HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2014-11-20 MinutesCity of Miami
City Hall
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33133
www.miamigov.com
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, November 20, 2014
9:00 AM
REGULAR
City Hall Commission Chambers
City Commission
Tomas Regalado, Mayor
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Chair
Keon Hardemon, Vice Chair
Marc David Sarnoff, Commissioner District Two
Frank Carollo, Commissioner District Three
Francis Suarez, Commissioner District Four
Daniel J. Alfonso, City Manager
Victoria Mendez, City Attorney
Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk
City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
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
ES - EXECUTIVE SESSION
BC - BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
BU - BUDGET
DI - DISCUSSION ITEMS
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 1/14/2015
City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
9:00 A.M. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Present: Chair Gort, Commissioner Sarnoff, Commissioner Carollo, Commissioner Suarez and
Vice Chair Hardemon
On the 20th day of November 2014, 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 Commission Meeting was called to order by Chair Gort at 9:05 a.m., recessed at
12:14 p.m., reconvened at 2: 00 p.m., recessed at 2: 02 p.m. for the Executive Session, reconvened
at 3:16 p.m., recessed at 5: 22 p.m., reconvened at S: 39 p.m., recessed at 6: 32 p.m., reconvened
at 9: 09 p.m., and adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Note for the Record: Commissioner Suarez entered the Commission chamber at 9:10 a.m.,
Commissioner Carollo entered the Commission chamber at 9:19 a.m., and Vice Chair Hardemon
entered the Commission chamber at 9:47 a.m.
ALSO PRESENT:
Victoria Mendez, City Attorney
Daniel J. Alfonso, City Manager
Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk
Chair Gort: Good morning. Welcome to the November 20 meeting of the City of Miami
Commission in these historic chambers. The members of the City Commission is Frank Carollo,
Francis Suarez, Marc Sarnoff, Vice Chairman Keon Hardemon; and myself Wifredo Willy Gort.
Also on the dais are Daniel Alfonso, the City Manager; Victoria Mendez, City Clerk -- I mean
City Attorney; I'm sorry, I changed your title -- and Todd Hannon, City Clerk. At this time, we'll
have the invocation by myself and the pledge of allegiance by Commissioner Sarnoff.
Invocation and pledge of allegiance delivered.
PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS
PR.1
14-01147
PRESENTATION
Honoree Presenter Protocol Item
Operation Big Money Mayor Regalado Salutes
Team
- Miami Police Dept.
- US Attorney's Office
- Miami -Dade Police
Department
- Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco & Firearms
Miami Latino Art Mayor Regalado Special Awards
Beat Winners
Capital Improvements Commissioner Sarnoff Commendation
& Transportation
Program (CITP) and
Republica, LLC
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
Book Bag Giveaway Chairman Gort Certificates of
Appreciation
Becky Roper Matkov Mayor Regalado and Certificate of
Commissioner Appreciation
Sarnoff
14-01147 Protocol List.pdf
PRESENTED
1) Mayor Regalado presented a Salute to the officers from the City of Miami Police Department's
(S.LS.) Gang Intel Unit, the prosecutors from the Assistant United States Attorneys Office, the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the Miami -Dade Police Department's Street
Terror Unit, recognizing their outstanding teamwork in Operation Big Money Team; furthermore
giving special recognition to their exceptional performance, encouraging an urban environment
that promises an elevated quality of life for all Miamians and for being such valuable
contributors to the operation which helped eradicate violent criminals in trouble areas.
2) Mayor Regalado presented Special Awards to the 2014 Miami Latino Art Beat Winners:
Sabrina Tarrab, first place winner; Sebastian Ruiz, second place winner; Mika Rosenberg, third
place winner; Monika Sanchez and Jaime Arreola as honorable mention; paying tribute to their
artistic genius and contributions to the elevation of creative expression in South Florida;
furthermore applauding their efforts to cultivate diversity through art and honoring their
dedication to this challenging undertaking that celebrates youth, art and Hispanic heritage and
culture.
3) Commissioner Sarnoff presented a Commendation to the Capital Improvements and
Transportation Program (CITP), in addition to Republica, LLC, for designing and developing
the Miami Trolley Smartphone Application (App); and for receiving the Appy Award, which
recognizes creativity and excellence in App design, in the category of Best Mapping and
Navigation at Internet Week New York 2014.
4) Chairman Gort presented Certificates of Appreciation to various private corporations and
City employees thanking them for their wonderful commitment to civic responsibility and
communal welfare through valuable support for the District 1 Book Bag Giveaway event;
furthermore expressing gratitude for the commitment to elevate the quality of life in Miami, an
oasis in the global community that owes its wonderfully unique character and vitality to the
generosity and allegiance such individuals.
5) Commissioner Sarnoff and Mayor Regalado presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Becky
Roper Matkov, recognizing her thirty-two years of service as a career employee and applauding
her use of outstanding skills and knowledge to elevate the quality of life in our City through
outstanding commitment to work assignments in various capacities within Dade Heritage Trust.
Chair Gort: At this time we're going to have some proclamations. Mr. Mayor, you're
recognized.
Presentations made.
APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING MEETINGS:
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, to APPROVE
PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
MAYORAL VETOES
ORDER OF THE DAY
Chair Gort: Okay, do we have any minutes?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Yes, sir. I have for Commission consideration and approval the
Planning & Zoning meeting minutes from September 29, 2014.
Commissioner Sarnoff So move.
Chair Gort: Thank you. It's been moved by Commissioner Sarnoff.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Gort: Second by Commissioner Suarez. Any discussion? Being none, all in favor, state it
by saying "aye.'
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
END OF APPROVING MINUTES
NO MAYORAL VETOES
Chair Gort: Mr. Clerk, do we have Mayor veto?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair, there are no mayoral vetoes.
Chair Gort: Madam Attorney, would you go over the procedures?
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): We will now begin the regular meeting. 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 at the City Clerk's Office and online 24
hours a day at wwwmiamigov.com [sic]. Any person may be heard by the City Commission
through the Chair for not more than two minutes on any proposition before the City Commission
unless modified by the Chair. If the proposition is being continued or rescheduled, the
opportunity to be heard may be at such later date before the City Commission takes action on
such proposition. Anyone wishing to appeal any decision made by the City Commission for any
matter considered at the meeting may need a verbatim record of the item. A video of this meeting
may be requested at the Office of Communications or viewed online at wwwmiamigov.com [sic].
No cell phones or other noise -making devices are permitted in Commission chambers; please
silence those devices now. No clapping, applauding, heckling or verbal outburst in support or
opposition to a speaker, or his remarks, or her remarks shall be permitted. Any person making
offensive remarks or who becomes unruly in Commission chambers will be barred from further
attending Commission meetings, and may be subject to arrest. No signs or placards shall be
allowed in Commission chambers. Any person with a disability requiring assistance, auxiliary
aids and services for this meeting may notifir the City Clerk. Lunch recess will begin at the
conclusion of the deliberation of the agenda item being considered at noon. The meeting will
end either at the conclusion of deliberation of the agenda item being considered at 10 p.m. or at
the conclusion of the regularly scheduled agenda, whichever occurs first. Please note
Commissioners have generally been briefed by City staff and the City Attorney on items on the
agenda today. Remember that we also have a shade meeting today. At this time, the
Administration will announce which items, if any, are being either withdrawn, deferred, or
substituted. Thank you.
Later...
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Daniel J. Alfonso (City Manager): Mr. Chair, Commissioners, good morning. The
Administration would like to withdraw CA.10 and CA. 11; defer to December 11 item PH.2 and
defer to January 8 item SR.1.
Chair Gort: Does any other Commissioner like to pull or defer any other items? You want to go
over the items again, please?
Mr. Alfonso: Okay. We would like to withdraw items CA.10 and CA.11; item PH.2 we would
like to defer to December 11 meeting; and item SR.1 we would like to defer to January 8.
Chair Gort: Okay, thank you. Does any other Commissioner like to pull any item? Okay.
Commissioner Sarnoff So move.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Gort: It's been moved and second. Is any discussion? Being none, all in favor, state it by
saying "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
CONSENT AGENDA
CA.1 RESOLUTION
14-01005
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE
Attorney DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO PAY TO AND ON BEHALF OF JOSE
FIGUEROA, SR., SUBJECT TO THE CONDITIONS IMPOSED BY CHAPTER
440, FLORIDA STATUTES, THE TOTAL SUM OF $60,000.00, IN FULL
SETTLEMENT OF ALL CLAIMS AND DATES OF ACCIDENT ALLEGED
AGAINST THE CITY OF MIAMI, ITS OFFICERS, AGENTS AND EMPLOYEES,
WITHOUT ADMISSION OF LIABILITY, UPON EXECUTING A SETTLEMENT,
HOLD HARMLESS, AND INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT AS WELL AS A
GENERAL RELEASE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, ITS PRESENT AND FORMER
OFFICERS, AGENTS, AND EMPLOYEES, FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND
DEMANDS; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM ACCOUNT NO.
50001.301001.524000.0000.00000.
14-01005 Memo - Office of the City Attorney.pdf
14-01005 Memo - Budget Sign-Off.pdf
14-01005 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0424
CA.2 RESOLUTION
14-00941
Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Fire -Rescue ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING MODIFICATION #1 TO THE FEDERALLY
FUNDED SUBGRANTAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI AND
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, FOR
THE GARDEN STORM SEWERS PROJECT, B-30183, PROJECT NO. LPDM -
2009-06, (FEMA CONTRACT NO. 12DM-4L-23-02-342, DATED MARCH 27,
2012), IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROJECT LOCATED IN AN AREA
BOUNDED BY NORTHWEST 36 STREET ON THE SOUTH, AIRPORT
EXPRESSWAY (112) ON THE NORTH, NORTHWEST 27 AVENUE ON THE
WEST, AND NORTHWEST 24 AVENUE ON THE EAST, MIAMI, FLORIDA,
REINSTATING SAID AGREEMENT AND EXTENDING ITS TERMINATION
DATE UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2014; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO EXECUTE SAID MODIFICATION, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORM, AND ANY OTHER NECESSARY DOCUMENTS FOR SAID
PURPOSE.
14-00941 Summary Form.pdf
14-00941 Pre-Legislation.pdf
14-00941 Legislation.pdf
14-00941 Exhibit.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
R-14-0425
CA.3 RESOLUTION
14-01009
Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ACCEPTING THE BID
RECEIVED SEPTEMBER 30, 2014, PURSUANT TO INVITATION FOR BID
NO. 465326, FROM LYNN PEAVEY COMPANY, THE LOWEST RESPONSIVE
AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER, FOR THE PURCHASE OF EVIDENCE TAPE,
FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT, ON AN AS -NEEDED,
WHEN NEEDED, CONTRACTUAL BASIS FOR AN INITIAL CONTRACT
PERIOD OF TWO (2) YEARS, WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR TWO (2)
ADDITIONAL ONE (1) YEAR PERIODS; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE
GENERAL FUNDS OF THE USER DEPARTMENT, SUBJECT TO THE
AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF
NEED.
14-01009 Summary Form.pdf
14-01009 Bid Tabulation.pdf
14-01009 Invitation For Bid.pdf
14-01009 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0426
CA.4 RESOLUTION
14-01015
Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ESTABLISHING A NEW SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT
ENTITLED: " BJA FISCAL YEAR 2013 SMART POLICING INITIATIVE,"
CONSISTING OF A GRANT AWARD FROM THE UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS, BUREAU
OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE, IN THE AMOUNT OF $605,394.00, TO PROVIDE
FUNDING FOR TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION, TRAINING, PERSONNEL,
AND OTHER ASSOCIATED COSTS; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER
TO EXECUTE THE GRANT AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORM, AND ANY OTHER NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A
FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT
THE ACCEPTANCE AND ADMINISTRATION OF SAID GRANT AWARD.
14-01015 Summary Form.pdf
14-01015 Back -Up Documents.pdf
14-01015 Legislation.pdf
14-01015 Exhibit.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0427
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
CA.5
14-01016
Department of Police
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE
ALLOCATION OF FUNDS, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $178,924.09,
TO FUND THE CITY OF MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT'S PRORATED SHARE
OF OPERATING EXPENSES FOR THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE COUNTY COURT STANDBY
PROGRAM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR COMMENCING OCTOBER 1, 2014,
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2015; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE
DEPARTMENT OF POLICE GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET, ACCOUNT
NO. 00001.191501.534000.0000.00000.
14-01016 Summary Form.pdf
14-01016 Back -Up Documents.pdf
14-01016 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0428
CA.6 RESOLUTION
14-01054
Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, ACCEPTING THE BID
RECEIVED SEPTEMBER 15, 2014, PURSUANT TO INVITATION FOR BID
NO. 469355, FROM GRUPO INPOWER, LLC, THE LOWEST RESPONSIVE
AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER, FOR THE SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE OF
UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY, FORA PERIOD OF TWO (2) YEARS,
WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR TWO (2) ADDITIONAL ONE (1) YEAR
PERIODS, ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE VARIOUS SOURCES OF
FUNDS FROM THE USER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES, SUBJECT TO
AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF
NEED; AUTHORIZING ADDITIONAL SUPPLIERS TO THE CONTRACT AS
DEEMED IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CITY OF MIAMI.
14-01054 Summary Form.pdf
14-01054 Bid Tabulation.pdf
14-01054 Invitation For Bid.pdf
14-010054 Corporate Detail.pdf
14-01054 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0429
CA.7 RESOLUTION
14-01055
Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ACCEPTING THE BID
RECEIVED AUGUST 26, 2014, PURSUANT TO INVITATION FOR BID NO.
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
459336, FROM LAWMEN'S AND SHOOTERS' SUPPLY, INC., THE LOWEST
RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER, FOR THE PURCHASE OF
BADGES, WALLETS, AND INSIGNIAS, FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE,
FOR AN INITIAL TERM OF TWO (2) YEARS, WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW
FOR TWO (2) ONE (1) YEAR PERIODS; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE
VARIOUS SOURCES OF FUNDS FROM THE USER DEPARTMENTS AND
AGENCIES, SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY
APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED; AUTHORIZING ADDITIONAL
SUPPLIERS TO THE CONTRACT AS DEEMED IN THE BEST INTEREST OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI.
14-01055 Summary Form.pdf
14-01055 Bid Tabulation.pdf
14-01055 Invitation For Bid.pdf
14-01055 Corporate Detail.pdf
14-01055 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0430
CA.8 RESOLUTION
14-01053
Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ACCEPTING THE BID
Works RECEIVED AUGUST 25, 2014, PURSUANT TO INVITATION FOR BID NO.
469352, FROM ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS OF FLORIDA
CORPORATION, THE SOLE RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER,
FOR THE PURCHASE OF VACTOR TRUCK PARTS AND REPAIRS, FOR AN
INITIAL TERM OF TWO (2) YEARS, WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR
THREE (3) ONE (1) YEAR PERIODS; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE
VARIOUS SOURCES OF FUNDS FROM THE USER DEPARTMENTS AND
AGENCIES, SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY
APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED; AUTHORIZING ADDITIONAL
SUPPLIERS TO THE CONTRACT AS DEEMED IN THE BEST INTEREST OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI.
14-01053 Summary Form.pdf
14-01053 Bid Tabulation.pdf
14-01053 Invitation For Bid.pdf
14-01053 Corporate Detail.pdf
14-01053 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0431
CA.9 RESOLUTION
14-01085
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
District 2- A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, PURSUANT TO
Commissioner Marc SECTION 62-521(B)(3) AND (4), OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,
David Sarnoff FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, WAIVING THE TEMPORARY EVENT TWO (2)
EVENT LIMITATION PER PROPERTY, IN ORDER FOR NATIONAL
YOUNGARTS FOUNDATION CAMPUS, LLC, TO UTILIZE THE JEWEL BOX
BUILDING LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 2100 BISCAYNE BOULEVARD,
MIAMI, FLORIDA, FOR FUNDRAISERS, WORKSHOPS, REHEARSAL
SPACE, MEETINGS, AND/OR PERFORMANCES, BEGINNING NOVEMBER
30, 2014 AND ENDING ON MAY 30, 2015.
14-01085 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0432
CA.10 RESOLUTION
14-01045
Department of Real A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Estate andAsset ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
Management LEASE AGREEMENT ("LEASE"), IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED
FORM, BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") AND CENTENNIAL
EXPRESS INCORPORATED, FOR THE USE OF APPROXIMATELY 1,326
SQUARE FEET OF WAREHOUSE SPACE LOCATED IN THE CITY, FOR THE
PURPOSE OF PROVIDING SPACE TO THE CITY'S POLICE DEPARTMENT,
WITH A MONTHLY RENT OF $1,535.95 ($13.90 PER SQUARE FOOT), FOR
AN INITIAL TERM OF THREE (3) YEARS WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW
FOR TWO (2) ONE (1) YEAR TERMS; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE
CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET, WITH TERMS AND CONDITIONS
AS MORE SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH IN SAID LEASE.
14-01045 Summary Form.pdf
14-01045 Legislation.pdf
14-01045 Exhibit.pdf
CA.11
14-01046
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
WITHDRAWN PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
RESOLUTION
Department of Real A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI COMMISSION, WITH
Estate andAsset ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
Management LEASE AGREEMENT ("LEASE"), IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED
FORM, BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") AND GOLDEN SANDS
ALLAPATTAH CORPORATION, FOR THE USE OF APPROXIMATELY 9,000
SQUARE FEET OF PROPERTY LOCATED WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, FOR
THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING OFFICE SPACE FOR THE INTERNAL
AFFAIRS DIVISION OF THE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT, WITH A MONTHLY
FEE OF $11,205.00 ($14.94 PER SQUARE FOOT), FOR THE PERIOD OF
THREE (3) YEARS, WITH TWO (2) ADDITIONAL ONE (1) YEAR OPTIONS;
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENTS BUDGET,
WITH TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS MORE SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH IN
SAID LEASE.
14-01046 Summary Form.pdf
14-01046 Pre-Legislation.pdf
14-01046 Legislation.pdf
14-01046 Exhibit.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
WITHDRAWN PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
CA.12
14-00910
Department of Capital
Improvement
Programs/Transportat
ion
CA.13
14-00911
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN
AGREEMENT FOR WATER AND SANITARY SEWAGE SERVICES WITH THE
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY WATER AND SEWER DEPARTMENT, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, FOR THE HADLEY PARK YOUTH
CENTER, PROJECT NOS. B-35883AAND B-35883AS; ALLOCATING FUNDS
IN THE AMOUNT OF $14,986.56 FROM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
NOS. B-35883AAND B-35883AS, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
14-00910 Summary Form.pdf
14-00910 Legislation.pdf
14-00910 Exhibit.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0433
RESOLUTION
Department of Capital
Improvement
Programs/Transportat
ion
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A
COVENANT RUNNING WITH THE LAND IN LIEU OF UNITY OF TITLE, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, WITH MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FOR
THE HADLEY PARK YOUTH CENTER PROJECT, PROJECT NOS. B-35883A
AND B-35883AS.
14-00911 Summary Form.pdf
14-00911 Legislation.pdf
14-00911 Exhibit.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0434
CA.14 RESOLUTION
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
14-01008
Department of Capital
Improvement
Programs/Transportat
ion
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE CONTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FROM
THE DEPARTMENT OF OFF-STREET PARKING A/K/A MIAMI PARKING
AUTHORITY, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $200,000.00, FOR THE
RECONFIGURATION OF THE PEACOCK PARK PARKING LOT, PROJECT
NO. B-75883; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE
A JOINT PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT FOR THE GRANT, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
14-01008 Summary Form.pdf
14-01008 Legislation.pdf
14-01008 Exhibit - MPA Resolution.pdf
14-01008 Exhibit-Agreement.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0435
Adopted the Consent Agenda
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, 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 Hardemon
END OF CONSENT AGENDA
Chair Gort: Okay, do I have a motion on the pocket items?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Consent agenda.
Chair Gort: With exception of CA.10 and CA.11.
Mr. Hannon: Correct.
Chair Gort: They've been withdrawn.
Commissioner Carollo: Motion on what pocket items?
Mr. Hannon: The order of the day where we're withdrawing CA.10 and 11, we still need to take
a motion on the withdrawal of CA-10 and 11; the continuance of PH 2 to December 11; and the
deferral of SR.1 to January 8. I do need a motion.
Chair Gort: The motion on the items stated by the City Clerk.
Vice Chair Hardemon: I thought we did make that motion. I was the second.
Commissioner Sarnoff. I thought we did that.
Chair Gort: We did and we passed it, yeah.
Mr. Hannon: Oh, my apologies.
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
Chair Gort: Okay. Okeydoke. There's been a motion for the consent agenda by Commissioner
Commissioner Sarnoff. So move.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Gort: -- Carollo and second by Commissioner Sarnoff. Any further discussion?
Commissioner Carollo: I think it was --
Commissioner Suarez: It's all right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- the motion was Commissioner Sarnoff and second by Commissioner
Suarez, and that's for the consent agenda, correct?
Chair Gort: Correct, consent agenda. Any further discussion? Being none, all in favor, state it
by saying "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
PH.1 RESOLUTION
14-01059
Department of Solid A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Waste ATTACHMENT(S), BY A FOUR -FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE,
PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-92 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING,
RATIFYING, APPROVING, AND CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGERS
FINDING OFASOLE SOURCE; WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING PROCEDURES, AND APPROVING THE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY (180) DAY NO COST TRIAL PERIOD, FROM LYTX,
INC., OF DRIVECAM UNITS AND SOFTWARE FOR THE GLOBAL
POSITIONING SYSTEM FLEET TRACKING, DRIVER MONITORING AND
RISK MANAGEMENT; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE
THE DRIVECAM TRIAL AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED
FORM, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
14-01059 Summary Form.pdf
14-01059 Notice to the Public.pdf
14-01059 Memo - Sole Source Finding.pdf
14-01059 Memo - Request for Sole Source Finding.pdf
14-01059 Back -Up from Law Dept.pdf
14-01059 Legislation.pdf
14-01059 Exhibit.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Vice Chair Hardemon, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0436
Chair Gort: We still got a big agenda to go through. I need one more Commissioner, one more,
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
so we can get out of here. We're ready to go. PH.1.
Daniel J. Alfonso (City Manager): PH.1.
Mario Nunez: Mr. Commissioner, members of the Commission, I am Mario Nunez, director of
the Solid Waste Department. The nature of this item is to authorize a resolution of the City of
Miami, pursuant to Section 18-92, to rati, approve, and confirm the City Manager's finding of
a sole source; waiving the requirements for competitive sealed bidding procedures and
approving the 180-day no cost to the City trial of drivecam units. This is an 180-day trial, which
has a value of $158,000 to the City. After that period, the team -- the staff will decide whether
we keep the system in place as a way to prevent any kind of accidents or use it as a mechanism to
improve our safety response.
Mr. Alfonso: But it has to come back to this Commission for approval.
Chair Gort: Right. Okay.
Mr. Nunez: We will be back in approximately six month.
Chair Gort: Okeydoke. This is public hearing. Is anyone would like to address this issue, PH.1;
anyone in the public? Close the public hearings. Seeing none, hearing none, we close the public
hearing. Commissioners.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Excuse me. Chair?
Chair Gort: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: Just so you know, PH.1 requires a four -fifths.
Mr. Alfonso: Yep, we need another member.
Commissioner Sarnoff If vote twice --
Chair Gort: Can we --
Mr. Alfonso: Okay. Can we table the item and, perhaps, move to SR.2, then?
Chair Gort: SR.2.
Mr. Alfonso: Okay, the Commissioner in that district that's proposing that is not on the dais.
Chair Gort: Okay.
Later...
Chair Gort: Let's go back to four -fifth.
Christopher Rose (Director, Office of Management & Budget): Thank you, Commissioners.
Commissioner Sarnoff What's -- which one was that?
Vice Chair Hardemon: PH.1.
Commissioner Carollo: PH.1.
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
PH.2
14-01043
Department of Capital
Improvement
Programs/Transportat
ion
Mr. Nunez: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, again, and members of the Commission. I'm Mario
Nunez, the Solid Waste director. Shouldl --
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Mr. Nunez: -- go over the item again?
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Mr. Nunez: This is an item requesting a resolution of the City of Miami Commission, pursuant to
Section 18-92, ratifying, approving and confirming the City Manager's finding as a sole source;
waiving the requirements for competitive sealed bidding procedures, and approving the 180-day
no cost to the City trial for drivecam units. Even though this is not costing us anything, the value
is about $158,339.
Commissioner Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Gort: Been moved by Commissioner Sarnoff Is there a second?
Vice Chair Hardemon: Second.
Chair Gort: Second by Commissioner Hardemon. Any further discussion? Being none, all in
favor, state it by saying Ewe."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mr. Alfonso: Thank you, Commissioners.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), BY A FOUR -FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE,
AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING, RATIFYING, CONFIRMING,
AND APPROVING THE CITY MANAGER'S WRITTEN FINDINGS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS, PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 18-85 AND 18-86 OF THE
CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED; WAIVING THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING METHODS AS NOT
BEING PRACTICABLE OR ADVANTAGEOUS TO THE CITY OF MIAMI
("CITY") FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE PURCHASE OF AN ON -BOARD
AUTOMATIC TEXT AND VOICE ANNOUCEMENT SYSTEM ("ATVAS") FOR
THE MIAMI TROLLEY SYSTEM, SPECIFICALLY CONSISTING OFA
COMBINATION OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE TO PRODUCE AUDIO
AND VISUAL ANNOUNCEMENTS, INCLUDING ROUTE AND STOP
INFORMATION IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH
DISABILITIES ACT, FROM RADIO ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES, INC., FORA
NOT TO EXCEED AMOUNT OF $118,093.80; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A PROPOSAL AGREEMENT, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE
CITY OF MIAMI TRANSIT SURTAX REVENUES, SUBJECT TO THE
AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF
NEED.
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
14-01043 Summary Form.pdf
14-01043 Notice to the Public.pdf
14-01043 Legislation V2.pdf
14-01043 Exhibit V2.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
Note for the Record: Item PH.2 was continued to the December 11, 2014 City Commission
Meeting.
END OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
SECOND READING ORDINANCES
SR.1 ORDINANCE Second Reading
14-00345
City Manager's Office AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING CHAPTER 54/ARTICLE 1 OF THE CODE OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "STREETS AND
SIDEWALKS/IN GENERAL", MORE PARTICULARLY BY CREATING NEW
SECTION 54-4.1, ENTITLED "PUBLIC ALLEYS", TO CLOSE AND VACATE
CERTAIN PUBLIC ALLEYS THAT ARE NOT PAVED AND ARE NOT UTILIZED
FOR VEHICULAR ACCESS ACCORDING TO THE CRITERIA SET FORTH IN
NEW SECTION 54-4.1; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND
PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.
14-00345 Summary Form SR.pdf
14-00345-Submittal-Bennet Pumo.pdf
14-00345 Legislation SR Version 4.pdf
14-00345 Exhibit SR Version 4.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
Note for the Record: Item SR.1 was deferred to the January 8, 2015 City Commission Meeting.
SR.2 ORDINANCE Second Reading
14-01048
District 3- AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER
Commissioner Frank 2/ARTICLE IV/DIVISION 9 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA,
Carollo AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "ADMINISTRATION/DEPARTMENTS/COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT," MORE PARTICULARLY BY UPDATING THE
NAME OF THE DEPARTMENT TO DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AMENDING SECTION 2-413 ENTITLED
"FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT," TO PROVIDE THAT
NOTICE BE GIVEN TO RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") AND
TO CITY ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS BY DEVELOPERS
RECEIVING AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR WORKFORCE HOUSING
INCENTIVES, OF THE AVAILABILITY OF AFFORDABLE UNITS IN ORDER
TO INFORM ALL OF THE AVAILABILITY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AS
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
MORE PARTICULARLY SET FORTH HEREIN; SETTING FORTH CRITERIA;
CONTAINING A SEVERABI LI TY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
14-01048 Legislation SR.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
Noes: 1 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff
13491
Daniel J. Alfonso (City Manager): We can go to SR.2 now since the sponsoring Commissioner is
here.
Chair Gort: SR.2.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I'm bringing a affordable
housing issue for second reading, although there's been some additions here that I recently just
saw. Apparently, within this ordinance, they're also changing the name of the Economic
Development Department. But the bottom line is the essence of this is to make sure that we
provide notice so that residents know whenever there's a affordable housing project in the City of
Miami. So with that, I move SR.2.
Chair Gort: It's been moved. Is there a second?
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Gort: Any further discussion? Is anybody in the public would like to address?
Renita Holmes: Again, Madam Holmes, Women Association Alliance Against Injustice and
Violence. When you look at the affordable housing and who is most entitled and the priority, this
is the highly recommended -- and I thank you for having the insight. We talk about changing the
language. I think it was for a matter of history. And Commissioner Sarnoff, you're very big on
that, and it makes a difference. When Mayor Ferrer [sic] and in those times, I think it was
Athalie Range, we changed the Community Economic Development name to just "economic, " or
whatever it was changed. It took out "community." And realizing that it was the civil rights act
-- Economic Opportunity Act -- the civil rights act, I believe it was 1964 that had the intent --
when we took out these type of priorities, when we did not look at -- to the guidelines and the
practices or the best practices of making sure those who were receiving the funds for entitlement
areas or entitlement neighborhoods that we all deal with, this is why I say what I say about
contractors and unions. We see this best practice occur in cities like Atlanta, Kansas, where we
took residents to, and this is what I utilized to move from being just some disabled woman and
living in public housing to a small business owner and advocate now and a great consultant and
soon to be in law school. So when you enable the department, when you make the language
clear, and when you use those guidelines to have that impact, and I inquire -- ask that you look
further or have more discussions with us, you will find that you're better off in making sure that
the people who need it most, those areas that are under development and those that are
commingling State funds with Federal funds understand what Federal complaints are about and
what prevention is all about. And I really appreciate that, Mr. Manager. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing none, hearing none, close the public hearing. It's
an ordinance.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney.
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
FR.1
14-00472
Department of
Procurement
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Roll call on item SR.2. Commissioner Sarnoff?
Commissioner Sarnoff: No.
Mr. Hannon: Vice Chair Hardemon?
Vice Chair Hardemon: For.
Mr. Hannon: Commissioner Suarez?
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: Commissioner Carollo?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: Chair Gort?
Chair Gort: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: The ordinance passes on second reading, 4-1.
END OF SECOND READING ORDINANCES
FIRST READING ORDINANCE
ORDINANCE
First Reading
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER
18/ARTICLE III OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS
AMENDED, ENTITLED "FINANCE/CITY OF MIAMI PROCUREMENT
ORDINANCE," MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 18-89,
ENTITLED "CONTRACTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS OR IMPROVEMENTS," TO
MODIFY LOCAL WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS FOR
COMPETITIVELY PROCURED CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AS
PROVIDED HEREIN; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND
PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.
14-00472 Summary Form SR.pdf
14-00472 Back -Up from Law Dept FR/SR.pdf
14-00472 Legislation SR (V5).pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Hardemon, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, that this matter be
PASSED ON FIRST READING WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Hardemon
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
Daniel J. Alfonso (City Manager): FR.1.
Chair Gort: FR.1.
Mr. Alfonso: FR.1.
Annie Perez: Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, members of the Commission. Annie Perez,
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
director of Procurement. FR.1 is an ordinance of the Miami City Commission, amending
Chapter 18, Article 3, the City of Miami Procurement Ordinance, by amending Section 18- 89,
"Contracts for Public Works or Improvements, " to modifir the local workforce participation
requirements. Specifically, right now we have a percentage -- a flat percentage rate, and we're
looking at doing a tiered approach, starting for contracts over 250, 000, starting at 10 percent all
the way up to 20 percent. We also have an aspiration -- we're also recommending an
aspirational goal of any project that's within a specific district that the contractor would strive to
at least employ 50 percent of the goal with employment from that district, local workforce from
that district. We also added a work plan which will allow the contractor to submit a work plan
for approval by the City specing who they're employing, where they're at, you know, where
they're located, et cetera. So any questions?
Chair Gort: Okay, this is a public hearing; open to the public. Anyone in the public like to
address this issue? Yes, ma'am.
Renita Holmes: Good afternoon. Again, Commission, Madam Holmes, with the Our Homes --
representing Our Opportunities for United Restoration. But I highly recommend this. As you
know, you duplicate resolutions and items between here and the County, and as an advocate and
the first complaintant [sic] on Section 3 with the Federal Government in utilizing local contracts
to hire local force persons and creating the first in-house, low-income workforce program. You
hardly getting the attention, but irregardless, the knowledge and the need, the reason for its
creation was to ensure that local folks in my community, particularly women in construction,
because before becoming disabled and just because I was living in public housing did not really
determine for me what my income level was, and my dream was to build housing, not to live in
housing, and so now I've aspired beyond that. But after recognizing that Federal monies was
being utilized and coupled with State monies, we began to do a lot of outreach, and a lot of folks
did not understand congressional law and codes. Well, since then, we've been -- the City itself
has been violated, particularly when we talk about -- and you'll see that on other items, Mr.
Chair -- the difference between community development and community economic development
and began to appeal to my Commissioner, because we know that we bring a lot of funding and
we have a lot of slum and blighted land and that most of the projects are around us. And so I ask
you to do this, though, through the Commission, particularly Commissioner Sarnoff and my
Commissioner, as attorneys who are familiar with Federal guidelines, that it has a priority to it.
We talked about it in notification. I'm asking that you take a look at the process of how we did it
in the County and how we were able to morely [sic] impact, not5, be inclusive of not just
low-income residents in workforce, but also small business owners and subcontractors,
particularly women, particularly local women who own companies; not those that are influenced
or invested by developers or contractors who use that 51 percent that we do in State
interpretation, but that actually has an impact to those who are impoverished persons and
entitlement persons according to the Federal law. Thank you very much. I'm just saying it's time
for us to do something that works and not -- let's listen to the union, and we should not be hired
if the union doesn't have any people, because the law says we should be hired. And if that's the
case, we --
Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am.
Ms. Holmes: In closing, we should utilize those local employment organizations and
corporations that they have, like CWEP (Community Women's Education Project) and
Transitions and so forth, but they don't have that knowledge.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Ms. Holmes: Thank you. I mean, I know Madam Attorney knows that. That's pretty cool, don't
you think, that a citizen knows that they're entitled and that they can get the job but the
contractors don't? I appreciate you --
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Chair Gort: Thank you.
Ms. Holmes: -- Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Yes. Anyone else in the public like to address this issue? Seeing none, hearing
none, close the public hearings. Commissioner -- Vice Chairman Hardemon, you're recognized.
