies
available. So I want to -- my first question is, Is this money already spoken for? In other words
-- 'cause I know it's on a first come, first serve, but we're talking half a million dollars, andl
want to make sure that everyone in the City is being served. Andl could -- like I said, there's
been well -documented cases in Little Havana where buildings have been closed andl want to
make sure that, you know, there's no one left out on the streets.
Mr. Torres: And I'm fully aware of that, Commissioner. We have worked with the Fire
Department, along with other NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) staff and working in
relocating those families from the buildings. I just want to alert you that this money is just --
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when we say families, family means that there are childrens [sic] involved. I mean, it's not a
couple. It's not two adults. It's -- have to be childrens [sic] involved in there. At one point last
year, that is true, we lack funding. We exhaust all the funds that we have for this activity and
that was close to the end of the fiscal year last year. So that's why we came back because the
Homeless Trust allocated additional $100, 000, so that's why you saw that you approve this
amendment to the original resolution to add funds to that grant. So this amount that you see
here is the same amount that we had last year, plus the $100, 000.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay, but my original question, Is this money already spoken for? In
other words, do you already have a long list of cases where this money's going to be used up? So
let's say in a week or two from now or a month or two from now, there's going to be -- this money
will be exhausted and there will be no monies.
Haydee Wheeler: Commissioner, ifI may. Haydee Wheeler, director of NET. The answer I'm
going to give you is like two fold. Is it spoken for? Yes, because we know that we're getting an
average of 20 families per month to come into the motels, so we're managing the money as first
come, first serve. We know that this is not going to be enough. The Trust knows it as well, so
that's why we came with the second resolution. And hopefully, the numbers have been a little
lower, meaning the circumstances of families being out on the street is a little less. So we hope
it's enough, but we know it is committed because we know that we get calls every day. We have a
waiting list right now and these are families that have a family member taking them in. Because
this money also has some type of restrictions that if there's a shelter -- like it's been sometimes in
the buildings that you've mentioned -- we go -- our goal, the City's goal is that no one stays
outside on the street. So we're there to support them, to provide services for them. We offer
shelter. If they come to us and the shelter's not available, then we go to the motel for as many
days as we need to keep them there. So, yes, the money is committed to the City and County. We
have an average of 240 families -- Is that correct? -- per year. Is this money going to be
enough? No. We might have to come back to you with more money. I can tell you that for the
year -- just from the D3 (District 3) area, we housed 40 families in the motels out of 240.
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Ms. Wheeler. And we've spoken about this in great length.
As a matter of fact, we spoke in consensus [sic] with other departments and passed a resolution
because what we want to make sure is that we're more humane about any closures of any
buildings, and we want to make sure that there's no one left out on the streets so, again, it
concerns me. I know of the issues in District 3 and the buildings that were closed. I don't know
of the others. And you're saying that, you know, there's a lot of cases, I guess, that I haven't
heard about. But the bottom line is that I want to make sure that before any building is closed
down, that we make sure, you know, as public servants, that people are not going to be left in the
streets, and that's my issue with this. I want to make sure that there's sufficient monies and not,
you know, when I hear about, you know, a closure of a building -- I'm not saying that there's
going to be one, but when I hear about a closure of a building and that there's going to be
families, especially kids, you know, without a home or with only a day or two of notice and they
see that, you know, the situation that they're in with -- where they're really not sure where to go, I
want to make sure there's monies available for that.
Ms. Wheeler: You're -- definitely, you're correct, Commissioner. And since we last spoke about
this and on the last building that we had to go and visit, which was about three weeks ago, that
was the process that we did. We did the analysis first, what's available, what can we offer.
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Ms. Wheeler: We did that. We went, we offered. We actually waited the whole weekend when the
owner came and complied, so we are taking other steps now, not just going and showing what
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the problem is. So we've taken your consideration and recommendation and we are working that
route.
Commissioner Carollo: Andl know you are, andl appreciate that. And it is commended
because you are hearing our concerns and you are working to make sure that this whole process
just, as simply put, more humane. So thank you.
Ms. Wheeler: It's difficult. We get calls daily.
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Ms. Wheeler.
Chair Suarez: Yes, Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: Wait a minute. Don't go away. I think somehow the Trust needs to
understand -- and if you need our help to send a message, it's very important. When we
approved the first shelter, there were certain requirements that we asked of them. They were
going to build three others, and it was going to be a total of three, north, south and so on. I don't
think the south tookplace; north never tookplace. With the closing of a lot of the people that
providing help, the homeless have increased -- population has increased within the City of
Miami. And one of the things that happens is, Coral Gables doesn't have it; Miami Beach don't
have it; other communities don't have it because they send it here to Miami. So somehow, if you
need our assistance and help -- 'cause I think you should get more help from the Trust itself. At
least let them know.
Ms. Wheeler: I'll let Sergio answer. I know that the Trust, whenever we've had any issues that
we need additional money or additional assistance -- but I'll let Sergio speak about that. I can
tell you that have pictures that Coral Gables do have homeless. And Miami Beach, they have
their own system, Commissioner, with all due respect. This is -- it's becoming a countywide
problem. But I'll let Sergio explain to you the support that we're getting, and we do appreciate
you backing us up if we need more.
Commissioner Gort: I understand that. But the population, when you compare Gables, Beach
and any of the other municipalities with the City ofMiami, it's a lot less.
Ms. Wheeler: Oh, of course. We're the --
Commissioner Gort: I think we have 90 percent --
Ms. Wheeler: -- worst.
Commissioner Gort: -- of the homeless population.
Ms. Wheeler: Your area, Commissioner Carollo's area, andD2 (District 2) are really --
Commissioner Gort: Right.
Ms. Wheeler: -- bad.
Commissioner Gort: Okay.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Torres: I can't agree more with you, Commissioner. This is like build them and they will
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come. The original plan was to build three community partnerships for homeless. They have
built just two; the one in Overtown and -- or downtown and the one in Homestead. They never
built the third one. I will tell you that most of the resources for the homeless is just around the
City ofMiami. And like I said, if you build them, they will come.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Any further questions? Has it been moved and seconded, Mr. Clerk?
Is there a motion?
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Chair Suarez: Moved by Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: Motion passes.
RE.4 RESOLUTION
12-01320
Department of NET A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Administration ATTACHMENT(S), ESTABLISHING A SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT
ENTITLED: "2012-2013 MEMORANDA OF AGREEMENT -DISCHARGE
PLANNING GRANT, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS, IN AN AMOUNT NOT
TO EXCEED $340,000, CONSISTING OF A GRANT FROM THE MIAMI-DADE
COUNTY HOMELESS TRUST, TO PROVIDE EXTENDED OUTREACH, AND
HOUSING SERVICES TO HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS REFERRED THROUGH
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY JUDICIAL AND HEALTH SYSTEMS; AUTHORIZING
THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE EXTENSION AND AMENDMENT
NO. 3 TO THE 2010 MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT -DISCHARGE
PLANNING , IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN THE
CITY OF MIAMI AND MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, AND ANY OTHER
NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY
ATTORNEY, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE AND
ADMINISTRATION OF SAID GRANT AWARD.
12-01320 Summary Form.pdf
12-01320 Pre-Legislation.pdf
12-01320 Legislation.pdf
12-01320 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
R-12-0478
Chair Suarez: RE.4.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Sergio Torres (Homeless Assistance Program Administrator): RE.4 is a resolution. It's for
establishing a special revenue project entitled 2012-13 Memorandum of Agreement -Discharge
Planning Grant, 'and appropriating funds in an amount not to exceed $340, 000. This is -- this
grant is from the Miami -Dade County Homeless Trust. What it does is organize the discharge of
people leaving County and City ofMiami -- I'll correct that -- leaving hospital, mental health
facilities, court, jails, and any agency within the llth Judicial Circuit.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Any further discussion? Is there a motion?
Commissioner Carollo: There's no motion, there's no second.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. I'll make a motion, but there's a bit of irony here.
Chair Suarez: It's move -- motion by the Vice Chair. Is there a second for discussion or --?
Commissioner Carollo: Second for discussion.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Commissioner Carollo.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. You just had a robust discussion on how to spend $500, 000 talking about
family and kids, and now you're about to spend $350, 000, which is, by my calculation, most of
that goes towards people coming out of jail. I don't know. It seems like we take better care of
the people who've committed a crime than we do the people who haven't committed a crime. Just
a bit of irony. I'm not here to say I won't support this. But you could have a family who, as
Commissioner Carollo was saying, struggles. But if you commit a crime and you don't have a
place to live, you've got some dollars going towards you. So I just wonder in the social scheme
of life and the policy of the way we create, whether we're not pushing people to do things that --
so they can get themselves some assistance. I just don't know, philosophically, how I can cross
that chasm.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Mr. Torres: If you allow me, Commissioner. I understand what you're saying. And basically, if
you look at the budget of this grant, most of the money come -- goes to staff. This provide funds
to have staff working 24 hours, 7 days a week and provide staff also for coordinating the
discharge from all these agencies. So, yes, we are open 24 hours, 7 days a week, and most of the
funds goes to the coordination. It doesn't exactly pay for building or shelter or bed space. Just
-- the budget have $10, 000 just in case that we have in a special case -- let's say that someone
leave court or jail at night and there is a special need for the person to be placed in the hotel.
There's $10, 000 in there to place that person temporarily in a hotel room.
Haydee Wheeler (Director, Neighborhood Enhancement Team): I would like to add,
Commissioner, that although I do agree with what you're saying, this is very important for the
City ofMiami because, as you know, the only jail is in the City ofMiami. That allows us to take
those people and take them to where they have to go, eliminating them to be on our street. So
that's basically the intent of this part of the program.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. I understand it, Haydee. Andl wish Commissioner Gort were up here
because the City ofMiami is like a hamster wheel. And a definition of insanity is repeatedly
doing something and expecting a different result each time you do it. So if you continue to
incarcerate people in the jail, let them out at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, they have to make their
way home. And they make their way home, whether they were arrested in Aventura, whether they
were arrested in Homestead, whether they were arrested in West Miami, they're coming to the
City ofMiami. Andl think they get let out with a token for a bus andl think a quarter. And if
I'm wrong, I apologize, but I know it's a nominal thing they get left out -- let out with. They say
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.5
12-01323
District 2-
Commissioner Marc
David Sarnoff
the urban legend is you could watch the broken windows of all the cars within about a
three -block radius because as these people leaving the jail who have not been adjudicated guilty,
but have not been adjudicated innocent either, are heading home, they're going to all parts of the
city -- ofMiami-Dade County. Now, there is some urban legend out there as well that the jail is
no longer going to be served in that capacity, but TGK (Turner Guilford Knight) is going to be
the recipient of people going to prison. That would be a great thing for the City ofMiami. And
if you look at where TGK is located, it'll have no impact really on no community just simply
because of -- it's in a very indus -- I call it an industrial, a very commercial area. If that's the
County's intent, that's a great intent. Because if you think about, this is just one piece of a pie
and the other pieces of the pie are you put predominantly 90 percent of all shelters in the City of
Miami, it's like a magnet attracting all -- either the homeless people in Miami, the people who
are incarcerated, awaiting trial. Some of them have been already adjudicated guilty because the
jail does serve people who have 364-day sentences. And then upon their release, they have to
make their way out of the City ofMiami. Now what I'm hearing you say is that this is really not
captioned correctly. That -- ifI heard you correctly -- $10, 000 of this goes towards people
coming out of jail to get to -- who are homeless, but that about 330,000 of this goes towards
staff. If that's the case, I could probably vote for this. If that's not the case, I'd like a better
explanation.
Mr. Torres: That is exactly the case. And the $10, 000 are just for special -- very, very special
cases. It doesn't mean that anyone leaving at any given time and they have nowhereto go, we're
going to go ahead and put it in a hotel. No. We coordinate with all the -- we have staff working
with the caseworkers at jail, hospital and all these places to make sure that whenever these
people are leaving one of these facilities, they have a place to go in the shelter. But let's say, for
instance, sometimes judges call us and says, This is a special case andl need you to handle it
right away. And that's -- not that happen every day. I will tell you that last year we didn't spend
a penny from the $10, 000 that we had on this, but the money's there just for that.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Well, you guys are the experts. We are the policymakers. And, you know, I
can defer to your expertise. I'm just saying, from a philosophical standpoint, I have trouble
taking care of people leaving a jail versus taking care of families that are having difficulty
finding a shelter. That's all.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. It's been moved and seconded. All in favor, sign
by saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Passes unanimously.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO DESIGNATE AS
A PLAY STREET, PURSUANT TO SECTION 35-5 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, THE PORTION OF NORTHEAST
60TH STREET BOUNDED BY NORTHEAST 4TH COURT TO THE EAST,
EATON PARK TO THE NORTH, THE FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY TO
THE WEST AND THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 5990 NORTHEAST 4TH
COURT, MIAMI, FLORIDA, TO THE SOUTH, ILLUSTRATED IN EXHIBIT "A,"
ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED; TRANSMITTING SAID DESIGNATION TO
THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY; FURTHER
DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO TRANSFER ALL CONSTRUCTION,
MAINTENANCE, AND UPKEEP OBLIGATIONS OF SAID PLAY STREET TO
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
THE CITY OF MIAMI'S DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION.
12-01323 Legislation.pdf
12-01323 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
R-12-0479
Chair Suarez: Okay, RE.5. Thank you both.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Mr. Chair, this is the ability of the City ofMiami to create a
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) street, or a play street, as we like to call it, which is really, in your and my
vernacular, a park. And if you look where this is situated, it will look a lot bigger and more like
a park than you might imagine, as it's right on Northeast 4th Court. So it's really pretty simple.
It's a resolution authorizing the City Manager to designate it as a play street. We've done it once
before. I don't believe this has any really financial impact to the City ofMiami at all.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Is that a motion?
Vice Chair Sarnofff. It is a motion.
Chair Suarez: It's a motion by the Vice Chair. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. It was a chuckle. Any further discussion? All
in favor, signin, by saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
RE.6 RESOLUTION
12-01321
Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE
ALLOCATION OF FUNDS, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $127,733.77,
FOR A ONE-YEAR PERIOD, TO THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ASSOCIATION
OF CHIEFS OF POLICE, COUNTY COURT STANDBY PROGRAM;
ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE GENERAL
OPERATING BUDGET, ACCOUNT NO. 00001.191501.534000.0000.00000.
12-01321 Summary Form.pdf
12-01321 Letter - County Court Standby Prgm.pdf
12-01321 Court Prgm. FY 12-13 Invoice & Payment.pdf
12-01321 Letter - Proposed Budget 2013-2013.pdf
12-01321 Traffic Information System.pdf
12-01321 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.7
12-01324
Department of Capital
Improvements
Program
R-12-0480
Chair Suarez: RE. 6.
Chief Manuel Orosa (Police): Good morning again. This is the yearly allocation of funds that
we pay the Dade Chiefs Association for the standby subpoena, which saves the City 48 percent of
its total cost in court costs, overtime and stuff like that. So by spending 127, we save
approximately a million dollars.
Chair Suarez: I think that's a pretty good return on our investment.
Chief Orosa: Yes, sir, it is.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Chief.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), RATIFYING THE CITY MANAGER'S EXECUTION OF
CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENTS WITH THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION ("FDOT"), FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI'S IMPROVEMENT
PROJECTS LOCATED WITHIN FDOT'S RIGHT OF AWAY, AS DETAILED IN
"ATTACHMENT A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED.
12-01324 Summary Form.pdf
12-01324 Pre-Legislation.pdf
12-01324 Legislation.pdf
12-01324 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
R-12-0481
Chair Suarez: RE.7.
Mark Spanioli: Good morning, Commissioners. Mark Spanioli, director of CIP (Capital
Improvements Program). RE.7 is a resolution raging the City Manager's execution of
construction agreements with FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) for CIP projects on
or adjacent to FDOT right-of-way. We have three agreements here that are included with the
resolution. One is from District 2; that was the implementation or installation of the signage
associated with the Brickell/Biscayne trolley. And there were two projects for District 3,
Commissioner Carollo. One of them was for Southwest 28th Road and the other one was for
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Southwest 23rd Road; both were roadway projects that ended at Southwest 3rdAvenue, Coral
Way, which is an FDOT right-of-way.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes, you're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. This is one that had questions on, andl know I spoke with
the City Attorney with regards to this. I don't know if I've gotten the answers with regards to
some of my questions, but let me just mention some of the issues that I had. First of all, in the
two streets that you mentioned, 28th Road and 23rd Road, it appears to me we actually had no
work done on Coral Way, which is 3rdAvenue. So I'm not sure why we need, you know, some
permission from FDOT With that said, second of all, it seems to me like we're ratifying or we're
approving this after the fact. So let's say this body doesn't approve that now. What happens?
The work has been done. So I'm not sure why, you know -- and with this question, I'm looking
more at, you know, the future. Are we doing something that's correct, or do we need to tweak
this somewhat or change our policies because right now I really don't know what the answer is if
we don't approve this. And then the -- well, I don't want to continue. Let's start with those two. I
don't know if the City Attorney or you, Mr. Spanioli, would like to address the issue. Okay, Mr.
Manager.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): I think it's a good thing to have this agreement with FDOT.
Even though the work doesn't physically go through the state road, the fact that it's adjacent to it,
there may be some harmonization, some maintenance of traffic, and those type of things that
aren't apparent in this will cover that and expedite the project. If we had to come back every
single time to do this, it would add more time to the project. So I think it's good to have. IfI
were to change anything, it would be coming back to ratify the work that you've given me
permission to enter into agreements with the County so that we can do our City work adjacent to
their streets.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. It just seems to me -- First of all, you know, I don't think it's that
big of a deal that they went up to 3rdAvenue but they didn't cross 3rdAvenue, so you know, I'm
-- I was surprised because we didn't touch the FDOT street, but that's not my main concern, you
know. With the ratification, it seems like we're doing it after the fact. Like, maybe once you get
permission, maybe we should ratifi, it before the work is done or -- And by the way, I understand
as far as timeliness and that's something that is a discussion item that we'll talk. Both of these
streets took over a year from the inception, so -- and there wasn't that much work done.
Twenty-third Street was just milling and resurfacing, so I understand the timeliness, but once
again, what would happen if this Commission now doesn't ratifi, the work? It's been done.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Commissioner, I know that you asked me --
Commissioner Carollo: It's been completed, right.
Ms. Bru: -- that question during briefing, andl don't think that we had a chance to get back to
you on that. Procedurally and legally, what happened was in 2011, the Commission delegated to
the Manager the authority to execute certain agreements, the form of which was attached to that
resolution for a particular purpose. But that delegation of authority was conditioned on the
Commission then, subsequent to the work being performed ratifying it, which it's an appropriate
act to take. The ratification then would be this Commission making sure that the Manager
exercised the authority that was given to him within the parameters of that authority, which is the
form contract. And it, indeed, is coming back to you for ratification of contracts that have been
executed in the form that they were attached to back in 2011. So really, the questions would be
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.8
12-01325
Department of Capital
Improvements
Program
was the work done in accordance with what was stated in those contracts? Is the work
satisfactory? Are the conditions such that there hasn't been any kind of conduct on behalf of the
Manager that's outside the scope of the delegation of authority? And really, there would be no
good basis not to ratifi, the contracts if all the things were met in accordance with that delegation
of authority.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay, Madam City Attorney. So if everything was not met and we do
not approve it, what happens then?
Ms. Bru: Well --
Commissioner Carollo: Like right now, like in this situation, if this was not approved -- Let's say
-- I could use the argument, well, we never touched 3rdAvenue. It was, you know, the street of
28th Road. And I'm not saying that I'm going to make that argument. I'm not saying that I'm
going to vote against this. But Ijust want clarification to make sure that the process is as, you
know, straight as possible or, you know, as we can make it. So right now, if we wouldn't approve
this, what would occur? The work has been done. It's been completed.
Ms. Bru: Right. Pursuant --
Commissioner Carollo: So I guess I'm questioning this ratification after the fact.
Ms. Bru: Right. Well, pursuant to the contract, the form of the contract that was attached in
2011, there are certain obligations that continued even after the work is completed and
performed. FDOT entered into these agreements knowing that the authority of the Manager was
conditioned on a ratification. So to the extent that the ratification has to then formalize
everything that's been done, they entered into the contract at a risk. However, again, if the
Commission wants to withhold the ratification, it has to be based on some kind of good reason to
do so, and that needs to be then vetted with your administration as to whether or not the
requirements of those agreements were met, the work was done in accordance with what the form
contract required it to be done so.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. No further questions.
Chair Suarez: Is there a motion and a second on this?
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the --
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: -- Vice Chair, second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signifi, by saying
aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING FUNDS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
$33,000, CONSISTING OF A GRANT FROM THE MIAMI-DADE
METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION, FOR THE MIAMI REGIONAL
INTERMODAL PLAN; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
INTERLOCALAGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM,
FOR SAID PURPOSE; ALLOCATING THE CITY OF MIAMI'S REQUIRED
MATCHING FUNDS, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $15,000, FROM
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. B-30645F.
12-01325 Summary Form.pdf
12-01325 Legislation.pdf
12-01325 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
RE.9
12-01326
Department of Capital
Improvements
Program
R-12-0482
Chair Suarez: RE.8.
Mark Spanioli (Director): Commissioners, Mark Spanioli, CIP (Capital Improvements
Program). RE.8 is a resolution accepting funds, in an amount not to exceed $33, 000, from the
MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) for the Miami Regional Intermodal plan. This is a
study of the transportation modes between the airport and downtown Miami.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. Any further discussion? All in favor, sign
by saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE BID RECEIVED SEPTEMBER 17, 2012,
PURSUANT TO INVITATION TO BID ("ITB") NO. 11-12-045, FROM
ADVENTURE ENVIRONMENTAL, INC., THE LOWEST RESPONSIVE AND
RESPONSIBLE BIDDER, FOR THE KENNEDY PARK SHORELINE
STABILIZATION PROJECT, B-30541C, IN THE AMOUNT OF $119,000, FOR
THE SCOPE OF WORK, PLUS A TEN PERCENT (10%) OWNER
CONTINGENCY AMOUNT OF $11,900, FORA TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED
AWARD VALUE OF $130,900; ALLOCATING FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF
$130,900, FROM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. B-30541C;
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, CONSISTING OF THE ITB
DOCUMENTS AND ATTACHMENTS, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
12-01326 Summary Form.pdf
12-01326 Legislation.pdf
12-01326 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
R-12-0483
Chair Suarez: RE.9.
Mark Spanioli (Director, Capital Improvements Program): RE.9 is a contract award to
Adventure Environmental for Kennedy Park Shoreline Stabilization project. This is a District 2
project. Adventure Environmental was the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for this
project. The contract has a 15 percent local workforce in the CSBE (Community Small Business
Enterprise) requirements. It has a 120-day construction duration and the award value is for
$130, 900.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mr. Spanioli: Thank you.
RE.10 RESOLUTION
12-01359
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Fire -Rescue ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT
FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $184,000, CONSISTING OF A GRANTAWARD
FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY,
THROUGH THE OFFICE OF GRANTS AND TRAINING THROUGH THE FORT
LAUDERDALE URBAN AREA FISCAL YEAR 2008 URBAN AREA SECURITY
INITIATIVE ("UASI") GRANT PROGRAM; AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO EXECUTE A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI
AND THE CITY OF MIRAMAR, A FISCAL YEAR 2008 SPONSORING AGENCY
OF THE FORT LAUDERDALE UASI AGENCY, SETTING FORTH THE
PARTIES' RESPONSIBILITIES IN CONNECTION WITH THE DEVELOPMENT
AND SUPPORT OF THE UASI PROJECT; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS NECESSARY, IN
A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, IN ORDER TO
IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE AND ADMINISTRATION OF SAID GRANT
AWARD.
12-01359 Summary Form.pdf
12-01359 Pre -Resolution - City of Miramar.pdf
12-01359 Legislation.pdf
12-01359 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
R-12-0484
Chair Suarez: RE.10
Deputy Chief Reginald Duren: Reggie Duren, Deputy Fire Chief. RE.10 is a resolution of the
Miami City Commission authorizing the City Manager to accept funds, in an amount not to
exceed $184, 000, consisting of a grant award from the United States Department of Homeland
Security through the Fort Lauderdale 2008 Urban Area Security Initiative Grant; authorizing the
City Manager to execute a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the City ofMiami
and the City of Miramar.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.11 RESOLUTION
12-01360
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Fire -Rescue ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT
FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,300,000, CONSISTING OF A GRANT
AWARD FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY, THROUGH THE OFFICE OF GRANTS AND TRAINING
THROUGH THE FORT LAUDERDALE URBAN AREA FISCAL YEAR 2009
URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE ("UASI") GRANT PROGRAM;
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A MEMORANDUM OF
AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN THE
CITY OF MIAMI AND THE CITY OF MIRAMAR, A FISCAL YEAR 2009
SPONSORING AGENCY OF THE FORT LAUDERDALE UASI AGENCY,
SETTING FORTH THE PARTIES' RESPONSIBILITIES IN CONNECTION
WITH THE DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT OF THE UASI PROJECT;
FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ANY OTHER
DOCUMENTS NECESSARY, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY
ATTORNEY, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE AND
ADMINISTRATION OF SAID GRANT AWARD.
12-01360 Summary Form.pdf
12-01360 Pre -Resolution - City of Miramar.pdf
12-01360 Legislation.pdf
12-01360 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
R-12-0485
Chair Suarez: RE.11.
Deputy Chief Reginald Duren (Fire -Rescue): RE.11 is a resolution of the Miami City
Commission authorizing the City Manager to accept funds, in an amount not to exceed $1.3
million, consisting of a grant award from the Department of Homeland Security through the Fort
Lauderdale 2009 Urban Area Security Initiative; authorizing the City Manager to execute a
MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the City ofMiami and the City of Miramar.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.12 RESOLUTION
12-01361
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Fire -Rescue ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT
FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $4,800,000, CONSISTING OF A GRANT
AWARD FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY, THROUGH THE OFFICE OF GRANTS AND TRAINING
THROUGH THE FORT LAUDERDALE URBAN AREA FISCAL YEAR 2010
URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE ("UASI") GRANT PROGRAM;
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A MEMORANDUM OF
AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN THE
CITY OF MIAMI AND THE CITY OF MIRAMAR, A FISCAL YEAR 2010
SPONSORING AGENCY OF THE FORT LAUDERDALE UASI AGENCY,
SETTING FORTH THE PARTIES' RESPONSIBILITIES IN CONNECTION
WITH THE DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT OF THE UASI PROJECT;
FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ANY OTHER
DOCUMENTS NECESSARY, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY
ATTORNEY, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE AND
ADMINISTRATION OF SAID GRANT AWARD.
12-01361 Summary Form.pdf
12-01361 Pre -Resolution - City of Miramar.pdf
12-01361 Legislation.pdf
12-01361 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
R-12-0486
Chair Suarez: RE.12.
Deputy Chief Reginald Duren (Fire -Rescue): RE.12 is a resolution of the City ofMiami
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.13
12-01330
Office of the City
Attorney
Commission authorizing the City Manager to accept funds, in an amount not to exceed $4.8
million, consisting of a grant award from the Department of Homeland Security Urban Area
Security Initiative, UASI grant; authorizing the City Manager to execute a memorandum of
agreement between the City ofMiami and the City of Miramar.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Is there a motion?
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair and second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor,
signify by saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION INITIATING THE
CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROCEDURES OF CHAPTER 164 OF THE
FLORIDA STATUTES ("STATUTE"), PRIOR TO PROSECUTING AN ACTION
ON A PREVIOUSLY FILED COURT PROCEEDING, TO RESOLVE A
CONFLICT BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND
THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, IN
COMPLIANCE WITH THE STATUTE; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO
TRANSMIT COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE CHIEF
ADMINISTRATORS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, AS STATED HEREIN,
WITHIN FIVE (5) DAYS OF ITS ADOPTION, PER THE STATUTE.
12-01330 Memo - Office of the City Attorney. pdf
12-01330 The 2012 Florida Statutes.pdf
12-01330 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
R-12-0487
Chair Suarez: RE.13.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Mr. Chair, members of the Commission, this is the resolution that
would initiate a conflict resolution procedure under Chapter 164 of the Florida Statutes to allow
the City Attorney's office to continue to litigate a matter that's pending in the circuit court
regarding a challenge that we have to the County's ordinance, the Human Relations Board
ordinance. This is mandated by statute. It requires that there be some attempt to resolve
intergovernmental disputes through this kind of process before resorting to litigation.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.14
12-01013
Department of Capital
Improvements
Program
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signift, by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: Mr. Manager, do you want to take up RE.14 now or do you want to do it in the
afternoon? It's your call.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): I would like to do it in the afternoon (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Suarez: Okay. We'll take up RE.14 in the afternoon.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE BID RECEIVED AUGUST23, 2012,
PURSUANT TO INVITATION TO BID ("ITB") NO. 11-12-027, FROM MUNILLA
CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, LLC D/B/A MCM, THE LOWEST
RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER, FOR THE MUSEUM PARK
BAYWALK AND PROMENADE, PHASE II AND III PROJECT, B-30538, IN THE
AMOUNT OF $8,553,620.68, WHICH INCLUDES $7,618,876.54, FOR THE
SCOPE OF WORK AND $934,744.14, FOR SELECTED ADD ALTERNATE
ITEMS FOR PHASE II AND III, PLUS A TEN PERCENT (10%) OWNER
CONTINGENCY AMOUNT OF $855,362.07, FOR A TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED
AWARD VALUE OF $9,408,982.75; ALLOCATING FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT
OF $2,850,153.75, FROM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NOS. B-30538
AND B-30538S, FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,143,000, FROM A FLORIDA
INLAND NAVIGATION DISTRICT ("FIND") GRANT FOR THE MUSEUM PARK
BAYWALK, AND FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,415,829, FROM THE OMNI
REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
PROJECT NO. 92-686001, WHICH INCLUDES THE MATCH TO THE FIND
GRANT; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT,
IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, CONSISTING OF THE ITB
DOCUMENTS AND ATTACHMENTS, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
12-01013 Summary Form.pdf
12-01013 Memo - Recommendation ofAward.pdf
12-01013 Bid Security List.pdf
12-01013 Legislation.pdf
12-01013 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Chair Suarez: Okay, RE.14.
Commissioner Gort: What about CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency)?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, can we just do the CRA out of the way?
Chair Suarez: Sure.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I have Dr. Fields here. I just want to make sure --
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Commissioner Gort: We need three minutes for the CRA.
Chair Suarez: Yeah. Let's click over to the CRA, please.
[Later...
Chair Suarez: RE.14.
Kenneth Robertson: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Kenneth Robertson, Purchasing director.
RE.14 is for the Museum Park Baywalk and Promenade project. This procurement is under
double formal protest of award. And pursuant to Section 18-104(d) of our procurement code,
this contract and the City shall not proceed further with the award of the contract until both
protests are resolved. The second counter protest submitted by MCM (Munilla Construction
Management) Corporation was received in my office in the afternoon this Tuesday, on December
11, around 4 p.m. So we are within receipt of their protest during their timing -- time filing
period. At this point the Commission may not consider this item, other than to have any brief
discussion regarding its deferral.
Chair Suarez: Any comments?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'd like Marc to start 'cause I think, if it's his district -- I just want
to know what your thoughts on all of this is. To me it's a little crazy. Just seems like we should
just put it out, but I want to hear your viewpoint.
Commissioner Carollo: And by the way, you know, I also want to mention that although I yield
to the district Commissioner, at the same time, you know I'm also the chairman of Bayfront Park
Management Trust. And just for the record, we've already deferred this twice. It's been a month.
Andl can tell you, I want to move forward with the vision of having a baywalk so --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: What now?
Commissioner Carollo: I want to move forward with the vision of having a baywalk.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: We've stalled already for a month. Now, apparently, we can't vote on it
again. So I just want to see what's the resolution for us to move forward with, you know,
building the baywalk, regardless who's building it --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: All right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- you know. But I'll yield to the district Commissioner also.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. You know what, I'll be candid with you guys. I -- we passed a resolution
talking about local offices in the spirit of what we passed -- andl don't know MCMfrom a hole
in the wall, though I will talk to you about FHPaschen. They seem to have a local office. They
have a BTR (Business Tax Receipt) from the City ofMiami. I happen to be one of the
Commissioners up here that believes that you do not need two BTRs, one from the County and
one from the City, 'cause I don't think that's actually permissible under the Constitution. But as
soon as I come off of this dais and no longer represent the City ofMiami, I'll be coming in front
of you in the capacity as a lawyer -- maybe not you; in front of the County -- because I don't
think it's appropriate. So I think, actually, MCM has their local office requirement. Now, as for
FHPaschen, I wouldn't hire this firm if it was the last firm on earth to do work for me. This firm
is doing the work in Coconut Grove on the sidewalks. Probably, I'm harming the Grove right
now by talking like this. They have been diligent. They have been sloppy. The quality of their
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construction has been horrible. They do not take criticism well. I have no idea why anybody
hires FH Paschen, other than if you're a City ofMiami procurement guy. If they ever come in
front of me, I will never approve FH Paschen. That's just the way I feel. And by the way, I made
this clear to Ms. Bravo in the past. We've met on this. I have gone out to the job site. So FH
Paschen, as far as I'm concerned -- andl guess I get to make this -- is not a qualified bidder.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Whoa.
Commissioner Gort: It's your motion.
Commissioner Carollo: With that said, Mr. Director, are you saying that we cannot vote on this
item then today because of the protest?
Mr. Robertson: Yes.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, but --
Commissioner Gort: But let's -- I'm sorry -- hear from our Legal Department. I'm not an
attorney, but my understanding is they had the BTR for X'amount of years. At the same time, if
you're familiar with getting a BTR, you go to the City ofMiami and then they send you to Dade
County to get the permit from DERM (Department of Environmental Resources Management) in
Dade County so at that time you get it also. My understanding, these people have had the
County BTR forever. I understand, there was a mistake being -- that was made at the County
when they -- but the payment shows that they do have the BTR so -- And my understanding is, the
reason they was in front of because they didn't believe there was -- they didn't have a home
office here or an office in the City ofMiami.
