HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2013-02-28 MinutesCity of Miami
City Hall
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33133
www.miamigov.com
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Meeting Minutes
Thursday, February 28, 2013
9:00 AM
PLANNING AND ZONING
City Hall Commission Chambers
City Commission
Tomas Regalado, Mayor
Marc David Sarnoff, Chair
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Vice Chair
Frank Carollo, Commissioner District Three
Francis Suarez, Commissioner District Four
Michelle Spence -Jones, Commissioner District Five
Johnny Martinez, P.E., City Manager
Julie O. Bru, City Attorney
Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
CONTENTS
PR - PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS
AM - APPROVING MINUTES
MV - MAYORAL VETOES
PH - PUBLIC HEARINGS
SR - SECOND READING ORDINANCES
FR - FIRST READING ORDINANCE
RE - RESOLUTIONS
BI - BUDGET
DI - DISCUSSION ITEMS
PART B
PZ - PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S)
MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' ITEMS
M - MAYOR'S ITEMS
Di - 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 February 28, 2013
9:00 A.M. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Present: Vice Chair Gort, Chair Sarnoff, Commissioner Carollo, Commissioner Suarez and
Commissioner Spence -Jones
On the 28th day of February 2013, 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 Sarnoff at 9:08 a.rn.,
recessed at 11:55 a. ni., reconvened at 2:21 p.m., recessed at 2:52 p.m., reconvened at 3:03 p. ni.,
recessed at 5:13 p.m., reconvened at 5:44 p.m., and adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
Note,far the Record: Commissioner Spence -Jones entered the Commission chambers at 9:10
a.m., and Commissioner Carollo entered the Commission chambers at 9:15 a.m.
ALSO PRESENT:
Julie O. Bru, City Attorney
Johnny Martinez, P.E., City Manager
Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk
Chair Sarnoff: I want to welcome everybody to the February 14 [sic], 2013 meeting of the City
ofMiami Commission in these historic chambers. The members ofthe City Commission are
Wifredo "Willy" Gort, Vice Chair, Frank Carollo, Michelle Spence -Jones, Francis Suarez, and
myself, Marc David Sarnoff, the Chairman. Also on the dais are Johnny Martinez, the City
Manager, Julie O. Bru, the City Clerk [sic], Todd Hannon -- I'm sorry, City Attorney, and Todd
Hannon, the City Clerk. The meeting will be opened with a prayer by Commissioner Suarez and
the pledge of allegiance by Commissioner Gort.
Invocation and pledge of allegiance delivered.
PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS
PR.1
13-00232
PRESENTATION
Honoree Presenter Protocol Item
Miami Police Officers - Mayor Regalado Certificates/Appreciation
Participants/Presidential & Chief Orosa
Inauguration
Celebrating Historical Mayor Regalado Commendations
Black Organizations
NAACP - National Assoc.
for the Advancement of Colored People
CORE- Congress of Racial Equality
SNCC - Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee
SCLC - Southern Christian Leadership
Conference
The Urban League
The Miami Times
NCNW - National Council of Negro Women
Operation PUSH - People United to Save
Humanity
The Baptist Ministers Council
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Joel Maxwell
13-00232 Protocol Item.pdf
PRESENTED
Commissioner
Spence -Jones
Salute
1) Mayor Regalado presented Certificates ofAppreciation to various members of the Miami
Police Department fbr their commendable professionalism, commitment, and overall decorum
within the Presidential Security Detail in Washington, D.C., January, 2013, during Protocol
Rituals for the 57th Inaugural Ceremonies of the 44th President of the United States of America,
Barack Hussein Obama.
2) Mayor Regalado celebrated Black History Month by paying tribute to the important roles
played by African American Organizations, such as, NAACP, CORE, SNCC, SCLC, The Urban
League, The Miami Times, NCNW, Operation PUSH, and the Baptist Ministers Council, whose
mass mobilization efforts proclaimed an end to legal segregation in the United States ; further
honoring the men and women who, formed these groups who marched, toiled and bled,
shoulder -to -shoulder, who sat in, stood up, and spoke out for equal treatment under the law, thus
helping to raise the pillars of democracy in cities all over America.
3) Commissioner Spence -Jones paid tribute to Joel Maxwell, who served the citizens of Miami
for twenty-five years, by honoring his personal dedication and overall excellence as legal
counsel for the City of Miami; further recognizing his serving as a catalystfor outstanding
integrity and dependability as he worked always to achieve an elevated quality of life in our City.
Chair Sarnoff: We'll now make the presentation and proclamations.
Presentations made.
APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING MEETING:
Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, to APPROVE
PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gott, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Chair Sarnoff: Is there a motion to approve the minutes from the past meeting?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So moved.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion --
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: -- and we have a second. All in favor, please say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
END OF APPROVING MINUTES
MAYORAL VETOES
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NO MAYORAL VETOES
Chair Sarnoff: Prior to doing that, I just want to do this in this order. Are there any mayoral
vetoes, Mr. Clerk?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair, there are no mayoral vetoes.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
ORDER OF THE DAY
Chair Sarnoff: Just so that everybody's aware, we're going to have a black history luncheon 1
think the Mayor's sponsoring upstairs with the City Commissioners and the City Manager, and
that begins at noon. So we will take our lunch break at noon, and I think everybody's going to be
up there. There's going to be an invocation by Ray Carvil, the Living World Baptist Church
pastor. So just to remind everybody, 12 o'clock noon, we're going to have the black history
luncheon. So I know that those right here that may leave far a little hit may want to come hack.
All right, we will now begin the regular meeting. The City Attorney will state the procedures to
be followed during the meeting.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, members of the
Commission, Mr. Mayor, Mr. Manager, Mr. City Clerk, and members of the public. Any person
who is a lobbyist must register with the City Clerk before appearing before the City Commission.
A copy of the code section about lobbyists is available at the City Clerk's office. The material for
each item on the agenda is available online at www.miamigov.com. Anyone wishing to appeal
any decision made by the City Commission for any matter considered at this meeting may need a
verbatim record of the item. No cell phones or other noise -making devices. Please silence those
now. Any person who makes offensive remarks or who becomes unruly will be barred from
attending any further Commission meetings. And anyone with a disability that requires auxiliary
aids, please see the City Clerk. And the Chair will announce any special set items and other
matters regarding this meeting.
Later...
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Now does the Administration wish to withdraw any items from the
agenda?
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Yes, Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead.
Mr. Martinez: PH (Public Hearing) --
Chair Sarnoff.' Oh, by the way, welcome back, Mr. Manager.
Mr. Martinez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: You look great.
Mr. Martinez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: I did fail to let everybody know that you successfully went through the procedure
at the last Commission meeting, though I did have a Sticky Note to do so. I apologize to you for
that. 1 think you got a lot of good wishes and maybe the Herald will now write something about
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the most famous knee in Miami 'cause it's apparently becoming the best knee in Miami as well.
Mr. Martinez: Thank you, and appreciate everyone's patience and support during this time. I
really do appreciate it. Yes, PH.1, 1 want to withdraw; RE.4, defer to March 14; RE.5, defer to
March 14; DIA, withdraw -- that's the ticket policy that everyone's been waiting for. I've
revisited the policy. I've been working with the stakeholders, and I'm going to bring forward a
completely different item, more of a -- in an APM (Administrative Policy Manual) type style, and
we'll have a discussion before it to let you know what's going to be coming forth on the APM.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay, thank you.
Mr. Martinez: And DI4, withdraw. That's the Marine Stadium item. There -- you know, a lot of
good and hard work has been done by the committee and the Friends, but I don't feel that the
Commission or -- and myself had enough time to vet and look through the recommendations
that -- and the findings al the committee, so I want to withdraw the item and bring it hack in a
resolution -type form and give the Commission plenty of time to vet and analyze the findings of
the committee.
Vice Chair Gort: It was a discussion item.
Commissioner Carnllo: It was a discussion.
Mr. Martinez: Excuse me?
Vice Chair Gort: It's a discussion item. There's no action to he taken.
Mr. Martinez: It's a discussion item, hut I want to withdraw the discussion item 'cause I don't
think --
Tice Chair Gort: So you don't want to discuss it?
Mr. Martinez: No, not at this time. I don't think there's been enough time to -- for -- to have a
meaningful discussion.
Tice Chair Gort: About ten years is time.
Mr. Martinez: Well, since the committee -- you know, the committee's worked hard and they have
their findings, but I don't think enough time has gone by to analyze the findings and have a
meaningful discussion. We want to bring it hack in a reso type farm.
Chair Sarnoff • And will that he brought back at the next Commission meeting?
Mr. Martinez: Excuse me?
Chair Sarnoff When will that come hack to us?
Mr. Martinez: At the next --
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah. I know it's not going to be DI.4, 'cause you don't want to bring it back
you're saying as a discussion item, but when will that come hack to us in a form that we could at
least have a conversation?
Mr. Martinez: March 14.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
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Commissioner Carollo: And -- hold on.
Chair Sarnaff: You're recognized for the record.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Ijust wanted -- I want clarity. Are we going to discuss it
March 14, or are we going to vote on it March 14?
Mr. Martinez: Before March 14, we want to make the rounds with every Commissioner and give
enough time for the Commissioners to study the findings of the committee, and then have an item
to vote an on the 14th.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff You're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: I think what Commissioner Carollo's saying is that we don't have an
opportunity to discuss things amongst ourselves --
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Commissioner Suarez: -- unless we are in a sunshine meeting, so it may make sense on that day
to bring it as a discussion item so we can discuss it --
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Commissioner Suarez: -- 'cause we may have input --
Commissioner Carollo: Exactly.
Commissioner Suarez: -- before voting on it as a resolution.
Commissioner Carollo: Exactly.
Mr. Martinez: That's acceptable.
Chair Sarnoff: And the only thing want to say to the folks that are bringing this issue to us,
bear in mind the five-day rule. I know no action's going to take place, but by to get everything
you're going to get to us five days before the meeting so that everybody has a chance to at least
be -- we used to call it in law, a warm bench, as opposed to a cold bench. And whatever it is
you're going to submit, just give it to us five days before the meeting. It's sort of a rule far
action, but I think it's a fair rule, that everybody has a chance to analyze. You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: And thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I apologize. My voice is a little
hoarse. But we're going to he bringing it hack in March 14 as a discussion item --
Mr. Martinez: Discussion item.
Commissioner Carollo: -- and then --
Mr. Martinez: And then fallow up with a reso.
Commissioner Carollo: In the March, let's say 20 --
Mr. Martinez: Afterwards.
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Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. Martinez: The second meeting.
Chair Sarnoff.' You want to --?
Jorge Hernandez: Yeah. I just wanted --
Chair Sarnoff: State your name, for the record. I'm going to give you one minute.
Mr. Hernandez: Yes. Jorge Hernandez, founder of Friends of Marine Stadium. I just wanted to
thank this body. We did think we were going to be up here today, but in spite of that, the people
that you appointed to the blue ribbon committee that we worked with took the appointment very
seriously. We worked vigorously together. I think we came up with wine wonderful conclusions,
and I wanted to thank all of you, and in particular, the Chair because he's the Commissioner, for
the district and he took -- also, he took leadership of this process. So thank you, and we will see
you whenever you ask us to come hack.
Chair Sarnof f: I want to thank Commissioner Gort fbr that appointment. We did about 11
meetings.
Tice Chair Gort: You're good at that.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. All right, so Mr. Manager, we'll bring that hack. Is there anything
else that you want to go through? I have PH1, RE.4, RE.5, DI], DI.4; anything else?
Mr. Martinez: From the Administration, that's it. 1 don't -- there was some talk about the
stor,nwater utility,fund item being --
Chair Sarnoff: I'm going to withdraw that because I've been given a -- I wanted to make sure
that at least you had the opportunity to address -- I wanted to make sure that I put, not a fire
under you, hut I wanted to make sure there was a deadline for you to come hack to this
Commission with at least an explanation. I've received the explanation so, 1 mean, I'm okay with
it. I'm going to withdraw DI6 from the discussion I brought. Is there any Commissioners that
want to withdraw or make any modifications to the agenda?
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: I'd like to defer RE.8 to March 28.
Chair Sarnof f: RE.8.
Commissioner Carollo: And that is regarding a location within District 3.
Chair Sarnoff.' Okay, March 28. Anybody else? All right, hearing none, is there a motion?
Commissioner Suarez: Move.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Sarnoff.' We have a motion by Commissioner --
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff -- Suarez, second by Commissioner Carollo. Any discussion? Hearing no
discussion, all in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Sarnof f: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff.' Yeah, you're recognized for the record.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. And I just want a point of privilege for a second.
Chair Sarnaff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Real quick, Ijust wanted to inform my colleagues that I'm
going to be bringing a pocket item, and for the most part, it's out of the norm for me to bring any
pocket items, but I think recently there's been several articles by El Nuevo Herald which, by the
way, has done a great job reporting, and also the Miami Herald and Univisinn radio with
regarding to some apartments that were converted into condominiums. So 1 just want to let my
colleagues know that I plan on bringing -- it's supposed to be two pocket items. I have one
already, and the second one, my staff and the City Attorney's office, I don't know, have not gotten
it done yet, so I'll leave it at that. But I just wanted to give you a heads up, okay. I think it's
something that's needed, and I'ni bringing it as a pocket item because I think every day you look
at the paper and it's there. So I think we need to start taking action so, you know, in the future
some of this maybe could be prevented. Thankyou.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And Mr. --
Chair Sarnof f: You're recognized, Commissioner Spence -Jones.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thankyou. Mr. Chairman, just piggybacking on Commissioner
Carollo, I do want to -- I know that I have a pocket item -- a discussion item, but I will he
bringing a pocket item regarding the recent violence. As you know, over this past weekend,
almost every day I've had a violent issue occur in my district. The police chief and I -- and I
want to acknowledge Manny Orosa for working with me over the last 48 hours to cone up with
some sort of plan to kind qf address things that are happening at Liberty Square. And I'm going
to really need my fellow colleagues' support on this issue, but it is really out of control. And 1
was there up until 11 o'clock last night touring some of the residents' homes. And if you -- could
you just imagine the guns that were used, AK-47 (Avtomat Kalashnikova), how those bullets
pierced through windows, through doors. It's a blessing that people didn't -- more people did not
die. So we have to do something. So I really want to have that discussion. I know that I leave
today at (, so ill can -- Mr. Chairman, if f we can --
Chair Sarnoff • Yeah. Why don't --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- bump that up a little earlier.
Chair Sarnoff Is this one on your blue page? This is on your blue --?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. It's on my blue pages.
Chair Sarnoff: So why don't we set your blue page item at 3 o'clock?
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: That's fine. That'll be great.
Chair Sarnoff: We --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. We have Brickell CityCentre time certain at 3 o'clock.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: You have a --
Commissioner Carollo: And I'm just looking at the time certain.
Chair Sarnof f: No, that's fine. That's fine.
Commissioner Carollo: So if you want to do it --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: What time?
Commissioner Carollo: -- at 2:30?
Chair Sarnofff Yeah, let's do 2:30.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: That's fine. Thank you so much.
Chair Sarnof f: Tell you what, why don't we do this, make it easier. Lunch will helium 12 to 2 --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: -- getting back to those more appropriate time frames, and why don't we bring it
up the first item -- Am I --? Do I have a 2 o'clock time certain? No. So let's bring it up --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So the Omni CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) is not
today, right?
Chair Sarnoff: Sorry?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Omni CRA is not --
Chair Sarnoff: It is, actually. The Omni CRA --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: At 2?
Chair Sarnof f: -- I think it's two items.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: I think it's two items.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'm fine; 2:30's great.
Chair Sarnoff: Omni and Midtown. I don't think Midtown's -- Mr. Chair, is Midtown very long?
Commissioner Suarez: No. Midtown is very simple, I think.
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Chair Sarnoff: Okay. All right.
Mr. Martinez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff • Yes.
Mr. Martinez: I have one more item.
Chair Sarnoff: I do too, as well. I -- but go ahead.
Mr. Martinez: D12, the alcoholic beverages, I would like to defer to March 28.
Chair Sarnoff: That's what I had.
Mr. Martinez: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff • Is there a motion?
Commissioner Carollo: So move.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: I have a motion. I have a second. All in favor, please say "aye.''
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Later...
Chair Sarnoff: We are just a few moments away. So let me just ask any Commissioner, does any
Commissioner wish to at least put on the record -- we haven't opened up P&Z (Planning &
Zoning), hut if there's any lawyers waiting out here that want to change any of the P&Z or ask
for a deferral or continuance? 1 have one 1 want to put on the record. Curtis Lane, I want to
bring this back, Mr. Manager, at the next Commission meeting. There will not be a continuance
granted by me again in this matter. This matter will go at the next Commission meeting, but I
can't make that motion until the P&Z opens up. But I wanted to give the lawyers opportunity to
see that. So why don't we do now -- You need to rewind and get ready for Omni --
Vice Chair Gort: Let's take two minutes.
Chair Sarnoff: -- and for -- Yeah, let's take a two -minute break. So we will adjourn this -- not
adjourn the meeting. Midtown first. Recess, recess. All right, class, we're in recess.
[Later...]
Commissioner Spence -Jones: We had a time certain for the Liberty Square, but I want to make
sure the other Commissioners are here when I talk about it.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. I want to welcome everybody back from their lunch break. What I'd like
to do is open the PZ agenda just to get rid of all the continuances, deferrals, and then we'll go
back to the last items we have left in the regular Commission. So can we open the PZ agenda,
Mr. Clerk?
Maria J. Chiaro (Deputy City Attorney): You can do the continuances before I read the
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procedures, if --.
Chair Sarnoff Oh, that's fine. If we can do that, that's fine. I know I am going to he deferring
to the next Commission meeting, if that is a deferral -- Is that a deferral or a continuance?
Unidentified Speaker: A deferral to the next meeting.
Chair Sarnoff: Deferral. All right, so I'm going to he deferring the -- sorry, Curtis Lane, PZ.3,
to the next Commission meeting. Anybody else have any other --? Go ahead. You're recognized
for the record.
Francisco Garcia: For the record, Francisco Garcia, Planning & Zoning director. I understood
from the applicant, Mr. Chairman, that PZ.3 was going to he continued to March 28, so next like
meeting.
Chair Sarnoff: Next like meeting?
Mr. Garcia: Yes, sir. I know the applicants are here as we speak.
Chair Sarnof f: All right, that's fine.
Mr. Garcia: And 1 also wanted to request that items PZ.7, 8, 9, and 10, all of which are
companion items under the heading of Brickell Flatiron, he continued also to March 28. Also,
Lucia Dougherty, on behalf of the applicants, are here to speak on that item.
Chair Sarnof f: Okay.
Mr. Garcia: That's all 1 have, sir.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Is there a motion as stated?
Commissioner Suarez: So -- That's all you have?
Gilberto Pastoriza: Commissioner, no.
Commissioner Suarez: What about PZ --?
Mr. Pastoriza: IfI could, Commissioner.
Chair Sarnoff: That's from the staff.
Mr. Pastoriza: Oh, from the staff.
Chair Sarnof f: Wait. Is there one missing?
Mr. Garcia: 1 did. 1 overlooked something.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Mr. Garcia: I'd also like to ask that items PZ.11 and PZ.12 he continued. And I think it may
make most sense to have those he deferred indefinitely for a period of -six months, and perhaps
bring them. up prior to that if the time is appropriate to do so.
Chair Sarnoff. Okay. Anything else?
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Mr. Garcia: That's all have. And think Mr. Pastoriza has another request.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, Mr. Pastoriza, what do you want to --?
Mr. Pastoriza: Good afternoon. Gilberto Pastoriza, 2525 Ponce. Item 16, if I could have it
deferred for 60 days. You have some pending legislation that will -- may resolve this.
Chair Sarnoff: Is that an adequate amount of time?
Mr. Pastoriza: I think so because you have it today here on first reading.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. All right, is there a motion as state -- as suggested?
Commissioner Suarez: Move all the deferrals and continuance as articulated by the applicants
and the zoning director.
Chair Sarnoff • All right. There's a motion.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: There's a second. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please
say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Excuse me, Chair, my apologies. For PZ.16, I know it was
mentioned far 60 days, so Ijust want to make sure that's going to he April 11.
Commissioner Suarez: That's, fine. That's fine, right? Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: There's probably not a meeting --
Mr. Hannon: Thankyou.
Commissioner Suarez: -- exactly 60 days away, so he's -- that's probably why he's -- cool.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: Awesome.
Mr. Pastoriza: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Lucia Dougherty: Thankyou very much.
Chair Sarnoff: Let's go hack to the original -- let's go hack to the agenda.
Commissioner Suarez: You don't avant to just finish what we have? I mean, is there --? There's
not much there.
Chair Sarnoff: There's not much of anything left, so let's --
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Commissioner Suarez: Whatever you want.
Chair Sarnoff: -- do something.
Commissioner Suarez: I mean, we're here so.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, so we have left on the regular agenda --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman, I --
Chair Sarnoff • We have RE.9. We have --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, but no --
Chair Sarnoff: As Long as it's the three of us, we'll decide where we go. We have RE.9, and we
have RE.1 D -- no -- yeah, RE.10 for a time certain. All right --
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Chair Sarnof f: -- that's 4 o'clock. So, RE.9 we have left, and RE.10 is time certain.
Commissioner Suarez: Do we have FR.1? Is that still on or --?
Chair Sarnoff. And FR.1 --
Commissioner Suarez: Somebody told me that was going to be deferred.
Chair Sarnoff: -- you're right, FR.1.
Commissioner Suarez: Is that going to be deferred? Someone -- I was told that was going to he
deferred.
Chair Sarnoff: Are we deferring FR.1? I'm not -- I've not heard that.
Commissioner Suarez: No? Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: But that should probably have a full Commission.
Commissioner Suarez: Whatever. It's fine.
Chair Sarnoff • Is Commissioner Gort in? Does anybody know?
Commissioner Carollo: Where are we?
Chair Sarnoff: Well, we're deciding --
Commissioner Suarez: We're trying to figure that out.
Chair Sarnoff: -- if we're going to move on FR.1, which is the towing issue --
Commissioner Carollo: I thought we were doing Michelle Spence -Jones issue.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, we are, but I wanted to have all four of you guys here. I
think it's important.
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Chair Sarnoff You wanted everybody here, right?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff • Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I don't know where Commissioner Gort is.
Chair Sarnoff Is he in the building? Do we know? Is anybody checking on Commissioner
Gort?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So we're going to deal with F --?
Chair Sarnoff: He's coming, he's coming, all right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: Do you want to start on yours first, your --? Is it a pocket item or a blue page?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: It's going to he a blue page -- a pocket item on my blue pages.
But you can deal with FR.1 right now, if you want. That's fine.
Chair Sarnoff • 'just think Commissioner Gort's probably going to want to he here on FR.1.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Oh, okay.
Chair Sarnoff: Pm assuming that. You think so ton. And I'm assuming he's going to want to he
here on RE.9.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Nine, yeah. He's corning.
Chair Sarnoff: Is PZ open? 'Cause I don't mind doing PZs. Yes? He's here, he's here.
Later...
Chair Sarnoff: D4. We have some D4 items left.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. Ijust have one.
Commissioner Carollo: No. Discussion items.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah. No, no, no, no.
Commissioner Suarez: I have one.
Chair Sarnoff: D4 discussion (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Suarez: Did you already finish his?
Commissioner Carollo: We --
Chair Sarnoff: We i-vere on his.
Commissioner Carollo: No, we were on mine.
City of Miami Page 15 Printed nn 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Chair Sarnoff: You're -- I'm sorry, we are (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Suarez: I think you got some --
Commissioner Carollo: I've been on mine far the past two hours. Everyone keeps jumping in.
Commissioner Suarez: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) got skipped.
Commissioner Carollo: Which is fine.
Chair Sat-naff • Go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: You know, I've been --
Chair Sarnoff Go ahead. You are recognized on D3.1 to D3 --
Commissioner Carollo: And I'll make it easy for you guys. I'm going to defer all my discussion
items, for the exception ofD3.3, which -- and I've already spoken to our CFO (Chief Financial
Officer).
City of Miami Page 16 Printed nn 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
PH.1
12-00390
Department of Public
Facilities
PH.2
13-00171
PUBLIC HEARINGS
RESOLUTION
ITEM TO BE WITHDRAWN BY THE ADMINISTRATION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), BYA FOUR -FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE,
AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING, RATIFYING, CONFIRMING,
AND APPROVING THE CITY MANAGERS RECOMMENDATION AND
WRITTEN FINDINGS, PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-85 OF THE CODE OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, WAIVING THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING AS BEING
NEITHER PRACTICABLE NOR ADVANTAGEOUS TO THE CITY OF MIAMI
FOR THE FIRE DETECTION AND ALARM SYSTEM FOR THE HYATT HOTEL
AND JAMES L. KNIGHT CONVENTION CENTER ("KNIGHT CENTER")
LOCATED AT 400 SOUTHEAST 2ND AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA;
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A LETTER
AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, BY AND
BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") AND HYATT EQUITIES, LLC
("HYATT"), TO PROVIDE AUTHORIZATION FOR HYATT TO PREPARE AND
FINALIZE A SPECIFICATIONS CRITERIA PACKAGE ("PHASE I") AND
FURNISHING, INSTALLATION, AND TESTING ("PHASE II") FOR THE
REPLACEMENT OF THE FIRE DETECTION AND ALARM SYSTEM AND
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT THAT SUPPORTS THE HYATT HOTEL AND THE
KNIGHT CENTER, WITH A TOTAL PROJECT COST ESTIMATE OF $778,306
TO BE PAID BASED ON A PERCENTAGE USE OF THE SYSTEM, WITH THE
CITY'S SHARE NOT TO EXCEED $238,745; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER TO UNDERTAKE ALL REQUIREMENTS IN ORDER FOR
THE CITY TO COMPLY WITH THE UNITED STATES INTERNAL REVENUE
CODE OF 1986, AS AMENDED, SUBJECT TO APPROVING OPINION OF
BOND COUNSEL AND CONSULTATION WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY;
ALLOCATING FUNDS FOR THE CITY'S CONTRIBUTION FROM CIP
PROJECT B-70414; WITH TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS MORE
PARTICULARLY SET FORTH IN SAID LETTER AGREEMENT.
12-00390 Summary Form.pdf
12-00390 Notice to the Public.pdf
12-00390 Memo - Waiver of Competitive Bidding.pdf
12-00390 Legislation.pdf
12-00390 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
WITHDRAWN PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
RESOLUTION
Department of Capital A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Improvements ATTACHMENT(S), BY A FOUR -FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE,
Program AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING, RATIFYING, APPROVING AND
City of Miami Page 17 Printed nn 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGERS FINDING, PURSUANT TO SECTION
18-89 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED;
WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE BIDDING
PROCEDURES FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF SERVICES, FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW DINNER KEY MARINA DOCKMASTER
BUILDING, B-60464; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORM, WITH BELLSOUTH TELECOMMUNICATIONS, LLC D/B/A
AT&T SOUTHEAST, IN THE NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT OF $77,919.10;
ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO.
B-60464, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
13-00171 Summary Form.pdf
13-00171 Memo - AT&T Special Construction Agrmt.pdf
13-00171 Notice to the Public.pdf
13-00171 Pre -Grant of Easement.pdf
13-00171 Legislation.pdf
13-00171 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnot7, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-13-0059
Chair Sarnoff All right, PH2.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: PH.2.
Mark Spanioli: Good morning, Commissioners. Mark Spanioli, director of. Capital
Improvements. PH.2 is a resolution to waive competitive bid procedures and authorizing the
City Manager to execute a special construction agreement with AT&T (American Telephone &
Telegraph), for the relocation of buried cables and conduits as a part of the new Dinner Key
dockmaster building construction.
Chair Sarnoff: Is there a motion?
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Chair Sarnoff • We have a motion by Commissioner Gort. Is there a second? Second by
Commissioner Suarez. This is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to be heard on PH.1, PH1,
please step up. Hearing none -- Oh, PH1, I -- PH.2, I apologize. PH2, hearing none, seeing
none, coming back to this Commission. It is a resolution. All in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mr. Spanioli: Thank you.
END OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
ORDINANCE - SECOND READING
SR.1 ORDINANCE
Second Reading
City of Miami Page 18 Printed nn 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
13-00083
(4/5THS VOTE)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER
56/ARTICLE IV OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS
AMENDED, ENTITLED "TAXATION/HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS FOR
SENIOR CITIZENS," MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTIONS
56-86 AND 56-87 TO INCLUDE LANGUAGE PROVIDING FOR AN
ADDITIONAL HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN LOW-INCOME
QUALIFYING SENIOR CITIZENS WHO ARE LONG-TERM RESIDENTS OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") TO BE APPLIED TO MILLAGE RATES LEVIED
BY THE CITY; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND PROVIDING
FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.
13-00083 Letter - Office of the Property Appraiser FR/SR.pdf
13-00083 Legislation (Version 3) SR.pdf
13-00083-Legislation-SUB.pdf
13-00083-Submittal-Commissioner Gort.pdf
SPONSOR: HONORABLE MAYOR TOMAS REGALADO
CO-SPONSORS: COMMISSIONER FRANCIS SUAREZ
COMMISSIONER FRANK CAROLLO
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioners) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
13361
Chair Sarnaff: All right, SR.2.
Commissioner Suarez: SR.1.
Chair Sarnoff: Oh, I'm sorry, SR.1. I apologize.
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion by --
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Sarnaff: -- Commissioner Suarez, second by Commissioner Carallo.
Commissioner Suarez: Discussion, discussion.
Chair Sarnoff: It is a public hearing. Anyone wishing to he heard? Mr. Cruz, you are
recognized far the record.
Mariano Cruz: Sure. J have something to say. Mariano Cruz, 1227 Northwest 26 Street. Tam
for this ordinance. First, one thing, because I already enjoy that benefit. I don't pay taxes to the
City or debt service or to the County. And I enjoy, like today when I went by 17 Avenue and I
look at the Marlins Stadium and the garage, I say, Lucky no more of my money is going there,
not even my debt service is going to those buildings there. That's welfare far the millionaire.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Welfare for Lorria and all that, you know, whatever, and we're still paving. We're still -- you --
all of you pay. I don't pay for it. And one thing, what this ordinance will do is people will have a
say-so in the money save. They can put the money, like I do with the money I save from taxes
because -- my tax -- 1 usually use it -- the only thing 1 pay, the solid waste for three hundred and
some dollars a year. But the other money, I use it in the things I want to do, helping people that
--freedom fighters, like (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and you send a check to
(UNINTELLIGIBLE), 29 years in prison, 29 years. He's been in prison more than Mandela.
Chair Sarnoff: And in conclusion.
Mr. Cruz.: Yeah, 29 years.
Chair Sarnoff: In conclusion.
Mr. Cruz: No, in conclusion -- well I am not a lawyer.
Chair Sarnoff • Do you support this ordinance?
Mr. Cruz: No, I am not a lawyer. Because the lawyer come here and speak to their heart's
content. I never seen you stop any lawyer, never seen you. And I wrote the Herald about that
'cause this is a public hearing. We are the public. We are the -- I pay taxes regardless because I
go outside and consume things and pay taxes. But at least one thing, remember, 1 am not afraid
of you or anybody because the anticipation of death is worse than death itself. I've been in
situations to he killed and I'm still alive. And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) survival. I still will have
many years to come here, and you will see my face here for years to come. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. All right, anybody else wishing to he heard?
Grady Muhammad.: Good morning Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized for the record.
Mr. Muhammad: Grady Muhammad, president/CEO (Chief Executive Officer) ofMiami-Dade
First, 5426 Northwest 7th Avenue. We're in favor of this ordinance. And more importantly, Mr.
Mayor, we commend you for doing it because I think also with the funds that we have, we have to
try to also ensure our elderly residents because they're -- with this here, I think we can work with
Community Development to potentially ident jy some of those homeowners to he able to likewise
- - that need their homes fixed/repaired, and we don't have to have these shysters now that the
housing market coming hack. And some of these people who paid their homes off, they still need
- - whether it's because the crime, they need air conditioners or they need security bars and you
have some shyster contractors corning in giving them this, but yet cashing out their monies or
refinancing their homes. I think we can potentially think outside the box, as Commissioner -- the
Chairman says, to he able to use some of these funds that we got that HUD (Department of
Housing and Urban Development) is telling us we must use. I think we can help some of these
homeowners citywide. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff • Thank you. Ms. Sandoval, you're recognized for the record.
Judith Sandoval: Judv Sandoval, 2536 Southwest 25th Terrace. As a senior citizen, of course, I
am delighted with this. I can paint the house, buy some more trees, go out and have more fun.
Any little bit helps. But I approve rf it, of course. But I just have a question, is this the same as
- -? I just got a notice about this, some farm you have to. fill out. Is it the same as the state allot
- - is it to make the City al -Miami work under the state and the rules are the same, are they?
Chair Sarnoff: We have to --
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: PH let Commissioner Suarez explain.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. This was a constitutional amendment, Amendment 11, that was --
Ms. Sandoval: Yeah.
Commissioner Suarez: -- passed by the voters of the City of Miami. And what we have to do as
a Commission is we have to -- part of the amendment is that the local government has to enact
legislation to adopt -- we can opt out or opt in, and we're choosing to opt in. But yes, what you
received jrom the property appraiser is what you have to fill out to receive the exemption.
M. Sandoval: Yeah. Okay, thank you very much. Yes. Vote yes, evetyhody.
Chair Sarnoff • Thank you. Anyone else wishing to be heard on FR (First Reading) -- SR.1 ?
SR.1, hearing none, seeing none, corning back to the Commission.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Suarez is recognized, then Commissioner Carollo will be
recognized, and then Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Suarez: I just have a very quick -- I think on page 2, there's a drafting error,
which is basically section -- the Section 56-86 is repeated.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Right.
Commissioner Suarez: And under 56-87, the paragraph is also repeated so --
Ms. Bru: Right. We've corrected that. It printed twice, yeah.
Commissioner Suarez: Okay, so that's been corrected?
Ms. Bru: Yeah.
Commissioner Suarez: Okay, Ijust didn't want to -- 'cause we have -- this is our last shot at --
and again, we're down to four to five Commissioners --four out of -- so we have to -- this has to
pass unanimously, otherwise --
Ms. Bru: Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: -- we won't he able to afford this to our very deserving citizens. So thank
you.
Chair Sarnoff • Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm glad to he a cosponsor on this
ordinance, as I mentioned in the last Commission meeting. And I'm sorry, once again, my voice
is hoarse. I helieve this is to preserve the American dream for all those elderly that are on a
fixed income. And I am glad to report back to this Commission that I had a chance to speak to
my colleagues in the Bayfront Park Management Trust, and we were all in agreement that, yes,
we will help the City out with the financial impact, and we are going to incorporate in our
budget the $542, 000 that were estimated in order to pay for this program. So thank you.
City of Miami Page 21 Printed nn 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Chair Sarnof f: Thank you. Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: Well, 1 think it's important to understand -- and 1 keep repeating this 'cause a
lot of people don't understand. A lot of the property owners within the City of Miami and
especially in my neighborhood and some of the other districts were people that were -- bought in
the '70s at a very low price. If recall the prices from 1970 to now, they been increased quite
a bit, over 200 percent. A lot of those people -- the salaries in Miami have never been the
highest, especially in South Florida. So those people did not really have much money to create a
pension plan for themselves and they have to depend on Social Security. So there's a large
amount of individuals that own property that only live on Social Security. And I'll he amazed
how many get 2,000 a month. So this is something that will really benefit those people to be able
to stay at their houses, which is very important Jiff them.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Spence -Jones.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Of course, you know, we support it, you know. We've been big
advocates of seniors, any kind of incentives, programs, projects, exemptions, you know. Our
seniors are, you know -- unfortunately, they're being attacked on all different kinds of levels, so
whatever support we can give them, I definitely support it 100 percent. I'm assuming there's
going -- is there like some sort of -- Mr. Manager, some sort of --? Is the information going to he
passed out or sent out to let them know that the change --? Or it's going to be automatically in
their --? And when does it actually start?
Commissioner Carollo: And I think they need to file by March 1.
Commissioner Suarez: Friday.
Commissioner Carollo: By tomorrow.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, so -- but this --
Commissioner Carollo: So even if we send anything by mail today, I don't know if they'll get it
on time, so just -- 1 think the property appraiser's office will be, you know, somewhat lenient --
Commissioner Suarez: Flexible.
Commissioner Carollo: -- and flexible 'cause I contacted them yesterday to see if seniors, you
know, received this information a little late, would they still he ahle to file. They said that they
would have some flexibility. But realistic, the day is supposed to be tomorrow, the last day to
file.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Well, see -- and see, this is one of the reasons --
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- I wanted to make sure we mentioned it, 'cause if there are
seniors that are watching it right now, if there are seniors -based organizations or neighborhood
associations I know now that -- now that you're telling me that March 1 is the date, I'm going to
get my staff hack on there calling these associations and organizations to let their seniors know
because I would like them to benefit from it. So, by all means, I'm glad that that information was
put on the record. And 1 want to also just commend Commissioner Carollo, Suarez, and of
course, the Mayor, for their vision in pushing to make sure that this happens, and I support it
100 percent.
City of Miami Page 22 Printed on 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Chair Sarnof: Mr. Mayor, you're recognized for the record.
Mayor Tamils Regalado: Thank you. I just want to thank you -- thank you, Commissioner,
because that's something that sends a message that entities that are within the City of Miami and
are doing well want to help the City, and so that's a symbol of cooperation with the different
agency. I just wanted to say that when you approve this today and the City Clerk will give it to
me, hopefully, this afternoon, we'll sign it. We don't have to wait for the ten days. And then
Danny will be in touch with the property appraisal [sic] and the tax collector, and this is when
the people will he notified that they have that. The County already did that, so they will he
notified for the upcoming November bill.
Chair Sarnoff: Is -- Do you know, Mr. Mayor, if the March deadline is a hard deadline?
Commissioner Carollo: Like I said, I contacted -- along with Mr. Alfonso -- we contacted the
property appraiser's office yesterday 'cause I was concerned about that. And it appears like it's
not. 1 don't want to put words into their mouth, but, from nay discussions with them., it appears
like they're going to be flexible with that date. However, it's still stated that it's March 1.
Vice Chair Gort: Well, that's my understanding, yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: But verhally, they told me we're going to he flexible. We -- you know,
obviously, this is done, so, you know, it's a benefit to people. We don't i-vant to exclude anybody.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Thanks, Mr. Mayor. Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: After the vote.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Madam City -- public hearing is now closed; coming back to this
Commission. Madam City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Roll call on item SR.1.
A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above.
Mr. Hannon: The ordinance passes on second reading, as amended --
Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chair.
Mr. Hannon: -- 5-0.
Chair Sarnof: Commissioner Gort's recognized for the record.
Vice Chair Gort: For the information, as you call the individual, especially that provide social
services within your district, I don't know if you're aware that the Department of Elder [sic]
Affair [sic] has advised us that the LSP (Local Service Programs) and all ADI (Alzheimer's
Disease Initiative & Respite Care) programs remain on the cut list. It is essential that you
contact your senators who will speak directly with Senator Denise Grimsley, chair of the senate
subcommittee on human service and appropriation, to request that your programs and all LSP
and ADI programs remain in the budget. You have until Wednesday to get the senate to speak to
you about this issue.
Chair Sarnof: Okay.
City of Miami Page 23 Printed on 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
END OF ORDINANCE - SECOND READING
ORDINANCE - FIRST READING
FR.1 ORDINANCE First Reading
13-00056
Department of Police AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER
42/ARTICLE IV OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS
AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), ENTITLED "TOWING AND IMMOBILIZATION OF
MOTOR VEHICLES," MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION
42-110 BY ADJUSTING THE MAXIMUM TOW RATES ALLOWED FOR THE
RECOVERING, TOWING, REMOVING AND STORING OF MOTOR
VEHICLES PARKED ON PRIVATE PROPERTY WITHOUT THE PERMISSION
OF THE OWNER, AS SPECIFIED IN THE AMOUNTS SET FORTH IN THIS
SECTION; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 42-119 OF SAID CITY CODE BY
ADJUSTING THE MAXIMUM TOW RATES ALLOWED FOR THE
RECOVERING, TOWING, REMOVING AND STORING OF MOTOR
VEHICLES FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND MIAMI PARKING
AUTHORITY DISPATCHED TOWING AND WRECKER SERVICES, AS
SPECIFIED IN THE AMOUNTS SET FORTH IN THIS SECTION; CONTAINING
A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE
EFFECTIVE DATE.
13-00056 Summary Form.pdf
13-00056 Maximum Non -Consent Towing Rates.pdf
13-00056 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be
WITHDRAWN PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Spence -Jones
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Suarez
Chair Sarnoff: All right, the next thing up on the agenda would be FR.1, which is the towing
rates, but I think what -- the towing folks here? I think the better thing to do is do fifty the
afternoon. And I hate to do that to you, but I want to have a full Commission to hear this.
Later...
Chair Sarnoff: All right, let's just do this.
Commissioner Suarez: Let's do it.
Chair Sarnoff: Let's just do FR.1. I mean, it's going to be -- we're going to get through it. We're
going to do it. FR.1.
Kenneth Robertson: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Kenneth Robertson, Purchasing director.
FR.1 is an ordinance increasing the towing rates in Section 42-10 [sic] and 42-19 [sic] of the
City Code. These rates are intended to come into compliance with the rates approved by
Miami -Dade County.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Is towing companies here? No?
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Mr. Robertson: I don't see them.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So this means they're happy.
Tice Chair Gort: They were here a little while ago.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: It means they're happy with it?
Vice Chair Gort: I'll make the motion.
Chair Sarnoff • All right. There's a motion by Commissioner Gort. Is there a second?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Second by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Let me open up a public hearing.
Public hearing is now open on FR.1, FR.1, commonly known as the towing rates. Anyone
wishing to he heard on FR.1, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, coming back to the
Commission. Discussion?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Carollo, you're recognized for the record.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. One of the issues that I have with this -- and
everybody knows that I'm [sic] always been very conservative when it comes to raising any fees
-- is that -- and I had met with all the towing companies. There was various suggestions made by
them, one of them being increased rates, hut there were other suggestions and it seems like none
of that materialized or there was no follow up with it. So you know, I'm uncomfortable just going
with an increase in rates and not going with any of the other suggestions that were statedf f om,
you know, the nine zones, the ones who bid, you know, hest bidder or stated that they would give
the most money to the City, being able to do the special events, like DUIs (Driving Under the
Influence) and stuff like that. So you know, I thank that there needs to be more dialogue.
Mr. Robertson: If I may, Commissioner. This item is the ordinance only for the towing rates.
Should this ordinance pass today and come hack on second reading, the procurement to award
the contract for the towing companies would also be corning back at the same like meeting. The
issues that you would like addressed, other than these towing rates, would he addressed on the
procurement contract item by resolution and not part of this ordinance.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Anyone else willing to be -- wanting to be heard on FR.1? Okay,
Madam City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney George Wysong.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Gort's recognized.
Tice Chair Gort: Mr. Chairman, I'd like to see for the second reading we could look at -- since
what we doing this year is we keeping up with the same numbers as the County, right? Can we
amend this so any time County will make any increase, can we go along with it?
Mr. Robertson: Commissioner, I looked into that yesterday. The County approves their towing
rates by resolution. I'd have to defer to the Law Department to see if a County resolution could
impact formally a Miami ordinance.
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Mr. Robertson: I don't believe that to he true. If the County were to adjust their towing rates by
resolution, we would then have to, in turn, come hack and present an ordinance to amend our
towing rates.
Vice Chair Gort: Well, that's what I'm saying. Maybe we might be able to incorporate it in the
second reading.
George K. Wysong (Assistant City Attorney): Well, my recommendation would he, because our
ordinance is so specific and it lists all the rates --
Tice Chair Gort: Right.
Mr. Wysong: -- that we either go this method, or we scrap this method and just adopt an
ordinance that says the rates approved by Miami -Dade County will he applicable in the City of
Miami. Right now the County code says that the rates that they establish apply both in
incorporated and unincorporated areas unless the local government adopts an ordinance. So if
u'e were to repeal our rate ordinance, by default we'd have the County one. So it's really up to
the discretion of the Commission how you want to proceed.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay. First reading.
Chair Sarnoff • Yeah. And just so I understand what you're -- this does -- Does this bring us up
to the County rates?
Mr. Robertson: Yes.
Mr. Wysong: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: So I understand what you told Commissioner Gort, alternatively, what we could
be saying is, let's just do away with our ordinance or just say whatever the County's rates are are
our rates.
Mr. Robertson: Correct, ifwe were to adopt that approach. The County rates would apply to
the City or -Miami ifwe did not have our own towing ordinance.
Chair Sarnoff: And who would get the money?
Mr. Robertson: The towing companies get the rate, as approved by class, and then the City
would get an administrative fee in the same manner that the County does.
Chair Sarnoff.' In the same amount?
Mr. Robertson: Correct.
Chair Sarnoff: So we could do away with our towing ordinance and we wouldn't harm ourselves
at all? Matter- of fact, we'd have an increase 'cause we'd he going to the County rate --
Mr. Robertson: The administrative fee would go down slightly 'cause the County's --
Mr. Wysong: Yeah.
Mr. Robertson: -- I believe, is $15 and ours is proposed to he 30.
Mr. Wysong: Let me explain. In the County Code, the County receives $15 for each tow, so that
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
would actually be less money than we currently collect. We get 16 for private property tows and
26, I believe, for police tows.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Mr. Wysong: So -- and we could bifurcate it where we could say the rates shall be as established
by Miami -Dade County and -- however, a City administrative fee of $30 is imposed on every tow.