Vice Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. Commissioners, I ask that in between this first
reading and the second reading when this will come back before us for our final decision
making, that we make a few changes, and the few changes that I've seen thus far in my brief
reading of it when we received it are to just change some of the percentages and add one more
category as it pertains to the requirements for those who participate within the structures. So by
that I mean, from 250,000 to 500, 000, we've identified to be 10 percent that will be the local
workforce requirements. That is fine. Between 500 and 750, 000, I would like to request that we
increase it from 12.5 percent to 15 percent. From 750 to one million, I would like to change that
percentage to 20 percent. And then I'd like to proffer a new category for dollars that are greater
than or equal to $4 million, a 40 percent goal. I received some information from staff that
identified some of the market research that had been done on all of this, and when we look at the
local workforce participation amongst the City, the County, and then there are some other states,
some other cities in other states, such as Cleveland, Ohio; District of Columbia; Palm Beach
Gardens; City of Fort Lauderdale; Broward County, et cetera, the City of Miami, even with these
new recommendations that I'm recommending, is not at the forefront, is not the highest and most
aggressive requesters of this. The District of Columbia, from their research they've shown me, is
at 51 percent local workforce participation; the City of Fort Lauderdale, our neighbors to the
north of us, at 50 percent; Broward County, at 50 percent, and that's for contracts that are at
least $500, 000 a year. So by this, we're not being too aggressive. We're actually within --
reasonably within some of the goals that are in other places. And so I believe that in doing this,
we would be assisting our community, which is heavily impoverished in Miami -Dade County or
within the City of Miami, especially within my district, and I'm sure within yours, Mr. Chairman,
in reducing the level of poverty within our communities. We have an opportunity, I believe, to
touch poverty in different ways, and how we present our contracts is one of them. And in
addition to those changes that I've recommended I'd also like to recommend that for those
contractors who have a local workforce goal or requirement and do not meet them or meet them,
when they -- we know that they continuously come back to us for other RFPs or respond to other
RFPs, but many times, if they're not the same Commissioners or if Commissioners forget,
because we see so many different RFPs, we don't know that they've met those goals or not met
those goals. So what I'm requesting is from that point moving forward, if someone has
responded to an RFP and there was a local workforce participation requirement, that on the
front page of any of the responses to RFPs that we receive in the future, it will say at the very top
where we can easily identJ it the history of their success or their -- or them not being successful
with meeting the local workforce participation so that Commissioners have the opportunity to
question them at the time that we receive the -- either we're trying to approve or disapprove the
RFP moving forward so that we have just some qualitative information moving forward to know
why it wasn't met, and if they did meet it, how they met it; so the measurement of not just did they
meet it, but what percentage of local workforce participation did that actually give us. I think
that those -- just those changes thus far would help us ensure that we reduce poverty, that we
hold them accountable for meeting the local workforce participation requirements, and that we
don't just allow this to be words on paper, but it actually has some type of meaning to the process
that we have here in the City of Miami, so -- and I urge my Commissioners to agree to that
friendly amendment.
Chair Gort: Make the motion and -- Now, my understanding is we're supposed to be -- audit all
this commitment from these individuals, so we should be able to get reports. Yes, sir, you're
recognized.
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Mark Spanioli: Commissioners, if I may. Mark Spanioli, director of Capital Improvements and
Transportation. On Commissioner Hardemon's second note about the -- putting it on the RFP or
the bid, that may certainly be a possibility. I just want to point out that the ordinance change
does penalize them for not meeting the requirement by withholding 5 percent of the contract
value back from the contractor, so that is one mechanism we're using for penalizing them for not
meeting the requirement. With regards to the percentage and the option of going with the 40
percent for a $4 million contract, I simply just want to caution just a general note -- it has
nothing to do with poverty level or anything; just from a construction perspective -- 40 percent
labor requirement on a $4 million project will require a tremendous labor force coming from
within the City of Miami. Some of the market research that was done was done with other
places, such as countywide areas that have a much bigger pool to pull from. I know that Fort
Lauderdale happened to be that outstanding example, but the rest of them are from areas that
have a much greater population than we have. So I just want to caution you with that as a
thought.
Vice Chair Hardemon: If I may?
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Vice Chair Hardemon: The local workforce participation, it doesn't -- it's not just inclusive of
the City of Miami. It does also include Miami -Dade County. It gives them the option. Is that
one of the tiers? I thought I read that. It's not there?
Mr. Spanioli: No. It'll be City of Miami only.
Chair Gort: Well, let me --
Vice Chair Hardemon: We can add -- so we can add the language (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Chair Gort: We can structure that to add the language.
Vice Chair Hardemon: -- to add the language to include Miami -Dade County, since it is a larger
pool, and I think that would be -- so -- and if there are no other objections to that, I'd like to
move this item with those recommendations that I made.
Chair Gort: Okay, there's a motion. Second?
Commissioner Sarnoff I'm going to second -- Sorry, Mr. Chair. I'm going to second it, but I do
want to meet with CIP (Capital Improvements Program) just to find out what this would mean on
small contracts and whether it would mean slowing up those contracts or what it really
inevitably means.
Vice Chair Hardemon: And Commissioner -- may I?
Chair Gort: Sure.
Vice Chair Hardemon: -- when you say "small contracts," you mean dollar amount or which
ones?
Commissioner Sarnoff Aren't you going --
Chair Gort: Dollar amount.
Commissioner Sarnoff -- down to $40, 000, if I heard correctly?
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Vice Chair Hardemon: No, no, no, no. So from -- as it stands, 250 to 500, 000, it remains the
same at 10 percent. Anything below 250, I don't have any --
Commissioner Sarnoff. Oh, okay.
Vice Chair Hardemon: -- qualms, whatsoever.
Chair Gort: Yeah.
Commissioner Sarnoff. I'm sorry. I misheard you.
Chair Gort: Okay, it's an ordinance. First reading.
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, as amended, 3-0.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
END OF FIRST READING ORDINANCE
RESOLUTIONS
RE.1 RESOLUTION
14-01042
Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ESTABLISHING A SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT
ENTITLED: "2014 COPS HIRING PROGRAM," AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
CONSISTING OFAGRANTAWARD FROM THE UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED
POLICING SERVICES, IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,875,000.00, WITH A
REQUIRED LOCAL CASH MATCH OF $1,911,909.00, TOTALING
$3,786,909.00; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT SAID
GRANT, AND TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, TO IMPLEMENT THE
ACCEPTANCE OF AND ADMINISTRATION OF SAID GRANT.
14-01042 Summary Form.pdf
14-01042 Back -Up - Grant Award and App..pdf
14-01042 Legislation.pdf
14-01042 Exhibit.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Vice Chair Hardemon, that this matter be
ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Hardemon
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-14-0441
Chair Gort: RE.1. RE.1.
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
Daniel J. Alfonso (City Manager): RE.1, Commissioners, is the COPS (Community Oriented
Policing) Hiring grant. As you're aware, we applied for the COPS hiring grant, and we were
awarded 15 police officers. This is an item to accept that grant.
Commissioner Sarnoff So moved.
Chair Gort: It's been moved. Is there a second? Second by Vice Chairman Hardemon.
Question: For how long is the grant; three years?
Mr. Alfonso: The grant is for three years, Commissioner.
Chair Gort: Great. Thank you.
Renita Holmes: Hello. Madam Holmes, again, for the Women's Association Alliance Against
Injustice and Violence Epidemia. Ongoing, it's been our concern. I love the term
"community -oriented policing" when it comes to hiring of community police. But to make it
even more community oriented, it's my question and my concern and my recommendation that we
also use some measurement and goals to the hiring of women and to the hiring of
African -Americans. By -- I have the benefit of being right in the front lap -- I mean, the front
yard of the City of Miami Police Department living as a resident, so I get to wait and stalk and
harass them, but one of the other benefits is being that type of a mother, and a advocate, and an
observant [sic], and an auditor that sits and talks to young men that come in and out, and right
now I have on my phone two young men who will meet me tomorrow because they're having a
wonderful turkey give-away, but the reason why they're meeting me is because they're asking why
they're being told that the City is not hiring. And realizing that the Department of Justice is yet
to deal with the issue of internal dismissal of African -American women in the Police Department
and considering that we're still having those difficulties with getting local officers, which I think
are better when we hire local folks, and considering lastly that we have gentlemen that are
security guards and Homeland Security guards that actually ask me, "Ms. Holmes, are they
hiring, because I'd like to work for the City? I think they need" (UNINTELLIGIBLE). "They're
good officers." Can someone confirm to me what measurement and goals we have within this
community -oriented grant the next three years to hire more women, more local folks and
graduates and more African -Americans? Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Anyone else? Anyone else? Close the public hearings. Comments.
Vice Chair Hardemon: I do have a comment.
Chair Gort: Okay, all in favor, state it by saying Eye."
Vice Chair Hardemon: No, I have a comment. I said I have a comment.
Chair Gort: All right. Wait a minute, okay.
Vice Chair Hardemon: From what I've seen from the application -- and I don't know; this may
be for our City Manager, but also our Police Chief if he's here or if he's listening. The
information that was used to receive the dollars for this grant was based off of crime, a lot of it,
crime; in particular, crime in gangs. And when I look at -- it appears to be Section 2(b), so page
11 of 21 of our application to receive the grant, one of the things it says is, "With proper
funding, our main objective will be to increase or workforce to better service" -- "to provide
better service to our affected areas. Community policing heighten the visibility" -- and the
words go off of the paper -- "to decrease" -- well, "decrease of crime and reduce the fear of
crime in our neighborhoods." Particularly, it goes on to saying that the police officers will be
used in the areas where the crime is, and it's no secret where a lot of the major crime is
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
happening within our community, and particularly, it goes on to talk about the different gangs
that are within our community, and particular lists one of the areas in my community where
violent crime and gang activity is located. So I say that to say -- and the way that I kind of broke
it down is like gang, gun violence equals the grant, which equals more officers, and so my logic
-- and I hope it's not fool's logic -- but my logic is that so the officers go to the troubled areas,
and those troubled areas will be within our community, so the request that I would make is to
include -- I want to be able to track these officers so we know that these officers are generated
from this grant, so when Commissioner Sarnoff receives his information regarding how many
different officers -- where we are with our hiring process, et cetera, et cetera, I'd like to add to
that a section that identifies who these officers are that are a part of this grant so I can see where
they're being located within our community, so we know how these dollars are being used to
affect crime within our community, because the hopeful goal is not necessarily to decrease the
amount of money that we're receiving from the City of Miami -- to the City of Miami to help us
with our policing efforts, but reduce the number of dollars that we're receiving because of this
type of crime in these areas. So at some point I want to see the dollars that come from Federal
Government for this problem that we're identing in this plan reduce these areas. So that's my
request.
Mr. Alfonso: So noted, Commissioner. As you know, when we get a grant from the Federal
Government, there are reporting requirements for that grant, so we would definitely have to track
down who are the officers that are hired, put onto the grant, and those officers then have to do
work that is related to what is on the grant, because we have to report to the Federal
Government. So we'll make sure you get copy of the reports when we do bring those on board.
Remember, we're adding 80 police officers to the budget this year, and these 15 were part of
those. So as we hire them and get them out there, we'll be sure to include in our reports these
officers that are grant funded.
Chair Gort: Mr. Manager, I also like to see we -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) how we complemented
several officers today for the special group that get together and the reason they act in a certain
area because of the amount of crime that exist there. I think we have other areas within the City
of Miami where -- in his district and my district where that takes a lot to -- crime has been
increasing in there and we need some actions in there.
Mr. Alfonso: Okay, we got that, sir.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Mr. Alfonso: And by the way, I just want to point out that the issues that the Commissioner is
talking about are not specific to one district. I mean, it's more than one district. But we will
track that, Commissioner, and bring it to this Commission.
Chair Gort: I mean, you have the numbers where the crimes are taking place. Any further
discussion?
Vice Chair Hardemon: I know the City Clerk wanted me to clam my statement. So I wouldn't
take it more so as an amendment to this. I mean, we are accepting this grant. The motion right
now is to accept this grant as it is. What I am saying -- the directive that I'm giving -- and I ask
that -- if there's no objection to it from my fellow members, is that we track these 15 officers by
providing -- I know you're going to get information to the Federal Government, but by also
providing something to the report that is --
Mr. Alfonso: I said that. When we do our reports to the Commission on our recruitment, we can
add a section for these grant funded officers when we do bring them on board, because I don't
think we've hired them yet, but we will track these grant funded officers to this Commission as
part of our monthly report to the Commission.
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
RE.2
14-01006
Department of Capital
Improvement
Programs/Transportat
ion
Vice Chairman Hardemon: And I --
Commissioner Sarnoff. To make it better, I will amend my motion and accept that as a friendly
amendment.
Chair Gort: Okay.
Commissioner Sarnoff. So it becomes law.
Chair Gort: And I guess the seconder accept the amendment?
Vice Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Chair Gort: Okay, all in favor, state it by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mr. Hannon: As amended.
Chair Gort: As amended.
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): We'll just add a "whereas" clause to this effectuating that, as
articulated by Vice Chairman Hardemon.
Vice Chair Hardemon: Thank you.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING REIMBURSEMENT GRANT ("GRANT")
FUNDS TO BE RECEIVED FROM THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ("COUNTY")
BUILDING BETTER COMMUNITIES GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS, IN AN
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,500,000.00, FOR THE ANTONIO MACEO
PARK PROJECT, B-40456; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT, IN A FORM
ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, WITH THE COUNTY FOR THE
GRANT FOR SAID PURPOSE.
14-01006 Summary Form.pdf
14-01006 Back -Up from Law Dept.pdf
14-01006 Legislation.pdf
14-01006 Exhibit.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Vice Chair Hardemon, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Hardemon
Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-14-0442
Chair Gort: RE.2.
Commissioner Sarnoff. I think, "all in favor, say 'aye.'"
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RE.3
14-01007
Department of Capital
Improvement
Programs/Transportat
ion
Chair Gort: We already voted.
Commissioner Sarnoff. Oh, we did?
Chair Gort: Yeah, yeah.
Commissioner Sarnoff. Oh, I didn't hear you. I'm sorry.
Chair Gort: RE.2.
Mark Spanioli: Good evening, Commissioners. Mark Spanioli, director of Capital
Improvements and Transportation. RE.2 is a resolution accepting a GOB (General Operating
Bond) grant from Miami -Dade County. This is for Antonio Maceo Park, in an amount not to
exceed of $1.5 million.
Commissioner Sarnoff. So moved.
Chair Gort: It's been moved by Commissioner Sarnoff. Is there a second?
Vice Chair Hardemon: Second.
Chair Gort: Second by Vice Chairman Hardemon. Any further discussion? Being none, all in
favor, state it by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING AN INCREASE TO THE PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES AGREEMENT ("PSA") WITH ATKINS NORTH AMERICA, INC.,
FOR THE PROVISION OF CAPITAL PROGRAM SUPPORT SERVICES, IN AN
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,500,000.00, THEREBY INCREASING THE
TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT FROM $1,500,000.00 TO AN AMOUNT NOT TO
EXCEED $3,000,000.00; ALLOCATING FUNDS FOR SAID INCREASE FROM
THE APPROPRIATE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS; FURTHER
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO
THE PSA, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, FOR SAID
PURPOSE.
14-01007 Summary Form.pdf
14-01007 Pre-Legislation.pdf
14-01007 Legislation.pdf
14-01007 Exhibit.pdf
14-01007-Presentation-Jorge Hernandez-Virgina Key Master Plan.pdf
14-01007-Video Presenation-Hizano Candela-Virgina Key Master Plan.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Vice Chair Hardemon, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0443
Chair Gort: RE. 3.
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RE.4
14-01058
Department of Capital
Improvement
Programs/Transportat
ion
Mark Spanioli (Director, Capital Improvements & Transportation): Good evening again,
Commissioners. RE.3 is a request to increase the contract capacity to Atkins North America.
This is our capital program support services provider for the Capital Improvements Program.
They provide additional project management, construction management, and JOC (Job Order
Contract) estimating services to our department. And we're asking for an increase of $1.5
million.
Commissioner Sarnoff. So moved.
Chair Gort: It's been moved by Commissioner Sarnofff second by Vice Chairman Hardemon.
Renita Holmes: Madam Holmes again for the public. IfI may, through the Chair, inquire as to
-- is -- have we always been outsourcing professional support services? And what is the activity
or effort to provide local opportunities for those who do PSA (Professional Services Agreement)?
We've invested quite a bit in the recent time and film and media and industry, and I'm wondering
if we're not better utilizing an option to utilize local folks and local organizations in an industry
that we've invested in quite a bit? So question is about the outsourcing and the comparative cost
and you have a -- any factual data that can be reviewed?
Chair Gort: Okay, thank you, ma'am. Any further discussion? Being none, all in favor, state it
by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE CITY OF MIAMI TITLE
VI/NONDISCRIMINATION PROGRAM PLAN, AS REVIEWED BY THE CITY
ATTORNEY; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE SAID TITLE
VI/NONDISCRIMINATION PROGRAM PLAN, AND PROVIDING
ASSURANCES TO THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION THAT THE
CITY WILL COMPLY WITH FEDERAL, LOCAL, AND STATE
NONDISCRIMINATION STATUTES.
14-01058 Summary Form.pdf
14-01058 Legislation.pdf
14-01058 Exhibit 1.pdf
14-01058 Exhibit 2.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Hardemon
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Suarez
R-14-0444
Chair Gort: RE.4.
Mark Spanioli (Director, Capital Improvements & Transportation): Good evening again,
Commissioners. RE.4, this is a resolution for the City of Miami to adopt a Title
VI/Nondiscrimination Policy, as required by the FTA, the Federal Transit Authority; the City of
Miami, the sub -recipient of Federal dollars through our trolley program, and we're required for
the Commission to adopt a Title VI/Nondiscrimination Policy.
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
RE.5
14-01004
Office of Management
and Budget
Chair Gort: I thought we had that.
Commissioner Sarnoff. So moved.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Gort: It's been moved by Commissioner Sarnoff second by Commissioner Suarez. Yes,
ma'am.
Renita Holmes: Madam Renita Holmes. I wanted to take an opportunity -- that was RE.10, I
believe, Commissioner, and I want to take the opportunity to make it a matter of public record,
although it's been documented' that recently, after being attacked on the trolley in October and
not yet receiving the information requested under the sunshine rule, then being re -attacked again
by the trolley, having saw several other persons, including the doctors (UNINTELLIGIBLE), that
there is a lack of coordination. Being a person with disability and someone that is always
willing and open and diplomatic in the beginning before I start yattering [sic] and chattering,
that to this day, I have to step up here, and now I see that there are some type of advertisement,
but there is no clue process, there is no clue diligence. My Freedom of Information Act request
and e-mails (electronic) that were sent are still unaddressed. I've talked to several other persons.
Is this what it is for a trolley that does not even offer on the inside of its trolleys -- and we've
made pictures, and I'll be glad to give it to you, you know, but with process -- that there's no
advertisement of who to talk to in this City, exactly what the process is, and this is all well and
good saying that we're compromising, and who can help me with getting that information that
I've been waiting for since October 6? And I remind you that on November -- again, I was
attacked by the same driver, and that's okay. This looks great. But in real life, why am I here
still waiting for this stuff? Who do I see, Mr. Spanioli? Because right about now, there are other
complaints about consumers and people who are utilizing the trolley without any protection at
all.
Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am. Will you please make sure you get someone to answer her
questions, okay? Thank you.
Mr. Spanioli: Yes.
Chair Gort: Any further discussion? Being none, all in favor, state it by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING THE MULTI -YEAR CAPITAL PLAN ADOPTED
SEPTEMBER 9, 2014 PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION NO. 14-0322, ADDING
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROJECTS ("PROJECTS") AND
APPROPRIATIONS TO THOSE LISTED IN RESOLUTION NOS. 14-0373 AND
14-0380, BOTH ADOPTED SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 FOR THE PRIOR FISCAL
YEAR 2013-2014 CAPITAL BUDGET AND MULTI -YEAR CAPITAL PLAN, AND
REVISING CURRENT APPROPRIATIONS AMONG NEW AND PREVIOUSLY
APPROVED PROJECTS, AS INDICATED IN CONSOLIDATED EXHIBIT A,
ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED; FURTHER APPROPRIATING FUNDING
FOR SAID PROJECTS.
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
14-01004 Summary Form.pdf
14-01004 Pre-Legislation.pdf
14-01004 Legislation.pdf
14-01004 Consolidated Exhibit A.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Vice Chair Hardemon, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Suarez and Hardemon
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo
R-14-0445
Commissioner Carollo: Should we go back --?
Chair Gort: RE.5.
Christopher Rose: Good evening, Commissioners. RE.5. Chris Rose, Office of Management &
Budget. RE.5 is a capital appropriations reappropriations [sic]. It includes giving account
codes to the environmental remediation projects and the year-end surplus capital projects that
we discussed back on September 29. It also moves funds around within districts and funds the
things that we have talked about in the briefings before.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir.
Commissioner Sarnoff. So moved.
Chair Gort: Moved by Commissioner Sarnoff. Is there a second?
Vice Chair Hardemon: Second
Chair Gort: Second by Vice Chairman Hardemon. Any further discussion? Being none, all in
favor, state it by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.6 RESOLUTION
14-01029
Office of Management A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
and Budget ATTACHMENT(S), MAKING AMENDMENTS TO APPROPRIATIONS
RELATING TO OPERATIONAL AND BUDGETARY REQUIREMENTS FOR
FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2014.
14-01029 Summary Form.pdf
14-01029 Back -Up from Law Dept.pdf
14-01029 Legislation.pdf
14-01029 Exhibit.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0446
Chair Gort: RE.6.
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Christopher Rose: Good evening, Commissioners. Chris Rose, Office of Management and
Budget. RE. 6 is the yearend closeout for the budget. In it you will see three departments
needing general fund appropriations and several special revenue and debt service funds that all
have been brought before the Commission in the past, whether through the monthly reports that 1
give or through actual resolutions that are delineated in the special revenue sections. I can go
into further detail. I'll answer any questions, if you have them.
Commissioner Sarnoff. So moved.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir. It's been moved by Commissioner Sarnoff. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Gort: Second by Commissioner Carollo. Discussion. Being none, all in favor, state it by
saying i ye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.7 RESOLUTION
14-01070
Department of Human A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Resources ATTACHMENT(S), RATIFYING THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI AND THE EMPLOYEE
ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE,
WALTER E. HEADLEY, JR., MIAMI LODGE NO. 20, FOR THE PERIOD OF
OCTOBER 1, 2014 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2015.
14-01070 Summary Form.pdf
14-01070 Legislation.pdf
14-01070 Exhibit.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 Hardemon
R-14-0447
Chair Gort: RE.7.
Amy Klose: Good afternoon, Chair, Commissioners. Amy Klose, director of Human Resources.
RE.7 is a resolution ratifying the collective bargaining agreement between the City and the FOP
(Fraternal Order of Police) for the period of October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015.
Commissioner Suarez: So moved.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Gort: Been moved and second.
Commissioner Suarez: Discussion.
Chair Gort: Discussion.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Lieutenant and sergeant, who's not here today, I
don't want to compliment you because sometimes I feel like in your world, ifI compliment you,
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
that might be detrimental to your cause going forward. But I really should compliment not only
your leadership and sergeant's leadership, but your -- our officers who obviously ratified this
contract. And if it wasn't for, you know, your ability to negotiate a good contract for them, it
would not have been ratified, and we've seen situations where it's been resoundingly not ratified.
So, you know, I really felt like, from the get -go of all our labor partners and our employees, you
guys were the most reasonable and aggressive, and I think you bear the fruit of that in terms of
having -- you know, getting this done first, so -- you know, I don't like to prioritize among our
employees, because that breeds all kinds of issues, but I think it's fair to say that you guys have
an extraordinarily difficult job to do in a very challenging city. The last thing that you need to
be worried about is your paycheck, you know, and I think we need to continue to do what we can
as a government to reassure you in that respect.
Chair Gort: Thanks. Anyone else?
Commissioner Sarnoff I would just echo those comments; couldn't have been said better.
Chair Gort: Okay. Yes, sir, you're recognized.
Dan Kerr: I appreciate it. Lieutenant Dan Kerr, vice president of Miami Police, FOP 20. I'm
going to write down Neasonable'and fggressive. "
Commissioner Suarez: 'Cause -- use "aggressive." You could beat me up if you want, arrest me,
whatever.
Lieutenant Kerr: So I feel the same way that the fight to restore the benefits is now apparently
upon us. It was politically and mathematically difficult, but I wanted to really thank the City
Manager, Ms. Klose, Mr. Rose and his guys, particularly Mr. Newton who really helped us out in
the whole process, and it was arduous. It was aggressive; reasonable and aggressive, right?
Commissioner Suarez: Good.
Ms. Klose: Reasonable, I don't know.
Lieutenant Kerr: Reasonable and aggressive. The Commissioner said it, so it's on the record.
Commissioner Suarez: I agree.
Lieutenant Kerr: We look forward to starting again in March.
Commissioner Suarez: Awesome.
Lieutenant Kerr: You got me and Javi for another two years, unfortunately, for that. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Okeydoke.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Gort: Freddie, you want to speak?
Freddie Delgado: Freddie Delgado, Miami Association of Firefighters, 2980 North Southwest
River Drive. I want to commend the FOP for negotiating a fair contract for their members, and I
want to thank the Commissioners and the City Manager, Human Resources director. I am here
to represent my members, and I could say that I do not feel that it's been fair at all. I'm here to
talk to the whole Commission here in public, is I've talked to each one of your individually and I
think I've told you how I feel. But I want to talk to you all the only form I can with the sunshine
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
law, which is all here in front of you, and I want to ask you to please direct the City
Administration to be fair with Local 587, with my firefighters and my paramedics. We've been
out there the last six years. We have not gotten a raise. We took a very large pay cut in 2010,
and we have still cooperated. When the City has asked us for money, we have sat at the table
and we have gotten a contract on time when the City needed it because of State law to balance
the budget. Now that the City's reserves are met and money is coming in from all the
construction -- you see all the cranes in downtown and Brickell Avenue -- we ask you to please
push the City Administration to be fair with us and start the process of restoring our benefits, just
like you did with the FOP. Thank you very much.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Mr. Delgado: Any questions?
Daniel J. Alfonso (City Manager): Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Yes, Mr. --
Mr. Alfonso: Mr. Chair, first, I want to say that fair'fs a four-letter word, so you got to be
careful with the word fair. "But I want to point out that you just made a statement that you have
gotten no pay raises. I disagree with that. We worked out in the last contract with the Section
175 money that I know that you contributed (UNINTELLIGIBLE) there was a step. Some people
got as much as 20 percent; some people got 5, 10, 15, whatever it was. And now, at the end of
this contract that just expired and the new time starts, the general fund is picking that up, and
that is an increase, and that we did not come back to the union and ask for that or any offset or
anything like that, so you did get some pay raise. I just want to re -characterize that. We are
working with you, absolutely, and we know that we will have to do something better.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Mr. Delgado: Mr. Chairman, with all due respect to the City Manager, I came here to address
the Commission, because I could talk to the City Manager basically whenever I want. I just want
you all to know that for more than 75 years, the Miami Firefighters -- Association of Firefighters
and Paramedics have been out there in the street during good times and bad times, okay. We've
given a lot. Our members have gone through a lot financially and, lately, it's taken a toll on
their lives. I'm sure you all have, you know, been informed that we've lost two of our firefighters
in the last couple of months, and it takes a toll. It takes a toll. Things aren't easier up there.
We're doing our job and we've cooperated. Our department has, with very little money, done the
best that we could with the equipment and with the fire stations, but we need your help.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yesterday I was at the funeral of a dear friend of
mine who passed away on Saturday, and I think when you talk about the difficult job that has to
be done not only by the Police Department, but also by the Fire Department in terms of the
tragedy that you're confronted with on a day-to-day basis, the trauma that you're confronted with
on a day-to-day basis, and having to see, you know, our guys have to walk in and out of the
apartment where -- you know, where the firefighter who deceased was at, you see the bond and
the care, the brotherhood that exists, the bond. And so, you know, I think we have -- since we
arrived here in 2009 have had to do some very difficult, difficult things to our employees, and I
think when you start a round of negotiations where you see the City reaching it's financial
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integrity threshold and having $35 million in new revenue in the year and then having a
projected 8 percent increase for the following year, which is another 30 million, $40 million in
revenue, you know, I can understand why you make the arguments that you make. I have to say
that I presume that, you know, the Manager will listen to you, what you just said, will listen to
what this Commission tells him, which is that, you know, our public safety officers have to be --
you know, we have to give it priority to get this done, and I think I'm -- you know, on the one
hand I'm obviously very happy with the fact that we're ratifying a contract for police today, but I
think it elevates and escalates the nature of the negotiations with our Fire Department, and I
think if that's the message that you're trying to send to us, I think -- I want you to know that we
hear you loud and clear, and we hope that the Manager does, as well, because I think we will be
doing everything we can within our constitutional authority to deliver that message.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Yes, sir, you're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to begin by saying that I believe that
all of us up here believe that First Responders are our priority, and simply put, it's time. It's time
that we act like First Responders are our first priorities. I think we took a good first step today
or we're going to take a good first step, because I assume -- although, I usually don't assume --
that this is going to pass unanimously, but that's only a first step. So I think that it's time. I
remember that a few months back, you know, we were saying, `Miami's back. We're back" So I
think it's time that now we demonstrate to our First Responders that, yes, it's time to be fair. And
I don't know what's occurring in the negotiations. I know I've spoke to the Manager, and I asked
him a few days ago, but apparently, there has been some friction, and I'll leave it at that. And all
I'm saying is, you know, I think it's time. I think there needs to be some type of agreement or at
least bring back something to this Commission for us to discuss, because I, at least, want to
demonstrate that First Responders are our priority. Thank you.
Chair Gort: I think we all understand public safety; it's very important, and I'm sure the
Manager is looking at the main thing in the salaries, in the increase according to what we
receiving. I think he's listening to us. I know he's working very hard to do so, and not only with
this union, but there's two other unions that we're working with. What I'd like to see, Mr.
Manager, and I understand -- and you tell me if it's correct or not -- are negotiations open to the
public?
Mr. Alfonso: Absolutely, Commissioner, they are open to the public.
Chair Gort: What I'd like to do is, I think we should get copies of the negotiations that's taking
place, what is being offered, and what is being -- counteroffers; we'd like to see those, at least I
would like to see it and I think the other Commissioners would like to do so.
Mr. Alfonso: No problem.
Chair Gort: Okay.
Mr. Alfonso: And I want to say, Commissioner, I mean, we've been working with the Fire union.
I don't think we have friction, per se. I mean, we've had difference of opinions, but I think we've
been working well together.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: Maybe it's time for us to have another executive session, because we just
had one and we had the Police. Maybe we need to get an executive session, give the Manager a
little bit more direction, because, you know, obviously, negotiating from the dais is not ideal --
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Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Commissioner Suarez: -- but we do hear and we want our employees to understand that it's
important to us to get moving on this right away.
Chair Gort: Okay, thank you.
Mr. Delgado: Thank you.
Renita Holmes: Commissioner.
Chair Gort: Yes.
Ms. Holmes: Mr. Chair, just excuse me. I'm compelled because everything's so relative here. I
just want to ask of Human Resources. And I heard the word Piolistic'h lot. I'm a first responder.
Tell me (UNINTELLIGIBLE) taking these shots and being up here in consideration ain't easy,
and then you go home on the other side and the boys that's sitting on the track see me speaking
about community -oriented policing don't get it, but I'm not here to win friends; I'm here to win
safety for my children. But as an advocate for women, I'm terribly concerned that we're always
talking about raising the level of employment and pay rate for civilian officers, but when I go
into the City of Miami Police Department with my victim survivors, my own issues, my
homeowners, my other taxpayers, there are women and there are clerks that are doing their job,
and they have been royally -- excuse me -- screwed out of the consideration of what it takes to be
a property clerk or a dispatcher communication. So my question is, in this holistic approach that
we're about to take, when are we going to address raising the level of pay for our non -officers or
our civilian officers? Because that's half of the Police Department, is the support services. So
my question is when do we start negotiating? When does AFSCME (American Federal, State,
County, and Municipal Employees) going to be more advocates for those who work within the
Policing Department and help these women not become impoverished themselves, and men and
officers? There are male officers, but I'm looking at that primary issue about female employees
in the Police Department who are non -civilian. Who's looking out for their best interest and the
raising of their life rates -- or the -- I mean, their pay rates? Who does that? And why is it not
being considered? Every year I got a bunch of police officers -- and I love my officers; don't get
me wrong. You should have hired me there anyway the first time. But my problem is that there is
nobody else looking at those that are back there at home taking care of business. Now, after
three years of this, I need to know as a taxpayer, I'm paying higher and higher rates for everyone
else, but when are they going to get theirs? And why is AFSCME not as active as I see all these
other union people, I'm just saying? Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you. For your information, we're dealing with all the unions. And one of the
reason I ask him to make sure our proposals and the counterproposal make -- since they're open
to the public, I think everybody should know what is being offered, okay? Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Let's vote.
Chair Gort: Vote. Public --
Commissioner Suarez: Aye.
Chair Gort: All in favor, state it by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Ms. Klose: Thank you.
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RE.8
14-01092
RESOLUTION
District 4- A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION URGING THE UNITED
Commissioner STATES CONGRESS AND THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO PASS
Francis Suarez LEGISLATION GIVING PREFERENCE TO RESIDENTS LOCALLY SITUATED
WHERE GOVERNMENT FUNDS ARE BEING USED FOR AFFORDABLE
HOUSING PROJECTS; MAKING THIS A FEDERAL AND STATE LEGISLATIVE
PRIORITY FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI DURING THE 2015 LEGISLATIVE
SESSION; FURTHER DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMITA COPY
OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE DESIGNATED OFFICIALS STATED HEREIN.
14-01092 Legislation.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 Hardemon
R-14-0448
Chair Gort: RE.7.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair, I think it's RE.8, if you don't mind, which is a companion
item, and it stems from the same discussion, and essentially, the issue that we were discussing is
notification and preference; notification being one component, because if our residents don't
know, then they won't apply; if they don't apply, they don't have the opportunity to get. The
second issue is preference, and I think we struggled with that, because we want affordable
housing projects that are built within our boundaries to take advantage of our regulations, some
of which are designed to increase affordable housing, vis-a-vis other communities; we want that
to benefit residents of our community. I think that's a very logical and laudable goal. So this is
essentially a resolution urging the governments that would have to take action, which is the State
and Federal Government, to take the necessary action to make that possible so long as it's in
conformity with the law and the Constitution of the United States. So I move it.
Commissioner Carollo: Second. Discussion.
Chair Gort: Been moved and second. Discussion.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Yeah, originally, we wanted to add
preference for the City of Miami. That's how the ordinance began. However, Community
Development Department pointed out that the Fair Housing Act did not allow for that
preference. I don't know if it's a State issue. It's definitely Federal. I don't mind passing it as is,
but I believe it's a Federal issue. But --
Commissioner Suarez: And this has both a Federal and a State --
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Chair Gort: -- component, so.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Chair Gort: Okay. Any further discussion? Being none, all in favor, state it by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
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RE.9 RESOLUTION
14-01155
Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Works ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING A TERMINATION AND MODIFICATION OF AN
EXISTING UTILITY EASEMENT AGREEMENT, UPON THE PROPERTY
WHOSE STREET ADDRESS IS 498 SOUTHWEST 27TH ROAD, MIAMI,
FLORIDA; ACCEPTINGA PERPETUAL UTILITY EASEMENT UPON THE
PROPERTY WHOSE STREET ADDRESS IS 463 SOUTHWEST 28TH ROAD,
MIAMI, FLORIDA; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE
TERMINATION AND MODIFICATION AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORMS, FOR SAID PURPOSES.
14-01155 Summary Form.pdf
14-01155 Legislation.pdf
14-01155 Exhibit A.pdf
14-01155 Exhibit B.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0449
Chair Gort: RE.9.
Commissioner Suarez: Good job.
Eduardo Santamaria: Good evening, Chair, Commission. Ed Santamaria, director of Public
Works. RE.9 is a resolution accepting termination and modification of an existing utility
easement located upon the property at 498 Southwest 27th Road, and a perpetual utility
easement located upon the property at 463 Southwest 28th Road.
Commissioner Sarnoff So moved.
Commissioner Carollo: Second:
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Gort: It's been moved by Commissioner Sarnoff; second by Commissioner Suarez.