Commissioner Carollo: Right. Commissioner Gort, but besides that, is there some rule that
when the protest is delivered to the City that we can't vote on it or how --? And you know what --
andl yield to the City Attorney --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: City Attorney.
Commissioner Carollo: -- to have some clarity, you know, 'cause one thing is the issue whether
they had a license or not. But besides that, the issue, can we actually make a determination
today or does it have to be deferred?
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): No, you cannot make a decision today. Your chief procurement
officer, director of the Department of Purchasing, has advised you on the essential requirements
of the law that you have adopted in your code. And the law that you have adopted in your code
requires that if there is a bid protest, then the solicitation process has to be stayed until the
protest is resolved, and he has acknowledged a protest, at least one. I think heard him say
today that there's two pending protests. And therefore, unless the Manager makes a written
determination that continuing with this solicitation and the award of the contract is necessary for
the protection of the health and welfare of the City, the Commission cannot act on this item
today.
Chair Suarez: Go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: And Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: And again, I just seen that we've deferred this twice, you know. Time is
passing andl -- you know, as the chairman of Bayfront Park, I want to see that baywalk come to
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fruition. So how long will this take, Mr. Director?
Mr. Robertson: My response is already in draft form. FHPaschen, upon receipt of their
original protest of award, was granted due process rights for me to review their case. In the
same like manner, MCM submitted a formal protest of award and we must extend to them the
same due process rights for their protest. I received their protest late on Tuesday. I've already
reviewed it. I'm in the beginning stages of putting my response together. When both protest
responses are done, complete, and aggregate, it will come before the City Commission, if
necessary, to resolve that portion of the procurement, and then the award may happen.
Commissioner Carollo: And is it fair to say that that will happen on January 10, which is our
next Commission meeting?
Mr. Robertson: The print deadline for January 10 is tomorrow; ifI can get some waivers as to
deadline submittals. There's no legislative package for any protest resolution for a protest that
I'm still reviewing. I'm working on my protest as quickly as humanly possible.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just have a question. I'm sorry.
Commissioner Gort: No, go ahead. It's -- let me cool down a little bit.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just have one question, I guess, for -- because the last time this
item came up, Alice, they -- we had actually awarded MCM, correct? Not awarded but the
recommendation was MCM.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Were we recommending MCM.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Recommending.
Mr. Martinez: And then the --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Then there was the protest.
Mr. Martinez: And then there was a protest.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And that protest, was it coming from the individuals that are now
winning the bid? I mean, that are now being recommended.
Mr. Martinez: We never made the substitution recommendation.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. 'Cause Commissioner Sarnoff just mentioned -- what is it
called? Was it --?
Vice Chair Sarnoff FH Paschen.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, FH Paschen?
Vice Chair Sarnoff P-A-S-C-H-E-N, Paschen.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. So where is that company? Is that -- were they number two
on the list?
Mr. Martinez: They were the low bidder, but because the fourth place team, MCM, was local,
we let them do a best and final offer against the first -place bidder. But then now the dispute is
whether MCM is actually local. They have local employees. They have 17 employees that live in
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the City ofMiami. They had a BTR and a certificate of use and a certificate of occupancy in the
City ofMiami, but apparently, there was some clerical error at the County. And the rule say you
need to have both. To me, in spirit, they're local. In my conscience, they're local.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Local, yeah.
Mr. Martinez: However, my criteria -- if you have a City BTR, you're local -- is not the criteria
that Procurement and Legal has to go by so.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. I just want to say just two things. One, just piggyback off
of the chairman of the Bayfront Park, correct --
Commissioner Carollo: Management Trust.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- and also the --
Chair Suarez: District Commissioner.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- City Commissioner, the district Commissioner. It seems as
though this is an item that you guys want to see moving ahead pretty quickly, right? And that's
something that's absolutely necessary to have happen pretty quickly.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Well, the museums will open --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I know. That's --
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- and the park won't be done.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And then not -- you know, my biggest thing that I'm always talking
about up here is jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. My concern would be like how much of a delay
would come from us making a decision and beyond that, are we able to as a Commission
ourselves make a vote on an item, you know, even after -- if there is a protest?
Ms. Bru: Your own code, which has been the law that has been adopted by this Commission that
gives the individuals who participate in solicitation processes certain rights, prohibit you from
considering an award today, unless there's a written finding by the Manager of some sort of
emergency, immediate threat to the health and safety that requires this Commission to act.
Otherwise, you need to wait until your chief procurement officer makes a determination, makes a
recommendation to the Manager, which then the Manager makes the recommendation to the
Commission, and at that time the Commission can either accept the recommendation of the
Manager or not and subsequently award the bid to whomever the Commission determines has
fairly won the bid based on the resolution of the protest.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And Mr. Procurement Officer, let me ask you this question. I
know that when we had this issue happen prior to today, we decided to just put it back out.
Because this process that we're talking about now could take how long? Will it take as long to
put it back out than it would be to wait for this protest too?
Mr. Robertson: It would take longer to readvertise this project. Florida statutes for construction
projects require a minimum of a 30-day advertisement for projects of this magnitude. To reject
all bids and start over again would really put the City behind schedule.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. So you think this is going to be done --
Mr. Robertson: My --
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- this issue is going to be done in 30 days. Is that what you're
telling me?
Mr. Robertson: The vast majority of my research is already complete. I'm putting the finishing
touches on my response.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Mr. Robertson: I expect my response to be done in the next week.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, no problem.
Chair Suarez: Commissioner.
Mr. Robertson: I would like to point out for the record, though, that procurement law is very
supportive of the original lowest, responsive, and responsible bidder. And that were it not for
our City's local preference, MCM would not have been engaged regarding this contract in any
manner, other than except for the best and final offer process. If that process was not
administered correctly, then this contract award will be challenged because the original lowest,
responsive, and responsible bidder was FHP Tectonic Corp.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: FHP --
Commissioner Gort: I think, anyways, it's going to be challenged. But my understanding is the
protest was that the people didn't have a local office. Am I correct?
Mr. Robertson: Correct.
Commissioner Gort: I mean, we're the one that made the recommendation, passed a resolution
to give preference, and the County just did that now. The County passed a resolution where they
want the County to contract with local people before they go outside. So my understanding is
what's in front of you is whether this people -- this firm, if local -- has a local office or not.
Mr. Robertson: Correct.
Commissioner Gort: My understanding is they're supposed to present to you documents to --
Mr. Robertson: Correct.
Commissioner Gort: -- go one way or the other way.
Mr. Robertson: I have all of their exhibits from MCM's counter protest. And, again, I'm going
through all of that --
Commissioner Gort: Okay.
Mr. Robertson: -- and I'm --
Commissioner Gort: So it should be here next meeting?
Mr. Robertson: Yes.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you.
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Vice Chair Sarnoft Mr. Chair.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Vice Chair Sarnoff And this goes to the procurement officer and to the City Attorney. Because
Mr. Procurement Officer calls him responsible, am I supposed to, in my own mind, accept what
he says that they're responsible; or my own knowing mind, from my own experience, my own life
experiences, discern whether I think they're responsible?
Ms. Bru: Ultimate, Commissioner, in the process, you simply get a recommendation of an award
from the Manager. It will always be ultimately up to the Commission to accept or reject a
recommendation.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. So my question then to you is, then I'm allowed to live by my own life
experiences with a contractor as to whether I think that contractor is responsible?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. We'll let her answer it.
Ms. Bru: Responsive and responsible and procurement jargon has specific meaning.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Then I will go with responsible. And then I will ask you the next question
for responsive.
Ms. Bru: Okay. Andl will ask the procurement officer, who deals with this, to answer that for
you. They're terms of art, terms of the industry, and he can very well address it.
Mr. Robertson: A responsive bidder is one who has submitted a bid submittal that is materially
responsive to all the requirements of the solicitation with regard to form and substance. A
responsible bidder is one who has shown a good faith effort in past projects, performance
evaluations and references that have been duly vetted by --
Commissioner Gort: That's it.
Mr. Robertson: -- the City staff prior to contract award to confirm that they can, indeed,
perform the contract successfully.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Then as a sitting Commissioner who is aware of whether they are
responsible or not, do I have to merely out of whole cloth accept what you say or can I use my
life experiences and determine whether they are responsible?
Mr. Robertson: The Commissioner has every authority to reject the bids that come before them.
Now, in our due diligence, we are actively checking references for past projects that are of
similar size, scope, and complexity for the contract at hand. Based on that information, we make
a determination that they are, in fact, responsible or not. Barring any formal documentation of
default or a nonresponsibility under other contracts, we need to have some basis to find them
nonresponsible.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. So then is it incumbent upon me to put on the record why I know them to be
nonresponsible and then you determine whether you think I'm correct? So I want to know --
'cause I want to get this right, 'cause I know what they are. I know what they're doing. And I
want to know how best to proceed to protect this Commission and this City so that I can create
the recordl want to create so that this -- these other four, Madam Commissioner and gentlemen,
can say Commissioner Sarnoff is dead wrong or he's dead right, or they might say Mr. Robertson
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knows better than him.
Mr. Robertson: I would recommend that you put your past experiences on the record prior to
you voting on any item.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just have one quick little -- I'm sorry, Marc. You finish?
Chair Suarez: No, no.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Oh, yeah. I'm sorry.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just wanted to ask the City Attorney something and also the
procurement officer just so I'm clear. So even if you as the procurement -- head procurement
officer has a factual finding that they are a local company -- I mean, Commissioner Gort has
mentioned, I believe, even the Chairman has mentioned the fact that there was just an error
made -- and even the Manager mentioned it -- is that -- I mean, are you able to make a decision
based upon factual findings?
Mr. Robertson: The results of my investigation are ongoing. I have documentation that I have
acquired up until now. MCM's protest is relatively new. They submitted it Tuesday afternoon.
I'm still going through the exhibits that they have compiled for me.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So your recommendation is to just give you till next Commission
meeting?
Mr. Robertson: Yes.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Well, we got to respect that.
Chair Suarez: Let me just chime in. The issue that I'm having is really with the way this whole
thing was handled. I think under our procurement code, the protest has to be resolved within 30
days. Is that correct?
Mr. Robertson: Correct, 30 business days.
Felix Lasarte: It's 30 days. Thirty days.
Chair Suarez: It doesn't say business days in the code. I'm looking at --
Mr. Lasarte: It's 30 days, sir.
Chair Suarez: -- 18-104(b), but I don't --
Mr. Robertson: Correct.
Chair Suarez: -- see business. Maybe it's -- defines a --
Mr. Robertson: Well, the --
Chair Suarez: -- day as a business day in another part of the code.
Mr. Robertson: If you look in that section that talks about the computation of time in this section
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Chair Suarez: Yeah, that's whatl was -- that's whatl --
Mr. Robertson: Correct.
Chair Suarez: -- figured Says here no time -- okay.
Mr. Robertson: Correct. And Ih computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by this
section, the day of the act, event or default from which the designated period of time begins to
run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included unless it is a
Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday in which event the period shall run until the 'hext end --
Unidentified Speaker: Right, business --
Mr. Robertson: -- the end of the next day'= -
Mr. Lasarte: -- which is 30 days.
Mr. Robertson: -- {Mich is'L-
Chair Suarez: Yeah.
Mr. Robertson: -- /either a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday."
Chair Suarez: But what that means is that it's -- it is calendar days unless the final day ends on
a weekend. Is that correct?
Mr. Robertson: Or a holiday.
Chair Suarez: Right. And then --
Mr. Robertson: So the computation --
Chair Suarez: -- it rolls over to the next business day. So it's actually calendar days.
Mr. Robertson: -- of 30 days as 30 business days.
Mr. Lasarte: No. It's 30 days. And if it's --
Commissioner Gort: Excuse me.
Chair Suarez: Hold on, hold on.
Dwight Danie (City Clerk): Excuse me.
Chair Suarez: Hold on, hold on. It's 30 days to -- Okay. Madam Attorney, is it 30 calendar
days or 30 --? 'Cause the way I read it is it's calendar days. But it ends on a weekend, then it
rolls over to the next business day.
Mr. Robertson: Section 104(2)(c).
Chair Suarez: Yeah. It's actually below that.
Mr. Robertson: When a company has the right to file a protest, they have five days to file it from
the time of notice of intent.
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Chair Suarez: Right.
Mr. Robertson: Very oftentimes, those five days begin and then there is a weekend that
intercedes that time period.
Chair Suarez: I agree.
Mr. Robertson: So the five days are five business days, excluding the weekend because the code
specifically excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. So if a notice of intent to protest is
filed on a Thursday, the Thursday is specifically excluded as the date of the event; day one is
Friday; day two is Monday; day three is Tuesday; day four --
Chair Suarez: That's not the question I'm asking.
Mr. Robertson: -- is Wednesday.
Chair Suarez: The question I'm asking is if -- a protest has to be resolved within 30 days of
submission, from what I'm reading here --
Mr. Robertson: Correct.
Chair Suarez: -- on one oh -- on Section 18-104(b). That's 30 calendar days. Unless it ends on
a weekend, then it rolls over to the following Monday, butt think it's 30 calendar days.
Mr. Robertson: No. That code section does not say calendar days, Commissioner.
Chair Suarez: No, it doesn't. It just says days. It doesn't say business days either.
Mr. Robertson: Correct. And the computation of time in Code Section 18-104 inclusive of the
two-day filing period for the intent, the five-day filing period for the protest and the 30-day filing
resolution period are all consistently business days.
Mr. Lasarte: Can I say -- The protest was filed -- and by the way, it's not my client, but the
protest --
Chair Suarez: Identf yourself for the record.
Mr. Danie: Yes.
Chair Suarez: Name and address.
Mr. Lasarte: Felix Lasarte, 3250 Northeast 1st Avenue. The protest filed by -- not my client. It
was actually filed when? October 18.
Chair Suarez: Right.
Mr. Lasarte: And so it's, I would say, more than 30 days.
Unidentified Speaker: Two months.
Mr. Lasarte: Yeah.
Mr. Robertson: The original protest was filed on October 25, received at 3:09. The resolution of
that protest was very near completion, last week, until the notice of intent for the second protest
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
was received, upon which any resolution of the procurement or that original protest was stayed
while I also reviewed the second protest.
Chair Suarez: But you can't protest something that hasn't been recommended. That's my point
in terms of the way the procedure was handled.
Mr. Robertson: But --
Chair Suarez: Madam Attorney, is it 30 calendar days or is it 30 business days? The way I read
it, it's 30 calendar days, but could be wrong.
Ms. Bru: The code references computation of time without reference to whether it's calendar or
business, but it just excludes certain dates --
Chair Suarez: Exactly.
Ms. Bru: -- such as holidays, legal holidays; when certain events happen, like the last day falls
on a certain day.
Chair Suarez: Exactly.
Mr. Lasarte: Yeah.
Chair Suarez: That just means -- it's calendar days, unless it falls on a holiday or on a weekend.
In which case, it rolls to the next business day, which is -- which I see in contracts all the time.
Anyhow -- so that's one issue that have. The second issue that had was that the item that was
before us was accepting the recommendation of the Manager to award the contract to MCM. So
there was no, you know -- but if there was a protest that stayed that item, you know, we should
have gotten notice of it before this agenda was printed, or at least gotten some sort of official
notice from the procurement director's office, from the City Manager's office, in writing that said,
you know, that a protest was filed and that this was going to be stayed. We never got that. At
least I didn't get that. I don't know if any of the other Commissioners got it. So that was my
second issue. So it's -- we're now talking about a protest of a protest when there's not even a --
been a determination on the first protest officially, as far as I can tell.
Mr. Robertson: Correct, because my inquiries regarding the first protest were to the other party.
In order to finalize the protest resolution recommendation for FHP Tectonics, I needed certain
key information from MCM. As a result of my findings, I -- we were working on a substitution
award recommendation, and we stopped that process upon receipt of the notice of intent, which
is what our procurement code requires.
Chair Suarez: Yes, Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: I'm not an attorney, but my suggestion is the protest was filed. They
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) process (UNINTELLIGIBLE) statement. I think to not have any further
problems in the future, we should allow the officers to go and come back in next month meeting
with his conclusion. I don't think we can move on it today.
Chair Suarez: Any other discussion?
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: I just want to make sure, if we're going to defer this, that it is heard in
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
January 10 meeting so we can put the resolution and move forward. In October 25 is the first
time we deferred this, you know, it's well over a month, and this project needs to move forward.
If not, you know, we risk that the museums actually open and we still don't have a baywalk. And
I think it's something that, you know, we've been working on for years --
Vice Chair Sarnoff It's not just the baywalk. This is -- and the promenade that has to be built
before they can open the doors to the museum.
Commissioner Carollo: And the promenade.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: So the bottom line is, I think that we need to move forward, and l just
think time is of the essence. So if we can't vote on it today, then I just really suggest that it will
be in our January 10 meeting and we could vote on it and have some solution then.
Chair Suarez: Does that sound like a reasonable amount of time?
Mr. Robertson: Yes. Thankyou.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Is everyone okay with that?
Commissioner Gort: (UNINTET,T IGIBT ,F) all the documents.
Chair Suarez: Somebody want to make a motion?
Vice Chair Sarnoff Well, I want to make a motion only if the City Attorney says that motion must
be made.
Ms. Bru: I am advising you that based on what has been stated on the record by your
Purchasing director, that the code and the laws that govern this process require you to defer this
matter.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So I'll make the motion predicated upon the statements of the City Attorney.
Commissioner Carollo: Second. And by the way, that's a deferral to January 10 --
Chair Suarez: January 10 meeting.
Commissioner Carollo: -- meeting.
Chair Suarez: It's been moved and seconded. All in favor, signifi, by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mr. Robertson: Thankyou.
Mr. Lasarte: Thank you.
RE.15 RESOLUTION
12-00201
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Attorney ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ANY
AND ALL DOCUMENTS CANCELING AND TERMINATING THE LEASE
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI AND OLYMPIA BUILDING
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.16
12-00363
PARTNERSHIP, LTD., INCLUDING TERMINATION AND CANCELLATION OF
THE SUBLEASE WITH OLYMPIA RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PARTNERS, LTD.,
TRANSFERRING POSSESSION OF THE COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL
PROPERTY TO THE CITY OF MIAMI, ASSIGNING ALL EXISTING
COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL TENANT LEASES TO THE CITY OF
MIAMI, RELEASING OLYMPIA BUILDING PARTNERSHIP, LTD., OF ALL
COVENANTS, CONDITIONS, AND OBLIGATIONS ARISING UNDER THE
LEASE, SATISFYING LEASEHOLD MORTGAGES, AND ACCEPTING THE
TRANSFER OF TENANT SECURITY DEPOSIT FUNDS FROM OLYMPIA
BUILDING PARTNERSHIP, LTD., IN SETTLEMENT OF ANY AND ALL CLAIMS
AND DEMANDS AGAINST THE OLYMPIA BUILDING PARTNERSHIP, LTD., IN
THE CASE OF CITY OF MIAMI VS. OLYMPIA BUILDING PARTNERSHIP,
LTD., PENDING IN THE CIRCUIT COURT IN AND FOR MIAMI-DADE
COUNTY, CASE NO. 03-28667-CA-27.
12-00201 Memo - Office of the City Attorney. pdf
12-00201 Legislation.pdf
12-00201 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM,
FORA FIFTEEN (15) YEAR INITIAL TERM, WITH UP TO THREE (3) FIFTEEN
(15) YEAR TERM OPTIONS TO RENEW, WITH OLYMPIA CENTER, INC., A
FLORIDA 501(c)(3) NOT -FOR -PROFIT ORGANIZATION FOR THE
ADMINISTRATION, OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE AFFORDABLE
HOUSING RESIDENTIAL RENTAL TOWER AND RELATED AMENITIES
INCLUDING RETAIL SPACES OF THE OLYMPIA BUILDING LOCATED AT 174
EAST FLAGLER STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA 33131; FURTHER AUTHORIZING
THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL OTHER CONTRACTS,
DOCUMENTS AND AGREEMENTS, INCLUDING LEASES, FOR SAID
PURPOSE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND IN
COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE
CODE OF 1986, AS AMENDED, THE CITY OF MIAMI'S OBLIGATION UNDER
THE SUNSHINE STATE LOAN POOL PROGRAM AND THE CITY OF MIAMI'S
HOMELAND DEFENSE/NEIGHBORHOOD CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS BOND
PROGRAM.
12-00363 Summary Form.pdf
12-00363 Legislation (Version 3).pdf
12-00363 Exhibit 1.pdf
SPONSORS: HONORABLE MAYOR TOMAS REGALADO
VICE-CHAIRMAN MARC SARNOFF
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DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC FACILITIES
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
RE.17 RESOLUTION
12-01327
Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Works ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING A QUIT CLAIM DEED, IN SUBSTANTIALLY
THE ATTACHED FORM IN EXHIBIT "B", FROM THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT
OF TRANSPORTATION (DEPARTMENT), FOR THE TRANSFER OF
NORTHWEST 14TH STREET BETWEEN NORTHWEST42ND COURT AND
NORTHWEST 34TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT
"A", FROM THE DEPARTMENT TO THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") STREET
SYSTEM; FURTHER REQUESTING THAT THE DEPARTMENT RECORDS
SAID QUIT CLAIM DEED IN THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF MIAMI-DADE
COUNTY, FLORIDA, AND PROVIDES A RECORDED COPY TO THE CITY.
12-01327 Summary Form.pdf
12-01327 Legislation.pdf
12-01327 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Suarez and Carollo
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
R-12-0488
Chair Suarez: RE.17.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Public Works.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. You're up to bat.
Nzeribe Ihekwaba: Good morning. Zerry Ihekwaba, Public Works director. RE.17 is a
resolution to accept a quit claim deed from Florida Department of Transportation to transfer a
portion of Northwest 14th Street back to the City ofMiami. Back in 2001, the City had
transferred this segment of 14th Street to the State to assist and facilitate the construction of the
Miami Intermodal Center upon completion of the project, which involved roadway and street
improvements, landscape and storm water improvement totaling over $3 million. It is the intent
of the State to transfer it back to the City for maintenance purposes.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.18 RESOLUTION
12-01329
Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Works ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
STREET LIGHTING MAINTENANCE AND COMPENSATION AGREEMENT, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, WITH MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FOR
MAINTENANCE OF THE STREET LIGHTING SYSTEM ON NORTHWEST
14TH STREET BETWEEN NORTHWEST 42ND AVENUE AND NORTHWEST
37TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA.
12-01329 Summary Form.pdf
12-01329 Legislation.pdf
12-01329 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Suarez and Carollo
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
R-12-0489
Nzeribe Ihekwaba (Director, Public Works): RE.18 is a companion item to RE.17. It's a
resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a streetlight and maintenance agreement with
the County for maintenance of the streetlights on Northwest 14th Street. There are a total of 19
streets decorative premium lights. Currently, the County is maintaining these lights on behalf of
the State. Because this is a premium lighting, it is the intention of the City to allow the County to
continue to maintain them. The fiscal impact is about $4,200 every fiscal year.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.19 RESOLUTION
12-01145
Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Works ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE BID RECEIVED SEPTEMBER 28, 2012,
PURSUANT TO INVITATION FOR BIDS NO. 11-12-052, FROM SFM
SERVICES, INC. THE LOWEST RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER,
FOR THE PROJECT ENTITLED "US-1 LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE
CONTRACT, M-0087" FORA ONE (1) YEAR PERIOD, IN AN ANNUAL
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $93,220, WITH FOUR (4) ADDITIONAL ONE (1)
YEAR OPTIONS TO RENEW; ALLOCATING SAID FUNDS, FROM ACCOUNT
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
NUMBERS 00001.204000.534000.0.0 AND 00001.207000.534000.0.0;
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, FOR SAID PROJECT; FURTHER
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE SAID OPTIONS TO
RENEW SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDING AND THE
CONTRACTORS PERFORMANCE.
12-01145 Summary Form.pdf
12-01145 Letter - US-1 Landscaping Contract.pdf
12-01145 Pre-Legislation.pdf
12-01145 Legislation.pdf
12-01145 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
R-12-0490
Chair Suarez: RE.19.
Nzeribe Ihekwaba (Director, Public Works): RE.19 is a resolution to award a contract --
maintenance contracts to SFM Services for a one-year period, in an annual amount not to
exceed $93, 220, for the project entitled US-1 Landscape Maintenance."
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. Any further discussion? All in favor, sign
by saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.20 RESOLUTION
12-01331
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE
Purchasing PROCUREMENT OF ASPHALT PATCH TRUCKS, FROM BERGKAMP, INC.,
ON A CITYWIDE, AS NEEDED CONTRACTUAL BASIS, UNDER THE
EXISTING FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CONTRACT NO.
ITB-DOT-11/12-9005-GB, EFFECTIVE THROUGH OCTOBER 2, 2013,
SUBJECT TO ANY EXTENSIONS OR REPLACEMENT CONTRACTS BY THE
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; ALLOCATING FUNDS
FROM THE VARIOUS SOURCES OF FUNDS FROM THE USER
DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES, SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF
FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED.
12-01331 Summary Form.pdf
12-01331 FP5 Pothole Patcher Truck Specs.pdf
12-01331 Emails - Patch Truck Specs.pdf
12-01331 Legislation.pdf
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Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Spence -Jones
R-12-0491
Chair Suarez: RE.20.
Kenneth Robertson: Good morning, Commissioners. Kenneth Robertson, Purchasing director.
RE.20 is a resolution authorizing the procurement of asphalt patch trucks from Bergkamp,
Incorporated, using an existing Florida Department of Transportation contract,
ITB-DOT-11/12-9005-GB, effective through October 2, 2013. The per cost truck price is
$146,151. The ordering lead time for each truck is 120 days upon receipt of a purchase order.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Carollo. This is a Commissioner's best friend. All in
favor, signifi, by saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Vice Chair Sarnoff And congratulations, Mr. Manager, because we had the most record
recorded rainfall in the history ofMiami last year, and as a result of that, we've had probably the
most earth movement in the history ofMiami last year. Unfortunately, we have two patch trucks;
one which doesn't work, one which does work. Now we have, hopefully, two patch trucks, so we
can double our efforts and start patching everybody's streets.
Unidentified Speaker: Yes, sir.
Vice Chair Sarnoff And we will be getting this patch truck when?
Mr. Robertson: A hundred and twenty days upon receipt of purchase order and we're --
Vice Chair Sarnoff When will we receive --?
Mr. Robertson: -- going to ask the Mayor to expedite signature of this resolution.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So when do we start the process of the purchase order?
Mr. Robertson: It's encumbered -- on route to my office currently. As soon as the Mayor signs
the resolution, we can issue it tomorrow.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Okay, so we can predict in 120 days, which will be sometime in, I guess,
March, we can now have our second patch truck.
Mr. Robertson: Yes.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Okay, thank you.
RE.21 RESOLUTION
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
12-01332
Department of Parks
and Recreation
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ACCEPTING THE BID
RECEIVED PURSUANT TO INVITATION FOR BIDS NO. 320278, FROM
PLAY -TECH CONSTRUCTION, FOR THE PROVISION OF POUR -IN -PLACE
REPAIR SERVICES, ON AN AS -NEEDED CONTRACTUAL BASIS, FOR A
PERIOD OF ONE (1) YEAR, WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR THREE (3)
ADDITIONAL ONE-YEAR PERIODS, WITH EACH RENEWAL PERIOD BEING
BROUGHT BACK FOR CITY COMMISSION APPROVAL; ALLOCATING
FUNDS FROM THE VARIOUS SOURCES, SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY
OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED.
12-01332 Summary Form.pdf
12-01332 Tabulation.pdf
12-01332 Addendums No. 1 & 2.pdf
12-01332 Invitation for Bid.pdf
12-01332 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Vice Chair Sarnoff, that this matter be
ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0492
Chair Suarez: RE.21.
Kenneth Robertson: Good morning, Commissioners. Kenneth Robertson, Purchasing director.
RE.21 is a resolution accepting the bid received for pour -in -place services from Play -Tech
Construction, on an as -needed contractual basis, for one year with three additional renewal
options. The estimated annual expenditure is $69,400. This is for a rubberized safety play
service for our various parks.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: This is one item that I've continuously have had questions about, the
pour -in -place, and not just the actual purchasing ofpour-in-place, but the maintenance of it.
For purposes of moving this meeting on, I -- you know, I'll be willing to vote for it. However, my
favorable vote will be contingent upon after the one year, that it comes back to the City
Commission for further approval on the additional years. And that's my motion.
Chair Suarez: There's a motion by Commissioner Carollo. Is there a second?
Vice Chair Sarnoff I want seconds to be hard to be -- come by.
Chair Suarez: Do you want me to pass the gavel again?
Vice Chair Sarnoff Second.
Chair Suarez: There's a second by the Vice Chair. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
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RE.22
12-01333
Department of Capital
Improvements
Program
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman, I'll abstain since I didn't hear the whole --
Mr. Robertson: As amended --
Commissioner Gort: -- discussion.
Mr. Robertson: -- for the record.
Dwight S. Danie (City Clerk): Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: As amended.
Mr. Robertson: As amended.
Chair Suarez: As amended.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
LOCAL AGENCY PROGRAM AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORM, WITH THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION ("FDOT"), FOR THE DOWNTOWN MIAMI BICYCLE AND
PEDESTRIAN MOBILITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT; FURTHER
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT A GRANT AWARD FROM
FDOT, IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $250,000, FOR THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF SAID PROJECT, TO BE APPROPRIATED BY
SEPARATE RESOLUTION.
12-01333 Summary Form.pdf
12-01333 Legislation.pdf
12-01333 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff and Spence -Jones
R-12-0493
Chair Suarez: RE.22. We have -- by the way, we have a time certain item at 10: 30, and we're
just waiting on the final Commissioner, who we've been told is in route, so we should be able to
get that going soon.
Commissioner Carollo: So we continue?
Chair Suarez: RE --
Commissioner Carollo: 22.
Chair Suarez: -- 22.
Mark Spanioli: RE.22. Mark Spanioli, CIP (Capital Improvements Program) director. RE.22 is
a resolution authorizing the -- and accepting an FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation)
LAP (Local Agency Program) grant, in the amount of $250, 000, for the downtown bicycle
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.23
12-01328
Department of Capital
Improvements
Program
pedestrian project. This is for the design and implementation of crosswalks, bike lanes, and
pedestrian signals in the downtown area. The DDA is (Downtown Development Authority)
providing a $75, 000 funding match.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Is there a motion?
Commissioner Carollo: Move it.
Chair Suarez: Moved by --
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: -- Commissioner Carollo and seconded by Commissioner Gort. All in favor,
signify by saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN
INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM,
WITH MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ("COUNTY") FOR THE REMEDIATION AND
CLOSURE OF THE VIRGINIA KEY LANDFILL; FURTHER TERMINATING THE
GRANT AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY DATED AUGUST 24, 2004, FOR
THE PREPARATION OF A CONTAMINATION ASSESSMENT PLAN AND SITE
ASSESSMENT REPORT AND REPLACING IT WITH THIS INTERLOCAL
AGREEMENT FOR CLOSURE OF THE VIRGINIA KEY LANDFILL.
12-01328 Summary Form.pdf
12-01328 Pre-Legislation.pdf
12-01328 Legislation.pdf
12-01328 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
RE.24
12-01335
Department of Public
Works
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE BID RECEIVED AUGUST 7, 2012,
PURSUANT TO INVITATION FOR BIDS NO. 11-12-040, FROM JVA
ENGINEERING CONTRACTOR, INC., THE LOWEST RESPONSIVE AND
RESPONSIBLE BIDDER, FOR THE PROJECT ENTITLED "CITYWIDE
STORM SEWER REPAIR, M-0083", FORA ONE (1) YEAR PERIOD, IN AN
ANNUAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $995,855, WITH FOUR (4)
ADDITIONAL ONE (1) YEAR OPTIONS TO RENEW, IN AN ANNUAL AMOUNT
NOT TO EXCEED $995,855; ALLOCATING SAID FUNDS, FROM CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT NO. B-30262; AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORM, FOR SAID PURPOSE; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE
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CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE SAID OPTIONS TO RENEW SUBJECT TO
THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDING AND THE CONTRACTORS
PERFORMANCE.
12-01335 Summary Form.pdf
12-01335 Proposal Bid Form.pdf
12-01335 Letter - Citywide Storm Sewer Repair.pdf
12-01335 Legislation.pdf
12-01335 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Carollo
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Suarez and Spence -Jones
R-12-0497
Chair Suarez: RE.24.
Nzeribe Ihekwaba: Good morning. Zerry Ihekwaba, Public Works director. RE.24 is a
resolution to award a contract to JVA Engineering Contractor, for a one-year period, in an
annual amount not to exceed $995, 855, for the project entitled Citywide Storm Sewer Repairs
[sic]."
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Is there a motion?
Commissioner Carollo: Move it.
Chair Suarez: Moved by Commissioner Carollo. Is there a second?
Commissioner Gort: Second. Discussion.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Gort for discussion. Commissioner Gort, you're
recognized.
Commissioner Gort: Can you explain what kind of work they're going to be doing?
Mr. Ihekwaba: Pardon me?
Commissioner Gort: Can you explain what kind of work they going to be doing?
Mr. Ihekwaba: This is simply to address localized flooding in streets that Public Works usually
utilizes to address complaints from residents, from Commission offices, 311 requests, and also for
some projects that are of limited scope and complexity that doesn't need CIP (Capital
Improvements Program) to get involved in.
Commissioner Gort: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Ihekwaba: Thanks.
Commissioner Carollo: All in favor, say aye."