But the way it works is the tow companies keep the tow rate. The only thing the City gets is that
City administrative fee of either 16 or $26.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Mr. Chair, may I ask a question? George, will this in any
way affect the -- I guess the franchise fee that we're -- that $25,000 that we're charging that the
County doesn't charge?
Mr. Wysong: No. That -- no, because these rates relate to the amounts that --
Mr. Martinez: Okay.
Mr. Wysong: -- the private companies can charge citizens.
Mr. Martinez: Okay, just wanted to -- clarity on that.
Chair Sarnoff • Anybody else?
Vice Chair Gort: It's an ordinance.
Chair Sarnoff: Public hearing was opened and closed.
Tim Del Rosal: Yeah. I need to speak on that.
Chair Sarnoff: Where were you?
Mr. Del Rosal: Buddy said it was -- they told me they were going to start at 2:30, and I was
sitting outside. 1 was waiting --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And he was right because we said --
Vice Chair Gort: Question.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- 2:30 we would do that because my item was supposed to be at
2, I believe.
Vice Chair Gort: Are you for it? Are you for it?
Mr. Del Rosal: Pardon me?
Vice Chair Gort: Are you for this change?
Mr. Del Rosal: Yes, I --
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Mr. Del Rosal.: No, no, no, no.
Vice Chair Gort: No? Oh, okay.
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Mr. Del Rosal: No, sir, because --
Vice Chair Gort: You want more? Okay.
Mr. Del Rosal: I'm Tim, with Downtown Towing, and I represent more towing companies, most
all the towing companies. And he's talking about a Dade County ordinance for the towing that
they don't have a $25,000 impact fee mandatory, you know. They're getting ready to up their
rates now with Dade County. But this whole process has been a complete nightmare. We're --
the fees -- where we supposed to had another meeting about the, fees -- of bringing the fees up to
standards, but we still are on this $25, 000 that we have to pay out that a lot of us don't even
have. So, you know, to me, I think that we should just scrap this whole thing and start over, and
at least give us a couple years more to see if the economy picks up, that we get the police to work
with us in the towing of the pirates that's taking all the calls that we're not really doing nothing.
Now, on this new ordinance of this fee, you see where we only get an $8 increase. Now the
people who tow the private property, they're getting a $50 increase, and they don't even have to
have a license, so they're not paying the impact fee to workfor the City of 25 or 30 or $40, 000.
They're paying nothing and they're getting a big increase. Us police towers that work for the
police department is getting an $8 raise, and that's not -- that can't -- it's not going to help us at
all, $8. The fuel in the last week went up 35 cents a gallon. The insurance, Dade County
Consumer Protection, they douhled the prices. And it's -- this whole process has been wrong
from the beginning, and I would like to see everything just stop, have a workshop on this and try
to work out the whole contract because this not only go, for the rates, but it goes, for the contract
of the $25, 000. So we're tying all this into it and it just keeps getting worser [sic] and worser
[sic]. It's a complete mess. So I'd like to see if we could just hold off and give us a little bit of
time to revisit this and by to get it right.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman, I'm a little confused from my briefings. I'm a little
confused from --
Vice Chair Gort: It's a hid protest, out of time, yeah.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So in our meeting that we had, Mr. Manager, I was under tite
impression that we had come to a solution with the towing companies. Is that not correct?
Mr. Martinez: We had a workshop and, like Commissioner Carollo just mentioned, a lot of
things were discussed and it all came down to the -- to raising the amount that we -- that's
allowed to be charged, and 1 think that's why we have before you the ordinance to raise the --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. But Mr. Manager, with all due respect -- and the reason why I
raised those issues is because I think it was just more than that. I think there was a lot of other
issues and, you know, I -- honestly, I don't know how all of this came about, but that's why, you
know, I pushed for the workshop, and it just seems that there's still a lot n f issues. And I think
now it's substantiated. And that's why 1 was bringing that up, and you know, again, 1 --
Vice Chair Gort: My understanding is, the request was to increase the fee in order to -- for them
to he able to comply with the minimum requirement that is in the RSP [sic], and that's the reason
why we're bringing it up. But now what I can hear is it's sort of like a bid protest. Now they
don't like the RFP (Request for Proposals), the way it was put together, so they want the whole
thing to go back and forget about the rate increase.
Mr. Del Rosal: Yes, the rate increase was not going to do us no good for $8 and be impact
$30, 000 or $25, 000. It just don't make no sense for none of us. But we have one company that
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
they took off the rotation three weeks ago because he don't have no insurance. We're all falling
apart here. We're like the City; we don't have no money. We haven't found no extra money, and
this is in -- Another thing, we had a workshop, and Mr. Carolla told -- we sat down. We told her
our views, and they told us they going to get back and we're going to have another workshop.
Never heard from them again, so we never finished our workshop. So they came up with them
rates. That's not the rates that we want to work with and stuff so you know, it's not -- there's
nobody working with us on our side. It's -- and then we're backup here. We have never finished
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Mr. Del Rosal: -- negotiations.
Chair Sarnof f: Thank you.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. --
Chair Sarnoff.' You're recognized.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I think the reason why we got to the workshop was to -- and
correct me if I'm wrong. The reason why -- I think it might have been Commissioner Carollo's
recommendation on the workshop. I'm not -- wasn't it your recommendation or somebody's
recommendation --
Commissioner Carollo: I know it came back in the last Commission meeting or whenever the
last time we spoke about towing, and we had spoken about a workshop, and I really, pushed for a
workshop.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: So we actually had one.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: However -- and I was there far, let's say, 30 minutes, maybe an hour at
the most, and I had to leave, so I couldn't --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: -- stay 'til the end. But I did meet with all the towing companies, and
individually, they told me a lot of the suggestions, some that 'just mentioned.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: And it seemed that that hasn't been incorporated. So somewhere in
there, there's some miscommunication between the Administration, the towing companies, and
ultimately then, with us.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: And the one thing that we can clearly see is there is no consensus right
now.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
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Commissioner Carollo: So passing this, especially someone like me that -- you know, I'm not an
advocate of increasing fees. You know, I -- right now, I would have to vote no.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. Let me say this. 1 think the reason why we got to that point
of even having a workshop or it even being your recommendation is that, you know, we see the
smaller companies, the smaller businesses in our cities as viable businesses that we need to
support. And I think the reason why we even discussed having the workshop was to really, you
know, get your input about your industry, what was going on, so that we could create a process
that's at least fair and just across the hoard. So the assumption to ore was -- that's the reason
why, in my briefing, 1 assumed that everything went at least well. And to hear that kind of it's
still some more work that needs to he done, I'm going to ask Mr. Manager if he's -- you know, it
seems as though Commissioner Carollo, which pushed for this whole thing, feels as though we
may need a little hit more time to maybe perhaps -- I see your face. I see that look on your face.
I know that look. But it's really about these small businesses that are trying to survive and stay
alive in our city. So would you he open to go along with Commissioner Carolln's
recommendation on this issue?
Mr. Martinez: Absolutely. If there were issues that were brought up during the workshop that
weren't addressed or reconciled between us and the towing company and we need further
dialogue, you know, so he it. Let's reconcile those difference. We may never agree, and of
course, we won't agree, hut at least we can reach a middle ground.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Well, let's not go into it --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- saying we won't agree.
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Let's go in there thinking positive and 'lying to find a great
solution. I know I have a great Manager, and I know he can make it happen. So my
recommendation --
Tice Chair Gort: Let me tell you --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- is I will support my colleague, Commissioner Carollo, in giving
the small businesses the opportunity to fix it and work along with the City to get it right. That's
Tice Chair Gort: Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- I will support him and back him up on that issue.
Vice Chair Gort: My understanding -- I'll remove nay motion. I withdraw my motion if the
second withdraws the motion. Now my understanding, and 1 want everybody to understand,
what they're complaining about is the RFP, not the -- how much we're going to -- it's the RFP,
the franchise fee that they don't want to pay. Part of the things that we discussed in here, what
are we going to do with those individuals that work within the City of Miami and they don't have
the license or they don't have permit with the City of Miami with so called pilot -- or pirates --
Commissioner Suarez: Pirate towing.
Vice Chair Gort: -- tow trucks that -- my understanding is, we're working on a transaction to do
away with that, but I want you all to understand, what they don't want is a new RFP. Throw
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
away this RFP and begin all over again, is my understanding what they're saving.
Mr. Robertson: Commissioner, ifI may.
Tice Chair Gort: Yes.
Mr. Robertson: I agree with that sentiment entirely, where this is the ordinance to increase rates
to what is industry standard in the County right now. The disposition of the RFP procurement is
still pending and would come hack to this Commission on second reading. If the Commission
desires to reject the RFP, so be it. But I don't think that not increasing the rates to industry
standard is in anyone's hest interest.
Vice Chair Gort: Look, I understand. That's why I asked them, you want an increase; he says
no, so --
Chair Suarez: Go ahead, Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: No. I mean, I was going to say the two issues are interrelated, clearly. I
mean, because in one issue you're talking about increasing a franchise fee that never existed,
and in another -- and you're talking about a nominal increase in rate charges. So you can't say
that one is not interrelated with the other. They may he two different processes and they can he
voted on independently, but they're interrelated. They relate to the bottom. line of these
companies that are trying to survive. So we have to listen to what people are saying. And to the
extent that we can reconcile those differences, great. If we can't reconcile those differences -- I
know you're going to do your very hest, Mr. Manager, because one of the things you're very good
at is you're very good at, you know, negotiating and trying to bring people together and trying to
work through conflicts. I've seen you do it on a variety of different occasions and a variety of
different issues. Bring -- and it's taken you a lot of time and a lot of personal involvement and
we appreciate it because, at the end of the day, we usually get a very good product that we're
here voting on in a close to unanimous, if not unanimous, consensus. So, you know, I do think
that the issues are related and --
Mr. Martinez: I agree with your analysis that they are interrelated, they're companion items.
And what you do on one may affect what we do in the ordinance and we may -- we want to go --
we may want to go above what the County does, depending on how we --
Vice Chair Gort: If they don't have to pay --
Mr. Martinez: -- finish reconciling the RFP.
Tice Chair Gort: -- a franchise, fee, they might not need an increase then. Then we might not
have to increase, which is fine.
Commissioner Suarez: And that's the issue.
Chair Sarnoff: It seems like to me it's quid pro quo. What the City wants to do in the RFP is get
a guaranteed rate of return. And it seems like what they want is to he able to pass that rate of
return on to the consumer or -- actually, it's a forced consumption for most of them. And that's --
that seems to be the rubber meets the road. However, I will make one cautionary tale to
everybody up here. Everybody heard this morning and how they're going to put 100 more police
officers on the street, and it was like, yes, we're all in favor of that. In the words ofJoe Biden,
that's just superfluous language until you budget for it.
Vice Chair Gort: Right. Where is it coming from?
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Chair Sarnoff: And the only way you're ever going to budget jar it is to find the revenue sources
to do it, and that's all I have to say. So I caution everybody that everybody's got to work
together to some degree. You guys have a new franchise fee, then make sure that you can offset
that with regard to how much it's going to cost you, if that's inevitably the direction we go. But
to all the Commissioners, you got to find revenue to have enough police officers. Otherwise,
you're just having hp service. All right, so I think there needs to be a motion to continue with the
instruction of a further workshop, and why don't we bring it back in 60 days?
Commissioner Carollo: I -- in all fairness, I think we should withdraw this, let them get together
and do the workshop, and then bring back legislation or whether we're doing a new RFP or not,
or what we're doing. But bringing this back in 60 days, I don't think there's a need.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay. The question is, what they want is eliminate this RFP and come up with
a new one. That's my understanding. That's what I'm hearing from. that.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, that's what the workshop is for. Maybe that's the solution. Maybe
that's the solution, I don't know. But it's -- clearly, passing this, according to the towing
companies, is not the solution.
Vice Chair Gort: No, no. We're not going to pass this.
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Vice Chair Gort: We already -- yes.
Commissioner Carollo: So let's just withdraw it and go to a workshop, see what comes of it, and
bring it back to Commission.
Chair Sarnoff: You know, if7 were a betting man, we'll just he here in about 60 days. All right.
You're going to withdraw it, Mr. Manager?
Mr. Martinez: Yes, sir.
Chair Sarnoff.' Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Do you need --?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair, if we could have a motion to withdraw, yes.
Chair Sarnoff.' Is there a motion?
Commissioner Carollo: Motion to withdraw.
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff. Sec -- is there a second?
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Second. All -- Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say
aye.
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Mr. Del Rosal: All right. Thankyou very much, Commissioners, for listening to us. Thankyou.
Chair Sarnoff. Thank you.
END OF FIRST READING ORDINANCE
RESOLUTIONS
RE.1 RESOLUTION
13-00115
Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
COST REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORM, WITH THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FOR
THE CITY OF MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT'S CONTINUED PARTICIPATION
ON THE SOUTH FLORIDAVIOLENT/CRIME FUGITIVE TASK FORCE;
FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO DESIGNATE THE CHIEF
OF POLICE TO EXECUTE ANY OTHER NECESSARY DOCUMENTS IN
ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE OF SAID REIMBURSEMENT
FUNDS.
13-00115 Summary Form.pdf
13-00115 MOU - FBI & MPD.pdf
13-00115 Bank Robbery Response Plan.pdf
13-00115 Cost Reimbursement Agrmt. - FBI & MPD .pdf
13-00115 Legislation.pdf
13-00115 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sat -not -land Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-13-0060
Chair Sarnoff: Let's go through a couple of REs (Resolutions), and then --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, no problem.
Chair Sarnoff: -- we will go over to the Omni and the Midtown CRA (Community
Redevelopment Agency). So RE.1. You're recognized for the record.
Raul Fernandez: Raul Fernandez, assistant chief, City of Miami Police Department. This is an
agreement authorizing the City Manager to execute a cost reimbursement agreement with the
FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations) for the MPD's, Miami Police Department's, continued
participation in the South Florida Violent/Crime --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So move.
Assistant Chief Fernandez: -- Fugitive Task Force.
City of Miami Page 33 Printed on 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion and we have a second. Any -- hearing any discussion? No
discussion. All in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.2 RESOLUTION
13-00116
Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Facilities ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
LICENSE AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM,
BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") AND THE STATE OF FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, FOR THE PURPOSE OF GRANTING
ACCESS TO CERTAIN CITY -OWNED PROPERTY LOCATED AT 3600
NORTHWEST 7TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA (KNOWN AS MOORE PARK),
TO PERFORM THE WORK SPECIFIED HEREIN, WITH TERMS AND
CONDITIONS AS MORE PARTICULARLY SET FORTH IN SAID AGREEMENT.
13-00116 Summary Form.pdf
13-00116 Legislation.pdf
13-00116 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Spence -Jones
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Suarez
R-13-0061
Chair Sarnoff: All right, RE.2.
Henry Torre: Good morning, Commissioners. Henry Torre, director of Public Facilities. RE.2
is a resolution granting a temporary access agreement to FOOT (Florida Department of
Transportation) for the property located at 3600 Northwest 7th Avenue, also known as Moore
Park.
Chair Sarnoff.• Is there a motion?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So move. Just to make sure I'm clear, I just want -- this is just the
additional median or what?
Mr. Torre: It's a temporary access agreement 'cause they intend to do improvements to the road.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): It's for harmonization. They do the roadwork and then -- the
elevation at the hack of the roadway isn't exactly the same --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: But we're not actually giving it to them, right?
Mr. Torre: No.
Mr. Martinez: No, no. It's just harmonization.
Mr. Torre: No rights, just temporary access.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, great.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, second by Commissioner
Gart. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion --
Commissioner Carolo: RE.1 ?
Chair Sarnoff: RE.2. RE.2, FDOT license agreement with Moore Park. Hearing no discussion,
all in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.3 RESOLUTION
13-00118
Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Works ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
RELEASE, WAIVER OF LIABILITY AND COVENANT NOT TO SUE
AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, WITH THE
FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY TO INSTALL AND MAINTAIN
LIGHT -EMITTING DIODE ROADWAY LIGHTING ON ROADWAYS UNDER
THE JURISDICTION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA.
13-00118 Summary Form.pdf
13-00118 Pre -Original Agrmt.pdf
13-00118 Legislation.pdf
13-00118 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sainoff and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-13-0062
Chair Sarnoff. RE.3.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Coconut Grove pilot program, LED (Light Emitting Diode).
Nzeribe Ihekwaba: Good morning. Zerry Ihekwaba, Public Works director. RE.3 is a pilot
program that is being initiated by Florida Power & Light to replace the existing high-pressure
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) streetlights on McDonald Avenue from US I to Grand Avenue. There are
about 26 light poles that are being replaced with LED at no cost to the City of Miami.
Chair Sarnoft: Is there a motion?
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion --
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
RE.4
12-01075
Department of Public
Facilities
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff -- by Commissioner Gort, second by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Any
discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
REVOCABLE LICENSE AGREEMENT ("AGREEMENT"), IN SUBSTANTIALLY
THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") AND THE
NATIONAL JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATION OF CUBA IN EXILE, INC., A
FLORIDA NON-PROFIT CORPORATION ("LICENSEE"), FOR THE USE OF
APPROXIMATELY 520.5 SQUARE FEET OF CITY -OWNED PROPERTY
LOCATED AT 970 SOUTHWEST 1ST STREET, OFFICES 400-401, MIAMI,
FLORIDA, FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING OFFICE SPACE FOR THE
UNIFICATION OF CUBAN JOURNALISTS LIVING IN EXILE, COMMENCING
FROM THE EFFECTIVE DATE, WITH THE LICENSEE TO PAY A MONTHLY
USE FEE TO THE CITY OF TWO HUNDRED SIXTY-EIGHT DOLLARS AND
06/100 ($268.06), PLUS STATE OF FLORIDA USE TAX (IF APPLICABLE),
WITH ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS MORE PARTICULARLY
SET FORTH IN SAID AGREEMENT.
12-01075 Summary Form.pdf
12-01075 Short Form - Exempt 2011 Tax Returns.pdf
12-01075 Legislation.pdf
12-01075 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioners) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
RE.5
12-01307
Department of
Planning and Zoning
Note for the Record: Item RE.4 was deferred to the March 14, 2013 Commission Meeting.
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.
City of Miami Page 36 Printed nn 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
12-01307 Summary Form.pdf
12-01307 Award Recommendation Form.pdf
12-01307 Martiza Alvarez, PA- Resume.pdf
12-01307 Victor H. De Yurre, ESQ Resume.pdf
12-01307 Pre-Legislation.pdf
12-01307 Cost Analysis - 01/24/13.pdf
12-01307 Legislation.pdf
12-01307 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
RE.6
13-00061
Department of Parks
and Recreation
Note for the Record: Item RE.5 was deferred to the March 14, 2013 Commission Meeting.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING A REIMBURSEMENT GRANT AWARD, IN AN
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $29,490 FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ("DEP")
ADMINISTERING FEDERAL FUNDS FROM THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND
ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION ("NOAA") COOPERATIVE AWARD
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM (DEP AGREEMENT NO. CM311)
("GRANT AGREEMENT"), WITH A LOCAL MATCH PROVIDED BY THE CITY
OF MIAMI ("CITY") IN THE AMOUNT OF NOT TO EXCEED $29,490 TO THE
CITY'S DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION ("DEPARTMENT");
ESTABLISHING A NEW SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT ENTITLED:
"RESTORING COASTAL MIAMI 2012-2013," TO FUND THE DEPARTMENT'S
RESTORING COASTAL MIAMI PROJECT ("PROJECT"); ALLOCATING AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR ITS OPERATION AND A LOCAL IN -KIND
MATCH FROM THE CITY VALUED AT NOT TO EXCEED $29,490; FURTHER
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE GRANT
AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, AND TO
PROVIDE ALL OTHER NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, AMENDMENTS,
EXTENSIONS, AND MODIFICATIONS IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT
ACCEPTANCE OF AND COMPLIANCE WITH SAID GRANT AGREEMENT
FOR THE PROJECT.
13-00061 Summary Form.pdf
13-00061 Email - Work Plan Budget.pdf
13-00061 Legislation.pdf
13-00061 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoffand Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-13-0063
Chair Sarnoff: RE.6.
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RE.7
13-00007
Juan Pascual: Good afternoon. Juan Pascual, director ofCity of Miami Parks & Recreation
Department. RE.6 is a resolution accepting a grant from the Florida State Department of
Environmental Protection for a project at Virginia Key Beach entitled "Restoring Coastal
Miami." It's a reimbursement grant, and it also authorizes the establishment of a special
revenue project for those expenses. It's in -kind match that the City is providing through our
volunteer group and existing staff.
Chair Sarnoff Is there a motion?
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion by Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff • Second by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Any discussion? Hearing no
discussion, all in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
Department of Capital A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Improvements ATTACHMENT(S), ADDING CAPITAL PROJECTS APPROPRIATIONS TO
Program THOSE LISTED IN RESOLUTION NO. 13-0017, ADOPTED JANUARY 10,
2013 AND REVISING CURRENT APPROPRIATIONS AMONG APPROVED
PROJECTS; FURTHER APPROPRIATING FUNDING FOR THE ADDED
PROJECTS.
13-00007 Summary Form.pdf
13-00007 Legislation.pdf
13-00007-Exhibit 1-SUB.pdf
13-00007-Submittal-Amendment Language.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this matter be
ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-13-0064
Chair Sarnoff RE.7.
Mark Spanioli: Good morning, Commissioners. Mark Spanioli, director of Capital
Improvements. RE. 7 is our standard capital appropriations item. I have a floor amendment to
pass out. If you have any questions, I'nahappy to go through it for -- with you.
Chair Sarnoff All right. Is there a motion?
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
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Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion by Commissioner Gort, second by Commissioner
Spence -Jones, as amended, correct?
Mr. Spanioli: Yes.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff Or as modified.
Vice Chair Gort: As amended.
Chair Sarnoft Amended, all right. All in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mr. Spanioli: Thank you.
RE.8 RESOLUTION
12-01388
Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Facilities ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
SECOND ADDENDUM AND AMENDMENT TO LEASE AGREEMENT
("SECOND AMENDMENT"), IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM,
BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT
OF TRANSPORTATION ("FDOT"), FOR THE PURPOSE OF ALLOWING THE
CITY TO USE A PORTION OF THE 36,724 SQUARE FEET (+/-)
FDOT-OWNED PROPERTY LOCATED UNDER INTERSTATE-95 BETWEEN
SOUTHWEST 6TH AND SOUTHWEST 7TH STREETS AND SOUTHWEST
3RD AND SOUTHWEST 4TH AVENUES, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FOR PRIVATE
PARKING, WITH TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS MORE SPECIFICALLY SET
FORTH IN SAID SECOND AMENDMENT.
12-01388 Summary Form.pdf
12-01388 Memorandum of Agreement.pdf
12-01388 Legislation.pdf
12-01388 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, 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
RE.9 RESOLUTION
13-00210
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION DIRECTING THE CITY
Attorney ATTORNEY TO TAKE ANY AND ALL ACTIONS AUTHORIZED IN LAW OR IN
EQUITY, NECESSARY OR PERMITTED TO COLLECT ALL UNPAID MONIES
DUE TO THE CITY OF MIAMI FROM GROVE KEY MARINA, INC. OR ITS
SUCCESSOR -IN -INTEREST.
13-00210 Memo - Office of the City Attorney.pdf
13-00210 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Chair Sarnoff, that this matter be ADOPTED
FAILED by the following vote.
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Votes: Ayes: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Sarnoff
Noes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be
RECONSIDERED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Carollo
Noes: 2 - Commissioner(s) Suarez and Spence -Jones
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be
DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Noes: 1 - Commissioner(s) Gort
Note for the Record: Item RE.9 was deferred to the March 14, 2013 Commission Meeting.
Direction by Commissioner Suarez to the City Attorney for a full analysis of the defenses to this
action and potential exposure to the City should the City lose the case and be responsible to pay
attorneys' fees.
Chair Sarnoff • RE.9.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Mr. Chair, members of the Commission, this is a request to bring
legal action to recover certain monies that are owed from a former tenant.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: 1 thought all of us was going to be up here to talk -- Did Francis
go to the restroom or something?
Chair Sarnoff: I don't know. It's really hard to do this. We just got to get through a meeting.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I know.
Chair Sarnoff • I mean, there's nothing left on the agenda other than --
Commissioner Carollo: PZ (Planning & Zoning) and discussion items.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah, PZ and discussion items. And -- Tin calling RE. 9. Anybody want to table
it, put it on --? Just say let's table it, but I'm going to bring it up, RE.9.
Vice Chair Gort: Bring it up.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Vice Chair Gort: For discussion.
Chair Sarnoff: So, Madam City Attorney, have you said what you wanted to say?
Ms. Bru: Yes. I think that I briefed each individual Commissioner. This --
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Ms. Bru: I'm sorry. I did not brief Commissioner Carollo, through no fault of his. I was
unavailable at the scheduled time and date where we usually brief. But this is an issue where a
series of audits that the City has undertaken over the past few years discloses that there has been
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some miscalculation in certain percentage rent that is owed to the City as a result of certain
activities that were undertaken at the property right next to us, Grove Key Marina. And we've
got the facts given to us from the personnel in the City who are responsible fbr managing this
facility, and it's before you to decide whether or not to seek the recovery of these sums in court.
Chair Sarnoff.' All right.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Let me see ill understand, Madam City Attorney. The bottom line is,
they owe money and we're going to go after them legally for that money, whether it's for taxes,
whether it's for fuel, whether -- whatever it is. We're going after everything that the City believes
they owe us or they owe another government agency, like the County, for property taxes. The
bottom line is that we are going to seek all monies that we believe they owe?
Ms. Bru: Okay. Well, there's two separate issues here and I don't want --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Ms. Bru: -- the Connnission to be misled or confused. The item that's before you really pertains
to a series of audits that were done with respect to the sale of fuels at the boatyard by Grove Key
Marina, Inc. There's a dispute between the former tenant and the City as to whether or not the
calculations that the City now is saying should have been done were in fact -- is the appropriate
way to calculate the percentage due on the sale of fuels. We have made a demand for payment.
Payment has not been made, so the next step would he then to seek some sort of judicial
determination. It's -- City Attorney doesn't have the authority to do that without the Connnission
authorizing it. That's why I'm bringing it to you. The issue of the taxes is a separate issue. That
issue is being litigated currently, so I'd rather not get into too many facts on the record. But that
issue concerns a dispute between three parties; the tenant, the City, and the tax collector, as to
what taxes are due and who is responsible for the payment of those taxes. So that matter is right
now being heard hefbre Judge Lopez, and it'll he the judge who determines whether or not taxes
are due and to whom they are -- and, from whom they're due. This has to do with the sale ffuel
at the property. And -- yeah, that's it. I think that the audits that were done by your independent
auditor were provided to the Administration and to the City Commission. The audits detailed the
facts and the theory as to why the City believes that the monies are due and, at this point, you
know, having failed to have obtained payment by way of a demand, the only course of action left
is to hring suit.
Chair Sarnoff • All right, we're in adjournment [sic] for ten minutes.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, we'll take a few minutes.
Commissioner Carollo: Ten.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Ten minutes.
[Later...]
Chair Sarnoff: All right, we're hack on the record. RE.9 is before this Commission, and I
understand that Commissioner Suarez wanted to speak.
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
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Chair Sarnoff: Grove Key Marina.
Commissioner Suarez: What's that?
Chair Sarnoff • The Grove Key Marina issue.
Commissioner Suarez: I know. Well, I don't know where the other Commissioners are, and I
don't know if we're taking a vote on this now or not. Yeah, I have issues with this item. My
issues stem from the fact that I met very briefly with the City Attorney on it. I have not gotten a
comprehensive analysis of the litigation. 1 got a briefing, and 1 was kind of in a hurry, so, you
know, in her defense, she did not -- you know, it wasn't because she -- it wasn't through any lack
of diligence on her part. But I'm concerned because this could have exposure to the City of
Miami. This is a situation where these purported monies that are being owed are -- had been
paid in a certain way to the City for a very long time. So I want a full analysis of the defenses
that there could be to this action and the potential exposure to the City if we were to lose the case
and get attorney's fees, you know, handed down to us. So that's -- those are my concerns. So I
don't know how my colleagues, feel about it, but that's -- those are my concerns. I don't know
what everyone else thinks.
Chair Sarnof f: All right. Commissioner Spence -Jones. No?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I only had two small points on it. And 1 think we talked about it in
my -- in both briefings. The first issue I had -- and concern with was I think that regardless of
what we do, we have to do everything from a fairness standpoint. So -- and I know that I had
this discussion with Alice. My feeling at the time was, you know, Alice, if we are doing this to
Scotty's -- or to Grove Key Marina, my question became, are we doing this across the hoard. Are
we now saying, okay, if a person owes in any capacity, are we going after them in the same
capacity? And I brought up one or two people that actually do business with the City of Miami,
one in which I mentioned about a year or so ago, and I know that Henry has worked on
correcting that and putting that in place or making some of the adjustments on it. But still, even
on that, there's some resources that are still owed at this point. So my issue and concern about
this particular item was, I just want -- I wanted the staff to go after others that do business with
the City in the same diligence. And sometimes, I feel like depending on who's pushing the issue,
that's the result we get from it. So I'm a little concerned about some of the other individuals that
we have revocable license with that owe us that haven't paid us and have done the same exact
things, and not until I brought it up or somebody else on the dais brings it up, then we start
trying to correct the problem. But even in this instance -- and I know that you've already
explained 'cause I asked the question about did we do an audit on the other individuals like we
did with this individual. And I understand from my briefing with the City Administration that we
are working our way through those additional audits. So my first issue on this was an issue of
fairness. I felt like we were going after this particular party, not no way of -- not taking this
away from the City Attorney, but I'm speaking generally of the City Administration and us having
the same diligence with others that owe us as well, so that was my first concern. Then my second
concern was I didn't understand why we were doing it because at the end of the day, if these
individuals decide that they want to go after an RFP (Request fOr Proposals) or this particular
RFP, you know, my question, for the City Manager at the time then, why is it even necessary to do
U. they haven't paid us and they owe us? Then they can't go after RFPs. So what is the purpose
of the suit? I mean, I think you should sue them anyway to get the money back; I'm not saying
that. But at the end of the day, I mean, I just -- it didn't make any sense to me, like why it was
happening. So I think the process is really, if owe the City, just like in CDBG (Community
Development Block Grant) and other things that we -- you know, if you owe the City or there's
something that's -- you know, that needs to be paid back to the City in any manner, you have to
pay before you can play.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair, if I may.
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Chair Sarnof f: You're recognized for the record.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, and I'm sorry. 1 missed some comments when 1 initially -- I
was kind of caught a little hit off guard the first time. Although, thank you for taking the recess
for allowing me to come hack here to express -- 'cause this is something that I feel very
passionate about because there was an article in the Miami Herald which alluded to the fact that
I had something to do with the RFP being modified. And I absolutely did not have anything to
do with the RFP being modified to benefit anybody. But in my briefings with the City Attorney, I
was told that the Mayor had asked that the RFP be modified in amendment number three to the
RFP. And so, from my perspective, what concerns me is I want to know how many years this
company has been paying the fee and the current form that it's been paying the fee. For how
many consecutive years? I think it's in the 1990's, since like the 1990's or something, if I'm not
mistaken.
Henry Torre: Henry Tone, director of Public Facilities. Commissioner, nay understanding is
they've paid -- the dispute is a percentage amount.
Commissioner Suarez: Right. How long have they been paying the percentage that they're
currently paying? I think it's a --
Mr. Torre: Well, right now, Commissioner, they are on a revocable license agreement. The
actual lease expired in 2012. This amount that is being disputed is during their lease period.
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Mr. Torre: They were paying that amount for several years, over a decade.
Commissioner Suarez: How many?
Mr. Torre: Over a decade.
Commissioner Suarez: How many, more or less?
Mr. Torre: Over 20 years, I believe.
Vice Chair Gort: Over 15 --
Commissioner Suarez: Over 20 years.
Vice Chair Gort: -- 20 years.
Commissioner Suarez: So all of a sudden, there's an RFP and this issue, all of a sudden, comes
up out of nowhere. And all of a sudden, there's a claim that I had something to do with
amending an RFP -- which I had absolutely nothing to do with -- and yet, there are other
political actors in this government that are directing the Administration to amend the RFP to
discuss issues such as this. So I took it as a personal o fense, from my perspective. And you
know, that's why, for me, I just -- it just -- this whole thing seems very politically motivated. You
know, all of a sudden, we're in the midst of an RFP, this 20-year-old debt -- supposed debt
materializes from nowhere, and then other actors in this government are asking the
Administration to modi fv an RFP -- and by the way, that's -- it was told to me by the City
Attorney and other members in my office -- and there's like four witnesses to that -- and a copy
of an RFP was given to me of an amendment to the RFP. So, you know, it bothers me that
someone would question my integrity by saying, you know, in an article that I had something to
do with the modification of an RFP that I had absolutely nothing to do with. When I briefed with
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the Administration about the RFP, it had completely to do with the criteria for selection and
things that were brought up when we initially dealt with the RFP, and it was thrown out for a
variety of problems that we had with the RFP process. And all of the comments that made in
that briefing had to do directly with the comments that 1 made in public on the RFP process that
was thrown out. So it just -- this whole thing kind of like smells had to me. And at the very
minimum, without a comprehensive analysis from the City Attorney on this litigation, I feel that
the City could actually be exposed on it. So I don't feel comfortable moving forward at this
particular moment. I don't know how nay colleagues feel about it, but Pm willing to listen.
Chair Sarnaff: All right, Commissioner Spence -Jones.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Let me -- see, u'e never really have an opportunity to have a
discussion like -- this is our only opportunity to say that -- you know, to have -- to talk about
these issues. And it's funny because I know that the Manager knows, even in my meeting and
briefing with him, and even -- I think even with the City Attornev's, the first thing that came to me
was like this doesn't even smell right. Something doesn't smell good about this. And my initial
thought was, Well, wait a minute. You know, like I mentioned earlier, are we doing this with
everyone else? And you know, then it -- we started hearing the various different reasons why
not. And the same exact thing -- well, we haven't had a discussion 'cause we can't talk. The
same exact feeling -- and Julie can -- will say this, and I'm sure the Manager will say that lfelt
from just the original briefing -- I said, Now, there's a different kind of motivation attached to
this 'cause this doesn't make any sense. It makes no sense. So that means we have to have -- I
would like to know everybody that awes -- 'cause we should he able to know that -- and what is
our plan to sue all of them.
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, I can answer, actually, a couple of points. The amount that came out
that they were delinquent in the amount of $300,000 came as a result of an audit performed by
the independent auditor who reports directly to this Commission, so that's where that amount
came from. In addition, to answer your concerns, Commissioner, in October of last year, my
office made a request to the auditor general's office to audit five tenants where we felt was the
highest exposure to the City, which is Bayside, Rickenbacker Marina, Grove Harbor. We are
going to continue that process. Those audits have not started as of ,vet, as of today, so yes, we do
intend to, obviously, vigorously pursue all monies that are owed. And as an example, just so you
know, Commissioner, alone in our marinas over the last little over a year, we've been able to
lower the revolving delinquency balance aver 5 percent, which is a savings of over $400, 000. So
we are vigorously pursuing everybody who owes us money.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. And Henry, again, I'm not taking any way from -- anything
away from staff. You know, ifI bring up an issue and -- any of us bring up an issue, you guys are
on top of it and you get to the bottom of i1. I think this -- for me -- and now I'm hearing my
fellow colleague -- this just, felt like there was a different motivation behind it. And Ion saying
that even if we don't -- we haven't done audits on the other five or ten that owe, we know they
owe. So, quite frankly, if I know you owe something, you know, and you have a revocable
license, you know, then why am I continuing to do business with you?
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, let me clarify something.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'm just using that --
Mr. Torre: Yeah.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- only as an --
Mr. Torre: I think I can clam --
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- example --
Mr. Torre: Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- you knoi-r,for the other projects or other licenses that we have.
And I don't want to bring up the company 'cause it seems like I'm picking on them always, but I
just kind ofet like, you know, even this issue with Bayside Hut, you know, we're going hack and
forth on Bayside Hut, and I know for a fact that they've made a lot of money there.
Mr. Torre: That they make a lot of money?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: They have made more money there than they have said they made
money and in some instances, have not paid us so -- but we continue with the license for them --
with them, and that's fine. But my point is, don't do -- what's good for the goose, got to he good
for the gander.
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, again, in regards to Bayside Hut, they are on a payment plan, so they
are paying that amount down.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: But --
Mr. Torre: I've had conversations with them. within the last week to try to make additional
payments on that. And I just want to reiterate that -- and stress to you that, again, we're actively
going after everyone. And the point of these internal audits as well is because a lot of these
tenants do report sales to us 'cause it is the job -- and the internal auditor's office is the best way
to go about checking and verifying their sales, which is a key component in the revenue of a lot
of these deals. It's the percentage that the City gets of their sales.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right, but --
Mr. Torre: So, again, we --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- Henry, I just want to say this. I don't want you to take this
personal because I'm not making it about you.
Mr. Torre: Right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And I know that fir the most part, you take direction from
leadership, you do. And that's -- and on all levels, our level, the City Manager's level, whatever
levels, you know. But An just telling you what does not look right or smell right or feel right or
motivation is not right, you know, that's what -- We never have a chance to talk, so this -- if I'm
saying the same thing he's saying, then there's got to be a problem with how this is being
handled. And then beyond all of this, I understand why -- I mean, Julie's job is -- if somebody
owes us, to go after them for us to get the -- so Julie's doing her job. My point is, I just want to
see this job happening -- the same thing happening on all levels for us identifying other people
that owe us as well, not just because there's a greater process attached to RE.9.
Mr. Torre: Right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: That's the issue and concern that I have, and at the --
Mr. Torre: Commissioner, again, 1 want to stress for you that is our intent as well. Again, we've
submitted requests for five tenants that we feel have great exposure in regards to possible sales
revenue to the City, and we're waiting on the City -- the auditor general's office --
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Chair Sarnoff: When did you make that request?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Mr. Torre: October 12 last year.
Chair Sarnoff: Why is the auditor --? The auditor general works for us.
Mr. Terre: Correct.
Chair Sarnoff • Why -- matter of fact, is he here? Is the auditor general here? 'Cause if he can
be brought here before the end of this Commission, I want to know why he doesn't think he needs
to audit as soon as he's requested the five biggest exposures to the City.
Vice Chair Gort: That n'as my (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair; if I may. Mr. Chairman, if I may, just to kind of dovetail on
i-vhat you just said.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead.
Commissioner Suarez: 1 think also we, as a Commission, should be it of whatever audits
are being done on our behalf. I mean, if --
Chair Sarnoff: I sort of agree and I also don't agree with that, but --
Commissioner Suarez: Okay, hut then who --? Okay, that's fine. Then I don't have a problem
with that. But who is deciding what audits are done of whom so that it doesn't become political?
Chair Sarnoff. But I think it's simple. The five biggest property payers to the City of Miami
should he audited at least every three years.
Commissioner Suarez: Oh, I agree. Oh, at least.
Vice Chair Gort: Every year.
Chair Sarnoff: And maybe he would say every year. I don't know what --
Vice Chair Gort: Every year.
Chair Sarnoff • -- the standard is.
Commissioner Suarez: It may be worthwhile --
Vice Chair Gort: Every year.
Commissioner Suarez: -- to do it every year.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff • But my point is, the Administration -- I remember this conversation. We had this
conversation six or nine months ago because everybody said, Mr. Manager, we want to make
sure we're getting paid by everyone. If the auditor general was requested by the director of
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Public Facilities --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Facilities.
Mr. Torre: Facilities.
Chair Sarnoff: Just want to make sure I got your new title right.
Mr. Torre: And Asset Management.
Chair Sarnoff • Asset Management -- there you go. I knew I got it wrong. Asset Management,
and he says, gosh, I'd love to get to that, but I have five other kindergartens to audit first. That's
not what I want to hear, you know. I want to hear that the people who potentially could owe the
City of Miami the most are being audited, whatever the outcome is. The only reason I don't
suggest I want to know about it -- I really don't want to know, by the way. I don't want to know
who you're auditing. 1 don't want to see the draft of your audit. 1 want to see the final product
ten minutes after the Miami Herald sees it.
Commissioner Suarez: Ten minutes after? Ten minutes before.
Chair Sarnoff: I want Kathleen McCrory to call me and say, Do you know --?
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair; if I may.
Vice Chair Gort: We want the benefit (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Commissioner Suarez: I just got to say that in this particular case of this particular item, RE --
what is it, RE.9? -- the issue is not whether or not the lessee is underreporting and we're
collecting it and underreporting. This is an issue of whether they were applying the correct
model. And the City had been accepting their model for 20 years. All of a sudden now, we have
an RFP, and the Cit_v's saying, no, no, no. We have a different model. And so that, to roe, is what
the made the whole thing --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Shady.
Commissioner Suarez: -- fishy.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Shady.
Commissioner Suarez: You know what 1 mean? Like it's not that they're saying -- they're not --
that we're auditing them and they have been lying to us about what kind of their revenue is.
What they're saying is, you've been applying one formula, and now after 20 years of us accepting
your payments on that one formula, now we're saying, no, no, no, no. You should have been
doing it a different way, which, by the way, may he correct and may be ajusticiable issue, but
you know, I think we need a little hit more analysis hefore we can get there and --
Chair Sarnoff • And you know what, Commissioner, all I could tell you is -- and maybe 'cause
I'm a lawyer and maybe 'cause I'm a litigator, maybe 'cause I like Julie. I spend a lot of time
with the city attorneys --
Commissioner Suarez: I do, too.
Chair Sarnoff • -- and I spend an hour and a half or- two hours hack and forth on -- and I'm not
going to talk about what we talked about. We looked at law. We looked at facts. We looked at
every possible scenario we could. I then had the -- I met with the attorney for the Grove Key
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Marina. I gave him a half an hour of my time. I'm briefed.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff • I mean, I know what the right thing to do here is. Somebody says there's
exposure to the City. I've got news for you, there's exposure to Grove Key Marina because
there's a prevailing party attorney's fee under 57-105(h). He's got the same exposure. So you
want to know what? We're all starting from the same jumping point. I -- anybody that owes the
City of Miami, he nn notice: Ynu should he sued. Ynu simply should he sued. Because if this City
is ever going to have 100 police officers every year --
Tice Chair Gort: We need to collect all.
Chair Sarnof f: -- we need to be paid.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. And can 1 just ask this one quick question, Mr. Chairman?
If Henry can respond to it. Henry, you said there were five audits, right? You took the highest --
Mr. Torre: The ones that I felt, Commissioner, that we had the highest exposure.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, and then we got the audits hack nn all five?
Mr. Torre: No, Commissioner. We requested the audits. The audits, I was told, haven't -- will he
starting shortly.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, so the five that we requested were?
Mr. Torre: Rickenbacker Marina, Rusty Pelican, Grove Harbor, Lolita's Restaurant, and
Bayside.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, so where do -- where was Grove Key Marina's?
Mr. Terre: Grove Key Marina's was an audit that started prior to that; started, I helieve, over a
year ago. 1 was not with the City when it started, Commissioner. 1 can't tell you when the
auditor started that audit.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: That answers my question.
Chair Sarnnf All right. Anybody else wishing to he heard?
Mayor Tomas Regalado: Can I --?
Chair Sarnoff: Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor. You're recognized for the record.
Mayor Regalado: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, I do agree with you, anybody who
owes money should be sue. But 1 just want to correct the record. Commissioner Suarez said that
I was part of the amendment of the RFP. What I did and work with the City Attorney is to
precisely try to protect the interest of the City of Miami. We discuss for several week -- I think it
was this process of more than a month when the RFP process was not even finished, that there
was a need to protect the City, but we should not exclude anybody. And that's the part that is
important. But anybody who owes money has to do something. And I would ask the City
Attorney -- because she wrote the final product; we just gave an idea. I would ask the City
Attorney to sort of place on the record what this means. It wasn't to amend the RFP. It's just to
include something where nobody was excluded, but at the same time, the City was protected, in
this RFP or in any future RFP. And this was very important. So Madam City Attorney, if --
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Ms. Bru: Mr. Mayor, you're right. Over the past month, we've been corresponding back and
forth. Pursuant to your request that we make sure that during the RFP process, if there's any
entity, individual, any party that owes the City money, your request was to protect the City, from
continuing to do business in the future with an entity that somehow failed to per form under a
contract. What we tried to do was reconcile what you wanted to express as a form of policy with
what we believed was a legal requirement not to exclude anybody who might have a dispute with
the City 'cause we may say you owe us the money, and they, in good faith, may say, no, I don't.
And we wouldn't want to unnecessarily exclude a perspective bidder from participating simply
because we're demanding payment on something that hasn't been judicially determined. So we
did the hest we could to provide language, which your Administration has, that would require an
addendum to the RFP, if it is ultimately decided that that's the way you want to go, which would
try to balance both interests, the interest of the City in not continuing to do business with
somebody that jqils to perform in the past, but the interest of anybody who wants to hid on a
future contract not to he excluded simply because there's a claim which hasn't been adjudicated.
Chair Sarnoff • Madam City Attorney, J think the interpretation everybody should hear of this is
everybody's entitled to their day in court.
Ms. Bru: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: And in that day in court -- but you can't just sit there and say, 1 owe you money;
no, I don't. Yes, you do; no, I don't.
Ms. Bru: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: You should have to go to a court of competent jurisdiction, and you should have
to file a dec. (declaratory) action with the court and have an impartial person, whether it's a jury
or whether it's a judge, make a determination; City's right, City's wrong; vendee's right, vendor
is wrong. So, you know, if we vote for this today, I want to make sure that nobody is precluded
from exercising their day in court, but they have to go to court. I don't want people just saying,
I'm right. You just don't get to do that. You have to take action. You've got to resolve the
controversy.