Discussion. No discussion? Okay. All in favor, state it by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
RE.10 RESOLUTION
14-00608
Department of Real A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Estate and Asset ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
Management TO APPROVE THE FINDINGS OF THE SELECTION COMMITTEE, THAT
GLASS HOUSE COCONUT GROVE, LLC ("PROPOSER") IS THE TOP
RANKED PROPOSER FOR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS NO. 12-13-067,
PERTAINING TO THE LEASE OF CITY -OWNED PROPERTY FOR GARDEN
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STYLE CAFE/RESTAURANT USES, LOCATED AT 2820 MCFARLANE ROAD,
MIAMI, FLORIDA; AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE A LEASE ("LEASE"), IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM,
FOR AN INITIAL TERM OF TWENTY FIVE (25) YEARS, WITH TWO (2)
ADDITIONAL FIVE (5) YEAR RENEWALS, AND PAYMENT OF A MINIMUM
MONTHLY BASE RENT OF $8,333.33, PLUS PERCENTAGE RENT OF
GROSS REVENUES OF A MINIMUM OF 7.5% OVER A $1,333,333.33
ANNUAL BREAKPOINT, AND TO EXECUTE SUCH OTHER DOCUMENTS AS
MAY BE NECESSARY TO PERFORM THE TRANSACTION IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE AGREEMENT, WHICH
NON -MATERIAL TERMS MAY BE AMENDED BY THE CITY MANAGER AS
MAY BE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO MEET THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, WITH TERMS AND CONDITIONS MORE PARTICULARLY
DESCRIBED IN THE LEASE; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER
TO EXECUTE A PATIO PERMIT AGREEMENT ("PERMIT AGREEMENT"), IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, SUBJECT TO THE REVIEW AND
APPROVAL OF THE CITY ATTORNEY, TO USE THE COVERED SIDE
TERRACES WITHIN THE PREMISES IN CONSIDERATION OFAUSE FEE IN
THE AMOUNT OF $17.50 PER SQUARE FOOT, WITH TERMS AND
CONDITIONS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED IN SAID PERMIT
AGREEMENT.
14-00608 Summary Form.pdf
14-00608 Memo - Manager's Recommendation.pdf
14-00608-Submittal-Commissioner Mark Sarnoff-Peacock Park Homeless Presentation.pdf
14-00608-Submittal-Vincent Celano-Glass House Concept Presentation.pdf
14-00608 Legislation Version 2.pdf
14-00608 Exhibit -Agreement.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Vice Chair Hardemon, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Suarez and Hardemon
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo
R-14-0450
Chair Gort: At this time, Commissioner Sarnoff, you have an item.
Commissioner Sarnoff Thank you, Mr. Chair, I appreciate the opportunity and I appreciate the
protocol of giving me an 11:30 time certain. This is RE. 10 on our agenda; it's on page 17,
gentlemen. I think there are some folks out there that you may want to call this in. At any rate,
as they're setting up, Mr. Chair, I think the Grove has a number of pearls, and the idea is to lace
those pearls together into a necklace, and I think that necklace begins at Kennedy Park and it
comes all the way down to our park right here, which is Pan American Drive and the beginning
of what will be Regatta Park, which will commence construction on January 5; brings it all the
way down to what we sometimes call on the left-hand side Kenny Myers Park. You see a little bit
of workout equipment right there; bringing us past the sailing club to Peacock Park, and
Peacock Park, as you know, sometimes is a little to event-spacy for me, but certainly is --
Commissioner Suarez: Just wanted to digress on something real quick --
Commissioner Sarnoff Go ahead.
Commissioner Suarez: -- based on what you just said, while they're setting up. Is there -- and I
see your chief of staff back there -- a plan in place right now for Kennedy Park for the
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bathrooms?
Commissioner Sarnoff Yes. If you've ever been in our office, Commissioner, that is what we call
the 3-30 Plan. It's been in the process for three years. We figure we'll be done in about 30 years.
Commissioner Suarez: It'll be done in 30 years; is that what you said?
Commissioner Sarnoff Well, we've been promised a start date for three years, so this is one of
those "Commissioner Carollo-isms, "I call it, which is --
Commissioner Suarez: Can we have a --
Commissioner Carollo: I didn't want to say anything.
Commissioner Sarnoff I know.
Commissioner Suarez: Would you mind --
Chair Gort: Okay --
Commissioner Suarez: While they're setting up, would you mind bringing a discussion item on
that specific issue?
Commissioner Sarnoff Absolutely would. I have -- do not even have a new start date yet. What
I will do is give you every excuse we've been given for the past three years.
Commissioner Suarez: I had the displeasure of having to use that facility a couple of weeks in a
row with my family, and the park is gorgeous, and everything that you've done to the park
specifically, you know, I think makes the park so much more usable and accessible. And then
you see this, and you say, "This doesn't work. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) fit."
Commissioner Sarnoff That was supposed to get -- that particular bathroom was supposed to
be done three years ago.
Commissioner Suarez: I apologize for the dis -- for the digression.
Chair Gort: Okay, gentlemen, we got a big agenda today. We have a lot of items --
Commissioner Sarnoff You're right.
Chair Gort: -- to discuss.
Commissioner Suarez: Sorry.
Chair Gort: Go ahead.
Commissioner Sarnoff So, Mr. Chair, as I said, walking through Peacock Park, Peacock Park
is an assembly point for everything from a softball game to -- something I find really funny and
funky and fun -- kickball and we have kickball leagues. And that has got to be the most
family -oriented moment I've ever seen, because apparently, everybody can kick a ball, and it's
kind of fun and fun to watch. And then on the other side of that, walking up towards the Village
is something we've known as the Glass House. The Glass House -- and I'm going to show you a
presentation after this, and I'll tell you why it is I thought it was so important -- has two sides to
it. One side, the east side, we always envisioned having a restaurant, outdoor cafe, and the
reason being, we have a homeless problem, and I'm going to demonstrate to you by video, 'cause
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I'm not going to be able to get words that'll -- to stir your imaginations to what it looks like. And
we, of course, have our Commander Morales here. The other side of that is something that just
was finished by -- I'm going to give credit to Mr. Ihekwaba -- that was -- is going to be and is a
rec (recreation) center, a community center, and we've had a couple of requests for community
centers, and we're having what I call a series of false starts, which is, simply put, Mr. Chair, we
need to get the information better out there. But I don't want to rob anything from the
presentation. I'm not a ` foody, " and I'm not a great -- I don't remember our guys name. I know
he's the Forbes winner of the best chef of 2013. I know he was born in Mercy Hospital, so he
calls himself a Grovite, and nobody does a better presentation than this young man -- as I
become an old man -- so I'd love to hear from him, and you don't need to hear from me.
Chair Gort: Go ahead, don't be shy.
Giorgio Rapicavoli: Hi, everyone. Thank you for having me. I appreciate the intro; it was very
kind of you. My name's Giorgio Rapicavoli. I -- born and raised in Miami, Florida; fortunate
enough to spend 29 years in the City. Like he said, I was born in Mercy Hospital, so I think I
definitely started my way here. My whole life, I just wanted to be a chef. I always wanted to
cook. I always wanted to kind of change and progress and propel the culinary industry in the
City forward. I was very fortunate enough to get to compete on Chopped a couple years ago on
the food network, and I used that money to open up a popup restaurant in Coral Gables. We are
in a very, very small little corner of Coral Gables, and it just kind of boomed. We were very
lucky to receive lots of accolades. We have a full restaurant, which has allowed us to really
venture out and to go into new properties. So when this -- when the Glass House came to us, we
got really excited. We are -- to us, this is the next step for us to really get to propel ourselves
forward even more so. What I found so interesting about this was the location; you know, the
fact that this could be a potential restaurant inside of a park, and we really wanted that park to
really influence a lot of what goes on inside and out of the restaurant. You know, a park in itself
just exudes wellbeing, health, fitness, you know, a livelihood, and we really wanted the outside of
the park and everything that has to do with it to kind of come inside. So a lot of that is going to
reflect in the food. There's going to be lots of fresh juices, a walkup counter where you can get
fresh -baked pastries, highlighting a lot of Florida's bounty. We have really, really incredible
produce, you know, 20, 30 miles north, 20, 30 miles south, and we really want a lot of that to be
like the highlight of this restaurant. We really want the Glass House to be known as a restaurant
that highlights what Miami has to offer. And it really just goes full circle, because it's not just
produce that's grown in Miami, but it's people that are farming it in Miami, who live in Miami,
you know, hiring employees that are from the City, cooks from the City that want to continue to
make the City a better place and make the City a culinary destination. We've been really
fortunate to have chefs like Michael Schwartz and Michelle Bernstein really get out name on the
map, but now it's kind of time for like us to take those realms [sic] and to see the City in a new
light. You know, with Glass House, to have an opportunity to really get to build a restaurant
from scratch, to get a kitchen to really -- to get to put from the beginning, you know, from the
first tile we lay down to say, "This is the type of food that we're going to do." We want to
respect the City. We want to use -- we want to show what the City has to offer. You know, when
mangos are good, then we serve mangos; and when mangos are no longer good, then we don't
serve mangos anymore. And when it comes time for strawberries, then you'll see our pastries
with strawberries, and it's just going to really, really turn full circle. You know, we want to have
lots of live herbs to use in our food, you know; garden our own little vegetables; grow our own
tomatoes; grow our own strawberries, so that's very important to us. I was born and raised in an
Italian family with an Argentine father from a very small city in Bra, and a lot of my family works
for a very small organization -- well, now it's much larger -- called Slow Food, and it's all about
using good, clean and fair products, and that's what's going to be the staples of this restaurant;
you know, not only good, clean and fair products, but good clean and fair products from Miami,
you know, from the City, from South Florida. And I am a South Florida chef I'm a South
Florida native, and I want to continue to be a South Florida native for the rest of my life. I've
had opportunities to go elsewhere -- to go to New York; to go to Los Angeles -- and I never
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wanted to do that. I wanted to make this city better. I wanted to make this city be known for its
food. I wanted to -- people think of New York, people think of L.A. (Los Angeles), and now
people think of Miami, and I just want to continue to be part of that reason. I think with a
restaurant like this in a location like this, you can't ask for much more to have a place where you
can walk in, have a great lunch, have a great juice in the day; come back at night, have a unique
dinner, have something that stands out. You know, the Grove has lots of different places where
you can get -- for example, you can get a ceviche; you can get a burger; you can get this. But
there's not really many places where you can get all those in the same location where it still
works, and that's why we're really so excited about this product where you have -- you know, you
have a restaurant where you can sit; you have a view of the bay; you have a view of the park.
There's nowhere else where you could really eat and you have a park next to you where you can
see livelihood and greenery and trees, and you see all that on the outside, and then when you
come inside, you get it in the food. You have fresh produce, you have fresh products, very -- you
know, it's not -- this isn't going to be -- it's not going to be healthy. It's not going to be a type of
place where you're looking for granola, but it is going to -- you're going to have freshness in this
product, lots of produce, lots of livelihood. You know, we want to bring life to this place. We
want it to be a destination. We want people to feel comfortable walking there and happy and feel
good, and want to come back three, four, five, six times a week. If you've ever been to my
restaurant in the Gables, Eating House, you've seen what that place can be with 45 tiny little
seats and we're -- that's why we're so excited to get to do something where we can really, really
make a grasp of a restaurant that we think is going to be here for a very long time and be very
important in the City's dynasty.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Rapicavoli: Of course.
Richard Perez: My name is Richard Perez with offices at 701 Brickell Avenue, representing the
Glass House Coconut Grove, LLC (Limited Liability Company), which is the selected bidder
here. You heard the visual. You heard from Giorgio what the idea is, what the concept is. Now,
let me just fill in a little bit of the details in terms of what the City's vision is and how we intended
to accomplish it. From the very beginning when this RFP (Request for Proposals) was put out,
the City wanted to accomplish three things, right? First, it wanted a significant private
investment into the park to beaut Peacock Park. Second, it wanted to create revenue for the
City. And third and most importantly, it wanted to activate the park; bring people into the park, -
bring it into a casual atmosphere that was fitting for the park, and therefore, encouraging even
more people to come into the park. The more people you have in the park, the more inviting it is
and the more likely it is to be used. And this concept isn't new; this isn't a brand-new concept
from the City of Miami. The idea of bringing restaurants into public parks is something that has
been tried and true and has been successful in activating parks and reaching those goals. You
see it in Matheson Hammock with Red Fish Grill; you see it in the City of New York at Madison
Square Park with the Shake Shack. This is a tried and true method, and the City went along this
tried and true path to bring this same concept here to Peacock Park. But there was a great
challenge, right? The Glass House, although a wonderful location, there was -- never been a
restaurant there. It is a location that frankly stands alone. And so this was an incredible
challenge; and we knew, as we brought this team together, that we needed to put together the
right team, the right concept, the right people, and the right design to make it really happen, to
make this really -- going to be something that's going to be successful, and that's exactly what
Glass House Coconut Grove, LLC did. It brought together a local restaurant management team
with frankly one of the great young voices in the Miami culinary cuisine -- environment;
somebody's who's been named the Zagat's 30 under 30; somebody who's been Forbes' 30 under
30, somebody who's already, at his very young age, been recognized as a Gene Spears rising
chef and, in fact, won the Chops Ultimate Champion. So this great young voice with a
professional management team and with an internationally acclaimed restaurant design team --
and you'll hear from them that -- the Celano Design Group. And we put all this together and we
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came up with this -- what we think is an incredible concept for Peacock Park. But you don't
have to take our word for it. We went through your -- we went through this process, the process
you set up, and the evaluation committee, which was private people and City people, all looked
at all the three different concepts that were put up. We received 288 of 300 possible points. The
next closest was 238 points and the one behind that was 189 points. And it wasn't just because it
was an incredible concept. It's because we put our monies well where our mouth is. We offered
a $933, 000 investment to this park, which was 12 percent greater than the Latin Cafe, which is
another one that did, and was 50 percent greater than the Marketplace concept, which was put
up there. Not only did we agree to put up more in capital investment, but our rent number,
$100,000 guaranteed, was 35 percent more than Miami Cafe and 28 percent more than
Marketplace. So you have professional management team; you have a young, incredibly
acclaimed voice in the culinary scene; you have a design that you'll hear from a little bit here
that was great, and you have the most investment and the most rent for the City. So all told
together, this -- the black and white story is a compelling one for the City, and I'd just like the --
Vincent Celano to come up here and just speak a little bit about the design, and then I think we're
done.
Vincent Celano: Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Commission members. My name is Vincent
Celano. I am the founder and principal of Celano Design Studio. We're a New York City -based
design studio at 224 5th Avenue at -- in the Madison Square Park Flatiron District. This is
Marissa. She's a interior designer here with me. Just a little background about myself- I studied
architecture at Pratt Institute in New York. Upon graduating, I moved to South Florida, actually,
in the early '90s, and I was on South Beach when people were afraid to get off the exit, so we
were part of sort of the revitalization of -- sort of bringing the art deco concepts, that historical
significance forward. That was very exciting to me; worked at City Hall for a while, too, with
renovating some of those areas. So for me, this is very exciting 'cause it sort of brings me back
to, you know, early roots of how I started, because who I am now sort of is a reflection on that,
'cause at the time, you know, Miami was really -- art, architecture, food, fashion was a big
influence to our studio now. Our work spans -- you know, Las Vegas has a lot of our projects,
and Vegas, it's a hospitality -driven concept, environment -driven concepts. We've recently
completed a project in Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia) for Jose Andreas, who's a client
that we do several projects with him. We've done work here in Coral Gables, Abuya. We're
currently working in Doral; we're working in the West Kendall area. So we're really now taking
the idea that, you know, Miami was sort of this ground zero for great chefs and great food, this
food and wine show. I think now bringing this to more of a local level is very exciting to me.
Coconut Grove is -- has an amazing historical significance that we're taking inspiration from.
So if we do a quick overview on the concept, for us, our approach is that it's a restoration
project. We're looking at this building as, you know, modern architecture, so part of the
urbanization for us is, you know, bringing relevance to that in that process. So what you see
here up on the easel here is a rendering, sort of a step -back view of our approach to taking the
building, the existing architecture and sort of you know, bringing it back to that sort of
re -urbanization; bringing it to the relevance of today and sort of activating it in a way that's very
relevant to the community. Obviously, the food and the chef you know, speaks very much to
that, and the design follows that and complements that. They have to work together in order for
this to be successful. So in some of the existing elements, where, you know, the black steel, the
glass, you know, the idea of the inside, how we want to create that flow where the park is inside,
and the inside activation flows outside. We're creating a green element on the roof just to show
that these elements sort of co -exist and they work well together. And as it transitions through the
night, we see this sort of -- this idea of a warm glow in the park, this -- sort of this energy of this
really nice, warm glow that brings life and spirit to the park and essentially to the community.
So the first board you see is we do branding design; really, you know, the logo, the look, the feel,
all those elements that sort of speak to what this concept is about, so that what you see there is
what we've developed in working with the team on the logo. The next rendering is a close-up
shot. So the first one, we sort of step back and so the idea is we want to zoom in -- a little further
in as we go through the concept. Now you could see how we have outdoor seating. The outdoor
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seating flows into the restaurant space. We have a food counter that we -- like Giorgio said,
we'll have juices, pastry. It'll be a walk-up counter, and then later in the evening, it becomes
part of the beverage component that will complement the menu. The next view is you see now a
shot of the interior. We really want to create this idea of openness, and, you know, the I -- the
wood. Again, it's sort of a restoration project, bringing back some of those really clean, modern
elements that were always part of the building. I think it's important we do that. You know,
Coconut Grove has a history, has a culture, and there's an evolution, 'cause I think Miami, South
Florida is one of the cities that constantly reinvents itself and in reinventing itself, we have to be
mindful of you know, what was there before, what's there now, what do we -- where are we
trying to go? -- And then the culture and the people who are here now, who are actually very
much a part of that. So I think only in Coconut Grove, I think, is a place right now where we can
actually do that because of the amazing history, and we're sort of celebrating that, and that's
very much a part of sort of the reorganization of -- you know, sort of updating the park and its
surrounding areas. So it's very exciting. So for us, it's a bigger picture. It's like it's more than
just this -- the idea of doing this food concept, the restaurant in the park. We're stepping back
and looking at how this affects the community and the evolution of Coconut Grove, and sort of
you know, creating the story and the history, which is very relevant to the past, and what we're
doing now in the present is going to set the tone for what people will talk about in the future. So
you could see -- the colors, we're trying to be playful with the colors. There's a sense of vibe. I
mean, for me, Miami has always had this energy, this vibe, this culture, this pulse, a freshness to
it. You know, now, obviously, the food is going to very much speak to that, but with the design
and the materials complement that. You know, we're very mindful to have sustainable materials.
Obviously, there's a wear and tear; durability is very important. We're very mindful that, you
know, when we build and open, we want to make sure that we have the longevity that's going to
maintain that look and feel for a long time. So what you see now on the easel is the actual
material board. You can see there's a little bit of pattern, color and texture, some pop of color.
The last board is the patio seating, so you can see we bring out -- a little bit of that color out to
the open area, the patio areas with the green and the wood, and then a little bit of that modern
contemporary feel. So that's --
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Mr. Celano: -- thank you.
Mr. Perez: There are a number of people who are here to show their support. I think --
principally, I think the -- there are a number of parents from St. Stephen's who understand the
importance of activating this park, of addressing the concerns that you have, Commissioner
Sarnoff, and I'd like just for them to stand for a second to show their support. These are all
parents from St. Stephen's who took time off to come here, because they understand the
importance of activating the park and activating these uses.
Chair Gort: Do you have anything -- anyone against it? No. Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Vice Chair Hardemon: Second.
Commissioner Sarnoff Mr. Chair, if I could, I'd like to show a short PowerPoint presentation.
Chair Gort: Sure. But there is a motion by Commissioner Suarez and second by Vice Chairman
Hardemon.
Commissioner Suarez: If it's okay with you, I have to go to --
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Chair Gort: Discussion.
Commissioner Suarez: -- a turkey give-away.
Commissioner Sarnoff That's fine. I'd like to show a PowerPoint presentation.
Chair Gort: Sure.
Commissioner Sarnoff I'd like to show the PowerPoint presentation. This is the situation at the
Glass House prior to our construction. And Commander, if you could just identify -- you are the
person that took the photographs. You are best able to tell us what was going on there.
Manuel Morales (NET Commander/Police Field Operations Division): Good afternoon. Manny
Morales. I'm the Coconut Grove Police Commander. Commissioners, as you can see on this
very short PowerPoint that we're going to present to you today is just to give you a small insight
into some of the challenges that we face in trying to effectively police Peacock Park and more
closely, the Glass House. As you can see, this is the terrace. We're looking from St. Stephen's,
where the cloister is to our back. We're kind of looking at McFarlane. You have a small
gathering of what was a makeshift kitchen, which some of the homeless were utilizing the City
power to kind of do their cooking on their daily meals. This is just adjacent to the last photo that
we showed you. This one depicts the back side with the storage of some of the items that a
couple of the homeless individuals that were taking refuge in the park were storing on the side of
the house where the now current park office and afterschool program is going to be housed.
There's more issues, a -- correction -- more pictures of some of the gatherings that were seen
across the park benches, some of the litter and the problems that we're facing with the garbage
after the individuals are done with it. Taking you a little bit closer to the mangroves and the
dock, adjacent to the community where we have the small dinghies where some of the individuals
are taking harbor on some of the buoys that are -- the boats that are off in the bay; coming in the
daytime to just hang out, for lack of a better term, in the park.
Commissioner Sarnoff Commander Morales, what's the best remedy for a park when you have
a situation like this?
Commander Morales: Commissioner --
Commissioner Sarnoff You can go through your slides. You don't need to identify every slide.
Commander Morales: Okay. Commissioner, most certainly, we've been extremely effective in
being able to police and to offer the assistance that we need to the homeless during the nighttime
hours, mainly in part of the mat program that we implemented back on August 1. I mean, these
pictures kind of failed to show you some of the issues that we faced before that. These pictures
were taken after the mat program was implemented. And as I said, some of the difficulty and the
challenges that we're facing now is how do we police effectively, being mindful and respectful of
everyone's rights, the issues that we're facing in the park due to the homeless in the daytime.
And the best remedy obviously is -- and as the chef effectively said, it's to kind of bring life to the
park.
Chair Gort: Activities; it'll keep people away.
Commander Morales: Correct. We've seen that the park has been dormant, and with the lack of
use of the facilities, it's offered kind of like a safe harbor. And we certainly want to be respectful
of everyone's rights, but as we are respectful of the homeless rights, we are cognizant that we
need to be respectful of the residents' rights to use the park free and have a safe and enjoyable
interaction in the park. So I know that effective policing must include partnerships. And the
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partnership that we're talking about is with some entity that can kind of bring that life, as the
chef said, to the area to help us -- that movement to kind of prevent the stagnation of the
homeless individuals that are causing the issue now.
Commissioner Sarnoff You seem to know something about food.
Commander Morales: Yes, yes, I do. We all know something about food; some of us more than
others. I have not been privy to the great cuisine that the chef is talking about, but I look
forward to it; it certainly sounded delicious. And as he said himself, it's healthy, so.
Commissioner Sarnoff And not to give your address but you are a Grove resident?
Commander Morales: Yeah. I'm a resident of the North Grove, sir.
Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. Mr. Chair, I would call the question. I think we've made the
presentation.
Chair Gort: Let me tell you, one of the questions I ask our Attorney constantly is, "What are the
rights of the residents of the City of Miami?" I understand we got to protect the rights of the
homeless. What about the other rights of the other people where the homeless invade the rights?
So that's something I think I've been asking our attorneys to look into it. But is there any further
discussion? My understanding is a list of people want to speak. Is anybody want to speak
against it?
Unidentified Speaker: We want to speak for it.
Chair Gort: Don't overdo it. I mean, do you think you need to speak for it?
Vice Chair Hardemon: If they say one more thing --
Harry Gottlieb: Hi. My name's Harry Gottlieb and I live at 4220 Lenox in South Coconut
Grove. I know that Carlos Migoya flew in for this event. I rode in for this event, and I'm a
resident of Coconut Grove for about 35 years. I'm also a cyclist. I support the efforts to
revitalize this park and to revitalize this building. I must tell you that if you go to the building,
you'll see that there's a brass plaque on the wall that says it's a community center that was
established in 1968, and it mentions several people that were involved in this, and one of them, I
think, is still alive, which was the Commissioner at the time, Ferre. So when you rededicate this
building, I would suggest inviting him to the rededication. Back in -- oh, I don't know -- about
15 years ago, several people approached the Commissioners at the time -- I think it was J.L.
Plummer, if I'm not mistaken -- to vacate the people that were in this building, which were the
Chamber of Commerce and the NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) Office, because this
building was designed to be a community center, but for some reason many years ago, they were
-- that was cancelled and the City of Miami, in its infinite wisdom, decided to install the
Chamber on one side and the NET Office on the other side, which we all know doesn't help bring
families to the park. So we asked the Commissioner to remove those entities and restore it to a
community center, and nothing was done. And then we asked Johnny Winton to do so, and
nothing was done. And then we had Marc Sarnoff, and I must compliment Commissioner Marc
Sarnoff, because he did respond to our desires. And we had meetings -- I believe it was in April
of 2012 -- and we had a meeting actually at the facility, and we walked around the facility with
people from the Friends of the Peacock Park, which was Glen Terry and several of his friends.
Ron Nelson was there, and Michelle Niemeyer (phonetic) was there, I was there, and we walked
around and we decided that what was best for this particular facility is to have a community
center on one side and a restaurant on the other side, and that's what's going to take place. So
thank you very much, Commissioner Sarnoff. This is a great thing that you've done, and it will
benefit our community greatly. Thank you.
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Chair Gort: Thank you, sir. The questions -- yes, sir.
Mariano Cruz: Well, as a former mailman in Coconut Grove, I'm going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mariano Cruz, 1227 Northwest 26th Street, Miami, Florida. I remember the Grove, because I
deliver the mail there in 1980, '81, Commodore Plaza. I was in a push cart, then Light's
Pharmacy, the Grove (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Oh, you can't believe it, the whole -- all the --
everything. And now, I always wonder why nothing was done at the park with the situation they
got there or anything. Now I am glad, real glad that something really going to be done. And
remember one thing: People take care of people. If you got people coming to a place, that takes
care of the safety problem and everything. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir. The public hearing is closed. Is there --
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair.
Applause
Chair Gort: -- it's been closed. Excuse me.
Mr. Hannon: Chair.
Chair Gort: Excuse me.
Mr. Hannon: Chair, I'm sorry --
Chair Gort: The question's been called. Yes.
Mr. Hannon: -- we need to read three names real quick to make sure that they don't want to
speak. I have Michelle Benache, Lisette Digas-Barro and Wendy Levitz. Did either one of you
want to speak?
Chair Gort: You're all for it, right?
Mr. Hannon: Good to go.
Chair Gort: You love it, and you want to have it done. You want us to vote for it, okay? The
question's been called. No more discussion. All in favor, state it by saying "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Commissioner Sarnoff Thank you.
Chair Gort: We'll come back at 2 o'clock.
Commissioner Sarnoff Thank you all very much. Thank you all for corning.
Applause
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Chairman, remember, we're going to come back at 2 o'clock --
Chair Gort: Two o'clock.
Ms. Mendez: -- for the shade meeting. We come back down here, you read something into the
record and we go back up.
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Chair Gort: Oh, yeah.
Ms. Mendez: Thank you.
RE.11 RESOLUTION
14-01179
Honorable Mayor A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Tomas Regalado ATTACHMENT(S), ACKNOWLEDGING THE MIMO BISCYANE PLAN, FROM
NORTHEAST 61 ST STREET NORTH TO NORTHEAST 78TH STREET,
MIAMI, FLORIDA, AND ENDORSING THE FOLLOWING
RECOMMENDATIONS AS STATED HEREIN; FURTHER MAKING ITA STATE
LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI DURING THE 2015
LEGISLATIVE SESSION; FURTHER DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO
TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE OFFICIALS AS STATED
HEREIN.
14-01179 Legislation.pdf
14-01179 Exhibit - Mimo Biscayne Plan.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Hardemon, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0451
Chair Gort: Mr. Mayor, you're recognized.
Mayor Tomas Regalado: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I'm here with some legislation.
As you mentioned, we have Nancy Liebman, former City Commissioner in the City of Miami
Beach; now one of the leaders in terms of the renovation of Biscayne Boulevard through the
MiMo (Miami Modern) Biscayne Plan. Several weeks ago, they -- a group of the MiMo
Association met with the Administration asking for support in Tallahassee in terms of looking for
help from FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation). The following resolution doesn't ask
any money; it doesn't ask the City any resources. It's a resolution asking that the City of Miami
includes in the 2015 legislative priorities for the State Legislature [sic] session support for the
plan that a group of owners have crafted at their own expense in the area of Biscayne Boulevard.
So I don't know, Nancy, if you want to address the Commission, because I think it's important
that, you know, the City -- I know the Vice Chair is very well versed on this item; they have met
with him, too. But the committees of the legislature start just next month, and although this
might not need a law, they need some leverage for FDOT to work with MiMo; so, Nancy.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: I just want to verify; is this RE.11?
Mayor Regalado: RE.11, yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay, thank you.
Nancy Liebman: Yes. First, I'd like to thank the Mayor. This was a -- this has been a
monumental effort for the MiMo Biscayne Association for the past seven years, trying to bring
Biscayne Boulevard into a walking main street rather than a major highway throughway. So,
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Mayor, I thank you for your support, and I hope we will continue to come back with good news
that we're going to proceed with the plan. I'd also like to thank Commissioner Hardemon for his
certain support in this with his staff members. We met with your staff and they were very
encouraging, and we thank you for your support. And Commissioner Suarez, thank you so much
for meeting with the group, and we will see you at the MPO (Metropolitan Planning
Organization) we hope in the near future.
Commissioner Suarez: Of course.
Ms. Liebman: I'd like to introduce the people who are here from the MiMo Association. Alyssa
Cepeda, whom you all know, she has been a major driving force and supporter and will
continue; we just continue until this is done. Our goal is a walking village in the area of the
boulevard in the historic district from 50th Street to 77th Street. And Robert, Robert John, who
has been one of the designers from our board. Our board is made up of engineers, my architects,
urban planners, and that's how we produced the plan voluntarily; that's how we all operate. So
I'd like to thank Robert, and Alyssa and all of you for passing this. We will continue to follow it
to Tallahassee and as far as we have to go to encourage FDOT to understand that Biscayne
Boulevard is not a major highway. Thank you for your time and attention. We look forward to
seeing you again with our progress. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am.
Mayor Regalado: And as I said, this is not seeking any funds; on the contrary, they, the
stakeholders, they wanted to participate. You know, I was thinking the lengthy meetings that we
had with Commissioner Sarnoff and FDOT about the same thing, Brickell being not a racetrack
but a road, so Biscayne, Commissioner, it's important, and they have great plans. All of you
know that much of these motels that were abandoned are now coming to life.
Chair Gort: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. I'll try to be brief. First of all, Ms. Liebman, it's always a
pleasure having you in the office. I think one of the most frustrating things for all of us since
we've been here is things that take seven years that should take maybe seven days, maybe seven
weeks. I mean, there are things that are so obvious, you know; there are things that are so -- they
should be so easy. And when you see government put roadblocks, you know, just not do things
that are very common sense, it's very frustrating, it's really frustrating. And I commend you for
sticking with and not giving up, because I think the tendency is to say, you know, after seven
years, you know, this is a dog year, you know, "We've given up." So I commend you for that,
and I fully support, of course, your efforts, as I always have. But I think the other frustrating
thing that I'm starting to see a lot of is I'm just realizing, particularly lately, the congestion is just
incredible; not only in our City, but in our County. I mean, it -- you just can't go anywhere and
it's -- we have to start shifting our thinking. We have to treat our boulevards and our main
thoroughfares like scenic areas and start really focusing on mass transit, because the only way to
efficiently get around this much of an area is for there to be some sort of mass or rapid transit;
that's the only way, because what we have right now is a gridlock that I've never seen, and our
attempts to solve it through construction, while well-intentioned -- you know, and I see Coral
Way as one example. Coral Way is going to be redone, and that's great that Coral Way is going
to be redone, but in the meantime, Coral Way is a nightmare. Nobody wants to go by Coral Way
for the next year while it's under construction. So it -- in an effort to make things a little better,
slightly better by repaving the street, we made things worse. So we really need to start thinking
outside of the box, but sorry for getting on my soapbox for a minute there. I appreciate that.
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Vice Chair Hardemon: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: You're recognized, Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. I think this effort is a no-brainer for this
Commission.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Vice Chair Hardemon: Mr. Mayor, Ms. Lieberman [sic], thank you so very much for ensuring
that this was continued to move forward. This is something that I think in District 5 makes it so
unique where -- and then I haven't heard a request from the Commissioner to the left of me, but
this makes that community that much more vibrant, because it becomes not just a neighborhood
where they can frequent different restaurants and shops, but a neighborhood where they can walk
across busy Biscayne without us having to worry about an accident that's going to kill a mother
and her children, and so this, I'm excited about. It makes this a walkable community, which it
should be at that junction of U.S.1. In some portions, it is fitting for U.S.1 to be a high-speed
place, but in this one, it is not. So I'm fully in support of it, and I move this --
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Vice Chair Hardemon: -- for the board's approval.
Chair Gort: Moved by Vice Chairman Hardemon; second by Commissioner Carollo [sic]. Any
further discussion? Being none, all in favor, state it by saying "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mayor Regalado: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
RE.12 RESOLUTION
14-01180
Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION CODESIGNATING
Works SOUTHWEST 12TH STREET FROM SOUTHWEST 12TH AVENUE TO
SOUTHWEST 14TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS "ERNESTO DIAZ
MADRUGA WAY"; FURTHER DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMITA
COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE HEREIN DESIGNATED OFFICES.
14-01180 Summary Form.pdf
14-01180 Back -Up Biography.pdf
14-01180 Back -Up Map.pdf
14-01180 - Legislation -SUB.pdf
14-01180- Scriveners Error Memo.pdf
SPONSOR: HONORABLE MAYOR TOMAS REGALADO
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0452
Mayor Tombs Regalado: I do have two items. Is it possible that --
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RE.13
14-01097
Chair Gort: Sure.
Mayor Regalado: -- I can do it? RE.12 is a resolution of the Miami City Commission
codesignating Southwest 12th Street, from Southwest 12th Avenue to Southwest 14th Avenue, as
Ernesto Diaz Madruga Way; directing the City Clerk to transmit a copy of this resolution to the
designated office. The reason that the Organization of Political Prisoners came to the City of
Miami seeking this appointment is because it's been 50 years exactly that Ernesto Diaz Madruga,
then a young man, was killed by bayonets at the Isla de Pino [sic] Prison. He became the first
political prisoner that was murdered in the Isla de Pinos Prison more than 50 years ago as to
this date, and the Organization of Political Prisoners want to remember this as a symbol of that
many prisoners that had been killed in the prison, but this one was the first one ever to be killed
by guards during a strike, a hunger strike in the prison in Isla de Pinos in 1964.
Chair Gort: Okay, thank you. Discussion? Motion?
Commissioner Carollo: Move it.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Gort: It's moved by Commissioner Carollo; second by Commissioner Suarez. Any further
discussion? Let me add a little bit. Commissioner Carollo, I really appreciate you moving this
resolution. I think it's very important, as we continue to grow and the City becomes younger and
more people move into our neighborhoods, to people to know a little history and what's taken
place and what made a lot of us move within that area, so I want to thank you for making that
motion. Is there any further discussion? Being none, all in favor, state it by saying "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RESOLUTION
Department of Real A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Estate and Asset ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE RESTORATION AND OPERATING
Management PLAN FOR MIAMI MARINE STADIUM AS PRESENTED BY THE FRIENDS OF
MIAMI MARINE STADIUM, INC. ("FRIENDS"), A501(C)3 NON-PROFIT
CORPORATION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING ("MOU") DATED MAY 15, 2012; FURTHER DIRECTING
THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO PREPARE THE NECESSARY
DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY,
ESTABLISHING THE LEGAL RELATIONSHIP NECESSARY TO EFFECTUATE
SAID PURPOSE.