Vice Chair Sarnoff Oh, I'm sorry. All in favor, please signify by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
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RE.25 RESOLUTION
12-01336
Department of Solid A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Waste ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE
SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE INTERLOCALAGREEMENT, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI
AND MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ("COUNTY") AND CONTRACT CITIES FOR USE
OF THE COUNTY SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR SOLID
WASTE DISPOSAL OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE.
12-01336 Summary Form.pdf
12-01336 Legislation.pdf
12-01336 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
RE.26 RESOLUTION
12-01337
Department of Solid A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Waste ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE CITY
MANAGER, APPROVING THE FINDINGS OF THE EVALUATION
COMMITTEE, PURSUANT TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS NO. 290257,
THAT WASTE MANAGEMENT INC. OF FLORIDA, IS THE HIGHEST -RANKED
FIRM TO PROVIDE SERVICES FOR THE HANDLING AND PROCESSING OF
RECYCLING MATERIALS CITYWIDE, FORA PERIOD OF FIVE (5) YEARS,
WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR FIVE (5) ADDITIONAL ONE (1) YEAR
PERIODS; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND
EXECUTE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY
THE ATTACHED FORM, FOR SAID PURPOSE; FURTHER ESTABLISHING A
SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT ENTITLED: "BELIEVE IN RECYCLING FORA
CLEANER CITY", IN THE AMOUNT OF $150,000, CONSISTING OF A
ONE-TIME PAYMENT FROM WASTE MANAGEMENT INC. OF FLORIDA TO
FUND A CITYWIDE RECYCLE CAMPAIGN.
12-01337 Summary Form.pdf
12-01337Award Recommendation Form.pdf
12-01337 Memo - Recommendation of Eval.pdf
12-01337 Price Sheet.pdf
12-01337 Evaluation Form.pdf
12-01337 Detail by Entity Name.pdf
12-01337Addendum No. 1.pdf
12-01337 Request for Proposals.pdf
12-01337 Past Performance Evaluation.pdf
12-01337 Pre-Agreement.pdf
12-01337 Legislation.pdf
12-01337 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo
R-12-0501
Chair Suarez: RE.26. Wait a second. I think that might be -- is that on a time certain? RE.26.
Thank you.
Keith Carswell (Director, Solid Waste): Good afternoon, Commissioners. RE.26 is the awarding
of a professional service agreement to Waste Management, Inc. of Florida for processing and
handling of recyclable materials collected citywide by the City ofMiami Solid Waste
Department. When last spoke before you regarding recycling, we did a presentation. I noted
that over the last two years, we collected, on average, about 3,006 tons of recycling per year.
For the first month, since we converted to the automated recycling, we've collected through
October and November 1,768 tons, which puts us on pace for roughly about 10,400 tons of
recycling collected for the fiscal year and that's without any marketing, other than the ad -- the
notices that went out earlier. What RFP (Request for Proposals) does is provide an opportunity
for us to receive 150, 000 for a program that is going to be initiated be called Believe in
Recycling for a Cleaner Miami. One of the additional benefits of this proposed professional
service agreement is that right now under our contract with WSI (Waster Services, Inc) for these
materials, we're being paid gross $11.69 per ton. Under this proposal before you, we will be
collecting $41 a ton for the same material. In partnering with Waste Management, this also
presents an opportunity for us to expand some of our recycling and green efforts. We've talked
about the establishment of a recycle bank so that residents, when we recycle more and more,
they're eligible to get coupons for discounts at Starbucks, Dicks Sporting Goods store; as well as,
we've talked about in partnering with Waste Management with collection of household hazardous
materials, such as paints, such as pesticides, and things of that nature. And also in e-electronics,
collection of old computers, softwares, because sometimes when we think we can just throw some
-- dispose of it, you actually -- if you're not sure what you're doing, your information would be on
the hard drive and people can go and steal your data and your information. So those are some
of the things that this creates an opportunity for us to explore. Additionally, with the 150, 000,
the Manager has asked that we come back to you with a comprehensive marketing program or
plan to encourage additional recycling. While we're off to a good start, there are some things
that we can do in working with the NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) offices and working
with other stakeholders, HOAs (Home Owners Associations), to encourage recycling citywide.
One initiative that the Manager and ACM (Assistant City Manager) Cabrera and Commissioner
Spence -Jones has talked about is establishing a green team. What the green team would do is go
out door to door in certain areas where we can do door hangers. Also, since we're getting such
a great price on these recyclables, actually help in collecting some of the recyclables that are
laid out in the right-of-way. I also had an opportunity to talk with the Public Works director, and
one of the things that we can incorporate as part of this training is that we can -- they will train
-- and we can utilize these temps that we will hire to help with some of the tree trimmings, where
they can build a skill to kind of supplement some of the things that are currently being done by
the Public Works Department. So all in all, having said all that, I would strongly recommend,
through the Manager, that you accept this proposed professional services agreement.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Carswell. Coming back to this Commission, is there a motion?
Vice Chair Sarnoff. So moved, with pleasure.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair, second by Commissioner Spence -Jones. I just want to
say that -- I want to commend, you know, Commissioner Sarnoff I want to commend Mr.
Carswell for implementing this program, to begin with. That was -- it was a large investment.
And think, whenever you make a large investment, particularly in these tough times, there's
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
always a fear that it's not going to work out, you're not going to get return on your investment, et
cetera. And it seems like we're getting 300 percent more than what we anticipated and we've
done very little to promote it, other than actually putting out the canisters themselves, which I
think is almost like a self -promotion. I mean, I remember the first -- I was telling you the first
time when I saw it. The first week that it got picked up in my neighborhood, they were
everywhere. I mean, every single one was out, which is completely different from the way it was
before where many cases, you didn't even -- you know, many people didn't have a bin, much less
putting out the bin. So, you know, I think the fact that, you know, we're seeing such an enormous
volume of recycling, plus getting this deal, is just a testament to taking a chance to leadership
and to innovation. So congratulations to you.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Keith did a great job, by the way. Keith --
Mr. Carswell: Thankyou.
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- kind of razzle-dazzled me with this 'cause there was never a number and
there was never a circumstance Keith couldn't respond.
Mr. Carswell: Thankyou.
Chair Suarez: It's been moved and seconded.
Commissioner Gort: Yes.
Chair Suarez: All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mr. Carswell: Thank you. Wanted to note -- the Clerk wanted to note on the record that the
resolution was amended to include the establishment of a special revenue account entitled
Believe in Recycling for a Cleaner Miami. "And at next Commission meeting, we'll be coming to
you with the comprehensive plan for actual allocation of the funds.
Commissioner Gort: Question also, this green team you're putting together, I hope it will help
clean up some of the streets in our neighborhoods.
Mr. Carswell: Yes.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): That's the intent. It'll be citywide.
Commissioner Gort: There's a lot of recycling on the streets.
Mr. Martinez: And it'll pay for itself because we're going to get money for the -- what we pick
up, and kids and stuff will have a second chance at doing something productive.
Commissioner Gort: Super. Thankyou.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: One -- I just wanted to just add, one of the main objectives is we
all have illegal dumping sites in our areas and they continue to grow --
Commissioner Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- and it's the same sites over and over again. So the whole idea
of this green team was to really target those illegally -- those areas throughout the whole City,
not one particular district; to make sure that team goes in and make sure -- not only are they
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.27
12-01340
Department of Capital
Improvements
Program
separating the trash from the recyclable items, but at the same time if -- you know, I think one --
somebody on the dais has mentioned about the holes that need to be filled with the trees, they
also become that group that makes sure the trees go in, they fill the holes. So their main focus is
to address the recyclable items and then putting green in those areas so -- and that's their focus.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you.
Mr. Carswell: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Danie: So that is as amended, right?
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Gort: Yes.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING A GRANT TO THE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE,
INC. D/B/A MIAMI MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND PLANETARIUM ("MMOS"), TO
SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW SCIENCE MUSEUM AND
PLANETARIUM FACILITY IN THE CITY OF MIAMI-OWNED BICENTENNIAL
PARK, IN AN AMOUNT UP TO $548,375; ALLOCATING SAID FUNDS FROM
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. B-78502A, ENTITLED "MUSEUM
OF SCIENCE -DEVELOPMENT IN BICENTENNIAL PARK"; AUTHORIZING
THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AMENDMENT NUMBER 3 TO THE
EXISTING PROJECT CO-OPERATION AGREEMENT, AS AMENDED, WITH
MMOS, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, TO INCREASE THE
FUNDING UNDER THE GRANT AGREEMENT FROM AN AMOUNT OF
$2,151,625 TO AN AMOUNT UP TO $2,700,000, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
12-01340 Summary Form.pdf
12-01340 Legislation.pdf
12-01340 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
RE.28
12-01364
Department of Public
Facilities
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT ("AGREEMENT), IN SUBSTANTIALLY
THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI AND JESUS
RAMIREZ AND KATHY RIVERA, FOR THE ACQUISITION OF THE
PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1330 SOUTHWEST 12TH AVENUE, MIAMI,
FLORIDA ("PROPERTY"), AS LEGALLY DESCRIBED IN THE AGREEMENT,
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
IN CONNECTION WITH THE EXPANSION OF THE COMMUNITY CENTER,
FOR A TOTAL PURCHASE PRICE OF TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY
THOUSAND DOLLARS ($270,000), AND TO FINALIZE THE TRANSACTION
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT; ALLOCATING
FUNDS, AT A TOTAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED THREE HUNDRED
THOUSAND DOLLARS ($300,000) FROM THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
BLOCK GRANT PREVIOUS YEARS CLOSE OUT FUNDS, APPROPRIATED
TO COVER THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACQUISITION OF THE
PROPERTY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SURVEYS,
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTS, AND TITLE INSURANCE; FURTHER
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ANY NECESSARY
DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, TO
ACCOMPLISH THE ACQUISITION OF THE PROPERTY.
12-01364 Summary Form.pdf
12-01364 Legislation.pdf
12-01364 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Carollo
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Suarez and Spence -Jones
R-12-0494
Vice Chair Sarnofff. All right. RE.20 -- no, RE.25's deferred.
Commissioner Carollo: 27.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. 27, right.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, actually -- no, 27, I think --
Vice Chair Sarnofff. 26 is still on, isn't it?
Commissioner Carollo: I think 26, we have a time certain because Commissioner Spence -Jones
wanted to be present.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. All right, RE.27 is deferred. RE.28.
Henry Torre: Good morning. Henry Torre, director of Public Facilities. RE.28 is a resolution
authorizing the City Manager to execute a purchase and sale agreement between the City of
Miami and Jesus Ramirez and Kathy Rivera, for the acquisition of property located at 1330
Southwest 12th Avenue, in connection with the expansion of the Little Havana Community
Center, for a total purchase price of 270, 000, and to finalize the transaction in accordance with
the terms of the agreement; further allocating a total amount of not to exceed $300, 000 from
Community Development Block Grant funds for -- appropriated to cover the costs associated
with the acquisition of the property, including but not limited to surveys, environmental reports,
and title insurance.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. All right.
Commissioner Carollo: Move it. Discussion.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Is there a motion? We have a motion by Commissioner Carollo.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.29
12-01380
Department of Capital
Improvements
Program
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Vice Chair Sarnoff And a second by Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Carollo, you're
recognized for the record.
Commissioner Carollo: You know, just real brief I just want to say, just like you're wanting to
expand park space, we also want to expand park space, playground, community centers. So
these are federal fundings [sic], andl think it's a very good acquisition. Thank you.
Vice Chair Sarnoff That's a great use of money. I agree. All right, any further discussion? All
in favor, then, please signify by saying iiye. "
Vice Chair Sarnoff Okay.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), RESCINDING THE AWARD TO C&W PIPELINE, INC.,
PURSUANT TO INVITATION TO BID ("ITB") NO. 11-12-041, AWARDING THE
BID TO MAGGOLC, INC., THE NEXT LOWEST RESPONSIVE AND
RESPONSIBLE BIDDER, FOR THE NORTHWEST 8TH STREET AND
NORTHWEST 14TH COURT ROADWAY AND DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS
PROJECT, B-30745 AND B-30746, IN THE AMOUNT OF $425,895.25, FOR
THE SCOPE OF WORK, PLUS A TEN PERCENT (10%) OWNER
CONTINGENCY AMOUNT OF $42,589.52 AND AN ADDITIONAL OWNERS
CONTINGENCY AMOUNT OF $57,411, FOR A TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED
AWARD VALUE OF $525,895.77; ALLOCATING FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF
$367,782.74, FROM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. B-30745 AND
FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $158,113.03, FROM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT
PROJECT NO. B-30746; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE
A CONTRACT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, CONSISTING
OF THE ITB DOCUMENTS AND ATTACHMENTS, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
12-01380 Summary Form.pdf
12-01380 Memo - Recommendation ofAward.pdf
12-01380 Legislation.pdf
12-01380 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0495
Vice Chair Sarnoff RE.29.
Mark Spanioli: Mark Spanioli, director of CIP (Capital Improvements Program). RE.29 is a
resolution rescinding a previous award to C&W Pipeline for Northwest 8th Street and Northwest
14th Court Roadway and Drainage project and awarding it to bid -- to the next bidder, Maggolc,
for the amount of $525, 895. What happened was the previous award to the contractor, the
contractor was unable to provide the performance and payment bond for this project, so we were
required to go to the next bidder. The next bidder was able to reduce the price to the lowest bid
price.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.30
12-01334
Department of Capital
Improvements
Program
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair, second by Commissioner Gort. All in favor, signift by
saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Commissioner Gort: Discussion.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE CITY OF MIAMI'S ("CITY'S") 2012-2013
MULTI -YEAR CAPITAL PLAN ("PLAN"), ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED,
AS REQUIRED BY SECTION 163.3177, FLORIDA STATUTES (2012), AND
PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 18/ARTICLE IX/DIVISIONS 1 AND 2 OF THE
CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED
"FINANCE/FINANCIAL POLICIES/ANTI-DEFICIENCY ACT/FINANCIAL
INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES," TO SET FORTH THE CITY'S FISCAL NEEDS FOR
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS, SUBJECT TO AN ANNUAL PLAN REVIEW, TO
DETERMINE PROJECT PRIORITIES AND TO MODIFY FUNDING
ALLOCATIONS AS NECESSARY.
12-01334 Summary Form.pdf
12-01334 Legislation.pdf
12-01334 Exhibit 1.pdf
12-01334-Submittal-Capital Improvements Plan 2012 2013.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Vice Chair Sarnoff, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-12-0498
Chair Suarez: RE.29. Oh, we (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Dwight S. Danie (City Clerk): RE.30, yes.
Chair Suarez: -- RE.29, my apologies. RE.30.
Mark Spanioli: Good morning, Commissioners, again. Mark Spanioli, CIP (Capital
Improvements Program) director. RE.30 is approving the City of Miami's 2012-2013 multiyear
capital improvement plan. What I passed out for you today is just a quick summary of the plan
'cause it is a rather large document. Just for reference, the plan is a requirement of state statutes
and our financial integrity ordinance that we do have an approved plan. The plan, as it stands
now, is basically an update to the 2011-2012 plan. It provides a snapshot of what's ongoing in
terms of our projects and what's upcoming for future projects for the next five years. The plan
outlines specific mission items, provide excellent recreational, educational and cultural
programs; restore, maintain and beautify residential and urban infrastructure; provide
transportation systems for future growth; provide excellent public safety and improve business
and service delivery processes throughout the city. Outlined in your summary is some of the
highlighted projects that we recently completed -- andl will admit that the Melreese golf training
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.31
12-01385
District 2-
Commissioner Marc
David Sarnoff
center is almost complete, so we put it in a little prematurely -- as well as some upcoming project
highlights that we think are great projects that are up and coming in the future. For reference,
we have over 360 active and future projects in the plan, and the total project value for the
six year plan is $568 million. We have no new appropriations included in the capital plan. As I
said, it is just a snapshot of our current and ongoing projects, as well as future planned projects.
As you all know, we regularly have capital appropriations on a monthly to bimonthly basis, and
at those times, we generally take up new appropriations. As we move into the future, I'd like to
just announce that we are going to be working at planning our projects for the next five years in
a more holistic approach. We're going to be looking at transportation plans, waterfront plans,
facilities plans, parks plans, and actually program them very carefully over the next five years
and identin, funding for them so we can have a long-term strategy for those projects. That'll be
in next year's plan that we will have ready for November. If you have any questions, I'm happy
to entertain them.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. You want to entertain a motion first, or do you want to just have
discussion before?
Commissioner Carollo: I --
Commissioner Gort: Funding.
Commissioner Carollo: -- don't know ifI should tie it into my discussion item or not with
regards to the process, and you know -- I think I'll leave it for my discussion item.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Is there a motion on RE.30?
Commissioner Carollo: So move.
Chair Suarez: Moved by Commissioner Carollo. Is there a second?
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by the Vice Chair. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mr. Spanioli: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION
[OPPOSING/SUPPORTING] ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVALS REQUEST TO THE
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ("FDOT") TO CLOSE THE
NORTH BOUND LANES OF BISCAYNE BOULEVARD FROM THE CHOPIN
PLAZA TO NORTHEAST 6TH STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FOR A
TWO -WEEKEND EVENT ON MARCH 15, 2013 THROUGH MARCH 17, 2013
AND MARCH 22, 2013 THROUGH MARCH 24, 2013; DIRECTING THE CITY
CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO FDOT.
12-01385 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Carollo and Suarez
Noes: 1 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
Chair Suarez: Okay, is the -- Ultra, are you guys ready? Yeah. Let's go. That was for a time
certain of 4: 30; it's 4: 40. We're moving along.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Okay. Mr. Chair.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. I brought this back because a tug-of-war downtown over Biscayne
Boulevard is destined to intensify unless we redefine the future ofMiami's central lifeline. The
Ultra Music Festival aims to halt northbound boulevard traffic for 79 consecutive hours, two
weekends in a row. No federal highway is geared to act in a single 15-stretch block as the
driveway that feeds downtown, a string of new condos, Bayfront Park, American Airlines Arena,
Bayside Marketplace, global seaport that carries both freight and the nation's total largest cruise
passengers, together with two vast Adrienne Arsht performance halls. The Florida East Coast
Railway will reactivate service into Port Miami, halting daily traffic for approximately two trains
before closings a day. Downtown has suddenly become both a youth and active residential
center and a 24-hour nightlife has blossomed, all using Biscayne Boulevard to make entry and
exit. The problem: there's just one Biscayne Boulevard, and it's not only a federal highway that's
also downtown's lifeline; it's an increasing clogged artery. You don't need a cardiologist to tell
you that so much traffic being pushed into its main artery, Miami is heading for a heart attack.
New condos arose downtown not alone caused the problems, but taken together, there's a critical
traffic mass. Downtown is already hurting. As offices age and become harder to reach,
downtown becomes relatively less attractive for office tenants, forcing people onto Biscayne
Boulevard. Now, yesterday I received a traffic analysis for a hearing today. And Mr. Manager, I
can't believe you would hold this back from me for a meeting today.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Commissioner, I didn't hold anything back. I haven't even
seen it. I haven't received it. And sent you a reply saying have not seen it.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Well, has anybody from the Administration seen this?
Mr. Martinez: I don't know.
Nzeribe Ihekwaba: Again, Zerry Ihekwaba, Public Works director. Mr. Commissioner, I
receivedl believe the same document at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon for the first time.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Well -- I mean, the little analysis I was able to do -- and I'm not a traffic
engineer, but I would suspect the people that did this may not be traffic engineers either because
based on my read of this, they would be considering Biscayne Boulevard to have an A'traffic
rating. And the last time I looked, Mr. Manager, Biscayne Boulevard's traffic rating was F.. "
Correct me if I'm wrong.
Mr. Martinez: I don't think there's A'anywhere in Dade County.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Okay. But I think you would agree with me, as you were the District 6
secretary, last -- when you were here, it was an 1 'bkay. So, somehow, Kimberly -Horn [sic] has
fixed everything by just rerouting traffic to 2nd. And, you know, this is a quality of life issue.
This Commission is going to do what this Commission is going to do. I could very well pull the
five-day rule 'cause I would think that you're predicating much of your decision, Mr.
Commissioners and Madam Commissioner, on this document, which says traffic won't be a
problem; we have it all solved. If that's the case, we should continue to use their traffic plan
because it will solve traffic in Miami forever. The problem is that Ultra Music Festival, which is
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
now aiming for two weekends in a row, will close northbound traffic completely for the Friday
before each weekend. I'm going to say, rightfully or wrongfully, that it is going to compete with
the World Baseball Classic. Whether that works out or not, we'll find out readily. It is going to
close down the park for a little over a month. And it's a quality of life issue, but it's also a
business issue because you're not going to have law firms that are going to continue to send their
people home on Friday; you're not going to have depositions occurring. You've heard from many
of the stakeholders downtown. And that's not to say that money -- you know, that magic money
we have in Miami -- that, suddenly, the person that's going to run the event suddenly puts money
in someone's coffers and that satisfies that person's need for that moment. But what it doesn't do,
it doesn't take care of the office buildings that are filled with businesses, filled with people that
will never reach, never see that money. Not that that money would change a thing to them,
'cause I don't know whether it would or it wouldn't, but I think you'd all acknowledge, candidly,
that money will never receive by a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) firm, it will never be
received by a law firm, it will never be received by a doctor's office. Andl think you're at the
critical mass and at the critical statement. And by the way, what I read from? Not my notes.
Not my statements. It was Michael Lewis' Miami Today last editorial regarding Ultra and
regarding Biscayne Boulevard. And hope Michael Lewis is listening and reading this, because
I'm going to send Michael Lewis a copy of the draft traffic report so that he could do his own
technical review of this and he can learn that according to Kimberly -Horn [sic], really, Biscayne
Boulevard is A -rated. And he must be imagining most of this traffic. He must be imagining most
of its congestion because, according to Kimberly -Horn [sic], it can all be worked out with just
two traffic changes. I just put this to you as Commissioners. I am the Commissioner of the
district. I am not speaking on behalf of the DDA (Downtown Development Authority). I was
once the chair of the Bayfront Park. I do understand Commissioner Carollo's position. I've been
there before. I've wanted to make money for that as well. But there is a critical mass and a
critical stage happening. This is an event that you all cross your fingers for and you hope
beyond hope it all goes well. I know what my vote will be because there is no way you can justify
or satisfy me that this is going to be a safe and secure event. I leave this to each one of you for
your own conscience, and that is, I hope you get through this event safely, I hope you get through
this event well, andl hope there will still be a downtown element that wants to be downtown
because I think you will see a great flight to Brickell, equally my district, but that part of
downtown is developing extremely well andl think this event could do some permanent damage
there. Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Who's next?
Commissioner Carollo: I think you have --
Chair Suarez: Mr. May.
Brian May: Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission, Commissioner Sarnoff. First of all,
Brian May, representing Ultra Music Fest. I guess I should start by saying, we certainly had
testimony at your meeting here about a month ago with regard to a number of issues that were --
you know, that dealt with some of the disruptions that do occur of an event this size. I think we
should all just be mindful, this is an event that generates -- you know, on one weekend, it will
bring in about 160,000 people to the community, and it does have its challenges. It does have its
disruptions, but it also has a tremendous economic benefit. And we have heard testimony over
and over again from downtown restaurants, businesses, clubs that it's something that they all --
quite frankly, we had testimony at the DDA that this was their best weekend of the year. So there
are benefits to the event. It is the largest single event of its kind on the planet. It is a huge draw
and a huge branding issue for Miami across the globe, particularly with a younger set of tourists
and visitors. But that being said, it does present it [sic] challenges, right. It's a huge event.
There's a lot that goes on. There's a lot that goes into it. And we heard issues of trash removal,
of making sure that the crowds are under control, pedestrian ingress and egress to the event;
obviously, the traffic flow, which quite frankly, this year we believe this traffic plan, which is a
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draft, okay, which has been also distributed to most of the downtown constituents that have
registered complaints about it -- and I'm going to just give you a list of folks that we have met
with in between your last meeting and this meeting. We did meet with the Miami Center. We met
with the Hotel InterContinental, with 50 Biscayne, with Vizcayne, with 900 Biscayne, 200 South
Biscayne, Bayside Marketplace, 100 Biscayne; and we have had discussions with the Miami
Heat, as well as the Port ofMiami, and as well as the Miami Parking Authority. All of their
issues really boil down to, but for the traffic and the noise, a coordinated effort between the
festival and the constituents downtown to bring on more manpower, more police power, and
really, more resources to deal with the disruptions, and we think we can do that and we think we
can do it well. We have met with the InterContinental and specifically talked through a number
of the issues surrounding the World Baseball Classic that takes place on the proposed first
weekend. Their issues are -- largely relate to the port-o johns that were basically up against
them last year. We have -- working on alternative plan to try to move the great majority of those.
They also had significant issues with the ingress and egress of bus traffic coming in and out of
the InterContinental. We've assured them that we will provide them all the resources from an
off -duty police and a traffic standpoint to deal with that. We've also dealt with the Miami Center
on all of those very same issues. We have ongoing conversations with Bayside to actually try to
incorporate them more into the festival. Actually, try to provide them some programming so that
they can enjoy more of the benefits from the crowd. But at the end of the day, the traffic plan is
really why we're here today because what we seek is, at the very least, a conditional approval
from this Commission for us to move forward and pursue the draft traffic plan that we have
before you, which in essence, does take the southbound lanes from Northeast 4th Street all the
way down to 1st Street -- actually, 2nd Street and makes them one-way going north. Last year
those -- that southbound lane was two-way traffic, so people going north who were trying to
make a left into downtown were basically clogging up traffic, backing it up all the way around
over by Epic and into that area. This traffic plan creates much more lane and flow going
forward -- going north in the southbound lanes and actually will, for instance, allow the bus
traffic coming out of -- for the World Baseball Classic to come out of the InterContinental, head
north, okay, and actually be able to utilize those streets going east and west to get over to the
stadium. So we're going to work through that with the InterContinental, with the Miami Center
to make sure that they have -- especially the Miami Center -- proper ingress and egress as it
relates to both Fridays during the event weekends. In essence, what this traffic plan does, it
creates much more of a loop, much more flow, much more capacity to move people in one
direction or the other, which really wasn't there last year. And with that, I'm happy to answer
any questions. But again, what we would like today -- to see is a -- is an approval, even if that is
conditioned upon the police department sign -off and the Manager's sign -off which we would
have to have anyway before going to FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) for the
permit to close the northbound lanes, and also conditioned upon working with our neighbors
and our constituents downtown to get -- to make sure that everybody's on board, which again, we
had to do last year. In order to get that permit, it was a requirement, so it will be this year.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Mr. May: And we're happy to answer any questions.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A few things. And Mr. May, you know me; I
tell it how it is. You know, I hear Commissioner Sarnoff mentioning -- and it is a draft -- but him
receiving the traffic plans, survey yesterday?
Vice Chair Sarnoff At 5 o'clock.
Commissioner Carollo: You know more than I do; I haven't even seen it yet. So I have issues
with that because, in all fairness, I think should have gotten a copy too. As a matter of fact --
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andl understand it's draft. It's not a final copy, but you know, I think, you know, we should have
all received one or at least, you know, been informed that there's one, in case we wanted to see
one. Now, with that said -- and you're -- and you know what, I -- you know, as the -- I don't
know if I'm the founder of five-day rule or what's the right way of saying it. But sponsor of the
five-day rule, you know, I don't take that very lightly. With that said, I attended a DDA meeting
that you had with regards to Ultra. And obviously, I was here at the last Commission meeting
when the people came forward to speak up whether in favor or against Ultra. Actually, I was
surprised. I actually thought there was more -- there was going to be more of a outcry. There
was basically three, possibly four, individuals or persons that represented, you know, buildings
that stated that this would affect them. Out of those three or four, it appear like all of them, with
the exception of one, could make some type of accommodation or come to -- or could come to
some agreement with Ultra. My first question, Mr. May, have you reached out to those three or
four people? I don't have their names right here, but I could go to my office and --
Mr. May: Absolutely, yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. And I'm talking about the gentleman from the InterContinental.
There was two other buildings that had representatives. I don't -- and don't quite recall the
fourth. Have you reached out to them?
Mr. May: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Have -- you've come to some agreement that is reasonable and adequate
to them?
Mr. May: Yes. We have basically -- so you understand, we have committed that either we will
provide resources monetarily or we will provide resources that we can gather from the economies
of scale of the event for security, for clean up, for all those, what I would call, disruption issues.
We do have to sit down with everybody because, in all honesty -- I apologize for not getting
everybody the traffic study, but we didn't get it till yesterday morning, and what you have before
you is just the summary. The full plan is 499 pages long. So, as you might imagine, it took a
very considerable amount of time to put that together by Kimley-Horn. It's not a Mickey Mouse
study. It's a very serious study. It has looked at things six ways to Sunday and tried to optimize
a plan so it would be least disruptive to everybody. But the answer is yes, we have met with
everybody. We have a tentative agreement, but I will not stand here and tell you that we do not
have work to do with each one of those constituents. We have to finalize whether we are going to
be providing security or we are reimbursing them. We have to finalize, for instance, with Bayside
or -- are we going to provide them programming? Is there a certain part of Bayside that could
be actually part of the village? Those are issues that we have to work through. We're just -- we
just haven't had time to work through all those details.
Commissioner Carollo: And I'll go a step further. Now I'll propose the same with Bayfront Park
Management Trust.
Mr. May: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: 'Cause we did our approval based on certain terms and conditions --
Mr. May: Absolutely, yes.
Commissioner Carollo: -- which we still have not concluded.
Mr. May: Absolutely. But we -- I think -- I'm sorry.
Commissioner Carollo: And let me go back a little bit on history. I remember last year when
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Ultra first came to the Bayfront Park Management Trust, the original plan -- and I think you all
knew flat out -- we denied, and it was going to be closure for two, three weeks. I forgot what it
was, but it was flat out denied. And, you know, we worked through a lot of obstacles and we
made it work.
Mr. May: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: As far as the traffic plan, keep in mind, we had Ultra for three days.
And during those three days, we also had Disney on Ice in the American Airlines Arena; we also
had Cavalia at Bicentennial Park; and then we also had the Arsht Center having shows. The
Arsht Center and the DDA came forward and said, Listen, the traffic and nothing with Ultra
really affected us. And if I'm saying something that's incorrect, then, you know, please correct
me or -- you know. So I guess to a certain degree, you know, I have seen what Ultra has done
with regards to traffic studies and the traffic plan 'cause last year, with all those shows, with all
those events happening at the same time, I really did not hear that outcry. As a matter offact, I
heard a lot of people complimenting us and speaking on how did you all have so many events in
downtown Miami and it relatively flowed smoothly. Now, was it perfect? No. It's -- you know,
nothing's ever perfect. But I think this year they've even tried to make it even better. So I'm
seeing that, Commissioner Sarnoff. You know, as far as the park closure, it is my understanding,
the Bayfront Park will not be closed for a month due to this event. Am I incorrect or --?
Mr. May: You will have to talk to the Park director about that. I don't know specifically how
many days.
Commissioner Carollo: As a matter offact, I see our executive director, and if he could come --
please come forward, I want to make sure, because that was not what --
Tim Schmand: Tim Schmand, Bayfront Park, 301 North Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida.
In my conversations with the producers of the events, they have warranted to me that certain
parts of the park will be opened on the days that events are not taking place: the children's area,
places for people to walk their dogs, and of course, nearest to my heart, a place to do yoga. So
Ray? So we have a commitment that it won't be closed for a month.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
Mr. Schmand: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: And then I want to speak about the financial impact it will have to our
City. Last year there was an impact study done. Mr. May, if you could please come up, please.
Last year there was an impact study done on the impact of the Ultra. Is that correct?
Mr. May: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Do you recall what was the number or what was the report stated as
impact to the area?
Mr. May: Is that $79 million was the overall number.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So it goes -- it substantiate what we also saw that -- at that DDA
meeting; and speaking with some of the stakeholders, some are in -- very much in favor of it.
Mr. May: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: So with that said -- and it does have a big impact on the revenues for
Bayfront Park. With that said, I mean, I'm comfortable moving forward with this, subject to the
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conditions that you meet with any other stakeholders or the stakeholders and come up with
something that is reasonable to them where any type of problems that they may have could be
mitigated and also, once again, subject to the terms and conditions of Bayftont Park
Management Trust. So I'd be willing to support the item.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Could l just say two things, Mr. Chair?
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Just a little bit of rebuttal. Financial impact, I would suggest to you it is
displacement and not enhancement because you have a significant event happening on that time
frame. Matter of fact, 98 percent of the InterContinental is booked by the World Baseball
Classic, so it isn't like you're enhancing. In regard to traffic, I'll give you my personal
experience, 'cause I wanted to see how it went last year. So as I'm coming up I-95 to go to the
Marquis, after an hour and a half of trying to get through downtown, I gave up and went home.
So if that's acceptable level of traffic, as a participant in that traffic, I'd have to tell you, I don't
think that works. And I'm not going to five-day rule this because I don't believe in the five-day
rule, honestly, but that's okay. You've proved it worked great once. So I'm not going to five-day
rule this. I'm just going to say to you all, you've been very, very lucky in Ultra. I happen to have
an office in the Miami Center. We average about 30 people a day either urinating, defecating, or
throwing up in our building, in the traffic garage. It's all captured on video. If you want to see
it, we have it for you. I surmise that they're going to somehow get somebody to clean that up and
that'll be paid and that satisfies somehow. About 70 to 80 percent of these kids are on some sort
of mind -altering drug. You've been very, very lucky. You put two of these weekends together in a
row; I don't think you're going to be so lucky, but that's for each Commissioner's conscience. If
money's that important to you, you'll vote the way you're going to vote.
Chair Suarez: Commissioner Gort. Interesting. First of all, I think the last time we spoke about
this, there were the stakeholders -- three or four stakeholders were here and they were very
vociferous. I'm surprised that they're not here today, andl don't know why exactly or not. I
would think andl would have hoped that they could have been here to corroborate or to negate
anything that Mr. May has said with reference to the progress that they have supposedly made.