Ms. Bru: Right. Or alternative, we go to court. But you're right, and we are amending the -- if
it goes forward -- this is -- the Administration will decide from a business perspective, with the
guidance of the Commission who sets policy, if they want to amend the RFP. But if this goes
forward the way that we've proposed it, it would allow for a prospective bidder to have their day
in court. It will require them to seek -- expeditiously seek that day in court, and it will require
them to escrow the funds that are being disputed so that the City has assurances that there will
be a source of recovery if we prevail. Obviously, there's a risk to the City. There's a prevailing
party's attorney's fee provision. And again, this doesn't concern just this one entity --
Vice Chair Gorr': All of them.
Ms. Bru: -- because this could very well be the case in any other person that wants to bid,
anybody else that's been doing business with the City that wants to bid where there potentially is
a claim against them.
Chair Sarnof f: All right.
Mr. Torre: Commissioners, if l could clarify one thing as well, one last thing. And --
Chair Sarnoff: I want to get to a vote.
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Mr. Torre: May I have just one minute. Grove Key Marina, their license expired last June. In
the new revocable license agreement, we did negotiate additional considerations, which includes
they're now paying the percentage rent fbr the fuel that our auditor's office interpreted what they
should have been paying previously.
Chair Sarnoff.' Okay.
Mr. Torre: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just want tojust make one little statement. I just want clarity
from my City Attorney so that I'm on the same page before I take a vote. So, Julie, just so that
I'na clear, so if they pay or if they -- let's say they put their money in escrow, they will not he
excluded?
Vice Chair Gort: No.
Ms. Bru: Any individual or legal entity that currently is either in default or is in litigation where
there's a dispute about monies owed will be allowed to continue to participate in the process if
they escrow the disputed funds.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. But what I'm saying is, Julie, it seems as though this is
being created -- and I just want to -- I could be wrong. That's why I want you tojust clear it up
for me. It just seems like this is being created or we're doing this so that they have the
opportunity to participate in the process because right now if anybody owes the City, regardless
of whether or not they dispute it or not -- that's what I want to he clear -- they have to settle the
debt or whatever the case may be before they could apply, correct?
Ms. Bru: You know, I have to defer to Henry or Alice to see -- currently existing, the language
that's in the RFP, does it absolutely preclude anyone from participating if -- just based on a
demand that money's owed?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Well, I'm not even talking about that RFP. I'm just saying,
anybody that's doing business with the City of Miami, if you owe money on any level and you're
-- you want to reapply, don't you have to clear -- I thought it was you had to clear the debt
anyway.
Ms. Bru: Commissioner, right now, the way that the RFP was issued, in fact, is more onerous
than what we would be proposing because right now, simply the City said in the RFP that if any
proposer, individual, legal entity, member of that proposing team, was in arrears for any debt or
obligation. So it could simply he the City saying, you owe me money, and I'm going to exclude
you. However, we believe that it's a better way, a more clear, less ambiguous, less fraught with
peril for purposes of later on having hid disputes and all that, to allow an entity to proceed with
a hid, hut let's escrow the funds. That's what we've advised.
Chair Sarnoff • And seek a declaratory judgment --
Ms. Bru: Yes, right.
Chair Sarnoff: -- in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Ms. Bru: Right, correct.
Chair Sarnoff: You have to give the people their opportunity to have their day in court. All
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right, let's --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: That's what -- so that's what you feel is the hig issue. It's allowing
them to have the opportunity to dispute it? Is that what you're saying?
Chair Sarnoff. I think everybody gets their day in court.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: right.
Chair Sarnoff: And --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Well, you know I know what that means.
Vice Chair Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Sarnoff: No, no. And 1-- well, obviously. And you know, being a lawyer, I feel pretty
proud for you. So you know, everybody gets their day in court, but let's he candid. On the first
RFP in this one, they did escrow the money that was in dispute. So we know they did it once
before. This is about a City Attorney saying to us, look, we think, in good faith, they owe us this
money. It's a dispute. That's -- and in America, we don't go into the streets and fight it out. We
go into a courtroom. And with legally admissible evidence, we determine who's right and who's
wrong. And inevitably, it does come down to a winner and a loser, if you want to go to that very
end. It could he that they decide to settle the case. It could be that he comes up with a number
and says, you know what, we're both a little bit right; we're both a little bit wrong. Let's split the
difference. In which case, the City Attorney would then bring a settlement back to this
Commission, and we would say there's no longer a dispute. But I think they have their right to
go forward with the RFP -- I mean, I won't pass this resolution unless it's understood that an
amendment be made to this existing RFP that says they have the right to seek a declaratory
judgment in a court of competent jurisdiction and do as they did before, which is -- and also put
the amount in dispute in escrow. Ijust think --
Commissioner Suarez: It already exists.
Chair Sarnoff: -- 1 think that's how business would do business. 1 think we should do it that way.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Commissioner Carollo hasn't said anything. Commissioner
Carollo, I mean, 1 would like to know what's in your head.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, I'm listening to all the legal minds' deep words, and after all the
legal minds hash it out, then I'll speak (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Well, he's about to take a vote, so that's why I want to -- he wants
us to take a vote, but I want to hear from you first.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I want to hear from the money mind.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, I think the issue is that, from what Commissioner Suarez says is, he
wants -- and I believe Scotty's to he able to also bid on the RFP or be able to bid in the RFP.
And saying that they owe us money means that they cannot hid. So if we go after them legally,
Commissioner -- or Chairman Sarnoff wants to make sure that they could put the money in an
escrow account so they could still hid. Is that correct?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Is that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --?
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Chair Sarnoff: And I would also do an ore terms motion -- one of you would do it -- to also
amend the existing RFP --
Commissioner Carollo: Layman's term.
Chair Sarnoff: -- so I'd just make an oral motion that -- ask one of you to say that we amend the
RFP so that any person who has a dispute with the City can seek a declaratory judgment in a
competent -- a court of competent jurisdiction, deposit the amount in dispute in escrow and shall
not be precluded from participating in the RFP.
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Ms. Bru: And Mr. Chair, can I just make a suggestion? Let's just -- I would amend your
proposed amendment to say seek judicial determination as opposed to naming the cause n_f
action, to make it a little bit broader.
Chair Sarnoff.' You're right, you're right, you're right.
Ms. Brit: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: l apologize.
Ms. Bru: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Let's call the question.
Commissioner Carollo: You don't have a second.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Excuse me, Chair. Just for the public record, the motion that you
just made is something that we're going to capture as a motion so we can take a vote on that
motion that's going to, you know, direct that the RFP he amended, but then there's going to be a
separate vote on RE. 9. Madam City Attorney, is that correct?
Ms. Bru: You know, the issue of what goes in the RFP, the Commission can express as a matter
of policy through a motion and direct the Manager to incorporate that into any kind of
addendum that is issued. So they could do a motion directing the Administration to make sure
that that concept is incorporated; doesn't have to be a resolution. It's just a directive to the
Administration if there's concurrence nn the part of the Commission as a matter ofpolicy.
Chair Sarnoff • So let's vote on the resolution with the understanding that there'll be a directive
i-vith the language that the City Attorney has corrected me on.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: I can see I'm probably going to be the only dissenting vote here on this
one, but I think --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Not really.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Commissioner Suarez: --from my perspective, it's simply just the way that this all came out and
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the timing of it all. It has nothing to do with wanting to collect the money. We should always
collect money from anyone who owes the City of Miami money. There's no doubt about it. And
in terms of having the requisite number of police officers, I couldn't agree with you more. I'm the
first one with you on that argument. 1 think it's going to take a lot of money to do that, and 1
think it's going to take a lot of tough decisions to get there. I just -- for- me, just the way this all
came out, the timing of it all, to me, was just -- it's a little bit too much for me to digest.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. All right. All in favor, please say "aye."
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No.
Commissioner Suarez: No.
Vice Chair Gort: Aye.
Chair Sarnoff: Aye.
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Chair Sarnoff: So 3-2, right? Three -two. All right, 3-2 against. You didn't need to say
anything. See that? Out of the jaws -- You know what the judge would tell me, Sarnoff,' don't say
anything. Do not snatch victoryfrom om the --
Commissioner Suarez: Jaws of defeat.
Chair Sarnoff: Right, jaws of defeat, right. All right, next --
Mr. Hannon: The motion fails.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Hannon: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Are we voting on your amendment or on this motion?
Chair Sarnoff.' No. We voted on RE.9, and RE.9 was voted down, 3/2.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. And my question is, RE.9 as it stands -- okay, RE.9 as it stands, if
we vote yes, can they hid for the RFP?
Chair Sarnoff • With the directive, yes.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: So they could still hid for the RFP?
Chair Sarnoff • With the directive, yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Let's go back. With a directive. With your amendment. Without the
amendment, they cannot have bid for the RFP.
Chair Sarnoff: No. The City Attorney corrected me and said do not do a resolution; do a strong
directive to the Manager to amend the RFP. So what I said was, the resolution would be
understood that we would also, right after we voted -- if it was voted in the favor of it, to give a
directive to the Manager to amend the RFP that would allow them to hid.
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Commissioner Carollo: So if we pass this resolution as is, they will not be allowed to bid?
Chair Sarnoff: If you pass this resolution without a directive, they would not be able to bid.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: But, Mr. Chairman, I mean, they could bid; they just got to pay
the money --
Chair Sarnoff: No, no, no.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- or put something in escrow, right?
Chair Sarnoff: If the resolution passed, there would have been a directive made to allow them to
bid on the RFP.
Mayor Regalado: And, Mr. Chairman, if I may. 1 mean, the -- your amendment has already
been written by the City Attorney but not issued, so you could direct the Administration. If you
want to -- if you don't want to go to litigation, that's a separate thing. But we still -- I believe we
still need to protect the City on this and future. And it would allow everyone, even if they're in
litigation with the City, to bid, provided that they place that amount in escrow. So you can direct
the Administration to do the amendment, which is written, and you formulated the policy, and I
guess everybody agree because --
Chair Sarnoff: But what --
Mayor Regalado: -- everybody doesn't want to exclude anybody but wants to protect the City's
interest hut --
Chair Sarnoff • Isn't what you're sort of recommending, Mr. Mayor, either he a -- it would
certainly he a resolution for all RFPs or it would be an --
Mayor Regalado: Exactly.
Chair Sarnoff: -- or an ordinance for all RFPs. And instead of writing itfrom the dais, as we
say, we can always bring it back and everybody could look at it and study it --
Mayor Regalado: But what you need now for this current RFP is just a directive to the Manager
saying, you know, any -- nobody can he excluded from bidding, but if there is a party that owes
money, that party has to place the money in escrow --
Chair Sarnoff • Isn't -- but Mr. Mayor, I mean --
Commissioner Suarez: Doesn't make sense.
Chair Sarnoff: -- and to the City Attorney -- wait, wait, wait.
Commissioner Suarez: Doesn't make sense.
Chair Sarnoff: Isn't the fact that this loss to vote an indication that as a matter of law, this
Commission doesn't think it's owed money?
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: So they can bid.
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Commissioner Carollo: And Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman.
Commissioner Suarez: Not necessarily.
Chair Sarnoff • I would interpret it that way.
Commissioner Suarez: No --
Commissioner Carollo: And Mr. Chairman.
Commissioner Suarez: -- not necessarily.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Commissioner Suarez: Just not giving the City Attorney authority to go forward right now.
Commissioner Carollo: As you know, from the very beginning I said that I didn't have complete
briefing with the City Attorney. And as a matter of fact, I would like to contact our auditor
general or internal auditor and speak about this. So, realistically, whenever push comes to
shove, I vote no on an item that, you know, I'm not exactly certain with. However, I do believe in
what you're saying, that whoever owes the City money, we should go after them.
Commissioner Suarez: Of course.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes. Actually --
Commissioner Carollo: Sn --
Commissioner Suarez: Of course.
Commissioner Carollo: -- in all fairness, I may even consider making a motion to reconsider
until I speak to the auditor general, I speak to my City Attorney, and then, you know, make a
proffer. Because it seems to me that we're going hack and forth. The Mayor comes now with
some suggestions. It seems like we're in favor of it, we're not. You know, are we interpreting this
vote as this or as that. So the bottom line is, I want to make a motion to reconsider- RE.9.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Is there a second?
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff • You were -- I don't think you can because --
Commissioner Carollo: No. That's the County. Yes, we can. And --
Chair Sarnoff You can? A person who is (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: Absolutely, absolutely.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes?
Commissioner Carollo: Because I've been in that situation --
Chair Sarnoff • Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: -- where 1 voted no, and yes, we can.
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Chair Sarnof f: We don't operate under Mason's rules?
Mr. Hannon: That is in Mason's, yes, sir. Even if you're not an the prevailing side, a motion to
reconsider can be made.
Commissioner Carollo: Yep.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay, so we have a motion. We have a second. Any discussion? All in favor,
please say aye."
Commissioner Carollo: Aye.
Commissioner Suarez: No.
Chair Sarnoff: Aye.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No.
Chair Sarnof f: The motion to reconsider carries, 3-2.
Vice Chair Gort: It passes.
Commissioner Carollo: Three -two. And --
Commissioner Suarez: Oh, it's a motion to reconsider. My apologies.
Commissioner Carollo: -- 1 asked for it --
Commissioner Suarez: 1 don't mind reconsidering it.
Commissioner Carollo: -- to be tabled at least, you know -- sometimes, I could speak to the --
Chair Sarnoff: Motion.for --
Commissioner Carollo: -- internal auditor and --
Chair Sarnoff: -- continuance for --
Commissioner Suarez: You don't have to --
Chair Sarnoff. -- 30 days?
Commissioner Carollo: No, no, no, no, no.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm not saying (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Sarnoff: Oh, for today?
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: Today?
Chair Sarnof: Okay.
Tice Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Unless you don't want to, but --
Chair Sarnof: No.
Commissioner Carollo: -- I say we --
Chair Sarnof: Ijust hope we have time. I'm hoping --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, absolutely --
Chair Sarnaff • All right. We'll --
Commissioner Carollo: -- you know.
Chair Sarnof: -- table --
Commissioner Carollo: But I want to be able to speak to the auditor general, our internal
auditor, and I want to be --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I mean, is this something --
Commissioner Carollo: -- able to speak to my City Attorney.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- that has to be voted on today?
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: 1 mean, why can't it just come for the next meeting? That gives
everybody more time to digest it.
Commissioner Suarez: Of course it can.
Commissioner Carollo: I don't have a prohlern with that.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, let's do that.
Chair Sarnof: All right, let's do a motion for continuance to the next meeting. Is there a
motion?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, great.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Sarnof: We have a motion by Commissioner Carollo, second by Commissioner Suarez.
All in favor, please say aye."
Commissioner Suarez: Aye.
Commissioner Carollo: Ave.
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: Ave.
Chair Sarnoff: Aye.
Vice Chair Gort: No.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: One no.
RE.10 RESOLUTION
13-00224
District 4- A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Commissioner ATTACHMENT(S), URGING PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMAAND THE 113TH
Francis Suarez CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES TO ENACT COMPREHENSIVE
IMMIGRATION REFORM IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FIVE PRINCIPLES
EMBRACED BY THE PARTNERSHIP FORA NEW AMERICAN ECONOMY;
DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS
RESOLUTION TO THE OFFICIALS STATED HEREIN.
13-00224 Legislation.pdf
13-00224 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnotfand Suarez
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
R-13-0070
Chair Sarnaff: All right, we have PZ --
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: -- 4. Yes. Oh, I'm sorry. You're right. You have a time certain.
Commissioner Suarez: It's okay.
Chair Sarnoff: You do. I apologize.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I apologize to the --
Chair Sarnaff: RE.10.
Commissioner Suarez: -- very deserving members -- attorneys who are waiting in the audience.
I appreciate your indulgence, Mr. Chair. I'm here on RE --
Chair Sarnoff: 10.
Commissioner Suarez: -- 10, which is a resolution that mirrors a resolution passed by the
County Commission unanimously, and it's also being brought to the State Legislature, which, in
essence, adopts the policy of partnership fora new American economy, which is a bipartisan
effort to promote immigration reform. And it is an effort that has been adopted by a variety of
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different mayors across the country from both parties, also Rupert Murdoch from Fox, Bob Iger
from Disney, and Steven [sic] Ballmer from Microsoft. And it's [sic] basically incorporates five
very basic and common sense principles to immigration reform and it mirrors the Comprehensive
Immigration Reform bill that passed the Senate and, failed in the House. And they include,
number one, attracting and retaining the world's top innovators and entrepreneurs, including
granting visas to scientists, technology graduates, engineers, mathematicians; number two,
recruiting talented workers needed to fill gaps in high- and low -skilled sectors of the economy.
Believe it or not, with all the unemployment we have, there's 3.5 million jobs in the United States
that are unfilled. Number three, bringing the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants
into the legal economy so that they can pay taxes, attain better education, and contribute more to
the US. (United States) economy. I think both parties have come to the realization that they're --
these undocumented workers are here. They're here to stay. There's no real means to get them
physically to leave the United States, so we might as well take advantage of the fact that they're
here and convert them into tax paying members of this community. Number four, developing a
state-of-the-art system to ensure immigration laws are enforced and obeyed by monitoring who is
in our country after they cross the border, as well as who leaves the United States, and ensuring
that workplaces obey the laws and only hire legal workers. And finally, ensuring that the
immigration system's easy to understand, easy to navigate, and easy to implement by ensuring
that tourists and employment visa applicants interact with no more than one agency, employers
who have successfully hired foreign workers in the past be provided a fast -track to processing
rather than having to prove their eligibility each and every time. And one of the things that
we've also talked about as a government is our EB-5 (Employment -Based 5th Category)
program. We've been several years talking about it; we've spent money on, I believe members of
the Administration, and I haven't seen a concrete plan to actually implement it. I think it's
something worthwhile. It's -- it obviously encourages foreign investors to invest a million dollars
into some -- a minimum of million dollars and create a certain amount of jobs and get an
automatic immigration status. So I have some members of the community that are here to speak
in favor of this item. and I'd like to call them up. I think School Board member Curbelo is here
and in, favor of the item as well.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized for the record.
Carlos Curheln: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Carlos Curheln. I'm at 10301
Southwest 102 Street, Miami, Florida. And good afternoon to your. fellow Commissioners and 1
think the Mayor was here a few minutes ago. I was encouraged to come to this meeting by Rudy
Fernandez of the University of Miami, who you will hear from briefly. Rudy has been a leader
on immigration reform since before it was popular. And many of us for many years have been
working on this issue and we've been very frustrated. Before you right now, you have an
opportunity, an opportunity to contribute to the momentum that we've seen behind this issue in
recent months. We can actually get it done. And 1 think you all know and I -- clearly,
Commissioner Suarez understands that no metro area can benefit more from comprehensive
immigration reform than Miami, and that obviously includes the City, it includes the County, it
includes our school system, and all the other local governments. So I respectfully urge you to
support this item. I thank you for this opportunity. It's my first time before the City of Mianii
Commission. And certainly encourage you to become a part of this growing wave of support
for comprehensive immigration reform. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Rodolfo Fernandez: Chairman Sarnoff, Commissioners, thank you for the opportunity to
address you. My name is Rudy Fernandez. I'm here representing the University of Miami. And I
first want to thank Commissioner Suarez, for his leadership on this particular issue and thank
each of you for considering this particular item. 171 he very brief. We at the University of Miami
are signatories to the efforts by this partnership for a new American economy, as are our
colleagues at, you know, President Rosenberg at Florida International University; President
City efMiami
Page 59 Printed nn 3/25/2013
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Padron has been involved with the effort at Miami Dade College. Most of the public universities
in the state of Florida have signed on to the effort. And the reason we're working closely with
this group is not only has to do with the humanitarian issues that are obvious and get a lot of
attention, not only does the national security issues are important but, frankly, the economic
issues tied to this particular issue are supremely important and no community understands that
better than the City of Miami. Several -- you know, a couple of cities throughout the country
have already sponsored similar resolutions. The city of New York obviously has sponsored a
resolution. Mayor Bloomberg has been very active on the issue. And I'll score -- underscore
three particular points to you that highlight the importance to our country's economy. First, in
last year, 28 percent of the businesses, the small businesses started in this country, 28 percent of .
those businesses were started by immigrants. In the City, of Miami -- you guj's represent this
great City -- you understand the importance of that and you know a lot of immigrant small
business owners. Stat number two -- and I couldn't help but enjoy the portrait of Leonardo Da
Vinci's glider that you guys have adorning this beautiful room. That's obviously a tip of the hat
to innovation. The second stat that is just startling but people at universities recognize is the fact
that 76 percent of patents, you know,. for new inventions that are awarded to the top ten
universities that produce patents, places like MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and
Stanford, are awarded to immigrants. Seventy-six percent. That's three out of every four patent
that's being currently awarded at those major institutions is being awarded to immigrants. This
is what's making the economy move and grow. And the third stat that's startling, Chairman, is
the fact that 10 percent of U.S. workers today wnrkfor a small business that's owned by an
immigrant. So besides the very important humanitarian reasons to support this and to urge
members of Congress to finally act on this, besides the important national security aspects of
this, it's for economic reasons that we absolutely have to take action this year. And the City of
Miami has an opportunity to send a strong message to our congressional delegation to make sure
that both Democrats and Republicans get this done. Thank you for your time.
Chair Sarnaff: Thank you.
Tice Chair Gort: Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: And with that, I'd like to make a motion.
Chair Sarnaff: There's a motion. Is there a second?
Tice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnof f: All right, any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnof f: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you all for coming.
RE.11 RESOLUTION
13-00208
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE
Attorney DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO PAY MARIE SEVERE WITHOUT ADMISSION
OF LIABILITY, THE AGGREGATE TOTAL SUM OF $145,000 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
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
MARIE SEVERE VS. CITY OF MIAMI, PENDING IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
CIRCUIT COURT, CASE NO.: 10-49932-CA-10, UPON THE EXECUTION OF
GENERAL RELEASES OF ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS, AND A DISMISSAL
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI AND ALL INDIVIDUAL CITY DEFENDANTS WITH
PREJUDICE; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM ACCOUNT NO.
05002.301001.545000.0000.00000.
13-00208 Memo - Office of the City Attorney.pdf
13-00208 Memo - Financial Signoff.pdf
13-00208 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-13-0065
Chair Sarnoff: RE.8. Or do we want to --?
Vice Chair Gort: That's Commissioner Carollo's district.
Chair Sarnaff: Right. Let's --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: You might want to wait on that.
Chair Sarnoff: -- wait on that. RE. 9.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: 1 think RE.9 has to have all the Commissioners to discuss --
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- so we need to hold off on that one.
Chair Sarnaff: All right. RE.10 is time certain.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: RE.11.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): RE.11, Mr. Chair and members of the Commission, this is a
recommended settlement. We briefed each Commissioner individually on this matter.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So moved.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion --
Tice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: -- by Commissioner Spence -Jones, second by Commissioner Gort. Any
discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.12 RESOLUTION
City of Miami Page 61 Printed on 3/25/2013
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
13-00122
Department of Capital
Improvements
Program
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPROVING THE
PROCUREMENT OF SERVICES FROM THE GORDIAN GROUP, INC., FOR
THE CONTINUATION OF THE JOB ORDER CONTRACTING SYSTEM,
UTILIZING EXISTING CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT
COMMISSION CONTRACT SOLICITED PURSUANT TO REQUEST FOR
PROPOSALS NO. 9082, TO BE USED CITYWIDE ON AN AS -NEEDED
BASIS, UNTIL AUGUST 26, 2014, WITH AN ADDITIONAL THREE (3) YEAR
RENEWAL OPTION, IF APPROVED BY THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN
FRANCISCO AIRPORT COMMISSION, IN A TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT
NOT TO EXCEED $1,000,000; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM VARIOUS
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.
13-00122 Summary Form.pdf
13-00122 Award Recommendation Form.pdf
13-00122 Piggybacking San Francisco Airport Contract.pdf
13-00122 Request for Proposals #9082.pdf
13-00122 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnotyand Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-13-0066
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. RE.12.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Twelve.
Mark Spanioli: Good morning again, Commissioners. Mark Spanioli, director of Capital
Improvements. RE.12 is a reso to approve the procurement of services for the Gordian Group for
the continuation of our joh order contracting system, that's our JOC (Joh Order Contract)
contract administrator.
Chair Sarnoff. All right.
Vice Chair Gort: Could you --? I'll move it for --
Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Gort, motion for discussion --
Vice Chair Gort: -- discussion.
Chair Sarnof f: -- items. Commissioner Spence -Jones seconds.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff. Commissioner Gort, you're recognized for the record.
Vice Chair Gort: Mark, can you please explain the process that we utilize and how much we
could he saving by utilizing this system and what the system is?
Mr. Spanioli: Absolutely, Commissioner. The JOC administrator; the Gordian Group, is
currently provides our software and technical support for the JOC construction system. All the
JOC contractors come through the Gordian Group system. Most of the other municipalities or
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
government agencies that use JOC actually just sole source the procurement of this. We actually
are piggybacking off of another contract with the City of San Francisco. By doing this
piggybacking, we're basically eliminating -- if we were to end our contract today and start all
aver again, we would be paying a higher rate. So we've already -- because we've been with the
Gordian Group far a number of years, we basically are at our discount rate because of the
quantity of work we've done with them, so that's one of the big benefits. In essence, without the
Gordian Group, we couldn't continue our JOC system right now.
Vice Chair Gort: But explain what it is, the JOC system.
Mr. Spanioli: The JOC system is our JOC contracting system where we can expedite our
construction projects. What it is is we have JOC contractors, as we call them --
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Mr. Spanioli: -- already -- we've already bid out that system. We already have the contractors
enlisted so whenever we want to do a smaller scale project, we just simply have to hire one of the
JOC contractors that are already on board with us.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Commissioner, we have them both for vertical construction --
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Mr. Martinez: -- a set of JOC contractors, and for horizontal construction. And they come in
very handy when a project appears that needs to he done very quickly. We contract with the JOC
contractor and he, you know, delivers the product.
Vice Chair Gort: But most important, it tells you more or less -- the software tells you how long
it should he taking and how much it will cost and the amount of material you're going to be
using. In other words, it's giving instructions so you make sure that the job is done well, to my
understanding, right?
Mr. Spanioli: That's correct. All the unit costs for all the items for the construction that we're
doing are already stipulated in the Gordian Group's JOC system.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay. Thank you.
Chair Sarnof f: All right. Any further discussion? Hearing no further discussion, all in favor,
please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mr. Spanioli: Thank you.
RE.13 RESOLUTION
13-00220
District 1- A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WAIVING THE
Commissioner PROHIBITIONS IN SECTION 2-11.1 OF THE CODE OF MIAMI-DADE
Wifredo (Willy) Gort COUNTY AND APPROVING ACCEPTANCE OF THE PAYMENT OF TRAVEL
EXPENSES BY CAMARA DE COMERCIO LATINA DE LOS ESTADOS
UNIDOS, INC. FOR A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MISSION TO THE
REPUBLIC OF TURKEY, WHICH MISSION IS FOR THE USE AND BENEFIT
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI; AUTHORIZING COMMISSIONER WIFREDO
(WILLY) GORT TO REPRESENT THE CITY OF MIAMI IN THIS BUSINESS
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
ENDEAVOR; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS
RESOLUTION TO THE MIAMI-DADE COMMISSION ON ETHICS.
13-00220 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Satnoff and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-13-0067
Chair Sarnaff: RE.13.
Vice Chair Gort: You need all the Commissioners.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So moved.
Vice Chair Gort: No, you need the Commissioner.
Chair Sarnoff.' Do we need them all, or do you want them all?
Vice Chair Gort: It's four fifth, isn't it?
Chair Sarnaff: Is it a --?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No, it's not.
Chair Sarnof f: I don't think it's a four fifth vote.
Vice Chair Gort: It's not? Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So moved.
Chair Sarnof f: We have a motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Madam City Attorney, why
don't you --
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Second. --just put on the record what we're doing.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): This is a waiver gig provision in the Miami -Dade County Code of
Ethics that prohibits any vendor or any person who does business with the City from paying the
travel expenses of a member of this board. So in this case, Camara de Comercio Latino [sic] has
a contract with the City for some facade improvements that they're -- funded through some
monies available -- made available through the City, so they would fall into that kind of
characterization. Commissioner Gort is being identified by this body as an individual that would
represent the City in this mission. The public purposes of this mission are set forth in the recitals
of this resolution. It clearly inures to the public benefit, not to his private gain, so therefore, it's
appropriate for you to vote on this.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Thank you, Madam --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And I just want to he clear -- and it's just -- you know, the idea is
to just make sure that it's brought in front of the City Commission. So I -- there should --
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RE.14
13-00222
Office of the City
Attorney
Ms. Bru: Right. The Commission had to waive --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- trade missions -- we get invited to trade missions and
companies and corporations and --
Ms. Bru: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: This is something we should all take notice of since the Ethics Commission is
now taking notice of us, that we simply should bring it up to each other as a vote --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: -- and it's a way of saving, "Yes, we agree. Commissioner Gort's going to he --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Representing the City.
Chair Sarnoff • -- this Commission's liaison to go out to Turkey."
Vice Chair Gort: And I'd like to explain a little hit. I've been -- the Hemispheric Congress,
established 34 years ago, and the idea was to bring all the president of all the chamber of
commerce throughout Central America and South America and the Carihhean. And the idea was
to try to see the convenience of how we can have more trade among international -- improve the
international trade between those countries and the City of Miami. For the last 34 years, that
originally began as the program. They would go from Sanchez in South America who talked to
Sanchez in the United States, and he would put them in touch with Smith so they can do the
business. Part -- we were pushed quite a bit for the free trade agreement with the Americas, and
that has been accomplished. The program now has expand not only through Carihhean and
Latin and South America, but also at the same time, the -- we have Turkey as a participator last
year, and we're going to have -- sign a port agreement with the Istanbul and the Port of Miami,
which will improve the exchange between Turkey and the City of Miami. And we have
accomplished those same agreement with a lot of the countries in Latin America, and the board
is very happy about those things.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. So now, all in favor, please say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE PAYMENT OF ATTORNEYS FEES
AND COSTS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,550, FOR THE PURPOSE OF
REPRESENTING COMMISSIONER MICHELLE SPENCE-JONES IN THE
CASE STYLED THE VIZCAYANS INC. V. CITY OF MIAMI, INC. ET. AL., CASE
NO. 07-17332-CA-13; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE NON
DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNT NO. 00001.980000.531010.0000.00000.
13-00222 Memo - Office of the City Attorney.pdf
13-00222 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
R-13-0068
Chair Sarnoff: RE.14.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Mr. Chair, I've put this nn the agenda. This is a request for
reimbursement of attorney's fees in a case -- the Vizcayans versus City of Miami. I've reviewed
the requestfor reimbursement and the law, and this is appropriate before you.
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Chair Sarnoff: Is there a motion? Motion by Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Second by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Any discussion? Hearing no
discussion, all in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.15 RESOLUTION
13-00230
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Community and ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF PROGRAM YEAR
Economic 2012-2013 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS ("CDBG"),
Development IN THE AMOUNT OF $44,934 FROM THE DISTRICT 3 CDBG PUBLIC
SERVICE RESERVE ACCOUNT; ALLOCATING SAID FUNDS TO THE
AGENCIES, AS SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND
INCORPORATED, FOR PUBLIC SERVICE ACTIVITIES; AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM
ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
13-00230 Summary Form.pdf
13-00230 Pre-Legislation.pdf
13-00230 Legislation.pdf
13-00230 Exhibit 1.pdf
SPONSOR: COMMISSIONER FRANK CAROLLO
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this
matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Samoff, Carollo and Spence -Jones
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Suarez
R-13-0069
Chair Sarnoff: Okay, RE.15 is really, District 3.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Is that Frank's?
Commissioner Carollo: I'm here.
Chair Sarnoff: Let's do it real quick -- no. Now I know how to get Commissioners out here.
City of Miami Page 66 Printed nn 3/25/2013
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Commissioner Carollo: Sorry. I'm working on the pocket item language. RE (Resolution) --
Chair Sarnoff: 15.
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): RE.15.
Commissioner Carollo: -- 15. I move it.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff • We have a motion by Commissioner Carollo, second by Commissioner
Spence -Jones. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Sarnoff: I think we have --
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: one that we tabled for you --
Commissioner Carollo: 1 don't think so.
Chair Sarnoff. No, I think you're right.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes, we did.
Vice Chair Gort: -- the 7th -- the parking lot underneath the expressway on 7th Street,
underneath I-95.
Chair Sarnoff: Which one was that, RE (Resolution) --?
Commissioner Carollo: That's a PZ (Planning & Zoning) item, I think.
Vice Chair Gort: No.
Chair Sarnoff: No. It wasn't -- it was an RE.
Tice Chair Gort: It's an agreement with the --
Chair Sarnoff: FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) -- here it is, RE.8.
Commissioner Carollo: That's been --
Chair Sarnoff • You're right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- deferred.
Chair Sarnoff: That was deferred, you're right.
Commissioner Carollo: That was deferred.
Chair Sarnoff: You're right, okay. All right, that's it then.
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END OF RESOLUTIONS
BUDGET
BI.1 BUDGET DISCUSSION ITEM
13-00117
Office of Management STATUS (SEC.18-542(b) CITY CODE)
and Budget I. 2012-2013 BUDGET
II. PROPOSED 2013-2014 BUDGET
13-00117 Summary Form.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnof f: We -- we're up to PZs (Planning & Zoning) or district items. It's too early to go.
Commissioner Spence -Jones, how long is your pocket item -- your district page item? You want
to do it now or --?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I want Francis to be here, if he could.
Chair Sarnof f: Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff.' Danny, you have something you want to talk about that's 10 or 15 minutes?
Daniel Alfonso (Director, Management & Budget): Sure.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead. You're up. Just tell me what we're talking about so 1 can get it on the
agenda.
Mr. Alfonso: The budget discussion, BI.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah.
Mr. Alfonso: B, BI.
Chair Sarnoff: D -- which one?
Mr. Alfonso: No, BI. It's at the end of the resolutions, the very first item right after the
resolutions.
Chair Sarnoff.' BI, BI, BI.
Mr. Alfonso: It's the monthly budget update.
Chair Sarnoff: I got you.
Mr. Alfonso: Danny Alfonso --
Chair Sarnoff: BI1, I'm sorry.
Mr. Alfonso: Yes.
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Commissioner Carollo: And by the way, just for the record, I'm going to he here. I'm just going
to he in the hack speaking to our director, Mariano Fernandez, okay, hut will he here listening.
Mr. Alfonso: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized, Mr. Alfonso.
Mr. Alfonso: For the fiscal year that ended '12, we are moving forward to close nut the year. I
wanted to say that 1 know the number originally had been estimated or mentioned 45 million.
We had said possibly 37 million. It looks like it could be 41 million in the end. We're talking to
the auditors about how to account for or recognize the expenditure of the solid waste containers
for the recycling. That's $3.7 million. Depending on how that's done, it will either be a 37 or 41,
and we're going to resolve that in the upcoming couple of weeks. Other than that, there -- for
'12, there are no other major changes. We are where we are. In fiscal year '12-'13, the current
year that we're operating, 1 sent out the report a few nights ago. And basically, the revenues are
looking as we expected. There is -- we're doing better in some cases. For example, in the
Building Department, the collections overall for the department are ahead of schedule. We
should he, in the four months, about 33.3 percent. We're actually around 40 for the Building
Department. Planning & Zoning is also doing very well. Red-light camera is ahead of
expectation as well. We do have one revenue that is less than we had expected, and that is when
we changed the certificate of use billing to a fiscal year rather than a calendar year, we prorated
the amount of the certificate of use bill to nine months because the people had already paid
through December 31 so that the new bill that they're paying for this year is from January 1
through September 30. So while in the budget we had it one year like we normally do, we're
actually only collecting nine months, so there's a proration there, and that's going to cost us
about a million dollars. But the other revenues that are coming in ahead are prnbahly going to
wash that right out. So overall, I think we'll be fine. On the expenditures side, the departments'
expenditures, again, are I think what we need to focus on, and they're coming in as expected.
We're projecting that the department that manages the red-light camera contract, which is CIP
(Capital Improvements Program), is going to need extra allocation because since that revenue is
coming in, we're projecting now $900, 000 over budget. The expense, which is the 40 percent
payment to the vendor that does the billing, will have to he increased accordingly. Nonetheless,
we're still going to net $500,000 on that transaction. In the police department, we're seeing the
cost of fuel has not really come down. It is costing us more than we had anticipated. The police
department spends about $1.1 million -- 1.1 million gallons of fuel a year, and we had budgeted
$4.4 million for fuel. We are projecting that it might end up close to 4.9 million or about ha1f a
million dollars above budget. And as we push on recruitment and filling positions that we have
targeted to he vacant, it may cause other stresses on the budget for police. So we're actually
projecting the police department may be over as well. So bottom line,. fiscal year '1 2-'13, we're
thinking maybe a $13 million surplus at this time, assuming that we don't have an impact from
the FIPO (Firefighters Police Officers) discussion that is ongoing. The move to bring the third
actuary is being looked at, and I think the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) would like to make a
comment about that.
Janice Larned: Janice Larned, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer. Yes, we have
activated the third actuary provision in the Gates settlement. We may he back before this body at
the next Commission, should we have to go through a procurement process. At this point, we
have asked for our expert consultants to give us an opinion as to whether or not the Gates
settlement trumps, if will, the procurement code. So that is on the -- could possibly be on the
agenda for March 14.
Mr. Alfonso: Okay. So for '12-'13, again, we're projecting a surplus of about $13 million. The
issue of the FIPO pension payment is out there. It's a 9.8 million possible hit. It is still early in
the year. The numbers are still fairly volatile. So as we get more data points, as each month
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
DI.1
12-00657
passes, we'll get better in the projection. And I'll he sure that whatever I talk about, the
projection, it does not assume anything on the reserve. Like last year, I was assuming the
reserve would he used, and that's why we had such a large discrepancy at the end. So we're not
going to make that mistake again. And --
Chair Sarnoff.' You're recognized, Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: So we're saying we're very much within budget with all the departments except
the --
Mr. Alfonso: Police and CIP are the only two departments that are right now we're projecting to
go over. And again, CIP is because of the red-light camera payment that they have to make.
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Mr. Alfonso: So that's fully covered by the revenue and then some. And the police department,
because of the excess in, fuel and because we're projecting to fill positions that we thought would
be vacant, we think that that might go over as well. And their overtime is on the high end side
too. The '13-'14 budget process has begun. Today is the day by which departments are supposed
to submit their budget requests. My -- the analysts of the City in my department will start the
process of reviewing those requests promptly next week. I have scheduled meetings with all the
directors that begin, 1 believe, around the 14th of March through the 22nd of March, where we
have our internal first review. And then in April, we'll meet with the Manager on the budget
proposals, et cetera, but we'll he bringing information to you to tell you where that initial
balance is at. We'll talk about how we're addressing the issue of police officers. We'll talk about
how we're issuing -- how we're truing to address the issue of the backfill of positions that may be
leaving, etcetera, etcetera. So there's definitely going to he a lot ofstress on the budget and, you
know, ultimately, it will be a policy decision of the Commission as to where we put the resources.
Chair Sarnoff.' Okay. Commissioner Spence [sicJ, anything? No? All right, thank you, Danny.
Appreciate it.
END OF BUDGET
DISCUSSION ITEMS
DISCUSSION ITEM
ITEM TO BE WITHDRAWN BY THE ADMINISTRATION
DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE CITY'S ADOPTION OF ATICKET POLICY
UNDER WHICH PUBLIC, COMMUNITY BENEFITS, OR COMPLIMENTARY
TICKETS OBTAINED THROUGH CONTRACTUAL NEGOTIATION OR OTHER
EXERCISE OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY MAY BE DISTRIBUTED FOR ANY
PERMISSIBLE PUBLIC PURPOSE, CONSISTENT WITH THE GUIDELINES
PROVIDED BY THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COMMISSION ON ETHICS AND
PUBLIC TRUST.
12-00657 Summary Form.pdf
12-00657 Memo - Citywide Ticket Policy.pdf
12-00657 Memos - Miami -Dade County 10-11-12.pdf
12-00657 Backup Information 06/28/12.pdf
SPONSORS: OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
City nfMiami
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DI.2
13-00109
DI.3
13-00202
Miami Parking
Authority
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
WITHDRAWN PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
DISCUSSION ITEM
PRESENTATION BY THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE ORDINANCE REVIEW
COMMITTEE AND PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 4 OF THE
CITY CODE.
13-00109 Email - Alcohol Ordinance Discussion Item.pdf
13-00109 Report - Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance Review Committee.pdf
SPONSORS: CHAIR MARC SARNOFF
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & ZONING
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this
matter be CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Gort
DISCUSSION ITEM
UPDATE ON THE CAR2GO PROGRAM.
13-00202 Summary Form.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnoff: All right, the next thing up on the agenda would be FR.1, which is the towing
rates, but I think what -- the towing folks here? I think the better thing to do is do On. the
afternoon. And I hate to do that to you, hut want to have a full Commission to hear this. And
so what I'm going to do is allow cars2go [sic] to do their presentation. Is cars2go [sic] here?
Okay. You guys should step up fast 'cause I'm considering doing something else. There you go.
1'in just teasing.
Josh Moskowitz: Thanks.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized for the record. What's your name?
Mr. Moskowitz: I'm Josh Moskowitz. I'm business development manager with car2go.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. You're recognized for the record. This is DI.3, for anyone following along
in their agenda.
Mr. Moskowitz: Car2go --just wanted to give a overview of the seven months of operation and
the success of the program that we've seen. We want to thank Art Noriega, the City Manager, the
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Mayor, and the Commissioners of Miami for being wonderful partners so far in this endeavor.
First, just wanted to talk a little hit about the feedback that we've received from Miami residents.
We have more than 10,000 members in Miami alone, which is on par with the membership
growth that we've seen in our eight other North American cities. One of the things that we really
pride ourselves on is becoming part of the social fabric of each community that we operate in.
Chair Sarnojj: I don't paean to interrupt.
Mr. Moskowitz: Sure.
Chair Sarnaff • And I'm hearing it echoing in my head. Did you say we are a good city in
comparison to the other North American cities?
Mr. Moskowitz: Yes.
Chair Sarnaff: Okay.
Mr. Moskowitz: Yes. And again, one of the things that we do in each of the communities that we
operate in is become part of the community. So we have a presence at community events,
neighborhood events, citywide events, and these are just a list of those that we've already
participated in and will participate in. And before I forget, I should mention that I'm joined by
our location manager far Miami, Harvey Eunice. He's in the audience. So again, we have more
than 10,000 members in Miami after seven months of operation. Currently, we're seeing about
1,200 new members per month, which is fantastic growth. In terms of the amount of rentals,
we're seeing about 13,000 rentals per month in Miami, and that's actually increased this past
month. I think we'll hit more than 14,000, which will he a record high for the month. This is a
heat map that shows where our members live, and you can see that the heaviest concentration of
membership is along the eastern corridor, where we have a fantastic mix of commercial and
residential density. If you look at other cities like Miami, where we see the greatest growth
membership and usage are these melting pots of commercial and residential destinations. The
largest number of members reside in the Brickell, downtown and Wynwood districts of Miami.
The average parking duration times -- so the amount of time that the vehicles are idle and not
being used -- has dramatically decreased since we started operation. And a lot of that has to do
with the.fact that our marketing events are working. People see the vehicles. They see us at
these community events. The people are actually using the cars, and so the -- an overwhelming
majority of the vehicles do not sit in a parking space for more than two hours. This just shows
where the trips originate in the last month. Again, you can see along the eastern corridor is
where most of the usage is occurring. For trips that begin in Brickell, we're seeing a lot of the
trips end up in the downtown and Wc'nwnad areas. Demand from Brickell has actually outpaced
supply because of the convenience and flexibility of the service, the fact that it is point to point;
that you can just pick it up and drop it off. We charge by the minute, and you're only charged, for
the amount of time that you drive.
Chair Sarnaff: How many cars do you have?
Mr. Moskowitz: Right now we have 230. Vehicles that are parked downtown are used to travel
to destinations throughout Miami, and especially in the Brickell area. Last night, for instance, I
saw about eight in essentially a two -block radius of Brickell. It was great to see. We also have
acquired parking spaces from private garage operators on Miami Beach. You can actually see in
the last month we had about 23 trips that ended at these lots, lots that we have struck
partnerships with with the garage operators. And then far the destinations far trips that begin in
Wynwood, we can see -- you can see that the vehicles are scattered throughout the Miami
operating area. And this last heat map shows the beginning and ending rentals throughout the
last month. So again, we're seeing a lot of usage throughout the city. We're not seeing, you
know, clustered uses. And thank you.
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Chair Sarnoff: Thanks. Does anybody have any questions or --?
Vice Chair Gort: No. What 1 would like is -- 1 think it's a lot of people in the City still do not
understand how it works, so if you can give a little explanation how it works and the rates, I
think it'll be very important.
Mr. Moskowitz: Sure. Car2go is a point-to-point car -sharing company, where you can pick up a
vehicle at any location within the Miami operating area and you can park it anywhere within the
Miami operating area. We charge per minute. It's 38 cents per minute, 13.99 per hour, 72.99
per day. The cars are meant really for short, quick trips.
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Ms. Moskowitz: They average between about 25 to 40 minutes. People are going about five to
six miles. So it's not really car rental, you know.
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Mr. Moskowitz: It's not like Hertz or Avis or Enterprise. It's really meant to get to Point A to
Point B, to go to a meeting for work, to go to a restaurant to meet friends, things like that.
