HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2019-07-11 MinutesCity of Miami
City Hall
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33133
www.miamigov.com
*
I N C 0 R P CBATE0
� 1B 9fi
\0 It 1
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, July 11, 2019
9:00 AM
Regular
City Hall
City Commission
Francis Suarez, Mayor
Ken Russell, Chair
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Vice Chair
Joe Carollo, Commissioner, District Three
Manolo Reyes, Commissioner, District Four
Keon Hardemon, Commissioner, District Five
Emilio T. Gonzalez, City Manager
Victoria Mendez, City Attorney
Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk
City Commission Meeting Minutes
9:00 AM INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
July 11, 2019
Present: Chair Russell, Vice Chair Gort, Commissioner Carollo, Commissioner Reyes and
Commissioner Hardemon.
On the 11th day of July, 2019, 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 Russell at 9:04 a.m.,
recessed at 12:18 p.m., reconvened at 2:34 p.m., and adjourned at 6:13 p.m.
Note for the Record. Commissioner Reyes entered the Commission chambers at 9:06 a.m.,
Commissioner Hardemon entered the Commission chambers at 9:49 a.m., and
Commissioner Carollo entered the Commission chambers at 10:00 a.m.
ALSO PRESENT.
Emilio T. Gonzalez, Ph.D., City Manager
Victoria Mendez, City Attorney
Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk
Chair Russell: Good morning, everyone. Good morning, Miami. Welcome to the July 11,
2019 meeting of the City of Miami City Commission in these historic chambers. The members
of the City Commission are Joe Carollo, Manolo Reyes, Keon Hardemon; Wifredo "Willy"
Gort, the Vice Chair; and me, Ken Russell, your Chairman. Also on the dais are Mayor
Francis Suarez; Emilio Gonzalez, the City Manager; Victoria Mendez, the City Attorney; and
Todd Hannon, the City Clerk. The meeting will be opened with a prayer by Commissioner
Gort, and then we'll say the pledge of allegiance. Please rise.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you. Good morning.
(Invocation and pledge of allegiance delivered.)
Chair Russell: Thank you.
PART A - NON -PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S)
PR - PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS
PRA PROTOCOL ITEM
6167 Honoree
Bon Gout Barbecue
Presenter
Mayor
RESULT: PRESENTED
Protocol Item
Salute
1) Mayor Suarez and Commissioners presented a Certificate of Merit to recognize Bon
Gout Barbecue Restaurant. Bon Gout Barbecue serves some of the best ribs,
City of Miami Page I Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
briskets, and griots. The three owners (Jean `BJ" Lucel, Wesley Bissaint, and
Edward Rawson) know how to combine the low and slow technique of American
cookery with Haitian preparations and the flavor of "epis" ("sofrito" in the
Spanish-speaking world). The owners also exemplify the qualities of a responsible
corporate citizen. They never turn down an opportunity to serve their community.
Elected Officials paused in their deliberations to honor Bon Gout Barbecue and its
owners who have become part of the neighborhood fabric, and above all, a place to
find food unlike anything else in the City of Miami.
Chair Russell. We're going to go ahead and do presentations and proclamations.
And Commissioner Gort, if you want them to come up for a photo, as well, we can do
that --
Vice Chair Gort: Sure.
Chair Russell: -- because I know we have a few interns here, so if you could give us
just a moment to rearrange the chairs. We have a certificate of merit to award, and
then we'll get on with the business of the City.
(Presentations and proclamations made)
AM - APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING MEETINGS:
AM.1
City Commission - Regular Meeting - May 9, 2019 9:00 AM
MOTION TO:
Approve
RESULT:
APPROVED
MOVER:
Manolo Reyes, Commissionei
SECONDER:
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commis:
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:
Carollo, Hardemon
Chair Russell: Can I get a motion on the minutes of the regular meeting of May 9,
2019, please?
Commissioner Reyes: Move it.
Chair Russell: It's been moved by Commissioner Reyes.
Vice Chair Gort. Second.
Chair Russell: Seconded by Commissioner Gort. Any further discussion? All in
favor, say "aye. if
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Motion passes.
City of Miami Page 2 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
ORDER OF THE DAY
Chair Russell: The City Attorney will now state the procedures for the meeting.
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 in
the City Clerk's Office, or online at municode.com. Any person making a
presentation, formal request or petition to the City Commission concerning real
property 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 municode.com.
The material for each item on the agenda is available during business hours at the
City Clerk's Office, or online 24 hours a day at 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, or at any other
designated time. 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 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 item. A video of this meeting may be requested at the Office
of Communications, or viewed online at miamigov.com. No cell phones or other
noise -making devices are permitted in the Commission chambers; please silence
those devices now. No clapping, applauding, heckling, or verbal outburst 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 Commission chambers will be
barred from further attending meetings and may be subject to arrest. No signs or
placards shall be allowed in the 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 the 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 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. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
Later...
Chair Russell: And now, to the order of the day; if the Administration could prepare
to let us know which items they would like to withdraw, defer, continue.
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Mr. Chairman, are we doing the order of the
day?
Chair Russell: Yes.
Mr. Gonzalez: Thank you, sir.
City of Miami Page 3 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes
Chair Russell: Good morning, Mr. Manager.
July 11, 2019
Mr. Gonzalez: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice Chairman, Commissioners,
Madam City Attorney, and Mr. City Clerk. At this time, the Administration would
like to defer and/or withdraw the following items -- regular Items: CA.10 -- that's
CA.10 -- will be indefinitely deferred. DI.4 will be deferred to our next meeting on
July 25 -- that's DI.4. And also to be deferred is PZ.1, in our Planning & Zoning
meeting.
Chair Russell: Madam City Attorney, do we need to wait until 2 p.m. to be able to
off cially defer PZ.1 ?
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): Yes, but we can work with the Clerk's Office --
Vice Chair Gort: You can announce it.
Mr. Min: -- and Communications to at least notify people ahead of time, but the
official action will happen at 2.
Chair Russell: All right. Thank you. Are those all of the items?
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes, sir. And since we only have one PZ (Planning & Zoning) item, I
wanted to bring it up now, so people would know, in case they were planning on
coming --
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Are there any items from the Commission that
they'd like to see withdrawn, deferred, or continued? Hearing none, is there a
motion to accept the order of the day with a --
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Chair Russell: -- indefinite deferral of CA. 10, a --
Vice Chair Gort: DI. 4.
Chair Russell: -- DI.4 -- thank you very much -- to July 25. It's been moved by
Commissioner Reyes; seconded by Commissioner Gort. Any further discussion?
Hearing none, all in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Motion passes.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR REGULAR ITEM(S)
Chair Russell: Mr. Mayor, would you like to address the Commission and the City?
Mayor Francis Suarez: Thank you. I'll be very brief. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Today
is July 11, 2019, and we have several items on the agenda that are important to our
residents for some of our thematic points; one is, of course, Pathway to Prosperity,
RE.5, which is an API (Anti -Poverty Initiative) allocation for an Itech Summer
Institute. For far too long, we've had a lack of economic opportunity, which has
been created -- and has created the expectation that a goal is nothing more than a
wish. But in the City of Miami, we're making sure that a goal can, in fact, become
reality by paving a pathway to prosperity for every senior, adult, and child who
City of Miami Page 4 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
strives to succeed. Today is yet another example of this. RES harnesses the power
of technology and education, two invaluable ingredients in the pathway to prosperity
process, to support Itech's STEM -- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math --
learning programs in middle school and secondary education by providing real
world engineering and technology tools that our youth can carry with them for the
rest of their lives. Introducing these vital resources at an early age plays a pivotal
role in determining what path our youth ultimately take. By supporting RE. 5, we are
giving them a clear choice; a pathway to prosperity, where their goals can become a
reality. The next items that I'm sponsoring are based on quality of life: PH.],
accepting HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) grant funds; and
PH. 6, accepting Section 8 Housing Program funds. From our youth to our adult
seniors, every resident deserves a chance to live in a high quality of life. This means
keeping Miami affordable and livable for everyone, especially our most vulnerable.
Miami is the third least affordable city in the country, with more than half of Miami
households paying more than they can afford on housing. Fortunately, we're
attacking this issue head-on through a comprehensive, collaborative, and multi -
pronged approach. This includes PH.] and PH. 6. PH.] represents how we are
collaborating with our Federal partners, and leveraging alternative funding sources
to address our affordable housing challenges. This substantial grant from HUD is a
huge win for our residents. It will inject much-needed resources for a variety of
programs, including CDBG (Community Development Block Grant), Home
Investment Partnerships, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome), and emergency solution grant, tackling affordable
housing from several angles and at multiple levels. Like PH.], PH.6 is poised to
make a profound impact on our residents' lives by targeting affordable housing at its
core. These HUD funds will be used directly for rental assistant payment, providing
financial relief for those who need it the most, at no cost to our City taxpayers. By
approving PH.1 and PH. 6, we will once again make it clear that when it comes to
affordable housing, Miami is not defined by the problem; rather, we represent the
solution as we continue to evolve as a model for other cities throughout the world.
This contribution from HUD, in combination with our strategic efforts from the
Miami Forever Bond to our Connect Capital Miami Report, represents a turning
point in our journey to making Miami a place every resident can continue to call
home. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Chair Russell: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'd like to open the floor for public comment
at this point. Anyone who is here to address the City Commission on any of the items
on the morning's agenda, please feel free to approach the lecterns at this point.
You'll have two minutes to speak. Please say your name; you may say your address,
if you like. Let us know the item you're speaking on -- helps us stay organized -- and
then, you have your two minutes. At about the 30 -second point, you'll hear a little
buzzer; that's your time to start wrapping it up, please, so we can try to keep it tight
and give everyone a fair chance, and then we'll ask you to conclude before the two
minutes so that we can move onto the next person. I only see one person here for
public comment. Is there anyone else who would like to speak on an item that's on
this agenda? Please approach both lecterns at this point, and we'll just alternate
and hear from everyone at this point. Good morning. How are you?
Lovette McGill: Good morning. My name --
Chair Russell: Just a moment; I'm sorry.
Ms. McGill: Good morning. My name is Lovette McGill. My residence address is
4771 Northwest 6th Avenue, 33127. I'm here on the item of a first reading,
FR.3.6155. It can be found on Page 28 of the meeting agenda. It has to do with the
consolidation of several City boards. At present, I serve as Chair of the CRA,
Community Relations Board --
City of Miami Page 5 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: CRB (Community Relations Board).
Ms. McGill: -- and we've been grouped with six other organ -- with six other
boards. And the mindset for this, once we looked into it -- we just got informed night
before last -- that they're trying to group us into a Quality of Life and Human Rights
Committee, which will basically disband our board, because what the legislation
proposes to do is have the Commissioners each name one person from six boards,
the City Manager, and the Mayor, to make up a nine person board that will only
meet quarterly. Commissioner Russell, you have attended one of our meetings; well
attended. You, Commissioner Gort, I have come to your office to discuss some
things with you; as well as you, Commissioner Reyes. I was appointed by
Commissioner Hardemon. I've also engaged our Mayor to meet with me once a
month to discuss what the residents are needing. Our board is free-standing, and
should remain. We've worked on Morningside Pool, Chapman House, Liberty City
Trolley, Wynwood residents' concern, Shenandoah's issues with FPL (Florida Power
and Light), traffic issues in Allapattah and Little Havana construction with FDOT
(Florida Department of Transportation). Our staff liaison, which is Michelle Glenn,
and her boss, Ms. vonCarol Kinchens, have always made available to us those
individuals that need to come so the residents could be heard. I could not see how a
board as effective as has been under my leadership -- because I need to do this; I
need to pay myself on the back, because we have done things. We have engaged our
community. We have two vacancies; one in District 2 and one in District 1. I have
crawled in this place on my hands and knees to ask you guys to please fill these
vacancies so that we can better serve our Commission. Now, I'm just really upset,
and I'm starting to get a little emotional, so I'm going to back down from this. But I
can't see how a quarterly meeting of nine -- of six boards is going to address what
our residents need to happen for them.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Ms. McGill: I am so sorry, but I'm really upset about this, and I'm speaking in
opposition of the Community Relations Board being apart of this. The City has --
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Ms. McGill: -- 34 boards, and you take us and throw us in a group of six. I'm sorry;
not happy.
Chair Russell: Thank you, Ms. McGill. We will take this issue up when the item of
FR.3 comes together. I'm sure there'll be some discussion. Good morning.
Darlene Fernandez: Hi. Good morning, Mayor, Commissioners. Darlene
Fernandez, Miami -Dade County Assistant Director for Traffic Services. I'm here to
talk on Item PH.9, which is for vehicular restriction on some neighborhoods within -
- I think it's Silver Bluff area. So I know this item has come up before in past
Commission meetings, and I want to make note that this has not come to the County
for approval as of yet. It's -- typically, it comes first to the County, and then it comes
to the board for a resolution from the City of Miami. So I just -- I want to clarify that
we haven't seen any submittals; either the one that's here today, or the one that's
been submitted in the past. I just wanted to clam that.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Russell: Mr. Vice Chairman.
City of Miami Page 6 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Vice Chair Gort: You're going to be staying for the meeting, right?
Ms. Fernandez: If -- well, if --
Vice Chair Gort: Because I have a lot of questions.
Ms. Fernandez: Okay.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you.
Chair Russell: We'll try to take this one up pretty early. Thank you.
Ms. Fernandez: Okay. Thank you.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Good morning.
Paul Mann: Good morning. Paul Mann, 1665 Southwest 23rd Street, Miami. I'm
hereto speak in favor of the limited closings on PH.9. This City has a responsibility
to its older established pocket neighborhoods. Our little neighborhood was actually
the northern end of the Vizcaya property, and we have oaks on -- in our area that are
as old as the City is. We don't have a Central Park. We don't have any world-class
parks that define this City. What we do have are these wonderful neighborhoods
with these green canopies in single-family neighborhoods that should be protected.
They really should be treated as special by this City. Ours in Woodside, the PH.9 in
question, is a little neighborhood that is literally under attack by commuters, and
made worse by the Waze app. Commuters from towns as far away as Homestead get
funneled into an express short-cut in a tiny little neighborhood that doesn't deserve
it. And it's the worst of the commuters, because it's the ones that are too impatient to
stay on the State roads, and they funnel into 23rd Street and comes through our
neighborhood; harming, if nothing else, our quality of life. But more importantly,
this is a pocket neighborhood that you should cherish and protect. We're asking for
limited closures to try and save this neighborhood. And the beautiful thing about it
is that these are, for the most part, temporary barriers that can be removed, just as
easily as they were put in place, when necessary. So I would beg you to protect one
of your more beautiful little pocket neighborhoods and allow this to move forward.
Thank you very much.
Chair Russell: Thank you for your comments. Good morning.
Shawn Beightol: Good morning. Thank you for hearing the speakers first. My
name is Shawn Beightol. I'm from 2290 Northwest North River Drive, Miami
Florida 33125. And I'm here to request to be able to say something about a non -
agenda item.
Chair Russell: Please. That's fine.
Mr. Beightol: Okay. First thing I'd like -- I wrote an email to Commissioner Gort,
who is my Commissioner on Allapattah, on the river, July 1, about the conditions of
behavior and conduct on the Miami River, from speeding to unsafe boat operations
to theft to actions that endanger Federally protected manatees that travel up and
down the river. The behavior affects our private property, our boats. They're
slammed up against seawalls by speeding jet skis that are not supposed to be
allowed in the park. So the first thing I would like to request without going on and
on and on is that you would add as a future agenda item to a Commission meeting
where we can bring the stakeholders to speak about law and order on the Miami
River. Number two, I know you're formulating your budget for the next fiscal year.
I'd like to ask you to make law enforcement on the river and in our parks that adjoin
City of Miami Page 7 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
the river a priority issue that you put more funding in, or you seek more funding,
because it's -- there's Federal issues at stake, State issues, as well as local, County,
and City issues. There's a number of funding sources. I'd like to ask you to push
your City Attorneys to look at the laws and ordinances that regulate how we manage
derelict vessels. We've had four this year -- two in the last week -- dumped at our
park, which then attracts pirates, and then the pirates come to strip the boats. They
see our cars; they see our boats, with our expensive electronics. So they're not just
coming and hitting the derelict boats; they're hitting our vehicles, as well. So I'd like
to ask you to push your attorneys to look at the regulations and to address the law
enforcement to push as much latitude as possible in handling those boats. We would
never leave cars in intersections for 10 days to give owners due process, especially
when that due process allows boats to sink and cost taxpayers 10 times the amount of
money to recover them than simply walking them to the boat ramp and removing
them with a wrecker truck. Finally --
Vice Chair Gort: I tell you what I'll do. I'll ask the -- right now -- the
Administration to put you as a personal appearance next Commission meeting. All
right?
Mr. Beightol: Yes, sir. Finally, I brought my resume, and I'm here to volunteer for
either the Waterfront Board Committee or the River Commission. I see there's
numerous vacancies. I sent an email to the Mayor saying that I would volunteer to
do that. I --
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Mr. Beightol: -- am a chemist; studied water quality. I'm a schoolteacher for
Miami -Dade County 36 years.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
Mr. Beightol: Okay. Thank you.
Chair Russell: All right.
Mr. Beightol: And there's an email with solutions to the problems that I brought up.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Madam City Attorney, City Manager, this derelict vessel
issue has been happening more and more as of late.
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): If I may, sir? Mr. Chairman, I agree with the
gentleman. In fact, I visited with our Marine Patrol last week. I spent time with our
police officers there. They shared with me many of the same challenges that the
gentleman shared, and we're going to be working on how we can have a bigger
presence along the river.
Chair Russell: I just have one question. This is happening also in my district right
now. This week, there's a loose boat without a motor that's about to damage one of
our structures. Do we have the ability to keep it from damaging our structure, or are
our hands tied? This is in Kennedy Park, the boardwalk. Many different
jurisdictions --for example, I've been working on this. I just want to know if we have
the ability to keep -- when we see imminent damage about to happen, do we have the
ability to tie off that boat, pull it away from the shore?
Commissioner Reyes: No.
City of Miami Page 8 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes, sir, we do. And our -- if you want to -- DREAM (Department of
Real Estate and Asset Management) is working with the Florida Wildlife
Commission to address these type of vessels. Dan, ifyou want to --
Chair Russell: Sorry; if you could give the mike just one moment to our
(UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Daniel Rotenberg (Director): I apologize. Daniel Rotenberg, Department of Real
Estate and Asset Management. We have the ability within the FWC (Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission) and the Coast Guard to try to remove them,
but if they're registered vessels, we have to go through a procedure. Unless it's life
safety or there's an environmental hazard, there's a period of time we have to wait.
Chair Russell: What about imminent property damage?
Mr. Rotenberg: We're trying to work around that; work around --there's a 10 -day-,
there's a 30 -day-, and there's actually an 80 -day window. We're trying to work
around all of them right now, because of environmental or life safety issues.
Chair Russell: It seems that we need one more in there, because that's absolutely
ridiculous, when you see a boat about to hit your property that you can't take action
to prevent the damage. But we'll save that for another time. I only meant to bring it
up in this moment, because this is a non -agenda item, and we won't be getting to it.
So I apologize for interrupting public comment.
Mr. Beightol: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Russell: Is there something else you wanted to add to it?
Mr. Rotenberg: Yeah, just one more thing. We are trying to copy -- there's another
County down here that they have an ordinance where they removed those
restrictions, and we're copying that legislation. We're going to bring it in front of
the Commission to vote on, and to try to make this process a lot quicker.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
Vice Chair Gort: I have -- we have a discussion item here. I'd like to have this as a
discussion item next week -- next meeting.
Mr. Gonzalez: All right, sir.
Mr. Beightol: Commissioner Russell?
Chair Russell: Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Good morning -- oh, sorry. Yes.
Mr. Beightol: Can I just say a sentence about the topic you just raised?
Chair Russell: Yes.
Mr. Beightol: The law apparently exists to protect the investment of the boat owner.
Leaving it sit in the water with no power in a rainy city behooves it to sinking, and it
costs the taxpayer further money, as well as the owner; makes it pretty much
unrecoverable; that's why I'm asking that we push the attorney --
Chair Russell: Understood.
Mr. Beightol: Yeah. Thank you very much.
City of Miami Page 9 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Agreed and understood. Thank you very much. Ma'am, good
morning.
Judith Sandoval: Good morning, gentlemen. Commissioner, Commissioner --
Chair Russell: Right into the mike there.
Ms. Sandoval: -- everyone I don't know, Judith Sandoval, 2536 Southwest 25th
Terrace. Hello, Mr. Gort. Mr. Mayor, hi. I have been a resident of Silver Bluff
since 1980. It's almost 40 years, and my house is almost a hundred years old. I
want to thank you for your help on some of the traffic problems we've been having.
Our previous Commissioner was a lot of help, as was Mayor Regalado. I am here
today as a member of the Silver Bluff Homeowners Association to speak in favor of
PH. 9, which is actually a project of Commissioner Carollo, and I've been coming to
City Hall since he was a Commissioner in the 1980s. I'm sorry not to see him this
morning. The Resolution PH.9 will be of great assistance to his neighborhood, but
also for the traffic problems in Silver Bluff, which you all know about, and I won't go
over any of those today; simply tell you that in recent years, on a cross -street in the
neighborhood, I have been knocked flat on my back by a truck, and had to go to the
emergency room with a concussion. More recently, I couldn't get off the medical bus
coming home from the hospital, because there was so much traffic at 5 o'clock that I
had to leap off the bus onto the Swale, because it couldn't even get in my driveway.
So your attention to that would be very helpful. Meanwhile, I hope that you will
approve PH. 9, which the head of our homeowners will speak on.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
Ms. Sandoval: Thank you.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Cruz.
Elvis Cruz: Good morning, Commissioner Russell -- Chairman. Elvis Cruz, 631
Northeast 57th Street. I'm going to talk on two issues today; the first one is FR.3.
I'm appalled to see that the City is considering absorbing or eliminating the
Community Relations Board. I have been to meetings of that board. It is extremely
well run. It's doing an excellent job under the guidance of Ms. McGill. She's an
unsung hero of our City. That board is a true advocate for the citizens. It is a
powerful voice, and an ally of the caring citizenry. I would urge you to not change
that board. Do not subsume it into an -- a conglomeration of other boards. Let it
stay as is. Commissioner Russell, you've attended a meeting of that board where I
was also present. You saw the sort of attendance and interest that the public has.
So, please, leave well enough alone, and keep that board as is. The second item I
wanted to speak to is, of course, Morningside Pool. And I saw Ms. Karen
Cartwright at that podium a little while ago, and it was remarkable to see her with
her litany and her checklist of specific items, and to see that there's other people in
the City, other parks that are having some of the same problems that I've been
having -- that we've been having in Morningside, specifically with Morningside Pool.
Towards that end, the latest I'm getting back from the Administration is that the City
is concerned with sea level rise, and that's the current reason to not be moving
forward with fixing the pool. Let me point out that the City already spent $66,000
and hired a consultant to look at Morningside Park specifically through the lens of
sea level rise. And that consultant came back and said, "Here's what you do for sea
level rise along the shoreline, and fix Morningside Pool. " So it's already been done.
Please do so. Lastly, while I'm here with the Commission, with the City Manager,
I've asked for a personal appearance back on May 30, so I can bring out the whole
"dog and pony show" about fixing Morningside Pool. I've yet to be scheduled. Can
City of Miami Page 10 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
you here today please confirm that I will have a personal appearance before this
Commission on the July 25 meeting?
Chair Russell: I think you just had one.
Mr. Cruz: No; I had two minutes. I've got a lot more to say than this.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Russell: We'll work together, Elvis. You have my word that I am committed to
make sure that we have a public pool at Morningside Park that is on the waterfront.
Whether we renovate the pool that exists or have to build new, I'm going to leave
that to the experts who know best about how to build a pool on the water's edge with
the sea level rise issues that we have. But I will -- I am dedicated to make sure that
the pool will exist and continue to exist, and hopefully, in its current location.
Mr. Cruz: I'm very glad to hear that, Commissioner. Having said that, I have a
right, as does every member of the public, to appear before this Commission --
Commissioner Reyes: Correct.
Mr. Cruz: -- for a public appearance, as per the City of Miami Charter, Section
233.4.
Chair Russell: Yes. If --
Mr. Cruz: And I'm requesting that be confirmed today; that I will appear before the
July 25 agenda.
Chair Russell: Yes. If your issue has not been addressed by the Administration, you
have the right to appear before this board to come to us.
Mr. Cruz: They haven't addressed it.
Chair Russell: So --
Mr. Cruz: Is there no time limit on how long they can take to address it?
Chair Russell: -- your item is a longstanding item, because it's a large capital
project. So by addressing it, have they fixed the pool? You're right; they have not.
Does that give you the right to come and speak for five minutes, and show a bunch of
presentation materials? I'm not so sure. I'dlove to meet with you in my office, and
we'll put this together, because I believe we have a plan. We need to make sure we
get it right. We need to make sure the park is planned correctly. But I understand
your concerns on the pool. What I've said on the record today is that I am absolutely
dedicated to making sure that we have a pool there as soon as possible, open to the
public, and bring it back to even better than what it is and was; whether that's the
renovation, or a new pool. That's -- and so, we'll work together on a public
appearance, if that's necessary. Come meet with me first, and let's see if we can sort
this out, and if we can't, let's bring it here.
Mr. Cruz: Commissioner, thank you for that. Having heard all that, I would ask
that I still have that public appearance on the 25th, and I would hope that at that
public appearance, I will have the extreme pleasure of thanking you for having done
the right thing.
Chair Russell: All right. Let's meet in my office today, and we'll work on this. All
right.
City of Miami Page 11 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Cruz: You have my --
Chair Russell: Mr. Vice Chairman.
Mr. Cruz: -- written request for that appearances. I would hope it is honored.
Thank you.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Commissioner Reyes: Hold on a second.
Chair Russell: Mr. Vice Chairman. And then, Mr. Reyes, you have the --
Vice Chair Gort: Let me tell you the problem we have; Curtis Park, because the
pool has been closed for over four years, for the same reason. "We can't fund it. We
don't have the funding. We got to do the study. We have to do the analysis." And
our kids use our parks in the summer. And if you want to keep a kid out of trouble,
make sure he goes to the parks, he goes to the swimming pool, because I did it when
I was a kid. So I think we need to do something with that pool. We cannot have our
pools and our park closed for so many summers. And I know we're working on
Curtis Park and we're doing something in Curtis Park, but all these studies -- how
long has it taken? -- four, five years. In other words, let me tell you, whoever gets
selected in this position next year is going to be the best Commissioner in the world,
because all the programs I started, they're going to be finished the next year.
Chair Russell: Thank you, Vice Chairman. Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. I have spoken with, also, members of Morningside, and I
have heard before I was elected about that pool. That was -- long time ago that that
pool has been having problem, and I do agree that we need to fix that pool as soon
as possible, because it's -- not only serve the people of Morningside; it serve, also,
neighborhoods that -- they are to the west of Morningside -- that we have children
that they don't have a place to go. So I am totally in favor of expediting the --either
we would rebuild it, or we build a new one; I don't know which one it is. And excuse
me for saying this, but I think that -- I have seen a lot of personal presentations here
of people that have request this, and it has been allowed. I don't see why we cannot
provide -- although this guy is a pain in the neck, but in the good sense of the word.
I mean, he's always on top of things that happens in the community. But I think he
deserves, and it is his right to come and address this Commission, and have a public
appearance. You see --
Mr. Cruz: Thank you.
Commissioner Reyes: -- I -- him and anybody else in this community that want to
come before the Commission has the right to do so. You see, it is not a privilege; it
is a right.
Mr. Cruz: Thank you.
Chair Russell: Absolutely. And just for process, anyone can come speak to this
Commission. They have two minutes at every Commission meeting, to do a public
appearance to give yourself more time, make presentations and everything. There is
a process; it's not just anyone, any time they want. And Mr. Cruz is prolific with this
very lengthy, very in-depth, very thorough presentations, and I respect that.
City of Miami Page 12 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Cruz: Thank you.
Chair Russell: But I would like to have that presentation in my office, as your
district Commissioner, to try to address this issue first with our Capital
Improvements Department, with our Parks Department, and anyone from the
Management to actually solve this issue. Rather than hashing out a district issue,
and taking up probably 40 minutes of our time as a City, let me see if I can solve
your issue, because we have yet to do that, and I would like to do that.
Commissioner Reyes, the funding that would have put that pool in faster restoration,
I reallocated to your district for a pool in your district, and I'm very happy to have
done so.
Commissioner Reyes: That was only $600,000 --
Chair Russell: It's the planning money.
Commissioner Reyes: -- after you had received close to $9,000 -- $9 million for
Parks. And I made it clear when you were -- I mean, they were in my office that you
were receiving more than anybody else for your parks while our parks in District 4
were not. And then, out of your good heart, you came and you said, "$600, 000, " but
it was not the allocation for the whole pool, sir; that's misinformation, misinforming
the public.
Chair Russell: I didn't say that.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Chair Russell: I didn't say that. The funding that would have started the planning
for this pool was reallocated to the pool in your district. We have many pools in
each of our districts, and we're working together to make sure they all get done.
Commissioner Reyes: That is -- and right now, right here, I would request the
Administration that out of all these -- I mean, these -- that you find any funds that are
available, so we can start the process, either of replacing or rebuilding that pool and
every single pool in the City of Miami.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Cruz. Good morning, ma'am.
Beba Sardina Mann: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners. My name is
Beba Sardina Mann. I reside at 1665 Southwest 23rd Street; if I may pass this to the
Clerk to pass it to you. One moment. Just to give you a little history, I have been
living in this neighborhood since 1967. I looked at my mother's deed. I came back
after a short time in Brickell and purchased the mother -- the house from my mother.
This is my neighborhood. I have seen how, through the years, this little pocket,
which is a tiny little pocket has -- back in 2004, we had a study done. And by the
way, we are the only area in the City of Miami that has a circle and a four-way stop
sign. We have police officers there all the time, because they run the stop signs,
because they feel that because there's a circle, they don't need to stop; that's how bad
it is. I understand that there's issues that the Fire Department had mentioned. I
believe these issues can be corrected. I did reach out to my brother, who happens to
be a retired Battalion Chief in Inglewood, Florida, to get some concepts of what was
going on, what the Fire Department said, and he said, "All of these have remedies. "
There is no reason why we cannot have these closures. Like I said, it's tiny. The
only entrance from 17th Avenue is 23rd Street. We're one street to five. In the
mornings, it looks like you opened the gate for the horses to start coming in, and it's
nonstop. There are some things that he mentioned; that there's only an 18 foot,
short of the requirement. Now, we really don't know how they got that number,
City of Miami Page 13 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
because there's no survey, and you can see that on Exhibit "C." This is a little area.
This is a street here in Coconut Grove that is very, very narrow, and they have
garbage pickup, so it can be done. I don't know -- you know -- the neighbors
wouldn't mind taking it out to 17th Avenue; however, I think it can be done. Most of
these issues can be solved on the 16th Court part with a gate, if that's
(UNINTELLIGIBLE). But as you can see in some of the exhibits that I'm giving out,
there are streets out here that are naturally closed off that weren't closed because of
traffic that are as long, and the traffic -- and the Fire Department can come in and
out. They do have a "reverse" on the truck, and they can turn around. So my
brother made that very clear to me, that up in Inglewood, they have fires and dead-
end street, and they do it; they handle it. So I really look forward to your support. I
just want you to know that the petitions that were turned in were one petition per
household, because that's what we were asked to do, so the numbers are per
household. And we only have 143 lots. Some of them that I counted face 3rd
Avenue, so it's not even in the interior. Some lots have -- empty; some are under
construction, and some are just right now with a 'for rent" sign. So we got as much
as -- I would say 23rd Street was almost like a hundred percent sign -on; 16th Court
was almost a hundred percent sign -on; 16th Avenue is a hundred percent sign -on.
So basically, it's --you know, we need help.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Ms. Mann: Please approve this. Thank you.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Good morning.
Betty Ruano: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Vice Chairman, and members of the
Commission; Mr. Mayor. I'm Betty Ruano, Director of Operations and Center -
Based Services for Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers, and I'm here to
speak in favor of PH.8. And I want to particularly take the opportunity to thank Vice
Chairman Gort for once again proposing to fund the Elderly Meals Services at the
Antonio Maceo Park. Just so that you are all informed, that funding has been
matched by us with Alliance for Aging funding, which is Federal funding. So it's not
only just City funding going to this facility, but also Federal funding, and that's
because that park serves other members -- or rather residents -- of the City of Miami
and neighboring areas. So thank you again, Vice Chairman Gort, for your
continued support of our projects, as well as the rest of the members of the
Commission.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
Ms. Ruano: Thank you.
Chair Russell: Good morning.
Marcel Delbeo: Good morning. I will be brief. I am here -- my name is Marcel
Delbeo. I'm a homeowner on 23rd Street. I am here in support of PH. 9. I haven't
lived therefor decades, like Baba. I've only lived there for five years, but, certainly,
in that time, I've heard that there's a traffic study that showed that 2,000 cars, or
somewhere nearby in the street, pass by every morning. I am here to tell you, living
on 23rd Street that that is -- feels absolutely true. I'm one of the people that would
be most affected by this closure, because I am on the part of 23rd Street that is
immediately in front of the proposed block there, 120 feet from 17th Avenue. I am
here to cheerlead for it. I'm here to thank any Commissioner ahead of time that
would vote for it to help us take back our neighborhood. It's really been wall-to-wall
back there. Sometimes it takes five minutes for me to back out of my own house. So
thank you ahead of time. My only request -- or really question -- would be my
City of Miami Page 14 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
understanding is that one final obstacle is a Solid Waste complaint, saying that they
can't -- that we would -- the whole block would have to move their garbage to 17th
Avenue. Now, the problem is so severe, I would do this. But in -- if it's possible and
if the Commission would allow us, I would -- My own mom lives on a dead-end
street, and she doesn't have to bring in -- in another close part of the City. She
doesn't have to move her trash. I'm -- I was hoping that perhaps we could get
around that obstacle through the same treatment that is treated in other dead-end
streets where they don't have to move their trash. But anyway, thank you very much
to the Commission for their support for PH. 9.
Chair Russell: Thank you, sir. Good morning.
Gay -Lynne Anagnostis: Good morning. I am Gay -Lynne Anagnostis, 2348
Southwest 16th Avenue. I'm hereto support PH.9. I'm asking that you please give
us some relief. I've lived in this address for 41 years. It's gotten steadily worse. It's
now at a point where there's total lack of civility for the people --from the people
charging through the neighborhood, high speed, and all hours of the day and night.
Most of the -- I helped collect some of the petition signatures -- sorry -- and the
feedback I got from my neighbors was essentially the same: Please do something.