14-01097 Summary Form.pdf
14-01097 Legislation.pdf
14-01097-Submittal-Arva Moore Park -Letter of Support from Virginia Key Beach Park Trust.pdf
14-01097-Submittal-Dolly Maclntyre-Letter of Support from Historic Hampton House Community T
14-01097-Submittal-Frank Martinez -Letter of Support from Radolphe el Khoury.pdf
14-01097-Submittal-Greg Bush -Letter from Gene S. Tinnie.pdf
14-01097-Submittal-Jorge Hernandez -Florida Inland Navigation District Letter of Support.pdf
14-01097 Exhibit - Pre-Legislation.pdf
14-01097 Exhibit - Friends Of Marine Stadium Plan.pdf
14-01097-Exhibit-Friends of Marine Stadium Plan-SUB.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be
WITHDRAWN PASSED by the following vote.
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Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
Direction by Commissioner Carollo, with the support of the entire City Commission, directing the
City Manager to: 1) Start negotiating directly with the International Boat Show to bring the
event to the Miami Marine Stadium; and 2) Continue the process of moving forward with the
restoration of the Miami Marine Stadium by assessing all elements (marine stadium structure,
flex park, RFP, lease, referendum, governance, etc.) necessary to bring the restoration of the
stadium to fruition.
Chair Gort: Time certain, RE. 13. Mr. Mayor will be recognized.
Mayor Tomas Regalado: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners. Today, the
Administration is presenting a resolution that is just asking for permission to continue the
conversations. I just want to -- before the Manager and his staff comes in, I just want to set the
record straight in some of the issues or reports that have been published. Number one: Several
months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting the executive of the Miami International Boat Show.
They came to our office exploring the possibility of having a venue in the City of Miami, and they
were talking about Bayside, which they use, they already use, of the marina at Omni; they were
talking even about the slip which they rented this month, I think, for Mega Yachts, and on that
conversation, they said that they needed a venue because of the construction of the Miami Beach
Convention Center, and that they needed the venue for Year '16 and '17, but looking at a longer
commitment because of the form that the plans were made for the renovation of the convention
center in Miami Beach. I told them that I think it was a good idea that they should go look at the
Miami Marine Stadium for the space, and they did that, and they came back. And at the time
when they came back, I asked them to call Mr. Hilario Candela, and they started the
conversation with the Boat Show people. I just wanted to clarify that, because it came from City
Hall, the suggestion that the Miami International Boat Show was brought by someone else to the
table in terms of the Friends and the discussion. So that's just one clarification. The other
clarification is that it had been said that the Heat Organization had either not be part of the final
discussions and all that. I participated in many discussions with the Miami Heat Organization
and their top executive, and they were and are enthusiastic about the Miami Marine Stadium. I
just wanted to -- for historical reasons, because we have many new residents in South Florida
and the City of Miami, and we have many new members of the media, and sometimes history,
somebody tries to rewrite history. But the history on this case is that I was sitting in this
Commission, along with Commissioner Sarnoff -- he just had come in -- and there was a plan
that was designed by then the Diaz Administration to hire EDSA (Edward D. Stone, Jr. and
Associates, Inc), a very well-known planning company, to do a master plan in Virginia Beach,
and the City Commission approved hiring EDSA. They were paid $900, 000 for the plan, and
that plan called for the demolition of the Miami Marine Stadium. The plan came to the City
Commission later on, and it was rejected, and then George and Hilario offered -- at the time
Friends was being created for the students of the University of Miami Architecture Department to
do the master plan, and that is the plan that the City Commission approved at no cost to the City
of Miami. Just wanted to mention that, because I think it's important going back in many years.
I know that there are many, many issues, and I would like to ask the City Manager to discuss that
with you, and I'm sure that he'll present his staff, but also, I want to mention that we have here in
the hall the new Mayor of Key Biscayne, the Honorable Mayra Pena, that is here to speak on
that issue, and Key Biscayne has to be a partner in this project, whatever it happens, in terms of
size and timeline. So, Mr. Manager, please continue.
Chair Gort: It's all yours.
Daniel J. Alfonso (City Manager): Thank you, Commissioners. Commissioners, I want to first
thank the Friends and all the folks that are here, because they have brought to us a plan.
However, I would say that the plan needs some time to be absorbed by the Administration, and
what we would ask -- first, I want to commit that we are very interested and very committed to
making sure that the Boat Show comes to the City of Miami, and we want to make sure that that
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happens. We're also absolutely committed to doing whatever needs to happen so that we
renovate this facility that needs to be renovated. Now, looking at the operational plan that's
here, we believe that we need to get more involved in this, and we would like for a presentation
to be made by the Friends as to some of the things that they'd like to see done, and what are the
things that they're looking at, but in the end, what we would ask is that this Commission allow
the Administration to work with the Friends and the other interested parties and come back with
a proposal on January 8 for how we're going to make the Boat Show and the continued progress
on the renovation of the facility happen, and anything beyond that would be subject of future
discussion and review.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Yes, go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: Before we begin, so I just want to ver. What you're asking now, Mr.
Manager, is not the proposal that's on the table; it's not RE.13. It's actually to give you time --
and you stated January -- in order for you to review everything, including any deals with the
Boat Show, the International Boat Show, and that's the only thing that you're requesting for us to
vote on, to give you guys time.
Mr. Alfonso: We want direction. There's no need for any specific vote. If the Commission gives
us the time, then we -- I assume that the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) is basically
extended for more time for us to continue talking to the folks of the Marine Stadium Friends so
that -- you know, we still have a site that was awarded, sort of in a way, an MOU. Now, what
we want to do for now is focus -- given the timeline that we have for committing to the Boat
Show, we're going to focus on the Boat Show and the Marine Stadium. Anything else will be left
out of that for now and will be brought back to Commission in the future with a lot more
discussion and understanding of what's going to happen.
Commissioner Carollo: Understood. So then we will probably with -- once the presentation is
done -- and I would imagine various people want to speak -- we'll have more discussion for you
to have direction, correct?
Mr. Alfonso: Absolutely.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Chair Gort: Yes. What I would like to see is the presentation by the Friends of the Marine
Stadium; then we'll open up for public hearings for all those individual want to speak, and then
we'll close the public hearings, and we'll have comments among ourselves. Okay, who's going?
Lucia Dougherty: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission. Lucia
Dougherty and Carlos Lago with offices at 333 Avenue of the Americas. We're very pleased to be
here today on behalf of the Friends of the Marine Stadium, which is -- which has a mission to
preserve and restore the iconic Historic Marine Stadium. The founders are here, Hilario
Candela, who is the original architect when he was 26 years old when he built it; Jorge
Hernandez, who's a very prominent local architect and sits on the Trust for Historic
Preservation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation; and Don Worth, who's a community
leader and former member of the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board. As the Manager
mentioned, last July, we entered into a MOU with the City, which required us to come next
January, in January of 2015, with a financing plan and with our -- with the money that we've
collected pursuant to our charitable donations. At that time, we fully intended to come with a
full plan, fully vetted, et cetera, but because of the Boat Show and the opportunity we had to
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bring the Miami International Boat Show back to Miami, we had to expedite this process, and in
doing so, we apologize, but the plan that we presented to you was only given to you last Friday.
You didn't have time to vet it out. You didn't have time, the Manager didn't have time to
completely review it, and for that reason, we agree with the Manager's recommendation to let us
continue working, working on the plan, working on the -- and the governance issues that have
been composed. Today, joining us is Cathy Rick -Joule, who is the president of the Miami Marine
Manufacturing Association and the host of the Boat Show. She's entered into a Letter of Intent
with the Friends of the Marine Stadium for the 2016 and '17 show. It's her hope and the hope of
the association to be here as a permanent basis. Besides the historic significance that the Mayor
mentioned, it has a huge economic impact. They bring 100,000 boaters a year; 45,000
employees and vendors a year; 200,000 room nights for the time that they're here; 6,500
permanent jobs and a economic impact of over $600 million. I'd like to turn it over to George
Hernandez to report on the fundraising activities that we've had and all the other successes we've
had in the last year since we were here before you, and describe the master plan and how this
project would comply with that master plan and the process that we went through with, but
before I do, I want to remind you of one thing, and that's in -- when you received this property,
when you were given this property in 1962, you did so with a condition, and that condition in the
deed was that the land was to be used and maintained for the operation and maintenance of the
Miami Marine Stadium and allied purposes only. Your support for this project will fulfill that
condition and also fulfill the City's responsibility to this land. Jorge. I'm sorry. Hilario.
Hilario Candela: I'm going to exercise the privilege of my age.
Chair Gort: I agree with that.
Mr. Candela: You do? Fine. I'll share it with you.
Chair Gort: Name and address. Hilario, name and address.
Mr. Candela: Hilario Candela, 6201 Grenada Boulevard; architect to the Miami Marine
Stadium.
Note for Record: At this time, an audio-visual presentation made.
Mr. Candela: Thank you very much. I'm very happy to be here today sharing with you in a way
a dream of many years; not only my dream, but the dream of all the groups that have been
working with Friends, plus the dream of many, many individuals which we call mariners that are
part of our organization, that have reached out all the time, electronically, and they have -- I
answer and they work with us; individually have been working with us for the last six and a half
years. As a matter of fact, it's going to be seven years next February that we have been working
together with the community. The work has been led by us, but it's not our work only. It's the
work of many, many organizations and many individuals in a very broad cross section of the
community. Before I continue, I'd like to take a pause and make a very simple statement,
clarification statement that I'd like to share with you. We have learned for the first time this
morning of previously undisclosed financial information of a person involved in one of the other
entities included in your package. We're very upset about it. With the help of the City
Administration, we are changing course, and we will continue to work ever more passionately
and diligently for the restoration of the stadium. So -- but first of all, before -- after we -- you
know, as we continue, I'd like to thank each and every one of you, because we would have not
been able to be here today if had it not been for the leadership of Mayor Regalado and the
leadership of each one of the Commissioners and the Chair. As you recall, we have been in
meetings like this many times. We have been in subcommittee meetings. We have had extensive
meetings with blue ribbon committees where Commissioner Sarnoff was present, and he can
attest to the long hours that we put and then presented to all of you to be a part of it. This has
been very transparent, and we have been able to share all of this information on this process with
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everyone. That's the way it should be, and the way it has been, and we've very proud of that.
Over the years, the stadium has -- the life of the stadium has been really interwoven with the life
of Miami. When you think about it -- and I'm sure this has happened to you, also -- as I look
back, every time I talk about the Miami Marine Stadium or the conversation comes up, the next
thing that I see is a very nice smile in people's faces, and a very happy expression. In the recent
years, there has been one change, and the change is actually a question, which is: When do we
start? When can it happen? I can't wait. That is the long answer for -- a long question, but that
is the question. But that relationship is extremely important, because the stadium grew out of a
division of the forefathers of Miami. And I can tell you stories that come to my mind that are
very appropriate. The idea was to keep Miami in the forefront nationally of tourism with the
boat races, and the idea was to build a facility to view the boat races. In the mind of the
Administration at the time, the only model they had was baseball field stands around the field,
baseball field, which, obviously, they were made out of steel, and the field was dirt. This time it
was different. The field was water and it couldn't have been really -- in my mind, it could have
not been steel, because had we done the stands in steel, they would have not been here today. So
I fought very hard and I went through a lot of challenges and struggles to really fight to do it in
concrete, because I kept saying, "It's the only way we're going to get a building that will
survive." I was facing many challenges, some of them physical challenges, because I remember
coming to the Manager's conference room and sitting with the Mayor, Mayor King High, and
Mel Reese, the City Attorney -- the City Manager; the Assistant City Manager, Paul Andrews,
and the director of Public Works, Vince Greene (phonetic). I was at a great disadvantage,
because Paul Andrews was six foot four and a half; Vince Greene was about six foot three, so I
had to look up all the time in order to talk to them. And in order to try to convince them was
even more difficult. That's why when the issue of cost came about and the concern of going from
steel to concrete, having been threatened to physical damage if I did not bring the project on
cost, on budget, I finally made the statement and said, "If I don't come in under budget, I'll
redesign it." We went through, the building bids came in, and they came in at $860, 000 under
budget, in concrete, and the rest of the story, of course, you know. Just as another piece of
information, the basting which we dredged only cost a little bit under $1 million. So everything
you have there today is not even $2 million. And, of course, it became a source of admiration by
the country at large and now by the international community. But I think it was a great
opportunity to me -- for me. I was a young architect, about five, six years out of school when I
joined the firm of Pancoast, Ferendino, Skills and Burnham. I mention the name because those
names are some of the pioneers name in Miami. Rosel Pancoast used to tell the story when he
was 17 years old and there was no bridge to Miami Beach, and he used to help row with a cable
to get cars across from the mainland to Miami Beach. When Andy Ferendino, the managing
partner of the firm, came to me and gave me the project, he said "Do something special. There
are many people in the community that want something special." I felt that the answer was, first,
it was -- the material, it had to be concrete. And secondly, I wanted to create not just another
building; I wanted to create something that would become, in the years to come, an icon that
people will remember forever, and that through the building, people would also remember Miami
forever; in other words, to try to build a legacy. I hope that I have done that. I think that the
legacy, however, is not mine, because the opportunity presented to me is the same opportunity
that was presented to all of those who come to these shores and have come to these shores over
the years looking precisely for that, a unique opportunity or a better opportunity. So I think it's a
lot of meaning in that stadium. I don't want to sound overly dramatic, but I think it really -- in
many ways, it really carries a lot of meaning way beyond the sports history that it has had or the
entertainment history that it has had. As you recall -- those who have a little bit closer to my age
recall Mitch Miller with his musical series, the symphonic orchestra playing, then the great stars
of current music, anywhere from Gloria to Aretha Franklin to El Puma, et cetera, et cetera,
participating. And then the issue to really be able to understand is that the program was
supposed to be only a stand to build boat races. The community wanted something more, and
because the community adopted the stadium because they liked it, the community wanted to
adapt the stadium for something else. That's why -- how we went from races to musical
presentations. Now we're going forward and it's going to be everybody's legacy. I'm interested,
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like you are, in doing this for my children and my grandchildren and your grandchildren. This is
the opportunity that lies before us. I was very privileged to do it once. I'm extremely privileged
to do it again, but I do not want to mummifir this stadium. It's not my interest to make it look the
way -- just to make it look the way it looks 50-some years ago. My interest and the interest of
everyone that has been working with us is to really write the next chapter of the next phase of life
of the stadium and to dedicate it to the community at large, because this is not only a project of
preservation; this is a project about giving back to the community. Please join us in doing that.
I know you have. You have led a lot of wonderful moments in that direction, and it's necessary
that we do so because Miami deserves it. Thank you very much.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Applause
Chair Gort: Wait, wait. Hold it, hold it, hold it. Please, we got a long night. We only have
one-fourth of the agenda, and I understand a lot of people want to speak. I want to make sure
everybody speaks. Yes, sir, we're ready.
Jorge Hernandez: Good evening, Chairman. Thank you very much. Jorge Hernandez, 337
Palermo Avenue. It's a pleasure to be with you here this afternoon. I'm going to focus on the
fundraising that has been accomplished since we last saw each other about 16 months ago, and
some of the life that we have brought to the stadium. The slide essentially says that we want to
take what is at the upper side of the slide, which is a kind of beat up, asphalt -ridden and
abandoned place, and turn it into the place that's in the bottom. You just heard from Hilario. Of
course, in 1962, he designed the Marine Stadium. I think the picture of him proudly standing in
front of the creation speaks about what he talked about. It's a symbol of immigration; a symbol
of Miami's openness. We have been partnering with Virginia Key Beach Trust on many events,
and together with Guy and Enid and many from the Trust, we're starting to realize now, which
should have been self-evident to us, that the two cultural resources of that island, in fact, speak
to the opening up of this City and the great diversity which this City represents. This is an
African -American cultural site and a Hispanic cultural site. Then, of course, there was opening
night, and most importantly, then Hurricane Andrew. Because of Hurricane Andrew -- and I
need to say that the hurricane did not damage the stadium. That's one of the myths that the
media has created. There were two reports by the same engineering firm, SGH (Simpson
Gumpertz & Hager), who worked on the Brooklyn Bridge. They were the firm called in after the
hurricane. They were the firm called in by us, unknowingly five years ago, and the report ended
with the fact that the hurricane did not damage the stadium, and, of course, the history that you
have heard of all of the events. I want to just speak quickly about a series of thresholds that were
important because they involved your participation. On July 10, the City Commission approved
the Virginia Key Consensus Master Plan. I just want to pause for a second, because it's
important to say that that plan was authored by the University of Miami and the Urban
Environment League and Friends and over 30 participating community interest groups. It was,
as the Mayor did say, the first time in the history of the City, I believe, where a community
planning process yielded an official and adopted master plan, and it was completely a pro bono
effort, and that, in a way, was the beginning of this journey. In March 2012, the stadium was
designed -- declared a national treasure. In May 2012, the Memorandum of Understanding was
signed between us. In December, the City Manager's -- of that year -- the City Manager's
steering committee worked with us. As Hilario mentioned earlier, Commissioner Sarnoff was a
key member of that committee, because it was, in fact, in his district, and exercised his leadership
there. On July of 2013, you, this Commission, approved and recommended the steering
committee recommendations and set the defining borders of that master plan. You also gave us
18 months to come back to you with proof of fundraising and with a successful plan. I think what
you're heard this morning is that we are -- because of the events that you well know, we are
redirecting that plan now to focus only on the station and on the field, but we still want to share
the success in fundraising with you to show you that we, in fact, have satisfied some aspects of
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the MOU. Most importantly then, over the last 18 months, we've been doing two things: trying to
raise money and trying to raise attention of the stadium, and in a way, that happens
simultaneously, 'cause that's how you raise money. So this is "An Ever -Quick Challenge," an
event by U.S. (United States) veterans. The veterans were going to take a ride on ski jets from
Key West to New York Harbor, commemorating 911 on 2/13. They chose their stops along the
way because of certain symbolic significance of the stops. The first stop was the Miami Marine
Stadium, and there we are honoring them on that day. The next event was a heralded exhibit
called "Concrete Paradise" that opened in October at the Coral Gables Museum. The exhibit
won a State award in education. The next event was a kind of dazzling event by Audemars
Piguet, the lead sponsor of Art Basel. They had their key event out of convention center there at
the stadium. It included a floating -- a series of floating barges where important art collectors
were hosted for a dinner. The installation was called "Curiosity, the inflatable Swiss Chalet."
Coiley approaches the illuminated beauty. The other event was a concert which was put
together for us, a small concert at the Coral Gables Museum by Gloria Estefan and Jimmy
Buffet, which included interviews with Jackie Nespral, and then Jimmy took to the guitar and
said he was going to do two songs and did 14, which the crowd was very happy about; an
additional art exhibit at History Miami. A project called "Tourism Cares," where the stadium
hosted over 450 tourism professionals who do this as part of their convention. They've been to
Coney Island and other such places. They chose the stadium last year. They came and did work
and cleaned up the stadium. This was a nationally -- most of the events were nationally
televised. "A Day of Art at the Stadium," again in June 28, with Gloria Estefan, where Ms.
Estefan announced her half -a -million -dollar gift to the site. On that day, these ladies had, in
fact, scheduled to have a coincident boat -rowing tour through the basin to coincide with the
event, and of course, it also featured the famous graffiti. These are the numbers of media
impressions that we have had. We've had -- now it's over 2 billion media impressions that we
have brought to the stadium and the City with the help of our partner, the National Trust.
Because of all of this, just recently, the Getty Foundation, a kind of unparalleled foundation in
arts and culture, gave us a prestigious grant of $180, 000. The purpose of the grant was to roll
out the beginning of a program to better understand the way concrete structures age. We know
how brick and stone will age over the course of two and three hundred years. Concrete has a
reinforced soul; building material is about 80 years old. Most of the world's infrastructure is
now made of it, and we need to better understand how to care for it. They chose 10 sites -- we
did not apply -- throughout the world, where one of those 10 were in the company of the Sidney
Opera House, the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and the Salk Institute. And then lastly, the event
of last Thursday, which was the Miami Boat Show, which many of you attended there, and we
will hear more about today. This is a reference to the master plan, the original drawing and the
proposed drawing, and shows the configuration of the lands around it. This is a slide I will stay
on for just a second, because it adds up the fundraising commitments to date. Of course, we
have had assistance from small and large institutions and individuals, so Dade Heritage Trust
and the Villagers who are here today have always been with us from the very beginning and
supported us. We actually were a department or under the auspices, rather, of Dade Heritage
Trust in the early days, because we didn't have the time to seek the non -for -profit status we
needed to save the building. Then there's 300 million from a GOB (General Obligation Bond)
bond, which Commissioner Javier Suarez helped us secure. He gave testimony of that at the
Boat Show event. There's another $3 million of a Florida Navigation District [sic] grant.
There's a $5 million potential fund for the Historic Preservation Tax Credit by the National Trust
Community Investment Corporation, and Stephanie Meeks will speak to that later. There is a $6
million National Grassroots Adopt -A -Sea Campaign, which is spearheaded -- will be
spearheaded also by a collaborative effort of the National Trust and the Friends, and a number
of gifts that you see following and including their million -dollar gift as a special appropriation of
the State Legislature. Gloria's gift I mentioned. R. Kirk Landon, of the R. Kirk Landon
Foundation, also gave us a significant gift. That's a total of $19 million. But I have a letter that
-- Larry, if you have the letter? -- we have a letter from FIND (Florida Inland Navigation
District) saying they would like to commit that they're going to attempt to get us another $3
million. So that additional $3 million from FIND raises the amount to 22 million. As you all
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know, all FIND appropriations -- can you hand it out to them, please? -- need matching funds.
These other monies that we are securing and making available over time will serve as matching
funds brought together between the Friends and agencies such as this. I'm coming just to the
end of my comments. These are the lands we were speaking of in the MOU. This slide shows
with an arrow the sections that will be needed for the Miami Marine Boat -- for the Miami
International Boat Show to set up on these here properties. It includes the green park to the
right of the stadium, which is a public purpose open park, but it will be used for festivals and
special events, such as the Boat Show and the -- a portion of the land at the tip of the horseshoe
of the basin will also be needed. And with that, I'd like to call up Stephanie Meeks. It's my
pleasure to do so, actually, as my friend and colleague. She's the CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
and president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Thank you very much.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir.
Stephanie Meeks: Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission. My name is
Stephanie Meeks. I'm at 2600 Virginia Avenue in Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia). I'm
the president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. We're a non-profit,
privately funded organization that works to save significant cultural resources across the United
States. I'm honored to test today in strong support of the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium
and their plan to return the stadium to active use for the people of Miami. As the head of the
country's leading preservation advocacy organization, I have the distinct privilege of visiting
some of America's most unique cultural sites across the country. These are places that capture
the many facets of our diverse past and inspire deep emotion and personal connections to our
communities; places that weave us together. And I believe that Miami Marine Stadium is one of
those places. Everyone in Miami seems to have a Miami Marine Stadium story, and I hear them
every time I'm here. Friends of the Miami Marine Stadium, whom I've had the privilege of
working with since 2010, have put in countless hours to bring the stadium back to life, and they
should be commended for their efforts. The National Trust involvement in Miami Marine
Stadium's future started five years ago when we added the site to our annual list of most
endangered places in the United States. This listing helped bring a national and international
spotlight to the stadium and the active, energetic and hardworking grassroots campaign to save
it, and I believe that Jorge, Hilario, Don and everyone at Friends of Miami Marine Stadium
would agree with me that that listing was the beginning of a catalytic relationship between the
Stadium and the National Trust, one that's deepened with each passing year. In 2012, we named
the Miami Marine Stadium to our National Treasures Portfolio. This is our flagship program
that focuses on important cultural assets, threatened buildings, neighborhoods, communities and
landscapes across the country, whose loss would have national or even international
implications, and where the National Trust is committed to finding a long-term preservation
solution. Other national treasures include places like Washington's National Cathedral,
Theodore Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch in North Dakota and the Yosemite National Park in
California. So as you can see, the stadium is in very good company. Since designating Miami
Marine Stadium as a national treasure, we've dedicated substantial resources to the campaign to
restore the structure. In addition to serving as fiscal agent for the Friends of Miami Marine
Stadium, we've worked directly with them to raise the 15 -- or I guess 19 or maybe $22 million it
is now that Jorge just delineated towards their overall goal of $30 million for the restoration.
We've been proud to work with a member of our board of trustees, Gloria Estefan, who, as you
just heard, is deeply passionate about the project. In just a little over a year in her role as
spokesperson, Gloria has brought the stadium to an international audience of well over 2 billion
people, garnering front-page headlines here in the United States and in news outlets around the
world. We could not be more thankful to Gloria and appreciative of her efforts to help raise the
visibility of the stadium and to contribute to its restoration. She's been a true champion of our
cause. We're trying to help in other ways, too. We've leveraged our strong partnership with a
corporate sponsor, American Express, who is the presenting partner of our National Treasures
Program. They awarded Friends of Miami Marine Stadium an $80,000 grant for an important
engineering analysis. And our for -profit subsidiary, the National Trust Community Investment
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Corporation, is working directly with the Friends to pursue the use of Federal Historic Tax
Credits to help finance the project. Signed into law by President Reagan in 1981, the Federal
Historic Tax Credits have contributed to the rehabilitation of almost 40,000 buildings in our
country, created 2.4 million jobs, and generated nearly $109 billion in private investment. We're
excited that we may soon be able to bring that great track record to the Miami Marine Stadium.
We estimate that the Federal Historic Tax Credit could generate as much as one-third of the $15
million we still need to raise. In the coming months, as Jorge mentioned a few minutes ago, we
will be working with the Friends on a "Sale of the Seats" campaign, which will truly be a public
effort, and one that will engage both the citizens of Miami and citizens across the United States
in an opportunity to help bring this icon back to life. As with all of our national treasures, we're
committed to the Miami Marine Stadium in a deep and long-term way. I traveled to Miami from
Washington, D.C. to be here with you today, and you can plan to see me again in the future.
We're committed to continuing our partnership with the Friends until the job here is done. Let
me close by saying that every city has those buildings and structures that are emblematic of its
culture and history; those places that are its calling card to the world. New York has the Empire
State Building, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, and Miami has the Miami Marine Stadium. It's a
one -of -a -kind venue, and we're very dedicated to bringing it back. Once everyone here this
afternoon has spoken, you'll be asked to provide the direction needed so the City of Miami and
Friends of Miami Marine Stadium can move forward with the restoration of the stadium. On
behalf of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, I ask that you please do that so that the
momentum we've created over the past five years can continue, and so we can all move one step
closer to a reinvented Miami Marine Stadium that's in active service to the people of Miami
today and for many generations to come. I appreciate your time and consideration, and I'm now
pleased to introduce Cathy Rick -Joule, a senior executive with the Miami International Boat
Show.
Cathy Rick -Joule: Good afternoon. Well, as you heard, my name is Cathy Rick -Joule, and I am
the vice president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association's Boat Show Division.
We're located at 9050 Pines Boulevard in Pembroke Pines, Florida. We represent 1,600 of the
largest marine industry manufacturers, accessories manufacturers and boat dealers in the United
States, producing about 80 percent of all the recreational products that are sold annually in
North America. I think you've heard a lot about the Miami International Boat Show. It will
celebrate 74 years old in 2015 in February. Over 45 years were spent in Miami first, as a
primary location, starting in 1941, and continuing in 1986 with two in- water locations here on
the Miami side. As you heard, we bring over 100,000 boaters to South Florida on an annual
basis over President's Day Weekend every year, several thousand workers, and we expose Miami
probably in a way that not many can. We probably pride ourselves on being one of the best
ambassadors that Miami has ever had. I can travel the world to competitive boat shows in
countries like Italy and Germany and England, and everyone knows the Miami International
Boat Show. You'll see someone with a Miami Boat Show hat or a Miami Boat Show T-shirt or
somebody that's had an experience here. We share the iconic value of the Marine Stadium and
the memory. So many people, many of you here will talk about your attendance at the Boat Show
with your grandfather, your father, your mother, your brothers and sisters, so there's a deep
history there with that. So we support your decisions today. We look forward to working with all
of you, and, of course, with the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium to bring one of the iconic and
most well-known international boat shows to this great city again and to have a great future
going forward for many years to come. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Yes, you're recognized.
Commissioner Sarnoff You came to see me back in -- was it March of this year?
Ms. Rick -Joule: That's correct.
Commissioner Sarnoff And then you met with Mayor Regalado after that?
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Ms. Rick -Joule: That's correct. Actually, we met with him prior to that.
Commissioner Sarnoff Prior to?
Ms. Rick -Joule: Uh-huh.
Commissioner Sarnoff Okay. And so you informed, I guess -- I don't know what you informed
the Mayor, but you informed me that you would not be invited back to City of Miami Beach's
Convention Center after next year's convention, correct?
Ms. Rick -Joule: The situation is that they, as you know, are undergoing a great construction
project. They have asked the past users of the building, in order to maintain a presence in the
facility, that they would need to reduce their footprint to two halls from four, severely minimize
the outside space which we use quite extensively. There's about a million gross square feet of
space there today that we utilize all of, so you're looking at diminishing that to about 250,000
square feet during construction. And who's to say what's going to happen after construction.
There's still a lot of plans that are ongoing that's relating to the ability to access the property, to
access the interior of the building. We're not really very comfortable at this point of what, you
know, the possibilities down the road will be for us. We have been a multi -show location for
many years, going back as earlier as 1984. We most probably will continue to be a multi -show
location just because of the tremendous footprint we require. But today, I think it would be fair
to say that we believe that the presence here at Miami Marine Stadium, we're all going to fall in
love with, and we're going to be able to provide a much better experience for our customers
today with plentiful parking and access to more major hotel chains in an area that people really
want to see and have been waiting, you know, to come back for a long time. I hope that answers
your question.
Commissioner Sarnoff Yeah. The Mayor tried to correct the record. I thought that might help a
little bit, too, which is that you actually came to see him, I guess, and then me, concerning your
concerns of losing your opportunities to present the Boat Show on behalf of the NMMA (National
Marine Manufacturers Association) --
Ms. Rick -Joule: Yeah.
Commissioner Sarnoff -- to the City of Miami or at least our region.
Ms. Rick -Joule: I'm sorry?
Commissioner Sarnoff You were concerned about losing your opportunity; that you were going
to lose the Boat Show --
Ms. Rick -Joule: Correct.
Commissioner Sarnoff -- and the opportunity therewith, and were actually talking about moving
possibly to Tampa or other places.
Ms. Rick -Joule: Well, we certainly recognize that with the type of footprint that we occupied with
over a million square feet that replicating that anywhere was going to be a real challenge.
Although we have other opportunities, this one presents itself in the best way, in the best light.
And when we came to visit with you and with Mayor Regalado, we were really trying to
understand where the City of Miami saw the Miami International Boat Show and where it might
fit into the footprint in this side of the bay.
Commissioner Sarnoff Thanks.
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Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Follow-up question to Commissioner Sarnoff. And I met with Ms.
Rick -Joule. We always spoke as "Cathy" so --
Ms. Rick -Joule: Yeah, "Cathy" is fine.
Commissioner Carollo: And, you know, one of the questions was who was the entity that
actually would sign an agreement or the LOI (Letter of Intent) or so forth, and I suggested, you
know, we reach out to the City Attorney. Now, with that said, I haven't seen the LOI, but is there
any -- and again, I think even that location, we still need to discuss a lot of details within the
locations, the footprint and so forth. But is there any intentions that could be written with
regards to -- instead of for 2016/17, being for a longer period of time?
Ms. Rick -Joule: I think there's a real possibility. Back to your real question, the Letter of Intent
that we presented to the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium back in May was really just that. You
know, our intention was to, you know, work with them on the future of the Boat Show in 2016
and 2017. And as we've discussed here today, certainly, we believe that this will be part of our
footprint for a very long time. It just -- there's a lot of value and a lot of benefit here that we
don't have today. So it just -- I think the show that we can present here will be a much better
situation for the attendees that come.
Commissioner Carollo: And I'm not sure if now is the time or not, but with regards to the details,
there's obviously going to have to be some type of improvement, construction, capital
improvements. I haven't seen any of those details. It's not the time?
Mr. Alfonso: No, no, Commissioner. I think that that's part of why we want to come back on
January 8.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: You're recognized, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: I just have a question. Let me begin by saying that I think, without
delving too much into the substance of the whole thing, I don't think the Tampa Boat Show rings
-- has the same ring to it, by the way.
Ms. Rick -Joule: No.
Commissioner Sarnoff Agreed.
Commissioner Suarez: No, I --
Ms. Rick -Joule: We do have a Tampa Boat Show, however.
Commissioner Suarez: I'm sure. You know, I think we, as the City, it behooves us to do the
maximum that we can to make sure that the Miami Boat Show really comes to Miami, and it
would be great if it were permanently in Miami; if the next 40 years, it were in Miami. I think
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one concern that I have -- and not really a concern. It's not a concern; it's a question, and you
don't have to answer it. It's almost a rhetorical question, and it goes to a little bit of a process
issue that Commissioner Carollo was talking about earlier, is if a Letter of Intent was given in
May, then how come we're now in November and I've never seen that letter? So, you know,
that's my -- I still haven't seen that letter. It's not in this packet, by the way.
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Commissioner Suarez: And is it in here? I didn't see it in here. But anyhow, it -- this -- I got this
on Friday. So if a Letter of Intent was given on May, where we would have had, you know,
several months, six months to structure something or to discuss it or debate it -- see, what
happens is then we come here now, and now it's a time crunch.
Ms. Rick -Joule: Mm-hmm, understood.
Commissioner Suarez: You understand what I'm saying? So it puts us in a bad position, because
it's like, "Look, if you seize this opportunity, then you're not a good leader" or, you know,
"You're not really capitalizing," and it's kind of unfair for us, because we're presented this, and
then it's "Take it or leave it, and if you don't" -- "and by the way, if you leave it, then you're not
a good leader, because you don't know how to capitalize on an opportunity that's a phenomenal
opportunity," which I think we all believe it to be a phenomenal opportunity for the City, and I
think every one of us here wants to capitalize on the opportunity.
Chair Gort: Yes, we do.
Commissioner Suarez: So, you know, that's -- that was just a question thatl had.
Ms. Rick -Joule: I guess I'll add this: It was our understanding when we entered into the Letter
of Intent with Friends that they had the responsibility of the property at the time, and that's the
people we should be talking to.
Commissioner Suarez: That's fair.
Ms. Rick -Joule: So as we've worked sort of in parallel with them along the past few months, it
was our understanding that they would be the -- at that point, they're the landlord, so -- which is
why, you know, we are where we are today, I guess.
Commissioner Suarez: No, I think that's fair, and that'll go to some of the other issues that I
have, because I don't think really the issues are with your organization at all. I think, on the
contrary, we're trying to -- we're going to -- I presume, just listening to what everyone here, we
want to bend over backwards to try to find a way to make something work with your
organization.
Chair Gort: That's the goal.
Ms. Rick -Joule: We're very glad to hear that.
Chair Gort: Thank you. That's our goal.
Ms. Rick -Joule: Appreciate it, great.
Chair Gort: Make it a lot better so you can be here forever. Thank you. Yes, ma'am, you're
recognized.
Ms. Dougherty: I just wanted Cathy to talk a little bit about your timing in January, what you
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have to do starting in January.