Chair Sarnoff • Do you reposition the cars that are not left at an advantageous point? I mean,
'cause you can go anywhere you said, so if somebody --
Mr. Moskowitz: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: -- goes to a very --
Vice Chair Gort: People will pick it up.
Chair Sarnoff: -- I don't know, part of the city that are not likely to he rented again, do you
actually pick those up or --?
Mr. Moskowitz.: We do have -- we have a fleet team, guys who will go out and they will service
the vehicles. Members do not actually have to pay for parking. They do not have to pay for gas.
And so our fleet team will go out and they will service the vehicles. They'll clean them. They'll
fuel them. And one of the other things that they do is they actually do something called
rebalancing where if we see a vehicle idling in a certain neighborhood for longer than 24 hours,
we'll actually go and pick it up and we'll bring it back to an area of the city in which we see a lot
of usage.
Chair Sarnoff: In comparison to like another city, like do you do this in New York? Do you do
this in the east coast of the United States? Or where else do you do this?
Mr. Moskowitz: We operate in five other American cities: Portland, Seattle, San Diego, Austin,
Texas, and Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia). And we also have an operation in Canada
as well, Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto.
Chair Sarnoff: And of the American cities, how does cars2go do in comparison to Miami?
Mr. Moskowitz: 1 think we've done very, very well in Miami so, far. Again, it's a relatively new
type of transportation system, but we have seen significant success so far.
Vice Chair Gort: In other words, they're driving ten minutes, it'll be 30 -- 3. --
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Mr. Moskowitz: I'll be $3.80.
Vice Chair Gort: -- $3.80.
Mr. Moskowitz: Yeah.
Vice Chair Gort: Three dollars and eighty cents. So anybody that wanted to go from PointA
from Point B and they don't have time to wait for a taxi, that'll take it (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It
works.
Mr. Moskowitz: I did want to do one other thing. I wanted to share a video with you all, just
highlighting some of the successes that we've had in Miami, as well as other areas of other
states.
At this time, an audiovisual presentation was made.
Mr. Moskowitz: Thanks.
Chair Sarnof f: Thank you. I just want to say the use of the smart car: Since I bought my wife a
smart car for Christmas, it's the only car I notice that she can parallel park.
Mr. Moskowitz.: Thanks for your time.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. I guess we're just waiting on another Commissioner.
DI.4 DISCUSSION ITEM
13-00229
Department of
Planning and Zoning
10:00 A.M.
DI.5
13-00226
DISCUSSION TO ALLOW THE MIAMI MARINE STADIUM STEERING
COMMITTEE TO PRESENT A REPORT OF ITS FINDINGS TO THE CITY
COMMISSION PERTAINING TO THE OPERATIONAL PLAN FOR THE
RESTORATION OF MIAMI MARINE STADIUM.
13-00229 Summary Form.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
WITHDRAWN PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Samoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
DISCUSSION ITEM
District2- DETAILED EXPLANATION BY THE DIRECTOR OF HR ON THE PROCESS
Commissioner Marc OF HIRING POLICE OFFICERS.
David Sarnoff
13-00226 Email - Process of Hiring Police Officers.pdf
13-00226-Submittal-Memo-Police Dept. Recruitment;Action Items Dated 02-27-13.pdf
13-00226-Submittal-Memo-Updated Status of Recruitment Dated 02-27-13.pdf
DISCUSSED
Direction by Commissioner Spence -Jones to the Administration for the Police Chief to provide
the City Commission with a report on sworn officers that are currently performing administrative
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functions that could be used in other areas, such as patrol, by the next meeting.
Direction by Commissioner Spence -Jones to the Administration for the Police Chief to provide
the City Commission with a report by the next meeting identifying key personnel currently
participating in vital operations and programs associated with the Police Department who are
also listed in the DROP and scheduled to retire from the City either this year or next.
Direction by Chair Sarnoff to the Administration for the Police Chief to provide the City
Commission with a fiscal analysis on worker's compensation claims for the period covered
between 2008 and 2011 within the Miami Police Department by the next meeting.
Direction by Chair Sarnoff to the Administration to develop a plan in preparation for the
mid -year allocation for consideration by the City Commission that will allow for incentives, such
as bonuses and tuition reimbursement, for police officers by the next meeting.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Let's get to it. Everybody ready?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. So we have a 10 o'clock time certain, the police hiring process. And I
asked the Administration to bring this because -- I don't know; just because. You're recognized
for the record.
Daniel Alfonso: Good morning, Commissioners. Danny Alfonso, Budget director, City of
Miami. We sent out a memorandum to all our elected officials a few days ago expressing the
things that we have done, but I'll just recap those things here for you. We have gone back and
looked at our processes and determined that there are things that we needed to change and we
have made some changes. Primarily, we worked with the police department to increase the
number of background investigators 'cause that was one of the bottlenecks that we had. The
police department had already increased the number to -- from 4 to 13, but the Chief committed
to increase that number to up to 21 personnel doing background investigations. So doing that
would expedite the background process and help us bring people on board faster. We've
authorized -- another area where there was backlog was in the screening -- the initial screening
of applications and the scheduling of interviews for personnel other than police officers in the
police department. So we have authorized recruitment and hiring of four more personnel in HR
(Human Resources) to assist and expedite the process of conducting the screening of applicants
and the processing of interviews, etcetera. Effective April 1, we're also going to change the way
in which we accept applications into the City for recruits. Right now we have online and a paper
process. The paper process or the submission of information through a paper process takes
longer because people have to send it by mail. We sort of do like -- if you sent your
documentation by paper application by the date, but that may, get here a week later, so that
delays the start of processing those applications. We're requiring now that -- and we're giving
them until April 1 so that people know that that's going to be the way that it's done -- that
applications come only through online application and people are allowed to upload the
required documents right on the online process. So that will help us expedite as well. The other
area where we're having some delays was in the scheduling of the second psychological and
medical at the end of the process. We have turned all of that responsibility over to the police
department, effective March 4, so that we eliminate any confusion in that process. The Manager
has also authorized four additional positions to be recruited in the police department so that the
police department can begin to have a section that will do recruitment solely for those positions
that are unique to the police department. The Police Department is working on developing the
criteria for those personnel, and we'll come back to you and inforin you of how that process is
going. We expect that that will he online and ready to go by the next round of police officer
recruitment. Right now we are still working on a current active list that the police department is
doing background investigations on, and we anticipate that those lists will be exhausted by the
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end of May. We plan to do the advertising early May, perhaps earlier, depending on how the
process is going so that by the time that list is exhausted, they're ready to go with a new list. And
if they -- if all goes well, they will have their personnel on hoard to start processing those people
in-house, which is the way that other departments do it. In terms of how the police recruitment
has been going, we wanted to inform you -- let me switch to the other document here. I wanted
to point out that at the -- the high water mark for the number of budgeted vacancies in sworn
personnel in the police department happened last summer, July, I believe, and the number was
all the way up to 98, I believe. I think told you -- Commissioner, I believe I said 94. I
misspoke. The number was 98. It was July of 2012. Currently, we're at 62 sworn budgeted
vacant positions. And let me talk a little bit about what those sworn budgeted vacant positions
include because I want it clear for the record what is it that we're talking about. Of those 62
positions that remain vacant, we have 29 budgeted trainees. And we anticipate that 20 of those
29 will be filled by the end of March. We have already actually tendered 16 officer trainees their
job -- we've tendered letters of offer of employment to them. And we anticipate that at least four
more will he ready to go and the class of 20 will start by the end of March. We are planning to,
from the existing list, start another class by the end of July and another one in October. To do
that, if we run out of trainee positions, what we are willing to do is take positions that are
currently unbudgeted and vacant and authorize alternate positions of police officers so that we
can start that recruitment process going and eventually, when we get around to filling those
unbudgeted or vacant positions as they get promoted, we'll have officers ready to move into those
as well. Of the 62 vacant positions, I will go hack and say 23 of them are actually police
officers. There's also three sergeants, one lieutenant, and six detention officers. All those count
into what's called the sworn, budgeted positions. Now I mentioned that there were some
unbudgeted, vacant positions, and those include 12 lieutenants, 1 senior executive assistant, 1
captain, and 1 motor sergeant. When we put the budget together, it was -- we were aware of the
issues with the promotional exams for lieutenants. We're currently in an RFP (Request for
Proposals) process to hying on the firm that is going to do the promotional exam. It was known
that that exam would not be ready; therefore, we did not budget the dollars, far those positions.
In other words, that is attrition that we budgeted into the department. What we're doing right
now is the Manager has authorized us to create alternate positions equivalent to these but not at
the rank of lieutenant or sergeant, but at police officer or trainee so that we can go ahead and
hire those 'cause eventually we're going to hire at least 11 lieutenants or 12 lieutenants, which
means that sergeants are going to move up and officers are going to move up. So we'll have the
funnel going, so to speak, ready to fill those positions. 1 wanted to say that we have hired, in the
past year, 59 officers; you know, we had 92 vacant, hired 59. We've lost some, and therefore,
we're currently at 62. Now that's the police officers. On the civilian side, we are ready to bring
on at the first pay period in March, which I think is March 10 or 11, ten dispatchers. Eight of
them we know for a fact have already cleared medical and all the requirements, so they are ready
to go, and there are two more that are in the final stage of that process. So we anticipate ten,
which is the number of vacancies that we have in the dispatcher positions. In addition to falling
those ten vacancies, we know that emergency dispatchers have a high rate of attrition, so we've
authorized the police department to continue to do the process of backgrounds, etcetera, on the
existing list of eligibles so that if we lose dispatchers because of the high stress of that job and we
got a lot of attrition there, we're ready to backfill fairly immediately without a long delay in the
process. In terms of the civilian positions, I can say that we've made a lot of progress. We're
advertising various positions right now. Crime scene investigators are -- let me go through the
notes 'cause there was an attachment there that we provided at the status --
Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chair.
Mr. Alfonso: -- of where the civilian position recruitment was.
Vice Chair Gort: May I ask a question?
Mr. Alfonso: Yes, sir.
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Chair Sarnof f: Danny, let -- yield to Commissioner Gort.
Mr. Alfonso: All right.
Tice Chair Gort: Where do you do the advertising for the employee -- for employment for the
City?
Mr. Alfonso: Aside from the City website, is there anything else?
Asseline Hyppolite (Senior HR Generalist, Human Resources): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) radio
advertisement.
Vice Chair Gort: Well, I'd like to get a list of the places where we advertise the opening, please.
Mr. Alfonso: Okay. Go ahead.
Ms. Hyppolite: Good morning. On --
Chair Sarnof f: State your name for the record.
Ms. Hyppolite: Asseline Hyppolite. hi response to the question, we do advertisement depending
on the position and the need and the difficulty in recruiting. For police officers, we did radio
advertisements, as well as advertising on the website. We've, in the past, done advertisement on
the billboards, et cetera. But fOr that particular recruitment hack in July, we did advertisement
only on the radio, as well as on the City website.
Vice Chair Gort: But at the same time, what type of advertising you use for the other
employments? Like general.
Ms. Hyppolite: Civilians in general or are we talking police?
Vice Chair Gort: General employment. Yes.
Ms. Hyppolite: General employment, it depends. For finance, we've advertised in some of the
more niche magazines, in niche publications. We advertise with Florida League of Cities. We've
advertised with FGOA -- GFOA (Government Finance Officers Association).
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Ms. Hyppolite: For City Clerk, we've done advertisements with ICMA (International
City/County Management Association), so it varies.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Ms. Hyppolite: Yeah.
Vice Chair Gort: And the other employees?
Ms. Hyppolite: Other --
Vice Chair Gort: Like general employees, labor and so on.
Ms. Hyppolite: On the City website, we do have -- we work with jobbing.com, who also assists in
advertisements. They scrape our site and post with Jobbing and Career Builder often. Some of
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the other ones -- latent print examiner, we recently advertised with the International Association
of Identification. I can't think off the top of nay head some of the others.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you.
Ms. Hyppolite: Okay, you're welcome.
Mr. Alfonso: I think I want to say, basically, what they do is they look at the position and they
see where is the hest place to advertise. Latent print examiner is an excellent one because that
has been very difficult to actually bring people on board, so we're actually reaching out to their
associations, etcetera, and that's where we're advertising. In terms of police officers -- 'cause
that was a concern -- one of the positions that the police department is looking for one of those
four is specifically a recruiter. And I want to have the Chief maybe come up and speak a little bit
about that 'cause I think that that's going to he sort of an outreach effort.
Manuel Orosa (Chief of Police): The -- part of the personnel we're going to add is a recruiter, a
recruiter that -- what I envision is that he will do a lot or she will do a lot of the recruiting in the
communities where we usually do not have a lot of applicants from. So I want that recruiter to
be out there going to schools, going to radio stations, doing everything that that person, he or
she can do to try to get good applicants to come in and apply for the police department and we
can get them jobs.
Chair Sarnoff • Go ahead. You're recognized. It's your floor.
Vice Chair Gort: Let me ask a question. How many students do we have going a year through
the academy, ours?
Chief Orosa: Anywhere from 100, 125.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay. They finish the course and they go through the whole thing and they
pay $10, 000 to become police officer.
Chief °two: Yes, sir.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay. Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: A couple of things. One is, Chief, correct me if I'm wrong, but although
you have students that go through the course, they cannot necessarily apply to our police
department because we have a list that we need to exhaust before any other person, even though
students that we put through our police training, they cannot apply to our police department,
correct?
Vice Chair Gort: No. I understand that, but then what is the recruitment for then if we have so
many people that are applying for it?
Commissioner Carollo: For other departments.
Vice Chair Gort: No, no. We're talking specifically, of police.
Commissioner Carollo: Yes, yes. What's happening is --
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Chair Sarnoff: I think --
Commissioner Carollo: -- Commissioner Gort, they're going through our college of policing.
They're getting their certification. They're getting state certified.
Chair Sarnoff: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: However, once they're state certified, they cannot apply to our police
department because we need to exhaust that list prior to them being able to -- and to a certain
degree, 1 mean, 1 think it's somewhat unjust because, 1 mean, we're training them and they
actually want to apply and continue with the Miami Police Department. However, we cannot
accept them until that list is exhausted.
Chief Orosa: Yes. But once we have a list, we have to work the list and we cannot accept
applications until we're about done and we open up the application process again. And last time
we did open up the application process, we closed it in three days because we had over a
thousand applicants.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. --
Chair Sarnoff • You're recognized fir the record, Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: I'll yield to my colleague over there on the other side. Go ahead.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: You sure?
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Ijust have a couple of points that I want to make, Danny,
and these are just observations and, hopefully, recommendations. First of a11, I want to
commend the Chairman fir staying on top of this issue of getting more n ficers on the streets. We
know that it's obvious that, you know, we definitely have an issue happening on our streets,
whether- or not it be gangs or all the -- the increase of robberies. Crime is definitely rising, and I
know it's definitely rising in my neighborhoods. I have about four things that I want to mention.
The first thing that I wanted to mention was I understand the need to definitely push really hard
to get more officers on board. I think we definitely need to continue this effirt, and I'm glad that
it happening. But I'm a little concerned about the issue surrounding officers that we already
have on board. And I'm going to give you an example of what -- in two instances. Let me start
with the first one. The first one being, we're having -- I'm just curious from the budget side of
this, Danny, how we're now looking at addressing the issue of officers that had been -- that are
sworn officers that are already working that, quite frankly, their morale, you know, is pretty low
and it's not by way of the Chief and his effirts, 'cause I think that he's doing an outstanding job
to make things work with what he has. But we have officers -- I'm going to he frank with you.
And I ran into one particular officer last night and I -- and he expressed -- without saying who
he is -- to me, you know, Commissioner, you know, we're pulling doubles, you know, sometimes
triples, you know, trying to fight these crimes and do whatever is necessary to keep things
moving so that our streets are safe, but we don't necessarily see that corning back to us. And I
asked him what did he mean by this. He said, I know that a lot of the legislators or the
Commissioners or staff or leadership says, okay, you know, everybody has to dig deep, hut when
1 start looking at why I should stay in this department or you guys attracting new officers to the
department, the feedback I'm getting is that it's very difficult to recruit -- correct me if I'm wrong
-- very difficult to even recruit officers because the current officers that are here are not being
taken care of: So not only do you have an issue of -- a morale issue that's already low because
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people are not -- haven't seen a raise, let's say, in five years -- and he gave me an example. He
said, you know what, I used to be able to save $500 a year. Now I am -- I've lost $1,500 a year.
He just used that as an example. So Ijust hope in the midst a f this wonderful plan of us
attracting new officers to come and join the ranks, that we're looking at taking care of the
officers that are already here. Because when we start seeing all these incidents with officers, for
whatever reason, making bad decisions or making bad judgment calls -- and I don't want to get
into what and why they're doing it -- but just fbr them to make a little extra money, that creates
the scenarios that we've seen. So I'm -- and I don't -- I'm not raining on your parade,
Commissioner Sarnoff, hut I really want to take care of the people that are already here ton. So
I'm going to ask that, you know -- 1 know we found close to $41 million, you know -- we
continued to dig deep on our side now to figure out how we take care of the officers that are here,
that are struggling every single day to get up every morning to come out and serve; quite frankly,
don't know if they're corning back home to their families every single day because people out
there with guns now do not even care about the five -year -old kid that lives in their own
neighborhood' no less than a officer in blue trying to protect them on the streets. So Ijust want
to see a little consideration on the officer -- with the officers that are there now. What are we
doing to address --? I don't care if it's a slight increase. We need --
Mr. AJonso: Commissioner --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Let me just get nay thoughts out. -- to kind o f consider that in the
process of whatever we're doing to address this issue of -officers. Let me finish, Mr. Manager,
and then you can respond. The other thing that I wanted to mention is -- so I'd like a
recommendation on what we're doing to look at addressing that issue to increase the morale.
The other part of that is, it's been also brought to my attention that we have a lot of sworn
officers already in the administration office that have the ability to he on the streets that are
doing secretarial positions or administrative positions. And I would like -- I don't know if it's
true, but 1 would like to have at least, Chief an official report on the number of -sworn officers
that are sitting in these positions that could clearly he out on the streets, that could be utilized in
another way to patrol our streets and do what they're sworn to do. And I understand, you know,
they have to keep their licenses and all that in order, but if7 -- and correct me if it's -- if Pm
wrong, but the amount that a secretary's getting paid compared to a sworn officer that has been
here 15, 20 years, I think that we could pay less for that secretary, you know, and -- or that
administrator, whoever that person is that has the -- that is a sworn officer that could be out
there on the streets. I think we need to also look at our organization to see what kind of
adjustments we could make to put the people that we already have that are sworn, you know --
they're getting a certain level of a pension, correct? They're getting a certain level of a salary. I
think that we need to look at readjusting some of those things as well with what we already have
to put people on the street. So I would like far the Chief to definitely provide nie with an update
for the next Commission meeting so that we have an understanding as to whether or not we're
even using our resources to the best of our ability to even serve some of the people that we
already have. And then last, but not least, on my blue pages later we're going to talk about
people transitioning out because of the DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan). You know,
one of the greatest fears I have in all of this, not just from the police side, for the legal side, is the
institutional knowledge that we're now going to lose, Chief, in this new round of individuals that
are going to be leaving. God knows already -- you know, this is why I made the City Attorney's
issue a big issue,far me 'cause that's something that we cannot play with; that's number one. But
number two, definitely, as we begin to put these operations together to address crime that's
happening, you know, on the streets at least in my district, you know, my fear is that some of the
people that we have that are in key positions may not he there, so now I got to start all over
again. So I really want to understand how we -- how that also affects our ability to make a
decision that, one, yes, financially, it makes sense because we got to handle it, but -- on one
hand. But on the other hand, I mean, do I now place somebody else in that position and all of
the work and the drive that I may have had with an individual now be lost because of it. So I
really want to know from you, Chief, in the next meeting, if ,you could provide me also, you know,
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key people that -- or individuals that are on that list of the DROP that they're going to he leaving
this year, next year, that are involved in key operations and initiatives that, quite frankly, losing
them would hurt us right now. So I would like to have that report as well. So that's my -- I'm
sorry, Commissioner Suarez, but I just thought that it was very important for us to have that
discussion and be prepared to address it at the next City Commission meeting.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead, Danny.
Mr. Alfonso: IfI may, Commissioners. That last point, Commissioner, the HR director prepared
a report that she sent out. She met with every department director.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Mr. Alfonso: We have identified those key positions that department directors feel are most
important to their operation that they have to hackfill or overlap, etcetera. We've asked every
director in their budget submission to put those needs into their budget request. That way, we'll
know how much of a fiscal impact it's going to be to overlap somebody, for- several months. For
example, you're going to see in the midyear allocation that comes in early April some changes,
perhaps, in the Law Department. I've been talking to the City Attorney, where she feels she may
need some additional funding to prepare for her departure and some of her other key colleagues.
The Office ofAgenda coordination, you know, we're losing that Long-term employee, and she's
probably mentioning my name back there right now, but we're talking about having some overlap
on her as well because it's not something that you can come off the street and you know how
agenda works in the City of Miami. So we are looking at those things. We are going to put into
our budget proposal, in an orderly manner, what is the fiscal impact of doing that.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Mr. Alfonso: You know, we have to consider what the other stresses are on the budget. And so I
think the HR director has addressed, for the most part, that last --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Mr. Alfonso: -- comment.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And the only reason I'm saying that is on the police side of it, I'm
speaking especially on, I think that's a little different on -- I think the Chief really needs to weigh
in on what he knows it takes to continue some of these operations to make sure that, you know --
what I'm really concerned about more so than anything else is people's safety, you know. That is
imperative. That's extremely important to me. So 1 really want to make sure that, you know,
there's some extra set of eyes that are really looking at what kind of decisions we're going to be
making. And I'm sorry to have cut you off Mr. Manager. I know that you were going to make a
comment about the -- looking at the salaries of the officers that are already on board. Did you
want to make a comment to that?
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Yeah, the -- first of all, the continuity of the service that we
provide is very, very important. And we are looking at ways to bring in key people on board
ahead of time so they can train with the person that's going to he dropping 'cause right now
we're not making allowances for you've dropped and you can come back and start working, you
know. I think people have been waiting in line 20, 25 years for someone to DROP or retire and
it's time for them to move up and --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Mr. Martinez: -- bring morale up. But it is an issue and we are addressing it. And I've asked
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the Chief to -- on key positions where people are doing investigations and that type of thing, get
the person that may be the successor, or whatever, to start working with them so we don't lose
any momentum in these key investigations --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Mr. Martinez: -- so we are looking at that. Regarding the proper use or the efficient use of
resources, I hope that we have people with guns and badges in the street and not typing and
doing that type of thing. And the Chief will give you a report on those type of people and how
we're using them. The other thing is regarding salaries. We have a two-year contract with the
unions, and built into that are salary increases for police department kicking in in 2014.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Mr. Martinez: And that's built into the contract that we have.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. That won't change?
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chairman.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff • Wait one second. I think the Chief wanted to say something. Then I'm going to
go to Commissioner Suarez, who has patiently waited. Then I will go to Commissioner Carollo,
then back to Commissioner Gort.
Chief Orosa: My comment is that I will provide the Commission with the reports that you
requested, but when -- a year ago when I went down the entire organizational chart --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Chief Orosa: -- to he able to send 33 people hack to patrol, and then again a few months later,
another 10, we went through all that. And I don't think -- hut I71 check again -- that we have
anybody in the capacity that is doing secretarial job that can go out on the street. Most of what
could be inferred as a secretarial job is a little bit more than just that, and those are individuals
that are limited duty. They cannot -- because of an injury, they cannot go out and work as a
full fledged police officer. And we use those individuals in administrative positions, but it's not a
secretarial position.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: But -- and I guess --
Chief Orosa: But I'll give you a report.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- what I'd like to have is what those administrative positions are
and, I guess -- I'm assuming you have a documented reason as -- reasons as to why they cannot
work the streets.
Chief Orosa: Correct.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, so --
Chief Orosa: It's -- usually it's --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- but just want to -- just -- 'cause it was brought to my attention
so my job, as the official, is to ask the question --
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Chief Orosa: You're the boss.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No, I'm. not the boss. The people are the boss. But if you can at
least provide me with that --
Chief Orosa: Sure.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- I would greatly appreciate it.
Chief Orosa: I will.
Chair Sarnoff: Chief, just -- I'm going to go to Commissioner Suarez, but as long as you're
going to respond to Commissioner Spence -Jones, I'm sure you'll respond to the entire
Commission. But in addition to that, what I'd like to see, just the next column, if you will, is
statistical analysis on worker's comp claims from '08, '09, '010 [sic], '011 [sic], to see whether
there's been a spike in worker's comp claims and then people claiming they need light duly
status.
Chief Orosa: Correct. We will provide that.
Chair Sarnoft 1 just want to see if there's an anomaly or if there's any, you know -- why that
would be -- in '08, we had this many claims; in '09 -- 1 don't know that to be true or untrue, but I
think that sort of dovetails into what Commissioner Spence -Jones is looking for.
Chief Orosa: Correct.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Suarez is recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, when I discuss with people the
crime rate and the number of officers that we've been down over the last few months, they often
ask me, Well, what are you doing about it? And so, again, I want to echo Commissioner
Michelle Spence -Jones comments about your efforts, Chairman, hecause I usually say, Well, the
Chairman's been bringing up this issue every Commission meeting for, 1 think, a year and a half.
So every two weeks, we've been trying to get the Administration to focus on thinking outside of
the box and solving this problem. And today I'm somewhat encouraged to have to say -- by
something that Mr. Alfonso said, that he was actually looking at the lieutenant position and the
sergeant position and saying we're going to create another position, a police officer position. So
we're not just going to wait until some of these things work themselves out, like the, you know,
procurement of a lieutenant's exam, which could take -- and we know we've been struggling with
that issue. And I think one of the reasons why you kept bringing this up was to get us to think
that way, stop -- let's become a little bit untraditional because this is a problem that is very
acute, as we all know. Commissioner Spence -Jones has also been harping on it in her district
with the gun violence and the -- you know, the constant shootings that we read about in the
paper every single day, sometimes twice a day. One of the things that also I think we should take
a look at, you know -- 1 have no problem. being a tough negotiator. I think you all know that.
I've negotiated a variety of things on behalf of the Commission. What I do have an issue with is
negotiating when you say you're bankrupt, and then all of a sudden, a few months later, you
change your tune and you say, No, I just found $40 million. So, you know, I think that there is --
you know, the negotiations niay have gone differently. We may have used different tactics, and
we may not have had certain procedures available to us. And I think it's only fair that we take a
look at some of the needs in the department --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
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Commissioner Suarez: -- particularly, one of the ones that I think has come up to me in terms of
some of the police officers that I've spoken to is educational pay. We want to have officers that
are educated. That improves directly the caliber of the kind of officers that we have. So it's not
only important that we have new officers and that we have, you know, the right level of service
because I think the Chairman has also brought up that issue, which is an issue of the future of
where this department is going. We're going to lose officers and we really should be at a level
that's twice what we're at, and that's something that the Chairman highlighted when he did the
analysis of the number of officers per thousand residents. So, you know -- but we also want to
support the officers that we have here. Obviously, equipment is one way to do it, you know, pay
is clearly a way to do it. But I think there's also incentives, you know, with reference to
educational pay because we want our officers to, you know, become more educated. I think that
-- I think I spoke once with Armando Aguilar, Jr. and he was telling me that the quality of
officers directly related to the educational qualifications that they have and the background that
they have. So I think we should -- as an Administration, we should take a look at that. I'm not
sure what kind o f an investment that is. I can tell you it's probably a very good investment
because you're probably -- 1 guarantee you that the more educated officers are, the less likely
they are to -- for there to he misconduct. I'm sure that there's a correlation between education
and misconduct. And you know, we want our officers -- they're not going to he officers forever.
We know that our officers sometimes retire because of the nature of the stress of their job at an
earlier age, so they may have a second career beyond being a police officer. So I think it's
incumbent upon us to do things that -- you know, when we did the 2009 cuts, they were very, very
painful. And 1 think one of the things that we cut on was special pays.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Commissioner Suarez: And I think we need to really look at -- I think it was done in a very kind
of across -the -hoard fashion --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: -- and maybe we should look at doing things a little more qualitatively.
And I think educational pay, for me, just like hazard pay with certain -- you know, we have a
former Commissioner who was a firmer SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) officer, you know.
In our neighborhoods, if you're going into clearing a building, you know, in our neighborhoods,
post shooting -- we just had a situation in my district -- many of you were there. I saw you.
Assistant City Manager Cabrera was there on 26th Avenue and 24th Street -- where we had
officers that responded to an active shooting and had to clear a house where an 11-year-old boy
had been shot four times in the hack by his father. He died the next morning. A 14-year-old girl
was shot five times by the same person. I think she survived, if I'm not mistaken, hut she was
taken to Ryder -- and by the way, if they would not have responded in the way they did, she may
not have survived. The wife was also shot, and the person took his own life. But I think we really
need to look at some of these qualitative things because it's one thing to cut -- to balance our
budget with a very broad brush, but --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: But not on the hacks nfpenple.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. And I think we have to be -- you know, we have to be smart about
it, you know. We have to really -- it is an investment. It's an investment in our employees, but it's
also an investment in our community because they are the ones, as Commissioner Spence -Jones
said, that are responding to the incident. So those are nay thoughts on this issue. Thank you.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: 1-- and Mr. Chairman, I just got to say 1 wanted to really
commend Commissioner Suarez for, you know, the courage to continue the dialogue on the issue.
And I do, as Commissioner -- excuse me, as the Manager mentioned, you know, earlier, yes, we
do know that there's a two-year clause that we'll be looking at raises, but you know, sometimes
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you just got to do some things that are just right no matter what, you know? And if we see that
we have the ability to do a little more, like Commissioner Suarez mentioned, whether or not it's
education pay -- just something to let people know that you appreciate what they do, you know.
And sometimes I feel like, you know, as city government, we lose humanity in all of these
decisions that we're making. And I just, you know -- I just want to, you know, echo and
commend you for just continuing to kind of push the envelope on that. To say, yeah, okay, but
you know, the reality is, you know, when we were negotiating, we were in a different place, and
then later on we found out that actually we were in a better place, so why not try to figure out a
way to make these officers that serve this community, you know, feel as though that they're being
valued and appreciated. And even if it's just a small token -- but it just show -- I mean, it just
does so much for morale. And I'm going to say this about my chief, and I'm going to shut up. I
am so -- I say we are so blessed to have a chief that will go beyond what he sees in front of him.
And what -- with considering what he's had to deal with in these last six months or just taking
over this position itself, it has not been an easy challenge for him, you know. And, you know,
with officers that have gone astray and, you know, crime peaking in certain areas, you know,
with all those things happening, you know, cuts that are happening to his officers, still trying to
keep them motivated to go out there and serve on the streets has not been easy. But I'm telling
you, if we as a body think, you know, the right thing to do is to at least show that, you know, we
support these officers, even if it's on a smaller level, believe me, it will trickle down to how
they're even serving the residents in our community so we get benefit from it. So I just want to
commend Commissioner Suarez for pushing the envelope and saying, Hey, but there has to he an
additional way we can do something.
Chair Sarnoff.' All right, Commissioner -- no? Commissioner Gort. Chief I'd like to say some
things 'cause it's been my issue, and it's going to continue to be my issue. And I think we've just
touched the iceberg.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff.' But back in April of 2012, April 12, 2012, you came to this Commission, we were
84 officers down. We stayed 84 officers down until June. June, we went to 94 officers down. We
stayed to 94 officers down through June -- July 26, and then apparently, Danny said we were 98
officers down. September 27, 2012, we were 87 officers down, hut we had 36 in field training
office [sic] to be full-fledged officers in January of 2013. Unfortunately, you've since terminated
or separated from employment about a dozen police officers. So by December 13, 2012, we were
87 officers down, still the 35 in FTO (Field Training Officers). Today presently, according to the
January 24, 2013 minutes, we're about 50 police officers down. And it's been described to me
what those police officers are and are not. Some of them, as a matter of fact, are described to me
6 detention, 29 basic recruits, which means we always had funded a number of what's called
basic recruits; 11 lieutenants unfulfilled, and so the 1144 number is merely a goal, but not
necessarily a true deployment. And that brings up, if you will, to me where we stand with regard
to our police officers per 1,000. And I -- when I first got here, you know, a former police officer
for a very short time, but having gone through criminology and having gone through the school
system, understood the southern strategy of policing and the northern strategy of policing. And
Chief, you did a great memo. I still think it's the hest memo ever done by the City of Miami. But
what it demonstrated to me was you were saying we were at 2.6 or 2.1 -- 1 don't have the memo
in front of me -- 2.6 officers per 1,000 residents in the City of Miami, but it certainly didn't
account for 200,000 visitors per day. Now I've done some analysis that I didn't want to do
because I thought by now we'd have a new memo that would demonstrate with that brought into
it where would the City of Miami stand in other municipalities of 300,000 or more. And the
analysis I've been able to do -- and I'm almost reticent to say this -- if you account fir the
visitors, if you account for the fact that we're a full -service police department, meaning we have
a robbery unit, a SWAT unit, a homicide unit -- I think we have just about every unit you can
imagine -- that we would be under 2 officers per 1,000. And that would put us as the lowest city
in the United States of any city over 300,000 people. I expected to get something back by now
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that would do that analysis. I just think -- we had this conversation, Chief: IfTm not mistaken, it
was hack in December. The memo came out in Jan -- oh, I'm sorry. The memo came out in
December. We had the conversation in January. It is now the end al Mar -- the beginning of
March, just about. And 1 would like to have that kind of information out there because, you
know, candidly, I'm going to push whether -- and whether my other Commissioners agree with
me or not, whether the Mayor agrees with me or not, you know, I'm going to push for 100 new
officers this particular next cycle of our budgeting. I'm going to push for another 100 police
officers, and then I'm going to push for another 100 police officers. And based on my analysis --
again, I'm not the hest at math.. There are two to my right that are infinitely better. But my
analysis will show we won't match Philadelphia; we won't match New York. We will barely
match Atlanta. And yet, we continue to build high-rises, not at an alarming rate, but a good,
robust rate. And I'm going to say for a moment, Chief I'm going to imagine it's $12 million a
year, just a ballpark number, to put 100 cops out there. I might he right; I might be wrong.
Danny might say you're about two million over; you're about two million under, or that's a good
number to work with. And I'm going to bring up Joe Biden, my favorite politician in the world,
not because 1 think he's the best at what he does, but he does say the coolest things in the world.
And you know, Joe Biden -- and I've said it before -- is everybody talks a good game, you know.
Everybody -- Javier Ortiz comes to me. Javi, I'm a cop fan. I'm going to support you, you know.
Budget time comes; we don't have the money. Well, you do have the money. Thu have discretion
and you have decisions to make. So in the words of Joe Biden, a man will tell you everything you
avant to heat; what I call -- I've called it before, ear candy. But when it comes to his budget, you
will truly find out what is important to a man or a woman, you know. And I'm going to
demonstrate to this police force and I'm going to demonstrate to this community what I think is
importantfrom rom District 2's standpoint. And Commissioner Spence -Jones, what I would tell you
is not that those 100 cops should go to District 2 by any stretch of the imagination because I
thought and I think a surge in District 5 might he part of the answer. Chief, you could say,
you're wrong, that's not how you do it. That's okay. Ijust happen to think more police officers
tend to breed less crime. And you might say to me, well, you know what, Commissioner, all
you're going to do is arrest people and the judges are going to put them back out on the street
and the prosecutors aren't going to prosecute. That's a fair statement; not saying you're making
it, but that's a fair thing to say and we can figure out from the criminal justice standpoint, maybe
it's right. Certainly, your predecessor, Chief Fernandez, used to say to me, Commissioner, show
me somebody who I haven't arrested, and I'll huy you dinner. And he -- never once did he buy
me dinner 'cause you had arrested somebody at leastfive to six times before. That's an issue.
Now with regard to pay -- 'cause I think Commissioner- Spence -Jones and I think Suarez --
Commissioner Suarez are right. Right now you are in the bottom of the 1 -- of the 50 percent
quarantile. So that means that there are a lot of cities ahead of us. City of Miami is never going
to he the best paid police department. We're not the City of Sunrise. We're not the City of
Lauderhill. We're not some o f the -- Miami Gardens, I'rn still trying to figure out how they're
paying people, and I think they're going to. figure that out pretty hard, too, but there're very
high -paid police forces. But this is the police farce that has the highest calls for service of any
police force in the state of Florida, bar none. And I would say to you the County, if you did the
same pro rata basis, doesn't even compare to us, yet their pay is significantly more, not that we
need to be the County because, candidly, while the County does have good pay for their police
department, Mr. Ortiz, they also don't fix their streets 'cause they have no money. So, you know,
that's a balancing act that everybody's got to play. But I'm saying to Commissioner
Spence -Jones, maybe it is we bring them up to the bottom of the 25 percent quarantile. They
need to be brought up to that level so that a police officer -- so the difference between a top paid
police officer -- let's throw out the top three because the top three are ridiculous.
Commissioner Suarez: They're all liars.
Chair Sarnoff • Yeah, they're anomalies. But if the difference in pay in a City of Miami police
department is $4,000 of going to another place, I think that's an acceptable mode. But it can't be
a big disparage [sic]. And I think Commissioner Spence -Jones is right. The other thing that's
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happening is called compression. And compression in the police department is happening
because people are not getting step pay increases. And also, there's compression happening,
Chief, candidly -- and this is something this Commission could do, and I got to tell you, I think
we all interact with our commanders. And at that level, at that staff level, these guys have not
seen a pay increase in a very, very long time. And I don't know about Suarez, and I don't know
about Carollo, and I don't know about Spence -Jones, and I don't know about Gort, but when
something goes wrong in my neighborhood, the first person I call is my commander, and he
catches a load from me, a load. And just like Gentry caught a load from me yesterday -- Do I
think he could have stopped that rifle from going off even fit did go off. No. But that's who we
complain to, and they haven't seen an increase in pay in a significant amount of time. And if you
give a man responsibility or a woman responsibility, he's to show some pay increase associated
with that responsibility. Otherwise, you know, there's no -- I don't want to say there's no reason
-- 'cause I think a police officer -- I don't think his reason is really to get paid 'cause I think it is
probably the highest form of public service you can imagine. But I think they have to he paid
commensurate with what they're performing. I think that's just the American way. And you
know, with regard to pay, with regard to education, 1 know there's an education component in the
contract, Chief. I know it's been frozen. But I -- and I think everybody saw my e-mail
(electronic), which was essentially Mr. Ortiz's e-mail that showed a statistical -- you know, let me
tell you something, how long the police department's been at this. When I was coming out of
University of Tampa and I was being offered a job by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, I
hit the trifecta, Chief. I was a bachelor -- Bachelor of Science. I had a criminology degree, and
1 was Jewish. And you might think to yourself, why the Jewish part? Well, they had one other
Jew in their department of 600 officers, so they were ecstatic. They were hitting the trifecta right
there. Now, you know, I just -- I was what they wanted. But it just surprises me how much
people were attracting police officers back in 19 -- if I'm wrong, I apologize. Herald, don't quote
me -- 1982, 1981. They were looking for college -educated police officers back then and they
were paying college -educated police officers. And I het if I did a comparison of '81 to today, it
wouldn't be statistically that significant. Now not that college is the high watermark of
necessarily being a good cop, but there is a correlation, according to the Rand Study, of
proclivity to pull out a gun and use it and use your discretion in terms of trying to resolve a
situation peacefully. So I've said a lot, but here's what I'm looking for from you. The Manager
asked you to do something that I'm not sure you should do or could do, but as long as he's asked,
I'll live with it. I'd like to see your response to how many police officers you think we need. I'd
also like to see that analysis to see if it even mirrors my numbers -- and what I'll probably do is
go to Suarez or Carollo to get my numbers verified -- but to see when there's 200,000 people in
the City ofMiami -- and that doesn't include visitors, by the way. Those are the people that come
in day in and day out. If, you have a Heat game, if you have a Performing Arts Center, if you
have Ultra, you know, you have 200,000 people right there.
Chief Orosa: Workers in downtown.
Chair Sarnoff. Well, the workers in downtown are the visitors, right. Those are the people
visiting Miami.
Vice Chair Gort: Health District.
Chair Sarnoff • What is the real statistical -- what is --? Do we go down to 1.9? Are we at 2.1?
Are we at 2.0?
Chief Orosa: Well, let me start answering all your questions the best way I can. First, my
apologies for not submitting any other documents. I didn't think it was necessary because the
Administration had agreed to hire the 100 cops so, you know, that, for me, was a great success
and a gimme. It's. just a matter of now how do we go about it and how do we fund those
positions. So my apologies, but we will submit that study to you. The other issue you mentioned,
compression. Yes, we haven't been with step raises, I believe, for four or five years. And the staff
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level positions, they haven't been with a raise for probably four or five years the same. So you
have some senior lieutenants that are making probably as much as a commander with a lot less
of the responsihility, so that's the problem it leaves in the compression. You have senior
policemen that are making just as much as a rookie sergeant without a lot of the responsibilities,
so, yes, that's an issue there. Regarding to salaries, I believe we're 33rd, 34th, at the bottom of
52 agencies in South Florida. And for example, if you compare ourselves to the County, we start
at 44, the County starts at 50. I will be the most happiest person ifI can get anything for my
officers because, like Commissioner Spence -Jones said, that a happy employee is a productive
employee. So whatever the -- this body and the Administration decides to do as benefits, I'll he
more than happy to give it to my employees. Regarding the college -- the educational issue on
the college side, we did have a payment for each degree that you may have, but it was basically
frozen or taken away during the last few years. My understanding from talking to Danny, it's
back in the budget, and I think we can probably start it, if it hasn't started already, to he able to
do that. And lastly, you're absolutely right; the better you're educated in the police department,
the less likelihood of being fired. The higher degree, the less likelihood you're going to get fired.
The lower degree, such as a high school, the more likelihood that individuals will be fired.
Chair Sarnoff: Well --
Chief Orosa: So --
Chair Sarnoff: -- let me speak to Mr. Manager right there, 'cause I think you're getting a sense
or census from all of us that while we think there's a new contract in 2014 -- and I said this once
before, and I want to put it in position of this conversation. There was about a $4 million
savings from the police department's budget this year. And I said this once before to be funny
and maybe a little hit quirky, and of course, the Herald didn't print it because it was funny, it was
witticism, and they don't think I'm funny or witty at all. But --
Commissioner Suarez: I do.
Chair Sarnoff: -- the only savings that I want to see from the police department are lives and
property.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff. So what I'd like to see is a plan at the midyear adjustment. And that plan could
be a bonus. I'm not looking -- you know, the beauty of bonusing, number one, doesn't affect
pension, so it's not a long-term problem. Number two, it is, as Commissioner Spence -Jones said,
a thank you for hearing with us, and it does something for a police officer, which is also true.
You know, if, intact, these cops went out and put simian their Visa card because they weren't
making what they needed to make, what a great idea to bonus them. I don't know if that's 500
bucks. I don't know if it's $1, 000. I don't know what it is. But whatever that is -- and they see a
thank you in June, July or some point of our midyear adjustment to say -- and maybe it goes -- I
don't even know if it's just across -the -hoard the same amount for everyone. I think that's a
debate far this Commission whether it's increasing hased on your level of skill and level of --
What do they call it? Level of --
Tice Chair Gort: Performance.
Chair Sarnoff: -- responsibility or performance.
Vice Chair Gort: Or performance.
Chair Sarnoff: Maybe we do let them have a performance bonus. And I think an absolute look
at what we are hiring people at -- Because if we're going to he competitive, if we're not going to
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
have shootings -- you know, the strategy should he to get as much of an educated person as you
can and also to educate those in the department that want to be educated because some people
do not have the means that will he coming in here with high school diplomas that are good
people. And they may want that college stipend, if you will --1 don't know what the right word in
the contract is, that two or three or four thousand dollars, and they may want to go to Miami
Dade Community [sic] College. They may want to go to FIU (Florida International University).
They may want to -- however it is they can work it in their schedule. And 'just want to make
sure you come hack with some plan, some strategy, and I just want -- and I've talked enough, and
I'm going to let somebody else speak. But I want everybody -- I just think that this is a good
issue. And very rarely does good politics make good policy, but this is one of those rare
occasions that good politics make good policy. You're recognized, Commissioner Spence -Jones.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'm just, you know, blown away with, you know, the humanity that
I'm seeing with my fellow colleagues on the dais. We all know that our City employees have had
to endure much. Over the last two years, even in this last budget cycle, the feeling that came out
afterwards, after we had basically said the City was going into, you know, financial -- what's the
word,, financial --?
Commissioner Suarez: Urgency.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- urgency, and we were all alarmed even being briefed and then
later, you know, finding out that, you know, we were not, thank God, no -- nothing disrespectful
to Danny. I'm glad actually Danny found it. That was a blessing, right? But I think that if
there's nothing else that I've heard from today's discussion is that we definitely need to rethink
things during our budget -- what is it, budget --?
