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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSEOPW CRA 2021-06-10 MinutesCity of Miami 819 NW 2nd Ave 3rd Floor Miami, FL 33136 http://miamicra.com Meeting Minutes Thursday, June 10, 2021 10:00 AM City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 SEOPW Community Redevelopment Agency Jeffrey Watson, Chair, District Five Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Vice Chair, District One Ken Russell, Board Member, District Two Joe Carollo, Board Member, District Three Manolo Reyes, Board Member, District Four SEOPW CRA OFFICE ADDRESS: 819 NW 2nd AVE, 3rd FLOOR MIAMI, FL 33136 Phone: (305) 679-6800, Fax (305) 679-6835 www.miamicra.com Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 CALL TO ORDER Present: Chair Watson, Vice Chair Diaz de la Portilla, Commissioner Russell, Commissioner Carollo and Commissioner Reyes On the IOth day of June 2021, the Board of Commissioners of the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Miami met in regular session at Miami City Hall located at 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida. The meeting was called to order by Chair Watson at 12:47 p.m., and was adjourned at 1:07p.111. ALSO PRESENT: Cornelius Shiver, Executive Director, CRA Anna -Bo Emmanuel, Chief Legal Counsel, CRA George Wysong, Assistant City Attorney, Supervisor Todd B. Hannon, Clerk of the Board CRA PUBLIC COMMENTS Chair Watson: 1 want to call the meeting to order. 1 want to acknowledge the hoard members and establish a quorum. Commissioner Russell is present. Commissioner Diaz de la Portilla is present. Commissioner Watson is present. We've established a quorum and want to verify the approval of minutes for the City Clerk from the previous meeting. Todd B. Hannon (Clerk of the Board): There are no minutes for approval at today's meeting. Chair Watson: So, before opening the floor for public comments, I want to announce that there are only two items on the agenda, and we will hear all public comments relating to those items. Two are addressing homelessness in Overtown and one is the funding of some program for 25 at -risk girls/young ladies. I ask that all public comments address only agenda items. Thank you. Cornelius Shiver (Executive Director, CRA): Thank you, Mr. Chair. Neil Shiver on behalf of the Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency). Mr. Chairman, do you want us to read the three items into the record very fast or do you want to open up to the public comments and then we do it thereafter? Chair Watson: Open the public comments. Mr. Shiver: Thank you. Public comments on the three agenda items on the Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA meeting agenda. David Tucker: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are not here on those specific agenda items. Mr. Shiver: Then it's up to the Chairman's discretion, and most likely, he will yield discretion to you. Chair Watson: You're not here for any item on the agenda? SEOPW CRA Page 1 Printed on 1/10/2023 Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 Mr. Tucker: That is correct, Commissioner. Chair Watson: So, you want to -- Mr. Tucker: That is actually why we're here. Chair Watson: So, we have a couple people. Two minutes, Mr. Clerk. Go ahead. Mr. Tucker: Thank you very much. Commissioners, Mr. Chairman, my name is David Tucker and I'm here on behalf of Transition Inc., which is not on the agenda, and that's actually why we're here. I'm going to invite the Clerk to hand out the notebooks that we have prepared for all of you. At this time, I'd like everyone who's here on behalf of Transition to please stand and thank you for hearing us before you went to lunch. We had hoped that we would be on the agenda, and we are not. We are always hopeful. For those of you who don't know us, over the next few minutes, you will have an opportunity to get to know us as well as review what's in the notebooks. We are a full -service reentry organization that has been in the heart of Overtown for the past almost 50 years. Thank you, sit down. We are an essential part of Overtown. I want to take this opportunity to invite you to read what we have supplied to the Commission. Also, I want to thank the CRA, I want to thank Mr. Shiver for the $350,000 grant that you gave us, I think it was about a year -and -a -half ago. That grant was a success. I want to thank Mr. Shiver for assisting us in the development of the budget. This was a reimbursement grant, and we were able to service so many members of the Overtown community because of it. It was a success on all levels. However, over the past year or so, as president of this organization, and the organization, we've heard all sorts of information about why it is we are not continuing the