Ms. Rick -Joule: Well, the pattern for our events, we produce 23 consumer boat shows annually
around the country in most major markets; the Miami show is our largest show. So once we
close the doors in February of 2015, what's typical for us is that we're contracting with our
exhibitors for the next year. So we need to be in a position in -- before the end of the year and
certainly before February to be talking very intently with our customers about the kind of space
they want. For example, do they -- would they like to be under a tent on land, or do they want a
larger space in the water. We need to really understand how they want us to build the show that
they want and that will work the best for them. That will require on the Miami Marine Stadium
Park Campus I'll call it, for lack of a better term, a fairly large scraping of a large acreage of
property, because we need to replicate, if we can, a million square feet of exhibit space.
Probably at least a half a million of that square footage should be on the upland portion . So
we'll learn more as we go along the way, but we would really like to be able to be talking in very
detailed terms with our exhibitor base by February of 2015 at the latest.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Mr. Hernandez: I'd just like to ask one --
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Mr. Hernandez: -- answer one aspect of the question -- are you okay? -- with Cathy, 'cause I
think it's important that we say this together. When they gave us the Letter of Intent in May, they
were under still a lease at the Miami Beach Convention Center, and they were under
negotiations for the release of the lease. So they asked us respectfully to keep that confidentially
with us, because we wanted to share it, and we wanted to announce it, and we wanted to
celebrate it. And they asked us to respect the fact that they were under a lease renegotiation, and
asked us not to share it, so I just wanted to say that with Cathy here.
Ms. Rick -Joule: That's correct.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Lucia.
Ms. Dougherty: I just wanted to point out that Mr. Schulman from the Miami Heat Group is here
today to -- I know that the Mayor had announced that they were enthusiastic about being
partners with us, and I wanted you to know that they were here today. And that concludes our
presentation.
Chair Gort: Thank you. I'll open up the public hearing. At this time, I would like to recognize
the Mayor Pena, Mayra Perez, from Key Biscayne, which is so important.
Mayor Mayra Pena Lindsay: Good afternoon, Chair Gort, Vice Chair Hardemon and
Commissioners. Thank -- first, let me thank you for the courtesy of allowing me to speak about
an issue that is of great importance to all of Miami -Dade County, and most particularly to Key
Biscayne. This is Miami Marine Stadium. Now, in January 2012, the Friends of Miami Marine
Stadium appeared before our Key Biscayne Village Council. They shared with us their vision of
renovation, and we passed a resolution in support of rehabilitation of the stadium. We recognize
that it is an architectural jewel and it should be preserved. And for a long time, our community
has witnessed its deteriorated state. I stand before you today to reiterate our support of the plan
that was presented to our council in 2012. I also stand before you to express Key Biscayne's
concern over the proposed plan that you all received on Friday. It appears that Miami Marine
Stadium is becoming a multi purpose exhibition venue, and while we understand that the
limitations of the current structure and the need for the stadium to be financially viable, we also
understand that limited development is part of the plan. Now, the decision of rehabilitation of
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Marine Stadium is yours, but Key Biscayne is your neighbor and is -- so is Miami -Dade County
with Crandon Park and the marinas, and the State of Florida with Bill Baggs State Park, also
known to many of you as "El Farito." Rickenbacker Causeway is the only driveway to our
community and to these facilities. Rickenbacker Causeway is heavily used by cars and bicycles,
and anything that has the potential to adversely affect the traffic flow on Rickenbacker is of
concern to all of us. That is why I am here. I implore you not to make the decision regarding
Marine Stadium in a vacuum. I'd like to ask you to establish a mechanism for Key Biscayne to
have a seat at the table during the discussions, the future discussions and negotiations. I also
suggest that you invite the County and the State, since they too have a great interest in
Rickenbacker Cause, the only road that leads to the stadium. Key Biscayne is not here to be an
obstructionist, but rather as a community that wants to work with you in assuring a project that
is commensurate with the jewel that is Miami Marine Stadium while minimizing any potential
negative impacts on our greater community. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am. Do you have a list of the individuals that want to speak?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Yes, sir. The first three speakers are Brian Alonso, Becky Matkov
and Lucita Moran.
Lucita Moran: Yes. My name is Lucita Moran, and I live in the Roads, and I can certainly
identifir with George Hernandez. We should never apologize about feeling romantic or
sentimental about our City icons. The Marine Stadium is one of the icons that growing up here
since '42 have wonderful memories for the Easter sunrise services, all the different wonderful
events that were there, and from my heart -- I'm not that politically savvy, so I'm just going to
speak from my heart to all of you. All of our icons are being torn down. The coliseum, which
was roller-skating, ice-skating, a bowling alley, a gym, that was gone. Now, Scotty's Landing is
going to be gone. And, thank God, the courthouse will remain. As far as the stadium goes, I'm
not that politically savvy. My age generation, we are not -- well, I shouldn't say all of us, but a
lot of us don't necessarily know the ropes. But from my heart, I can tell you that I don't think that
should be tampered with as far as any extensive boat shows. As an environmentalist, I have
concerns about what I've been hearing, though I'm not that up on everything. But I think
preserving our City's quality environmentally, and for our icons for those of us that have been
here for quite a while, and even those of us that haven't been, these things should be preserved as
an identification for those of us living here that can identifir with these icons. And Mayor
Regalado, I want to thank you so much for standing up for us taxpayers, as you did go to bat for
us on the tax issues. And Carollo, thank you for your environmental interest in our tree
preservation. So please consider the fact that this --
Chair Gort: In conclusion.
Ms. Moran: In conclusion -- that this boat show thing is under control so it doesn't affect the
stadium and environmental issues. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Becky Roper Matkov: Good afternoon. I'm Becky Roper Matkov, executive director of Dade
Heritage Trust, Miami's largest non-profit historic preservation organization. Dade Heritage
Trust has been a key supporter of the restoration of the Marine Stadium ever since Don Worth
approached our DHT (Dade Heritage Trust) Board in February 2008 with the idea of a
campaign to save this long -neglected waterfront asset. Dade Heritage Trust led the effort to
historically designate the stadium to prevent its demolition. We publicized and promoted it in
publications and events. We administered grants and donations for two years until the Friends
of Marine Stadium was incorporated. And we helped secure the $3 million in County funding
using Preservation funds from the GOB bond. We have continued to heartily support the
restoration of this great historic treasure, and we are delighted with the national and
international publicity that it has received. We support the restoration of the actual stadium, and
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we understand it does need a source of revenue to make it sustainable for the future. We look
forward to the incorporation of ideas to make it viable, and we look forward especially to a
rejuvenated Marine Stadium that will once more be a major attraction and a place for creating
many more memories. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am. Next.
Mr. Hannon: Next three speakers: Horacio Stuart Aguirre, Frank Martinez, Arva Moore Parks.
Horacio Stuart Aguirre: Chairman Gort, Vice Chairman Hardemon, good afternoon, ladies and
gentlemen. Horacio Stuart Aguirre, residing at 1910 Northwest 13th Street. Commissioners, I
rise in support of the concept of renovating Miami Marine Stadium and bringing it back to active
life. In the earlier days of the stadium, I attended concerts, and afternoon and evening events,
and like many of you, sat in the stands or sat onboard a boat in the anchorage and had some
memorable experiences. I rise in support of the concept of the Miami International Boat Show
coming to mainland Miami. As a matter of fact, one of my earlier companies was a member of
NMMA, and at one time, and I think in 1978 or 1979 or '80, I was one of the largest exhibitors at
the Miami Beach Boat Show with one of the largest collections of sailboats there. So Miami is
where this boat show belongs, on the mainland. I also rise to support your decision to table this
discussion until January. If you had been sitting on the board of directors of a bank, on the loan
committee, and had been looking at the deal that you had before you at 9 o'clock, you would
have turned this down. If you hadn't, you'd have a cease and desist order, and chances are you
wouldn't be looking at it at all. It would have been blocked in your credit and investment
department. I rise in support of my many friends, Mr. Hilario Candela and Mr. Jorge Hernandez
and all the people that worked so hard -- Don Worth. They deserve our standing applause and
much celebrated admiration. We're in love with the stadium, but to put your heart before your
mind is foolish and just unacceptable in business. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir. Yes, ma'am.
Arva Moore Parks: Good afternoon, Chairman Gort, members of the Commission. I'm Arva
Moore Parks. I live at 1601 South Miami Avenue. I have two roles here. The first one, I've been
asked to read a letter from the Virginia Beach Trust into the record.
Chair Gort: Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Parks: So don't count that on my time, Okay? "Dear Chairman Gort, we have learned that
our neighbor and partners on the Island of Virginia Key, the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium,
are requesting an extension of their agreement with the City of Miami to manage and restore the
Historic Miami Marine Stadium. We ask that you approve their request and continue to support
their efforts to restore this icon to life. It is justifiably cherished unique landmark in Miami
heritage, and under the direction and advocacy of the Friends" -- I'm cutting it a little bit -- "in
1992" -- I'll skip that. "What was old and in disrepair is now being rejuvenated through
creative passion, vision, volunteerism and generous philanthropy. The Virginia Key Beach Trust
had the privilege and opportunity to partner with the Friends in a number of volunteer
community [sic]. The Miami Marine Stadium is a public waterfront venue unlike any other and
a piece of South Florida history and heritage that must not be forgotten. It and Historic Virginia
Key Beach Park are now recognized as cornerstones of a renaissance of Virginia Key. In vote of
confidence in the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium by extending their agreement with the City
of Miami is now crucial. Thank you for doing this."
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Ms. Parks: As I said, the last time I was here, in the very beginning, I saw the Marine Stadium
through the eyes of nostalgia and my own life of events there. When I heard presentations and I
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realized the international attention and national attention of the value of the architecture, I
completely changed -- I guess I'd say I was jumping up and down in my chair. This is a unique
structure that belongs to the City of Miami and to all of us. The fact that we have Gloria and
Emilio Estefan is unprecedented. The National Trust -- and to have Stephanie Meek come here
more than one time to support us, and the Getty Foundation coming out of the blue, I mean,
doesn't that say this is unprecedented in Miami? Do I want to keep all parts of waterfront? Of
course. Do I want to limit construction on a site? Of course. But keep one thing in mind as you
look at this: There's only one Marine Stadium. We have other waterfronts. And I commend the
Friends of Miami Marine Stadium. I'm an advisor, but I have not been in the trenches working
as hard as everyone has. They need to keep working on this, and they need to be thanked by all
of us for this historic unprecedented, never -happened -before event in the City of Miami. Thank
you.
Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am. Next:
Frank Martinez: Mr. Chair and committee members, my name is Frank Martinez, 1028 Obispo.
I'm an associate professor at the University of Miami School of Architecture, and I would like to
read a letter into the record as well, on behalf of our dean at the School of Architecture. This is
written November 18, 2014: "Distinguished members" -- thank you -- "of the Miami City
Commission, it is my privilege to submit this letter of support for the Miami Marine Stadium
renovation plan. As dean of the University of Miami School of Architecture and new citizen of
the Miami community, I am very proud of the work the University of Miami faculty and members
of the school have done to save and steward this extraordinary architectural masterpiece. Mr.
Candela's stadium has been placed among leading Twentieth Century architectural monuments.
This recognition comes not only from the local community for whom this is a beloved and
memorable -filled place, but from organizations at the highest level of national and international
cultural assessment, such as" -- and as you've heard -- "the National Trust for Historic
Preservation, the World Monument Fund and the Getty Foundation. Please support this item
and ensure the future of this invaluable work of architecture. Sincerely, Rudolph L. Corey, Ph.D.
and dean."
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir. Give it to the Clerk, please. Thank you. Next.
Mr. Hannon: Next three speakers: Greg Bush, Nathan Kurland and Peter Ehrlich.
Greg Bush: Good afternoon. My name is Greg Bush. I am vice president of the Urban
Environment League and I also teach American History at the University of Miami, and I've
completed a book that hopefully will come out reasonably soon on Virginia Key Beach and its
history. I know something about the island. I also was in charge of the Parks Advisory Board of
the City of Miami when we recommended that there be a master plan for the island and moved
through that process for years, so I know something about the process; worked very closely with
Hilario and George Hernandez and Don Worth, and I am here basically to seek a new consensus
behind the Marine Stadium and behind a renewed and altered public process toward that end,
because there has been revelations of embarrassment recently in relation to the financing scheme
for the Marine Stadium, and there should be, as their -- you all voted back in July of 2010 for a
Planning Oversight Board for the entire island, if you recall. You all supported that, too. That
has never taken place. A lot of this problem, I think, could have been averted had that taken
place. So I still think -- and I spoke with the Mayor the other day, who assented to such a notion
that there be such a board. Now, one thing I'd like to say is that, unfortunately, there were
questions about a particular individual with private financial interests in a maritime merchant
center, essentially, for boats. We -- that was not part of the original plan. In other words, the --
if you look at the master plan -- I have copies of it for you -- it talks about different aspects -- If
you permit me another minute, I would really appreciate that, 'cause I have something to read for
somebody else, too -- Gene Tinnie -- in relation to what Arva read.
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Vice Chair Hardemon: I'll give you an opportunity to close, and then read the letter from Mr.
Tinnie.
Mr. Bush: Okay, thank you. Anyway, I was assured -- the Urban Environment League Board
was assured from Don Worth that the particular questionable individual was no longer
associated with the effort. This was two years ago, okay? The documents as of today recently is
that he has been, so I'm simply saying that I think there needs to be more transparency in the
process. Now, let me -- and also, I urge you to have this Planning Advisory Board created. I
will not read all of Gene Tinnie's letter, but he said: "Last week, I and Guy Forchion
co-authored a letter to you" -- that you've heard -- "in which we felt honored to support the
request of our neighbors and erstwhile partners. However, in light of the numerous questions,
issues and concerns which have surfaced in the short time since then, arousing much community
interest, I am compelled to modifir that previously stated support and respectfully urge that no
action be taken on this item until these issues can be fully investigated and full transparency can
be achieved regarding the present and future management of the Miami Marine Stadium.
Although I'm writing as an individual citizen, in the interest of time, I believe I can speak with
confidence on behalf of my fellow Virginia Key Park trustees in affirming our strong and
continuing support for the restoration." That's not the issue here. We're all in favor of that, but
it's the process --
Vice Chair Hardemon: Can you please stick to the letter? Because I'm extending your time.
Mr. Bush: Okay.
Vice Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much.
Mr. Bush: Sorry. Thank you. "Everybody's in favor of an integral part of making the Island of
Virginia Key a rewarding destination for residents and visitors alike, and as a legacy of
citizen -owned patrimony to our next generations. But it is precisely for this reason that we must
make every effort to assure that this vision is not compromised by schemes no matter how
seemingly well -intended and that will essentially rob the community of the valuable property that
we own with no hope of regaining it. I urge you to consider the most effective ways to ensure a
full renaissance of the Marine Stadium as a public asset and as an effective partner with other
stakeholders on Virginia Key in keeping with the master plan process of 2010."
Vice Chair Hardemon: Thank you so very much.
Mr. Bush: Thank you.
Vice Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, sir.
Nathan Kurland: Thank you, Commissioners, Hilario, Jorge, Ms. Meeks, Ms. Joule. Nathan
Kurland, 3132 Day. Deja vu. Deja vu is a distortion of memory in which a new situation or
experience is regarded as having happened before; not `Dijon vu" -- that's a mustard you've had
before -- but deja vu. Flagstone, 13 years and counting; SkyRise, no public money; Watson
Island Heliport, 2.2 acres of waterfront property for a total rent of $2, 300 per month; the list is
seemingly endless. Why? Laws and processes, as Mr. Bush just pointed out, are ignored; deja
vu. Deals are done in haste; deja vu. Players are never identified until the last moment or
maybe not even then; deja vu. Lobbyists and land use attorneys have unequal access; deja vu.
And due diligence is oftentimes either underperformed or incompetently performed; deja vu.
Commissioners, please, rewrite the script. It does no good to get on the right track if you're
headed in the wrong direction. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Next.
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Peter Ehrlich: Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and Commissioners, Mr. Mayor. My name is Peter
Ehrlich. My address is 720 Northeast 69th Street and I'm here to -- I'm confirming what Greg
Bush just said in his personal behalf and also through the Urban Environment League, and I
would just like to say that we are supportive of restoring Marine Stadium, but we -- hopefully,
you'll give direction to your City Manager, Danny Alonso [sic], so he and his staff can
rigorously review the -- you know, the topic, the proposed agreements between the Boat Show
and the Marine Stadium. Hopefully, the City of Miami will be able to be -- will act as the
principal in any relationship with the Boat Show people. We look forward to the City Manager
doing excellent due diligence. Thank you very much.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir. Next.
Mr. Hannon: Next three speakers: Grace Solares, Dolly Macintyre and Luis Herrera.
Grace Solares: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Grace Solares, Miami Neighborhoods United.
Everyone here wants the stadium. No one, no one in this room is opposed to the stadium. It's
"How do we get to refurbishing the stadium?" That's the issue. Miami Neighborhoods United
was here two years ago opposing the Memorandum of Understanding because of the way it was
getting to. Miami Neighborhoods United was before MSEA (Miami Sports & Exhibition
Authority) upstairs several times, opposing this matter being given to MSEA in order for MSEA
then to get the contract with the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium because of a different
governmental instrumentality. At that time, we said that was a violation; they were trying to
circumvent the Charter, and things went the same way. The matter came down, the MOU was
approved, and here we are today. It's interesting to read today in the legislation proposed that
MSEA is actually being taken out of the way and the City will be doing its own direct dealing
with Mr. -- with the Friends of Miami Stadium. Still, still, 29-B, which is the one that has to be
used in order to deal directly with Marine Stadium, does not cut it, because it requires for the
entity you enter into the leasing agreement to be water -dependent. Friends are not
water -dependent. They are an entity that are going to be implementing --
Chair Gort: You have a couple more minutes, 'cause Luis gave you his two minutes.
Ms. Solares: Thank you so much. Friends is the entity that's going to be doing the repairs, the
refurbishing, so 29-B does not cut it. Where am I getting to? Again, two years back, this deal is
controlled by 29-B, and most importantly, 3F(iii). Don't be afraid to bring this matter to the
voters. The voters have approved SkyRise. The voters have approved the Grove Bay,
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) here. What do you think; this is not going to be approved by the voters?
I'll be the first one. I did not vote for SkyRise; I sued on SkyRise. I did not vote for Grove Bay; I
sued on Grove Bay. I will be voting for this one 'cause I want this one. This is desired by the
entire City. So I -- the only thing that MNU (Miami Neighborhoods United) asks is that the
Charter of Miami be followed; that the best deal is obtained for the citizens of the City, who, in
actuality, are the ones that keep the doors to the City Hall open. It's our taxes, the one that are
utilized to do everything that you do here in the City, so do the best thing for us. Thank you,
Commissioner.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Dolly Maclntyre: Good afternoon. I'm Dolly Maclntyre, 409 Vizcaya, in Coral Gables, with a
little bit of bronchitis. I've been a preservationist in Miami since 1966, before most of you were
born. I've never seen as high-powered a group of people concerned with one location as the
Miami Marine Stadium. We have people of exceptional integrity and honesty who are overseeing
this process. When something untoward came up, it was immediately severed. I think we can
have faith in the members of the Friends of Marine Stadium, who are working on this project, in
combination with the City Commission and the City Manager. Let us not delay this process any
further. The stadium can't take much more delay. And I've been asked to read a letter from the
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Hampton House Community Trust. "Dear Commissioners, one of the significant attributions of
the Miami City Commission is its willingness to work with community organizations. I had that
experience when working to save the Miami Circle and the Lemon City Cemetery. I now appeal
to you to work with the Friends of the Marine Stadium to negotiate a long-term lease agreement
with the Friends. The stadium, after it is restored, will be an asset to Miami and an entity to be
proud of. Sincerely, Enid C. Pinkney, founding president of the Historic Hampton House
Community." Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am. Next.
Mr. Hannon: Nina West and Rosa Lowinger.
Nina West: Good afternoon, Commissioners, Mr. Candela, who built this beautiful stadium for
us. The stadium is owned by the citizens, and I'm here to get information, and the information I
am seeking is how this is going to be funded, but evidently, this has been put off for a while. The
other concern I have is that it does not turn into our wonderful Marine Stadium being saved, but
in order to do so, we're going to have to have another giant marina with six -story boat racks
flanking it and filling up wherever it is. There have to be better ways to finance this stadium than
to hand it over to a marina owner. And Pm very hopeful that as Commissioners, you will look
after the interests of the people and residents of the City of Miami, that the Marine Stadium will
be preserved, it will be beautiful, and it will be for the citizens; and you can make plenty of
money using it, and we don't have to hand over waterfront property to another marina owner.
What happens with waterfront properties and marina owners is that they become functionally
obsolete after 30 years when their leases are up and due for renewal; the City comes in, spends a
ton of money to fix everything, and then it's turned over for what looks like a large original check
to the next lessee, and the citizens have once again paid for a commercial business. We don't
want to see that here. Thank you very much.
Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.
Rosa Lowinger: Thank you, Commissioners and Chairman. My name is Rosa Lowinger, 4728
Northeast Miami Place. I'm here to talk a little bit about the Getty grant, because I'd like to
explain exactly what that grant is and why Friends of Miami Marine Stadium received it. The
Getty Foundation is an organization that gives money to different projects related to preservation
and culture, and they have just started a new initiative specific to modern heritage. They're
calling it "Keeping it Modern." And when they devised this initiative, what they did is they
chose 10 iconic world buildings first to launch the initiative with, and following that, people will
have to apply. They looked at Miami Marine Stadium not only because of all the things we've
said here of how important a building it is, how iconic it is, how much it ties to the most
important traditions of modern architecture, but also because of its location in Miami, because
of the population of Miami and how the stadium relates to the changes in population that have
taken place here, but also because of how it would be administered by Friends of Miami Marine
Stadium. They looked at the organization; they saw its credentials, the credibility of its founders
and board, and they awarded the money based on that. And what that money is going to be used
over the next year is to establish the protocols for restoring the stadium. Everybody talks about
restoring the stadium, keeping the building, but between that and actually getting it done, we
have to figure out how do you make the repairs so that they will look right? How do you clean
that building? How do you remove graffiti that has been on there generations? And I just want
to say it's because of Friends of Miami Marine Stadium that the Getty gave this money. Thank
you very much.
Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am. Next.
Mr. Hannon: The last three speakers are Alberto Machado, Renita Holmes, and Al Crespo.
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Alberto Machado: One minute, please. I have to -- And thank you, Commissioner Tomas
Regalado. He have -- he has fantastic idea about the Marine Stadium. That is a -- revenue have
been fantastic in the past. I'm here 47 years United States citizen. I am gold medalist. I was in
Montreal skiing, expose (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for '67, and now Cypress Garden is not anymore,
so I would like to see is the Marine Stadium come back with the races, with attraction for
tourists, a boat race, canoe, and water ski, like Cypress Garden. It's a beautiful attraction for
tourists. I have four or five different subjects, and I want to compile in one. The airport, the
airport is where all tourists come, and when they come, they need to have be treated properly.
The escala [sic] in the American Airline, I spent eight hours yesterday waiting for the Mayor
Levine (phonetic) and was broken. It's terrible. I had to walk like about five block. That's one
thing that I would mention. The 50-state security was given a very bad service. Got a fight with
me, a captain, and that was very detrimental for tourists, as well as the bus drivers are making
terrible jobs on the beach. The dispatcher don't have buses on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for
tourists. Other than that, I will say Sandra Washington and Gisela (UNINTELLIGIBLE) are
responsible the way I am. I am gold medalist. I am disabled because the way that the drivers
behave with every disable and people like me. Other than that, I would say very happy with Mr.
Tomas Regalado, fantastic person, and I hundred percent for his way --
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Mr. Machado: -- and he's doing it because it's fantastic, it's a fantastic idea --
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Machado: -- that he do for the public --
Chair Gort: Sir.
Mr. Machado: -- and for everybody in general. Thank you so much.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Yes, ma'am.
Renita Holmes: Madam Holmes, speaking on behalf of Our Homes Opportunity for United
Restoration of our Home Projects. To avoid reiterating, I think -- I kind of understand where this
gentleman is coming from, and there's a saying about "over the river and through the woods
across to the marine stadium we go, " or the Marlin's Stadium or all the other stadiums. I kind of
pretty much represent those who are impacted in a way that's hardly ever discussed, like my
rights. When we see patterns and trends of us in a -- who are facing a change in the
comprehensive master plan, inclusion is hardly there, and what we ask is that we basically look
at the federal guidelines that are laid before us when we talk about the right to environmental
reports and impact. And I know there are a lot of friend corporations, but I'd like to see friendly
and educated organizations, such as the Tropical Audubon and the Urban Land Institute. And I
know for me, particularly, as an African -American, when people come through over the river
and through the -- down 1-95 and up 95 and the new bridge going up and down, it takes a while
for me to get there. It cost me -- and I'm taxed in ways that my respiratory system can't begin to
tell you; it's suffering even now, saying these words in two minutes. But I deserve, according to
the federal guidelines, an environmental impact report. I deserve, although we have a home rule
Charter, the federal guidelines say I deserve a fiscal impact report. And when we talk about
comprehensive, it's uncomprehensive [sic], if that's not included. So in closing, we're quick to
hear, Mr. Chair, about game changing attitudes and projects, but we cannot bring back the
environmental impact that this will have, and right now the federal government says there's a
pattern and a trend of us funding stadiums without having that; very vital and important, and I
know that you all are game changers; otherwise, here we go, "pass go, community chest, take a
chance, and pass go without collecting 20 or 200 million, " although it was promised at the roll
of a dice. We'll hit snake eyes again. I don't want to play a game. History can't take it. The
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waterfront can't take it. And Virginia Key was something that was promised to us to be restored
anyway, but yet, now we have great opposition. Please be a friend to the people and the
taxpayers. Demand more information. Follow the federal laws and not necessarily the local
rules. Thank you so much.
Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am. Yes, sir, you're recognized.
Al Crespo: Al Crespo. We've seen a lot of images, and we've heard a lot of words, all intended
to create a warm, fuzzy feeling about the stadium in times past, and that's all well and good.
However, starting in May of 2011, I started writing about the Marine Stadium, I started writing
about the Friends of the Marine Stadium, I started writing about Manny Alonso-Poch and about
the relationship between all these people. There's no secret and should have been no secret for
anyone when Manny Alonso-Poch's name showed up a week ago, when I published it, that he
was involved in this deal. He'd been involved with this deal since 2011, that I was able to
document. So this is a serious issue, because it talks to the whole issue of competence, of
integrity, of protecting the public trust. And rather than say all the things that I've already
written about, I do want to point out one thing: Mr. Candela and Mr. Hernandez are two of the
three founders of the Friends of the Marine Stadium. They are on the board of directors. They're
the ones who voted in the last two or three weeks whenever this deal was reached. They voted to
accept TPA and Expo Miami as the development group. And then they showed up on the table of
organization as the architects. Now, ladies and gentlemen, this is a public park, this is public
money, and that's called self -dealing. If this was private money, who would care what they did?
But this is public money and this is a public park. And for them to show up as the architects with
the -- with -- to make money from this is absolutely 100 percent wrong, and I think that
disqualifies this group from going forward. They've shown me they don't have the judgment or
the skills to make smart choices. They had two years and they screwed it up.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir.
Mr. Crespo: Don't give them three.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir. That's it. We'll close the public hearings. You're recognized,
Commissioner Sarnoff.
Commissioner Sarnoff Obviously, this is like an onion; you want to peel it back, and I think the
couple things that we all agree on is that we'd like to preserve Marine Stadium, but the reality is
to do so, you're going to have to have some sort of a profit -making venture, which is to give --
provide money to the non-profitable tickets, very much like the Coconut Grove Playhouse, very
much like the Gusman, or anything else like that. A ticket does not cover the costs associated
with the operation of entertainment venues. Rarely do they do -- having gone to the opera last
week, the person who's in charge of the finances up there got up on the first act and said, "Thank
you for your ticket price. You just paid for 37 percent of the Opera," meaning the other 63
percent had to be paid for -- or arranged through other financing, so we know this going in. I
met with the Marine Stadium folks last Thursday on the 13th and actually asked them -- because
I don't think you all had this. I didn't have this document. And I asked them for the names of the
folks that they were dealing with, one of which was to listen to hear whether Manny
Alonso-Poch's name would come up; it did not. Then I asked them for the names of the folks
associated with Expo. I took pretty good notes. I did my Acuren, which cost $125 a time, and I
-- it revealed things, and it didn't reveal good things, and you don't have it all yet on the record.
You're going to find that somebody has been enjoined by the Securities and Exchange
Commission from ever touching a security. And that's the due diligence that I think, certainly,
you should have done, and that's the due diligence I think the City should do, and I don't think
that's a Commissioner's job to start doing that kind of due diligence. So I questioned to some
degree, what kind of due diligence was done here, and then I came to my own estimation, which
is what I call "grandfathering." I have never seen a grandfather criticize a grandchild. You just
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fall in love with what it is that your kids have produced. And you got to be careful of what I call
"grandfather" or "grandmother" syndrome, because you're never going to do the due diligence
associated therewith, and you have to be very, very careful to make sure that this due diligence is
done. Now, once we got this, some things became apparent, and the apparency of it seemed to
me to be that the Marine Entertainment Center or the MEC or the Marine Expo Center -- I mean,
if it's intended to draw $10 million a year and it's only going to pay $270, 000 a year to the
stadium, that's 2.7 percent of its anticipated growth, and is it really there for what reason? Isn't
it really a Trojan horse of sorts? And you know, the other issue I have, candidly, is the issue
with the dry stack storage. The dry stack storage, which was the City of Miami's, we're going to
give up that revenue when we should be -- well, let me just say what it shows. What it -- when we
should be creating dry stack storage of a common element to the Rickenbacker so we have one
seamless dry stack storage. And then, candidly -- and I'm going to do this as nicely as I can to
both architects, and I absolutely have spent a lot of time with these guys, and they are nice guys.
However, if I count up the fees associated with this project, there's potentially over $6 million in
fees. We are fiduciaries up here on behalf of the citizen/taxpayers of the City of Miami. You are
still sitting in a fiduciary capacity on behalf of the Friends of Marine Stadium. In that capacity,
it does preclude you from, to some degree, self -dealing. Now, I remember asking a question as to
whether you would be receiving any kind of remuneration -- excuse me -- and the response I
recall getting was "no, " but I didn't have this document at the time. So now I have this
document and potentially, there is $6 million in fees. I think, you know, for my money, for the
taxpayers' money, this is not going out to an RFP as it stands right now and it's not going to
referendum, so -- or at least that's the intent that's being provided to us. That requires hyper
vigilance on the part of this Commission, and I will tell you something. Based on what I've seen
-- and the one thing I don't see is Don Worth here. I don't see one of the original members of this
Friends speaking on behalf out here. And I remember walking from organization to organization
with him about five years ago -- maybe it was four years ago -- you know, with what I call the
"Don Worth presentation, " but he's not here, and I'm curious why Don is not here, and to me
that's an indication something is not right. So what is right to me is that we do everything we
can do to restore the stadium. There's a lot of things right on what I call "everything east of the
stachum." I'm not so sure everything west of the stadium is right. I'm not sure the deal is --
pretty sure the deal's not right, but I'm going to make some suggestions, Mr. Manager. I think
there should be an RFP process to make sure that we are getting the best possible proposal. And
I don't think, with a popular Mayor like we have -- not there anymore? -- that this would not win
a referendum, so I don't know that this should not be referendized [sic], but it certainly should
have an RFP process to it so we, as a Commission, can say to the world: "This is what we have.
Here's our criteria. And I'm just curious, world; is it the Dolphins that should be managing this?
Is it the Philadelphia Eagles?" I use that funny and euphemistically. We know it's not them. "Is
it the Miami Heat who's offering the most money, who's offering the best deal? " You've done
yeoman's work, Hilario, and George. You've done yeoman's work to get it this far. But I just
wonder if you didn't become grandparents and not criticize the child that you were creating,
because it's very easy to do. You can fall in love with a deal. As lawyers, whenever we do a
significant deal in our office, we're not allowed to finish the deal. We have to bring it before
another lawyer, and we have to say, "Have I just become too beholden to this deal?" so that
there is a separate set of eyes, which is what we're doing, our due diligence, and asking the
questions, `Inevitably, is this good for the general public? More specifically, is it good for the
taxpayers of the City of Miami? And to some degree, Mayor, will this harm Key Biscayne, State
of Florida, and/or Miami -Dade County?" So, you know, Mr. Manager, what I would say to you
-- and I have a suggestion. I don't know if this works for you guys, and I think it was
Commissioner Gort -- because I remember cursing at him at night -- who put me on the Steering
Committee, but it might have been Carollo too, so I don't remember which one it was, because I
think there are like 11 meetings. Obviously, we're going to pass something today, because I think
we're all in agreement on certain things. Maybe we go back to the Steering Committee. Maybe
we try to create -- we didn't have the number. We didn't have this theory, but I think we have to
make a profound statement up here. There's got to at least be an RFP. There's got to be more
public process to this. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Applause.
Chair Gort: Hold it, hold it, hold it.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Commissioner Suarez, you're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I'll try not to be repetitive, because I think
you've done a very good job of summarizing a lot of the issues that I think we all have, a lot of
the concerns. And I think, by the way, one of the good things about the RFP process, which I've
spoken to the group about, certainly in private, if not in public, is that it's a good vet. It's a great
vetting process. Why? Because it's competitive. So the competitors are always vetting each
other. And so out of that process, a lot of times, you know, the due diligence is being done not
only by the committee that vets the RFP, but by the competitors themselves, and they use that to
challenge each other. So, you know, I don't know why, in the last two years, that hasn't been
looked at, and that's a concern for me. I don't know why, after we passed the unsolicited
proposal provision where it could have been potentially submitted as an unsolicited proposal,
which would have had the same period for other people to propose, et cetera; that wasn't done.
I've had issues, I think, from the very beginning about the governance structure. I was the third
inciting vote to give Friends the opportunity to go out and raise the money and to represent the
City, because of Hilario, and because of George, and because of their passion for what they do.
You know, when you -- and I'll look at the financials from a slightly different perspective. I'll
look at a different thing, because I think the point you made about the offshoot of revenue being
two and a half percent, that's -- where does the other 97.5 go? But let's look at the fundraising.
If you look at the fundraising, it says here, there's a total of 19 million. Let's put aside that
they're going to borrow the rest or however they're going to get the rest. Of that 19 million, I'm
looking right now at 14 at least that's, at best, speculative, at best. You got three million from the
FIND. I don't think the FIND has ever given out a $3 million grant, but they gave out two grants
which were $175, 000. They have it as secured. But what they don't have that's in the letter is
they lost that grant because they didn't match the grant. And then there was another grant that
also was lost because there was nothing done. So they've lost a combined $300, 000, and yet, feel
that the FIND -- you know, Florida Inland Navigation District is going to grant them ten times
that amount or twenty times that amount, really. So the question is why in the last six months
didn't they go to FIND and say, "Hey, give us a resolution that says if you get X ' we give you
'Y"'? We do that with the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency). If you get "X " we give
you "Y. " In other words, if you end up getting the approvals or you end up -- so that the
money's allocated already so you can come back to us, say, "Look, we have an allocation," like
they have this reservation at the County for the $3 million of GOB bonds. Then you talk about 5
million in historic tax credits. That has to be applied for. I'm not saying they're not going to get
it. I'm just saying that it's speculative. That's -- has to be applied for. Then the other 6 million
in the Adopt a Seat Campaign. Hopefully that works out, but that's also very, very speculative.