Chair Sarnof: Midyear adjustment?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, midyear adjustment, to kind of address, you know, at least
making sure that our City employees, especially our police officers -- 'cause at this point, we are
down in numbers. At this point, the morale is low. At this point, we need to do whatever it takes
to keep people excited and feeling good about where they work. And I want to just add to you --
please, continue to push far the 100 officers. I just want to make sure you're not going soft on
the 100 officer 'cause we still need the officers. But what 1 do want to send -- 1 want to use this
as -- just as a quick little example. And I don't know if you guys know about -- I've been studying
on the battle of Gideon and, you know, one of the things that's a very interesting part of the story,
in the midst of the story, there were soldiers, like, I believe, 135,000 soldiers and, for whatever
reason, God had said -- I'm just using this as an example to explain to you how, you know, the
numbers were reduced from 135 to 300, you know, soldiers at that point. And in the midst trial!
of that, the 300 soldiers was actually enough soldiers to actually win the battle and it was
because their hearts and souls were in the right places. That's wiry they won the battle. It wasn't
really necessarily about the number ofpeople that were fighting the battle. It was the number of
people that had their heart and soul in addressing the issue. And I think that part of our issue --
I think that if our police officers knew, you know, that there was some consideration or passion
or support from the standpoint -- No, we can't do as much as we would like to do, hut that bonus
that you just mentioned goes a long way. 1t shows people that you appreciate them, you value
them, and you know that, you know, they're a very important part of keeping our safe -- our
streets safe. So with that being said, I just -- I wanted to say that I think it's extremely important
-- we may not have all the numbers we need, you know, to win this war against crime and to
address all these issues we have, but if fthe officers that are serving us now or serving this
community really feel as though, you know, they have an Administration that's supporting them,
they will put their heart and soul into serving and making sure that our streets are safer. So I
just want to commend you, Commissioner Sarnoff, and your leadership on this, this issue on all
levels, you know, one, pushing for the officers, and now, you know, saying, hey, look, let's
rethink this thing. Let's, you know, figure out what we must do to address, you know, the need
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that's there. And I know that see people in the audience -- I see my other unions chomping at
the hits, and I'm sure that's why the Manager's like, Oh -- and "just think that, you know, this
particular issue -- and I'm not saying the other unions aren't important 'cause they are and you
guys have to fight Ibr your employees -- but 1 think in this particular instance, because of all of
the issues that we are having on the streets and the number of guns that are on the streets and the
gang activity that's increasing and the robberies that are increasing, I think that ire definitely
need to, you know, look at police as one of the major things that we need to focus on, not saving
that we don't need to focus on the other ones, but I think that that should be part of our first step
with, you know, looking at how we support our City employees.
Chair Sarnoff • Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: You know, I think all we're discussing here is very important. I think all of us
understand the importance of our employees and make sure we're fair with them. But at the
same time, when we talk about bonuses -- and let me tell you, I'm -- in my business, I was a
beneficiary of bonuses, but I had to produce "X" amount of -- before 1 received the bonuses.
This bonuses being across, we have to make sure based on performance --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Vice Chair Gort: -- and we have criterias [sic]. Because one of the biggest morale booster or
down in the departments is when you have someone making "X" amount of money and next door
you got a person working as hard and this person is not working and performing and is getting
paid the same. They're going to say, Why am I going to work if I'm not going to get paid the
same. So this is --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No, I --
Tice Chair Gort: -- something performance, and I think it's something that we have to work
with. And this is something I have requested of all the directors. I don't think we had
performance before -- evaluations before. We need to have those things. And I agree, I think we
-- our employees -- we need to understand public safety is very important, but they need support
staff. Without support staff it makes it very difficult. So when we talk about the public safety, we
also have to talk to employees in general, and 1 agree with you all. 1 think we got to. find a way
to find funding. And people have to remember, we made decisions during verytough time, so
people -- we all understand that. And our commitment was, if things improved, we will improve
it for everyone.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: We sure -- so true.
Chair Sarnoff • All right. Anybody else? Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. "just wanted to say the reason why I thought educational pay was
a good one is 'cause the value added, and then it gives people an incentive, you know, to add
value to their own lives, and it adds value to the City of Miami. So there's a -- kind of a
perfbrmance component to, you know, taking advantage of that supplement, and it's something
that will not only value the person post -retirement, but it will also -- it'll also add value to them
as a City employee. And I think it's also a morale boost, and I think it's a -- you have greater
self-confidence when, you know, you've attained more and more education in your career.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. I see you're up there. It's not a public hearing. I'm going to give you
both 30 seconds, and it's a hard 30. You're recognized for the record, Mr. Ortiz.
Javier Ortiz: Thank you. Sergeant Javier Ortiz, with the Miami Fraternal Order of Police. I
just want to thank some of the Commissioners that have really taken interest. Commissioner
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Francis Suarez, Commissioner Sarnaff; and Commissioner Spence -Jones, I greatly appreciate it.
Just to talk a little hit about what Commissioner Gort said, you're right; across the street at
Miami -Dade Police, you make $6, 000 more. We're not asking for raises. We're asking for our
benefits to be restored. That 3 percent that we're getting later this year, that 3 percent is actually
1.5 percent, and it was -- that raise was bought with concessions in which we gave up in this last
contract. So, again, I look forward in working with all of you. We have raised the -- our --
what's it called? We have raised --
Chair Sarnof And in conclusion.
Mr. Ortiz: In conclusion, thanks for all your help. Thank you.
Chair Sarnaff: Thank you.
Anthony Hatten: Anthony Hatten, union president, Local 1907. I thank Commissioner Gort fbr,
you know, saying we took cuts and we took pay cuts, and we took -- we took pay cuts, and step
raises we haven't gotten in a couple of years either. And I'd like to ask, Alfonso, when are you
going to bring the people in to take -- the ones that are in the DROP, that they're leaving -- Do
you have a timefi^ame where you're going to bring them in so they can be taught how it works
before the -- all the educated people, you know, leave the City of Miami, where, you know, the
new employees will he lost until they get caught up?
Chair Sarnaff • And in conclusion.
Mr. Hatten: I'd just like to thank everybody, and Alfonso, can you answer that question for me?
Thank you.
Mr. Alfonso: As we stated, all the directors have identified their key positions and they're putting
into their budget request a timeframe for overlapping budgets.
Mr. Hatten: You have it narrowed down?
Chair Sarnof Thank you. All right, Chief, expect to get the memo; Mr. Manager, strategies,
implementation; no gerunds, right? We have completed. We are ready to ga. Okay. All right.
Thank you very much.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thank you very much. And Mr. Chairman, we're going to ask --
that's for the next City Commission meeting, right? Okay, great.
Chair Sarnaff: We'll keep them on the agenda, but we'll be brief. We're going to be a lot more
brief than this.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: This was a good -- that was good item.
Chair Sarnaff: It's a good discussion. It just bought about an hour's worth of time.
Vice Chair Gort: I believe we don't have a chance, because of the sunshine law, to discuss a lot
of the things. I think this is very important.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnaff: 1 -- look, I enjoyed it. I'm just looking at Commissioner Carolla, who apparently
is saying, come on, let's move this along.
DI.6 DISCUSSION ITEM
City of Miami Page 91 Printed nn 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
13-00234
District 2-
Commissioner Marc
David Sarnoff
DISCUSSION OF STORMWATER UTILITY FUND USAGE.
13-00234 Email - Stormwater Utility Funds Usage.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
WITHDRAWN PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
END OF DISCUSSION ITEMS
PART B: PLANNING AND ZONING ITEMS
Chair Sarnoff.• PZ.1.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair --
Chair Sarnoff: PZ.2.
Commissioner Suarez: -- I have a time certain item. I don't know if --
Chair Sarnoff: I know, so did they.
Commissioner Suarez: Okay. Sorry. My apologies.
Chair Sarnoff.• You want to -- PZ.2 is yours.
Commissioner Suarez: No, no, no, go ahead. Let's take it up.
Chair Sarnoff: I'll take yours right --
Commissioner Suarez: No, no, let's do it right after. I think this is a noncontroversial item.
Chair Sarnoff: Hopefully.
Commissioner Suarez: 1 sincerely hope so too.
Chair Sarnoff.• My apologies. I just wanted to --
Commissioner Suarez: No, no.
Chair Sarnoff: You're ready?
Nelsen Kasdin: Yes, Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: Is Francisco here? Is he --?
Mr. Kasdin: Francisco would start, though.
Maria J. Chiaro (Deputy City Attorney): PZ (Planning & Zoning) items shall proceed according
to Section 7.1.4 of the Miami 21 zoning code. Before any PZ item is heard, all those wishing to
speak will be sworn by the City Clerk. Staff will briefly describe each item as it is heard. The
members of the City Commission shall disclose any ex parte communications. The appellant or
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
petitioner will then present the request and may waive the right to an evidentiary hearing. The
order of presentation shall be as described in the City code. Members of the public will be
permitted to speak on certain petitions. The City nfMiami requires that anyone requesting
action by the City Commission must disclose before the hearing anything provided to anyone fir
agreement to support or withhold objection to the requested action. Any documents offered to
the City Commission that have not been provided seven days before the meeting as part of the
agenda materials will be entered into the record at the City Commission's discretion.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Before I administer the
oath, will anyone require a Spanish or Creole interpreter?
The City Clerk's comments were translated by Carlos Iglesias, official Spanish interpreter, and
Ralph Desmongles, official Creole interpreter.
Mr. Hannon: Thank you. Anyone speaking on today'.s planning and zoning items, ill could
have you please stand and raise your right hand.
The City Clerk administered oath required under City Code Section 62-1 to those giving
testimony on zoning issues.
Mr. Hannon: Thank you, Chair.
Later...
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Vice Chair Gort: RE.9.
Chair Sarnoff • Oh, RE.9. Tabled RE.9.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No, we didn't do RE.9.
Commissioner Carollo: No. We deferred it.
Chair Sarnoff • I don't think we did.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes, we did.
Chair Sarnoff: I think we --
Commissioner Carollo: Yes, we deferred it.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: We deferred it to the next meeting to give us all enough time.
Chair Sarnoff: Is that correct?
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Alice Bravo (Assistant City Manager/Chief of Infrastructure): Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Well, I thought we tabled it.
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No.
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
PZ.1
11-00380ap1
Chair Sarnof f: I -- all right, tabled.
Commissioner Carollo: It was deferred.
Chair Sarnoff.' All right, tabled. Last thing I need to take up on mine, I've been asked to
reconsider PZ.3. PZ.3 was the issue with regard to Curtis Lane. We had put it to the light
Commission meeting. They want to bring it back to the next Commission meeting.
Commissioner Suarez: Move the reconsideration.
Chair Sarnoff.' Thank you. Motion --
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff.' -- for reconsideration, second. All in favor, please say aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Now --
Commissioner Suarez: How do you -- when do you want to defer it to?
Chair Sarnof f: Ijust need it contin -- deferred, right, to the next Commission meeting.
Commissioner Suarez: 1 defer it to -- move to defer to the next Commission meeting.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Sarnof f: We have a motion. We have a second. All in favor, please say aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
ORDINANCE
First Reading
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING WITH CONDITIONS, PURSUANT TO
ARTICLES 3 AND 7 OF THE MIAMI 21 CODE, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AN AMENDMENT TO THE
PREVIOUSLY -APPROVED BRICKELL CITICENTRE SPECIAL AREA PLAN
(BCC SAP), CHANGING THE NAME OF THE PROJECT FROM BRICKELL
CITICENTRE TO BRICKELL CITYCENTRE, AND BY ADDING ADDITIONAL
PROPERTIES GENERALLY BOUNDED BY SOUTHEAST 5TH STREET ON
THE NORTH, SOUTHEAST 6TH STREET ON THE SOUTH, SOUTH MIAMI
AVENUE ON THE WEST AND SOUTHEAST 1ST AVENUE ON THE EAST,
MIAMI, FLORIDA; THE ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES HEREINAFTER KNOW
AS "BCCN2" WILL: A) ADD APPROXIMATELY 42,821 SQUARE FEET (0.98
ACRE) OF LOT AREA FOR A TOTAL COMBINED LOT AREA OF 436,499
SQUARE FEET; B) INCREASE THE RETAIL / ENTERTAINMENT AREA BY
78,765 SQUARE FEET FOR A TOTAL OF 634,966 SQUARE FEET; C)
INCREASE THE RESIDENTIAL COMPONENT BY 350 UNITS FOR A TOTAL
OF 1,174 UNITS; AND D) INCREASE PARKING SPACES BY 772 SPACES
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
FORA TOTAL OF 5,519 SPACES. THE SQUARE FOOTAGES ABOVE ARE
APPROXIMATE AND MAY INCREASE OR DECREASE AT TIME OF
BUILDING PERMIT NOT TO EXCEED A TOTAL OF 6,415,877 SQUARE FEET
OF FLOOR AREA OR LESS THAN 26,000 SQUARE FEET OF CIVIC SPACE;
MAKING FINDINGS OF FACT AND STATING CONCLUSIONS OF LAW;
PROVIDING FOR BINDING EFFECT; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY
CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
11-00380ap1 CC 03-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
11-00380ap1 Analysis.pdf
11-00380ap1 Maps.pdf
11-00380ap1 PZAB Reso.pdf
11-00380ap1 School Concurrency.pdf
11-00380ap1 Second Reading Revisions.pdf
11-00380ap1 CC Legislation (Version 3).pdf
11-00380ap1 Exhibit A.pdf
11-00380ap1 BCCN2 Binder Cover & Contents.pdf
11-00380ap1 BCCN2 Tab A.pdf
11-00380ap1 BCCN2 Tab B.pdf
11-00380ap1 BCCN2 Tab C.pdf
11-00380ap1 BCCN2 Tab D.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately 529 South Miami Avenue; 6 SE 5th Street; 5, 9, 17,
23 and 27 SE 6th Street, Generally Bounded by SE 5th Street on the North, SE
6th Street on the South, S Miami Avenue on the West, and SE 1st Avenue on
the East [Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff - District 2]
APPLICANT(S): Spencer Crowley, Esquire, on behalf of Brickell CityCentre
Project LLC and Johnny Martinez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval with
conditions*.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval with
conditions* to City Commission on February 6, 2013 by a vote of 11-0.
*See supporting documentation.
PURPOSE: This will amend the SAP by changing the name of the from
BRICKELL CITICENTRE SAP to BRICKELL CITYCENTRE SAP, further
amending the Special Area Plan, it's Regulating Plan and Design Guidelines by
adding abutting parcels to the north of the current northeast boundary of the
BRICKELL CITICENTRE SAP project to include an additional 42,821 square
feet of lot area for a new lot area total of 436,499 square feet or approximately
10.01 acres. The proposed amendment underscores the significant investment
in the City as the projected cost of the overall development approaches one
billion dollars $1B, generating over $6M annually in city General Fund Ad
Valorem taxes.
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gott, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Chair Sarnof f: All right, Mr. Planning Director, you're recognized for the record on PZ.1.
Francisco Garcia: Thank you, sir. Francisco Garcia, Planning & Zoning director. Items PZ.1
and PZ.2 are companion items. My apologies. My apologies. Items PZ.1 and PZ.2 are
companion items. Item PZ.1 is an expansion of the existing Brickell CityCentre special area
plan, and item PZ.2 is an amendment to the development agreement that also exist, basically, to
encompass one additional block to the north, just south of the Miami River, to the -- to this
project. The applicant will explain to you what the project consists of, of course, hut basically, it
adds a commer -- additional commercial square, footage, as well as a residential tower that will
he approximately 528 feet in height and have 300 additional -- 350 additional residential units.
We have reviewed the proposal. We are recommending approval with conditions. Those
conditions are on the record, and I'm happy to go over any of them as you'd like. And it is also
worthy of note that the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board heard this item on their February 6
meeting and they recommended approval by a vote of 11 to nothing, unanimously. I'll yield to
the applicant for further presentation, and 1'l1 be happy to answer any questions you have.
Chair Sarnoff' Thank you, Mr. Director. You're recognized for the record, Mr. Mayor.
Neisen Kasdin: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Sarnoff members of the Commission, Mayor
Regalado. It a pleasure to he here. Neisen Kasdin and Spencer Crowley ofAkerman Senterfitt,
on behalf of the applicant, Swire Properties. I'd also like to just take a moment to thank
Commissioner Spence -Jones, the Commission, and the Mayor for the richly deserved recognition
this morning of our colleague, Joel Maxwell. We were not -- Joel is, as you may know, so
self-effacing that he didn't tell us all that he was going to he honored this morning and we were
proud to see that he was. Also with me today is the full Swire team, hut will just introduce the
principals. Of course you all know the Steve Owens, president of Swire Properties, Chris
Gandolfo, the vice president of the development, from Arquitectonica as well, Bernardo
Fort -Brescia, who is the lead architect on this project, and Sherri Gutierrez. Other members of
the team are here to respond to any questions that you may have. What you're looking at is
Brickell CityCentre, which was approved by the City Commission on July 28, 2011. Now, this
project has received a substantial amount of local, national, and international press attention,
and we have a clip of some of that press attention, but think, in the interest of time, you may
want us to not show it because I think you're all quite, familiar with this project and the impact
that it's had on our community. We will skip through that. But the first project that was
approved, Brickell CityCentre, it was 9 acres, 5.5 million square feet of total floor area, 530,000
square feet of retail -- the first major retail shopping district in the downtown area -- 925,000
feet of office, 290 hotel rooms, plus 75 service apartment units, 755 residential units, 1,300
parking spaces below grade and 2, 700 parking spaces above grade. The success of the Brickell
CityCentre project is apparent not only in the substantial amount of development that is taking
place around it, but with the recent announcement that they had been joined by Bal Harbour
shops in the development of retail shopping center. That is quite a feather in the cap of the City
of Miami. What we are here before you on today is the next phase of Brickell CityCentre, which
we call North Square. And ifI may backtrack for one moment. You were told before about the
economic impact of the original project, which was an overall economic impact of $1 billion
dollars, with approximately 2,300 construction jobs .for up to four years, 3,800 permanentjobs,
and an increase in ad valorem taxes to the City of Miami in excess of $5 million a year. Now the
project is growing even larger because the market recognizes it, demands it, and it is going to he
more of an asset to this community. And what you're looking at here is the site we call North
Square. It is between 6th Street and 5th Street, expands the project further north. And as you
can see, what it will result in is the addition of one residential tower, and underneath that an
expansion of the retail podium which will be able to accommodate an additional anchor
department store. The SAP (Special Area Plan) was approved by the Coordinated Review
Committee in January, by the UDRB (Urban Development Review Board) on February 4, and
there were some comments from the UDRB, a number of which have been incorporated in
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
revisions to the design, and unanimously approved by the PZAB on February 6. The
development program for North Square is approximately 80,000 square feet of retail,
approximately 350 residential units, an additional 250 parking spaces he/ow grade and 500
parking spaces above grade. As you will see, this is a -- as Bernardo will show you, it's a rather
narrow lot, and the expansion of Brickell Cities [sic], and a challenged lot. And so -- 'cause it is
tucked sort of under the Miami Avenue Bridge, and this is actually the ideal development
program for that site. The economic benefit and impact of North Square will also be substantial
with another 300 million to the local economy, with another 250 permanent jobs upon
completion of construction, an increase -- an additional increase in ad valorem taxes to the City
of 2.2 million a year, a City of Miami parking surcharge increase of 200,000 per year, an
additional permit and impactfees of approximately 2.3 million. One thing that I would also like
to point out is one of the guiding things behind this project, at the direction of Steve Owens and
the Swire team, has been to enhance Brickell as a great pedestrian neighborhood tied into
transit, to improve the circulation of traffic within and near the Brickell district, and improve the
pedestrian experience as well. And what you will see is that one of the additional benefits of
North Square is that it will close a missing link in the greenway underneath the Metromover,
linking it to the Miami River greenway. If you look at the -- what is before you on the screen, you
will see the southernmost block of Brickell CityCentre where the Metromover station, as you
know, is being incorporated into the project. That is the next block north, which is between 7th
Street and 6th Street, which you see expands the greenway underneath the Metromover where it
doesn't currently exist. And with the addition ofNorth Square, we will complete a link that will
tie the greenway to the existing greenway that runs to the river, thereby improving pedestrian
connectivity and a great amenity and asset for the residents of downtown. And that is the link of
greenway that is actually already developed and will he connected. One of the other interesting
aspects of the expansion of North Square is that it connects, of course, to the Miami River
greenway, but very importantly, if you look at the intersection of 6th Street and the Metromover
greenway, you will have an active node there with active retail and residential lobby spaces on
the -- on three of the four corners; on the west side, that is the new building and North Square;
on the east side of that is the My Brickell condominium, which is in construction, which will have
active space on the ground floor; and on the north of that is the Brickell River development,
which already has active retail space. So you're creating a great node of activity for pedestrians
along the greenway, further drawing people in off of Brickell Avenue and connecting the west of
Brickell Ave -- the west side of the Brickell district to the east side of the Brickell district. At this
time I'd like to turn the presentation over to Bernardo Fort -Brescia, who will take you through
the design. I would like to reserve some time at the end to respond to any comments that may
have been made. One thing I will tell you is there has been extensive outreach on the part of the
Swire team to neighbors, both residential and commercial neighbors, and they have a strong
support of virtually every surrounding property owner, including a presentation at the PZAB
meeting, the letter, which is part n f record. When the major neighboring property on, under Mr.
Matas, who brought all the land to the north which runs to the river and the Tobacco Road block
as well. So we lookforward to your approval in separate votes of both the SAP as well as the
development agreement. And I turn it over to Bernardo at this time.
Bernardo Fort -Brescia: Thank you. I'm Bernardo Fort -Brescia, 2900 Oak Avenue, Miami,
Florida. Neisen spoke to you about what this additional block does to completing the vision for
this new district that is being created, for Brickell Avenue, and the last image that you see is a
very important one because it is the moment when the building interacts with My Brickell face to
face with retail and residential and is the linkage to the river. It is -- in this overall view of the
master plan, the top rectangle is the portion that we are talking about today. It is an additional
block, about half the size of any of the other blocks that are part of Brickell CitvCentre, but an
important one because it allows us to introduce a second department store at the other end n f the
pedestrian walkways that traverse these various city blocks, and it anchors that other end in the
classics or dumbbell scheme that we all know has proven to he successful in retail development
everywhere in the nation, in the world. Here are the images of the existing site. And I show you
this because, unlike the other sites of Brickell CityCentre, this one is already depressed with
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respect to the rise towards the bridge. It is a difficult site that, if it weren't that a department
store is linking back to Brickell CityCentre would have a difficulty being developed on its own.
You can see here how very -- the bridge actually rises quite rapidly to the extent that at the other
end of the block, already there is a passage underneath the bridge to link below to the other side,
and it presents onto our side a fairly large retaining wall. This meant that it n'as logical that
what may be on grade but actually from the bridge is subterranean in its relationship, that is, we
were able to hide the loading areas that are necessary for a major department store of this kind
and for the residents above. It is -- in fact, I have to say that the strategies that are being used in
this block are consistent with the same strategies that we have used in all other blocks of Brickell
CityCentre in which we hide all the loading within the envelope of the building and that trucks
go in in one side and exit on the other and we move them out and -- but they maneuver largely
internally and -- which is important, and the same applying to the drop-offs and the accesses to
the garages. This is where the building occurs, and this is one of the streets leading to it. And
you can see here how the concourse would eventually link into the department store at the end
and the -- and complete the sequence of shopping with an anchor that terminates the northern
end of the development. In this image you see now the new tower introduced and the new block
introduced in the continuation of the climate ribbon and that similar strategy of linking with the
forces that shape the neighborhood. There's an -- below -grade we have an extension of the
existing garage and, therefore, the urgency of proceeding with this because, as you know, the
basement is under construction and we need to continue that construction to the other side
simultaneously and -- hut it also affords the ability to exit that rather landlocked site, for those
who choose to, through the underground connectors to other streets and not be trapped in that
inner portion of Brickell Avenue. It is also the same strategy of connecting to the People Mover
continues. We bridge across no different than we do in the other phases. So we are following
that plan consistently of linking to mass transit and making the traffic for visitors to the shopping
neighborhood easy. It is -- I think this is really the essence of what we are asking you to approve
today, as an expansion of a previously approved SAP following the same principles and
guidelines that we have used for the balance of the development. Thank you very much.
Chair Sarnoff. Thank you.
Mr. Kasdin: That concludes our presentation. We're available for questions and the response.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
Chair Sarnof f: All right, we have a motion by Commissioner Suarez --
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Sarnoff' -- second by Commissioner Carollo. It's a public hearing. Anybody wishing to
be heard on PZ1 and PZ.2 for the record, meaning you can discuss either one and it will be
considered on both, please step up. Mr. Tucker Gibbs, you're recognized for the record.
Tucker Gibbs: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission. My name is
Tucker Gibbs, of law offices at 3835 Utopia Court, in Coconut Grove. And I'm here tonight as --
this afternoon representing Frame Art and Graciela Zayden, who own the property at 96
Southwest 7 Street, adjacent to the western property line of the Brickell CityCentre. You all may
remember July 28, 2011, when I stood here before some of you -- all of you, I think, and spoke to
you all about my client's concerns about this project, and the concern centered on the
construction -related issues: damage to her business, dust, vibration, noise, and damage to her
building, and safety issues. And the City and developer made certain commitments that day that
these issues would be addressed and, yet, here we are two years later and with dust and vibration
and noise all negatively impacting my client's business.
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Mr. Kasdin: Mr. Chair, for the record, we object. He is talking about the approval of phase I,
his property, which is blocks away from North Square.
Mr. Gibbs: I can address --
Mr. Kasdin: That is a separate issue. If he has problems with that, he can bring it up with the
City and we're willing to address that as well. But this has -- what he's talking about has nothing
to do with the approval that's hefore you.
Mr. Gibbs: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: Well, let's --
Mr. Gibbs: Never mind.
Chair Sarnoff : Let me speakfor a moment. Let's note your objection for the record and let's
also see if you can link it up because he has a point; you're complaining about something that
happened at a different Commission meeting and now he's asking for an approval one, two, three
blocks away from you.
Mr. Gibbs: This is a unified parcel, is it not?
Chair Sarnoff.' This is an extension of an existing MUSP (Major Use Special Permit).
Mr. Gibbs: Right. And --
Chair Sarnoff: An existing P --
Mr. Gibbs: SAP.
Chair Sarnoff: -- SAP, but --
Mr. Gibbs: My under -- oh. My understanding --
Chair Sarnoff.' I'm just asking you to link it up.
Mr. Gibbs: Right. My -- and I am going to -- understanding is this is an amendment to that
SAP, which means it's going to he brought in as one parcel. It may he phased, hut it one
parcel. And what I'd like to do is explain to you all that whatever he's doing now impacts my
client because his project's going to be bigger and there are access points to his project right
next door to my client's property. But the fact is --
Chair Sarnoff: That existed before.
Mr. Gibbs: Right, but it's going --
Chair Sarnoff: I got you.
Mr. Gibbs: -- to he more traffic --
Mr. Kasdin: Mr. Chair.
Mr. Gibbs: -- and it's a unified parcel.
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Chair Sarnof: I'll tell you what, Mr. Kasdin.
Mr. Kasdin: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff • Let me let him make his record.
Mr. Kasdin: Sure.
Chair Sarnoff And I understand what you're saying and I think the other Commissioners do as
well, so go ahead.
Mr. Gibbs: Okay. This -- and what we're saying is is that here we are. We have from this
construction site negative impacts on my client's business and affecting her building and the real
construction hasn't even started. Since the PZAB meeting last month, nay client has met with the
developer twice to address these issues, and the developer, as Mr. Kasdin said, has -- he's been
very -- they've been very cooperative in reaching out to my clients. My clients have expressed
these concerns to him. They say they're going to work on them, and I wanted to bring them up to
you tonight -- today. Key issues that my clients have is the evaluation of dust impacts on his
property and a mitigation plan for those impacts and, two, a construction impact plan that
addresses safety issues. And what I paean by safety issues is falling debris from construction.
This building that's going to he right next to him is going to he 45 stories or 500 feet, and the
concern is it's right adjacent to my client's properly. And also the issue of their cranes. Their
cranes have to he situated. They're going to be using tower cranes. We don't have any idea if
these cranes are going to he coming over my client's property or not, so all we're asking -- we're
not asking you to defeat this. We're not opposing this project. What we are asking for is some
consideration for the impacts on all the neighbors, not only us but every neighbor of this project.
And many neighbors may he in favor of it; my clients' in favor of it ton. It's only going to help
the neighborhood. But during construction, it has certain impacts. So all we're asking is that
you require the developer to present to the Planning director such a plan, a safety plan which I
think benefits everybody in the City. We're -- all that we're asking for him to -- is to do that.
We're not even asking to vet it. This is not anything that's rocket science. And we'd just like to
have that as a condition of your approval because what we're looking for is safety. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. Anyone else wishing to speak on PZ. I or PZ.2, please step up.
Judith Sandoval: Judith Sandoval, 2536 Southwest 25th Terrace, Miami. I would simply like to
congratulate the Swire company and the architects for a beautiful design of the original project,
and I see no reason why you wouldn't approve an extension. I wanted to talk about the trees. I
would also like to congratulate the company for donating 40 Great Oak trees to Bicentennial
Park. In this ordinance, PZ.2 -- I'm sorry -- PZ. 1, it mentions mitigation of any tree removal.
This isn't a very big plot. And I wonder if there are any more trees. It says that they should
donate them to -- within a mile of Bicentennial Park, which I'm complaining -- it's not
landscaped to you, Marc. -- is within a mile. So are there any more trees? And could you do
that? Or could some of the impact fees, which I assume the developer is paying in All, could he
used to landscape Bicentennial Park? That's a request. I don't know if they can answer that.
Chair Sarnoff • Let's put it like this, Judith. Let's see, I don't think -- but they'll answer the
question -- are any trees transplantable? 'Cause I was out there; I didn't think there were any
massive trees.
Mr. Kasdin: Well, yeah, they actually already transplanted --
Chair Sarnoff • Planted --
Mr. Kasdin: -- as you know, these oak trees into Museum Park.
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Ms. Sandoval: Yes, I mentioned that.
Chair Sarnaff: Right. But are any -- I've been out there, Niesen; I haven't seen any Great Oaks.
But do you guys know if there are any Great Oaks with regard to that particular parcel? I didn't
think there were. So what I will tell you, Judith, is there is a plan for Bicentennial Park or
Museum Park, whatever your preferred name of it is, to landscape that park with trees. And to
their credit, they spent, I think, close to a million dollars, just under that, transplanting those 40
oaks, and I was there when they did it, and it was a meticulous, beautiful job. But from your
concern with regard to Bicentennial Park having enough trees, it will have enough trees and --
well, let's just take it that -- I know I've been out there and there's no tree worthy of a transplant.
Ms. Sandoval: Okay. Keep truing on Bicentennial.
Chair Sarnaff: We have a plan.
Ms. Sandoval: Good.
Chair Sarnaff: I promise.
M. Sandoval: Just get some money. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff • Thank you. Anyone else wishing to be heard on PZ.1 or PZ.2? The public
hearing is now closed; coming back to the Commission.
Later...
Chair Sarnaff: All right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. --
Chair Sarnff f: Do you want to be recognized, Commissioner?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. 1 mean --
Chair Sarnaff. Go ahead.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I don't know -- no. Do you have something you want to add? I
just wanted to just quickly, first of all, acknowledge the Swire group fin- -- we got a chance to
participate in -- 1 think it's the. first virtual job -- is it a job, fair? Was job -- a virtual job event --
let me just call it that -- which was really neat. It was really cool. And I just wanted to
acknowledge that it was important that you thought that it was important for this community to
have it. That was the first time in the seven years that I had actually sat on the dais that I've ever
seen a company do that, so your outreach on that should he commended and I'ni very happy. I
don't know if that was Neisen's idea or your idea.
Mr. Kasdin: No, it was their idea.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, good.
Mr. Kasdin: Absolutely.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So it was great that you did that and allowed the community to
participate in it. As we know, South Florida Workforce is, you know, also very much involved as
partners and that's great. I just wanted to make sure, Neisen -- and we can do it by next hearing,
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'cause this is the first reading. Of course, we support -- I support the 100 -- the project 100
percent. Many people from my community will benefit from this big project 'cause they'll he
working. So I'm always pushing the jobs and, Niesen, you know that. The only thing that I
wanted to mention, I looked at the legislation on it, but 1 wanted to make sure that we could at
least, before the item is heard again, address or adopt the City's section on -- I think we talked to
somebody on your team already or at least in Planning on this -- regarding the jobs and the
small businesses, the language that we have in the City regarding, you know, key small business
enterprises participating, and then also the local job preference portion of it. So we don't -- of
course, we don't have to deal with it right now, hut hefore it comes hack in front of the City, I
would like to really have a discussion with you on that. And 1 know we've done this before on
other projects that you have come in front of us to see whether or not we can include it.
Mr. Kasdin: We will certainly. We have committed to a plan. We'll need to look at the specifics
and --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Mr. Kasdin: -- certainly get back to you.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I mean, it's -- I know that you have it in yours as item number 5,
hut it's just a little vague, so I just want to make sure that those key items are items that we can
make sure are included in this overall proposal.
Mr. Kasdin: We will sit -- we'll certainly meet with you to make sure we can accommodate it to
the extent --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No problem.
Mr. Kasdin: -- that we can.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff All right, anybody else? Commissioners? No.
Commissioner Suarez: I'm in favor crib'.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Gort?
Vice Chair Gort: It's a great project. But the one thing about the workforce, what happens is a
lot of those individual at the workforce are already being trained and they know they can do the
job, so any individual you need to hire, you know that at least they have been trained or they
have the skills to perform the job you're requesting. So our workforce is something the City put
together and it's going to be working real good.
Chair Sarnoff I wanted to say a few things. First, I absolutely want to congratulate you, Mr.
Owens, on the Mandarin becoming the only five-star hotel in Miami. Little known, that's my
favorite staycation place. It is the hest hotel I've ever been to in the world, so it's not surprising
to me that it's a five-star hotel. Congratulations. As to this project, when it was first announced
that Swire was going forward with this, Mr. Owens was approached by, I think, three or four
states offering land for free to see if they would do -- either let go of the Miami project, come to
their senses, and come to their city and have all this free land and some injection of dollars. And
1 think he was called to Hong Kong and they, more or less, said how come you're not considering
this, and he said, "But it's not Miami. " And this is a company that absolutely believes in Miami.
I know that Mr. Owen [sic] and his office has a picture of Brickell Key, which I think they used
to call it Claughton Island, and there's a picture of just sand out there. And you're looking at the
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author, the architect of Brickell Key, and that is Swire Property [sic]. And without their insights
and their thoughts, it would still probably look something like the island it did many, many years
ago. And now they're bringing Brickell CityCentre, which I think is the -- I think it's the
crowning achievement, I know since I've been here as Commissioner, of anyone's project. And,
you know, Mr. Mayor, I would certainly implore you to consider giving the key to the City to
Swire because that is a company most deserving of the key of the City of Miami of anybody I've
ever met, of any developer I've ever met. They do things quietly. They don't brag. Mr. Owens is
not a guy that promotes or toots his own horn, but I'm here today to toot it a little bit for him.
'Cause he would joke with me during when it was first announced, and he'd say, "You know,
Ohio's willing to give me all this land right here and Michigan is willing to give me all this land
right here, and finally he gets called to Hong Kong, like I said, and they're like how come you're
not considering this, and he said, "But it's not Miami. " And that's a real -- ifyou ever figure out
how many million square feet of retail are owned in this world, I think -- and I'm -- hopefully I'm
right on this, Mr. Owen [sic] -- I think Swire owns more square footage of real -- of retail real
estate of any company in the world. And if they're not number one; they're number two. And
that's a tribute. So, you know, 1 would just -- obviously, there's going to be a motion. I think
there has been a motion to approve this. I'm going to approve it, I would ask you to come up
with a safety plan so that the Frame Art folks and anyone else in the vicinity that's satisfied that
you have done everything within your control and concerns. I know you will 'cause that's who
you are.
Mr. Kasdin: And we have.
Chair Sarnoff.' Good. Then we're already done. I've said enough. Congratulations, Swire.
Congratulations, Mr. Owen [sic]. Thank you for choosing Miami. Thank you for not going to
Ohio. Though, I don't know why you would have.
Vice Chair Gort: It's too cold up there.
Chair Sarnoff.' That's what I said. I always compare us to Cleveland and I usually say why. So
we have a --
Commissioner Carollo: Even Lehron came over here.
Chair Sarnoff • That's true. So we have a motion. We have a second. I believe it is an
ordinance, Madam City Attorney.
Mr. Garcia: If 7 may, please. May I request this Commission to -- since there are two items and
they are companion items, that your recommendation, especially on the second item, he for
approval with conditions. And if you include the conditions that are contained in your package,
one of those conditions happens to be that they amend the construction plan to address these
issues.
Chair Sarnof f: All right, does the maker understand that?
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff. Seconder understand that?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): I'm sony --
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Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: -- Chair. Just for my own clarification -- nay apologies -- PZ.1 and P -- PZ.1 does
not have the conditions. PZ.2 has the conditions. The vote we're taking on is PZ.1 right now, so
the conditions do not apply to PZ.1 so it doesn't affect the motion.
Mr. Garcia: That is correct.
Commissioner Suarez: Understood.
Mr. Hannon: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thanks for clarifying the record.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro.
Mr. Hannon: Roll call on item PZ.1.
A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above.
Mr. Hannon: The ordinance passes on first reading, 5-0.
PZ.2 ORDINANCE First Reading
11-00541 da
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO A PREVIOUSLY
APPROVED DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 163,
FLORIDA STATUTES, BETWEEN SWIRE PROPERTIES, INC., AFFILIATED
PARTIES, AND THE CITY OF MIAMI, CHANGING THE NAME OF THE
PROJECT FROM BRICKELL CITICENTRE TO BRICKELL CITYCENTRE, AND
BY ADDING ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES, GENERALLY BOUNDED BY
SOUTHEAST 5TH STREET ON THE NORTH, SOUTHEAST 6TH STREET ON
THE SOUTH, SOUTH MIAMI AVENUE ON THE WEST AND SOUTHEAST 1ST
AVENUE ON THE EAST, TO THE PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BRICKELL
CITICENTRE SAP, MIAMI, FLORIDA; FOR THE PURPOSE OF
REDEVELOPMENT OF SUCH LAND FOR MIXED USES; AUTHORIZING THE
FOLLOWING USES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO: RESIDENTIAL,
COMMERCIAL, LODGING, CIVIC, EDUCATIONAL AND CIVIL SUPPORT,
AND ANY OTHER USES AUTHORIZED BY THE BCC SAP AND PERMITTED
BY THE EXISTING T6-48B 0 TRANSECT DESIGNATION; AUTHORIZING A
DENSITY OF APPROXIMATELY 150 UNITS PER ACRE; AUTHORIZING AN
INTENSITY MEASURED BY FLOOR LOT RATIO OF 14; AUTHORIZING A
MAXIMUM BUILDING HEIGHT OF 683 FEET AND MAXIMUM PEDESTAL
HEIGHTS OF 129 FEET AND 160 FEET FOR PHASE 1/1AAND PHASE II,
RESPECTIVELY; AMENDING CHAPTER 54 AND 55 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), TO PERMIT THE
CONSTRUCTION OF ENCROACHMENTS WITHIN THE PUBLIC
RIGHT-OF-WAY AND PERMIT CERTAIN COMMERCIAL USES THEREIN;
FURTHER AMENDING CHAPTER 17 OF THE CITY CODE TO AUTHORIZE
TREE REPLACEMENT WITHIN ONE (1) MILE OF THE AMENDED PROJECT
BOUNDARIES; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM,
FOR SAID PURPOSE; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND
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PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
11-00541da CC 03-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
11-00541da Maps.pdf
11-00541da CC Legislation (Version 3).pdf
11-00541 da Development Agreement and Exhibit A.pdf
11-00541da Exhibit B.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately Bounded by SE 5th Street to the North, 8th Street
to the South, Brickell Avenue to the East, and Southwest 1st Avenue to the
West [Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff - District 2]
APPLICANT(S): Spencer Crowley, Esquire, on behalf of Brickell CityCentre
Project LLC and Johnny Martinez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PURPOSE: This will allow a development agreement the previously -approved
Brickell CitiCentre.
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
PASSED ON FIRST READING WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Samoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Note for the Record: Please refer to item PZ1 for minutes referencing item PZ.2.
Commissioner Suarez: Move PZ (Planning & Zoning) --
Chair Sarnafff PZ.2, we have a motion by Commissioner Suarez --
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Sarnoff -- second by Commissioner Carollo, as amended, modified. Madam --
Commissioner Suarez: As modified.
Chair Sarnoff: -- City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
Maria J. Chiaro (Deputy City Attorney): Amended and modified as discussed on the record.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Roll call on item PZ.2.
A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above.
Chair Sarnafff And that was a great job of reading, Madam City Attorney.
Commissioner Suarez: That was a mouthful.
Neisen Kasdin: Thank you very much.
Chair Sarnofff (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
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Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Hannon: The ordinance is adopted on first reading, as amended, 5-0.
Mr. Kasdin: Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the Commission, Mayor.
Chair Sarnoff. Thank you, Swire Property [sic]. Thank you for coming to Miami and thank you
for believing in us.
PZ.3 RESOLUTION
11-00714sc
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), CLOSING, VACATING, ABANDONING AND
DISCONTINUING FOR PUBLIC USE (THAT PORTION OF) CURTIS LANE
EAST OF ROGERS ROAD AND EASEMENTS LOCATED ALONG THE
NORTH AND SOUTH SIDES OF CURTIS LANE, EAST OF ROGERS ROAD,
MIAMI, FLORIDA.
11-00714sc CC 03-14-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
11-00714sc Department Analyses & Maps.pdf
11-00714sc School Brd Concurrency & PZAB Resos.pdf
11-00714sc Application & Supporting Documentation.pdf
11-00714sc CC Fully -Executed Legislation (Ver. 2) & Exhibit.pdf
11-00714sc-Submittal-Ben Fernandez.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately Curtis Lane East of Rogers Road and along the
North and South sides of Curtis Lane, East of Rogers Road [Commissioner
Marc David Sarnoff - District 2]
APPLICANT(S): Ben Fernandez, Esquire, on behalf of Stephen Bittel, as
Trustee of the Acme Real Estate Trust
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PLAT AND STREET COMMITTEE: Recommends approval on July 7, 2011 by
a vote of 7-0.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends denial, which
failed, to City Commission on April 18, 2012 by a vote of 3-5. Recommends
approval as a second motion to City Commission on April 18, 2012 by a vote of
5-3.
PURPOSE: This will close and vacate Curtis Lane, East of Rodgers Road and
two North/South easements.
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this
matter be CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Carollo
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Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
RECONSIDERED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Note for the Record: Item PZ.3 was deferred to the March 14, 2013 Commission Meeting.
PZ.4 ORDINANCE Second Reading
12-00841 Iu
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 10544, THE FUTURE LAND
USE MAP OF THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN,
PURSUANT TO SMALL SCALE AMENDMENT PROCEDURES SUBJECT TO
§163.3187, FLORIDA STATUTES, BY CHANGING THE LAND USE
DESIGNATION OF THE ACREAGE DESCRIBED HEREIN OF A PORTION OF
FOLIO #01-4121-007-3850, MIAMI, FLORIDA, CONSISTING OF THE
NORTHERN PORTION OF A VACANT IRREGULARLY -SHAPED PROPERTY
LOCATED WITHIN THE BLOCK BOUNDED BY FLORIDAAVENUE ON THE
NORTH, PLAZA STREET ON THE EAST, GRAND AVENUE ON THE SOUTH,
AND DOUGLAS AVENUE ON THE WEST, THE LOTS IN QUESTION FRONT
ON FLORIDAAND PLAZA, MIAMI, FLORIDA; ASECTION OF FOLIO
#01-4121-007-3850 CURRENTLY DESIGNATED "SINGLE FAMILY
RESIDENTIAL" TO "LOW DENSITY RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL", LESS A
25-FOOT DEEP PORTION OF THE LOT FACING FLORIDAAVENUE THAT
REMAINS "SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL", AS PRESENTED BY THE
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT AND RECOMMENDED BY THE
PLANNING, ZONING, AND APPEALS BOARD ("PZAB"), RESOLUTION
PZAB-R-12-037, AND DEPICTED IN THE ATTACHED "EXHIBIT B"; MAKING
FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
12-008411u CC 02-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
12-008411u Analysis, Maps & PZAB Reso.pdf
12-008411u & 12-00841 zc Applicant Agreement with College.pdf
12-008411u Application & Supporting Documentation.pdf
12-008411u Fully -Executed CC Legis. (Ver. 3) & Exhibits.pdf
12-008411u-Submittal-Tony Recio.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately a Portion of Folio #01-4121-007-3850, Consisting
of the Northern portion of a Vacant Irregularly -Shaped Property Located within
the Block Bounded by Florida Avenue on the North, Plaza Street on the East,
Grand Avenue on the South, and Douglas Avenue on the West, the Lots in
Question front on Florida and Plaza [Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff -
District 2]
APPLICANT(S): Tony Recio, Esquire, on behalf of Theodore Roosevelt Gibson
Memorial Fund, Inc.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends denial.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval with
modifications* to City Commission on September 19, 2012 by a vote of 8-1.
See companion File ID 12-00841zc.
*See supporting documentation.
PURPOSE: This will change a portion of the above location to "Low Density
Restricted Commercial", less a 25-foot deep portion of the lot facing Florida
Avenue to remain "Single Family Residential".
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Vice Chair 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
13363
Chair Sarnof f: So now we're at PZ.4 and PZ.5.
Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): Yes, sir. Items PZ.4 and PZ.5 are also companion items.