relationship or not. I'm here to invite the Commissioners, Commissioner Watson, Mr. Shiver, to share with me how I can assist you in assisting us. To share with me if there is a problem. Allow me to provide a solution. I cannot solve a problem unless I know what it is or even if there is a problem. I'm here to tell all of you, Mr. Shiver, I will do whatever it takes for this organization. I've been involved for eight years. I've been on the hoard, for I don't know how many years. I've been president for also too many years. This organization is very important to me. I have fallen in love with the people of Overtown. We need money. Because of COVID, we have been challenged in generating money, and we have applied for various grants and that's also contained in your notebook. We are now, once again, applying for $150,000. Chair Watson: All right, Mr. Tucker. Mr. Tucker: Yes. Chair Watson: This wasn't an agenda item. Mr. Tucker: I'm sorry? Chair Watson: This was not an agenda item. Look this way, this way. Mr. Tucker: It is not. Chair Watson: It is not an agenda item. Mr. Tucker: It is not. Chair Watson: And we gave you time to make your statement. Mr. Tucker: I'm sorry? Chair Watson: We gave you time to make a statement. This was not an agenda item. SEOPW CRA Page 2 Printed on 1/11/2023 Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 Mr. Tucker: It is not. Chair Watson: We gave you time to make a statement, all right? And the bell has rung now a couple times. So, we understand, we've heard you, all right? And we're going to enter that into the record until it becomes an agenda item and then we'll go from there, okay? Mr. Tucker: Please make it an agenda item. Thank you. Ashley Litwin: Hello, my name is Ashley Litwin. I am the Vice President of the Board of Transition -- Chair Watson: We already heard from Transition. We already heard from Transition, okay? It wasn't an agenda item, right? So, we've already heard from Transition, so we're not going to hear from anymore representatives until it becomes an agenda item. okay? Ms. Litwin: Yes, we are just trying to all speak to try to get it to be an agenda item. Chair Watson: Yeah, but Mr. Tucker already spoke to the item, and we stated from the beginning, we're only going to allow public comments of agenda items, all right? So, we're not not hearing you, we've heard you. When it becomes an agenda item, you can bring 50 people and speak, but right now, okay, out of respect to everybody else, then that's all the comments we're going to hear from -- Ms. Litwin: Of course, and we're just trying to .figure out how to get it to be an agenda item, that's all. Chair Watson: Well, you have to talk to the executive director -- okay? -- and deal with the issues at hand of the organization and why it's not an agenda item. So, as long as you don't talk about that too, okay? Yeah, don't make us out to be the bad guys. So, because you know why it's not an agenda item, of course. We'll talk to the director, and we'll get that straightened out, okay? Ms. Litwin: Okay. Chair Watson: Come forward. Is this an agenda item you're going to speak on? Shoshana Lincoln: Mr. Watson. Chair Watson: Is it an agenda item you're going to speak on? Ms. Lincoln: Listen, I just have to make a short comment. Chair Watson: No, is it an agenda item you 're going to speak on? Ms. Lincoln: The short comment I do want to make that I'm insisting is you folks should come over there and see what we are doing at Transition, how do we help the community Chair Watson: Okay, so you're now -- Ms. Lincoln: -- and we need money to do that. Chair Watson: -- going to go beyond what we already talked about. Come, sir. SEOPW CRA Page 3 Printed on 1/11/2023 Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 Brian Halstead: Hello, good afternoon. Again, my name is Brian Halstead. 1 represent Halstead Homes Realty. I'm a real estate broker. I've been an owner at Town Park North for -- since 2013, an owner and a manager there. I had a tenant there that was diligently, you know, for many years paying me rent, we had a good relationship. I live also in the -- close by in the Shenandoah community, so it's very close. I have a good relationship with people of Overtown and the Overtown community. If you're aware, the CRA has transitioned my tenant over to St. Johns in 2019, due to the development of the Town Park North Condominium. My tenant was transferred there. What happened is that my tenant, because of the pandemic, stopped, you know, paying me rent. I understand that the CRA was paying St. Johns for my tenant. I'm not here to increase the CRA budget or payments to -- that CRA is making to me, but I'm here to explain that because my tenant is now at St. Johns, it is impossible for me to take any action, whether it be eviction, whether