So you're talking about actual, real dollar commitments. You're talking about of the 19 million --
you're not talking about 19 million; you're talking about really 5 million; and of that 5 million, 3
million was already there to begin with. So the question is -- in these two years, or whatever,
they've really raised $2 million. That's the truth. So, you know, they have ideas, andl think they
have good ideas, and I think maybe they have ideas that are going to pan out, and I hope that
they do, but I think that's why when things are done -- when the style proceeds the substance, you
know -- when press conferences are called before, you know, things are vetted, I think that's --
creates a tremendous amount of suspicion, and it goes to what you're saying about, you know,
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RFPs and -- there's a reason why these processes are in place. They're in place so that the
public feels safe, that whatever's happening is being done properly. To do it the opposite way
creates more scrutiny. To do it the opposite way and then not be revealing with what you're
doing -- I mean, it's -- you know, it will leave the most ardent supporter scratching their head,
and I think that's what's going on here. And I'm not going to delve into the problems, the specific
problems because I think it's been already talked about here, and I don't think there's any reason
to get into them; and I'm sure some of the speakers talked about it, specific issues with specific
people. But I think if this process would have been done better, then we may be having a
rejoiceful [sic] day here today, rather than a kind of somber reality check over what's transpired.
So, you know, those are my thoughts. I've been asked to be very clear about what my issues are.
My issues are the governance model. You know, is there going to be an RFP? Is there going to
be a referendum? I think there's a compelling case why there should be, and there's no reason to
be fearful of that. But we do have an opportunity to get the boat show, and I think that is
something that we need to hyper focus on. There's no reason for the Friends to be in the middle
of that for -- as far as I can tell, and there's no reason for any other company to be in the middle
of that. I think we can deal directly with them. They came to see the Mayor. They didn't come to
see -- you know, they came to see the Mayor, which is the right thing to do. You come to see the
head of the government and you want to deal directly with that person, and you hope that that
person has the gravitas and the ability to deal with the governing body, which is us. Why
someone would submit a document to a governmental agency thinking that it's confidential, not a
good idea. That's not usually the way it works. And, you know, it has to come before us. So you
-- it can be confidential, but it shouldn't be confidential from us, certainly, who are the ones that
are going to ultimately make the decision, not the Friday before we're supposed to decide on a
hundred million dollar hundred -year lease. So those are my thoughts on it. Those are my
concerns. And I'll leave it for the rest of the colleagues to express theirs.
Chair Gort: Commissioner Carollo, you're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman, I -- I'm actually quite glad to see that we're building
consensus on one of these issues, which, in the past, we didn't have consensus. And before and
now, as I think we all are, I want to be clear that I am in favor of restoring Marine Stadium, even
though I think, in the past, some didn't believe that. It was just the process; what I foresee could
happen with some of the funding, et cetera. I also want to make sure -- what everyone said -- I
am in favor of the boat show relocating in the City of Miami. Heck, I grew up, as many of you
know, in the City of Miami, and I have fond memories of going fishing with my dad. I used to go
fishing with my dad in a modest boat in the bay out to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Rocks. I owned my
first boat when I was 18 years old. I try to go to the boat show every year. I even saw Emilio
Estefan there in the boat show many, many years ago. And, if you remember, when we had our
legislative priorities and we thought about 250,000 -- or requesting 250, 000 for the restoration
of the Marine Stadium, I was the one who jumped right away and said, "What do you mean 250?
I think we should be asking for a lot more." And thanks to all of our efforts, we actually received
a million. So I think, for the first time, I am not going to dig into the financial with regards to the
proposal. I think -- thanks to many, many people out there, the media, blogs -- I -- I thought I
would never say that -- blogs, the media, individuals, Commissioners, you know. I don't have to
dig into the financials. We know that there's no need to. I believe that what we have now to work
for is to see how is the best way of putting this forward. I'm glad to see that everyone's open for
an RFP process and a referendum. The one thing -- and Commissioner Suarez, you mentioned
that -- I want to now reiterate and make sure is that I believe we should already begin
conversations with the boat show. I have heard -- I've already requested the contracts, the
agreements that they've had, but I've heard that it could generate somewhere in the area of 650,
$680,000. That's a lot of money also, not to mention the pride of being able to say the Miami
Boat Show is back where it belongs, in Miami. So I believe the City of Miami could actually
start negotiating with the boat show and see if we could make it work. I don't know all the
details, so as I mentioned before, Mr. Manager, I'm a little blind to that. I do know that it's not
something that's going to be relatively easy. I think there are -- and I mentioned some of the
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issues. But I believe, you know -- and I ask my colleagues and -- I suggest to my colleagues that
when we direct the management, that we also direct them for the City of Miami to start
negotiating with the boat show people to see if we could get that going and not have a
last-minute thing where they're up against the wall, we're up against the wall with timing and it
becomes something that's unpleasant, because I definitely think that we have an opportunity and
we need to capitalize on that. So I don't necessarily think we need another agency to do that
negotiations for the City. I think the City, itself, can do the negotiations. In the future,
depending what model we create, that doesn't mean that, you know, this Commission can decide
on some of that money going for restoration or not or what. But the bottom line is, it's quite
clear, and I'm happy to say that it seems like we reach a consensus, that we're not there yet, and
let's not jeopardize an opportunity, because the -- what has occurred with regards to the whole
plan. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir. You're recognized, Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Hardemon: Not to belabor the points that any of my fellow Commissioners are
making, and I hope -- hopefully, I won't reiterate many of those things. But one thing I want to
make very clear is that my interest is into renovating that historic site. And even at that press
conference, without any reference to who will be awarded the contract to operate it, the interest
in our city by the residents that I've had the privilege of representing is in making sure that that
becomes another marvel for this community. My interest is ensuring that when people travel to
the City of Miami, they're coming from abroad to experience things that are eclectic and are
unlike any other thing that we have in this world, and so that is what I envision that stadium to
be. And no matter who is operating that facility, no matter who is awarded that contract, I think
that all of us would agree that that is where our minds should be focused. So at some point,
there will be a winner, if it isn't through the RFP process, if it is through a negotiations through
the City without one, or a referendum. No matter what, we plan on doing what's right, what's
fair, and I'm in support of whatever that may be. But what must happen is we must renovate this,
the stadium. And so I stand by all of my colleagues, knowing that they want that to occur, no
matter what the fees are, no matter if it is the press conference before the renovation, no matter
how we all feel the process led to this point. The goal is to get this thing renovated. And at that
press conference, one of the things that I celebrated was the fact that we had an entity that took
the interest in helping us fund -raise. The fundraising may not be at the level that it -- that they
probably envisioned or that we would like it to see -- and I'm not making a comment directly to
you, Commissioner.
Commissioner Suarez: No, no.
Vice Chair Hardemon: I'm just looking at you. You're --
Commissioner Suarez: No, I got you.
Vice Chair Hardemon: -- the better -looking person on that side of the room.
Commissioner Suarez: I got you.
Vice Chair Hardemon: No, just joking. But I say that to say that we have partners in this
community that wish good things for the City of Miami, that wish good things for the Miami
Marine Stadium, and I want to be a part of whomever that is, and I wish to invite more people to
that network to get this done. Thank you.
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Chair Gort: Okay. The -- I'm not going to be repetitious, but I need people to understand. To
get ready for this meeting, this is one of the books that we get. There's another one just as big as
this one. We get it a week before. We have to go through it. And, Mayor, I'm sure you know
what -- all the material that we have to read in order to make the right decision in here. People
just think that we sit here and make decisions according to Administration. We get all these
package to (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We received this on Friday and the copy on Monday, and it's
very difficult. When I start -- when I receive these documents, I start asking a lot of questions,
like my -- like Commission did. I think we all in here want to do the right thing. We want to
create the stadium. We want to restore the stadium. I have a lot of good memories there. I even
used to water ski in there. It's a beautiful place. It's a great place. But I think we have to do it
the right way, especially, when we're responsible to the public and to the residents. And you can
see how many people are here speaking. Everyone in here is in favor of it. The deviation is the
method and the way it was done. So I think the Manager has got some suggestions. I think the
idea is we want to restore the Marine Stadium, and we want to keep the International Boat Show.
I think that's something very important not only for tourism, but the economical impact that it's
going to create in the City of Miami. So with that say, yes, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: I just want to say very briefly that I don't think that the work needs to
stop because of what happened here today. And let me just say that, for example, with the FIND,
you know, you have a letter, which I think is -- it's encouraging, that says, you know, that you
have a board member who's willing to discuss the possibility of considering. That's what it says,
"Discuss the possibility of considering this grant." So I don't know why you can't go back and
say to the FIND -- if he's really willing to discuss the possibility of considering, why don't you
just put it before you board and let your board vote on it and give us a "yea" or "nay, " subject
to, you know, either us doing the renovation or some entity to be named later that we designate,
so that -- we check that box. I hate to sound like a, you know, second -grade teacher, but my
mom's a second grade -- you know, you check that box and then you go to the next one, and then
you say, historic preservation tax credits. Has that been applied for? You know, why can't the
City apply for that? You know, is it -- does it have to be some other entity? Let's check that box.
Let's apply for it, you know, and let's get it going. You know, the Adopt a Seat Campaign. Why
don't we start the campaign today? Anybody want to Adopt a Seat here in -- you know, in the
Miami Marine Stadium, raise your hand. All right, let's go. I'll adopt one too. You know, let's
start collecting the names and we start the Adopt a Seat Campaign. I mean, there's no reason
why we can't start doing this right now. Rather than talk about it, rather than put it on a piece of
paper so that it looks nice and it adds up to a close number, let's start doing it, and then later on
we can say, "Well, we started the Adopt a Seat Campaign. We have a million dollars in hard
pledges," like you like to say, Commissioner Sarnoff -- "in, you know, irrevocable pledges, you
know, by the people who have bought seats," you know. We both want to buy -- we all want to
buy seats for our kids in our -- you know, cool seats like that, all graffitied up, the whole thing,
you know. I want it in my office. So that's -- those are the things that I think, you know, concern
us. We can keep moving forward That's 14 of the $19 million, and there's still another 11 that's
missing, and we didn't even really touch that subject. We didn't touch it. So, you know, let --
Chair Gort: Okay, thank you. My understanding is the Friends of Marine Stadium have done a
great job. They have to sit down with the Manager. They have to go -- come over. I think
they've heard the message here today. The work, that it was committed and promised, it's one
quarter delivered; you have to do a lot more, and you can have a month to do so. Mr. Manager,
you're recognized.
Daniel J. Alfonso (City Manager): Okay. Well, Commissioners, first of all, I say that we are, in
some kind of way, up against the wall, especially in the negotiations for the boat show, so I
would like to get the direction clearly from the Commission as to what it is that we're supposed to
do. We want to --
Commissioner Suarez: Go.
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Commissioner Carollo: Begin now as the City of Miami negotiating directly with the boat show.
Commissioner Suarez: Correct.
Mr. Alfonso: Okay. Anything additional to that?
Commissioner Suarez: That's it. Make it happen.
Commissioner Carollo: We're --
Commissioner Sarnoff That's our time -sensitive issue.
Commissioner Carollo: Right. We're leaving it broad --
Commissioner Sarnoff Right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- for you --
Mr. Alfonso: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: -- Mr. Manager, your financial team, you know, Asset Management to
negotiate directly with the boat show. I mean, in the future, you know, we could see if some of
that money, where it's going to be placed. If not, you know -- but I think right now, the City of
Miami should deal directly with the boat show because of the essence of time.
Chair Gort: My understanding is we have two goals: the International Boat Show and the
restoration of the --
Mr. Alfonso: Right, and that's why --
Commissioner Carollo: That's the first part.
Mr. Alfonso: Right. So the first part, I understand we're going to negotiate with the boat show
to make sure it stays here in Miami. The second goal was to continue the process of moving
towards restoration of the Marine Stadium. So do -- would you like to -- us look at that for
January 8?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes. However, I think various things need to be looked at: number one,
structure, and I think Commissioner Suarez mentioned that. We need to look at RFP. We need to
look at a referendum. So it's not as it has been in the past. I think all this now needs to take into
consideration, and not to mention the financials and do we actually need, I guess, MEC is what
they call it, or not. So I think --
Mr. Alfonso: Well, I think I heard earlier from one of our elected officials, "east of the stadium
versus west of the stadium." So east of the stadium includes the flex park, which would be
needed for the boat show, so that's something that we definitely have to look at as the City -- as
part of this transaction. And then we're talking about do we do a lease or other type of
agreement. That's something that we would have to look at and --
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Mr. Alfonso: -- and we want -- So lease, flex park stadium, governance, those type of things are
the things that you want to see back on January 8.
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Commissioner Suarez: And Mr. Chair, if I may?
Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: I think there should be a dual track on the boat show. It should be --
because I've heard things about a short-term commitment, couple of years, and I've already
heard about a long-term.
Mr. Alfonso: I would certainly take into account more weight for a longer term, obviously --
Commissioner Suarez: Exactly.
Mr. Alfonso: -- if you're going to look at making any kind of serious investment.
Commissioner Suarez: And -- exactly, and that's what I was going to get at, which is essentially
that we can capitalize their investment in that area if they make a long-term commitment; that
could be the money, and that's hard dollars, and that's easy for us as a well -capitalized
hundred -year -old company that just got upgraded to an A plus by Fitch for us to be able to
borrow at a very cost of capital and be able to do some of these things that I don't know what
other companies that are not so well capitalized or not so long established or don't have such
good directors, or whatever the case may be, whether they can do that.
Mr. Alfonso: That is certainly something that we have been thinking about, Commissioner.
Commissioner Carollo: Now we're talking.
Chair Gort: Okay.
Commissioner Sarnoff And the only other thing I was told might be time sensitive is FIND
grants.
Mr. Alfonso: Correct, and that's why we want to keep it somewhat broad, because we need to
talk about what we do with the Friends and the applications for FIND, and there has to be a
certain entity that we have to use on (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Sarnoff Right.
Commissioner Suarez: City of Miami.
Commissioner Sarnoff All I'm suggesting is dual path it --
Mr. Alfonso: Yes, absolutely.
Commissioner Sarnoff -- so that --
Mr. Alfonso: I understand.
Commissioner Sarnoff And also, don't restrict yourself to the number that is here; shoot for the
moon.
Mr. Alfonso: Okay.
Chair Gort: All right.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
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2:00 P.M.
ES.1
Chair Gort: Got the instructions?
Mr. Alfonso: We got the instructions.
Chair Gort: Okay.
Mr. Alfonso: Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you all. We'll continue to work with you all. You heard the -- what we worry
about, but we're going to make sure that the stadium gets built.
Mr. Hannon: Excuse me, Chair.
Chair Gort: Thank you all for being here. Yes, sir.
Mr. Hannon: Is it the will of the Commission to defer RE.13 to the January 8, 2015 Commission
meeting?
Commissioner Carollo: I think we need to withdraw.
Commissioner Suarez: Withdraw.
Mr. Alfonso: No, withdraw that item. We'll come back with something completely different.
Commissioner Suarez: Withdraw it.
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Mr. Hannon: Is there a motion to withdraw?
Commissioner Suarez: So moved.
Commissioner Carollo: So moved. Second.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Gort: It's been moved and second. Any further discussion? Being none, all in favor, state
it by saying Eye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Gort: Thank you all for being here.
Unidentified Speaker: Thank you.
Chair Gort: Let's take five, a real five, people.
END OF RESOLUTIONS
EXECUTIVE SESSION
EXECUTIVE SESSION
City of Miami Page78 Printed on 1/14/2015
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
14-01094
Office of the City UNDER THE PARAMETERS OF FLORIDA STATUTES §286.011(8)
Attorney [2013], THE PERSON CHAIRING THE CITY OF MIAMI COMMISSION
MEETING WILL ANNOUNCE THE COMMENCEMENT OF AN
ATTORNEY -CLIENT SESSION, CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC, FOR
PURPOSES OF DISCUSSING THE PENDING LITIGATION CASE OF:
SOUTHERN WASTE SYSTEMS, LLC VS. CITY OF MIAMI, CASE NO.
13-00619 CA 02, PENDING IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY,
FLORIDA, TO WHICH THE CITY IS PRESENTLY A PARTY. THIS
PRIVATE MEETING WILL BEGIN AT APPROXIMATELY 2:00 P.M. (OR
AS SOON THEREAFTER AS THE COMMISSIONERS' SCHEDULES
PERMIT) AND CONCLUDE APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR LATER.
THE SESSION WILL BE ATTENDED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE CITY
COMMISSION: CHAIRMAN WIFREDO (WILLY) GORT, KEON
HARDEMON, MARC DAVID SARNOFF, FRANK CAROLLO, AND
FRANCIS SUAREZ; THE CITY MANAGER, DANIEL J. ALFONSO; THE
CITY ATTORNEY, VICTORIA MENDEZ; DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEYS
JOHN A. GRECO AND BARNABY L. MIN; LITIGATION DIVISION
CHIEF KEVIN R. JONES; AND SENIOR ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY
HENRY J. HUNNEFELD. A CERTIFIED COURT REPORTER WILL BE
PRESENT TO ENSURE THAT THE SESSION IS FULLY
TRANSCRIBED AND THE TRANSCRIPT WILL BE MADE PUBLIC
UPON THE CONCLUSION OF THE ABOVE -CITED, ONGOING
LITIGATION. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE ATTORNEY -CLIENT
SESSION, THE REGULAR COMMISSION MEETING WILL BE
REOPENED AND THE PERSON CHAIRING THE COMMISSION
MEETING WILL ANNOUNCE THE TERMINATION OF THE
ATTORNEY -CLIENT SESSION.
14-01094 Memo - Office of the City Attorney.pdf
14-01094 Notice to the Public.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Gort: You ready? Good afternoon and welcome to the executive session. Madam
Attorney, you have an --
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Yes, thank you. This is a statement, re: the executive session.
On October 23, 2014, under the provisions of Section 286.0118 Florida Statutes, I asked and
requested that this Commission meet in private to discuss pending litigation in the case of
Southern Waste Systems, LLC (Limited Liability Company) versus City of Miami, Case Number
13-00619-CA-02, pending in the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit, in and for
Miami -Dade County, Florida. The City Commission approved my request, and we will now at
approximately 2 p.m. commence a private attorney -client session under the parameters of
Florida Statute 286.0118. The private attorney -client session will conclude at approximately 3
p.m. At which time, the regular City Commission meeting will resume. The session will be
attended by members of the City Commission, Chairman Wifredo "Willy" Gort; Keon
Hardemon, Vice Chairman; Marc David Sarnoff, Frank Carollo; and Francis Suarez; the City
Manager, Daniel J. Alfonso; the City Attorney, which is myself, Victoria Mendez; Deputy City
Attorneys John Greco and Barnaby L. Min; Litigation Division Chief Kevin Jones and Senior
Assistant City Attorney Henry Hunnefeld. A certified court reporter will be present to ensure that
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
BC.1
14-01130
the session is fully transcribed, and the transcript will be made public upon the conclusion of the
litigation. Thank you so much.
Chair Gort: Thank you. We'll come back at 3.
Later...
Chair Gort: Okay, we have quorum. The Chair may proceed with the next -- the executive
session has concluded The Commission will now reconvene the public meetings.
RESOLUTION
END OF EXECUTIVE SESSION
BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE ARTS AND
ENTERTAINMENT COUNCIL FORATERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort
14-01130 Arts CCMemo.pdf
14-01130 Arts Current_Board_Members.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.2 RESOLUTION
14-00964
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE AUDIT ADVISORY
COMMITTEE FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
BC.3
14-00966
Office of the City
Clerk
APPOINTEES:
14-00964 Audit CCMemo.pdf
14-00964 Audit Current_Board_Members.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
RESOLUTION
NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Francis Suarez
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE BAYFRONT PARK
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
BC.4
14-00967
MANAGEMENT TRUST FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
14-00966 Bayfront CCMemo.pdf
14-00966 Bayfront Current_Board_Members.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
RESOLUTION
Office ofthe City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION CONFIRMING THE
Clerk APPOINTMENT OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE
CIVILIAN INVESTIGATIVE PANEL FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED
HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
14-00967 CIP CCMemo.pdf
14-00967 CIP Current_Board_Members.pdf
14-00967 CIP Memo and Resumes.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.5 RESOLUTION
14-00304
NOMINATED BY:
Civilian Investigative Panel
Civilian Investigative Panel
Chief of Police
Office ofthe 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)
(Alternate Member)
14-00304 CEB CCMemo.pdf
14-00304 CEB Current_Board_Members.pdf
NOMINATED BY:
Commission -At -Large
Commission -At -Large
Commission -At -Large
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.6 RESOLUTION
14-01131
Office ofthe City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY
RELATIONS BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
14-01131 CRB CCMemo.pdf
14-01131 CRB Current_Board_Members.pdf
14-01131 CRB Memo and Resumes.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.7 RESOLUTION
14-00393
NOMINATED BY:
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Office ofthe 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.
BC.8
14-00850
Office of the City
Clerk
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
14-00393 CSW CCMemo.pdf
14-00393 CSW Current_Board_Members.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WAIVING THE
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT BYA FOUR -FIFTHS AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, AS
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
IT RELATES TO SAMAIYAH ENGRAM AS A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION
ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN.
14-00850 CSW CCMemo.pdf
14-00850 CSW Current_Board_Members.pdf
14-00850 CSW Residency Compliance Form.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Hardemon, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Hardemon
R-14-0437
Commissioner Sarnoff. What do we got left?
Daniel J. Alfonso (City Manager): We're at --
Chair Gort: RE.10.
Mr. Alfonso: RE.10 was done earlier, Commissioner.
Chair Gort: Okay.
Mr. Alfonso: And 13 was done. So now we're on discussion items or the budget presentation.
Commissioner Sarnoff. Discussion.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): Do you want to take up the boards? I have two board
items.
Chair Gort: I beg your pardon?
Ms. Ewan: Do you want to take up the board items? I have two board items for -- on the agenda
today.
Chair Gort: Okay, let's hear the two board items.
Ms. Ewan: BC.8 is a resolution of the Miami City Commission waiving the residency
requirement, by a four -fifths affirmative vote, as it relates to Samaiyah Engrain as a member of
the Commission on the Status of Women.
Vice Chair Hardemon: So move.
Chair Gort: It's been moved by Vice Chairman Hardemon. Is there a second?
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Gort: Second by Commissioner Suarez. All in favor, state it by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
BC.9 RESOLUTION
14-00976
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
(Ex-Officio Non Voting Member)
(Ex-Officio Non Voting Youth Member)
14-00976 EAB CCMemo.pdf
14-00976 EAB Current_Board_Members.pdf
14-00976 EAB Resume.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.10 RESOLUTION
14-01133
NOMINATED BY:
City Manager Daniel J. Alfonso
City Manager Daniel J. Alfonso
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.
BC.11
14-00979
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Francis Suarez
AFSCME 1907
IAFF
FOP
14-01133 EOAB CCMemo.pdf
14-01133 EOAB Current_Board_Members.pdf
14-01133 EOAB Memo and Resume.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
RESOLUTION
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE
FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Francis Suarez
14-00979 Finance CCMemo.pdf
14-00979 Finance Current_Board_Members.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.12 RESOLUTION
14-01135
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE HOMELAND
DEFENSE/NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT BOND PROGRAM
OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Francis Suarez
14-01135 Homeland CCMemo.pdf
14-01135 Homeland Current_Board_Members.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.13 RESOLUTION
14-00471
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE LIBERTY CITY
COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION TRUST FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED
HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
City of Miami Page 85 Printed on 1/14/2015
City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
BC.14
14-01136
Nykeah Cohen
(Term Ending 11/20/2016)
Jeffrey L. Mack
(Term Ending 11/20/2016)
Davie Madison
(Term Ending 11/20/2016)
Samantha Quarterman
(Term Ending 11/20/2016)
Samantha Preston
(Term Ending 11/20/2015)
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
City Manager Daniel J. Alfonso
14-00471 Liberty City CCMemo.pdf
14-00471 Liberty City Current_Board_Members.pdf
14-00471 Liberty City Applications.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Hardemon, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, that this matter be
ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Suarez and Hardemon
Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo
R-14-0438
A motion was made by Vice Chair Hardemon, seconded by Commissioner Sarnoff, with
Commissioner Carollo absent, to appoint Nykeah Cohen as a member of the Liberty City
Community Revitalization Trust, further waiving the residency requirements of Code Section
2-884(a) by a four/fifths (4/5ths) vote of the members of the full City Commission, as it relates to
Nykeah Cohen as a member of the Liberty City Community Revitalization Trust.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): BC.12, Liberty City Community Revitalization Trust.
Vice Chair Hardemon will be appointing the following individuals: Jeffrey Mack, Davie
Madison, Samantha Quarterman, and Nykeah Cohen, who requires a four -fifth residency waiver;
City Manager Alfonso will be appointing Samantha Preston.
Vice Chair Hardemon: So moved.
Commissioner Sarnoff. Second.
Chair Gort: It's been moved by Vice Chairman Hardemon. Is there a second?
Commissioner Sarnoff. Second
Chair Gort: Second by Commissioner Sarnoff. Any further discussion? Being none, it's a
four -fifth. All in favor, state it by saying aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Gort: Good. Thank you.
Ms. Ewan: Thank you, Commissioners.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
RESOLUTION
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE MAYOR'S
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
14-01136 MIC CCMemo.pdf
14-01136 MIC Current_Board_Members.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.15 RESOLUTION
14-00396
NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Tomas Regalado
Mayor Tomas Regalado
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commission -At -Large
Office ofthe City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE MIAMI SPORTS AND
EXHIBITION AUTHORITY FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
14-00396 MSEACCMemo.pdf
14-00396 MSEA Current_Board_Members.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.16 RESOLUTION
14-00982
Office ofthe City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE PLANNING, ZONING AND
APPEALS BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
City of Miami Page 87 Printed on 1/14/2015
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
14-00982 PZAB CCMemo.pdf
14-00982 PZAB Current_Board_Members.pdf
14-00982 PZAB Applications.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.17 RESOLUTION
14-00313
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.
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Francis Suarez
14-00313 UDRB CCMemo.pdf
14-00313 UDRB Current_Board_Members.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.18 RESOLUTION
14-00867
Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE VIRGINIA KEY BEACH
PARK TRUST FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
BC.19
14-01137
APPOINTEES:
NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
14-00867 VKBPT CCMemo.pdf
14-00867 VKBPT Current_Board_Members.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
RESOLUTION
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
Office of the City
Clerk
BU.1
14-01041
Office of Management
and Budget
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING
CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE WATERFRONT
ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
14-01137 WAB CCMemo.pdf
14-01137 WAB Current_Board_Members.pdf
NOMINATED BY:
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
NO ACTION TAKEN
END OF BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
BUDGET
BUDGET DISCUSSION ITEM
STATUS (SEC.18-542(B) CITY CODE)
I. 2014-2015 BUDGET
II. PROPOSED 2015-2016 BUDGET
14-01041 Summary Form.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Christopher Rose (Director, Office of Management & Budget): Item BU.1, monthly budget
report, if that's acceptable to leadership?
Chair Gort: Let's go ahead. Let's listen to this one, and then we'll go to Planning & Zoning. Go
ahead.
Mr. Rose: Very good, sir. It is early in the year, but I am here to report that we closed last year
with a fund balance of 28.4 million, which, when added to the fund balance at the end of the
prior fiscal year, we're at 103.9, which is $300, 000 above the threshold required by the financial
integrity principles.
Applause.
Chair Gort: We made it.
Commissioner Sarnoff. Come on, guys, your bank just made it triple A.
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
DI.1
14-01030
City Commission
DI.2
14-00831
Department of Police
Chair Gort: Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Mr. Rose: As well, the internal service fund ended the year with a balance, and everything else
is in the report, Commissioners.
Chair Gort: Good Thank you.
Mr. Rose: Thank you.
Chair Gort: Good news.
Commissioner Suarez: I think we should pat ourselves on the back.
Chair Gort: Let's go to Planning & Zoning.
Commissioner Sarnoff. I think so too.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair, I'll need you to recess the regular meeting, just give us a --
Commissioner Suarez: The last time I checked, we're the ones that appropriate.
Chair Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Later...
Chair Gort: Do I have a motion to adjourn the regular meeting?
Commissioner Carollo: So moved.
Chair Gort: Okay, thank you. You all have a good night.
END OF BUDGET
DISCUSSION ITEMS
DISCUSSION ITEM
STATUS OF HIRING POLICE OFFICERS.
14-01030 Memo - Hiring & Staffing Update.pdf
14-01030-Submittal-City Manager -Police Department Hiring and Staff Update.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING OPERATION "SAFE CLUB".
14-00831 Summary Form.pdf
14-00831-Video-Commander Lazaro Ferro -Operation Safe Club.pdf
14-00831-Submittal- Commander Lazaro Ferro -Presentation Operation Safe Club.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DI.3 DISCUSSION ITEM
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City Commission
Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
14-00332
City Manager's Office
D1.1
14-01116
D1.2
14-01129
D2.1
14-01124
DISCUSSION REGARDING ANNEXATION.
14-00332 Summary Form.pdf
14-00332 Annexation Feasibility Study.pdf
14-00332 Maps.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
END OF DISCUSSION ITEMS
MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' ITEMS
CITYWIDE
HONORABLE MAYOR TOMAS REGALADO
END OF CITYWIDE ITEMS
DISTRICT 1
CHAIR WIFREDO (WILLY) GORT
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING QUIET ZONES
14-01116 E-Mail - Discussion Item.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING THE IRONMAN TRIATHLON THAT WAS HELD
ON OCTOBER 26, 2014.
14-01129 E-Mail - Discussion Item.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
END OF DISTRICT 1
DISTRICT 2
COMMISSIONER MARC DAVID SARNOFF
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING AUDITOR GENERAL'S SALARY.
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
D2.2
14-01125
10:30 A.M.
D3.1
14-00994
14-01124 E-Mail - Discussion Item.pdf
14-01124 Back -Up Documents.pdf
14-01124-Submittal-Ted Guba-Auditor General Salary and Benefits.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION ON THE "EYE ON THE BAY" PROJECT LOCATED AT THE FEC
SLIP.
14-01125 E-Mail - Discussion Item.pdf
14-01125-Submittal-Commissioner Sarnoff-Eye on the Bay Project.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
END OF DISTRICT 2
DISTRICT 3
COMMISSIONER FRANK CAROLLO
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CIVILIAN
INVESTIGATIVE PANEL.
14-00994 E-Mail - Discussion Item.pdf
14-00994 Independent Committee Report.pdf
DISCUSSED
A motion was made by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, and was
passed unanimously, directing the City Attorney to place an ordinance on the January 22, 2015,
City Commission agenda, addressing the CIP Independent Review Committee's (IRC)
recommendation that a liaison be assigned by the Miami Police Department to work with the
CIP; further directing the City Attorney to review the IRC's report and provide the City
Commission with proposals for potential codification from the recommendations outlined in the
IRC report as well as any recommendations from the public, at the January 22, 2015, City
Commission meeting; in addition to directing the City Manager to analyze the financial impact
of the recommendations provided in the IRC report and present this information at the January
22, 2015, City Commission meeting.
Chair Gort: At this time, a time certain. We have the discussion, Civilian Investigative Panel.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Commissioners, a few months back, we
formed a committee to look at and make recommendations with regards to the Civilian
Investigative Panel that, as you know -- and I do not want to rehash all that was said in the past,
but was not working anywhere near what the residents of the City of Miami voted to have. So the
Independent Review Committee met many times for many, many hours and made
recommendations, and I want to bring some of these recommendations so we could have a
discussion on it to make sure that they don't feel that their work went in vain, and we could take
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advantage of their good work. So I'd like to begin by thanking the Independent Review
Committee, and I have here their report that you should have as a backup with their
recommendations, andl would like to have an open and candid discussion with my colleagues
and everyone else that would like to participate so we could see which one of these
recommendations we would like to take up; what would be the process to take it up; iif it's going
to the Charter Review Committee; if its by ordinance of the City Commission or is it by
direction. I mean, some of them, I believe, will be easier than others. For instance, I see
Recommendation Number 6: A liaison should be assigned by the City of Miami Police
Department to work with the CIP (Civilian Investigative Panel). I think that's a no-brainer. I
think that's an easy one, but I think that we should have a discussion on the items to see how we
should move forward on something that I hold very, very important, because it was the residents
of the City of Miami that gave us this mandate to make sure that we have a Civilian Investigative
Panel that operates effectively and efficiently. And with that said -- I mean, I don't know if any
of you want to discuss any one of them or if you want me to take one by one. I believe there are a
total of eight. Even though I think some of them could be -- some of them -- for instance, I
believe 2 and 3 pretty much the same thing, because if we have an Independent Review
Committee, they could look at the different areas or different recommendations that have been
made. For instance, Number 3 is: Time period for which a CIP investigation shall be
completed. But again, that is a part of the second one, which is establishing this committee to be
able to see time periods and different -- the rewrite of Chapter 11.5 of the City Code. So I don't
know who's chairing it but -- Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Commissioner.
Vice Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Suarez, you're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Vice Chair, Chair. The one issue that I think is one of the
major elephants in the room with respect to the Civilian Investigative Panel is, in my opinion, the
funding source, the independent funding source. I think I can understand why the Civilian
Investigative Panel wants to be completely independent, and I think you see that in the report in
a variety of different contexts being brought up; in terms of its decision -making; in terms of -- but
I think the most liberated form of independence is to have some sort of an independent funding
source. So if it's the will of the Commission -- first of all, I invite them to the Charter Review
Committee meetings that we have, because I don't know how you could create an independent
funding source without some sort of Charter involvement. I haven't been able to figure that out.
If someone else has an idea that I haven't thought of, if there is an outside agency, whether it's --
anybody; however, I'm open to it. But I'm also open to -- and I can't speak for the members, you
know. I sincerely hope that they're open also -- to debating that issue and maybe ultimately, the
ultimate arbiters will be the ones that created the Civilian Investigative Panel to begin with,
which is the voters of the City of Miami, and they will have to decide whether they want to tax
themselves to create a truly independent body that will not have any, you know, meddling, if you
will, from the City, other than things like what -- the one you just suggested, which is a natural
one, like a liaison between the Police Department and the body, itself. So I'm willing to propose
that at the committee level. I'd love for you to participate in that process, you know,
Commissioner, as well, you know, and I think that's one of the big ones that I'm concerned about.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Vice Chair Hardemon: You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Sorry. Thank -- Mr. Chairman, please?
Vice Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Suarez, and that's exactly why I
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want to bring this, because I believe some of this will have to go through the Charter Review
Committee, some of the suggestions, in order for it to ultimately go to the voters and have then
decide. Obviously -- and I've stated this in the past -- being a certified public accountant, I'm
usually looking at a fiscal impact, and that would be one that I haven't figured out to see how,
because it could have a big impact in the City, and we need somehow to be able to control it
somewhat. We also have Recommendation Number 8, which is tied into the fiscal impact,
because they're mentioning of the CIP Office that should be reevaluated and possibly placed in
another location; not necessarily a City building. That, once again, would be additional funding
that I don't know if we have or if we should do. So that's why, you know, I wanted to make sure
that we have a good opportunity to speak about this, since I can't speak to my colleagues outside
of the sunshine so we could possibly discuss some of this and maybe hear -- I see some of the
Independent Review Committee members here. And by the way, I should have started by
thanking all of you. I truly appreciate the work that you have done, and I don't want it to go in
vain, and that's why I'm bringing this up, continue to bring this up, to make sure that the fine
work that you did -- and let me tell you something, I was impressed, the number of hours, and I
say, yes, plural, "hours" that you all took and diligently went through the task that we asked of
you to do. So I think, at the very least, the one that I mentioned with regards to having a liaison
with the City of Miami Police Department to work with the CIP, I think that's one that the
Administration could possibly, you know, look at and maybe do right away. Some of the other
ones, I think, like I said, would even have to go to the Charter Review Committee; at least I will
request that it goes to the Charter Review Committee before we take action. And I'll be honest
with you. Some of these recommendations are not farfetched. They really are good
recommendations.