We've had neighbors on 23rd Terrace get flipped off by drivers rushing through their
neighborhood, because 16th Avenue is too backed up, so they wanted to go through
23rd Terrace to get 3rd Avenue, and the whole thing turns into a nightmare. So I'm
asking you -- We've been trying to get help for at least 15 years for this; meetings,
petitions, you name it, we've done it. Please give us some help. This problem has
gotten worse, and there's only one way to get it better.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Good morning.
Terrell Fritz: Good morning. My name is Terrell Fritz, with the Flagler Business
Improvement District, 25 Southeast 2nd Avenue; regarding D7.5, the Olympia
Theater. The -- as I shared with you before and by email, the BID (Business
Improvement District) has reviewed this proposal and found it weak, not in the
interest of the City, not in the interest of the theater, not in the interest of the Flagler
District. And I'll be glad to answer any questions that you have on that. Is this
proposal compelling? No. Is it enticing? We don't think so. Is the opportunity to
discuss the Olympia important? Absolutely. You may know that in April 2021, it
will be the 125th anniversary of Henry Flagler bringing the FEC (Florida East
Coast) Railway into the City of Miami; and in July, the City's 125th birthday. That's
just two years from now. I wonder if it might be possible to use the first of those two
years to use our imagination and figure out what we, as a city, want to do with our
important, historical resources, such as the Olympia Theater, the Historic Flagler
District -- Historic District, the Fort Dallas Park on the Miami River, and other
publicly -owned properties throughout the City. Looking at our historic properties,
maybe we shouldn't be interested in what the private sector thinks can make the most
money. Instead, maybe we should be interested in what our community thinks could
provide the most benefit. We're a creative city. Surely, we can put our heads
together and come up with a vision for celebrating our unique history. For the
Olympia Theater, the Flagler District BID believes that that is described as "highest
and best cultural use," but we need a vision -driven process, including the surviving
members of the Maurice Guzman family, to really describe what that means. We've
got the cart before the horse here. So once we understand what the vision is, maybe
--just maybe there is a role for the private sector.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Mr. Fritz: We heard all the time that Miami is a world-class city, but only because
of what's glitzy and new. We can take the next step to become a truly world-class
City of Miami Page 15 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
city by celebrating the heart and soul of the very special history and heritage that is
Miami.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
Mr. Fritz: But please reject the unsolicited proposal, and work with the downtown
stakeholders to begin that vision and process. Thank you.
Chair Russell: Thank you for your comments. Good morning.
Marshall Kanner: Good morning, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Commissioners,
Mayor. My name is Marshall Kanner. I live at 7150 Southwest 98th Street, in
Miami. I've been a resident of Miami for 64 years. I'm a third -generation Floridian.
I'm an activist here in Miami, and I love our City. I'm here in favor of CA. 1, to
accept the bid for the Dinner Key North Mooring Facility. I have been using the
facility for 25 years. I boat -- I have my boat there. I enjoyed the Marine Stadium
Marina years ago for the boat races and concerts. And living in a world-class city
like Miami, I'm very disappointed in the condition of the facility. All I've seen is it
degrade. The current lessee seems to not invest money in the facility, and it's time
for you guys to approve the lease and move forward, and have a new facility. I
understand there's been litigation, delays. This process has taken forever. We
deserve it. The citizens of Miami deserve it. We ask that you allow the citizens to
vote on this and get our new facility. Thank you.
Chair Russell: Thank you for your comments. Good morning.
Eric Metz: Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Eric Metz. I live at 1117
Citrus Isle, in Fort Lauderdale. Why I'm in Fort Lauderdale, I'm an active member
of the business community here, and more importantly, a very active person who
uses the waterways here in Miami. I think when it comes to Items RE.1 and RE.2 for
Virginia Key, the City has selected an RFP (Request for Proposals) respondent that
is extremely competent, and demonstrates ability to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) throughout
the US (United States), but here in Miami, specifically. And they're a great selection
and it's time, also, for that to move forward, so we can see, as the other gentleman
mentioned, the investment that Miami needs and deserves in this marine facility.
Personal, I'm really looking forward to seeing it being done and having the ability to
kayak and water -board off that area, so looking forward to seeing it happen. Thank
you so much.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Karen Delgado: Good morning, everybody. My name is Karen Delgado, 2280
Southwest 16th Court, and I'm here in favor of PH.9. I will ask you to please
approve it the way that have been proposed; not leaving some streets open, because
that will be -- that will cause the same cause [sic] that was created on 22nd Avenue.
I think we are a small area and we're getting a lot of burden with cars, and have
been worsened with time. When we moved there, it wasn't that way. It have been
worsening and worsening every year. And we think we're not going to affect, you
know, like other communities, other houses, other streets, because we're a very small
area, and I will please ask you to help us, and to approve it that way. You know, I
know there have been some opposition from the Fire Department and from the trash
department, trash collection, but that can be solved with gates, as one of our
residents already have submitted to you guys, and I think we can do it. Maybe -- we
have a little circle between 16th Court and 23rd Avenue. Maybe even we can
remove that circle, so the trucks can back up on the street. That will be easier for
them. So, please, help us, and approve it the way it have been submitted. Thank you
so much.
City of Miami Page 16 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Good morning.
Amal Solh Kabbani: Good morning, Chair. Good morning, Commissioners. My
name is Amal Solh Kabbani. I'm a resident of 50 Biscayne Boulevard, in downtown
Miami, as well as the President of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance. I'd like to
start by thanking all of you for opening the doors to us every single time we need
you, so thank you. I'm here asking you to kindly reject DLL on the Olympia, the
unsolicited proposal. I get very passionate when we talk about the Olympia. I come
from a nation that can trace its history 17,000 years before Jesus Christ. And we
went through a civil war, and every single monument, historical monument, was
preserved. And when I think about the Olympia, I think beyond the theater. I think
about the stories that the walls can tell to this generation; this generation, right here,
that needs to understand our social evolution. Let the theater be center and forefront
of everything and anything that you want to think about the tower in general. The
theater needs to be operational at its highest and cultural, and best use, please, at all
time. Tonight we're having the Uruguay Juvenile Orchestra come all the way from
Uruguay to play for Miami. Let the theater be open for our nation, for Miami, as the
Apollo Theater in New York City is always open for New York City residents and the
nation. Thank you.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Good morning.
Mario Abati: Good morning. I'm herein support of Discussion Item Number 5. My
name is Mario Abati. I am the founder of the New Urban Initiative, who set forth the
unsolicited proposal. I could go over our entire proposal; it's very in-depth. It
includes full historic restoration of the property. But suffice it to say the property
needs a lot of help. And all I'm asking is for this to go out to RFP so that the
community can get involved. Our personal proposal actually incorporates
everything with historic preservation, but ultimately gives back to the City over $8
million over the course of just six years. We're looking for a 99 year term. So
again, I'm in support of this RFP proposal for the Olympia Theater. Thank you very
much.
Chair Russell: Thank you for your comments. Good morning.
Samuel Latimore: Good morning. My name is Sam Latimore. I am the President of
the Charles Hadley Neighborhood Association. I live at 927 Northwest 55th Street --
937 Northwest 55th Street, and my family has been residing at that location for --
since the '50s. I am here in support of Item Number CA.8 that allocates funding for
the trolley that's -- that is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for Liberty City. I believe that after
reading all that we have read that it's time. There's a issue ofperception that a lot of
people forget, and that's not always what it is; it what it looks like. And so, I'm glad
the Commissioner -- the Mayor and the Commissioners and others saw fit to allow
Liberty City to share in the American dream. The other reason I was here, it was in
support of the allocation to the Liberty City Trust, and I ask you to approve that,
because the Trust has done some very outstanding things as it relates to revitalizing
Liberty City, where I grew up and many of my peers grew up and lived, and that
money will go a long way in helping us accomplish some of the things that we want
to do. And lastly -- I had not planned on doing this, but I got to do it, and I ask you
to bear with me. When I came in this morning, I heard about the combining of
committees, and one of those committees was the Community Relations Committee
being grouped up with some others, and I could not understand. I was -- I thought I
was in another place, because for those of you who were around during the 1980s
and the '60s, you know that Miami's reputation across the country was tarnished,
because we had three major disturbances. In 1982, as the President of Black Social
Workers of Miami, I sent 150 letters around the country, sharing with the President;
Lawton Chiles that we feared that there was some tension in this community --
City of Miami Page 17 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
because we were social workers -- that they needed to address. It was not
addressed, and in April or May of that year, we had one of the worst riots that we
can. The Community Relations Board -- and I've said it before -- is very important.
It is very important now; more important than it's ever been. I've set through three
riots. I marched with the City of Miami Field Force Unit, and that's scary. The
issue for us is reconsider that, because --
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Mr. Latimore: Reconsider that.
Chair Russell: Thank you for your comments. Good morning.
Eric Levin: Hate to follow that. Hey. Good morning. This is Eric Levin. I am a
resident of Miami; been living here my whole life, since 1963. I am a boater; been
attending and visiting the Miami Marine Stadium, and I'm speaking on behalf of
RE.1, a proponent; you guys to approve the lease for Suntex to redevelop that
project. I've been following this story for quite a while now, and I know it's been in
litigation back and forth. My request today is for the Commission to approve the
lease and bring it to the voters. I mean, I speak to a lot of people that -- in my
boating community and people that have been visiting Miami Marine Stadium for
years, and we want to see it back to what it was and what it can be. It's just beyond
belief that this has been going back and forth for this period of time after the
successful RFP response from the company that -- I've seen what they've done in
Miami Beach Marina. I am a proponent of what they can do here; not only for the
boating community, but for the overall community, and what it could do for the City
of Miami, beyond the financial gains, which you guys have seen. It just seems that
you're going through the same process that a number of others have gone through in
the City of Miami and other cities here in South Florida; that this can go around in a
circle forever. And all I'm asking the Commission to do -- you guys are great guys;
you've been through this a number of times -- is to let the voters -- let it go to the
voters. You guys have seen it; you've seen the approval. You guys have approved it
a number of times. So I respectfully request that you guys bring it to the voters.
Thank you very much.
Chair Russell: Thank you for your comments. Good morning, Ms. Warren.
Pilar Villaverde: Good morning.
Chair Russell: Good morning.
Ms. Villaverde: Here again. Pilar Villaverde. I reside on U.S.], 2.0; otherwise
known as Southwest 24th Terrace. I'm here in support of PH. 9. Even though our
side of Silver Bluff might be affected [sic], I feel we should support our neighbors in
their effort to protect their quality of life. Commissioner Carollo, I don't live in your
district, but I would like to commend you for supporting your constituents by actually
visiting the area, witnessing firsthand the daily chaos. I'm sure with today's
technology, the obstacle voiced by Fire and Solid Waste can be fixed. Again, I urge
you to pass PH.9. Thank you.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Good morning.
Mr. Kanner: Good morning. Marshall Kanner again. I just wanted to clarify that
I'm here in support ofRE.1.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Mr. Kanner: Thank you.
City of Miami Page 18 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Got it. Hello.
Ms. McGill: I took the podium copy by mistake, and I also have some documents
that I need to give to the Clerk here, to distribute as far as our Item FR.3.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
Ms. McGill: For the Community Relations.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning, Ms. Warren.
Allyson Warren: Good morning, everybody. Allyson Warren, 650 Northeast 82nd
Terrace, on behalf of the Commission on the Status of Women to discuss, if I can --
and do we have anything that looks like a time certain for the -- when the item's
going to be called? No? Because I'd like to go into it in a little greater depth. I
know this is short, but we did have a meeting last evening, and are basically not
opposed to the idea of combining some of these boards. My -- most of my board
members have been around fora while. I was personally put on the board right after
Commissioner Carollo's last round here at the City. Matter of fact, they quit
meeting, because we couldn't get a quorum. Our basic membership was 25 bodies,
and that's almost impossible to get a quorum. But it's not a bad idea to bring in
additional information, ideas, viewpoints from people from other boards for the
obvious reason; considering the things that are going on right now; not just here, but
everywhere. CRB has a slightly different -- obviously -- a different perspective than
Commission on the Status of Woman, but the elder affairs. But these are boards that
bring -- that would bring together a greater reach into ideas, places to gather
information, places to bring things to you in an advisory capacity, which we've only
been able to do in a limited fashion until now. We've brought things -- our board
has brought things to this Commission in the past that dealt with refugees being
thrown into Krome for their own protection, and then put into TGK (Turner,
Guilford, Knight), because they were being raped and pillaged by the guards at
Krome. We've done other programs over the years. We weren't originally chartered
to do programs. We were chartered to only be advisory. But the subject matter
lends itself to doing programs, and my board members, many of them have been on
the board with me since the late '90s. One just had a triple bypass; one's been
fighting MS (multiple sclerosis) for several years. We've been around, we know the
subject matter. And it's a good thing to bring in some new ideas, and I think that
perhaps combining several of these boards gives us that ability, without losing the
basics from each board, because the County did this several years ago, and wound
up with simply a committee for each subject matter, so it would have been a
committee for elder; a committee for CRB, even though they have their own CRB. I
think it needs to be flushed out a little further. I think, rather than having nine as a
membership, 11 might be a little more workable, because there are that many people
and that many ideas. But I think we need to work on it a little more than it appears
to have been up until this point.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Thank you. And we do have two readings on this item,
and we will get to it this morning. Thank you. Is there anyone else here for public
comment on the morning's agenda? Is there anyone else here who'd like to speak to
this Commission? Seeing none, I'll close public comment.
Later...
Chair Russell: I have one more person who is here for public comment. I'll reopen
public comment; it's PH.9, is the one you'd like to speak on? Please approach the
lectern.
City of Miami Page 19 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Paula de Carolis: Thank you. I am sorry I was late, and I appreciate the
opportunity. I would like to submit a copy of a letter on behalf of my neighborhood
association to all of you for the record.
Chair Russell: Your name, please?
Ms. de Carolis: My name is Paula de Carolis; 2144 Southwest 12th Street.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Feel free to --
Ms. de Carolis: Thank you.
Chair Russell: -- submit it for the record.
Ms. de Carolis: This letter is addressed to our Commissioner, our esteemed
Commissioner Manolo Reyes. "We, the Miami Neighborhood" -- "the Miami
Shenandoah Neighborhood Association, are writing to you to express our concern
and opposition to the following proposed street closures, " which is PH.9, and the list
of streets are named. "As our primary elected official and representation in our
area, we urge you to consider the hardship these proposed closures represent for the
adjacent neighbors, including the Shenandoah neighborhood residents. Street
closures are a clear overreaction, and we strongly urge you to not favor certain
sections of the City at the expense of others. Streets have an inherent duty to serve
their intended function. They move traffic; they are used to collect garbage and
debris; they provide a network for municipal utilities; they allow the transport of
people, both vehicular and pedestrian; and they channel life safety and emergency
services to those citizens in need. Streets are, by very definition, public spaces. They
are public right-of-way, financed by public taxes; and therefore, available to the
entire community. Restricting, redirecting, and closing, such right is not only
irresponsible, but is a dereliction of duty. Sincerely, the Miami Neighborhood
Association. "
Chair Russell: Thank you very much for your comments.
Ms. de Carolis: Thank you.
Chair Russell: Now we'll be officially closing public comment.
MV - MAYORAL VETO(ES)
NO MAYORAL VETOES
Chair Russell: Mr. Clerk, are there any mayoral vetoes?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair, there are no mayoral vetoes.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
END OF MAYORAL VETO(ES)
City of Miami Page 20 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
2ea»:RI01ki M MURiE a ZUkiM0
PA.1 PERSONAL APPEARANCE
6172 A PERSONAL APPEARANCE BY KAREN CARTWRIGHT.
RESULT: PRESENTED
Chair Russell: We have a public appearance by Ms. Karen Cartwright.
Karen Cartwright: Good morning. This is going to take --excuse me -- one part is
for Overtown and one part is a personal issue for me. I have a list, and I'm calling it
the "Honey Do list. " My name is Karen Cartwright. I live at 1600 Northwest 4th
Avenue, Miami, Florida. I'm a resident of Overtown. August 2018, I requested
drought -tolerant and low -maintenance plans; delivery, 2019, majority, which did not
meet the stipulated request; plans that did were installed on February 27 by the
Police Cadet Pack 130, and their drill instructors at the Historic Black Precinct, at
480 Northwest 11th Street. I've been apprised of a future plan purchase awaiting,
and I'm awaiting their arrival. I received a call yesterday, and saying the plans are
in operations. The ongoing homeless debacle: Northwest 10th Street, Northwest
11th Street, Northwest 12th Street, Northwest 13th Street, Northwest 14th Street,
Northwest 14th Terrace, Northwest 15th, 16th, and 17th Streets; results, please. I
hear about the monies available, the alleged desires of the Miami -Dade Homeless
Trust, and the "not -in -my -backyard" lobbyists, the lack of available bed space, the
refusal of the homeless individuals to accept offered shelter, but nowhere in these
communications do I hear about Overtown residents and their rights. Northwest
14th Street: Maintenance needed from Northwest 1st Avenue to Northwest 10th
Avenue. Miami -Dade County, City of Miami, do your job. Stop with the blame
game; I'm over it. Solution: If Northwest 14th Street is a County road, then reach
out and have them make it right. If it's a City road, Public Works, I'm disappointed
after all we've been through. Northwest 14th Street and Northwest 6th Avenue,
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) the former Women's Detention Center: Two piles of
construction debris onsite for more than eight months. Also, about 100 feet east of
the center, a sign has been on the ground between the guardrail and the FDOT's
(Florida Department of Transportation's) fence line for more than five years.
Northwest 14th Street, Northwest 7th Avenue: Property belongs to Miami -Dade
Corrections. It's an illegal dump site currently. An attempt has been made to mask
the debris with piles of quarry, but not successfully. Miami -Dade Corrections,
Miami -Dade County's Administration, and MOX (Miami -Dade Expressway
Authority), City of Miami's Code Compliance, and FDOT have all made promises to
address the problem. To date, with all the hot air being offered, I could have flown
to Europe. The fenced property, corner lot across from the Overtown Culmer
Metrorail: Maintenance needed. 11th Street and the corner of 7th Avenue is where
it's actually at. The City of Miami has 100 plus parks, but 25 Park Rangers. And if
the parks in Overtown is representative of the need for more, you all need to get
busy. The playground for Williams Park: Warranty expired eight years ago;
promises of replacement ongoing for the past three years; plaza being bandied about
for almost two years; all talk, no action. Furniture for the Manager's -- or Park
Manager's office at Williams Park: Currently, drawers are being closed and kept
closed by using folded papers to wedge them. The golf cart that aided the Laborer I
to transport trash and the necessary tools went for repairs almost a year ago;
promises for replacement forthcoming; when is anyone's guess. Vacuum for the pool
at Williams Park: Currently, anyone's guess. Irrigation pump needs upgrading:
City of Miami Page 21 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Current irrigation system doesn't meet the park's needs; again, promises. Baseball
field doesn't meet the accepted standards, given, say, the baseball fields west of 7th
Avenue. The Washingtonian palms east side of Williams Pool should have an annual
work order for the removal of their flowers, late April or early May. The flowers
create a drainage issue. And every year for the last 20 years, I've been the person
who's been telling them when to remove them. Entrance ramp to 195: Northwest 8th
Street, Northwest 3rd Avenue, landscaping maintenance; 195 underpasses:
Northwest 5th Street, 6th, 7th, and 8th needs maintenance. Northwest 3rd Court,
Northwest 8th Street exit ramp to Northwest 2nd Street entrance ramp for I-95
maintenance, but on the east side of the street only; the traffic circle improvements
maintenance; drainage maintenance, especially Northwest 5th Place and Northwest
19th Street. I asked for signage to be reinstalled. I see the elementary school
children shaking the poles, and some of them still tilted. Another look at the sink
hole that was repaired some time ago there at Northwest 5th Avenue and 17th Street
appears to have another indentation. Northwest Ist Avenue, Northwest 15th Street,
east of the avenue: Illegal dumping. Northwest 1st Avenue between Northwest 12th
and Northwest 13th Streets: Ongoing illegal dumping. Northwest Ist Avenue, 10th
to 14th Street: Maintenance. Northwest 17th Street, from Northwest 1st Court to
Northwest 1st Avenue: East side of the street, illegal dumping. 17th and Northwest
1st Place: Both corner lots need maintenance. Who is responsible for the FEC
(Florida East Coast) Railway property's maintenance? In Overtown, the only -- is
Overtown the only community in the City of Miami that is being made available as a
staging area for road, street and highway improvements; if so, why? The residents
deserve to breathe clean air, too. Gentlemen, I've not only visited you, written
emails, and made phone calls; I actually work alongside employees to improve
Overtown. And so, every time, every little bit of progress is a fight. I fought for the
renovation of the preservation of the Historic Black Precinct, the Dorsey Library,
and the more recent St. Peter's Church. It's reach one goal; move on to the next.
Communications between Overtown and the City of Miami needs to improve.
Overtown has had its trust issues with the City of Miami for decades, and the
mistrust continues as gentrification encompasses the community. I would like to
know, whose interest does it serve to keep Overtown a blighted slum area, even with
the high-rises? By all appearances, the residents are the last on the City of Miami's
collective minds. And here I was, thinking you all were elected to serve the
residents. And now, my personal issue.
Chair Russell: Madam Cartwright, can we do this in one more minute?
Ms. Cartwright: Yeah.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Ms. Cartwright: I doubt another minute, but I need you all to address this, because -
Chair Russell: And I'd like to start a conversation after that. I don't mean one
minute and then we're done. I would just like to know if your comments could take
one more minute --
Ms. Cartwright: Yeah. Okay.
Chair Russell: -- so that we could start the discussion with the Management about
how to address this. Two minutes?
Ms. Cartwright: Can I do this?
Chair Russell: Okay.
City of Miami Page 22 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Ms. Cartwright: And -- because I need this --
Chair Russell: You come --
Ms. Cartwright: -- taken care of.
Chair Russell: Yes. Thank you.
Ms. Cartwright: I'd like to understand the City of Miami's organizational chart
currently. Am I mistaken in my belief that, as a resident, I am one of your many
employers? So can you explain -- excuse me -- why a sign stating "City employees
only" was installed first at Public Works, and more recently at Park Operations? I
find it hilarious that we, the residents are your employers; and in turn, your
subordinates. So who is the sign for? Between April I and June of 2012, I
apparently had the audacity to follow up on a request for pressure -cleaning services
in Williams Park. I made the request to former Parks and Recreation Director Mr.
Juan Pascual, who, at the time of my request, was assigned as the Acting Director. I
also included a request for a six-foot ladder. And the work was done, but it was
done poorly; no ladder supplied. The request then became fodder for the City of
Miami's employees. One employee took issue with my request. As a result, I was
subjected to lewd, vulgar, and suggestive, insulting sexual language by a phone call
that was overheard by more than three employees. I again reached out to Mr.
Pascual, and he received one of my many "Come to Jesus" moments, which is not
what you want to get with me. I again reached out to Mr. Pascual. I also addressed
the incident with the then -City Manager, Mr. John Matias (phonetic), who, in turn,
charged former Assistant City Manager, Deputy Chief of Police, Mr. Luis Cabrera in
resolving the incident. Nothing was done. If the rumor mill can be believed, Mr.
Cabrera was amused. He saw no issue. It was a -- to him, it was an "in the heat of
the moment" incident. I often wonder if the employee's behavior, had it involved his
mother, sister, or family -- or a female relative, would he have had the same
reaction? The employee, Mr. Jose Rilo, is currently assigned to the Parks
Operations as a Coordinator. He inserted himself in my communication with Mr.
Pascual. Gentlemen, I have an unwritten policy. I try to communicate with the
head, not the middle or the tail, nor do I make allowances for abusive, insulting, or
condescending individuals. Fast forward, 5/30/2019. I cleaned the shrubs around
Williams Pool, interior and exterior, taking care not to disturb the birds' nest. I
photographed before and after, and forwarded the same to the Parks Operations
Superintendent, Mr. Donald Lutton. He acknowledged receipt of same. Imagine my
surprise to receive a call almost a week later, stating the tree trimmers were cutting
the shrubs again, and had destroyed the birds' nest. Gentlemen, it was not one of my
finer moments. I behaved like a fisherman's wife, a term my grandmother used when
one was less than polite. I ordered the tree trimmers to stop their -- stop cutting.
Their response was that they were told by Jose Rilo to perform the service. The
employee who had been cutting the shrubs offered to call Rilo so I could speak with
him. My response was, "Not in this lifetime." I got in my car, left the park, and went
to see Mr. Lutton, who alluded to the fact that he had no knowledge of the violation.
June 18, 2019, I had enough with the gossip, the excuses, the blame game, and the
outright lies. I am -- I interrupted a Park Operations staff meeting. I was courteous.
I asked my son, who is also employed there, to excuse himself- conflict of interest,
understand? I then addressed the staf. For more than 18 years, I've done follow-
ups and services for Overtown when the accepted norms were not being adhered to,
and with satisfactory results. At no time was I disrespectful. So to the employees in
the room that were asked to document an incident that occurred as I was exiting the
room, there's a piece of unsolicited advice for those employees, and Tin going to
quote Booker T. Washington. "A lie doesn't become the truth, wrong doesn't become
right, evil doesn't become good just because it's accepted by a majority. " All I've
ever asked from the City of Miami's Administration and employees was fair and
City of Miami Page 23 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
equal treatment. We have some disrespectful, untruthful, vulgar employees, and
that's as nice as I can get. Now, the fallout: Again, Rilo has taken my refusal to
communicate with him as an opportunity to malign my character. To all who refer
to me with the "B" word, I know you meant to say I'm a babe, in total control of
herself. Since Rilo is alleged to belong to the Friends and Family Plan, he has been
given liberties no other employee is afforded. He has been rude and seriously
disrespectful, not to my face; on the phone and behind my back. But what he says
behind my back gets back to me, and nobody in this room, sitting on that dais, wants
to get in my face when I'm ticked off. Thank you, gentlemen.
Chair Russell: Ms. Cartwright, thank you. If you could wait a moment, I'd like to
address this with the Management. I think we really have two main issues here; one
is a very specific list, a checklist of items. A lot of times, residents come to us and
just say, "Things are basically unkempt, or need to be fixed." We have here a very
specific list ofpotential action items. Do you have that list, and can you update us at
some point on --
Ms. Cartwright: I don't have it with me.
Chair Russell: -- what can and cannot be done, what is funded or not funded, what
is our responsibility or not our responsibility? And I notice that a lot of these things
fall within some of the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) boundaries, as
well. Feel free to reach out to the Executive Director of the CRA to see where we
can partner on some of these slum and blight issues, and as well as the Brightline
issue. Mr. Manager.
Joseph Napoli (Deputy City Manager): I don't have that complete list. I walk -- I
did a walk-through with Ms. Cartwright on Wednesday --
Ms. Cartwright: Yesterday.
Mr. Napoli: -- Tuesday or Wednesday --
Ms. Cartwright: Tuesday.
Mr. Napoli: -- and I have that list. I'll take this list. I did tell Ms. Cartwright the
short-term things that we could do ourselves, we would get right on it. As a matter
of fact, we started yesterday.
Ms. Cartwright: Mm-hmm.
Mr. Napoli: I also told her that we would put together a task force of City
departments, the CRA, the DDA (Downtown Development Authority), and FDOT --
Ms. Cartwright: FDOT.
Mr. Napoli: -- because a lot of those issues are -- need to be addressed by FDOT
and the CRA, but we need to do it in a collective fashion. And so, I think if we put
together this task force, we can develop both short-, mid-, and long-term solutions to
those legitimate concerns that Ms. Cartwright has.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Residents have the right to address this Commission
when their needs have not been met by the Administration and they're seeking further
relief. I hear, though, that you are working together with her.
Ms. Cartwright: Yeah. We did the walk, but I had already written it.
City of Miami Page 24 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Understood. If we could get a copy for the Clerk's Ojfce, or at least
of the list, whatever you're willing to share --
Ms. Cartwright: Mm-hmm.
Chair Russell: -- we'll work together with you. And from the CRA side, I'm glad to
work with my staff, as well --
Ms. Cartwright: Mm-hmm.
Chair Russell: -- to work with you on -- where we can. I really appreciate that
you're taking the time to do this, because it's not your job. Knowing the resources of
the City --
Ms. Cartwright: Yeah. I got a tan.
Chair Russell: I can see you've done a lot of work on that. So that list is one issue,
but the other issue is one of resident and constituent customer service, and that's
something that's very important to us, as well as the Manager, to recognize that
residents are our bosses, and not the other way around. Have you addressed this
issue with Ms. Cartwright, and are you taking care of this?
Mr. Napoli: We're aware of the issue that Ms. Cartwright raised on the meeting and
in her dialogue with the employee that she's talking about, and we've done an
internal investigation, and are dealing with it.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Madam Cartwright?
Ms. Cartwright: Thank you.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Gentlemen, anything? All right. Thank you very much.
END OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE
City of Miami Page 25 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes
C41eQ9%]►MNI►III reCe7NI►1R7_1
The following item(s) was Adopted on the Consent Agenda
RESULT:
ADOPTED
MOVER:
Wifredo Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:
Hardemon
CA.1
RESOLUTION
6007
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, ACCEPTING
Department of Real
THE BID RECEIVED ON MARCH 5, 2019, PURSUANT TO
Estate and Asset
INVITATION TO BID ("ITB") NO. 18-19-009, FROM DOCK AND
Management
MARINE CONSTRUCTION CORP. ("DOCK"), THE LOWEST
RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER, TO PROVIDE
CONSTRUCTION SERVICES FOR THE DINNER KEY NORTH
MOORING FACILITY — PROJECT NO. B-70048, IN THE AMOUNT
OF $198,396.00, FOR THE SCOPE OF WORK, PLUS AN
OWNER'S CONTINGENCY ALLOWANCE IN THE AMOUNT OF
$19,839.60, FOR A TOTAL NOT -TO -EXCEED AWARD VALUE OF
$218,235.60; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF
REAL ESTATE AND ASSET MANAGEMENT'S ("DREAM")
PROJECT NO. B-70048; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT WITH DOCK, IN SUBSTANTIALLY
THE ATTACHED FORM, CONSISTING OF THE ITB DOCUMENTS
AND ATTACHMENTS, FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ALL OTHER
DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS AND
EXTENSIONS, SUBJECT TO ALLOCATIONS, APPROPRIATIONS,
AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL HAVING BEEN PREVIOUSLY
MADE, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE PROVISIONS
OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED,
("CITY CODE"), INCLUDING THE CITY OF MIAMI'S
PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE, ANTI -DEFICIENCY ACT, AND
FINANCIAL INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES, ALL AS SET FORTH IN
CHAPTER 18 OF THE CITY CODE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO
THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE
REGULATIONS, AS MAY BE NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0263
This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA.], please see "Public
Comment Period for Regular Item (s) " and "End of Consent Agenda. "
July 11, 2019
Citv of Miami Page 26 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
CA.2
RESOLUTION
5961
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, ACCEPTING
Department of
GRANT FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $112,500.00 CONSISTING
Department of Fire-
OF A GRANT AWARDED FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA'S
Rescue
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
("EMS") TRUST FUND, TITLED "EMS MATCHING GRANT AWARD
— M7034," WITH A REQUIRED MATCH FROM THE CITY OF MIAMI
("CITY") IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $37,496.25, FOR A
TOTAL AMOUNT OF $149,996.25; ALLOCATING THE CITY'S
MATCHING FUNDS FROM ACCOUNT NO.
00001.184010.899000.0000.00000 FOR THE PERIOD BEGINNING
MAY 3, 2019 THROUGH JUNE 30,2020; FURTHER AUTHORIZING
THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT SAID GRANT AWARD AND TO
EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, ALL IN A FORM
ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, TO IMPLEMENT AND
COMPLY WITH SAID GRANT.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0264
This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA.2, please see "End of
Consent Agenda. "
CA.3
RESOLUTION
5992
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Department of
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
Police
EXECUTE A MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY
THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY"),
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ("COUNTY"), AND OTHER
PARTICIPATING LOCAL GOVERNING BODIES, BY AND
THROUGH THEIR RESPECTIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES, TO RECEIVE AND EXTEND MUTUAL AID THROUGH
THE MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT'S PARTICIPATION IN THE
THREAT MANAGEMENT TASK FORCE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF
INCREASING PUBLIC SAFETY BY CONDUCTING THREAT
ASSESSMENTS, CASE MANAGEMENT, AND INFORMATION
SHARING FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS IDENTIFIED AS PERSONS
OF CONCERN.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0265
This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA.3, please see "End of
Consent Agenda. "
Citv of Miami Page 27 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
CAA
RESOLUTION - Item Pulled from Consent
6048
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION UTILIZING
Department of
THE COMPETITIVELY SOLICITED AND EXISTING MIAMI-DADE
Police
COUNTY ("MDC") LAW ENFORCEMENT EQUIPMENT AND
SUPPLIES PRE -QUALIFICATION POOL CONTRACT (1088-0/17)
FOR THE PURCHASE OF GLOCK 9MM STANDARD DUTY
PISTOLS, WHICH CONTRACT EXPIRES ON SEPTEMBER 30,
2022, SUBJECT TO ANY EXTENSIONS AND/OR REPLACEMENT
CONTRACTS BY MDC, ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM VARIOUS
SOURCES OF FUNDS AND AGENCIES, SUBJECT TO THE
AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE
TIME OF NEED; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS,
INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS, RENEWALS, AND
EXTENSIONS, SUBJECT TO ALLOCATIONS, APPROPRIATIONS,
AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL, HAVING BEEN PREVIOUSLY
MADE, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE PROVISIONS
OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED,
("CITY CODE"), INCLUDING THE CITY OF MIAMI'S
PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE, ANTI -DEFICIENCY ACT, AND
FINANCIAL INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES, ALL AS SET FORTH IN
CHAPTER 18 OF THE CITY CODE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO
THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE
REGULATIONS, AS MAY BE NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0271
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT: Hardemon
Note for the Record. For additional minutes referencing Item CA.4, please see
"End of Consent Agenda. "
Chair Russell: CA. 4. Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. Chief --
Jorge Colina (Chief of Police): Sir, Good morning.
Commissioner Reyes: --see, I— good morning, sir. How are you doing?
Chief Colina: Great, thankyou.
Commissioner Reyes: You look very rest and relaxed.
Chief Colina: Thank you.
Commissioner Reyes: Chief, I am not a marine or a police officer or anything, but I
am -- I like guns, and I been dealing with guns since I was a child And I -- all my
readings and all -- everything that I have read about guns, that there is a big
City of Miami Page 28 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
difference on stopping power and a need for having more stopping power. And there
is definite -- definitely, there is a high stopping power between a .40 caliber and a
nine millimeters. And I see that we are changing here from .40 caliber to nine
millimeter, and sincerely, I don't see the need for it. And I will love -- I will request
that you convince me that this -- How much additional cost is -- this is going to have,
Mr. Manager?