These are a land use change and a zoning change,for property basically west of Plaza Street and
south of Florida Avenue in west Coconut Grove. I would like to ask the audiovisual department
to switch on the map that I have on my screen so that I may make reference to it. We are
recommending approval for both items but in a fashion that is not what is being applied for, and
I wanted to he specific about the content of our recommendation. We are recommending that
they be approved only if there is a 25-foot single-family residential buffer on the land use side or
a T3-R buffer on the zoning side fronting Florida Avenue. The reason for that is that it would
maintain the continuity of the residential feel of Florida Avenue, which we understand is
important to the neighborhood and we frankly want to maintain. I believe that recommendation
is amenable to the applicant. And we would request that, if you make a motion to approve that,
it include that component. Beyond that, there are -- there is a covenant that has been submitted
by the applicant, which we would also like for you to consider. 1t contains, to be specific, the
inclusion of an educational use fronting Grand Avenue on the Grand Avenue side of this parcel,
and we think that that is instrumental in activating and maintaining a physical presence fronting
Grand Avenue or the Grand Avenue corridor. Lastly, I will mention for the record that this item
was presented to the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board, which recommended approval,
subject to the conditions set firth by the Planning Department, and we would like to ask you to
include those as well. And their vote was 8-1. That's all 1 have by way of presentation. 1'l1
answer any questions you may have.
Chair Sarnof: All right. You want to make any presentation?
Tony Recio: I'll snake it very quick. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members of the Commission.
For the record, my name is Tony Recio, law office at 2525 Ponce De Leon Boulevard, in Coral
Gables. I'm here on behalf of Theodore Roosevelt T. Gibson Memorial Fund, who's the property
owner; the Coconut Grove Collaborative, who will he the operator; Pinnacle Housing, who is
the developer. And we're very pleased that this has been a collaborative effort. This is being
funded by Miami -Dade County through GOB (General Obligation Bond) financing. And,
actually, the only thing I do want to talk about is what happened between first and second
reading. We have a new partner that we're partnering with, Miami Dade College, and that's
what the document that's in front of you makes reference to. That's the -- this is a revised
covenant of restrictions. What we did was we added paragraph two, which requires that we
City of Miami Pane 108 Printed on 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
enter into a lease prior to gelling any kind of building permit, a lease for at least ten years with
an accredited institution. Miami Dade College is who we are speaking with right now. We've
actually got Ramiro Inguanzo here from Miami Dade College. He's the senior advisor to the
college president. Just like to askfor him to be recognized. Thanks. Just wanted to recognize
him actually. And we're available to answer any questions that you have. Again, it was
approved on first reading, both of these items. We'd like to seek your approval on second
reading. Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
Tice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, there's a motion by Commissioner Suarez, second by Commissioner
Gort. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, Madam City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
Commissioner Suarez: Public hearing.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair.
Chair Sarnof f: Oh, I'm sorry, there's a public hearing. You're right. Anyone from the public
wishing to he heard on PZ.4, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, the puhlic hearing is
now closed, coming back to the Commission. Madam City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
Maria J. Chiaro (Deputy City Attorney): And the public hearings encompass both this item and
the next item, the land use and the zoning plan.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro.
Mr. Hannon: Roll call an item PZ.4. Vice Chair Gort?
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: Commissioner Suarez?
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: Chair SarnoJJ?
Chair Sarnoff With the declaration rf restrictions, yes.
Mr. Hannon: The ordinance passes on second reading, 3-0.
PZ.5 ORDINANCE Second Reading
12-00841zc
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO.
13114, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FOR A PORTION OF
FOLIO #01-4121-007-3850, MIAMI, FLORIDA, CONSISTING OF THE
NORTHERN PORTION OFAVACANT IRREGULARLY -SHAPED PROPERTY
LOCATED WITHIN THE BLOCK BOUNDED BY FLORIDAAVENUE ON THE
NORTH, PLAZA STREET ON THE EAST, GRAND AVENUE ON THE SOUTH,
AND DOUGLAS AVENUE ON THE WEST, THE LOTS IN QUESTION FRONT
ON FLORIDAAVENUE AND PLAZA STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA; A SECTION
OF FOLIO #01-4121-007-3850 CURRENTLY ZONED "T3-R" SUB -URBAN
City of Miami Pane 109 Printed nn 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
ZONE WITH AN "NCD-2" VILLAGE WEST ISLAND AND CHARLES AVENUE
NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICT TO "T4-O" GENERAL URBAN
ZONE WITH AN "NCD-2" VILLAGE WEST ISLAND AND CHARLES AVENUE
NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICT, LESS A 25-FOOT DEEP
PORTION OF THE LOT FACING FLORIDA AVENUE THAT REMAINS "T3-R"
SUB -URBAN ZONE WITH AN "NCD-2" VILLAGE WEST ISLAND AND
CHARLES AVENUE NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICT, MIAMI,
FLORIDA, AS PRESENTED BY THE PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT
AND RECOMMENDED BY THE PLANNING, ZONING, AND APPEALS BOARD
("PZAB"), RESOLUTION PZAB-R-12-037, AND DEPICTED IN "EXHIBIT B",
ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
12-00841zc CC 02-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
12-00841zcAnalysis, Maps, Zoning Referral & PZAB Reso.pdf
12-00841 lu & 12-00841 zc Applicant Agreement with College.pdf
12-00841zcApplication & Supporting Documentation.pdf
12-00841zc Fully -Executed CC Legis. (Ver. 3) & Exhibits.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately a Portion of Folio #01-4121-007-3850, Consisting
of the Northern portion of a Vacant Irregularly -Shaped Property Located within
the Block Bounded by Florida Avenue on the North, Plaza Street on the East,
Grand Avenue on the South, and Douglas Avenue on the West, the Lots in
Question front on Florida and Plaza [Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff -
District 2]
APPLICANT(S): Tony Recio, Esquire, on behalf of Theodore Roosevelt Gibson
Memorial Fund, Inc.
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends denial.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval with
modifications* to City Commission on September 19, 2012 by a vote of 8-1.
See companion File ID 12-008411u.
*See supporting documentation.
PURPOSE: This will change a portion of the above location to "T4-O" with an
"NCD-2", less a 25-foot deep portion of the lot facing Florida Avenue to remain
"T3-R" with an "NCD-2".
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Vice Chair 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
13364
Note for the Record: Please refer to item PZ.4 for minutes referencing item PZ.5.
Chair Sarnoff: Motion on PZ.5.
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion by Commissioner Suarez, second by Commissioner Gort. I
have one question for you, Mr. Recio.
Tony Recio: Sure.
Chair Sarnoff: 'Cause I attended a meeting where the District 7 Commissioner was there and
County Mayor was there. How are you going to proceed forward with the moratorium on
building in the Grove by WASA (Water and Sewer Authority)?
Mr. Recio: Okay, we've actually -- we should he receiving our conditional allocation any day
now and that would allow us to get our building permit to move forward with actual
construction. At the same time, they have advised us that they're actually ahead of schedule,
believe it or not, on this. And we were told today that they're anticipating a completion date of
November 2014.
Chair Sarnoff • And I'm hearing that too. And the reason I'm kind of proofing something is we
were told at that meeting that there were no more provisional permits being given and they told
us why, and I don't mind going on the record. They told us that they were about to enter into a
consent decree with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), but an objector came in, and it
was the hay bottom owners, or something like that, were going to intervene. And they had a
30-day extension, and we all know that you can get that probably to about 180 days. So what we
were told by John Rerifrow was that there would be no more provisional permits provided. Now,
the Mayor at that meeting became, I think, surprised and a little angered at that and then said,
well, let's make sure that we get this pump station completed no later than November 2013. And
I'm just curious, have you heard that the provisional permit, like as recently as last week, is being
issued, because this meeting took place about a week ago?
Mr. Recio: Yeah. They've given us every indication that we're -- that they are going to issue
that. And, in fact, the only reason they haven't issued it yet is because they thought that they
might have the particular improvements for our facilities completed, but they're not there yet. So
they, are going to go ahead and issue a conditional allocation.
Chair Sarnoff: And you've heard as late as last week that they're giving a conditional?
Mr. Recio: We spoke to them today.
Chair Sarnoff: Wow. Okay. So conditional permits are being issued?
Mr. Recio: Yeah. Conditional allocations to allow you to go get a building permit.
Chair Sarnoff: And did you -- do you have no net increase? You have a net increase, right?
Mr. Recio: We have a net increase, yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. You answered my question.
Vice Chair Gort: Quite a hit of increase. It's an ordinance.
Chair Sarnoff: We're just correcting -- the problem is supposed to be resolved by November
2013, right, for everyone, but I want to -- I'm just surprised that a conditional permit was issued
and Ion trying to educate myself because at that meeting they told us there would not be any --
would no longer he any conditional permits issued. I'm -- it's a curiosity. Pin using you as a
sounding board.
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
PZ.6
12-01296zt
Mr. Recio: Sure. To clarify, it hasn't been issued yet. They're telling us it's going to be issued
any moment now.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. PZ.4 [sic], Madam City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
Commissioner Suarez: PZ.5 now.
Chair Sarno]f: Five. 1 apologize. Five.
Maria J. Chiaro (Deputy City Attorney): 1t is PZ.5, an ordinance with a covenant as proffered.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Roll call on item PZ.5.
A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above.
Mr. Hannon: The ordinance passes on second reading, 3-0.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Mr. Recio: Thank you very much.
Chair Sarnoff.' Thank you very much.
Applause.
ORDINANCE Second Reading
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
ORDINANCE NO. 13114, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, FLORIDA, BY AMENDING ARTICLE 7, ENTITLED "PROCEDURES
AND NONCONFORMITIES", SECTION 7.1.2.8.B.1., TO ESTABLISH APRIL
AND OCTOBER AS THE INITIAL CITY COMMISSION PLANNING AND
ZONING PUBLIC HEARING DATES TO CONSIDER MIAMI 21 ATLAS
AMENDMENTS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING
FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
12-01296zt CC 02-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
12-01296zt PZAB Reso.pdf
12-01296zt CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf
APPLICANT(S): Johnny Martinez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval to City
Commission on December 5, 2012 by a vote of 10-0.
PURPOSE: This will establish April and October as the initial City Commission
P&Z public hearing dates to consider Miami 21 Atlas amendments.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
PZ.7
06-006131u1
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, 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
13362
Chair Sarnoff: PZ.6.
Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): Thank you, sir. Item PZ.6 is a concise amendment to
Miami 21, the zoning ordinance, to set forth permanently the hearing dates at which the City
Commission is to consider private applications for rezoning and land use amendments, and those
are proposed to be set forth for the months of April and October. That has been the practice of
the City Commission for the last two years. And instead of bringing it back to your attention on
a yearly basis, we would recommend that we adopt these dates permanently. They will result in
an enhanced predictability for the development industry. That's all have by way of
presentation. I'll answer any --
Tice Chair Gort: Move it.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Sarnoff We have a motion. We have a second. Public hearing. Anybody wishing to he
heard an PZ.6, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, come back to the Commission.
Madam City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Roll call on item PZ.6.
A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above.
Mr. Hannon: The ordinance passes on second reading, 3-0.
Chair Sarnoff Okay. I'll tell you what, we only have two Commissioners now. Let's take a
five-minute bathroom break. Is that all right?
Tice Chair Gort: All right.
ORDINANCE
First Reading
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 10544, AS AMENDED, THE
FUTURE LAND USE MAP OF THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE
NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, PURSUANT TO SMALL SCALE AMENDMENT
PROCEDURES SUBJECT TO §163.3187, FLORIDA STATUTES, BY
CHANGING THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP DESIGNATION OF THE
ACREAGE DESCRIBED HEREIN OF THE SOUTHERN -MOST PORTION OF
REAL PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 1001 SOUTH MIAMI
AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FROM "RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL" WITH AN
"URBAN CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT" ("UCBD") OVERLAY TO "PUBLIC
PARKS AND RECREATION" WITH A "UCBD" OVERLAY; MAKING FINDINGS;
DIRECTING TRANSMITTALS TO AFFECTED AGENCIES; CONTAINING A
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
06-006131u1 CC 03-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
06-006131u1 Analysis, Maps & Pictures.pdf
06-006131u1 PZAB Reso.pdf
06-006131u1 Supporting Documentation - NEW.pdf
06-006131u1 CC Legislation (Version 5) & Exhibits.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately 1001 S Miami Avenue [Commissioner Marc David
Sarnoff - District 2]
APPLICANT(S): Iris V. Escarra, Esquire, on behalf of Brickell Flatiron, LLC,
and the City of Miami, A Municipal Corporation
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval to City
Commission on January 16, 2013 by a vote of 10-0. See companion File ID
06-00613zc1 and related File Ds 06-006131u and 06-00613zc.
PURPOSE: This will change the above property from "Restricted Commercial"
with a "UCBD" Overlay to "Public Parks and Recreation" with a "UCBD"
Overlay.
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this
matter be CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Carollo
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
RECONSIDERED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, 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
PZ.8 ORDINANCE First Reading
06-00613zc1
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO.
13114, AS AMENDED, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM
"T6-48B-O" URBAN CORE ZONE TO "CS" CIVIC SPACE ZONE, FOR THE
PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 1001 SOUTH MIAMI AVENUE,
MIAMI, FLORIDA; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY
CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
City of Miami Page 114 Printed on 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
06-00613zc1 CC 03-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
06-00613zcl Analysis, Maps & Zoning Referral.pdf
06-00613zc1 Pictures.pdf
06-00613zcl PZAB Reso.pdf
06-00613zcl Supporting Documentation - NEW.pdf
06-00613zc1 CC Legislation (Version 3) & Exhibits.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately 1001 S Miami Avenue [Commissioner Marc David
Sarnoff - District 2]
APPLICANT(S): Iris V. Escarra, Esquire, on behalf of Brickell Flatiron, LLC,
and the City of Miami, A Municipal Corporation
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval to City
Commission on January 16, 2013 by a vote of 10-0. See companion File ID
06-006131u1 and related File Ds 06-006131u and 06-00613zc.
PURPOSE: This will change the above property from "T6-48B-O" to "CS".
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this
matter be CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Carollo
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
RECONSIDERED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, 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
PZ.9 ORDINANCE First Reading
06-006131u1
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 10544, AS AMENDED, THE
FUTURE LAND USE MAP OF THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE
NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, PURSUANT TO SMALL SCALE AMENDMENT
PROCEDURES SUBJECT TO §163.3187, FLORIDA STATUTES, BY
CHANGING THE FUTURE LAND USE MAP DESIGNATION OF THE
ACREAGE DESCRIBED HEREIN OF THE SOUTHERN -MOST PORTION OF
REAL PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 1001 SOUTH MIAMI
AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FROM "RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL" WITH AN
"URBAN CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT ("UCBD") OVERLAY TO "PUBLIC
PARKS AND RECREATION" WITH A "UCBD" OVERLAY; MAKING FINDINGS;
DIRECTING TRANSMITTALS TO AFFECTED AGENCIES; CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
City of Miami Page 115 Printed nn 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
06-006131u1 CC 03-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
06-006131u1 Analysis, Maps & Pictures.pdf
06-006131u1 PZAB Reso.pdf
06-006131u1 Supporting Documentation - NEW.pdf
06-006131u1 CC Legislation (Version 5) & Exhibits.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately 1001 S Miami Avenue [Commissioner Marc David
Sarnoff - District 2]
APPLICANT(S): Iris V. Escarra, Esquire, on behalf of Brickell Flatiron, LLC,
and the City of Miami, A Municipal Corporation
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval to City
Commission on January 16, 2013 by a vote of 10-0. See companion File ID
06-00613zc1 and related File Ds 06-006131u and 06-00613zc.
PURPOSE: This will change the above property from "Restricted Commercial"
with a "UCBD" Overlay to "Public Parks and Recreation" with a "UCBD"
Overlay.
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this
matter be CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Carollo
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
RECONSIDERED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Samoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, 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
PZ.10 ORDINANCE First Reading
06-00613zc
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO.
13114, AS AMENDED, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM
"CS" CIVIC SPACE ZONE TO "T6-48B-O" URBAN CORE ZONE, FOR THE
PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 20 SOUTHEAST 10TH STREET,
MIAMI, FLORIDA; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY
CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
06-00613zc CC 03-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
06-00613zc Analysis, Maps & Zoning Referral.pdf
06-00613zc PZAB Reso.pdf
06-00613zcApplication & Supporting Documentation.pdf
06-00613zc CC Legislation (Version 3) & Exhibit.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately 20 SE 10th Street [Commissioner Marc David
Sarnoff - District 2]
APPLICANT(S): Iris V. Escarra, Esquire, on behalf of Brickell Flatiron, LLC and
the City of Miami, A Municipal Corporation
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval to City
Commission on January 16, 2013 by a vote of 10-0. See companion File ID
06-006131u and related File Ds 06-006131u1 and 06-00613zc1.
PURPOSE: This will change the above property from "CS" to "T6-48B-O".
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this
matter be CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Carollo
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
RECONSIDERED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Samar, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, 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
PZ.11 ORDINANCE First Reading
12-00155Iu
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 10544, AS AMENDED, THE
FUTURE LAND USE MAP OF THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE
NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, PURSUANT TO SMALL SCALE AMENDMENT
PROCEDURES SUBJECT TO §163.3187, FLORIDA STATUTES, BY
CHANGING THE FUTURE LAND USE DESIGNATION OF THE ACREAGE
DESCRIBED HEREIN OF SELECTED REAL PROPERTIES APPROXIMATELY
ON THE EAST SIDE OF SOUTHWEST 27TH AVENUE BETWEEN
SOUTHWEST 9TH STREET AND SOUTHWEST 16TH STREET, MIAMI,
FLORIDA, FROM "MEDIUM DENSITY MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL" TO
"MEDIUM DENSITY RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL"; FROM "MAJOR
INSTITUTIONAL, PUBLIC FACILITIES, TRANSPORTATION AND UTILITIES"
AND "DUPLEX RESIDENTIAL" TO "MAJOR INSTITUTIONAL, PUBLIC
FACILITIES, TRANSPORTATION AND UTILITIES"; FROM "DUPLEX
City of Miami Page 117 Printed on 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
RESIDENTIAL" TO "LOW DENSITY MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL"; FROM
"LOW DENSITY RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL" TO "MEDIUM DENSITY
RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL"; AND FROM "SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL"
TO "LOW DENSITY MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL"; MAKING FINDINGS;
DIRECTING TRANSMITTALS TO AFFECTED AGENCIES; CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
12-001551u CC 02-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
12-001551u Analysis, Color Maps, Sch. Brd. Conc. & PZAB Reso.pdf
12-001551u Supporting Documents.pdf
12-001551u Fully -Executed CC Legislation (Version 2) & Exhibit.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately on the East Side of SW 27th Avenue between SW
9th Street and SW 16th Street [Commissioner Francis Suarez - District 4]
APPLICANT(S): Johnny Martinez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval, which
fails, constituting a denial to City Commission on June 20, 2012 by a vote of
2-5. See companion File ID 12-00155zc.
PURPOSE: This will change certain properties above to "Medium Density
Restricted Commercial", "Major Institutional, Public Facilities, Transportation
and Utilities" and "Low Density Multifamily Residential".
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this
matter be INDEFINITELY DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Samoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Carollo
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
RECONSIDERED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
INDEFINITELY DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
PZ.12 ORDINANCE First Reading
12-00155zc
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO.
13114, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION LOCATED
APPROXIMATELY ON THE EAST SIDE OF SOUTHWEST 27TH AVENUE
BETWEEN SOUTHWEST 9TH STREET AND SOUTHWEST 16TH STREET,
MIAMI, FLORIDA, FROM "T4-R" GENERAL URBAN TRANSECT ZONE TO
City of Miami Page 118 Printed on 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
"T5-L" URBAN CENTER TRANSECT ZONE, FROM "T4-L" GENERAL URBAN
TRANSECT ZONE TO "T5-L" URBAN CENTER TRANSECT ZONE AND
FROM "T3-R" AND "T3-O" SUB -URBAN TRANSECT ZONES TO "T4-R"
GENERAL URBAN TRANSECT ZONE; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
12-00155zc CC 02-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
12-00155zc Analysis, Color Maps & PZAB Reso.pdf
12-00155zc Supporting Documents.pdf
12-00155zc CC Legislation (Version 2) & Exhibit.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately on the East Side of SW 27th Avenue between SW
9th Street and SW 16th Street [Commissioner Francis Suarez - District 4]
APPLICANT(S): Johnny Martinez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends denial to City
Commission on June 20, 2012 by a vote of 6-1. See companion File ID
12-001551u.
PURPOSE: This will change certain properties above to "T4-R" General Urban
Transect Zone and "T5-L" Urban Center Transect Zone.
NOTE(S): During Roll Call, Mr. Piria stated for the record (in summary), many
of them [PZAB members] might be in favor, but not as presented in its present
form, so the City Commission gets the interpretation that they are not against it.
However, they do not think the zoning, the way it appears to be scaled down, is
not the appropriate one.
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this
matter be INDEFINITELY DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Carollo
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
RECONSIDERED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
INDEFINITELY DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
PZ.13 ORDINANCE First Reading
12-01180Iu1
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 10544, AS AMENDED, THE
FUTURE LAND USE MAP OF THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE
City of Miami Page 119 Printed nn 3/25/2013
City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, PURSUANT TO SMALL SCALE AMENDMENT
PROCEDURES SUBJECT TO §163.3187, FLORIDA STATUTES, BY
CHANGING THE FUTURE LAND USE DESIGNATION OF THE ACREAGE
DESCRIBED HEREIN OF SELECTED PROPERTIES LOCATED AT
APPROXIMATELY: 1) THE NORTH SIDE OF SOUTHWEST 9TH STREET
BETWEEN SOUTHWEST 8TH AVENUE AND SOUTHWEST 12TH AVENUE,
MIAMI, FLORIDA, FROM "DUPLEX RESIDENTIAL" TO "LOW DENSITY
MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL"; AND 2) 828 SOUTHWEST 8TH AVENUE, 829
AND 830 SOUTHWEST 8TH COURT, 814 AND 829 SOUTHWEST 9TH
AVENUE, 824 AND 831 SOUTHWEST 9TH COURT, 826 AND 827
SOUTHWEST 10TH AVENUE, AND 827 AND 830 SOUTHWEST 11TH
AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FROM "DUPLEX RESIDENTIAL" TO "LOW
DENSITY RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL"; AS DEPICTED IN "EXHIBIT A";
MAKING FINDINGS; DIRECTING TRANSMITTALS TO AFFECTED
AGENCIES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
12-011801u1 CC 03-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
12-011801u1 Analysis, Maps, Sch. Brd. Concurrency & PZAB Reso.pdf
12-011801u1 CC Legislation (Version 2) & Exhibit.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately 1) The North Side of SW 9th Street between SW
8th Avenue and SW 12th Avenue; and 2) 828 SW 8th Avenue, 829 and 830 SW
8th Court, 814 and 829 SW 9th Avenue, 824 and 831 SW 9th Court, 826 and
827 SW 10th Avenue, and 827 and 830 SW 11th Avenue [Commissioner Frank
Carollo - District 3]
APPLICANT(S): Johnny Martinez, City Manager, on behalf of City of Miami
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval to City
Commission on December 5, 2012 by a vote of 10-0. See companion File ID
12-01180zc1.
PURPOSE: This will change the above properties from 1) "Duplex Residential"
to "Low Density Multifamily Residential" and 2) "Duplex Residential" to "Low
Density Restricted Commercial".
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be
PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnotf Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner, we have an attorney sitting here, and it's been brought to my
attention, PZ.13, PZ.14 -- it's your district -- and we not taken any action on it. Is that all right
to hear it or --?
Commissioner Carollo: Well, let's hear it.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, PZ.13.
Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): Thank you, sir. The only reason we actually went
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
through that is because I have the images or graphics here in the computer and I would like to
request the audiovisual department to perhaps display it on the screens. All right, so there it is.
Items PZ.13 and 14 are companion items. This is a City application. And the request is to
change the land use designation and zoning designation for an area basically bounded by
Southwest 8th Street to the north, Southwest 8th Avenue to the east, Southwest 12th Avenue to the
west, and not quite all the way to Southwest 9th Street, but just likely shy of that to the south.
And the reason is two -told fold. On the land use side, what we are seeking to do is to correct an
error that exists where there is a -- an incompatibility between the land use designation and the
zoning designation. Presently, the zoning designation, which is what really governs in the end, is
T4-R. The land use designation, however, is low -density residential. In order to bring the
density -- forget the uses for a moment -- but the density up to par with the zoning designation,
the change needs to be made to reflect -- I want to make sure I get this right. Here it is. It is
presently duplex residential. It should be low -density multifamily residential to be compatible
with the T4-R designation that exists. So that is the first item. That's PZ.13. What PZ.14 does is
it selects 11 lots within that area, which happen to he immediately abutting commercially zoned
lots that abut that front on 8th Street; and it allows, through a warrant process, to have surface
parking lots developed to serve as accessory parking for the existing commercial uses fronting
8th Street. Most of you -- all of you are familiar with the area and you know that parking -- there
is a dearth of parking on the 8th Street corridor. And we've studied the area carefully and
determined that these particular lots, because they are abutting to the ones fronting 8th Street
and because they don't go all the way to 9th Street which retains its residential character, are
worthy of consideration fbr the T4-L designation which, again, allows fbr residential but also
alloi-vs far limited, and I emphasize limited, commercial uses. And the one that it allows far that
we think is particularly of interest to the commerce that's in the area is the development of
surface parking lots with buffers, with walls, et cetera, through the warrant process, which
triggers a review by the Planning & Zoning department. And that's all I have by way of
presentation. I'll answer any questions you have.
Chair Sarnoff • All right.
Mr. Garcia: I'm sorry. I should add that our recommendation is for approval and that the
Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board also considered the item and recommended approval
unanimously, 10-0.
Chair Sarnoff • All right, so PZ.13, is there a motion?
Commissioner Suarez: Move it. Oh, I'm sorry.
Commissioner Carollo: Move it.
Commissioner Suarez: 'jumped the gun.
Commissioner Carollo: But don't you have to open up for a public hearing?
Chair Sarnoff: I do.
Victoria Mendez (Assistant City Attorney): Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: But I was going to see --
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff • I'll tell you what, I'll --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, move it.
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Chair Sarnof f: -- open up a public hearing.
Commissioner Suarez: Go ahead, go ahead.
Chair Sarnoff.' Anyone from the public wishing to be heard on PZ.13, please step up. Hearing
none, seeing none, coming back to the Commission.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair, I'm sorry. Could we make that the public hearing for
PZ.13 and 14, since they're --?
Chair Sarnoff.' Correct. We are going to have a public hearing on PZ.13 and 14. Anyone from
the public wishing to be heard on PZ.13 or -- and/or 14, please step up. Hearing none, seeing
none, coming hack to Commission. Is there a motion?
Commissioner Carollo: So moved.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Sarnof f: We have a motion by Commissioner Suarez, second by -- sorry -- motion by
Commissioner Carollo, second by Commissioner Suarez. Any discussion?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Francisco, I'm going to approve this on first reading. Before second
reading, 1 want a tour of each one of these sites, okay. So if you could coordinate it with my
office. Thank you.
Mr. Garcia: Glad to do so, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff • Madam City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Assistant City Attorney Victoria
Mendez.
Mr. Hannon: Roll call on item PZ.13.
A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above.
Mr. Hannon: The ordinance passes on first reading, 4-0.
PZ.14 ORDINANCE
12-01180zc1
First Reading
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO.
13114, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION FROM "T4-R"
GENERAL URBAN ZONE -RESTRICTED TO "T4-L" GENERAL URBAN
ZONE -LIMITED FOR SELECTED PROPERTIES LOCATED AT
APPROXIMATELY 828 SOUTHWEST 8TH AVENUE, 829 AND 830
SOUTHWEST 8TH COURT, 814 AND 829 SOUTHWEST 9TH AVENUE, 824
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
AND 831 SOUTHWEST 9TH COURT, 826 AND 827 SOUTHWEST 10TH
AVENUE, AND 827 AND 830 SOUTHWEST 11TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA,
FURTHER IDENTIFIED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED;
FURTHER, THE PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT HAVING
CONDUCTED A BIENNIAL EVALUATION OF THE MIAMI 21 ATLAS OF THE
ZONING ORDINANCE, PURSUANT TO SECTION 7.1.2.8.B.2, HAS FOUND
THE CHANGES TO BE APPROPRIATE AND CONSISTENT WITH THE
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI'S NEIGHBORHOODS;
RESULTING ZONING CHANGES APPROVED THROUGH THIS BIENNIAL
EVALUATION OF THE MIAMI 21 ATLAS, PURSUANT TO SECTION
7.1.2.8.B.2, SHALL NOT PROHIBIT, PREVENT OR LIMIT OWNERS OF
AFFECTED PROPERTIES IDENTIFIED HEREIN FROM APPLYING FOR A
REZONING PURSUANT TO SECTION 7.1.2.8.G.5; FURTHER DIRECTING
AND AUTHORIZING THE PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT TO
AUTOMATICALLY REVERT, IF NECESSARY, ANY ACCOMPANYING
FUTURE LAND USE CHANGE ADOPTED FOR ANY ZONING CHANGE NOT
APPROVED IN THIS ORDINANCE IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN CONSISTENCY
BETWEEN THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO. 13114 AND THE
MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, FUTURE LAND USE
MAP; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
12-01180zc1 CC 03-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
12-01180zc1 Analysis, Maps, Sch. Brd. Concurrency & PZAB Reso.pdf
12-01180zcl Fully -Executed CC Legis. (Ver. 2) & Exhibit.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately 828 SW 8th Avenue, 829 and 830 SW 8th Court,
814 and 829 SW 9th Avenue, 824 and 831 SW 9th Court, 826 and 827 SW
10th Avenue, and 827 and 830 SW 11th Avenue [Commissioner Frank Carollo -
District 3]
APPLICANT(s): Johnny Martinez, City Manager, on behalf of City of Miami
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval to City
Commission on December 5, 2012 by a vote of 10-0. See companion File ID
12-011801u 1.
PURPOSE: This will change the above properties from "T4-R" to "T4-L".
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be
PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gott, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
Note for the Record: Please refer to item PZ.13 for minutes referencing item PZ.14.
Chair Sarnoff PZ.14, is there a motion
Commissioner Carollo: So moved.
Chair Sarnoff' We have a motion --
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: -- by Commissioner Carollo, second by Commissioner Suarez. I have a question
for you guys. Do you guys share any parts of 8th Street together?
Commissioner Suarez: No. Igo to 9th.
Chair Sarnof f: You go to 9th?
Commissioner Suarez: We actually share 9th Street, Southwest. Yeah, 'cause -- on 17th.
Chair Sarnoff.' And I'm asking just because of the Biscayne Boulevard issue.
Commissioner Carollo: No
Chair Sarnoff: That's why --
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Commissioner Suarez: No.
Commissioner Carollo: And 1 think the theory behind it was the same thing, like when we had a
zone, a police zone that ended at 8th Street. Well, guess what? On the east -- on the south side a
crime happens and there's a cop on the north side and --
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: -- they would -- so this way --
Commissioner Suarez: It's also like a natural division between the residential and the
commercial corridor.
Chair Sarnoff: Ijust heard somebody say something and I just wanted to make sure that -- that's
all. All right, Madam City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Assistant City Attorney Victoria
Mendez.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Roll call on item PZ.14.
A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above.
Mr. Hannon: The ordinance passes on first reading, 4-0.
Gilberto Pastoriza: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff • All right.
Mr. Pastoriza: Goodnight. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Sorg about that, Mr. Pastoriza.
PZ.15 ORDINANCE
13-00002zt
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
First Reading
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
ORDINANCE NO. 13114, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, BY AMENDING SECTION 3.15 "AFFORDABLE HOUSING SPECIAL
BENEFIT PROGRAM SUPPLEMENTAL REGULATIONS' TO MODIFY
SETBACK REQUIREMENTS ABOVE THE EIGHTH FLOOR BY WAIVER TO
PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DESIGN FLEXIBILITY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING
FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
13-00002zt CC 03-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
13-00002zt Supporting Documentation & PZAB Reso.pdf
13-00002zt CC Legislation (Version 2).pdf
LOCATION: Citywide
APPLICANT(S): Johnny Martinez, City Manager, on behalf of the City of Miami
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval to City
Commission on January 16, 2013 by a vote of 10-0.
PURPOSE: This will give affordable housing development, eligible under
Section 3.15 of the Zoning Ordinance, the ability to waive setback requirements
above the eighth floor as required by Section 5.6.1(g) and Illustration 5.6 to
provide additional design flexibility for such projects.
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be PASSED
ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Suarez
Noes: 1 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Spence -Jones
Chair Sarnoff: We are on -- establish. Miami --
Tice Chair Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) PZ (Planning & Zoning).
Chair Sarnoll No, we have PZ.15. Is that left?
Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): Yes, sir, 13, 14, and 15. However, 13 and 14 are in
District 3, so if we can move ahead to 15 and perhaps come back?
Chair Sarnoff' I don't think he's here any longer. Do you know if he has any problems with it?
Mr. Garcia: I wouldn't presume to know, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: Good answer.
Chair Sarnoff.' Okay, let's do what we can. PZ.15.
Mr. Garcia: Yes, sir. Item PZ.15 is a City application. This is an amendment to Miami 21, the
zoning ordinance of the City of Miami really to clarify, more than anything else, an existing --
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
Chair Sarnoff: All right, we have a motion. Second? Willy, you second?
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff. Second. And Madam City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
Commissioner Suarez: By the way, I'm sorry for cutting you --
Chair Sarnoff: Oh, let me -- public hearing. Public --
Commissioner Suarez: Let me -- Pin sorry for cutting you off. We get briefed and sometimes,
you know, we know what we want to do. And so I apologize for cutting you off 'cause the public
might -- so please go ahead. Please continue.
Mr. Garcia: No offense taken certainly, and I'm all fbr expediency. 1 will simply complete the
sentence and say that it is really to clam' language that already exists and it is to incentivize the
development of affordable housing in the City of Miami. The Planning, Zoning and Appeals
Board made a motion to recommend approval by a vote of 10-0, so unanimously, on their
January 16 meeting. That's all have, sir.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, Madam. -- public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PZ.15,
please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, come back to the Commission. Madam City
Attorney, it is an ordinance.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Roll call on PZ.15. Vice Chair Gort?
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: Commissioner Suarez?
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: Chair Sarnoff?
Chair Sarnof f: No.
Mr. Hannon: The ordinance passes on first reading, 2-1.
Chair Sarnoff' Okay.
PZ.16 RESOLUTION
12-00252za
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), DENYING OR GRANTING THE APPEAL BY GILBERTO
PASTORIZA, AFFIRMING OR REVERSING THE DECISION OF THE
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD, THEREBY UPHOLDING OR
REVERSING THE ZONING ADMINISTRATOR INTERPRETATION 12-0001
DATED FEBRUARY 16, 2012, REGARDING ACCESSORY PARKING.
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12-00252za CC 02-28-13 Fact Sheet.pdf
12-00252za PZAB & Zoning Adm. Appeal Docs.pdf
12-00252za CC Executed Legis. (Vers. 3 & 4) & Interpretation.pdf
LOCATION: Citywide
APPELLANT(S)/REQUESTOR(S): Gilberto Pastoriza, Esquire, on behalf of
Barlington Group, LLC
FINDING(S):
PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends denial of the appeal
and uphold the Zoning Administrator's Interpretation.
PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Denied the Zoning
Administrator Interpretation appeal on April 4, 2012 by a vote of 5-3.
PURPOSE: The approval of this appeal may result in the reversal of a zoning
interpretation regarding accessory parking.
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this
matter be DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Gort and Carollo
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
RECONSIDERED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones
Note for the Record: Item PZ.16 was deferred to the April 11, 2013 Commission Meeting.
END OF PLANNING AND ZONING ITEMS
MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' ITEMS
CITYWIDE
HONORABLE MAYOR TOMAS REGALADO
END OF CITYWIDE ITEMS
DISTRICT 1
VICE CHAIR WIFREDO (WILLY) GORT
D1.1 DISCUSSION ITEM
13-00233
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
DISCUSSION ON HOW TO EXPEDITE RESTORATION OF STREETLIGHT
OUTAGE.
13-00233 Expedite Restoration of Streetlight Outage.pdf
13-00233-Submittal-Correspondence-FPL.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnoff: And now I think we are -- the best thing to do is go -- has everybody here had
their PZs (Planning & Zoning) done or am I missing something? Oh, you're 13 and 14.
Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): As pertains to PZ.13 and 14, I have just heard from the
District 3 office that the Commissioner is here; will return. If we can possihly postpone his items
to be heard today but perhaps a little bit later.
Commissioner Suarez: When he's here, okay.
Mr. Garcia: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: What else is here? Let's just do the other things. There's --
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Commissioner Suarez: -- discussion items.
Chair Sarnoff: I got --
Commissioner Suarez: There's --
Chair Sarnoff All right, so we have district page items. DI.1.1 [sic], discussion on how to
expedite restoration of streetlight outage. Commissioner Gort is recognized for the record.
Tice Chair Gort: One of the problems that I have is traveling throughout the City at night, I
found many of the neighborhoods where the lights are out. And you can go into my office and
check out all the phone calls that I have for myself and my staff to making sure that we bring the
lights up. And we also -- I understand how important it is to keep the lights on, especially at
night in certain neighborhoods. Now, I had a meeting with the -- some of the people from FP&L
(Florida Power & Light) came to see me 'cause one of the things that I was asking is we pay fbr
the lights. Vfy understanding, we get a -- we don't get per light charge. We get a bulk charge for
amount of lights and so on. And I don't think there's any -- there's not an existence [sic]
method or condition for someone to check the lights. And I was talking to Public Works; if
there's some way that we can have somebody to go through certain neighborhoods at night and
to make sure because sometimes we get the calls. A lot of times the people call 311, and I don't
know what your experience with 311 has been, but mine has been negative. I just got a call from
a lady. She finally decided to call my office after she's been calling for a whole year the 311
about one of those holes created by the trash pickup. So what I would like to see is for the
Administration to come out an idea to -- if we can have some of the people to -- that work in the
evening -- have some people working in the evening to go by certain main avenues and check the
lighting in the system. Now, my understanding is FPL is working to -- a new system where they'll
be able to control the lights; that if a light goes out, they'll be notified right away.
Alice Bravo (Assistant City Manager/Chief of Infrastructure): Commissioner, several months
ago we initiated a process with FP&L. Our Public Works director was already working with
them on the double pole issue, but we also talked to them that we wanted to find efficiencies to
reduce our overall cost fbr lighting and for them to have mechanisms in place so identifying a
light that was out was not relying on someone reporting it but that through their own
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mechanisms and measuring the wattage on a particular circuit, that they would identify and
repair that light. So I'd like Zerry Ihekwaba to talk to you about the other initiatives that we've
started with FP&L.
Nzeribe Ihekwaba: Good evening. Zerry Ihekwaba, Public Works director. Back in November,
the City Manager had requested FPL to provide a plan of action on how to proactively track and
monitor streetlight outages and also additional efficiencies in terms of monitoring and
recordation of the actual energy consumption so that we'll he very clear and very sure as to the
kind of energy costs that the City's incurring. In January FPL provided a response, and we also
met with them, including the City Manager; where they have informed us that based on the
Florida Public Service Commission, they are not obligated to actually monitor streetlight
outages, and that is why the City received premium tariffs for the energy consumption costs. And
we actually insist that there has to be a mechanism in place to electronically, through
technology, monitor these outages. However, within the City, we, Public Works, intends [sic] to
set up or rather identify an individual, perhaps create a position of a streetlight coordinator that
will be responsible fbr handling all streetlight issues citywide. 1 don't know how feasible that
could be in terms of one individual alone being capable of handling that kind of arduous task.
However, it's a first step to us resolving this impasse. So, Commissioner, as you rightly said, we
intend to have that position created.
Vice Chair Gnrt: But one of the suggestion is have a phone number where people can call at
night and report it, because 311 is not working. 1 mean --
Mr. Ihekwaba: Public Works do actually have an emergency phone number that we usually pass
out to residents and also through NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) office where residents
can always call us not just in terms of emergencies; any time, 24/7. And one of our supervisors
are always having his mobile phone, 24/7, for an individual. I'm willing to share that number
through the district offices as well.
Vice Chair Gort: I think that'll be important.
Chair Sarnof f: Can Ijust suggest something? I don't mean to interrupt you, Commissioner, but
aren't we at a stage now where there should he an app for that?
Mr.Ihekwaba: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: So how come we're not developing an app why I take a photograph of an out
streetlight -- and by the way, my iPhone --
Commissioner Suarez: Or a pothole.
Chair Sarnoff. What's drat?
Commissioner Suarez: Or a pothole.
Chair Sarnoff: Or a who?
Commissioner Suarez: Or a pothole.
Mr.Ihekwaba: Pothole.
Chair Sarnoff: Or pot -- yeah, any --
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
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Chair Sarnoff: Anything --
Commissioner Suarez: It exists by the way.
Chair Sarnaff • Oh, I know it exists.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: And you're working on an app, Madam City Manager, for the trolley. I would
think the same technology, the same ability would exist. I take a picture of a pothole at Willy --
in Willy's district. My iPhone, based on the settings, will tell you exactly where that is. I forward
that to the app, okay. It's now on record. And by the way, the dis -- you can even make it that
the district Commissioner's office follows that pothole.
Mr. Ihekwaha: Commissioner.
Commissioner Suarez: Tracks it.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah, sorry, tracks it.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Mr. Ihekwaba: If I may add. I actually met with the IT (Information Technology) director this
past week and that's exactly what I had recommended to her for this --
Ms. Bravo: And Chairman, the -- that's one of the items that's included in our IT plan that we're
reporting hack on.
Chair Sarnoff • When?
Ms. Bravo: In -- at the end of March, March 28.
Chair Sarnoff: Is that when we get our trolley update?
Ms. Bravo: As well, yes. You'll see the trolley, the draft of the app next week.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. I just wonder -- I mean, I understand there's going to be a couple people
that don't have --
Mr. Ihekwaba: iPhones.
Chair Sarnoff.' -- iPhones, but it's fewer and fewer people. I mean, even as the secondary
providers pick up these, you know, third -generation iPhones and third -generation Androids,
these things are all capable of doing everything we're suggesting.
Mr. Ihekwaba: Actually, a lot of municipalities are currently utilizing that mechanism., which
was why we suggested it to IT.
Chair Sarnoff: I got to tell you, I'm not -- I'm -- I just think there's a solution here, and I don't
think the solution is a better phone number and I don't -- I think 91 -- 311 does not work. My
experience with it has been horrible. And I know we -- anything that we seem to harrow or
become part of the County doesn't seem to work.
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
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Commissioner Suarez: Agreed. Second that motion.
Vice Chair Gort: That's what I do, I take pictures.
Commissioner Suarez: Same here.
Vice Chair Gort: Driving by Saturday night --
Commissioner Suarez: I bet we all have on our phone pictures.
Tice Chair Gort: -- take a picture, send it in. A major hole that --
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah, but the --
Vice Chair Gort: -- this lady has been reporting this --
Chair Sarnoff • -- beauty is --
Vice Chair Gort: -- for years.
Chair Sarnoff: -- we get to forward it to the director of who -- I forward it to the director of
Public Works. So my favorite thing with trash holes is 1 forward it to Keith Carswell and then he
usually says, well, you should be forwarding it to Zerry.
Commissioner Suarez: Forward them to Zerry. I forward them to Zerry.
Vice Chair Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Suarez: Let me tell you, he's very good about following up too. I got to give him
credit.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes, he is. But it shouldn't be that way and we have that ability. And it's -- we've
said it all.
Commissioner Suarez: I just want to say one last thing on Commissioner Gort's discussion item.
You know, he is so right, and Commissioner Spence -Jones alluded to it earlier today, like -- and
by the way, it's in every district. The lighting in the district is so poor. Yesterday I was at a
community meeting in Coral Gate, so it's no different than the areas that, you know -- you know,
all our neighborhoods look the same. They're all single-family homes. By and large, they're all
small single-family homes. You know, I live in a small one, by the way. It's like 1,300 square feet
and --
Chair Sarnoff: A beautiful home. A beautiful home.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff • A beautiful home.
Commissioner Suarez: Why thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Beautiful.
Commissioner Suarez: But the lighting is terrible. It's terrible, and that is a problem because
people don't feel safe when they're walking down the block. And the question is -- I know it
would be ambitious for us to redo all the lighting and all the public -- you know, and all the --
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D2.1
13-00203
but what can we do about it? I mean, is there something that can be done? Is there any way to
talk to FP&L? What can we -- can done about that?
Mr. Ihekwaba: Back in November, that was one of the principle items the City Manager had
requested for. The response backfrom FPL, unfortunately, is that they've not really done a
streetlight audit for several years. However, there's a plan in place, as we speak, for them to
commence the streetlight audit in the City of Miami by, I believe, third quarter of this year.
Chair Sarnoff: That mean evaluate aria?
Mr.Ihekwaba: Evaluation.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay, okay.
Mr. Ihekwaha: I believe the correspondence was passed around through the City Manager's
office yesterday.
Chair Sarnoff. All right. You done, Commissioner?
Vice Chair Gort: Yes. What I'd like to get a follow-up response. I know they will do it. And the
-- I know they're looking at the plan, implementation of the plan.
Chair Sarnoff • Madam City Attorney -- City Manager, would you -- when you show us the app
for the trolley, would you also show us other municipal apps for problems, trash holes, lighting?
Ms. Bravo: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Any public works type thing.
Ms. Bravo: Yes. We've seen some from other municipalities.
Chair Sarnoff: But would you show it to this Commission so that we can say, wow, we like that
one. This is what Los Angeles does. This is what Phoenix does. This is what New York City
does. This is what Jacksonville does.
Ms. Bravo: Great. Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Thanks.
Mr. Ihekwaba: Thanks.
END OF DISTRICT 1
DISTRICT 2
CHAIR MARC DAVID SARNOFF
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION ON THE FORMULA E ELECTRIC CAR RACE.