So that's just something that -- you know, I'm not sure why they're not here. So that's number
one. Number two, you know, I kind of -- the last part of what you just said, Commissioner
Sarnoff, I get it. You know, I think -- I do think that Ultra is a big worldwide event. I do think it's
something that is -- that puts the City ofMiami on the map, so to speak. You know, I don't know
-- it's such a hard decision for me because it's your district and so you're the one that feels,
intimately, the impacts of whatever it is, just like in your district, Commissioner, and my district.
It's -- some ways, it's easier for me because it doesn't impact my district to make a decision
because the economic impact could flow to, you know, residents of my district, et cetera. But
we've also been very, very deferential to district Commissioners on issues that intimately affect
their district. So it's really a tough place to be. I hope, you know, when you're talking about at
the end of having it for two weekends, you know, whether that could be like the tipping point for
something negative happening. You know, obviously, that's not something that would be good
for the City. So, you know, I feel like I'm in a tough position. I don't know, you know, exactly
what to do in this circumstance. But I'd like to hear what Commissioner Gort has to say. Andl
know this doesn't have to be -- I think the event is in March, correct?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Chair Suarez: So I don't think -- I don't know that we have to do anything right this moment, but
do you -- is there anything that would persuade you that there could be some significant progress
made between now and January 10? I mean, is there conditions that you can articulate that
might assuage your concerns. Say for example, if the interested parties came before us and said,
look, we feel reasonably confident that the measures that we have agreed to with Ultra would
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resolve at least our problems, then you have more time also to analyze that traffic study, which I
don't even have either, by the way. You don't have it. You just got it. And maybe talk to other --
like, you know, the police department; maybe also talk to Public Works or any other department.
We do have a traffic engineer on staff that you might want to talk to and see whether the traffic
plan that's being advanced is feasible, makes any sense; whether it will work; whether it will not
work.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Effectively, here's what happens, Commissioner -- Mr. Chair. The Miami
Center closes two Fridays, so businesses that are still expected to pay rent have now two days
they have got to close their offices. You might say that's no big deal. Tell that to the businesses.
Two Hundred Biscayne will effectively close. Again, you might say what's the big deal? It's just
two days. Tell that to the businesses. Those are the two most effective office buildings. Tibor
Hollo's building will be significantly impacted. What Michael Lewis is saying is really true in a
manner of speaking. These are slightly older buildings that are majestic in their own way
because they were built at a time when probably building costs were a little bit less, but they're a
little bit aged and, in comparison to Brickell, they're not quite deriving the rents that Brickell
does. If you give people another reason to say you know what, I'm not going to deal with Ultra,
I'm not going to deal with this second weekend, I'm not -- I'm being asked to be shut down two
days by the City ofMiami. Those two buildings are going to suffer. And what's going to happen
is the $31 a square foot they think they're worth is going to go down to $25 a square foot. And
you might say that's business development in Miami. But is that the way you want your city to
develop? And l'm from New Orleans, and I'm familiar with the Jazz Festival and I'm also
familiar with Mardi Gras. But the Jazz Festival occurs on the fairgrounds of New Orleans, a
solid, probably seven miles from downtown New Orleans, very -- you know, everybody goes
there. Jimmy Morales is a huge fan of it. Ray Aberdeen, sometimes we see each other there.
And it's a great place to sort of let loose. I don't deny that these events don't have a certain
place, andl don't deny one man's Jazz Fest should be another man's Ultra, but they don't occur
downtown. And the other thing I'd say to you is, if it's Mardi Gras -- and that does occur, on
occasion, downtown -- that parade lasts an hour, an hour and a half. So you're really putting
Miami in a place where very few cities are willing to tread. I hear Mr. May. Mr. May is what I
call the best presenter of any person I've ever met. Anything that seems to be a problem seems to
be a solution. He's very good at that. Money seems to solve everyone's problem. It will solve
the problems of the big office buildings, but it won't solve the problems for the renters. And what
seems like an easy solution today -- when somebody goes to renew their lease, says to
themselves, you know, I couldn't take depositions that day, I didn't go to the office that day, you
know -- And I'm not going to say these are mop -and -pop businesses. Shuns and Bowen is not a
mom-and-pop business. The offices in my -- there are a few, but there are some substantial law
firms in there. There's some substantial accounting firms in there. But I think their rights are
just as -- I think their rights are the same as anyone else, and they will close those two Fridays.
So last year they closed one Friday. To me, it's a balancing act. I balanced andl certainly don't
disturb Ultra coming in because I thought it was just about the tipping point but not quite . Now
you come and you say two weekends. All right, I think you've tipped; just me. Next weekend --
next year it'll be, let's do the month. Well, in that case, you know, you've changed the complexion
of downtown. Look, I know what I have to do as the district Commissioner. Commissioner
Carollo pretty well depicted the DDA board meeting. Jose Goyanes will tell you right here, right
now at Tres, it is the two -- what will be the best weekend of my life. I suspect it will be the best
two weekends of my life. Andl completely understand that. Maybe La Epoca will say this is
great. Maybe they won't 'cause La Epoca -- depending upon the crowd and the ruliness [sic],
it'll depend. I just say to you that I think a weekend is adequate. I think a weekend we can all
live with. It's the second weekend that believe you start at the tipping point, and one man's
tipping point is another man's acceptable. I completely understand that.
Chair Suarez: Can I just chime in a little bit more?
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Sure.
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Chair Suarez: You know -- first of all, a law firm of that magnitude being closed on a Friday,
that should be -- that might persuade us to do it so -- of that size. Having a bunch of lawyers not
working for a day, that's probably a good thing for society. Anyhow, sorry for that digression.
No, what we talked about the last meeting -- andl was trying to -- you know, sometimes I do like
to play it kind of the, you know, real estate lawyer who tries to bring the two sides together, andl
think both sides have articulated very good points. If you hadn't, then I'd -- it'd be easy for me to
make a decision, andl honestly, legitimately feel kind of torn. You know, one of the things that
we talked about at the last meeting was, you know, the possibility of doing this on a pi -- I mean,
we're not like doing this forever. I mean, we're doing this for one year.
Commissioner Carollo: One year.
Chair Suarez: So, you know, we -- and I reminded you of another instance where we took a
chance on a exemption of a noise ordinance that I thought -- I think we all kind of -- part of us
that kind of pinched our nose and said, we don't know how this is going to go and we did it and it
worked out and it was a wonderful event andl don't think there was any complaints and -- So
what I'm trying to get at is maybe with a little bit more time, you can analyze the traffic plan; you
can talk to stakeholders, whether they be large stakeholders or small stakeholders because I
think we all value our stakeholders equally. It doesn't really matter whether they're a big law
firm, whether they're a small mop -and -pop shop. And maybe consider the possibility of doing
this on a one-year trial basis, you know --
Commissioner Carollo: Pilot.
Chair Suarez: As a pilot. And, you know, if it doesn't work out, clearly, we have that experience
and we can look back and say this did not work out and we're not going to do this again. So
that's just -- I would suggest that we defer this for one more meeting.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. I don't know if they can, 'cause I was told that you needed a provisional
okay. Am I wrong or am I right on that?
Mr. May: Listen, we -- I mean, we have to move the process forward. We're starting to submit
the permit to FDOT, and that means that the Manager has to begin his review, the police
department their review, and we have to start building support, okay. But the number -one place,
because of this resolution where we need to start that, is here today. And we understand
because, again, it is a draft traffic study, a draft plan that is subject to change to accommodate
needs from the City, from the stakeholders, from the American Airlines Arena. I've spoken to
Eric Woolworth. They're reviewing it. They know that -- we know that on that second weekend,
there will be basketball games at the Arena, and we're going to have to really work with them
seriously at the northern end of this traffic plan to make sure that people can get in and out of
the Arena and then they're not disrupted to the point that it's a serious problem, but it kind of
starts here. We need a place to start that process, and frankly, a positive start to that process in
order to really get the ball rolling so we can make submission of the permit.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Couple of points. First of all, yes, my intention has always
been that this is going to be a one-year pilot program and we will, you know, once it occurs,
reevaluate and speak to the stakeholders and see what their experiences were before, you know,
we commit to anything the following year. So it definitely will be a one-year pilot program. With
regards to the law firms, I mean, I think we could agree that most attorneys are relatively
educated, maybe not to the level of a CPA. So they read the newspaper. They read different
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articles. They know what's going on. And again, I don't see the outcry on their part. It's for
them to be coming forward and say, Hey, listen, you're going to tear down our business or you're
going to, you know, greatly hinder our --
Vice Chair Sarnoff Let me --
Commissioner Carollo: You understand what I'm saying?
Vice Chair Sarnoff I do. Let me tell you the irony I'm facing. What they tell Mr. May and what
they tell me privately are two different things. And they expect me to represent their interests
without me having to say some of these guys come in front of this City --
Chair Suarez: Right.
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- some of these people are major stakeholders, and they don't expect me to
disclose who they are, and they expect me to do exactly what I'm doing. And, you know, I
listened to what Brian is saying. I mean, I know exactly the position ofMiami Center. I know
exactly the position oflnterContinental. I have not refuted anything he's said because he's been
very careful in what he's said. Andl'm not going to kid you; I think he could come to an
accommodation with them, andl think it involves a great many dead presidents andl think they
would be satisfied because, you know, they candidly said to me, Can you stop this? Andl saidl
can only provide one vote. I can only say what my position is. So I'm going to honor their
request. I'm going to honor what they've said to me. You know, in my heart of hearts, I think I'm
doing the right thing. I think Carollo, in his heart of hearts, thinks he's doing the right thing. I
don't take any animus towards him at all. I completely understand what he's doing. I've been in
his shoes before at the Bayfront Trust.
Commissioner Carollo: Commissioner, I have always said thatl welcome discussion. I mean, I
think this is healthy, you know. And ultimately, what I have seen, especially with this
Commission, is that when we have discussion, especially long discussions -- some taking a lot
longer than most people would think -- something positive comes out of it. Even if it's a little bit
of tweaking here or tweaking there, it actually makes whatever we do better, and most of the time
we actually reach consensus. Andl think we're trying to work that way, you know, where we're
saying, hey, listen, if we approve this, it will be a pilot program; it will be, you know, a leap of
faith. We saw that last year, one weekend it worked. Listen, I had my reservations when they
first came to me also, you know, andl had to weigh everything out. I think there's a lot of
positive. I think, once again, we will be put, you know, in [sic] the map in a positive light. I
mean, listen, I don't know too many events that, out of the blue, Madonna passes by and feels
that she needs to be part of this event, you know. So there's a lot of positive to it, so I guess --
Andl'm also now going under history and I'm saying, listen, it seems like every year they've
actually done what they've, you know, promised to do and they've made it, you know, a better
event where there's less incidents; they deal with the traffic issue. Andl'm saying, you know, in a
pilot program, let's try, you know, one time and see how it goes. If it goes in a negative manner,
I can assure you, I'll be the first one that says no way; this is not happening again, because I
definitely don't want to see the City ofMiami in a negative light. But at the same time, listen, I'll
go a step further. I don't think you're going to see me at the Ultra event. And with that said, I
also realize that this is a diverse community. We're a diverse city. And maybe what I may not
like andl may not attend other people may attend and do like. And as a matter of fact, it's
proven because as soon as tickets go on sale, they sell out. And most of them -- most of the
attendees aren't necessarily even from South Florida or Dade County. I mean, they're actually
coming from all parts of the world to come to this event. So even though I may be biased andl
may not necessarily attend the event, I do realize that if we are, you know, the gateway of the
Americas, if we actually are such a diverse city -- Listen, there's different likes for different
people and we need to accept that, you know. Maybe some people don't like sailing, but we had
a big sailing. Maybe some people don't like sports. Maybe some people don't like the arts, but
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guess what. We have it for everybody. We have it for all likes and, you know, that's what makes
us unique, that's what makes us so diverse. And with that attitude, you know, I think we should
give this a chance.
Commissioner Gort: I know I won't be there.
Chair Suarez: I was about to say the opposite. I'm young enough to be there.
Commissioner Gort: Andl have to -- I have a lot of ignorance towards this event. I've been
stayed away, and I'm not seeing a police report. I have not seen a traffic report. But have to
tell you, although I'm away about ten blocks, I suffer from -- on those Friday. The traffic, it
becomes very bad. And we close the office midday and we're on 10 Brickell. So ifI was to vote
today, my vote would be no.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Well, I think you're going to end up with a two -two tie so --
Commissioner Carollo: A two -two tie will fail then, and then we also have to look at then would
there be any possible litigation 'cause I think tickets have gone on sale.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, that's not a fair statement. This Commission --
Commissioner Carollo: I'm just saying. I'm just putting everything out there for us to --
Chair Suarez: No, no, no.
Commissioner Gort: What was the --?
Chair Suarez: No. Look, I think the issue here is if it looks like it may --
Commissioner Gort: Look --
Chair Suarez: Wait, wait, wait. Let me just say something. If it looks like it may fail, then maybe
what we should do is defer it for a meeting.
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Chair Suarez: You know what I mean? We've got -- it's the 13th. We got till the loth. We got 20
day -- 30 days almost for all the stakeholders, big and small, to get together and see if maybe we
can get buy -in like -- other than, you know, them coming in, getting bought in -- brought into the
whole thing -- or bought into it, as Commissioner Sarnoff would suspect, but --
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Little bias.
Commissioner Carollo: And by the way, saying that also, at the same time, everything that -- at
least what Bayfront Park Management Trust agreed to andl think everything that we have
spoken here has been subject to conditions, you know. Andl even stated earlier that one of the
conditions would be them meeting with all the stakeholders and making sure there's some
reasonable accommodations.
Commissioner Gort: Let me clam my statement, because I think both of you are doing what
you think is right for what you represent. You on the Trust and you need the income for the Trust,
andl understand that. But Commissioner Sarnoff represents his district. That's his districts
[sic] and he's there every day and he talks to the people there every day. So it's a very tough
decision for us. We had a couple of those today. I mean, today is very -- been a very unique day
and, believe me, it is not hard, but I have to listen to the Commiss -- the district Commissioner. I
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
think his input is very important, like it is to you when you have any issues within your district.
Although we might have differences, we respect your opinion because that's your district. That's
what I base my position on, okay.
Chair Suarez: Look, I think we should defer it. I think we should try to -- give them an
opportunity to work --
Commissioner Gort: I don't have any problem. If they can work it out, it's great.
Chair Suarez: I mean, if it dies, then there's no hope for a possible, you know, reconciliation. I
mean, doing it as a one-year, you know, pilot program --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Then let's defer and see where we are in January and take it from
there.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So you have to move to defer it, I guess.
Commissioner Carollo: I make a motion to defer this to the January 10 meeting.
Chair Suarez: Is there a second?
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
Commissioner Carollo: Aye.
Chair Suarez: Aye.
Vice Chair Sarnoff No.
Commissioner Gort: Aye.
Chair Suarez: Commissioner Sarnoff -- I'm sorry. If you can register the Vice Chair as a no,
please. Thank you.
Mr. May: Thank you.
RE.32 RESOLUTION
12-01404
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Attorney ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTINGAMEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
("MOU") BETWEEN THE STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ("STATE"), BRICKELL PLACE PHASE II
MARINAASSOCIATION, INC. ("BPM II"), AND THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY"),
ALLOWING BPM II TO PROCEED WITH THE PERMITTING OF ITS MARINA
CONSTRUCTION IN AN EFFORT TO ALLOW THE CITY AND THE STATE TO
WORK OUT THEIR GLOBAL SUBMERGED LANDS ISSUES; AUTHORIZING
THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE MOU, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORM, AND ANY OTHER NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RE.33
12-01400
FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, TO EFFECTUATE THE
AGREEMENT.
12-01404 Memo - Office of the City Attorney. pdf
12-01404 Legislation.pdf
12-01404 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Vice Chair Sarnoff, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
R-12-0496
Chair Suarez: RE.31.
Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F) 4:30.
Chair Suarez: Oh, I'm sorry, my apologies. I got my -- I don't have my time certains in front of
me. Hold on one second. Yeah, my apologies. RE.32.
Victoria Mendez (Assistant City Attorney): Good morning, Commissioners. This is a resolution
in order to allow the City ofMiami, the State of Florida, and Brickell Place Marina II to enter
into a memo of understanding in order to be able to issue permits to this marina and grant
permission to this marina so that they could build their docks while the City ofMiami and the
State of Florida continue to try and address their submerged lands issues in general in a
comprehensive fashion.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Is there a motion?
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Chair Suarez: Moved by Commissioner Gort, second by the Vice Chair. All in favor, signifi, by
saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
District 1- A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Commissioner ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT THE
Wifredo (Willy) Gort CONVEYANCE TO THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") OF THE UNITS LEGALLY
DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, OF THE
CEDARS POINTE CONDOMINIUM ("PROPERTY") LOCATED AT 1531
NORTHWEST 16TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, IN "AS -IS" AND "WHERE -IS"
CONDITION, FROM BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. AND CHASE HOME
FINANCING, LLC; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO CONVEY, IN
"AS -IS" AND "WHERE -IS" CONDITION AND AT NO COST TO THE CITY,
WITH PARCEL REVERTER PROVISIONS, THE PROPERTY TO KENNETH
ORR, OR TO SUCH LEGAL ENTITY AS HE MAY ESTABLISH FOR SUCH
PURPOSE, FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ELDERLY LOW- AND MODERATE -INCOME
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
INDIVIDUALS, WITH APPLICABLE RESTRICTIONS: (1) PROPERTY MUST
REMAIN AFFORDABLE FOR THE NEXT TWENTY (20) YEARS, (2)
PROPERTY MUST BE USED BY LOW -TO MODERATE -INCOME
INDIVIDUALS, AS DEFINED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, (3) THE REHABILITATION OF THE
PROPERTY MUST COMMENCE WITHIN SIX (6) MONTHS OF THE
CONVEYANCE, AND (4) THE REHABILITATION OF THE PROPERTY MUST
BE COMPLETED WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR (24) MONTHS OF THE
CONVEYANCE; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE ALL THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE
TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSES.
12-01400 Legislation.pdf
12-01400 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Vice Chair Sarnoff, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
R-12-0499
Chair Suarez: Commissioner Gort, you have RE. 33 as an 11 o'clock time certain. Do you -- are
you ready --
Commissioner Gort: Yes.
Chair Suarez: -- to go on that, or do you want to just wait 'til 11?
Commissioner Gort: We're ready to go, yes.
Chair Suarez: All right. Let's take up yours. And Mr. Mayor, I apologize. We still don't have
the fifth member so.
Commissioner Gort: First, I want to thank staff for working very closely. One of the problems
that we've had in the past, we have all these vacant homes and buildings that were abandoned,
and we've had a lot of problem. One of the ones we had major problems was Cedar [sic] Pointe,
which is a condominium project that was built a long time ago, about three years ago, and we
had all kinds of criminal activity there because the people that bought the homes there
abandoned them. The bank took it over. And in discussion with the bank and our attorneys and
CBDGs [sic], we came to an agreement which is in front of you. And I'd like for you to express
what the agreement is. Could you state it, please?
Ninoshka Reyes (Assistant City Attorney): Good morning. The agreement would be for Bank of
America and Chase and City -- the other property owners involved, to transfer and convey the
units at Cedars Pointe to the City ofMiami for a public purpose so that, in turn, the City of
Miami can convey the units to Mr. Kenneth Orr for the purposes of affordable housing for a
20 year period, to be used for low- to moderate -income persons and they must begin
construction for six months and they must complete construction within twenty-four months.
Commissioner Gort: My understanding, the City's being used as a conduit because of the bank.
Ms. Reyes: Correct.
Commissioner Gort: It'll be very difficult for the bank and this gentleman has been dealing for a
long time now, but the -- it was a lot easier to use the City as a conduit to give it -- the
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
restrictions for the use of the property will continue to be for affordable housing, andl have a
great need for that in my community at this time. We have a three hundred and some unit place
that's going to be -- it was sold and they lost the subsidizing it used to have from the federal
government, so we have calls every day people needing to move because automatically their rent
-- a lot of the senior citizens, it's going to be an additional $100 a month beginning January 1 for
the first seven months, and then it's going to go -- continue to go up, and that's something that we
need to -- I need to find homes for these individuals. My understanding is, once they take over
the property, they will be able to develop and have it ready within eight to seven month. So for
that reason, I propose andl move the reso -- the ER [sic] -- the resolution.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. It's been moved by Commissioner Gort. Is there a second?
Vice Chair Sarnoff Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by the Vice Chair. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: It passes unanimously.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you, Bank ofAmerica, for working with us, and thank you all.
Appreciate it. This is teamwork. Thankyou.
Chair Suarez: Mr. Clerk, in terms of the boards and committees --
Commissioner Gort: I'm sorry. You guys want to make any statement?
Chair Suarez: Please approach the microphone.
Commissioner Gort: Here's your chance to say you're lowering your interest rate for borrowing
money.
Kenneth Orr: Hi. I'm Kenny Orr, representing First Miami Development Company. I'd like to
take this time to thank the Commissioner, and I'd like to thank the Law staff legal staff for
working with my law firm, and also a heartfelt thank you to Bank ofAmerica for giving us the
opportunity to help the community. We are committed to commence the project as soon as
possible. We intend to work closely with your office, Commissioner. We do understand the need
for affordable housing in the area. And our commitment not only is to commence the project and
conclude the project within 24 months, but also to reset the standards for quality of rehab in the
area. And we hope that this is a project you can point to for future projects. And we look
forward to working with you and other Commissioners for the same goals. Thank you.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Ms. Reyes: I'd also like to thank Mr. Scott Bertram by name from Bank ofAmerica. It was a
pleasure to work with him and made everything very easy.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Commissioner Gort: Thankyou. That's what teamwork, private sector and public sector
working together. Thankyou.
END OF RESOLUTIONS
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
Todd Hannon (Assistant City Clerk): Now ifI could just get a motion to continue all other board
items.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the --
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: -- Vice Chair, second by Commissioner Gort. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mr. Hannon: Thank you, Commissioners.
BC.1 RESOLUTION
12-01384
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE ARTS AND
ENTERTAINMENT COUNCIL FORATERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Frank Carollo
12-01384Arts CCMemo.pdf
12-01384 Arts Current_Board_Members.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
BC.2 RESOLUTION
12-01172
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE AUDIT ADVISORY
COMMITTEE FOR ATERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
Chairman Francis Suarez
12-01172 Audit CCMemo.pdf
12-01172 Audit Current_Board_Members. pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
BC.3
12-01383
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
RESOLUTION
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION CONFIRMING THE
Clerk APPOINTMENT OF A CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE
CIVILIAN INVESTIGATIVE PANEL FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED
HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
Barbara Gimenez Civilian Investigative Panel
12-01383 CIP CCMemo.pdf
12-01383 CIP Current_Board_Members.pdf
12-01383 CIP Memo and Resumes.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Vice Chair Sarnoff, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
R-12-0502
Chair Suarez: Do you want to go through the boards and committees --
Dwight S. Danie (City Clerk): Sure.
Chair Suarez: -- while we wait on the fifth Commissioner?
Mr. Danie: Yes.
Chair Suarez: Okay?
Mr. Danie: Sure.
Chair Suarez: Let's go.
Commissioner Carollo: Board and committees?
Chair Suarez: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm continuing all mine.
Todd Hannon (Assistant City Clerk): Yes, sir. Good morning, Commissioners. I would like to
start with BC.3. BC.3 is the Civilian Investigative Panel. Mayor Regalado is recommending
Barbara Gimenez as his appointment to the Civilian Investigative Panel for City Commission
consideration and approval.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Chair Suarez: Is there a motion? Motion by Commissioner Gort.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Vice Chair Sarnoff Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by the Vice Chair. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
BC.4 RESOLUTION
12-01367
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY
RELATIONS BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
Etain Elisabeth Connor
(Term ending 6/9/2013)
Benjamin Power
(Term ending 5/13/2013)
12-01367 CRB CCMemo.pdf
12-01367 CRB Current_Board_Members.pdf
12-01367 CRB Memo and Applications.pdf
NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Vice Chair Sarnoff, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
R-12-0503
Todd Hannon (Assistant City Clerk): BC.4, Community Relations Board. Commissioner Gort
will be appointing Etain Elisabeth Connor and Benjamin Power.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Chair Suarez: Moved by Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by the Vice Chair. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
BC.5 RESOLUTION
12-01173
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ON THE
STATUS OF WOMEN FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Chairman Francis Suarez
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
BC.6
12-01181
Vice Chairman Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
12-01173 CSW CCMemo.pdf
12-01173 CSW Current_Board_Members.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
RESOLUTION
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY
TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED
HEREIN.
BC.7
12-01193
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Chairman Francis Suarez
Commissioner Frank Carollo
12-01181 CTAB CCMemo.pdf
12-01181 CTAB Current_Board_Members.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
RESOLUTION
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION CONFIRMING THE
Clerk APPOINTMENTS OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE
DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (DDA) FOR TERMS AS
DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Hank Klein DDA Board of Directors
(Term: 9/1/2012 through 8/31/2016)
Danet Linares DDA Board of Directors
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
(Term: 9/1/2012 through 8/31/2016)
Rolando Montoya DDA Board of Directors
(Term: 9/1/2012 through 8/31/2016)
Julie Grimes DDA Board of Directors
(Term: 9/1/2012 through 8/31/2016)
Sergio Rok DDA Board of Directors
(Unexpired Term: 12/14/2012 through 8/31/2015)
12-01193 DDA CCMemo.pdf
12-01193 DDA Current_Board_Members.pdf
12-01193 DDA Memo and Resolution.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
R-12-0504
Todd Hannon (Assistant City Clerk): BC.7, Downtown Development Authority. Miami City
Commission, its role in this process is to confirm the five appointments made by the Downtown
Development Authority Board. And the Downtown Development Authority Board has nominated
Hank Klein, Danet Linares, Rolando Montoya, Julie Grimes, and Sergio Rok.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Gort. All in favor, signifi, by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: It passes unanimously.
BC.8 RESOLUTION
12-01037
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY
BOARD FOR ATERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
George Cabrera
(Voting Member)
12-01037 EAB CCMemo.pdf
12-01037 EAB Current_Board_Members.pdf
City Manager Johnny Martinez
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
BC.9
12-01182
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
R-12-0505
Todd Hannon (Assistant City Clerk): BC.8, Education Advisory Board. The City Manager
respectfully request that George Cabrera be appointed as a voting member of the Education
Advisory Board, thereby replacing Daniel Yoder on the Education Advisory Board as the City
Manager's one voting member on the board.
Chair Suarez: Is there a motion?
Vice Chair Sarnoff So move.
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair, second by Commissioner Gort. All in favor, signift by
saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
Clerk INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ADVISORY
BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Chairman Francis Suarez
Chairman Francis Suarez
Vice Chairman Marc Sarnoff
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones
AFSCME Local 1907
IAFF
12-01182 EOAB CCMemo.pdf
12-01182 EOAB Current_Board_Members.pdf
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
Todd Hannon (Assistant City Clerk): BC.9, Equal Opportunity Advisory Board. Commission --
You know, we need to hold off on this one. It requires a five five vote, so we will -- we'll go
ahead and continue this item.
BC.10 RESOLUTION
12-01183
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE
FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Richard E. Brodsky Vice Chairman Marc David Sarnoff
Carol Gardner Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones
12-01183 Finance CCMemo.pdf
12-01183 Finance Current_Board_Members.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
R-12-0506
Todd Hannon (Assistant City Clerk): BC.10, Finance Committee. Commissioner Sarnoff will be
appointing Richard E. Brodsky, and Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones will be appointing
Carol Gardner.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. So move.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Gort. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
BC.11 RESOLUTION
11-00997
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE HEALTH FACILITIES
AUTHORITY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Chairman Francis Suarez
Vice Chairman Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
11-00997 Health CCMemo.pdf
11-00997 Health Current_Board_Members.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
BC.12 RESOLUTION
12-01366
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE HOMELAND
DEFENSE/NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT BOND PROGRAM
OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Vice Chairman Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
12-01366 Homeland CCMemo.pdf
12-01366 Homeland Current_Board_Members.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
BC.13 RESOLUTION
12-01382
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE LIBERTY CITY
COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION TRUST FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED
HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Javier Fernandez Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Kay McCants-Hudson Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones
12-01382 Liberty City CCMemo.pdf
12-01382 Liberty City Current_Board_Members.pdf
12-01382 Liberty City Trust Applications.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
R-12-0507
Todd Hannon (Assistant City Clerk): BC.13. BC.13 is the Liberty City Community
Revitalization Trust. Commissioner Spence -Jones will be appointing Javier Fernandez and Kay
McCants-Hudson.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Suarez: Moved by the Vice Chair.
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Gort. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
BC.14 RESOLUTION
12-00834
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE MIAMI SPORTS AND
EXHIBITION AUTHORITY FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
BC.15
12-01043
Office of the City
Clerk
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
12-00834 MSEACCMemo.pdf
12-00834 MSEACurrent_Board_Members.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE PARKS AND
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED
HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Chairman Francis Suarez
Vice Chairman Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
City Manager Johnny Martinez
12-01043 PRAB CCMemo.pdf
12-01043 PRAB Current_Board_Members.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
BC.16 RESOLUTION
12-01363
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT
REVIEW BOARD (UDRB) FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
BC.17
12-01362
Office of the City
Clerk
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Chairman Francis Suarez
Chairman Francis Suarez
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
12-01363 UDRB CCMemo.pdf
12-01363 UDRB Current_Board_Members.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE WATERFRONT
City ofMiami Page 120 Printed on 1/7/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
12-01362 WAB CCMemo.pdf
12-01362 WAB Current_Board_Members.pdf
NOMINATED BY:
Chairman Francis Suarez
Chairman Francis Suarez
Vice Chairman Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
END OF BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
BUDGET
BI.1 BUDGET DISCUSSION ITEM
12-01338
Office of Management STATUS (SEC.18-542(b) CITY CODE)
and Budget I. 2012-2013 BUDGET
II. PROPOSED 2013-2014 BUDGET
12-01338 Summary Form.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Suarez: Can we have, Mr. Alfonso, your status on the budget?
Daniel Alfonso: Danny Alfonso, director of Office of Management and Budget. We -- I want to
talk quickly about fiscal year '12, the year that closed. We are working with Finance to ensure
that all the closeout items are handled. We're still confident that the number that we had
reported earlier, roughly $37 million of surplus, is still a good estimate. If that changes, we will
inform the Commission. For fiscal year '12-'13, we have started operations. The first month of
operations of October has been closed. We reviewed the numbers and sent out an information
package to all of you. It doesn't show any extraordinary expenses that are out of whack, so to
speak. Everything seems to be in line. On the revenue side, Police, Building, Planning &
Zoning, all showed more revenue than perhaps would have been anticipated, so that's good in
that sense. The property taxes, it's too early to tell yet 'cause we really don't collect in October,
so we'll wait to close November and December to get a better grip on that. In terms of the fiscal
year '12-'13, I do want to give the Commission a heads up that we will be bringing a budget
amendment in January to the Commission to take care of some items that we need to correct.
For example, the Building Department, last year in the midyear, we gave them an allocation of
general fund of $200, 000 to do demolitions that were not CDBG (Community Development
Block Grant) eligible. And they were supposed to use that as seed money. So to the extent that
those liens are paid and the money is collected, it goes to a special revenue fund. We did not
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
appropriate any of that at that -- when we did the budget because we did not yet know what was
going to be there. We have collected $360, 000 in liens that will be used to demolition of
properties and non-CDBG eligible areas, so we will amend the budget to allocate the revenue
and the appropriate expenditures. Equally, the Law Enforcement Trust Fund has an adjustment
of $1.2 million as additional monies that has come to the City for Law Enforcement Trust Fund
above and beyond what was there in the original budget. I want to also mention that the FIPO
(Firefighters Police Officers) pension board has given us their estimate of the actuarial required
contribution by the City. It differs from the City's estimate significantly, nearly $10 million, so
that we will be addressing that issue through our legal department, and we'll probably need to
get a third actuary to do some additional analysis, and we'll be bringing back to the Commission
information as that develops. Also, we're taking back a couple of positions that we'll have to
amend the table of organization in the Building Department. The Civil Service Board opined
and the Manager has agreed to take back a couple of employees that were laid off a few years
ago due to budget cuts. The Civil Service Board said that we should bring them back and the
Manager has agreed to bring them back.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Danny. Two quick questions. One, on the Law Enforcement Trust
Funds, the additional 1.2 million, you had mentioned in the briefing that that's money that's
already been collected, but we're loading it into the budget, correct? We're not estimating that
there's a --
Mr. Alfonso: Correct. There is no estimate here. This is actual money that's been collected.
Chair Suarez: And it was collected previously and now it's being loaded into the budget.
Mr. Alfonso: Correct.
Chair Suarez: Okay. The other one on the -- I want to commend you on the FIPO discrepancy,
for bringing that to our attention as early as you found out about it so that there would be no,
you know, surprises going forward and, you know, I'm sure we'll be monitoring that with the
Administration to make sure that that gets resolved, you know, to the satisfaction of all the
parties. Any further questions? Thank you.
END OF BUDGET
DISCUSSION ITEM
DI.1 DISCUSSION ITEM
12-01074
Office of Management DISCUSSION REGARDING THE ALLOCATION OF SPECIAL EVENTS
and Budget FUNDS FOR FY 2012-13.
12-01074 Summary Form.pdf
DISCUSSED
A motion was made by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, and
passed unanimously, for an additional $25, 000 to be added to the Special Events fund for a total
of $300, 000, to be allocated as follows: $75, 000 for the MLK parade, $75, 000 for the Three
Kings parade, and the remaining $150, 000 to be divided evenly among the five commission
districts.
Chair Suarez: DI I.
