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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2017-08-28 MinutesCity of Miami City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com Meeting Minutes August 28, 2017 9:00 AM Special Meeting City Hall City Commission Keon Hardemon, Chair Ken Russell, Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner, District One Frank Carollo, Commissioner, District Three Francis Suarez, Commissioner, District Four Tomas Regalado, Mayor Daniel J. Alfonso, City Manager Victoria Mendez, City Attorney Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk City Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2017 PA1111AM I►UL016YAIle] ►I_1►IdUTAIZr]4 Present. Chair Hardemon and Commissioner Gort Absent. Vice Chair Russell, Commissioner Carollo and Commissioner Suarez On the 28th day of August, 2017, 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 special session. The meeting was called to order by Chair Hardemon at 9:06 a.m., recessed at 9:25a.m., to be reconvened on Friday, September 1, 2017, at 9:00 am., reconvened the meeting on Friday, September 1, 2017, at 9:01 am., and adjourned at 9:01 a.m. ALSO PRESENT. Daniel J. Alfonso, City Manager Victoria Mendez, City Attorney Todd R Hannon, City Clerk Chair Hardemon: Welcome to the August 28, 2016 [sic] special meeting of the City of Miami City Commission in these historic chambers. The members of the City Commission are: Wifredo Gort, Frank Carollo, Francis Suarez; Ken Russell, the Vice Chair; and me, Keon Hardemon, the Chairman. Also on the dais are Daniel J. Alfonso, our City Manager; Victoria Mendez, our City Attorney; and Todd Hannon, our City Clerk. The meeting will be opened with a prayer by Commissioner Gort, and I'll lead the pledge of allegiance. All rise, please. Commissioner Gort: Morning. Invocation and pledge of allegiance delivered. 101NINMe] a9:1;8DA A Chair Hardemon: We will now begin our regular meeting. The City Attorney will state the procedures to be followed. Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Any person who is a lobbyist, including all paid persons or firms retained by a principal to advocate for a particular decision by the City Commission must register with the City Clerk and comply with the related City requirements for lobbyists before appearing before the City Commission. A person may not lobby a City official, board member or staff member until registering. A copy of the Code section about lobbyists is available at the City Clerk's Office, or online at municode -- www.municode.com. Any person making a presentation, formal request, or petition to the City Commission concerning real property must make that -- must make the disclosures required by the City Code in writing. A copy of this Code section is available in the City Clerk's Office, or online at www.municode.com. 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 www.miamigov.com. 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. The Chairman will advise the public when the public may have the opportunity to address the City Commission during the public comment period. When addressing the City Commission, the member of the public must first state his or her name, his or her address, and what item will be spoken about. A copy of the agenda item titles will be available at the City Clerk's Office and City of Miami Page I Printed on 0911812017 City Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2017 at the podium for ease of reference. Anyone wishing to appeal any decision made by the City Commission for any matter considered at this meeting may need a verbatim record of the video -- of the item. A video of this meeting may be requested at the Office of Communications, or viewed online at www.miamigov.com. No cell phone or other noise -making devices are permitted in Commission chambers; please silence those devices now. No clapping, applauding, heckling, or verbal outbursts in support or opposition to a speaker or his or her remarks shall be permitted. Any person making offensive remarks or who becomes unruly in the 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 notify the City Clerk. The lunch recess will begin at the conclusion of deliberation of the agenda item being considered at noon. The meeting will end either at the conclusion of the deliberation of the agenda item being considered at 10 p.m., or at the conclusion of the 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. At this time, the Administration will announce which items, if any, are being either withdrawn, deferred, or substituted. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chair Hardemon: There's no substitution? Seeing none. City of Miami Page 2 Printed on 09/18/2017 City Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2017 RE - RESOLUTIONS SPA RESOLUTION 2525 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE CITY MANAGER'S Real Estate and RECOMMENDATION APPROVING THE FINDINGS OF THE Asset SELECTION COMMITTEE THAT VIRGINIA KEY, LLC ("PROPOSER") Management IS THE TOP RANKED PROPOSER FOR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS NO. 16-17-011, LEASE OF CITY OF MIAMI -OWNED WATERFRONT PROPERTY FOR MARINAS/RESTAURANT/STORE USES LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 3301, 3605, 3501, 3311, AND 3511 RICKENBACKER CAUSEWAY, MIAMI, FLORIDA ("RFP"); AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A LEASE ("LEASE"), SUBJECT TO THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE CITY ATTORNEY AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS, FOR AN INITIAL TERM OF FORTY-FIVE (45) YEARS WITH TWO (2) FIFTEEN (15) YEAR RENEWAL TERMS AND PAYMENT OF A MINIMUM GUARANTEED ANNUAL RENT OF TWO MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($2,200,000.00) INCREASED ANNUALLY BY THE GREATER OF THREE PERCENT (3%) OR CONSUMER PRICE INDEX ("BASE RENT") TOTALING APPROXIMATELY TWO HUNDRED THREE MILLION NINE HUNDRED EIGHTY FOUR THOUSAND SIXTY DOLLARS ($203,984,060.00) OVER THE INITIAL TERM; SIX PERCENT (6%) OF GROSS REVENUES; APPROXIMATELY EIGHTY MILLION DOLLARS ($80,000,000.00) PRIVATELY FUNDED INVESTMENT TO REDEVELOP THE MARINAS IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE MANNER, INCLUDING BOAT STORAGE, RESTAURANTS, RETAIL, AND PUBLIC PARKING; FURTHER PROVIDING THAT THE EXECUTION OF THE LEASE IS SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF A MAJORITY OF THE VOTES CAST BY THE ELECTORATE AT A REFERENDUM SPECIAL ELECTION; FURTHER CLARIFYING THAT SUCH AWARD OF THE RFP DOES NOT CONFER ANY CONTRACTUAL RIGHTS UPON THE PROPOSER UNTIL SAID FAVORABLE REFERENDUM HAS OCCURRED AS REQUIRED BY THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA. Note for the Record. Item SP.1 was indefinitely deferred at a subsequent Special Commission Meeting held on September 1, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. Chair Hardemon: Mr. Mayor, do you want to be recognized? Mayor Tomas Regalado: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, Commissioner Gort, for responding to this special meeting. I have a question for the City Clerk and the City Attorney, and I think these questions are important, because it has to do with the possibility of convening another meeting. The State law trumps local ordinance and law; is that correct, Mr. City Attorney? Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): As a general statement, that is correct. But -- Mayor Regalado: Yes. Mr. Min: -- this Commission does have to comply with both State, local, and Federal laws; all laws. City of Miami Page 3 Printed ora 0911812017 City Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2017 Mayor Regalado: Right. The Florida Sunshine Law states that to convene a special Commission meeting, you need no less than 48 hours and no more than 72 hours of notice. So this board can meet on Friday, if it's the wish of the members of the Commission. The question that I have for the City Attorney and the City Clerk is whether the Chairman can continue this meeting for Friday at 9 a.m., if that is his wish; or should I call again for a special meeting by giving a memo to the City Clerk today, around 10 a.m., which is more than 72 hours, for Friday? Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): I'll defer to the City Attorney as to if there are any legal concerns regarding that, but from a procedural standpoint, I don't see an issue. Mr. Min: I agree with the City Clerk. You can either recess today's meeting if you want to until the next meeting that you want to, or you can call a special meeting; which, pursuant to the Government in the Sunshine Law requires -- it's ideal for 72 hours' notice. Chair Hardemon: So the best thing would be, Mr. Mayor, of course, is to recess the meeting so you won't have to --I'm going to put it --let's not put it that way. It makes perfect sense to recess the meeting and move and open up the meeting again on Friday. Mayor Regalado: Whatever is your wish, Mr. Chairman. Chair Hardemon: Are we -- do we not know if we're going to have at least Commissioner Carollo or Commissioner -- or the Vice Chairman here? Is -- do we know of anything? Mayor Regalado: We don't -- Chair Hardemon: I see his staff here. Mayor Regalado: -- know. I spoke to Commissioner Carollo the other day. Chair Hardemon: Staff -- before you -- It's funny