Chair Russell: Are you looking to hear from the Manager or the Chief?
Commissioner Reyes: No, I'm not -- but Chief, do you know how much you -- how
much more --?
Chief Colina: The upfront expense for the weapons, it's about 250,000. That is not
counting -- after we receive the weapons, there'll be a buyback as we transition to the
new weapon. We -- then the vendor will buy back the .40s from us, so there'll be a
savings there.
Commissioner Reyes: What's the net cost then?
Chief Colina: The net cost would be probably about 190,000 --
Commissioner Reyes: $190,000. We have --
Chief Colina: --for the weapons.
Commissioner Reyes: For the weapons.
Chief Colina: However, in ammunition, both duty ammunition and the frangible that
they use to practice with, there'll be a savings of about --
Commissioner Reyes: How much for 50 -round case -- I mean boxes? I mean --
Chief Colina: Well, what they would save --
Commissioner Reyes: -- what would be the difference between one and the other?
Chair Russell: Just one at a time, so he can answer.
Commissioner Reyes: Hold on a second.
Chief Colina: -- what we would save in ammunition is about $50,000 a year, so over
several years, then it becomes actually a cost savings for the City.
Commissioner Reyes: You -- I don't -- you see, I like to verb it, because -- and when
you talk to me in numbers, I want to see --
Chief Colina: Sure.
Commissioner Reyes: -- what will be the difference between a box of .40 caliber and
a box of nine millimeter cartridge. You see, that way, that's the only way that you can
project on the amount of ammunition. Listen, this might sound a little petty, but I
think that we have to be very careful how we spend our money.
Chief Colina: On per box, it's almost $5 savings per box.
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah. And how much -- how many boxes you use a year?
City of Miami Page 29 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chief Colina: 1,100 boxes.
Commissioner Reyes: 100 boxes?
Chief Colina: 1,100.
Commissioner Reyes: 11 ? Man, you do a lot of shooting. I mean --
Chief Colina: You got to qualify every year, sir. We have to -- they have to go to the
range and qualify. It's an FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) standard.
And, of course, you have to practice.
Commissioner Reyes: -- my main concern is stopping power. And definitely, you see,
I don't see the need and that is my question, you see.
Chief Colina: I can address the stopping power. When they did studies in the late
'80s on terms of stopping power, and the thought then was -- and, in fact, the .40 did
have greater stopping power then.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Chief Colina: However, all the studies that have been done recently, because of
technology, there is virtually no difference between the stopping power of the nine
millimeter and the .40.
Commissioner Reyes: Well --
Chief Colina: What you do get in the nine millimeter, though, is the shooter is far
more accurate. You have better trigger management; and so, those are things --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Chief Colina: Ultimately, we need to hit the target if we want to; not just because it's
officer safety, but, of course, the citizens. But in terms of stopping power, it is
practically the same as the .40 today. That was not the case before, but that is the
case now.
Commissioner Reyes: So now, with new technology, I mean, I might not be up to date
on it, but I'm still concerned with it, and -- I don't know.
Chief Colina: I understand. And we can supply you with all the data that we have
that shows that. This is not a decision that we're making just because we want to
switch weapons. The data shows us that the stopping power is virtually the same;
however, you're more accurate with a nine millimeter --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Chief Colina: -- and that becomes an important factor. And if I can just add this
other matter that I think is important to consider, the FBI (Federal Bureau of
Investigation), LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department), ATPD (New York Police
Department) and Miami -Dade County, Hialeah, Miami Beach, there's a reason they
all have already transitioned, because they've seen the same information we have. So
not only is the weapon more accurate; ultimately, it'll save our taxpayers dollars,
because the ammunition is significantly less expensive.
Commissioner Reyes: Could you please -- I mean, accuracy is very relative, and on
nine millimeter, it's more accurate at larger distances -- you know -- the longer
City of Miami Page 30 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
distance. I mean, but most of the shooting occurs between about 10, 15 feet, and you
know that. And if you cannot hit a person at 10 feet, you shouldn't be a police officer.
Chief Colina: No, I understand. I understand. But the point is that it's still a more
accurate weapon.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Chief Colina: Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: Could you bring me all the information, please?
Chief Colina: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Reyes: Because I -- one thing that -- and I don't want to be wasting --
not "wasting" -- spending our tax dollars on unnecessary things, you know. I mean,
we have to be very, very careful how we use our tax dollars.
Chief Colina: I agree with you, sir, and that's why I thought that it was an important
component that it will eventually be a savings to the City, because we're saving almost
$50, 000 a year in ammunition, because it's so --
Commissioner Reyes: If it is $50, 000 a year, we will recoup them in four years. If
that is the case --
Chief Colina: We estimate about five years, but --
Commissioner Reyes: Five years.
Chief Colina: -- roughly, you know, four to five years, we would have already gotten
it back, and then it would be a savings going forward. But what I can do is, we have
information that I can certainly have emailed to you now, and each Commissioner, if
you'd like to look at it, as well. I can send it to you.
Commissioner Reyes: I'm going to take your word for it, sir.
Chief Colina: Okay. I appreciate it.
Chair Russell: Vice Chairman Gort.
Commissioner Reyes: Let him finish.
Chief Colina: I do have the information if anybody wants to review it, but I'm
grateful.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Vice Chairman Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: Chief, my understanding is officers will get an opportunity to buy
back their guns.
Chief Colina: There is an option for -- the officer can pay to buy back the gun, but
whether the officer does that or not, the vendor will buy it back from us.
Vice Chair Gort: No, I understand.
Chief Colina: Yes.
City of Miami Page 31 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Vice Chair Gort: Okay. Thank you.
Chair Russell: Is there a motion on CA. 4?
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Chair Russell: It's been moved --
Commissioner Reyes: Second.
Chair Russell: -- by Commissioner Gort; seconded by Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: Question. Mr. Gort, you want to buy one?
Vice Chair Gort: I already have one with my name and everything.
Commissioner Reyes: I don't have --you have a.40. I have a nine millimeter.
Vice Chair Gort: I had to buy it back in the 90s. I paid $240 for it.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Chief Colina: It's worth a lot more now.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Commissioner Reyes: It cost more now?
Chief Colina: It's worth a lot more. The one he has is worth a lot --
Commissioner Reyes: No, no, how much it's going to cost if anyone --
Chief Colina: --probably three times that much now.
Commissioner Reyes: Three times now? Wow. I should have been here at that time.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Any further discussion on CA. 4? Hearing none, all in
favor, say "aye. If
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes.
City of Miami Page 32 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
CA.5
RESOLUTION
6010
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION,
Department of
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ACCEPT A DONATION
Police
FROM THE WYNWOOD BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
("WYNWOOD BID") IN THE AMOUNT OF ONE HUNDRED
EIGHTY-ONE THOUSAND, THIRTY-FOUR DOLLARS AND
THIRTY-SEVEN CENTS ($181,034.37) TO ESTABLISH A SPECIAL
REVENUE PROJECT TITLED "THE WYNWOOD BID SECURITY
SYSTEM" ("PROJECT"); ALLOCATING SAID FUNDS TO THE
MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT'S ("MPD") SPECIAL REVENUE
FUND ACCOUNT NUMBER 12000.191501.466000.0.0 FOR THE
PROVISION OF FORTY-EIGHT (48) SECURITY CAMERAS AND
TWO (2) LICENSE PLATE READERS, INCLUDING SOFTWARE
LICENSING, MAINTENANCE, INSTALLATION OF ALL
HARDWARE WITHIN THE WYNWOOD BID AREA, AND
INTEGRATION INTO MPD'S REAL TIME CRIME CENTER;
FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO DESIGNATE
THE CHIEF OF POLICE TO APPROVE THE EXPENDITURE OF
FUNDS ALLOCATED TO THE PROJECT AND EXECUTE ANY AND
ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, ALL IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE
TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR THE DISPERSAL OF PROJECT
FUNDS.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0266
This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA. 5, please see "End of
Consent Agenda. "
Citv of Miami Page 33 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
CA.6
RESOLUTION
5960
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, ACCEPTING
Department of
THE BIDS RECEIVED ON MARCH 26, 2019, PURSUANT TO
Procurement
INVITATION FOR BID ("IFB") 1018381 FROM 41MPRINT, INC.,
AWARDS LLC, DBA TROPHY WORLD, INC., FIGMENT DESIGN,
INC., IBILEY UNIFORM, INC., HOLSEN, INC., PRISON
REHABILITATIVE INDUSTRIES & DIVERSIFIED ENTERPRISES,
INC., DBA PRIDE ENTERPRISES, PROMOTIONS ROCK, LLC,
AND WORLD OF PROMOTIONS CORP., TO ESTABLISH A PRE -
QUALIFICATION POOL FOR THE PURCHASE OF PROMOTIONAL
ITEMS, CITYWIDE, ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS, FOR AN INITIAL
TERM OF FIVE (5) YEARS, WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR
FIVE (5) ADDITIONAL ONE (1) YEAR PERIODS, ALLOCATING
FUNDS FROM THE CITY OF MIAMI'S VARIOUS SOURCES OF
FUNDS FROM THE USER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES,
SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY
APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED; AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ALL OTHER
DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS, RENEWALS,
AND EXTENSIONS, SUBJECT TO ALLOCATIONS,
APPROPRIATIONS, AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL HAVING
BEEN PREVIOUSLY MADE, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH
APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ("CITY CODE"), INCLUDING THE
CITY OF MIAMI'S PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE, ANTI-
DEFICIENCY ACT, AND FINANCIAL INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES, ALL
AS SET FORTH IN CHAPTER 18 OF THE CITY CODE, IN A FORM
ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND IN COMPLIANCE
WITH APPLICABLE REGULATIONS, AS MAY BE NECESSARY
FOR SAID PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0267
This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA. 6, please see "End of
Consent Agenda. "
Citv of Miami Page 34 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
CA.7
RESOLUTION
5983
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Department of
ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE PROPOSALS RECEIVED
Procurement
JUNE 7, 2018, PURSUANT TO REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Public Works
("RFP") NO. 824384, FROM FISHER AUCTION CO., INC.
("FISHER") FOR GROUP 1, FOR THE PROVISION OF ON-SITE
AUCTION SERVICES, AND RENE BATES AUCTIONEERS, INC.
("RENE BATES"), FOR GROUP 2, FOR THE PROVISION OF
INTERNET AUCTION SERVICES, FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF
PROCUREMENT ("PROCUREMENT"), FOR AN INITIAL PERIOD
OF THREE (3) YEARS, WITH AN OPTION TO RENEW FOR ONE
(1) ADDITIONAL THREE (3) YEAR PERIOD ON AN AS -NEEDED
CONTRACTUAL BASIS; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
EXECUTE THE NEGOTIATED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
AGREEMENTS ("PSA"), IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED
FORM; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS,
INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS, RENEWALS, AND
EXTENSIONS, SUBJECT TO ALLOCATIONS, APPROPRIATIONS,
AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL HAVING BEEN PREVIOUSLY
MADE, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE PROVISIONS
OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED
("CITY CODE"), INCLUDING, THE CITY OF MIAMI'S
PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE, ANTI -DEFICIENCY ACT, AND
FINANCIAL INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES, ALL AS SET FORTH IN
CHAPTER 18 OF THE CITY CODE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO
THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE
REGULATIONS, AS MAY BE NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0268
This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA. 7, please see "End of
Consent Agenda. "
CA.8
RESOLUTION
5981
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Department of
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
Resilience and
EXECUTE A PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION GRANT AGREEMENT,
Public Works
IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN THE
CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION ("FDOT"); ACCEPTING THE STATE OF
FLORIDA'S CONTRIBUTION, IN THE AMOUNT OF $295,000.00,
FOR CAPITAL FUNDING FOR ADDITIONAL TRANSIT VEHICLES;
AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF THE CITY'S REQUIRED
MATCHING FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $295,000.00 FROM THE
CITY'S SHARE OF THE CHARTER COUNTY AND REGIONAL
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM SURTAX.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0269
This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA. 8, please see "Public
Comment Period for Regular Item (s) " and "End of Consent Agenda. "
Citv of Miami Page 35 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
CA.9
RESOLUTION
5982
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, ACCEPTING
Department of
THE BID RECEIVED MARCH 27, 2019, PURSUANT TO
Resilience and
INVITATION FOR BID ("IFB") NO. 1031382, FOR THE PURCHASE
Public Works
OF A SUBMERSIBLE AXIAL FLOW PROPELLER PUMP FROM F.J.
ABSENT:
NUGENT & ASSOCIATES, INC. ("F.J. NUGENT"), THE SOLE
RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER, FOR A ONE-TIME
PURCHASE FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI'S DEPARTMENT OF
RESILIENCE AND PUBLIC WORKS (`PUBLIC WORKS").
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0270
This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA.9, please see "End of
Consent Agenda. "
CA.10
RESOLUTION - Item Pulled from Consent
6138
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION
Office of the City
AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO PAY THE
Attorney
ESTATE OF ALEX FORTSON AND ITS ATTORNEYS, ASNIS,
AYES:
SREBNICK & KAUFMAN, L.L.C., WITHOUT ADMISSION OF
ABSENT:
LIABILITY, THE AGGREGATE TOTAL SUM OF ONE HUNDRED
FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($150,000.00) IN FULL AND
COMPLETE SETTLEMENT OF ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND
DEMANDS, INCLUDING ALL CLAIMS FOR ATTORNEYS FEES,
AGAINST THE CITY OF MIAMI AND ITS OFFICERS, AGENTS,
AND EMPLOYEES, IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF ALEX
FORTSON ADV. CITY OF MIAMI, UPON THE EXECUTION OF
GENERAL RELEASES AS TO ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS;
ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM ACCOUNT NO.
50001.301001.545011.0000.00000.
MOTION TO:
Indefinitely Defer
RESULT:
INDEFINITELY DEFERRED
MOVER:
Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:
Hardemon, Carollo
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item CA.10, please see "Order of the
Day. "
END OF CONSENT AGENDA
Chair Russell: Gentlemen, I'd like to take up the CA (Consent Agenda) agenda,
CAs.l through 9. Is there any item on the CA agenda that you'd like to discuss
separately; if not, is there a motion on CA.1 through 99
Commissioner Reyes: (INAUDIBLE).
Citv of Miami Page 36 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Yes, Commissioner Reyes?
Vice Chair Gort: I move it.
Commissioner Reyes: I have one that I want to ask the Chief of Police.
Chair Russell: Which item?
Commissioner Reyes: It is on --
Chair Russell: CA.4?
Commissioner Reyes: --Item CA.4.
Chair Russell: So we'll pull CA.4. We'll --we won't take it up yet. We'll pull that
one out of the vote.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Chair Russell: Are there any other items that someone would like to discuss
separately or vote on separately?
Vice Chair Gort: Move CA without the CA.4.
Chair Russell: So there's a motion to move CAs.1, 2, 3, S, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Is there a
second?
Commissioner Reyes: Second.
Chair Russell: Seconded by Commissioner Reyes. Any further discussion? Hearing
none, all in favor, say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes.
City of Miami Page 37 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes
00:01--11Los: IMWNIki[4�
PHA
RESOLUTION
5963
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION
Department of
AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF UNITED STATES
Housing and
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Community
("HUD") ENTITLEMENT GRANT FUNDS, IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT
OF $20,762,531.00 FOR THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS IN THE
Development
FOLLOWING AMOUNTS: (1) $5,389,694.00 FOR THE COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ("CDBG") PROGRAM, (2)
$3,297,681.00 FOR THE HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS
("HOME") PROGRAM, (3) $11,628,915.00 FOR THE HOUSING
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS ("HOPWA")
PROGRAM, AND (4) $446,241.00 FOR THE EMERGENCY
SOLUTIONS GRANTS ("ESG") PROGRAM FOR PROGRAM YEAR
2019-2020; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS, IN A
FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AS MAY BE
NECESSARY TO ACCEPT SAID HUD ENTITLEMENT GRANT
FUNDS.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0272
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT: Hardemon
July 11, 2019
Note for the Record. For additional minutes referencing Item PH.], please see
"Public Comment Period for Regular Item(s). "
Chair Russell: I'd like to bring your attention to the PH (Public Hearing) agenda,
gentlemen; PH 1 through 12. I assume we would like to pull PH.9 for separate
discussion; that's the road closure, vehicular restriction.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Chair Russell: I'm asking if there any ones with regard to PH.1 through 9 that you'd
like to discuss separately, or vote on separately.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. I want to make a comment on PH. 9, and we have here --
Chair Russell: So we'll address that one separately, as well.
Commissioner Reyes: We'll address that, because I want to --
Chair Russell: I just wanted --
Commissioner Reyes: -- make it clear, the process --
Chair Russell: The process, absolutely.
City of Miami Page 38 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: -- so people will know that, and they are not misinformed, and
they don't blame the elected officials, like they like to do, for things that we're not --
we don't have the power.
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): And Chairman --
Chair Russell: Yes, Madam City Attorney.
Ms. Mendez: --for PH. 10 and for PH 11, Commissioner Reyes would like to co-
sponsor those two items.
Chair Russell: Co-sponsor, that's fine.
Ms. Mendez: PH 10 and 11.
Chair Russell: And then 10, 11, and 12, I believe are four-fifths, as well; a few of
these are four-fifths. I believe we're fine. So I'd like to take up PH 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 --
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Chair Russell: -- 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12; all except for 9. There's a motion by
Commissioner Gort; seconded by Commissioner Reyes. Is there any further
discussion on any of these items? Hearing none, all in favor say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes. Thank you.
PH.2
RESOLUTION
5964
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Department of
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF
Housing and
PROGRAM YEAR 2019-2020 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Community
BLOCK GRANT ("CDBG") FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF
$5,389,694.00 AND PUBLIC SERVICE FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT
Development
OF $123,002.78 FROM PREVIOUS YEAR'S PROGRAM INCOME
FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $5,512,696.78, TO THE
ACTIVITIES/DEPARTMENTS SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT "A,"
ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, BEGINNING OCTOBER 1,
2019; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND
EXECUTE ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING
EXTENSIONS, AMENDMENTS, AND MODIFICATIONS, ALL IN
FORMS ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AS MAY BE
NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT THE ALLOCATION OF SAID
FUNDS.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0273
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT: Hardemon
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PK2, please see Item PH.].
City of Miami Page 39 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
PH.3
RESOLUTION
5965
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Department of
ATTACHMENT(S), ALLOCATING HOME INVESTMENT
Housing and
PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM ("HOME") FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF
Community
$3,297,681.00 FOR HOUSING PROGRAMS FOR PROGRAM YEAR
"A,"
Development
2019-2020, AS MORE PARTICULARLY SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT
Development
ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
AFFORDABLE HOUSING; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS, ALL IN
A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AS MAY BE
NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0274
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT: Hardemon
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PK 3, please see Item PKI.
PHA
RESOLUTION
5966
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Department of
ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE ALLOCATION FOR
Housing and
PROGRAM YEAR 2019-2020 HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR
Community
PERSONS WITH AIDS ("HOPWA") PROGRAM FUNDS, IN THE
ABSENT:
AMOUNT OF $11,628,915.00 AND IN THE AMOUNT OF
Development
$400,000.00 FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S UNALLOCATED
AMOUNT, FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF $12,028,915.00, AS MORE
PARTICULARLY SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT "A," ATTACHED AND
INCORPORATED, TO PROVIDE HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND
HOUSING RELATED SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS
LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS, ALL IN
A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AS MAY BE
NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE ALLOCATIONS.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0275
MOTION TO:
Adopt
RESULT:
ADOPTED
MOVER:
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:
Hardemon
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PK4, please see Item PH.].
Citv of Miami Page 40 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
PH.5
RESOLUTION
5967
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Department of
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF
Housing and
EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT ("ESG") FUNDS FOR
Housing and
PROGRAM YEAR 2019-2020 IN THE AMOUNT OF $446,241.00
Community
AND IN THE AMOUNT OF $22,370.58 FROM THE PREVIOUS
Development
YEAR'S UNEXPENDED FUNDS, FOR A TOTAL AMOUNT OF
$468,611.58, AS MORE PARTICULARLY SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT
"A," ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED; AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL
DOCUMENTS, ALL IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY
ATTORNEY, AS MAY BE NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0276
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT: Hardemon
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PK S, please see Item PH.].
PH.6
RESOLUTION
5968
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, ACCEPTING
SECTION 8 HOUSING PROGRAM FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF
Department of
$4,663,200.00 FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE IN THE AMOUNT OF
Housing and
$436,800.00, FOR PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION, FOR A TOTAL
Community
AMOUNT OF $5,100,000.00, FOR PROGRAM YEAR 2019-2020
Development
ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT;
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND
EXECUTE ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS, ALL IN A FORM
ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AS MAY BE
NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0277
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT: Hardemon
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PK 6, please see "Public
Comment Period for Regular Item (s) " and Item PH.].
Citv of Miami Page 41 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
PH.7
RESOLUTION
6040
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Department of
ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE CITY OF MIAMI'S ("CITY")
Housing and
FIVE-YEAR CONSOLIDATED PLAN, THE CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
Community
PLAN FOR FISCAL YEARS 2019-2023, AND THE ANNUAL ACTION
Development
PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019-2020, ATTACHED AND
"PLANS");
INCORPORATED (COLLECTIVELY, AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER TO SUBMIT THE PLANS TO THE UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT, FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL; FURTHER
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND
EXECUTE ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING
AMENDMENTS, EXTENSIONS, AND MODIFICATIONS, ALL IN
FORMS ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AS MAY BE
NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE, SUBJECT TO ALL FEDERAL,
STATE, AND LOCAL LAWS THAT REGULATE SUCH
DOCUMENTS.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0278
MOTION TO:
Adopt
RESULT:
ADOPTED
MOVER:
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:
Hardemon
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PK 7, please see Item PKI.
PH.8
RESOLUTION
6156
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Commissioners
ATTACHMENT(S), PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-85(A) OF THE
and Mayor
CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CITY
CODE"), BY A FOUR FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE,
AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING, RATIFYING,
APPROVING, AND CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGER'S
FINDINGS, ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED AS EXHIBIT "A,"
THAT COMPETITIVE NEGOTIATION METHODS AND
PROCEDURES ARE NOT PRACTICABLE OR ADVANTAGEOUS
FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY"); WAIVING THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR SAID PROCEDURES; AUTHORIZING THE
ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS FROM THE DISTRICT 1
COMMISSIONER'S SHARE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI'S ("CITY")
ANTI -POVERTY INITIATIVE ("API"), IN A TOTAL AMOUNT NOT TO
EXCEED NINETY-TWO THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED TWO
DOLLARS ($92,702.00) TO LITTLE HAVANA ACTIVITIES &
NUTRITION CENTERS OF DADE COUNTY, INC., A FLORIDA NOT
FOR PROFIT CORPORATION ("LITTLE HAVANA ACTIVITIES
CENTER"), IN SUPPORT OF ITS MEALS PROGRAM FOR
SENIORS AT ANTONIO MACEO PARK; FURTHER AUTHORIZING
THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND
ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY, ALL IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE
TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0279
Citv of Miami Page 42 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes, Hardemon
Note for the Record. For additional minutes referencing Item PH.9, please see
"Public Comment Period for Regular Item(s)" and Item PH. 1.
Chair Russell: PH.9, Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. Would you please come up? Good evening -- I mean,
good morning.
Darlene Fernandez: Good morning.
Commissioner Reyes: I'm a little ahead of time, yes. I heard -- and the same thing
that I have, that you stated here, the same thing that we have been hearing when we
met with Ms. Bravo, the Mayor, and a couple of engineers. I don't -- I remember
you were there; you were present at the time.
City of Miami Page 43 Printed on 1010812019
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT: Hardemon
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PH.8, please see "Public
Comment Period for Regular Item(s) " and Item PH.].
PH.9
RESOLUTION
6148
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION
AUTHORIZING THE PERMANENT RESTRICTION OF VEHICULAR
Department of
ACCESS THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A LANDSCAPE
Resilience and
BARRICADE, OTHER REMOVABLE BOLLARD DEVICE, OR NON-
Public Works
PERMANENT DEVICE AT SOUTHWEST 14TH AVENUE
APPROXIMATELY 125 FEET SOUTH OF SOUTHWEST 22ND
STREET, SOUTHWEST 16TH AVENUE APPROXIMATELY 125
FEET SOUTH OF SOUTHWEST 22ND STREET, SOUTHWEST
16TH COURT APPROXIMATELY 125 FEET SOUTH OF
SOUTHWEST 22ND STREET AND SOUTHWEST 23RD STREET
AT A POINT APPROXIMATELY 120 FEET EAST OF ITS
INTERSECTION WITH SOUTHWEST 17TH AVENUE, SUBJECT TO
APPROVAL BY THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS TRAFFIC DIVISION
AND THE CITY OF MIAMI DEPARTMENTS OF RESILIENCE AND
PUBLIC WORKS, SOLID WASTE, FIRE -RESCUE, AND POLICE;
DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO PROVIDE PEDESTRIAN
ACCESS AT ALL TIMES THROUGH THE AFORESAID BARRIERS;
DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THE
RESOLUTION TO THE OFFICIALS NAMED HEREIN.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0283
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes, Hardemon
Note for the Record. For additional minutes referencing Item PH.9, please see
"Public Comment Period for Regular Item(s)" and Item PH. 1.
Chair Russell: PH.9, Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. Would you please come up? Good evening -- I mean,
good morning.
Darlene Fernandez: Good morning.
Commissioner Reyes: I'm a little ahead of time, yes. I heard -- and the same thing
that I have, that you stated here, the same thing that we have been hearing when we
met with Ms. Bravo, the Mayor, and a couple of engineers. I don't -- I remember
you were there; you were present at the time.
City of Miami Page 43 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Ms. Fernandez: Mm-hmm.
Commissioner Reyes: And you explained that there is a process, right?
Ms. Fernandez: Right.
Commissioner Reyes: Could you express that process again? Because what -- it
make believe that by resolution -- that's what many people believe. I mean, I been
informed by -- I been told by many people -- by resolution, we will be -- I mean, able
-- or we will have the right to close the street. And as you inform us -- and that's
what we did in last meeting -- we provided you with the petitions from 23rd Terrace
that they are requesting a street closure and you had to analyze it, and the decision
is your -- and then after -- well, could you explain what the process is?
Ms. Fernandez: Sure. Darlene Fernandez, Assistant Director, Department of
Transportation and Public Works, Miami -Dade County. So the process is the traffic
flow modification procedure, which we have discussed in the past -- you're correct,
Commissioner -- and the way that is, is first you come with a traffic analysis to the
County, analyzing all these street, because, again, it's not just one street that we're
closing; it's going to affect multiple streets in the neighboring area, as we've seen
with pilots we've done in the City of Miami. So typically, we come in, we tell them
what the methodology is, we explain that process to them. They resubmit that to us;
we either approve or disapprove. Typically, this is approved by us; then it doesn't
come as a resolution from the board or doesn't go to be balloted from the residents.
If it does get approved from Miami -Dade County, then it goes to the residents for the
petitions or the balloting process, or you can bring it in by resolution. That is a
process that we have that we've been using for more than 15 years in the County, so
-- but that process hasn't happened, which is why I'm here today, because we didn't
get any studying. We haven't gotten any information, even with the previous items
that were on this board.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Gort: Let me tell you, in my area -- because this is a problem throughout
the whole City of Miami -- the growth of Miami -Dade County has been detrimental
to the City ofMiami. I think you have something called "blaze, " which now is being
used by everyone, and every time the monthly -- the debate I get from Miami -Dade
County is that the arterial roads got to have alternative. You guys want to use our
City street to solve the problems in arterial roads, but your problem creates a
problem. Solving your problem creates a problem in our cities. We had -- I had a
lot of demands and requested for closing of the streets. And you don't have to close
it; make it one way going out and one way going in, and that's one way that you can
do it. I would like to see Miami -Dade County really do a study of the whole City of
Miami, because your growth is affecting all of us. All our cities are going through
that problem.
Ms. Fernandez: Commissioner, we did discuss with -- when Francis was the
Commissioner of District 4, prior -- this was probably in 2017 -- we did discuss them
doing a transportation plan, especially in this area, which covered -- I want to say
17th to 27th, from U.S.] to Coral Way. We even went north of that, which -- with
some residents in the Shenandoah area, and that was something that the Public
Works Department at the time was going to analyze as a broader network of -- like
you said -- could it be one-way pairs to assist? Could it be placing more traffic
calming in certain neighborhoods? Because once you fix one thing in one street, it
just continues a domino effect to the rest of the area. So instead of just trying to put
a Band-Aid on one, we said, "Why don't you go ahead and do a overall
transportation study that covers that whole neighborhood, to see what options there
City of Miami Page 44 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
may be? And then, we can discuss that at the County level, " which I then discussed
that with Commissioner Reyes at the previous meeting.
Vice Chair Gort: So --
Chair Russell: Commissioner.
Vice Chair Gort. -- we have come out with some real quick things; the street
bumpers. We don't block the street, but rather slow people down, because the
biggest problem you have, people want to get home fast or get to the office real fast,
and they go through our streets at 45, 50 miles an hour, and that's what create most
of the problems.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. And --
Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: -- you see, and last meeting, we presented a request -- I mean
a resolution and -- that we -- well, we even provided signatures from residents,
requesting the street closure; a certain particular street closure. And in a resolution,
what we were requesting is that -- precisely what Commissioner Gort is saying --
you analyze all the problems that we have, and come back with solutions, you see;
solutions that we can either curtail it or calm the traffic that is going through this
neighborhood. And another problem that when we met with the Mayor that I stated
was that, you see, all those street bumps and all of that, they cost a lot of money.
And we -- as you can see -- I was arguing for $190,000 in bullets, but we don't have
the funds to place all the speed tables or the speed bumps, and even if we have
(UNINTELLIGIBLE), whatever we want to do, you see. And I asked -- I don't know
if you remember -- Mayor Gimenez, he told us that there is -- we still can get funds
for expediting the construction of those calming -- traffic -calming devices. Could
you please look into that, too, when you go back? Because we -- I have -- I asked for
information about it and where the funds were, so we can expedite. Right now, I
have over 70 street -calming devices in my district; that they are ready to be
installed. And you see, the traffic that you can find in Tamiami Canal Road that is
Daytona 500, because people overtake one another, and the -- I mean, it is not only
the quantity of automobiles; the speed, because there is no stop from 7th Street until
Hagler, you see. I mean, it is incredible the amount of traffic, and the danger that --
and the amount of accidents there.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Commissioner Reyes: So could you please get us all that information? I mean, and I
don't know how this is going to be or it's going to be -- how do you want to proceed
in the process. It's all in -- whatever.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Hardemon.
Commissioner Hardemon: Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: In this --
Chair Russell: Commissioner Hardemon and then Vice Chair Gort.
Ms. Fernandez: So can I make a comment on --?
Chair Russell: Oh, were you going to finish? I apologize.
City of Miami Page 45 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, I --
Commissioner Carollo: I --
Chair Russell: I -- let me recognize Commissioner Hardemon and then
Commissioner Carollo. I didn't see you.
Commissioner Hardemon: The -- hello first.
Ms. Fernandez: Hi.
Commissioner Hardemon: I found it to be interesting how newer neighborhoods
that are developed in Miami -Dade County, and also in other counties, such as
Broward County, a lot of our -- a lot of people that travel through Miami -Dade
County are coming from Broward County. They -- when -- those who live in
Broward County, in the neighborhoods that they live in, they don't necessarily deal
with the same sort of cut -through -- and I'll say "cut -through," but excessive
speeding cut -through traffic --
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah.
Commissioner Hardemon: -- because from their neighborhood, they have these --
for instance, these -- the main arterial roads -- right? -- or the main road. So, say
like a -- Pembroke Pines Boulevard is a main road. Well, once you turn off of Pines
Boulevard to go north or south into a neighborhood, the people who are traveling
through those areas are typically residents or people visiting those residents; and so,
they don't have a lot of speeding. Or you have these home -- you have these
neighborhoods that they're just traveling through and passing house after house
after house; and so, in the City of Miami, it's kind of not the same. In the City of
Miami, you can be traveling down, say, 7th Avenue, which is a main road, it's a main
highway, but from -- at any street, you can go west or east, and travel, say, from 195
-- you can go as far west as Hialeah. I mean, you just keep traveling if you go
through the off streets. And so, in Miami -Dade County, we're not treating our
neighborhoods the same way -- the older neighborhoods the same way that we treat
the newer neighborhoods. The new neighborhoods, they do this proper design and,
you know, you travel off of the main road, and then you go into the neighborhood.
You're slowing down, you can see the kids playing in the street. You know, it's not a
hazard for children to be outside, enjoying themselves. But in our neighborhoods --
in the Buena Vistas, in the Upper Eastside, and in the neighborhoods that were
named earlier, what you're seeing is that the children can't enjoy themselves. The
homes tend to be unsafe, because cars are traveling at such a high rate of speed, and
they're flipping over. They get into numerous accidents, things of that nature. And
so, we found that the accidents are not happening because of the -- it's not your next-
door neighbor; it's someone who lives from somewhere else, trying to get through
with apps, and all kinds of other issues, not knowing that there's stop signs at a
certain place; not knowing that, you know, that the speed limit is actually 25 miles
an hour, all these things, because they want to skip the traffic that's on a main road.
And so, what I'm trying to -- what I'm asking of you -- and maybe it just takes a
different way of looking at things -- is to help us in the City of Miami; reconsider not
just this street or that street, but how you look at our community as a whole, as it is a
neighborhood, the same -- I don't know where you live -- right? -- but I would
probably bet that where you live, they don't speed on your residential street. And so
-- and the reason is that -- is because most people live outside of the City core of
Miami, and outside of the City core of Miami, they don't have these sorts of issues in
the neighborhoods. And so, we don't appreciate in the City of Miami, those of us
who choose to live here, who've been living here that our streets are raceways --
City of Miami Page 46 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Hardemon: -- and your streets are tools for your children to learn
how to ride a bike. You know, that's just not fair to us. And so, what we're asking in
Miami -Dade County -- for Miami -Dade County to do is take a different look at the
City of Miami as a neighborhood. We are notyour raceway.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Carollo.
Ms. Fernandez: Can -- oh.
Chair Russell: Just a moment, please. Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Yes. A few minutes ago, you mentioned that you had done a
study between 17th Avenue to 22nd -- 27th Avenue, correct?
Ms. Fernandez: No. We had requested --
Commissioner Carollo: You requested.