Daniel Alfonso: Daniel Alfonso, director of Office of Management & Budget. Discussion item is
referencing the allocation for special events. The current budget has $275, 000 in it: $75, 000
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
allocated to the Three Kings Parade, $50, 000 to the MLK (Martin Luther King) Parade, and the
other 150,000 is to be split evenly amongst the five Commission districts. While we passed the
budget, there was an agreement that we would bring this back for discussion in case anybody
wanted to offer a different -- different ways to split the events. There's been a couple of
recommendations. One of them is to add $25, 000 to the overall pot, making it $300, 000; adding
that to the MLK events so that there would be $75, 000 for Three Kings, $75, 000 for MLK events,
and then the remaining 150 would be 30 per district as originally proposed. If we were to do
that and you were to give me that direction, it would come back in the January amendment that
we're doing. We would simply, in the nondepartmental section, allocate $25, 000 additional to
the event and reduce it from the reserve.
Chair Suarez: Any comments?
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Did you say 150 divided by 3?
Mr. Alfonso: By 5. I'm sorry.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. That's what I thought you said.
Chair Suarez: Right.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Was that a Freudian slip or --?
Chair Suarez: No.
Mr. Alfonso: No, no, no Freudian slip. But I'm willing to listen to any other proposals if there
are any.
Chair Suarez: That was my initial -- when I heard of that proposal initially in the briefings, that
was my issue, concern, which is -- and we've discussed this and debated this a hundred times
before over many years, actually, since I've been here. And so, you know, I'm open, you know, in
terms of what the other Commissioners want to do to resolve this. You know, honestly, I mean, if
push came to shove, I would agree to it that way, the 300: you know, 75, 75, and the rest split
five ways. That's not my preference 'cause I think it creates a little bit of inequity in terms of your
district, my district, and Commissioner Gort's district 'cause they're not the districts where those
two major events predominantly reside in. But if it's the will of this Commission to do it this way,
I mean, you know, at least for this year -- this is only a one-year allocation so we can always
look at it again next year. Because I've never had any sort of funds to do this to begin with, so I
would be going out to the community for the first time and saying, look, these funds are
available. You know, what kind of activities do you have that would be eligible for this funding?
And then I could gauge, you know, whether or not there is even, you know, a need for that
amount of funding.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Can I just -- I just want to make a comment just quickly. I just
want to be clear from day one. Coming back on this Commission and over the last ten years, I
was very clear that the two major events for me that was extremely important was centered
around the life and death of Dr. King, and that was not only the parade but the candlelight vigil,
which is in the heart of the neighborhood, which is on MLK Boulevard. The MLK Parade is not
on MLK Boulevard; it is on 54th Street. It was moved because at that particular time, the City
and the County had agreed to put a median in the middle of MLK Boulevard, which would no
longer allow for people to do a parade. So I just want to just -- I want it to be clear -- this is not
coming from -- in the spirit of transparency, I said from day one when we voted on this item,
when I return back, I want it to be very clear that those two things are extremely important to our
community.
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Chair Suarez: Yeah. Andl think -- I don't think we're arguing about that or debating that. I
think we both agree that -- even the last time or the first time that we talked about it, that those
two events had to be preserved because they were important to the City. I think it's with -- what
we do with the remaining funds, whether we were to divide the remaining funds by three or by
five. I'm willing to go to the five for one year and see, you know, what my district needs. I don't
know if that's something that all the other districts are willing to do. And then if it's creates an
inequity, then we can go -- we can try to go back to the three if we have the -- I suppose you'd
have three votes for the three, but I don't know.
Commissioner Gort: I don't know.
Chair Suarez: All right, Commissioner.
Commissioner Gort: Well, I think some of us do not have major events taking place. I have a lot
of people come up to me that would like to create events and they ask for my assistance. I'm not
able to give it to them.
Chair Suarez: Right. I've been --
Commissioner Gort: So I'd like to see the -- divided by the five, if you're going to do it.
Chair Suarez: But you mean you would -- wait. 'Cause we both -- we agreed that we were going
to do the 75, 75, which is 150. If we increase it to 300, then the remaining 150 -- the question is,
Do we divide that by 3 or do we divide that by 5? If we divide that by 3, then the remaining 3
districts get 50,000. If we divide it by 5, then each district gets an additional -- well, in the case
of the 2 that have the 75, they'll get an additional 30, and then the other Commission districts
will get 30. Well, that's really the debate, other than expanding the amount of money, in general,
in the pot, which I don't know that anybody here is willing to do so.
Commissioner Carollo: By the way, I just want to clam one thing. The reason this came about
was because the MLK Parade and the Three Kings Parade was not in the City ofMiami budgets;
however, it was always, one way or another, funded. And in light of transparency, you know, I
thought we should bring it into our budget so it's transparent. Because, you know, every year
you wouldn't see it anywhere in our budget; yet, come time for these parades, somehow, you
know, money will come from here or there. And, you know, I just thought that, you know, to
make it more transparent, we should just outright put it there for all to see and, you know, for us
to make a decision.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And the only thing that I amended on it was making it -- again, for
me, it was all -- you know, from my district's perspective -- and it's not just my district, because
people come from all over Miami -Dade County --
Commissioner Carollo: Same here.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- you know, to support MLK. So it was just making sure that even
when we talked about it, I just want to be clear, guys, it's really important -- yes, the birth of him
is very important to my community, but even more so, the death is extremely important because,
you know, it represents a lot to my community, to all of our communities 'cause Dr. King wasn't
just about African Americans. So I just want to be clear on that so.
Chair Suarez: Okay, so what do you guys want to do? Do we have consent --?
Commissioner Gort: I'll amend my statement.
Chair Suarez: Okay. So --
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Commissioner Gort: I make the motion to be five.
Chair Suarez: So --
Commissioner Carollo: And that is, split the 150, and then split the other 150 by 5.
Chair Suarez: Okay. You're okay with that?
Commissioner Gort: That's my motion.
Chair Suarez: Okay, so you're making a motion to accept Danny's construct, which is to expand
it to 300, with 75 going to Three Kings, 75 going to the Martin Luther King activities, and the
remaining 150 split 5 ways, $30,000 each district? Yeah? Okay. Is there a second?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Suarez: All in favor, signifi, by saying aye."
Chair Suarez: For one year, come on, Commissioner Sarnoff.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Sure, I'll say yes.
Mr. Alfonso: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: All right, guys. It's a pilot program.
Commissioner Gort: PZ (Planning & Zoning).
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman, do we have any other pressing items that you
really -- is there any other pressing item that you absolutely need me for 'cause I do have a
conflict?
Chair Suarez: They're all discussion items and then P&Z. I don't know -- do you have any P&Z
items that are in your district or that --?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No, I don't.
Chair Suarez: No. There's no PZ? Okay.
Commissioner Gort: You sure?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yep.
Chair Suarez: And you don't have a discussion item, so okay.
END OF DISCUSSION ITEM
MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' ITEMS
CITYWIDE
HONORABLE MAYOR TOMAS REGALADO
M.1 DISCUSSION ITEM
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
12-01409
DISCUSSION REGARDING THE CITY COMMISSION APPROVAL TO RETAIN
JOSE QUINON, ESQ. TO REPRESENT THE MAYOR IN THE CASE OF
MICHELLE SPENCE-JONES VS. KATHERINE FERNANDEZ-RUNDLE AND
MAYOR TOMAS REGALADO.
12-01409 Email - Representing Mayor - Jose Quinon, Esq.pdf
DISCUSSED
A motion was made by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, and was
passed unanimously, for Vice Chair Sarnoff to present a recommendation to the City Commission
on legal counsel that will advise the Commission on matters associated with the lawsuit.
Chair Suarez: So, now that we have a full Commission, we're going to go to the time certain
item of 10: 30. My apologies again for the tardiness of it. Mr. Mayor, do you want to be
recognized on that or do you want to have the --?
Mayor Tomas Regalado: Yeah. No, I would.
Chair Suarez: Go ahead.
Mayor Regalado: I just want to -- Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Vice Chairman,
Commissioners. This morning address you as the Mayor of the City ofMiami, but more
importantly, as a former Commissioner because I sat where you sit this morning, and in that time
I listened to hundreds of cases and voted on matters that our City could be liable for. In every
one of those cases, before I sat on the dais, I had spoken and met with our City Attorney. In
every one of those cases, I was advised as to the impact of my comments on the dais could have
on the pending litigation. Today, however, you sit without legal counsel because, for the first
time in the history of the City ofMiami, a sitting Commissioner has sued a sitting Mayor and
implicated the entire Legal Department of the City ofMiami. As you know, the City Attorney has
recused herself from this case and nevertheless recommended that I and the Commission seek
outside counsel to safeguard the interests of the City ofMiami. While I am not an attorney, I
know better than to address the allegations made in the complaint filed by Commissioner
Spence -Jones before you, but I asked that this item be placed on the agenda as a
recommendation of the City Attorney and because of page 6, paragraph 23, which has been
distributed to you, and in pertinent reads in parts [sic]: "Defendant, Tomas Regalado, is the
Mayor of the City ofMiami, acting in the capacity of agent, servant, and employee of the City
and within the scope of his employment as such." Today, as the Mayor of the City ofMiami,
acting in my capacity as agent, servant, and employee of the City and within the scope of my
employment, I ask you to start the process of authorizing legal representation, which we have
authorized on many occasion under less serious circumstances. Mr. Chairman, Commissioners,
as you know, I have forward to you a letter received by me from attorney Jose Quinon, which I
recommend that the City Commission entertain a discussion item, not a vote -- I'm not seeking a
vote -- but in terms of the legal representation thatl am entitled to. I also believe that you all
understand that the Commission needs legal representation. I have also distribute to you about
20 cases in the past years where the City Commission has authorized outside legal counsel to
employees, acting on their capacity. Mr. Quinon is here, if you want to entertain any question.
And that is my request to you, Mr. Chairman and Commission.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Any --
Vice Chair Sarnoff Mr. Chair.
Chair Suarez: Yes, you're recognized, Mr. Vice Chairman.
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Vice Chair Sarnoff. It seems to me that we have -- number one, I imagine that everybody has
read the City Attorney's memo, that she says she cannot comment and will not comment upon the
allegations of this complaint, nor would she represent this City to give us any kind of advice.
Having said that, I think it's incumbent upon this body to appoint one of us -- and I'd like to
volunteer for that simply because this is sort of whatl do for a living, in a matter of speaking --
to go out and find out exactly who we need to represent us and how we need to be represented.
And what mean by that is we may want to hire someone to give us some corporate governance
advice. We may need to hire somebody to determine if, based on paragraph 23, there is
vicarious liability on behalf of the City or if there is collateral estoppels effect to the City of
Miami. And I'd also like the ability to meet with the Mayor's attorney, not to get into substance,
Mr. Mayor, but simply to negotiate a fee that we can bring back to this Commission as we have
pretty much historically done in the past as the City Attorney has fulfilled that role. You know, I
think we're -- lawyers have a name for these kind of suits. It's called a supportive suit, meaning
you'll probably never see a suit like this again. I think we're on virgin ground, so to speak. I
don't think this has ever happened before. I certainly hope it never happens in the future. But
this is something that we've never gone through before, andl think we need governance advice
and we need advice as to the implications of paragraph 23 or the implications of the Mayor of
the City ofMiami being sued and the basis of what they call the ad damnum clause, which is the
prayer for relief which calls for all other relief that the court deems appropriate and proper,
because that's a very large basis upon which to proceed. I don't profess to know the answers. I
profess to be in the vein of understanding the answers, and think I'm well suited to do this. I
don't think the Mayor has been served. Am I right, Mr. Mayor?
Mayor Regalado: No.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. So time is okay, but you're in federal court and you're in front of Judge
Hoeveler; things will move very, very quickly in comparison to state, meaning 90 percent of what
we do is pretty much state court. When we get to federal court, it'll feel like you're on a roller
coaster; it will happen very, very quickly. Candidly, you probably have the best judge, I think, in
the history of the City ofMiami, best judge in the history of South Florida in Judge Hoeveler,
who is extremely edu -- he's just been there forever. He's done it right the day he got there and
he's doing it right in, I guess they would say, his final years. So we're sort of lucky that we have
a very well -reasoned jurist up there. So I'm going to make a motion to appoint me to be the lead
man on behalf of the City --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Okay, thank you.
Chair Suarez: Okay, there's a motion and a second. I tend to agree with the Vice Chair and also
with the Mayor in the sense that -- Well, I appreciate the Mayor not asking us for a vote today on
this specific issue. I had spoken about it in the briefing. I've obviously -- and you know, we all
know this -- I've expressed consternation every time we've had an issue like this in terms of the
cost and the policy decisions involved and whether we're required to pay it preemptively,
retroactively, or whatever. So I think we absolutely do need legal advice on that -- those issues
as well as the issues that you articulated, and so I think that makes all the sense in the world.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: I want to just make sure there's some clarity. Does this mean that this
Commission will approve an attorney prior to the next meeting -- and don't see how we could --
and, therefore, next meeting we will not take a vote on our discussion item?
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Vice Chair Sarnofff. I don't know --
Commissioner Carollo: I want to know what's the process, what's --? You know, let's say we do,
you know, show good faith and let you spearhead the legal aspect of it. I still would want to be
able to discuss it with an attorney, andl want to know the process of what we can and cannot do
or what they suggest that we can or cannot do.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Yeah. We have to move expeditiously --
Chair Suarez: Right.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. -- and maybe the Chair calls for an executive session. It's my intention to be
authorized, on behalf of this Commission, to be -- to interview and to speak with other attorneys
on two major issues. One is the allegations of 23 and the prayer for relief together with
corporate governance.
Commissioner Carollo: To then bring back to this Commission --
Chair Suarez: A recommendation.
Commissioner Carollo: -- that recommendation.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. A recommendation, but I wish it were -- I wish this was like we're going out
to buy a car and we know exactly the car we want to buy. It's -- you know, wouldl like to bring
you back three names? I would. Wouldl like to bring you back my recommendation? I would.
But I've done none of this so far, andl want to -- because we're in uncharted waters, I want to
get the right person for this job because there are some very big implications here that we simply
need advice on. We can choose to take that advice. We could choose to disregard that advice.
But I think we need advice. Corporate governance means how do we go about -- In the
furtherance of the citizens' interest, how does the Mayor, how does Commissioner Spence -Jones
go about in the furtherance of both -- of their constituents and how do we, as a body, go forth
when we budget and appropriate? What are the implications of that? And all -- you know, in
the words of -- maybe Commissioner Suarez will get a kick out of this. I know enough that the
issues are there. I don't know enough what the answers to those issues are.
Chair Suarez: Yeah. Andl know that in every instance where we have had a situation similar to
this -- obviously, we haven't had anything quite like this -- but in situations where we had similar
situations, I know in every instance, I sought legal advice from our City Attorney who, you know,
in those instances, was not conflicted in making those decisions, and there were a lot of issues
involved, andl required a lot of information before making those decisions, andl -- and that's
why thank the Mayor for not requiring us to make a decision today in the briefing that had
with him yesterday.
Mayor Regalado: And --
Commissioner Gort: I tell you, we get first of everything. I mean, this Commission's going to
make history. But I feel very uncomfortable to make any decision without a legal opinion from
our Legal Department, andl think the cautious things to do is to move this motion, approve it,
for you to do your research, (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F), and we need to get advice for professional
attorney. It's a -- andl don't want to make any motions. I mean, I don't want to make any
decision without legal opinion, okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Right, Commissioner. But I just want to veri. Does that mean -- and
that's where I want clarity -- that we're authorizing Commissioner Sarnoff to choose the --
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Chair Suarez: No.
Commissioner Carollo: -- attorney for the Commission?
Chair Suarez: No.
Commissioner Carollo: Or is he going to recommend "X" number of firms or attorneys back to
this Commission and then we could either interview them or speak with them and then this
Commission makes a final determination?
Commissioner Gort: My understanding is --
Commissioner Carollo: I just want to clarify --
Commissioner Gort: -- the buck stops here.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Right, and that's what I'm suggesting. But what I am suggesting to you,
there isn't as much time as you might think. You know, it's -- could we wait till January 15? Yes.
Could we wait till January 30? I'm not sure. But --
Chair Suarez: I agree with that.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So what am saying is -- And by the way, when I say corporate governance
-- I'm going to say something to you guys. If there are 50 attorneys across the United States that
can do that, I might be pushing that by 25. There are not that many that can do that aspect of it.
With regards to defense of us, there are many that can do that. So your -- answer to your
question is couldl bring you back three names regarding paragraph 23 and then the clause on
the prayer, could bring back plenty of names for you on that one. Corporate governance, that's
a very specialized -- if you think SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) is specialized, this
is even more specialized than that.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Mayor Regalado: Can I --?
Chair Suarez: Go ahead.
Mayor Regalado: I understood the motion for Commissioner Sarnoff, Vice Chairman, to find an
attorney for the Commission, but also to discuss with Jose Quihon. Now I'm a little concerned
with the possibility of a conflict existing here since the plaintiff is on the dais, and don't know if
she can vote on it, so I -- since he's going to be dealing with the attorney that would represent me
that -- I just want to point this out --
Chair Suarez: For the record.
Mayor Regalado: -- for the record.
Chair Suarez: I think --
Commissioner Gort: And he's going to give you that opinion.
Chair Suarez: Yes, Commissioner.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: First of all, there's a couple of things that I definitely want to put
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on the record to make sure, you know, everyone is clear on my position. And there are -- some
stuff l wasn't going to even address, but because the Mayor decided to put it on the record, I
think it's necessary for me to communicate it. First of all, I think the request, period, is an unfair
request. I think it's unfair for my fellow Commissioners, my City Attorney, and any of the City
staff staffers to be put in any position -- any awkward position that they're being placed in. I
think it's an unfair request. You know, there is comments that are going around on the issue of
my legal fees, who -- how are my legal fees being handled. And quite frankly, I want to just be
very clear that the attorneys that are representing me are doing them on contingency, and they're
doing it on contingency because they believe in this case. So my viewpoint is I feel that, you
know, no matter what, you know, both of us, both sitting or both elected officials, should not put
a burden on the City Commission or taxpayers to cover this cost. I think it should be something
that we should do individually and it should not be -- we should not be placing you guys in that
position to make this decision. But I respect the decision of the Commission to at least get a
counsel -- get counsel on this issue 'cause you need to know how to handle it because, quite
frankly, the case is still going to move forward so you need advice, and our City Attorney can't
do it 'cause she's conflicted, andl understand that. But have to put on the record that think
that just in general, this request is inappropriate for myself or the Mayor to be asking, period.
That's the first thing that I wanted to say. I also want to make a point. You know, the Mayor
read 23 in our complaint and he, unfortunately, did not read the whole statement. The ending
part of that -- 'cause I want to be clear. I'm not suing the Mayor as the Mayor. I'm suing him in
his -- as an individual. And it says -- and as he read -- he stopped, however; he didn't continue
to read the statement. It is he's being sued in his personal capacity. Has to nothing to do with
the City. I'm not making the City responsible for any of this. I'm putting this issue on the Mayor
as a per -- this is a personal issue. So for him not to read the whole entire statement, to me is a
little, you know, not honest, but hey, that's what it is. But I want to be clear so that everybody
listening, everybody sitting on this dais understands that am not suing my City andl'm not
suing the Mayor as the Mayor. So I want to be clear on that. And then last but not least, I
wanted to make just a closing statement, and I've been advised not to really discuss this much. I
agree with the fact that we do need outside counsel to kind of give us advice on how we should
handle this issue. Andl agree that should not be taking a vote on whoever going to be paid to
do the work because there is a conflict. But as far as there being a vote on who the counsel is
that's going to give advice, I think that, if I'm not mistaken, I have the right to vote on who's
giving us the advice on who -- not the person that's representing the Mayor, but the advice on
who should be counsel for this Commission. So I just want to be clear on that. Andl understand
my City Attorney can't really give us a response on this issue, but that is the only
recommendation and that's the only comment that I want to make. I just -- I think that -- I think
I've said enough. That's what I think.
Chair Suarez: Okay. So to summarize, Mr. Vice Chair, you are going to help the Commission
find counsel that will advise us as to all matters, whether legal fees will be paid, whether there's
any corporate or governance issues that are before this Commission, and all the other ones that
you articulated?
Vice Chair Sarnoff Yes. I -- let me -- andl'm not trying to rephrase you --
Chair Suarez: No, no.
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- but want to be very clear.
Chair Suarez: I think may have cut out some stuff so.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Yeah. I think we need somebody to tell us from a cor -- and a corporate
governance is not words we hear a lot, but sometimes it's called a government governance, if you
will. It's kind of redundant. How do we proceed from here for budgeting and appropriating?
That's one issue. What is par -- what are the implications of paragraph 23? What are the
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implications of the prayer? We just don't -- we don't know what they are. You know, with regard
to the Mayor and asking his defense counsel -- you know, I don't know how many of you -- I've
been sued personally twice up here for allegations in my capacity as Commissioner and
allegations in my capacity as an individual because I did some ultra virus acts according to, for
instance, The Related Group, and this Commission, of course, voted to hire my counsel because
we do it when there's an allegation against a police officer. We hire attorneys to represent them
1983 claims when they are individually sued, when the City ofMiami is sued. And there's a
conflict of interest with the City Attorney representing both because, as you know, any time there
are two litigants in a case, it may turn -- it may not always be what we call in law a unified
interest. So there's a great body of past practices, a great body of policy where elected officials
have been sued both as elected officials and in their personal capacities and this Commission
has always voted to give them retention. We do it pretty much across the board with police
officers. So -- I mean, I'd like to meet with Mr. Quinon just to verf, you know, how he intends --
not factually, Mr. Mayor, nor substantively -- to represent you, but maybe to talk about billing
rates, maybe to talk about what he believes the length of the case would be. It's not imperative
that I do that. If you want to leave that out of my --
Chair Suarez: No, no. That's fine.
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- body of work, that would be fine with me. But the other two are -- you
know, instead of somebody up here, you or me because we're both lawyers, determining what 23
is, determining how we go forward, let's get somebody that does this 99 percent of his days; what
he does for a living is this kind of work so --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: IfI can say something, Mr. Chair.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And I'm totally cool with us doing it that way because I want -- on
my end, I want to know all of the issues as well because, quite frankly, you know, when I was
fighting a criminal charge against me for something) did not do, I had to go out my way to do
everything necessary in order to fight what I knew was truth, okay. And at the end, yes, the City
reimbursed me for that, you know, and they should have reimbursed me for something that) did
not do. Now we're in a awkward position. You guys are in a awkward position because, as you
mentioned, a police officer or you mentioned, you know, other cases in which the City has
represented us, that is a little different because now we're talking about two individuals that are a
part of you know, the same political body, so it's a little different. Because ifI took that same
position, I should be saying, hey, look, I feel like I might have been wrong. Why is it not -- why
are my fees not being handled. But I understand the burden that that puts on the taxpayers. I
understand the burden that that puts on my fellow Commissioners to be in that position, that I
will not even ask that of you, you know, so -- but that's okay. I understand why we're here. I just
want -- for the first time on this issue, I want it to be done fair and just. And, quite frankly, you
know, I will not vote on definitely whether or not, you know, his -- Quinon -- Mr. Quihon's fees
are -- you know, should be paid. I will not vote on that. But I do think that, you know, there's a
larger question that looms and this is it. You know, the question becomes if he prevails, okay,
and you know -- and I've been advised that, you know, these cases can, you know, as you said,
move quickly, but there's a lot of work that goes into doing a case -- a federal case like this. It's
not afly-by-night thing, and) -- we understand that. So there's a huge cost or burden on the City
to cover it, right? So what happens if he prevails and you pay the money upfront? Then that's
different. But what happens if he doesn't? So that means you're paying twice. Just putting it out
there.
Vice Chair Sarnoff But the -- go ahead, Commissioner.
Commissioner Gort: While you're doing all this research, my understanding is, our legal
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advisors cannot advise us even in hiring someone. So while you doing this process, I would like
for you to look for a way, if this would happen again, we, the Commission, could take a step
right away.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Could -- I'm sorry?
Commissioner Gort: We can take a step right away. Since we cannot hear from the Law
Department, we ourself, if you can think -- while you're doing your work, if we can have a system
that if this would happen again, we can take immediate action.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Boy, I hope this never happens again, so I hope that I --
Commissioner Gort: Well, I hope so too, but I mean, a lot of things that happen for first time
here and we setting precedence, so I think it's very important that we do that.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And I just want to put on the record, I hope it never happens again
either.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Andl want to put on the record that have no problem with there being an
executive session, if it's appropriate, andl don't know if the City Attorney can advise us even as
to that, whether or not an executive session would be appropriate, 'cause we've done executive
sessions on a variety of -- a few things.
Chair Suarez: She can't advise us on anything, so we're essentially a rudderless ship.
Chair Suarez: Right.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. So that's -- my point is you don't want to be a rudderless ship for very long.
Chair Suarez: I agree.
Commissioner Gort: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: So -- and again, so to clam, the motion is to, to a certain degree,
appoint Commissioner Sarnoff to go and interview, find legal counsel --
Chair Suarez: For the Commission.
Commissioner Carollo: -- to bring back to this Commission for approval?
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Yeah. I don't want to take the responsibility, Commissioner, of making that
determination. The body should take that responsibility.
Chair Suarez: But I think you are -- I think we're all sensitive to the time sensitivities involved
here --
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Chair Suarez: -- you know. So I think --
Vice Chair Sarnofff. A judge is not going to be very lenient with us time -wise in federal court.
They're going to say like, well, can't you guys meet? Can't you, you know -- So this has to be
done pretty expeditiously.
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Mayor Regalado: Mr. Chairman, just to clam, the motion also directs Commissioner Sarnoff to
meet with Mr. Quinon to discuss --
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Just not substantive, Mr. Mayor, but just his retention.
Mayor Regalado: Right. Okay.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. He doesn't want to talk substance with me.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And l just want to be clear. The whole purpose of having the
discussion, though, before it gets to even Mr. Quinon, though, is to have counsel even tell us --
first of all, counsel has to advise us as to whether or not we should even be retaining him.
Unidentified Speaker: Right.
Chair Suarez: That's a fair clarification.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So I think that's very important to be clear on it.
Chair Suarez: That's a fair --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Because it just sounds like it's going down that road of you know,
the assumption is he's going to be retained. Counsel may come back and say, well, both of them
need to be retained.
Chair Suarez: I think --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So I want to be clear.
Chair Suarez: Yeah. Andl think because of the time sensitivities involved, we have to operate
kind of on a parallel track in the event that this Commission decides to go forward with the
representation, that that negotiation has already taken place and has already been done to the
satisfaction of this Commission.
Mayor Regalado: Mr. Chairman, I'd like to -- Mr. Quinon wanted to say something to the
Commission.
Jose Quinon: Good morning. Initially, I was not going to say anything, but I think it's
important. This is a very unique situation that has developed here. And from a legal point of
view -- and obviously, when you get your attorneys, you'll be able to discuss that -- but there is
potentials of conflicts all over this place. And lawyers in courts, that's what we look for,
conflicts, because we want to make sure that representation takes place without the potential of
conflict. It's very important. And bring this to your attention -- and don't mean to be
disrespectful to Commissioner Spence -Jones, but I think one of the issues that you need to take
with your lawyer first, or whoever you decide, first of all, I don't think that Commissioner
Spence -Jones can participate in making a determination of who that lawyer will be because she's
an interested party in this dispute that has taken place. This is a dispute among two individuals
essentially of the same body, and if you're going to allow one to participate in the selection of an
attorney, why not both of them? That's the question that is the obvious question. I was
surprised; I really didn't expect that Commissioner Spence -Jones would be a participant in
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today's discussion, to be quite honest, but that's not up to me or up to you, for that matter.
However, going forward, I want to make sure that our position is preserved here today that we
do object to Commissioner Spence -Jones participating in the selection of a lawyer that will
advise the Commission or that she participate in any decision insofar as Mayor Regalado's
selection of lawyer or payment of the lawyer. She has absolutely no business doing that because
the bottom line is, she's got a dog in the fight and as such, she should not be participating here
today. That's our position. I want the record to be very clear on that. If necessary, we will make
our motions or whatever other matters or avenues we have available to bring our views to bear.
But I want to make sure that it's preserved here with you all today that we do object to that
because it's unfair to Mayor Regalado to have the very person who brings the lawsuit now to
make -- to participate as to whether or not he's going to be represented insofar as payment. And
if you say that he's not -- his lawyer is not going to get paid it is tantamount to saying he's not
going to have representation. And so the bottom line is it should be made, whatever decision is
made, without the participation of Commissioner Jones [sic]. And again, I don't mean to be
disrespectful andl didn't mean to address this, but I think it's important in going forward that
you know our position.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Quinon: If you have any questions, I'll be more than delighted to answer.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Your objection is noted for the record. Thank you.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman, I just want --
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- to add, and I'm not going to go back and forth 'cause, quite
frankly, my legal counsel is not in here, so I think it's inappropriate for any comments to be made
without the other side having the opportunity -- we're not in a courtroom right now; we're having
a discussion. And based upon whatl have a understanding on, as long as I'm not voting on
whether or not the person is getting paid, I should not have a conflict. I don't have a problem
with Mayor Regalado being a part of the process as well as identifying counsel that represents
the City's interest. He does -- he communicates to the City Attorney now, so it's not an issue
when we're talking about other issues in relationship to the City. So I'm not really understanding
where Quinon is going with that. But I think it's a little unfair to have him make a statement
without me having legal counsel to at least make a statement or put a remark on the record.
Chair Suarez: Let me just say that whether a member of this board or this body has a conflict is
for that member to decide, andl don't think he was trying to give legal advice to any of the
members of the board. I think he was simply trying to express his objection to preserve the
record for whatever other legal procedures he wants to invoke in the future. But the decision as
to whether or not any member of this board has a conflict is our decision.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Suarez: And we take that upon our own risks as board members. You know, I seek
counsel when I thinkl may be in a conflicted position and act accordingly. So does anyone else
have any other comments, questions, concerns?
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Chair Suarez: Okay, it's been moved by Commissioner Gort. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
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D1.1
12-01395
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second by Commissioner Spence -Jones. All in favor, signift it by saying --
Commissioner Carollo: It was actually moved by --
Chair Suarez: You're right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- Commissioner Sarnoff. He made the motion.
Chair Suarez: Was it seconded?
Commissioner Gort: Second by --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I second it already.
Dwight S. Danie (City Clerk): Yes.
Chair Suarez: Okay, it's been moved and seconded. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. Thank you.
END OF CITYWIDE ITEMS
DISTRICT 1
COMMISSIONER WIFREDO (WILLY) GORT
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING ACCOUNTABILITY OF DEMOLITION
COMPANIES AS IT RELATES TO DEBRIS REMOVAL AND FRANCHISEE
LICENSE REQUIREMENTS.
12-01395 Email -Accountability of Demolition Companies.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Suarez: Okay, Commissioner, do you want to do your discussion items? 'Cause we have
RE.31, which is a time certain of 4: 30, and we have a little bit of time before 4 o'clock. So if you
want to do any ofyour --?
Commissioner Gort: Sure.
Chair Suarez: All right.
Commissioner Gort: Keith, don't go too far. D1 [sic] is demolition company in some cases are
bypassing City franchise holder by using their own trucks to remove debris; bypass City's
franchise holder and avoiding the franchise fee. So this is something that's taking place. The
situation occurred in the Grand Bay site right across the street. I had a meeting with Building
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and Solid Waste and they were going to come up with a plan. One of the things you have, we
find out by asking -- there was not a permit for removal of the debris, and then I called Building
Department, find out to see if they had a Building Department permit to demolish; they did.
Somehow, we needfor them to communicate with each other to make sure that when somebody
pulls a permit for demolition, the sanitation department gets to -- the information also.
Mariano Fernandez (Director, Building): Mr. Chairman, Mariano Fernandez --
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Mr. Fernandez: -- Building Director. You want me to --?
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Mr. Fernandez: The main question that we have is unless they pull a permit, there's no way for
us to follow up. Once they pull the permit, we don't have power in the Florida Building Code to
enforce the sanitation part of it. What we are going to do, working with IT (Information
Technology), is giving the department of Solid Waste a daily list of all the permits where -- a
clear list of all the permits --
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Mr. Fernandez: -- that are issued so he can follow up with the inspectors, and that way, I think
we can control so from now on, we don't get people (UNINTET,T IGIBT ,F) that don't pay the
franchises in Miami.
Commissioner Gort: No. That's -- that was the idea. Once you get the -- somebody pulls a
permit, they be notified automatically so they can follow through.
Mr. Fernandez: Correct. With the new computer system, they will give notification directly to
the officer. It's easy for them to give it to the inspectors so they can follow up.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you. Appreciate it.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
D1.2 DISCUSSION ITEM
12-01396
UPDATE BY THE ADMINISTRATION REGARDING A SUCCESSION PLAN
FOR REPLACING DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND EMPLOYEES
SCHEDULED TO RETIRE WITHIN THE NEXT TWO YEARS AS A RESULT OF
THE DEFERRED RETIREMENT OPTION PLAN (DROP).
12-01396 Update -A Succession Plan.pdf
DISCUSSED
Commissioner Gort: Okay, staff already presented a plan. One of the things we talked about in
the last meeting is the Administration to develop a succession plan to make sure that the -- We
just a little while ago heard a history -- someone was not able to give some information on some
of the contract because there was no history in the department that could bring up the -- so the
idea was the Administration -- you guys were going to work to come up with a plan where we 're
going to be training -- that department directors -- to make sure that we have people within the
different department to be trained so they can come up to their positions.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Correct. And we've been working on that. We've been
meeting with the department directors identifying essential positions that would need overlap or
training so that when that time comes, we're prepared to have a smooth transition. Positions that
are essential, nonessential, we've categorized and cataloged them so we can start on that
process.
Commissioner Gort: Like Sarnoff, I'm going to be asking for that every meeting.
Mr. Martinez: And we'll --
Commissioner Gort: Want you to know that.
Mr. Martinez: -- be prepared to give you an update.
D1.3 DISCUSSION ITEM
12-01406
ADDRESSING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN LAW DEPARTMENT AND
CODE ENFORCEMENT TO AVOID UNNECESSARY HEARINGS WHEN
FINES ARE WIPED OUT AS A MATTER OF LAW RESULTING FROM
FORECLOSURE PROCEEDINGS OR ANY OTHER LITIGATION.
