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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2013-07-11 MinutesCity of Miami City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com Meeting Minutes Thursday, July 11, 2013 9:00 AM REGULAR City Hall Commission Chambers City Commission Tomas Regalado, Mayor Marc David Sarnoff, Chair Wifredo (Willy) Dort, 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 July 11, 2013 CONTENTS PR - PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS AM -APPROVING MINUTES MV - MAYORAL VETOES CA - CONSENT AGENDA PH - PUBLIC HEARINGS SR - SECOND READING ORDINANCES FR - FIRST READING ORDINANCES RE - RESOLUTIONS BC - BOARDS AND COMMITTEES BI - BUDGET ITEM DI - DISCUSSION ITEMS PART B PZ - PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S) MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' ITEMS M - MAYOR'S ITEMS D1 - DISTRICT 1 ITEMS D2 - DISTRICT 2 ITEMS D3 - DISTRICT 3 ITEMS D4 - DISTRICT 4 ITEMS D5 - DISTRICT 5 ITEMS City of Miami Page 2 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 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 11 th day of July 2013, the City Commission of the City of Miami, 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 9:15 a.m., recessed at 1:35 p.m., reconvened at 3:46p.m., recessed at 4:54 p.m., reconvened at 5:11 p.m., and adjourned at 5: 58 p.m. Note for the Record: Vice Chair Gort entered the Commission chambers at 9:17 a.m, and Commissioners Carollo and Spence -Jones entered the Commission chambers at 9: 30 a.m. ALSO PRESENT: Julie O. Bru, City Attorney Johnny Martinez, P.E., City Manager ToddB. Hannon, City Clerk Chair Sarnoff I want to welcome everybody to the July 11, 2013 meeting of the City ofMiami Commission in these historic chambers. The members of the City Commission are Wilfredo [sic] "Willy" Gort, the 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 Attorney; Todd Hannon, the City Clerk. The meeting will be opened with a prayer by myself and the pledge of allegiance by Commissioner Suarez. If you wish to stand, please stand. Invocation and pledge of allegiance delivered. PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS PR.1 13-00804 PRESENTATION Honoree Presenter Protocol Item Somy Ali - No More Tears Commissioner Salute Suarez American Black Film Commissioner Certificates Festival Host Committee Spence -Jones of Appreciation SPECIAL PRESENTATION ALS Recognition Awards -Fire Department - Chief Maurice L. Kemp Lt. Christopher Cope Lt. Angel Sotolongo Lt. Robert Rubio FF Teofilo Lama FF Damian Beitra FF Irving Bereao 13-00804 Protocol Item.pdf City ofMiami Page 3 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 PRESENTED 1. Commissioner Suarez paid tribute to Somy Ali, founder of the not -for -profit organization No More Tears, dedicated to providing individualized assistance to the victims of domestic violence through holistic services, bringing hope, happiness and healing to survivors; further recognizing her dedication to saving the lives of victims of domestic violence. 2. Commissioner Spence -Jones presented Certificates of Appreciation to the members of the American Black Film Festival Host Committee for their dedication to encouraging community participation in the City's thriving film industry. 3. Deputy Fire Chief Fernando Fernandez, Jr. presented EMS ALS Fire Rescue Awards to six honorees that excelled in the provision of Emergency Medical Services to the residents of the City ofMiami. Chair Sarnoff We will now make the presentations and proclamations. We will recognize Commissioner Suarez for the record. Presentations made. Chair Sarnoff Is Chief Kemp here? I'm sorry, Chief. I didn't see a Commissioner presenting. I apologize. Apparently, we have some Fire Department proclamations we need to hand out. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Oh, okay. Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, I was wondering where -- what was that. Chair Sarnoff I -- sorry. So why don't we let the Chief -- come on up, Chief. 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) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones Chair Sarnoff All right. Mr. Clerk, are there any Commission meeting -- excuse me -- any Commission meeting minutes that need to be approved? Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair, I have for Commission approval the meeting minutes from June 13, 2013. Chair Sarnoff Is there a motion? Commissioner Spence -Jones: So move. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones; second by Commissioner Carollo. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. END OF APPROVING MINUTES MAYORAL VETOES City ofMiami Page 4 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 NO MAYORAL VETOES Chair Sarnoff Are there any mayoral vetoes? Commissioner Carollo: For the -- no. And for the record, Commissioner Suarez was the seconder. Chair Sarnoff I'm sorry? Commissioner Carollo: Commissioner Suarez was the seconder. Chair Sarnoff I apologize. ToddB. Hannon (City Clerk): Yes, sir. Chair, there are no mayoral vetoes. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: Starting to appear like motions are going to be hard to come by today. ORDER OF THE DAY Chair Sarnoff We'll now begin the regular meeting. The City Attorney will state the procedures to be followed during the meeting. Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission, Mr. Mayor, Mr. City Clerk, and Manager 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 in the City Clerk's Office. The material for each item on the agenda is available during business hours and at the City Clerk's Office and also online at ww.miamigov.com [sic]. 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. Please, no cell phone or other noise -making devices; silence them now. Anyone who becomes unruly or makes offensive remarks will be barred from attending Commission meetings. Any person with a disability who requires auxiliary aids and services for this meeting may notify the City Clerk for assistance. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Chair Sarnoff Thank you, Ms. Bru. Mr. Manager, do you wish to amend, change or modifi, the agenda in any way? Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Yes, Mr. Chair. Chair Sarnoff Can you just state the changes? Mr. Martinez: PH.11, 12, and 13, defer to July 25. RE. 3, withdraw. RE. 7 and RE.8, defer to July 25. Chair Sarnoff Any other changes? Mr. Martinez: No, sir. Chair Sarnoff Do any Commissioners have any changes or modifications they wish to make? Is there a motion, a motion to help the Manager --? Mr. Martinez: Let me -- people are probably running through their list. City of Miami Page 5 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Vice Chair Gort: Move it. Chair Sarnoff I have it. PH.11, PH.12, PH.13, July 25; RE.3, withdraw it. RE.7 and 8, July 25. We have a motion by Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Any discussion? Commissioner Carollo: Yes, Mr. Chairman. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized for the record. Commissioner Carollo: I just want to say that I thought that there was going to be a couple more items being deferred. So just -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: What were they? Commissioner Carollo: I'm not sure, and that's why I was looking at it, but, you know, we can just continue the meeting and I'll come back later on in the meeting and discuss it. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff All right. All in favor, then please say "aye. The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sarnoff Okay. City of Miami Page 6 Printed on 8/5/2013 CA.2 13-00720 Department of Public Works City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 CA.1 13-00700 Department of Police CONSENT AGENDA RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING A CONTRIBUTION TO THE RICKIA ISAAC FOUNDATION EDUCATION SEMINAR, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $25,000; ALLOCATING SAID FUNDS FROM THE LAW ENFORCEMENT TRUST FUND, AWARD NO. 1169, PROJECT NUMBER 19-690001, AND ACCOUNT CODE NO. 12500.191602.883000.0000, WITH SUCH EXPENDITURES HAVING BEEN APPROVED BY THE CHIEF OF POLICE AS COMPLYING WITH SECTION 932.7055, FLORIDA STATUTES, AS AMENDED. 13-00700 Summary Form.pdf 13-00700 Affidavit Letter.pdf 13-00700 Certification of Applicant. pdf 13-00700 Scope of Service.pdf 13-00700 Proposed Expense Budget.pdf 13-00700 Email - Jerome Starling Ryka Issac Foundation.pdf 13-00700 Legislation. pdf This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0272 RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, WITH MIAMI RIVER FUND, INC., THE FINANCIAL AGENCY FOR THE MIAMI RIVER COMMISSION, TO CONTINUE PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI FORATHREE (3) YEAR TERM COMMENCING OCTOBER 1, 2013 AND ENDING ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2016, IN AN ANNUAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $30,000, FORA TOTAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $90,000; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE STORM WATER UTILITY FUND ACCOUNT NO. 00001.208000.531000.0000.00000. 13-00720 Summary Form.pdf 13-00720 Pre-Agreement.pdf 13-00720 Scope of Work - Attachment A. pdf 13-00720 Corporate Resolution -Attachment B.pdf 13-00720 Notice of Permit.pdf 13-00720 Legislation. pdf 13-00720 Exhibit 1.pdf This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0273 City of Miami Page 7 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Adopted the Consent Agenda Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, including all the preceding items marked as having been adopted on the Consent Agenda. The motion carried by the following vote: Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones END OF CONSENT AGENDA Chair Sarnoff All right. Consent agenda. Is there a motion? Commissioner Spence -Jones: So move. Chair Sarnoff We have a motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Commissioner Suarez: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Suarez. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say iiye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9:00 A.M. PH.1 RESOLUTION 13-00703 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE Community and ACCEPTANCE OF UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND Economic URBAN DEVELOPMENT ENTITLEMENT GRANT FUNDS, IN THE TOTAL Development AMOUNT OF $18,794,119, AS STATED HEREIN, FOR THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT, HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS, HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS, AND THE EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT, FOR PROGRAM YEAR 2013-2014; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE ACTUAL AMOUNTS OF GRANT FUNDS WHEN MADE AVAILABLE FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00703 Summary Form.pdf 13-00703 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00703 Pre-Legislation.pdf 13-00703 Legislation.pdf Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0266 Chair Sarnoff Okay. You want to try to take -- Let's take PH.1. Public Hearing 1, it is on page 7 of your agenda. City of Miami Page 8 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 George Mensah (Director, Community Development): Good morning, Commissioners. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized for the record, Mr. Mensah. Mr. Mensah: George Mensah, director of Community Development. Just to preface the discussion, I just want to let you know that this is just a ministerial action that we have to do. These approvals were made sometime in December, but because the recommendation from HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) came in lower than what we have projected, we have to come back to Commission and re -appropriate these funds. So PH.1 is a resolution of the Miami City Commission authorizing the acceptance of USHUD (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development) entitlement grant funds in the amount of $18.7 million, and it's for Community Development Block Grant, Home Investment Partnerships, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), and the Emergency Solutions Grant program. Chair Sarnoff All right. Is there a motion? Vice Chair Gort: Move it. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Suarez: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Suarez. Any discussion? Vice Chair Gort: It's a public hearing. Chair Sarnoff Oh, I apologize. You're right, public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PH.1, PH.1, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, coming back to this Commission. Mr. Mensah -- Mr. Mensah: Yes. Chair Sarnoff -- what's the difference that we anticipated receiving versus the sequester? What's the delta. Mr. Mensah: Approximately about -- there's 5 percent sequester that's involved in this, and then of course we had the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) reduction. The difference is about $2 million in total. Chair Sarnoff Okay. All right. All in favor, please say "aye. The Commission (Collectively): Aye. PH.2 RESOLUTION 13-00704 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Community and ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF PROGRAM YEAR Economic 2013-2014 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS, IN THE Development AMOUNT OF $4,310,994 AND PRIOR YEAR PROGRAM INCOME, IN THE AMOUNT OF $741,827 FORA TOTAL AMOUNT OF $5,052,820.95, FOR THE ACTIVITIES SPECIFIED IN ATTACHMENT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2013; AUTHORIZING THE CITY City of Miami Page 9 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00704 Summary Form.pdf 13-00704 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00704 Pre-Legislation.pdf 13-00704 Legislation.pdf 13-00704 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: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0267 Chair Sarnoff All right. PH.2. George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.2 is the -- this is taking the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds, in the amount of $4.3 million, and adding program income, prior year program income, in the amount of $741, 000, for a total amount of approximately $5 million and distributing it for the various categories of CDBG funds; could go into public service, code enforcement, and administration. Chair Sarnoff Is there a motion? Vice Chair Gort: Move it. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Spence -Jones. It is a public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PH.2, PH.2, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, coming back to this Commission. Any discussion? Commissioner Suarez: Yes. Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Suarez is recognized for the record. Commissioner Suarez: Just a quick note that -- you know, there was obviously -- everyone knows, it was well publicized that because of our lack of spending the funds that we were given by the federal government, we were reduced 600,000 -- approximately $600, 000. Chair Sarnoff Right. Commissioner Suarez: And one of the ways that the Administration has proposed to close that gap is to give our public service allocation $98, 000 of program income. Mr. Mensah: That's correct. Commissioner Suarez: Andl guess my concern is that we subsidize our public services from our general fund, and had we not lost that money, we could have replenished our general fund with those program income dollars that we're now using to cover that gap. Mr. Mensah: Commissioner, that's not exactly how it is, but what you could have -- you could say is that then instead of maybe appropriating an additional $198, 000, we could have used the City of Miami Page 10 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 $98, 000 and then you were left with maybe 100, 000. That's what goes back to the general fund Because there's no exchange, which means ifI have program income, that program income cannot go into the general fund Commissioner Suarez: I understand. Mr. Mensah: It's got to be used for -- yes. Commissioner Suarez: But what I'm saying is that we had to use program income to plug that hole because we got reduced, our allocation from the federal government, correct? Mr. Mensah: That's correct. Commissioner Suarez: Right. So had we not been reduced that allocation, we would have had that money in our public service program, correct? Mr. Mensah: That's also correct, yes. Commissioner Suarez: Right. We could have added, with program income, another $100, 000 to our public services, and then we would have been able to reduce our general fund subsidy of our public service dollars. Mr. Mensah: That's also correct. Commissioner Suarez: Right. So what I'm saying is that the failure to use the money efficiently has cost our general fund and our taxpayers approximately $100, 000. Mr. Mensah: It can be deduced that way, yes, Commissioner. Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. Just wanted to clam that for the record. Chair Sarnoff All right. Anyone else wishing to be heard on PH.2, PH.2? All right. All in favor then, please say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. PH.3 RESOLUTION 13-00705 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Community and ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF COMMUNITY Economic DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ("CDBG") FUNDS FOR PROGRAM YEAR Development 2013-2014, IN THE AMOUNT OF $646,649 AND PRIOR YEAR PROGRAM INCOME IN THE AMOUNT OF $98,209, FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $744,858, FOR THE ACTIVITIES, IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE CATEGORY, AS SPECIFIED IN ATTACHMENT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2013; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00705 Summary Form.pdf 13-00705 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00705 Pre-Legislations.pdf 13-00705 Legislation.pdf 13-00705 Exhibit 1.pdf City of Miami Page 11 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0268 Chair Sarnoff PH.3. George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.3 is the allocation of approximately $646, 000 and program income in an amount of $98, 000, for a total amount of $744, 858 for all the public service agencies. And just to note that the allocations are the same as the allocations already made by City Commission. Chair Sarnoff All right. Is there a motion? Vice Chair Gort: Move it. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Carollo: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Carollo. It's a public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PH.3, PH. 3? Hearing none, seeing none, coming back to this Commission. Any discussion? Commissioner Suarez: Just the same comments from the last item. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Anyone else wishing to be heard? All in favor then, please say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. PH.4 RESOLUTION 13-00706 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Community and ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF COMMUNITY Economic DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS FOR PROGRAM YEAR 2013-2014, Development IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,132,146 AND PRIOR YEAR PROGRAM INCOME IN THE AMOUNT OF $643,618, FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $2,775,764, IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CATEGORY, TO THE AGENCIES SPECIFIED IN ATTACHMENT "A," ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2013; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT(S), IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, WITH SAID AGENCIES, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00706 Summary Form.pdf 13-00706 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00706 Pre-Legislation.pdf 13-00706 Legislation.pdf 13-00706 Exhibit 1.pdf Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones City of Miami Page 12 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 PH.5 13-00707 Department of Community and Economic Development R-13-0269 Chair Sarnoff PH.4. George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.4 is also taking program year 2013-2014 funds in an amount of approximately $2.1 million and prior program income in an amount of approximately $643, 000, for a total of approximately $2.7 million, and distributing it in the economic development category and to the agencies as stipulated, and these also -- the amounts are the same as the amount previously approved by City Commission. Chair Sarnoff All right. Vice Chair Gort: Move it. Chair Sarnoff We have a motion by Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Suarez: Second. Commissioner Carollo: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Suarez and Carollo simultaneously. Public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PH.4? Same comments? All right. All in favor, please say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE ALLOCATION FOR PROGRAM YEAR 2013-2014 HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS ("HOPWA") PROGRAM FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $11,381,465 AND $1,000,000 FROM PREVIOUS YEARS' HOPWA FUNDING, FORA TOTAL ALLOCATION OF $12,381,465, AS SPECIFIED IN ATTACHMENT"A," ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, TO PROVIDE HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND HOUSING RELATED SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT(S), IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00707 Summary Form.pdf 13-00707 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00707 Pre-Legislation.pdf 13-00707 Legislation.pdf 13-00707 Exhibit 1.pdf Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0270 Chair Sarnoff PH.5. George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.5 is allocating HOPWA (Housing City of Miami Page 13 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 PH.6 13-00708 Department of Community and Economic Development Opportunities for Persons with AIDS) funds, in an amount of approximately $11.3 million, and previous HOPWA funds, in an amount of $1 million, for a total of $12.381, 465, and these are distributed to the agencies and for the programs as stated in the attachment, andl sent you all the attachments. The programs are the same and there's no changes in the allocations. Chair Sarnoff Do we have a motion? Vice Chair Gort: Yeah. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Carollo: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Carollo. It's a public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PH.5, PH.5, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, coming back to this Commission. 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 ALLOCATION OF EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT FUNDS FOR PROGRAM YEAR 2013-2014, IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $362,264, AS SPECIFIED IN ATTACHMENT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00708 Summary Form.pdf 13-00708 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00708 Pre-Legislation.pdf 13-00708 Legislation.pdf 13-00708 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: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0271 Chair Sarnoff PH. 6. George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH. 6 is the allocation of ESG (Emergency Solutions Grant) funds, in an amount of 362,264, as stated in the attached, andl just want to note that here we had almost 50 percent reduction and that affected mostly our homeless division, andl understand that the funds -- the Budget director has been able to allocate additional funds in the amount of $150, 000. I believe the funding came from the Homeless Trust, additional $150, 000, so the amount that they will lose is probably just about $20,000. Chair Sarnoff Okay. Commissioner Spence -Jones: George, I just -- I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman. I just have a question regarding this issue, andl know we talked about it in my briefing before we -- you want to open up the public hearing on it, Mr. Chairman? City of Miami Page 14 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Chair Sarnoff PH.6, anyone wishing to be heard on -- well, let me get a motion and a second. Vice Chair Gort: Move it. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Gort, second by Commissioner Spence -Jones. The public hearing is now open for PH.6. Anyone wishing to be heard on PH.6, Ph.6, please step up. The public hearing is now closed, coming back to the Commission. Commissioner Spence -Jones is recognized for the record. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. I just have -- you know during our briefings -- Mr. Mensah: Yes. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- George, we talked about this issue of homelessness and, you know, the City has been going through this great debate on how we 're addressing the homelessness issue. Here is a perfect example of how our dollars are actually being reduced to continue to provide the support to our programs. So in my meeting with you -- in my briefing with you, I asked that some of those reprogrammed dollars that we do have, can we use -- utilize some of those funds to actually make up for the dollars that we're losing in the homeless program, andl believe you said yes. Mr. Mensah: Yes, if they are -- because they are public service dollars, and so it's -- you know, public service dollars are the dollars that we need most, so it means that we'll have to add different agencies or -- to be able to use those. Commissioner Spence -Jones: No, I'm saying -- I thought we had a discussion about the program income. So you can't use the program income that you've gotten back to -- Mr. Mensah: If you are -- I think we talked about rehabilitation. If we're going to rehabilitate a building, let's say that the City owns or somebody owns, we can use it to rehabilitate the building that will house the homeless, yes. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Mr. Mensah: That's something we can do. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. So -- yeah, I just wanted to have clarity, 'cause I think that that's something that we should do if we're going to be losing -- 'cause these dollars were for emergency shelter, right? Mr. Mensah: Yes, but they're primarily used for salaries of the green shirts -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. Mr. Mensah: -- the ones that go out there and be able to make sure -- be able to pick up the homeless. Commissioner Spence -Jones: But -- so it doesn't pay for the beds by the day? Mr. Mensah: No, no. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. All right. Thank you. City of Miami Page 15 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Chair Sarnoff All right. All in -- any further discussion? All in favor on PH. 6, say "aye. The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sarnoff Okay. PH.7 RESOLUTION 13-00709 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Community and ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF HOME Economic INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF Development $2,739,396 FOR HOUSING PROGRAMS, FOR PROGRAM YEAR 2013-2014, IN THE CATEGORIES SPECIFIED IN ATTACHMENT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00709 Summary Form.pdf 13-00709 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00709 Pre-Legislation.pdf 13-00709 Legislation.pdf 13-00709 Exhibit 1.pdf Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0275 Chair Sarnoff So if we go back, Mr. Manager, to PHs, we would be on PH.7. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Is George here? Oh, okay. Chair Sarnoff I'm sorry, George. Commissioner Spence -Jones: You're not invisible, right? Chair Sarnoff You're recognized for the record. George Mensah: Good afternoon, Commissioners. George Mensah, director, Community Development. PH.7 is a resolution for the HOME Program (Home Investment Partnerships Program), and this is allocating the HOME program in an amount of approximately $2.7 million in the attachment, and these are basically for administration, Housing program services, and $1.5 million for District 2 Homeownership Zone programs. Chair Sarnoff All right. Is there a motion? Vice Chair Gort: Move it. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second. Commissioner Carollo: Second. City of Miami Page 16 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 PH.8 13-00710 Department of Community and Economic Development PH.9 13-00712 Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Gort, second by Commissioner Carollo; public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PH.7, PH.7, please step up. Hearing none, coming back to this Commission. 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 TRANSFER OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $100,000 FROM THE CITY OF MIAMI DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT 4 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RESERVE ACCOUNT; ALLOCATING SAID FUNDS TO REBUILDING TOGETHER, INC., AS SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR THE REHABILITATION OF SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IN DISTRICT4; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, WITH SAID AGENCY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00710 Summary Form.pdf 13-00710 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00710 Pre-Legislation.pdf 13-00710 Letter - Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade.pdf 13-00710 Legislation.pdf 13-00710 Exhibit 1.pdf Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0276 Chair Sarnoff PH.8. George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.8 is a resolution authorizing the transfer of $100,000 in CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds from District 4 economic development reserve account and allocating said funds to Rebuilding Together for rehabilitation of single-family homes in District 4. Commissioner Suarez: Move it. Commissioner Carollo: Second. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Suarez, second by Commissioner Carollo. It's a public hearing on PH.8, PH.8. Hearing none, seeing none, coming back to this Commission. Any discussion? I will tell you it's a great program, Rebuilding. All in favor, please say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. RESOLUTION City of Miami Page 17 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Department of Community and Economic Development A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $244,350, AS SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FROM THE CITY OF MIAMI DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT 4 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RESERVE ACCOUNT TO THE CITY OF MIAMI CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM, FOR ROADWAY IMPROVEMENTS; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00712 Summary Form.pdf 13-00712 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00712 Legislation.pdf 13-00712 Exhibit 1.pdf Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones PH.10 13-00711 Department of Public Works R-13-0277 Chair Sarnoff PH.9. George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.9 is a resolution authorizing the transfer of CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds, in the amount of $244,350, to CIP (Capital Improvements Program) for economic development in District 4. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So move. Commissioner Suarez: Second. Commissioner Carollo: Second. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones. A tie goes to Carollo and Suarez. This is a public hearing on PH.9. Anyone wishing to be heard on PH.9? Hearing none, seeing none, coming back to this Commission. Any discussion? All in favor, please say "aye. " The Commission (Collectively): Aye. RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE PLAT ENTITLED "VANEGAS SUBDIVISION", A SUBDIVISION IN THE CITY OF MIAMI OF THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED IN "ATTACHMENT 1 ", SUBJECT TO THE SATISFACTION OF ALL CONDITIONS REQUIRED BY THE PLAT AND STREET COMMITTEE AS SET FORTH IN "EXHIBIT A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, AND THE PROVISIONS CONTAINED IN SECTION 55-8 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AND ACCEPTING THE DEDICATIONS SHOWN ON THE PLAT; AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER AND CITY CLERK TO EXECUTE THE PLAT; AND PROVIDING FOR THE RECORDATION OF THE PLAT IN THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA. City of Miami Page 18 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 13-00711 Summary Form.pdf 13-00711 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00711 Report of Proposed Record Plat.pdf 13-00711 Legal Description.pdf 13-00711 Legislation.pdf 13-00711 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: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0278 Chair Sarnoff PH.10. Nzeribe Ihekwaba: Good afternoon. Zerry Ihekwaba, Public Works director. PH.10 is a resolution of the City Commission to accept the final plat of Vanegas Subdivision from 1700 Brickell Condo, LLC (Limited Liability Corporation). Commissioner Spence -Jones: Moved. Move it. Vice Chair Gort: Second. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, second by Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Spence -Jones: You see where my mind was, right? Chair Sarnoff I heard, yeah. This is a public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PH.10, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, coming back to this Commission, any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. PH.11 RESOLUTION 13-00713 Office of Grants A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Administration ATTACHMENT(S), DESIGNATING AS A BROWNFIELD AREA, OR FINDING THAT THE CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION AS A BROWNFIELD AREA DOES NOT EXIST, FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 144 AND 152 SOUTHWEST 8TH STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA ("PROPERTY"), FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF WEST BRICKELL VIEW, A MULTI -LEVEL APARTMENT BUILDING WITH SIXTY FOUR (64), ONE AND TWO BEDROOM AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH FLORIDA STATUTE 376.80 SECTION 2(B) (1-5); AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NOTIFY THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND THE MIAMI-DADE DEPARTMENT OF REGULATORY AND ECONOMIC RESOURCES OF THE EXPANSION TO THE EXISTING BROWNFIELD AREA BOUNDARY IF THE PROPERTY IS DESIGNATED, AND TO UNDERTAKE ANY OTHER NECESSARY RELATED PROCEDURES, NOTICES, AND REQUIREMENTS FOR SAID DESIGNATION. City of Miami Page 19 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 13-00713 Summary Form.pdf 13-00713 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00713 Legislation.pdf 13-00713 ExhibitA.pdf 13-00713 Exhibit B.pdf Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, 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 PH.11 was deferred to the July 25, 2013 Commission Meeting. PH.12 RESOLUTION 13-00721 Office of Grants A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Administration ATTACHMENT(S), DESIGNATING AS A BROWNFIELD AREA, OR FINDING THAT THE CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION AS A BROWNFIELD AREA DOES NOT EXIST, FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1026 SOUTHWEST 2ND AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA ("PROPERTY"), FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF WEST BRICKELL TOWER, A MULTI -LEVEL APARTMENT BUILDING WITH THIRTY TWO (32), ONE AND TWO BEDROOM AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH FLORIDA STATUTE 376.80 SECTION 2(B) (1-5); AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NOTIFY THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND THE MIAMI-DADE DEPARTMENT OF REGULATORY AND ECONOMIC RESOURCES OF THE EXPANSION TO THE EXISTING BROWNFIELD AREA BOUNDARY IF THE PROPERTY IS DESIGNATED, AND TO UNDERTAKE ANY OTHER NECESSARY RELATED PROCEDURES, NOTICES, AND REQUIREMENTS FOR SAID DESIGNATION. 13-00721 Summary Form.pdf 13-00721 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00721 Legislation.pdf 13-00721 Exhibit A. pdf 13-00721 Exhibit B.pdf Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, 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 PH.12 was deferred to the July 25, 2013 Commission Meeting. PH.13 RESOLUTION 13-00722 Office of Grants A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Administration ATTACHMENT(S), DESIGNATING AS A BROWNFIELD AREA, OR FINDING THAT THE CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION AS A BROWNFIELD AREA DOES NOT EXIST, FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 850 SOUTHWEST 2ND AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA ("PROPERTY"), FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VISTA GRANDE APARTMENTS, A MULTI -LEVEL APARTMENT BUILDING WITH EIGHTY NINE (89), ONE AND TWO BEDROOM AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH FLORIDA STATUTE 376.80 SECTION 2(B)(1-5); AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NOTIFY THE City of Miami Page 20 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND THE MIAMI-DADE DEPARTMENT OF REGULATORY AND ECONOMIC RESOURCES OF THE EXPANSION TO THE EXISTING BROWNFIELDAREA BOUNDARY IF THE PROPERTY IS DESIGNATED, AND TO UNDERTAKE ANY OTHER NECESSARY RELATED PROCEDURES, NOTICES, AND REQUIREMENTS FOR SAID DESIGNATION. 13-00722 Summary Form.pdf 13-00722 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00722 Legislati on. pdf 13-00722 Exhibit A. pdf 13-00722 Exhibit B.pdf Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, 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 PH.13 was deferred to the July 25, 2013 Commission Meeting. PH.14 RESOLUTION 13-00645 Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION BYA FOUR -FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-92 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING, RATIFYING, APPROVING AND CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGERS FINDING OF A SOLE SOURCE; WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING PROCEDURES AND APPROVING THE PURCHASE OF SIX HUNDRED (600) ELECTRONIC CONTROL DEVICES ALSO KNOWN AS TASERS, STYLE NO. X2/X26P, RELATED EQUIPMENT AND A FOUR (4) YEAR EXTENDED WARRANTY, FROM TASER INTERNATIONAL INC., FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE, AT AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $831,513.80; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE LAW ENFORCEMENT TRUST FUND, ACCOUNT CODE NO. 12500.191602.664000, FOR THE EQUIPMENT AND ACCOUNT CODE NO. 12500.191602.546000, FOR THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. 13-00645 Summary Form.pdf 13-00645 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00645 Memo -Acquisition of Tasers.pdf 13-00645 Memo - Electronic Control Device.pdf 13-00645 Sole Source Letter - Taser Protect Life.pdf 13-00645 Taser - End User Purchasers.pdf 13-00645 Legislation. pdf Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0274 Chair Sarnoff PH.11. City of Miami Page 21 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Spence -Jones: Eleven and twelve I thought we were not doing. Oh, 11, we are? Vice Chair Gort: Eleven, twelve, and thirteen, they're out. Chair Sarnoff Oh, I'm sorry. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Eleven, twelve, and thirteen are gone. Chair Sarnoff Eleven and thirteen are out? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Fourteen. Chair Sarnoff All right. PH.14. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Police. Manuel Orosa: Good afternoon. Manny Orosa, Chief of Police. PH.14 is the purchase of 600 new Tasers. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So move. Chair Sarnoff We have a motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Just 'cause he's back from vacation, that was gracious. Is there a second? Vice Chair Gort: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Gort. It's a public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PH.14? You're recognized for the record. Al Crespo: Good afternoon. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to ask that when these items are introduced like this, that they be at least allowed to read the whole thing so people at home could hear what's going on. You know, a lot of times, you all just rush through these things and never even give the opportunity to let the citizens know what it is you're voting on. You know, I think that's important. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So, Chief can you put the information on the record? Chief Orosa: Sure. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thank you. Chief Orosa: The item is PH.14. It's ratifying, approving and confirming the City Manager's finding of sole source; waiving the requirements for bid, and approving the purchase of 600 electronic control devices, also known as Tasers, related equipment and a four-year extension of warranty from TASER International, Incorporated, in the amount not to exceed $831, 513.18 [sic], and it's going to be paid with Law Enforcement Trust Fund monies. Chair Sarnoff Okay. So anyone else wishing to be heard on PH.14, please step up. You're recognized, Mr. Sklarey. Seth Sklarey: Seth Sklarey, Coconut Grove. Just one question I have on this. I think it's great that they're using Tasers instead of shooting people. Chair Sarnoff They could do both if they want to. City of Miami Page 22 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Mr. Sklarey: No, I understand. However, the thing I'm concerned about, I have a friend who has a defibrillator, and he gets in trouble with the law sometimes. The last time he was -- had a confrontation, one of the police officers said to another police officer, "Hey, just punch him in the chest, " so I'm concerned that if the defibrillator -- if the Taser is used on someone who has a heart condition or has a defibrillator or something like that, what's the policy of the Police Department to ensure against somebody being killed as a result of using the Taser? Chief Orosa: Well, there's always a legal remedy for that individual -- Mr. Sklarey: Up to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- Chief Orosa: -- and their family. When we use the Taser, it's because we need to use the Taser, and we do not know if somebody has a heart condition or not, so it's unfortunate to find out afterwards whether the person has a heart condition or not. I would just recommend that everybody with a heart condition just obey the laws and pay attention to what an officer says so they don't have to get involved in being the victim of a Taser discharge. Mr. Sklarey: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff All right. Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chairman. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized. Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. Mr. Manager, you know I have discussed with you my concern over the number of -- Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Sole source. Commissioner Suarez: -- sole source contracts in our public safety units, and one of the things that strikes me as a little bit odd is that in the background information, it says, "According to TASER International, it is a sole source manufacturer of electronic control devices." Well -- Chief Orosa: We're taking the word of -- Commissioner Suarez: Exactly. I mean, obviously, they're going to say they're the sole source if you ask them, but the question is: Did we do an independent, you know, investigation? And why would we then say, you know, according to TASER International, it is the sole source? You know, if we would -- Kenneth Robertson: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Kenneth Robertson, Purchasing director. We perform an independent verification of the claim of sole source status. The use of the term "Taser" is actually trademarked, and the technology and the device is patented. The City has legislative history also where sole source procurements were approved in 2003 by Resolution 03-1 -- 0163, and in 2005 again, under Resolution 05-0026. So we do not take that finding lightly. We make the sole source approval finding in writing formally. Commissioner Suarez: But you do understand what my concern is about the background --? Mr. Robertson: Correct. Commissioner Suarez: -- right? Thank you. Chair Sarnoff All right. City of Miami Page 23 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Chief Orosa: Also, ifI can add a little bit of light on this particular item. Part of the reason that we also have to go sole source with this is because we have 800, I want to say, 25 old Tasers that are obsolete, they don't make parts for; half of them are broken. TASER has agreed to pay us $130 for each of those Tasers if we purchase new Tasers from them, as well. So we're getting a discount on something we don't have any use for that we can't do anything with if we purchase new Tasers, so I think it's a good deal. Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff All right. Let me close the public hearing. Coming back to this Commission, PH.14 All in favor, please say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. END OF PUBLIC HEARINGS ORDINANCES - SECOND READING SR.1 ORDINANCE Second Reading 13-00587 Department of Public AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER Works 54/ARTICLE II/ SECTION 54-56 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "STREETS AND SIDEWALKS/CONSTRUCTION, EXCAVATION AND REPAIR/ CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION OR REPAIR OF STREET IMPROVEMENTS REQUIRED WHEN ADJACENT PROPERTY IS IMPROVED BY CONSTRUCTION OF $100,000 OR MORE IN VALUE OR EXCEEDING 1,000 SQUARE FEET IN FLOOR AREA; RESTRICTION"; BY REMOVING THE REQUIREMENT OF CONSTRUCTING OR RECONSTRUCTING STREETS AND SIDEWALKS WHEN A BUILDING OR PARKING FACILITY IS BEING REMODELED, RENOVATED AND REPAIRED; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 13-00587 Summary Form SR.pdf 13-00587 Legislation (Version 2) SR.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 13398 Chair Sarnoff All right. We're going to move to second readings. We're on page 13 of the agenda, second readings, so you could stay up there, Mr. Ihekwaba, make it easy for you. You're recognized for the record. Nzeribe Ihekwaba (Director, Public Works): Again, good morning. Zerry Ihekwaba. SR.1 is an amendment of the City Code, Chapter 54, to delete the requirements to construct street improvements, including sidewalks, curb and gutters, pavement, modifications to existing drainage systems and sodding solely as it pertains to remodeling, renovation, and repair permits. What this ordinance does is that it makes it easier for us to track all right-of-way improvements along our City streets and also to obligate new construction, reconstruction, and additions to properties to make City improvements where the cost of such improvements are more than City of Miami Page 24 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 $100,000 or more than 1,000 square feet. Chair Sarnoff All right. Is there a motion? Vice Chair Gort: Move it. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Spence -Jones. This is a public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on SR.1, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, coming back to this Commission. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, 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, 3-0. SR.2 ORDINANCE Second Reading 13-00626 Department of Public AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER Works 54/ARTICLE V/SECTION 54-190 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "STREETS AND SIDEWALKS/BASE BUILDING LINES/NONSTANDARD STREET WIDTHS", BY MODIFYING THE WIDTH OF NORTHEAST 15TH STREET FROM NORTHEAST 2ND AVENUE TO NORTH BAYSHORE DRIVE NORTHWEST/NORTHEAST 10TH STREET FROM THE FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY TO NORTHEAST 2ND AVENUE AND NORTHWEST/NORTHEAST 11TH STREET FROM THE FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY TO NORTHEAST 1ST AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE 13-00626 Summary Form SR.pdf 13-00626 Memo - Reduction of Zoned FR/SR.pdf 13-00626 Legislation FR/SR.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 Noes: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Suarez 13399 Chair Sarnoff SR.2. Zerrybe Ihekwaba: Again, ZerryZerry Ihekwaba, Public Works director. SR.2 is an amendment of Chapter 54 of the City Code, entitled "Streets and Sidewalks," by amending Section 54-190, entitled "Nonstandard Street Widths," in order to standardize the sizes and the width of the following City streets: Northeast 15th Street from 2ndAvenue to North Bayshore Drive, from 80 feet to 60 feet; Northeast/Northwest loth Street from Northwest 1st Avenue to 2ndAvenue City of Miami Page 25 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Northeast, reducedfrom 75 feet to a 50 feet standard City street; and also Northeast/Northwest llth Street from Northeast 1st Avenue to the railroad tracks, reducedfrom 75 feet to standard 50 feet. The Police, Fire, and the Solid Waste Departments have been notified. This item passed unanimously on first reading at the June 13 Commission meeting. Any questions? Chair Sarnoff All right. 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. This is a public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on SR.2, SR.2, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, the public hearing is now closed Any discussion? Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will not be supporting this item as I know my staff communicated to you, Mr. Director. I have issues with this, specifically where items like this could be passed in the downtown Miami area or district area, but in areas like Little Havana, there's issues that are very similar to this, and we can't get them resolved. So I really have issues with this, and I will not be voting in favor of this. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Anyone else wish to --? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. I just wanted, because only -- I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman -- only because Commissioner Carollo mentioned this, andl know in my briefing on this, I was told that it was really a D2 (District 2) item, so can you further elaborate on your viewpoint on this issue, because it is -- if it's something that's going affect us citywide, I would like to have a clearer understanding as to why you're holding this position. Chair Sarnoff This is good practice. A number of -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: No, not you. Chair Sarnoff Oh, I'm sorry. Commissioner Spence -Jones: You don't have a problem with it. You support it. Chair Sarnoff Right. Sorry. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'm saying Commissioner Carollo. Chair Sarnoff I apologize. Commissioner Carollo: I have a similar issue where someone that has an existing fence and has had an existing fence for God knows how many years wants to do the right thing as opposed to everyone else and change the fence and make a capital improvement to a better fence. As opposed to everyone else, he actually came to the City to pull a permit. They have told him that he cannot do that unless he actually now goes five feet into his property, yet no one else in that whole block has done it. Now, I was just advised that the McDonald's, which recently City of Miami Page 26 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 refurbished -- or actually reconstructed their restaurant, did give the five feet or whatever, but the bottom line is it's something that deals with this same type of giving back land or not giving back land, and the truth of the matter is that I think it's unfair that someone that, you know, could hire an attorney and, you know, could get this done with the City as opposed to someone in Little Havana that cannot so. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Can I just ask you a question so I --? Andl thinkl may know where you're going with it, but -- because this particular ordinance is dealing only with these street addresses, correct, Zerry? It's not dealing with any additional --? Mr. Ihekwaba: Yes, that's correct at this time. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So it's not something that, you know, can be applied citywide. So is your concern, Commissioner Carollo, so I'm on the same page with you, is that you just feel like if it is somewhere in another community, they should have the option to do the same? Commissioner Carollo: To do something similar, yes, absolutely. What's happening is that in District 2, somehow they're able to do it, yet when it comes down to Little Havana, guess what? It seems like there's always issues and -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. You could put it on the agenda, as well. You should. I would Because every time I see these things, I would check, check, so somebody else did it in their district -- Commissioner Carollo: Well, before putting it in the agenda, I had spoken to my City Manager and my Public Works director -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: And they said "no"? Commissioner Carollo: I've been at this for a year and a half. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'm saying this -- oh. Commissioner Carollo: I've been at this for a year and a half. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Manager, do you have any response to that? Johnny Martinez (City Manager): There's differences in between what we're trying to do today. First of all, Zerry has a citywide map of where we can reduce the right-of-ways [sic] to the customary right-of-way, going from 80 to 60 and 75 to 50 so we have consistent corridors. But these are in commercial areas. The specific case that the Commissioner -- D3 is talking about is in a residential area, and we've been trying to solve that one. But other people in the area have already dedicated the required amount, and to go backwards is costly. This is a little bit different. It's zoned at a certain width, and we're just saying we don't need the extra width, that apparently, the City had plans years ago to do plazas and things like that, and in anticipation of that, zoned for a wider right-of-way which, after inventorying this and looking at this, it's not needed, but it's in this commercial area, not in the residential area. Commissioner Carollo: So because this is commercial, we could do it. Because it's residential, we cannot or there's a difference. And let me add, you know, this person has been willing to sign whatever waiver and so forth, but now the City also wants to require him to get insurance to -- get insurance for the benefit of the City, and citizens won't do it. Mr. Ihekwaba: Can I -- City of Miami Page 27 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Carollo: It's Mr. Ihekwaba: I think there's a whole lot of difference between what is being done here and what is being discussed. In the specific case of 1401 Southwest 13 th Street, that is an encroachment into the public right-of-way. That is not a rezoning of the zoned right-of-way which the City code in Chapter 54 obligates all such property owners that intend to encroach into the zoned right-of-way to post a bond to the City ofMiami holding the City harmless, being liable for any type of accidental issues that kind of crop up. What the individual had asked for is permission to encroach into the public right-of-way, not a rezoning of the right-of-way which -- and for your information, Mr. Commissioner, with all due respect, that right-of-way is already a standard City street of 50 feet. Any further reduction will make it soft standard. Commissioner Carollo: How could it be an encroachment if that has been exactly where he's had his fence -- him and all his neighbors -- for God knows how many years? So in other words -- and the sidewalk starts right after the fence, so I mean, this is something that all of a sudden, what you actually want to do is the City wants to take an additional five feet from everybody in that street and widen it. Mr. Ihekwaba: The City is not taking any five feet, Mr. Commissioner. The City code in Chapter 54 requires all permit requesters to dedicate a portion of the right-of-way that had already been zoned to the City for public purposes, municipal use, and that does not come into play not until the property owner comes in for a permit request. We do not go out there and start requiring people to dedicate land. They have to initiate (UNINTELLIGIBLE) permit process first, and the individual who is willing to do that, other than he had problems with his insurance. Commissioner Carollo: Right. So in other words, what he's saying is because this property owner did the right thing and went to the City for a permit, he cannot upgrade his fence, the fence that he's had for God knows how long. So all he wants to do is upgrade the fence, and because he's doing the right thing and coming for a permit, the City is not allowing it. So -- and by the way, as far as zoning and rezoning, I see rezoning here all the time. I see high-powered attorneys with big law firms come in here andl see the rezoning coming, you know, back and forth. So again, I'm not voting in favor of this. Vice Chair Gort: Call the question. Chair Sarnoff All right. Let's call the question. Madam City Attorney, it's 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.2. Commissioner Carollo? Commissioner Carollo: No. Mr. Hannon: Commissioner Spence -Jones? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes, but I would make the recommendation to this -- to the City Manager to address Commissioner Carollo's item. I would like for the item to at least be brought in front of us for us to discuss so that he has a clear understanding and we all have a clear understanding of what he's asking for. Mr. Hannon: Continuing the roll call. Vice Chair Gort? Vice Chair Gort: Yes. Mr. Hannon: Chair Sarnoff? City ofMiami Page 28 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 SR.3 13-00747 Office of the City Attorney Chair Sarnoff Yes. Mr. Hannon: The ordinance passes on second reading, 3-1. ORDINANCE Second Reading AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER 35/ARTICLE X OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), ENTITLED "MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC/DANGEROUS INTERSECTION SAFETY", MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTIONS 35-348 THROUGH 35-350 TO CODIFY THE USE OF HEARING OFFICERS/SPECIAL MASTERS AND A HEARING PROCESS FOR DISPOSING OF TRAFFIC INFRACTIONS IN THE CITY CODE PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 2013-160, LAWS OF FLORIDA TO CONTINUE THE TRAFFIC INFRACTION DETECTOR PROGRAM; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE. 13-00747 Memo - Office of the City Attorney SR.pdf 13-00747 Florida House of Representatives FR/SR.pdf 13-00747 Description of Hearing Procedure - Red Light Camera Safety Prgm. SR.pdf 13-00747 Legislation (Version 2) SR.pdf 13-00747-Submittal-Chair Sarnoff (1).pdf 13-00747-Submittal-Commissioner Suarez. pdf Motion by Vice Chair Gort, 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 SR.3 was deferred to the July 25, 2013 Commission Meeting. Chair Sarnoff All right. We're going to go now to SR.3. SR.3, Mr. Manager, you're recognized for the record. Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Attorney George Wysong is going to take the lead in starting this off. Chair Sarnoff Okay. George Wysong (Assistant City Attorney): Good morning, Mr. -- Chair Sarnoff You're recognized for the record, Mr. Wysong. Mr. Wysong: Thank you. George Wysong, Assistant City Attorney. Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the City Commission. We're here on SR.3, the second reading of an ordinance relating to the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act and the City ofMiami's utilization of traffic infraction detectors. As you may recall, this ordinance was necessitated by the Florida Legislature's adoption of an amendment to the Mark Wandall Safety Act that occurred at the very end of the 2013 legislative session. The amendment in CS/CS/HB 7125 specifically included the following language: Charter counties, noncharter counties, or municipalities electing to authorize traffic infraction enforcement officers to issue traffic citations under 316.0831(a) shall designate by resolution existing staff to serve as the clerk to the local hearing officer. Consequently, at the June 27, 2013 City Commission meeting, such a resolution was adopted, and this ordinance was adopted on first reading. The purpose of this ordinance is to establish City of Miami Page 29 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 and authorize local hearing officers and special masters to conduct local hearings under the Mark Wandall Act. And we were asked to provide background, so by way of background, we'll start off from the beginning. Who is Mr. Mark Wandall? Mark was just 30 when he was killed in an auto accident less than a mile from his Bradenton, Florida, home. He was the passenger in a car that was broadsided or T-boned, as we call it, by a driver who ran a red light. He died less than a week after celebrating his first wedding anniversary and just 19 days before the birth of his daughter, Madison Grace. And we have the following statement from Melissa Wandall about her husband: Note for the Record: At this time an audio -video presentation was made. Mr. Wysong: Thank you. As we discussed, this item is essentially to authorize local hearing officers, special masters to conduct local hearings into the Mark Wandall Act by the City of Miami. And so this Commission asked whether or not the City would be prepared to do that, and I'm going to ask Mr. Francisco Garcia to step up and indicate the steps that have been taken to have the City prepared Francisco Garcia: Good morning, Commissioners. Francisco Garcia, director of Planning, Zoning and Hearing Boards. And I am speaking to you today in my capacity as Hearing Boards director, briefly to tell you that we are basically set to go, so should the Commission's decision today be in the affirmative and were this program to be installed, so to speak, we have made the necessary arrangements at the Hearing Boards office to both staff up this process and have any hearings related to it taken care of. We expect that the hearings, at least to begin with, will be held in these chambers. We've made the necessary arrangements to have that happen. We will have two staff dedicated to the processing of the Hearing Boards' components in our department, and we have in place already, without need for additional legislation, a special masters' program, and it is those special masters that will be presiding over the hearings that will result from this program. Having said that, if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them. Mr. Wysong: Now we'd like to move into the safety component of the Mark Wandall Safety Act and the City of Miami's utilization of traffic infraction detectors. Assistant Chief Gomez from the City ofMiami Police Department will address the safety issues. Chief Jorge Gomez (Assistant Chief of Police): Good morning, Mr. Chairman, honorable Commissioners. My name is Jorge Gomez. My partner here to the right is Executive Assistant Aguilar. We're both assistants to ChiefManny Orosa, and we'll be doing this portion of the presentation. Basically, it's our belief that these cameras, what they're doing is changing aggressive driving behavior. Usually, by saying "changing behavior, " in this graph here that you could see, 88 percent of all persons that have received red-light camera tickets have been -- only been ticketed one time. That's 88 percent. Ten percent of the people ticketed here in the City have been only ticketed twice. And as you can see, 2 percent of the persons have been ticketed three times. And I'll be honest with you, I only know one person that's been ticketed more -- three times. I'm not going to say the name here. And that 2 percent of the persons that have been ticketed, our research has shown that a lot of them are rental cars that have been rented by different persons. Since the program has started, the red-light violations have been reduced by 41 percent. This was done on the first 40 cameras that we put out, first intersection, 40 intersections, and they've gone down 41 percent. Accidents at intersections that have cameras have been reduced almost 11 percent, and the accidents citywide have been reduced almost 9 percent since the inception of the cameras. And what's really amazing, hit-and-run crashes have been reduced by 14 percent. Over here, we're going to show you a video of the type of behavior we're trying to modifi, with these cameras. If you look here to the left of the video, you're going to see a black wrecker. Basically, when the video starts, the light that's on is the -- that's a yellow light. Look to the left and you'll see the black wrecker, what it does. Note for the Record: At this time an audio -video presentation was made. City ofMiami Page 30 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Mr. Wysong: Some of the videos may be graphic. There are no traffic fatalities depicted in any of the videos. Chief Gomez: Yellow, red; there's the black wrecker driver. No disregard [sic] for other drivers. As you could see in that -- you saw the video and you could see we could get a -- also get a still picture that we could identin, the tag and we blurred it out, but you could see clearly the tag of the wrecker. In this next video that we're going to show you, you're going to see -- it's going to start with a yellow light. Right through the center lane, you're going to see a vehicle go through. It's almost going to cause an accident and hit a person on a bicycle. This person here could have caused injuries, and if he would have hit the person on the bicycle, the guy would have probably died. In this shot here, you could see what we first stated that 88 percent of all drivers that have basically learned not to continue to drive aggressively. Eighty-eight percent have been ticketed one time; ten percent twice and only two percent have been ticketed more than three times. In this shot here, it shows that the reduction in red-light cameras have been reducedfrom 3,139 to 2,800 per year since the cameras started, which is a reduction of 339 crashes. Citywide crashes have been reducedfrom 17,563 to 16,138. The total reduction in crashes has been 1,425. And camera locations that reduced 339 accidents equate to a police officer handling nothing but traffic accidents for four months at the rate of 40 hours per week, and it is 40 hours; we calculated no dinner breaks, no lunch breaks, no bathroom breaks, or it would have given us some problems with the unions. Citywide, the reduced accidents have been 1,425. This equates to a police officer handling nothing but traffic accidents for 13 months at the rate of 40 hours per week; again, no dinner, lunch, or bathroom breaks. This accident here is an accident that was caught by the red-light camera. As you could see, when an accident occurs at red-light cameras, there's no disputes. What happens a lot of time, my experience on the road for a long time, a lot of times you get to a red light, traffic crash; one person will tell you, `I had the green." Then you go to the next person. They'll tell you, `I had the green, too." And a lot of times the police officer has to do what we call a "No Police Action" report. Basically, on this report, both persons go to the insurance and nobody gets cited for the accident. As you could see on red-light camera accidents in these intersections, right away we're able to determine who is at fault or who clearly takes the light. We -- in this -- that video there, we were properly able to cite who took the light. This is another example. This happened at Southwest 1st Street and 12th Avenue. Again, who took the light is properly shown. Going back to education, since inception, the citations at camera locations, they started the first month that we put it on, 4,401 and it came down to 2,562 in the 40 original camera locations. So it's a reduction. It goes back to changing the behavior of aggressive driving. This next video is a very interesting case. This case here was a lawsuit against Miami -Dade County Waste Management. The other person involved with the waste management truck sued the county for millions of dollars, and the driver of the county truck was about to get fired and lose his job when they asked for the review of the cameras, and you see what it shows. What it clearly shows here, the person trying to sue the county took the red light. And in this accident there, if we didn't have the red-light cameras, the county would have paid and this driver would have gotten fired and the wrong person terminated. This next accident occurred at Brickell Avenue and Southwest 8th Street. This is a very interesting case. The person that took the red light came to our station to file a complaint against us, saying that they clearly had the green light and the other person should have been cited. You see the video. Clearly, the person on Brickell has the green light. When this person came to the station, they were shown the video, and right away they apologized, and they said, "Thank you. We were in the wrong." Something that's very amazing: The hit-and-run crashes, since the program started, they were reducedfrom 3,894 to 3,338. I'll show you a video footage now of a hit-and-run accident that occurred at a red-light camera location. This accident occurred and immediately, shortly after the accident, we put -- gave the information to the company. We received the information, the video back, and we were able to make a quick apprehension on this hit-and-run. Clearly, the person with the Jet Ski ran the light, and he just continued driving down the street, and with the video, he was shortly apprehended. Something very important: Who are the violators? We went ahead, we did a study, and 67 percent of the City of Miami Page 31 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 violators in the red-light cameras are not City residents; 33 percent are City residents. And how we did this study, we did it by ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) codes. And for example, I think it's going to be higher that non -City residents are not the violators 'cause -- for instance, I live in 33144; Armando lives in 33144 too, but we're just outside the City, and we counted 100 percent on everybody that reside on 33144. So it should be a little bit higher. And one thing that this chart shows, that City residents are learning how to stop aggressive driver [sic], 'cause they know they have those lights and it has changed behavior. In 2008, 762 lives were lost in the U.S. (United States) due to red-light running. A 2011 study compared red-light camera cities before and after the data with data of cities with no red-light cameras. Thirty-five percent crash reduction in cities with red-light cameras and there was also a crash reduction in fourteen percent in cities that did not have the red-light cameras. The red-light cameras have been supported through resolution by the International Chief of Police since 1998. There's several other benefits that we have to these cameras and, really, for us police officers, it has helped us out a lot. From January of '12 through the present, we have received 342 requests from camera footage for investigative purposes. We have received it from traffic homicide investigations. As you could see here, we have solved 12 cases by using these cameras in traffic homicide investigations. For hit-and-run crash investigations, as you saw the last one, we solved it right away by looking at the camera. Shooting investigation -- we even used it for our internal affairs investigations, robbery investigation, burglary. Other law enforcement agencies, insurance companies have made requests, even the public has made requests when they felt they've been involved in an accident or some incident has happened to see whatever was dealt was the right thing. So there's a huge benefit to having these cameras on. And one thing: A lot of times they say, "Big Brother is watching." But you know what? Have Big Brother catch you doing the right thing. Fairness; eliminates everyone having the green light. Like I said before, most of the accidents, when we respond to locations, they say, "I had the green, I had the green." And usually the innocent person, their insurance goes up and they have to pay higher insurance premium and they weren't at fault. The red-light cameras have no regard for race, ethnicity, gender of the driver. It eliminates the perception of biased -based profiling, misconception of automated machines spitting out tickets. Violations are reviewed twice by the company. Then the company sends these violations to us. We review these violations, make sure that they're fair. If they're not, we'll throw out the ticket and we'll send a letter to the person telling them it's not a ticket. The company is in contract with us. They are required to provide us with video outside the ordinary. Usually, there's a turnaround time of three hours, but if we call them, they usually expedite, and they'll send us these videos right away, like they did on the video of the Jet Ski that did the hit-and-run. They'll -- we worked with them with serious crashes, crimes caught on camera, and crimes like that. They're very important when it comes to crash investigation. This crash investigation that I'm going to show you is going to be one of our motor officers. Our motor officer is going to come forward, and traveling on his motorcycle, he has his emergency equipment on. And what's particular about this case, the person that hits him with the motor, he says that he was cut off by a vehicle, and clearly -- and the camera shows that he was stopped. The person just left the lane and knocked the motor officer down. If we didn't have this camera footage, us, the City ofMiami would have been stuck with fixing the motorcycle and paying for all the bills which have been in the thousands of dollars for this officer's injury, and by having the video camera, the correct insurance company has -- is stuck with the bills. This other crash investigation here is a motorcycle that's traveling towards the bus, and the car behind the bus, the gentleman said exactly that the person was driving in the wrong side of the street and crashed into him. He's absolutely right. But if the officer gets there, doesn't get the full information, doesn't see the video, the person on the motorcycle would have been cited, but actually who caused the accident is the bus by violating the right-of-way, as you can see here. The person was struck by the car. Luckily, he was injured but he saved his life, but if he -- he veered to the left to save his life. If he would have hit that bus, he probably would have never made it. And the proper person was charged with the accident. This is another one here, another motorcyclist. A person makes a left turn right in front of him. If it wasn't for the cameras -- this one here, if it wouldn't have been for the cameras, the truck would have just kept on going; and basically, when we did our investigation, we got to the scene, it would appear like City ofMiami Page 32 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 the motorcycle driver had just fallen down. But we were able to capture it on the camera. This one here is an elderly person. A lot of times they're victims of accidents. Look at the truck making a right-hand turn. The person making the right-hand turn took the -- obviously took the red light and the person -- a lot of times, these elderly victims, they're walking down the street, and a lot of times they say it's their fault. Over here, obviously, it was not their fault. They were walking properly. Another benefit to the cameras, they act as a force multiplier. What I mean by a force multiplier, at intersections that we get complaints of people taking the red-light camera, what's common in police work, we send a motor officer or a patrol officer to take care of those camera -- of those locations. Some of the -- we get the complaint, we send the officer, and they spend numerous hours at that location writing tickets, trying to correct the action. Right now we have those cameras which are helping in the correction, and we could free those police officers. By freeing those police officers, I can tell you that these cameras have helped, 'cause last year we were able to reduce crime in the City ofMiami by 2.3 percent, and this year, so far, we have reduced crime up to date 9 percent, very close to 10 percent. Radar and speeding enforcement citations, our motor -- have gone up. Our motor unit have been freed to take care of more speeding, that we have written so far this year 5,091 citations. Also, we've been able to concentrate in other areas. For example, we were getting a lot of complaints in the Brickell area about jaywalking, people speeding. We were able to write 1,317 citations in the Brickell area. Another beneficial item is crime, to fight crime. As you're going to see here, there's a road rage accident that was caught in a camera. This person here, they're going to exit the car, and with a baseball bat, they're going to try to -- as you could see, you know, the video speaks for itself. Right away the company called us, which provided us the video. As you could see, we clearly know exactly who the person that had the baseball bat was and that committed the crime. Right over here, this is Flagler and 16th Avenue. Before the video starts, there's going to be a gentleman that's going to come to the middle of the intersection and go to the right, and a gentleman that's walking through, he's going to go ahead and rob him. What's good and speaks a lot about the citizens and the people that live here in the City ofMiami, there's a Good Samaritan that stops over there in Little Havana and tries to apprehend the robber. The person will come in a truck, stop and try to detain the robber, and this robber was arrested. There he is on the bike. It's going eastbound, and the victim is on the right, walking. He's committing the robbery now. He knocks him down to the ground, takes his property, gets back on his bike. And the person here on the tuck sees the robbery going on, and he tries to help. As you could see over here, he escapes, but with this video footage, we were able to quickly apprehend the offender. This other video here is going to be a video. There's going to be a little black car that's going to go by, and there's going to be a murder victim that's going to be traveling on that car. The offending vehicle is going to be a black SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) in the back. This victim and offender were tracked like in four or five cameras. That's the victim going through. That's the offending vehicle. What happened is homicide investigation, we did not have anything. All we were able to track is this video footage. We were able to get a lead, who the offender was. When we brought the offender in, the offender denied. He was never there. He says, `7 was not there. I don't know what you're talking about. My car was not there," until he's shown this video footage. And sometimes an investigation, a denial is just as good as a confession. We got you on video. What are you going to say now? And he was arrested. He couldn't say anything after he saw the video. In conclusion, red-light cameras changes driving behavior. We saw that by the 88 percent. It reduces accidents; reduces injuries, accident injuries; promotes public safety; serve as a force multiplier. Force multipliers, we don't have to send our officers to those red-light locations to investigate red lights. They're free to do other patrolling. And it shows by the reduction in crime that we have had in the last two years, and it clearly shown it aids in investigation. One thing that I could also -- even I -- it has changed my driving pattern as I drive through the City ofMiami. All can tell you, the department urges you, and we support this essential public safety tool for the citizens in the City ofMiami. Thank you very much. Applause. City ofMiami Page 33 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Chair Sarnoff Mr. Wysong, I don't want to interrupt your presentation, but I have Ron Book here. Do you mind ifI let him go? Mr. Wysong: Absolutely. I just wanted to make one comment. As compelling as those videos were, there were other videos that depicted fatal traffic crashes, but unfortunately, the law in Florida is such that we're not allowed to share photographs and videos depicting the killing of another person, so while those were bad, there are worse. And as we mentioned in the earlier presentation, $3 of every red-light camera ticket goes to the Project to Cure Paralysis, andl would like Mr. Book to address the Commission on that topic. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized for the record. Ron Book: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ron Book, 18851 Northeast 29th Avenue, Suite 1010, Aventura, Florida. I'm here not only on behalf of my 19 year -old client, the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and the Buoniconti family that has had me advocating for them at the State Capitol for 19 years, but I'm also here on behalf of Jackson Memorial, the Public Health Trust, and Ryder Trauma Center, and all of the doctors and nurses and professionals that work at the Ryder Trauma Center, as well as the University ofMiami and the Miller School of Medicine, who each have representatives here that you'll hear from briefly. For over a decade, the Miami Project has advocated for the use of red-light cameras. I actually should have started, Chief and Assistant Chief with the old Latin phrase, "res ipsa loquitur" and just sat down. For those that don't know the phrase, Mr. Chairman, Commissioner Suarez, the facts do speak for themselves. And what you just saw is what 160 members of the Legislature saw the last three years that the issue related to red-light cameras have been debated. There is a reason that virtually all members of the House and virtually all members of the Senate, with only a couple of exceptions, voted "no" on the Mark Wandall Act -- Traffic Safety Act when it passed. The fact of the matter is you saw Melissa Wandall speak about her husband and the courage and the bravery that she has displayed in advocating for the passage of the act. Many of you will remember, I actually represented this City at the time of the passage of the act, as well. While I have heard all of the arguments about the monetary importance to local governments, the fact is if you look at all of the preambles and all of the "whereas" clauses and all of the record that was presented to the Florida Legislature, it was all about safety. I don't really hear a lot of people talking about simple traffic infractions, speeding tickets, red-light tickets given by police officers, stop signs, parking in disabled parking spaces, parking in stroller spaces, and revenue that local governments get. So we really ought not to be talking about the red herring about what revenue local governments get. What we really ought to be talking about is what the deputy chief put on the record, because those facts speak for themselves. And if you're think they're not behavior modifiers, the assistant chief gave you City ofMiami statistics. The City of Aventura, which has had the longest running red light program by a municipality in the state, reports a 57 percent reduction in the collisions on the intersections that utilize red-light cameras since 2010; Miami Beach, a 17 percent decrease in crashes at four intersections equipped with the technology; all 12 intersections in Miami Gardens, 68 percent fewer collisions; and at just 42ndAvenue in Miami Springs, a 23 percent reduction; statewide, 44 percent reduction in side impact crashes in the intersections that have red-light cameras; statewide, 41 percent experienced a reduction in rear end crashes after -- what? -- behavior modification, people who took notice of the signs as they led up to an intersection where a red-light camera existed. People complained earlier that they were just red-light cameras and they were being caught. So what did the Legislature do? They spoke to the issue and they required your local governments, through your implementer of red-light camera programs, to install signs that further warned people that they were coming. You're going to hear in a video from Dr. Barth Green, the gentleman who took of Mark Buoniconti from the day that he had his football accident. You're going to hear from Dr. Dalton Dietrich, our resident genius -- I like to call him the scientific director -- at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. You're going to hear from Dr. Mayas from the Ryder Trauma Center who's going to talk about all of the incidences of traffic -related trauma cases that present in our trauma center. Ladies and gentlemen, you got a bundle of people sitting up here in the front row City ofMiami Page 34 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 that want to throw their wheelchairs away and walk one day. There's a reason -- a large percentage of which were injured in automobile accidents. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Chairman, members of this Commission, Mr. Manager, Madam City Attorney, chief and all the law enforcement officers, there is a reason the Florida Legislature chose to fund $3 out of every $158 citation to the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and no one else. The reason is Melissa Wandall made one misstatement: The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis isn't the foremost brain and spinal cord injury research center in the United States. It's the foremost brain and spinal cord injury research center in the entire world. There is a reason why people travel here from all over the world when they have been injured with a brain and spinal cord injury. It is because we have a program that has a direct nexus to red-light running. That's why the Legislature chose to take $3 out of every 158 and fund their partnership with the Miami Project, that partnership that spans two decades. Dick Anderson was in the Florida Senate when the Legislature first started funding research at this center in your city. There's a reason why the Ryder Trauma Center -- and ladies and gentlemen, I got to tell you that ifI get hit in a car anywhere south of Orlando, I want that helicopter taking me to Ryder. If I've got a brain and spinal cord injury, I want that helicopter taking me as quick as they can to Ryder so that I can get over to the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. You're going to hear from all these people. The fact is the other nexus that the Legislature found were our trauma centers, because they're the ones that see the victims of those car accidents, and that's why $10 of every one of those $158 citations goes to fund not just the Ryder Trauma Center, but the network of trauma centers all over the state of Florida. The action that you take today, Mr. Chairman and members of this Commission, the action you take today was a response by the Florida Legislature to try to make this act more people friendly. If you don't run a red light, you don't have a problem. If you don't commit some of the other crimes, you shouldn't be afraid of the camera. The fact of the matter is, what the Legislature said was "There's a question on right turn on red, so we are going to set some form of standardized process," and that's what the Legislature did. And what the Legislature did was they created a more friendly environment by allowing you to set up a forum for citizens who otherwise run red lights, get a citation, to have an appeals process right here in our local community. And I've heard all of the conversation about the $258 and how it's an increased cost. I beg to der, because I've done the math, and those of you who are lawyers in the room, who have been to traffic court ever and have had a client assessed, whether there was a withhold of adjudication or a full adjudication, you do the calculation on the court cost. The court cost on that red-light camera violation that you've chosen to appeal to the courts, ladies and gentlemen, members of this Commission, let me be clear: It is less than $258 -- it is greater, rather, than $258 if you choose to take that appeal to the courts. What the Legislature tried to do was create options for you to provide to your citizens. You can vote "no" on the matter before you today, but if you vote "no," I will tell you what the leader of the Miami Project has said to me: "How can you vote 'no' on something that has otherwise had a clear set of statistics?" -- Assistant Chief where are you? He stepped out. The facts speak for themselves. They have demonstrated your police department. I'm not bringing you a statistic from Tallahassee. I'm not bringing you a statistic from Pensacola or Jacksonville. I'm bringing you a statistic from your City, from your police department, from the officers and the leadership of your officers that says that the red-light cameras have, in fact, done one thing: reduced car accidents, reduced fatal car accidents, reduced accidents that otherwise put people in wheelchairs, sometimes for the rest of their lives. But with the leadership of people like Dalton Dietrich and all the other people that are here and outside the room who are here today on behalf of those who are in wheelchairs, I urge you to vote yes and not kill this camera program that is so critical to saving lives, reducing brain and spinal cord injuries, and reducing cases that otherwise present themselves to people like Dr. Mayas at the Ryder Trauma Center. Mr. Chairman, I've been doing what I do, as you know, for almost 40 years. I have never been more wrapped up personally or emotionally in an issue than I am this one, because I spent 19 years plus with the Buoniconti family. I've spent 23 or 24 years representing Jackson Memorial and the Public Health Trust. I've spent days in the emergency room, and I've spent days at that trauma center. I know what happens, andl know that if we only save one life, if we only prevented one more person from being in a wheelchair, if we simply reduced it by 1 percent, we will have been winners for the people of this City. Inconvenience? City of Miami Page 35 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Expensive? Does it catch more people than the motorcycle patrol officer or the guy or the gal in the cruiser with the red and blue lights on? Yeah, we catch more of them. That's about how you modify behavior, and I'm here to tell you I paid two of them personally. My son has had five. In the span of the first year, five. But you know what? I took his car. He paid the $158 himself and in the last 12 months, he hasn't had one. That's behavior modification. Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized for the record. Marc Buoniconti: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners. You know, I've been in a wheelchair nearly 28 years, and over those 28 years, I've done nothing but dedicate my life to not only trying to cure paralysis and to cure brain injury, but also to prevent those injuries from ever occurring in the first place. All I have to do is look to my left and out and around this auditorium about my brothers and sisters who have spent many, many years in their wheelchair, as well. How many more people need to be paralyzed due to automobile accidents? How many more people need to be sitting in wheelchairs because of irresponsible driving and people running red lights? People are paralyzed; people are brain injured if they're lucky, because most of the times and other times, those injuries are fatal. And where do you think they go when they have those injuries? They go to the University ofMiami, Jackson Memorial Hospital, and to the Ryder Trauma Center and to the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. The very people that are injured are going to the centers that are also being funded by these citations. By taking away the red-light cameras and by repealing the red-light cameras, not only are you affecting the incredible, incredible research at the Miami Project that is not only changing lives now, who will change and has changed nerve science and medical science for the history of all mankind when we cure paralysis, as well as what we're doing now to prevent paralysis. And we're also talking about the Ryder Trauma Center, where people are coming in there fighting for their lives, and the funding that helps the Ryder Trauma Center is making a huge difference because they're able to spend those funds taking care of the individuals that become injured. By taking away those funds, it's going to be a huge problem for this community. And imagine, by repealing that, people are going to become injured. But how could you repeal something, and then, God forbid, a loved one come in there for care and you want to expect to get the best care possible, yet you're going to be taking away funding by repealing the red-light cameras? I think all of us know what the right thing to do is. These cameras work. They've shown a dramatic decrease in the amount of traffic accidents. I think the Chief the Deputy Chief and Ron said it so eloquently, andl am just here on behalf of the Miami Project and Jackson Memorial Hospital. And Mr. Chairman, if you don't mind, can I ask the people to either stand up or raise their hand, the people who are here on behalf of the Miami Project and the University of Miami and Jackson Memorial Hospital? Please stand or wave. And of those of us who cannot stand up, they're either waving or they're nodding, because they know and we all know what the right thing to do is here. I think in the end, we have to think about responsibility. You have a tremendous power on the dais. The answers aren't always easy, I know that, but I think this is, has to be one of the easiest decisions that you can make, because I think that you know that of all the programs that I've seen, of all the programs that I've been involved with in my 28 years, none of them has had as much a direct impact in saving lives and making a difference in people's lives than the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act. Please, do what's right. Keep the traffic light cameras on. Help us save lives. Help this become a safer community for all of us, because I think in the end, really, what is the alternative? Traffic lights are off. Someone eventually will run a red light. That person will be injured or killed. Who is going to apologize to the family of the loved ones who's had that fatal accident or fatality? Who's going to apologize that we turned the red-light cameras off? And because of that, people are continuing to run red lights. Who is going to apologize? Finally, I just want to say I'm a proud resident of this community. The City ofMiami, a magical city, I think we would all agree that some of the shining stars and gems of our community in the City of Miami is the Miami Project and the Ryder Trauma Center. We are international in scope, and just like Miami, we are admired by many. These are things that we have in common. The City of City ofMiami Page 36 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Miami shouldn't be here talking about repealing the red-light cameras. The City ofMiami, above all, should be leading not only the state but the entire country in establishing red-light camera law. We should be the ones leading by example. And you have my commitment to do that, and the University ofMiami and Jackson Memorial Hospital has my commitment to continue to do this, and my brothers and sisters in chairs, who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, only wanted a second chance, want to be able to have that funding necessary to one day walk again. And lastly, to Mark Wandall and his wife, Melissa, I've never seen a stronger woman in my life. Despite her husband being killed, she has taken this on, andl proudly join her. We all proudly join her. We're asking all of you to please proudly join her. Thank you very much. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Mr. Manager -- All right, thank you. Mr. Manager, I'd like to try to get any medical personnel that are here to say whatever it is they'd like to say, so I'm going to ask any doctors, nurses, or anybody involved in medical so I -- so that you don't feel the need to have to stay and go back to your jobs. Vice Chair Gort: Yeah. Nicholas Namias: Thank you very much. That's very much appreciated. Chair Sarnoff Your name for the record, sir. Mr. Namias: My name is Nicholas Namias. I am a professor of surgery at the Miller School of Medicine. I'm the chief of trauma and the medical director of the Ryder Trauma Center, andl'm a member of the executive committee of the Florida Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons. I think the most important thing here today, recognizing the human cost, andl see the Miami Project has brought with them so much today of the human cost of this tragedy. And these are the lucky ones that got to be here and show you the human cost, because so many never get to make it either from the scene or from the trauma center. Seventy percent of what we see at Ryder Trauma Center are motor vehicle crashes. We see around 3,500 to 4,000 patients a year. We run about 25 percent penetrating trauma, gunshots and stabs, and the rest are blunt trauma, the vast majority of which are motor vehicle crashes. You call them accidents. They're not accidents. They're crashes because they can be prevented. Accidents don't get prevented; crashes do. And we can prevent them by mod4ing behavior. And you've seen today that the red-light cameras modin, behavior. I, personally, happily paid a ticket for my wife running through one on Biscayne Boulevard. She got the thing in the mail. She told me, "It can't be." I read the ticket. "Oh, look, there's a website." And there it was, clear as day. And when she saw it, she remembered, "Oh, yeah, the dog distracted me"; paid it. She's never going to do it again. Andl look forward to hopefully never paying one for my kids, but ifI do, they'll lose their car immediately. The red-light cameras are important not only for the human cost, which is, of course, the major cost, but the funding issue is a serious one, too. Part of the red light money goes to fund all of the trauma centers in Florida; not just the Ryder Trauma Center. So the other trauma centers throughout the state also get a portion of this money. The beautiful thing about that money is that, for the most part, it goes -- it bypasses a lot of the channels of bureaucracy, and it gets into the hands of the people who run the trauma centers. And so we've been able to buy some very specific equipment for trauma -- for the trauma centers that just don't make it to the general budgets, andl'm sure this is true at all of the other trauma centers. So I'm not going to take a lot of your time, andl'm actually going to conclude with this, to say that it just makes no sense, whatsoever, to take something that's been so proven effective in mod4ing behavior that's supported by the police, that's supported by the medical community, that's supported by everyone except people who want to run a red light with freedom. It just doesn't City ofMiami Page 37 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 make any sense. So, please, I really encourage you to do anything you can to continue the red-light running cameras and laws. Thank you all. Applause. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized for the record. Dalton Dietrich: Mr. Chairman, Commissioners. My name is Dalton Dietrich. I'm the scientific director of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. I'm a resident of the City ofMiami. And as you heard today, statistics really tell it all, don't they? As a scientist, you look at data. You make decisions based on hardcore data. Andl think the policemen have really shown us today that this system works. Now, the other part that you've already heard, too, is what the dollars are in terms of medical research and the Ryder Trauma Center. The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is at the stage now where we've gotten FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval to put cells into people to modift, their spinal cords and regenerate their spinal cords and improve function. Without this money from the red-light camera bill, those studies would have been very, very slow coming. We're also doing very exciting work on therapeutic hypothermia where people in the military, accidents are actually being cooled and protecting their brains and spinal cord. We just published a study this year showing that half of the people that we cooled early after spinal cord injury now have incomplete paralysis and one day may walk, so all of these things are happening because of these monies that are pouring into our center of excellence at the University of Miami. Just to emphasize personally that my daughter also go two tickets. For some reason, she did not know that at a red light, she has to stop before she makes a right turn. And we debated that, and I told her my story that one day I was coming -- I was losing -- I was leaving work and I actually did that. I almost stopped, but I kept rolling, and sure enough, a nice policeman rolled up behind me and said, "Sir, you know what you just did?" I said "What did) do?" He goes, "You did the New York roll, and that is illegal." So basically, we talked to my daughter, and now she knows that and is doing fine. So I would just like to thank all of you for all you do for the City ofMiami. It's very important. I think this is a very, very important decision you're making, and you know, again, I don't want to be cute, but I think it's a no-brainer. It helps everyone. It's a win -win situation. Andl do want to point out our colleagues and chairs, every day they volunteer their time to come to Lois Pope Life Center, and they're engaged in our clinical studies, and they're helping us make medical research, as well, and many of our scientists and staff here that are making the discoveries, developing new proteins that make neurons grow and axons grow is really going to be the state of art in terms of as we target CNS injury and repair in the future. So thank you very much, and please vote for this bill. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized for the record. Vance Lemmon: Hello. My name's Vance Lemmon. I'm a professor of neurosurgery at the Miami Project. I'm one of the people who studies how nerves grow, and I'm speaking) think as an expert on nerve growth. I'm one of the two National Institutes of Health Review Panels that reviews grants from the Spinal Cord Injury Center. I've travel all over the world visiting other spinal cord injury centers, and unfortunately, I can tell you we don't have a treatment to make nerves regrow in people. We're making progress in animals, but we have a long way to go before we can help these people. A single individual, the cost for caring for a single individual that has a spinal cord injury is millions of dollars over the course of their lifetime. So anything we can do to modift, the behavior of people to reduce accidents would make a huge difference in the lives of families here in Miami. I'm a resident of Coconut Grove. When I moved here ten years ago to join the Miami Project, my insurance rate doubled for my automobile insurance rate, and it wasn't because overnight) lost the ability to drive. It was because there's so many accidents City ofMiami Page 38 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 here. Six weeks ago, my wife andl were bicycling on Bayshore Drive. We had a green light coming at the 27th Street, and we crashed into each other because we were avoiding a pickup truck that ran the red light on 27th at about 30 miles an hour. It was very scary. So I do believe that the data we saw from the police department today shows, unequivocally, that here in Miami we're able to reduce accident rates by having the red light, so I encourage you to support this bill. Thankyou very much. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Mr. Buoniconti: IfI may, Mr. Chairman, Coach Don Shula and Emilio Estefan created a PSA (Public Service Announcement) in support of the red-light cameras. IfI may, can we --? Thirty seconds, if we could show it. Chair Sarnoff Go ahead. Mr. Buoniconti: And then after that, a quick message from Dr. Barth Green from the Miami Project. And you're on. For the Record: At this time an audio -video presentation was made. Chair Sarnoff All right. Mr. Manager, I take it that the Miami Foundation and the Jackson folks have pretty much said what they needed to say? Mr. Book: Mr. Chairman, just 20 seconds. There are a bundle of other people here, experts, scientists and the like, but I think we've sort of covered the waterfront. As I said when I started my presentation, res ipsa loquitur. The deputy chief assistant chief certainly made the case. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. So I'm going to go back to the Administration. It's not a public hearing yet. It's not a public hearing yet. Mr. Martinez: Chief do you have something you want to add? Chief Orosa: Yes. I, too, as chief of the police department, have family members that had been involved in tragic accidents. You all may remember Manny Gomez. He used to work -- ride Calle Ocho, that beautiful horse, up and down Southwest 8th Street. Manny took a fall. Manny was hospitalized, told he wasn't going to walk anymore. The wonderful doctors and surgeons and everybody at the Miami Project did their miracle and Manny today walks. He's retired. He couldn't be here today. But Manny is one of those special people that the Miami Project was able to help, and if not for them, Manny would be paralyzed in a bed somewhere at home. So I implore you that even our own may wind up needing the services of the Miami Project in the future, soI implore you to please help us with that, as well. Thankyou. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause Mr. Martinez: Mr. Chair, I think our vendor ATS (American Traffic Solutions) had some words, but I'd rather just hold off on that and leave it for the public hearing side or to answer any questions that the Commission may have. I think several points have been made, and we can revisit those if we have to. Chair Sarnoff All right. So let's do this: Do we have a motion? City of Miami Page 39 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Spence -Jones: I want to hear from the individuals that -- we haven't had a public hearing, though, yet, right? Chair Sarnoff No, we haven't. Do you want to first do the public hearing? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, I want to deal with the public, yeah. Chair Sarnoff All right. Anyone from the public wishing to be heard, please step up. Dick Anderson: My name is Dick Anderson. I live at 4603 Santa Maria, and I've been involved with the Miami Project since day one. I'm kind of a has-been. I've -- have been with the Dolphins for ten years. I was president of the Players Union. I was in the state senate. I've been involved in a lot of philanthropic organizations in Miami in the 45 years that I've been in Miami. I've known Marc Buoniconti since he was three, and we've always lived within a couple doors to a block of each other since Nick Buoniconti came to Miami in 1969. When Marc was injured in his accident and he saw his dad for the first time, his dad tells a story about looking into Marc's eyes and seeing `Dad help me. Dad, help me." And in Nick's way of being a leader, the captain of our team, he made a commitment that money would not stand in the way of finding a cure for paralysis. And believe it or not, in the last 28 years since Marc was injured, Nick and Marc and the Miami Project -- just Nick and Marc have raised over $200 million, close to $300 million for spinal cord injury research. I happen to be the first chairman of the board of the Miami Project for the first five years. Then it started growing and they needed experts to fill the shoes. But to see the growth of the Miami Project -- I was in the first meeting with Barth Green and Nick Buoniconti and myself, with the dean of the medical school, telling him that we could raise $500, 000, and we wanted to hire Ake Seiger, a Swedish scientist, to find a cure for paralysis. And he looked at us and he says, "Can you raise the money? " We said, "yes." We had an event in December of '85 at the Dolphin game and raised the money, the seed money. In June of that year, Ake Seiger came to Miami and the Miami Project started. Today, it has over 250 employees that live and work in the City ofMiami. Not all of them live in the City ofMiami, but they work at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Just two quick stories: One, when you recall a tight end from the Buffalo Bills Chad Everett getting injured, paralyzed in a football game, the doctor that he saw -- the neurosurgeon he saw in Buffalo had trained at the Miami Project. They had a machine that cooled the blood down that had never been used in Buffalo. They hooked it up to Chad Everett, and today he can walk. That wouldn't have happened without the research from the Miami Project. The red-light camera is a key item in saving lives and keeping people from getting paralyzed. It's ridiculous if you're not for keeping the hearing or initiating the hearing process that you need to collect the money from those that run red lights. Chair Sarnoff And in conclusion. Mr. Anderson: I can still see a day of a number of years ago, I'm sitting at a light at 62nd Avenue and Miller Road, and luckily, I was looking both ways. Luckily, I started slow to cross, but usually, I'm an aggressive driver. A car blew through a red light, hit the car coming from the other side, ran into a tree, andl still see that in my dreams. People run red lights, and this red-light camera, believe me, changes their behavior. It would be criminal if you did not initiate the -- Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. Anderson: -- hearing process. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. Anderson: Thank you. City ofMiami Page 40 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Applause. Chair Sarnoff All right. Here's what I'm going to do -- stop, stop. Here's what I'm going to do. Don't go up to the mike just yet. You have to sign up to speak. If you haven't signed up to speak, you will not speak, so make sure you sign up. And to do this fairly, I'm just going to read them off the way the Clerk handed them to me. So the next speaker should be Estebania de la Cruz. Estebania de la Cruz. Okay, Gail Feldman. Gail Feldman: Good morning, Mr. Chairman and other members of the Commission. I am Gail Feldman. I'm the vice president of the Brickell Homeowners Association, and I'm here to represent the BHA (Brickell Homeowners Association), as we're resolute in the belief that red-light cameras do save lives. I'm going to read the resolution: Resolution of the Brickell Homeowners Association -- excuse me -- urges the Miami City Commission to take all steps necessary to ensure the continuation of the red-light camera program in the City ofMiami. Whereas red-light cameras have been instrumental in curbing the behavior of aggressive and careless drivers; and whereas changing driver behavior reduces the running of red lights, making Miami safer for pedestrians, runners, bicyclists, and other motorists; and whereas a monetary fine for running red lights acts as a disincentive to aggressive or careless driving; and whereas the City ofMiami Police Department is currently short-staffed; and whereas the red-light camera program frees up police resources by automating the enforcement of traffic infractions that would otherwise be done by an officer; and whereas absent the cameras, the already short-staffed police -- excuse me -- department would have to divert officers away from handling more serious crimes; and whereas red-light cameras are a useful law enforcement tool not only for their stated purpose, but additionally for helping to solve other crimes through video surveillance; and whereas the City has budgeted in reliance of the revenue the red-light cameras produce; and whereas a sudden loss of anticipated revenue could further reduce key City services, notably, police staffing and enforcement; therefore, be it resolved that the Brickell Homeowners Association, with all due haste, urges the City ofMiami Commission, Mayor Regalado, and City Manager Johnny Martinez to take all steps necessary to ensure the continued functionality of the red-light camera program to benefit all the citizens ofMiami. Witness our hands at the Brickell Homeowners Association this loth day of July," which is when we signed this, "2013." Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you, Ms. Feldman. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Javier Ortiz, and on board after that is Gene Gibbons and on board after that is Jenny Guzman. You're recognized for the record. Sergeant Javier Ortiz: Good morning. Sergeant Javier Ortiz, president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police. I come here not only as a law enforcement officer, but also as a resident. We're number one in pedestrian fatalities here out of the entire United States. And to hit it a little more home, back in 2005, my great uncle -- sorry, just trying to compose myself -- Angel V llaronga was killed by a red-light runner at Northwest 27th Avenue and 20th Street. When it comes to crime, these cameras are much better than a lot of the other systems we have out there, like ShotSpotter. Here you have actual video that's going to be able to prove who did the crime, and again, like they've said, if this program saves one life, this program is worth it. We'll talk about the money aspect. I know not really anybody's touched on that, but the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, I've seen what that money does. Manny Gomez, Officer Manny Gomez, who is retired, who fell off a horse that the chief spoke about, I was there. I was there when he took his first steps, and he was the first person in Miami -- well, actually, he was the second to take this treatment, which they were talking about, which is called therapeutic hypothermia. He was the first one at Ryder to do it, andl remember when we were at Jackson, at Ryder, which I give full kudos to Ryder, they said "Look, we're going to freeze his body." What do you mean, 'freeze City ofMiami Page 41 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 his body?" And what they did was they lowered his body core temperature. At that point, they said he was never going to walk again, and he's walking today, so thank you. You guys are my heroes. Thank you. Applause. Sergeant Ortiz: And I'll wrap it up, 'cause I know there's a lot of people that want to speak. Regarding the money aspect, it's a great program for the Miami Project for Cure Paralysis as well as Ryder Trauma, but there's also another aspect, and that's the contract that we entered with the City ofMiami andATS, and you've all been afforded a letter from our attorneys that we would be on the hook for approximately $21.1 million if we broke that contract. For those that may not care about the money or think it's not that important, use that money in your market for public safety. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Gene Gibbons. Gene Gibbons. All right. Jenny Guzman. Jenny Guzman. All right. Fabiola Hernandez. All right. Luisa Hernandez. All right. NatMoore spoke. Sorry. No, he didn't. I apologize. Nat Moore. You know, they couldn't find you when you were out there running around on the field either. That's a good sign. NatMoore: Hey, hey, hey. Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, Mr. Manager, City Attorney, it indeed is an honor for me to be here. You know, you're talking about culture change. You know, I'm one of those people that they're talking about. You know, I'm one of those guys that I'm always late. I'm always behind schedule, and I'm trying to get there. And because of the red-light cameras, it's changed the way I do things now. You know, I'm not trying to make that light. You know what? If I'm -- when I get there, I'm there. if I'm running late, you know, where in the old days, because there was no punishment if you didn't get caught, I was like everybody else. I'm trying to get to where I got to go, and it's all about me. You know, my mother, who's no longer with us, was rear -ended at a red light, and she was in a coma for three days, and, you know, you learn things when you come to an assembly of this nature, and to see how the red-light cameras were used not just for traffic violations, it wouldn't have taken us three days to find my mother if traffic lights were available back in those days. My wife's mother was paralyzed from the neck down, walking from the store, crossing the street at a red light, by a hit-and-run driver. So I know the pain. But back in those days, there were no red-light cameras, there was no atonement. So I beg of you, find it in your heart -- oh, yes, it's really simple. Forget about the money. I shouldn't be saying that with them here. Forget about the money. Think about the safety aspects. And, oh, by the way, the benefit is if you break the law, we support some great causes. Bottom line is it makes no sense to repeal this law. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Rene Perez. Rene Perez. On deck is Lissette Rodriguez. You're recognized. Rene Perez: Mr. Chairman, Mr. Commissioners, my name is Rene Perez. I am the president of John Moretti Resident Association Council. We have 288 apartments and we are near two heavy traffic, 8th Street and 7th Street, and we have people from heavy difficult because they are old people, and we have people that are with physical conditions. Excuse me, my English not very good. I can read, but it's difficult to speak. Chair Sarnoff Whatever you're more comfortable in. City ofMiami Page 42 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Mr. Perez (as translated by Debra Spector, official Spanish interpreter): My name is Rene Perez. I am the president of the John Moretti Association. It's an association that is scattered in a number of locations from Southwest 2ndAvenue to Southwest 8th Avenue. It's near Southwest 8th Street, which has eastbound traffic, and Southwest 7th Street, which has westbound traffic. The residents of John Moretti are elderly people, a number of them with disabilities. They need to go to the pharmacy, they need to go to the market, they need to go to the Rafael V llaverde Center, known as the Little Havana Activity Center. They need to go to the Mayer Center, which are places where they can go to have lunch. I am here to present the feelings of many of those residents, because I've been working with this association for many years, and they have told me that they feel very safe with the installation of the red-light cameras on these intersections. Chair Sarnoff And in conclusion. Mr. Perez (as translated by Debra Spector, official Spanish interpreter): And the video that we've seen from the police department reaffirms that. Yes, my conclusion is that the neighbors in that area are very satisfied and very happy with these cameras, and we support the presence of those cameras in those places for safety. Okay. Chair Sarnoff Gracias. Mr. Perez: Gracias. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Lissette M. Rodriguez. Miguelina Rodriguez. Seth Sklarey, and on deck is Dr. Carlos E. Munoz Fontanillo. Seth Sklarey: I'm humbled by having to face two outstanding Miami Dolphins and a lot of wonderful people, but there are some things about this ordinance that troubles me and l feel compelled to speak on. First of all, I'm a strong supporter of the Ryder Trauma Center and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, andl don't want my comments in any way to be construed as being against them in any way. You know, they talk about -- one of the things that they talked about -- about these red-light cameras is that it's about the money. The City ofMiami will be getting $58 from each ticket. What? Commissioner Carollo: Forty five. Mr. Sklarey: Forty five. Okay, $45 from each ticket. So you might want to consider if you do pass this ordinance of giving some of that money to these good organizations -- a little bit more money to these organizations, that's number one. Applause. Mr. Sklarey: Number two, from the inception of this whole concept of red-light cameras, you know, Wall Street, Goldman Saks, and this Arizona company that sets it up gets I think like half the money. But the main problem that I have with it is the constitutionality of it and the rights of people who are tried in these tribunals. The way it's set up, it's to have a special master. You have it so that there are no -- they don't have to follow the rules of evidence at all. It says that you have to follow due process, but the formal rules of evidence are not in effect in this, so you get in there and it's like kind of a kangaroo court. It's like code enforcement. You go into code enforcement, but it's a kangaroo court. You don't really have rights. You can't bring up legal defenses. And I've spoken to lawyers who specialize in traffic violations, and they basically says, "Hey, there's no defense." Chair Sarnoff In conclusion. City ofMiami Page 43 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Mr. Sklarey: In conclusion, there should be a provision for people to be able to go before a county court judge instead of one of these hearing officers. Chair Sarnoff There is. Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Is Victor De Yurre here? Victor De Yurre? And after Victor De Yurre is Mr. Gonzalez. Victor De Yurre: Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, good morning. It's still morning. First of all, I want to say that I was asked to be here in case if there are any questions with the process, the hearing process. I am a traffic court hearing officer, and I've tried over 5,000 of these cases in the last three years. I know the process from top to bottom. I know what it takes to get a notice of violation. I know how you go and pay for the fine if you want to stay out of the process. But I do want to say that this adds one more tier, an option to the residents of not having to go to court. As you've seen, right now the process is that you either pay or you get your license suspended for not doing anything or you get a traffic citation and you have to appear in court. This allows you to avoid that process. It allows you an angle different from what we've had up to now in the last three years. Now, you may recall that before 2011, the violations were heard at the local municipalities. So what is going to be happening now has already happened in the past, so we're going back to the old days of how it used to run. One of the things I'd like to mention is that people have to ask themselves, "When are you running a red light?" You know, because we talk about running a red light, and everybody here has an idea. "Well, I think it's if you're in the box or if the light is yellow or if it turns red." I think it's critical that we understand when a light is being violated, the red light, and it's simple. It all depends on the white stop bar. That's the magical stop bar that you have at the end of the street. If your vehicle is standing behind the stop bar when the light turns red and you go through, you took the light. If any part of the vehicle is on the stop bar when the light turns red and you go through, you did not take it. So I think it's a lot more relaxed than people really think. So just keep that in mind, and maybe that can help you determine whether you go or you don't or you stop or you don't. I'd just like to add that the process, there is plenty of due process. In the over 5,000 cases that I've heard, I listen to people. I listen to what they have to say, and there are a number of reasons why they're going to be found guilty or not. You're going to have evidence before you in a monitor, and that monitor speaks a thousand words, but you also have reasons or exclusions for not to be fined, and they're laid out, and you can be one of the exceptions. You can be maybe the person that wasn't driving in that vehicle, and if you weren't driving the vehicle, all you have to do is present an affidavit with the information of who was driving that vehicle so that then your case can be dismissed and that other person can receive the notice of violation. Maybe a police officer moved you, told you to go through. That's also a reason not to be fined. A funeral procession is going through; you have to move. An emergency vehicle is coming through -- police, ambulance -- you have to get out of the way. And that is evidence that you present and the ticket is dismissed. So there is plenty of due process. Also, if you were fined by a police officer for the same infraction, that ticket also gets dismissed. And lastly, if you passed away prior to the violation and evidence is presented, that ticket obviously gets dismissed. But there is plenty of due process. If you want to appeal this matter, it goes before the circuit court, just as it has been up to now. If you're found guilty at the county level, you have the appeal process to go to the circuit court to appeal. That process is still going to be available at the municipality level. There's a lot more information that have, andl stand ready to answer any questions that this Commission may have on the matter. Chair Sarnoff Mr. De Yurre, one question: You could equally choose to go through the county process. City of Miami Page 44 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Mr. De Yurre: With the way it works is, you either pay the $158 and there's nothing else to talk about or, number two, you present an affidavit. Now, it used to be you had 30 days to do so. Now it's been expanded to 60 days. So now you have 60 days to either pay the fine, the $158, or you can do nothing. And by doing nothing, automatically, at the end of the 60 days, it becomes a ticket, it becomes a citation, and then you automatically bypass the municipality process and go straight to what is happening now, county court, and then you can also appeal it. So those are options that you have. What you will find -- and it's happened to me many a times -- is that people just don't do the affidavit component prior to, let's say now, the 60 days. They just request a hearing. So if they request a hearing, they come before me. What happens is then they say, "No, listen, this happened." I say, "Okay, you can fill out the affidavit right now." So there's a lot of latitude that one has in making sure that justice is present. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. De Yurre: Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized. Commissioner Carollo: And l just want to, just for clarity, currently, andl mean currently, before the legislature acted, there wasn't an appeal process? Mr. De Yurre: There's always been an appeal process. Commissioner Carollo: There's always been an appeal process. Mr. De Yurre: You know what? The problem is -- Commissioner Carollo: Because from what you stated, it appeared like there wasn't an appeals process. Mr. De Yurre: No, there is. You can always appeal, but the problem is that it cost you $250 to file an appeal, and the ticket is 258 so -- Commissioner Carollo: Well, hold on, hold on. It was $119, I think, what the appeal process cost, and then if you were found guilty, the ticket also adds another $158. Mr. De Yurre: No, no. Commissioner Carollo: So that's how you came up with the 250-something. Mr. De Yurre: No, I'm talking about a different appeal. If you take it to court, I don't think that is an appeal. That is your right to challenge the ticket. That is 258, okay. One fifty-eight, I'm sorry, and 119: 277. You've got that. But if you lose at that level, you have the right to appeal the decision and take it to circuit court, just like you will at the municipal level. You can appeal that decision and take it to the circuit court and pay the $250. Commissioner Carollo: Right. But what we're discussing now is the appeal process, where if someone gets a red-light ticket and they want to appeal and they take it to the court and it's a 119 Mr. De Yurre: One nineteen. Commissioner Carollo: Right. And that's what has been -- City of Miami Page 45 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Mr. De Yurre: If they're guilty, if they're guilty. Commissioner Carollo: -- taken away and that's what is asked of this Commission now, to approve this new process of appeals. Mr. De Yurre: And if you -- Commissioner Carollo: And excuse me if I'm wrong, but I think you're one of the special magistrates that the City just hired or -- Mr. De Yurre: I've been one of your Code Enforcement officers. Commissioner Carollo: Right, but it's different. We're talking Code Enforcement officers or Code Enforcement Board and we're talking special magistrate. Andl think, recently -- andl know, because we had a lot of debate back and forth and a lot of discussion and it was deferred for many, many Commission meetings until we finally decided, okay, we're going to add an additional two special masters. Andl even wonder if someone was seen before and what was going on and added these two special masters. But you know very well that we had -- it was deferred many times because there was a lot of issues with the special masters, andl guess each Commissioner had their own issues. Ultimately, it was passed andl think you were one of the new special masters that -- Mr. De Yurre: Yes, I am. Commissioner Carollo: -- came on board, right? Mr. De Yurre: Yes, I am. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. And just for clarity, because I think the way it was stated, it appeared like there was no way in the past to appeal a traffic ticket. You either paid $158 or you did nothing and then you had to take it to county court. There was an appeals process. Mr. De Yurre: No. You take it -- the appeal is going to county court. Commissioner Carollo: Right, and that's what's been taken away from the state legislator -- or state legislation [sic] and has now put the burden on the municipalities to have some type of board or -- whether it's Code Enforcement or whether it's a special magistrate -- Mr. De Yurre: No. Commissioner Carollo: -- to hear the appeals process. Mr. De Yurre: No. The process still exists. You have the option of going straight to county court, and how you do that is by not responding during the 60-day window, so automatically it becomes a ticket -- Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but that's not an appeal. Mr. De Yurre: -- and then -- Commissioner Carollo: That's -- Mr. De Yurre: But that's the way -- it -- you still have the option of what we've had up to now. City of Miami Page 46 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Carollo: I got you. Mr. De Yurre: Okay. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Mr. De Yurre: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Carlos Munoz Fontanillo. Commissioner Carollo: Fontanillo. Chair Sarnoff Fontanillo. Carlos Munoz Fontanillo (as translated by Debra Spector, official Spanish interpreter): I am American citizen for 40 years. I read English and write English. I speak no better word because I lose my (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for more than 17 percent a little boy. Here, the official idiom is English, Creole, and Spanish. My idiom is Spanish; I will speak in Spanish. Commissioners, Mayor, you're going to take -- make a historic decision today, take away those (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in front of cameras or to keep them. That is your responsibility. This is very nice business (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F) American profit solution. This is not a millionaire's solution business. It's a billionaire business. This is a company that takes (UNINTELLIGIBLE), nothing less than 40 percent of your ticket money. I've been a victim recently of two tickets. Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman. (Comments in Spanish: Mr. Fontanillo, if you would speak more slowly, she is going to translate.) Mr. Fontanillo: I've been a victim recently of two tickets that I got, tickets that I got at 4 o'clock in the morning on 8th Street. You're allowed to drive 30 miles an hour on 8th Street, and at that time of morning, because I'm up late at night very often, I went by it (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I am a veterinarian doctor. I love animals. And I know that at that time of the morning, there are dogs and cats in the street and I've seen them get killed. It was 8th Street and 8th Avenue at 4 o'clock in the morning and I got a ticket. I think it's terrible to go through a red light. It should be penalized not with a ticket but with jail time because it puts people's lives in danger. Chair Sarnoff And in conclusion. Mr. Fontanillo: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Sarnoff Senor, in conclusion. Mr. Fontanillo: In conclusion, I would like a copy of that wonderful video. The people (UNINTELLIGIBLE) these cameras. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. Fontanillo: I don't know how voting works. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. Fontanillo: There are a group of young people (UNINTELLIGIBLE) camera -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: I heard my name. City of Miami Page 47 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Mr. Fontanillo: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Michelle Spence (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- Chair Sarnoff Senor. Mr. Fontanillo: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. Fontanillo: African Americano (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Spence -Jones: I have no idea what you're saying so can you allow for her to --? Chair Sarnoff No, no, no, no, no. Thank you. Commissioner Spence -Jones: He said my name, though. I'm just -- Chair Sarnoff I know. I'm going to ask the sergeant of arms to thank him and to remove him from the dais [sic]. Thank you. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I still don't know everything he was saying so -- Chair Sarnoff Fernan -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Just heard my name. Chair Sarnoff -- Fernando Gonzalez. Fernando Gonzalez: It's morning or late? Good afternoon, good morning, whatever. My name is Fernando Gonzalez. I'm from Neighbors national organization in Little Havana since 20 year -- more than 20 years ago. My address is 128 Northwest 18 Avenue. There is something concern here. I come -- I can bring a thousand people here if you want. They coming people from everywhere now from the Trauma Center. I can bring from the East Little Havana 60, 000 family living a low level of poverty receiving hundred -- I am not against to the cameras. I am against to the $158. Because sometimes when you have six, seven cars in front of you and you have a truck, the red light catch you right on the middle of the street and you receive a ticket, and a lot of people over there. This is what happens. Another thing is: Who is going to prevent accidents? Because the camera or without the camera, every day you're going to see accidents, every day. Hundred and fifty-eight dollars for the poor people in this neighborhood right now is too much money that the people have to pay for the tickets. Another thing is the other day, about a week ago, a lady hit me on the rear and she say, 1'try to run the light because the light's going to take me, the red light. "She hit my car on the rears. She was crying. I say, "Don't cry. I don't want to call the police. I know your situation; that a thousand people has over here." The people who make $400 a week and have to afford two of the children and have to feed his family, these people, they cannot pay that amount of -- they pay that money or they -- you destroy their economy. The situation is you have to be fair with the community, Commissioners, please. You want to put 100 more cameras, do it, but don't charge $158 for somebody that looks like they run the red light. The people run the red light, they going to run the red light with cameras and without the cameras. And another matter is -- Chair Sarnoff In conclusion. Mr. Gonzalez: One second, please. One minute. Chair Sarnoff In conclusion. City of Miami Page 48 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Mr. Gonzalez: The people -- the traffic is reduced because it too expensive to have a car, too expensive to pay the insurance, too expensive to pay the gasoline. That's why the traffic is reduced and the accidents are reduced and too many people have been deported, and people don't drive no more. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. Gonzalez: You see what happen. Be fair with the community, please. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Next is -- we had -- that was Fernando Gonzalez, right? Vice Chair Gort: Yes. Chair Sarnoff Hilda Rodriguez, and after Hilda Rodriguez is Julio Balsera. Gilda Rodriguez: Good morning, Chairman and City Commissioners. My name is Gilda Rodriguez, resident of 2930 Southwest 25 Terrace. I am here by myself, representing the Golden Pines Neighborhood Association. I by myself for -- I am for support of the traffic light cameras program. We have letters from several members of the association and also a resolution that I would like to read to the records. A resolution of Golden Pines Neighborhood Association supporting the continuation of the red-light cameras program in the City ofMiami. Whereas traffic safety cameras has -- I'm sorry -- traffic safety laws are established to keep people safe on our roads, and whereas the increased enforcement of those laws deters reckless driving that place people at risk of injury or death, and whereas by enforcing the red lights, we are not taking away any rights from drivers; rather, we are simply asking them to obey the law they agreed to follow when they receive their drivers licenses, and whereas red cameras are a useful law enforcement tool for helping to solve other crimes through video surveillance, and whereas the use of red-light cameras reduces the running of red lights, making Miami safer for pedestrian, runners, bicyclists, and other motorists, and whereas absent the cameras, the already short-staffed police department will have to divert officers away from handling more serious crimes. Therefore, it's resolved that the Golden Pines Neighborhood Association urges the City ofMiami Commissioners, Mayor Tomas Regalado, and City Manager Johnny Martinez to take all steps necessary to ensure the continued functionality of the red-light cameras program to benefit the City of Miami. Witness our hand, Gilda Rodriguez, president, and Dyonicia Pinan (phonetic), secretary. We, please ask you to keep the program. It's -- after all the information, the videos that you have see, it prove that the red-light cameras are necessary for the safety of our citizens in Miami. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mrs. Rodriguez: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Julio Balsera; Mariano Cruz on deck. Julio Balsera (as translated by Debra Spector, official Spanish interpreter): Julio Balsera. Buenas Dias. After all the comments that have been made regarding the problem of the red-light cameras, what I'm seeing is that in addition to all these problems that we've been seeing, what -- that what we need is better information to our citizens. The City ofMiami has a television station that could be used during some daytime hours, information in English and Spanish and Creole, with pictures of people who run the red lights so that people can see the problem and not just the $158. The problem is when you run a red light and cause an accident, and we have the City ofMiami Page 49 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 examples of a number of people who have been disabled by people running red lights. There are many more here in this City that have also been victims. I appeal to you to use the television and radio stations to let people know that it's not just the $158, but that the red-light cameras are saving people's lives. Thank you very much. Chair Sarnoff Muchas gracias. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Mariano Cruz. Shira Kastan is on deck. Mariano Cruz: Mariano Cruz, 1227 Northwest 26th Street, Miami, Florida. I've been residing in Miami since 1962. The only time I was out here was when I went as a volunteer in the U.S. Army in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), which I get service collected, disability. So I got no problem; I get paid regardless. I got the wherewithal to be here. Many people in my neighborhood, they don't have the time to be here, but contribute to already to the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Dr. Bart Green. I send a check that's more than the $3 that -- of the check, so I don't need to do that, okay. But the only thing worries me -- I am for safety. And I've been lobby. I got family that police officers; children, police officers; grandchildren, or father and mother police officer. They been lobbying me to speak here in favor. The only thing is the money. Because, first, you read George Orwell's 1984? 1984, it passed already. Big brother is here watching you, everything. Animal Farm and thing. But the main thing say, the City ofMiami is in violation of the lights at the intersection. You know why? Because all those intersections are Miami -Dade County. Miami -Dade County, the signal (UNINTELLIGIBLE) has another resolution on that. Miami -Dade County controls the traffic lights, the water, everything. And we are -- The only thing we control in Allapattah is 14 and 28, is the City street. The rest are major arterials, and the City put light there. That's a prerogative ofMiami-Dade County. No, it's a City ofMiami. I don't know what if they does is illegal. But remember, I am not afraid of anybody, of anybody, because when I -- the money, shave Mariano Cruz, you're number one. I take care of myself. I pulling myself -- And, remember, I tell you, the anticipation of death is worse than death, itself. So I don't worry about that. Chair Sarnoff And in conclusion. Mr. Cruz: In conclusion, I was supposed to be dead at 17 years old. I survived that war in Cuba. I survive Vietnam. I survive Storm Desert. I still here. And still you see my face -- Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. Cruz: You will see my face often, too. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. Cruz: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Shira Kastan, Ken Knight. Shira Kastan: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners. I'm Shira Kastan, representing President Donald Shalala and the University of Miami. All of you should have received a letter in support from the president this week. You know, the university stands committed to many partnerships in the surrounding community; one of those is our commitment to enhancing public City ofMiami Page 50 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 safety in the City ofMiami. You've heard from Dr. Namias and others, the Ryder Trauma Center, which is the only level 1 Trauma Center in this county. It treats about 3,500 people a year. And similarly, the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis conducts break -through research and clinical trials that help saves lives. Thank you very much. Chair Sarnoff Thank you, Ms. Kastan. Ken Knight Applause. Ken knight: Commissioner. Chair Sarnoff Robert Suarez on deck. Mr. Knight: There again, I'm -- my mind goes back to last year when we had the tragic accident at the world famous Jumbos and we lost two patrons because they overran the red light and killed two people. Recently, we had Tommy Wilson. We had Bruce Weber at the restaurant. And my mind goes out to Reverend Harris, who lost his life, and Deacon Al, but it's not enough to have the red-light cameras and all that, Commissioners. We need to make sure that we go a little step further and have those barricades there again in the community at these traffic stops, because when they run those red lights, they run right into these pedestrians. So what we need to do is to really make sure that they -- along with the red lights, that we protect the people who are on these streets and highways with these barricades so that we won't lose any more lives, because there again, we get these famous people that come to our restaurants, but we need to make sure that ordinary people are safe too. Thank you very much. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Robert Suarez and then Millie Garcia Navarro. Robert Suarez. Robert Suarez. Commissioners, as you know, I'm a lieutenant with the City of Miami Fire -Rescue Department. My job is to represent to you our paramedics and firefighters on the street. I have to commend you that when you put this program into place, you made a decision from the beginning that this was not about trying to collect as much money as you could. Many cities around us that some of the opponents of this program like to compare this program with chose to try to make as much money as they could, and that's what they made it about, and they were ticketing for nuisances, for right- and left-hand turns. This City said, "We're going to ticket for the life -endangering behavior, and that's the running the red light." And let's be here clear. Whether you think the $158 is too much, the purpose of this program and these cameras is to make you stop running a red light. These aren't parking tickets. This isn't cutting your tree too much or leaving trash out by the street. When you engage in this reckless behavior, you threaten the lives of our community. As your paramedics, we're there to clean up that blood when these accidents occur. We see firsthand what happens when someone runs a red light. And to the comments about Well, I did it at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning when nobody was on the street,'those are some of the most incredibly horrible accidents we see are at 2, 3 or 4 in the morning when that person thinks that nobody else is on the road. In regards to what type of fine this is, you might ask, "Well, okay, the Fire Department is very familiar with saving lives, but what do you know about fines?" The Fire Department, unfortunately, has to issue fines for things. But we don't issue fines to make money. We issue fines on behaviors that endanger the rest of the community. When a nightclub owner decides to chain -close an emergency exit because he wants to save a couple bucks from the people that sneak their friends in through the back door and people get killed because of that -- 'cause it's cheaper to chain the door closed than to leave it open. That's what enforcing life -safety issues and life -endangering behavior. This is not about making money. This is about protecting our community. If you're City ofMiami Page 51 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 fighting to protect people who are getting these fines, who are you protecting? Who are you advocating in favor of? Make no doubt about it; the City ofMiami's program from the beginning has been focused on stopping life -threatening, irresponsible behavior. And that's what you're voting on, is to maintain that program. You decided from the beginning to not make this a revenue issue. I commend you for that foresight from the beginning. And keep this program in place. It is saving lives. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Millie Garcia Navarro and Rudy Nunez next. Millie Garcia Navarro: Good morning, Commissioners, members of the audience. Mr. Fontanillo, you have all my respect for all the things that you do for so many people in need. As I said, my name is Millie Garcia Navarro. I'm now at 2100 Broadway. I'm currently retired, but I have 38 years of experience in constituent services. I was the director of constituent services for Congressman Mario Diaz Balart not only in the state legislature, but also in the federal government. And the other rest of the years, I worked for the Mayor as the same capacity. I have dedicated my life to public service, as I'm sure all of you feel the same way, andl strongly believe the red-light camera program is a public service to our community. This program is about safety. The true victims of these programs are the law-abiding citizens and it should be, andl beg you to please consider this of voting in favor of the program. I ask you to please think about safety and not a special interest. And not only you have to think of the person who is the victim, but as a constituent director for many years, 38 years, I saw that this is an impact not only on the people who unfortunately have the accident but on the family. How many family have come to our offices seeking help, seeking help in trying to pay the rent for the apartment? Because when these people suffer an accident, they will not be able to work. So it's an impact for the family. It's an impact for the person. And they come seeking all kinds of services to make ends meet. I also am here because of the memory of my brother-in-law. He passed away last year, July 30. He was also a resident ofMiami-Dade County for 40 years for the City ofMiami. He lived in Brickell. And he was also involved in a car accident, and unfortunately, right now, it has not -- he's dead. He was two weeks in the Trauma Center with complication because of the accident, and it was because someone just drove away of a red light. I thank you for your time. I know that you will be doing what you think is good for your conscience and for the people of the City ofMiami, and leave this program the way it is. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Ms. Navarro: Thank you so much to all of you. Chair Sarnoff Appreciate it very much. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Rudy Nunez. Rudy Nunez: Yes. Hello. Good afternoon. Rudy Nunez. I come as a concerned citizen. Our house address is 2211 Southwest 27th Terrace. It's right behind US 1 on the northeast road. Basically, I come in favor and in support of the red-light cameras. I'm going to keep this brief. Just basically, once I heard about these red-light cameras coming into the development, I was very excited because living in Miami all my life, you see the people, I mean, running red lights. I can't tell you I've never done it, but it's certainly one of the, you know, most major life -safety issues on the road that we encounter. And once these red-light cameras came up, it was very exciting to see them. I think, anecdotally, all of us can see that there's less red-light running. I City ofMiami Page 52 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 would like to hope that. Even in lights that may not have a camera, people think, well, is or is it there? And you're going to pull back and slow down. Another anecdote -- and it was a red-light cameras issue -- I'm on SecoffeeTerrace, like I say, one block off US 1, and we had a neighbor who, young kid, 12 years old, was skate boarding, went down to 27th. He took the back roads across over -- going that skateboard shop. I think it's still there. And, you know, he was run over. It was a very, you know, obviously a terrible thing. It happened to one of our neighbors. I think this is a very important life -safety issue, andl would urge the Commission and the City of Miami to keep it going and, again, one more vote in favor. Thank you very much. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Juan Mario Aracil and on deck is Frank Nuhfer. Juan Mario Aracil. Now Frank Nuhfer, N-U-H-F-E-R. Carmen Avila, Gladys Fernandez, and then Jerome Starling. Oh, interpreter. Sorry. Gladys Fernandez (as translated by Debra Spector, official Spanish interpreter): Good afternoon, Commissioners. I want to say that I'm very much in favor of the installation of the cameras. They are saving lives, and a life has no price. I also want to say that all those people who have received tickets and have not paid them should be sent to jail because they are not obeying the law. What can be expected of someone who does not obey the law? It's the principle of everything and basis of everything. That's all I have to say. Thank you very much. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff Jerome Starling. Jerome Starling: Thank you. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Basically, I was not going to get involved with red-light cameras but kept coming at me, kept coming at me, and then I thought about it, how it affected my life because some of the doctors sit on my board -- I always used to go to the paralysis center and see them deal with research and things of that matter. And then on 7-9-13, seventh month, the ninth day, and the thirteenth year, I had a personal experience. Because if you look at me, you'll notice I lost about 50 pounds. I walk a lot. But let me read you what I wrote very briefly. Save a life, save red-light cameras. Just save a life. The citizens of the City ofMiami that walk and jog and cross the streets deserve to be kept safe when crossing a street. I walk 15 miles in the morning andl walk 15 miles in the evening. I almost got killed on 7-9-13 of this week when a car struck a truck and the truck flipped over. And ifI would have not taken two steps back, the truck would have landed on top of them. I always pray in the morning, but that morning I had a special prayer, for the Lord took care of me when I was crossing the street. Yes, I was crossing the street. I had the right-of-way because the walkway said "walk" and that's what I was doing, I was walking. But for some reason, the driver kept going southbound, and the truck went out and got hit by the back, and my life was saved on 7-9-13. So it could have been me one day, once I got out the hospital, sitting in a wheelchair like these mens [sic] and women are doing. It could be you. Don't wait until something happens to your family member or your loved one and say, We could have done something about it. We could have made a difference." Chair Sarnoff And in conclusion. Mr. Starling: And the conclusion is save a life, save red-light cameras before someone close to you are injured or killed, like my life almost was taken on 7-9-13. City ofMiami Page 53 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff The last public speaker I have is Gretel Martinez. Gretel Martinez. All right, anyone else wishing to speak in the public hearing? Oh. Gretel Martinez: Hi. I'm Gretel Martinez. My address is 520 Southwest 47th Avenue. Basically, I'm here because I'm in favor of the cameras. I have a sister who was involved in an auto accident. She was pregnant. She was 23 years old at that time. And she had a severe brain injury. She managed to have her baby. She was seen and spent many months in the trauma center. And l feel that if cameras would have been in place, people would have been more careful. This happened because somebody ran a red light and they were speeding. So I ask you to please consider this program; it would help the community and maybe it would avoid a lot of accidents that have happened. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Applause. Chair Sarnoff All right, the public hearing is now closed, coming back to this Commission. Is there a motion? Vice Chair Gort: Move it. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Carollo: Second for discussion and debate. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Carollo. Commissioner Carollo, you're recognized for the record. Commissioner Carollo: I'll yield to my colleagues, but I want to make sure that we have a healthy debate on this, so I'm going to yield to my colleagues right now. But obviously, I'm going to want to speak after some of my colleagues speak or presentation from -- anymore presentation from the Administration. Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Spence -Jones -- who wants to go next? Vice Chair Gort: Well, mainly -- the main reason -- Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Gort's recognized. Vice Chair Gort: -- I made the motion, I have to tell you, personally, it changed my way of driving. I'm the one that used to be late all the time, and I've taken two red lights and it cost me quite a bit, andl was very lucky. And one of them was an accident; fortunate, nobody was hurt, but it was a real bad accident. I can tell you right now I'm taking my time. If I'm late, I'll be late. And that's one of the reason I'm in favor of this, and that's why we've had it. This is something that legislature passed. And, you know, you can take it away at the City ofMiami, but then you go to Coral Gables, West Miami, North Miami and cameras are there. And anybody gets a ticket in those areas, they're going to blame it on the City ofMiami. Andl think we see the benefit and the safe. We have calls from the first time that the Administration made their presentation, andl recall then Assistant City Manager Martinez saying, "We hope it's zero revenue, but we hope we can change the habit of people." And come on, we all drive here in the City ofMiami. You can see how many people take the red lights constantly and the amount of City ofMiami Page 54 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 accidents it causes, and that's one of the reasons why I put in this. Now, Ron Book, I want a commitment from you because one -- an additional benefit that can come out of this -- and you are very friendly with all the legislature -- if we can -- we have proof that we have reduced crime and we have reduced traffic problems in South Florida, insurance companies should drop their rates a little bit. Commissioner Suarez: Agreed. Applause. Vice Chair Gort: Now, there was some question about the procedure, the cost, and so on, which I think that needs to be answered. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. First of all, I want to commend the Manager. In our last hearing, I clearly asked for him to come back with a full presentation of all the benefits of the program, andl think that he did an excellent job with -- so I want to commend you for that, you and your whole team. Applause. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So at least we have a full picture of what the real issues are regarding red-light cameras. I know that Commissioner Carollo mentioned that he wanted to hear from all of us first -- others first, but I think it's important -- because I kind of know what Sarnoff andl know what Gort, what their positions are on this. Butl think it's extremely important for me also to hear the other side of it, you know, to really make a conscious decision and -- there was a statement made earlier that it's a Spence -Jones vote. No, I firmly believe that it's a five person Commission vote, and I'm saying that because we should never make assumptions that just because two people agreed with something the first time, that they're not going to agree with it again on the second time. So every time we sit up here to vote on a item, we should be voting on what we feel is right, not based upon politics or people's personal viewpoints. It should be about what we know is right. Commissioner Carollo: Amen. Commissioner Suarez: Right. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So I want to at least make sure I state that for the record. So with that being said, I would like to hear from Commissioner Carollo and Commissioner Suarez, which, quite frankly, I feel as though both of them made very good points regarding this issue. And sometimes we can get caught up in emotionalism around making decisions, but we should make the decisions based upon what we feel is right and nothing else. So there was a comment that was made earlier, andl want to at least say this before I do my closing statement after they speak. I think it's a bad idea to compare the supporters of this program to the support of a program that Commissioner Suarez championed, and he caught a lot of resistance on, which was ShotSpotters. While I totally agree, I think any tragedy that takes place in any person's family is a tragedy, whether or not they get hit by a car, whether or not they get shot with a gun. And the statement making any kind of comparisons as to whether or not, you know, the City's spending money to support a ShotSpotters program and comparing it to our support of red cameras, I think that was a little out of order. As a district Commissioner that has to represent a number of young people that are shot daily -- almost daily in our streets from gun violence -- that mother, that father that will not see their kid at all anymore feels the same kind of pain that anybody else feels. So I think that that statement, I really felt, was a little out of order. I think that if we're going to make a decision, it should be based upon, you know, this particular program. I think all issues are important. So with that being said, I would like to at least hear from the other -- my colleagues regarding this issue. I don't know if Carollo wants to start first City of Miami Page 55 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 or Suarez. Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Commissioner. And thank you all for being here. I want to, first and foremost, commend the Miami Project for all of the work that they've done to cure paralysis. I want to also commend the doctors that came here on behalf of Jackson Memorial Hospital, which has, in my opinion, one of, if not the most prestigious trauma centers in the world and -- you know, and from my perspective, those two organizations are worthy of the funding that they receive and then some, andl think it's our responsibility as elected officials to fight for that funding for those organizations. What we have here before us is something different. And last Commission meeting, what was brought before us was an emergency ordinance, which means that we were asked two Thursdays ago to pass a law on an emergency basis implementing an appellate procedure that was mandated by state statute. At the time we were given no backup information that explained what the cost would be for that appellate process. We had no way of knowing what our residents were going to pay for that appellate process. We -- there was really not much of a discussion about the procedure and whether it's a good process to adopt or not to adopt. Obviously, two weeks have gone by and a lot has changed; a lot more attention is on this issue right now, which is interesting, because this exact very same issue was before us two weeks ago. So, you know, my -- the reason why I voted against it was not because I don't believe in safety andl don't want to champion safety in our city. The reason why I voted against it was because I felt that it was not properly before us. I felt that it had been done hastily, andl gave examples of that. Other cities in the state of Florida had taken up this matter as early as a month before we did, which would have given us plenty of time to debate it, to discuss it, and to decide whether it was something that was in the best interest of our residents. From my perspective, and one of the reasons why I voted against it, was because on the substantive matter before us, which is whether or not we adopt this appellate hearing [sic], the appellate hearing process that the state has asked the cities to adopt does a variety of things that I think are detrimental to our citizens. The first is that there are no qualification standards for the hearing officers, other than they be lawyers, so that would mean that a first -year lawyer could be a hearing officer and preside over all these cases. The second issue thatl had with it was that the state statute, as adopted, suspended the formal rules of evidence, and the exact quote from the state statute is "The formal rules of evidence will not apply." I don't think that's something that helps our citizens. I don't think that's something that protects our citizens. Third, there was an additional cancellation fee which was not previously in the statute, which would require our citizens to pay an additional $50 to cancel an appeals process. Fourth, and probably the most upsetting part of the whole -- the way this has been handled by our Administration, is that the cost of the ticket, after appeals, can be as high as $408, according to the state statute. Now, there has been statements made on the record. Our Planning director made a statement that they're ready to go, and there were statements made on the record at the last Commission meeting that the appeals process would actually be less expensive for our residents. But as last Commission meeting -- I don't know if -- and if I'm wrong, I apologize, 'cause, you know, I'm a human being; I make mistakes too, clearly. So if I'm wrong and if I'm misstating something, then I apologize, but I haven't seen any backup information -- I don't know if you've been given any backup information -- that corroborates what the cost are going to be or the plan that the City's going to implement to handle the volume of infraction appeals that we're going to have to handle. The City ofMiami has approximately 1,300 --1, 200, 1,300, depending on what number you want to take, of appeals per month, which means we would have 65 appeals per day. The City has not presented to me a plan on where it's going to be located, on how much it's going to cost. Two weeks ago this very Commission was very critical of the Administration for not providing that information. Andl think Commissioner Spence -Jones was very kind in voting in favor of the appellate process when it wasn't really before us properly, because she felt that the Administration should be given another opportunity to bring forth that information, and yet, we don't have that. Other cities that have implemented the appellate procedure -- and there's two that are close by, and they're much smaller cities with much less infractions -- have doubled the fee. We have the City of Medley that has raised the appellate fee to 175; the City of Coral Gables that has raised the appellate fee to $200. So we're City ofMiami Page 56 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 supposed to believe, as Commissioners, with no backup and no information, that we can provide that appellate procedure for less money for our residents when we have far more cameras and a far more extensive program than these small cities. You know, I really debated about whether or not -- because what happened last Thursday andl think what -- many of the reasons why many of you are here is that I had a discussion item on the agenda -- on the same agenda -- actually, it was the prior agenda and it got -- you know, it got postponed to this agenda. And that discussion item was about yellow light intervals, and there was an article probably a month before the -- I put the discussion item on the Commission meeting [sic] -- that described that some cities were actually reducing the time -- the duration of yellow lights to increase their red-light camera revenues, and that kind of prompted me not only to find out whether or not we, as a city or as a county, were doing that, which I think would be offensive if that was the reason why we were reducing our yellow light durations, but also started looking at the program andl also started looking at other potential mechanisms and measures to provide safety for our residents, some of which don't cost the residents of the City ofMiami what this particular program cost them. And whatl discovered was -- andl asked the Chairman for latitude, because this is -- I have done extensive research on this. What I discovered was that almost half of the cameras in the City ofMiami, 46 percent to be exact, have failed to produce fewer accidents in 2012 and 2000 -- than in 2011. That overall -- and it's -- you know, the statistics have been out there. When you compare intersections with red-light cameras to intersections -- to our intersections in the City, the difference in reduction is slight. When you look across the country, over 30 cities in California have discontinued their red-light camera program after determining that the programs were not effective. Los Angeles removed them because their accidents increased. San Diego removed them because there was no decrease in the accidents. In the bay area, just in the last few months, Belmont, California, removed them because of increased accidents. Redwood City removed them because of increased accidents. Hayward, California, removed them because of increased accidents. Collier County in the state of Florida, no reduction in accidents; removed the cameras. New Jersey stopped installing new cameras because of increased accidents. When you talk about the effectiveness of red-light cameras -- and it's a very debatable subject, obviously. I mean, I think -- I'm not here to say that anyone who is an advocate of red-light cameras is acting in bad faith or is trying to push anything down anyone's throat. I just simply want the entire story to be told, and again, like I said, we've done a lot of research on this, and there are a lot of other methods out there that provide safety. According to the Texas Transportation Institute study, the average red-light camera ticket is issued within half a second after the light has turned red, but most red -angle crashes happen several seconds after the light has turned red. I'm not here just to be a critic of red-light cameras. At the last Commission meetingl offered a variety of alternatives or things even that can be used in conjunction. One of the things thatl talked about was yellow light intervals, changing the duration of yellow light intervals, actually making them longer. In Chandler, Arizona, they extended the yellow like interval by half a second and that reduced accidents by 40 percent and the effect remains even three years after that adjustment. University of New Mexico Study, City of Albuquerque, eliminated red-light cameras and increased yellow light intervals between two -tenths of a second and five -tenths of a second, based on 8 percent decrease in crashes and 18 percent decrease in T-bone collisions. The Texas Transportation study that referred to before extended yellow light intervals by one second; reduced red light violations by 53 percent. A Bonus and a Zimmerman study, published in 2003, extending yellow light intervals between half a second and one and a half seconds reduces red-light violations by at least 50 percent. Virginia Department of Transportation: Extending yellow light intervals by one and a half seconds reduces red-light violations by 94 percent, 94 percent. According to a report published by the U.S. Department of Transportation, a one -second increase in yellow light time results in 40 percent decrease in severe red -light -related crashes. All red intervals is another potential alternative, meaning essentially that for one second or half a second, all the intersect -- the entire intersection has a red light before the next right-of-way is given to the driver. Detroit added a red clearance interval and made other minor adjustments, restriping lanes and installing larger signals, and saw a 47 percent reduction in crashes and a 50 percent reduction in injuries. That's a Michigan study published in 1999. Other alternatives include yellow light City ofMiami Page 57 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 counters. In other words, as we have with pedestrians when you're cross -- walking in a crosswalk and there's a countdown as to when the light's going to turn so that you can -- so that you know how much time you have to actually get across the intersection, you can do that with yellow lights as well, and you can tell the drivers you have several seconds, whatever the number of seconds are between the light being green and the light being red. And also, as I mentioned in the other study, in the Michigan study, signal visibility. A large part of running red lights has to do with being distracted, and having larger signals is another potential way that we can increase safety. There's been a lot of talk about the benefits of the revenue that are generated through red-light cameras, andl think, obviously, it's very emotional to see accidents that are that severe. It's also very difficult, you know, to have a community that's united behind an issue, that's a community that's had and experienced great suffering, and some residents came up to here tell a slightly different story, andl can tell you that as a City Commissioner, we receive many calls of people who are very impoverished and who feel that the camera program is a traffic tax. You may not agree with that characterization. Many may not agree with that characterization. But I can tell you that that is the sentiment that many of our residents express. About half of the cameras in the City ofMiami are located within CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) eligible areas. That means community development block eligible areas. Ninety-three percent of the cameras in the City ofMiami touch a CDBG-eligible area. As we know, or as some may not know, a CDBG-eligible area is an area that, according to the federal government, evidences pervasive poverty and general distress. Now part of what my presentation included at the last meeting because it was -- its genesis was the -- what l felt was a manipulation of the yellow light intervals by other cities in the state of Florida. I started to look at the scope of our program in comparison with other cities in the state and across the country and whatl saw was, in my opinion, shocking. The City ofMiami has cameras -- 22 cameras in intersections with zero or one reported traffic accident in the last two years. The City ofMiami has more cameras than the next six cities in the state ofFlorida combined. The City ofMiami has -- 25 percent of all of the intersections with red-light cameras in the state ofFlorida are located in the City ofMiami. The City ofMiami has more red-light cameras than the City of New York, which is 20-times larger than the City ofMiami. So from my perspective, what I saw when I looked at our camera program was a program that may have been well intentioned when it started but has, in my opinion, gotten out of control. So I just wanted to present that side of the argument. I thought that would be the fair thing to do. Again, I don't begrudge anyone who disagrees with me. I don't think that this is a good person versus bad person type of argument. I think that we all here in this room want the same thing. We want to have a city with safe streets. We want the very dreadful condition of paralysis to be cured, and we want to have the best trauma center in the world. I, by the way, do not oppose having the cameras -- and some of my colleagues may not agree with this. I don't know if they do or do not. I do not oppose personally the cameras being used for traffic accident and for, I guess, police officer purposes. Much of what we saw on the presentation was crimes that were solved as a result of the cameras being there, andl personally don't have any issue with that, andl don't think our residents personally have any issue with that. I think, you know, horrific traffic accidents, I think -- and all of the different examples that the police department showed were different examples of crimes that were solved by the camera system, andl personally don't have any objection to that. I just think that, you know, what started off last Commission meeting as a discussion and as an action item really on an emergency basis for us to adopt an appellate process that I don't think is in the best interest of our residents without any information -- really without a demonstrated need for an emergency and to be here two weeks later with no more information, not necessarily on the effectiveness or the uneffectiveness [sic] of cameras as a safety tool -- clearly, there's a lot more information on that, andl think I've provided some information on some alternatives, so that's a debate that, you know, Commissioner Carollo, I think welcomed, andl think all of you should welcome, because at the end of the day, you know, the ideas that put forth are about safety. Again, my issue has to do with the appellate procedure, and my issue also has to do with the fact that l feel that the City ofMiami has basically gotten out of control with a program that think was -- may have been originally intended to be something good. So I'm here to listen as well to my colleagues. I voted against the appellate procedure on first reading. I personally don't feel that there's any City ofMiami Page 58 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 more information that the Administration has presented to me on the appellate procedure that makes me feel more comfortable adopting it. In fact, I would say the opposite is actually true. What I've discovered between the last Commission meeting and now makes me feel less comfortable about the appellate procedure, because other cities who have far less dramatic programs than us, are doubling the fee and we haven't seen -- I haven't seen -- I don't know if you all have seen -- I have not been given any sort of concrete backup, other than, you know, our administrator -- one of our department directors getting up and saying We're ready to go'and "We'll be ready." I haven't seen any sort of a plan as to where these are going to be held, how much time they're anticipated, you know, what the cost is going to be, how much our residents are going to pay, which, to me, are really the important aspects of this vote. Commissioner Spence -Jones: And let me just say this. Andl think that you, Commissioner Suarez, had stayed steadfast on your position from this -- even from the last meeting. And you're absolutely right. You know, one of the questions that did come up, andl think all of us agreed to that, was for this issue of what is the plan? How much is it really going to cost and how are we going to implement it? My statement earlier about Johnny's presentation, he did a great job with giving us the need for the program from the standpoint of a safety issue, but I think that you're absolutely right around us having clear -- a clearer understanding of how is this process going to work? And I think that you did -- I just want -- and I'm going to let you finish, but I think it was important for me to say this to you. It's very difficult to stand up on an issue that you really believe in, especially when you know that there's so many emotional strings attached to an issue, but you have to stand up for what you know and believe is right. Andl think every Commissioner up here understands the importance of making sure that we know what the plan is in order to operate the program. So I don't think that neither one of us will disagree with that. We don't to do anything half -- you know, halfway. You know, we want to have a clearer understanding, andl think the Administration owes that to us to explain to us in this hearing how we -- how are we going to actually address the plan with -- you know, regarding the process of this. Mr. Martinez: Yes. We are prepared to give a breakdown of what it's going to cost to follow the process, you know, within the City. But before we do that, Commissioner Suarez, the Department of Transportation did increase the yellow light time by four -tenths of a second, which everyone has to come into compliance by this December. So that's -- but that's not mutually exclusive. We can do that, which allowed more safety and have on the cameras. They're not as mutually (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Chair Sarnoff Well, we don't do that. Don't say {4e do that." Mr. Martinez: No. The -- Miami -Dade County will have everybody that installs a signal or has an existing signal increase the yellow time by four -tenths of a second. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So I think, if you don't mind, Mr. Chairman, if we can at least have that answered -- that question answered, like what is the plan, Johnny? Can someone present a copy of that plan? Mr. Martinez: We have a -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: And that's really not, you know, any of these folks sitting in the audience responsibility. Mr. Martinez: Yes. Commissioner Spence -Jones: It's really -- Mr. Martinez: Yes, I agree. City of Miami Page 59 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- staff. Mr. Martinez: I agree. Commissioner Spence -Jones: And can we have it in writing? Commissioner Suarez: No. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Can we get a copy of what you're reading to us? Mr. Garcia: I will show you what I'm reading. It's allow chart, but it's a standardized flow chart. And if you allow me for just a moment, I'll talk you through it and perhaps there will be no need to provide anything else in writing because it will be very clear. Hopefully that will be the case. And if not, I'll certainly happy -- happily answer any questions. Francisco Garcia, Planning & Zoning and Hearing Boards director. Let me first say that we, as stated earlier, have in place already, no modifications needed, a special master program. They're in place because they handle other issues, mostly code enforcement issues, but they are also duly empowered, and accredited and qualified to handle the hearings associated with this process. So we have five individuals presently already in the City's contract process that are able to take that volume of cases as they come. No change is needed there. We have also in place a Hearings Board Office, and as their director, I'm here today representing to you that they are fully qualified and fully capable of handling again the sorts of processes that are associated with the red-light camera hearings. They are, ministerially speaking, essentially no different than any other code enforcement process that the City is handling. And so to that extent, we are certainly able to handle the additional volume. In addition, because I had expressed some concern that we are certainly working at capacity largely -- in addition, should it be necessary, we've also been in contact with the police department so that if we need additional assistance from them in terms of clerical staff to assist, et cetera, we'll certainly coordinate that handling -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: But Francisco -- Mr. Garcia: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- I'm not trying to cut you off. We -- Mr. Garcia: No, please. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- understand that we have hearing boards and we know we have a special master. Mr. Garcia: Right. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I think what we were requesting from the last meeting is what is the plan? Meaning effective as of this date, every Monday, Wednesday, whatever days the hearings will take place. Mr. Garcia: Sure. Commissioner Spence -Jones: That will take place between these times. This is the cost associated with making it happen. This is how -- where is that plan? Not -- Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman. Chair Sarnoff No, no, no. Let him respond. City of Miami Page 60 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. I just want to -- Chair Sarnoff And can I just say something to you, Francisco? Mr. Garcia: Yes, please. Chair Sarnoff Use nouns and verbs; don't use too many adjectives. She said it exactly as it should be said. Starting this day, we will run from this to this. We will have this many -- tell us the way it is. Mr. Garcia: Fair enough. So I'll begin with the concrete first. Beginning August 12, we have made arrangements to have hearings heard or hearings take place in these chambers three days a week for eight hours a day. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Three days a week -- Mr. Garcia: For eight hours a day. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- eight hours a day. Mr. Garcia: As necessary. Commissioner Spence -Jones: And there's no conflict currently with the scheduling in the chambers? Mr. Garcia: All of those conflicts have been looked into, and there's presently available a calendar with the City Clerk's office that corroborates what I've just told you. Beginning August 12, three days a week, from 9 to 5, there is -- these chambers have been reserved for purposes of having red-light camera hearings held. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Every day for the next 12 months? Commissioner Carollo: And Mr. Chairman -- Chair Sarnoff Go ahead. Commissioner Carollo: -- I -- this goes right into the question -- the line of questions I need to ask. And you're basing that on how many appeals, and you're basing it on how many minutes per appeal? Mr. Garcia: Right. Commissioner Carollo: Because what don't want also -- you know, supposedly, from what I've been told, the legislature did this for the convenience of the public, even though there was no committee meetings, even though there was no public discussion. It was a last-minute amendment into a transportation bill that pretty much had to pass. So I want to make sure that an appeals process isn't necessarily a ceremonial process that people just come here and really don't have a say and they just say, Oh, yeah, okay. We'll watch a video, whatever. Next, next." And by the time it's all over, they're looking around like "What just happened?" So I think it's important to go into the details, how you're coming up with three days. Because from what I've told -- whatl was told in last meeting, we're looking at between 800 and a 1,200 appeals per month. I actually used much more conservative numbers than Commissioner Suarez, andl looked at pretty much 50 appeals as opposed to 65. Andl looked at, more or less, using ten minutes per appeal, and that's why I want to get into the details. And, realistically, it would take City of Miami Page 61 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 five days a week more than eight hours, so how are you coming up with the three days in your calculations? Mr. Garcia: Fair enough. That (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- and, Chairman, I prefer to address these questions as they come instead of getting a lot of information that gets lost in the shuffle. So I'll address the question specifically. We have built in a number of safety margins, you might imagine, but I'll give you the numbers to address your question in particular. We are told -- again, we don't have a program in place right now, so the best evidence we can base our efforts on is the evidence that we've gathered from the program as has been administered thus far by Miami -Dade County. Based on that information -- and we have been told that we can expect approximately two to three minute per case hearing, but we've actually planned based on approximately seven minutes per hearing, right? And if that is the case, at approximately seven minutes per hearing, we should be able to handle the volume that comes; also premised on the fact that we expect, as you, I think, have pointed out, 1,200 appeals per month. So those are, you know, premises, or basic calculations that we've used as a point of departure. That said, we don't -- we hope to but don't pretend to be able to know full well that we'll have it perfect from the get go. We're certainly aiming for that and made every provision to do that. But as the process approaches and once we have the blessing of the Commission, we will certainly refine any aspect of it that has to be addressed. That said, just to give you the caveats -- but that said, we feel very strongly that we are ready to go, based on all the numbers that we've obtained, beginningAugustr 12. Commissioner Suarez: Can I --? Commissioner Spence -Jones: This is the problem. Commissioner Suarez: That -- of course, this is the problem. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. This is -- Commissioner Suarez: Of course, this is the problem. Commissioner Spence -Jones: And what's really sad about the situation -- Commissioner Suarez: Very sad. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- I'm just telling you, it's -- you bring good people into a bad situation. Commissioner Suarez: Yep. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Because what they're here to fight for, they're absolutely right, they deserve to have, and nobody disagrees with that. We -- listen, I would like for all the dollars to go -- after the presentations today, they should get all the money, as far as I'm concerned, so it's not even about that. It's -- this debate, this discussion for all of us up here, it's about process. It's about making sure that we understand how it's going to operate. And l just called the Manager over because I want to be fair andl want to do the right thing. Andl said to him, Mr. Manager, why didn't we have this in writing first? You know, why -- andl understood. He said, Well, I'm going to do -- "We were going to do a presentation in front of the body." I understand that. But if we already know that you have two people -- two Commissioners up here very concerned about the issue and from day one -- there's no secret -- I've never been a supporter, you know, from the issue of the red-light camera actually -- the actual red-light cameras actually happening, andl stated that only after getting all the complaints from the community regarding these issues in the beginning. Yes. When Timoney did his wonderful presentation and he talked about accidents, we as a body -- the only two people sitting up here I believe at the time was City of Miami Page 62 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 myself, Sarnoff, and the Mayor, and we all supported the legislation. But just -- there's a lot of projects we support only to find out later down the line, we have issues with, you know, and this is one of those projects. We have an issue with the process. We have an issue with the complaints that comes from the residents and now we 're asking for clarity because we don't want to vote on another issue and then now we have people calling the offices saying, We don't like how the hearing processes are taking place." This was not organized. It's not in place. Or it started out only being $800, 000; now it's going to really cost us 2 million because we didn't vet the process out properly. So these are the questions -- I can understand why Commissioner Suarez and Commissioner Carollo feel the way that they have -- they feel right now. And guess what? It has absolutely nothing to do with University ofMiami. It has absolutely nothing to do with the organizations that are here. We support that 100 percent. What we don't support is not having a plan that makes sense. And I'm going to be honest with you. Listening to this right now, it doesn't make any sense. And ifI don't see it in writing -- I'm just one person -- you know, it's very difficult for me to say yes to something I don't understand the process and how it's going to work. And you can't just tell -- maybe you can do it for other Commissioners, but you can't say it's -- tell me that it's going to operate on August 12 three days a week and we're not really sure how it's going to happen, but these are the hours in which -- Well, Francisco, I'm going to tell you this and I'm going to tell Mr. Manager -- andl gave you a pass the last time because I really wanted to make sure that I gave you a fair opportunity to do it right and -- Commissioner Suarez: He didn't do it. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- we -- I want to have something in writing. Can we have something in writing to see what this is going to look like? Commissioner Carollo: And Mr. Chairman, ifI may? Vice Chair Gort: Getting more information. I mean -- Chair Sarnoff You're recognized. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. If we could go the next step. Listen -- And when you started, Commissioner Spence -Jones, you were right on target. First of all, I can tell you, at least with me, I always come up here with an open mind. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: And many times, you know what? The media presses me and they kind of tell me, off the record, "You never really tell us how you're going to vote." And a lot of it is out of respect to my colleagues and to the debate. The last time I was placed in a position like this with all the pressure, an emergency ordinance, you have to vote, blah, blah, blah, all this stuff, for lack of a better word thatl would like to use, it was the Media Towers, andl stood strong against the Media Towers, and it was an emergency ordinance, andl said, "What's the hurry?" I stood strong. The vote went 4-1. Where are the Media Towers now? We don't even talk about it. We don't even know -- you know, we don't hear about it. You remember the Media Towers, those two gigantic things, the emergency ordinance? We have to approve it now because if not, we're going to lose jobs, blah, blah, blah. If you forgot about it, I'll show you the video. Chair Sarnoff No, I remember it. Commissioner Carollo: And -- Vice Chair Gort: No. We know. I remember it very well. Commissioner Carollo: Anyways -- City ofMiami Page 63 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Chair Sarnoff I'm trying to extrapolate the two issues, but -- Commissioner Carollo: Emergency ordinance. Chair Sarnoff Oh, they're both emergencies, okay. Commissioner Carollo: Emergency ordinance, we have approve this now, blah, blah, blah. You know, we have actually, as a Commission, had less time to analyze the information, debate than the time that has passed since the legislature first passed this new, I guess, bill. I mean, this was passed in May sometime, in early May, and we were not told about it, yes. Okay, there was a little memo that stated all the different procedures, which I have somewhere around here, but it didn't state that we "had" to do this. It said we were -- we -- the municipalities can now -- are allowed to do something like this, set up their own board and so forth. It wasn't stated that from now on, we would "have" to do this. If not, we're going to face a situation, you know. So, realistically, the Administration from the start dropped the ball and, in essence, we're put in an emergency situation type format. Listen, I'll tell you what: I welcome this debate. I think it's healthy. I welcome the discussion. I think communication, debate, discussion is very healthy. And, realistically, this vote today isn't about terminating a red-light contract. It's not about removing the red-light cameras. This is about creating another layer of bureaucracy; by the way, a full-time layer of bureaucracy. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: That's really what this is about. And, realistically, there's a lot of questions still out there. Now, I welcome the debate on -- and -- with regards to the safety, andl do have statistics. You know, in Time Magazine, recently they had an article. They said -- you know, there was a study by the New Jersey Department of Transportation that revealed accidents actually increasing in intersections where cameras were installed. The Wall Street Journal -- a Wall Street Journal journalist, he recently focused on the yellow light intervals, and it was found that in Georgia, after a new state law was passed, just adding a second to the yellow light, it -- actually, various towns cancelled their red-light cameras programs, so there's alternatives. And I think a debate is healthy on this. But right now this vote isn't about terminating a contract. This isn't about eliminating red-light cameras. This is about possibly adding a new level of bureaucracy, a full-time level of bureaucracy. You just heard the Administration said three times a week for eight hours a day could possibly, from my calculation that was more conservative than Commissioner Suarez, be five times a week. So we're going to end up running a full-time appeals process, andl don't know if the City ofMiami is in the business of a full-time appeals process, and that's why we need the information. And like Commissioner Spence -Jones very adequately and eloquently said, this isn't about the Project to Cure Paralysis. It's not about the University ofMiami. You know, it's not about Jackson. I do, however, will also ask with regards to the $158, if there could be some type of hardship put in there when it comes to appeal process and there's a hardship for, you know, some of these elderlies that have expressed not the with -where -all [sic] to be able to pay something like this. But that will have to also see what percentage ofAMl we will look at and so forth. But the bottom line is, this is about the process. We haven't received enough information. Listen, in all fairness -- andl will confess -- after the last Commission meeting, I called our police chief andl told him, "This occurred, Chief. You know, we're having issues with the red-light cameras, " and we discussed it a little bit. Unfortunately, I couldn't really press him with the information that I needed because he was out of town. I felt uncomfortable saying, "Listen, I need this information and that information." You know, he's out of town. He came back a couple of days ago. I know they provided a report July 3. Listen, I would have wanted a lot more thorough numbers, you know. I would have liked to have known specifics. I would have liked -- I would like to know have accidents increased from July 1 to now, you know? In all fairness, it's been in the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald. All the main media outlets have stated that we are not running the red-light camera program City ofMiami Page 64 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 since July I. I would like to know, for education purposes, has traffic accidents increased? I don't know that. And this is information that would like to have for knowledge to make a prudent and educated vote. And again, listen, I come up here with an open mind. I can also tell you, I met Melissa Wendall, and her story had an impact on me. Andl can tell you, I don't know how I would face a situation like that. And you all know that I have a very young daughter. I don't know how I would face a situation like that. So it does impact. But I need to be fair. I need to know what this is about. Andl cannot just vote for some procedure out of the blue with all this information that is not available, and I'm definitely not going to do it, like in the last Commission meeting, on an emergency ordinance and just railroad something through. Another step: $85 per ticket. I know some municipalities are going to charge $200 per ticket for the appeals process. Listen, with all due respect to our Administration, our Finance Department, I need to see what's the methodology behind that. I need to see how they came up with that, which I have not seen, because again, with all due respect to our Finance Department -- and Mr. Alfonso knows that back him being the new CFO (Chief Financial Officer) andl congratulated him -- the bottom line is the Finance Department and this Administration was -- I don't want to say grossly off and I'll be kind and say a little off just a few months ago with regards to some estimates, thirty -something million off. So I really need to see the methodology before I can take their word that it will be $85 per case and it will be revenue neutral. I don't know that. And I'm saying this with all due respect, but I need that information. I need to see the methodology. I need to see how it works out. By the way, even the numbers the police department -- our police department provided, even when you do a poll, the poll shows this. But people in the "know" know that there's cross haps, how was the question asked, and so forth. So there's more detailed information with regards to those numbers that would like to see. Mr. Martinez: May I make a suggestion, Mr. Chair? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes. Mr. Martinez: I would like for Victor, you know, who has a specialty in this area, to explain the process to complement what Francisco has said. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I don't want to -- Mr. Martinez: Wait, wait. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- do it. I mean, we -- Mr. Martinez: I haven't finished my whole suggestion. Chair Sarnoff Wait, wait. Stop. Let him speak. Mr. Martinez: Yeah. Chair Sarnoff Let him speak. Mr. Martinez: I mean -- and then maybe after lunch put in writing exactly allow chart of the process and how we came up with the fee; if a notice of violation is given, that the violator -- alleged traffic violator would have to pay and, you know, put that in writing. Commissioner Spence -Jones: But Mr. Chairman -- and don't have a problem with Victor talking, and we heard Victor kind of explain that in the hearings. I just don't want us to do it half nilly-willy, so I don't want him to jump up and say something and then we come back after lunch and we're presented with a plan and then we still have questions on it. I would prefer for the Administration to provide us something in writing, if you have a plan. I don't need Victor to give me that. I need the Administration to give us what we need in writing on this issue. That's what City of Miami Page 65 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 we need. Commissioner Suarez: Isn't that what we asked for originally? Commissioner Spence -Jones: And if Francisco is sitting there saying that's what it is and he has it, then he should be able to provide it to us, along with the budgets in order to operate it. That's really what it is. I mean, not taking anything away from Victor. I'm sure Victor knows how to do what needs to be done. But I need the Administration to give us this in writing. I just want to just -- Chair Sarnoff Let me make a recommendation to you, because I sort of know how the process works. You issue this many tickets; this many people pay; this many people appeal; this many people show up. Allow chart like that. And -- you may have it, but you haven't given it to the Commission. Vice Chair Gort: Yeah. Chair Sarnoff And I understand Victor De Yurre could -- and I would call you Commissioner but you're sort of here as an expert so I don't want to clothe you with anything beyond what you are. So I didn't -- I don't want to be disrespectful to you, Mr. De Yurre. But why don't you give us that? We'll bring this right back right after lunch. I want to say some things because I think there are some red herrings here that want to speak to. The one thing can speak to is this Commission has be satisfied that from an administrative basis, we have not only the personnel, the ability, but the facility, as well as the funding to charge $85, $96.73, $101.22, because I understand no one wants to make money, unlike Coral Gables. I also -- I'm aware of the fact that we charge -- our special masters get paid less than Coral Gables does, so that's an issue that I'm at least aware of but the other Commissioners may not be. But -- what I'd like to do now is just vet some more of this issue on the substance, come back to us just with the answer with regard to the appellate procedure, your flow chart, how it works, the number of tickets so that we can either be satisfied or dissatisfied on an issue that, you know, it may be important to some Commissioners and it may not be to others. Commissioner Gort's recognized. Vice Chair Gort: You know, I want people to understand what we're discussing here, we are asking -- andl made the motion to make a decision without facts, and it's very difficult for us to make a decision that way. So the Administration, two weeks ago we told them "You have two weeks to prepare the plan, bring it to us within time so we can look at it and then vote on it, yes or no." It doesn't mean that we're going to vote for it or we're going to vote against it, but at least we need to know and we need response -- we got to make responsible choice and we cannot do it if we don't have the information. Two weeks ago you were asked to present today not only the statistics and the camera and the reasons why we had camera and the safety and the whole works -- and we also need to understand something. Miami is completely different to many other municipality or any other cities in the country. But you were told, "We need to have that in writing. We need to come up here and have all the documentation, " especially this board -- you got City Commission here that sit here and they question constantly because we 're responsible. You have people that -- you have attorneys. You have people -- they're in finance. We need that information. It's very difficult to make it just by making a presentation; we're ready. Chair Sarnoff Go ahead, Commissioner. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Let me just say this, 'cause I think it's really important to make sure that we're at least all on the same page. I think that -- I mean, I -- I'm sure there are still some issues on the matter of whether or not the cameras provide, you know, the safety -- the additional safety that we need on the roads. I think all of us agree to that. So as far as -- and I'm going to say this to Johnny. I think, Johnny, you did a great job with presenting all the facts around the safety issues. For me, you did. So I think the Administration got an "A" on that, and City of Miami Page 66 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 I think that no one can sit here and listen to the presentations that were made today and not understand, you know, why this is important. I think police and fire did an excellent job. They dealing with this every single day. I think that we have to trust the folks that are in this business of dealing with accidents on a daily basis. So I think we did a great job on that. I think the concern, which was the concern from the very beginning -- andl want to at least say to Commissioner Carollo and Commissioner Suarez, I want to commend them for their leadership to stand on an issue, you know, despite what they're faced with. And it's very difficult to be in a situation, to make a decision and you have a million and one cameras in your face, you have people that have clearly been affected by it and still stand up for what you believe is right. Has absolute nothing to do with the support that we want to provide -- want to continue to provide for these groups, but it's all about making sure we have the information. Andl want to say this -- it's -- you know, when I -- as I sat up here and listened to everything that took place today -- andl'm glad we're going to be able to take a break and come back with the proper information -- I was saying to myself, you know, "Does the good outweigh the bad?" Because, clearly, when you look at the good, you see all of the good. You see at the end of the day, people are affected not just by the cameras from the standpoint of it being safety -- but from the safety perspective, but the resources that come from it continue to support people, you know, that are affected by, you know, by paralysis. So we see the good that comes out of it. So I don't even think that that's even a question. I think that when I start comparing the good -- does the good outweigh the bad, right now it's a balance for me. It's a balance only because the reason why we even had a second meeting today about this issue was because of the issue of not having an understanding of the management process, andl think that we have to have that in order to make a real decision. And Commissioner Carollo said something earlier and he mentioned the Media Towers, andl thought that was pretty interesting because -- andl wasn't even going to bring it up earlier. I understand why the Commissioners feel the way they feel. And my chief of staff, I had to just calm him down this morning. He was 38 hot when he sent me a text. "Commissioner, I am so tired of the Administration telling me what" -- andl'm not going to get into the details of what the subject matter was, and I just told him, "Just calm down. Sometimes you have to just take a step back." But I understand the frustration when the Administration says that something is an emergency, we got to get it done, got to get it done. We vote on the item only to find out another item comes back even on this -- the next agenda that says you really didn't have to vote an emergency, you know, so that creates distrust in the Administration. So what you see up here -- andl'm saying it to the citizens that are watching it, you know, at home and here -- you're seeing a group of folks that says, "Yeah„ you told us that before, but there was really something else going on." So the reason why there's so much debate on this, we no longer just take your word at the podium. If you don't give it to us in writing, if we don't really see the breakdown of it, we're very, very skeptical 'cause at the end, the citizens ofMiami have to pay for it. So I just want us to be mindful and respectful of why the Commissioners are making the decisions or at least are a little apprehensive. And then Commissioner Suarez, once again, you know, taking a hard stand on let's making sure that whatever we vote on is the right thing, you know, the issue of cost. You know, we do still need to be very clear of the cost. And yes, not only for the elderly, but there are -- you know, people that are from certain communities, $400 in the end, if that what it turns out to be, for whatever reason -- maybe they get to the point that, you know, that's what the cost winds up being -- Even if it's $200. In some instances, $200 from an elderly person or from a person that's living on a fixed income, that's a lot of money. It is a lot of money. And I -- so I just -- those questions for me that really need clarity on when we -- before we come back is, one, I really want to understand what that actual cost is in the end, you know, after they've gone through and exhausted all of the appeal process on it, and then I really want to understand the management process on this, 'cause I can't support it right now. I can tell you that right now. And it's because it is not tight enough for me to support. So I just want to keep it real and let you know where I am. It has nothing to with anybody that's sitting in the audience or anybody that's watching it. It's about making sure you put the business in order first before we vote on something. Chair Sarnoff All right. I haven't said anything. Before you get into a 5,000 pound vehicle and City ofMiami Page 67 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 you turn on the car and you procedure with that vehicle, anything over 10 miles per hour, you have a lethal weapon in your hand and you should do -- that's why Florida calls it a dangerous instrumentality. Because when you drive a car, it is a dangerous instrumentality. And when you decide to do with that -- drive that car with either nonclear thought, under the influence, or simple selfishness that your schedule is more important than stopping at a red light, it is the most selfish act you can do or consider as a private citizen. Nobody here is going to be hurting anyone that did not do anything other than a selfish act with the limited circumstances of what we call the emergency doctrine, which -- I'll call him -- Commissioner De Yurre was very clear in saying there will be a constitutional protection to be able to say to a special master, who is educated in traffic magistrate laws, to say, "A police officer told me to move my vehicle. My wife was having a baby and thought I needed to proceed forward in that red light." Those are the excuses you have. This constitutional protection argument that there are no rules of evidence, you know who that inures to the benefit of? The person that took the red light. Because he or she gets to present whatever they want to that special master, to that magistrate and describe to that person why they should be let off or why it's not them. So I find some of this to be a little bit of a red herring. And, you know, there's a bible out there; it's called the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It is who sets our insurance rates, who determines that our cars are safe. It is something that is so conservative that they barely put much out there, and it's something that just came out, the Seventh Edition, April of 2013. And they have a section in there that discusses very, very clearly red-light cameras. And you know what? It's not absolutely clear. And there is some data out there that indicates that there have been accidents increased as a result of red-light cameras, but those accidents are what's called "minor fender benders." The accidents that we're here to try to prevent are what is known as a "T-bone collision." And I'm going to tell you something. I became a Commissioner here with three goals in mind: increase the park space ofMiami, increase the walkability ofMiami, and make Miami a better neighborhood for bicyclists. Bicyclists are being killed at the rate of 14 percent as a result of traffic homicides. Fifty-one percent of all traffic accidents for pedestrians and bicyclists occur as a result of the failure to yield. That is exactly what it means, folks, the failure to stop at that stop sign or the failure to stop at that red light. The issues here are not very difficult to understand or conceive. You have a resource -challenged City ofMiami. As a matter of fact, Mr. Manager, I would go so far as to say you have the lowest staffed police department in the United States of any city over 100, 000 people. Andl -- if anyone wants to do PolitiFact on me tomorrow in the Miami Herald, I welcome it. So you have a city that is absolutely strapped in terms of its police resources, and you have the ability to monitor a T-bone or a person that possibly will be injured through a traffic accident by use of cameras, and we're considering taking that force multiplier away from the biggest city with the smallest police department in the nation? This flies in the face of good, sound policy. This isn't public policy. This is -- this makes absolutely no abject sense at all. If a person chooses to go all the way they want through a traffic magistrate at the county system, that is a choice they can employ. If the person chooses to come to City Hall and that person chooses to go in front of our traffic magistrate and have relaxed rules of evidence, that is equally a choice they can make. Andl think when you hear the numbers and you hear the number of people who, first, pay; second, claim they weren't behind the car by use of an affidavit; and third, finally show up at the hearing and then say "I'll pay anyways." The amount of people we're going to be dealing with are not the numbers that anyone is suggesting because you have to use a filter process. You can't use the gross number. You have to reduce that gross number by the number of people who pay. You have to further reduce that by the number of people who request a hearing. You have to further reduce that by the number of people who actually show up. And you have to further reduce it by the number of people who wish to go forward in the hearing, 'cause I think you'll here Mr. De Yurre say -- and then there's the people that say, "Well, I just want to pay." So I don't want anybody using this as a constitutional basis to say, "Well, you know what? I couldn't vote for this because I wasn't too sure of the appeal process." The information should have been provided to us. It's a weakness in your presentation, Mr. Manager. It's something that you should have considered. It was something that suggested to you to consider. And it should have been put out to the Commissioners. But, you know, I will just say this to the City ofMiami Page 68 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioners: This is a program that works, and this is a program that has, in the City of Miami, reduced accidents. It is a program that has changed behavior. We have heard time and time again today that we were the number one traffic homicide fatality municipality in the nation. I'll be candid with you. My notes don't show us to be number one, but they don't show us to be very far from there. I believe we're number four in the nation. That's not a good thing. We have the highest pedestrian death rate of any large municipality in the United States. Lots of factors make us the number one traffic homicide pedestrian and bike death rate in the United States. I will do nothing up here to help promote or allow that to stay where it is. And hope my Commissioners will understand that going through a red light is a voluntary selfish act. And if you don't think it's a voluntary selfish act, then you don't drive. Andl have done it. And these traffic cameras have changed my driving behavior, because it's embarrassing to get a ticket as a Commissioner. It simply is embarrassing. So now when I see a red light -- a yellow light, as opposed to my previous driving habit of saying "Go like hell; you can make it," I say, "Put on the brakes. " So ifI increase -- Applause. Chair Sarnoff -- the length of time of a yellow light, well, now I know I have four seconds to make it through that yellow light. So, hey, I could be a little further back and gun it, because that's called "behavior." We're all Pavlovian. We all react to the stimulus in which we're put under. So ifI know it's going to be four seconds -- make it ten seconds; I don't care -- then I know I could be two blocks back and if I'm driving fast enough, I'm going to make it. The bottom line is, the bottom line is if we care more about the pedestrian, if we care more about the bicyclists, if we care more about the driver that's sitting at that red light dutifully following the law, then we simply pass this. But if we're more concerned with the selfish people who say, `My time is more important than your time ands am willing to risk your life because my time is more important than whoever's in that intersection when I go through that red light" -- because that is the aberrant behavior that a red-light violator exhibits. Now, some people will say, "If you're on the road all the time, you don't know what it's like." What difference does it make if you're on the road all the time or none of the time? All that matters is that Joe Smith has to be in a hurry and Jane Smith has to be following the law, and Joe says, 1"m in a rush. I'm a little late for that meeting." And he tows right into that intersection, T-boning, not rear ending, T-boning Jane Smith, that's the behavior you're trying to correct. It isn't a wealthy behavior. It isn't an impoverished behavior. It isn't about how much money I have. It isn't about how few dollars I have. Somebody said we should do it differently. We shouldn't penalize the people. Well, that's interesting. Maybe we should all send a picture of them to everyone in the City ofMiami: This is a red light violator. I don't think that'll change anyone's behavior. What changes people's behavior is paying the ticket. And rich or poor, rich or poor, especially the poor, they have to work extra hours to pay for that ticket. Their behavior will change quickly. Take somebody that's pretty wealthy. I love to pick on Ron. Where is he? Still out there? Take somebody pretty wealthy; they can afford this. They can continue to do it all they want. So, you know, I think we should be real when we're up here. Sometimes I don't think we're all that real. Sometimes I think we're all looking for a little hook to hang our hat on and say, "I really can't vote for this because this issue right here." If you care about walking, if you care about making this a Twenty -First Century city, if you care about the future ofMiami, then you employ every practice that can be employed, every technology that can be employed to make this a safer, more walkable, more bike -able, more drivable city. And one last little things want to bring up. There's very likely going to be a benefit to the rest of the citizens ofMiami across the board. There's going to be legislation and there's going to be rules and regulations coming back -from Tallahassee that's going to suggest that we're all going to get a 5 percent reduction in our insurance rates. Figure that one out, guys. Five percent of $2, 000 is money, and everybody gets it if we continue to employ red-light cameras. Because these folks, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, not the Wall Street Journal, not somebody else that does a little story here and there, the folks that actually set our insurance rates have determined that cities that employ red-light cameras are safer cities to drive in. So I have other statistics I can bring up. City ofMiami Page 69 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner, I was going to bring up the fact that -- andl always hate doing this, but it's the minorities that are getting hit in these traffic accidents. It is the African Americans. It is the Latinos, the highest rates, who are getting hit as pedestrians and as bicyclists. Andl will give you the site. It is `Dangerous by Design, Solving a Epidemic Preventable Pedestrian Deaths, Transportation for America." I tried to check out who they are. They get a nine out of a ten in terms of credibility from the Wall Street Journal, if you believe the Wall Street Journal. I just can't believe and fathom that if we're going to make a Twenty -First Century city, we just don't make it a Twenty -First Century city. Plenty of constitutional protections in place. I'm not going to tell you the first hearing we're going to get right, but by the fifth hearing, we are going to get it right. And l just hope everybody comes to the table with an open mind an open heart and a real desire to move Miami forward. Thank you. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman. Applause. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman, let me say this. Again, I think that we all up here have agreed that, you know, as far as the red-light cameras are concerned, that Johnny and the Administration did a great job with presenting the issue as to why the support of something like this is a good thing, so from the standpoint of safety is concerned. I think that most of our questions -- andl'm sure some of the other Commissioners still have questions around understanding the process in which how that works. But I think, for the most part, to sit up here and in any way make any assumptions that people do not care about whether or not one person runs a light or the other is clearly not the case. Andl'm going to say this before I make a statement regarding this book that you just gave us. You know, I think the only fair thing to do, if any of us Commissioners have a issue or concern or we need to have resolution on an issue before we vote on it is to make sure we vet it out. We can't vet it out any other place but here. And if at least -- now at least four of the Commissioners up here have said "Hey, guys, we understand what the issues are, but please tell us how the process is going to work. Please give it to us in writing." I think that we're being responsible in doing that, you know. And to pull on people's heart strings and -- you know, I can sit up here all day long and talk about how Commissioner Suarez andl had to fight for ShotSpotter to happen here and how the chief was drilled up and down about why are we doing this andl'm having to explain because little black boys and little black girls are getting shot and killed in Liberty City and Overtown, and guess what? They have no future. They didn't even know the bullet was coming, and we had to go over and over presentation after presentation just to make sure everybody up here was comfortable with the vote. And clearly, those parents in those communities don't have -- can't afford to hire anybody to come here and fight for them, you know. The only voice they have is the elected officials that are sitting up here to say "No, we need ShotSpotter. We need these things to detour some of these things that are happening in the areas." So we can go all day. I can go tit for tat on what issues are important -- Commissioner Suarez: Absolutely. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- you know, but the reality is we have to make a decision about how the business is handled in the City. That's what people elected us to do as well. You passed out a book, andl'm going to take your own book, okay, on page 314. I want you guys to turn to it. It's in section -- under "Enforcement," 314. Yeah, Section 314. And this is what this is about. It says here, "Time to implement. Once any necessary litigation is enacted, automated, enforcement, programs generally require four to six months to plan, publicize, and implement." Andl'm -- what I'm saying to you is, I think the question is not about whether or not this a safety issue. The question for us is we have not properly vetted out how we're going to handle this process. This came from the book, okay. So I'm just simply saying to you now -- and we're not even saying we're not going to vote on it one way or another. We're just saying give us time to digest how they're going to handle it. And I've seen times, Mr. Chairman, you have been up here City of Miami Page 70 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 going off on how the City has handled process, 'cause they have said one thing and when it really boiled down to it, you had to -- what do you call it, rake them against the coals. And I'm not saying anything negative about the Administration. It's just after a while, you get to the point where you're saying, "Okay, well, I hear you, but it ain't in writing." You know, I want to understand what it is because I don't want you to tell me six months down the line that, "Oh, well, we didn't vet that out. Oh, we didn't have" -- and it has nothing to do with the people. So I just really -- you know, I really wish that we find a more humane way of dealing with this issue without evoking emotions in people that when they hear, you know, situations about running through lights and, you know, how other Commissioners are not being sensitive to that issue -- 'cause that's just really an unfair statement. And clearly, I am just as concerned about somebody running through a light as I am concerned about somebody getting shot with a bullet. I'm concerned about both of them. But I understand the importance of process. I understand that all of this stuff has a fiscal impact. Andl understand that my constituents voted for me and expect for me to be responsible, and that's all I'm trying to do, is be responsible. So I'm asking for you and everybody else to respect the fact that the Administration needs to provide us with the proper documentation. If we would have gotten this, this would have been an easy vote for most of us up here. And right now, that's just not the case. Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chairman. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized. Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. Two weeks ago we were here and we were asked, as the Commissioner said, on an emergency basis to pass an ordinance, a law adopting this new state procedure. We were given no information, no backup information regarding the issue. None. We chastised the Administration for that. At that time, two weeks ago, we chastised the Administration for that. In the intervening period, I sat in a briefing with the Manager andl said to the Manager -- and I wrote an e-mail not only to the Manager but to the City Attorney, specifically saying, `7 want all the information that's going to be the basis of your recommendation five days, as is required by ordinance, before the Commission meeting, as is required by our ordinance." I can invoke the five-day rule in lunchtime ifI want to, okay? And we've been here serving together for three and a half years. I have never in the three and a half years ever questioned your sincerity on a vote that you have ever taken, ever. In fact, I've been here in this chamber where there's been twice as many people here upset at you for a decision that you're about to make and I've stood shoulder to shoulder with you; andl could tell you, it's the destruction of that building right outside, okay. And I've never andl will never question the sincerity in the votes that you take because I've come to know you and you're my friend. And that doesn't mean I always agree with you, but I always think you're acting genuinely, okay. So I just have to say that because I feel that I've distinguished myself in the three years, andl think we all have here, about the genuiness of our purpose. That doesn't necessarily mean we agree. That doesn't mean that we have a different vision for the future of the City ofMiami. That doesn't mean that we want to see pedestrians run over. That doesn't mean any of those things. And in fact, I worked with you on a transportation -- on increasing public transportation in this City as the MPO's (Metropolitan Planning Organization) board member on the trolley system, andl debated you andl asked you that it be made afree system so that all of our citizens can enjoy that system and you yielded on that fundamental question. And now we have a trolley system that is wildly successful that connects Brickell to Midtown and that connects the health district. It's going to -- we're going to have one in Overtown and we're going to have one that connects Brickell to Ponce along Coral Way. I've never questioned the sincerity of anyone who's up here and we've disagreed vehemently on issues. Andl don't begrudge you making a strong and compelling argument. That's what's in your heart. But, please, don't ever question my motives. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff All right, so we'll be in recess. Why don't we give ourselves an hour and a half so that would be 3 o'clock. City ofMiami Page 71 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Later... Chair Sarnoff All right. We're back on the record. Mr. Manager. Mr. Martinez: You should be getting a handout with detail, which is basically the presentation that we're going to deliver in writing with a lot of detail, starting from when the person gets the violation all the way through the end of the process, and we added a page on the benefits of going through the City process versus the old process of going through the County. We have the backup for the administrative fee that the City proposes to charge to be heard here at City Hall or another place similar and the backup is there. Chair Sarnoff Do you have a section that talks about -- with regard to what it will cost; in other words, hard breakdown, the computer for this, the person for this, the air conditioning for this? Mr. Martinez: Yes, all the way from special master, two full-time clerks, clerk benefits, fringe cost, chamber guard, front door security, IT (Information Technology) technician, janitorial services, cashier, translator. And then we also have some first-time costs that after the first year will not be reoccurring. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman, I think -- I know I just -- we just had a 15-minute discussion on going through each one of the items. I know Commissioner Carollo is still addressing some -- I'm sure he's probably still going through the stuff, as well, 'cause you know he's going through it like a needle in a haystack. I just have a recommendation just so that we can move things. I think he should be a part of this discussion, as well. Is there any way that we could just move some of these other items really quickly and -- so that we can give him a chance to --? Chair Sarnoff My only suggestion would be to go through the -- finish up the PHs (Public Hearings). Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, that's fine. Chair Sarnoff Give ourselves about a half hour to go through PHs, then come back to red light, and then, believe it or not, we have a second special set issue, which is Marine Stadium. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. But I don't think that's going to be a big issue though. Go ahead. Chair Sarnoff Let's -- do you want to break up -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, let's get the PZs (Planning & Zoning) out -- PH -- Chair Sarnoff Does anybody want to take up Marine Stadium, If you don't think it's going to be contentious? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Well now he's back. Vice Chair Gort: We need everybody. Chair Sarnoff He's here. Commissioner Carollo: Thanks. I'm back but -- Chair Sarnoff Do you want to --? City of Miami Page 72 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Carollo: I haven't -- by the way, I haven't looked at this yet. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. Chair Sarnoff And that's -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: So let's go -- let's -- can we get the PH items out of the way real fast? Chair Sarnoff You know, let's do the -- we're going to have to get through this agenda anyways. Let's go through the PHs. I apologize to the Marine Stadium folks. I apologize to the folks that are here on red light, but let's give everybody the chance to read this. Later... Chair Sarnoff Let's take up the issue. Let's take up red-light cameras. Mr. Manager, you're recognized for the record. Mr. Martinez: Yes, Mr. Chair. First, I -- you know, I apologize for not having all the information distributed to all the Commissioners. We -- it was my fault. My bad. I wanted to do part of it as a part of our presentation and the other part, you know, we had handed out to every Commissioner. We've organized all the information that we have that was part of our presentation and we put it in writing, like Commissioner Spence -Jones asked. We've distributed it to all the Commissioners, and we're ready to go through how we came up with the City fee, you know, the -- which is parallel to the one that the County was charging. They were charge $119 when somebody got a notice of violation and they were going to appeal. Our estimate is $85, so that's a break to the law breaker. And we're ready to go through the part that we've given you in written form, which was part of our presentation. Chair Sarnoff Go ahead, proceed. Mr. Martinez: Francisco. Mr. Garcia: Mr. Chair, Commissioners. Francisco Garcia, director of Planning & Zoning. So first I'd like -- I would like to mention briefly, even if in passing, that there is this entity within the City ofMiami called the Hearing Boards Office, which I am proud to be the director of which day in, day out processes very high volumes of cases. I'm not going to say flawlessly. There are always errors involved in these processes, but very close to flawlessly. They are reliable. They are dependable. And they are the reason why, when I first came before you and told you that you should rest assured that we understood this process and had it covered, I was able to make that statement with the utmost confidence. The chief of Hearing Boards, AnelRodriguez, is here, and he's as reliable a City employee as you will find. Having said that, what we have presented to you in the packets that you've, I hope, received is, among other documents -- andl think it is the last two documents, just so we can make reference to them graphically, is a flow chart, a complete flow chart, beginning to end, of how the Miami Red -Light Safety Camera program hearing process would unfold, as well as the official calendar -- and this is ready to be posted on the web site as soon as this item is approved, if it is approved -- the full calendar for the remainder of the 2013 year of meetings to be scheduled. I should said, in parenthesis, that they are all scheduled here at city hall, at the City Commission chambers, because these happen to be the facilities that are ready to go today, but we are also exploring -- working on other venues because we understand that it's more convenient to many citizens in the City to possibly go to other facilities for these meetings. That, of course, is contingent on availability of parking, security, videotaping facilifies, and all of that. We are addressing that as we speak. We have in City ofMiami Page 73 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 mind, I should tell you, the black precinct in central Miami, in Overtown, and others, but again, this is a work in progress. You will see, as far as the calendar of appointments for the red-light camera hearings that there are approximately 10, 11 meetings per month already scheduled and these run 9 to 5, so that's 8 hours. And you will see also in the attachments -- and I'll spare you the math, although I'm prepared to go through it -- that that gives us the ability to handle 1,200 hearings per month. The reason the number 1,200 is, we think, important is based on our due diligence in our research, we understand that the cases that are presently handled by Miami -Dade County associated with the red-light cameras range in number between 8 to 1,200 presently. And although we understand that when we activate this process -- if we activate this process, we expect less than 1,200 since there will be -- some of the cases that will still be heard by the County because the appeals will not be made earlier than 60 days or others will simply pay and opt out, and we expect that number to increase over time. Worst -case scenario, based on the figures, we have obtained thus far is 1,200 cases per month, and we are prepared to handle that. We've made all the preparations to be able to accommodate those comfortably. For us, the Planning, Zoning and Hearings Board Department, that will translate into two additional staff positions, which we have programmed for, but clearly we cannot move forward until this item is approved, and that will enhance our capability to address these items. Andl believe -- although I'll let the police department speak on this -- that on the police department side, one additional position, above and beyond those who are already handling these functions, will be added. Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman. Chair Sarnoff Yes, sir. Commissioner Carollo: Excuse me. You're estimating 1,200 cases, correct? Mr. Garcia: Per month. Commissioner Carollo: Per month. Okay. I haven't had really chance to look at this, to a certain degree. I feel pressed for time, and staff telling me, They're waiting for you, Commissioner. They're waiting for you out there. "Andl feel like I'm the guilty party. I'm saying, yeah, I just got this. You know, I needed time to read. And just real quick -- I'm just looking at the numbers real quick. Mr. Garcia: Yes, sir. Commissioner Carollo: What you're saying is different from what is presented from -- 'cause I'm seeing -- okay, then, Danny, I see here total number of estimated cases per year of 9,600. Let me ask you something: The special magistrates get paid, correct? So if they work more hours, it will be more of a cost, right? Mr. Alfonso: It will be more of a cost, and it will be more revenue, Commissioner. Commissioner Carollo: How do you figure more revenue? Because you figure people are going to be guilty? Mr. Alfonso: No, Commissioner. If the magistrate is needed for more hours, it is presumed that there are more cases. There's a cost per case. Now, I think you're referring to the fact that he -- Francisco is referring to 1,200 cases per month -- Commissioner Carollo: Right. Mr. Alfonso: -- which would add to 14,400 cases. City of Miami Page 74 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Carollo: Right. And -- Mr. Alfonso: That is the capacity of the hearings. The fee that we're establishing of $85, which actually works out to 83.44, but we're rounding it -- Commissioner Carollo: Right. Mr. Alfonso: -- to $85, is based on only 9,600 cases. Commissioner Carollo: Right, which is 300 per month. Mr. Alfonso: Correct. The reason for that is twofold: There may be people that are currently going to the cases that will not, so the cases -- if the cases end up being less than the 1,200 per month or if cases are dismissed, there will be no fee for those cases. So therefore, if we are setting the fee at a lower threshold, meaning, if there are more than 800 per month, the revenue will be higher. Does that sort of make sense? Because you have to account for those cases that will be dismissed or people that will decide to cancel their case and pay the $50 instead of the $85 or -- Commissioner Carollo: Do you have any of those estimates from what you're saying now? Mr. Alfonso: Well, the estimates we have gotten from the police department in terms of how many cases they handle to send to court is in the 12 to 1,300 case load, which is why we're doing the volume needed. We're also hearing from the court system that they're hearing as many as 800 cases from the City ofMiami, and that's why we're setting the fee based on the 800, but we have the capacity to go up to 1,200. In fact, if we did 1,200 cases, the revenue would be higher, but the hours of the magistrate will still be 24 a week 'cause that's the capacity that we're building in. Commissioner Carollo: Something there I'm not -- there's something there that I'm not -- Mr. Alfonso: If -- higher volume of cases -- there are fixed costs and there are -- Commissioner Carollo: Variable costs. Mr. Alfonso: -- variable costs. The magistrate is a variable cost. Commissioner Carollo: Obviously, because of the hours. Mr. Alfonso: Right. So we're estimating 24 hours a week for the magistrate. If the magistrate were to be needed for more hours because there is more case load, the fixed cost would remain the same. The only cost that would be greater would be the hourly charge of the magistrate or the security guards, et cetera. But if the magistrate is needed for more hours and, on average, they're handling 12 or more cases per hour, there's the $85 for each of those that gets found guilty. Let's assume that, you know -- Commissioner Carollo: Right. Mr. Alfonso: -- 80 percent, 90 percent gets found guilty -- Commissioner Carollo: Right. So everything that I've said so far is true; you're assuming that they are going to be found guilty, and you know, as far as the magistrate working more hours, yeah, it's more of a cost. So, I mean -- Mr. Alfonso: But that is exactly correct. So that is based -- City ofMiami Page 75 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Carollo: But you're assuming everyone is going to be found guilty. Mr. Alfonso: Not everyone, Commissioner. Mr. Martinez: No. No, sir. Of the people that appeal, only 1 percent of them unusually gets dismissed or less. Less than 1 percent. Mr. Alfonso: Right. So that is based on the historical. A very small percentage of people who appeal actually get dismissed, and we're assuming actually like 10 percent. The numbers that we've heard is like 1 percent. Chair Sarnoff Okay, Commissioner Spence [sic]. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just want to revisit just really quickly -- and don't think we're going to -- at least from my side, I don't have that much more to say on this issue, but I think it's important for us to refresh ourselves as to where we are in this process and from the standpoint of what revelations have come out of the first hearing. So I just want to be clear on it, and correct me if I'm wrong. As I stated earlier, I said the real question is: Does the good outweigh the bad? You know, like we understand all of the good things associated with the program, but we're not voting on the program; we're voting on the process. So I just want to be clear on when I say "bad" -- just so we're all on the same page -- one of the things that came up in this debate was the cost to the citizens. I had a issue with it. I think some of the Commissioners had a issue with it, what is actually passed onto the citizens ofMiami. Andl understand there's a debate as to whether or not it's really City ofMiami residents or not. But let's just deal with what we have control over, which is the City ofMiami residents. My concern was the murkiness around what is the actual cost that is actually passed on to them. From my briefings, I was -- it was kind of communicated to me that one of the adjustments that has been made, based on the recommendation, is the hardships, dealing with the elderly and making sure that -- I'm assuming when they come to appeal for the tickets at that particular time, these are the -- there's about seven items -- correct? -- that they can come in front of the special master and say These are the issues concerning the tickets. "So that was one of the -- for me that outweighs the bad. The other part of this, which we've asked for the Administration that was an issue, the bad things surrounding this process -- was the process, putting together a management process. I know the Administration said that they had already done that, but it wasn't in writing, so they worked over, I guess, our break to come up with at least something they already had but just making sure all of the holes were actually filled, so we do have at least an operating management process regarding this issue. So that would be the bad. Is anybody have any questions on the management process? I mean, are we clear? I know that Commissioner Carollo stated that he hasn't really had time to digest all of this. Quite frankly, we had to do a crash course on my break, as well. But for the most part, I understand -- at least I feel a lot better about having something in my hand to say this is what it cost, these are the dates in which the hearings will take place. I was concerned about City Hall actually being able to accommodate all the different hearings. Then they came up with, I guess, the Black Police Precinct, not because it's Overtown, but because there is a courtroom already there, so the assumption is that it could be used to do that. That wasn't my recommendation. It was already put out there. So we do have somewhat of a process in place to kind of deal with that issue. So outside of those two issues that came up -- I mean, there was a heated debate between all five of us -- or four of us on here centered around a division on this issue, and l just want to speak to that because I think that that still harbors over us in our decisions around what we're going to do on this item. And I'm saying that because the one thing that really troubles me, you know, even -- you know, not only serving with my colleagues, but just in general when it comes to big items like this, is the division that it causes between us up here. And there are times when we have to vote on items that we're either all comfortable with or we have apprehensions on. And the one thingl hate to see happen up here is when we personally attack each other. Andl really hope and pray that we never get to that City ofMiami Page 76 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 point again when it comes to an issue, because it's just not healthy for what we have to do. Andl know that part of the -- I'm just going to keep it all the way real because I think not communicating it, it just keeps it there. When we allow for, you know, politics in any way -- and I'm speaking from the folks that support it to the folks that are not supporting it. When we allow for that to get in the mix of us making a decision and we're not focused on what's doing right, it takes us off the course of representing the people. Andl just -- I'm just --I'm going to just speak my mind on this issue. I don't know who the folks are from ATS or what has actually happened with it, but I know that the City makes a lot of money off of this. I don't know why we don't want to mention that there's -- this is, yes, about public safety, but it is about money too, and it's money all the way around, okay. So it's not just, you know, money that's going to go to the organizations, which I think definitely need the money, so it is about money, but it does support the organization. It supports the City to tune of about $4 million, so we can't say it's not about the money. So we already know if we're making $4 million off of it and the organization is getting a certain amount of money off it, I'm sure ATS is getting something out of it too. They wouldn't be fighting this hard for it like they are, which I understand why they are. But what I don't like -- and I'm just going to say this in -- you know, when I see stuff in -- you know, in the paper regarding colleagues up here -- and we all work hard to represent our constituents. That's our job. That's our responsibility. But whenever you decide to disagree with someone on an issue, then you get attacked, and that's just not okay. It's just not cool. And, you know, we have to find a better way to deal with each other. And to me, that's one of the bad things that came out of this, you know. Quite frankly, I could really care less about who got tickets doing what. Guess what? I'm sure my -- I got tickets. My family got tickets. I'm sure we all got tickets. But to make it even in any remote way look like any one of us up here has done something wrong and that's the reason why we don't want to support it is not cool. And to know that information like that will leak to the media, because you want to state your position, I think is bad. So when I start talking about "Does the good outweigh the bad?" That's one of the things that I think that came out of this, to me, that was bad. Andl think that that has been the thing that has put a negative taint on this discussion. But that's neither here nor there. But nobody else wants to put the skunk on the table, so I felt thatl needed to do it, because, quite frankly, we can go all around the mulberry bush, but the reality is when you offend people, when you punch people in the stomach, or you do things that are just not nice, you know, no one wants to be open to hear any of your discussions, and especially when the reality is you're trying to do the right thing for your citizens and the people that you represent. So I think it -- I thought it was important for me to at least discuss that. Now, when I began to talk about the good -- because there is good, andl think it's important to discuss, you know, the good -- does the good outweigh the bad? I saw the organizations today that, clearly, the support helps what they're trying to do. Beyond, you know, the accident itself it continues to support these families, which I think is very, very valuable. To see a mother, to see a wife get up in front of all of us and talk about the pain that she has to endure and continues her mission to make sure that this information is out there and things are out there to educate people, I think is a wonderful thing. So I think the good that comes out of this situation is the fact that it does support some great organizations, andl feel the same way about University ofMiami. I think that the other good that I saw today was the community support. There were several community -based neighborhood associations that came out to speak on the item. There were a few that came out against it, but there were clearly more that came out to support it, so obviously, there is support from behind it as far as the community is concerned. The question became, "Does it really modin, behavior?" Okay. Andl consider that a good thing. I think that it has. We cannot deny, none of us sitting up here, that those ticket -- not the tickets, but the red light itself -- red cameras. I'm sorry, red cameras. What is it, red-light cameras? Red-light cameras actually has modified behaviors. Andl just want to -- you know, sometimes you have to go home to kind of like remember -- like, you know, remember things. Andl had a conversation with my husband this past -- actually, my family this past week on this issue, andl spoke to my mother first. And my mother is about 75 years old andl just -- sometimes you have to bounce off to get other people's opinions. And sometimes the peoples close -- people closest to you give you the real deal, no matter what. So I asked my mom, I said" Mom, what would you do if you had to vote on this item, you know?" My mom's a very City ofMiami Page 77 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 straight lady. She doesn't bite her tongue. She says exactly what it is. Andl was surprised by what her response was. Her response was, she didn't like the red-light tickets, because at 75 years old, for whatever reason, she's now so freaked out -- I'm just telling you her viewpoint -- that when it's time to get to the light, she stops because she's so afraid to go through. That's the reaction that cause -- it causes in her, and it could be just maybe because she's older now; she can't afford to get no tickets, so she stops on brakes. So that was her opinion, and so was my sister-in-law that was with her at the time. So then I spoke to the next person that's closest to me thatl sleep with every night, andl hate to have those kind of conversations. And for those that know my husband, he is a man of very little words, and he very seldom gets into politics, and it has to be a real important issue for me to even have a discussion with him about it. So I said -- I asked him this week, you know -- I said, you know, "I'm voting on this item. I very seldom ask you anything about anythingl vote on, butl want to get your opinion about what you think about red-light cameras." Now we know that they are crazy in Miami Gardens. I mean, literally, we just had an incident this week and -- in Miami Gardens and we were at least two -- we had to be at least a feet and half away from the light in the -- what do you call it? The camera went off. Andl looked at him -- 'cause we had just had discussion -- he looked at me, he said, Nah, I know I couldn't have just gotten a ticket from this. "He literally got out of the car, walked in front, and saidl"m going to count this to see how close this is. "Now that's Miami Gardens. That's not the City ofMiami. But clearly, the light went off it flashed, and we were like nowhere near the white line. So I do think that there are some things that need to be adjusted in the system. But I did ask him prior to that, "What do you think about this red-light camera issue?" Andl was very surprised, 'cause I assumed he would have said -- because he's always complaining about, you know, these red-light cameras. He said "Well, you know, I was kind of against it big time because I understand, you know -- because of how it has affected, you know -- how these cameras go off and they affect you. You know, you have to pay all these tickets." He said, But I can say this'=- and this is true -- tf has really changed my behavior. I am much more conscience of it than I've ever been. "So that made me realize that it does really -- not just because it's my husband -- modin, people's behavior. So we have to agree to the fact that that is a good thing, that it has changed people's behavior. The other thing that came up as a good thing to me was the fact that it does -- andl think they did a great job with speaking to the fact that it prevents accidents. You know, I know I talked about my mother, but the -- and she's one out of a million. But we heard the fire department. We heard police up here. We heardjust all of them speaking about how it has reduced. It may not -- we might disagree on the number of accidents that it has prevented, but we do know that it has prevented something. We also heard from them, which is another good thing, that as far as criminal investigations, we know when shootings take place in my district, the first thing they do is go look at those cameras, and I'm going to be honest with you, they are -- they have been very essential in helping with those investigations. So, to me, that's another great thing about it. Now, I'm just going to say this to my fellow Commissioners, you know, and -- you know, andl mentioned the good and the bad for a reason, because I thought it was important for us to really think about weighing the good over the bad, and clearly, when I look at the bad, there's about three things that we have an issue with. When I look at the good, there's about six things that we say yes to. And we can debate all day long, but if -- I don't want to be up here debating about something if you -- no matter what, on the inside of you, you're not going to support this item, we need to just be honest about us not going to support it, you know, or we are going to support it. And the only reason why I'm saying that is, you know, if we asked the Administration to bring back information and they have brought it back, if we're not comfortable with what they brought back, then we need to get comfortable with it. I just feel just deep down inside of -- in my heart that this is an item that we all should either be supporting or not supporting, straight up, because I don't want anyone to walk away from here andl don't want the impressions of -- 'cause I know all of you guys are good guys and you're clearly concerned about the health and safety of our residents. I don't want it to be seen as you were not supportive of it, because that's not the case andl know that's not the case. That's not how the story will be portrayed. The story will be portrayed you voted against people, you know, running lights, and we know that that's not the truth. So I guess my real question for everybody up here -- and really not everybody -- would be for my fellow colleagues, Carollo and Suarez: What would City ofMiami Page 78 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 it take on your sides in order for you to be comfortable with a decision like this to support it? Because that is really -- that's really the question. Andl think that every item we come up here to vote on, when we come to vote on it, you know, we -- I -- most of the items, we like for them to be items that we all support, right? We try to strive for that. There's some things we're just not going to support each other on, but there are some things that we try -- the majority of them we try to vote with. So I guess my question would be, you know, what questions still need to be answered in order for you to feel comfortable about supporting this issue? Andl -- I'm going to say this in closing, and it's so important. The power of being a leader -- and I'm going to say this because we all are leaders, we all were elected by people -- you know, sometimes it takes our ability to remove ourselves from making a decision. And whatl mean by that is sometimes the flesh part of us or how we feel about certain things kind of affect our ability to make a decision, andl can understand because there are so many different things that are going on around an issue that sometimes the issue actually get lost. Andl just want to really -- at the end of day, we do have -- beyond the residents, we do have a higher Authority to answer to, okay? And the question becomes, Are we doing the right thing? If we're not doing the right thing or you feel like we're not doing the right thing, I really want to hear from the both of you guys as to why you feel we would not be doing the right thing. Outside of -- we've already talked about the process -- right? -- putting a process in place. Andl think the Administration has kind of worked on that. But can you guys please tell me what it would take for you to feel that this is doing the right thing? I feel like I just preached a sermon, but you understand what I mean. Commissioner Suarez: Thankyou. Thankyou, Commissioner. I appreciate the question. I think I've been very consistent from the first time that it came before us on an emergency basis, that I had issues with basically becoming an appellate court for this process. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Commissioner Suarez: I outlined at the time the fact that there are no specific requirements, there are no specific qualifications for the hearing officers under the statute. I highlighted the fact that the formal rules of evidence don't apply, which I take -- I think the formal rules of evidence were created to protect people, not to make it more liberal if they're not there. That's why you have rules of evidence. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I understand. Can we talk about that one issue real fast just so we can get a answer on that one issue? Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. I -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Just so I can (UNINTET,TIGIBT,F) Commissioner Suarez: But I'm answering your question. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. Commissioner Suarez: There was an additional fee -- there was going to be an additional fee that -- of $50 if there was a cancellation and also the -- what I said at the time was the cost of the ticket can be as high as $408. Now, other cities in the last -- that I've looked at have basically charged double what the state is currently charging right now. I'm supposed to -- in addition to the other problems that have with adopting this appellate procedure, which I don't know are reconcilable, so that's -- that may answer your question right there. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Commissioner Suarez: But aside from those issues that I have, I'm supposed to digest all this information that I was given a few hours ago. City of Miami Page 79 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Spence -Jones: I got you. Commissioner Suarez: Okay. And I don't even know how long the Administration has had this information. How long has the Administration had this? I mean, I wrote a letter -- you know, we -- we're supposed to get information, as you well know, when we analyze it and make a decision of this size five days before a Commission meeting. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I agree. Commissioner Suarez: So we had a Commission meeting two weeks ago, five days before that, and we're bringing an emergency ordinance which highlights the ordinance. It's an awkward -- not an awkward. I guess maybe not the right word. It's a -- it's not a regular process. So you would have thought that for us to make such an important decision, they would have been prepared when other cities had discussed this issue as early as a month ago. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Can we put a pen right there, 'cause I want to -- can we just -- 'cause I want to deal with just that one issue, andl want to ask the City Attorney -- I mean, the City Manager. I'm sorry. Excuse me. I want to ask the City Manager really fast. So Mr. City Manager, clearly, you have a Commissioner that has expressed his concern not just only with the appellate process but having enough time to really digest this document. Andl know we've only been able to do -- really deal with it over the last -- over the actual break, and it's just a question, only because I'm trying to find resolution, 'cause I would like to see my fellow colleagues all be on the same page and we may not be, but I still -- I want to drill down to what the issues are. The main -- I know we decided not to vote on this item -- we voted on this item, but we decided to bring it back up this time with hopes that we would have all the information as necessary. What -- to give our fellow Commissioner the additional time that he needs, what -- where does this place us in time? Mr. Martinez: Till the next Commission meeting, which is the 25th. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, so -- Mr. Martinez: Twenty fifth. Chair Sarnoff -- it would just be a time issue for him? Mr. Martinez: A time issue, yes. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. All right. So we keeping it real here, right? So -- Chair Sarnoff But I don't think you listened to what he said. Mr. Martinez: Right. Commissioner Spence -Jones: No. I -- Mr. Martinez: It's -- I know it seems like we're in -- some people -- some are entrenched. It doesn't matter whether it's two weeks or three weeks with the information. I'm -- I think you made the point earlier. I don't -- some minds are not going to be changed. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Now, I would never say some minds. I would never make that -- I'm -- when I started the statement, I saidl wanted us to go into this situation with a open mind, andl know that there were several issues that created the environment or the atmosphere for people not supporting it. So I'm not going to make an assumption that my fellow colleagues, if City of Miami Page 80 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 they don't have the information, are not going to do the right thing. So -- or do what they feel is right. I'm just -- he made a statement around not having enough time to really digest the issue. Are we dealing with a time constraint of another two weeks, giving him the opportunity to further delve into this issue? Mr. Martinez: I'll be more than glad to sit one on one and go through each item, each procedure, each process; how we came up with the cost, the additional clerks, the computers, the logistics of the whole thing; more than glad to do that. Commissioner Suarez: And let me say, the reverse is also true. I mean, I could sit here and five-day rule this item on the basis of getting this information -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: I know you can. Commissioner Suarez: -- five minutes ago. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I know you can. Commissioner Suarez: So, you know, I am not here to -- if the will of this body is to go forward, I'm not here to be a cog in the wheel. You know, I could do that. I don't really need anyone's permission to do that. I can just do it. That's thanks to the modification that I voted for in supporting Commissioner Carollo, making it one person able to declare the five-day rule. So I could do that ifI wanted to. You know, my issue is -- again, I've already outlined what my issues are, but in addition to the fact that I got the information very recently -- and maybe over the next two weeks I can digest it more and get -- delve into it. You know, there's still no check on the fee. In other words, the fee, even though today the Administration wants to set it at $85, it can go up to $408. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Can we answer that? Is that true? 'Cause I asked this question in my briefing with them. The cost is still very murky to me, and it was told to me in my briefing, No, Commissioner, it would not go over the two hundred and what -- 230 --? Unidentified Speaker: Two hundred and forty-three dollars. Commissioner Spence -Jones: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) here. Put it on the record 'cause I want everybody to hear it. 'Cause I know $400, in my district that's somebody's rent. Mr. Alfonso: I think when the Commissioner refers to the four hundred plus dollars, it includes the 158 that is the initial fine. That would have to be paid regardless. That is a state fine or code -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: But how do we get from 158 to 400? Mr. Alfonso: Because the statute allows for an additional $250 to cover costs of the hearing, up to. Mr. Martinez: Right. But we're not proposing that. Mr. Alfonso: But we're not proposing that. We're proposing $85. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. So you heard that. Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. I heard that today, they're proposing $85. What I'm saying is, they can go up to $250 without -- there's no check on the system. Before, they were limited to charging for the appeal process, I think, 115, $116. I'm sorry? City of Miami Page 81 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Spence -Jones: A hundred and -- Mr. Martinez: The appeal process was $119. Commissioner Suarez: Okay, 119. So again, on the basis of information that I was given a few hours ago that should have been given -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) five-day rule on. Commissioner Suarez: Which I didn't five-day rule -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. Commissioner Suarez: -- which -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: But you could. Commissioner Suarez: Of course. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right. Commissioner Suarez: And it should have been given to me five days before today, which, by the way, I asked specifically for it in an e-mail to the Administration, in an e-mail to the City Attorney. Thankfully, Madam City Attorney, you complied with my e-mail. You didn't come up with anything surprising, any document at the last moment as is, you know, the MO (Modus Operandi) of this Administration sometimes. You know, there's no check. I mean, it could start at 85 today. What if they realize that one of their -- let me finish. What if they realize that one of their assumptions, the two -minute per hearing assumption or the seven -minute per hearing assumption -- By the way, I thought when Danny first talked to us about it, there was a two -minute per hearing assumption on the cost. Now it's a seven -minute per hearing assumption on the cost. What if it's a 30 minutes per hearing? What if it's 45 minutes per hearing? I mean, there are a variety of assumptions that you have to make that influence the cost. Commissioner Spence -Jones: And so is your viewpoint, Commissioner Suarez, that these are things that you feel that can be hammered out in the discussion -- Commissioner Suarez: I'm not -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- or in the process? Commissioner Suarez: -- sure that they can. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Commissioner Suarez: I'm not sure that they can, because what they're telling me today, by the way, may not be what they do tomorrow, and this is what they were telling me five minutes ago. So -- you know, I think the problem is that there is no check on that number, number one, and then there's a variety of other flaws that see in the procedure, number two, which is really what I was focused on. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. Commissioner Suarez: I wasn't focused on anything other than that, you know. And I'll just leave everything else aside. I mean, you know, I'll leave everything else that -- Andl appreciate City of Miami Page 82 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 your sentiments and the things that you said because it -- there have been some things that have occurred that 1 think have been regretful. Thank you. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Disrespectful. I'll take -- use that word. Commissioner Suarez: You didn't get one of these, did you? Commissioner Spence -Jones: No. Commissioner Suarez: Okay. Mr. Wysong: Commissioner, could l just address the check? The check is Florida law in that this is a fee, and under flaw law, we can only impose as many dollars as is necessary to implement the cost of the program. It is not a tax. If this were a tax, we could cap it out at $250. That's why we're relatively confident that that Coral Gables fee may actually end up being lower as time goes on. But the check on the amount of the fee is what it actually cost, and the Finance Department has run the numbers to determine what it cost. And so that is our check, essentially. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I -- right. I think that Commissioner Suarez definitely needs a little bit more than that, so -- I mean -- listen -- Commissioner Carollo, do you have a comment? Commissioner Carollo: No. I mean, I've been very clear. I think, from the very beginning, we should have been discussing this a month or two ago, you know, and -- you know, we spend City resources to fly someone to Tallahassee. We pay the hotel rooms. We do everything. And we don't get the information? No. I mean, there was other municipalities that, a month ago, were dealing with this. So I don't think it's fair, you know. And l feel like, you know, I'm at fault. You know, I'm the only one who's not out there, and haven't even had a chance to finish reading this. I mean -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Commissioner Carollo: -- that's not fair on us. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I agree. So this is a very big decision, Mr. Manager, andl don't want to say no to you, okay. I really don't want to say no to you, okay. I really want to see if we can work this out. And the only way that's going to really work out is if my fellow colleagues find a way to work it out with you. I think this is too big of an issue that can hurt all of us later on down the line if we don't give them the time to do it. It's just my -- so I'm not saying no, 'cause I could easily vote no. But I don't want to do that to you. I don't know why. I just don't want to do anything bad to you. But I do want to give them time, you know. I really want them to feel comfortable with what they're doing. And guess what? They may never feel comfortable with it, but I don't want to -- I don't think they would do the same thing to me. If they saw me over here struggling as a colleague and not feeling good about something, I think that they will wait until felt at least better about the situation. Mr. Martinez: Agree with you, and welcome the challenge to present the information and go through it line by line all the way down to the nitty-gritty details so they feel more comfortable. I mean, we can also say our $85 is an estimate, even though legislatively, we can go higher. And if we do go higher, we will come before this Commission and explain why we need to cover the cost that it's $85 or more. You know, we could do that, but I'll -- I welcome the time to present my case over and over and go over the numbers and go into the detail and dig down into it to -- so that they make the most informed decision, whether it's a 'Yes" or a "no." Commissioner Spence -Jones: So I would ask my fellow colleagues, Commissioner Suarez and Commissioner Carollo, because I believe that you would do the same for me on a big issue like City of Miami Page 83 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 this. I think that you deserve to have more time to digest it, and it is a lot to digest. So I don't have a problem, Mr. Chairman, if you're comfortable with, I would like for us to defer this item until the 27th [sic], where at least the other -- is it 25th? I'm sorry, the 25th -- the other Commissioners will have the opportunity to really, really vet it out and feel comfortable about whatever decision they finally make. I would just ask that we close it out on the 25th, because now that we have -- I'm just saying. I'm just asking that we do close it out on the 25th so that we can go into the summer break and we don't have a whole month that we're dealing with this, 'cause I understand the Administration's concern. But I think it's really -- I'm just going to take the high road in this, and the high road is to say, "Look, let's give them the opportunity to digest it more and deal with it on the 25th." Do you mind that, Mr. Chairman? Chair Sarnoff No. Let's -- there was a motion. There was a second. I think you're going to have to withdraw your motion. Who was --? Commissioner Spence -Jones: That wasn't me. That was -- Chair Sarnoff She -- withdraw your motion. Commissioner Spence -Jones: It wasn't my motion. Mr. Hannon: Chair, it was Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo. Chair Sarnoff It's up to him. Commissioner Spence -Jones: It's Carollo. Chair Sarnoff No. Well, the seconder can withdraw, but why don't we give Commissioner Gort Vice Chair Gort: I'll withdraw it. Chair Sarnoff You're going to withdraw it? Vice Chair Gort: Yeah. Chair Sarnoff All right. Now, is there a motion? Vice Chair Gort: Motion to defer it to the next meeting. Andl think we've heard all the argument pro and against. Andl think the next meeting that everyone should have all the information and we should come to a vote immediately. Commissioner Carollo: Second. Chair Sarnoff We have a motion and we have a second. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Chair Sarnoff Anybody in favor of -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: We don't -- Chair Sarnoff Calling it a day? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes. Mr. Chairman, can I just say that when we bring it back, no City of Miami Page 84 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 more public hearing? We should just be now ready to talk about it. Vice Chair Gort: Yeah. Chair Sarnoff That's fair. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So there's not a public hearing when it comes back, correct? Vice Chair Gort: That's right. Chair Sarnoff That's correct, there won't -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Chair Sarnoff -- be a public hearing. Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff All right. So then, we're in adjournment. END OF ORDINANCES - SECOND READINGS ORDINANCE - FIRST READING FR.1 ORDINANCE First Reading 13-00756 Department of Public AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER Works 55 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS", MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 55-10, ENTITLED "BUILDING PERMITS; ISSUANCE; RESTRICTIONS; EXCEPTIONS", TO ALLOW CONSTRUCTION OF SINGLE FAMILY HOMES ON LOT(S) OF RECORD THAT HAVE BEEN SUBDIVIDED INTO REMNANT LOTS UPON REVIEW BY THE PLAT AND STREET COMMITTEE, SUBJECT TO COMPLIANCE WITH MIAMI 21; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 13-00756 Summary Form SR.pdf 13-00756 Legislation FR/SR.pdf Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo Chair Sarnoff Okay, we're going to move to first reading, FR.1, at the request of the Clerk's Office; FR.]. Who is presenting FR.1? Mr. Ihekwaba, you're recognized for the record. Commissioner Suarez: SR (Second Reading) or FR (First Reading) ? Commissioner Carollo: FR. Chair Sarnoff FR, First Reading 1, First Reading 1. Nzeribe Ihekwaba (Director, Public Works): Good morning. Zerry Ihekwaba. City of Miami Page 85 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Chair Sarnoff Page 15, page 15. Go ahead. Mr. Ihekwaba: Zerry Ihekwaba, Public Works director. FR.1 is an amendment of the City Code Chapter 55, entitled "Subdivision Regulations, " in order to streamline the code provisions for platting properties and make it consistent with the requirements ofMiami 21. Currently, some nonconforming lots are not available and also qualin, for permitting for single-family home construction according to Chapter 55, Subdivision Regulations. However, Miami 21 under the nonconforming lot waiver process allows the Zoning administrator to grant them certain waivers. What this amendment does is to regularize the conflicting language in Miami -- in Code Chapter 55 and make it consistent with the requirements ofMiami 21. Chair Sarnoff All right. Is there a motion? Commissioner Spence -Jones: So moved. Chair Sarnoff We have a motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Vice Chair Gort: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Gort. It's a public hearing. Anyone wishing to be heard on FR.1, FR.1, please step up. You're recognized for the record. Mariano Cruz: Mariano Cruz, 1227 Northwest 26th Street. I am in favor of anything that helps the people build, I mean, the single-family homes (UNINTET,T IGIBT ,F) and because sometimes, you want to build something, you got to have a high-powered lawyer to come here, especially with Miami 21. If this make it easier for anybody, anybody; not somebody from downtown that got the -- what we call pay -- high pay lawyers, then that's fine with me. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair. Chair Sarnoff Anyone else wishing to be heard on FR.1, FR.1? Hearing none, seeing none, the public hearing is now closed. If any Commissioner wishes to discuss --? Commissioner Suarez: Yes. Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Suarez is recognized for the record. Commissioner Suarez: I just want to echo Mariano's comments. I've had situations where people have come to visit me with a circumstance like this, and most of them don't have a lot of means. They don't have the ability to hire a lawyer. The properties are not that valuable. Nevertheless, it's good that, you know, the department is thinking outside of the box and trying to make it easier for them, so I commend them for that. Chair Sarnoff Anyone else wishing to be heard? Hearing none, 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 FR.1. A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above. Mr. Hannon: The ordinance passes on first reading, 4-0. City ofMiami Page 86 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 RE.1 13-00701 Department of Fire -Rescue END OF FIRST READING ORDINANCE RESOLUTIONS RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENTS ("MOA'S"), IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORMS, BETWEEN THE PARTICIPATING AGENCIES OF BROWARD COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, BROWARD COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, THE CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, THE CITY OF HIALEAH, THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, THE CITY OF MIAMI GARDENS, THE CITY OF MIRAMAR, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, MONROE COUNTY, PALM BEACH COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND THE VILLAGE OF KEY BISCAYNE, FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF EQUIPMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE URBAN AREA SECURITY INITIATIVE ("UASI") GRANTS POLICIES, FOR THE UASI GRANT FISCAL YEAR 2008, ACCEPTED PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION NO. 09-0413, ADOPTED SEPTEMBER 10, 2009, AS WELL AS THE UASI GRANT FISCAL YEAR 2009, ACCEPTED PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION NO. 10-0290, ADOPTED JULY 8, 2010, WHICH SPECIFIED RESPONSIBILITIES, USE MAINTENANCE, INVENTORY, AND DISPOSAL RESPONSIBILITIES; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ANY OTHER RELATED MODIFICATIONS, AMENDMENTS, EXTENSIONS OR MOA'S, ON ALL UASI GRANT MATTERS, EXCEPT THOSE DEALING WITH FUNDING CHANGES, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY. 13-00701 Summary Form.pdf 13-00701 Pre-Legislations.pdf 13-00701 Legislation.pdf 13-00701 Exhibit 1.pdf Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, 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-13-0279 Chair Sarnoff We could do resolutions. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I think we only have a few of those left, right? Chair Sarnoff You want to do some resolutions? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, let's go. Chair Sarnoff All right. RE.1. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Higher. Terrence Davis: Good afternoon. Terrence Davis, assistant chief Fire Department. RE.1 is a resolution of the City ofMiami Commission authorizing the Manager to execute a memorandum City ofMiami Page 87 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 of agreement in order to distribute equipment that was purchased using the 2008-2009 UASI (Urban Area Security Initiative) grant to distribute this equipment to UASI participating agencies. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So move. Chair Sarnoff We have a motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Commissioner Carollo: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Carollo. Commissioner Carollo: For discussion. Chair Sarnoff And you'll be recognized before or after the public hearing? Commissioner Carollo: It doesn't matter. Chair Sarnoff The public hearing on -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: No, it's not a public hearing. Chair Sarnoff No, we don't need a public hearing. I apologize. Go right ahead. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Madam City Attorney, I've raised this issue in the past with something similar I spoke to you, so I have a question. Would this bring about any additional liability to the City ofMiami? Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Commissioner, I reviewed the agreement andl discussed it with the chief as well as the police legal advisor who's very familiar with these kinds of agreements and personally read it, andl think that this is an agreement to distribute equipment, and there's a list of responsibilities that the participating agencies have to abide by, including being fully responsible for the funding and coordination of the maintenance of the materials. Mr. Davis: That is correct. Ms. Bru: The City can always recover the materials if it's being used for an ineligible purpose, so I think that the City is protected under the agreement. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chairman. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized, Commissioner Gort. Vice Chair Gort: The reimbursement on these grants, have we received them yet or --? Mr. Davis: I'm sorry? Vice Chair Gort: The reimbursement -- Mr. Davis: Yes. Vice Chair Gort: -- in this -- City ofMiami Page 88 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 RE.2 13-00757 Department of Fire -Rescue Mr. Davis: Yes. Vice Chair Gort: -- we have received them? Mr. Davis: Yes, we have, yes. Vice Chair Gort: Okay. Mr. Davis: And again, as -- Chair Sarnoff All right. Mr. Davis: Sorry. As she mentioned, all the equipment, once it's distributed, they'll be responsible for the maintenance and distribution and all that other stuff that has -- Vice Chair Gort: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff All right. RE.1, all in favor, please say "aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT A GRANT FROM THE OMNI REDEVELOPMENT DISTRICT COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $100,000, FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF A BRAUN SUPER CHIEF MODULE TRUCK WITH A FREIGHTLINER CAB AND CHASSIS, TO BE STATIONED AT CITY OF MIAMI FIRE STATION NO. 2; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE ACCEPTANCE OF SAID AWARD. 13-00757 Summary Form.pdf 13-00757 Legislation.pdf Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones R-13-0280 Chair Sarnoff RE.2. Terrence Davis (Assistant Chief Fire): RE.2 is a resolution of the City ofMiami Commission to accept a CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) grant, in the amount of $100,000, that will be used to assist in the purchase of afreight liner rescue truck that will be stationed at Fire Station 2, which is in the CRA boundary. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So move. Commissioner Carollo: Second. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, second by Commissioner Carollo. Any City ofMiami Page 89 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say "aye. The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Mr. Davis: Thank you. RE.3 RESOLUTION 13-00314 Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Facilities ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A REVOCABLE LICENSE AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") AND BARRY UNIVERSITY, INC., FOR THE USE OF APPROXIMATELY SEVEN (7) CLASSROOMS AND OFFICE SPACE IN THE CITY POLICE COLLEGE, CITY -OWNED PROPERTY LOCATED AT 350 NORTHWEST 2ND AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FOR A MONTHLY USE FEE OF $1,000 FOR THE OFFICE SPACE, PLUS $31.25 PER CLASS, PER HOUR, PLUS THE ENDOWMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS, PLUS STATE OF FLORIDA USE TAX (IF APPLICABLE), WITH ONE HUNDRED PERCENT (100%) OF THE REVENUE TO THE CITY TO BE DEPOSITED IN THE POLICE COLLEGE GENERAL REVENUE FUND TO BE UTILIZED FOR FUTURE MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS AT THE CITY POLICE COLLEGE, ON A MONTH TO MONTH TERM, WITH ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS, AS MORE SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH IN SAID AGREEMENT. 13-00314 Summary Form.pdf 13-00314 Legislation.pdf 13-00314 Exhibit 1.pdf Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this matter be WITHDRAWN PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones RE.4 RESOLUTION 13-00702 Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Facilities ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT GRANT FROM THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR "INVASIVE SPECIES REMOVAL AT MARINE STADIUM MARINA" ("PROJECT"), IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $28,975; AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI'S MATCHING FUNDS FOR FIFTY PERCENT (50%) OF THE PROJECT, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $28,975, AS STATED HEREIN, FOR AN ESTIMATED TOTAL PROJECT COST OF $57,950, AVAILABLE UNDER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT 40-B30706, TO BE APPROPRIATED BY SEPARATE RESOLUTION; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE GRANT AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, AND ALL OTHER NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR THE ACCEPTANCE, ADMINISTRATION, AND EXECUTION OF SAID GRANT AGREEMENT. City of Miami Page 90 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 13-00702 Summary Form.pdf 13-00702 Legislation.pdf 13-00702 Exhibit 1.pdf Motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones RE.5 13-00673 City Manager's Office R-13-0281 Chair Sarnoff RE.4. Henry Torre: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Henry Torre, director of Public Facilities. RE.4 is a resolution authorizing the City Manager to accept a grant -- excuse me --from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for invasive species removal at Marine Stadium Marina in an amount not to exceed $28,975; authorizing the allocation of the City of Miami's matching funds for 50 percent, in an amount not to exceed $28,975. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So move. Chair Sarnoff All right. We have a motion by Commissioner Spence -Jones. Commissioner Carollo: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Carollo. 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), ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE CITY MANAGER, AND CONFIRMING AND APPROVING THE EVALUATION AREA, AS DEPICTED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, AS THE AREA NEEDED TO GENERATE SUFFICIENT REVENUE FOR THE VIABLE OPERATION OF THE MIAMI MARINE STADIUM, AS STATED IN THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING DATED MAY 15, 2012, AMONG THE CITY OF MIAMI, THE MIAMI SPORTS AND EXHIBITION AUTHORITY AND THE FRIENDS OF MIAMI MARINE STADIUM, INC., A 501(C) 3 NON-PROFIT CORPORATION. 13-00673 Summary Form.pdf 13-00673 Resolution MMSSC # 12-001.pdf 13-00673 Steering Committee.pdf 13-00673 Legislation.pdf 13-00673 Exhibit 1.pdf 13-00673-Submittal-Miami Dade Legislative Delegation.pdf 13-00673-Submittal-Judith Sandoval.pdf 13-00673-Submittal-Frienda of Miami Marine Stadium.pdf Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. City of Miami Page 91 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones Noes: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo R-13-0282 Chair Sarnoff All right, so let's do -- what do you want --? Is everybody ready -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, we can. Chair Sarnoff -- to do -- finish red-light camera? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Well, let's -- he hasn't gone through it, so let's do RE.5 real fast, the Marine Stadium thing. Chair Sarnoff Let's do RE.5. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Are they here? Chair Sarnoff Marine Stadium. Alice Bravo (Chief of Infrastructure): Good afternoon. Alice Bravo, Assistant City Manager. RE.5 is a resolution requesting that the City Commission accept the recommendations of the marine stadium steering committee to establish the project boundary. In the original Memorandum of Understanding with the Friends, it set out certain parcels on Virginia Key that would be evaluated for consideration for a project boundary. And the Steering Committee met six times and, working with the Friends of the Marine Stadium, evaluated various permutations of their conceptual operations plan and worked with them to refine that. And based on that, they actually approved the areas mentioned in the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding): Area 15, the Marine Exhibition Center; area 16, the stadium; area 17, the Marine Stadium entrance plaza; and area 19, the open green field. We have some representatives of the Friends ofMarine Stadium here today, andl believe they have a testimonial video that they want to display. Unidentified Speaker: Thank you, Alice. Note for the Record: An audio -video presentation was made at this time. Ms. Bravo: And just to clam beyond the message that you just heard, the only action before the Commission today is conforming with one of the "whereas" clauses in the MOU by which we would approve the project boundary, and that's basically to set the parameter of the land side area that the Friends ofMarine Stadium would continue to develop their business and operating plan within. So on the screen you have what was in your agenda item, so basically, the project boundary would consist of this area 16, the Marine Stadium itself the courtyard area in front of it, 17; 15, which is the area to the west and 19, the area to the east. And so, basically, they will continue involving their operating plan as they pursue their fundraising efforts based on that project boundary. That's it. Chair Sarnoff Excuse me. I know we have the -- I know we have State Representative Manuel Diaz here. I know he's here for the Dade Delegation. You wish to present? Unidentified Speaker: Jose, Jose. Chair Sarnoff Jose. I apologize. Jose Felix Diaz: There are two of us. Representative Manny Diaz is not here today. Chair Sarnoff I got you. City of Miami Page 92 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Mr. Diaz: I am Jose Felix Diaz. I'm here in my capacity as vice chair of the Dade Legislative Delegation. I do have with me a letter, which I would like to submit for the record, from the chairman of the Dade Delegation. Eddy Gonzalez andl, we signed it together in support of the Marine Stadium. We think that this is an important gem for our community to preserve. This year, in House Bill 85, we actually included language which will give the Marine Stadium an opportunity to continue to raise money privately. We think this is just a cultural and historical piece of Miami's legacy, so if there's anything that you need from us, know that you do have support, and we will be, hopefully, if you do approve the item, trying to get some state funding for the stadium next year. And if my mother was here and she saw that video of Gloria Estefan, she would just tell me Ihut up and agree with Gloria, 'So I will shut up. I know that you've heard quite a bit already about why this is a great project, andl know there are additional speakers. But please know that, you know, Eddy andl, as chair and vice chair of the Delegation, are supportive, and we really do hope that you approve this important item. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Thank you for coming. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Mr. Chairman, I know that in the video, they kind of skimmed over what was proposed or ideas. Are you going -- is the Administration going to walk through what the proposed ideas are? Ms. Bravo: Well, at this time the -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: 'Cause I know in our briefing, they -- the Friends ofMarine Stadiums [sic] gave at least in -- Ms. Bravo: Right. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- concept. Ms. Bravo: I think for the moment we want to make sure that we meet the requirement of the MOU, which was this approval of the project boundary, and then if we want to discuss further, we can go ahead and do that. Back in February, the Steering Committee itself presented its recommendations, and at that time the chairman asked us to explore some of the real property interest possibilities to have the Friends attached to the property, but right now we want to make sure we have the project boundary approved so that they can continue evolving -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, but I think -- Ms. Bravo: -- their business plan. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- it's important not just for the people watching it home, and the people that are here, Alice, to -- just so we don't go back to the same situation we were in the earlier item, it's just important for people to see it. So what is the concept? What are the ideas? I mean, they briefed us individually as Commissioners so they should, you know, be able to -- Ms. Bravo: Yes. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- brief the public. Commissioner Carollo: And Mr. Chairman, ifI may. Before we do this, since we still have the representative here, if he could come back up. And l just want to make sure that -- I know we have your support -- the City has your support and Friends ofMarine Stadium, butt know you mentioned funding, so I know we have you there. I know we have the state senator here. So I want to see was -- how feasible it really is for you all to contribute from the state funding to the City of Miami Page 93 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Friends ofMarine Stadium. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized. Mr. Diaz: Well, thank you for the question. The Dade Delegation every year at the beginning of session gets together and we come up with delegation priorities. This year there were certain priorities which were on our agenda that got approved. Every single item that we had on our Dade Delegation priority list was approved. Eddy Gonzalez andl have already said that next year we want to make funding for the Marine Stadium a priority. Obviously, the amount that would be needed to restore the project, which is 30 million, is above what the state could contribute, but we are ideally going to be looking at something in the neighborhood of 500 to one and a half -- 500,000 to $1.5 million in our state budget. That would be our request. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Mr. Diaz: Any --? Chair Sarnoff Thank you. Mr. Diaz: I'll stay here in case there's any further questions. Chair Sarnoff Anybody have any other questions of our Delegation? Okay. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Ms. Bravo: Okay. I'll ask Mr. Jorge Hernandez, with Friends ofMarine Stadium. Jorge Hernandez: Hi. Good afternoon. Jorge Hernandez, Friends ofMarine Stadium. Just as a point of order, Alice, we had a resolution from the Chamber as well. Do you want to hold that before we read it? Ms. Bravo: I -- go ahead -- Mr. Hernandez: Testimony was -- Ms. Bravo: -- and read it. Mr. Hernandez: -- from someone from the Miami -- from the school board, if we can do that as well, and then I'm happy to answer whatever questions or have you answer whatever questions. Chair Sarnoff Well, can somebody answer Spence -Jones' question -- Mr. Hernandez: Sure, sure. Yes. Chair Sarnoff -- which is -- why don't we just get to that. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes. Chair Sarnoff And you can hand your -- whatever you need to hand right after -- Mr. Hernandez: Right. Chair Sarnoff But just address her -- Mr. Hernandez: Sure. City of Miami Page 94 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Chair Sarnoff Give her an idea. Mr. Hernandez: Sure. Can we have the map back on the screen. I think that would help. Ms. Bravo: Okay. Mr. Hernandez: Thankyou, Commissioner Jones [sic]. The map was just on there. Commissioner Spence -Jones: It's up there. Vice Chair Gort: It's backup. Mr. Hernandez: Yes. So the -- so in the center of that image is, in red, the stadium, and that's included. The land where the stadium is is included. And from the stadium forward to Rickenbacker is the entry court to the stadium. What you see now, that fountain that they're pointing at, which is a circle with two little circles in it, that's already -- that's there, so we're just going to refurbish that. So that court -- or the fore court and the stadium are one of the parcels; to the right, which is east, is a park. That park is an important portion for the sustainability and operation of the stadium. It will be able to hold rowing shells, because rowing regattas are 65 feet long, so when they have regattas and people come from the north and from here. That's currently where the rowing shells park on the asphalt now, but the proposal has that turned into a green park so that on off days, the citizens ofMiami can use that park. Then on the left to about the place -- the scribe is not in the right place, but I'm sure that you have the material at your desk. But more or less where the scribe was pointing at there, that's the Maritime Center that you heard -- we've talked about for a while but also you heard in Mrs. Estefan's presentation, and that includes an island welcome center, an educational center for children to learn about the ecology of the bay. It includes a historic boat display, restaurants, and some maritime exhibits of the maritime industry. Those are the parcels that we're talking about identing, and we're only talking about putting a border around those parcels. We're not talking about anything else so that we can continue with our planning. Does that satisfy your question? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Thankyou. Mr. Hernandez: Thankyou very much. Commissioner Spence -Jones: And then I just want to ask you quickly just in the MOU -- 'cause I'm sure you know, in the very beginning, what my viewpoint was of how -- Mr. Hernandez: Yes. Commissioner Spence -Jones: It was never about the Marine Stadium and the importance of restoring it. My concern was back -- even back then was I didn't want it to be okay, at first, we just want the Marine Stadium, and then all of a sudden we want all of the land around it, 'cause that's not what was kind of communicated -- Mr. Hernandez: Right. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- you know, and now we're there now. So -- meaning, we are including the land around that as a part of it and that's -- I think that that's just the sentiment that's been up here on the dais. It's like, for whatever reason, whatever's communicated to us, it turns out to be something else, and you know, I -- you know it took a lot for me to come around to even being open to this because I really felt like, you know, we were being -- I can't say "we." I'm going to say "me." I was being presented this, Oh, I want to support the stadium -- Friends City ofMiami Page 95 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 ofMarine Stadium. I want to support the stadium. "But no one was talking about all the land around it, andl kept hammering away in my questions as --I know what this is going to end up being. This is going to end up being let's -- now we need the land around it in order to make the stadium happen, so that's my concern. My concern is, you know, what you present is what should be what it is and not change six months down the line. And my viewpoint back then was if that is the intention, then let's put it out to RFP (Request for Proposals) so that we could see if there are any other options. The assumption can't be that there's nobody else out there. That was my concern. From that last meeting that we've had, it seems like you've gone out of your way to make sure you got more participation and support around the project. I'm glad to see that. I just have a question, so I want to be clear. I'm in support of the Marine Stadium. I'm just not supportive of not having a process, meaning transparency and being open so that other people can participate. That was the issues for me. All right. But if you could take me to the memorandum, and I'm going to ask our City Attorney -- I think it's whereas number one, two, three, four, five. Andl know that part of the presentation today was included in the MOU, and it speaks to the fact that we would -- it would be brought back to us, the City Commission, to consider the evaluation areas. It shall also consider options concerning how funds raised by Friends shall be held. Have we -- I just want to be clear -- addressed that issue? Mr. Hernandez: Yes, we have, Commissioner, and -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Can you --? Mr. Hernandez: Yes. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'm just trying to -- Mr. Hernandez: You want to establish -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the agreement. Mr. Hernandez: No, I appreciate -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- Mr. Hernandez: -- the question. Commissioner Spence -Jones: -- let everybody know -- Mr. Hernandez: And we have -- I should say, we had a wonderful working session with your staff yesterday and these questions came up, and I'm thankful for you for raising them so that we can make them part of the record. I have a packet which -- some of which is duplicative with the letter that you just received from the State Delegation, but in that packet is a letter from the -- I'm going to just pass -- give the packet to the Clerk and then let the Clerk pass it. In the packet is a letter from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. They're willing to serve as an escrow agent for us, and I'll give the letters -- well, I can hand them to you. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Great. Mr. Hernandez: Thank you for bringing that up again. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. I just want to make sure, if we say something, we -- it's not just from our office getting it, but to make sure all the Commissioners. 'Cause I know that was a huge, big issue that we talked about on the dais. And then the other issue and concern I had then, and l just want to make sure we address it, I feel that you have made great headway in, you know, moving the project to the next level. It's obvious that you're very passionate -- the group is City of Miami Page 96 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 very passionate about getting it done, so it's not that I don't feel like you -- your heart is in it, but I -- my same question applies from the very first time that we talked about this, and it's just for us to be real with each other. So what happens if we go out of our way -- or you go out of your way to raise the money to try to make it happen and you miss the mark? Where do those dollars --? I know you said they go to -- I mean, this particular group will actually act as -- the fiscal agent will actually -- but what happens if you don't make the mark? Does that money still stay with the Marine Stadium? Mr. Hernandez: No, it's returned. If we cannot raise the money within the time allotted in the MOU, then we don't move forward. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. Okay. But let's say -- how much is the whole project is costing? Mr. Hernandez: Thirty million. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. So let's say you raise half of it. Mr. Hernandez: Yes. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So you return all of that money back? It doesn't stay with the project? Mr. Hernandez: Yeah. If you -- it -- the MOU says that if we don't raise the money, the project doesn't go forward. We don't keep any of it. It stays in escrow at the National Trust. Commissioner Spence -Jones: No, no. I -- I'm not -- I'm saying, so it just stays there then? Mr. Hernandez: No, no, it gets returned. It would get returned; gets returned to the donors. We don't keep it. The Trust keeps it. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Chair Sarnoff All right. Mr. Hernandez: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Anybody else have any further discussions, issues? Commissioner Carollo's recognized for the record. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to start off by letting everybody know, just like I said before, hey, I'm a supporter of saving Marine Stadium. Andl think Commissioner Spence -Jones said it well. You know, the issue is not that we don't want to preserve Marine Stadium. The issue has always been, at least with me, the surrounding land. Andl think the real issue is -- I think we all want to preserve Marine Stadium. I think we're -- we may not be in the same pages; how do we go about preserving Marine Stadium? I think, and I'll be candid with you, I think your strongest argument is that, listen, it's been dormant for 20 years -- 20-some years; no one's come with a plan. And as of five years ago, you know, we came up with this plan or we started working towards this plan. You know, in a way, I mean, I believe that's your strongest argument. I can tell you, though, I wasn't here 20 years ago. I wasn't here even five years ago. And it's not like these last three, three and a half years I came in here and was bored and started twiddling my thumb. I mean, the first week that I walk into office, we don't even have quorum. It's just Commissioner Sarnoff and myself. We had to wait, you know, for an election to resolve to see who will be the third Commissioner to then deal with about the other seats. Soon after, we have a hundred and some million -dollar deficit, and it just goes on City of Miami Page 97 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 and on. Everybody knows that every couple of months, it seems like there was something happening. So it's not like we've had -- or at least I haven't had much time to really think, hey, are there other plans or not? I can tell you this: You know, Don Worth and everybody has done one heck of a job, andl've seen -- he is persistent. He is very persistent. And that needs to be commended. Also, I think you just received one heck of an ally in Gloria Estefan. I mean, I personally am a fan of her and Emilio and for many reasons, to be honest with you. You know, not only her singing career, which obvious, but even her marriage, you know. They have stayed together for all these years and that's very commendable. You don't see that anymore. So there's many, many reasons that I'm personally a fan. My young daughter, when she was one years [sic] old, took a picture with Gloria, so you know, you definitely have a fan in me. But it's difficult because at the same time, you know -- andl've analyzed this, andl keep coming back to it. I really believe this should go to a public referendum. I really believe so. In essence, I think that with such a key player like Gloria Estefan, it'll probably pass a public referendum, but still, I will want it to go to a public referendum. I think the Marlins Stadium should have gone to a public referendum. I know recently when we spoke about Dolphins Stadium, it was supposed to go to a public referendum. I guess it didn't happen. But before any additional monies or any land transfers occurred, it should go to a public referendum. How many acres are we talking about? Andl don't mean just Marine Stadium. I mean the whole area that they want us to -- Mr. Hernandez: I can answer that, if you like, Alice? Ms. Bravo: Sure. Commissioner Carollo: I've heard different numbers -- Mr. Hernandez: Yeah. Commissioner Carollo: -- so I'm -- Mr. Hernandez: I know. I can -- Commissioner Carollo: -- really not sure. Mr. Hernandez: -- answer on the record for you. So the parcels that are outlined today, the border that you see today, it's 22 acres, which is more than half -- no, I'm sorry -- less than half of the uplands that were created in the 1963 deed to build the stadium. And of those 22 acres, more than half of that -- in fact, slightly over 12 are being made into parks. So the -- Commissioner Carollo: And by the way, I applaud that. You know, I love, you know, that we're going to have all this green space. I'm still not sure -- Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chairman. Commissioner Carollo: -- the dates that you said some type of border or something will be there on the days that's not there, you'll have the green space. But anyways, I love the green space, you know. I think it's great. However, at the same time, it's 20-something acres of waterfront property. I really believe, you know, our voters should have a say in it. I think it should go to a public referendum. And that's -- andl keep going around it and -- You know, like the representative says, it's extremely hard for me because Gloria's behind it; you know there's no malice there. You know that, you know, she believes in this, and again, I think we all really do. We all really do believe that we should preserve Marine Stadium. I think it's just where we're not on the same page is how to go about doing it. Andl will be a lot more comfortable if we had a public referendum. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Suarez, then back to Commissioner Gort. City of Miami Page 98 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wanted to hear what my colleagues had to say on this. I think was the third vote -- cast the third vote to establish the agreement between the City and the MOU, and so I kind of wanted to hear out -- 'cause I think at the time, you know, Commissioner Carollo and Commissioner Spence -Jones both expressed some serious reservations, andl also said at that time that that vote wasn't really dealing with the elephant in the room or the 800 pound gorilla or however you want to call it, and we've talked about that. And to commend your group -- you've been open. First of all, I agree with Commissioner Carollo. You've been diligent. You've continued to amass support. You know, I agree, you know, having a public figure supporting, you know, the endeavor is always a good thing. And so, first of all, I just want to be clear. I don't see any reason not to support this item that's here before us today. I don't know if anyone else here feels the same way, 'cause this is, I think, just identifying the area by which you would need to support the operation of Marine Stadium, and my view of it is that the deed restriction basically has already done that. I'm not really sure that we even need to do this, but it seems to me that -- anything, really, that goes on that property has to be used to maintain the operation of a marine stadium. It says it here: "Shall be perpetually used and maintained for the operation of a marine stadium and allied purposes." So I think, to me, it's pretty clear that just identifying an area that is already identified by and through a deed as an area that has to be used to support that is not a controversial vote. That's my personal perspective. But I think where it becomes a little more complicated is when you go beyond today's vote, andl think that's what we're starting to see here. And, you know, we've talked about it. I applaud, by the way, the transparency in terms of what you want to do, what it appears like you want to do. I think you were very candid. And I, you know, met with you and Eladio. I don't know where -- you or Eladio -- Mr. Hernandez: He was here, yes. Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. Mr. Hernandez: I should have read that into the record. Commissioner Suarez: Couple days ago and you were -- you know, you guys were very transparent about what -- where you were headed. That didn't necessarily mean that agreed with where you were heading, but at least you were being very transparent about where you were heading, and you were also being transparent about the legal mechanism by which you wanted to head there -- get there. So, you know, I have -- since the last, you know, time that we discussed this, I kind of floated the proposal, which is a little bit different than Commissioner Carollo's because it doesn't involve a transfer of title. It doesn't involve a transfer of property, which is the -- managing it under a trust, like we have Bayfront Park Management Trust; that I have to admit he has been very ably chairing as is -- as the Trust chair for many years, actually since you got there. And it's probably one of the few organizations in the City ofMiami that has, I think, 250 percent of its operating expenses in reserve, andl think that's a testament to, you know, the way that it's being run, the executive director, the board, the chairman, the location obviously, and a variety of other things, but it -- what it demonstrates is a model that is working and that is -- you know, that has worked and that is working. So I would, you know, just request -- and, you know, we've done some work on it, on how it could be structured, the governing body, and basically taking it mostly off of what the Bayfront Park Trust does, but it would be a board. It would consist of five members or it could consist of really as many members or as little members as we want. It could -- you know, would obviously have a chairperson. It could have any -- whatever executive director the board decides. It's really not too different, I think, from what you want to do, what you want to accomplish, which, at the end of the day, is to save the Marine Stadium. And it also protects -- I think it also allows the City to effectuate the restrictions in the deed, which are to make sure that whatever it's being used for is to, you know, maintain the operation of the stadium. And it also, I think, takes away some of the negativity that has been around this particular deal and -- You know, that's just -- that's my kind of idea. I City ofMiami Page 99 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 mean, I'm open to others. I know that we've talked in our briefing of there being an RFP or -- you know, a request for proposal, and you guys made some arguments against that, which, to be honest, are somewhat persuasive to me. But I think, you know, if, in fact, there is no one interested or capable of running the stadium in a way or running the area in a way that is -- you know, that is cohesent [sic] -- coherent with the deed covenant, then that's a process that could take a few months to determine. I mean, it wouldn't take that long. So, again, I'm supportive of this item, because I think this item does really what the deed restriction already does, and so that's why I think that this is not a controversial vote today. But I do think, as the Commissioner said -- and as the Commissioner said, that going forward, we have -- and by the way, congratulations on getting -- I got papers all over the place -- the National Trust for Historic Preservation to act as an escrow agent. I think that's a very wise decision on your part. Andl think -- as the Commissioner said, I think you guys have made a lot of wise decisions, actually, since the last time we've met, you know. I mean, I think you've -- you know, you have the -- some of the elected officials who are here in the room are people that esteem very much andl respect, and having a letter from the Dade Delegation promising -- you know, promising help -- fundraising help is tremendous, or having members of the school board here is important, andl think you have -- you've built up a lot of community support from a lot of big-time community, you know, philanthropists. So I think you've done -- you've made strides, you know. I think -- and the details that you presented, you know, in the past Commission meeting, I thought, were very, very good. They were very detailed. Andl have to agree with Commissioner Carollo that, you know, Don, who's -- I don't see him here today. It's probably the first time I haven't seen him in conjunction with an item. Mr. Hernandez: He's celebrating his wife's 60th birthday in Massachusetts. Commissioner Suarez: I think that's a pretty excused absence. But he's -- Chair Sarnoff I'm not sure she wanted that to be known. Mr. Hernandez: It's in the -- on the record. Commissioner Suarez: Mine's coming up, not the 60th but the anniversary. Anyhow, he's done yeomen's, you know, work, you all have really, you know, to get to this point. So I'm going to support the item today. I still think that we have some work to do. Andl think you should give merit to the different proposals that the different Commissioners have because at the end of the day, we all have to decide on that, and that's going to be, I think, the hardest step, andl think -- one of the things that concerns us all -- sometimes the question becomes: What do you put first, the cart or the horse? Andl think you have demonstrated also a plan, a real viable fundraising plan. I mean, we talked about it a couple days ago, and it seems doable. Again, I'm not an expert on naming rights so I have no way of knowing whether that, in fact, is reachable. But your other components, you know, do seem doable. Andl would just urge you to look at the possibility of the Bayfront Park Management Trust model. I think it's less controversial than the lease, and you know, I don't know -- I can't speak for my colleague, so I don't know whether they would accept that, but I just want to offer that as a possible alternative. Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Commissioner Gort. Vice Chair Gort: My understanding is you have an escrow account that's managed by the National Trust? Mr. Hernandez: That's correct. Vice Chair Gort: Okay. My understanding is -- I don't have a document in front of me, but my understanding is, when we have this type of escrow account, you come to an agreement that if the funds are now being raised in total; and you cannot perform what was the fund was created City of Miami Page 100 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 for, the funds has to be returned to the donors. Am I correct? Mr. Hernandez: That's correct. Vice Chair Gort: Okay. Also, my understanding is it's important to understand the Marine Stadium by itself needs some additional space in order to function. Can you, once again, go over the space and how it's going to be used? Mr. Hernandez: Yeah. The space you're referring to, Commissioner, is on the right, and the map is behind you. And that space is currently vital today for the function and sustainability of the basin, just the basin. So it'll be more vital for the sustainability of the stadium when the stadium and the basin host events together. So that's base, as I said earlier, is where the triathlons that go on there actually do their transitioning from the swimming event to the biking event to the running event and that -- in fact, the permits that are filed yearly with the City, we have studied those permits, and the amount of space that those tents require would fit in that green space. And my son was a rower, so I know a little bit about rowing shells. And when you have rowing regattas, the boats are 18 inches wide and 65 feet long, and when you have kids coming from all over the state to row, the boats would just -- and the turning radius of the trucks that pull the boats require the use of that open space. And if there were seafood festivals or concerts or whatever, community events, it would require that space. But when that space is not being structurally programmed, it's an open park, it's an open green space. Vice Chair Gort: The red -- 23. Mr. Hernandez: I'm sorry, say that again. Vice Chair Gort: The buildings you have on the left -- Mr. Hernandez: Yes. Vice Chair Gort: -- in red -- Mr. Hernandez: Yes. Vice Chair Gort: -- the need for those. Mr. Hernandez: Yeah. That building is the maritime center. If you -- We are not asking for any public monies from the City, and we're not asking for any public subsidies from the City. All other cultural institutions, the MAM (Miami Art Museum), the Performing Arts Center, the history museum, the South Dade Cultural Center, all of them get -- because they're cultural institutions, they don't generate a profit. They all get sustenance, either from the County, or the City or someone. The deed states quite clearly that all the land surrounding the stadium can be developed for the maintenance and operation of a marine stadium. So the purpose of that edifice, which we call the maritime center, is a commercial operation, which will also include noncommercial functions, like the welcome center to Virginia Key Beach, and this was worked out with the Beach Trust and it was worked out also with the coalition that offered the master plan. But it will also have educational space for teaching children about the ecology of the bay. And Mr. Corbellofrom the school district is here. Later, he -- maybe he would want to test fy. And it's going to have restaurants and open spaces for people to go there and enjoy the waterfront. We're making this waterfront accessible and public. There will be a profit generating part of what is happening there, and the reason is that the first part of the profits go to sustain the stadium. Currently, the model that we have has a bikers' kind of transition center for all the biking activity that happens on the causeways. It has the historic boat museum, and you heard earlier about how the Clayton Historic Boat Museum has already committed to take a part of this space. And it has an exhibition center, or exhibition space for the maritime industry. City of Miami Page 101 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 That's the plan as we know it now. But as -- if we get the approval today and we move forward with the land as configured in this presentation, we can continue to develop the plan. Vice Chair Gort: Thank you. Mr. Hernandez: You're welcome. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just had -- something just stood out to me for a minute. Just so I'm clear, you're really clear about -- you said a certain portion of the proceeds would go back into the general maintenance of -- you know, in operations of the -- so we understand that from -- you said a certain portion. What portion of those proceeds? Mr. Hernandez: We have not worked that plan out yet, and we have to come back before you with the specific details of that. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Mr. Hernandez: But we -- yeah. Commissioner Spence -Jones: But there -- so let's say -- let's just -- we don't know what it is. Let's say it's 50 percent of that, okay, is going back to the maintenance and operations or whatever the case may be. Mr. Hernandez: Of the Marine Stadium. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So where would the other 50 go anyway? Mr. Hernandez: It's open for discussion. We can talk about the City. In other words, we can talk about having it be a source of revenue for the City, but we need to construct the plan first. Vice Chair Gort: Yeah. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. I'm just -- 'cause I just want to know how many different entities are there when you say -- and 1 wasn't -- it didn't really dawn on me until you said it and then it kind of stood out. I was like, okay. 'Cause, originally, when we talked about it, I was assuming that whatever was coming from all of this would go into one overall fund to maintain and operate. And then when Fran -- excuse me -- when Commissioner Suarez began to speak about the Bayfront Trust, he said, Oh, that'=-1' think that's a part idea, 'j,ou know, to create a trust -- just like we have Virginia Beach Trust -- but to create a trust that you know -- and the same members could participate in it. That's not really an issue. I think the people that have worked hard to get it to this point should participate. But it also just provides a level of -- public transparency on it and not being so private, so I agree with that. But I guess my -- I just kind of got stuck on, okay, if a certain portion of the proceeds would go to maintenance and operation, then what other possible places could the other dollars go anyway? Can you tell me that? Mr. Hernandez: No, we don't know now. For example, when we met with your chief of staff yesterday, Mr. Quinlan, who's here and he's also a member of the steering committee, had an idea, but these are just ideas. We don't have the plan fixed yet. We can't until after today. His idea is we would take an endowment to sponsor community arts at the stadium: Community activities, community cultural activities, community program for the arts, for the diversity community -- for the diverse community, that is, South Florida. But these are just plans. We don't know yet. We do have to come back before you with a finely detailed plan. Vice Chair Gort: One suggestion could be used for public parks. City of Miami Page 102 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah. Vice Chair Gort: Right there in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), yeah. Commissioner Spence -Jones: I mean, I just -- Vice Chair Gort: You want to maintain that area and that could be part of the -- Mr. Hernandez: It could also go to maintain the other parts of Virginia Key, but again, we're just -- you know, these are -- we're in the planning phase. We need this step to get to the next point. Thankyou. Chair Sarnoff It seems to me that the way this all works is the Matheson gave the City a trustee -- a deed of trust, which is that they would have a reverter clause in the event that they didn't operate a marine stadium here, and the City may have done a reasonably goodjob for a number of years. And then in 1992, the City violated that trust. And since 1992, we have operated under a demolition by neglect type of auspice when it comes to Marine Stadium. I was on your committee or the committee that dealt with this, and it had some very tough people on it: Parker Thomson, Stu Blumberg, people I never expected to vote for this, and yet you got a unanimous vote from the steering committee to support this. I know I do support this, andl want to say very clearly, you've -- you walk the walk because you talk the talk. Mr. Hernandez: Thankyou. Chair Sarnoff And you've raised a lot of money. There's a lot more money to raise. And it seems to me if based on what we've done since 1992 is nothing, why wouldn't we give you the opportunity for the next 18 months to do something? And whether you want to go the route of what I'd recommend, which would be a New York conservancy, the same -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, I know. Chair Sarnoff -- you know, the same way the New York conservancy operates, the same way -- by the way, Millennium Park did nothing more than photocopy the New York conservancy rules and regs (regulations). I'd recommend you do that. But it seems to me you've earned the right to move forward in this process, simply by the labor you've put into it, by the man hours you've put into it, the sweat equity you've put into it and -- you know, I know you're going to have my support when it comes to this because you've really earned the right to do something that we've sat idle or demolition by neglect since 1992. Mr. Hernandez: Thankyou. Chair Sarnoff So -- all right. Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair. Chair Sarnoff Any fur -- Mr. Hernandez: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- desire to make a statement. I'm just -- Commissioner Suarez: No. Just a quick question. I know we've talked about this before andl just wanted to clam. The parking for all of the people that are going to use the stadium, can you shed some light as to --? Mr. Hernandez: We need the slide again. City of Miami Page 103 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. Mr. Hernandez: I'm sorry. I'm catching a cold or something. So the rows of trees that you see at the bottom, that's parking that -- you see in front of the green space, those rows of trees, that's parking. The committee asked us -- andl think it was actually the Commissioner who asked us to do a series of studies of alternate parking models, one of which was that the last parking train of those rows -- and this image is from the master plan that we did in 2010, yeah. So one of those rows would actually be an elevated parking train so the park could actually come up and over it, and you would have no loss of green space because you'd use it as a roof garden. We have all those studies, and we have all those numbers, and those were presented to the committee, whether we do Option A or Option B of that parking strategy. The other place where there's parking is underneath the building to the left because there is a large one-story parking deck underneath that building simply because the code requires that buildings meet the flood criteria and flood criteria is five feet above established grade, so by simply raising it an additional three feet to eight, we can park under the entire footprint of that building. Along with that, then there would be some kind of agreement worked out hopefully with the parking garage which is being built on the west, which I know, again, since it's his district, Commissioner Sarnoff has given leadership to that, and we believe that in fact will be the case, and we believe in shared parking. We don't believe in paving the world, so we would do the reverse. When we're on off-peak hours, they could use our parking in the hopes that we could use their off -parking on their off-peak hours. And then finally, in the event of a concert, the actual green space itself, like most stadiums, could be parked on. Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. Just another quick question. I'd like to know more about the conservacy idea. I -- you know, I don't know if there's -- if it's much different than a trust. Maybe it's different -- it seems to me like it's very similar. Chair Sarnoff (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It's -- Commissioner Suarez: -- it's very similar. Chair Sarnoff It's just -- Commissioner Suarez: So -- but I'd love to see whatever documents or whatever information you have on that, you know, on however we can do it, you know, without having -- creating any sunshine issues, obviously. I support this today. I mean, I think that this is, you know, something that we have to do anyways through the deed reverter. I don't think we could do anything differently, but going forward, I still think that we have to hash out the last details. Chair Sarnoff All right. Commissioner Suarez: I'll move it. Vice Chair Gort: Second. Chair Sarnoff We have a motion and a second? Commissioner Suarez: I don't think so. Chair Sarnoff We do? Vice Chair Gort: Second. Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): No, sir. City of Miami Page 104 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Chair Sarnoff No, sir, all right. So we have a motion by Commissioner Suarez, second by Commissioner Gort. Any further discussion? All in favor then, please say aye." Commissioner Suarez: Aye. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Aye. Vice Chair Gort: Aye. Chair Sarnoff Aye. Commissioner Carollo: No. Vice Chair Gort: By the way, I received, I believe, about a thousand e-mails (electronic). If all those people will get involved and work with you all, it'll be great. Mr. Hernandez: Thank you. Mayor Tomas Regalado: Chairman -- Mr. Hernandez: But I just thank you very much, first of all, for your support. Have you voted? You haven't voted yet. Chair Sarnoff Yeah, we did. Commissioner Suarez: Yeah, yeah. Commissioner Spence -Jones: We voted. Mayor Regalado: Yes, we did. Mr. Hernandez: Okay. Thank you very much for your support. And -- Mayor Regalado: Chair -- Chair Sarnoff (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Mr. Hernandez: -- I would just -- I'm not going to read -- Chair Sarnoff -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) redo it to see if we --? Mr. Hernandez: No, no. Mayor Regalado: Mr. Chairman. Mr. Hernandez: But I would just like to -- Chair Sarnoff Can I give you a piece of advice? Mr. Hernandez: Yes. I would just like to recognize -- Chair Sarnoff I'd like to give you a piece of advice. Mr. Hernandez: -- Mr. Corbello, who's here, and if everybody who came on behalf of the Stadium, just raise your hands or -- City of Miami Page 105 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Applause. Mr. Hernandez: Thankyou very much. And -- Mayor Regalado: Mr. Chair. Mr. Hernandez: Thankyou. Chair Sarnoff Yes, you're -- I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor. You're recognized. Mayor Regalado: No. I just wanted to thank you. Thank you, and especially, I want to thank Eladio Candela, because on late 2007, he came to our office where Willy's office now is, and he was very concerned about the master plan. And Eladio said, They're going to demolish. "Andl guess that you and me, we worked with them 2007. We want to thank also Jorge because you brought the students and you gave the City a fantastic master plan for Virginia Key. And Don and Lynn, but especially, we want to thank Becky because when we went to the County, the voters of Miami -Dade County approved $10 million in historic bond money for Dade Heritage Trust, and she went there with us and she said, 1' want to give 3 million out of the $10 million for the Miami Marine Stadium. "And Becky, Dade Heritage Trust, thank you very much. I think that today we right a wrong that has been there for 20 years. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioners. Applause. Mr. Hernandez: Thankyou to all of you. Thankyou. Chair Sarnoff All right. Red-light camera. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So -- Chair Sarnoff You want to take -- you guys want to take a true ten-minute break? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Right, because we're finished with the agenda, right? Vice Chair Gort: Yeah. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Are we taking any -- Chair Sarnoff There's still a couple of odds and ends still. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Chair Sarnoff But nothing real big. Vice Chair Gort: Not that much. Let's take ten. Chair Sarnoff All right. We're in recess for ten minutes. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. RE.6 RESOLUTION 13-00795 City Manager's Office A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION DIRECTING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO INSTITUTE ANY AND ALL ACTIONS AUTHORIZED IN LAW City of Miami Page 106 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 OR IN EQUITY, NECESSARY OR PERMITTED, AGAINST THE OWNER(S) OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 299 SOUTHWEST 17TH ROAD, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FOLIO NO. 01-4138-002-0020, TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH ALL APPLICABLE LAWS, WHETHER FEDERAL, STATE OR LOCAL, REGARDING SIGNAGE. 13-00795 Summary Form.pdf 13-00795 Legislation.pdf Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this matter be DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo Note for the Record: Item RE.6 was deferred to the July 25, 2013 Commission Meeting. Chair Sarnoff RE. 5 is a time certain. Want to take it? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Well, I think the only item you have left is RE.6. Do you want to get -- and then we're done with all the REs (Resolutions) and we're done, so we have two major items that we have to deal with before we leave. Vice Chair Gort: RE.6 and 7? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yes. Chair Sarnoff Six, right. Commissioner Spence -Jones: RE.6. Chair Sarnoff So let's go to RE.6. Commissioner Spence -Jones: City Manager. Chair Sarnoff You're recognized, Ms. Acosta. Vanessa Acosta(Special Projects): Vanessa Acosta, City Manager's Office. RE.6 is a resolution of the City ofMiami Commission directing the City Attorney to institute any and all actions authorized in law or equity necessary or permitted against the owners of the property located at 299 Southwest 17th Road, Miami, Florida, Folio Number 01-4138-002-0020 to ensure compliance with all applicable laws, whether federal, state, or local, regarding signage. Commissioner Spence -Jones: So move. Commissioner Carollo: Hold on, hold on, hold on. That's in D3 (District 3), and that was part of a discussion item that I had. Commissioner Spence -Jones: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Is this a Cozzoli's? Commissioner Carollo: So I want to -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: I just want to make sure (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Commissioner Carollo: I don't want to take this up right now. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay, no problem. City ofMiami Page 107 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Commissioner Carollo: You know, because I need to speak to the administration about this. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Commissioner Carollo: I don't want to take this up right now and -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: But can we just talk about can -- Oh, you want to just deal with the whole issue later on? Commissioner Carollo: Yes. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Okay. Later... Chair Sarnoff Well, I'm going to call up red-light cameras. Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Commissioner, before we start -- Chair Sarnoff Yes, sir. Mr. Martinez: -- can I defer RE. 6? Chair Sarnoff RE. 6. Commissioner Spence -Jones: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Mr. Martinez: Yes, ma'am. Yes. Chair Sarnoff All right, need a motion. Commissioner Suarez: Move it. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Suarez. Commissioner Suarez: Let me -- you know what; can I --? Wasn't it Commissioner Carollo that had an issue with it? Commissioner Spence -Jones: Yeah, I think -- 'cause he -- Mr. Martinez: He's -- Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. He requested the deferral? Mr. Martinez: Yes. Commissioner Suarez: Okay. Chair Sarnoff Motion by Commissioner Suarez. Need a seconder. Commissioner Spence -Jones: Second. Chair Sarnoff Second by Commissioner Gort [sic]. All in favor, please say aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. City of Miami Page 108 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 RE.7 13-00796 City Manager's Office RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT ON CUSTOMARY USE FOR LOCAL ZONING CONTROL FOR MURALS UNDER THE HIGHWAY BEAUTIFICATION ACT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, AMONG THE CITY OF MIAMI, THE STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING DISTANCE REQUIREMENTS AND PROVIDING COMPLIANCE PROVISIONS FOR EXISTING NON -CONFORMING MURALS. 13-00796 Summary Form.pdf 13-00796 Legislation.pdf 13-00796 Exhibit 1.pdf Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, that this matter be DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence -Jones RE.8 13-00797 City Manager's Office BC.1 13-00764 Note for the Record: Item RE.7 was deferred to the July 25, 2013 Commission Meeting. RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONCURRENCE LETTER, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, REGARDING THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONS DETERMINATION OF CUSTOMARY LOCAL USE FOR WALL MURALS WITHIN SPECIFIED BOUNDARIES UNDER THE CITY OF MIAMI'S JURISDICTION, AS SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED. 13-00797 Summary Form.pdf 13-00797 Legislation.pdf 13-00797 Exhibit 1.pdf Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence -Jones, 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 RE.8 was deferred to the July 25, 2013 Commission Meeting. END OF RESOLUTIONS BOARDS AND COMMITTEES RESOLUTION Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT COUNCIL FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. City of Miami Page 109 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 BC.2 13-00406 APPOINTEES: 13-00764 Arts CCMemo. pdf 13-00764 Arts Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN RESOLUTION NOMINATED BY: Mayor Tomas Regalado Commissioner Frank Carollo Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE AUDIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR ATERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. BC.3 13-00609 Office of the City Clerk BC.4 13-00501 APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY: Chair Marc David Sarnoff 13-00406 Audit CCMemo.pdf 13-00406 Audit Current_Board_Members. pdf NO ACTION TAKEN RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE BAYFRONT PARK MANAGEMENT TRUST FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY: Chair Marc David Sarnoff Commissioner Frank Carollo Commissioner Francis Suarez 13-00609 Bayfront Park CCMemo. pdf 13-00609 Bayfront Park Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN RESOLUTION Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD FOR ATERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. City of Miami Page 110 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 BC.5 13-00408 APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY: Commission -At -Large 13-00501 Civil Service CCMemo.pdf 13-00501 Civil Service Current_Board_Members.pdf 13-00501 Civil Service Exec Sec Memo.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN RESOLUTION Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. APPOINTEES: (Alternate Member) 13-00408 CEB CCMemo.pdf 13-00408 CEB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN BC.6 RESOLUTION 13-00765 NOMINATED BY: Chair Marc David Sarnoff Commission -At -Large Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY: Chair Marc David Sarnoff Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort Commissioner Frank Carollo 13-00765 CSW CCMemo.pdf 13-00765 CSW Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN BC.7 RESOLUTION City of Miami Page 111 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 13-00511 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. BC.8 13-00610 APPOINTEES: 13-00511 CRB CCMemo.pdf 13-00511 CRB Current_Board_Members.pdf 13-00511 CRB Memo and Application.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN RESOLUTION NOMINATED BY: Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY: Chair Marc David Sarnoff Commissioner Frank Carollo 13-00610 CTAB CCMemo.pdf 13-00610 CTAB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN BC.9 RESOLUTION 13-00766 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. APPOINTEES: (Ex-Officio Non Voting Member) NOMINATED BY: Chair Marc David Sarnoff City Manager Johnny Martinez City of Miami Page 112 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 City Manager Johnny Martinez (Ex-Officio Non Voting Member) 13-00766 EAB CCMemo.pdf 13-00766 EAB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN BC.10 RESOLUTION 13-00368 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN Clerk INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY: Chair Marc David Sarnoff Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort Commissioner Frank Carollo Commissioner Frank Carollo Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones FOP IAFF AFSCME 871 13-00368 EOAB CCMemo.pdf 13-00368 EOAB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN BC.11 RESOLUTION 13-00767 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE FOR ATERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY: Commissioner Frank Carollo City of Miami Page 113 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 BC.12 13-00611 13-00767 Finance CCMemo.pdf 13-00767 Finance Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN RESOLUTION Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. BC.13 13-00768 APPOINTEES/CATEGORIES: NOMINATED BY: Chair Marc David Sarnoff (Citizen - Category 7) Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort (Architect - Category 1) Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort (Alternate Member that Qualified Under One of the Categories - Category 8) Commissioner Frank Carollo (Historian or Architectural Historian - Category 3) Commissioner Francis Suarez (Architect or Architectural Historian - Category 4) Commissioner Francis Suarez (Real Estate Broker - Category 5) Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones (Citizen - Category 7) Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones (Landscape Architect - Category 2) 13-00611 HEP CCMemo.pdf 13-00611 HEP Current_Board_Members.pdf 13-00611 HEPApplications.pdf 13-00611 HEP Application Summary.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN RESOLUTION City of Miami Page 114 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Office of the City Clerk BC.14 13-00504 Office of the City Clerk BC.15 13-00505 Office of the City Clerk A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE HOMELAND DEFENSE/NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT BOND PROGRAM OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY: Chair Marc David Sarnoff Chair Marc David Sarnoff Commissioner Frank Carollo Commissioner Frank Carollo Commissioner Francis Suarez 13-00768 Homeland CCMemo.pdf 13-00768 Homeland Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE MIAMI SPORTS AND EXHIBITION AUTHORITY FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY: Chair Marc David Sarnoff Commissioner Frank Carollo Commissioner Frank Carollo 13-00504 MSEACCMemo.pdf 13-00504 MSEA Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY: Commissioner Francis Suarez City of Miami Page 115 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 City Manager Johnny Martinez 13-00505 PRAB CCMemo.pdf 13-00505 PRAB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN BC.16 RESOLUTION 13-00373 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD (UDRB) FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. BC.17 13-00374 Office of the City Clerk APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY: Chair Marc David Sarnoff Chair Marc David Sarnoff Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort Commissioner Frank Carollo Commissioner Frank Carollo Commissioner Francis Suarez 13-00373 UDRB CCMemo.pdf 13-00373 UDRB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN RESOLUTION A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN. APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY: Mayor Tomas Regalado Chair Marc David Sarnoff Commissioner Frank Carollo Commissioner Frank Carollo Commissioner Francis Suarez City of Miami Page 116 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 13-00374 WAB CCMemo.pdf 13-00374 WAB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN END OF BOARDS AND COMMITTEES BUDGET BI.1 BUDGET DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00537 Office of Management STATUS (SEC.18-542(B) CITY CODE) and Budget I. 2012-2013 BUDGET II. PROPOSED 2013-2014 BUDGET DI.1 13-00500 13-00537 Summary Form.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN DISCUSSION ITEM END OF BUDGET ITEM DISCUSSION ITEMS District2- DISCUSSION REGARDING THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION Commissioner Marc TECHNOLOGY. David Sarnoff DI.2 13-00798 City Manager's Office 13-00500 Email - Department of Information Technology.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN DISCUSSION ITEM DISCUSSION REGARDING POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY OF MIAMI CHARTER. 13-00798 Summary Form.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN DI.3 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00643 Department of QUARTERLY UPDATE OF NON -REIMBURSABLE GRANT EXPENDITURES Finance FOR 2ND QUARTER ENDING MARCH 31, 2013. 13-00643 Summary Form.pdf 13-00643 Memo - Non -Reimbursable Expenses.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN END OF DISCUSSION ITEMS City of Miami Page 117 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 PART B: PLANNING AND ZONING ITEMS PZ.1 ORDINANCE Second Reading 13-00079zc 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 "T6-8-O" URBAN CENTER ZONE TO "T6-12-0" URBAN CORE ZONE, FOR THE PROPERTIES LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 121, 123, 127 AND 139 SOUTHWEST NORTH RIVER DRIVE, MIAMI, FLORIDA; MAKING FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 13-00079zc CC 07-25-13 SR Fact Sheet.pdf 13-00079zcAnalysis, Maps, Zoning Referral & PZAB Reso.pdf 13-00079zc Covenant.pdf 13-00079zcApplication & Supporting Documentation.pdf 13-00079zc CC FR/SR Legislation (Version 2).pdf 13-00079zc Exhi bit A. pdf LOCATION: Approximately 121, 123, 127 and 139 SW North River Drive [Commissioner Michelle Spence -Jones - District 5] APPLICANT(S): Iris Escarra, Esquire, on behalf of MV Real Estate Holdings, LLC FINDING(S): PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval. PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval to City Commission on March 6, 2013 by a vote of 10-0. PURPOSE: This will change the above properties from "T6-8-O" to "T6-12-0". The applicant has proffered a covenant for these properties. Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence -Jones Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo Note for the Record: Item PZ.1 was deferred to the July 25, 2013 Commission Meeting. Chair Sarnoff What else? Is there a PZ (Planning & Zoning) item we can --? Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): I'm sorry, Chair. Was RE. 6 deferred to July 25? Mr. Martinez: Yes. Mr. Hannon: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Sorry. Francisco Garcia: No trouble. Thank you, sir. Francisco Garcia, Planning and Zoning director. We would likewise want to defer to July 27 [sic] PZ. 1, but in order to do that, I City of Miami Page 118 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 understand we have to open up the Planning and Zoning hearing. If that's too cumbersome, we're happy to stand by. If that's doable now, all the better. Commissioner Suarez: Do it, do it. Chair Sarnoff Do you want to just do it -- Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. Chair Sarnoff -- open up the Planning and Zoning hearing? What do you need to do that? Mr. Hannon: I don't think that's necessary, if we're deferring the item. Chair Sarnoff All right, so can I have a motion to defer PZ.1 -- Commissioner Suarez: Move it. Chair Sarnoff -- to the next Commission meeting? We have a motion by Commissioner Suarez, second by -- Vice Chair Gort: Second. Chair Sarnoff -- Commissioner Gort. All in favor, please say aye." The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Mr. Garcia: Thank you. Chair Sarnoff Anything else we can clean up? Commissioner Spence -Jones: I'm going to defer all of my appointments today, Mr. Chairman. Chair Sarnoff We have Commissioner Spence -Jones deferring all her appointments. Mr. Hannon: I'm sorry, are we talking board appointments? Chair Sarnoff Yes. Mr. Hannon: Can we at least do HEP (Historical and Environmental Preservation)? If we do any board, if we could at least do the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board? But -- Commissioner Spence -Jones: I was just speaking of mine. I don't know if they're deferring theirs. Chair Sarnoff I could do mine right now. I'd like somebody to move to reappoint William Hopper. Mr. Hannon: Hold on one second, 'cause we're going to do this all in one fell swoop. Is Commissioner Carollo coming? I'm sorry; I'm not trying to make this too complicated, but this is our opportunity -- because we have to advertise these appointments, we're trying to get all the Commissioners to make their appointments at the same time so that their terms will coincide, and I was just waiting on Commissioner Carollo. My apologies, Chair. We could take the other -- Chair Sarnoff Other what? City of Miami Page 119 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 Mr. Hannon: -- board -- Well, Commissioner Carollo is here. Chair Sarnoff Okay. Chair Sarnoff You want to guide us through boards? Mr. Hannon: Yes, sir. Chair Sarnoff You know what? Let's not. 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 END OF DISTRICT 1 DISTRICT 2 CHAIR MARC DAVID SARNOFF D2.1 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00621 D2.2 13-00651 STATUS OF HIRING POLICE OFFICERS. 13-00621 Status - Hiring Police Officers.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN DISCUSSION ITEM STATUS OF PARKS EMPLOYEES, PARK RANGERS, AND POLICE AT MARGARET PACE PARK. 13-00651 Status - Margaret Pace Park.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN END OF DISTRICT 2 DISTRICT 3 COMMISSIONER FRANK CAROLLO City of Miami Page 120 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 D3.1 13-00751 D3.2 13-00723 D3.3 13-00678 D3.4 13-00719 D3.5 13-00753 DISCUSSION ITEM VERIFICATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF THE AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ENDING FOR THE YEAR SEPTEMBER 30, 2012. 13-00751 Verification Issuance -Audited Financial Statements FY' 12.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN DISCUSSION ITEM FOLLOW UP ON RECRUITING. 13-00723 Email - Recruitng.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN DISCUSSION ITEM ILLEGAL BILLBOARD. 13-00678 Email - ILLegal Billboard.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN DISCUSSION ITEM UPDATE REGARDING FUTURE AUDIT PREPARATIONS. 13-00719 Update - Future Audit Preparations.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN DISCUSSION ITEM UPDATE REGARDING THE CIP PROCESS. 13-00753 Update - CIP Process.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN END OF DISTRICT 3 DISTRICT 4 COMMISSIONER FRANCIS SUAREZ D4.1 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00665 UPDATE REGARDING THE COLLECTION OF OUTSTANDING SPECIAL City of Miami Page 121 Printed on 8/5/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2013 D4.2 13-00600 ASSESSMENT LIENS. 13-00665 Update - Special Assessment Liens.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN DISCUSSION ITEM DISCUSSION REGARDING IMPLEMENTATION OF FICAALTERNATIVE PLAN FOR PART-TIME, SEASONAL, AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES. 13-00600 Implementation of FICAAlternative Plan.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN END OF DISTRICT 4 DISTRICT 5 COMMISSIONER MICHELLE SPENCE-JONES D5.1 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00565 ADJOURNMENT DISCUSSION REGARDING AWARDING ALL EMPLOYEES A MID -YEAR BONUS. 13-00565 Email -Awarding Employees Mid -Year Bonus.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN END OF DISTRICT 5 The meeting adjourned 5: 58 p.m. City of Miami Page 122 Printed on 8/5/2013