Ms. Fernandez: -- the City of Miami to get our transportation plan --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Between 17th and 27th. I'm assuming that you chose
that area because that's the area that's unique to some of the problems that you had
before, when you had all those cones on 22nd Avenue. And I think, also, by doing
that, you're acknowledging that the area on the other side of 17th Avenue is different
to the area that you wanted the City to do the study between 17th Avenue and 27th
Avenue.
Ms. Fernandez: So that came from a public meeting that we had on a Saturday. I
think it was about two years ago. And that issue came up, because there was
residents that said that, obviously, closing off, let's say, eight openings down to four
has now tripled traffic on their other streets.
Commissioner Carollo: But we're talking about an area that's specific; 17th to 27th
Avenue.
Ms. Fernandez: Because those residents showed up.
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Ms. Fernandez: Right. And they wanted it to be a holistic study.
Commissioner Carollo: Now, the other area between 17th Avenue going towards
3rd Avenue, that triangle, that was separate. They were not involved.
Ms. Fernandez: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: The reason is that this is a very peculiar, particular area,
17th Avenue going towards the Metrorail Station. The problems that they have there
is very peculiar that you can't compare, I don't believe, to any area of the City of
Miami, and that is because they have an exit and entrance to U.S.], with a light that
should have never, never been approved to place there. Therefore, people are going
into that neighborhood and only into that neighborhood to try to avoid maybe a
longer line on 17th Avenue, on 22nd Avenue, and they're trying to go through that
neighborhood. I have been in that neighborhood in rush hour, early morning,
afternoon, and it is pure hell if you're living there, the amount of traffic that is going
City of Miami Page 47 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
there, so they could get through, either in or out of U.S.]; it's unbearable. And these
people have had to endure this for years. I really don't know how they've done it,
because it's a real life -safety issue. We should have police officers stationed there
every morning and every afternoon, not just once in a blue moon that we send them
to patrol. And I submit to you that this particular area has nothing to do with the
area that you described on the other side of 17th Avenue, no matter how much
someone wants to make it appear that it does. They're two very different areas all
together, and the traffic from this area is not the traffic that's going across 17th
Avenue, for the reasons I described. They're getting in here strictly to go in or out of
U.S. 1. But hearing some of the statements you made, I have but to ask this: Coral
Gables, which is a fine, smaller city, it seems that a good portion of Coral Gables is
blocked from people being able to get in or out. The County approved that; it had to,
right?
Ms. Fernandez: I'm not -- we have looked -- if you're talking about 57th Avenue
closures --
Commissioner Carollo: I'm talking about all kinds of places; whether it's 57th;
whether it's on 8th Street; all over Coral Gables, they have either places that are
blocked, or you have gates. Did the County approve that or not?
Ms. Fernandez: No. We're not aware of that.
Commissioner Carollo: So they just did it on their own, and the County hasn't been
informed of it all these years?
Ms. Fernandez: Well, that I know if it's -- some of them are old; I'm talking about
decades that I heard was back in the '70s. That was prior -- that was 30 plus years
that I've heard, from what I've heard about.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm sorry. They're not that old in what you're saying and --
but the bottom line is that the law is the same law in Coral Gables as it is in Miami.
Now, why, in Coral Gables, you know, a city that overall is, per capita, much, much
more wealthier than the average resident of Miami, why can they do that and
residents of Miami can't do it?
Ms. Fernandez: The -- they have not gotten approval from Miami -Dade County.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, they --
Ms. Fernandez: As a matter of fact, they have submitted several locations that they
wanted closures, and we actually denied them, and we didn't approve them.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Just a moment.
Commissioner Carollo: But nevertheless, they have all these closures --
Ms. Fernandez: That was 30 years ago; I can't speak on what was done before.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, no, no, no, that was not 30 years ago. And the bottom
line is the law is the law. And I guess you're trying to say to me now, because you
haven't acted upon them as a county -- and I'm not saying you particularly, because I
don't know how long you've been in the position you're in; I doubt that it's been 30
years -- but because the County hasn't acted to it, then, hey, it's okay to do it.
Chair Russell: Thank --
City of Miami Page 48 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: Let -- no, no, no, I'm not done yet.
Chair Russell: I apologize. I thought you were finished.
Commissioner Carollo: Let me go away from Coral Gables and let me go back to
the City of Miami, Coral Gate. Now, all the road closures that we had in Coral Gate
basically made it a walled community; that you could only basically go into the bulk
of it through one entrance and exit, which is where Sears is, on the side; not 37th
Avenue. I believe it's by 36th Avenue. That wasn't done 30 years ago. That wasn't
even done 20 years ago. That was done not that long ago. How did that get
approved?
Ms. Fernandez: They did not have an approval, either.
Commissioner Carollo: Oh. So they didn't have an approval, either. So then, why
is this area that is really one that people are having their lives put in jeopardy with
their kids every day is the only one that has to get approval then?
Ms. Fernandez: Again, I cannot speak on what happened with Coral Gate back --
maybe 10 years ago. I don't know if that's -- or 15. But I know that the process, the
way the process stands today -- and Miami has submitted them in the past without an
issue --
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Ms. Fernandez: -- has been request for closures --
Commissioner Carollo: --then --
Ms. Fernandez: -- because we have to analyze all the traffic in the neighborhood.
Commissioner Carollo: -- I submit to you that this area should have the same
ground playing rules as Coral Gables, as Coral Gate.
Vice Chair Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Francis Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to chime in on a variety of
issues. Number one, first of all, I support the district Commissioner's item for a
variety of reasons. Certainly, this neighborhood is unique -- there's no doubt about
that -- and it's different from all the other neighborhoods. And that doesn't
necessarily mean that those other neighborhoods don't also deserve the same
treatment. I would just add to what the district Commissioner has said; that it's not
just Coral Gate. You've got Morningside, Bay Point, Natoma Manors, Bay Heights.
We're not sure exactly what they call the neighborhood, but it's Aviation Avenue,
which is just south of U -- I'm sorry -- is it east of U.S. I? -- sorry -- east of 27th
Avenue, between 27th and 22nd, on the other side of U.S.], between the Grove and
U.S.1 that has significant vehicular restrictions. What you notice about all those
areas is two things; the first is their quality of life is through the roof. They have --
and I have pictures of them having picnics on their streets. The second thing is the
values of those properties are significantly higher. And so, then you ask yourself, is
it only the wealthy areas; not just, you know, in other cities, but even within our own
city that get this sort of treatment? And I've spoken to the Administration. They
have already -- they're in the process of contracting -- or they have a pool contractor
that they're in the process of engaging to do the Citywide Transportation Master
City of Miami Page 49 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Plan. We gladly submit it to you, of course. You, when you came on, were fantastic.
We did -- we closed -- or at least temporarily closed 34th and 14th --
Ms. Fernandez: Right.
Mayor Suarez: -- I'm sorry -- 34th and 16th, 27th and 14th, and let me tell you a
little bit about my experience of 10 years with this issue. In -- and I will talk a little
bit about Silver Bluff, because I do think it does merit some discussion. With Silver
Bluff, my theory was a theory of escalation. Let's see if there's things that we can do
along the path that are short of closing streets to see if it resolves the problem. So
when I was Commissioner, we did increase the number of circles. The County did
approve a comprehensive speed hump --
Ms. Fernandez: Mm-hmm.
Mayor Suarez: -- plan. We got an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) signed
with the County, where the County allowed us to do our own studies and our own
determination as to whether those speed humps are eligible. We had a "no left turn. "
We also had a speed reduction, and we're still seeing the same volume and excessive
speed of cars, because what's happening is you have a macro problem. The macro
problem is -- and the Commissioners have already articulated it -- you've got Waze;
you've got excessive tools that push people onto our residential streets; you've got
2.8 million people, approximately, in population; 2.1 million, which have a driver's
license, and 1.01 have a car -- you know -- we have 1.01 cars per driver's license,
and only 250, 000 that are taking mass transit on a daily basis to get to and from
work, so that's one-tenth of the entire population of the County is taking mass transit.
That means 90 percent of the people are driving to work, and we are the victims of
that phenomenon. And so, I think what you're seeing from the community is a
reaction to that. I mean, you've been to many meetings. Your predecessor has been
to many meetings -- actually, Deputy Mayor Hudak, also, which is part of the reason
why we got that Comprehensive Traffic Table Plan, because she overruled at that
time the person who was in your position in the County, Joan Shen, who's now, I
think with Doral -- I'm not sure if she's still there. She's not there anymore. You
know what we used to call Dr. Shen.
Ms. Fernandez: Right.
Mayor Suarez: So, you know, she overruled, because she came to a passionate
meeting of residents. The one thing I'll tell you is I do know that closures are very
controversial; you know, people are on both sides of it. What I would ask the
general public is, look, we can debate these things. We're going to do the Master
Plan; that's going to be completed in three to five months. We'll present it to the
County. I support the Commissioner's resolution, because take the resolution then
as a request to close those streets.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Mayor Suarez: We can only do on our end what we can do, right? And the
Commissioner is trying to do the most that he can do for his residents; that's his
obligation. So, you know, as Mayor, I support that. I support the quality of life of
those residents as I support the quality of life of other neighborhoods that right now
are victimized by these macro forces. We have different objectives. Your objective is
to get people to and from where they need to get to throughout the County. Our
objective is to create a premium quality of life for our residents, who own property,
pay taxes, and are the victim of a significant amount of -- the traffic is cut -through
traffic from people that don't live in our City. So I don't think there's anything more
City of Miami Page 50 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
to say on the issue. I support the Commissioner's item, and I hope the Commission
does, as well.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Gort: You know, what I've learned from here today, the -- and I used to
do that when I was in the army --do it and ask for permission afterwards. That's
what it looks like in here. Let me tell you, we have 12th Avenue, 17th Avenue, 22nd
Avenue, 27th Avenue, 37th Avenue, 42nd Avenue, 57th Avenue; all those avenues,
they're your arterial roads. But guess what? They're going through our
neighborhood. You got the 8th Street, Flagler Street, Coral Way, the Northwest 7th
Street, and that -- this is what happen. It -- the street bump, I don't see any problem
with that. The street bump is not that expensive. But we should be able to put -- I
mean, I requested quite a few of them; they all been denied. We even had one death
in one of them. So a street bump, I don't think it's going to affect the traffic, but it's
going to slow down the traffic, because the biggest problem you have, people in a
rush always. People in Miami want to run, and they hit 40, 45 in a street nook.
People backing up with the car, the car is a block away, you think you got time to
pull out, but if he's coming at 50 miles an hour, he's not going to be able to pull out.
So this is the biggest problem that we have. And street bump -- I have requests for
quite a few of them; requested by the neighbors; I got the signatures. But somehow,
we got to get it to them, because my understanding is they're not getting the
information; that's what she's telling me; that the County's not getting the
information of our requests.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Ms. Fernandez: Right. So --
Chair Russell: Thank you. Is there a motion on PH. 9, please? Let me just --for the
discussion and then we'll have further discussion. Is there a motion on PH. 9?
Commissioner Reyes: It's --
Commissioner Carollo: There's a motion on PH.9.
Chair Russell: Moved by Commissioner Carollo. Is there a second? We'll continue
discussion. I just want to get --
Commissioner Reyes: I have to say something.
Chair Russell: Okay.
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Is it true that there is an analysis being
made by your department on opening streets that they have been improperly -- or
closed?
Ms. Fernandez: Yes, exactly.
Commissioner Reyes: And that's countywide?
Ms. Fernandez: Yes. That's something that was brought in by Comm -- by one of
our County Commissioners, and that's actually the report that we're working on
now.
Commissioner Reyes: That's what I heard from --
City of Miami Page 51 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Ms. Fernandez: Yes, correct.
Commissioner Reyes: -- a County Commissioner, that --
Ms. Fernandez: Correct.
Commissioner Reyes: -- that information was --
Ms. Fernandez: Correct.
Commissioner Reyes: -- given to me. And another thing that I want to ask now
before we vote on this, I want you to -- I mean, also, we have in Silver Bluff all those
streets, you see -- 23rd, 24th, 23rd Terrace, blah, blah, blah -- all the way out. We
already have traffic studies that they were performed there.
Ms. Fernandez: Mm-hmm.
Commissioner Reyes: Based on those traffic studies, I am requesting that you take
into consideration the resolution that was passed for you to analyze it and start
taking action in order to make the life of these neighbors a little bit more bearable;
whatever it takes, whatever is you can add, because you are the last authority on our
streets. Its not our street, but whatever measure you -- we can take one-way streets
-- whatever it is, you see; whatever it is. I don't know about -- many people be
arguing this is not right, this is not wrong, because all of those that suffer those
problems, they become traffic engineers immediately, you see. But I want you to
please take that into consideration. And we need financial help from the County to
implement whatever -- all those traffic -calming devices.
Chair Russell: Mr. Mayor.
Mayor Suarez: Mr. Chair, I just want to say -- last parting thought. And I don't
want to stir things up, but you want to see a riot in this community? Start trying to
open up closed neighborhoods and you will see. And you will see lawsuits, people
standing in front of bulldozers, because I remember when there was a discussion
about the County forcibly opening up the wall in Coral Gate, and I said, "I will stand
in front of the bulldozer. I physically will stand in front of the bulldozer," because
the quality of life of those neighborhoods right now is impeccable. And those people
will fight, they will sue, they will get in front of bulldozers, and you will really have a
significant problem on your hands.
Commissioner Hardemon: And just to --
Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Hardemon.
Commissioner Hardemon: -- interject for a second. And what's interesting about
this is that we can all have that same quality of life. When I think about, for
instance, the northwest section of Miami -Dade County, and my district, and those of
us who live in the area; that you understand you're bounded on the east by -- say, for
instance, 195; and then west of the City boundaries; on the south side, north of 36th
Street, et cetera, those areas, when you look at it on a map, and you look down upon
them, they're just huge swaths of -- I look at it as a Cartesian plane of so many
different streets that go north and south that if you take them -- instead of it being
one big area, you can make them four big areas or eight big areas; like, you can
break it down so that the neighborhoods, seen closer, it's seen more calm and more
relaxed, and that's a huge quality of life improvement for all of us. And so, you
know, when it comes to -- the thing about -- when I look at Miami -Dade County and
I'm trying to solve their trafc solutions is that they're going to punish us in these
City of Miami Page 52 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
cities who are closer to the destination that people from outside the City want to be
to. And at the end of the day, what we need is just huge traffic solutions, and
widening the streets, and giving you more access to more streets is not going to solve
that problem; it's just going to exacerbate, because more people are going to join
those streets. So, you know, I'm -- whatever we need to do -- and Mr. Mayor and the
Manager's Office, that study that's being done, make sure you get our feedback, as
well, inside of it, because we want to ensure that the neighborhoods that have not
had the benefit of those closures, have not seen the benefit of what it does for their
property values, that are seeing a high number of accidents on the streets -- as a
matter of fact, our Chairwoman for the Community Relations Board, we installed at
a park -- there's a park that's on the east side of 195 that it is a -- we installed a
guardrail, because there's so many accidents, where cars are traveling so fast on
that residential street that they would go through the park. They would constantly
have accidents in the park. Not long after we installed the guardrail, it was down
again because of another accident. So they're not traveling through our streets at a
speed that is respectful of the neighborhood, and we have to do something about it.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Is there a second on PH. 9? We have a
motion from Commissioner Carollo. Is there a second?
Vice Chair Gort: I'll second.
Chair Russell: Seconded by Commissioner Gort. I just want a procedural question
on this issue, just to make sure if we're --what we're doing, we do it right. On PH.9,
some of the wording says that this is a "resolution authorizing the permanent
restriction of vehicular access. " Madam City Attorney, is the wording correct there,
or should it be, as I believe we've seen in the past, "recommending to the County"?
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Ms. Fernandez: Right.
Chair Russell: Because we don't have the authorization ourselves unilaterally.
Ms. Mendez: Right. So we are working with the County to go through the proper --
we're doing everything that we need to do through the proper process. We're not
doing anything to circumvent the County's overseeing of this process. If everyone
wishes to change it to "recommending," that is fine, but "authorizing" is fine, as well.
But -- so --
Chair Russell: It is legally sufficient as is.
Commissioner Reyes: It is sufficient.
Chair Russell: It's correct procedure and process.
Ms. Mendez: But if that'll make the County feel better, we could do that, too. I
mean, we are working with the County to work through these issues.
Chair Russell: Understood. Commissioner Gort, and then you had a comment,
Commissioner Reyes.
Vice Chair Gort: I want to make sure, since we're working with the County, you
have a lot of request from our neighborhoods that's been therefor years now. I want
to make sure they get it, because the -- like I said, the street bump does not hurt
anyone, but it slows down traffic.
City of Miami Page 53 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: I'd rather have it worded -- because I don't want any excuses
later -- I would have it worded right the way that you prepare it and you prefer it,
but I want to direct the Administration that they work with the County, and you make
sure that you stay on top of this, because our request does -- I don't know if anything
has been done -- our resolution requesting that we work with the County on finding a
solution was made last meeting. I don't know if anything has been done, and I would
like for you to start working in -- I mean, this is going to be citywide, see? Citywide.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Mr. Chairman, if I may?
Chair Russell: Mr. Manager, and then Commissioner Carollo.
Mr. Gonzalez: The resolution as written also says, "Subject to approval by Miami -
Dade County Department of Transportation, " et cetera, et cetera.
Chair Russell: Absolutely. Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: I was going to point that out; I'm glad the Manager did.
But further, I want to make it clear on the record that what we're also recommending
to the County is the possibility of having gates there so that if there's any issue from
any department that they don't want to back up, because maybe the driver is not
good at backing up, then we have the option of gates, just like Coral Gables does in
having gates. In fact, it was your Mayor that pointed that out to me when we were
discussing this same issue; that Coral Gables has it. So -- well, they've had gates in
different places. So if there is any problem from either Fire or Sanitation -- Police
didn't have any -- it's very simple. If they don't want to back up, we put gates in
there. In fact, it might even be cheaper to put the gates, and the trucks won't have to
back up. They will have either a number, a gadget that they could just go through,
like if the street was open, but then it closes back on to accomplish what we're all
trying to do there; stop traffic that's not supposed to go through that neighborhood
can go in there.
Mayor Suarez: I agree.
Chair Russell: Would you like to say anything else before we vote?
Ms. Fernandez: I would. Again, I just -- there's a traffic flow modification
procedure, and all we were asking is that we're considered -- I mean, we have to see
these analyses, which, as the Mayor pointed out, yes, we did approve in the La
Pastoriza area way back when, and that was based off us sitting and we actually
analyzed it, we did a study. We actually even had closed one. We closed a second
closing to see how it would function. It wasn't just done as, "Hey, there's a
resolution. We're going to close it, and that's it." I mean, there's -- all I'm saying is
that there is a process. We're here to work together, which is why we even passed
the Traffic -Calming Agreement that we did, which was lowering, actually, even our
own criteria, the speed humps, to give you guys more flexibility to be able to install
speed humps in your neighborhoods, as long as it was funded and maintained by the
City. So --
Mayor Suarez: It didn't lower the criteria. It gave us the most favorable criteria,
which happened to be Miami Beach.
City of Miami Page 54 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Ms. Fernandez: Correct. And then we adopted that if another city came in and did -
Mayor Suarez: Right; a less favorable criteria.
Ms. Fernandez: -- you know, an engineering study which -- right. So it actually
lowered the criteria to work with you guys in order to be able to install more speed
humps.
Chair Russell: Commissioner Gort. Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: I would like to see the procedure be implemented with all the
cities.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Ms. Fernandez: Yeah, which we do --
Vice Chair Gort: Because right now, it's not being implemented to all the cities.
There's a lot of cities that doing things that -- and that's why I said, let's do it and
then ask for it.
Ms. Fernandez: Yeah. No, I -- since I've been in the County, which is almost five
years, I -- that hasn't been the case. But again, I -- we have worked with the City of
Miami, like when the Mayor mentioned those locations that we talked about an
analysis and seeing what was done. We even did "before" and "after" studies --
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Ms. Fernandez: -- in that area, so.
Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. And during that meeting, we also asked that in order to
expedite the approval of installation of any traffic -calming devices that the traffic
study -- that you will accept traffic studies that will be conducted by us, by our Police
Department? It's -- because we talked about it.
Ms. Fernandez: Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: Remember that we talked about that? And I want that -- I
want some notification that will authorize us to conduct those traffic studies, because
I have plenty streets that they are collecting signatures for the traffic -calming
devices, and the traffic studies take a long time, and it cost a lot of money. So in
order to expedite the process, we will -- I mean, we are requesting that our traffic
study be accepted by your department.
Ms. Fernandez: Right. So that's a procedure today which is -- you're doing the
analysis internally --
Commissioner Reyes: We will do that.
Ms. Fernandez: -- and then you come to us and say, "Look, it met our criteria" --
Commissioner Reyes: That's it.
Ms. Fernandez: -- "and it's being funded and maintained by the City. "
City of Miami Page 55 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: And when I say "traffic studies, " we're counting cars, you see;
that's what you want.
Ms. Fernandez: Mm-hmm.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Is there any further discussion on PH 9? Hearing none,
all in favor; say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes.
Commissioner Carollo: Can --
Chair Russell: Yes, Commissioner.
Commissioner Carollo: -- we take two for a second?
Chair Russell: Yes.
PH.10
RESOLUTION
5769
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, BY A FOUR -
Department of
FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, PURSUANT TO SECTION
Police
18-92 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS
AMENDED, AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING,
RATIFYING, APPROVING, AND CONFIRMING THE CITY
MANAGER'S FINDING OF A SOLE SOURCE, ATTACHED AND
INCORPORATED AS EXHIBIT "A"; WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING PROCEDURES, AND
APPROVING THE PROCUREMENT OF ONE (1) OPENVISION DX
C -ARM DIGITAL REAL TIME X-RAY IMAGING SYSTEM WITH
ACCESSORIES ("SYSTEM"), FROM QSA GLOBAL, INC. ("QSA"),
FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE ("POLICE"), FOR AN
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED SEVENTY-THREE THOUSAND THREE
HUNDRED DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS ($73,300.50);
ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM POLICE GENERAL FUND ACCOUNT
NO. 00001.190001.664000.0000.00000, SUBJECT TO BUDGETARY
APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0280
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT: Hardemon
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PH.10, please see Item PH.].
City of Miami Page 56 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission
Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
PH.11
RESOLUTION
5876
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Department of
ATTACHMENT(S), BY A FOUR-FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE
Police
VOTE, PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-92 OF THE CODE OF THE
ABSENT:
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AFTER AN
ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING, RATIFYING, APPROVING, AND
CONFIRMING THE CITY MANAGER'S FINDING OF A SOLE
SOURCE; WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPETITIVE
SEALED BIDDING PROCEDURES AND APPROVING THE
PROCUREMENT OF ONE (1) CELLEBRITE UNIVERSAL
FORENSIC EXTRACTION DEVICE ANALYTICS SYSTEM, FROM
CELLEBRITE, INC., FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE, FOR AN
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TWO HUNDRED SEVENTEEN
THOUSAND DOLLARS ($217,000.00); ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. 40-13193201; SUBJECT
TO BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED,
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE LICENSE
AGREEMENT AND ADDENDUM IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE
ATTACHED FORM; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ALL OTHER
DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS, RENEWALS, AND
EXTENSIONS, SUBJECT TO ALLOCATIONS, APPROPRIATIONS
AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL HAVING BEEN PREVIOUSLY
MADE, AND IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE PROVISIONS
OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED,
INCLUDING, THE CITY OF MIAMI'S PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE,
ANTI -DEFICIENCY ACT, AND FINANCIAL INTEGRITY
PRINCIPLES, ALL AS SET FORTH IN CHAPTER 18 OF THE CITY
CODE, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, AND
IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE REGULATIONS, AS MAY BE
NECESSARY FOR SAID PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0261
MOTION TO:
Adopt
RESULT:
ADOPTED
MOVER:
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:
Hardemon
Note for the Record: For minates referencing Item PKI], please see Item PH.L
Citv of Miami Page 57 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
PH.12 RESOLUTION
6165 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Commissioners ATTACHMENT(S), BY A FOUR-FIFTHS (4/5THS)
and Mayor AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, AFTER AN ADVERTISED PUBLIC
HEARING, RATIFYING, APPROVING AND CONFIRMING
THE CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATIONS AND
FINDINGS THAT COMPETITIVE BIDDING METHODS AND
PROCEDURES ARE NOT PRACTICABLE OR
ADVANTAGEOUS, PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 18-85(A) AND
18-86(A)(3)(C) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED; WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR SAID PROCEDURES; APPROVING THE
RECOMMENDATIONS AND FINDINGS OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI ("CITY") PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT
("PARKS DEPARTMENT") AND DEPARTMENT OF REAL
ESTATE AND ASSET MANAGEMENT ("DREAM") THAT
FLORIDA FILM HOUSE INTERNATIONAL, INC., A STATE OF
FLORIDA AND FEDERAL NOT-FOR-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION ("MANAGER"), IS THE MOST QUALIFIED
ORGANIZATION TO PROVIDE DOCUMENTARY FILM
LIBRARY SERVICES, AND SUBSTANTIALLY RELATED
HISTORIC, EDUCATIONAL, INSTRUCTIONAL, YOUTH,
COMMUNITY, CULTURAL, AND DOCUMENTARY FILM
CREATION, ARCHIVES, AND MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS,
SUCH AS THE FIRST TAKE YOUTH FILM PROGRAM, AND
OTHER SUCH ACTIVITIES (COLLECTIVELY,
"DOCUMENTARY FILM LIBRARY PROGRAMS"), IN
CONJUNCTION WITH THE MANAGEMENT, OPERATION,
AND USE OF THE CITY -OWNED D.A. DORSEY MEMORIAL
LIBRARY BUILDING ("LIBRARY"), AT THE PROPERTY
WHICH IS PART OF THE CITY'S PARKS DEPARTMENT FOR
PROGRAMMING SERVICES, AND IS LOCATED AT 100 NW
17TH STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA 33136, LEGALLY
DESCRIBED IN COMPOSITE EXHIBIT "A," ATTACHED AND
INCORPORATED ("PROPERTY"); AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE, IN A FORM
ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY AND BOND
COUNSEL, A U. S. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE ("IRS")
SAFE HARBOR MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT FOR A FIVE
(5) YEAR INITIAL TERM, WITH UP TO TWO (2) OPTIONS TO
RENEW FOR TERMS OF FIVE (5) YEARS EACH, WITH
MANAGER FOR THE MANAGEMENT, OPERATION, AND
USE OF THE PROPERTY AND THE LIBRARY FOR A
DOCUMENTARY FILM LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY PARKS
FACILITY LOCATION FOR THE DOCUMENTARY FILM
LIBRARY PROGRAMS; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER, AFTER CONSULTATION WITH THE CITY
ATTORNEY AND BOND COUNSEL, TO NEGOTIATE AND
EXECUTE ALL OTHER NECESSARY DOCUMENT(S) FOR
SAID PURPOSES FOR MANAGEMENT, OPERATION, AND
USE(S) OF THE PROPERTY TO COMPLY WITH
Citv of Miami Page 58 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
REQUIREMENTS OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF
1986, AS AMENDED, AND OF TAX-EXEMPT BOND
PROGRAMS, GRANT FUNDS, AND PARKS IMPACT FEES
WHICH PROVIDED FUNDING FOR THE RESTORATION
AND RENOVATION OF THE PROPERTY AND THE LIBRARY
AS PART OF THE CITY'S PARKS DEPARTMENT
FACILITIES; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
=1►/_CelIIT, l=1h111iill 01IT, 11=1:M:aPIEI *�
MOTION TO:
Adopt
RESULT:
ADOPTED
MOVER:
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:
Hardemon
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item PK12, please see Item PH.].
END OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
Citv of Miami Page 59 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes
I N � N ; &1011 Lit1101kiR?
RE.1
RESOLUTION
2525
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Department of Real
ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE CITY MANAGER'S
Estate and Asset
RECOMMENDATION APPROVING THE FINDINGS OF THE
Management
SELECTION COMMITTEE THAT VIRGINIA KEY, LLC,
NAYS:
("PROPOSER") 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, & 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 FIFTEEN (15) YEAR RENEWAL TERMS AND
PAYMENT OF A MINIMUM GUARANTEED ANNUAL RENT EQUAL
TO TWO MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS
($2,200,000) INCREASED ANNUALLY BY THE GREATER OF 3%
OR CPI ("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
MARINA 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 PROPOSER UNTIL SAID
FAVORABLE REFERENDUM HAS OCCURRED AND A
CONTRACT IS ENTERED INTO, AS REQUIRED BY THE CITY
CHARTER.
MOTION TO:
Indefinitely Defer
RESULT:
INDEFINITELY DEFERRED
MOVER:
Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:
Gort, Hardemon
July 11, 2019
Note for the Record. A motion was made by Commissioner Hardemon, seconded
by Vice Chair Gort, which failed by the following vote; AYES: Vice Chair Gort
and Commissioner Hardemon; NAYS: Chair Russell and Commissioners Carollo
and Reyes; accepting the City Manager's recommendation.
Citv of Miami Page 60 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
For additional minutes referencing Item RE.], please see "Public Comment
Period for Regular Item(s). "
Chair Russell: And now I'd like to bring our attention to --
Daniel Rotenberg (Director/Department of Real Estate and Asset Management):
RE.1.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. -- RE.1 and RE 2.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay, hold --
Chair Russell: This is Virginia Key Marina. I'd like to sort of set the stage here a
little bit; the Administration, obviously their presentation. I know both sides that are
involved in this issue are going to want some floor time. I'd like to set some time
parameters so that we don't go too --
Vice Chair Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Russell: -- long on this. I think a lot of time has passed, a lot of issues have
come up, and a lot of people want to be heard; I want to respect that. I want to
respect -- and I see a lot of demonstratives in the back that are ready to be
presented. Mr. Dotson, about how much time do you think you'll need to present
your side of the issue?
Albert Dotson: Again, Al Dotson, with Bilzin Sumberg, 1450 Brickell Avenue. I will
need two days and-- no. I will need 20 minutes.
Chair Russell: Perfect. I'd like to give 20 minutes to both sides, if --
Miguel De Grandy: A day --
Commissioner Carollo: Two days and 20 minutes.
Chair Russell: Two days and 20 minutes, yeah.
Mr. De Grandy: -- and a half, but I'll settle for 20 minutes, too.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Mr. Rotenberg, would you like to present
anything first? I saw you --
Mr. Rotenberg: No, sir. I'm ready to have them go at it.
Chair Russell: So this is the -- Commissioner Gort, you have a question?
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah. What is it to present? I want to hear from the
Administration. I think there's a recommendation from the Administration.
Mr. Rotenberg: Our recommendation is to go ahead with the winning bidder. We've
gone through a bunch of bidding process -- we've gone through two different RFPs
(Requests for Proposals). We've gone through bid protests. We've gone through
rulings; courts have heard this, and everything has turned out the same way;
winning bidder.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you.
City of Miami Page 61 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: If the Commission would like to start with any discussion on the dais,
or would you like to hear from those who are --? Mr. Dotson, if you'd like to --
Commissioner Hardemon: You want me to say "move it, "I'll move.
Chair Russell: Mr. De Grandy, I know your -- you represent the existing tenant --
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Chair Russell: --of the property.
Mr. De Grandy: That's correct.
Chair Russell: Obviously, you're opposed to awarding of the grant -- I mean,
awarding of the bid.
Mr. De Grandy: That's correct.
Chair Russell: So we'll give you 20 minutes to make your case on why we should not
award this bid.
Mr. De Grandy: Okay. Give me one second to set up, if I may. While he's doing
that, Commissioners, let me start, because four months ago, we brought to light
several issues which clearly show that the proposal by VK (Virginia Key), the
recommended bidder, is not responsible. Now, you asked at that time that the
Administration verify whether the facts we brought to your attention were true, and
guess what? Turns out, everything we told you was accurate. Now, VK's response
has basically been to attack the messenger, like the last time we were here when one
of VK's attorneys did a righteous indignation presentation, implying that we were
somehow trying to manipulate the Cuba issue, which is a very sensitive issue for
many of us. And having been a young boy who had to leave Cuba at the age of three,
without his mother, and who did not see his mother for close to two years until the
communist regime let her out, I hope you understand this is not an issue that I take
lightly, but the facts are the facts, and no degree of real or feigned righteous
indignation is going to change that. In fact, the transparent tactics to distract
attention from the facts reminds me of a quote from a famous criminal defense
lawyer, who once said that "When I go to trial to defend a client, I make sure I put
the cops on trial, the witnesses on trial, the victims, the judge, and even the entire
justice system if I have to, because if, God forbid, the jury would ever focus on the
evidence against my client, they would find him guilty." And so, today, as the
governing body who makes the final decision in this matter -- you, the jury -- I
respectfully ask you to ignore the static and focus on the evidence as we go through
the facts, one by one.
Commissioner Carollo: Excuse me. Time out. Where's the City Manager? I really
Mr. De Grandy: Will we stop the clock?
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, will you stop the clock? We -- I really would
appreciate if the City Manager could be here, since he made the recommendations
on this issue.
Chair Russell: Men's room.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Well --
City of Miami Page 62 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Unidentified Speaker: He's in the restroom.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. De Grandy: Would you like me to pause, Commissioner?
Chair Russell: No. We have speakers in the restroom.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. De Grandy: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: You can move.
Chair Russell: He can hear you.
Mr. De Grandy: So let's start with TechnoMarine, a company that is proposed to
build your dry dock building. We submitted evidence to the Administration showing
that TechnoMarine's offices have been closed, that they had an eviction notice
posted on their door, and that their company has been dissolved. None of those facts
were in dispute. The board you see there is a blowup of a portion of VK's
submission. According to VK, the dry dock storage building was to be, quote,
"designed to Architectonica drawings and plans, manufactured and installed by
TechnoMarine Group as noted," and that component of the development is
approximately $30 million. Now, VK's response has been that this was simply a
typo, and that TechnoMarine is really not the company that's going to do the work; a
$30 million typo. Next, we provided evidence which shows that Shoreline
Foundation, Inc., the company that is proposed to build the entire waterside of the
marina, is a convicted felon. The board you now see here is the actual judgment
finding them guilty this year of defrauding the Federal Government, and the
evidence shows that they defrauded the government to cover up potential damage to
sensitive coral reefs. And by the way, this is the same company that was involved in
the Miami Beach seawall scandal. And so, you would think that would create a
significant responsibility concern for the City since they will be working on the water
side of your marina, and impacting your submerged lands. VK's response has
basically been, "Hey, that's no problem. If you don't like them, we'll get you another
company. " More incredible still, your staff doesn't seem to have a problem with that
approach. In fact, the Administration takes the position that you do not have to look
at whether Shoreline is a responsible company, even though the specifications
clearly say that the Responsibility Analysis includes all members of the VK team, and
Shoreline is listed as a development team member. And I will show you in a minute
the rankings were based in part on the qualifications of Shoreline and other
development team members. Now, let's talk about Aero -Docks. Aero -Docks is the
company proposed to install their dry dock storage system in your marina. Aero -
Docks is described in VK submission as, quote, "A member of the TechnoMarine
Group of companies, " unquote. And yes, that's the same TechnoMarine that I just
discussed a moment ago, the phantom dissolved company, the $30 million typo.