to me, because the Vice Chairman's staff just looks and smiles, and nods their head. But is there any official notice from -- Because -- I'll say this: Mr. Mayor, I read your comment about the voter suppression, and it's interesting, because I think you thought that all the way through, because essentially, you're saying that, "You're not giving the people of Miami an opportunity to vote on a matter that they could potentially vote on. But, certainly, we have a duty as Commissioners, and one of those duties is to be in attendance to the meetings. Occasionally, we all miss meetings; but, certainly, I think you're correct in the sense that if you call a meeting, we should do our best to be there, and absent some reason that you cannot make it, you know, you should be there. And then, I think that's when you start to go into nonfeasance of job duties. If every time you called a meeting and a Commissioner didn't show, it would be a problem. This is not every time; this is one time. This is a special meeting. This is a -- these are special circumstances. I think that if you made an attempt to accommodate people's schedules once again by moving the meeting, for instance, to September 1, then it would be the dutiful thing for a Commissioner not only to be present, or at least to give an official explanation of why they cannot make it. So -- Mayor Regalado: No, I think you are right, Mr. Chairman, and I think it makes a lot of sense. I know for a fact that Commissioner -- Vice Chairman Russell told me that he felt uncomfortable, and -- in attending. Commissioner Suarez said that he was out of town, and that's a very logic explanation. However, the reason I'm mentioning Friday is because I saw an email from Commissioner Suarez'staff and the Parks Department. He plans to have a ceremony for a playground in West End Park on Friday at 3 p. in., City of Miami Page 4 Printed on 09/18/2017 City Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2017 so I figure that he will be in town. I have not spoken since Thursday or Friday with Commissioner Carollo. Crystal Hoffman (Special Aide): Mr. Mayor, pardon me for interrupting you. Commissioner Carollo is at a CPA (Certified Public Account) seminar in Tallahassee. Mayor Regalado: Okay. So I was told -- Will he be back on Friday? Ms. Hoffman: I'm not sure about his schedule for Friday. Mayor Regalado: Okay. So I was told that Commissioner Carollo is in -- on a CPA seminar in Tallahassee. They don't know his schedule on Friday. But you're right; we have time. If you convene the meeting to --for Friday at 9 a.m., we have plenty of time to understand if at least three members of the Commission will show up. Chair Hardemon: Right. Mayor Regalado: And then you will discuss, and then you will vote. I do want to say that, you know, just for the record, the Administration did what the Commission said that we had to do, and this is why we asked for this special meeting. Time and time and again, the Commission requested from the Administration, and I think that the Manager can guide us through the timeline if you wish, just to -- for the record, to understand that every steps requested by the City Commission was done by this Administration. So it's -- we're just trying to give closure to the work, and I really commend DREAM (Department of Real Estate & Asset Management), and the City Manager, and Alberto Parjus, and Dan, because they really worked hard to give the final product of this item. And so, it is -- If you think that we should recess the meeting, if we can check with every single Commission -- well, we need to check with three. Chair Hardemon: Yeah. Mayor Regalado: We have two here. Then if we are on the same situation, I'll communicate with you and we make -- you make the decision and I make the decision of cancelling the meeting. Chair Hardemon: Yeah. One thing I do want to say -- First, I want to show my appreciation to Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Gort, I appreciate you being here. We know that I didn't call the meeting, Mr. Mayor. You called the meeting, and I responded in kind to be here. And, you know, I just -- I -- There have been a number of things that, as a Commissioner over the number -- these past number of years that I didn't feel necessarily comfortable voting for or against, but I always showed up. And I think it's important that, you know, that we continue to make that happen. And even though you're uncomfortable, I mean, that's part of the responsibility of being in this position. We make uncomfortable decisions, but we have to make those decisions; that's what leaders are elected to do. And so, I'm saying this to say that I