Nzeribe Ihekwaba (Assistant City Manager/Chief of Operations): Mr. Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: And with regards to the CIP Board being able to hire and remove the
independent counsel, the executive director, I think that that's a very good recommendation, and
I think it's only logical. Most boards are the ones that are actually the ones that are tasked with
that authority. So with that, Mr. City Manager.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Yes, sir.
Mr. Ihekwaba: Good morning. Zerry Ihekwaba, Assistant City Manager. The Recommendation
Number 8, which is -- has to do with the relocation of the office, we've done an evaluation of that
place.
Commissioner Carollo: Mm-hmm.
Mr. Ihekwaba: It's accessible, it's spacious and it's convenient, and I think the CIP is actually
willing to continue to stay in that location, so there is no need for us to move further under Item
Number 8.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir. Yes, sir, you're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. And I think the reason for the relocation was more for
independence from a City building. But again, I would have difficulties with regards to, you
know, the financial impact of it. But I don't know. I would like to maybe hear from my
colleagues, or I don't know if you're going to open it up for everybody to speak.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir. At this time, what I'd like to do, the people that were involved, the
board members, thank you for being involved and if you all would like to speak, and my
understanding is you all had received the recommendation, and you have gone through it. If you
have any comments, any suggestions, you're welcome to do so. Chief you want to be the first
one or --? You want Christine King or you want Sonia O'Donnell? Who wants to be first?
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Christine King: Good morning, Commissioners.
Chair Gort: Good morning.
Ms. King: Christine King, vice chair of the IRC (Independent Review Committee) committee. I
think the final report speaks for itself and if -- we left it up to you to determine if any of the
recommendations should be implemented; not sure if my colleagues have anything else to say,
but if you have any questions of us, we are certainly available to speak with you.
Chair Gort: Main question that I would have is: You read it, you served there, you've been part
of the process; you agree with it?
Ms. King: Yes. We stand by everything that's in the report.
Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.
Sonia O'Donnell: We went through it thoroughly and --
Chair Gort: Your name and address.
Ms. O'Donnell: Sonia O'Donnell. I'm sorry. And so we are familiar with the report; all of us
agree with it. It was a joint report, and it went back and forth with our corrections, so if -- we
really have nothing to add, you know, unless you have any questions.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Ms. O'Donnell: Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Chief.
Clarence Dickson: First, I want to thank you for allowing this opportunity for me to participate
in the City of Miami business once again; it's been a long time. The report that we just
completed, we find everyone on the board agreed with everything that's in that report. We think
it will help the situation with the CIF, and be able to handle some of the problems that we have
discovered that were happening at the time of our investigation. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir. Commissioner Sarnoff.
Commissioner Sarnoff I was just going to suggest, and not because of any timely issue, but why
don't we have the City Attorney review the report; find out what aspects of it need to go to
Charter, what aspects should be done by ordinance; have her bring back proposed ordinances.
We could debate each ordinance one by one. For the financial impact aspect, I'd ask the
Manager to come back to us to determine what the financial impact would be for any of the
issues raised in their 12-page report -- 13 page report.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Chair Gort: Good suggestion. Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Hardemon: If I would, I will agree with Commissioner Sarnoff in his request.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
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Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: I think that was a very good request by Commissioner Sarnoff. I agree
with it, and I think that's the way we should move. We should move -- the only one that I think
that is a no-brainer is the liaison assigned by the City of Miami Police Department to work with
CIP. I think that's a no-brainer. I don't really think it has a fiscal impact. I see members of the
Police Department here. Maybe they want to address it, but I just -- I think that's a no-brainer.
At least we could start doing that one, and then with all the other ones, I think that, yes, the City
Attorney and the City Manager, respective of which area it is -- if it's legal or if it's fiscal --
should be able to do it and come back to us. So I think --
Chair Gort: Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Carollo: -- it's great; makes perfect sense.
Chair Gort: Commissioner Suarez, you're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: No, I was going to kind of echo the sentiments of my colleagues in
agreeing with the kind of path that Commissioner Sarnoff has articulated. Just two thoughts that
I had; one on, you know, the CIP being independently funded. If it's going to be independently
funded through a tax, that's a good and a bad thing. I'll tell you what the good thing is. It's
really going to test whether people want it, because there is no greater test of whether somebody
wants something in a public policy initiative than whether or not they're willing to pay for it. So
I think you're going to be running the gauntlet that a lot of initiatives, some well-intentioned and,
you know, don't survive. We just saw one recently with the courthouse. So it'll be interesting to
see, you know, what the electorate thinks. And it's one thing to embrace a concept; it's another
one to say "We're ready to embrace it, and we want to fund it. We want to take care of this baby.
We don't just want to bring it into the world" So, you know, that's interesting. And I think
you're right. I think we, you know, can do the liaison easily, and I think that's a good path,
Commissioner Sarnoff, too.
Chair Gort: Commissioner Sarnoff.
Commissioner Sarnoff Yeah. I was going to refine something Commissioner Carollo said,
which is what I take is he's given the Administration a directive to immediately create the Police
liaison, which is all right. All I'm saying is, if it comes back as an ordinance, it's no longer up to
the Administration to do it, and then it becomes a law; that's all.
Commissioner Carollo: So you recommend that either I make a motion or I bring back an
ordinance to --
Chair Gort: No, no.
Commissioner Sarnoff I think you can give it as a directive now.
Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Sarnoff And then bring it back as an ordinance, with Madam City Attorneys,
you know, wording choices, so that it goes from an instruction to the law.
Commissioner Carollo: And do we need a vote for that, Madam City Attorney?
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Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Well I -- just a quick recommendation. If you could please give
me a time frame, and I think what I can do is bring back options and then you pick, and then we
could put as real ordinances and changes.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Andl think this is two-part. I think one is we could do this one right
away, which is a liaison between the Miami Police Department and the CIP, and then all the
others is when you could bring separates. I think it's twofold.
Ms. Mendez: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: So --
Chair Gort: Do you have a motion?
Commissioner Carollo: I have a motion to direct the City Attorney and the Administration to
bring back an ordinance, as per the recommendation of the Independent Review Committee, to
have a liaison between the City of Miami Police Department working with the Civilian
Investigative Panel.
Chair Gort: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: And that's my motion.
Chair Gort: There's a motion. Is there a second?
Ms. Mendez: With a time frame, please. A time frame did you have in mind?
Commissioner Carollo: What time frame do you think is reasonable, Madam City Attorney?
Ms. Mendez: Sixty days.
Commissioner Carollo: Within 60 days or by the second meeting in -- second Commission
meeting in January.
Chair Gort: Okay, there's a motion. Is there a second? Discussion. Yes, ma'am.
Jean Baker: Thank you. Jean Baker, on behalf of the ALCU (American Civil Liberties Union)
and the coalition of organizations that have been tracking and concerned with the CIP. First, we
also want to thank the Independent Review Committee for doing a very diligent job in coming up
with a series of recommendations which certainly on the whole we think would improve the
functioning of the CIP greatly. One of their recommendations, which we think is a very
important one, is for this Commission to convene a committee to look through and revise the
entirety of the current CIP ordinance. And the proposal that is now be -- you're discussing with
respect to the liaison I think, ultimately, shouldn't be just a little side ordinance on its own. The
entire CIP ordinance has problems. We've all recognized that, and the IRC, the Independent
Review Committee, really hit on quite a few of the problems: The time frame, the executive
director's duties, who is authorized to do this, who is authorized to do that. There are a lot of
issues. I don't want to take up your time and try to discuss any of them in detail now, but we
urge that you not take it piecemeal and that you do set up a committee, and that will take some
time, I think, to set up a committee to look at revising the entirety of the ordinance and including
all of the good ideas of the IRC in that revision.
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Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.
Julia Dawson: Yes. Julia Dawson, 1701 Southwest 4th Avenue in Miami. I'm with the ACLU
and with the Community Coalition that you have seen here so often. I don't think we need to
explain ourselves any further. I echo all of the sincere "thank yous " to the people who have
done work on this and the good work that they have done. The Community Coalition is very
grateful for the recommendations that the IRC has outlined in its report, and we think -- we agree
with those recommendations. I agree also with what Ms. Baker said, and that is that we need to
proceed, I think, in a very conscientious manner and not in a piecemeal manner. And in fact, at
some time back, we had actually talked about constructing our own ordinance revision
committee to get a head start on what we thought needed to be addressed in the ordinance,
because we've seen so many places where there is not the clarity that needs to be. And I can
appreciate the effort that the City Attorney is going to put in on this, but we would also like to
give input on those ordinances. We have reviewed -- pardon me -- previous suggested ordinance
revisions, have had some concerns about the clarity of them and whether they actually
accomplish what we feel needs to be accomplished, and we would like for you to consider our
viewpoints on that, as well. As far as the funding is concerned we are eager to discuss options
for making that a reality with all of the Commissioners, and we have some ideas of our own, and
we would like to hear the ideas that you have been mentioning, as well, and talk about the
options; see if we can arrive at something that will serve what I think we all would like to see,
which is more independence for the CIP. So --
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Ms. Dawson: -- thank you for bringing this up on the agenda today and beginning this
discussion. We look forward to participating as it plays out.
Chair Gort: Yes, ma'am.
Renita Holmes: Yes. Madam Holmes still, Women's Association Alliance Against Injustice and
Violence, a community advocate, executive director; address, 350 Northwest Lebray (phonetic)
Place. I just wanted to reiterate what these ladies have said, which I find them very open, but on
behalf of the black community, I need to speak and say this, because when we talk about justice
and when we talk about the arms of justice, we must have a hand that is extended fully in the
losses that we've had. I, as an outreach person, can verify for myself and I think they can verifir
for you that I am a foot to all of the chatter; I'm the walker of the talkers; I am the hamster to
this wheel that's being reinvented. But I know that the inclusion of community education, the
inclusion of our voices gives somewhat respect to our disparate loss and our disparate
participation in the creation of a better CIP. I'm asking, and particularly redirecting and
requesting -- that's not easy; take it from a humble place, Commissioner Hardemon -- that we
have more African Americans participate. It is hard for me to believe -- you can't say it's about
skin, but it definitely has a reflection. It definitely says whose voice, whose experience it is, and
this is what I ask. But I believe that we have been taxed, in closing, so much, and to ask -- we
have still -- and duplicate in taxes, have to pay for the litigation. And when I look at 8 out of 10
cases in the cases that I have in briefcase waiting -- and I do appreciate Administration's new
attitude, Commander Nogee (phonetic) and Chief Orosa and Gomez have been open, because I
don't have time to go through with someone who simply says, because they have the uniform,
they're not a gang -banger. But a process of getting these awaiting complaints lodged, and the
process of getting appointment to show you all without having legal complications justifies my
request to have more African Americans and more grassroot organizations, such as State
Committee on Violence, participate. I appreciate the Manager for allowing that, but this is the
type of notification, continued education participation inclusion that provides justice without that
severe taxation of black voices and bodies. Thank you.
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Chair Gort: Thank you, ma'am. Horacio Stuart Aguirre, I apologize; I didn't recognize you
before, chairman of the --
Horacio Stuart Aguirre: Chairman Gort, good morning. Vice Chair Hardemon, thank you very
much. Horacio Stuart Aguirre. I was elected chairman of the Civilian Investigative Panel on
August 19th of this year. I've got good news for you gentlemen today. Today, right now, we
have a totally brand-new organization, very vastly different from what we had a year ago. We're
now at full complement. In January of this year, we had substantial vacancies, and among the
people that were on the board, many of them were illegals; they were hold-overs, way past their
lawful term. Today, we're up at full complement of 13 members. We have substantial diversity in
terms of race, culture, occupations, sex and just about every different type of way you can look at
it; tall people, really short guys. We have a little bit about everything. Today, all of our
committees are fully functional. As a matter of fact, I would say that our bylaws committee has
been so busy that we're about 95 percent complete in revising the bylaws, something that hadn't
been done since, I think, 2006, and we will have something new to present to the community. We
have an outstanding executive director. This is the first time in the agency's history that we have
an executive director that was custom-made for this type of work. Everybody else -- fine people
that they have been -- were actually adaptations from prior jobs, careers and occupations. Ms.
Beamud was actually trained and experienced in this type of civilian oversight activity. As far as
the housing of offices that we have, it's certainly not a Class "A." We don't want to be in a Class
"A." We don't think we need a Class "B." We need to have some privacy so that difficult
conversations with complainants can be had, but tell you the truth, it's got a great location. It's
Pequena Havana, Little Havana. It's a great location. It's very safe, adequate parking,
convenient, and the rent is great. So I thank you for your support, and I encourage you to stay. I
sent you a report I guess about three and a half weeks ago. We have since hired a new
gentleman, a police officer, major; African American from a Broward County police agency
that's retired. He's turned out to be an outstanding team member. And we've got harmony. Vice
-- Assistant Manager Ihekwaba has been joining us, and I think he'll report we've got harmony
for the first time in years.
Mr. Ihekwaba: That's correct, sir.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Mr. Aguirre: Thank you, gentlemen.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Now close the public hearings. The motion --
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir; go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, I think we have a motion on --
Chair Gort: Yes, we do.
Commissioner Carollo: -- the table. And by the way, let me be very clear. I'm not looking to
piecemeal this, but this is something that -- listen, this is a no-brainer. Let's put this one aside,
let's get it done, and then we'll tackle all the other ones, because I will foresee some of them will
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have a lot of debate. And what I don't want is that, because of all those debates, nothing,
nothing actually gets done. Let's get this one done; it's a no-brainer, and then we'll come back
and we'll tackle all the hard ones. I don't think there's any Commissioner here that is afraid of
tackling any of the hard ones. But, you know, so I'm not seeing as a piecemeal. I think, let's get
this one done and then the City Attorney will come back in the near future and she'll -- and we'll
actually debate all the different ideas or recommendations.
Chair Gort: Okay. Second?
Ms. Mendez: So Commissioner, just to be clear, your motion is first to make sure that the liaison
is appointed; and second, for the City Manager and the City Attorney to come back with
proposals in January, right; the two parts?
Chair Gort: Yes.
Mr. Ihekwaba: For the fiscal impact report.
Commissioner Carollo: Yes. Now, the liaison to bring back an ordinance, I think, is part --
Ms. Mendez: Right, right; the liaison now, you're giving that direction.
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Ms. Mendez: And giving us the direction, the City Manager and the City Attorneys Office, to
come back with proposals for January, which Ms. Beamud and Ms. Dawson and everyone can
give us options and things to look at.
Commissioner Carollo: Second meeting in January, and that's a timeline that you all actually
stated, that you wanted 60 days, so that's pretty much --
Ms. Mendez: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: -- what I've given you or this Commission, if we vote favorably. Now,
that doesn't mean -- if you need more time, please let us know. But again, we don't want this to
linger.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Manuel Orosa (Chief of Police): Chief Manny Orosa. Just one point of clarification: We've
always had a liaison; it's just a matter of --
Chair Gort: Making it part of the --
Chief Orosa: -- make it more formal --
Chair Gort: Right.
Chief Orosa: -- of the liaison.
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Chair Gort: Thank you, Chief. Any further discussion? Being none, all in favor, state it by
saying "aye."
Mr. Hannon: Chair --
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Chair Gort: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: -- I need a second on the motion. I need a second. I had Commissioner Carollo --
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Mr. Hannon: -- making the motion at 11..03.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Commissioner Carollo: I thought --
Chair Gort: Seconded by Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Chair Gort: Okay? All in favor, once again, state it by saying "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
D3.2 DISCUSSION ITEM
14-01093
D4.1
14-01040
D4.2
14-01083
UPDATE REGARDING DISCUSSION ON IMPROVING THE CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (C.I.P) PROCESS.
14-01093 CITP Baseline Proj. Schedules.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
END OF DISTRICT 3
DISTRICT 4
COMMISSIONER FRANCIS SUAREZ
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING A TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PLAN.
14-01040 E-Mail - Discussion Item.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION ON CORAL WAY MEDIAN BEAUTIFICATION PROJECT.
14-01083 E-Mail - Discussion Item.pdf
14-01083-Submittal-Mark Spaniolli-Coral Way Medians Presentation.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
D4.3 DISCUSSION ITEM
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
14-01024
D4.4
14-01117
D4.5
14-01127
DISCUSSION REGARDING CONDITION OF FLAGLERAND EIGHT
STREET BUSINESS CORRIDOR.
14-01024 E-Mail - Discussion Item.pdf
DEFERRED
Note for the Record: Item D4.3 was deferred to the January 8, 2015 City Commission Meeting.
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING THE FLORIDA FOURTH DISTRICT COURT OF
APPEAL'S OCTOBER 15TH DECISION IN THE MATTER OF CITY OF
HOLLYWOOD V. AREM RE: REDLIGHT CAMERAS.
14-01117 E-Mail - Discussion Item.pdf
14-01117 Back -Up Documents.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING CITY OF MIAMI'S EBOLAACTION PLAN.
14-01127 E-Mail - Discussion Item.pdf
14-01127-Submittal-Carlos Migoya-Ebola Presentation.pdf
14-01127-Submittal-Fire Chief Kemp-Ebola Action Plan Presentation.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Gort: Okay, D4.5, Ebola.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Ebola action plan.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the courtesy of scheduling this as a
time certain item. As is current in the news today, the spread of Ebola or the disease of Ebola in
the United States -- in different parts of the United States has caused a tremendous amount of
anxiety for all citizens of the United States, but also the City of Miami, and it brought to my mind
the thought of whether or not the City is ready. Do we have a plan? Is the plan updated? And I
was pleasantly surprised to know that the department -- our Fire Department as well as the
Police Department, as well as our primary public hospital that's being very ably run, excellently
run by our former City Manager, who is, I think, a dear friend of all of us and a mentor to many
of us. So, you know, I'm just privileged that he's here, and I know he flew from out of town to get
here on time. We're thankful that he's here. And we'd like to hear from all the various
departments what our state of readiness is in the possible event, and hopefully unlikely event that
there is -- you know, Ebola somehow makes its way down to Miami.
Maurice Kemp (Chief of Eire): Thank you, Commissioner.
Vice Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, Chief.
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Chief Kemp: I am joined here today by, as you indicated --
Vice Chair Hardemon: Chief can you announce your name for the record, please?
Chief Kemp: Yes, sir. Maurice Kemp, the Fire Chief City of Miami Fire Department. I'm going
to give you an overview of what the City has done and how we communicated with our
healthcare partners and other community partners in preparing for this infectious disease. I
have here with me the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Jackson Health Systems, Mr. Carlos
Migoya, and, of course, our Police Chief Mr. Manuel Orosa. As first responders, of course,
we're on the frontline with any infectious disease threats that we're confronted with, and we have
to be prepared to respond to these threats and protect the community. But this is not the first
time that we've had these concerns. In the '80s, it was HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus),
which changed the way that we delivered healthcare. Prior to that, firefighters operated without
gloves and there was no universal precautions, but all of that changed in the '80s with HIV.
Then post 911, it was anthrax, the white powder scares. We worked with our partners in Police
and community health, and we dealt with that. And then two or three years ago, we had Sudden
Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, and we planned, prepared and responded to that threat,
as well. Then last year, HINT (Hemagglutinin, Type 1 and Neuraminidase, Type 1), and there
have been countless others. So we're well versed in preparing for and responding to these
threats. But this is a new one. Over the years, we've learned valuable lessons, and the first
lesson is education is the key to an effective response. And secondly, we have to have community
awareness so that there's no panic. And finally, we have to make sure that our policies and
procedures are tight and that we're ready to deal with this in a manner to protect our citizens, but
protect our personnel at the same time. So that's what we've done. As this threat began to
emerge, I put together an ad hoc work group. I charged Deputy Chief Pidermann to chair this
group, and their direction was to look at everything that we do from the time that a citizen calls
our Communications Office to the time that we clean our truck after the incident has been
handled and to ensure that our policies were tight; that our procedures were in place; that we
had the proper level of personal protective equipment and that we were well trained in the use of
that equipment. They started by reviewing all Federal and State guidance. And believe me, it
was -- the directions, the guidance was changing every day, so it's a very dynamic process. We
have established a policy; we have implemented a policy, but we know that the policy has to be
flexible as the information changes. Also, I directed them to coordinate with our partners --
that's healthcare partners, that's the school systems, that's Risk Management in the City -- and to
make sure that they're a part of this process. The main charge for this group was to keep our
community safe through education, prevention, and most importantly, a coordinated response. A
comprehensive policy has been drafted. It is now a part of our SOPs (Standard Operating
Procedures), and this policy covers the identification of a potential Ebola threat or infectious
disease threat. They guide treatment and they guide recovery from the threat. By "recovery," I
mean the part where we take off the gear, we clean the equipment, and we get ready to respond
again without contaminating ourselves in the process. As I mentioned before, the first line of
defense for us is our 911 dispatchers. When the call comes in, they've been trained that if there's
a certain complaint, they will ask questions; questions about travel, questions about exposure,
and they will pass this information on to the first responders; the police and firefighters who are
responding to these calls. This interviewing process will continue. When the firefighters arrive
into a home, they will, again, ask questions, because the most dangerous threat for us is to deal
with a patient who may have Ebola, but we don't suspect that and we treat them as though it's
just an ordinary person without this threat being prevalent. So next was the personal protective
equipment or PPE. There's a national emphasis on the right level equipment, how you don it or
put it on, and how you doff it or take it off,- one is as important as the other. We also dealt with
preparing the vehicle for transport. We have a rescue truck that we have equipped and prepared
that's on standby at Station 2 that, given the forewarning, we will get that truck to the scene and
use it for the Ebola patient. We also know how to prepare any truck to transport one of these
patients in a manner that doesn't take the truck out of service for an inordinate amount of time
after the patient has been dealt with. And then we prepare the patient for transport; we have a
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process for that; and patient treatment, as I said before, and decontamination, disinfection and
post -up follow-up -- post -exposure follow-up, and that will involve our Risk Management
Department, and we've had preliminary conversations with the director of that department.
Inter -Agency Coordination: We've assisted Miami Police with the identification of proper
personal protective equipment and for their officers. We've also assisted them with the
procurement of this equipment, and we're helping to train them in the safe usage of such
equipment. When it comes to our hospital partners, Mr. Migoya will tell you what Jackson has
done to prepare for Ebola, but I can tell you that we've conducted several meetings with JMH
(Jackson Memorial Hospital) to develop plans for patient transfer, decontamination, and the
disposal of the PPE (personal protective equipment) after the run is done. Our medical director,
Dr. Shrank (phonetic), has been a big part of this planning, as well. We've also contacted every
other hospital in our community to see what their plans are and to ensure coordination with
them. Most of the hospitals are still developing plans at this point. We've been in
communications with the Office of Communications for the City to assist us with the public
awareness campaign. The Federal Government, the State Government, Health Department, they
put out a lot of information. We just need to make sure that our citizens get the proper
information. We produced a video illustrating the proper way to don and doff, put on and take
off, personal protective equipment. There is a video that's been produced in my department.
We're going to train to that video, and we're going to do the same with the Police Department.
So the coordination between the agencies include Risk Management, the Fire Officers
Association of Miami -Dade, which is a agency that we're all a part of every Fire Department in
Miami -Dade County. We meet monthly, so we're going to make sure that, community -wide, we're
on the same page with this response. Our labor unions are involved, and we're reaching out to
all the schools to see that they have the proper information. It's not our primary responsibility,
but they are our schools, they are in our city, so we'll make sure that they're online and any other
City department that needs to be involved will be. We have here a couple of pictures of the
personal protective equipment. I will tell you that the CDC (Center for Disease Control)
recommends one standard and we're a step above that. Our firefighters will have no skin
exposed, and they'll be using what we call "Poppers," which is a breathing device. So we're
going above and beyond to make sure that as we deal with this threat, as we take care of our
citizens, we also take care of our firefighters. So in summary, I've discussed the importance of
maintaining situation awareness and identing the threat. It starts with our alarm office,
continues with our firefighters when they enter the house. Typically, an Ebola patient is not in a
immediately life -threatening situation, so there's no need for our personnel to rush in and engage
without ensuring that they've got the proper information and know what they're dealing with, and
they know that. They'll have cards that reiterate the things to look for and the questions to ask.
And then there's interagency cooperation with the police, with the hospitals. We're doing that,
we have done that and will continue to do that. And then the policies and procedures: Chief
Pidermann has put together a policy that I have reviewed, and I am very comfortable that this
policy will make us safe. So what's the next thing to do? You train on the policy, you educate on
the policy, and you educate the citizens, and we're doing that. As with everything that we do, our
ultimate goal is the safety of our citizens, so I can assure you that the Miami Fire Department,
working with the Police Department, will be able to take care of our citizens and protect our
employees at the same time. With that, I'll turn it over to Mr. Migoya to tell you more about what
JMH is doing.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Thank you, Chief.
Chief Kemp: Oh, I'm sorry; Chief Orosa.
Chair Gort: And the Chief of Police wants to speak first.
Chief Kemp: Chief Orosa.
Manuel Orosa (Chief of Police): He pulled rank on me. He told me to go first, so.
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Chair Gort: Sure.
Chief Orosa: The Police Department works hand in hand with the Fire Department and with
JMH. We do not foresee us being first responders to an Ebola incident, unless it's a real
outbreak. We would be more of a "By the way, the person you arrested had Ebola," and then we
would have to quarantine and do things of that nature. However, we do have PPE equipment.
As we're going through the process of our yearly training, our gas masks are being exchanged
for new gas masks -- not the masks, the filters, and we're moving forward. All our officers are
assigned PPE gear and gas masks and new filters. It -- if you took a look at the memo we
provided earlier, the only threat is when the actual person is really sick and showing symptoms
of Ebola; that's when it becomes very contagious. Prior to that, it's really not contagious. So
our perspective is when we do have a call, usually, the Fire Department is going to respond first,
and we will just quarantine the area outside. But if we do -- on those cases that we have to
respond first, it's either going to be, "A," we know the person has Ebola, and then we don our
suits and call Fire Rescue, as well, or "B, " we only find out the person has Ebola after the fact,
and at that point, it's a matter of getting medical attention and quarantine and things of that
nature.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: Just two brief questions just based on what the Chief has said. One is:
Do you have an idea, Chief as to how long it will take for us to get the filters?
Chief Orosa: We have the filters.
Commissioner Suarez: No, I'm saying the new ones. You were saying that --
Chief Orosa: We're going through the process of training that started in January, and as they go
through the process, everybody gets their filter, correct. The filters do not expire towards the end
of this year.
Commissioner Suarez: Till the end of this year.
Chief Orosa: And the new ones -- do not -- will expire four years from now in 2018, the year
2018.
Commissioner Suarez: So there's no expired filters now?
Chief Orosa: There might be some, but they're getting changed out.
Commissioner Suarez: Those are going to be the first ones that get changed, obviously.
Chief Orosa: Correct. It's already started.
Commissioner Suarez: The second question is -- and then you kind of articulated an SOP
verbally, and I know that Fire has a written SOP -- Are you planning on kind of documenting
and having a documented SOP on this?
Chief Orosa: We do have SOPs on how to deal with airborne pathogens and this is a similar
situation, so there's no need to create a new one.
Commissioner Suarez: Or anything specific.
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Chief Orosa: Correct. That's it?
Commissioner Suarez: That's it. Thank you.
Chief Orosa: Thank you.
Chair Gort: Mr. Migoya, a pleasure to have you back.
Carlos Migoya: Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Name and address, please.
Mr. Migoya: Commissioners, Carlos Migoya, president, CEO of Jackson Health System. I am
very pleased to be back with so many friends in order to give you a brief update about Jackson's
role in our community's Ebola preparedness. The most important message that we can share as
Miami-Dade's Public Healthcare provider is this: Don't panic. Ebola is certainly a serious
problem, and it's having a devastated effect in West African nations. That does not change the
fact that Ebola is not easily transmitted, and at least here in the United States, it's absolutely
treatable when patients seek help promptly. In Miami, you're at far greater risk from the flu,
malaria and tuberculosis than you are from Ebola. Remember, only two people have died from
Ebola in the United States. Historically speaking, about 20,000 to 50,000 people will die this
year from the flu. So our approach at Jackson and with our partners at the Department of
Health, Emergency Management and the CDC has always been based on the medical guidance
and best practices. Today, the Ebola outbreak has infected fewer than 15,000 people worldwide;
almost entirely in three countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. There's a smaller outbreak
in Congo of a different strain of the disease. Nigeria, Senegal and Spain all had isolated cases,
and since no new ones have been reported there for more than 31 days, they have effectively
been declared Ebola free. There's a misconception about some of our neighbors -- among some
of our neighbors that Jackson is the designated hospital for patients suspected for confirmed --
or confirmed with Ebola. That is not the case. In fact, the Department of Health has told all our
community hospitals statewide that they need to be prepared to identify, test and treat Ebola
patients. Once we have a possible Ebola case, all the decisions are made in coordination here
locally with Dr. Lillian Rivera's team here at the Miami -Dade Health Department; the Florida
General Surgeon -- Surgeon General -- I apologize -- Dr. John Armstrong, and ultimately, the
Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. That includes decisions about who to test,
how to treat and when to move or discharge a patient. Because Ebola is not airborne like the flu
-- I repeat -- is not airborne like the flu, it's perfectly safe for us to allow patients and visitors to
enter the hospital in the emergency rooms normally. At every registration point, including ERs
(emergency rooms), trauma and clinics, we're greeting everyone with a simple three-part
questionnaire. It starts off with: "Have you traveled within the last 30 days to any of the
impacted countries; have you had close contact with anyone who has traveled to those countries,
and have you had any contact with the animals from those countries ? " If the answer is "no,"
this person does not have Ebola. If the answer is "yes," we ask whether they have any of the
symptoms, like fever, headache or abdominal pain; "no symptoms" means "no Ebola." This
allows us to rule out Ebola for nearly 100 percent of patients as soon as they walk in the door. If
someone is still at risk, we immediately give them a mask and bring them to an isolation room.
The CDC is very clear that this does not have to be a fancy room with negative pressure or
anything like that; just a private room with a private bathroom. Once there, a nurse with all the
proper protective gear will check for fever and evidence of other symptoms. The next step is to
assess the risk. Working with the Department of Health, we will look at some preliminary labs
and ask the patient a lot of questions to accurately determine their likelihood to have been
exposed. Again, this is all happening in isolation, and as much as possible, our staff is
interacting with the patient via phone or Skype so we minimize the number of people in direct
contact. If none of that work can definitively rule out Ebola, we will work with the Health
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Department and CDC to test for Ebola. One test will be run here in Miami with a confirmation
test of the same blood sample run by the CDC in Atlanta. Thankfully, we have only had to test
two patients at Jackson, and both were negative. Obviously, this is not the first time Jackson has
dealt with infectious disease outbreaks. Like Chief Kemp talked a minute ago, you will
remember the swine flu, bird flu, HINT. These pop up every few years. So we have a
well -trained team and clear protocols that just needed to be updated and tweaked for the specific
details of Ebola. In order to be most efficient, we gave just the baseline training to people in
non -clinical areas and units that would not deal with an Ebola patient; that's the vast majority of
our employees. And we were able to train them with videos, online courses and educational
posters. That allowed us to focus most of our time and attention on the people who'd be on the
frontlines of this: the emergency room staff the intensive care nurses and the infection control
teams. They've all been receiving one-on-one training, including hands-on practice with the
protective gear. Jackson has some of the best caregivers in the world, and they know this is just
part of the job at a hospital system like ours. I want to make -- to move through these few slides
really quick just to give you a sense of how broad and deep our preparations have been. We've
obviously identified isolation rooms across the hospital; not just in the emergency rooms and the
ICUs (intensive care units), but also in the very unlikely event we need to bring an Ebola patient
into the operating room or a labor and delivery suite. Typically, an Ebola patient is about
stabilizing them; not about surgery. We've planned out all of the patient flow, including how we
would move patients from the emergency room to an in -patient unit or even between our
hospitals without creating risk for other employees, visitors and patients. The personal
protective equipment was one of the hardest challenges in the first few weeks. The guidance from
the CDC was involved on a daily basis at one point, just as we were trying to train our staff.
There was also a risk of shortage at some hospitals, because the demand of the equipment went
through the roof, and the supply chain just was not prepared for it. Luckily, we worked with our
partners at the University of Miami to make sure we both had the quality and quantity that we
needed. I already spoke a little bit about how we've been training our employees at all different
levels using different tools. And waste disposal is a major issue for this situation. Cleaning or
disposing of infected material is not terribly difficult. Believe it or not, regular bleach does a
great job, but we've had to think about all the little details, like how and where we're restoring
[sic] the soil material until we can have it properly disposed with our other infectious waste. It's
also a personnel issue. On one hand, you want to minimize the number of people going into that
patient's room, but you also have to be careful about asking a nurse in a stressful situation to
also be responsible for being the housekeeper in a patient's room. Based on the details of Ebola,
we also had to update our protocols for employee exposure, including how we monitor nurses
and doctors who may have treated an Ebola patient. If they follow all of our procedures, there
should be very little risk, but we need to be prepared for every possibility. The riskiest element of
dealing with an Ebola patient are the bodily fluids, because that's how the disease is spread
today; that's required some very tight thinking about how we move and handle lab samples.
Security is another complicated issue in this case. A potential Ebola patient isn't a prisoner;
they deserve to be treated with the same respect as any other patient. So we've had to do some
careful thinking about containing the patient in a humane way; it's not as easy as forbidding
visitors. Imagine training to tell a parent that they can't be by the bedside with their sick child.
Ebola symptoms usually appear within a week if someone is infected, but can potentially be
dormant as long as 20 to 30 days. Doctors do not believe patients are contagious before they
have symptoms, but we've had to create tight policies about whether nurses who treat an Ebola
patient would be allowed to treat other patients or even whether we'd want them going up and
back to their homes. These are tough questions that will have a real impact on people's lives, but
I think we've made the responsible choices by working closely with our union partners and with
experts on Ebola. And finally, we're deeply aware that this is a sensitive issue for everyone
involved. We are absolutely committed to protecting patients' privacy, but we also know that we
have to take our role as the community's healthcare provider very seriously. We've developed
very clear rules for working with the CDC and the Department of Health about who provides
what kind of information at every step. As overwhelming as all that may seem, I promise it only
scratches the surface of the work Jackson has done to ensure that we're ready in the unlikely
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D4.6
14-01084
event an Ebola case comes to our door. We're fortunate that our team has the kind of expertise
and experience to handle just about anything. The silver lining of Ebola outbreak is that it's
prompted us to take a fresh look at many of these protocols and ensure that we're still on top of
our game and online with the best scientific information in the world. I hope that has provided
some insight into how our hospital system is responding, and I'm happy to take any questions.
Chair Gort: Thank you, sir; appreciate it.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: I just want to thank -- I almost said "City Manager Migoya" -- for
coming. I really -- I think one of the things he's tried to do as the CEO of the hospital is for the
hospital to distinguish itself as an expert and as a place that you want to go to when there are
certain events in your life -- the trauma center -- you know, things like this. And I think the
preparation that has clearly been done and the presentation that was made before us convinces
me that this is a hospital that is on the cutting edge of really thinking through these problems to
make sure that this does not become a City-, a County- or a Statewide epidemic here in this area,
and I think that's part of the education process and the communications process that both the
Police Chief and Fire Chief were talking about, to make our citizens feel safe and to be educated
on what are the real risks, and if, God forbid, something were to happen, how are we as a
community going to deal with it. So I thank him. I thank you all for taking the time to put
together such a comprehensive presentation.
Mr. Migoya: Thank you very much.