That, in and of itself, should be a huge red flag, but it gets worse. In the oral
presentation, VK represented that the dry dock storage system used in Port Marina
in Fort Lauderdale, which they describe as the only automated dry stack system in
the United States, was designed by, quote, none other than `Aero -Docks. " The
board you see there is the actual transcript of the Selection Committee meeting. As
you will see, they double down and state that Port Marina -- and that's the second
highlight -- as I mentioned before, uses the Aero -Docks cradle; nothing ambiguous
about that, except that the actual developer of Port Marina issued a letter to your
staff showing that that was an absolute lie, and even submitted their own patents for
their system, installed at Port Marina to prove it. And in fact, as far as we know, the
City of Miami Page 63 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Aero -Docks system has never been implemented in a marina environment. And so,
in effect, while they mislead the committee to believe that they had a tried-and-true
system, the City of Miami will be the guinea pig to see if their technology works.
Now, here's where it gets really bizarre. In fact, let me read directly from the
Administration's so-called Responsibility Memorandum. In it, they state that, quote,
"In response to this, VK counters that there was no intentional misrepresentations,
and that the statements were made to specifically distinguish the design at Port
Marina as inferior to the patented design to be used by Aero -Docks. " Let that sink
in fora minute. What VK is actually saying is that the statement that you see on the
board -- that Port Marina uses the Aero -Docks system -- was actually meant to show
that the Port Marina system is inferior to the Aero -Docks system. How does that
even make sense when they are saying that the Port Marina system is the Aero -
Docks system? And it gets worse, because the evidence shows that the principals of
VK, as well as Richard Liddell, the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Aero -Docks,
were present when those misrepresentations were made to the Selection Committee.
In fact, in this part of the transcript, you will see that VK's counsel is referring to Mr.
Liddell as the CEO of Aero -Docks, who is present for the presentation. And one
would think, knowing that this was an obvious material misrepresentation, either Mr.
Liddell or one of VK's principals who were present and heard that statement would
have corrected such an obvious material misrepresentation; instead, they just sat
silently and let their attorney mislead the committee into believing that they had a
tried-and-true implemented system. So ask yourselves, Is that the conduct of
responsible principals?" Now, with all due respect, one would think that the
Administration would have had some serious issues with such absurd reasoning. In
fact, you would think that in conducting a Responsibility Review, the Administration
would have wanted to have witnesses testify under oath, as is the norm in most every
jurisdiction in the State of Florida. And you would think that they would want to
hear from VK's principals and Mr. Liddell, and ask them under oath why they just
sat silently as their attorney was making material misrepresentations to the
committee. But in fact, the Administration's Responsibility Review consisted of a 15 -
minute conversation with VK's counsel -- not under oath -- in which they accepted
each and every one of the bizarre explanations, without question. Now, let me again
quote from the Administration's Responsibility Memo. Your Administration
concludes that, quote, "Based on the review of the transcript" --
Commissioner Hardemon: One second.
Chair Russell: Just a moment, please.
Commissioner Hardemon: I have a quick question.
Chair Russell: Cut the time for a second. Commissioner Hardemon.
Commissioner Hardemon: Yeah. Quick question for you. You're saying that the
statements that were being made were being made by an attorney?
Mr. De Grandy: By the attorney for VK.
Commissioner Hardemon: So -- but the attorneys -- typically, as I understand,
attorneys don't -- I've never seen an attorney go under oath. You know what I mean?
Like I've never seen -- I've seen witnesses, people testify to facts, but usually,
attorneys don't testes to facts; they just --
Mr. De Grandy: Oh, no. That's absolutely true. What I'm saying is, why didn't they
take the testimony ofMr. Liddell and the VK principals, and ask them, "Why did you
just sit there while your attorney was making those misrepresentations"?
City of Miami Page 64 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Hardemon: Okay, that -- I don't (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- continue.
Mr. De Grandy: That's what I meant.
Commissioner Hardemon: That's all. Thank you.
Mr. De Grandy: Now, clock again. Let me quote from the Administration's
Responsibility Memo. Your Administration concludes that, quote, "Based on a
review of that transcript, it appears that counsel's statements are inconsistent with
each other, which provides evidence of a lack of intent to make misrepresentations."
Now when I read that, my first thought is, they must be looking at a different
transcript, because if you look at this transcript, I'm sure you will agree, there is
nothing inconsistent about the two -- not one -- two representations that Port Marina
uses the Aero -Docks system, an absolutely material misrepresentation; a lie. Now
let me show you why these issues are both material and go to the heart of a
Responsibility Analysis. The board that I'm about to put up shows part of the
scoring criteria. One of those criteria is relevant business and project team
experience in similar project. These companies I just discussed were listed as part of
VK's project team. They're in Appendix 5 as part of their project team. Thus, both
the written and oral representations made regarding their qualifications were part of
the scoring that led to VK's ranking. So while they insist that they should get the
award, because they were the highest ranked, the question really is, "Would they
have been the highest ranked if the Selection Committee had not been misled as to
their experience and qualifications?" which now leads me to the San Diego issue.
We provided you with a copy of the RFP in which RCI, one of the principals of VK,
was a participant. The board just shows you the actual words written about RCTs
qualifications for the San Diego RFP, which is posted on San Diego's website. We
didn't make this up, we didn't write this ourselves, and we didn't infer or imply
anything. As part of their qualifications, the proposers' response, a search as to RCI
that, quote, "Most recently, they have been awarded large waterfront developments
in Cuba, " unquote. Now, whether you agree with it or not, the bottom line is there is
a State statute that prohibits the City from doing business with companies operating
in Cuba. Now, VK responded with -- to this with, to date, the most incredible story.
According to VK, some unknown minion who drafted the RFP took it upon him- or
herself to go to the Internet and Googled RC[, and to and behold, there's also an RCI
that does timeshares, including in Cuba. And as the dubious story goes, this
unnamed person, who apparently can't distinguish a marina developer from a
timeshare marketer, gratuitously took it upon his- or herself, without RCTs
knowledge, to insert that reference to Cuba in the narrative of RCTs qualifications.
There is no indication who this mystery person is and no affidavits from that mystery
person attesting to those facts. Now, again, the actual quote is that the alleged
mystery person included a statement that, quote, "They had been awarded large
waterfront developments in Cuba," unquote. Now, if you Google RCI -- and I invite
you to do it right now on your smart phones, if you want -- you will see links to a
timeshare company, but you will not find one reference to being awarded, quote
"large waterfront developments in Cuba," unquote. In fact, if you Google it right
now, on the "results" page, you will not find a reference to Cuba at all. Now, to
believe this mystery person's story, you would also have to believe that RCI's
principals, from 2016 to today -- 2016, when that was filed -- never bothered to
proofread the narrative of their own qualifications in the submission, which is one
block paragraph, much less, correct that narrative. But the evidence shows that this
was not the only time they touted their work in Cuba, which makes the mystery
minion story really unbelievable. Give me one second. In fact, in San Diego, there
were also oral presentations to the Port Authority in which RCI participated. On the
board is the actual text of the tape I'm about to play for you. You will hear in that
tape that the presenter, Yehudi Gaffen, introduces the different team members,
City of Miami Page 65 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
including RCI and Mr. Christoph, and talks about their experience. And while
introducing the different members of the team, here is what he said.•
Note for the Record: At this time, an audio presentation was made telephonically.
Mr. De Grandy: No longer were just awarded waterfront properties in Cuba;
working on waterfront projects in Cuba. Now, again, one would think that if that
were not true, as a responsible proposer, Mr. Christoph would have been compelled
to get up and correct that record, but he did not. Now, to be sure, there's probably
no way you will ever be able to verify that statement one way or another, because
number one, I don't think you can get a response to a public records request from the
communist regime in Cuba; and number two, no company in their right mind goes
and does business in Cuba under their own corporate name. They usually set up
another corporation or joint venture it. But you do have their own words, and the
fact they never corrected them in three years, which leaves only two options. One is
that they are doing development work in Cuba, just as it says in the narrative; or
two, if the Cuba issue really was a misrepresentation, they did nothing during the
presentation or in the last three years to correct it, because they believed it would
augment their experience and help them get the contract in a liberal jurisdiction,
such as San Diego; the exact same thing they did with the Aero -Docks
misrepresentation. And while the Administration simply shirks off these material
issues I discussed, the question you should ask yourselves is, "Would VK really have
been ranked number one if the Selection Committee knew that the project team
consisted of a convicted felon, a phantom company, and a company that actually lied
about their experience at Port Marina?" And how many times, Commissioners, with
all due respect, can a company in the City of Miami procurement get away with
saying that this was just a mistake or a typo, or the work of a mystery minion before
you find that these reckless misrepresentations demonstrate that the proposal is not
responsible? Again, Commissioners, everything that we told you was true. We have
shown you everywhere you can find that information, but let me tell you something
else. This is no longer about my client or even his proposal. We're not even here to
argue that you award us the contract. This is about the integrity -- or in this case,
the lack thereof -- of a public procurement process, and we finally -- frankly fail to
understand how the Administration can simply want to brush all this under the rug.
But ultimately, as the governing body, you are the ones who have the power to say
that you are not going to do business with companies that include bad actors,
phantom companies, convicted felons, and who make material representations in
order to make a public -- to get a public contract. Now that you have the facts -- and
they are facts -- we leave it up to you to decide whether these kinds of tactics will be
condoned and accepted in this City. And I thank you very much for your time, and
I'm happy to answer any questions you have.
Chair Russell: Thank you. And that's it, right? We're not going to be going back
and forth after they present and then you rebut, then they rebut. This is it. This is
what -- this is your piece. You've spoken your piece.
Mr. De Grandy: That's fine.
Chair Russell: All right. Are there any questions for Mr. De Grandy or for the
Administration with regard to what he said?
Commissioner Carollo: Not at this point in time.
Chair Russell: All right.
Commissioner Carollo: I'd like to hear from the other side.
City of Miami Page 66 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. 20 minutes, please.
Commissioner Hardemon: Before he starts, there was a formal bid protest in this
whole thing, right? Because I know he went all the way up to the --
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Sir, yes.
Commissioner Hardemon: -- highest court we could go to. These sort of facts, were
they presented in the bid protest --
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes.
Commissioner Hardemon: -- as what was just presented, as far as an accusation of
doing business in Cuba --
Mr. Rotenberg: Well, the one --
Commissioner Hardemon: -- and misrepresentation --?
Mr. Rotenberg: -- that they just brought up was not inside of the process that we
have, but let me read you something.
Commissioner Hardemon: Okay.
Mr. Rotenberg: You know, the definition of "obfuscation" is interesting. Its the
action of making something obscure, unclear, or unintelligible. This is clear. And
this is sent to us by Charles Steele, Chief Counsel, Office of Foreign Assets Control,
United States Treasury. "The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Affairs
Control, OFAC, administers US (United States) economic sanctions, including those
related to Cuba. This message confirms that OFAC has not issued a license granting
RCI Marina, Inc., authorization to conduct business in Cuba. " We've gone through
the process. City's Attorney has gone through the process to research this. And to
me, this is obfuscation, but let's hear from the other side.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, let me -- since we're on this topic, I do know a little bit
about this particular issue, and there's no way in the world that any company that's
doing this with Cuba is going to be out there doing it in an open firm. You just don't
do that, unless maybe you're a European firm; not if you're an American firm, and
do it with Cuba. So you're not going to get anything on them or anybody else if you
ask for that kind of information from the Treasury Department or any other US
agency that's not of an intelligence source that can provide you information. So that
aspect, it doesn't surprise me what you get back. My question is, having said that,
have we ascertained directly from them in writing where they have answered that
question for us?
Mr. Rotenberg: Let's let them answer that, because they are the best to answer, and
they're standing in front of us.
Commissioner Carollo: But I'm asking you now. Has your office or the City
Manager -- and really, it's the City Manager, because he's the ultimate person
responsible. He recommends at the end, not you; you work under him. Mr.
Manager, have we gone directly to the people involved and have gotten anything in
writing from them that they reject that and can explain some of the things that have
been presented here?
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, I have been in telephonic contact with Mr. Dotson, who has
assured me that these accusations about doing business in Cuba are, indeed, not
City of Miami Page 67 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
correct. The City Attorney has contacted relevant agencies in Washington to try and
ascertain whether this company has done business or is doing business in Cuba, and
we've been told not to --
Commissioner Carollo: But we've heard in words here, just a little while ago, the
contrary. So what I'm trying to get is to the fact, because it's easy to say, well, you
contacted this agency. You heard my statements as far as that goes, and I think I
was clear. I'm not asking about what agency you contacted, unless it's an
intelligence agent that maybe they have information on who's doing what in Cuba,
but if that's the case, then probably the best one you could get for that is the mosaic,
because they have the best intelligence inside Cuba; it's not ours. But having said
that, what have you directly done to have gotten something in writing, not just from
attorneys and -- I'm talking about the actual principals -- that this is being addressed
to?
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, I have not been given a letter from any agencies saying --
Commissioner Carollo: I know that, Emilio. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking
about from the people, the principals. The principals that are the ones that the
allegations are being made --
Mr. Gonzalez: Correct. And so --
Commissioner Carollo: -- that they have been involved, what have you got directly
from them?
Mr. Gonzalez: So do I have --?
Commissioner Carollo: Not their attorney --
Mr. Gonzalez: No. Sir --
Commissioner Carollo:
-- not their spouse, not their girlfriends --
Mr. Gonzalez: No, no, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo:
-- not anybody else --
Mr. Gonzalez: No, sir.
Commissioner Carollo:
-- but them themselves.
Mr. Gonzalez: I understand. And what I have gotten from them was information,
telephonically and in person from their counsel, saying that this is all, if not a
misunderstanding, an outright misrepresentation. I have not received a document,
that I can recall, but --
Commissioner Carollo: So you've gotten it from the counsel. Have you spoken to
any of the individuals directly involved with it --
Mr. Gonzalez: I've not --
Commissioner Carollo: -- this is allegedly?
Mr. Gonzalez: -- spoken to any principals, one way or another, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
City of Miami Page 68 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chair?
Commissioner Carollo: --this is probably --
Chair Russell: Yes, Commissioner.
Commissioner Carollo: -- something that should have been done.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. I --
Commissioner Carollo: In fact, I will tell you right now -- and to me, this is where
this goes to, because even though the -- Mr. De Grandy presented that there's a State
law in doing business with Cuba, I don't know if that has been found to be
constitutional or not. I'll leave that to the City Attorney to answer that. But my
opinion is not going to be based on whether they are or whether they're not. I want
to know if they have been truthful or if they have lied to us. That's the issue to me.
Mr. Rotenberg: If I may for one second?
Chair Russell: Just a minute. Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. I'm -- I know where you're getting -- where you're
heading, Commissioner Carollo. We haven't gotten any affidavit from the officials
from the other company, the company -- the ones that are being accused of having
been doing business with Cuba. I have. I did my due diligence also. I've been in
contact with Congressman Mario Diaz Ballard, and his office has did an extensive
search on it, and they couldn't find the names, and that's fine. But we haven't gotten
any, I would say, affidavit, or any answer from the people involved, people that been
accused, stating -- you see? -- under oath that they have not been doing that. And
Mr. City -- Madam City Attorney, don't worry about it; I will not vote based on that,
if you are concerned about it; although I am very, very, very, I would say -- well, my
position regarding Cuba, it is -- and I stated it the other day --just as strong as the
Jews have with Israel and the blacks have with Apartheid and the Ku Klux Klan, you
see, because there have been persecution, abuses, and murder. And when that
happens, I mean, there is no room to negotiate. You see? So we haven't found that.
But I agree and want to follow up on what Commissioner Carollo said, and it is true;
we haven't found anything.
Mr. Dotson: Mr. Chairman, I have to correct the record, because you do have
affidavits. Actually, all five of you have them. I personally sent them to you, and we
have copies of them here. I also sent them to the Manager and to Mr. Rotenberg, so
your staff has had it since before the last meeting.
Commissioner Carollo: What are the aff davits that you're talking about?
Mr. Dotson: The affidavits are from the principals that they -- we actually tracked
the State statute language, even though it has been found unconstitutional, saying
that we don't violate, as the company, nor as the principals, nor any affiliate, nor any
subsidiary, the State statute that has been found unconstitutional. We took it a step
further, and there's a City resolution or statement -- excuse me -- Miami -Dade
County statement as it relates to doing business in Cuba. That's also included in the
affidavit that all five of you have and have had since before the last meeting, as have
the staff, and as have the City Attorney. We have copies of them here again. You
want to see them, you can see the date of it --
Commissioner Carollo: I certainly --
Mr. Dotson: --we'll go to that.
City of Miami Page 69 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: -- would like to see it (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Rotenberg: If I may, I -- everybody keep -- I did receive them. I've been trying
to say so for the last five minutes. We have received them. We reviewed them.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, obviously, the Manager didn't seem as aware of that
as you were.
Mr. Rotenberg: I was trying to interrupt (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I received it; I have not read it. I get a lot
of emails, but if they say they're out there, then --
Commissioner Carollo: Then -- well, that's why I want to see --
Chair Russell: We'll study that. Now --
Commissioner Carollo: -- what it says, so we could be clear what it says. But in the
meantime, Madam City Attorney, so we could be clear on the statement that Mr. De
Grandy made -- because I don't want for something to be placed on the record that if
we take action one way or another, we could be in violation of a State statute -- what
is the State statute on firms that are doing business with Cuba and doing business
with governments, and what is the constitutionality of that statute?
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Okay. What I first wanted to say is that the
Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Affairs, my office has been in contact
with them, and they also sent us --
Commissioner Carollo: Well, look, we understand all that, and we've gone over that
already.
Chair Russell: I haven't. I'd like to hear what she has to say.
Ms. Mendez: And they also sent us documentation saying that there was no
registration with RCI doing business in Cuba. I just wanted to put that in the record.
Commissioner Carollo: I never, as I stated here, would expect them or anybody else
to show up. There will be many violations and other US laws.
Ms. Mendez: And then with regard to the Florida statute, I don't necessarily agree
that it's been invalidated. However, Mr. Dotson is correct that he has turned in
affidavits, but I think that if you do have copies, it would be nice just for -- to refresh
our recollection, if you could circulate them, that the company has not done business
with Cuba.
Commissioner Carollo: And so, you are stating on the record, which is a surprise to
me, that that statute is not unconstitutional?
Ms. Mendez: I don't think it has been invalidated in that way. As --
Commissioner Carollo: How about with Miami -Dade County? I think, if I
remember, it was something that had to do with Otto Brick some years back.
Ms. Mendez: That had to do with what? I'm sorry.
Commissioner Carollo: Otto Brick and doing business in Cuba. They were awarded
something. Does that have anything to do with that? I don't remember.
City of Miami Page 70 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Otto Brick.
Commissioner Reyes: The City Manager should remember that.
Chair Russell: Is your mike on?
Commissioner Carollo: I don't know if you were the manager of the airport during
that time, Emilio, when the Otto Brick controversy came before the County
Commission.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, he was.
Commissioner Carollo: That they sued?
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, I think that what you're alluding to was all of the business that
Otto Brick Brazil was doing with Cuba. Otto Brick USA (United States of America)
is recognized as a US company, so I'm not sure that --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So that was the difference.
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: They were a US company, and therefore, it was their
subsidiary or their mother company that was selling brick --
Mr. Gonzalez: Right. They're --
Commissioner Carollo: -- that were the ones doing business in Cuba --
Mr. Gonzalez: From my understanding --
Commissioner Carollo: -- and therefore, we couldn't discriminate against them, I
guess, because they were a US company --
Mr. Gonzalez: Correct. To --
Commissioner Carollo: -- that had nothing to do, supposedly, with --
Mr. Gonzalez: Correct. To my understanding, Otto Brick USA --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Mr. Gonzalez: -- was a stand-alone company.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Now, that brings, you know, a lot of perspective on
(UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: I'm going to clarify --
Commissioner Carollo: I stand correct, because I thought that there was a ruling
against the statute on that, so maybe the City Attorney has shed some additional light
into this.
Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes, and then Td like to focus --
City of Miami Page 71 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Chair Russell: -- and give them their 20 minutes.
Commissioner Reyes: Hold on a second.
Chair Russell: And then (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: The -- Mr. City Manager and Commissioner, at the time
Article 3 of the Helms -Burton Law was not enforced; now it is. Okay? That any
company that does business with Cuba cannot do business here. Okay?
Mr. Rotenberg: I just want to say one more thing, because I don't want the City's
Administration to go without answering this. There was a video -- there was a tape
just played of a certain individual, Yehudi "Gaf ' Gaffen, and we received something
from this person, an email on June 11, 2019, and it's important that we read it as an
Administration so you understand what we've been doing. It appears that the
reason for the statement in the proposal that RCI was doing work, Cuba, is that our
proposed preparation team, undertook independent research and sought out an RCI
out of Florida was beginning development in Cuba and assumed that it was you. We
now understand that was another entity, RCI Timeshare, and not your company.
This information was never confirmed with you. You have clarified that your RCI
entity, or any affiliate, is not doing any work in Cuba. We have made our contact at
the Port of San Diego. " It gives a name over here. I don't want to give the name.
"Aware of the confusion. Very truly yours, Gaf. " This was the person you heard just
now that was played. A lot of this is being given to you as fact. We have done a
research. We've gone through the process, and the Administration has spent a lot of
time on this.
Chair Russell: Thank you, Mr. Rotenberg. Mr. Dotson, the floor is yours.
Commissioner Carollo: Where is my sworn statement, Mr. Dotson, that I'd like to
read while you talk?
Mr. Dotson: Actually, we're going to pass it out to you at the very beginning. Would
someone pass out these books so that --
Commissioner Carollo: I appreciate it.
Mr. Dotson: -- Commissioner Carollo can have the affidavit that we sent before the
last meeting?
Commissioner Carollo: If you could help me get to this quickly; what page is it, or
what item --
Mr. Dotson: Exactly what I'm doing.
Commissioner Carollo: -- what tab number? And for the record again, even though
now the question on whether it is constitutional or not to award or not award bids
based in Cuba, I want to make it perfectly clear that any of my actions are not going
to be based in Cuba. I want to know if the truth is being said to us or not; solely on
that reasoning that I'm following this Cuba issue.
Mr. Dotson: And we appreciate that, Commissioner Carollo, because I think that --
My time will start momentarily -- having the facts before you, and when people make
representations to you, you should absolutely hold them to them and make sure that
City of Miami Page 72 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
they are absolutely honest and accurate. The booklet that's being handed out to you
behind Tabs 4 and 5 are not only affidavits --
Commissioner Carollo: Which one? I have two here.
Mr. Dotson: That one right there in your right hand.
Commissioner Carollo: This one?
Mr. Dotson: That's correct.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. Dotson: The one dealing with Cuba. There's only one that deals Cuba; behind
Tabs 4 and 5.
Commissioner Carollo: 4 and 5. All right. Now, you have two Christophs, right?
Or how many Christophs do you have?
Mr. Dotson: Well, there is -- there's more than one Christoph.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but --
Mr. Dotson: The Christoph in charge of this project is Robert Christoph, Jr.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. Dotson: And he's doing an affidavit for affiliates, individuals, employees;
anyone --
Commissioner Carollo: Is that father or son?
Mr. Dotson: This is son.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. Dotson: He's the one who's here.
Commissioner Carollo: All right. Thank you.
Mr. Dotson: He's been here for every hearing. Now, we will get to this and go
through it in detail, but there's nothing new here. In fact, you will note the date is
June 5, 2019; that's when it went to the staff and to every Commissioner by email.
I'm actually getting a copy of the email with a time stamp, so you will know when
you received this information prior to the last meeting. So let me start officially.
Again Al Dotson, with Bilzin Sumberg, 1450 Brickell Avenue. And actually, before
my time starts, you all had the opportunity to introduce your interns and take
pictures with them. I'd like for you to meet two of our interns who are here -- they're
in the back -- Jordan Rhodes, who's a first-year at the University of Miami Law
School, and Sophia Guzzo, who's a first-year at Harvard. They're both interning at
our firm. And I would say to you that they're here to see how good government
works.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, good.
Mr. Dotson: And that's why they're here in chambers.
City of Miami Page 73 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: That's fantastic, but --
Mr. Dotson: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: -- I hope Sophia doesn't get mad at me, coming from
Harvard. I'm rooting for UM (University of Miami) more.
Commissioner Hardemon: I think they mispronounced it, though. Don't they say
"Harvard, " or something like that?
Chair Russell: Havord, Havord.
Mr. Dotson: I'm not going down that rabbit hole. So I just wanted you to see them
who are here. So I'm going to remind you about not falling for it. Now, first we
dispensed with all of the bid protests that were filed. There were a bid protest that
was held before a hearing examiner. There was a bid protest held before the Circuit
Court. There was a bid protest on rehearing, and then it went up to the Third DCA
(District Court of Appeal). And all of this stuff that you're hearing about, especially
the Shoreline and everything else -- we're going to give you the actual facts -- could
have been bought before the bid protest, and none of it was. And this particular --
every judge, every time, found that the City did exactly what it was supposed to do.
That means that the City staff, a hearing examiner, four judges, have found that
Virginia Key, LLC (Limited Liability Company) should be awarded this contract.
Now, while BMP was suing you, they promised to pay to make you whole. They
made a representation -- we want to make sure the veracity and integrity is
important. They made a representation to you on the record that they would pay
$100, 000 per month. And you know what? They broke that promise to you. And in
fact, before the last meeting, after we had sent you these affidavits before the last
meeting, they actually filed another lawsuit against you, claiming that what they said
before you was not actually what they were going to do, and it goes -- it's worse than
that. If you look behind Tab 4 of the three-ring binder that I gave you, they actually
put it in writing. They were going to pay you $100, 000 a month, and continue to pay
you a $100,000 a month, and they broke that promise. And if you look at Chapter
18, Section 18-95 of your Code, although they had a chance to sit here and give
another bid protest, they wouldn't even be eligible to be awarded the contract,
pursuant to your Code, Section 18-95, because they owe you money and they have a
lawsuit they filed against you. And so, now they're suing you again. Then BMP
claimed that we are not responsible; making all kinds of allegations, all kinds of
allegations. I'm going to call this "The Typo Exaggeration. " This is what they did.
After hundreds of pages of our response, they started referencing, Ah, we found a
typo," and you reference this particular company. We're going to pull that out. You
made this comment before the Selection Committee. I'm going to get to that in a
second, too. We're going to pull that out. They had this mystery minion they
referenced, but you all now know, because you got this information before the last
meeting. We identified exactly who wrote it. He said exactly what happened.
There's absolutely no mystery. And guess what? Bob Christoph, Jr. wasn't in the
room when that tookplace, that -- the gentleman who said, `Apparently, they must
be doing business in Cuba. " He wasn't in the room to correct it. Now, we did not
propose using any subcontractors or vendors under Florida Convicted Felon's List.
Shoreline Foundation was one of our proposed construction contractors. They were
not a principal. It can be substituted. " That is the law. This is a long-term
project. I'm sure you would say that if any company goes out of business or has a
problem during this process, you would allow us to substitute. And in fact, how do I
know that? Because that's what the RFP says, and that's what the proposed contract
says. So all this discussion about Shoreline that is not on the Convicted Felon List,
and in fact, we're prepared to substitute them if we -- if that's what you want us to
do, your RFP permits that, and so does the contract. We have all the patents that we
City of Miami Page 74 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
need; not because I say so, but because I've got the patents here with me. And as
you know, patents are very important documents; you lose them, you lose the patent.
This is what your staff saw when they actually sat down and met with us as apart of
the Responsibility Review; the actual patents for what we are building. Please don't
fall for all of this back and forth that they're creating, because we've got the patents,
and the gentleman that holds the patents is sitting right here. Now, you know this
has been a four- or five-year odyssey. TechnoMarine absolutely was apart of the
first RFP response that we submitted, and we specifically excluded them at the
second time, period. And in an exhibit on two pages, there was a reference that had
not been taken out, in an exhibit on two pages of a booklet that was literally this
thick. Don't fall for it. Don't fall for it. Now, finally, they accuse us of doing
business in Cuba. I was going to have my colleague come up, but we've talked about
that. The mudslinging has got to stop. You can't allow that to be the way in which
contracts are awarded in this City, because we're not doing business in Cuba; we've
said it under oath.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, hold on for a minute. You know, when you say
"mudslinging, " what I heard there was not mudslinging. It was people that have
worked with them; been involved with them in business, making statements.
Mudslinging is when you invent something out of the blue with no basis, whatsoever.
There was basis. Whether it's right or wrong, I don't know. You're saying as such.
But that's not mudslinging. Now, I will say this also to you, because, you know, I can
read and write. And the affidavit that I have here, both from Robert W Christoph,
Jr. and from Bryan Redmond, representing Suntex L -- Marinas, LLC; Suntex, and
Mr. Christoph is representing RCI Group; RCI. They both talk about that they
swear that RCI/Suntex have not done business with Cuba. Frankly, I wouldn't expect
them, if they would have entered, or anybody else that does, because I know how
things are done over there with these people. They're going to create offshore
corporations. This is how individuals that are U.S. citizens do it with them, and the
Cuba government is the first to show them how to do it. There's not going to be any
of these companies involved. What I really would like to see is affidavits from the
individuals that they, in no way, shape, or form, have entered into any kind of
relationship -- if we could put all the other word -- with the government of Cuba,
under the name of any company, under anybody else, et cetera; that, you know, if
you put it in there, and there's no other evidence, case is closed.
Mr. Dotson: Great. I have that affidavit right here.
Commissioner Reyes: Does that include (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Mr. Dotson: Yeah. We assume that -- we assume -- what's that?
Chair Russell: Copy for the whole dais?
Mr. Dotson: Yeah, we'll make a cop -- we'll get a -- have them make a copy.
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Dotson: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Reyes: Does that affidavit includes any relation -- I mean, with any
company that is doing business in Cuba?
Mr. Dotson: That's correct, it does, because you -- look, when people --
Commissioner Carollo: No, you don't have this over here.
City of Miami Page 75 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Dotson: Okay. What is it that you want?
Commissioner Carollo: You have the same thing over here that you're talking about
RCI --
Chair Russell: Same thing.
Commissioner Carollo: It's the same thing, basically, that you gave me before.
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: I'm talking about --
Chair Russell: The affiant.
Commissioner Carollo: -- the affiiant, the individual itself.
Mr. Dotson: Mr. Carollo -- Commissioner Carollo --
Commissioner Carollo: Let me give you this back, because --
Mr. Dotson: Thank you. Let me just show you.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: To me, it's very simple.
Mr. Dotson: It is very simple.
Commissioner Carollo: It cannot be proven, and the individuals --
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- swear to it, case is closed.
Mr. Dotson: Actually, it can be done, because the individual's here. You can put
him under oath, and he can make that statement.
Commissioner Reyes: I want it in writing.
Commissioner Carollo: Look, I --
Mr. Dotson: So we'll come back and do that.
Commissioner Carollo: -- have no problem in doing that, if the individual wants to
do it. In fact, I was going to suggest that, but I didn't want to be unfair in doing it.
Mr. Dotson: We have no problem --
Commissioner Carollo: Good.
Mr. Dotson: --because there's no issue. Okay. So let me -- May I continue?
Commissioner Carollo: Absolutely.
Mr. Dotson: Thank you. So the mudslinging, Commissioner, included a number of
allegations -- not just the Cuba issue -- a number of allegations, and we've gone
through each of them, and in fact, your staff has reviewed all of them and determined
City of Miami Page 76 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
that none of them addressed, at all, our issue of being a responsible proposer. The
only thing we know for a fact as it relates to responsibility is that you asked to be
paid $100,000 a month, and you have not been paid a $100,000 a month; that we
know. We know that that is a prohibition and deemed someone non -responsible,
because of your Code, 18-95; that we know. Now, I'm going to move on. I'm going
to move on. Now we have been the highest -ranked proposer twice; not once, but
twice. We are offering to build a beautiful marina destination that offers both the
best marina, and it complies with the Virginia Key Master Plan. CBRE did the
math; same company you were talking about earlier being one of your consultants.
And you may recall that after the last RFP, it was Commissioner -- and now
Chairman -- Ken Russell who took control of the RFP process. He must have said
several times, "We have all the quotes. How great this RFP is, " and why this
process is the process that he wanted, and why he wanted to move forward. At the
last -- this Commission requested each of these items -- may I have the mike -- the
microphone? --be apart of the RFP. You wanted a feasibility study to see whether
or not the City development and management of the marina was better; that was
done. You removed the requirement to additional wet slips; that was done. Prohibit
new wet slips in the historic basin; that was done. Require full disclosure of any
environmental issues, ever; that was done. Require consistency with the Virginia
Key Master Plan; that was done. Virginia Key Advisory Board to review and
provide input to the RFP; that was done. Public to have an opportunity to review
and comment on the draft RFP; that was done. Commission to review the RFP
before it goes out; that was done. Independent hearing examiner to resolve all legal
issues raised during the procurement process; that's what you wanted, and as for
prior to the RFP going out, and that's exactly what you got. You then asked for a
expert committee that would be apart of the selection group, and you got that, too.
The -- you had a Virginia Key Advisory Board member. You had a procurement
expert. You had a Planning & Zoning expert. These are people outside of the City
staff that served on the Evaluation Committee the second time around. You had a
real estate and financial expert and you had an environmental marina expert, and a
financial and environmental expert.
Chair Russell: Did you say they're outside of City staff? Because several of the
people you just named are City staff.
Mr. Dotson: There are some in -- you wanted some in City staff and outside City
staff, so you had a combination on your Evaluation Committee.
Commissioner Reyes: Did we have -- do you have in that selection -- I wasn't here at
the time. But you have on that Section Committee a marina operator expert, a
person that had -- that knows all the -- how to run a marina and how the finances of
the marina work?
Mr. Dotson: Penny Cutt is the last name here, who is your marina expert on the
Evaluation Committee.
Commissioner Reyes: And she works as a marina operator, or she works as a -- she
owns one, administer one; what?
Mr. Dotson: She had several different backgrounds. She was formerly the Section
Chief in the United States Army Corp of Engineers.
Commissioner Reyes: That doesn't say anything.
Mr. Dotson: No. I'm giving you all of her background, all of her background. Do
you only want part of it, or you want all of it?