12-01406 Email - Communication Btw. Law & Code Enforcement.pdf
DISCUSSED
Commissioner Gort: D -- I apologize. I forgot. Yes, D1.3 is very important. And we've had
numerous cases come in to the Code Enforcement for mitigations, fines; property that had been
purchased as a result of foreclosures. Now the fines have been extinguished as a matter of law,
but somehow the -- we did not communicate this to the Code Enforcement and they come in front
of here. I have several cases in my district where people have purchase this property and they
come in here and thanks the Code Enforcement that help quite a bit to solve this problem. I think
that we need the communication to take place so, as soon as you get the waiver of the lien that
has been waived because of foreclosure, to notify Code Enforcement so they can -- they will not
take it out of the mediation.
Victoria Mendez (Assistant City Attorney): Commissioner, briefly, with regard to those items, for
every one that might go to hearing because we don't have adequate information to fully wipe out
the lien at that point, there are five that we've done memos that didn't go to hearing. So we will
definitely work to make sure that nothing slips through the cracks. But it is our position that we
make them work hard to show us that the lien is supposed to be extinguished so that we 're not
letting go of any monies that are properly due to the City. But we'll make sure that we work
harder to make sure that nothing is --
Commissioner Gort: Because I have a lot of people coming into the district where warehouses
have been foreclosed and there's new investors that coming in andl want to make it easier for
them. We had a case the other day. The -- she was very helpful and appreciated that. They had
a lien for $178, 000 and those people are spending about a million dollars to place -- fix the
place.
Ms. Mendez: We'll definitely make sure that there is better lines of communication. But I do
want you to know that we do wipe out plenty of liens before they go to hearing when there is a
foreclosure that --
Commissioner Gort: Okay. Thank you. I want to make sure we keep it.
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END OF DISTRICT 1
DISTRICT 2
VICE-CHAIRMAN MARC DAVID SARNOFF
D2.1 DISCUSSION ITEM
12-01370
DISCUSSION ON AN APP TO TRACK THE CITY OF MIAMI TROLLEY.
12-01370 Email -App to Track City of Miami Trolley.pdf
12-01370-Presentation-Miami Trolley.pdf
DISCUSSED
Vice Chair Sarnoff Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. City Manager, we are in what I would say the
middle part of the deployment of the trolley program, and we've done what would say is -- I'll
give ourselves a solid C+. But one of the ways you could make it to a B would be for people to
know when the trolley is going to be there. And it would seem to me that based on Apple's
technology -- notice I used Apple -- and based on the technology that's really out there, that
people would know from an app where the trolley is so that if you're coming down from a
high-rise, you could either set your schedule so that you know that the trolley would be there in
five minutes and you could start your -- you know, coming down. One thing the trolleys have to
be is predictable, and they have to be predictable so that people can rely upon them, especially at
nighttime. Andl think there's an app -- I know that in Seattle, in St. Louis -- so in a number of
large cities, there's an app that lets you -- tells you exactly where the trolley is. Now I think
there's more than you could do than just that app, but at a bare minimum, the app would provide
the people the ability to discern when they need to leave a building because the trolley's on its
way. Andl know Miami -Dade County has something like that with regard to their mass transit.
I don't think theirs is who I would pick from because I think there's better out there. I think
Seattle has better. I think St. Louis has better, just to name a few. New York City just went to an
app. And if you can imagine what it's like for New York City with their subway system to know
when a train is coming, and we're only trying to do it with, at the maximum, five or six trolleys at
a time. So I bring that to you. I brought this up in private discussions many times. When it
makes it to my blue pages, it usually means because I didn't get a satisfactory answer.
Chair Suarez: That's usually how it makes it to mine as well.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): I think it's an excellent idea. And I do think the Miami -Dade
Transit one works pretty well. I used it many times, andl used to love to rely on it. I know when
to leave the office, start my elevator descent, timed me going up the escalators and there it would
be. It was within seconds. I think the idea is really good. I guess we have to tackle the
implementation. You have something, Alice?
Chair Suarez: Go ahead.
Alice Bravo: Alice Bravo, Assistant City Manager. Our CIP (Capital Improvements Program)
office and Carlos Cruz-Casas, who's our transportation coordinator, he's been exploring various
options. They have different capital costs, different ongoing maintenance costs, so he has a
couple of slides that outline different options that are available to us, including piggybacking on
other systems or developing our own.
Carlos Cruz-Casas: Carlos Cruz, transportation coordinator. I'm just going to show you
something real quick that we have here, some slides. First you have an overview of what we
have, the different routes that we have at the moment with boardings that we have. We're some --
we're going to exceed the expectation in most of the routes, and we're at that point. The system is
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growing and we're at that point we need to grow with the system as well. As you mentioned,
some of the basic issues that we have and the most critical one is the fact of nobody knows where
the trolley is at any given time; the fact that you can go down to the trolley stop and you don't
know if the trolley just passed or if you have to wait two minutes, and that's the big issue that we
have. Another issue that we're still finding, we do have several routes converging in one segment
and people getting to the trolley without knowing which route they're going. Another issue is we
don't have capability to maintain the headways on heavily congested corridors. With that said,
we're looking for a different alternative. The GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking will help
us to provide the information for the public. We want to go further. We want to have something,
as you mentioned, that is the best thing that we can have out there, not only to provide
information to the public but to also help us to have an accountable system, something that we
can track, something that we can keep an eye on it. As you mentioned, Chicago, Boston, New
York, and San Francisco all have amazing apps and we have web interface. They have a
smartphone application, and even you can text the location of the stop, and it'll tell you when the
trolley's arriving for people that don't have the smartphones. This will definitely help to increase
reliability and help capture the choice riders. As a separate issue, it will help us to have red
flags where whenever the trolleys are bunching. It will help to have what is called computer -aid
dispatching and to better have a better service. That's the type of things that we're looking to the
system. A couple of the system that we're looking is to provide the responsive -- to know that it's
responsive to passenger needs, and it will help us also to add -- to have a data collection that is
reliable for us to have a better planning and better service. We have -- as part of the system that
we have, as you mentioned, we can join the Miami -Dade Transit Tracker. It's a heavy load on us
if we do that. There's several other options, as a GPS tracker in conjunction --
Vice Chair Sarnoff I don't mean to cut you off I really don't, but I don't think anybody wants to
hear a nice half-hour discussion on this. My point is, we were asking for this for the better part
offour months, andl don't hear tomorrow we're going to be doing this or we have concluded this
is the right one. And I'm trying to get us -- Look, the Chair is the one that convinced me that this
should be a free thing, and he's right; it should be. But now in order to develop ridership -- and
I think he's just about to start getting them up and down his area --
Chair Suarez: Hope so.
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- andl know Commissioner Gort wants to create his to be a little bit more.
Predictability is what will put people on these trolleys, and the only way to predict the trolley is
to know where it is. Andl don't know, I don't want to hear in four months, in six months, in two
months. Tomorrow, what are you going to do about this?
Chair Suarez: Yeah. Yes, Commissioner.
Commissioner Gort: Look, I made some suggestions that the marketing -- we all know how
important marketing is, andl think we have the tools, especially within my district and your
district. The Health District, they got a lot of County employees. They have a lot of hospital
employees with simple e-mails (electronic). We'll give it to all the employees, and you got at
least over 10,000 people there. They could be using this trolley. And once people start seeing it
going by, people start riding on it. And it will come a time when I can assure you that it will
maintain itself by advertising and by the businesspeople.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So --
Commissioner Gort: But the marketing is the most important thing there is.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Right. So when are we going to have this app?
Mr. Spanioli: Commissioner, as it looks right now, we basically have narrowed it down to the
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one GPS track -- we've looked at like ten different systems. We've narrowed it down to the one
that we think will do everything that we want it do, and their turnaround time is literally 120
days.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. So you're telling this Commission that by March there will be an operational
app for all trolleys.
Mr. Spanioli: I would like to say April 1.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Okay. Well, you know what, that's the date. And at least there's at least --
in the words of the lawyers, at least we know the date of summary judgment and we can all work
towards that. That's all wanted. I needed to hear a date. You pick the system. I'm not here to
micromanage you. But I think in order for this to work, people need to know it's coming.
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Mr. Spanioli: Agreed.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Thanks.
Mr. Cruz-Casas: Thank you very much.
D2.2 DISCUSSION ITEM
12-01128
STATUS OF HIRING POLICE OFFICERS.
12-01128 Email - Status - Hiring Police Officers.pdf
DISCUSSED
Vice Chair Sarnoff. All right, Mr. Chair, couldl go to number 2?
Chair Suarez: Yeah, yeah, go for it.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. You know, interestingly enough, as you know, I've been bringing up the
status of hiring police officers. I think I'm on my 16th month of this and -- sorry? Well, here's
where we were in September 27, 2012. And just so the Chief understands, I'm reading -from the
minutes of that meeting, so this is not where I thought we were; this is where he thought we were.
We were 87 police officers down. If you guys remember, they were hiring 36; one has been
terminated, so we have 35. That would mean that we're 52 down. If you remember, I believe he
was going to install the new class. I don't know if that class has started. IfI read the Herald
correctly -- and choose sometimes not to, but did read them recently -- apparently, there have
been approximately 20 people dismissed or suspended. That would mean you're right back to 72
down. I'm going to tell this Commission, it is my intention next budget cycle to ask the Police
Department to increase the minimum ranks by 100 officers. I think the City ofMiami can no
longer police on what is colloquially or in the industry known as the southern policing model. I
think we are more akin to a northern city, and the per capita percentage of police officers to the
necessary number of citizens needs to be closer to the -- what they call northeast model. This
isn't just me talking. This was former Chief Timoney saying that. And this was former Mayor
Diaz saying this as well. They thought they needed to get up to 1,500 officers. Remember, we're
at 1,100 and something right now, and we're not even at that 1,100 and something. And I
believe I spoke to the Chief. The last time, so you know, as we all -- all we can do is allocate.
We can't do the hiring up at this dais. We have never been, in the past four years, up to our full
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allocation so --
Commissioner Gort: We never have.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Right. So something's broken. I'm not going to get into why and how it's
broken, but you're -- you certainly didn't have the most successful year on crime. I'm not saying
it was unsuccessful, but you had a glitch. And if we're ever going to get this city to a better
place, I believe it's going to be through more police officers. So, Chief I wanted to put it on the
record that it was two steps forward, but we're one step backwards 'cause we're still 72 police
officers down right now. Andl'm going to ask for 100 police officers in the next year's budget,
and know you've told me to refine that number by a number of lieutenants and a number of
sergeants, and that's fine 'cause you need the command staff necessary to govern them. But I
think you're still a little bit at a quagmire, andl think you need to expedite the process. And if
you need to come to us and say I need three more guys, five more guys to expedite applications,
come to us; say that. If you need to say I still have DOJ (Department of Justice) issues, come to
us and say that. If you say to us my HR (Human Resources) Department's not cooperating with
me, come to us and say that, because you own this department now. The problem was all yours.
And you need to get us up to full manpower and then, hopefully, the other Commissioners will
join with me and we add 100 police officers at the next budget cycle.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Are you going --? Do you want Chief to put something on the
record?
Vice Chair Sarnofff. He can -- I'm just -- I'm sort of pontificating, Commissioner.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Oh.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. I'm just -- I think he's letting me pontificate.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Can I pontificate with you for a moment? I'll wait till you finish
though.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. I'm done. I'm done pontificating. I -- I'm just saying, as much as anybody
who thinks we've made some distance up, we've also fallen backwards, and that's not to say bad
cops need to be, you know, done with as they need to be dealt with. And this is not a criticism of
his department by any stretch of the imagination. If you have 1,100-plus police officers, it is not
surprising you don't have 30 or 40 bad ones. I mean, it's just -- the numbers bear that out. So
this is not an indictment on the police department, but it is a calculation which has been going
on on this dais for 16 months. And as much as we think we've made process -- just numbers. I'm
not getting into what the qualitative analysis at all. Just numbers, we are still 72 police officers
down right now. Andl'm going to keep bringing this up, and I'm going to sound like a broken
record, andl apologize to my fellow Commissioners. But can't wait to say the day we're one
cop down. All right, thank you. The other thingl wanted to discuss --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just -- can I just --?
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Go ahead, please.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just -- I do want to say this really quickly, only because you
mentioned it. Andl know that we have a pending investigation, so I'm not going to get into those
details. But I do want to ask the Chief real fast if you don't mind coming to the front. And I --
and Chief knows I called him this week, you know, when I heard this stuff was actually
happening, andl wanted to assure him that, you know, at least from my perspective and District
5, the Chief has been outstanding in responding to our issues, discussing whatever key things
that are going on wrong in our district; to try to figure out a way to address the many, many
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issues. I know with this most recent issue, I think my district would probably be impacted the
most with the officers from -- whatever is going to happen from it in the end, the north end will
be impacted the most. I just want to make sure that there is some sort of plan put in place
because already, Chief you know, with -- you know, we're already down, as Commissioner
Sarnoff has mentioned, with officers from the standpoint we don't have enough officers. So with
this happening now, you're talking about a large chunk of officers from my district. That would
have some kind of impact. And out of all the places in the world, throughout the whole City of
Miami, my -- that particular area really cannot afford to have a shortage, really cannot afford to
have, you know, anymore issues when it comes to addressing, you know, the shootings or
whatever else is going on, that has happened in the area. So I just wanted to make sure there's a
transition plan that's put in place to make sure we have enough coverage, even with all -- even
with us having the lacking that we have, is there a plan put in place for that?
Chief Manuel Orosa (Police): Commissioner, just to put everybody at ease, whether or not there
is a current investigation, it's not our policy to comment on any of the issues if -- or there isn't
one.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Chief Orosa: But having said that, if something were to happen --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chief Orosa: -- we have 34 officers coming out of the FTO (Field Training Officer) program in
January --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Chief Orosa: -- and they're more than ample to pick up the slack. And we have another 18 that
are in training, the FTO program; hopefully in -- by the latter part of this month. So we will
have 34 and 18, a group that will be sufficient to cover any losses that we may have if there is an
investigation.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Chief Orosa: To clarify something Commissioner Sarnoff said, we do not have 20-something
people relieved of duty. We have currently 10 and it's based on different -- current investigations
that we have going on. The number 20-something, I really don't know where it came from, but
currently, we just have 10.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. I was just reading the Herald.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Chief something that you said, and I just want to make sure
thatl have clarity on it. The officers that Commissioner Sarnoff were saying that we're down,
are you including the FTO -- the officers that are in the FTO program?
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Yeah. I included the ones that came -- that are actually patrolling the streets
right now.
Commissioner Carollo: Right, because the officers that are in the FTO program, they're still
sworn law enforcement officers, correct, Chief?
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Chief Orosa: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: The only thing is they're riding two men. So you're actually -- so I want
to make sure that in your counts, you're including them as police officers.
Vice Chair Sarnoff The 36, which became 35, are no longer -- they're out of the FTO program,
right? Or they're coming out of it now.
Chief Orosa: January, first week in January.
Vice Chair Sarnoff So they're -- in other words, the number is the accurate number. I've
included those folks.
Commissioner Carollo: You've included those?
Vice Chair Sarnoff Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Now you said there's another --
Chief Orosa: Eighteen.
Commissioner Carollo: -- 18 that are currently in the FTO program?
Chief Orosa: No. We're going to hire those. Those individuals have passed everything that we
expect them to have passed, except we're just waiting the last step. And as soon as we get
information from the last step in the hiring process, which usually we really don't flunk anybody
out of that step, they'll be going into the FTO program.
Commissioner Carollo: Now those should not be in your count.
Chief Orosa: No.
Vice Chair Sarnoff No, they're not.
Commissioner Carollo: Those 18.
Vice Chair Sarnoff They're not.
Chief Orosa: No.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. But the other 35 are.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Correct.
Chief Orosa: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. I just wanted to make sure. Okay, thank you.
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Vice Chair Sarnoff You're recognized, Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: Conversations we've had, we know you a lot of obstacles sometimes. Andl
think it's important, like the -- Commissioner Sarnoff stated, you should bring it up and let us
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know.
Chief Orosa: Correct.
Commissioner Gort: 'Cause it looks like right now that you don't want to hire police officers.
That's the way it looks right here. So it's important for you to explain and go over special --
certain federal guidelines that you have to follow and so on but beyond that. Andl think you can
come and talk to us. And if we can help in any way -- One of the things that I've asked,
Administration -- we're going to have 244 individuals that are going to be leaving next -- within
this -- next year.
Chief Orosa: Two years.
Commissioner Gort: We have asked every department director if they have any problem in
hiring the process, in hire -- the hiring process, please, let's talk about it. If we can make
changes in here, let's make it. I've asked ER (Employee Relations) to let us know, to give us
suggestions. So we're here asking of you to give us suggestion, changes you need from us so we
can -- able to expedite the hiring of the individuals. Okay. Thank you. That's all.
Chair Suarez: Do you want to start back up from the front, start getting things done since we
have a full Commission now?
Vice Chair Sarnoff Yeah, that's fine. That's fine.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
D2.3 DISCUSSION ITEM
12-01391
D2.4
12-01397
D2.5
12-01398
D2.6
12-01399
DISCUSSION ON DEMOLITIONS PERFORMED WITHOUT PERMITS
AND/OR CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS.
12-01391 Email - Demolitions Performed without Permits.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION ON TRASH HOLES.
12-01397 Email - Trash Holes.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES RENTED FOR
COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.
12-01398 Residential Properties Rented.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION ON SUSPENSION OF PARKING METERS IN COCONUT
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
D3.1
12-01288
GROVE.
12-01399 Suspension of Parking Meters - Coconut Grove.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
END OF DISTRICT 2
DISTRICT 3
COMMISSIONER FRANK CAROLLO
DISCUSSION ITEM
UPDATE REGARDING THE $45 MILLION TUNNEL LOAN PAYMENT DUE
IN JANUARYAND CURRENT STATUS ON THE BOND ISSUANCE.
12-01288 Email - Update Port Tunnel.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Suarez: I'm sorry.
Commissioner Carollo: We're on -- that was --
Vice Chair Sarnoff 29. Now we're up to 30.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Right. That was --
Chair Suarez: Before going to 29 [sic], I'd like to recognize the City Manager for a point of
order.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm please -- actually, relieved to
report that the City's finance team, that was led by ACM (Assistant City Manager), Janice
Larned, have closed on the series 2012 bond sale that was conducted last Thursday.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Martinez: So we'll --
Commissioner Carollo: And I'm sorry. Isn't that a discussion item?
Chair Suarez: My apologies.
Commissioner Carollo: That's actually one of my discussion items, follow up on -- update on the
-- but that's okay. We can --
Commissioner Gort: I only have one question.
Mr. Martinez: Yes.
Commissioner Gort: The funds were award already?
Mr. Martinez: Yes.
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Commissioner Gort: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: I'll tell you what. Let's --
Chair Suarez: Let's do your discussion item now (UNINTET,T IGIBT ,F)
Commissioner Carollo: -- do my discussion item now.
Chair Suarez: We're going to take the discussion item out of order, and this will be
Commissioner Carollo's discussion item regarding an update on the bond refinancing.
Commissioner Carollo: Which is D3.1.
Chair Suarez: D3.1.
Commissioner Carollo: D3.1.
Chair Suarez: Mr. Clerk, if you have that.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Clerk.
Chair Suarez: Okay, so instead of it being a point of order, it will be a discussion.
Commissioner Carollo: D3.1.
Chair Suarez: Thank you. My apologies. You could start all over again, Mr. Manager.
Mr. Martinez: Well, I will say thatl was very relieved that we finally closed on the deal. We got
confirmation from Wells that they received the payment. The payment is way before -- it was due
on January 5, so we saved some interest rate -- some interest on that. The par amount was 44.7
million. The premium was 5.3 million. The average annual debt was 4 million, and the debt
service totaled 67 million, much less than what we had when we were doing this. The true
interest cost is 3.67, but the all -in interest cost with the cost of issuance and underwriters'
discount is 3.82. When we were doing our analysis before, we had estimated four and a quarter,
four point two four. But anyway, I wanted to say that on behalf of the Administration, I want to
thank the Mayor and this Commission for your thorough and in depth attention to this
transaction. I'm convinced that everyone -- andl do mean everyone -- goal was to bring the best
possible deal to our citizens and a deal that would stand up to the most intense scrutiny from the
dual path, to the single path, to the closing, and after the closing, we're still going to be
scrutinizing, andl think that was everyone's goal. And I'm just very relieved to report that we
closed in time to take care of that loan with Wells.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Manager. Does anyone want to chime in on that?
Vice Chair Sarnoff Only thing would say, you can be sure the Miami Herald will not report
this because it's good news. So anybody else out there that has a newspaper or anybody else
who would like to report this on -- by putting a big chalkboard out in the front of the City of
Miami, you could say good news happened at the City ofMiami. The citizens were saved
millions of dollars. But if good news falls in the woods, I can guarantee you, the Herald
wouldn't hear it.
Commissioner Gort: Mr. -- Go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: And --
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Chair Suarez: Let's go around the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on this one. Go ahead, Commissioner
Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman, I just want to also clam for the record, that was
without purchasing additional insurance, correct?
Mr. Martinez: You are correct. No insurance and only half the debt service we had to put up
front.
Commissioner Carollo: Right. So I just wanted to also clam that because I think it's important
because I think it's -- it demonstrates that, you know, this Commission and all of us working as a
team did make the right decision. Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: Well, I think it's important for all those people that write about us all the
time and our crisis and so on to understand that the -- when he stated $5 million premium bonds
means the people pay more for the bonds than it should. Instead of paying $1, 000 per bond, they
pay 1,100, 1,200, which means the people have faith in our deal. So I think it's very important
that people understand that 'cause it only seems to be the bad news. We never get the good news.
Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Commissioner. And I'd just like to say that I commend the Manager
and his team for putting this deal together and Commissioner Sarnofffor pushing it through as
well, and you know, convincing, I think, the skeptics and the skeptic in me. Throughout the
process, you know, I was skeptical when we decided to go the bond route andl was also
skeptical when we decided to finally actually pull the trigger. I think for good reasons I was
skeptical, for reasonable reasons. But I think having seen the final product and the interest rate
that we got, I think it's inevitable to conclude that so long as nothing unforeseeable happens,
which we, knock on wood, hope that will not, it seems like a great deal and even much better
than what was initially kind of -- we were briefed on. So congratulations to you and your team.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Mr. Chair.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. If anyone were ever to put their detective hat on and really look into what
this deal means -- and it demonstrates that the equity markets in the City ofMiami, the bond
markets see us as a healthy place and a place that's getting healthier. So I don't expect the
Herald to put its detective hat on because, after all, that would then require a good story. But
what I am saying is, if you really look at the pieces of this puzzle, it came together extremely well.
And even though that we somewhat micromanaged it, as a team, we all came together and
reached a result that will save the citizens ofMiami millions of dollars and on a project that
can't say enough good things about. I hope you've all been to the tunnel. I hope you've all taken
a tunnel tour. I'm probably the only one up here that was scheduled to do it yesterday that didn't
get to do it, so I still haven't seen the tunnel. But I think Commissioner Carollo said it best, we
all put our hats on, and in the debate, we all taught each other or helped each other cross
whatever chasm we needed to find. And that's the good part of this Commission, and that is that
when one is skeptical and another is sure of himself, as Commissioner Carollo would say, the
debate happens up here. It's the only time we can talk to each other --
Chair Suarez: Right.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. -- and we acted as a team.
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Chair Suarez: Andl think it definitely shows the faith that we have in each other and we've --
Commissioner Gort: And by the way, congratulations to the financial team. I think it was a
great team that was put together. They really worked on it real -- because this was not an easy
transaction.
Chair Suarez: Congratulations.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Yeah, thank you, Mr. Manager, and thanks to the financial team. They did a
nice job, a very nice job.
Chair Suarez: RE (Resolution) --
Commissioner Gort: And the Law Department too.
Chair Suarez: What's that?
Commissioner Gort: The Law Department also was --
Chair Suarez: Law Department.
Commissioner Gort: -- pretty much involved.
D3.2 DISCUSSION ITEM
12-01289
UPDATE REGARDING WORK PERFORMED BY OTHER
GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES ON CITY STREETS AND THE LACK OF
ADEQUATE MILLING AND RESURFACING TO RESTORE STREETS TO
THEIR ORIGINAL CONDITION.
12-01289 Email - Milling & Resurfacing St.pdf
DISCUSSED
Commissioner Gort: My next item is WASA (Water and Sewer Authority), but that's a time
certain 4 o'clock.
Chair Suarez: Yeah. It's five minutes away. I don't know if Water -- is WASA here? Okay. All
right, let's go. That's also --
Commissioner Gort: Public Works.
Chair Suarez: -- Commissioner Carollo's --
Commissioner Gort: Right.
Chair Suarez: -- C3. -- I'm sorry -- D3.2 item as well so.
Douglas Yoder: Good afternoon. My name is Doug Yoder. I'm deputy director of the
Miami -Dade Water and Sewer Department. I have colleagues with me, who I'll introduce in a
moment. We're here at your request to discuss some particular questions that the Manager
provided. I think you're all aware that we have a variety of infrastructure issues with our water
and sewer system countywide, particularly on the waste water side of things. Andl think it's fair
to say that our Mayor Gimenez is very much concerned in directing the effort that needs to be
done to get our system back in good operating condition. We're also in the midst of negotiating a
consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency, particularly with respect to the waste
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
water system. So the County Commission is very much aware of where we're heading on this.
We do -- we are redirecting resources in particularly -- in particular to the waste water collection
system, which I think is a matter of concern particularly to the City and to development that is
now beginning to pick up in the City. You may know and think there's an item on your agenda
today dealing with the construction of a new pump station to serve the Brickell area that is going
to be part of the solution. We will have a similar project to deal with, constraints that haven't yet
occurred but will occur in the north Biscayne area around the Omni area where there is a lot of
development in the works. And so we're going to be doing major work in that area as well. The
immediate issues -- and Commissioner Sarnoff has been particularly involved with the Coconut
Grove area, and two of the pump stations that serve that area that are now -- are not in
compliance with our EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) requirements. And we've been
working with your staff as recently as yesterday, meeting to promote that solution to -- and also
working with the development community to get us through the next 24 or so months that we
think it's going to take to completely resolve the question. So we are very much aware now of
what needs to be done, and it's a matter of bringing the resources to bear and actually
accomplishing the work. I want emphasize that we need to work collaboratively because
everything that we do in the City ofMiami, of course, requires your permits. And so we need to
make sure that our process is as efficient as it can be and that your process is as efficient as it
can be so that our customers and your constituents end up getting the service that they need. I'm
going to ask Vince Arrebola, who is our assistant director for waste water, to give you a little
briefing on the collection system situation in the City ofMiami and some of the specifics that
we're doing, if that meets with your approval.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Can I ask a question?
Mr. Yoder: Yes, go ahead.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Mr. Yoder, I attended, as you know, a number of the meetings --
Mr. Yoder: Yeah.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. -- and there's sort of a debate in my office. It's always bad when there's a
debate, because we're reading e-mails (electronic) and we're trying to figure out -- you,
obviously, will allow people to build so long as there's no net increase, NNI But at the meeting
we were at, there was going to be a decision made as to whether these two pump stations, which
need to -- let's just use the word replaced; whether the rest of the north, west, and south pipes
could handle the flow. I'm of the opinion, having read the e-mails, you've made that decision.
My chief of staff does not believe you've made that decision. I'd like you to go on the record and
say that those two pump stations, once refurbished and/or redone, that the north, south, and the
west pipes will handle allow.
Mr. Yoder: Yeah. I think -- I'm going to call on Vince to --
Vice Chair Sarnofff. I got you.
Mr. Yoder: -- be the one to go on the record with that.
Commissioner Gort: That's very smart.
Vicente Arrebola: Good afternoon. Commissioner, as part of the process of evaluating the
improvements of those stations, one of the things that we had to do was model the capacity in the
line. And as we discussed in the meeting that you make reference to, one of the things that we
have to establish is if by increasing this capacity of this pump stations, the downstream pipes
were able to take that additional flow. The answer is yes.
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Vice Chair Sarnofff. Okay, so --
Mr. Arrebola: And, in fact, we have completed our engineering -- preliminary engineering
design and basis of design review and have turned over that to our engineering department to
proceed with the hard design of these improvements.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Okay.
Mr. Arrebola: So that is already been ascertained and addressed.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Got you. Okay, so that's a settled issue, right?
Mr. Arrebola: Yes, sir.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Okay. And will tell me chief of staff that read e-mails better than he does
from now on, although it was unclear, candidly, in your e-mails. Then -- and you mind,
Commissioner? Is it all right?
Commissioner Gort: Go right ahead.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. The next issue I had is the first time I've heard the number 24 months, Mr.
Yoder, is today. I've heard numbers of 12. I've heard numbers of -- at the outside, 18 months.
How did we now get to 24 months?
Mr. Yoder: Well, I was shaving a few months off the 29 months that we had talked about based
on the productive meeting that Vince had with your City staff yesterday, but I'll just have Vince --
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Are we cooperating to the fullest? Are you satisfied that this Administration
is cooperating to the very fullest that it can and giving you the things you need to not be an
impediment or obstacle of any kind time wise or physical wise to getting those two pump stations
done?
Mr. Arrebola: Commissioner, the meeting yesterday -- and it was coordinated through your staff
and appreciate it very much -- was what considered very productive. We met with Alice Bravo
and her staff. In particular, we were discussing the issues of pump station 11, which is one of the
two pump stations that serve the Coconut Grove area. And one of the biggest problems that we
have is that the improvement to that station requires the installation of an emergency power
generator in compliance with state rules, and that was -- the 29-month estimate that we
provided, preliminary estimate, was -- we included -- and this is some of what we discussed
yesterday -- that we were allocating 6 months for the negotiation of an easement because we
don't have an easement for that generator.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. So that it's been determined that you guys at that meeting had -- were going
to discern from the federal government if, in fact, you could bring an emergency generator from
your, I think, LeJeune water treatment plant. I guess it's now -- well, I shouldn't say I guess.
What's been determined with that?
Mr. Arrebola: Well, there are two pump stations and both of them, on paper, require a
generator: pump station 11, which is the one on Douglas Park, and pump station number 9,
which is the one on 22nd. We believe -- and we have had some discussions with state staff -- that
in pump station number 9 is what we have -- we put on the table was, we could have a dedicated
portable generator located our -- at the LeJeune facility, so that will be in close proximity.
Because the issue with pump station 9, as you're well aware, that --
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Right.
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Mr. Arrebola: -- is in the middle of the right-of-way.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Have they determined that you can bring a portable?
Mr. Arrebola: Preliminary discussions with the state said yes. There are -- you know, we're still,
you know, finalizing that. But we are proceeding with the design of the improvement on the
assumption that the generator fork 9 is not going to be needed. We do need one for 11, and that's
Vice Chair Sarnofff. And that's Douglas Park.
Mr. Arrebola: -- the topic of our discussion yesterday.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. And are we facilitating you at Douglas Park?
Mr. Arrebola: Like I said, the meeting yesterday was very productive. We did get the
cooperation. In fact, Ms. Bravo said, you know, certainly, it's not going to take six months. And
her staff from both parts -- Planning, Public Works -- were there and committed to work. In fact,
we're going to be working in parallel. As we design these facilities, we will proceed with the
permitting process, the easements, the warrants, the process that you have in place.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Okay.
Mr. Arrebola: We did bring up the need to, for example, have -- get permits so that we can do
some of the repairs of the linear infrastructure, what we call the INI, or infiltration and inflow
project, that could reduce some of the loads that are going to that station. And that had been --
those permits we have for -- specifically for pump station 9 and 11. We had put in -- in October
they had been delayed, but I think we got a commitment yesterday from Public Works director
that we -- they were going to move and release those permits. So --
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Thank you.
Mr. Arrebola: -- in the last 24 hours, I can say we are working very well.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. All right. Commissioner.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you. My question is, part of my districts, you conducting a lot of the
work, introducing new pipes but here -- we have a little problem when somebody wants to build a
home in the middle of a block, they ask to replace the pipe within those two lots. And know
you're already doing work there, so you're asking our -- the people going to create affordable
housing within certain district to go through the expenditure of doing the pipe when you're going
to be doing it yourself. That's what I wanted to know today. What are your plans, particular I'm
talking about the Allapattah area? I know you're working within that area. Andl don't think it's
fair to be asking, in an existing neighborhood, for them to change the pipe when you're going to
be doing it.
Mr. Arrebola: Well, Commissioner, I'm not aware of this specific project that you're making
reference. We -- I don't know if the work that you're referring to is sewer repair work or water
work. I mean, sometimes if there is a substandard line and somebody is doing a development,
one of the requirements is that they bring that linear infrastructure to current standards. Again,
not knowing the specifics of the --
Commissioner Gort: Right.
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Mr. Arrebola: -- of this case, Commissioner, I cannot really respond to your question.
Commissioner Gort: Look --
Mr. Arrebola: But we will be more than glad to (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Gort: -- these are HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development)
projects, which it takes the single-family homes in existing residential area and they're asked to
do that. And then you ask them if they have two lots, they don't want to do one first and then the
other one. They got to do both lot at the same time, which makes it almost -- the impact is too
much for them.
Mr. Arrebola: That's -- may be able to answer.
Mr. Yoder: Mr. Jose Soto is the chief for our new customer division and routinely deals with
those issues. As a general proposition, you know, we don't require people to do repair and
replacement work only to provide additional capacity needed to serve their facility but -- Jose,
are you familiar with this particular one?