sincerely hope that if we move this meeting to Friday that we have the attendance of our Commissioners. It doesn't have to be all five; it just needs to be at least quorum for us to make a decision about this moving forward. This situation that we were dealing with was one of the most frustrating moments of my tenureship [sic] as Chairman, trying to navigate through these procedures. And so, to get to a point where we don't have as much of the -- we don't have those types of objections; we don't have the type of back and forth that was going on. Some -- because there's still some -- possibly some legal matters, but that's not something that we have to sit back and wait for. It just -- It's disheartening to be here and not be able to move the business forward, because I'll tell you, Mr. Mayor, I don't like coming here to meet and then specially not -- to meet and there not be any quorum. And I haven't been doing this for as long as Commissioner Gort has been doing this, or as long as you have been doing this. I'm City of Miami Page 5 Printed on 09/18/2017 City Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2017 sure you can remember some times where all kinds of things have happened. But this is the first time I think we've ever met under my leadership and we haven't met quorum. Mayor Regalado: And I just want to say something. And, you know, I think we -- Commissioner Gort and I, we are the two old people here, but we have -- Commissioner Gort: Excuse me. Speak for yourself. Mayor Regalado: -- I mean old; like old of many years. Unidentified Speaker: We hear you, Mr. Mayor. Mayor Regalado: No, but we have historical memory. Commissioner Gort: That's absolute. Mayor Regalado: Commissioner Gort will remember that we had special Commission meetings on Sundays. I remember when he was leading the effort for redistricting that we had a Commission meeting on a Sunday morning at 9 a.m. That's -- but we all showed up. You know, I'm leaving office, but I can say that I proudly never missed a Commission meeting as a City Commissioner. And so -- Chair Hardemon: I mean, the duties are serious, you know. And we're charged, you know, to be in attendance. And those things are real, I mean. Our responsibilities, fiduciary and others, are something that we should take very, very seriously. And, like I stated, you know, we've all -- most of us have missed some sort of meeting, but it certainly didn't hinder the business of the City. And so, when things become a hindrance to the business of the City, I think that's when you start to run into some heartache moving things forward. Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Gort: Yes. All of us that are here, we've been talking about the Marine Stadium -- I think it's over 20 years -- what to do with it. We all understand that a facility like the Marine Stadium needs subsidized from some other sources. We all agree that whatever is developed in that island, the funds are used to maintain the Marine Stadium. Now, the thing I looked at it, we've been discussing this for a few years. We've had a few challenges. And my understanding is, this is one that most everyone agree that is a good project that should be done. I personally have a family emergency, but I'm here, because I felt this was very important. So if you want to meet on Friday, do you need a motion for that, or no? Okay. Chair Hardemon: We don't necessarily need a motion. One thing -- I do want the -- I guess the bidder, the winning bidder to be aware -- I think you should really hear this. If you've been paying attention to all of the other issues that we've been having come before us regarding Charter amendments, and especially City leaseholds that are abutting the waterfront, Mr. Rotenberg is very aware of the types of terms that we've been negotiating. We've been looking at an additional 2 percent of gross sales, et cetera, that go towards affordable housing and economic development throughout the City. I think that we've been taking that very, very seriously, and we've been putting the business, I guess, to the test. So, for instance, if you look at our recent bond issuance that we're trying to put out, it is about $100 million now towards affordable housing and economic development. And so, that's something that I think you should have a conversation with Mr. Rotenberg about. When you started this journey, you didn't see it, but it has come along; and certainly, we -- if we're leasing -- making Charter amendments to the City's Charter, it's important enough that we at least get something that is beneficial to the people of the City of Miami so we can ensure that they have a place to live in