City of Miami Page 77 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: No. This is for my own information, because I believe that
when we have a Selection Committee, it has to be composed of experts outside of the
City of Miami.
Mr. Dotson: Okay. Next one. These are your Selection Committee members. What
you are not referencing are the consultants that you hired that did have marina
operating -- marina operator experts, and that was CBRE, on the staff that was
supporting the Evaluation Committee and provided them guidance as they reviewed
each of the proposals; and in fact, made a presentation to them, after they reviewed
the proposals, to determine whether operating the marina the way in which each of
those proposers were suggesting made sense. This is national expert. You listened,
you reacted, and it's time to move forward. You fully vetted the RFP before its
issuance. You listened to the community. We went through all these straw men
before, and we knocked them all down before. And I want to make it clear; you
unanimously approved that the RFP be issued; unbiased expert Selection Committee,
objective selection criteria, and you secured an independent judicial determination.
This is before the RFP was issued.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Dotson -- Can you stop for a second, Mr. Clerk? -- let
me just state this on the record. And I know why you're saying this, because the
Commission approved it, but I do want to make it clear on the record that when
you're saying, "You approved," it was a prior City Commission. At least two of us
were not here when all this was approved; the first RFP, the second RFP, or
anything in between, I wasn't here then. You could turn the time back on, if you
could now. Thank you.
Mr. Dotson: Everything the Commission -- who approved this RFP, including the
Chairman himself -- asked for to go into this RFP was a part of the RFP. We
proposed the exact same size of your Virginia Key Master Plan. The Virginia Key
Master Plan we met to the "T. " So how did this process get started? Commissioner
Russell wanted a new and better process, and I quote, "I just don't believe there was
enough public input. I, as Commissioner, wasn't here at the time" -- sounds familiar
-- "but now I am, and I would love to be involved in the process to really make sure
that the public's voice is being heard, that the master plan is completely respected. "
This was July 20, 2016. This is what the people were saying, including the
Commissioners. And I've included the Commissioners who are currently part of this
dais -- in this board. Commissioner Russell, this is what you said at the end of the
last process, then you had all these people from the community come up and explain
why they wanted this to moveforward; someone who's the CEO of Contender Boats;
you had the Chair of your Waterfront Committee; the CEO and founder of Florida
Yachts, International, and Monty's in Coconut Grove; you had the Chair of the City
of Miami Waterfront Advisory Board, all say that the RFP was exactly what it should
be; all saying exactly right here, Commissioner Russell, on December 6, 2016: I
am glad to see a very public process happening. " Commissioner Russell on
December 8, 2016: "What we're going to do now with Virginia Key Marina is
exactly a really good process, and I know it's going to take a little longer, but it is
more public, more thorough, and the ideas come out. " Commissioner Russell on
later that day: I see a lot coming into line with the master plan in this RFP, which
is great. " Commissioner Russell on January 12, 2017, "Thank you, Mr. Rotenberg
and Mr. Manager, for bringing back, and for all the outreach you've been doing with
the Virginia Key Advisory Board and the community. This has generated a lot of
feedback, which is exactly what we wanted. It is my goal to get this RFP on the
November ballot. " February 9, 2017, Commissioner Russell: I believe we can get
this done today. I feel responsible to help push it forward today, because I was a
good part of the combined effort to get us here, put the brakes on, take a look at it,
and make sure that the Virginia Key Advisory Board was involved to make sure we
had a --fully understood what was in the RFP. " This is exactly what you asked for.
City of Miami Page 78 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
This is exactly what you said. That's exactly what you got. And then, right before --
on February 9, 2017, Commissioner Russell: "Thank the Administration for this
RFP, because the money that will be generated will help the future of the Marine
Stadium. It depends on it. It depends on it. You then approved the RFP. Again, the
successful proposer shall provide a restaurant, a bar, ship store, additional ancillary
facilities and components, consistent with the Virginia Key Master Plan. That's what
was in your RFP that you approved. That's what we gave you. That's precisely what
happened. And then on September], 2017, I think we've done a lot ofgood work to
get this process right, and I believe, " says Commissioner Russell, "we're seeing
some very good proposals, we've revamped the RFP, we hit the reset button, and I
think we're doing it correctly. " And then Commissioner Carollo, on September 13,
2018: "The bottom line is, what we can't have is an individual laughing as he goes to
the bank with our residents' money. That can't happen. It's been happening for over
a year and a half. And by just deferring, deferring, deferring and" doing -- "nothing
gets done. " Commissioner Hardemon, you said, "So unless there's no appeal to the
Florida Supreme Court, then we can -- this thing can move on. Let's move on. " And
Commissioner Russell, and when you were Chair, you said, "Now that we're losing
Ultra, I want to make sure that the revenue from development planned for Virginia
Key Beach goes to support Virginia Key Park Trust and the redevelopment of the
Marine Stadium. For example, we are about to approve the development of the
Virginia Key Marina. I want to see us finally moving forward with the Virginia Key
Master Plan. " And then came all of the lawyers who were putting forward their
request to represent you in connection with the Beckham Stadium. And
Commissioner Reyes, you kept saying, "Shame on you. Shame on you for faxing me
and sending me all this information. " All of it was factually correct. It came from
their actual websites. You said, "Shame on you for doing that, for sending me
factual information. " And I think it was Commissioner Gort who then said, "How
come people can't win " --
Commissioner Reyes: Sir --
Mr. Dotson: -- "on their own" --
Commissioner Reyes: -- it wasn't because they were sending factual information; it
was because they acted like hyenas.
Unidentified Speaker: That's right.
Commissioner Reyes: You see? And it is a real, real, real, I would say, shame that
being member of your profession, that you are sworn to uphold the law and to be
ethical, that you act in such, I said, "low, low, low, low standard"; accusing each
other like a pack of hyenas fighting for a carcass.
Mr. Dotson: I totally agree. I was sitting back in the back, Commissioner Reyes,
and when you kept saying, "Shame, shame, shame on you, " it was a difficult point in
looking at people in our profession. And then, it was Commissioner Gort who said
at that same meeting, "Why can't people win on their own merits? Why do they need
to tear down the other side? Why can't they just put forth why they should be
selected? " at that very same meeting. If you give me a second. Sometimes you have
to be careful what you ask for. You have to be careful of what you ask for. You have
the other side saying that the information that was in our proposal related to
Shoreline and TechnoMarine was before the Selection Committee. And let's look at
what would have happened if the rescoring occurred exactly as they professed it
should have. So on experience, we received 63 points, and they received 53 points.
Comparable marine projects: You had to have three. That's all they had. We had
17. Comparable marine projects required the maximum points of six. Now, they
haven't talked about their principal, Calabrese, who actually had -- a principal; not
City of Miami Page 79 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
a contractor, not a subcontractor, not someone who can be substituted -- and the
fraud allegations that are taking place and the fraud entanglement. They would
have lost 32 points had that been put before the Selection Committee. The Shoreline
allegation -- again, it's not a principal. It wasn't required to be part of the
evaluation. There's no impact on our score. The Aero -Dock false allegation, I got
the patents. I showed you the patents; you're welcome to look at them.
Chair Russell: Mr. Dotson, I'm just trying to understand exactly what these scores
are.
Mr. Dotson: Sure.
Chair Russell: These aren't from the actual scoring of the RFP?
Mr. Dotson: Actually, it is.
Chair Russell: So there was a negative 32 score --
Mr. Dotson: No, no, no. I --
Chair Russell: -- and a negative 21 score?
Mr. Dotson: -- no. It began this by saying, `Be careful what you ask for. "
Chair Russell: So this is a hypothetical scoring that you've created if we were to
take into account --?
Mr. Dotson: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the way they -- the way he presented it. He asked
-- he told you -- that's what he said -- that all of that information was before the
Evaluation Committee, and "look at all the points we got as a result of that. " So
let's walk through the math of what he presented. Comparable marina projects:
They only have three, and two of them, if I'm not mistaken, are from the particular
gentleman who's in the fraud entanglement. There's only one left, and the one that's
left is the one that's not paying you your $100,000 a month that you asked for; that
this Commission, this group asked for, and they committed to you both verbally -- as
you said, lawyers should come forward and be honest --and they committed to you in
writing, and they're not doing it. In fact, they're suing you, saying, they didn't -- they
shouldn't have to do it at all. The incumbent's failure to pay the City, they lose the
21 points, so they can't even include the one that's left. So what's the resulting
score? They're experience score would be zero and ours would still be 63. That's
the result of what he asked for, because this is what would happen.
Chair Russell: Time's up, Mr. Dotson.
Mr. Dotson: Pardon me?
Chair Russell: The time is now up. If you just want to summarize, that's fine, but --
Mr. Dotson: In conclusion, we've shared with you how this process got here. We
shared with you what you have said. We've result --we've responded to every single
allegation. I'm advised in the affidavit to give you exactly what you want. We've
gotten the US Department of Treasury to get involved in this. We've gotten the Chief
Council -- Legal Counsel for the US Department of Treasury, OFA C, to get involved
in this. We have in that booklet that you have --they say you can't find Google --
you can't find RCI through Google. I'm not sure what Google they're using, but we
actually included in the documents we handed to you exactly what you would have
found in May of 2016. They say that there's a minion that is secretive that no one
City of Miami Page 80 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
has disclosed. We gave you a letter from that very person, explaining exactly what
happened. You said we didn't do an affidavit. Maybe not the affidavit you wanted.
We're happy to give you the exact affidavit you want, but don't think we're hiding,
because we're prepared -- and we have continuously given you the information
you've asked for in the manner you've asked for it, and we've done exactly what
you've asked. Now lastly, and I'm done. We've cleared out this room, but we are
now on television. What message are you sending to the electorate today? You
started this meeting talking about not -- no monies for pools and parks. Meetings
before that, "We need to raise money in order to support the Miami Marine
Stadium. " Meetings before that, "We need money to go to the Virginia Key Beach
Trust. " Nine -- ninety -- almost a billion dollars. You were asking, "Where did all
that money come from? " and that green check we had last time. Not from me, but
from your own study from CBRE That's what they said we would pay. That's what
they said you would receive, and all of the residents of Miami Dade -- the City of
Miami listened carefully. This started in 2015. If you want to submit a bid, you can
win once. That's not good enough. You want to submit a second bid? You win
throughout every court and Evaluation Committee, maybe that's not good enough.
The Commission revises the RFP to provide exactly what it wants; it gets it. Is that
good enough? How do you do business in the City of Miami? How do you raise
revenue for the residents of the City of Miami when we are trying to do exactly what
you asked of us? And we're allowing this to play on -- 17 deferrals, 17 deferrals on
this item; 17. Now, if there's a desired outcome, let's just talk about it. If there's a
desired proposal, let's just talk about it, because 17 deferrals suggest, after going
through two processes the way in which we did, winning twice and in every court,
that maybe there's another outcome we're looking for, because right now, you have
someone on that property who has sued you three times, and you have a settlement
agreement on that property that if you don't go forward today, they stay there again,
and maybe that's the outcome you want. Maybe you don't want the extra money.
Maybe that's the outcome you want; maybe. Well, let's just tell Miami Marine
Stadium, "You can wait. " Let's tell the Virginia Key Museum, "You can wait. "
Let's tell the parks and the pools, "You too can wait, " because that is what this
money was desired to support; not because I say so, because that's what was in your
RFP. Thank you very much.
Chair Russell: Thank you, Mr. Dotson. All right.
Mr. De Grandy: Commissioner, you did allow him to go way out of time. I'd like a
couple minutes to respond.
Chair Russell: No. What we -- no, sir. What we did was we stopped the clock when
Commissioners asked him questions outside of his presentation. We were watching
the clock the entire time. It only wound down to zero when I mentioned that to him,
and he gave a closing statement of a couple minutes. I don't think it's necessary.
Mr. De Grandy: I would like those couple minutes, in all fairness, sir.
Chair Russell: I -- this isn't a --
Commissioner Carollo: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Russell: If you'd like to hear more from Mr. De Grandy, that's fine, but I think
we're getting a little repetitive here, and I don't want to go in a back and forth on a
he said/she said. I really believe we have a job to do.
Commissioner Carollo: I -- we have a job to do, but we also need to get to the
bottom of a lot of things, and as far as I'm concerned, you know, they could both take
City of Miami Page 81 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
their gloves off, if they have haven't yet, and defend their positions. So I don't mind
listening as much as they have to give to us, until they both get tired.
Chair Russell: I don't want to go that far, but I want to give equal time.
Commissioner Carollo: No, no. I do, because I'm trying to, you know, bite my
tongue. Mr. Dotson said a lot of things that, boy, you know, he really doesn't want
to hear me answer -- you really don't -- but I am going to answer, if I could take a
moment of privilege, a couple of things. One, the statement that you attributed to
me, which I certainly made here on "no one laughing at us, " or whatever else was
said by me, and what I accomplished in that meeting was that I got $100,000 more
that was given for several months, so that's in the record. Now, the second part of
that that you mentioned -- and you made a statement that they stopped making
payments; they did. I don't know if they cured that or not. But your statement was
that, legally, they had breached some code, some contract, when they stopped
making the payments. There was nothing in the original contract, that I know of,
that made them breach anything. What has been breached was that, as I understood
it, they gave a commitment to go forward with this. They were not bound legally to
do it, but there was a commitment that was made publicly here, and that's one of the
areas that will get into from that side, "What have they paid on a monthly basis?"
But the real problem here is -- and this has got nothing to do with either of you, so
you might be both surprised that I'm saying that. The real problem here is that there
was a bid that went out that included the marina, with the amenities in question,
including a restaurant that's there, wet and dry docks, but it also included a marina
that belongs to the City that's dry docks. I think 242 slips if -- am I correct in that,
Daniel? There was also another piece of property there that's a restaurant that has
some other amenities, a workshop, and I don't know what else, that why in the world
that was not included in the first RFP and the second RFP is another one that I'd
rather not get into now, why it wasn't included, because it should have been included
for both of you and anybody else that bid on it, because it didn't make sense not to
have been included. But the problem here that the City is losing money today is the
following reason: As I stated, the bid was on hard property that's being leased from
the City, and the other part was a big chunk of City -run property; dry docks, et
cetera. Well, for whatever reasons, the City of Miami has mismanaged -- or maybe
"mismanage" is not the word to use; maybe it's something else, but for now, I'll use
"mismanaged" -- running that operation that's our side, that we're losing a huge
amount of money. And if we would be getting that, we wouldn't be too far off in what
either one of these two bidders bid out combined. And I cannot believe that we have
not taken actions to correct that. Why do we have so many empty dry dock boat slips
that we have in the Marine Stadium marina when next door is completely full, and
they charge maybe twice as much as the City does? Why have we gone from around
a million dollars or more that we were making before --? And I have never, to this
date, have gotten the information that I requested at the last meeting that this came
up, Mr. Manager, from you, and that I requested before on -- For the last 10 years --
and I'm giving you 10 years -- I want to know what has been the gross that the dry
dock marina has been bringing to the City of Miami. And I don't know if the
numbers that I've seen or not -- because they didn't come from you -- are correct or
not, but it seems that we're getting a fraction of what we were getting before, and no
one is being held accountable; no one, whatsoever. Like everything else that runs in
the City, no one is held accountable. And if you want to point the finger to anyone
on why there's not enough monies coming right now, point the finger to past
Administrators and to the present Administrator, because there's no way that if what
I have seen is accurate, this should be happening. If we were receiving what we
were before -- sometime before, we should have been greater today. For the marina
that the City is running, no one would be talking about that we're losing so much
money. So I, for the meantime, will let you, Mr. Chairman, proceed with the meeting
the way you would like, but I think that there should be back and forth, so we could
City of Miami Page 82 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
get down to the bottom of a lot of this. There have been some serious statements
made. I'd like to find out, you know, what is the truth. You know, you mentioned
something about them, that somebody that was in default or some criminal matters.
I don't know what you said. They said something about convicted felons, a phantom
company. This is even beyond Cuba. I'd like to get to the bottom of both of it.
Mr. Dotson: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: You know, I want to know if either you or him have clients
that all have clean hands or they're both dirty. I don't know. So --
Chair Russell: Thank you, Commissioner. And I will give some additional time, if
the Commissioner would like that. But I don't believe that a back and forth will
necessarily produce the truth. It'll produce he said/she said, or he said/he said. Our
job here, we are not beholden to applicants for a bid. We are beholden to our
residents, to our taxpayers, and to the assets of the City. Our job, as difficult as it is
for you who are here bidding before us, and as difficult as that may be, and as much
time as this has taken, our job is to get to the truth to make sure that the process has
been clean, to make sure that what has been presented is actually what is, because
this is a very important asset of the City and a very environmentally sensitive area,
and we want to get this right. That is our job. And so, for me, there has been issues
of integrity in the process, and what you brought about on the affidavit is an exact
example of that What lawyers will do is try to find the words that apply to what you
want to hear, and nothing they've said here is untruthful, but did they truly answer
your question?
Commissioner Carollo: Not only that, but --
Chair Russell: But if I could, let me continue, please.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. I'm sorry. Go ahead.
Chair Russell: The issue of whether or not RCI has entered into the business is not
answered by this particular affidavit of an aunt saying, RCI has not done any
business, but it doesn't refer to the affiant themselves, but it's not a -- it's probably a
very true statement, but it doesn't necessarily answer the question. The reason, in
my opinion, the first bid, the first RFP was thrown out -- one of the reasons -- and
this was before your time, so I'd love to refresh this -- is that it was not disclosed,
one of the largest contaminations in our local bay waters' history by one of the
applicants, and their logic in not disclosing, if I recall correctly, had to do with the
way it was worded, because the contamination didn't happen in the City of Miami,
because of the direction the wind was blowing that day. It touched the waters and
other municipalities, but not the City of Miami. To me that's deceptive, and it
betrays the integrity of the process. So when we went back and did a second issue of
this RFP, the second round of bids, I truly expected that contamination issue to be
front and center; not only in disclosure, but in the scoring. And for that same
company to now just simply disclose that they were the perpetrators of the largest
contamination in our bay water history and still be able to score high enough to win
this shows to me that there is a flaw in the scoring with regard to this environmental
issue on one of our most environmentally sensitive assets. It's very important that we
get this right. We have not been a good steward of that property with regard to
mangroves, other environmental sensitivities. And if we're writing an RFP that's
incentivizing high -scaled development on a long-term lease in order to get the
highest return, I think over this two-year period that we've been going through this,
we're starting to learn about how maybe we should best be managing our assets, and
if a lease and an RFP in this process is the right way that we should be doing this.
We have several marinas in the City, and each one of them is run in a different way.
City of Miami Page 83 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
We have marinas that are run by the City and City employees and City management;
we have ones that are leased out to complete third parties. The idea of possibly a
management agreement, where the City takes care of its assets and capital
investment but works with a revocable management agreement on a tenant, may be
the best way forward. And for that reason and the reasons I said above, I believe
that we should throw out this RFP and go toward that model. If it involves a
competitive process to find that management company, if it needs to go to
referendum, we do that. But I believe that we have not produced the best results
here, and I believe that's our job at the last step of this, to make sure we've done the
best job. We are not a rubber-stamping committee. Our job is to be thorough and
vet the entire process. It is a bit of a problem, I think, even as we talked about the
Olympia, that major RFPs only come to us for the specifics when it's all done and
baked, and the chance of the Administration getting exactly what we have in mind,
without knowing what we have in mind, may not yield the best result. I think in the
future, any major RFP over, let's say, a million dollars, or any RFP on the
waterfront, must be approved by City Commission before being put out to bid to
make sure that what we're asking of bidders is what this Commission wants to see
with that asset in the method of which we would be either leasing or renting or
managing or doing an agreement, or the scale of development we're looking for
there; or how important we feel the environmental concerns are, whether it should
be a disqualifying factor. So I'll seek the leadership of this entire dais, because for
me to make this motion, I would need to pass the gavel, and I'm willing to do so, but
I'd like to hear any further discussion from the dais, as well as if you'd like to hear
further from Mr. De Grandy, but I do not want to get into a back and forth of
accusation retort.
Commissioner Carollo: I'd like to hear more from both.
Chair Russell: Okay. Commissioner Gort, you had a comment? Okay.
Vice Chair Gort: I'll wait till the end.
Chair Russell: Mr. De Grandy, can we -- Please put the same amount of time that
they went over after I said, "Please wrap it up. " If it was four minutes, give him four
minutes.
Mr. De Grandy: How much was it, Mr. Clerk? How much was it, Mr. Clerk?
Chair Russell: Four minutes.
Mr. De Grandy: Four minutes. Okay. All right. First of all, as I told you, you
listened to a lot of static, okay? The issue here is, do you award to the recommended
bidder? It's not whether we're evil, whether you're evil. It's whether you should
award to the recommended bidder. Now, they talked a lot about the first RFP.
You're correct, Commissioner; part of the reason that was thrown out was because
they were one of the biggest polluters in the history of Miami Dade County. The
other reason was because that impacted the historical basin. And you all felt, after
hearing from a lot of environmentalists, that that was not the correct approach. So it
has nothing to do with my client. Now, all of the things that we talked to you about
were learned after the protest occurred. The conviction of Shoreline occurred
January of 2019, a year and a half, almost two years, after the protest occurred. So
we could not have done anything about that. Now, I would only caution you this
when you're asking for affidavits, et cetera. As you all said, attorneys craftily craft
things. Make sure you ask the right questions. There are two Mr. Christophs; junior
and senior. One attestee [sic] wasn't there. How 'bout the other one? I urge you to
ask the right questions so that you get the right answers. Now, here's what you
didn't hear: You didn't hear that the Shoreline conviction was a lie; that we made it
City of Miami Page 84 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
up, because it's true. You didn't hear that the TechnoMarine thing we made up,
because it's true. It was in the RFP. And you didn't hear a word about the
misrepresentations regarding Aero -Docks. You didn't hear them say, `Mr. De
Grandy made this up. Port Marinas are mentioned before. Uses the Aero -Docks
cradle. Mr. De Grandy made that transcript up. " Here's what you heard. You
heard them say, "Hey, we got some patents" for a system that has never been
implemented in a marina environment. And what is important about the
misrepresentation is the theory of tried and true. They told you that one of the most
important components in your development, the system to move up the boats back
and forth, they told you that that had been implemented in the only fully automated
system in the United States ofAmerica. That was a lie. So when Mr. Dotson asked,
"What message are you sending to the folks on television?" Well, the message that
you could be sending is, you don't want to do business with companies that
misrepresent facts in order to get a deal. You don't want to do business with
convicted felons. You don't want to do business with people that want to bait and
switch, show you companies, get ratings and rankings for that company, and then
substitute them willy-nilly. Now, I was frankly taken aback when I heard Mr. Dotson
say, "What outcome are you looking for? " I don't know what he's implying of your
ethics. I can tell you, whether we win or lose today, I'm going to assume that you
made your vote because you believed it was the right vote. Now whether you vote for
our position or not, I'm going to assume that. I'm not going to assume that you have
a surreptitious motive for another outcome; nor should anybody. I ask you only to
decide on the facts. We have given you the facts. None of those facts have been
controverted, because they're the absolute God's honest truth. Thankyou very much.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Mr. Chairman?
Chair Russell: Yes, Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Before he steps down, I heard his statements that he made
and the allegations that they have made, but what I'd also like to hear is your
rebuttal to Mr. Dotson's allegation to your client's, or somebody or other that -- if
you could repeat that again, Mr. Dotson?
Mr. Dotson: Calabrese.
Mr. De Grandy: Calabrese.
Commissioner Carollo: Calabrese.
Mr. De Grandy: Absolutely; be happy to.
Commissioner Carollo: And I hear these names, and, you know, it -- I'm thinking of
something else. I'm sorry, but, you know, that's me.
Mr. De Grandy: Absolutely; be happy to. Mr. Calabrese is an investor in this deal.
Mr. Calabrese was sued in Argentina. And what happens in Argentine, based on
Argentinean law, is a private citizen can actually file a criminal charge, okay? And
it is used many times as leverage. This is an individual that was an investor in a
project of Mr. Calabrese that felt he wasn't getting his return, and he filed a criminal
charge for fraud against Mr. Calabrese. That charge went, I believe -- and I forget
the city right now -- to city 'X " The judge in that city said, "The venue is improper.
It belongs in Buena Aires." It goes to Buena Aires. The Buena Aires judge said,
"The venue is improper. It belongs in the city X "' To date, that has notproceeded
anywhere. There has not been a formal charge by a State agency. This is a private
individual filing a criminal charge. Now, last time I checked in this country, and last
time I checked in Argentina, individuals are innocent until proven guilty. He was
City of Miami Page 85 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
charged by a fellow investor basically to leverage a settlement on a civil deal. That's
what that's about.
Commissioner Carollo: And what say you, Mr. Dotson, on that? What's the
allegation you were making or --?
Mr. Dotson: Yes. Calabrese -- I believe I'm pronouncing the name correctly -- was
not -- was more than an investor in this deal; he's a principal. And basically, all of
their qualifications, including two of the only three marinas that they operate, were
his. He's not an insignificant player in this deal.
Commissioner Carollo: That's fine.
Mr. Dotson: Now --
Commissioner Carollo: My --
Mr. Dotson: But the reason I mention that, because you asked me a question about
Calabrese the last time.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but my question is right to the point of what are the
allegations that you're making on this Calabrese fellow?
Mr. Dotson: We sent you, on March 1, 2019, the information related to Mr.
Calabrese's bankruptcy, which he did not mention, and the fraud allegations that
have been filed against him. I did not say whether they were true or not. I've not
indicated whether they are valid or not. I just simply reported to you --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. Dotson: -- that a person, whose two of the three marinas that they have
proposed --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. Dotson: -- has allegations of fraud against them.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Now, can you bring that big chart that you have
before again, please, here?
Mr. Dotson: Which one?
Commissioner Carollo: The big one that had everything in Calabrese.
Chair Russell: The scoring.
Commissioner Carollo: Under the score, the scoring one.
Mr. Dotson: Okay.
Chair Russell: Hypothetical scoring.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, the hypothetical scoring one. Can you bring it up
here again?
Mr. Dotson: Sure.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. I -- you can have the Harvard intern bring it, too.
City of Miami Page 86 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Dotson: That's one of the things they're learning.
Commissioner Carollo: If you could put them all --
Mr. Dotson: And while --
Commissioner Carollo: -- like they were before?
Mr. Dotson: Yeah. And while they're doing that, I believe you had the revised
affidavit that you asked for, Commissioner?
Commissioner Carollo: I do. I'll get to that in a minute.
Mr. Dotson: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: This is better than what I had before. Okay. You got
Calabrese's fraud entanglements, loses two comparable projects in all automated
dry stack experience. How can he lose that just based on a lawsuit? I mean, how
can -- he had been --?
Mr. Dotson: You missed the bankruptcy component.
Commissioner Carollo: How can 32 points have been taken from him just based on
a lawsuit that I think you acknowledged that what the counsel had said; it's a lawsuit
in Argentina from a partner -- from what I understand -- for fraud, but a court has
not made any determination, and from what I'm hearing, apparently, they haven't
even had a hearing. I don't know if that's accurate or not either. This is what he's
claiming, but I think, based on what you said, there's been no final determination on
that, so I think we can move forward on that.
Mr. Dotson: Actually, you're only stating part of what I said.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. Dotson: What I -- I meant, what he did not say to you is the Tifon Water Plant
or Planet is in bankruptcy. Mr. Calabrese's experience, it was part of -- no. In
order to get the 32 points, they had to have those two marinas. The marina is in
bankruptcy.
Mr. De Grandy: No.
Mr. Dotson: So --
Commissioner Carollo: But what --
Mr. De Grandy: No.
Commissioner Carollo: -- you presented to us there, before I asked you to bring it
back on, doesn't say anything about bankruptcy or anything else. It says,
"Calabrese's fraud entanglements loses two comparable projects in all automated
dry stack experience. " Doesn't say anything, nor did you say anything to us at the
time, that I recollect, on bankruptcy for the minus 32 points. So now I think we've
narrowed this; not to defraud, like you have up here in big letters, but to the
bankruptcy. Let's get to the bankruptcy in Calabrese. I mean, I'm trying to find out.
I have no idea --
Mr. De Grandy: Chair, I'm happy to respond to that.
City of Miami Page 87 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Dotson: Commissioner, let me just make sure that we're clear on what I'm
saying to you.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Sure. Okay.
Mr. Dotson: Fraud entanglement was just a title. We sent you the specific
documentation as relates to everything that I said on March 1, 2019 that included
the Tifon Water Planet Project. When Commissioner Russell asked that the scoring
be objective, you look at the number ofprojects that can be included. And one of the
prohibitions in your RFP was that if you are in bankruptcy, it can't be included.
Commissioner Carollo: Was he in bankruptcy or his firms, or whatever he had?
Were they in bankruptcy --
Mr. Dotson: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: -- when this was awarded -- at the time it was awarded?
Mr. De Grandy: No.
Mr. Dotson: When what was awarded?
Commissioner Carollo: The RFP.
Mr. Dotson: No. Remember, it hasn't been awarded. This was his request.
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Mr. Dotson: No. I'm not trying to --
Commissioner Carollo: I understand that. I'm sorry. Let me rephrase that.
Mr. Dotson: Got it.
Commissioner Carollo: When the points were scored by the committee, was this
company that Calabrese was involved in, was it in bankruptcy?
Mr. Dotson: No, it was not, and I want it to be clear. I was responding to his
statement that rescoring, because of something that happened after the scoring took
place, that's why he mentioned Shoreline. He was saying that after the scoring took
place, certain information became available. I'm saying, certain information
became available as well, as relates to their team, after the scoring took place.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, let me then go back to them so that I could hear about
this Calabrese fellow and his bankruptcy. Mr. De Grandy.
Mr. De Grandy: Again, the information is incorrect.
Commissioner Carollo: What part of Argentina is he from, by the way, since I keep
hearing about two cities back and forth?
Mr. De Grandy: Buena Aires, I believe.
Commissioner Carollo: Buena Aires, okay.
City of Miami Page 88 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. De Grandy: All right. Facts: Your RFP addresses involuntary bankruptcy.
Mr. Calabrese, because of those maneuvers that were being done by his fellow
investors, filed for voluntary reorganization.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay, but --
Mr. De Grandy: We discussed that with your staff.
Commissioner Carollo: Excuse me.
Mr. De Grandy: That's not (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: It was not personal; it was corporate.
Mr. De Grandy: That's personal. It wasn't the marina.
Commissioner Carollo: Like the ones Donald Trump made.
Mr. De Grandy: Excuse me?
Commissioner Carollo: Like the ones Donald Trump made.
Mr. De Grandy: I'm not as familiar with them, but probably, yes.
Commissioner Carollo: And he's President of the United States.
Mr. De Grandy: That's correct.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Mr. Dotson, did you hear what he had to say, and
anything else you'd like to add?
Mr. Dotson: I heard what he had to say.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Anything else you'd like to add to that?
Mr. Dotson: You know, Commissioner, with respect to the bankruptcy, if an
individual is investing in a project and files for bankruptcy -- individual, not the
company -- that affects their ability to invest.
Commissioner Carollo: But he claimed that -- did I hear you correct that it was not
the individual; it was the corporations that filed for bankruptcy?
Mr. De Grandy: No, no.
Mr. Dotson: He said the opposite.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. De Grandy: It is the individual.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay, the individual, because of the suits that were filed
against him. Okay, so I stand correct --
Mr. Rotenberg: Excuse me, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: -- and I take Donald Trump's name out of it.
City of Miami Page 89 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. De Grandy: Excuse me, sir. I misspoke.
Commissioner Carollo: His were corporate.
Mr. De Grandy: It misspoke. It was the actual entity.
Chair Russell: The entity filed for bankruptcy --
Mr. De Grandy: For voluntary reorganization, which is not prohibited by your RFP.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Now you got me really confused. Was the individual
or was the corporation?
Mr. De Grandy: It was a corporate entity.
Commissioner Carollo: It was a corporate entity.
Mr. De Grandy: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So now I could bring back the comparison to Donald
Trump again. Is he telling me the truth?
Mr. Dotson: Commissioner, I have no idea. Every time he changes his mind --
Commissioner Carollo: No, no, no, no, no.
Mr. Dotson: I have no idea.
Commissioner Carollo: I --
Mr. Dotson: I gave you the documents.
Commissioner Carollo: You researched this, you know. I'm not here to research.
Chair Russell: Commissioner, here.
Commissioner Carollo: I just want to get the facts.
Chair Russell: Commissioner?
Commissioner Carollo: Just like I said that I want to get the truth from your client; I
want to make sure I'm getting the truth from them.
Chair Russell: Commissioner, let's focus on something, though. We're asking each
of them to justify what the other is saying. I'd like to hear from our Administration
with regard to the statement that was made on whether or not a voluntary
reorganization disqualifies you from an RFP under our RFP rules. Madam City
Attorney or Procurement; one or the other. There's a differentiation being made as
to whether a voluntary reorganization versus a involuntary bankruptcy would
disqualify you from an RFP.
Ms. Mendez: I will defer to Procurement.
Commissioner Hardemon: But this is a question -- this is related to the non -winning
bidder, right? That question's for the --
City of Miami Page 90 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Correct. But for whatever reason, it seems very material to the
winning bidder to bring this up to further spread the gap between their scores, if
these factors had been taken into account. I'm not quite sure the full relevancy of a
hypothetical scoring system on issues that weren't brought up, but it really seems the
mud is being slung back and forth, so --
Vice Chair Gort: Look --
Chair Russell: -- if we want to get to the truth of it, let's get to the truth of it.
Vice Chair Gort: I'm not a lawyer, I'm not a judge, but my understanding is, the
statement just came out, because they'll discredit their points --
Chair Russell: So they're trying to --
Vice Chair Gort: --and that --so they wanted to prove their point. That's it.
Chair Russell: Right, right.
Vice Chair Gort: I'm not a lawyer, I'm not a judge, but I think that's what --
Chair Russell: Yes. And so, I just want to understand of the accusation that's been
made and the defendant's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the accusation that's been given,
what does our RFP rules actually say with regard to bankruptcy of a partner?
Commissioner Hardemon: But this isn't a bid waiver protest, right?
Chair Russell: Correct. But Commissioner Carollo wants to get to the bottom of the
truth of this accusation.
Mr. Rotenberg: Inside of our RFP, it says, "Have" -- this is responsive or
responsible proposers. It does list in here `past, present, or pending involuntary
bankruptcies, liquidations, assignments for the benefit of the creditors, receiverships,
dissolution, actions involving fraudulent transfers, foreclosures, and similar actions
within the past seven years on projects or businesses that own" --
Chair Russell: Got it. So a voluntary reorganization wouldn't fall under that
disqualification. Correct. All right. Commissioner Carollo, are you satisfied?