Chair Gort: Thank you. We appreciate it. We know you're ready; that's the main thing. Thank
you.
DISCUSSION ITEM
DISCUSSION REGARDING SUBMISSION OF PERIODIC REPORTS BY
CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE TO CITY COMMISSION AND SUBMISSION
OF CHARTER REFORM IDEAS BY COMMISSIONERS.
14-01084 E-Mail - Discussion Item.pdf
NO ACTION TAKEN
END OF DISTRICT 4
DISTRICT 5
VICE CHAIR KEON HARDEMON
END OF DISTRICT 5
NON - AGENDA ITEM(S)
NA.1 DISCUSSION ITEM
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
14-01222
NA.2
14-01212
CHAIR GORT RECOGNIZED FORMER MIAMI BEACH VICE MAYOR NANCY
LIEBMAN IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBER.
DISCUSSED
Chair Gort: Mr. Manager, before you do so, I'd like to recognize Nancy Lieberman [sic], former
City of Miami Beach Commissioner. Pleasure to have you with us.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPROVING THE
HONORING OF PABLO RAULALARCON WITH THE INSTALLATION OF A
NAME PLAQUE ON THE CALLE OCHO WALK OF FAME NEAR THE
INTERSECTION OF SOUTHWEST8TH STREET AND SOUTHWEST 15TH
AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA; DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO
NEGOTIATE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CALLE OCHO CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE, USA ("CHAMBER"), FOR THE INSTALLATION, MAINTENANCE,
AND INDEMNIFICATION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") RELATIVE TO THE
NAME PLAQUES ON THE CALLE OCHO WALK OF FAME, AND FURTHER
SUBJECT TO BRING SAID AGREEMENT TO THE CITY COMMISSION FOR
FINAL REVIEW, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROVAL; FURTHER REQUIRING
THE REMOVAL OF SAID NAME PLAQUE SHOULD THE CHAMBER AND THE
CITY FAIL TO FORMALIZE AN AGREEMENT.
DISCUSSED
Note for the Record: This resolution was discussed by the City Commission which did not result
in a vote being taken.
Mayor Tombs Regalado: Mr. Chairman and Commissioners, this is a pocket item brought by the
Administration, and in behalf of the Administration, I am bringing to you this resolution. It has
to do with a resolution approving the Raul Alarcon, founder of the Spanish Broadcasting System,
to be honored with the installation of a plaque on the Calle Ocho Walk of Fame. The way that
the Administration has dealt with this is that this is only one time. And I have here -- actually, I
was here in 2007 when it was requested that an RFP (Request for Proposals) be done for the
Walk of Stars in Southwest 8th Street. At the time, I remember it was moved by Vice Chair Joe
Sanchez and I voted for it, but it never -- the Administration at the time never did an RFP. So
this is just a one-time remedy for this event that is going to take place this week. As you know,
Pablo Raul Alarcon was the founder of what it is today, the Spanish Broadcasting System, based
in the City of Miami, that has five radio station [sic] and one TV (television) station in Miami,
and also in Los Angeles, New York, Puerto Rico and Chicago. It's the biggest Hispanic -owned
radio broadcasting system in the U.S. (United States). So I guess that the Manager and the
Public Works director have worked on this with the City Attorney, and as I said, this is only a
one-time designation. After that, the Administration have to come up to you to do all the process
for the future. Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to begin by saying that I have a
problem which is with this legislation not -- and I want to make it perfectly clear, because I
understand this is the City of Miami. This is nothing, nothing against Mr. Raul Alarcon; it has
nothing to do with Raul Alarcon. It has to do with the process or the lack of process, and I just --
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I guess I'm a little surprised that this comes up like this. And once again, I'm seeing -- and I was
e-mailed (electronic) sort of like a brochure stating that this Friday, we're having the Walk of
Fame 8th Street sidewalk dedication to Raul Alarcon, yet it comes up in a pocket item, Mr.
Mayor. I -- you know, that's not a good process, and you know the first I heard of this was this
Saturday when you mentioned it to me.
Mayor Regalado: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Andl mean, listen, there's no talk about liability, indemnification,
maintenance, and I tell you this because I've been in contact with an organization well known in
the City of Miami, Kiwanis of Little Havana, and we were thinking about doing something --
listen, we've been in talks for a number of months now. At the same time, in 2007, there was
going to be the proper way of doing it with an RFP and so forth that never took place.
Mayor Regalado: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: So for this to come last minute, already being advertised, and I don't
want to say a press conference, but listen, I don't think we should be already -- you know. And I
don't know how this organization or how this came to be. I was sent this by Ms. Lourdes Diaz,
and I don't know who told her or who gave her the okay with regards to, yes, go ahead and set
up some type of press media event, but listen, we can't just with no process, whatsoever, just
outright on a whim -- I'm not even sure what's being asked for, 'cause I just received this right
now, and I haven't read through it -- but allow that we do a star in 8th Street, which I'm not
really even sure of the exact location, without any agreements, without any indemnification. I
just -- I don't think it's the right way of doing City business.
Mayor Regalado: Commissioner, you are right on several issues. In terms of 2007, there was a
mandate from the City Commission to do an RFP, because the principals of Stars of Calle Ocho,
they died on that -- the ones that they were doing this stars since the '70s that they had this
contract with the City. The RFP was never done, and I cannot answer for the Administration at
the time. Then what happened was that several stars were placed on private property, as you
know, in the McDonald's that was built -- rebuilt in Southwest 14th Street. What I believe
happened -- and I learned this several days ago, and the Administration, too -- is that someone
thought that this was inside the private property, and then it was decided that it was not. A11I
can tell you is that all these issues that you detail -- indemnification and in terms of insurance --
are going to be dealt by Public Works -- please -- are going to be dealt with Public Works, and
what you're going to have tomorrow is a symbolic event with the star and then move on with the
City contractor and whatever to do this. And again, you're right on the process. We need to do
an RFP, and I think that -- I'm sure that a lot of people would respond to that, because
eventually, you know, a lot of tourists go to Southwest 8th Street, thousands of tourists, and they
would love to see something like the Hollywood Walk of Stars in Hollywood, California. So what
I'm doing here in behalf of the Administration is trying to resolve an issue and commit to you that
the Administration would really, number one, get all the facts straight on those issues that you
have mentioned; and number two, do a very open and transparent process to work with whoever
wants to be the entity that wants to do the star. So that is why -- I apologize, but that is why
we're here today.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank you for the trust that you have in our
Administration in believing that they will fulfill everything that you have said. However, just on
history alone, I'm not as certain. And nothing against this Administration, but, listen, just a
couple of weeks ago, there was a press conference that I would have loved to have gone to. I did
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not attend that press conference because I didn't have the information in front of me to be able to
review; as simple as that. Once again, I don't want to have some type of press conference, some
type of event and then we'll take care of all the nitty-gritty later on. I don't think that's the proper
way of conducting business. I will not vote in favor of this. Listen, there's a lot of work to do.
There's organizations -- I'm telling you that I have been discussing this for quite a few months --
that have been with our community for many, many years. And you're right, Southwest 8th
Street, a lot of people like to walk and look at the stars. At the same time, a lot of people are
saying, "Hey, those stars are looking kind of raggedy. You know, where's the maintenance?
Who's doing the maintenance? Who's taking care of them?" And to mention with the
McDonald's, unfortunately, there was a few stars that was lost when the McDonald's
reconstructed. So, listen, what I suggest -- and this is one Commissioner, the district
Commissioner -- but what I'm suggesting is postpone this until everything, the proper process is
in place, and then, listen, it is nothing against Mr. Raul. You know, I don't mind if he has the
first star or whatever committee suggests, you know, I'll say, you know, Mr. Alarcon I think
should have the first star. So this is nothing against Mr. Alarcon, but there needs to be a
process. There needs to be a process, and there's no way that we can conduct City business on a
whim, on a pocket item, the last minute; where before we even received the pocket item, it's been
advertised already that we're having this big event. That -- it's just not the right way of
conducting business, and I will not partake in it. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Okay, let me give you a little history. This began back in the '90s when we were
creating the Latin Quarter. Part of the park -- plan of the Latin Quarter was to create the stars.
At that time, we did have a process; we had an RFP. The RFP had a lot of requirement that the
people had needed to do. They had to come up, the names had to be forward to the
Commissioners way before, and I understand there was a process. Unfortunate, my
understanding is there was a confusion when this person, according to what I was told, began
this process about six months ago, and they started going to the different departments, and since
these stars were done in private property, they didn't have any problem with it. Then when it
comes to the last step of the certificate, of the permits, they said, "Oh, no, you can't do that; you
need to go through this process, " and all that. That's what -- I met with the Mayor and I made
sure that they had given you the information, that you had received requests from the people
proposing this, and this is the one-time solution. I do agree with you, I think there have to be an
RFP. We also have to make sure whoever answer the RFP, there have to be a maintenance of
that stars that put up. At the same time, part of the RFP has to be that the stars that were
misplaced should be put back by whoever gets the RFP, and I suggest to that. But the reason the
information went out before, it's my understanding because they had the okay; Capital
Department says, "You shouldn't have any problem, you're going to be able to do it."
Mayor Regalado: And what happened was that apparently, someone believed that it was on
private property, and now is outside. However, and Commissioner, I think there is a solution.
They can move on with their event and -- I don't have anything to do with the organization of the
event, but apparently, they will do the event, and they can do a symbolic thing and not install
anything or everything until the whole process is vetted by Public Works and all that, and
knowing that this is only a one-time event, because the Administration has to come up with a
complete RFP, with all the insurance and everything that has to be done when the things were
done in the past. And Commissioner Gort is right. I was here at the time, and the Commission
had to approve the people that were -- are going to be honored with the Stars of Calle Ocho.
Unfortunately, at the time in 2007, nothing else was done. So just I understand; I understand
exactly your frustration. It's just that it's an event that it's important and it has to be symbolic.
No construction can be done between today and tomorrow or in a few days.
Ronilda Goodrich: Will we be allowed to say anything? Because I come here to speak on this
item.
Chair Gort: Yes, ma'am, it's the public hearing. You're welcome.
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Commissioner Suarez: You may need to get her a microphone.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): We have a portable one.
Chair Gort: Here.
Ms. Goodrich: Good morning. How are you all? I'm very thankful to be here today.
Commissioner Suarez: Morning.
Ms. Goodrich: Got up extra early, but I'm happy.
Chair Gort: I don't think it's on.
Ms. Goodrich: You know why?
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, I don't think it's on.
Commissioner Suarez: And we need to put her name on the record and address and all that.
Thank you, Ana.
Ms. Goodrich: Okay. Thank you so much. Okay, as I said before, my name is Ronny Goodrich,
United States citizen; born in San Francisco, California; raised in Key West; very happy to have
lived in Miami for the past 40 years, okay? I've learned quite a bit.
Mayor Regalado: Address.
Ms. Goodrich: My address is 3421 Northwest 14th Avenue in Allapattah, okay? And I have a
very beautiful Commissioner here that I've known for almost 50 years, and I'm so happy that he's
still here with us, okay? All of you: Mr. Marc Sarnoff, which I know also; Mr. Hardemon; Mr.
Frank Carollo, that you gave us candy for the Halloween festival, which we did the same day of
the star; very grateful on that one, too, although I'll tell you one thing, Frank: It was hard to
communicate with you, and it's not the first time. I've talked with all your secretaries, your
receptionist, blah, blah, blah, whatever, but I'd like to speak with you sometime, too, 'cause I
wanted an appointment precisely to talk about some of these things, also. And Mr. Suarez, I
knew his father quite well, and he helped us on many occasions for different things with the City
of Miami. And this young man has come a long way, and I see you as being a fine
Commissioner, also.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you so much.
Ms. Goodrich: Okay. Now, the Mayor, I have no words but to say that he's a wonderful man.
He's doing the best to help us all, not only in this resolution, but on many things that come across
the City. And as Mr. Suarez said on the last resolution -- not that it has to do with this one, but
it's also a resolution -- they should not take seven years. Things can be done sometimes, believe
it or not, Mr. Carollo, in a shorter length of time, especially when you're bilingual, and you've
been here a long time, and you follow the law, you're a respectful citizen. There's no reason why
we shouldn't be given a chance, especially on this occasion. It's a one-time thing, okay? I do
want to thank you again, all of you. I want you to know, too, I'm the new president of the Little
Havana Chamber of Commerce, USA (United States of America), and we hope to see new
changes, okay? And I would like to have Lourdes speak on the star; put a lot of this work
together.
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Lourdes Diaz: All I want to say is that all the worries --
Chair Gort: Name and address, please.
Ms. Diaz: Excuse me?
Chair Gort: Name and address.
Ms. Diaz: My name is Lourdes Diaz. I do not live in the City. I live in 1483 Southwest 156th
Way, Pembroke Pines. I have been participating in some of the meetings of the Calle Ocho
Chamber of Commerce. Over the past year, one of the things that they wanted was to bring back
the Walk of Fame. I've worked in media for over 35 years. I was the director for the station
group for Telemundo on a national level, so a lot of what I do is media -intensive. I was asked to
help with the stars, which I did, and we did a star on October 31 at the McDonald's property.
Raul Alarcon wanted to give his father a star, and he chose the property near the theater, which
is where the park is; that's where the misunderstanding came in. For the past -- since
September, we've been working with all the different departments, we've been going through all
the different process until, like the Mayor said, we came upon a stumbling block, which was that
this was City property; that it turns out that this was City property. So in the past week, we have
done an amazing job. We have complied with everything. We have insurance; we have
everything that you have in your docket. And what I need to do today is, if I have the resolution,
I have a meeting with FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation), and that's going to be
taken care of today, also, because we took care of that yesterday. I am very sorry that this
circumstance has happened. As I said, I come from the Telemundo world. I come from the
corporate world. I'm learning a lot from the Mayor and the Commissioner Gort of how the
process has to be done in a city, which this has been a great learning experience for me. And we
would like to do future stars. We are very transparent. We budgeted perfectly so that we even
have money to take care of the stars, because, as Commissioner Carollo noted, the ones that we
have right now are not being taken care of. If you want to see what we did, it's right on the
property ofMcDonald's. It's an absolutely beautiful star, and it's very, very similar to the one
that now exists right next to the theater for Jose Luis Rodriguez; it's patterned after that one. So
it's just continuing what was done about 10 years ago. We have already -- like you noted, this
has been advertised. SBS is a national company. This is going to have global press, and I'm
really urging for your support that we can have an amazing event tomorrow and have the City
shine with the Stars on Calle Ocho. Thank you so much.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Let me hear from Public Works.
Ed Santamaria (Director, Public Works): Good morning, Mr. Chair and Commission. I think a
lot of it has been talked about in this dialogue that we've had. There's one thing that I --
Chair Gort: Excuse me. And you are?
Mr. Santamaria: Oh, I'm sorry, forgive me. Ed Santamaria, director of Public Works. There's
one thing that I would like to add to everything that's been said thus far: The legislation you
have in front of you today has one provision which is very important, which is that it requires the
Latin Chamber to -- the Little Havana Chamber to enter into an agreement with the City of
Miami for -- that addresses all of the concerns that the City has in terms of installation,
indemnification, and maintenance, and they have to do this within 90 days. If you do not do this
within the 90 days allotted, then they have to remove the star at their expense. So this legislation
basically provides for meeting the request of the Little Havana Chamber of Commerce and at the
same time, in my opinion, protects the City in terms of the City's needs moving forward. Any
questions?
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Chair Gort: Thank you. Commissioner?
Commissioner Carollo: No. I stand by what I've said previously. This whole process, I mean,
this is -- I first heard about it, you know, speaking in casual conversation Saturday from the
Mayor, and now I see this pocket item, and it's for something that, like I said could cause
liability, could be a black eye in the future of the City of Miami, and nothing against the person.
It's not -- this isn't about the person. This is about the process, and like I said, and I don't want
to just be redundant in what I've said already. This is not the proper way a city of this magnitude
should be doing business; as simple as that. "Oh, approve this, Commissioner, and we promise
that within 90 days, we'll work out an agreement with them." Well, what's going to be in the
agreement? Let me see it. I don't even know the location. Yeah, the location around the park.
The park that you saw two or three Commission meetings ago, I'm fighting tooth and nails to
obtain funding to refurbish it; next to Tower Theater, which I fought tooth and nails to get
funding for, you know? So we're making a big impact in that community. Yes, you're right; I
helped you with your request to -- for candy for the kids and stuff for your Halloween event.
Unfortunately, I didn't receive enough information with regards to the star, and I have the same
concerns that I have with this. I wasn't sure it was in private property or not. As a matter of
fact, I spoke with the owner of McDonald's for many, many times, because he was having issues
with regards to the stars, the original stars from before that, during the reconstruction, got
removed and the City was actually requesting that he pays for them. So actually, I'm surprised
that he agreed to it again, because he did not agree to pay for the ones that were missing from
before due to the reconstruction. So --
Ms. Goodrich: Well, he didn't tell us.
Commissioner Carollo: -- again, what I'm saying is, listen, all I want is for everything to be
done in a proper manner, where there's a right process, and do things right. There's no reason
not to do things right. Listen, Mr. Gort, if you're -- if it is stated -- and I'm not saying that you're
saying it -- but if it is stated that erroneous information was given to the organization, you know
what? Mr. Manager, let's hold people accountable, you know? Who gave that information?
And by the way, unfortunately -- and I hear it every day -- the same thing that you mentioned,
Mr. Gort or Commissioner Gort -- I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman -- where people go through this
process, especially for permits and building and additions and so forth, I hear the same thing,
you know. "We went through this step, this step, this step, this step, and at the end, they asked
for something else." But those people have to abide by it, you know? And I don't think -- and
171 be honest with you -- I should be put in this situation where now, due to the lack of proper
representation by someone from the City, so it is said, that now we have to approve something
that is just -- it's not prudent to do anything in this matter, so I am not supportive of this. Now,
that does not mean that I will not be supportive in the future of a star for Mr. Alarcon; I'm not
saying that, you know. But there has to be a process in place. You know, I don't want -- I want
to believe that the conversations that I've had with the Kiwanis with regards to Stars in Calle
Ocho and stuff like that was not in vain. I think that, you know, I would like to continue those
conversations. I would like to maybe even direct the City Manager to work with me on this to see
how we could all come together and see if we can come with a process. But just out of the blue
allowing an organization or at least implying that they're going to be able to put a star in
Southwest 8th Street, I think, in all fairness, it's actually reckless in the City's part.
Chair Gort: Commissioner Suarez, you're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: I think the Commissioner expressed what's a frustration for my part, not
so much in relation to this one item, but it's a little bit of a -- we're seeing a pattern of putting the
cart before the horse, and it's happening -- this is obviously in terms of the star, a fairly simple, I
think, decision, but we're doing it in much bigger decisions, which are
multi -hundred -million -dollar decisions, and, you know, again, you know, it's a pattern. It's not
so much about -- and I'm not blaming anyone. And I can tell you in the case of the
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hundred -million -dollar decision, I'm specifically not blaming the City Manager, because I think
he was as surprised as I was to see some of the information and the way that it was being
disseminated and the pattern by which it was and the manner by which it was being
disseminated. So I think the frustration that we have up here -- because, I agree, this is not
something that should be a very difficult decision. It shouldn't take very long. It should be very
quick; nevertheless, it should have a process to it, and it should go through the process, whatever
it may be. It shouldn't be a lengthy process. It shouldn't be a complicated process. We should
have, you know, like a standard agreement for indemnification, a standard agreement for
maintenance, a standard agreement -- you know. You should consult with the district
Commissioner. District Commissioner shouldn't be the last person to know, you know, when
something's going to be put on an agenda, or certainly not in a pocket -item fashion. So I can
understand the Commissioner's frustration. I don't think this is about -- and I -- you know, I
know that this is not about the person or the endeavor, because I think that -- and we don't want
to take anything away from the ceremony. And what happens is, you know, there's two aspects to
these things. There's getting it done and then there's the ceremony that is attached to it. And I
think the ceremony is very important, but the ceremony can't proceed getting it done, I mean, and
there's been a pattern of doing that, you know. "Ah, these are not that important," you know,
"let's just get it done," you know. And, no, it doesn't work that way, you know. You know, these
are serious, and in the case of this particular item, it's not a very costly item. I mean, this is
something that could be fixed fairly easily. But when you start applying this kind of thinking to
big items, that's when you can get into big trouble real fast, and, you know, when you have large
entitlements. So it's -- I think the frustration -- and I don't -- I certainly don't mean to put words
in Commissioner Carollo's mouth, 'cause I think he's very able of expressing himself. You know,
I think it's a bigger frustration. This is just a microcosm of the symptom of the problem, so, you
know, please don't take it too harshly. You know, I think we're seeing other things that are
happening, happening today, in fact, that are problematic and that are evidencing this pattern of
you know, "Let's put the cart before the horse, " so thank you.
Chair Gort: Thank you. Anyone else? Two minutes.
Ms. Diaz: I think, if you are seeing a pattern, perhaps --
Chair Gort: Your name again and address, please.
Ms. Diaz: Again, Lourdes Diaz, 1483 Southwest 156th Way, Pembroke Pines. I agree, there's a
process, and we tried to adhere by the process, but I think that there needs to be a little bit more
communication from all your many, many departments to the person who is trying to just do
something that's going to benefit and beaut the City. We went -- one of our first things that we
did about three months ago, we went to the head of the NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team),
and we sat down, and we were never told all the different steps. So we were only told that we
needed licensing, and we needed to do insurance. We've complied with everything, and it was
just at the end of the process when we found out what we found out. So I think that, yes, I take
fault, also. I'd never done this before with the City; my first time. But also, I think the City needs
to make it a little bit easier for people to want to help the City, and that's where, you know, I
really didn't know.
Commissioner Suarez: And I would just say -- and then I think, you know, Commissioner wants
to speak on it -- I agree with you a hundred percent.
Ms. Diaz: Mm-hmm.
Commissioner Suarez: I think that's what we're trying to get at, you know, really; we're -- it
should not be difficult for you. You shouldn't --
Ms. Diaz: It shouldn't.
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Commissioner Suarez: You should not know how to do it, because if you've never done it before,
how would you?
Ms. Diaz: That's right. That's what we do.
Commissioner Suarez: And it's not fair for us to expect you to know how to do it. It's on us to
tell you this is the way to do it, this is the roadmap. But you can't skip steps, because what ends
up happening is you put decision -makers in a very uncomfortable position, andl think that has
nothing to do with you. That has to do with -- and I don't think he's -- that's why I think he's
differentiating. It has to do with what comes before us. We have obligations. We have duties to
make sure that the decisions that we make, we can justify them and we can stand behind them,
and we should be happy when we make -- this should be a happy moment. This shouldn't be --
Ms. Diaz: It should be.
Commissioner Suarez: This should not be contentious. It should be --
Ms. Diaz: But my only --
Commissioner Suarez: -- happy, you know.
Ms. Diaz: -- concern, Commissioner Suarez, is that we're dealing with the media; that's my
concern. And --
Commissioner Suarez: But that's --
Ms. Diaz: -- I did send out e-mails, and I followed up with all the Commissioners; they all knew
what we were doing. You immediately respond.
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Ms. Diaz: So I don't know what else I'm supposed to do.
Commissioner Suarez: And -- but here's the thing, and then I -- you know, I think you -- I don't
know if you're going to agree, but you -- a media advisory should never go out without -- and
this is just my humble opinion. I'm not a media consultant. I don't -- you know, whatever --
without knowing that the action has been taken, because there's a presupposition that an action
is going to be taken.
Ms. Diaz: And how would I know if I'm not given the information --
Commissioner Suarez: Right. And so --
Ms. Diaz: -- by the City?
Commissioner Suarez: Right, right.
Ms. Diaz: So I think it's kind of --
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Chair Gort: Excuse me. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Ms. Diaz: I want to help --
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Commissioner Suarez: It is, it is.
Ms. Diaz: -- as much as I can, and I want to -- and now I know the process.
Chair Gort: Thank you.
Ms. Diaz: Now I've learned the process.
Commissioner Suarez: There should be --
Ms. Goodrich: You know, one thing that I find?
Commissioner Suarez: It should be --
Ms. Goodrich: Commissioner Gort, and I must say --
Chair Gort: Excuse me.
Ms. Diaz: Wait, you can't talk --
Chair Gort: Excuse me.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah, you need a mike to talk.
Chair Gort: Let's keep order, please. Thank you. We have a Commissioner speaking at this
time.
Commissioner Suarez: I was just going to say, I don't want to tell you guys how to run your
process, because once it gets out of the City in terms of how you notify the media and how you
actually do the ceremony, that's your prerogative. I don't --
Ms. Diaz: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: -- get involved in that. And I -- like I said, I answered right away, "I'll be
there. I'd be more than happy to be there," you know, but the whole point is that it should be
done, you know, with a process so that --
Ms. Diaz: I agree. I totally agree.
Commissioner Suarez: -- once it's approved --
Ms. Diaz: I do.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. I agree with you with regards to the City should be able to
give better directions. As a matter of fact, that's why I mentioned if erroneous information was
given, you know, there should be accountability, you know, because it's not on you. You asked.
We should be able to provide that information. So I agree with you, and that's why I stated with
regards to the accountability. We should have accountability; see who's providing erroneous
information. Now, with that said, with regards to the media, I've seen events get cancelled all the
time, and I'm not a media expert. I'm obvious -- I actually see more and more that I'm far from
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it. And by the way, with regards to the event, you know, in all fairness, it should be a happy
event. Right now, if it is the way it is presented and wants to be done, I'm not going to attend the
event, because it's not done the right way, and it shouldn't be that way, you know; it should not
be that way. It just happened a week and a half ago. I wanted to be in the event, but I didn't
have the documentations in front of me, and it gave me a lot of suspicion. As a matter of fact, I
met with the groups before that press event, and I asked them, "Where's the details?" and they
didn't have it yet, so I thought it was in the best interest that I do not attend. So we want this to
be a joyous event. We want everybody to participate. And the way it's being done, I'll have to be
honest, I will not be attending. So I think, in all fairness, we need to move forward. I would
suggest that, you know, what's done many times, and not because I'm an expert -- because I've
seen, you know, events be cancelled -- this should be cancelled till everything is worked out and
then move forward. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Okay. Let me tell you, and I apologize; it's my fault, because when this problem
came up to me about sometime last week, I tried to set up a meeting with the Mayor and the
Administration and all them, try to come up with a solution for this. I know there is a process
that we have; it's on the record. It should be within the Public Works record, because Public
Works was in charge at that time. So I don't think you really need to create an RFP. I think you
have in existence what they need to do. And I apologize; I'm the one that brought this to this
attention to the Mayor and the Administration, because I thought it was very important event for
Little Havana, so -- but it's up to you all.
Ms. Goodrich: May I say something else?
Chair Gort: No, ma'am; closed the public hearings.
Ms. Goodrich: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) background (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Gort: Excuse me, ma'am, sorry. Commissioners.
Commissioner Carollo: I request that the City Manager meet with me so we could discuss how
to put forth within an RFP process or how to put some process in order to be able to start 8th
Street Stars once again, but obviously with all the details that need to take place as far as
maintenance, as far as indemnification, permits, payment, fees, all that stuff. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Question: Do you want to add to your -- to have Mr. Alarcon's stars [sic] be one of
the first one to be considered?
Commissioner Carollo: Well, like I said, once this takes place -- I mean, I would even make the
suggestion that Mr. Alarcon's star be the first one to be considered. I mean, again -- and I want
to be very clear, because even though I'm not an expert in media, I see how things operate in the
City of Miami and in the County, and I want to make sure that everybody understands this is
nothing against Mr. Raul Alarcon.
Chair Gort: Okay, thank you.
Mayor Regalado: No, I just --
Chair Gort: Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Regalado: No, no, I just want to say that I'd like to understand what is the will on the
Commission. What you're saying is for the Manager to have an RFP and follow the original
project. Well, he would not design the RFP; the Administration would.
Mr. Alfonso: Administration, yes.
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Mayor Regalado: And follow -- I guess that we will model that. I remember that the old
resolution said that six months before an event, the names of the honoree have to come to the
City Commission for approval. And by the way, whoever wins the RFP cannot -- the
Commission cannot say, "We want a certain star." They will bring the names and the
Commission will select. So what I'm saying is that you cannot, I guess, during an RFP process,
which they might or they might not participate, and all the people, the Kiwanis or the Latin
Chamber of Commerce, whoever, or -- you know, there is an organization that is doing tourism
in Southwest 8th Street. I'm sure that they will participate. What I'm saying is that if you do that
RFP, the people who would win the RFP will start the process to select some people and bring it
to the Commission. So I'm thinking about a whole year here.
Chair Gort: Mayor, what I understand is -- my understanding is the Commissioner of the district
has stated that in the RFP, the first star that should go there will be Alarcon. It'll be requested to
be part of the RFP. I'm not putting word in his mouth, but I think that's what I heard. At the
same time, I can tell you, the Latin Chamber of Commerce are not interested in getting involved
in the star.
Mayor Regalado: No, I'm just saying --
Chair Gort: We did it once; we're not going to do it again. It's not my district, so I'm not going
to get involved. But the one thing that I'd like to tell you is the Kiwanis, I think, would be great,
but I'm sure the Kiwanis would be willing to work with the Calle Ocho Business Administration
there. As a Kiwanis member, I know we'll work with everyone.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: And again, listen, this is -- popped up in a pocket item. I don't know
what the RFP says. I don't know what the resolutions were and stuff like that. Unfortunately, we
have one meeting in November, and there's a lot of important items, so, you know, I have not
read it. What I'm saying is this: This is not for a star in Flagami. This is not for a star in
Allapattah, nor in Bayside. This is stars for a district area, which is Southwest 8th Street. And
as the district Commissioner, I would, you know, respectfully request the courtesy to meet with
the Manager. Let's go over the documents. Let's see what was passed before and so forth, and I
will bring an item back to the Commission so we could discuss; we could vote on it, however it
is. But, you know, at least, let me be educated on the matter. This is a district -- unless you're
saying you want to do this citywide, but it seems to me like this is a district item, so I respectfully
request the opportunity to meet with the Administration, the Manager, and be able to, you know,
discuss exactly, you know, ideas, and even if those ideas we bring back to this Commission, you
know. And again, I don't feel like this should be a long, long process or that it should take
forever, but the bottom line is -- Listen, you know, in accounting -- and not necessarily just
accounting -- but in accounting, we have these two words that are extremely important, and it
seems like, consistently, I've seen that it's being forgotten, and that's "due diligence." So all I'm
saying is let the district Commissioner do his due diligence. Allow the Administration to meet
with me so we can, you know, do our due diligence and bring something back to this
Commission, or do a process in order for, you know, something that is a very good idea to take
place; it's as simple as that.
Chair Gort: Commissioner, "Mia culpa, mia culpa." I'm the one who (UNINTELLIGIBLE) with
the Administration and I asked them to come up with the -- all the restriction that the Public
Works has implemented in the past, my understanding, the people were willing to do so. So it's
my fault, andl apologize. As you know, I grew up in 8th Street. I lived there all my life, so to
me, 8th Street is very dear to me. And I apologize, 'cause I got involved and I should not got
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Meeting Minutes November 20, 2014
involved. Yes, sir, you're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: No, and I was going to kind of come to your rescue a little bit; not that
you need it, Mr. Chairman. But, look, I think that there are iconic things that we have in the
City, and I think this is one of those iconic things, so I do think it's a citywide thing. I do,
however, think that the district Commissioner should be consulted. So it's kind of a bi -- right,
it's both. You know what I mean? 'Cause I think we should have the right, as Commissioners, to
do something iconic for our City and that -- you know, that -- but I do -- look, there's plenty of
time; there would have been plenty of time for somebody to give you a heads up. "Hey, this is
what's going on."
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Commissioner Suarez: And just out of courtesy, like you said, out of courtesy, to say, "Hey, this
is what's going on," so no worries, no worries.
Commissioner Carollo: Move on.
Chair Gort: Okay.
Mayor Regalado: So what they need to know is that they need to cancel the event, right?
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Mayor Regalado: That's the direction of the Commission.
Commissioner Carollo: -- I don't know if it's the direction of the Commission. The Commission
is not approving, from what I'm seeing, the resolution in front of it. Therefore, we didn't set up
the event, so we're not here to cancel the event. We did not set up the event. However, what we
have not approved is this resolution that has a lot of voids on details that I think are very
necessary; not to mention that it was given to us a day before an event was planned.
Mayor Regalado: So let me --
Chair Gort: Excuse me. My understanding is that they can do the symbolic event.
Mayor Regalado: Yeah, that's what I'm saying; that they can move -- If you keep saying that the
request from the area Commissioner and the Commission support will be the first start for Mr.
Alarcon after the whole process is doing, so they can do the ceremony, do it with the star there in
an urn and say the star eventually -- because the Commission has gone on record saying that the
star will be placed there, and they can do their event and just take back the star and wait for the
process, for the Administration to not the area Commissioner. I think that's a simple solution
that it doesn't harm anybody, because the Commission is on record saying that the Alarcon star
will be approved, right?
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: I don't know why we've had this discussion for the past hour. I mean,
right now, I just realizedl don't know why we've had this discussion for the past hour. We're
talking about the process. I did go on record to say, "Yes, I don't mind suggesting that Mr. Raul
Alarcon be the first star, " this and that, but it has to go through the process. So I don't get it.
You know, I'm not here to cancel any event, because I didn't start any event. All I could tell you
is I will not be there, you know, because I feel that the City should conduct business in a much
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NA.3
14-01227
ADJOURNMENT
different manner. And I can't believe that this is occurring; not to mention, as my Commissioner,
my colleague to the right has mentioned, in a much larger scale. I just can't believe that this
continues to happen in a large city like this. With that said, I think we need to move on. We have
time certain. We have issues that we need to deal with, so thank you.
Chair Gort: Thankyou.
DISCUSSION ITEM
PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 286.011(8) FLORIDA
STATUTES, CITY ATTORNEY VICTORIA MENDEZ REQUESTED TO
SCHEDULE AN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO BE HELD ON DECEMBER 11,
2014, AN ATTORNEY -CLIENT SESSION CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC, FOR
THE PURPOSES OF DISCUSSING THE PENDING LITIGATION IN THE CASE
OF: FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE, MIAMI LODGE NO. 20, AND
ALFREDO VEGAAND FREDERICA BURDEN, RAYMOND CARVIL,
RAYMOND GILBERT, JULIUS NELSON, DWAYNE PRATT, AND WILLIE
SMITH VS. CITY OF MIAMI, CASE NO. 98-7760-CA-27, PENDING IN THE
CIRCUIT COURT OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, THE SUBJECT OF THE MEETING WILL
BE CONFINED TO SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS OR STRATEGY
SESSIONS RELATED TO LITIGATION EXPENDITURES.
DISCUSSED
Chair Gort: -- quorum. As soon as we get two more Commissioners, we'll be able to do it.
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Could I read a script for a request for another executive
session that I have to read into the record?
Chair Gort: Go ahead.
Ms. Mendez: Just to save time. Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission, pursuant to
provisions of Section 286.0118 Florida Statutes, I'm requesting that at the next City Commission
meeting of December 11, 2014, an attorney -client session closed to the public for purposes of
discussing the pending litigation in the case of Fraternal Order of Police Miami Lodge Number
20 and Alfredo Vega and Federica Burden, Raymond Carvil, Raynard Gilbert, Julius Nelson,
Dwayne Pratt and Willie Smith versus City of Miami, Case Number 98-7760-CA-27, pending in
the Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit, in and for Miami -Dade County, Florida. The
subject of the meeting will be confined to settlement negotiations, the strategy sessions related to
litigation expenditures. Thank you.
Chair Gort: Thankyou.
The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
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