13-00203 Email - Formula E Electric Car Race.pdf
13-00203-Submittal-Presentation-Formula E Electric Car Race.pdf
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DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnof: Okay, I guess I'm up. Discussion on the Formula E Car Race. You guys been
here for a whale? Fascinating meeting, wasn't it? You're going to go back to Europe and you're
going to say, Man, these Americans.
Giorgio Veroni: We learn a lotfrom today.
Chair Sarnof: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), right?
Mr. Veroni: So Formula E, we are represent --
Chair Sarnoff • Please state your name,* the record.
Mr. Veroni: I'm sorry. Giorgio Veroni, Mr. Chairman and member of the Commission. My
name is Giorgio Veroni. I represent Formula E Holding, which is the company who bought the
rights for 25 years from the federation of the automobile, international automobile, which is the
governor of the motorsport racing in the world. We bought the rights because we thought it was
a good opportunity for the electric vehicles to he promoted and to make them sexy and to take
them all over the world in the best cities. So now we are new and as new, we decided to go to the
best ten cities because the first three years we have ten races and promote our formula. Miami
was selected and also one of the reason, it was because you had an history ofIndv car race here
before, but also because it's international city with an amazing weather and amazing landmark.
And so we believe Miami, with Los Angeles and New York, will be selected with the three top
cities in US. (United States). The other city that committed to do this race as we standing is
Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, London, Rome, Berlin, Beijing, and probably Tokyo. So as you
can see, the top cities in the world; and probably Vancouver in Canada, which now they -- and a
lot of city after are announce or advertising or being in the press a lot, they want to pay. They
avant to pay for us being there and racing there and host a race so -- hut we going to he firm on
the ten cities for the first two, three years. We would like to be engaged with Miami for at least
five because it's -- we believe this is going to be great here. The impact in the City will he under
two aspects, on the economical and the sustainable impact, and also will be -- I mean, less for --
the disruption will he only one day. I mean, we will work over two weeks. The disruption of the
City will he one day event, which we'll he closing only for, I think, around ten hours. We can
make it -- we can do the qualifying in the morning and do the race in the afternoon and reopen
after the race as soon as possible. And we know that when we dealing with the City, we know
that it's a major problem. But the other disruption, there will he a great impactfrom the
economical point of view. It will be -- it's -- from Miami, it's been estimated around ten million
just for visitors, people spending money. It will be around 2.5 million worth of taxes for the
cities [sic]. It will he an incredible advertising for the City around the world because it will be
televised in each country. So it will he a great, great, great event viewed hy, we thinking, about
30 million people each race. So other things, the sustainable impact, which we want to -- we
believe in electric vehicles. We want to make them sexy. We want to sell it. We want to create a
community. We want to teach the young or teenager that approaching to the first driving license
to drive an electric vehicles. We aiming for Miami to have electric vehicles at least in the next
three, four years. Everybody drives at least one of electric vehicles. We would create events
around the -- within the two, three days events, we will create events around the City with major
sponsor, with car manufacturer and -- towards the sustainable aspect of the formula that we
represent.
Chair Sarnof: All right. You've given us sort of a PowerPoint.
Mr. Veroni: Yes. That's --
Chair Sarnoff • Okay.
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Mr. Veroni: -- the presentation. The truck is being indicated -- going around Biscayne
Boulevard and around the American Airline [sic] Arena and then going through -- it's going
through l2th Street and 2nd Avenue, turn right on l4th Street and down back to North Bayshore
Drive and come back to Biscayne Boulevard. That's what we -- which it was -- originally was
the -- it's kind of similar to the old Indy car/truck that you --
Chair Sarnoff: And you -- and this could he done on a Saturday, am I right?
Mr. Veroni: That can be done on Saturday, on Sunday. It can be done in a day where there's a
lack of events in the City, so we kind of flexible. To understand, we don't want to impose ourself
on a date where the City has already -- or, you know, there's a basketball event or there is other
-- or there's a -- I mean, we really flexible. We totally -- we want to work with you to find a dry
date and to -- less disruptions and less, less, less problems for the City. We are totally
understand and totally flexible.
Chair Sarnoff • I asked them to come just as a presentation; that this was going to go through a
little more iterations, little more refinement. I just wanted to bring it to you all just to see what's
the opportunities and what, you know, the issues might or might not he. I know you guys are
getting some buy -in from the Performing Art [sic] Center and everyone else.
Mr. Veroni: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff.' But I just wanted -- I wanted everyone to see when you come to me, they don't get
to see it as well, so continue to work on it. What's the projected date, do you think?
Mr. Veroni: We were thinking around end of, what, 2014 as a -- some -- next year. End of
August, beginning of September is a date. Or we could do July. I mean, July, we question the
City. There's not much going on here. End of August, there's not much going on here.
Chair Sarnoff: Those are great times. It is a great time to bring people around.
Vice Chair Gort: A lot hi' opportunity.
Chair Sarnoff • It is very quiet in Miami.
Mr. Veroni: So it's like tourism (UNINTELLIGIBLE) tourism from Europe and, you know -- you
know, so for us it's very -- as you said, very flexible.
Vice Chair Gort: And you've been working on this -- the site itself for a while now? Who do you
been working with -- the selection of the route?
Chair Sarnoff: They -- actually, Francisco Garcia has probably worked with them on the site
selection the most.
Vice Chair Gort: Site selection, okay.
Mr. Veroni: Yeah.
Vice Chair Gort: 'Cause this is very similar to the race we used to have here before.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: The route is (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Gort: The same mute is about pretty much the same that we had before and it was
very successful.
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Mr. Veroni: Yeah. But kind of --
Chair Sarnoff: Sort of the same vicinity of the City, but not --
Commissioner Carollo: If they can reach out also to Bayfront Park?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Because 1 think we had experience from the last time.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And how -- it was good?
Chair Sarnoff: I think so.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: Very (UNINTELLIGIBLE). (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you're right.
Commissioner Carollo: You know, so -- you know, if you could also reach. out to Bayfront Park
since, in the past, you know, that we've, you know, done anything like this, we -- you know, we
have some experience with it so --
Chair Sarnoff.' And the reason 1 sort of like this is it's an electric car and it doesn't have that
loud varoom and it's cleaner.
Mr. Veroni: Yeah, there's no noise. There's a little noise, hut no noise at all so -- And then it's a
beautiful car. We will show -- we will send you pictures of the new prototype and it's going to be
Chair Sarnoff: But Commissioner Carollo's right. There was a body of knowledge acquired
from previous --
Vice Chair Gort: Bayfront Park has used all of it.
Chair Sarnoff.' Yeah. There is a body of knowledge. And, you know, I had the opportunity with
the Volvo to have a body of knowledge that wasn't very positive for the second Volvo. I wish we
learned a little more from that but -- and there's a body of knowledge out there, you know. It is
nothing wrong with -- Tim. Schmand knows it. Is that pretty much who you want him to see? And
1 think he's right. I thinkjust -- let's acquire what went right, what went wrong and, you know,
continue to work with us. And, Pieter, make sure that he sees the right people.
Mr. Veroni: Thank you for the opportunity.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you.
Mr. Veroni: We would really like to, you know, proceed and work with you together like with the
other American cities. So we would like to -- I mean, I don't know if it's possible to announce
something like we did in Rome. In Rome we did a beautiful day of -- with the Mayor, with the
champion, with our representative. We did a press day where there was a lot of -- the car went
around a piece of Rome and arrive in the city hall, and then we did a hig press conference with
the Mayor, with the champion, answering questions, and then we can -- we would like to do the
same here, and we would like to he -- Miami to be the first city announce in US.
Vice Chair Gort: We would love to.
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Mr. Veroni: Around April -- we were thinking about April or --
Chair Sarnoff: You did this. You have -- you're still in town for a couple days?
Mr. Veroni: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Please meet with Tina Schmand. If there's any -- well come back to me. If I think
it needs to come hack to the Commission, you know -- number one, we should vote because it's
going to be a closure of some time on Biscayne Boulevard.
Commissioner Carollo: Absolutely.
Chair Sarnoff: So we're going to bring this back. What, you said April, March? Close.
Mr. Veroni: We can do May. 1 mean, I would like -- Los Angeles agreed -- the Mayor wants to
do Earth Day, which is the 20th of April.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Mr. Veroni: I would prefer to have Miami the week before or two weeks before, a week hefore --
Chair Sarnoff • Okay.
Mr. Veroni: -- around that day.
Chair Sarnoff: I think May timeframe works, hut let's --
Mr. Veroni: If it's May, it's -- I mean, we can --
Commissioner Carollo: Of next year, o1.2014.
Chair Sarnoff: That's the race, right?
Mr. Veroni: No, no. That's the announcement.
Chair Sarnoff: You announce a year ahead of time, okay.
Commissioner Carollo: The announcement --
Mr. Veroni: The announcement only brings --
Commissioner Carollo: -- May of this year?
Mr. Veroni: Yeah.
Tice Chair Gort: That's kind of the marketing, kind of the strategy to bring people here and
make them knowledgeable.
Chair Sarnoff: So if you market a whole year ahead of the race --
Mr. Veroni: We can -- because it's all marketing. It's all good for us. It's all -- you know, there's
nothing committed at saying we are the city that is looking to do something or electric cars race.
There's nothing to -- it's like Rome, exactly like Rome. We did it with the Mayor. The Mayor
committed. He give us the keys of Rome to do the race. Of course, it's subject to --
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Chair Sarnoff: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) here.
Vice Chair Gort: All the approval, regulations.
Mr. Veroni: It's subject to approval. It's subject to approval for the federation. The federation
has to approve as well the track 'cause -- for safety reason.
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Mr. Veroni: So it could he that Miami, it won't -- it couldn't -- you know, could he not a race in
2014, but 2015, but as long as we can announce, it's good for the City, it's good for the Mayor,
it's good for us.
Vice Chair Gort: Good for the marketing.
Chair Sarnoff • Let's get this as far along as ire possibly can. I'd like to bring it back to this
Commission one more time. It wouldn't have to be a long discussion, just so that we give --just
one more discussion so we understand exactly what the issues are. So ii you want to bring this
back, I'ni going to ask you to do it to help usher it along, the end of. the March meeting. By then
you'll know if there's any issues. And this way, well have at least given an indication how we
feel about it.
Pieter Bockweg: IfI may, Mr. Chair. Pieter Bockweg, executive director, Omni/Midtown CRA
(Community Redevelopment Agency). We have reached out to all the major stakeholders. Tim
was one of. the first ones because, Commissioner, he have that experience you mentioned.
They're aware. I told them there will he a follow-up meetings with them to start the planning
phases 'cause, obviously, you know, they need that guidance. 1 can bring it back for another
discussion item, ifyou'd like, Commissioner, for the March 28 meeting.
Chair Sarnoff: Bring Off the end meeting in March. And try to develop it one more time just
so we can give it a -- I don't think anybody wants him to go public without a little more
indication from this Commission.
Commissioner Carollo: Absolutely not. And can we have some of the finances behind it?
Mr. Bockweg: Absolutely. I'll make sure that we provide -- and when I talk about the
stakeholders, Commissioner, it's the Arsht Center, obviously Bayfront, the Heat Group, as well as
the port tunnel with Bill Johnson. We'll make sure -- we'll put a whole package together so that
when we start developing at planning stage, they have all the finances and -- And from what 1
understand, there's no cost to the City, but I leave that up to them to decide.
Commissioner Carollo: That's what I mean.
Mr. Veroni: That's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Chair Sarnoff • (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Veroni: Yeah, there's zero cost for the City.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah, he needs to hear that because --
Mr. Veroni: Zero, zero.
Chair Sarnoff: The previous (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
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Mr. Veroni: We've got -- I said we finance completely --
Chair Sarnojt: Right.
Mr. Veroni: -- everything, so we cover cost to the sponsor and the television rights. So it's --
Vice Chair Gort: That's good.
Chair Sarnaff: All right, thank you very much. Appreciate you coming up.
Mr. Bockweg: Thank you, sir.
Chair Sarnof f: Thank you.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you.
D2.2 DISCUSSION ITEM
13-00225
D2.3
12-01391
D2.4
12-01397
D2.5
12-01398
D2.6
12-01466
STATUS OF HIRING POLICE OFFICERS.
13-00225 Status - Hiring Police Officers.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
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 for Commercial Purposes.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING CONTRACTORS' NEGLIGENCE IN FAILING TO
PROTECT TREES.
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
D2.7
13-00236
12-01466 Contractor's Negligence - Failing to Protect Trees.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
UPDATE ON ENFORCEMENT OF VEHICLES FAILING TO YIELD TO
PEDESTRIANS IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY.
13-00236 Enforcement - Failing to Yield to Pedestrains.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
END OF DISTRICT 2
DISTRICT 3
COMMISSIONER FRANK CAROLLO
D3.1 DISCUSSION ITEM
12-01486
D3.2
13-00165
D3.3
13-00166
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.
12-01486 Update - Lack of Adequate Milling & Resurfacing Streets 03/28/13.pdf
DEFERRED
Note for the Record: Item D3.1 was deferred to the March 14, 2013 Commission Meeting.
DISCUSSION ITEM
UPDATE PROCEDURES REGARDING THE CIP PROCESS IN ORDER TO
BETTER THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY.
13-00165 Update Procedures - CIP Process 03/28/13.pdf
DEFERRED
Note for the Record: Item D3.2 was deferred to the March 14, 2013 Commission Meeting.
DISCUSSION ITEM
UPDATE REGARDING THE TIMELY ISSUANCE OF THE AUDITED
FINANCIAL STATEMENT ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2012.
13-00166 Update Timely Issuance - Audited Financial Statement FY' 13.pdf
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Meeting Minutes February 28, 2013
DISCUSSED
Commissioner Carollo: But I would like to, for the record, know where we are with our audited
financial statements, the issuance of our audited financial statements, the works that the County
actually did, you know, and I think it needs to he mentioned 'cause I truly appreciate that they
lend us some of their top auditors or accountants.
Chair Sarnoff.' Madam CFO, you're recognized for the record.
Janice Larned: Janice Larned, assistant City Manager, chief financial officer. With respect to
the comprehensive annual financial report for the City, at this point we helieve that we will he
meeting the March 31 deadline.
Commissioner Carollo: And that's extremely important. And let me tell you something, we really
need to thank the County because that extra help was not just extra help; it was a lot of help.
And that's working as a team, working, you know, with other agencies. So that's actually real
good news because we event from a `no" to a "most likely we will." So I think, you know, we
need to really show our appreciation to the County and, again, to our financial team that, you
know, I know has been working very hard to make sure that we issue our financial statements on
time.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Ms. Larned: If I may, Mr. Chair, I would like to echo those sentiments simply because the
County came,forward. The people that they provided were of utmost professionalism and they hit
the ground running. They were here for three solid weeks while they, themselves, were putting
together their annual reports. So my hat is off to them. I think it was extremely neighborly of
them and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
Chair Sarnoff: Very good.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnof f: You're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: 1 think we should also acknowledge Commissioner Carollo for thinking
outside of the box and lending us his, you know, audit experience and expertise in thinking of a
way to bridge the gap and, you know, figuring it out in a way that didn't cost the City of Miami
more money because, remember, my heartburn was about going on outside consultant firm and
spending more money. So my hat's off to you, Commissioner. Good job.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. And you know we all work as a team and --
Tice Chair Gort: Good idea.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. We all work as a team and, realistically, what I want to
make sure is that we just move forward, especially financially, and this is a good step, being able
to issue our financial statements on time, and it's still not there yet so, you know, we need -- we
still got a few weeks to go. But it appears like we're definitely on the right direction. And being
able to show to the business community, to the world out there that, hey, we, at the very least,
can issue our financial statements on time, you know, I think, you know, is a big plus, and I think
it's a start of a change in this financial turmoil that we've been in. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay, you're --
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D3.4
13-00167
D4.1
12-01455
D4.2
13-00237
DISCUSSION ITEM
UPDATE REGARDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE FINANCIAL INTEGRITY
PRINCIPLES ORDINANCE.
13-00167 Update - Financial Integrity Principles Ordinance 03/28/13.pdf
DEFERRED
Note for the Record: Item D3.4 was deferred to the March 14, 2013 Commission Meeting.
END OF DISTRICT 3
DISTRICT 4
COMMISSIONER FRANCIS SUAREZ
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING MIAMI 21'S BLANKET PROHIBITION ON
COMMERCIAL VEHICLES IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES.
12-01455 Email - Miami 21's Blanket Prohibition.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
UPDATE ON "REVERSE REDLINING" LITIGATION FOR VIOLATIONS OF
THE FAIR HOUSING ACT.
13-00237 Email - Update Reverse Redlining.pdf
DISCUSSED
Commissioner Suarez: And then my actual discussion item has to do with -- I brought it up last
Commission meeting very briefly. I know it was at the end. It was -- also happens to be, I think,
the last discussion item, but I really, really indulge your patience. It talks about reverse
redlining where banks have basically shattered the City of Miami by illegally issuing
discriminatory loans to minorities. They have earned millions of dollars issuing discriminatory
mans and continue to do so. Basically, the hanks have made mans to minorities with more
onerous terms than loans made to whites with the same credit score. Example, higher interest
rates, prepayment penalties, balloon payments, et cetera. These loans led to heightened rates of
foreclosure in minority areas. The Center for Responsible Lending stated that it has become
particularly troublesome that minorities receive riskier loans even with similar credit ratings.
For example, among borrowers having FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) scores above 660, loans
with higher interest rates among various groups were as fellows: whites, 6.2 percent; African
Americans, 21.3 percent, 3.5 times higher than whites; Latinos, 19.3 percent, 3.1 times higher
than the rate for equivalent Non -Hispanics and African Americans. Since 2003 numerous
studies have shown that the Miami -Dade area is one of the top five hardest hit in the nation in
terms of foreclosures, approximately 240,000. A significant number of these foreclosures have
occurred in the City of Miami. Numerous studies have shown that each foreclosure cost the City
ofMianai approximately $20,000. These costs incurred include increased police, fire, and other
social services required to respond to each foreclosed properties. And I know we've all dealt
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with this in our respective districts. In addition, each foreclosed property reduces tax receipts
due to diminished home values. What can we do now? There is a clear legal precedent that
allows the City of Miami to sue the hanks for discriminatory lending practices under the Federal
Fair Housing Act. The U.S. Supreme Court, in the eleventh circuit, case law supports this
position. Several municipalities have brought similar- discriminatory lending cases against the
banks: Atlanta, Detroit, Baltimore, Memphis, and others that are not -- that are pending but not
disclosed. In addition, the Department of Justice has also set up cases against Bank of America
for 335 million and Wells Fargo for 175 million. The funds recovered in these cases can be used
to restore and enhance essential government services. We talked at length today about restoring
police benefits and this is a pot that we could use to do that; police, fire, education, children
services, libraries, parks. Moreover, this case sends a clear message to the hanks that they
cannot harm Miamians without being held accountable. I'd ask the City Attorney if she could
work with me on exploring, finding a firm that could represent the City of Miami in such a case,
pro -- I mean, not pro bono, but at no cost to the City, and whatever they can recover on behalf
of the City -- I don't want to get into the actual amount, but it's -- it can a significant amount of
money, very significant amount of money, more than the amount of money that we found under
the mattress in November so -- and it could be used for a lot of the critical services that we've
been discussing and debating here today. So with the Commission's consent, I'd like to work
with the City Attorney to try to identifY a firm that can represent the City, so long as it doesn't in
any way, shape, or form hinder the City or cost the City any money or create any liability to the
City, as Commissioner Carolln just stated on the last item..
Vice Chair Gort: You need a motion?
Chair Sarnoff: I don't think he needs a motion.
Commissioner Suarez: Is that okay? I mean, is that okay with you all?
Vice Chair Gort: I'll make a motion to appoint you to work in the --
Commissioner Suarez: Madam Chair, can we --?
Chair Sarnoff: Don't you have to he careful about tampering?
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): I'm sorry?
Chair Sarnoff: Tampering. I'm not sure a lawyer can pay the cost associated with litigation --
Bru: Right.
Chair Sarnoff • -- under the Florida Bar rules.
Ms. Bru: Right. And that's an issue that we have identified as something that we need to
discuss. There's certain costs that lawyer can advance on behalf of the client and, of course, you
know, the firm can agree to do the work on a contingency fee basis. What I'd like to suggest is if,
as a matter of public policy, the Commission feels that this is a cause of action that you want us
to --
Commissioner Suarez: Explore.
Ms. Bru: -- explore, I will work with Commissioner Suarez and we will hring hack to you a
presentation --
Commissioner Suarez: Of course.
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Ms. Bru: -- that's -- I would have to do it individually 'cause I wouldn't want to get into a lot of
details --
Commissioner Suarez: Understood.
Ms. Bru: -- on the record. But with your permission, I will reach out to some firms that have
identified themselves as capable and qualified to do this kind of litigation and bring to you
individually a presentation with a proposal and then we can vote it up or down at a public
meeting if after you get briefed individually, you decide that this is a cause ut action that you
want to pursue.
Commissioner Suarez: That's --
Vice Chair Gort: Agreed.
Commissioner Suarez: -- perfect. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff.' Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Anything else? That's it. We're adjourned.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
END OF DISTRICT 4
DISTRICT 5
COMMISSIONER MICHELLE SPENCE-JONES
D5.1 DISCUSSION ITEM
13-00170
DISCUSSION ON THE SUCCESSION PLAN AS A RESULT OF
SIGNIFICANT 2013 EMPLOYEE RETIREMENTS.
13-00170 Succession Plan - Employee Retirements 2013.pdf
13-00170 Drop Succession Plan.pdf
DEFERRED
Note far the Record: Item D5.1 was deferred to the March 14, 2013 Commission Meeting.
Chair Sarnoff • Okay. Now we're up to district item D3.1.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman, I know you -- earlier I mentioned to you that I had
to leave by a certain time so --
Chair Sarnoff: Do you want to -- do you have something?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: If you -- I --
Chair Sarnoff: I don't mind.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Two seconds. It's not going to be --
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NA.1
13-00307
Chair Sarnoff: It's all right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- a big thing for me.
Chair Sarnoff • D5 (District 5).
Commissioner Spence -Jones: We already dealt with my pocket item. The other one was the
succession plan, which I'm going to just roll it over again to the next Commission meeting.
Bever1v'.+ done a great joh. I don't know where Beverly is, and I don't know i f you guys have had
an opportunity to see it. But there's a few other things that 1 asked her during nay break to make
sure that she includes it in the plan. So she's going to bring that hack at the next -- correct,
Beverly, that we're going to include it in the next -- the additional --? Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: Wait. Beverly, come up to the mike. Just state your name.
Beverly Pruitt: Beverly Pruitt, Human Resources director. Yes, the DROP (Deferred Retirement
Option Plan) succession plan, you'd like to bring for March 14 agenda?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Ms. Pruitt: Yes, we'll he ready and we will distribute it with the packet.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, with the minor adjustments
END OF DISTRICT 5
NON AGENDA ITEMS
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION BY COMMISSIONER SPENCE-JONES REGARDING THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF STREET CLOSURES IN LIBERTY SQUARE FOR
THE PURPOSE OF ADDRESSING VIOLENT CRIME.
13-00307-Submittal-Memo-Street Closures in Liberty Square.pdf
DISCUSSED
Direction by Commissioner Spence -Jones to the Administration to provide the City Commission
with a fiscal analysis on the use of technology, such as Shot Spotter and/or closed circuit
television cameras (CCTV), for the purpose of addressing shootings by the next meeting.
Chair Sarnoff: I think Commissioner, you had a -- you had --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes, yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 1 know we have a big item
coining right after, so I want to at least let my residents go home. I want to -- if you don't mind,
I'd like to pass this down to you. Pin going to ask the police chief to join us. I thank you, Mr.
Chairman, for taking out the time, and my fellow colleagues, to kind of address a situation that I
think is inoperative that we put some attention on. As you know, this past weekend I experienced
not only gang violence in my district but also a lot of gun violence, which, to me, represents
things are totally out of control. From Saturday really afternoon at 1 o'clock till all the way
Monday afternoon, I witnessed -- or not witnessed; actually went and visited families that were
affected by this rash of shootings in my district, especially in the Liberty City area. I want to
thank the homicide detectives that diligently worked to -- you know, and continue to work to get
to the bottom of these vicious and crazy crimes. That is, Assistant Chief Roquo [sic] and, of
course, Eunice Cooper. They've been staying on top of this issue. The thing that has really
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touched my heart over this weekend was a shooting that actually took place -- and all the
shootings actually touchmy heart, but this one in particular was the shooting of a 16-year-old
boy. His name is Marquise Brunson. And far -- and I mentioned it a little earlier in our
discussion this morning how I got a chance to -- actually, every night this week I've actually
visited the house of the mother. She has a younger son. He's 15 years old. And basically, in the
heart of Liberty Square, a group of guys, young guys that are all gang -affiliated opened up fire,
one with an AK-47 (Automat Kalashnikova) and one with a regular gun. In the midst of this,
Marquise Brunson was actually hit with a round of -- actually a bullet that actually went to the
hack of his head. I got a chance last night, with some of my residents, to kind gig() and walk in
the same area where he was actually shot and got a chance to also go through some of the
houses that were in that area and I'm telling you -- and I'm going to suggest this to any of my
fellow Commissioners 'cause I think it's a good idea. Even though it's not in your district, I just
want you to really feel and understand some of the pain that the residents are enduring in that
neighborhood or in that area. But as I walked through each one of those apartments, when you
-- you see the actual gun holes in the walls or in the staircases or that have gone through the
windows or the doors. It was only by the grace of God that somebody else didn't get shot, you
know. So I just think that -- I passed out this -- a copy of this memorandum that we passed out or
we did back in April of 2012, which is almost a year now, making the recommendations that we
address the issue of street closures, and working along with Liberty Square, to at least try to
decrease some of the violence that we've seen in the overall area. Quite frankly, I'm just going to
tell you, I'm really at the point where I'm so tired or sick and tired of talking about the same thing
over and over. From last April to now -- where we are now, March, I probably had about at
least between 8 to 10 shootings or fatalities that have taken place when we clearly could have
addressed the issue or at least try to address the issues of these street closures and other little
small things that they're asking for. So, really, I wanted to bring a couple of things to your
attention to ask for your support because it's really not just about me. It's going to take the
whole entire Commission, the City of Miami Administration to really, really support the police
department and the residents that live in our City and the Liberty Square area to really make a
difference to see things change. I have to say this. I am appreciative of our chief. As soon as we
started talking about this almost a year ago to address the issues of gang violence, we put
together a group called Stand Up Against Violence Alliance with the chief supporting -- his
assistant Dennis to kind of begin to address, you know, intervention, prevention, things that we
can do. So we're starting these rap sessions. As you know, the chief did the gun buyback. We
did the film boot camp. Everything involved around that was trying to get these kids to think
about something else or to get the residents to be -- empower the residents to do more. I'm just at
the point that I'm just so tired of talking, and I really want to go over a few suggestions, and I
really would like to have your support. My first thing that I would like to address with the chief
on this issue is -- and I'm glad that all three departments, the County, the City, and the School
Board, we now can acknowledge that we do have a gang problem. It is not the same kind of
gang problem that Oakland and L.A. (Los Angeles) has, but it is a gang problem. We have 14,
15, 16 year olds that are terrorizing the neighborhoods, and the reality is, it makes no sense for a
12, 7, 8, or 9 year old not to be able to go out in front of their own yards, in front of their own
apartments and not he able to play. Yesterday when I did my walk through, I had several parents
that came out to me and said, Commissioner, we're -- our kids can't even go outside. When they
shot -- and then I'm going to go straight to the issue because I know we have things we have to
cover -- when they shot the -- when the perpetrator shot in the area, he kind of shot in almost an
open kind of like area, and what happens is in each section there is like these metal gates. So
one of the parents told me -- and I believe she has about seven kids herself -- she said,
Commissioner, all we heard was Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. Because when the
AK-47 rounds began to be fired, the sound of it just, you know, ripped through the neighborhood.
And I'm saying this to you -- we talk about what, you know, this kind of -violence does to soldiers
that are fighting in, you know, Afghanistan and other areas and the affect that it has on them
mentally when they return. Can you imagine a 7 year old, a 6 year old, a 9 year old, you know,
every single time that they hear anything that remotely sounds like that, what it does to a child?
This is a kid. So you know if fa soldier comes back that's been trained, that's been educated, that
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knows how to fight, knows how to do all of those things, you know, they come hack and they're
shell-shocked or they're trying to adjust to this environment. Can you imagine a 7 year old, a 9
year old literally afraid to walk out their house because of the sound. And I'm telling you, I saw
the mother last night and she said to Inc. Commissioner, you know what the saddest thing about
this whole thing for- me is -- it's not to say that her son has not had some challenges. But she
said to me, she said Commissioner, I can almost deal with almost anything -- and she's been
trying real hard to raise her three boys. She said to me, the hardest thing for me to deal with is
that once Marquise was shot in the head, that people gathered around, took photos, and posted it
online. So when her 12 year old went online to, you know -- you know, go Facehook and all of
that, the first time -- or the first time she ever saw her son again was seeing him posted with a
hole in his head. There is a problem. We cannot continue to ignore it. We do have a gang
problem. We have to put the attention, the resources to change it and stop it. And now you have
the younger boy that's 15 years old that was almost like a twin -- they call one big twin and little
twin -- that six months prior to that, involved in the same kind of gang activity, was shot and
killed as well, and the 15 year -old brother happened to come out of the gas station -- and I think
I'm correct on this -- where they were coming, from the movies -- not to say that they're the
greatest kids 'cause they got, you know -- there needs to be things that these kids need to be
involved in. But when he walked out after all of the shooting took place and he had to see his
friend laving down there shot several times, that had already done something to him mentally.
You can't see somebody shot like that that many tinges and it not affect you. And then six months
later -- less than six months later, your win brother or your close to twin brother is dead as well.
So these kids have gotten to the point that they are desensitized. There's no value in life. You
pick up a gun faster than you pick up a pencil. That's a problem, guys, you know. And I know
our problem may not be big as -- as big as other cities, but we got one that's a small problem
right now that's affecting a whole entire neighborhood and it's only getting worse. Because what
happens after that is because big twin, or Marquise, gets shot and killed. Now there's a
retaliation thing that's going on. So now his group wants to go after that group. And guess
what? They don't care about anybody else that's in the middle. So I really -- if there's no other
time that I've come to you guys to say to you I need your help, I need your help, I need your
support, 'cause we have to make sure that this community gets everything that it needs. So with
that being said, the first thing I passed you out was the street closures, which I asked for almost a
year ago, the conclusion that came from it; and you see on the hack of it, is that, you know, after
weighing the pros and cons, the street closures are necessary. And the residents are here
because they know that the violent crimes are out of control. These street closures would not
only create a safe environment so that the kids with play and run and have a good time in their
own neighborhoods, but it also will limit the access ofpeople corning through there doing
drive -by shootings, running, and then shooting and jumping in cars. This would -- this will help
us with that issue. I'm willing to use any of my homeland defense dollars, nay bond improvement
dollars just to create temporary closures. But don't want this to he another year before we're
talking about closures. I want to do this in the next 30 days. We cannot afford -- people need to
see that the City took immediate action and something changed, whether or not it's planters to
close them off, barricades, whatever it takes, but just so that they feel that something has
changed. I've asked Sarah, which is the chairperson of the Resident [sic] Council, to at least
bring a quick comment, if ,you don't mind, Commissioner -- or Chairman Sarnoff, because I think
it's important for you to hear from them. But Pm just -- I've been full all weekend on this issue.
And I cannot see another Sherdavia Jenkins. 1 cannot see another Jay Rock. I cannot see
another Dantrell. I cannot see another kid get shot down, Rakiya (phonetic), none of them get
shot down senselessly' because of these guns. So, Sarah, if you could take a minute just to put
your support for the street closures and just anything that you'd like to say to the Commissioners.
Sarah Smith: Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and to all the Commissioners. My name is Sarah
Smith. I'm president of Liberty Square Tenant Council. As the Commissioner was saying, this
has been a struggle that I've been trying to get and a piece of the puzzle that I've been trying to
put together for the last ten years. Unfortunately, the last incident that happened wasn't the first.
This was ever since 2008 we've been asking for closures where we could be able to deter some of
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the traffic, some of the drive -by shootings, and some of the killings that's been going on in our
community. Everybody that's over there in our development where we live is not bad people. We
have law-abidingpeople. We have working class womens [sic] that's there that's trying to raise
their kids. Most of us on low income, true enough, but then that doesn't make us a bad person
either. We just trying to struggle to, you know, make ends meet. We're voters. We do make sure
we go out and put elective candidates in place where they need to be in place. Right now we're
asking for the support of the City of Miami and through the County. We're really trying to hold
HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) and Metro -Dade housing agency
responsible for all o f this that's been occurring over there, because somebody has to have a heart
and step up and let these people know that we care. 1 can't do it by myself. I'm always on TV
(Television) advocating that. I'm always asking that the violence stop. I'm always asking for
peace. I'm always advocating peace. But we need someone to help us right now. We can't do it
by ourself: Right now I'm a small person. I might not have the finances and everything I need in
place to get it closed 'cause if I had it, I would have did it yesterday myself: I'm asking fin -
brighter lights --
Applause.
Ms. Smith: -- in our community. I'm asking -Pr the closure of all the alleys. I'm asking for speed
bumps on the main avenues to slow down the traffic. I'm asking for more police vigilance. I'm
asking for anybody that want to stand up out there with us and walk through there and try to
advocate for us to be able to have a safe environment. I'm always open to any ideas that 1
haven't thought of, really, just to try to get some peace over there. It's scary. Me, myself, I walk
the streets to different people house 'cause they're scared. They call me out of my own home. It's
not like I'm corning there to visit there 'cause I'm saying I'm the president of Tenant Council; I
live there. I'm there 24 hours. So nobody don't have to tell me what's going on; I'm living it
every day. It's like I'm on a battlefield. I was a victim of once, 2008. I was shot up on my porch
advocating, for stop the shooting. When Sherdavia got shot, 1 got shot. It wasn't headline or
anything, but I ain't let it stop me not one time for trying to push for safetiness [sic] and*
health and well living because just because we live over there, it doesn't mean we have to be
living in ghetto, dirtiness, none of that, no. I still stand up and I still brush myself off and I still
try to stay there to help the people that needed help, 'cause I could have been gone way long time
ago but I choose not to. I choose to help the ones that can't help thevself [sic]. So I'm just
asking for support this afternoon. I'm asking that the pilot programs and stuff that we're trying
to put together, that y'all please consider it for us. And we -- right now we just need any kind of
moral support, financial support, whatever that it takes for us to put these things in place so we
can make it a better place for us at this moment 'cause it's getting worser [sic] and worser [sicJ.
Thank you.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thank you, Ms. Sarah.
Applause.
Chair Sarnof f: Commissioner --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff. -- I mean, the thing we should be saying up here is, obviously, to close a County
street, you have to get -- I'm sorry -- whether this is a County or City street, you have to --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: It hoth. There's some City and County streets in there.
Chair Sarnoff • -- you would have to get the County to -- they'll do a traffic study, which is not
what you want to hear.
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: Well, we -- let me -- it's already done.
Chair Sarnoff: And it -- did they get permission?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: We've all -- I mean, this has been done, like Sarah says, since
really -- it goes hack a while, 2000 -- The City and the County has already sat down. We already
know where the closures go. We know all of that. Right now, you know, it's just a matter of us
using the dollars right now temporarily. Thu know when we have to go through this whole
process of CIP (Capital Improvements Program), sometimes it takes even longer. So the --
Commissioner Suarez: Discussion.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- reason why I'm bringing it up now is I can't wait, you know, 90
days from now 'cause it'll he a new shooting, so what I'm asking for is for us to get temporary
street closures so at least --
Chair Sarnoff • Yeah, Jersey harriers.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. Just so that the people in the community knows that we
reacted immediately. Because by the time Igo and get, you know --
Chair Sarnoff: Mr. Manager, do we now have Jersey barriers at our disposal? 1 could tell you
where they are at GSA (General Services Administration) in case you're wondering. I know of 15
Jersey harriers. Don't know if that's enough. Don't know if that's all they have. But when I was
out there, there were 15 Jersey barriers on the northeast section of the corn -- of the property.
And I know that for nae, on one occasion, you put three Jersey harriers up. And I'd ask you to do
every Jersey harrier in our arsenal for wherever it is that you think you can start creating a safe
zone and keep expanding that safe zone, Chief: And I say to each and every Commissioner, a
hundred cops. Maybe we do a surge in Liberty City and we put 20 cops, you know, so they can
all see each other. Because I'll tell you what, you're not going to shoot where you see a cop --
Commissioner Suarez: Absolutely.
Chair Sarnoff: -- because you guys won't allow that to happen.
Applause.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So if ,you guys -- just real fast just, Chief, I know on the street
closures, I know that you've heen working closely with us. If you could just put something on the
record on -- and 1 just want to make sure 1 got their support over the next 30 days, whatever it
takes, you know, to make it look attractive in whatever way we can, 'cause I don't want to just
throw something up there that's not attractive either. So whether or not they're planters, we'll
figure out what that is. But I just wanted you to put on record, you know, your support of it.
Manuel Orosa (Chief of Police): Commissioner, the police department, a long time ago, I want
to say about probably 10 years ago, looked at the -- this matter and everything was ready to go;
and at that time, there was some residents that were opposed to it so everything was stopped.
Now that we have everybody's support, we're willing to go forward with it. Jersey harriers are
not going to look pretty. What would recommend is we can do the Jersey barriers for now until
we have an opportunity to purchase something similar, like the DDA (Downtown Development
Authority) purchase those big beautiful --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Planters.
Chief Orosa: -- the planters. You can fill them halfway with concrete and the rest soil and
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landscaping and it'll look pretty.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Chief Orosa: But well get together and we'll determine exactly what we need so that we have
one entrance, one exit into the Square.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, great. The second thing, really fast, I just wanted to
mention -- and this is piggybacking off of Commissioner Suarez's -- we did talk, the chief and I,
about perhaps putting together a pilot program. in Liberty City since that's where we have more
of the shootings take place. And I don't know if Major McQueen is still here. But we talked
about a zone that we would do, the shot -- what is it? Why do I keep calling it shot callers? It's
called shot --
Commissioner Suarez: It's ShotSpotter. ShotSpotter.
Chief Orosa: Right.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: ShotSpotter and license tracker.
Chief Orosa: Yeah. I submitted to the Administration early part of this week a memo basically
pointing out the good and bad parts that we saw in ShotSpotter. But I think ShotSpotter would
be a good situation if we can attach to it CCTV (Closed -Circuit Television) cameras and as well
as license plate readers. There are grants out there for license plate readers. My staff went on
yesterday, actually, to Hialeah to take a look at their system. It's a great system. It's $25, 000
per camera. I'm suggesting like 10 cameras. We can put it nearby the Square and in the
entrance and exit of 1-95. And, basically, the way it would work is ShotSpotter would look at the
-- make the alert of the shot, CCTV cameras would turn towards that area, and then the license
plate readers can read the license plates in the surrounding neighborhoods, especially if
somebody jumps on 1-95 to do a getaway, we would have that information. So at least we're
looking, for example, for a black Impala. We search far black Impalas; got it on the license plate
reader; got the tag. We can research who owns the car, if it's stolen or not, and basically track
down the culprit a lot faster.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. So I just wanted to make sure I have the support. And if
the chief can bring back at the next City Commission -- 'cause I'm sure, Mr. Manager, there still
has to be a process. So if we can bring that back in front of the Commission, because we do still
need to know what the fiscal impact that is going to be. I would like for you to bring it back so
that that is something that we put in motion as well. The other -- third thing that I wanted to
mention to my fellow Commissioners -- we've been talking about this for a while, which is the
issue of trackers. And there is a dispute as to whether or not there was officers within the vicinity
at the time of the shooting or not. I know that, for instance, chief I was there last night and I
was walking in the area myself by myself with a group of the residents, and I was there for at
least -- maybe about an hour and a half, and during that hour and a half that I was there, I didn't
see not one police officer at that particular time. Not saying anything negative. I'm just letting
you know. And after a major shooting like that takes place, the one thing you want the residents
to feel is there's enough coverage and there's enough presence of them being there. So one of the
things that I think is important and I wanted to share with the Commissioners, I think it's
important that we look at the technology of trackers to make sure the officers are staying in those
particular zones so that when something does happen, then it's -- we know at least where they
are. I know that you've already started your research even hefore I mentioned this today so I, at
least, wanted the residents to hear that you're already doing it and what's the progress or process
on that.
Chief Orosa: There's -- I have to go next week to a local agency that has a tracker system to take
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a look at exactly how everything works. There's many out there. There are GPSs (Global
Positioning Systems) and there's trackers. The one I am going to go look, it's about $80 a unit
and $100 installation and then there's a monitoring -- a small monitoring fee. But the good
thing about this tracker is that it's installed inside the dash of the car where nobody can get to it
and it can tell you when you open and close your police car door; that accurate. So we're going
to he looking into that, as well as other units. What -- I've looked at other units, but it goes
mounted in the engine department and, you know, someone can tamper with it.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Chief Orosa: So I want something that's tamper -proof.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So is this a 30-day, 60-day before you --?
Chief Orosa: No, I'm going next week. And then as soon as I get all the information, I will
provide a memorandum to the City Manager an what 1 found and the findings.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: All right.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnaff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: Can we get a copy of that as well, because I didn't get a copy of the
ShotSpotter memorandum?
Chief Orosa: Okay, I'll get you a copy.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Vice Chair Gort: You know, that's a great idea. And being a pilot program, once we see it
works, we can implement it in other neighborhoods where we have the similar problems.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah.
Vice Chair Gort: Now my question to you is is the County police --
Applause.
Tice Chair Gort: -- it's close by or it's a part of the perimeter?
Chief Orosa: We've met with the County, School Board, and ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms).
We're starting to he more involved in the Square from 10 in the morning till about 5 o'clock in the
morning; people are more vulnerable, getting shot from midnight to four o'clock in the morning,
so that's what we're going to he doing. And we're going to he rotating groups of officers into the
Square. And then ATF will try to do some gun operations, as well as taking -- whatever guns we
get off the street, try to get federal charges on individuals. The County is going to beef up their
efforts in their nearby Brownsville area and nearby -- want to say just west of the City in the 40th
Mock to about 62nd block. That's where they're having the most of their problems. They're
going to beef up that area. And then (UNINTELLIGIBLE), the united gang taskforce, they're
going to he involved as well, coming into the Square and outside. And my main focus -- and I
told the whole group -- is that I do not avant to be an occupation army there in the Square. Ijust
want policemen walking around being friendly with neighbors and residents and getting to know
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people.
Applause.
Chief Orosa: I do not want anything to go wrong and then the Police Department is seen as an
occupation army. I just don't want that. So we're going to he doing several of these operations
within the next few months until we can get the barricades in order and do everything we need to
do to get things to calm down. We also contacted the School Board because there's a lot of
teachers that are aware of what's going on with kids hecause kids talk in the hallways. We need
those teachers to come forward and tell the School Board so they can tell us of any type of
problems; that Johnny and Jimmy got involved in alight and now they're posting that they're
going to shoot each other. We need that information to try to stop that information. So that is
something the School Board's going to help us with as well.
Vice Chair Gorr': Thank you.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And last but not least, Mr. Chairman, I think that all these things
we're talking about are the after-effects of the violence. One of the things that I would like to do
-- and I know that the chief and I have talked about, but I want to have my fellow colleagues
support -- is -- I think that intervention and prevention is extremely important. When these kids
commit offenses, first and second time offenders, there needs to he something that deals with
those kids immediately, and it needs to focus on kids that have a tendency to have guns or kids
that are already involved in gang activity. Part of the issue that I'm seeing and what Ion hearing
from many parents is that, for whatever reason, when that first or second time thing happens with
them, there's nothing in between there from an intervention side. And I know we look at stuff like
PAL (Police Athletic League) and we look at stuff like the police academy and those other
programs, hut there's some kids that are just not even in that -- they're not even in that lane.
These tough kids, the kids that you can't even get them to participate, we got to, figure out a way
to come up with programs or something, perhaps through LTF [sic], which is what I'm making a
suggestion for. I've been asking for you to come back and let me know whatever resources we do
have left through LEFT [sic], LFT -- LTF -- did I say it right?
Chief Orosa: It's LETF (Law Enforcement Trust Fund).
Commissioner Spence -Jones: You know what I mean. To come back at the next City
Commission meeting and say, Commissioner, this is what we have to deal with, from a pilot
project standpoint, to really look at initiatives that are going to drill down and get those
tough -to -reach kids. Because at this point, if we don't come up with something for them and
those are the ones that are terrorizing the neighborhoods, then all the good kids that you're
trying to help with PAL are going to be shot down in the street anyway, you know.
Applause.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: So I would just like for you to he able to come back and say,
Commissioner, this is what we have. And I hope I have the support of my City Commissioners.
We got to figure out something else for these kids. And, Marc, when you showed -- one time you
asked, you know, to bring the arrests records to see the revolving door of some of these guys that
are going in and out. And one of the guys I believe you had on the list -- I don't know if you
realize this -- but one of them got arrested, got back out -- just got back out in January and has
been, you know, terrorizing some of the other younger kids, you know. So -- and he should have
never gotten out, right, chief? He should never even he out. And he much older than the 14,
15. He might be in his late 20s or early 30s. So my point is, you know, we got to start figuring
out -- if the older gang guys are going to have more for him to do, then we can't create something
for that kid, you know, as an alternative, he's going to go with the older gang guy. He's not
going to go with someone that, you know, can mentor him or take him out of that. So I really
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would like to make sure we come up with some sort of support to do a pilot project to address
those first- and second -time offenders on those issues.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff' You're recognized.