Mr. De Grandy: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, unless Mr. Dotson has anything to the contrary, this is
like the Cuba allegations. You know, I think that the facts are clear.
Chair Russell: I mean, with regard to Cuba, less relevant to whether or not it's true,
back to the integrity, though, in another application in another City where they
thought it would be advantageous to say so, it was included in their presentation and
pitched that they were involved in Cuba.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Well, I'm not --
Chair Russell: And in another city here, where it's certainly not advantageous to
them to do so, clearly they have nothing to do with Cuba.
Commissioner Carollo: But I'm not done with that. I really want to put it to rest.
Save me the trouble of having to take a couple of minutes --
City of Miami Page 91 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Dotson: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: -- and look worldwide and see who are the principals of
RCI Group. Who are the principals of RCI Group, the officers?
Mr. Dotson: The principals are Robert Christoph, Jr. and Robert Christoph, Sr.
And I've got to respond to something you just said that I did not say, Commissioner -
- excuse me -- Chairman Russell. I did not say, as it related to the Cuba issue, at any
time, at any time what you just said. And I would appreciate that as we move
forward through this, that I've been very clear -- and I'm going to state it again --
that no principal, no principal, and no entity related to any principal has done
business in Cuba --.
Chair Russell: But have they --
Mr. Dotson: -- nor is doing business in Cuba.
Commissioner Carollo: The only reason --
Chair Russell: Just a moment, Commissioner. But how did I misspeak? Because I
didn't say that they did do business in Cuba. I said, whether or not they did business
in Cuba --
Mr. Dotson: No, no, but you said --
Chair Russell: --it seemed advantageous in one proposal but not in another.
Mr. Dotson: No. What you said was that it's okay for us to say it one place and not
another. What your staff will tell you is they called San Diego. San Diego explained
to them that the gentleman who made the mistake told the contracting officer that he
made the mistake; San Diego completely removed that from the proposal and from
consideration.
Mr. De Grandy: Three years later.
Mr. Dotson: It doesn't matter when it was. Once the mistake was identified, it was
done.
Mr. De Grandy: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Dotson: So I don't want you to think that we're --
Chair Russell: So I -- no. I'm going to agree with you here.
Mr. Dotson: -- sitting here saying it's okay one place and not another. That is not
what I said.
Chair Russell: No. And I think we are in agreement, and I don't want to speak past
each other. It was used in that pitch at that time, and it wasn't refuted.
Mr. Dotson: It is still an open procurement. It is still an open procurement. We
resolved that issue, and your staff did the investigation as it related to San Diego.
Chair Russell: Yes, but my point is that at the time the pitch was made, that was put
forth as a positive attribute of that applicant. And so, even if it was incorrect and
has been rectified now, we're going back to what has been presented to us, and it
was said. It was said by the applicant of that -- by the bidder in that San Diego
City of Miami Page 92 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
situation. We're not refuting whether it's true or not. We're trying to figure it out,
but it was said on behalf of your client.
Mr. De Grandy: And it's still on the San Diego website as we speak.
Chair Russell: Just --please, please. So I just don't want to say -- I don't want you
to feel that I'm accusing you of what you are saying now. I'm saying it was used in
that pitch by representatives of RCl, whether it was right or wrong.
Mr. Dotson: No, no, no. See, that's where you keep going too far.
Chair Russell: Okay. Explain to me, because I definitely want us to be speaking the
same thing.
Mr. Dotson: One thing you're assuming to make the point is that RCI had a major
role in that particular procurement. They were simply listed as advisors. They were
not the prime. They were not the investors. They were not the principals. They were
advisors. And someone who they trusted prepared that response and put that in
there. It wasn't that they've been following this particular procurement as principals
beyond or contractors, and they put this in there, and they authorized him. When
you said, "someone on their behalf" no. He didn't do it on their behalf. He did it on
his own behalf.
Chair Russell: Understood. I don't think we're contradicting each other, but
appreciate the clarification. Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Who are -- you answer me in principals -- as far as
Chairman, CEO, Directors, who has whatposition within the company?
Mr. Dotson: Robert Christoph, Jr. and Sr. are the only officers --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but --
Mr. Dotson: --and directors.
Commissioner Carollo: -- what is their exact titles within the company, each of
them?
Mr. Dotson: President and Vice President.
Commissioner Carollo: Who's the President?
Mr. Dotson: Senior.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. And you're the Vice President?
Mr. Dotson: That's correct.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. All right.
Mr. Dotson: And Commissioner, I just wanted to -- to that point, I don't know
whether you read the letter from the Department of Treasury, but it not only talked
about RCI, but it also went to the principals, Robert Christoph Sr. and Robert
Christoph Jr.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm aware of that, and my statements that I made before
stand; that I will not expect anything other than that, the way they do things over
there. My only question is, you have given me, in part, what I've asked for, which
City of Miami Page 93 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
was neither RCl, nor any of its principals -- you've included that now -- either
directly or through any other entities, have entered into any business transactions
with Cuba. The one that signed that was junior. What I'd like to do is get the same
thing from the President of the corporation -- this is from the Vice President -- that
neither he, nor any of its principals, have -- what you stated here -- either directly or
through any other entities, have entered into any business transaction with Cuba,
and that'll be the end of this.
Unidentified Speaker: Or with other companies involved.
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Mr. Dotson: We're happy to give you what you asked for.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm sure that --
Mr. Dotson: But every time you ask for something -- for example, when
Commissioner Reyes said he wanted something official, he said the State
Department. At no time did anyone say, "No, I don't want something from the State
Department, because, of course, that won't be official. We got something from the
Department of Treasury. That is exactly the agency that oversees doing business in
Cuba. And now we want something else.
Commissioner Carollo: But --
Mr. Dotson: We're happy to do that. We're happy to do that.
Commissioner Carollo: No, no, no.
Commissioner Reyes: I mean, why not?
Commissioner Carollo: It's not something else.
Commissioner Reyes: He's not asking for anything that you -- If you have nothing to
hide --
Mr. Dotson: Like I said, I'm happy to do it.
Commissioner Reyes: -- then just go right ahead and do it.
Mr. Dotson: I'm happy to do it, but I want to make sure that we have what it is you
want so that we can provide you that, and when we provide it --
Commissioner Carollo: Look, I am used to, if someone is going to sign something
such as this, referring to principals, et cetera, that they're going to be the top
authority within the company. This is the Vice President of the company. And
frankly, I think -- and you know as well as I do -- that if, for any reason -- and I'm
not saying this at all -- senior would have been involved in any other company, he
wouldn't be responsible for this. Junior might not have known if the father or
someone else was involved in any way. So all that I'm trying to do is clear this up
100 percent, and that should be something fairly easy to do that we should have.
That's all.
Mr. Dotson: So that you know, to clear that up, Robert Christoph, Jr. owns 50
percent of the company, as does his father. Second, as you probably know, any
authorized person can sign an affidavit on behalf of an entity to affirm --
City of Miami Page 94 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: But on an entity. The entity, as I stated, I've never been
worried about, because I would have been extremely surprised if the entity would
have showed up. I am more interested in seeing individuals.
Mr. Dotson: I would not have been surprised, and let me tell you why. Because the
allegation was that RCI was doing business in Cuba. That's what -- that's the
document you received.
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Mr. Dotson: And we're happy -- I'm going to say it one more time. We're happy to
give you what you ask for.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, then --
Mr. Dotson: And we're done.
Commissioner Carollo: -- case closed Then case is closed --
Mr. Dotson: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- as far as that particular matter goes. So what we have
left -- and I'll go to the Manager. Mr. Manager, are you satisfied on this firm, even
though I don't think you've looked at that on the statements that were made on the
non personal bankruptcy of Mr. Calabrese?
Mr. Gonzalez: Are we talking about the bankruptcy issue itself or the actual
procurement?
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, the bankruptcy issue; personal bankruptcy of
Calabrese.
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Now, let's move on to some other things that were
mentioned here; the environmental issue that has been brought out against the
people on my right; the so-called alleged convicted felons that are involved with
them; the -- you know, they're a convicted felon that has repented, you know, maybe
committed a mistake once in his life, I wouldn't be as concerned. If they're one that
had been convicted seven times with a handgun and have been in jail in three
different states, and have never been repentant, that's another story.
Mr. Dotson: Please stop describing me, Commissioner Carollo. Please stop
describing me.
Commissioner Carollo: No, I don't thinkl'm describing you at all, sir. I wouldn't do
that. So I wanted to make sure of that, because it's not that we look at all convicted
felons from the same light. Only when you had been convicted seven times, three
different states, spend more time than that in additional jails, and one-third of your
time behind bars or so, and never been repentant, and then try to hide the fact by
making up stories that once -- you got caught once only, or maybe twice. So moving
from that, the last one I think that we have here is the allegation of phantom
companies. These three, it's not clear to me. What investigations did you do or did
you assign your staff to do on each of these three areas? And I'd like to get this on
the record.
City of Miami Page 95 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes, sir. I'll have Mr. Rotenberg address the actual due diligence
and investigation, but I would like to just, if I may, sir, put some context into this.
Both of these gentlemen are very honorable gentlemen, and they are rep -- no --
Commissioner Carollo: I'm not questioning --
Mr. Gonzalez: No, no.
Commissioner Carollo: -- their integrity at all.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, I just want to be clear.
Commissioner Carollo: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Chair Russell: Let him --
Mr. Gonzalez: I want to be clear. I have been seeing this since the day I took this
job. I was not here, as were -- you were not here, Commissioner --
Commissioner Carollo: I was not here either.
Mr. Gonzalez: -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) not here before.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Mr. Gonzalez: This has been in sort of a City of Miami purgatory, at least under my
time here, for 18 months. We made a decision based on a Responsibility Review, a
due diligence with our staff, and with support from the City Attorney, we made a
decision to do just what we're doing here. We need to move forward. We will do
whatever we need to do to move forward. But we are of the opinion -- staff -- that
based on all of the things that have transpired, based on the possibility of a protest,
having gone to court, recommending this vender is the right thing to do at this
moment. If this body sees fit to do something else, we will gladly support it, salute
the flag, and move on, but what we're trying to avoid is just being in a "do loop"
constantly for -- and now for four -- three, four years.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Manager, I understand that, but I want to know what
you did to come to those conclusions. I want to know --
Mr. Gonzalez: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: -- if some of the areas that they brought up -- and frankly,
I've seen others that haven't been brought up here, but it's not to me to bring it up
now -- what did you do to confirm, disconfirm these direct allegations that were
made here?
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, Director Rotenberg was responsible for the Responsibility
Review. I will have him address each and every one of those concerns.
Commissioner Carollo: Did he share those with you beforehand?
Mr. Gonzalez: He did. I read the draft. I read the final, yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
City of Miami Page 96 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Rotenberg: So, Commissioner, and Commissioners, the Responsibility Review,
again, it followed a process that we've been through already, where this went
through bid protest, went through a hearing officer, went through --
Commissioner Carollo: I don't need to go through all that. I need to go --
Mr. Rotenberg: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: -- right to --
Mr. Rotenberg: So we've gone --
Commissioner Carollo: --the point that I brought out.
Mr. Rotenberg: -- through updated background checks with an outside third party
investigator, with a complete criminal and -- complete background check, conflicts
review, updated reference checks, publicly noticed Responsibility Review meeting; in
depth. We reviewed all the principals.
Chair Russell: Let me clarify something that you're asking, Commissioner Carollo,
just to make sure I understand.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm not having my question answered.
Chair Russell: I -- and I agree, and that's why I want to clarify just to make sure. I
don't believe it's being refuted the two accusations with regard to the subs.
Mr. Rotenberg: Right.
Chair Russell: So it's not about whether or not we vetted whether or not those facts
were true or not. My question -- and maybe it's a little different than Commissioner
Carollo -- is whether or not that disqualifies you. Are you able to substitute, as this
side is saying you can and that side is saying you can't, because you found one to be
defunct and one to be fraudulent?
Mr. Rotenberg: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Rotenberg: I've been trying to answer this question. Yes. Because this was an
RFP, based on the operators, the principals themselves, whatever is being made as
allegations right now do not affect the RFP. It is on the operators themselves.
Commissioner Reyes: That's it.
Mr. Rotenberg: The operators themselves --
Chair Russell: Whether or not it's true, they can be substituted in
(UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Mr. Rotenberg: Correct.
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chair, may I ask a question?
Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes.
City of Miami Page 97 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Dotson: Excuse me. Can I get somebody to say, `A4r. Dotson was right"? Can
somebody say that just once?
Chair Russell: Mr. Dotson was right. Commissioner Reyes.
Mr. Dotson: Thank you.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. My question is, following the same line of thought --
same question. I mean, I'm really confused about this. And I mean, this is -- as you
say, this is not -- Mr. City Manager, this is not a purgatory; this is hell. You see?
Does the -- or did the -- or would have -- the scoring would have been different if
those two companies that they went bankrupt or that -- or they are no longer working
with this side of the aisle, would it have been there?
Mr. Rotenberg: Again --
Commissioner Reyes: I mean, would that been some other companies, would that
affect -- would have affected the scoring, and positive or negatively? You see?
Because that's my -- that's a concern that I have. In substituting this, you can
substitute, but how about if you are getting a company -- substituting for a company
that wasn't as -- considered as qualified as the other one, and now if we'd have gone
-- we go back to it, and that other new company won't be scoring as high. That is
something that I have to clam in my mind. You see? Because from day one, when I
heard about those companies being bankrupt and all of that, my first question was,
would that had any effect on the scoring? And that's my only concern.
Mr. Rotenberg: Again, the answer to your question is the RFP language was based
on the operators, which are the principals --
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Mr. Rotenberg: -- so it would not.
Commissioner Reyes: But those companies had an effect on the score -- on the
operators? Because, let's say, you see, I am -- I have my staff. And probably from --
looking for when I was a consultant, you see, I had people that I work -- that were
University of Florida professors and all of that.
Mr. Rotenberg: If I may --
Commissioner Reyes: Hold on a second. Hold on a second. Every time that I had --
I ask and made a proposal to get a job, I totally describe the people that -- the
qualifications of the people that were going to work with me. You see? But if I had
a professor from the University of Florida, I think it had more weight than if I had a
professor from Miami High. You see?
Mr. Rotenberg: All right. It can --
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Rotenberg: Through the Chair --
Commissioner Gort: Wait a minute. I think the Miami High person --
Commissioner Reyes: Well, no, no, no.
Vice Chair Gort: The Miami High professor will be better (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
City of Miami Page 98 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: I would say, Hialeah High, Hialeah High.
Chair Russell: All right.
Mr. Rotenberg: Through the Chair, if I may?
Chair Russell: Yes, Mr. Rotenberg.
Chair Russell: Can I please have Mr. De Grandy move away from -- behind me,
whispering in my ear, and then I'll give an answer? This is very similar -- no,
please. This is very similar to somebody who owns an apartment building,
construction project. You're bidding on the project as principal. You're picking the
principal. You're picking the developer. There are plenty of times when a GC
(general contractor) or an architect is switched or there's a problem. The RF -- and
this is what I was asking to have stopped.
Chair Russell: Why?
Mr. Rotenberg: This R -- Because he's holding up something that is -- he's trying to
influence you. The RFP itself was very clear. The language itself was on the
operator. The operator was chosen. Anybody else below the line of the operator --
The definition that he's trying to tell you of members with legal entities. Its very
common within the business world and these sophisticated transactions, where
members -- companies are switched, but when you have an RFP on the principals
themselves and you're picking the principals, the owners, and the owner is picked on
a scoring basis, it doesn't change who's underneath them. The subs doesn't -- it
doesn't influence it.
Chair Russell: Right. I understand your point. Would your opinion change,
however, if one of those subs had a proprietary material addition to the bid that,
without which, the bid would be subpar, for example, and then suddenly that sub is
taken out? Would you say that is more material to apart that would be affecting of a
score?
Mr. Rotenberg: Okay. Again, so I wouldn't say it. If there was anything valid in
this, somewhere along the lines, where this went through all the processes, somebody
would have said something; not at the last minute, but during the process when it
went through two different appeals, and it went through a bid protest and a hearing
officer. At that point, it would have been brought up, and it would have been a valid
allegation.
Chair Russell: Understood. Commissioner Gort. Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Gort: Look, gentlemen, we got to make a decision; whatever you guys
want to make a decision. I'm ready to make a decision myself. But let me tell you
something. The biggest problem we have here is bid protest. Bid protest in here --
We should not do any more RFP. I mean, let's do everything our self [sic], and don't
do an RFP, because every time you do an RFP, the losing party is going to create a
bid protest. How many court cases -- how many courts did we go through in this
case --
Unidentified Speaker: I believe it was five.
Vice Chair Gort: Besides the bid protest and the --? Remember, we changed the bid
protest to make it nonpolitical, we put different individuals to listen to the protest.
It's not a political thing; these are individuals that we selected our self [sic] to be
part of that team.
City of Miami Page 99 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Rotenberg: I just want to bring out one more point as we're discussing this.
And the decision that the Commission makes --
Vice Chair Gort: No, no. Wait a minute. I want my answer first.
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): I believe the answer is, as you stated, we did
go through one administrative proceeding with a bid protest, which was an appeal to
the trial -- or appellate division of the trial court -- Eleventh Circuit, which was then
appealed to the Third District Court of Appeals.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Vice Chair Gort: And it was (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Mr. Min: Correct. There was no further appeal to the Supreme Court.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: I --
Vice Chair Gort: Now, my understanding is -- excuse me. I'm sorry. -- according
to the extension that it was given to the personal owner there, the operator,
according to the -- we agree to settle him and give him an agreement when he was
supposed to have done certain things, which he did not perform. He can stay doing
business as long as it's a bid protest or a court case. And let me tell you, I don't care
-- what happens today in here is going to go to court, I can guarantee you right now.
And everybody here is building their -- and I'm not an attorney, but everybody here,
both parties, are building the process to go to court on the arguments. But if we're
going to start doing this, let's stop doing any more bids. Let's forget about doing any
RFPs, and let's do everything our self [sic].
Commissioner Reyes: You have a point, and that's why I think that we have to make
our bid process stronger and better. And instead of having experts pick -- I mean,
so-called experts picked by us, let's -- people that are going to evaluate this, let's hire
professionals that they are national recognized, and they are the ones that -- because
we're going to have this problem all the time, and whoever gets it, gets it, and that's
it. You see? Because that -- you are absolutely right; every time we do for a bid --
and I don't know why, but we are always -- we wind up court, and we are going to
wind up in court. And I want to ask -- Madam City Attorney? Madam City
Attorney? Oh, Mr. City Attorney, Chino?
Mr. Min: Si.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Let me ask you something. If this bid is not awarded,
and if we take possession, and we administer the marina, is that -- we still will wind
up in court?
Mr. Min: Potentially, yes, but it is our position that that is not a violation of the
current settlement agreement.
Commissioner Reyes: It is not a violation?
Mr. Min: That is our position, yes, sir.
Commissioner Reyes: That position is not a violation. So we have the great chance
of making this decision, taking it over, and see what happen. And my only concern
with that, which you are -- I mean, your motion, right?
City of Miami Page 100 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: I haven't made it yet.
Commissioner Reyes: And my main concern is this also entails -- this proposal
entails major development in the marina that is in the amount of $80 million. How
many?
Mr. De Grandy: 80 million.
Mr. Rotenberg: 80 million.
Commissioner Reyes: 80 million. Okay? If we take this -- over this, can we still go
ahead and find partners to develop the marina?
Mr. Rotenberg: I don't think so, sir.
Chair Russell: Or manage the marina.
Commissioner Reyes: No. Or manage it. We manage it, or we can have somebody
to manage it. And then we will be partners in the development process? I mean,
because what are we going to develop? Restaurants and all of those things?
Mr. Rotenberg: Under Florida Statute, we cannot be a joint venture partner as a
municipal government.
Commissioner Reyes: But we can at least -- okay? We can get individuals to -- if
we're going to develop major restaurant there, we can get somebody to develop the
major restaurant.
Chair Russell: We can have a tenant.
Commissioner Reyes: We have a tenant --
Chair Russell: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: -- and then thatperson --
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Commissioner Reyes: -- and we will lease like that. What I'm trying to say, there is
another way of doing this.
Chair Russell: There are other ways, yeah. So if we can bring this to a decision
point. Is that all right?
Commissioner Carollo: I need to ask more questions and get more facts out. Dan,
you won't get upset if I could get you to read, unless you want him to read it?
Because I'm going to ask him a question afterward, what he had there that, you
know, got you upset and he so much wanted us to read, but it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
Mr. Rotenberg: No, no. Let me tell you what it was. He whispered something in my
ear as he walked by. It had nothing to do with the placards.
Commissioner Carollo: All right. Can you read that for us that you were so anxious
for us to read? And frankly --
Mr. De Grandy: Sure.
City of Miami Page 101 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: --from up here, I don't think any of us could read it.
Mr. De Grandy: The RFP defines the term, "principal. " The RFP defines the term,
"development member. " The RFP defines the term, `project team member. " The
project team members are listed on Appendix S of the submissions. You can ask your
staff to verify everything I'm telling you. Shoreline was listed in Appendix 5. Aero -
Docks, the company that misrepresented things, was listed in Appendix S. The
evaluation criteria says, "Proposers will be evaluated based on the following
criteria, " and the first one is "relevant business and project" -- with a capital "P"'
defined term -- team experience in similar projects. How on earth can anybody say
that the qualifications of Shoreline and Aero -Docks are irrelevant? And think about
this for a second. If you can substitute Shoreline, if you can substitute Aero -Docks,
why did you even have an RFP? Why did you ask people to submit companies?
There was a prominent architectural firm that they proposed. We proposed our own
prominent architectural firm. Does that mean you can throw them out, too, and get
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) bidders, who just got his --
Chair Russell: You've made your point.
Mr. Rotenberg: --architectural degree two days ago? That's ridiculous.
Chair Russell: Just a moment. Vice Chair. Just a moment. The Vice Chairman had
a point on that.
Commissioner Carollo: I just --
Mr. Rotenberg: Please, just let me answer it for two seconds.
Vice Chair Gort: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. The question is --
Commissioner Carollo: I wanted to do a follow- up, but (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Russell: I'll get back to you for sure; just --
Vice Chair Gort: The question is, during the bid protest, during the hearing in
court, all this was heard?
Mr. Rotenberg: Yes. And let me add, there were 17 firms listed as contractors
underneath. Even if those two were removed, there was a greater than 10 point
difference that they have here. So if those two were removed, and let's say they
removed five points, the winning bidder would have still been the winning bidder.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Mr. De Grandy, your point was well taken, what you
stated; however, Mr. Dotson brought something up that still needs to be answered,
and even if he would not have brought it up, I would have been asking that question.
Mr. De Grandy: I can hardly hear you, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Even if he would not have brought it up, I would have been
asking the question, and that is, my original request to your client to pay an
additional 100,000 per month, while I don't agree with Mr. Dotson that that
somehow made it a legal binding obligation to your client, because simply, he
proffered that, he volunteered. It wasn't part of any of the leases or contracts that --
or amendments to contracts he had with the City. So legally, I don't think your client
City of Miami Page 102 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
was bound to it, but he gave his word that that would be done. So I'd like to find out
how much was paid, and what's happened to the rest.
Mr. De Grandy: I don't have the numbers of how much was paid. What I could tell
you is this, and then I'll fully respond to your question for as long as you want. The
offer was made on a fully voluntary basis. As a matter of fact, your --
Commissioner Carollo: I made that statement.
Mr. De Grandy: -- City Attorneys on the record --
Commissioner Carollo: I made that statement.
Mr. De Grandy: -- acknowledging that.
Commissioner Carollo: That's not in question for --
Mr. De Grandy: Now, second --
Commissioner Carollo: -- my part.
Mr. De Grandy: -- there would be, I believe, four months that hadn't been paid to
date; client is prepared to give you cashier's checks for that. But let me tell you why
we stopped the payment. We stopped the payment when we started seeing how this
Responsibility Review was being handled, because, quite frankly, a voluntary
commitment is a two fold commitment, and it implies we're going to treat you fairly
and you're going to treat us fairly. We did not feel that the Administration was
treating us fairly in any way. We did not feel that when you present this type of
evidence, and the Administration puts it under the rug that that is a fair, mutual
commitment between the parties. Now, to answer your question, I have $400, 000 in
cashier's checks here today.
Chair Russell: I recommend that we stop on this train of discussion for a moment,
and I'll tell you why, please.
Vice Chair Gort: Wait a minute.
Commissioner Carollo: I --
Chair Russell: Commissioner Gort and Commissioner Carollo. Just a
recommendation.
Commissioner Carollo: -- I'd like to see that. I'd like to see that.
Chair Russell: Just a recommendation. I believe that they should fulfill their
obligation, but I believe we should bifurcate this conversation, because whether or
not we grant this award or throw out this RFP should not have anything to do with a
payment from the incumbent tenant.
Mr. De Grandy: Agreed.
Ms. Mendez: Thank you, Chairman.
Vice Chair Gort: Excuse me.
Ms. Mendez: Thank you for clarifying that.
City of Miami Page 103 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Commissioner Gort and then Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: I understand --
Vice Chair Gort: My understanding, Commissioner -- and I think you did a great
job doing so -- but I understand the reason we asked for the volunteer $100,000 a
month, because that's $100,000 that we're losing, because this contract was up.
Commissioner Carollo: Correct.
Vice Chair Gort: And the only reason he stayed aboard, because all the appeals and
all the deferrals and all that, so that's the reason why we asked for that. He
volunteered to do that.
Chair Russell: That would have (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Gort: We have a document here committed to it, and I'm sure they're
saving the money to sue us.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, that is all correct; that he volunteered that money.
And I've listened to the City Attorney. It's also clear that we expected -- I expected
that we will be made whole every month for the $100,000. Now, I'm even, frankly,
more concerned about our Administration not doing anything next door; that we're
losing a similar amount of dollars per month, more or less, and that's in the dry
docks next door. But you said that you had or you were getting cashier's checks?
Mr. De Grandy: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, what is it; that you're getting or you have?
Mr. De Grandy: I have cashier's checks.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. I promise, I'll give them back to you. Can I see what
you have? Because I'm really curious. I mean, I'm the one that made that request on
behalf of this City and this Commission, and I'd really like to see if you could back
up the statement that you made here.
Commissioner Reyes: Count it. Count it.
Commissioner Carollo: You know why they're trusting me with this, even though
he's not letting go too quickly? Because he must have listened to that seven -time
convicted felon that hasn't apologized to anybody; that served a third of his time in
jail in three different states, when you were first sworn in; that said that I'm the only
guy that you could give a couple of million dollars to and he'll give it right back to
you when, you know, you want it back.
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: Something to that effect. You remember that,
Commissioner. That's when I first really met you.
Chair Russell: Vice Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Commissioner Reyes: Dates?
City of Miami Page 104 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: May 20, 2019, $200,000; June 3, 200 -- 2019, $100,000 --
now I'm going month by month --
Mr. De Grandy: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: June 12, 2019, $100, 000; and July 10, 2019, $100,000. So,
if my calculation is right, I counted --
Mr. Rotenberg: 500, 000.
Commissioner Carollo: -- $500,000 here. Now, they trusted me, Hardemon; they
didn't trust you.
Commissioner Hardemon: I've never seen checks that thin.
Mr. Rotenberg: May I, through the Chair?
Chair Russell: Just a moment.
Vice Chair Gort. I'm first.
Commissioner Carollo: So, if you'd like to show it to each Commissioner; I don't
want to be responsible any longer.
Vice Chair Gort: No. We don't need it. We trust you.
Commissioner Carollo: But this is what I read there, so at least they've
accomplished one thing for me. They were accurate that they had made checks, and
as we all heard, they had been written some time back. Now, we still don't have
them in hand. They are cashier's checks, so --
Chair Russell: Thank you. Vice Chairman and then Mr. Rotenberg.
Vice Chair Gort: You know, I think they are both brilliant attorney, and I think the
gentleman is a great businessman. But it happens, and just when we're about to
make a decision, something else come up. Now those checks have been ready for
four month now, and then happens to bring it today when we're -- sitting here to
make a decision to stop this a little more. We are continuing to lose money on this
transaction.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Mr. Rotenberg.
Vice Chair Gort: Nice try.
Mr. Rotenberg: Whatever the Commission decides. Just wanted to point out, when
we went through this with Commissioner Carollo, the numbers started to go up, so
this time, it might be worth a little bit more; just wanted to point that out. But in
Section 2, when we had the resolution, it said clearly, "The City Commission hereby
indefinitely defers further action regarding the 15 -day Notice to Vacate. " By them
not paying us, we should have issued a Notice to Vacate, which we do have ready.
It's up to the Commission to tell us what to do at this point, whether we go ahead and
issue the Notice to Vacate, accept the checks, or you guys decide to tell us to do
something else at this point.
Commissioner Carollo: Let me --
City of Miami Page 105 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Thank you for bringing it to a decision point, because I'd like to get
there as well.
Commissioner Carollo: -- ask the other side one additional question. The next step
would be -- if we would accept this recommendation from the Manager that hasn't
explained a lot of the allegations that were still made, but, you know, that's fine -- is
that this will be put out to a vote for the citizens of Miami, and if that has to go to
special election, you will pay for that.
Mr. Dotson: We've committed to that before and we commit to that again.
Commissioner Carollo: All right. So here is the scenario for the next elections: We
have an election this November that, so far, the only known factor we have is, one,
there are two districts, 3 and S --
Vice Chair Gort: And].
Commissioner Carollo: -- unless --
Chair Russell: Don't forget me.
Vice Chair Gort: There's three districts.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, no, no. Two districts for sure, 3 and 5 that don't have
any elections. It looks like you're not going to have any elections in district 4 or 2.
So that's 80 percent of the City. You're left with one election in District 1. So that's
one possibility that we have. It's obvious, if you only have one district that people
are turning out, they have an extremely low turnout citywide; probably 10 percent, if
you're lucky. Most likely, 7, 8 percent citywide if that's the only thing on the ballot.
Next election cycle is March Presidential elections that you're going to have an army
of Democrats running, and might hit to be 100 before it's all over, and I'm sure some
Republican is going to run against the sitting President.
Mr. Dotson: Are you announcing, Commissioner?
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: I am not announcing. The only thing that I will announce at
one point in the future, after I get business done in the City of Miami for the reason
that I was brought here for a higher authority, is that I will be spending the rest of
my days helping those in Shangri-La.
Vice Chair Gort: Helping what?
Commissioner Carollo: Helping those in Shangri-La.
Mr. Dotson: Shangri-La, yes.
Commissioner Carollo: So March is the next period that you have as the earliest.
The City clerk has informed me that the last date that we have to get anything on the
ballot on this issue, on the November ballot, is September 13. And our next meeting
after July -- the end of July is scheduled for September 11.
Mr. Hannon: September 12, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: September 12. Okay, so it's a day after. So I've laid the
ground work for the Commission so that you see the options that we have, and
City of Miami Page 106 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
whether we vote on this today, the end of July, special meeting in August, when we
come back on the 12, if November is the target date, this will be on the ballot in
November, if we go that route. Then you have a March election that you could be
looking at. So I'm just saying that. And I don't know how the votes are going to
come down to here today, but that's the scenario that we have, so nobody gets all,
you know, flustered and sweaty, saying that we're going to lose millions more if we
don't vote today, tomorrow, or any time between now and September the 12 to place
this on the November ballot.
Mr. Dotson: And let me give you a more complete answer to your question. We
committed to you verbally -- we also committed to you in the response to the RFP --
that if there needed to be a special election in order to move this forward, we would
pay for that special election.
Commissioner Carollo: But you stated that already.
Mr. Dotson: Yeah. But I wanted to suggest to you that we will both be working
together to figure out which is the best election for this to moveforward; whether it
is the general election or the -- or a special election in whichever month, as you
mentioned, all the way through, I thinkyou said, to March.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, March is the next big one.
Mr. Dotson: That's right.
Commissioner Carollo: You got November, March; after March, it's in August; and
then, of course, you have the Presidential in November, and everybody comes out for
that one.
Mr. Dotson: Got it.
Commissioner Carollo: Or at least 60, 70 percent of the people.
Chair Russell: Did you want to say something, Commissioner?
Commissioner Hardemon: I do.
Chair Russell: Okay. Please.
Commissioner Hardemon: I've listened to -- It was stated on the record that there
were about 17 continuances on this, and we've had appeals as far as they can go,
and I know that I'm ready to vote on this today, because I think that sometimes things
go too far, and this is one of those things that I believe went too far. This is not
about haste, because we've done everything in this to slow this whole process down.
And 17 continuances certainly is more than a year's worth of work. I don't know if
we have 17 meetings in a year. I'm not sure how many meetings we have, but just
about. But certainly, it's a long -- and that's we're assuming that you're continuing
from one (UNINTELLIGIBLE) until the next, which we know that did not happen.
We know we continued it, you know, months at a time. And so, you know, this is
something I'm willing to put behind me, because I think it's necessary. And I'm
saying this in jest, but Tin half -way serious. I've never -- well, I bank at the People's
Bank, right? That's our local neighborhood bank, where a bunch of people who
don't have a lot of money, put all their money in, trusting to the bank, and they tell
you, "You can only take out $500 at a time from an ATM" (Automated Teller
Machine). And, you know, I've written some -- I've had some cashier's checks taken
from the bank, but that cashier's check was probably the thinnest cashier's check I've
ever touched in my life. I'm not saying that it's not, you know, real, but it was just
City of Miami Page 107 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
about as thin as this one I have here that I created for the Commission; appear to be
printed with ink jet print instead of even laserjet, so I don't know what's what. But
all I'm saying is that we've had a lot of theatrics, demonstratives --
Commissioner Carollo: Can we cash that to be sure that it's real?
Commissioner Hardemon: We've had a lot of demonstratives, we've had a lot of, you
know, presentation, and this -- you know, I'm ready to really just kind of end this
issue.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but you just created another dilemma; now I'm really
curious --
Commissioner Hardemon: I just --
Commissioner Carollo: --if those were just printed with inkjet or they're real.
Commissioner Hardemon: Listen, I'll tell you this --
Commissioner Carollo: There's only one way that I could know; if they're deposited.
Commissioner Hardemon: -- I've held cashier's checks before for much less, and
they just appear to be more, you know --
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: Well, I don't have that experience.
Chair Russell: I don't think you need to address that. Just a -- and again, I would
prefer not to address it.
Commissioner Hardemon: It's probably addressed (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. De Grandy: Happy to, ifyou want me to.
Chair Russell: It's --
Commissioner Hardemon: But --
Chair Russell: -- an irrelevant comment made in jest, and even the checks, I believe,
are irrelevant to the issue at hand.
Commissioner Hardemon: I think you're right about that, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Mendez: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: They said, "BBT Bank, "I think.