it be a payment plan with my tenant, and it's been nearly two and a half years now. My tenant left in 2019, January 2019. Chair Watson: Okay. Mr. Halstead: And I've not been paid now for more than a year and a half and that is thousands of dollars I've lost in income. Chair Watson: All right. Mr. Halstead: I've contacted various people. I've even write [sic] you, Mr. Watson, e- mails and I'm trying to resolve this matter. Chair Watson: Okay. Mr. Halstead: So, that's why I'm here today, to basically stop the bleeding where, you know, I'm continuously losing income and I cannot take any action against my tenant at all because the tenant is not at my property. So, legally, I cannot evict the tenant. I manage other properties which I've already stabilized because the economy, as we know, is stabilizing. Chair Watson: All right. Mr. Halstead: But I'm unable to do that here and that's why I'm here, for some kind of solution. Chair Watson: Okay, let me give you a quick answer towards a possible solution. You should get engaged with the executive director so we can figure out if there's something we can do. But more importantly, let me tell you why 1 wanted you to speak. I get more questions about Town Park North than anything, okay? The CRA has done its job and was very diligent in their efforts to try to be aggressive, maybe even overreaching, in assisting people who would probably never own, they would own. Mr. Halstead: Yeah. Chair Watson: Now, let me roll back, or roll forward. Whether it's a co-op or a condominium -- right? -- you are an owner. Mr. Halstead: Yes. Chair Watson: And when you have a problem, the association of the condominium is the governing law. Mr. Halstead: Yes. SEOPW CRA Page 4 Printed on 1/11/2023 Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 Chair Watson: There's a lot of people running around not understanding that -- okay? -- but that should be on the record. The CRA is not hiding from anything. Mr. Halstead: Yes. Chair Watson: There's going to be an HOA (Homeowner's Association) board meeting at the end of the month, I believe it's on the 23rd. Mr. Halstead: The 23rd of this month. Chair Watson: And we will now govern ourselves accordingly, just like any other owners of units. Mr. Halstead: Yes. Chair Watson: But the CRA does not hold sway over homeowner's associations. It's probably one of the most stiff -- stiffest book of laws in the State of Florida that exists. Mr. Halstead: Okay. Chair Watson: They're the ones. So, if the board doesn't allow you to rent, which they probably shouldn't, then -- so, that's what has caused a lot of problems and a lot of confusions in the projects, even if'it's a co-op, you're an owner. Mr. Halstead: Yes. Chair Watson: So, that will get resolved at that time, but Mr. Shiver, I'd like to get this from you, on Town Park. Mr. Shiver: Okay. Chair Watson: I'd like to get as much information on the previous and now current contractor, the units, people who owe or don't owe, like to get an audit of the last monies we spent on Town Park. We need to find out -- or be it the attorneys that represent the contractors, or the contractors themselves. I want to make sure that we separate ourselves from anything that was done to people that should not have been done to them, okay? So, in the next board meeting, let's make sure we have that information so that we can now put out the correct information to people and they know that we did our job versus all of the consternation and confusion that exists about what's going on, okay? Okay. Mr. Shiver: Thank you. Chair Watson: I want to move now to the two items that are on agenda -- Mr. Shiver: Wait, Mr. Chairman, I think there are some -- there are people who do want to speak on the agenda items, even though the first -- Chair Watson: All right. Mr. Shiver: We 0 for 2. Chair Watson: Okay. Mr. Shiver: So, hopefully, if anybody here to speak, please speak on the agenda items. And if you're not on the agenda items, I'll be glad to stick around after the meeting and talk to you. Thank you. SEOPW CRA Page 5 Printed on 1/11/2023 Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 Lola Capers: Good afternoon. My name is Lola Capers. I'm on the agenda item. I'm with Community Awareness Construction Services. And with Community Awareness Construction Services, we have a training program at Camillus House that helps train individuals that are homeless and have made bad decisions. With that training, they are trained with construction skills, and they are given the opportunity to be employed as well as we're assisting them with housing and life skills. This program has been going on in the Overtown area, with the CRA, now for the last year. We have been very successful. We have successful individuals that are working on our