this great city. My heart goes out to everyone who is in Houston, who's suffering right now. And if people don't understand the effects of sea City of Miami Page 6 Printed on 09/18/2017 City Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2017 level rise and flooding, I mean, that shows you there. I mean, there's nothing -- it's almost like it is short of nothing that they can do to save some of those homes. Everything is gone. And so, you know, we want to ensure that we don't have mass tragedies in the City of Miami, and we want to ensure that people have an opportunity to continue to live here and live in decent housing that's safe for them to be in when there is a natural disaster, and those funds, that extra 2 percent helps us make that happen. And so, we look forward to having that conversation, Mr. Rotenberg, with you all. I think it is --for me, personally -- and there's not a lot of people here to vote on these matters, but for me, personally, it is something that is -- can make or break a decision, so I just want you to understand that. Mr. Manager. Daniel J. Alfonso (City Manager): Now, Commissioner, just for the record, I also wanted to add that if we recall, the City Commission, through this process -- When the City of Miami went out and we were directed to go get a $45 million bond to do the Marine Stadium, we also knew that the debt service on that stadium would come someday. And the revenues from the marina were something that was proposed to help pay for those $45 million. Chair Hardemon: Right. Mr. Alfonso: To the extent that we delay this process -- we started more than a year ago, and it was thrown out; start again; change; go through a hearing officer; create that section of the Code -- we brought it, I think, in November; it was deferred to December; deferred in December to January; January to February. And all around, we keep saying, you know, these things are going to be tough to meet the deadlines. We're here, we're ready. This is a significant increase in revenue to the City of Miami, and we're going to need this in times -- when things are going to get tougher, because those cranes that are out there right now are not going to be out there forever. Chair Hardemon: So, Mr. Mayor, if all hearts and minds are clear, what I'll do, Commissioner Gort, is I'll recess this meeting until Friday at 9 a.m. All right. So this meeting is in recess. Mayor Regalado: Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. We'll see you on Friday, or not. Meeting recessed until Friday, September 1, 2017, at 9 a.m. The following proceedings were had on Friday, September 1, 2017, at 9:01 a.m.: Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Commission meeting back into order; closing the August 28 special meeting. Meeting is adjourned. City of Miami Page 7 Printed on 09/18/2017 City Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2017 SP.2 RESOLUTION 2526 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Department of ATTACHMENT(S), MAKING PROVISIONS FOR A REFERENDUM Real Estate and SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD CONCURRENTLY WITH THE Asset GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION ON NOVEMBER 7, 2017 FOR THE Management PURPOSES OF SUBMITTING TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY') FOR THEIR APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING REFERENDUM BALLOT QUESTION: "SHALL THE CITY BE AUTHORIZED TO LEASE APPROXIMATELY 27.5 ACRES OF LAND ON VIRGINIA KEY TO VIRGINIA KEY, LLC FOR A 45 -YEAR INITIAL TERM WITH TWO 15 YEAR RENEWALS; MINIMUM ANNUAL GUARANTEED RENT OF $2,200,000.00 (WITH ESCALATIONS) TOTALING APPROXIMATELY $203,984,060 OVER THE INITIAL TERM; 6% OF GROSS REVENUES; APPROXIMATELY $80,000,000.00 PRIVATELY FUNDED INVESTMENT TO REDEVELOP THE MARINAS IN AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE MANNER, INCLUDING BOAT STORAGE, RESTAURANTS, RETAIL, AND PUBLIC PARKING?"; DESIGNATING AND APPOINTING THE CITY CLERK AS THE OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CITY COMMISSION WITH RESPECT TO THE USE OF VOTER REGISTRATION BOOKS AND RECORDS; AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO CAUSE A CERTIFIED COPY OF THE HEREIN RESOLUTION TO BE DELIVERED TO THE SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW. ADJOURNMENT Note for the Record. Item SP.2 was indefinitely deferred at a subsequent Special Commission Meeting held on September 1, 2017, at 9:00 a.m. Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item SP.2, please see Item SP. I. A►1MEM Fil0Lvi14NkI1►[L7 The meeting adjourned on Friday, September 1, 2017, at 9: 01 a. in. Citv ofMiami Page 8 Printed ora 0911812017