Jose Soto: Yes, sir. Jose Soto, chief new customer division, Miami -Dade Water and Sewer
Department. Commissioner, I am familiar with the case. I've met with the directors of
Community Development, their staff. I believe we had a very productive meeting last week. I've
been working directly with the staff on many of the affordable housing initiatives that the City
has, and that of perhaps, 60 homes, we came down to about 14 that had issues. Of the 14, we
resolved all of the cases except 2. The case that you're referring to, I believe that was resolved in
a way that it was not favorable to the construction of the homes. The water main extension was
indeed required. It was required by myself. But as we met and we found an alternate approach,
I believe that that -- if it's 60th Street that we're talking about, okay -- there were many, many
homes and many sites -- that one has been resolved to the satisfaction of the Department and
particularly of the City administrators who are trying to build these affordable homes in these
empty lots.
Commissioner Gort: I really appreciate it because we need -- at the same time, business, when
they're going to pull out a permit, they have to go through the whole process. Sometimes it takes
too long. Sometimes those business people can't be waiting that long because it's money that is
being expended. Andl appreciate we working as a team, which is a very important thing.
Mainly the reason we want to have you here today is -- I know our departments can work very
closely together and that is very helpful.
Mr. Soto: I think that Mr. Ignacio can speak to that effect of what I just said.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Do you want to say something?
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): No.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Mr. Mensah: (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F).
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Go ahead.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: The only thing that I want to -- I -- first of all, I appreciate you
guys coming in to explain the situation. And a lot of times, it's just a miscommunication or not
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having a conversation that creates the angst.
Mr. Arrebola: Absolutely.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And so I'm glad that there's now -- you know, because we've asked
about it, there's now a conversation that took place last week that's opening door so that we can
address these type of issues. I want to be honest with you on the City Commission, before you
guys came today, when you said anything about WASA, it was like, you know. So I'm glad that
we know that you don't have horns growing out of the side of your heads, so that's one
accomplishment for the day. There's three things that I just want to mention to you quickly. And
Mr. Mensah did mention that you guys are well on your way. But one of the things I do want to
piggyback off of Commissioner Gort on was the issue of the affordable housing. I know you
mentioned 60th Street, which is in my district. I'm going to talk about Spring Gardens [sic] for a
minute and about, you know, all of the major construction -based projects that we have in the
City ofMiami, not just in my district but in everybody's district. One of the reasons why we were
talking about why this came up as -- you know, we must have you here is because we wanted to
be clear on, you know, all the patch work. For instance, in the Spring Gardens [sic] area, we
just, through CIP (Capital Improvements Project), made some major upgrades. And as I was
doing my drive-throughs with Public Works, we noticed that there were a lot of -- there was a lot
of patch work on a lot of those streets that never got repaired, and we're talking about six or
seven years. And when I had requested for information on it, it was almost like the time had
lapsed and that WASA was not going to come in and take care of it. I just want to make sure
that, you know -- one, I want to be clear if there is a time frame. If you can put it on -- I'm
assuming that's what Commissioner Sarnoff was talking about, the 24 months for the correction
of this stuff. Is that where --? Because I just want -- and Spring Gardens [sic] has been -- if
that's the statement, I know for a fact that Spring Gardens [sic], it has to have been at least four
or five years that those roads have not been touched.
Mr. Yoder: Well, I think -- when I was talking 24 months, I was talking about the Coconut Grove
pump station. But I am familiar with the Spring Garden situation. You probably know Ernie
Martin, who is a long-time friend of mine as well.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Mr. Yoder: And we did undertake some work to improve the water and sewer system there
probably a couple of years ago in conjunction with some work that the City was doing. And
there was, at the time, some anticipation that there might be some funding left from the City's
work to repave all of the streets that we did our work in.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. I think --
Mr. Yoder: I think, in the end, it turned out that there wasn't.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. No, I think you're talking about the greenway project, which
you guys worked closely together on that.
Mr. Yoder: Yes.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: That was done and --
Mr. Yoder: Yes.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- we were able to resolve it. I'm talking about prior to the
greenway project happening, which was about four or five years ago. There was some work that
was done by WASA in those areas, and literally, it just looked like patch work and no one ever --
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andl believe -- andl -- one of the reasons why this came up was Commissioner Carollo also had
pictures and photos. I'm surprised he doesn't have his pictures and photos today, but --
Commissioner Carollo: Actually, they're coming. Remember, this is my discussion item. I'm just
letting everyone else -- apparently, there's a lot of issues with WASA and it's all being comingled.
But the photos are coming again.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: The photos are coming.
Commissioner Carollo: They're coming.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So he's going to show you the photos. But he was the one that
kind of ignited the fact that this needed to happen like immediately, so that's what I'm speaking.
I really would like to know -- andl understand that we may not get that answer today. I think
this open-door communication is going to allow for us to have -- you know, to change what has
been happening. But Spring Garden is only one of the communities that I'm suffering that issue
with, and it is actually throughout my whole entire district. So I'm hoping that, through Public
Works and your partner -- our partnership with you we'll change it. So that was one area, which
is the patch work. The other thing that I was having an issue with -- I -- in my district I also have
Lummus Park, which is on the river. I believe one or two of the Commissioners, we share the
river together. And we're getting ready, through our Capital Improvement dollars, to put in an
outdoor baywalk -- riverwalk attached to Lummus Park so that, you know, boats can actually
pull up, that they can actually be on the boardwalk. But one of the things that we've been trying
to do, which we've had -- not had a lot of success with was connecting the park area, which will
become an outdoor seafood marketplace now for fresh fish and shrimp and the rest -- and
everything else -- is we've been having a hard time getting the support from WASA to connect
Casablanca's and Garcia's to the park, because you have a building that sits right on --
Commissioner Gort: In between.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- North -- yeah, in between.
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. I --
Mr. Yoder: Well --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- appreciate the parking lot, so I'm not going to --
Mr. Yoder: Yeah, that's --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'm happy with the parking lot. We needed the parking. But I
want us to work together because we do need that area to be a vibrant area. Our fishermen are,
you know, dying trying -- you know, just trying to survive, you know, with their businesses. And
any way that I could have that connection happening where, you know, people would come to
that park and then walk down and have -- you know, can eat in those restaurants, we want to
make that a livable, walkable, you know --
Mr. Yoder: Right. That --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- river.
Mr. Yoder: -- is pump station number one --
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Mr. Yoder: -- the very first pump station in the Miami sewer system --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Mr. Yoder: -- that was built.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Is that going to close?
Mr. Yoder: But that -- my understanding -- and we'll certainly go back and revisit it -- that the
riverwalk, which the County is, I believe, constructing with bond funds, was going by the pump
station. It can't go on the water side, but it can go around our facility. We had also worked out
an arrangement there to provide parking area, that we worked with the Parking Authority --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right, right. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to cut you off. I know --
Mr. Yoder: If that -- is that what we're -- is that --?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: You're in the right area --
Mr. Yoder: Right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- but wrong subject. So yes, the riverwalk got done and you guys
worked on that.
Mr. Yoder: Right, right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'm speaking more of the issue of connecting the boardwalk that
we're getting ready to put -- I'm saying the boardwalk that's on the river itself. You know, as you
come to the park, you can walk up to the various restaurants. That -- behind that on the
boardwalk, we've been trying to work along with you guys to connect the parks boardwalk to the
restaurant because there's an issue. Literally, like -- I know, for instance, at Garcia's, there's no
way for them to connect their boats so that if people want to come in -- literally, I've seen people
like jumping off trying to go to the restaurant. So I just want to figure out -- I understand the
issue of being behind the pump station.
Mr. Yoder: Right, right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: But we've got to figure out a creative way to work together. I
don't know if that means a --
Mr. Yoder: We'll certainly be happy to --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Please. I mean, let's --
Mr. Yoder: -- meet, you know, with your --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- not say no first.
Mr. Yoder: -- staff or the Manager's staff and see what can be done.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So, CIP -- Where are you, Mark? Stand up. I want him to see
you, okay, 'cause we want that riverwalk, that seafood marketplace to be moving. We're going to
be breaking ground on it, and l just don't want this to be an issue. Because it makes --
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Mr. Yoder: No, ma'am.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- no sense to cut it off and not connect the businesses, so --
Mr. Yoder: We'll certainly do everything we can do.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- if we can work together on that would be great.
Mr. Yoder: Yeah.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And last but not least, you do have a program called the System
Betterment program, correct? I think you're --
Mr. Yoder: Um -hum.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I don't know who's responsible for it. One of you guys are
responsible for it. One of you guys are responsible for it. Is there any way we can implement
this particular program in underserved areas or areas like Allapattah, like Liberty City, you
know, where you're talking about asking people to do upgrades? And quite frankly, some of the
upgrades cost more than the house, you know. So you're asking a builder to come in to invest in
the neighborhood to, you know, transform a neighborhood, and quite frankly, they won't be able
to afford it because, as Commissioner Gort has said, they would have to spend all of their money
on upgrades. So I would like to see if we can implement this System a [sic] Betterment program,
and I'm assuming that it focuses on areas that are in despair, that have infrastructure -related
issues. I want to see if we can make sure that this type of program can be implemented in our
areas as well, and we'll -- and George can provide you with those target areas.
Mr. Yoder: The -- yeah, I think -- you know, one of the issues that we have is that we cannot use
our rate revenues to provide service to people who don't have service or to pay for capacity
upgrades that are not part of the regional system, which is what the connection charges pay for.
So when you pay for your connection fee, you're paying for your share of the treatment plant and
your share of the large regional transmission systems that go from treatment plants to the
customers. But for the local collection or distribution system, those costs are typically paid by
the customers or the developers or the developers' customers who are adding onto the system.
And so we do have some legal constraints in terms of the revenues that are available to us from
our operations to do those what you would call system betterments. Now, there are some cases
where the connection charges can be waived by the County Commission, but it's -- You know, we
would like to be able to extend service to everybody without having them pay for it, but we don't
have a way to do it right now.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Andl think -- And I'm going to turn it over to your,
Commissioner Carollo -- that one of the issues that came in the last City Commission meeting
was that some of the upgrades that we're talking about were a part of the overall bond -- past
bonds that you might have had for upgrades.
Mr. Yoder: Right. If -- yeah. Right. If you --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And part of our issues in turn was, you know, the monies that have
been allocated for certain areas, you know, is not being used for that, okay. And then what's
happening is, you know, the -- when you're starting to build in those areas, the developers or
people that are trying to build in those areas, instead of them offering that as a option, they're
saying no, you got to pay for it. Andl understand 'cause, logically, it probably would be the best
thing. IfI was in your position, why should we spend our money on that when somebody else
wants to build in the area, they should cover it.
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Mr. Yoder: Yeah.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: But, clearly, if the money's been already identified to do this type
of work, that those areas -- that should not even be an issue.
Mr. Yoder: Yeah. There are general obligation bond monies that are allocated to each
Commission district that can be used to do that kind of work. And so the County Commissioner
whose district that is --
Commissioner Gort: County Commissioner, okay, good.
Mr. Yoder: -- would be the person to talk to to see if funds are available.
Commissioner Gort: Good to know that, okay.
Vice Chair Sarnoff I have a question.
Commissioner Gort: That works.
Vice Chair Sarnoff I have a question.
Mr. Yoder: Yes, sir.
Vice Chair Sarnoff It's a little bit controversial, so I apologize. But as long as I have the three
kings here, I'm going to ask it. The past ten years, how much has gone from Water and Sewer
into the general fund of the County and how many IOUs (I Owe You's) have been issued to the
County for placing the WASA money into the general fund?
Mr. Yoder: How much money has gone and how --?
Vice Chair Sarnoff You're your own entity, correct?
Mr. Yoder: Right. Well --
Vice Chair Sarnoff But the County Commission has the ability to use your funds.
Mr. Yoder: Right.
Vice Chair Sarnoff How much of your funds have they put into the general operating fund, or
any other source other than yours, to help them in their budgeting, and then how many IOUs
have been issued for those funds? It's a little bit like Social Security in America: government
borrows Social Security so that it looks like the deficit is never as small as what it is. Bill Clinton
got lucky and he actually said there's no deficit this year, because I think he only borrowed $16
billion from Social Security that year. So what happens is, as Social Security rolls on, it won't
have the requisite amount of money because they've been taking money for it --
Mr. Yoder: Yeah.
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- or from it to balance the government's budget. My question to you is the
County does something substantially similar, correct?
Mr. Yoder: The County has, over the years, used revenues from the Water and Sewer Department
in what has been called a Return on Equity Payment, which I hasten to add is a -- is legal. It is
not unusual --
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Commissioner Gort: (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F)
Mr. Yoder: -- for a municipal utilities --
Commissioner Gort: That's a good word.
Mr. Yoder: -- you know, to --
Commissioner Gort: Return on equity.
Mr. Yoder: -- use -- it's not unusual for publicly -owned utilities to be a revenue source to
support other activities. So I -- you know, I don't know exactly over the past ten years. I know
there is a tabulation that I could provide to you that I think goes back further than that --
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Oh, even greater.
Mr. Yoder: -- was -- that when you accumulate it for a period of time, the Department was
providing about $30 million a year. Since I've been there, since 2006, we had two years where
we provided $25 million in this immediate past year, which were payments. They were expected
to be paid back at any point. Where -- and this past year, there was a $25 million loan that is
going to be paid back.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. And I'd like you to subdivide the two because, inevitably, I suspect that
you're going to tell me, inevitably, in a year or two, there's going to be a new bill given to
citizens that are going to say, In order for the Water and Sewer Department to fix all these leaky
pipes, we're going to need to raise your rates from 200 a month to 400 a month, 'and everybody's
going to go ifh-h-h. "Andl just want to know how much of the money you were deriving from
your revenue sources, from your installations, from your use fees, whatever else I don't know
about, how much of that has gone to the County as part of the general fund? Question number
one. Question number two, how much of that has an IOU attached to it? Call it what you want.
Call it a equity reimbursement.
Mr. Yoder: Yes, right.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Call it creative accounting. Call it Social Security on steroids. Call it
whatever you'd like. I just want to know, numerically -- and I'm not trying to qualitative or
quanti -- I do want a quantitative analysis. How much is it? Are we talking about 190 million;
we talking about 300 million? Are we talking --
Mr. Yoder: Yeah. I --
Vice Chair Sarnofff. -- about a billion?
Mr. Yoder: As I said, I don't -- I can't recall right over the -- off the top of my head over the past
ten years, but I will be happy to provide that information.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Could you provide it to each one of these Commissioners? I think --
Mr. Yoder: Yeah. If --
Vice Chair Sarnofff. -- all of our --
Mr. Yoder: -- provide it to the Manager --
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Vice Chair Sarnoff That'll be perfect. He would be the perfect guy.
Mr. Yoder: Yeah.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Since he worked over there for a while, maybe he could get it through even
quicker.
Mr. Yoder: I don't know. He may have been a beneficiary. I don't know.
Vice Chair Sarnoff I wasn't going to say it. Thank you very much.
Commissioner Gort: Commissioner Carollo.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. My discussion item was pretty popular, huh? Andl guess
it's just that, you know, I think opened up Pandora's Box. And if WASA was coming, you know,
I think --
Vice Chair Sarnoff (UNINTET,T IGIBT,F)
Commissioner Carollo: -- there was a lot of issues, so thank you for attending, all of you. I truly
appreciate it. And originally, my discussion item was work performed by other governmental
agencies, you know, on city streets, and the lack of adequate milling and resurfacing in order to
restore the streets to their original condition. I actually showed some pictures in the last
Commission meeting, and since you are here, ifI could show them again. I don't think we added
any, but we did find more streets. And ifI may, let me have Judy from my staff show the pictures,
and she's going to hook up the computer. She'll be pretty quick about it. That way you could see
exactly what we were speaking about, andl think also Commissioner Spence -Jones mentioned it
so --
Mr. Yoder: You know, I think one thing that we've had some discussions on that may help the
situation --
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Mr. Yoder: -- is if we can do as we have done with the Department of Transportation, which is
enter into a -- kind of a master memorandum of understanding so that whenever you are doing
street work, you -- your contractors also do our work. That may be necessary because often
when street work is done, we have to move pipes and so on.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, the problem has been that you all -- andl mean you all, I mean
WASA -- has done work on city streets and then they are not brought back to their original
conditions and, therefore, you start receiving [sic] pot holes, you start seeing cracks, and all of a
sudden, the -- you know, the neighbors, the residents are complaining.
Mr. Yoder: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: And it was a problem not caused by the City ofMiami.
Mr. Yoder: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: Yet, everyone is expecting us to fix the problem and that takes revenue.
Mr. Yoder: Right.
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Commissioner Carollo: That takes money.
Mr. Yoder: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: Therefore, what we're asking is that you restore the streets to their
original condition, and I'll show you some of the pictures. If you see -- andl know it's kind of
like -- you see -- you clearly see the strip that was a Water and Sewer pipe.
Mr. Yoder: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: It was repaired; yet, when you restored it and -- milled and resurface or
did a patch work, you clearly see that it's not done correctly. Continue to the next one. Here you
see more of it right down the middle of the street. Go to the next one. There you see another
street with the same situation. And then what -- and here you start seeing -- you're starting to see
the potholes, you're starting to see the craters. These are city streets. This was not caused by the
City ofMiami.
Mr. Yoder: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: Originally, the street was done correctly. You know, WASA came, did
whatever work you needed to do, and it was not restored, and it was not mill and resurface to its
original condition. What's happening? You see the craters. You see the potholes are starting to
now be more visible. And the residents are complaining. And if we had an infinite amount of
money, you know, hey, we're a government agency; you know, we'll do the work and -- however,
that's not the case. Therefore, since the County has so much more funding than the City and
since it was not the City that caused this to occur, we are respectfully requesting that you come
and --
Mr. Yoder: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- resurface. Andl think -- Go to the next one, Judy. Here -- oh, here's
Mr. Yoder: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: -- the one. You see that pothole. You see that crater. And
unfortunately, you know, the residents are paying for this. They're the ones who's driving over
these potholes. They're the ones who -- you know, their rims, tires are getting messed up, and it's
viewed negatively upon the City ofMiami; yet, we really had nothing to do with it. It's not our
fault.
Mr. Yoder: No, no. I understand that. And I think -- I don't know -- Ed Vega, who's our
assistant director of engineering, may have some insights. You know, obviously, one way to
address it is to repave the entire street which, of course, would require that we have an infinite
amount of money, which we have infinity minus what we have given to the County general fund
but --
Commissioner Carollo: Well, obviously, you're doing very well. So what I'm saying is some of
that money needs to be --
Mr. Yoder: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: -- put back --
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Mr. Yoder: You know, the theory -- and Ed will correct me if I'm wrong -- is that the restoration
work should be structurally sound, so if it's done as an inlay, which is a slightly different word
than patch, it should be stable as traffic continues to use it. But, Ed, do you want to --?
Commissioner Carollo: And here you see the perfect example. This picture, you know --
Mr. Yoder: Yes.
Eduardo Vega: Right. I suspect this is work that we do with our in-house forces. So in in-house,
we don't have the capability to do a final pavement restoration, so what you see in there is a
temporary restoration that sometimes it takes a lot of time. And the reason for that is we depend
on Public Works contracts, paving contracts, and there is a coordination effort that sometimes it
takes over a year. We were about probably six months without a Public Works contract and
that's the reason that it takes so long. What we do when we did this type of emergency repairs,
we do it with hot mix, rather than doing a typical temporary patch. We call it a temporary patch
because it's not done to regular standards, but at the same time, we use hot mix. So the hot mix
is -- it will take -- withstand more the use of the traffic for a year or a year and a half. But,
again, the challenge that we have is -- and we need to make that correction -- that it takes longer
for the department from Public Works to bring back their private contractor and do the entire
resurfacing of the street.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but the issue is that --
Mr. Vega: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- leaving a street like this is unacceptable.
Mr. Vega: We understand that.
Commissioner Carollo: And you're asking the City then to pay for it.
Mr. Vega: No.
Commissioner Carollo: And we're in a position where, okay, if we don't fix it, then this is what
we have and our -- and clearly, I mean, you see that pothole. Any resident that, you know, drives
over that, I mean, their tires, the rims, I mean -- so this is unacceptable. So we have to come to
some compromise. Andl was speaking to our Public Works director, and there's apparently 466
locations where WASA has already, I guess, assumed responsibility. Is that the correct --? And
I'll yield to the director of Public Works.
Commissioner Gort: Throughout the whole City.
Commissioner Carollo: But this is monies that the City doesn't have. And at the same time, this
is unacceptable. I mean, any resident of the City ofMiami will tell you --
Mr. Vega: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: -- leaving a road in this condition is unacceptable.
Mr. Vega: What I just want to tell you that what -- we do recognize, that is, it takes time, but I
don't remember the time that we have asked the City to do the repair work for the Department or
pay for the repair. I don't remember any given time that we had requested the City to do the
work.
Commissioner Carollo: Understood, and that's fair enough.
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Mr. Vega: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: But here's the thing, you haven't asked us to do it, but this is what we
get. So the residents --
Commissioner Gort: So we have to do it anyway.
Commissioner Carollo: -- are asking us to do it.
Mr. Vega: Just call us and then we will be there as soon as we can.
Commissioner Carollo: You know, andl think we've identified 466 locations citywide.
Nzeribe Ihekwaba: That's correct, Mr. Commissioner. Good afternoon. Zerry Ihekwaba, Public
Works director. My department has identified 466 locations citywide for permits, excavation
permits that had been issued for Water and Sewer facility improvement for the past three years.
Late last night we received communication from the County actually committing to this
restoration. They've identified 243 locations between Water and Sewer and Miami -Dade County
Public Works that will be addressed immediately with the existing contracts. They're looking into
closing out an additional 92 locations that they believe they've already done the restoration,
pending my staff going out there for final inspections, leaving out a balance of 130 locations,
which they are still investigating the circumstances. The location you just showed on the slide,
which is Southwest 12th Street, if I'm not mistaken --
Commissioner Carollo: No, that's not 12th Street.
Mr. Ihekwaba: Okay.
Unidentified Speaker: Third Avenue?
Commissioner Carollo: That is 3rdAvenue, between 6 and 7 Street.
Mr. Ihekwaba: Okay. There's a prior slide that you showed that -- which is between 12th
Avenue and 11 th Avenue.
Commissioner Carollo: That's fine. There's 466 locations thus far.
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: Therefore, that's a lot of --
Mr. Ihekwaba: I just want --
Commissioner Carollo: -- locations.
Mr. Ihekwaba: -- to confirm that the County Public Works has already admitted that's part of the
backlog that they will be addressing soon. So we've been -- the County has been cooperating
with us in the past -- recent past --
Commissioner Carollo: And by the way --
Mr. Ihekwaba: (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F).
Commissioner Carollo: -- you know, we're both governmental agencies so I expect to cooperate
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and work together.
Mr. Vega: We will.
Commissioner Carollo: But you understand, you know, what I am seeing. And this is not just
one street. I mean, citywide, it's 466, you know, locations that's having this -- these issues. You
know, it's creating potholes. We just pur -- or we did the procurement for a new pothole machine
in the City ofMiami at the tune of a hundred and forty -some thousand dollars, you know, so it's
monies that, you know, the City is having to, you know, expense or put out, you know, for issues
that we have not caused. However, although maybe WASA is not saying you have to fix it, the
bottom line is, leaving a road in this condition is unacceptable and, ultimately, we're going to
have to fix it. So, you know, we are reaching out and just saying, hey, do what's fair, you know,
and just restore the streets to their original condition, simple as that. It will save the City of
Miami a lot of money.
Commissioner Gort: Let me tell you what the major problem is.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Commissioner Gort: You all subcontract all that work. Subcontractors sometimes are not
complied and then what is supposed to be a temporary becomes permanent, and they'll tell you
they did the work and all that. If we don't go after them and make sure that they do the right
work, which is something we do with our Public Works right now. The other thing we're doing,
which I'm very grateful to you all, we -- in Allapattah, you are coordinating your efforts with
construction that we're going to do on the streets, and we were very successful. After you all
finish, then we went and did our street. So this type of combination is very important that we
continue to talk with each other. Andl thank you all for being here today. My second question
is -- my last one, how do you utilizing the facility in the Grove?
Mr. Vega: Which facility you're talking about?
Commissioner Gort: The one -- the building the City gave to you on 42ndAvenue with the --
Mr. Vega: Oh, you mean -- Oh, the LeJeune building.
Commissioner Gort: The LeJeune building.
Mr. Vega: Yeah, this is where our engineering offices are, fully occupied.
Commissioner Gort: You still office there?
Mr. Vega: Oh, yes. There are over 200 employees working at that location.
Commissioner Gort: Okay. Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: And just to go back to the issue that I was speaking about, Zerry -- Mr.
Director, when do you foresee that all 466 locations will be fixed? Andl know you're working
with the County. Have they given you some type of determination?
Mr. Ihekwaba: IfI recall correctly, Mr. Commissioner, the County Public Works has already
submitted permits to enable them to commence construction. On the record, I've been advised by
the County engineer --
Commissioner Carollo: Uh-huh.
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Mr. Ihekwaba: -- Mr. Antonio Cotarelo, that within 60 days of procuring all the applicable
permits, constructions will be completed.
Commissioner Carollo: Will they do the construction and sub it out, or will we -- or would they
pay us and we get --?
Mr. Ihekwaba: No. My understanding, they have an existing contracts.
Commissioner Carollo: Got you.
Mr. Vega: This is -- No. Now they have an existing contract. The only thing -- we're going to be
working together, and we have been working together for a while now. The only that would ask
is probably we can -- is we can expedite the permits so that we can have the contractor there as
soon as possible.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Mr. Manager, is that possible, that the County WASA can
expedite some of these permits so they could actually mill and resurface correctly some of these
streets?
Mr. Martinez: Absolutely. It -- probably -- when we do one, it's just changing the address and
the --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay, so you will work with them? Because as you could see, our City
streets, you know, are in desperate needs of repair and, you know, this is one way that we're --
we, the City, are not going to have to pay for it. Andl think it's going to save a lot of money. I
mean, citywide alone, we've identified 466 locations. So, you know, I think this is really
important, and we're talking big bucks.
Mr. Vega: And by the way, that's the good news. The Department have been for a while -- andl
have met with the Manager andl met with Ms. Bravo. We are preparing a -- what he mentioned,
a joint project agreement which would -- normally, it's called JPA. This is the same type of
agreement we use with FDOT Basically, it's work with your workplan -- your workplan and
our work plan so that we can do the work together. The final draft have already been prepared
by our County Attorney's office. We're meeting tomorrow. Hopefully, it's going to be our final
meeting, as soon as we get it. So we're going to be transmitting that information to your
attorney's office so they can look at it. And then when it's final, it's going to go in front of your
Commission, it's going to go in front of our Commission. We call it a master because any other
-- any work that we do in the future, it can be fully coordinated with the City and Miami -Dade
Water and Sewer. All right..
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
Mr. Vega: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: And, again, I appreciate you coming here and addressing the
Commission.
Mr. Vega: Thanks for the opportunity.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. I look forward to working with you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Vega: Very good.
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D3.3
12-01291
D3.4
12-01402
DISCUSSION ITEM
PROCEDURES REGARDING THE CIP PROCESS IN ORDER TO BETTER
THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY.
12-01291 Email - CIP Process - Infrastructure & Srvcs.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS FOR
BOARDS AND COMMITTEES.
12-01402 Email - Membership Reqmts. - Bds & Committees.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Suarez: Okay, D1.3? You want to do D1.3 or --?
Commissioner Gort: I think covered all of mine.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Avoiding unnecessary hearings. Avoiding unnecessary hearings.
Commissioner Gort: With?
Chair Suarez: That's what it says here, addressing communication --
Commissioner Gort: I thought we address it all.
Commissioner Carollo: I thought he did too.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Commissioner Sarnoffs not here. Commissioner Carollo, do you want to
do your other ones?
Commissioner Carollo: There's one that I'd rather wait for all Commissioners to be here.
There's another one that I would like to move on quickly. It's regarding -- it's D3.4, and it's
regarding membership requirements for boards and committees. It seems like we're all over the
board with that, no pun intended. But I'll give you an example. And brought it last time with
PAZB [sic] Board where we couldn't have a four fifth waiver. I'm seeing this again with the
Parks Advisory Board, either someone that came forward that -- and came to me that is pretty
qualified, and she asked to be part of the Park [sic] Advisory Board. However, she is not a City
resident, and it seems to me like there is no four fifth waiver or any type of waiver for a noncity
resident. So it just seems like we're all over the board with regards to waivers and, you know,
requirements. So I don't know if someone needs to actually review this and make it, you know,
across the board, review all the boards, or if then I should just bring an ordinance to make it a
four fifth, you know, waiver for the Park [sic] Advisory Board for noncity residents. And I
wanted to bring it up for discussion.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Commissioner, if you would like, the issue of what the
qualifications are for board appointment, unless there's something specific about the particular
board, you know, such as a technical requirement, it's a purely policy decision. So the thing is is
that we've established boards throughout the years in a piecemeal fashion and sometimes
individual boards -- particular boards have particular appointment, you know, qualifications
requirement. If you want some uniformity, we could amend the code; bring back an ordinance to
make it uniform so that the waiver provisions would be applicable throughout --
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Commissioner Gort: Throughout.
Ms. Bru: -- and the like. So we can work with your staff on it, if that's the will of the
Commission.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. And it's something that I want to bring up to this Commission to
see if it's something that everyone is willing to entertain. Because what I'm seeing is that, first of
all -- and I've -- and this is something that we've discussed in the past. Is it the Commissioner's
job to go out and seek people for these boards or should we have people apply and come to the
Commissioner saying they want to participate? I can tell you that in the three years that I've
been a Commissioner, I've had no one, except for this person, come to me and ask me to be part
of the Park [sic] Advisory Board. So, obviously, I want to give this person an opportunity,
especially when I see -- I review their resume and they have a very good resume. However, then
I see, well, since she doesn't live in the City, you know, she does not qualify. And for other
boards, we have the four fifth waiver, but it doesn't apply in this particular matter. So I'm
saying, you know, I could always bring an ordinance for this, like I did with the PAZ [sic] Board.
But the truth of the matter is should we just look at it across the board or at all the committees
and boards and make sure that, you know, we have something that's generic. I understand that
for some boards, there will be some, you know, exceptions and, you know -- because of the
nature of the board, but for the most part -- I mean, Park [sic] Advisory Board, I don't see any
particular reason why we couldn't have a four fifth waiver for a noncity resident.
Chair Suarez: I don't have a problem with that.
Commissioner Carollo: And --
Commissioner Gort: That's a policy decision is what you're saying, okay.
Commissioner Carollo: So --
Commissioner Gort: She'll have to bring it back.
Commissioner Carollo: -- bring it back with regards to this board, the Park [sic] Advisory
Board, or bring it back in general.
Chair Suarez: I would just say with regard to this board because I think there are some boards
where you do want, you know, residency to be a requirement.
Commissioner Carollo: No, I understand. That's where maybe we would want to look at it
because some --
Commissioner Gort: Zoning and Planning, you need to be a resident.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, some may be specific. But already came across two, the PZAB
(Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board) for, you know, County employees, and now the Parks
Advisory Board for City residents. And I'm starting to wonder, do we need to do some type of
analysis across the board.
Chair Suarez: Overall.
Commissioner Carollo: But, you know, if it's the will of this Commission, I'll bring it back as a
ordinance just for the Park [sic] Advisory Board and move forward then.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
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D3.5
12-01403
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Chair Suarez: That works.
Commissioner Carollo: With regards to any of the rest of my discussion items, I'll just continue it
to the next meeting.
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING THE TIMELY ISSUANCE OF THE AUDITED
FINANCIAL STATEMENT ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2012.
12-01403 Timely Issuance -Audited Financial Statement.pdf
DISCUSSED
Commissioner Carollo: And Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: There is one discussion item that I'd like to have all five Commissioners
here, and I'll make it quick. It's regarding our timely issuance of our audited financial
statements for the year ended September 30, 2012. I want to make -- I want to see if our chief
financial officer comes forward and speaks to us with regards to how is the process going and
will we be issuing our financial statements on time.
Janice Larned: Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the Commission. Janice Larned, assistant
City Manager, chief financial officer. What I'd like to do is lay out basically the calendar that
we have and then take any questions that you may wish to pose. As you know, we have the
number ten item in our financial integrity principles, which is Section 18-542 of our code that
says that we must have our CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) completed by the
auditors by March 31. At this point in conversations with the auditors, which are Ernst and
Young, we have been given a projected due date for the close -to -final CAFR by February 28. In
essence, we have moved forward at least a month so that we can meet the March 31 deadline.
We have already completed our hard close, which occurred December 4. At this point we are
continuing to create what are called Prepared by Client"schedules. There are approximately 150
of them. We've only completed about 30 percent of that. We are conducting weekly meetings
with Ernst and Young so that we are keeping them apprised of our progress as they continue to
seek additional information from us. We are also expecting to receive, as was earlier reported,
the completed annual financial reports from approximately 16 agencies and component units
that will, in fact, be folded into the City's CAFR. With that, I'd like to say that in order to meet
these deadlines, we have developed a plan B, if you will, while we are continuing to recruit for
the Finance Department. The plan B, as sanctioned by the City Manager, is to pull financial
professionals from the other City departments and create an internal support team. We are
scheduled to commence that work in January with two teams. First is a team of preparers and
second is a team of reviewers. We know that the heavy lifting is going to be done in January and
that is why this team has been compiled. It is, in fact, temporary in nature. It is not a permanent
fix. We are not pulling people in permanently from the other departments. With that, I'll be
happy to answer any questions.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Ms. Lamed. And my question is very straightforward. Do
you foresee the City ofMiami having issued audited financial statements by the deadline, March
31, 2013?
Ms. Larned: At this point we're running about five days behind our schedule. It's a little
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premature for me to say absolutely that we're not going to meet the March 31. Again, we've put
in this place plan B to address whatever heavy lifting we know is going to take place in January.
The folks that we have assembled have not put together CAFRs before. We do have a couple of
CPAs (Certified Public Accountants) within the organization that are, in fact, lending us those
skills. So I think it's a little premature at this point to say absolutely we're going to have
problems. We're working very diligently to catch up with the current delay in the schedule in
hopes that we can, in fact, meet it in time by March 31.