Chair Sarnof f: Ijust want to thank Commissioner Spence -Jones and I also want to thank the
chieffor taking a proactive approach --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: -- and getting personally involved, because I think it requires a very high
level of personal involvement from the chief because these are problems --
Applause.
Commissioner Suarez: -- that our lives depend on.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: And it's not only the lives that we're losing every day, but it's the peace of
mind of the people that live in those neighborhoods that can't live in peace, they can't live in
peace. And so I commend the Chairman for continually bringing up the issue. I commend
Commissioner Spence -Jones for taking up ShotSpotter and -- really, it's not about ShotSpotter
per se. It's about any sort of technology -- thinking outside of the box -- any technology that gets
us closer to solving the problem that we're having, the reoccurring problem that we're having of
constant daily shootings in our inner city, and it's something that we all have a responsibility to
do whatever we can in our power to solve the issue.
Applause.
Commissioner Suarez: Personally, we all should get involved. And I thank you, chief, for
personally getting involved in this issue because sometimes it takes your -- you know, the
personal involvement of the Chief of Police, you know, to get the resources that we need to solve
the problem. So thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: And --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Chair Sarnoff.' -- chief you did a memo, my favorite memo in the world, and you actually told us
what this cost. You actually told us what it cost for a person to he killed. You told us what it
would cost for a person to get shot. These are things that cost us hundreds. I think it -- IfI
remember, the murder was a million dollars per murderer. So we know we have 200 murders on
average -- 1 think I got that one right, and you didn't come out of your boots this time -- in the
City of Miami on an annual basis. We know that's $200 million right there. So, you know,
everything we're doing, Mr. Manager, you know, I know it's cause and effect, but you have to try
some things to see if have an effect, so now you have your cause. So I think everybody here
supports this, Commissioner.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thank you so much.
Applause.
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Chair Sarnof: And, you know, I was even going to say if the County didn't even approve the
street closure --
Vice Chair Gort: We'll --
Chair Sarnoff.' -- we can do an act of civil disobedience, close the street and --
Applause.
Chair Sarnoff: -- you know -- But the good news is --
Commissioner Suarez: That will he fun.
Chair Sarnof f: -- I don't have to get arrested because, apparently, they have done that already
and that would have been my first act of civil disobedience, just want to say, hut it good to see
that. So thankyou Jor bringing it up.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I appreciate. And I want to just say to my fellow Commissioners, I
really, really appreciate your support. I really wanted the residents to see that you're behind
them and that, you know, when they hurt, we hurt, you know. And that they are citizens of our
area, and I wanted them to see that there's a real commitment to make it happen. And Mr. City
Manager, we look, forward to working with you. And Public Works -- I don't know where Zerry
is. Somebody did mention something about the lighting, which is a big issue. That's Zerty aver
there. Mr. Manager, if we can -- we don't want it to be a 45-day thing. We want it to be like a
next 72-hour thing, that we literally go in there and look how dark it is in the Square to
immediately address the issue of the lighting with Florida Power and Light because it's extremely
too dark. And guess what, I know the officers don't want to have to walk in that dark, dark area.
So that's something that if we can have the City Manager work along with them to do that. And
then, also, as far as street closures are concerned, Zerry, if you can work along with Police,
because we're going to need Public Works, chief to do that. We can't do that without Zer ty. If
we can work on getting that plan together almost immediately so that we don't have that as an
issue. And then in our last CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) meeting for those that were
not there, hut I believe Suarez and --
Chair Sarnoff • Gort.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- Gort were there, we did talk about doing the same similar pilot
in OT, in Overtown, but doing it through the CRA so we're not using our dollars from the City to
do that, chief So I'm assuming when you put shot callers -- what is it called? Shot trackers.
Chief Orosa: Spotter.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Shot --
Commissioner Suarez: ShotSpotter.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: ShotSpotter.
Chief Orosa: Spotter, the tracker.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: whatever.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Trackers, spotters, but for the Overtown area; that we would want
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to do the same thing in the OT area 'cause we are getting a lot of shootings there. And I see
Gomez is standing at alert when he hears OT. So we would definitely, like -- want to be able to --
ifyou're going to do it for -- putting that in motion in that area, we want to he ahle to do that in
OT as well.
Chief Orosa: We will provide two different proposals based on the needs of the Square and the
needs of 3rd Avenue and 2nd Avenue, that area.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, great.
Chair Sarnoff • All right.
Chief Orosa: Can I --
Chair Sarnoff: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) move along.
Chief Orosa: -- clarif}' something?
Chair Sarnoff.' No, chief.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Sure.
Chief Orosa: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff.' You're a good guy.
Chief Orosa: For some reason, you keep saying we got 200 murders and --
Chair Sarnoff: Am 1 wrong on that?
Chief Orosa: Yeah.
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: What's the --?
Commissioner Car•ollo: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: What is the number?
Chief Orosa: Sixty-six we had last year.
Chair Sarnoff: I apolo -- I really do apologize. I thought I had actually --
Chief Orosa: I don't want to alarm people. You know, even though --
Chair Sarnoff: You're right, you're right. 1 don't --
Chief Orosa: -- 66 is had enough --
Chair Sarnoff: -- I don't need to --
Chief Orosa: -- but 200 --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And every time --
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Chair Sarnof: Where's the Herald? Can you just -- can you excise that part out: Sarnoff got
wrong 200 murders? Okay, thanks.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Every time you --
Commissioner Suarez: Strike it.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- do that, you know --
Chair Sarnoff: They don't give me any breaks over there.
Commissioner Suarez: Strike it from the record.
Chair Sarnof f: Right, right, right, strike 'ilium the record.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thank you.
Vice Chair Gort: I only have one question.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thank you, residents.
Vice Chair Gort: My understanding, there's the first offender -- there's a program. that exist
already. Maybe that should be expand with the school system and Miami Dade College working
with us.
Chief Orosa: Yeah, but when you shoot somebody, they're --
Vice Chair Gort: No, 1 understand. But when she was talking about the other kids --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, the ones --
Chief Orosa: Yeah.
Vice Chair Gort: -- that had the major problems --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- that are hanging out with those gangs.
Vice Chair Gort: -- that we can work with them.
Chief Orosa: Okay. There's a whole sort of different programs, but what 1 think the
Commissioner is going to is that when these kids come out of jail because they were involved in a
shooting and they did their time or for whatever reason, they go back to the same --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thing.
Vice Chair Gort: Oh, you're talking about those --
Chief Orosa: -- situation, same atmosphere, and that's when we need a -- something to mentor
these kids and change their minds.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. Or -- I'm sorry. Or if they're hanging out with some of the
kids that have gotten in trouble that may have been a part of the shooting and they may not have
been the shooter and we recognize that this kid or the parent recognize my kid is having an issue,
then he -- she can refer someone there to help. And I think part of the problem is there's no --
there's nothing to fill in the gap.
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Chair Sarnoff: Okay. All right, let's get back on schedule.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thank you, guys.
NA.2 DISCUSSION ITEM
13-00308
COMMISSIONER CAROLLO ACKNOWLEDGED THE PRESENCE, IN THE
MIAMI CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, OF STATE SENATOR MIGUEL
DIAZ DE LA PORTILLAAND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER CARLOS
CURBELO.
DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Carollo is recognized for the record.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman, Ijust wanted to acknowledge and recognize State
Senator Miguel Diaz de la Portilla and School Board member, Carlos Curbelo.
Chair Sarnoff: There you are. Good to see you guys.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
NA.3 RESOLUTION
13-00255
District 2-
Commissioner Marc
David Sarnoff
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING A ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY (180) DAY
EXTENSION OF TIME FOR THE CLOSURE OF A PORTION OF AN ALLEY,
PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION NO. 08-0615, ADOPTED OCTOBER 23, 2008,
FURTHER AMENDED PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION NO. 12-0423,
ADOPTED OCTOBER 25, 2012, LOCATED BETWEEN NORTH MIAMI
AVENUE AND NORTHWEST MIAMI COURT, NORTH OF NORTHWEST 20
STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, SET TO EXPIRE ON FEBRUARY 28, 2013,
ASSOCIATED WITH THE PLAT ENTITLED "MIAMI SUN PLAT".
13-00255-Legislation.pdf
13-00255-Exhibit A.pdf
13-00255-Exh i b itB. pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnotf Carollo and Spence -Jones
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Suarez
R-13-0071
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioners, I have a pocket item. It is a resolution of the City of Miami, with
attachments, granting an additional 180-day extension, which, if you remember back in October
23 -- back in October 25, 2012, we did, pursuant to a resolution number 08-0615, pursuant to --
which was the previous resolution, 12-0423, which was again adopted October 25, 2012, for a
lot located between North Miami Avenue and Northwest Miami Court, Northwest 20th Street,
Miami, Florida. That was -- that will he set to expire on February 28. And it's just a 180-day
extension in which to allow them to plat.
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Commissioner Carollo: Move it.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion by Commissioner Carollo.
Tice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnof f: Second by Commissioner Gort. Any discussion?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just wanted to have clarity. I know this is actually in your -- it's
actually in your district. Is this the waste area? Ijust want to be clear.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah. Well, I don't -- yes. I didn't want to call it that, but yes, it's --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff • Yes. It's an alley closure. They want to be able to close an alley.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. And -- so we're just giving them a --?
Chair Sarnoff: Just giving them an extension of time that was granted to them. --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: -- Commissioner, back on a full vote -- not fitll vote -- full presentation October
23, 2008. They -- it was about to expire October 25, 2012. We granted them an extension. I
believe as a result of the lawyer having to move offices, they didn't get it done in time. We're just
giving him an additional --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnof f: -- 180 days to do it.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No problem.
Tucker Gibbs: Mr. Chairman, may I speak to this?
Chair Sarnof f: It's not a public hearing.
Mr. Gibbs: 1 asked that l can speak to it, though.
Chair Sarnoff. I know, and it's not a public hearing.
Mr. Gibbs: So you're telling me I can't speak to this?
Chair Sarnoff: I'mjust saying it's not a public hearing. What is there to speak to?
Mr. Gibbs: I had represented a group of neighbors this particular piece of property.
Chair Sarnof f: So you're speaking despite the fact there's no public hearing?
Mr. Gibbs: I'd like to at least let the Commission know --
Chair Sarnoff. I'm not going to grant you a public hearing. If anybody else in this Commission
wants to grant you a public hearing, I'll let them do it.
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: Marc.
Mr. Gibbs: Okay, if that's the position.
Chair Sarnoff' All right. So all in favor, please say aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Sarnoff: Thanks.
NA.4 DISCUSSION ITEM
13-00309
DISCUSSION REGARDING THE UPCOMING CITY ATTORNEY
VACANCY.
13-00309-Submittal-Report-Proposed Plan to Fill City Attorney Vacancy.pdf
DISCUSSED
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And then the other thing thatl had as a part of the succession
plan was the City Attorney's vacancy. I know that -- I'm in support of what she's proposing. I
believe her and Julie had an opportunity to go through those items. I'm assuming that the other
Commissioners have gotten copies of this. Okay, all right. So it's basically just a job
announcement, and I believe that Julie and Beverly have kind of gone through the three major
points on it. And then I love the idea that they have a timeline in place for recruitment, which I
think is important. Of course, we don't have to stick to these timelines. We don't even have to
discuss them today. We can take them and digest them and he ready to go through them on -- by
the next Commission meeting. I'm fine with that. But what Beverly is suggesting, just so that we
have enough time to breathe on this process, is to really start the recruitment period, starting on
the 4th, which is actually Monday. That would -- about a month to actually recruit. And then on
the 14th --
Chair Sarnoff It's like a win and lost thing here. That's page 9. I like that.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And then on the 14 -- I mean, on the 14th, when we come back
together, we should all have -- he prepared to provide our selection committee appointees.
Chair Sarnoff March 14?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, March 14th.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. So I want to thank Beverly --
Chair Sarnoff So we should be prepared for the -- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you. We
should be prepared to have our appointees.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: We should have our appointee at the --
Vice Chair Gort: March 14, yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
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Commissioner Spence -Jones: March 14. I want to thank Beverly. I want to thank Julie. I know
they've worked together to kind of pull this all together, but it seems like it's a pretty tight, you
know, process, and I know that even with our process, sometimes we tend to go beyond the
timelines, but at least we have a. framework.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnof f: You're recognized for the record.
Commissioner Suarez: First of all, I want to commend Commissioner Spence -Jones. I honestly
-- initially when you brought it up as a pocket -- as a discussion item, I thought that it was --,for
whatever reason, I thought the time was a little premature, but then I realize that --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: It's not premature.
Commissioner Suarez: -- it's not at all premature. And 1 commend you, for this 'cause this is a
very detailed -- in terms of our three constitutional officers that we've changed, this is the one --
you know, this is the most detailed I've seen in terms of you know, a timeline to get there. I only
have one -- and I just got this by the way, so I haven't -- I don know if want us to make -- if
we would have an opportunity to go through this.
Commissioner Carollo: Practice makes perfect.
Commissioner Suarez: What's that?
Commissioner Carollo: Practice makes perfect.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. I don't know ifyou'll give us an opportunity to go through this and
maybe make some comments, but just one thing that I saw, which is, you know -- I mean, id like
to have an opportunity to go through this at least before --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, that's fine.
Commissioner Carollo: That's good.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: That -- I mean --
Commissioner Suarez: If that's okay?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: And, again, the whole idea is that this is a recruitment timeline
that we can make some adjustments on. So why don't we just make the adjustments -- the time on
it to -- by the 14th at least have it come back and then the recruitment period will start after that.
Commissioner Suarez: I think that makes sense.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'm fine.
Commissioner Suarez: That's good.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Not a problem.
Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Because it's a lot to digest so --
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Commissioner Suarez: It is.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- that's fine.
Tice Chair Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Gort's recognized.
Vice Chair Gort: I would like to add the advertising, the Miami -Dade County League of City
[sic].
Ms. Pruitt: Miami -Dade County --
Vice Chair Gort: County League of Cities.
Ms. Pruitt: League of Cities.
Vice Chair Gort: I know they have monthly forums for attorneys and they have special
committee that deal with them all the time. I think, Julie, you have been there, right?
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Anything else, Commissioner?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No.
Vice Chair Gort: I second.
NA.5 DISCUSSION ITEM
13-00310
DISCUSSION BY COMMISSIONER SUAREZ REGARDING CDBG
TIMELINESS ISSUES, WHICH HAVE JEOPARDIZED THE CITY OF
MIAMI'S ENTIRE FY 2013 CDBG ENTITLEMENT AWARD.
13-00310-Submittal-HUD Letter Dated 02-15-13.pdf
DISCUSSED
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'm -- no, I'm nut. Ijust wanted to make -- I know -- are you still
bringing up your CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) --?
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: That's going to he a long discussion?
Commissioner Suarez: I mean, I don't know if it's a long or short discussion but --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, I think we should take --
Commissioner Suarez: I'm going to bring it up. So I have a pocket item on it. I don't know if
--
you want to do it right now?
Chair Sarnoff' Sure.
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Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Commissioner Suarez: I'm fine with that.
Commissioner Carollo: Because she has to go.
Commissioner Suarez: Well, my discussion -- oh, before you leave. Okay, my discussion item is
basically surrounding the letter that we received from the federal government regarding
timeliness issues with nur expenditures of our CDBG funding. And what ltookfrnna the reading
of the letter to be, you know, a -- I don't want to say a threat, but definitely a federal
government's stern, you know, admonition that if we don't spend these monies timely, then our
future funding can he in jeopardy. And as we all know, that future funding is funding that
provides elderly meals for our seniors, it provides economic development for our community, it
provides affordable housing, and it also, in some cases, provides capital improvements. In my
case, you know, we had two cap -- basically, the balance of my unspent money was in two capital
improvement projects that were allocated several months ago. And 1 had a meeting recently with
our new Capital Improvements director, Mr. Spanioli, who acknowledged -- and this -- in
fairness to him -- He's been great since he's been here. He's been -- with me he's been great. In
fairness to him, this all predates him being here. And part of the issue is that we had monies that
were allocated, federal funds that were allocated for economic development dollars for months
sitting in an account, and he knows that I name my projects. They have B numbers for the
projects. I have like actual peoples' names. So one of the projects is Peggy Gonzalez, because
she was the one that called me when her house was almost under water during some massive
rain events that we had over the last couple of years. Another one is Marta Zayas, who lives in
--just west of 27th Avenue and just north of 8th Street that had a traffic calming/street paving
project that we had allocated funds to do for a while. We've now reallocated those funds, thanks
to the new Capital Improvement director, and we're now spending them west of 37th Avenue in
Gordon's, you know, area and Ernesto (UNINTELLIGIBLE). So, you know, I'm just very
concerned. Ida think this is a very serious issue. This is not something that we should not take
seriously. This is not something that we can simply dismiss. And it's a big concern. So I just
wanted to bring it to this Commission's attention, you know, and, you know, this Administration's
attention. Ijust do not fael that this is something that we should take lightly.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff. You're recognized for the record.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm getting mixed signals and I'll tell you
why. February 6 we were sent an e-mail (electronic), which I have, and we were all copied on it,
with regards to having -- stating HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) is
requesting a two- to three-hour workshop with Commissioners on February 21 to work with our
elected officials on how best the City can ensure that we meet the CDBG timeline test. I know
Commissioner Sarnoff was there for the first part and I stayed pretty much for the whole entire
part. That meeting was actually recorded through our City Clerk's office and we have the tape.
I'm not sure if my skiff is quite knowledgeable on how to play it, hut we have the tape. And I just
want to read to you at 10:06 what the representatives from HUD -- and 1 don't think they're
employees from HUD, but these are the representatives that they sent. The fact that we are here
offering technical assistance on this issue suggests that the Department recognizes --
Department, I would imagine, HUD -- that the progress the City has made in its performance is
satisfactory. If it were not, the department will he calling on you guys to come up with workout
plans and threatening sanctions. It is not. Then at one hour five minutes and twenty seconds of
that tape, Miami's performance is satisfactory. The last drawdown rate posted on HUD's web
site is 1.38 percent and the threshold is 1.5 percent, so you have not crossed the threshold that
will cause HUD to say you need to develop a plan. So I'm seeing mixed signals here. Because I
am asked, in good faith, to go to a meeting with HUD or the representatives of HUD; they
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clearly stipulate this because I asked them. I pointblank asked them. These were their response
and it's on tape. I don't know if Judy or Jeff or my staff could play the tape for you, but we have
the times. This is what was stated. Sn, you know, I'in a little baffled, you know. I'm a little
baffled because there's miscommunication. This is not even to get into what I'm sure Mr.
Mensah, Mr. Duran will say with regards to the cut in funding that automatically through off the
formula.
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: So that's not even to say that. But here we have the representatives that
requested a meeting with us stating that we're -- our performance is satisfactory, and that is
recorded by our City Clerk's office. Therefore -- try it Judy. If you give us a second, we'll try
and see if we could put the recording so you could -- And mind you, we're not IT (Information
Technology) specialists or anything. We just requested, you know, public information from our
City Clerk's office. Try and see if we can play the tape. And the first time is ten minutes and zero
seconds.
Vice Chair Gort: By the way, George, that's a nice tie.
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: And the reason they answered is is because I asked them point-blank: Is
this for us to see how -- make sure we -- you know, we can work out the timeliness issue? Is this
-- you know, where are we? And this is what they answered. Ten minutes and zero six seconds.
(At this time an audio recording is played.)
Commissioner Carollo: Performance is satisfactory.
(Audio recording continued)
Commissioner Carollo: I know it's hard to tell because, you know -- and I -- again, we're not IT
specialists, but it's there. I mean, they clearly said that we are performing satisfactory. And the
,fact that, you know, there's any -- there's no -- that they're not asking us for any workout or any
threatening sanctions, which they are not, so I'm a little baffled here. You know, where are we?
They requested a meeting with us for two or three hours. I attended for at least two hours, two
and a half hours, somewhere around there, and this is what they're telling us. So, you know,
there's some miscommunications here.
Mr. Mensah: George Mensah, director of Community Development. The statement that you --
was heard, it really happened. It was true. I believe that the issue came because the consultants
who were there representing HUD probably didn't have the exact information, the true
information. That's the reason why -- I don't know if were there at that time. That's the
reason why at the end of that -- before the end of that meeting, we gave then this same letter to
them so that they realize that it's gone over and above what they stated on the record. So we've
had timeliness problems and 1 know that from the last e-mail (electronic) that 1 sent or memo that
I send to City Commission was in, I believe, June -- July of last year. I sent a memo to the City
Commission to indicate that we have a timeliness problems and I indicated what the cost was
and what we're doing to try to resolve it. From that time I knew perfectly well that we were not
meeting the timeliness. In nay -- I've had conversations with HUD in their field office in Miami.
I have conversation with HUD in Washington, DC (District of Columbia), that the City will not
meet timeliness. It's just not the City of Miami. Miami -Dade County did not meet timeliness.
They have to go through the same thing that we went through in January. Obviously, the Miami
Herald didn't know that because for whatever reason, it never appeared in the papers.
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Commissioner Carollo: And mind you, Mr. Mensah, in that tape, they also say that. They
actually say we did -- we're doing a lot better than most other municipalities, so it's actually
there.
Mr. Mensah: Exactly.
Commissioner Carollo: It says -- and it's in the tape.
Mr. Mensah: But, unfortunately, we get a letter and then it's like, you know, everybody see it.
Now, HUD recognizes this issue because HUD knows that those of us in the southern part of
Florida, we have cuts of 40 percent -- up to 40 percent. Hialeah had a cut of 50 percent. So by
just reducing the allocation by itself, you automatically put everything already out of
compliance. I don't --just don't have to do anything because you are spending at a certain rate.
The moment your funding get cut, you automatically get out of compliance, and that is basically
what happened to the City ofMiami and a lot of other cities in the country. For that reason, the
OIG (Office of Inspector General) for HUD is going around cities interviewing everybody -- and
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) interviewed -- to find out what is common between everyone. That is what
happen? Why everyone -- most cities having these issues, and they all come to the same
conclusion. One, because of the fact that the reduction in CDBG -- automatically, whether you
are spending your money or not, you automatically get above the required 1.5 ratio. In addition,
HUD provided the funding too late into the year. For example, our funding comes in --
supposed to come in April 1. In April 1 we don't have the funds. So even though the City
Commission make allocation, you can't spend a dime until July when you get the money in your
account. So you cannot spend it. There other issues are the fact that -- or I should I say, the
most -- the one that really, really hurting us is just that reduction in the -- So that's the reason
why we are where we are. If we are receiving $8.5 million like we did in the last two, three years,
we wouldn't have heen in this problem. So I just avant you to know that is the reason.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair; if I may?
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. No. I mean, I -- and appreciate the Commissioner's input
on this issue because -- 1 mean, 1 read the letter, you know, which is dated February 15, and the
letter is very specific. It says that, you know, the most that we can have -- in Director Mensah's
defense, he's been talking about this for months. You've been talking about this --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: You brought this up for months. And we are -- and I don't -- and I give
you the benefit. I don't know what -- how other cities are doing in comparison to the City of
Miami, but we're almost double what -- we're at 2.67 times, you know, our -- the amount of
money, you know, and we're supposed to have one point -- at most, 1.5. So we're almost double.
And the letter very clearly states, irrespective of what the consultants who were at that meeting
said, which, by the way, I don't think they work for HUD. Do they? They do workfor HUD?
Mr. Mensah: They were hired by HUD.
Vice Chair Gort: They're consultants.
Commissioner Suarez: They're hired by HUD, okay, but they don't workfor HUD.
Commissioner Carollo: And it was my understanding that HUD requested this meeting with us.
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Commissioner Suarez: Look, I would -- in fact, I think here the subject of the letter is offer of
informal consultation of noncompliance.
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Commissioner Suarez: But my point is that the letter is clear. It says that we are not to have
more than one and half times our annual grant remaining on our line of credit and we're at 2.67.
And that if we continue along this path, it says HUD has a long-standing policy of reducing the
future year's grant of a grantee that continues to be untimely.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: I mean, that to me is -- that's what -- to me -- look, to me the issue is
severe. It's a -- it's an issue you've been talking about fir a while.
Mr. Mensah: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: I don't think it's one that we can ignore. At some point when you get
beyond 2.67 and you're at 3.1 or you're at 3.2 or you're at 3.7, at some point HUD is going to do
something. By the way, when I event up to Washington the first time -- you were there and other
members of our Commission were there -- HUD was like hostile. They were downright hostile to
the City of Miami. So it seem to me -- Igot -- when we were going up on the expansion of the
cap, of the public service cap, and they didn't seem to me to he very cooperative or very
sympathetic. You know, we tried everything but the kitchen sink to try to get that cap expanded.
And, you know, I'm just -- Ijust -- I'm very concerned that we're rubbing -- you know, or sticking
our nose in HUD's face if we don't do something about this, you know. And from my perspective,
my money's been allocated. So we need to get it spent so we can get this -- can't speak fir any
other Commissioner. I'm not here to speak about any other Commissioner or any other
Commission district. For me it's simply about my money. It was allocated. It's been allocated
for a long period of time. And when you see a problem like this and it's -- and you see a
situation -- and I talked to Mr. Spanioli about it. I said, look, there's a dual problem with this.
The first problem is we don get the capital improvement project that our community sorely needs,
you know, the streets, the sidewalks, the traffic circles, whatever it may be. And then we have a
dual problem, which is we accumulate these balances and we jeopardize our funding. So, you
know, there's a dual problem here from my perspective. I simply brought this up from my
perspective. I can't speak to any other district and I can't speak to any other city, to be honest
with you. I just think this is a problem that the director has been harping on and it's getting had.
It's got -- actually gotten worst. In 2011 it was 1.7; in 2012 it was 1.93; and in 2013 it's 2.67, so
we're almost at double the allowable amount. So we're not getting better; we're getting a lot
worse.
Mr. Mensah: Commissioner, I think there's one thing that -- what -- every statement that you
made there is exactly the fact as in the letter, hut think you have to realize something, and that
is, there's a point -- if, for example, next year we come and then HUD reduce our funding to $2
million, unfortunately, $2 million, our ratio, if —we do nothing --
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Mr. Mensah: -- will be maybe 5.
Commissioner Suarez: No, 1 understand.
Mr. Mensah: Because once you reduce the denominator, which is what -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
it automatically goes up. Now, we all recognize that and, like I said, you are aware that I've
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been talking about this for the last, you know, maybe 12 months. Now, we know that it is severe.
We not, you know, saying it's not severe. The -- when HUD came in at the meeting -- I think the
Commissioner can testi fv that HUD talked about this department, how good we are doing; we
are better than most other cities; that the Department, we have the capacity, the skill set, and
everything is there, and that we're doing very well. This issue, in some way, is a mathematical
issue. You're spending money -- let's say you spend $2 million every month. You can continue to
spend $2 million every month. Then all of a sudden HUD reduces the amount that you get. Now
all of a sudden you have to spend 3 million and meanwhile they've cut your budget so you have
less staff. We recognize that. They recognize that. These letters are letters that are sent to
everyone that HUD is issuing, including Miami -Dade County. What I'm saying is that we
recognize -- we're not saying that it's not a big issue.
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Mr. Mensah: And we are addressing it. And I have staff that I'm going to take, some that I can
do operationally, some that 1 will probably will need the City Commission to act on it so that 1
will he able to ensure that we don'tfind ourself in this situation.
Commissioner Suarez: No. And what Pm saying is that it -- I'm not blaming your department in
any way, shape, or form. 'Cause what I'ni -- what I was identifying is a different department
where the money had heen allocated to to do the work and it had accumulated a balance in my
particular district. So it's not -- I'm not -- like 1 said, I'm not criticizing your department. I'm not
criticizing this city versus other cities. And you're probably right in terms of the mathematical
quirk that when you reduce the allocation, the reserve automatically goes higher, but that just
means you have to have more pressure to actually spend the money because --
Mr. Mensah: Which we are doing.
Commissioner Suarez: Which we have to do. I mean, it is what it is. I mean -- but my point here
is that I don't think we should -- the trend is negative. Irrespective of the fact that our allocations
have gone down, it's a negative trend. It's getting, in my opinion -- even though, you know, Pm
not an expert and I haven't compared it to other cities, it's getting to he almost double what's
allowable. And if we continue the trend, they're warning us very clearly in black and white. We
can't get upset later, you know, if somebody comes back -- and by the way, we met with the
undersecretary of HUD, whose name was Miriam Marcus -- I don't know if she's still there --
n'hen we met in Washington, DC (District of Columbia). But they're warning us very, very
sternly, very clearly. HUD has a long-standing policy of reducing the future year's grant of a
grantee that continues to he untimely. I don't know why they would write this letter, which it
goes to Commissioner Carnllo's point. I don't know why they would write this letter and then go
to a meeting and make essentially what amounts to be a -- kind of a contrary statement. To me,
as a lawyer, I always worry about what's in writing.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: And I'm glad that it was on the minutes because at least we have it
recorded. But, you know, if this trend continues and it gets worse and worse and worse, I'm in
fear that -- we're not a city -- we struggle to subsidize our -- the reductions in our CDBG
program and we have struggled with it all up here. And, you know, I don't want to find myself in
a situation where HUD comes down and lays down the boom and we say, you know -- we don't
have any other excuse at that point.
Alice Bravo (Assistant City Manager/Chief of Infrastructure): And, Commissioner, I assure you,
we're going to do everything possible not only to spend down the funds that are in place but to
work with the Administration in Washington to explain our situation, and if they keep reducing
the funds, then that correlates with the increasing ratio. So we're going to do everything within
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our power to ensure that our funding is not removed.
Commissioner Suarez: And by the way, like I was saying, this is not exclusively a CD
(Community Development) problem. This is about also communicating department to
department. If -- when the new CIP (Capital Improvements Program) director came and we went
over all our allocations and we went over all our projects, that's when we discovered that this
money had been basically idle and hadn't been used and hadn't been started on a project, and
there was an outside reason, but that had not been communicated either to us or to CD or to
anybody. So we had to work through all that. And we had to move the money from one project,
from Marta Zayas, to the other project, which was Gordon, okay, and now it's being used. 1t
started -- the project started in February. But the departments have to communicate with each
other. There's no reason why -- and maybe I'm a perfectionist. There's no reason why we should
be close to two times the allowable level, irrespective of the fact that it's reduced, irrespective of
the fact that maybe other cities, by comparison, are better or worse. To me it's not about other
cities. It's about Allowing the rules. We should he within the threshold. We shouldn't he at the
maximum of 1.5. We should be well within it. We certainly shouldn't be double. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff.� All right. Anyone else?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No. Ijust wanted to echo Commissioner Suarez. I think all of us
feel the same way, that this is no reflection of George leadership, nor Mr. Duran, and all the
folks that work with you. We know you work very hard to get things done. And 1 think that
Commissioner Suarez has mentioned some very good points. Some of those projects that are
capital improvement projects, a lot of times they're very difficult to move. I do want to say this,
though. We need to also make sure that if we have projects or we have monies that's sitting there
for each one of our allocations, that we move the money. I don't have a -- George, you know I
never have a problem with trying to make sure money gets spent in my district, hut all of us have
to do the same thing, everybody sitting up here. When George is begging us to spend the money
down, spend the money down, spend the money down, we need to spend the money down. So I
think responsibility does lie all around. We all have to, you know, take responsibility as well
because at the end (tithe day, whatever we're not doing as district Commissioners as well affects
the whole entire City. So, yes, CIP has to do what CIP has to do. Yes, that is true. You know,
yes, you know, there's things that we need to tighten up from the standpoint of the department to
move things maybe perhaps quicker, but us as Commissioners, we all have our own allocations
for our district. We have to do our parts to make sure we spend that money down too.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnof: You're recognized. Commissioner Carollo and then corning hack to
Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Two things. One is with regards to spend the money down
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Do you need me to stay (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Commissioner Carollo: Not really.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: 'Cause what's happening is that, yeah, we do allocate the money, you
know, but the truth of the matter is there's about 12,000 -- $12 million that have spend the money
down and --
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I know.
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Commissioner Carollo: -- it doesn't go anywhere.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, 1--
Commissioner Carollo: And, realistically, we could play around. We could move money and
say, okay, it's going to this project, and it stays there for two, three years.
Chair Sarnoff But it shouldn't.
Commissioner Carollo: And by the way -- and it shouldn't.
Chair Sarnoff: It shouldn't.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: It shouldn't, but it does.
Commissioner Suarez: That's the problem.
Commissioner Carollo: And that's part of what I have in my discussion items that Pm bringing
up --
Commissioner Suarez: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) discussion item, right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- I bring up the CIP process and I know what -- that's what you're
getting at.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah, it is.
Commissioner Carollo: Because you allocate it to a project.
Commissioner Suarez: Project.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, guess what? It doesn't go anywhere.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: And it just sits there.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: I wasn't necessarily talking about you. I don't know --
Commissioner Carollo: No, I know, I know, I know.
Commissioner Spence -Jones: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- I didn't know if you're referring this just to
you. My point is all of us -- not just your allocations, but we all have things that we -- as district
Commissioners, we have our own separate allocation. Whether or not u'e defer to George and
tell George, okay, this is where we want our monies to he spent, and it sits there and it should
move faster, we still got to take that first step. That step -- first step is spend the money down
and then, if they're not doing what they have to do, that becomes their responsibility, or then we
can say they are the blame for that. But we got to do our first part and that is to make sure that
that money's allocated or that money -- we identify where we want projects to go. So that's really
my point. Yes, that's why I said responsibility is all the way around. If we have -- we know we
have a certain amount of money that we have to spend in our districts, we need to go ahead and
just make the allocations and then, if they don't do it, then we stay on top of them. But we still
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NA.6
13-00286
need that first step in order to get to the point that they, you know, have to do what they need to
do. And I really apologize, guys. I'm. already (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Sarnoff: You changed clothes, right? You changed clothes, didn't you?
Commissioner Spence -Jones: No. I (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Mensah: Mr. Chair, can I just put something --
Vice Chair Gort: Let me, follow up on the -- something Commissioner Suarez stated. It's very
important that we talk to each other. I had a problem with the fire station located Northwest
12th Avenue and 20th Street, which is in the district. It needs to he repaired immediately.
Unfortunately, we were told there was no money. Finally, George was able to get together with
our Fire Department and I come up with the funds to fix that. Lot of those funds can he used for
a lot of the equipment that we need and a lot of the infrastructure that we need to do within the
districts. That's why we need to sit down and make sure we utilize it and maximize on it. Thank
you.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Mensah: No. I just want to also put it for the record that because of the new article that
came in the papers and -- you know, talking about elderly and things, we have a -- there's a
possibility that other people are thinking that they might not he able to get their meals because of
this issue. So I just wanted to assure people that we know there's an issue, but we definitely will
work through it, and that no elderly person will he without meals. Just wanted to add that.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, thank you.
RESOLUTION
District3- A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION URGING GOVERNOR
Commissioner Frank RICK SCOTT AND THE MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO
Carollo TAKE ALL NECESSARY LEGAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE RULE MAKING
ACTION TO REQUIRE THE DIVISION OF FLORIDA CONDOMINIUMS,
TIMESHARES, AND MOBILE HOMES TO REQUIRE THAT THE BUILDING
DEPARTMENT OF A LOCAL JURISDICTION BE NOTIFIED WHEN A
DEVELOPER APPLIES FOR CONDOMINIUM CONVERSION APPROVAL IN
ORDER FOR SAID JURISDICTION TO RECEIVE A COPY OF THE BUILDING
INSPECTIONS REQUIRED TO BE FILED AND BE ABLE TO SUBMIT THEIR
CONSENT TO CONVERT BEFORE SAID APPROVALS ARE GIVEN;
DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS
RESOLUTION TO THE ELECTED OFFICIALS STATED HEREIN.
13-00286-Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnot7, Carollo and Suarez
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence -Jones
R-13-0072
Chair Sarnoff: Anybody -- I'm going to ask anybody who has a blue page item that they want to
discuss.
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Commissioner Suarez: I do. I just have one.
Chair Sarnoff: You said that was itfor you, right?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes, that's it for my discussion items. I do have a pocket item that I --
Chair Sarnof f: Go ahead, go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: -- want to make sure that 1 do bring out and it's going to be -- it's
actually one issue, two pocket items. And if I may, I'm going to pass it out.
Commissioner Suarez: I move them both. They're good.
Commissioner Carollo: They're actually very good. And I'd like to say that this was brought to
our attention by several reports that have been done in the last few weeks, especially by El Nuevo
Herald, very good reports that have shined a lot of light to issues that we're having in Little
Havana. The Miami Herald has also reported. And in all fairness, Univision Radio has also
reported this and has been on top of this. And I don't know how many of you have read the
different reports, articles, but there's issues within Little Havana. And I'll briefly state that a
while hack there were some apartments that were purchased and they were converted into
condos. The first resolution that you have is whenever the state gives permission to change that
condo -- change that apartment to condos, they need to notify us. Because right now as it stands
-- and Mr. Fernandez could explain a little further. Right non' as it stands, they could just turn
it; we have no idea.
Vice Chair Gort: They don't pull any permits.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Vice Chair Gort: Repair permits.
Commissioner Carollo: So the truth of the matter is, I think this --
Commissioner Suarez: They don't require any collaboration with a local entity.
Commissioner Carollo: Right, and I think there should be, you know. And by the way, I didn't
draft this by myself: This was brainstorming session with the Manager and with Mariano
Fernandez, our Building director so, you know, I applaud both of them. And, listen, fair is fair.
1 was very critical of our City Manager when it came to the, financials, as you all know, but at the
same time, I had to be, fair. And let me tell you something his expertise as an engineer with
regards to CIP (Capital Improvements Program) projects, building codes, and stuff like that, you
know, being an engineer has really been an asset, and you know -- and you know I'm fair. I've
criticized when I need to, but at the same time, I say it the way it is. And being able to team up
with him., with Mariano, really brainstorm and look at some of these resolutions to really, you
know, make sure that in the future, we could prevent some of the same things that are happening.
It's a real plus. And I commend both of them. So this is something that Pin bringing on and I
hope that I could seek your support. I'll read this one first and then we'll take a vote on the
second resolution, if7 may. And the first resolution is urging Governor Rick Scott and the
members of the Florida Legislature to take all necessary legal or administrative rulemaking
action to require the division of Florida condominiums, time shares, and mobile homes to require
that the Building Department of local jurisdiction be notified when a developer applies for
condominium conversion approval in order for said jurisdiction to receive a copy of the building
inspections required, to be filed, and he able to submit their consent to convert before said
approvals are given; directing the City Clerk to transmit a copy of this resolution to all the
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elected officials. I also want to put for the record -- 'cause this is something that I asked -- is this
an additional liability to the City of Miami? I have been told no. But at the same time, I would
avant the City Attorney, if she could please put that in the record.
Victoria Mendez (Assistant City Attorney): Yes, Commissioner. This is no different than the
actual inspection process that we undergo now when it comes to changes of occupancy, changes
of use, and any other types of inspections. So it's no different than that.
Commissioner Carollo: So in other words, there's no additional liability to the City nfMiami?
Ms. Mendez: No.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. That's what wanted to hear.
Chair Sarnnf: All right, we have a motion by Commissioner Carollo --
Commissioner Carollo: Motion -- so move.
Vice Chair Gort: Move it. Second it.
Chair Sarnnf: -- we have a second by Commissioner Gort. Any discussion? Hearing no
discussion, all in favor, please say aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
NA.7 RESOLUTION
13-00287
District 3- A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION DIRECTING THAT ANY
Commissioner Frank AND ALL LEGAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE STEPS BE TAKEN BY THE BUILDING
Carollo OFFICIAL TO DENY 40/50 YEAR RE -CERTIFICATIONS WHEN THE
PROPERTY HAS BUILDING CODE VIOLATIONS, UNSAFE STRUCTURE
VIOLATIONS, OR OPEN OR EXPIRED PERMITS ON THE PROPERTY
WHICH IS THE SUBJECT OF THE RE -CERTIFICATION.
13-00287-Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Vice Chair 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-13-0073
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized for the second pocket item.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. The second pocket item is -- and right now it's going to he a
directive. However -- how do attorneys say it? I reserve the right to hring hack and see ill
could actually codes this 'cause it's something that lthink is very important. What -- and I think
the resolution speaks fbr itself, so I'm just going to read it. A resolution of the Miami City
Commission directing that any and all legal or administrative steps he taken by the building
official to deny 40- and 50-year recertifr'cations when the property has building code violations,
unsafe structure violations, or open or expired permits on the property which is the subject of the
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recertification. I think this is a no-brainer.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, we have a motion by Commissioner Carollo --
Tice Chair Gort: Second.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: -- second by Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Suarez: Can I just ask a question? I can't imagine that this doesn't already exist.
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Vice Chair Gort: I want to discuss something later after that too.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Chair Sarnof: Why don't -- Mariano, why don't you tell us?
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah.
Mariano Fernandez (Director; Building): Okay.
Chair Sarnof: It's a good question.
Mr. Fernandez: Mariano Fernandez, Building director. Commissioners, Mr. Chairman, the
County passed an ordinance requiring all building departments and all building officials to
register all buildings over 40 years old and 50 years, 10 years after the 40 years in a cycle.
Every year, at the beginning of the year, normally around February or March, we receive a list
from the County of all those buildings, that they need to be recertified. We sent a letter to them
saying by this County ordinance, you're supposed to hire an engineer, an architectural firm of
your choice, and provide us a report where it specifies if a building is safe, electrically and
structurally, including the parking lot where it must have the one square -- one
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) per square foot, okay -- and it's a catch-up in the code to all those building
-- from -- before the building official with a fee. If the building will require some additional work
or something in the opinion of the engineer, electrical or structural, they will need to pull the
permits, do the work, and after that submit the complete report saying the building is structurally
safe and sound. We had been taking -- I've been an building official since 1992 and I've been
taking those reports -- and 1 think most Only fellow building officials in Miami -Dade County --
on face value because they come signed and sealed by either a Florida licensed engineer or
architect. And, apparently, there were some concerns this week about what happened with this
condominium; why we accepted this report when there were an open permit expire in our
records. Well, unfortunately, we didn't have the manpower at that time to go over the amount of
buildings, which is around -- between 1,700 to 2,000 a year that we need to evaluate, in addition
to all the unsafe structure cases. So, for one reason or another, we didn't see that portion. Plus,
in reality, it has no value, in my opinion as the building official, with the sign and seal of the
engineer who tells me that the building is safe and sound, okay. So it may he an administrative
permit that is expired or something, but we never did it in the past. In a position of extra safety
or going above and beyond what the County ordinance intention was, we are proposing to the
Commissioner and to the City Manager that we go these further steps, being sure and directing
me that in addition to take the face value of the engineer and architect or architect, that we check
all our records so we don't have any more cases where there are no open permit has been
forgiven or inside of one box and we can -- it can he brought up in front of somebody else. So
from now on, we're going to be sure to do that.
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Chair Sarnof f: Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: Let me ask a question. My understanding is, in conversion, from apartment
building to condominium, if -Ws less than 40 years, all the permits that they pull is just
replacement or repairs. Am I correct?
Mr. Fernandez: No, incorrect, Commissioner. Unfortunately, the Florida Legislatures [sic]
took that from the -- nut of the building code. The building code requires that any change in use
on occupancy that requires a permit and it goes to the Building Department and Planning &
Zoning Department. However, the legislatures [sic] took the condominium, as part of the
condominium law, and they exempt it for that requirement to pulling the change of use. They just
need to file with the appropriate law or hoard in Tallahassee the condo documents, which is a
legal document, and an inspection report which the State requires, but we do not receive any
documentation to that respect.
Vice Chair Gort: But I just want to make sure that people understand that our Building
Department does not go in and inspect the building to be that the structure is safe.
Mr. Fernandez: We do not.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay. So you can make the conversion and that's --
Mr. Fernandez: That --
Vice Chair Gort: -- that's what happened in the old Little Havana building.
Mr. Fernandez: Commissioner, we don't go because of these fact. But if we are doing an
inspection far- any other permit and we see any structural things or we are in an unsafe structure
case or possible code violation, yes, we are required to go.
Chair Sarnof f: All right, so we have a motion. We have a second. All in favor, please say lh'e. "
The Commission (Collectively): "Aye. "
Chair Sarnoff: Are we okay with you now, D3 (District 3)?
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. We're done.
Chair Sarnoff: D4 (District 4).
Commissioner Carollo: I'm deferring everything.
NA.8 DISCUSSION ITEM
13-00311
DISCUSSION BY COMMISSIONER SUAREZ EXPRESSING HIS DESIRE
TO WORK WITH THE ADMINISTRATION ON RESEARCHING THE
TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE FOR ADDRESSING SHOOTINGS IN THE
CITY OF MIAMI AND DIRECTING THE ADMINISTRATION TO PLACE A
DISCUSSION ITEM ON THE MARCH 14, 2013 AGENDA REGARDING
THE SAME.
DISCUSSED
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ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. I just --
Mariano Fernandez (Director, Building): Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: Two things. I'll by to make it as quick as possible. One is, I just would
like to work with the chief: 'just got the memo. He was kind enough to give me the memo after
lunch on the ShotSpotter review, and I just want to work with him on not just on the ShotSpotter
review; on whatever technology -- I'm very interested in whatever technological ideas that we
can implement to solve the shooting issue in our city. So 1 would ask, by and through the
Manager, that 1 be allowed to sit with the chief and explore all these different options and bring
it back at either the next or the following Commission meeting. Actually, you know what, put it
on as a discussion item for -- not the next -- for the next Commission meeting.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): For March 14, sir?
Commissioner Suarez: Correct.
Mr. Hannon: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
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