Father Barry's project. It is important to give people a new opportunity to make a change in life. To have them where, I made a mistake, now I have the opportunity to get a skillset that can give me livable wages." The livable wages Jrothat project is $22.23 an hour. That is something that they can pay a bill and not just be on subsidies. So, I'm asking to support my item on your agenda, and I appreciate everything. Thank you. Chair Watson: Thank you. Sherman Rivers: Good morning. Good morning, everybody. Chair Watson: Good morning. Mr. Rivers: I'm here to speak on -- Chair Watson: I can't hear you, speak up a little bit. Mr. Shiver: Could you speak up? Mr. Rivers: I can. I'm here to speak on Item Number 1. Sir, I'm so grateful for the -- Mr. Hannon: Sony, Chair, he's going to need to pull the microphone up. Chair Watson: You need to pull the mic up because he can 't hear you. Mr. Rivers: All right. Hello? Can you hear me? Chair Watson: Yes. Mr. Rivers: Okay, I'm here to -- on Item Number 1, and I want to thank the CRA and the CRA coordinator for doing such a tremendous job. Sir, I ant homeless. 1 sleep up under the bridge in a tent, eating out of the soup line, and 1 was recognized by my boss here calling the police in the area, doing a good job, and she decided to hire me on the team. And I've been there a minute now, and I've come a long way, and I'm so grateful, okay? And I have come a long way, okay? Since I've been with the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I was able to save a tremendous amount of money, $8,000, $9,000, and I'm trying move forward, you know? And I was praying that I can get into the housing program to better myself and move forward, you know? And I want to thank Mr. Nathan -- Chair Watson: Hold on, Commissioner. Hold on, Commissioner. I want you to hear this. Finish. Mr. Rivers: I want to thank the CRA, the CRA coordinators, Mr. Nate, my boss here for doing such a tremendous job, and most definitely, keeping the program alive. It do work, sir. The program do work. Chair Watson: Thank you. Mr. Hannon: Chair, ifI could just get the speaker's name. My apologies, Chair. SEOPW CRA Page 6 Printed on 1/11/2023 Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 Mr. Rivers: I'm Sherman Rivers, sir. Mr. Sherman Rivers. Mr. Shiver: Sherman Rivers. Chair Watson: Just because if affects us a lot -- Mr. Shiver: Thank vou, Mr. Rivers. Chair Watson: -- and maybe the gentleman might be a little nervous to note that he lives under the bridge. He got noticed, he got hired for a program that we sponsored. He saved money, okay, in order to now move himself to a different place in life, and it's because of the program that we put forth and continue now to serve, okay? So, we don't always do bad things, we do some good things. Thank you, Mr. Rivers, appreciate it, and good luck to you. Is this on the agenda item? Michael Hepburn: It is. Chair Watson: Something you just got to say, it's just pressing. Mr. Hepburn: No, it's not, it's on Resolution 3. Chair Watson: Okay. Mr. Hepburn: It's on the third item. Good afternoon, City Commissioners. Michael Hepburn, address 6445 Northeast 77th Street. Pretty much, I just wanted to stop by today to have a quick public comment about policing or any time that we engage in initiating any services, funds, or a conversation around how we're going to utilize our police department to help us facilitate a safer community and also have some real conversations about public safety. I say that, from this slant, I am a former volunteer cop, or a citizen on patrol with our MPD (Miami Police Department), and also a recent graduate from the Miami Police Department Citizens' Police Academy. So, I definitely understand the perspective of where we're going with using policing techniques to help, in a sense, our communities to becoming safer. But I wanted to mention this. Before you guys allocate any funding sources towards policing in our city, I want you all to remember to have clear directives about how we should be policing, right? So, making sure our police officers understand how to deescalate situations, making sure our police officers understand that everyone's mental capacity or how people make decisions is d ferent. So, we need to be lenient and educated about that. Making sure we understand that policing is comprehensive, right? So, anytime that we are involved in our police department that may have lethal -- well, access to a lethal weapon, please understand that we need to be more grassroots oriented to making sure our communities come together to help police in the different communities that we serve. So, I just wanted to say anytime that you guys have a conversation, or get ready to allocate money, or in this sense, for Item 3, just make sure you're collectively looking