Commissioner Carollo: Obviously, you're speaking very eloquently, butt can say that I'm not
really liking what I'm hearing either.
Ms. Larned: Certainly.
Commissioner Carollo: How can this Commission or -- let me rephrase the question. Do you
need anything from this Commission in order to be able to meet the deadline and make sure that
we issue on time? Is there other alternatives that you thought of? Is there any requests? I also
understand that we do not have a Finance director anymore. Usually, he's the one in charge of
the issuance of the -- well, not in charge of the issuance, but in charge of providing the
information to our auditors for them to review in order for them to issue our audited financial
statements. And that was the issue the year before when we didn't have a Finance director, we
didn't have a CFO (Chief Financial Officer) for some time, and you saw how late we issued our
audited financial statement; I think sometime in June. So with that said, knowing that you are
low on staff and I see that you're going to borrow from other departments -- I don't know, you
know, who these people are, but -- andl don't know what their qualifications are, andl say that
because I really don't know, and I'm just looking at, you know, from a good faith point of view. I
know they're coming over to help. But I want to see, is there anything you feel that you need in
order -- any resources that you feel you need in order for us to make sure that we can provide
that information to our auditors in order to have audited financial statements issued on time ?
Ms. Larned: We do have a plan C, and that we've talked about internally within the Manager's
office. There are some people that have recently retired within the community, either with the
County or other entities, that we would like to reach out to to begin to see if they would be
interested in a short-term independent contract to be able to help us through that 60- to 90-day
period. That may be something that we come back to this Commission. I'm going to know far
more the first week ofJanuary. In fact, I'm going to be able to tell within the first couple, three
days how much progress we've made in December and how much we anticipate because, again,
the heavy lifting really starts in January.
Commissioner Carollo: Understood.
Ms. Larned: So we do have a plan C. There has been some hesitancy in going out with
additional resources. I've actually talked to another company on several occasions that have
helped another city in the country go through this. They're just now completing that assignment,
and it was about a three- to four-year process to get it stabilized. But they came in initially, did
the entire preparation of the CAFR, completed the independent audit. They began then training
the staff the next year. The third year they began to pull themselves away from the project. This
is their final year. It was expensive for that particular city. It was a city in Texas. My
discussions with him, I tried to design it a bit differently where we carried more of the heavy
lifting internally. We got the price down. That would be a plan D. There's hesitancy on their
part because of getting such a late start. They're thinking that it's at least three and a half
months worth of work. If we didn't get them on board until the middle part ofJanuary or latter,
really, it's for naught. We might as well just go ahead and continue working it through the
resources that we have now and -- but we would be behind at that point. So, yes, I'm keeping a
mind's eye towards this, absolutely. It's one of my top priorities.
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Commissioner Carollo: Okay. I'm going to put it for the next agenda. I'm going to put it again
in the next agenda -- for the January 10 meeting so you can give us an update.
Ms. Larned: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: I don't know if that's something the Commission would entertain as far
as bringing additional people or not and don't -- from what you're telling me, I don't know if
we're there yet. I just don't want any surprises. And second of all, I'm more than tired of the City
ofMiami being in a negative financial light to the public. So --
Ms. Larned: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: -- us not issuing our financial statements again will, once again, put us
in that negative public light. And the bottom line is, sooner or later, we need to turn this around
andl think we need to do it starting yesterday.
Ms. Larned: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: So, again, I'll leave my comments at that. Andl will put -- place this
item in my discussion items, once again, for January 10 meeting to see -- for you to give us an
update and see exactly where we are.
Ms. Larned: Yes, sir. And if anything should develop in between there, Mr. Chair, I would be
happy to, with the City manager's permission, keep the Commission informed of that.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: I -- yeah, yeah, I know. Go ahead, and then I have something.
Commissioner Gort: Let me ask a question. I have a couple of people that call me, that they
have experience in finance. Are we receiving applications? Are we open for application at this
time?
Ms. Larned: Yes, sir. In fact, there was a response to a request from your office that was
received a couple days ago. I did not get that response out until earlier this afternoon. It gave a
breakout of the vacancies that we have in Finance. And where the efforts are being concentrated
at this point is at that executive level: the director, the assistant director, the treasurer, and the
controller. Now, one of those, ifI might just take a moment, while it may seem we have four
vacancies, that is actually -- we have three vacancies, but one we split out. The assistant
director was a combination with a controller. We made that two separate positions so that we
can give specific attention to our reporting and making sure that we keep the CAFR moving.
Commissioner Gort: Total vacancy?
Ms. Larned: Fourteen.
Commissioner Gort: Fourteen.
Ms. Larned: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Gort: Are we trying to recruit in all 14 positions?
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Ms. Larned: No, sir. What we are concentrating on is the executive level. The other positions,
we're going through a review and evaluation in a dynamic process, meaning I'm not waiting for
that to be vacant and then go back and see what -- fill it with the existing qualifications. We're
using this as an opportunity to evaluate all of our positions, modernize and update job
descriptions, and creating different families with the accounting section and the treasury section.
However, we do have recruitments going forward because these are classified positions. We are
developing the rosters. We are getting applicants, but we have not started the interview
processes for those that have been approved. We're moving forward. For those that are
undergoing job audits, we obviously will wait until we know what those jobs are like before we
begin recruitment.
Chair Suarez: I have a few questions, ifI may, Commissioner?
Commissioner Gort: Yeah. I'm finished.
Chair Suarez: Okay. My question is, when was the --? And know the answer to some of these
questions, but I just want to put it on the record. When was the CAFR due last year?
Ms. Larned: March 31.
Chair Suarez: When was it actually issued?
Ms. Larned: I believe it was the mid of May, so six weeks later.
Chair Suarez: Okay. From May until now, how many people has the Finance Department hired
to address this problem?
Ms. Larned: To address this problem, none, zero.
Chair Suarez: All right. How many vacancies have been created in that time frame?
Ms. Larned: I -- a portion of the 14. I'm not certain exactly what the number would be.
Chair Suarez: Would you say it's a large portion of the 14?
Ms. Larned: Yes, sir.
Chair Suarez: All right. So what I'm saying is that in the years, since we issued our CAFR late,
what we've done is large -- lost a large portion of the total number of vacancies in the
Department and have hired no one in that entire year to address that concern, and now we're in
a situation where it appears that we may be late on our CAFR again. And remember very
strenuous warnings that were issued by this Commission last year regarding this not happening
again. And what have seen in that year is exactly the opposite of what would expect, which is
I would expect that the Department would take the entire year to staff up before requesting any
sort of additional resources. And what I've seen is instead of the Department staffing up to meet
the deadline that will inevitably be the same time in the following year, it's lost a large portion of
its entire department and it's hired no one in the entire year. So that, to me, is not acceptable.
And so it's very hard for me to be asked to -- and this goes back to the series of questions that
we've had to add resources when the Department doesn't seem to have really made an effort to
hire anyone in that time frame, and one example was the treasury -- the treasurer position wasn't
advertised for many, many weeks before we were approached -- my office was approached to
sign a document that would transfer money from one line item to another to hire an outside
consulting company to conduct those services. So I guess that's all have to say on that.
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Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Suarez: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: One thingl do want to state, it appears that -- andl think, actually, Ms.
Larned had said it publicly in the Finance Committee meeting, that they are having difficulties in
the process, because I don't think too many CPAs and professionals that are knowledgeable want
to come to the City ofMiami. So I think what they're saying is, listen, if we cannot get these
qualified people to come here, we're going to have to outsource because we need the resources.
We don't have the adequate resource in the Department; we realize this. And we are actually
putting out the RFPs (Request for Proposals) or RFQs (Request for Qualifications), whatever
you call them; we're just not getting the -- you know, we're not getting the right applicant. I
don't want to put words into anyone's mouth, but I believe that's what's happening, and that's
why I think they're, to a certain degree, wanting to outsource. This is not going to be something
permanent, but the bottom line is the City needs to keep moving. And we are in desperate need
of you know, knowledge, especially in the Finance Department. Last year when this was
occurring, remember, you had a Commissioner up here kicking and screaming that we need a
CFO and we need a Finance director. We saw the ramifications of what happened. We issued in
May, June, whenever. So, you know, again, I want to also, you know, make sure that everyone
knows. I don't think that they're purposely not trying to hire anybody. I just think that maybe the
applicants, there's really not that many of them and -- or wanting to apply with the City ofMiami
andl think they're having an issue. And, again, I don't want to put words into anyone's mouth,
but it seems to me that is the representation that Ms. Larned made to our Finance Committee.
Chair Suarez: And, you know, I -- you know, I don't want to get into too long of a protracted
discussion on this issue. I mean, I know I got an e-mail also. You got an e-mail the other day. I
got an e-mail from someone who, I guess, had read in the Miami Herald that there were positions
available in the Finance Department and they had -- you know, they had actually sent a resume,
which we forwarded to Human Resources. I think there is a tremendous need for work out in our
community andl think -- I know --
Commissioner Gort: For sure.
Chair Suarez: -- I can't speak for CPAs because I'm not a CPA, but I'm an attorney, and I know
that a host of people graduate from law school every year looking for jobs and they're willing to
work for very, very low amounts of money and -- You know, it just, to me, seems unbelievable
that once -- we issued last year our CAFR late. What has happened in the Department is not that
the Department has made corrections or hired the people needed so that it wouldn't happen
again. What has happened is the exact opposite. They have not hired one person in the entire
time between the last CAFR and this CAFR, and they've lost the majority of all the vacancies in
the Department, which I believe constitute -- if it's up to 14 now, I think --
Commissioner Carollo: Fourteen.
Chair Suarez: -- the Department has 60-something. So you're talking about, you know, close to
30 percent of the Department being vacant. Of course, it's not going to issue the CAFR on time
when it's got that kind of a vacancy, you know, but -- You know, I think all of the different
departments in the City ofMiami -- we have 20-something departments. I'm sure there's been
vacancies in those departments, and I'm sure that they've been able to hire capable and
competent people or promote capable and competent people from among the people that they
have, you know, in their departments, you know. And I'm not even sure if the Finance
Department has even done that analysis to see if there are people within its own Department that
could serve in a higher role, in a higher function than the one that they're currently serving. So,
you know, I'm not encouraged by what I've seen in the last year, and you know, it's going to be a
tough sell for me. I mean, I understand what you're saying, which is basically -- I don't know
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
what other choice we have at this point, and again, we're in a situation where we're not given a
very good choice and that is very frustrating to me because I feel like it's a pattern, and I'm sorry
for continuing to harp on it, but I do feel like it's a pattern. But I do remember you vociferously
saying last year, you know, that this better not happen again or we're going to be holding people
accountable as a Commission. And, unfortunately, what I've seen in the year is rather than -- I
was actually somewhat encouraged by the little report that she gave, that you were trying to find
other ways to pull people from other departments because at least it indicated that there was a
proactive effort rather than just doing something that seemed easy, which is to go out and hire
someone from the outside. I don't know. I just -- I find it unbelievable that in our day and age,
with the kind of jobs that the -- that are -- people are looking for and the high level of
unemployment, that you can't find capable and competent people for work -- to work for the City
ofMiami. I think the City has been a great employer for many people for many, many years,
people who have worked in the City for several decades.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Commissioner, may I just add one thing?
Chair Suarez: Sure.
Mr. Martinez: It's not for lack of effort. We've had 32 applicants for the controller position; only
2 were eligible or qualified just in the controller position. We haven't had -- on the assistant
director position, there's 143 applications; 31 are eligible andl think a few of them have a CPA.
Chair Suarez: Thirty-one are eligible?
Mr. Martinez: Thirty-one.
Chair Suarez: For one position?
Mr. Martinez: For -- yeah, out of 143 applicants.
Chair Suarez: But that's 31 people out of -- for one --
Mr. Martinez: Right. And we're --
Chair Suarez: -- and you still haven't hired somebody.
Mr. Martinez: Right. And we're trying -- it's not for lack of effort. We're trying to go through
the --
Commissioner Carollo: But let me -- hold on, hold on, hold on. When you say 31 are eligible --
Commissioner Gort: Two CPAs.
Commissioner Carollo: -- but two are CPAs. But it's my understanding that in that position, you
needed to be a CPA.
Mr. Martinez: Assistant director, no.
Commissioner Carollo: The director's the one that --
Mr. Martinez: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- more or less --
Mr. Martinez: We're requiring --
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Ms. Larned: It was -- with -- that's part of the evaluation I was talking about. We have a lot of
statistics, and don't want to overwhelm the Commission. We'd be happy to send out additional
information if that's what the City Manager would like. But I think the point is we've received a
number of applications. The screening process, based on the qualifications, has been where
those numbers of applications have dwindled down to very few that are eligible. In fact, this is
conversation that has gone on at the Finance Committee as well as the Audit Advisory
Committee as they, too -- these are professionals that are in the field and they too are seeing
large applications but not necessarily those that would be able to be eligible to do the work.
That is why we've reviewed the qualifications. We've tried to be very specific on our CPA
requirements for controller. We're looking at creating an assistant controller position for -- with
existing resources and giving existing staff that opportunity. And even our -- what we are calling
our chief accountants, I'm -- we're looking at making those CPA positions as well. Now that's
just on the accounting side. Then you've got treasury. And as we've learned this last year, our
disclosure requirements -- the NSRB (National Security Regulatory Board), the SEC (Securities
and Exchange Commission), even FNRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) -- there's a
number of issues out there that don't fall within the accounting world but fall within the
securities world and the treasury world, and so we're reviewing all of those applications. But I
think the point that we're trying to make is no, we've -- andl think the Chair makes some very
good points, that we should have made more progress this year. And that's why we're working
more diligently. And we are coming up with not just one or two plans -- it sounds like a repeat of
some of the issues that have come before you today -- we have a number of plans that we are
pursuing; some successfully, some not. We're not waiting until the end of the day to then go back
and evaluate. We're trying to make mid -course corrections, et cetera. So it's -- that's why I mean
it's dynamic when I describe it. It's not something that we're sitting around and waiting for.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Thank you. Mr. Hatten.
Anthony Hatten: Anthony Hatten, union president, Local 1907. Yes, they are pulling people
from other divisions -- one from the Fire Department -- to help them, you know, get this done.
And we've done it before and we can do it again. All we need is we need to start hiring people to
facilitate this, and we don't need to outsource it.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Hatten: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Anyone else?
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Ms. Larned: Mr. Chair, a clarification. You would like for us to send out the information that
we had previously sent out or is that something you wish to --
Chair Suarez: No. I --
Ms. Larned: -- hold off on?
Chair Suarez: Definitely, I think -- I feel like Commissioner Sarnoff with the police hiring
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situation, you know, and -- with -- in terms of the Finance Department.
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Chair Suarez: I mean, I know that one of the concerns that we had on the treasurer position was
when Ms. Dziedzic left as treasurer for -- I don't know how many weeks or months the position
wasn't even advertised. Can you tell me, from the moment that Ms. Dziedzic left to the moment
the position was advertised, how many months elapsed?
Commissioner Gort: How about the ER?
Chair Suarez: Right.
Commissioner Gort: The director of ER.
Chair Suarez: Right. And that was my first -- I don't want to -- look, I -- that was my first foray
into this. So to the extent that you've made efforts since we started to bring this issue, I -- of
course I want to be informed of what your efforts are and what your challenges, if any, are as
well. So yes, I do.
Ms. Larned: Just one clarification. I think it was Pete Chircut. Mirtha Dziedzic was aligned for
that, and we had already begun moving that process along before she ended up deciding she
wanted to be in Budget and left us and went to the City of Hollywood. So that particular
position, it was not vacant that long. We had her shadowing, for almost a year, Pete prior to his
retirement. Now her position is the one that's been left open, so your point's valid, absolutely.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Martinez: And I thought that's what you meant when I said --
Chair Suarez: Yeah, I know.
Mr. Martinez: -- (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F).
Chair Suarez: I think we're all on the same page. Thank you.
END OF DISTRICT 3
DISTRICT 4
CHAIRMAN FRANCIS SUAREZ
D4.1 DISCUSSION ITEM
12-01407
(D4.1)
12-01407a
DISCUSSION REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF SPEED HUMPS.
12-01407 Implementation of Speed Humps.pdf
DISCUSSED
RESOLUTION
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
District4- A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION SUPPORTING THE
Commissioner CITY OF MIAMI'S ("CITY'S") EFFORTS TO GAIN CONTROL OF TRAFFIC
Francis Suarez CONTROL DEVICES ON NON -ARTERIAL CITY ROADS; DIRECTING THE
CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE
OFFICIALS STATED HEREIN.
Motion by Commissioner Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff and Spence -Jones
R-12-0510
Chair Suarez: Okay. I have one and I'm not sure -- I don't see the resident -- my resident here
who was going to speak on this issue, so I'm going to just -- I'm going to talk about it very
quickly and then I'm going to request that it be put on the next agenda as well, which is the
implementation of speed humps. I brought this issue up before. I think Commissioner Carollo
and I may be -- I don't know if you have any in your district. Do you have any speed humps in
your district?
Commissioner Gort: No. I've been trying to get quite a few of them for a while; I never get
them.
Chair Suarez: And have one set. You may have -- do you have more than one set?
Commissioner Gort: I finally got a four -stop after two years.
Chair Suarez: Anyhow, I have a set. And, you know, it's something that our residents are
continually asking us for. I mean, it's -- they constantly -- I know Mr. Hatten, who lives just west
of 17th Avenue. We can't have -- we cannot police our streets to the extent that our residents
would want so that our nonarterial traffic -- our neighborhood traffic is at a speed where people
who live in these neighborhoods feel comfortable with it. And, you know, I've been pushing and
pushing and pushing. It took me I don't know how many months. A lot of work from my own
office went out there just to get the ones on 11 th Street; actually going door to door and, you
know, getting the residents to concur, getting a traffic study, which 90 percent of the time the
County denies. And I've been working with Commissioner Barreiro, who was on the
Transportation Committee, andl don't know if he's going to be reassigned to the Transportation
Committee so I'm going to wait until those committee assignments are made at the County to go
back to the Transportation Committee and see ifI can put -- 'Cause I've told the Administration a
hundred times and nothing has happened, you know, in terms of getting the Administration to put
something together, put something in writing for me to take to the County Commission, so I'm
just going to go to the County Commission myself and, you know, hope thatl can convince
whoever gets put on the Transportation Committee by the new chair to sponsor legislation that
would allow cities to conduct their own studies or to be able to implement their own traffic
control devices on nonarterial county roads. I know we passed a resolution in -- for FDOT
(Florida Department of Transportation). What I would ask this Commission is to pass a
resolution supporting my effort to do that because I think -- you know, it's just a -- if there's ever
been a frustration that I've had in the three years that I've been a Commissioner, that's been one
of the biggest frustrations that I've had.
Commissioner Gort: It's been mine too. We had a lot of the side streets that just off the major
roads and people go right through the neighborhoods and they go at very high speed, and we get
a lot of calls on that. And the problem is every time we ask Public Works to do something,
Miami -Dade County Public Work comes out saying there's not sufficient traffic. So what did, I
requested to give me the traffic study of all the ones that have been placed in certain places
where I know there's no traffic at all. I have not received those copies yet.
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Chair Suarez: Can I articulate a motion and see if somebody would make it? If not, I'll pass the
gavel.
Commissioner Gort: Go ahead.
Chair Suarez: A motion -- a resolution in support of the City of Miami's efforts to gain control of
traffic control devices on nonarterial county roads.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Chair Suarez: It's been moved. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: Second. All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Suarez: I'm going to take that resolution to the Transportation Committee -- to the new
Transportation Committee, whenever they're formed, and I'm going to ask that they sponsor a
resolution or an ordinance, or whatever they have to sponsor in the committee, and hopefully
that'll get brought up to the, you know, County committee. And I'll come back to this
Commission and just inform the Commission where we're at so that everyone can push --
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): I think you meant nonarterial city roads, right?
Chair Suarez: Well, they're not city roads 'cause I'm assuming they're owned by the County,
which is why we need to do a county study.
Mr. Martinez: No. The County has jurisdiction over traffic control, whether it's city or county.
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Chair Suarez: Right.
Mr. Martinez: So you want control over our city roads.
Chair Suarez: You're saying that they're actually city roads, but they're controlled -- the traffic is
controlled by the County.
Mr. Martinez: Only the traffic is controlled by the County.
Chair Suarez: Okay. As -- okay, so it would be -- did we take a vote? We did.
Commissioner Gort: Yes, we did.
Chair Suarez: Do we have to reconsider it and re --
Commissioner Gort: No.
Chair Suarez: -- frame it or can we just --?
Mr. Martinez: Just change the one word.
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NA.1
12-01449
Dwight S. Danie (City Clerk): Just --
Commissioner Gort: That we want certain control --
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Mr. Danie: Just articulate.
Chair Suarez: Yeah. The motion is that we want control -- the County to cede control on city
roads, nonarterial city roads, of traffic control devices.
Mr. Danie: All right.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Mr. Danie: Thank you.
Chair Suarez: And then what we'll do is I will take that resolution to the Transportation
Committee of the County, whatever -- whoever is on it, and then I'll come back to this
Commission. Hopefully, it'll go to the full body. And then I'll ask the Commissioners to talk to
their county district Commissioners and urge that they vote for that. And we can make it city
specific. I mean, I'll leave it up to them at the County, whether they want to just make it to the --
for the City ofMiami. You know, I don't know if they can do that or whether they would have to
do it -- open it up for all cities in the county, but we'll -- you know, we'll take it from there and
hopefully they'll, you know, have legal guidance at that point, okay, 'cause -- I mean, I'm just --
you know, I'm frustrated with this andl don't know what to do, other than that so. Okay, so I
think that's it on our discussion items.
Commissioner Gort: Zoning.
Chair Suarez: Can we go to the Planning and Zoning? Can we switch over?
Mr. Danie: Yes.
END OF DISTRICT 4
DISTRICT 5
COMMISSIONER MICHELLE SPENCE-JONES
END OF DISTRICT 5
NON AGENDA ITEMS
DISCUSSION ITEM
REPRESENTATIVE DAVID RICHARDSON, MEMBER OF THE FLORIDA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE 113th DISTRICT,
INTRODUCED HIMSELF TO THE CITY COMMISSION AND DISCUSSED
HIS LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES.
DISCUSSED
Chair Suarez: Representative Richardson.
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Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
David Richardson: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Vice Chairman, Commissioner. Thank you
for allowing me to take a few minutes to introduce myself. I do look forward to working with
you. My name is David Richardson. I'm a first-time politician, first-time candidate, and won on
the open primary August 14 in District 113. That would include Miami Beach, all ofMiami
Beach, North Bay Village, a small city in the bay up north -- and by the way, I might just want to
mention a little tidbit of knowledge. It happens to be the most densely populated city in the state
of Florida. Most people don't know. I also represent downtown Miami, the port ofMiami, and
East Little Havana. And I'm told l made a little bit of history on August 14. I haven't
fact -checked it, but I'm told that I'm the first gringo to ever win Little Havana. So I don't know if
that's true or not, but I'll take that credit anyway, andl'm quite proud of it, so thank you. We --
as Representative Rodriguez mentioned, we -- we're just getting started, but the schedule is going
to start moving at an accelerated pace in Washington. Not Washington -- I won't get ahead of
myself in Tallahassee. We just had last week our first committee weeks. I'll just mention, I got
some great committees. I'm on three appropriation subcommittees, not bad for a little freshman;
finance and tax, healthcare appropriations, and also transportation and economic development.
I also sit on one regulatory subcommittee and also a healthcare innovative subcommittee. So I'm
very, very interested in education. It was one of my top issues that I ran on, so I am very much in
-- have a great interest in economic development, but I also believe that part of economic
development is to have a great educational system. You know, families don't want to bring their
children into an area where we can't provide them quality education. So I really think we have to
continue striving to have the best education system that we can. Andl know here we have the
fourth -largest school system in the country, so it's a challenge, butt know we're doing a great
job. So with that, I would say a couple of things that I'm interested in. Obviously, the budget,
I'm -- I'll just mention my background. I spent 30 years in the business community. I've been a
Florida CPA (Certified Public Accountant) for 27 years. I grew up in Orlando. My first career
from college was -- I was a Pentagon auditor. Commissioner Sarnoff, you mentioned a
democrat, so I'll -- it's publicly known I'm a democrat so -- someone asked me, how will get by
as a democrat in Tallahassee now. And so I just say I started my career as a Pentagon auditor.
And you can imagine when you walk into a room as a Pentagon auditor, you're not the most
welcomed person in the room, so I'm used to maybe having situations where there's conflict, and
I always seem to do fine in that environment. So where I have people that had differences of
opinion with mine, it doesn't bother me. I welcome that. I welcome discussion. At the end of the
day, sometimes we'll agree and sometimes we won't, butt very much look forward to working
with you. I heard the questions and comments from -- that you gave Representative Rodriguez,
andl'm in agreement on those. And ifyou have other questions, I'm happy to entertain those.
Andl, of course, wish you all a happy holiday and everyone here as well. But if you have
questions, I'm happy to take a few.
Chair Suarez: Thank you, Representative.
Vice Chair Sarnoff I would just restate what said to Representative Rodriguez, and that is that
you would hopefully take up those two issues.
Mr. Richardson: I will certainly look at those. They sound -- seems like quite reasonable to me.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Thank you.
Chair Suarez: And the Playhouse. I think you're also --
Vice Chair Sarnoff What's that?
Chair Suarez: And the Playhouse one as well.
Vice Chair Sarnoff And the Play -- correct. And the Play -- I -- so there's three issues I'd like
you to look at.
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Mr. Richardson: And the other one, the -- the first one you mentioned, right?
Chair Suarez: Right.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Yeah, the issue with regard to why we cannot restrict the ability of putting
markings on sidewalks; two is the plastic bag issue, and three would be the Playhouse, and not
in any particular order.
Mr. Richardson: Right. I'll certainly look at -- the Playhouse, of course, is not in District 113,
but I absolutely share your concern on that. The other thing is, I will ask you for a favor. I'm
looking at putting a satellite office in -- because I am quite proud of my wins in Little Havana. I
want to put a small office there. I'm looking at some office space that's owned by the City at 970
1st Street Southwest. It's right in the heart of east Little Havana, part of District 113. So I would
ask that you all help me with that. I know my staff has been in touch with some of the people at
the housing. So anything that you could do to help me with that, I would very much appreciate
so.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Richardson: Thank you. Have a good day.
Chair Suarez: You too.
Vice Chair Sarnofff. Thank you.
NA.2 RESOLUTION
12-01434
District 5- A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, PURSUANT TO
Commissioner SECTION 62-662, OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS
Michelle AMENDED, ALLOWING THE LIBERTY CITY COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC
Spence -Jones DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, IN COLLABORATION WITH YOUTH LEAD
AND URBAN GREENWORKS, TO USE CITY OF MIAMI OWNED PROPERTY
LOCATED AT 5988-98 NORTHWEST 7TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FORA
FARMERS' MARKET PILOT PROGRAM ENTITLED "LIBERTY CITY GREEN
MARKET, FROM DECEMBER 15, 2012 TO MAY 25, 2013, ON SATURDAYS
FROM 10:00 A.M. TO 3:00 P.M.; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO
THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
12-01434-Legislation. pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this
matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
R-12-0508
Chair Suarez: Okay, then let's go Dl. -- I 1 [sic], which is the next item on the agenda.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F).
Chair Suarez: Yeah. Do you need to do it before you leave?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, 'cause I --
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Chair Suarez: Did everyone get a copy of what you just handed me?
Commissioner Carollo: No, but --
Chair Suarez: I think she wants to do a pocket item but --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: It's just a simple -- this is for a farmer's market; actually got a
grant to put one in Liberty City, so we -- I just need to at least get support on the item. I don't
know where Elaine is. She should be -- where's Elaine?
Elaine Black: Right here.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: This is for a farmer's market in park -- in a city park?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No. Actually, it's one of our parcels. This is the one on 50 -- 7th
Avenue and like 59th.
Chair Suarez: Just come to the microphone and state your name and address for the record.
Commissioner Carollo: I'll move it.
Ms. Black: Good afternoon. My name is Elaine Black from the Liberty City Trust, 4800 --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Ms. Black: -- Northwest --
Chair Suarez: It's been moved by Commissioner Carollo. It's been seconded by Commissioner
Spence -Jones. Commissioner, can we just let her finish putting it on the record?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Sure, no problem. Andl also want to add more to it.
Ms. Black: All right, very good. Elaine Black, 4800 Northwest 12th Avenue. In conjunction
with the community, our goal is to have a urban farmer's market at 59th and 7th Avenue. In
addition, we'll have gardens along 54th Street with interim uses. So we look forward to working
with you. We'll be providing fresh food, job opportunities for residents, and we have some of our
residents here right now that we will be working with. Thank you.
Chair Suarez: Commissioner, you want to put whatever --?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just wanted to put on the record, you know, my support for
community gardens. We're putting a lot of gardens around my district. We have a few in Little
Haiti. Of course you know we had them in Overtown, and now we're trying to expand them into
the Liberty City area. So this is a program that young people will be involved in. I think it's
extremely important. And it is a partnership in which the Liberty City Trust is actually going to
be working with other community -based organizations to make it happen. And they do have a
grant, and the grant will run from, basically, December 15 through May 25. But I -- the overall
idea is to really make sure that we do an ongoing market --
Ms. Black: Right.
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: One of the biggest issues I have in my district is I have a lot of
vacant lots, especially in Liberty City. And over the last seven years, I've been trying very hard
to -- of course, when tax credit on them get developers to come in and do something, and it's just
not happening. So in the meantime, I've got to put these lots into use because it really make the
areas look bad.
Ms. Black: Commissioner, I'djust like -- Commissioners, I'd like to say one thing. We would like
to have it extended beyond this date, if possible, from December to December of 2013.
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Vice Chair Sarnoff. Could I just ask where you got the grant and how much for?
Ms. Black: Hold -- yes. I would like to have Mr. Roger Horne, who access the grant. We have
also, through the Liberty City Trust, gotten a small grant to work on projects like this.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Ms. Black: And it's less than $5, 000.
Chair Suarez: Okay. Before -- would you -- would the maker agree to that amendment, which
would just extend the time?
Commissioner Carollo: That will be --
Chair Suarez: From March --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I didn't move it.
Chair Suarez: -- 25 --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Somebody else moved it.
Commissioner Carollo: From March --
Chair Suarez: Yeah. It was Commissioner Carollo. From May 25 to December 15 of 2000 -- in
other words, to make it a full year versus, I guess -- close to half a year.
Commissioner Carollo: Let me ask you something. Can we do it for six months and then see
how it's going and then do another --?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I don't have a problem with that.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, let's -- whatever it is.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: If it's going great, we just keep continuing it.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, we just keep going.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: In the meantime, we are still -- so we're clear, we're only --
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- doing this with the Trust now so that at least we have something
happening on the lot.
Commissioner Carollo: Right. I got you.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Ha major project happens in, you know -- then of course we'll
move it to another vacant lot.
Commissioner Carollo: Exactly.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: But I just -- we just really -- I can't have anymore vacant lots. It
really makes it difficult --
Commissioner Carollo: I got you.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- to even attract people.
Commissioner Gort: It's a good idea.
Chair Suarez: So we'll just leave it as is 'cause it's already six months:
Commissioner Carollo: This gets you started and --
Chair Suarez: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: -- we -- you know, it's like a pilot.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: If you need to come back, Elaine, you can.
Commissioner Gort: To expand it.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Chair Suarez: Sir, can you please come to the microphone.
Roger Horne: Hi. Good afternoon. My name is Robert Horne from Urban Green Works. I'm
one of the organizations that wrote the grant for the process and so forth. This market is not
directly affected by the grant. What the grant did was paid, in essence, my salaries and salaries
of the other local organizations to support it. A lot of the funds that were put in for this grant
was raised through the other market funds from last year, and that funds is going back into the
community to support the purchase of produce. The tents and the supplies are already available
and already being waited to set up. So everything is already done. And the process has actually
become a seamless process where residents have now actually taken it over and look to be the
ones to engage the process and make sure that it's sustainable in the long run.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Where did you get the grant from?
Mr. Horne: The grant is a USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) FMPP (Farmers
Market Promotion Program) grant from 2012. So it was the one that was done through the
Health Foundation of South Florida in partnership with Urban Green Works and Youth League.
Chair Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Horne: All right.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes December 13, 2012
NA.3
12-01426
District 2-
Commissioner Marc
David Sarnoff
Chair Suarez: It's been moved and seconded. Any further discussion? All in favor, signift by
saying iiye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WAIVING, PURSUANT
TO SECTION 54-341(E), THE RESTRICTIONS CONTAINED IN SECTIONS
54-341(C)(1),(2), AND (3) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA,
AS AMENDED, MORE PARTICULARLY: (1) THE RESTRICTION THAT NO
MORE THAN TWO (2) EVENTS PER MONTH SHALL OCCUR, (2) THE
RESTRICTION THAT ONLY ONE (1) EVENT OF THE TWO (2) EVENTS MAY
INVOLVE STREET CLOSURES, AND (3) THE RESTRICTION ON TWO (2)
EVENTS TAKING PLACE ON SUCCESSIVE WEEKENDS, FOR EVENTS
OCCURRING IN THE COCONUT GROVE SPECIAL EVENTS DISTRICT, TO
ALLOW FOR "SPRUNG! - SPRING BREWING FESTIVAL" TO TAKE PLACE
ON MARCH 9, 2013.
Legislation-12-01426. pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
R-12-0509
Vice Chair Sarnoff Mr. Chair, I have a pocket item. It's just regarding a waiver of the special
events --
Chair Suarez: Limitation.
Vice Chair Sarnoff -- limitation. It is for -- the event is called "Sprung! - Spring Brewing
Festival." It is similar to the October Fest. It would be from March 9, 2013. My motion would
be to waive it.
Chair Suarez: Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Suarez: All in favor, signift by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Vice Chair Sarnoff Thank you.
The meeting adjourned at 6:15 p.m.
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