at how is this benefitting our community as a whole and not just necessarily looking at how policing can be the answer to all of our problems. I just want to make sure the City Commissioners understand that it is with community input and making sure that we are building up our citizens in these neighborhoods to collectively work with our police department in order to make the changes that we seek and to keep us all safe. So that's just pretty much my two cents -- Chair Watson: Can I get a -- Mr. Hepburn: -- I wanted to mention. Chair Watson: -- motion to move the agenda, please? SEOPW CRA Page 7 Printed on 1/11/2023 Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 Mr. Hepburn: And thank you for your time. CRA RESOLUTION(S) 1. CRA RESOLUTION 9168 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE SOUTHEAST OVERTOWN/PARK WEST COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AUTHORIZING RATIFICATION OF A GRANT TO COMMUNITY AWARENESS CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, LLC, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $150,000.00, TO UNDERWRITE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONSTRUCTION TRAINING PROGRAM FOR HOMELESS RESIDENTS AT THE CAMILLUS HOUSE; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO DISBURSE FUNDS, AT HIS DISCRETION, UPON PRESENTATION OF INVOICES AND SATISFACTORY DOCUMENTATION; FUNDING SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF SOUTHEAST OVERTOWN/PARK WEST COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY FUNDS, FROM ACCOUNT 10050.920101.883000.0000.00000 — SEOPW — OTHER GRANT AND AIDS. ENACTMENT NUMBER: CRA-R-21-0016 MOTION TO: Adopt RESULT: ADOPTED MOVER: Manolo Reyes, Board Member, District Four SECONDER: Alex Diaz de Ia Portilla, Board Member, District One AYES: Watson, Diaz de Ia Portilla, Russell, Carollo, Reyes Vice Chair Diaz de la Portilla: So moved. Chair Watson: Motion, moved and seconded. All in favor? Todd B. Hannon (Clerk of the Board): Chair, my apologies, just if you could close your public hearing. Chair Watson: Public hearing has been closed. Mr. Hannon: There was no additional speakers? Chair Watson: No. Mr. Hannon: Understood, thank you, Chair. Chair Watson: It's been properly moved and seconded. All in favor? The Board Members (Collectively): Aye. Chair Watson: Passed. That ends and concludes the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) meeting. Thank you. Board Member Reyes: You're welcome. SEOPW CRA Page 8 Printed on 1/11/2023 Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 2. CRA RESOLUTION 9169 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE SOUTHEAST OVERTOWN/PARK WEST COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AUTHORIZING A GRANT TO GIRL POWER ROCKS, INC., IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $37,230.56, TO UNDERWRITE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUMMMER STEAM AND WORKFORCE ON-THE- JOB TRAINING PROGRAM; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO DISBURSE FUNDS, AT HIS DISCRETION, UPON PRESENTATION OF INVOICES AND SATISFACTORY DOCUMENTATION; FUNDING SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF SOUTHEAST OVERTOWN/PARK WEST COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY FUNDS, FROM ACCOUNT 10050.920101.883000.0000.00000 — SEOPW — OTHER GRANT AND AIDS. 3. ENACTMENT NUMBER: CRA-R-21-0017 MOTION TO: RESULT: MOVER: SECONDER: AYES: Adopt ADOPTED Manolo Reyes, Board Member, District Four Alex Diaz de Ia Portilla, Board Member, District One Watson, Diaz de Ia Portilla, Russell, Carollo, Reyes Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item Number 2, please see Item Number 1. CRA RESOLUTION 9170 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE SOUTHEAST OVERTOWN/PARK WEST COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY AUTHORIZING NEGOTIATIONS FOR FUNDING, TO UNDERWRITE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ENHANCED POLICING SERVICES WITHIN THE REDEVELOPMENT AREA AND ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES FOR TARGETED AREAS THAT POSE A RISK TO THE HOMELESS POPULATION WITHIN THE REDEVELEOPMENT AREA, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $600,000.00; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM SEOPW INTER FUND TRANSFER — ACCOUNT NO. 10050.920101.891000.00000.0000. ENACTMENT NUMBER: CRA-R-21-0018 MOTION TO: RESULT: MOVER: SECONDER: AYES: Adopt ADOPTED Manolo Reyes, Board Member, District Four Alex Diaz de Ia Portilla, Vice Chair, District One Watson, Diaz de la Portilla, Russell, Carollo, Reyes Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item Number 3, please see Item Number 1. SEOPW CRA Page 9 Printed on 1/11/2023 Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 1: 07 p.m. SEOPW CRA Page 10 Printed on 1/11/2023