Chair Russell: So whatever it said --
Commissioner Hardemon: So --
Chair Russell: -- I would like to try and take an action here and see what the will of
this body is. I'm not fully feeling it yet, but I think the only way to test the water is to
see where we go. So I'll pass the gavel and make a motion, and we'll see
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
City of Miami Page 108 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: I just have one more --
Chair Russell: You have another question.
Commissioner Carollo: -- simple question of the Administration before we do that.
Chair Russell: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Manager, when do you think I can get an answer to my
simple question as to the dry dock marina that's about half of where we can expect to
get funds from this deal if we would hand it in to them? I want to see if, indeed, we
have been managing this so badly that we have dropped huge amounts in the last
years --
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, I'll get --
Commissioner Carollo: -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we're collecting.
Mr. Gonzalez: -- that to you before you go home today, but --
Commissioner Carollo: You want to make my day?
Mr. Gonzalez: -- one other --
Commissioner Carollo: You See that?
Mr. Gonzalez: In fact, Dan's looking it up right now. But one of the things that we
have done --
Commissioner Carollo: Can you save me for the next agenda that we have so I
could put it up, so everybody can see the big mystery, as an item? I want it as an
item, so we can see it.
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes, sir. And I would add --
Chair Russell: Commissioner.
Vice Chair Gort: Let me ask a question before you answer. Didn't we approve
today some funding to repair the docks in here?
Chair Russell: Mooring field.
Mr. Gonzalez: This is the mooring field.
Vice Chair Gort: The mooring field. But my understanding is, we had some money
coming in to fix those.
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes, sir. We've started the work already.
Vice Chair Gort: Because we can always use some of the reserve as soon as we pay
it back.
Mr. Gonzalez: But I --yes, sir.
Commissioner Gort: Okay.
Mr. Gonzalez: But I did want to address -- You know, Commissioner, for a very long
time, we didn't have a marina manager, and we now have a very energetic, bright
City of Miami Page 109 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
young man, who I think has briefed all of you with plans. I've been to the marina; I
understand.
Commissioner Carollo: We didn't have a manager before? Who was the manager
then? Because I understood we had a manager.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, we have now an Assistant Director of DREAM that's responsible
for all the marinas.
Commissioner Carollo: Who is that?
Mr. Gonzalez: Who is that person?
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Mr. Gonzalez: That's Anthony Barcena.
Commissioner Carollo: Oh. Okay. What happened to the person in charge?
Mr. Gonzalez: Go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: Or the person that was in charge, I understand.
Mr. Rotenberg: The previous person that -- was let go, because he forged my
signature.
Commissioner Carollo: He or she?
Mr. Rotenberg: It was a "he. "
Commissioner Carollo: But there was somebody that was acting?
Mr. Rotenberg: That was Interim Acting Manager.
Commissioner Carollo: And what happened to her?
Mr. Rotenberg: Nothing. She's still there.
Commissioner Carollo: She's not interim anymore?
Mr. Rotenberg: She's not interim anymore, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: So is Barcena the Assistant or the --?
Mr. Rotenberg: He's the Assistant Director of the Department, and he's running the
marinas.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Any problems with her, at all?
Mr. Rotenberg: None.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Manager, do you know of any problems we have with
her?
Mr. Gonzalez: No, sir.
City of Miami Page 110 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: Well, I'm surprised.
Mr. Gonzalez: I'm sorry; I didn't hear.
Commissioner Carollo: I said, I'm surprised that, you know, she was passed over
like that, but anyway.
Mr. Rotenberg: Let me reiterate again. The previous one was let go for forging a
signature.
Chair Russell: Not relevant in this moment at this (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: Not the acting.
Chair Russell: Please --
Commissioner Carollo: Not the acting.
Chair Russell: -- let's focus.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, but I want --
Chair Russell: Let's focus. I don't want to get into personnel issues.
Mr. Gonzalez: To answer your question, we have a very energetic young man, who
is looking for ways to monetize the marinas.
Commissioner Carollo: And he is.
Mr. Gonzalez: And I have met with him regularly. I have visited the marina. I'm
supporting his development plans. And we do need to get as much as we can out of
that one; I agree 100 percent.
Commissioner Carollo: I think he's a fine young man, even though, for the record, I
had nothing to do, whatsoever, in choosing him or picking him. That was --
Mr. Gonzalez: Understood, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: -- all of your DREAM Director's doing; I'm sure you
approved it, and I think he will serve this City well. Certainly is an honest
individual.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: But --
Chair Russell: Let's focus.
Commissioner Carollo: --you heard the Manager. I will have my information --
Chair Russell: About the dry docks.
Commissioner Carollo: -- about the dry docks -- that's critical to this whole issue
here -- by the end of the day. And I'm reserving time that you're going to give me for
the next meeting so that we could all see what the mystery was, and we could see
how that particular dry dock marina has been run in the past to the present. And
he's only responsible for a little over a year; the rest has been in the past.
City of Miami Page 111 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Mr. Gonzalez: Mr. Chairman, if I may? That information has been sent to all the
Commissioners already.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Hardemon.
Commissioner Hardemon: Mr. Chairman, to spare you the necessity of passing the
gavel, I'd like to move to accept the recommendation of the Administration's --
Chair Russell: No, you can leapfrog my motion. I'm trying to make a motion here
and just -- stalled it just for a question.
Commissioner Hardemon: I mean --
Chair Russell: Just for a question.
Commissioner Hardemon: It's up to you. I'm kind enough, if you want to do things
differently.
Commissioner Carollo: That's no problem.
Chair Russell: Well, obviously, we're in opposite directions. You're looking to
accept the Manager's recommendation to grant the award; I'll be looking to throw
out the RFP and give direction for a new methodology to be brought back, either
self -managed or bring in a management agreement through a competitive process by
September. So we can -- it doesn't matter which one we take first. The votes are
either one way or the other, right?
Commissioner Hardemon: That is true.
Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes, you have a comment?
Commissioner Reyes: I am real torn on this, and I have to speak according to my
conscience, what I think is best. There have been question on both sides of the
companies that one -- the one that is there and the one that is managing. We had so
many courts appearances, so many appeals; twice, there were -- that didn't -- I
mean, they were beaten by this other company, but now I have great questions about
the manner -- how -- what that scoring was affected by having people that had
defrauded the -- I mean, presented someone as their partners, people that were --
that defrauded the Federal Government. That is very important to me. I don't know
if it is important to anybody else. And I believe that the best course of action, in my
opinion, is that we take over.
Chair Russell: That we take over.
Commissioner Reyes: That we take over, we manage it, and we strike now with this
new guy that you have that is so energetic; we take over, we manage it, and we see
the course of action; where are we going to take it. We get a management company
later on or -- and then all the development that we -- that is supposed to be -- to take
place there, we do it individually. I mean, what are we going to do? A new
restaurants, then we put --
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Commissioner Reyes: -- new restaurants for the -- I mean, for bid, you see; I mean,
which restaurant want to come here. We need to have -- any other facility, we try to
get the best one in the world, but that is how I intend to.
City of Miami Page 112 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Commissioner Reyes: And I am going to support your --
Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Hardemon did beat meat the punch, so,
there is a motion on the floor to accept the award, as recommended by the Manager.
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Russell: And I'm okay with that. So --
Commissioner Hardemon: Right. And just to advocate on behalf of the motion,
when this first came back to the Commission, when this decision that we had to make
came to the Commission, we allowed a bid protest, we allowed them to appeal
decisions, we -- every time we came to this, it was like it was always about what's
happening, allow the process to kind of work itself out, et cetera. And so, you know,
it's just -- it's shocking to be at this stage, and then to see us say, "Well, let's take it
over. " I feel like we could have taken it over from the very beginning, taken it over
before we started the RFP; or when we got the responses, just take it over then.
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah.
Commissioner Hardemon: And so, that's the only part, you know --
Commissioner Reyes: But we didn't.
Commissioner Hardemon: -- that is troubling to me.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, this is what --
Commissioner Hardemon: And I'm not -- you know --
Chair Russell: Just -- one at a time
Commissioner Hardemon: -- I'm talking to my colleagues. I'm talking to you all.
I'm not talking to anyone out there.
Chair Russell: Yeah
Commissioner Hardemon: I'm talking to you all. I just thought that I should share
that
Chair Russell: Understood.
Commissioner Hardemon: -- because if we were going to take it over, you know,
that's fine; we can make the decision.
Chair Russell: All right.
Commissioner Reyes: I wasn't here, you see, but I have been, I mean, going through
this since my first day here, you see? I mean, and this has been --just as you said,
17 times it have been deferred. Enough is enough, you see. It is not fair for any one
of them, and it is not fair for the City, so we make a decision today, and that's it.
Chair Russell: I --
Commissioner Reyes: Whatever decision is made, I'm going to support it, and I'm
going to ride behind it.
City of Miami Page 113 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: -- believe we have the information --
Commissioner Reyes: But I have to --
Chair Russell: --for us to make a decision today.
Commissioner Reyes: -- vote with my conscience.
Chair Russell: I don't think we need to defer. So let's just see where it goes. We
have a motion. We have a second. Is there any further discussion on the dais on the
issue?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Chair Russell: Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Commissioner Hardemon --
Commissioner Hardemon: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: -- how thick -- since you have a lot more experience in this
than I do, how thick should a cashier's check be?
Commissioner Hardemon: Let me see. When you do like this, and you put your
finger on it, your -- it shouldn't put a hole in the paper.
Commissioner Carollo: All right.
Commissioner Hardemon: It shouldn't smear the ink.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Commissioner Hardemon: You -- the kind of thickness that gives you a paper cut.
You know how that feels. It hurts.
Commissioner Carollo: I think the --
Commissioner Hardemon: But it feels good, because it's real.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. I think the Manager wants to put in his two cents on
it. You have experience in that too, Mr. Manager?
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, I have not held any checks today, but I feel --
Commissioner Carollo: Cashier's checks.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir?
Commissioner Carollo: Cashier checks.
Mr. Gonzalez: No cashier's checks, whatsoever. I just want to be clear. I would be
remiss if I did not state on the record, on behalf of the Administration that I believe -
- and Commissioner Hardemon said it best -- this has gone long enough; 17
deferrals, 3 or 4 court dates, 2 RFPs. We're looking silly here, and I hate using that
word. I want to be professional. I will stand by whatever decision you gentlemen
make, and I will salute the flag smartly and carry it out, but I feel compelled to tell
you that we equally, strongly believe that we should move forward with this award.
If that's not the will of this body, perfect; I understand completely.
City of Miami Page 114 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: It has been very clear from the first bid and the second bid where the
Administration stands on this, and I think it's our job at this last moment to take a
breath and make a decision on our own.
Commissioner Carollo: I did believe that I had heard Mr. Dotson say at one point in
time, when he was challenging this Cuba statement in San Diego, that that particular
issue in San Diego still was going on; that it was going on for three plus years, and
still hadn't been decided. I believe that's what he stated. So even San Diego has
been going for three plus years in deciding what to do with their facility over there;
just for the record.
Chair Russell: All right. Can we get a roll call vote?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Roll call on item RE. 1: Commissioner Reyes?
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Chair Russell: To accept the award?
Commissioner Hardemon: Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) your motion.
Chair Russell: No, no, no. Commissioner Hardemon --
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Chair Russell: -- made the motion --
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Russell: -- to grant the award to RCI.
Commissioner Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), come on.
Mr. Hannon: So I'm recording that as a "no"for Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Hardemon: Yes. Yes, right? Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We have a motion?
Commissioner Hardemon: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: So that is a "no"?
Commissioner Hardemon: Yes. Who's on first?
Commissioner Reyes: Who's on second?
Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes should be noted as a "no. "
Mr. Hannon: Thank you, Chair. Commissioner Carollo?
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Mr. Hannon: Commissioner Gort?
City of Miami Page 115 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: Commissioner Hardemon?
Commissioner Hardemon: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: Chair Russell?
Chair Russell: I thought you always say, ' for. "
Commissioner Hardemon: I say -- I do, I do. This is such a weird day.
Chair Russell: I'm a "no."
Mr. Hannon: The motion fails, 2-3.
Chair Russell: I'd like to pass the gavel and make a separate motion to throw out the
RFP, as I stated before, for no arbitrary or capricious reason; for all the reasons
stated before and for the facts that were presented to us today that we throw out this
RFP; that we have -- direct the City management to come back in September with a
recommendation, whether for self-management or a management agreement with a
third party through a competitive process that does go to the ballot, which would let
us get it onto -- in time for this ballot, if we want it -- no, it wouldn't. It would be for
next year.
Commissioner Reyes: Next year.
Chair Russell: But that's my motion, is to throw out the RFP and give direction to
them to come back.
Commissioner Reyes: And may I --
Vice Chair Gort: There's a motion. Is there a second?
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah, I'll second it.
Vice Chair Gort: It has been moved and second. Further discussion. Yes, sir.
Commissioner Reyes: Commissioner, what I would like to do is, if we're going to --
we takeover it and we manage it. We manage it until we find if it is more profitable
to get a management agreement with somebody or if it is better for us to keep it.
Chair Russell: If we do choose to go to the route of a management agreement, I
don't believe we should staff up at this point; evict the current tenant. If they're
willing to continue to pay the amount that makes us whole at this moment, until we
make a decision -- This is not a de facto, granting them anything. This is --
Commissioner Reyes: The decision --
Chair Russell: -- simply status quo until we make a decision on -- because it is not
my intention to throw out this award and grant it to the other side, by any means.
What this is is throwing out this RFP altogether and seeking answers from our
management on the next step, but in the meantime, I would recommend status quo --
Commissioner Reyes: Now, in all --
Chair Russell: -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
City of Miami Page 116 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: --fairness, what I propose, and what I said, it is that we take
over, we take over; that the City is going to manage it. And then what we decide to
do, anybody that wants to come and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for the management --
only for management; not for the development, they will come.
Chair Russell: Then let me just narrow my motion, then, with regard to just
throwing out the RFP, without actually laying out the specific steps, because we may
not be in accord on the future steps, but I think, if we are in accord on what to do
today, if it is to throw out the RFP, that would be my motion.
Commissioner Hardemon: Can we throw out the RFP and receive those checks that
were passed up? I want --we want those checks.
Chair Russell: That's why I believe we should go --
Commissioner Hardemon: Those checks that were passed up, I want to -- we should
cash those checks.
Commissioner Reyes: No.
Chair Russell: Unrelated to the RFP itself, or the award or not award, or throwing
it out, that's a separate subject. But -- so my motion is simply to throw out the RFP
based on the information that we have today, and the reasons I gave before.
Commissioner Reyes: Well, I -- then I cannot support that. My proposal --
Chair Russell: You want to evict?
Commissioner Reyes: -- I want the City to take over and manage the marina, and
manage the marina. And whatever we do with the marina later on, you see -- we
manage it, and we start running the marina, and then we decide what are we going
to do maybe couple of years from now, next year, whatever, but that we take
possession and give it a try to manage it our self [sic], because this has been -- it's
highly controversial. And either way, if we grant -- I mean, we allow the present
tenants, we are going to be in court.
Chair Russell: Well --
Commissioner Reyes: And if we give it to them --
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah.
Chair Russell: -- I have a --
Commissioner Reyes: -- we're going to be in court.
Chair Russell: -- concern, though. Under the settlement agreement, if I'm not
mistaken -- Madam City Attorney, you can correct me if I'm wrong. Madam City
Attorney, if we evict without an award for a new tenant, we may be liable to the
existing tenant under our settlement agreement; am I correct about that or am I not?
Ms. Mendez: I don't want to make any type of --just -- what -- say the question
again.
Commissioner Reyes: That's why --
Chair Russell: We have a difference of opinion of what to do if the RFP is thrown
out. My recommendation is to leave status quo for the moment and create a process
City of Miami Page 117 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
by which our management recommends to us either a management agreement with a
third party management company or taking it over ourselves. I don't want to inject
that decision onto the management without getting their recommendation for staffing
up management, internal versus external, but the difference could be decided based
on the legal exposure. If we go with Commissioner Reyes' suggestion of evicting,
does that not open us up to exposure to the incumbent tenant under the settlement
agreement?
Ms. Mendez: I would request that you don't make any decisions today on any type of
eviction until we figure out what we're doing.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Chair Russell: Can we -- do we have consensus, though, on a motion and a second
to throw out the RFP, and then move to that step later?
Commissioner Reyes: I will not like to throw an RFP if I don't know what's going to
happen, just for the sake of throwing out of the RFP. I want to know what's -- what it
is -- the course of action that we're going to take.
Ms. Mendez: Well, if you like, you could withdraw the RFP -- these two items, RE.1
and RE.2, you can withdraw it indefinitely, and then have both items come back.
Chair Russell: Withdraw indefinitely?
Ms. Mendez: Yes. And ifyou wish --
Chair Russell: A withdrawal's a withdrawal, period.
Vice Chair Gort: Excuse me. Through the Chair, please.
Mr. Hannon: I think the City Attorney meant "indefinitely defer, " and then you can
bring it back.
Ms. Mendez: I'm sorry. Yes. You can indefinitely defer, and then bring it back, and
have action at another time altogether.
Chair Russell: That is an option. It isn't what we had intended today, to defer this
once again. Vice Chairman Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: No, no, go ahead. You got the show. Go ahead.
Chair Russell: I just have a motion. I want to see if there's a second to throw out the
RFP.
Vice Chair Gort: Well, he seconded. Any further discussion on the motion?
Mr. Hannon: I'm sorry. Chair, it's just a straight motion to deny, and then any
additional --
Chair Russell: Not to deny, but -- well, it is a denial and a throw -out of the entire
RFP; not to deny an award to second place. It is a -- we reserve the right as a city to
throw out the entire RFP, without exposure to litigation.
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah.
Mr. Hannon: Understood. So then, Madam City Attorney, that type of motion will
not only just be a denial, but it'll amend the legislation as well, because it's my
City of Miami Page 118 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
understanding that just with -- right now we would just deny the recommendation,
but if it's now to also throw out the RFP, are we amending the legislation too?
Ms. Mendez: If there is a motion to throw out the RFP, obviously it will be an
amended piece of legislation, because it was on this agenda to award. So if we are
not awarding --
Vice Chair Gort: Listen --
Ms. Mendez: -- then it would be an amended legislation. But I'm hearing from
Commissioner Reyes that maybe that's until he has -- until he knows exactly what --
Commissioner Reyes: What's going to happen.
Ms. Mendez: -- the Administration recommends, he's not necessarily inclined to
fully throw it out right now.
Commissioner Reyes: Absolutely. If --
Ms. Mendez: So what we're trying to figure out is what the --
Vice Chair Gort: Excuse me.
Ms. Mendez: -- body wants to do.
Vice Chair Gort: Let him finish. You're recognized.
Commissioner Reyes: You're exactly right. I don't want to now deny it right now
without knowing what is going to be the course of action.
Ms. Mendez: So then that's why --
Commissioner Reyes: Because I don't want to leave this in limbo.
Ms. Mendez: Right. So that is why --
Commissioner Reyes: Okay?
Ms. Mendez: -- at this time, the other option -- but I believe the Chairman is hesitant
about this -- but the other option would be for these items to be indefinitely deferred
until we get a report back from the Administration, and the Commission has
readiness to move forward --
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Ms. Mendez: -- on whatever they decide to do.
Commissioner Reyes: That's fine with me.
Ms. Mendez: So that is another option.
Chair Russell: Motion to defer.
Ms. Mendez: I just -- you get to pick.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Until we have a course of action, if we throw the RFP
out.
City of Miami Page 119 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: I think he withdrew his second.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay. You withdrew your second, or you --?
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, I do.
Vice Chair Gort: You withdrew your second?
Commissioner Reyes: I withdraw it, because I want (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Gort: Okay, there's no second. There's a motion. Is there a second to
the motion by the Chair?
Mr. Hannon: I'm sorry. So then now, is there a motion on the f oor for indefinite
deferral?
Vice Chair Gort: The second was pulled.
Chair Russell: Not yet.
Mr. Hannon: Yes. No, understood.
Vice Chair Gort. Okay.
Chair Russell: We need to see if there's another second in its place.
Vice Chair Gort. There's no second. Okay?
Commissioner Hardemon: Mr. Chairman?
Vice Chair Gort: The motion dies. Yes, sir, you're recognized.
Commissioner Hardemon: Today is a good day to make payments to the City of
Miami, so I'd like to present this check for $5,000 from my taxes that are due in the
City of Miami, because we're taking funny money up here. So I say we take the
checks that were submitted to us for $500, 000; it's owed to us. Do we have to sue for
it, or are we going to just receive it voluntarily?
Commissioner Carollo: I'm sorry. What are those $5, 000 for?
Commissioner Hardemon: My taxes.
Commissioner Carollo: For what?
Commissioner Hardemon: For my home.
Commissioner Carollo: But -- no, no, no.
Chair Russell: As far as you know.
Commissioner Carollo: Hold on, hold on. I would believe it if, you know, it was
4,800.23, but 5,000 exactly? Come on now.
Commissioner Hardemon: I have back taxes that are due, so I'll be honest with you.
Commissioner Carollo: That's too thin for me. I think this is a phony check.
City of Miami Page 120 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Hardemon: If this is -- come on now. You can't get more efficient
than a check like this. Even when the State of Florida comes here to Miami, they
present us checks, their checks look like this, right? So, come on.
Commissioner Carollo: I don't know.
Chair Russell: So if my motion dies, do I take the gavel back?
Vice Chair Gort: Yes, sir. It's yours.
Ms. Mendez: Is there a motion to indefinitely defer this item, then?
Chair Russell: All right.
Commissioner Carollo: There's a motion to indefinitely defer this item.
Chair Russell: Commissioner Carollo moves to defer indefinitely. Is there a
second?
Commissioner Reyes: I second it.
Chair Russell: It's seconded by Commissioner Reyes. At this point, would you like
to -- would you like clarification from the existing tenant with regard to the back
payments, having nothing to do obviously with the award? But if the agreement was
to delay eviction based on those payments, where are we with that?
Commissioner Carollo: Well, it would be nice if we hear from them --
Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chairman?
Commissioner Carollo: -- where they're with it, but, you know, obviously, this is --
Chair Russell: Because we're about to indefinitely defer this, which is a potential
six-month deferral.
Commissioner Carollo: They have to volunteer this on their part.
Commissioner Reyes: No. This is going to take another six months. Well, let's place
a date that --
Chair Russell: I would like a recommendation back from the Administration in
September, but -- Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: Look, whatever we do today here, we're sending the message if
you go and answer a request for a proposal, be prepared to spend a hell of a lot of
money in court, go into the different places, because the individuals -- somebody's
going to protest. They're going to take it to court.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Vice Chair Gort: They're going to go through the process, and that's going to be
what Miami's known for; any RFP that is answered, it's going to be delayed, and
unfortunately, that's the message we're sending. So whatever you do, it's fine with
me. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: It is -- Commissioner Gort, with all due respect, it's because
of process, the way that we've been doing it. I think that we have left ourselves open
in the selection process. We have to professionalize it a little bit more with the
City of Miami Page 121 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
people that are going to be part of it. And another thing, Mr. City Manager, when
can you come with a proposal of what will be the --
Chair Russell: Alternate (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: -- course of action that we're going to take if we take over?
Mr. Rotenberg: If I may, Commissioner, to answer, we already had a report done by
CBRE, and a peer report review attached to it by a second unrelated third party
reviewing what the recommendation was on this site. So it was already done, and it
was presented to Commission. We can bring that back.
Chair Russell: You do that for all marinas, right?
Mr. Rotenberg: We specifically did it for this marina.
Chair Russell: But didn't you do an analysis of all marinas, and what different
options we have, whether self-management, third party management, or lease?
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Mr. Rotenberg: Different report, sir.
Chair Russell: But you did do that, though, correct?
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah.
Mr. Rotenberg: Yes.
Chair Russell: Yeah. Let's analyze all those documents --
Commissioner Reyes: All document.
Chair Russell: -- that document and come back together as soon as possible so that
Commissioner Reyes could find peace of mind; if he chooses not to award, what our
future path is going to be.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, just --
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). That's right.
Mr. Gonzalez: -- point of clarification for Commissioner Reyes. If we opt, as you
say, sir, for a management agreement, we have to have ownership so that we can
then RFP that management agreement.
Commissioner Reyes: Absolutely.
Commissioner Gort: That's right.
Mr. Gonzalez: I just want to be --
Commissioner Reyes: And that's why I want to keep, ownership.
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes, sir.
Chair Russell: And -- All right. We have a motion and a second on the floor for
indefinite deferral.
City of Miami Page 122 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: Before we vote, I think we all deserve clarification on this.
Mr. De Grandy --
Vice Chair Gort: I think
Commissioner Carollo: -- is there anything more you'd like to add on this, as far as
those thin checks, cashier's checks that my colleague talked about?
Mr. De Grandy: Sir, I think you know the answer, but I will tell you this: I think it
would be inappropriate, in the middle of a motion, for me to tell you that I am going
to give you the checks at the end of this hearing.
Chair Russell: So you didn't just say that.
Commissioner Carollo: I just wanted to --
Ms. Mendez: Let --
Commissioner Carollo: -- have it as clear as we can.
Commissioner Reyes: Are you planning (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. De Grandy: And so, I'm not answering the question.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Chair Russell: We have a motion and a second for indefinite deferral. Is there any
further discussion on the dais? Hearing none, all in favor, say "aye"?
Chair Russell: Aye.
Commissioner Carollo: Aye.
Vice Chair Gort: No.
Chair Russell: Any opposed?
Commissioner Hardemon: Yes.
Vice Chair Gort: I did.
Chair Russell: Two to three, Mr. Clerk?
Mr. Hannon: Yes, sir. The motion passes, 3-2.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. That is for RE.1 and 2.
Commissioner Gort: Okay.
Chair Russell: Correct?
Ms. Mendez: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: Yes, sir.
Vice Chair Gort: I have a question now. Wait a minute. What are we going to do
now? I mean, do you -- existing operator will continue to operate and still making
all the monies that it should and --
City of Miami Page 123 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Hardemon: Making all that money.
Vice Chair Gort: -- continue to lose $100,000 a month?
Commissioner Hardemon: Won't give us our money (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Russell: So that's what they -- we're not answering, because we were in the
middle of a motion, but I think that's a separate issue that the management needs to
take up with the tenant under the agreement they made with us before. The
management should work with each Commissioner in these coming weeks to look at
all the alternative proposals, self-management, third party management, granting
the award -- those are the three basic options here before us -- so that each
Commissioner can come back, even as soon as the next meeting, to make a solid
decision on this. I think we are very, very close to a solid decision on this. I do not
want to belabor it, drag it out to do full presentations again, but I think the
Commissioners are simply seeking some guidance from Administration, recognizing
that we have three options here. So --
Mr. Dotson: Mr. Chairman, I just want to make sure I clarified those three options,
so that we leave here fully informed. You can either award this RFP to our client,
pursuant to the recommendation; or look at the reports that have been previously
done, and take one of those options. Is that what you just said?
Chair Russell: However, there was a motion and a second to award, which was
denied. What happens now to that recommendation? Can we bring that back, the
recommendation, Madam City Attorney?
Ms. Mendez: So what occurred is that this item is indefinitely deferred. The item --
Chair Russell: But there was a vote to deny the award.
Ms. Mendez: But -- no. There was --
Chair Russell: There was a vote against granting the award.
Ms. Mendez: To grant -- no. There was a vote to grant --
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Ms. Mendez: -- correct.
Chair Russell: No. The vote was -- the motion was to grant.
Ms. Mendez: Yes.
Chair Russell: The vote denied that motion.
Ms. Mendez: Right. So it was to grant, and it was -- it did not --
Chair Russell: Failed.
Ms. Mendez: It failed, but it's still --
Chair Russell: It can still come back as a (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Ms. Mendez: -- alive and hence, the motion to defer.
City of Miami Page 124 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Thank you. I just wanted to know that we did have three options
before us, and that is one of those options; to then grant that award at that next
meeting, when it comes back.
Ms. Mendez: Right. If you would have done your motion, then it would be a
different --
Chair Russell: Understood. Which also failed.
Ms. Mendez: Okay.
Mr. Dotson: And did you pick a meeting when this is coming back?
Chair Russell: I -- we -- as we have indefinite deferral, it can come back at any
meeting before the six-month period. I think we're going to work together with
management to make a decision on that.
Commissioner Reyes: As soon as possible.
Chair Russell: Of course, as soon as possible; as soon as possible to give any
chance the best chance of success, and if that means trying to get on the ballot for
this November, we want to make a decision as soon as possible. So you can expect
possibly to see it as soon as the next meeting, but as far out as six months, which is
an indefinite deferral.
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Chair Russell: Thank you. Now, let's -- to finish up business, if we are done with
this item?
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. We have one last issue on the agenda, which
was a discussion item, which was your discussion item.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. I need --
Chair Russell: Shall we defer that one?
Commissioner Carollo: I need two minutes, if I can. I need to go to the restroom.
Chair Russell: Go Todd, go. Todd's putting them right in his pocket.
Commissioner Carollo: Todd, can you put on the record what you've been given,
with dates, with amounts, because --?
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) check.
Commissioner Carollo: And is there still time to cash them today, or put them in the
bank?
Mr. Hannon: I would defer to the Finance Director on that question. But I have
four checks.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
City of Miami Page 125 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Hannon: One in the amount of $200, 000, with a date of May 20, 2019. I have
another check, in the amount of $100,000, with a date of June 3, 2019. I have
another check, in the amount of $100,000, dated July 10, 2019; and I have a final
check of $100,000, with a date of June 12, 2019.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chairman?
Chair Russell: Commissioners, I --Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Gort: My understanding, these checks had to comply with the promise
that was made for the past five month; am I correct?
Chair Russell: Yes.
Vice Chair Gort: It doesn't mean anything else (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Commissioner Carollo: Well, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Vice Chair Gort: This is --
Commissioner Carollo: -- that includes --
Vice Chair Gort: -- we got to --
Chair Russell: Thank you for clarifying. That's a good point.
Vice Chair Gort: --clarify.
Commissioner Carollo: Does that include June or July?
Unidentified Speaker: Through to July.
Commissioner Reyes: July.
Commissioner Carollo: July? Okay.
Commissioner Reyes: July (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Russell: Thank you.
City of Miami Page 126 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission
Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
RE.2
RESOLUTION
2526
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Department of Real
ATTACHMENT(S), MAKING PROVISIONS FORA REFERENDUM
Estate and Asset
SPECIAL ELECTION TO BE HELD CONCURRENTLY WITH THE
Management
GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION ON NOVEMBER 5, 2019 FOR
THE 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.
MOTION TO: Indefinitely Defer
RESULT: INDEFINITELY DEFERRED
MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS: Gort, Hardemon
For minutes referencing Item RE.2, please see "Public Comment Period for
Regular Item(s) and Item RE.1. "
Citv of Miami Page 127 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
RE.3
RESOLUTION
5928
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Liberty City
ATTACHMENTS, APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE
Community
SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET OF THE LIBERTY CITY COMMUNITY
Revitalization Trust
REVITALIZATION TRUST, ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED AS
EXHIBIT "D", IN THE AMOUNT OF ONE MILLION, ONE HUNDRED
THIRTY-TWO THOUSAND, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE
DOLLARS ($1,132,121.00) FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
COMMENCING OCTOBER 1, 2018 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30,
2019, ("FISCAL YEAR 2018-2019"), SUBJECT TO FURTHER
AMENDMENT OF THE TRUST'S RELATED MASTER PLAN BY
SEPARATE RELATED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT TO ALLOW
FOR THE USE OF A PORTION OF SUCH FUNDS DURING FISCAL
YEAR 2018-2019 FOR NEW COMMUNITY SERVICES
REGARDING ASSISTANCE WITH DEVELOPMENT OF
AFFORDABLE HOUSING BUILDING CRITERIA.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0284
MOTION TO:
Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:
ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:
Keon Hardemon, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Ken Russell, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
ABSENT: Carollo
Note for the Record. For additional minutes referencing Item RE.3, please see
Public Comment Period for Regular Item(s). "
Chair Russell: Gentlemen, I'd like to bring your attention to Resolution Items RE.3,
4, 5, 6, and 7. Is there a motion on REs (resolutions) 3 through 7?
Commissioner Hardemon: So move.
Chair Russell: It's been moved by Commissioner Hardemon; seconded by the Chair.
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): I believe RE.3 does need to be amended to
reference Liberty City's resolution number, which passed, I believe, last night.
Commissioner Hardemon: The motion would include that amendment.
Chair Russell: All right. Mover and seconder agrees. RE.3 through 7, is there any
further discussion from the Commission? Hearing none, all in favor; say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes for RE. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
City of Miami Page 128 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
REA
RESOLUTION
6068
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Office of
ATTACHMENTS, RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF SOLID
Management and
WASTE SERVICES, FACILITIES, AND PROGRAMS IN THE CITY
Budget
OF MIAMI ("CITY"); DESCRIBING THE METHOD OF ASSESSING
ABSENT:
SOLID WASTE COSTS AGAINST PROPERTIES LOCATED
WITHIN THE CITY; DIRECTING THE PREPARATION OF AN
ASSESSMENT ROLL; AUTHORIZING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR
SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 OR ANY OTHER DATE BEFORE
SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 WHICH IS (A) SET BY THE CITY
COMMISSION AND (B) PUBLICLY NOTICED; DIRECTING THE
PROVISION OF NOTICE THEREOF; FURTHER AUTHORIZING
AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO DETERMINE THE
APPLICABLE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS FOR THE
ASSESSMENT ROLL ON OR BEFORE THE LATEST POSSIBLE
DATE BEFORE SUBMISSION OF SUCH REQUIRED
INFORMATION TO THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PROPERTY
APPRAISER FOR THE ESTIMATED SOLID WASTE ASSESSMENT
RATE SCHEDULE FOR USE OF THE UNIFORM METHOD OF
COLLECTING SUCH ASSESSMENT; PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0285
MOTION TO:
Adopt
RESULT:
ADOPTED
MOVER:
Keon Hardemon, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Ken Russell, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
ABSENT:
Carollo
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item RE.4, please see Item RE.3.
RE.5
RESOLUTION
6159
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION PURSUANT
Commissioners
TO SECTION 18-72 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,
and Mayor
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF
GRANT FUNDS FROM THE MAYOR'S SHARE OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI'S ANTI -POVERTY INITIATIVE ("API") IN A TOTAL AMOUNT
NOT TO EXCEED TWENTY-SEVEN THOUSAND, ONE HUNDRED
EIGHTY DOLLARS ($27,180.00) TO TACOLCY ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, INC., A FLORIDA NOT FOR
PROFIT CORPORATION ("TEDC"), IN SUPPORT OF ITS ITECH
SUMMER INSTITUTE; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL
NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, ALL IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO
THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0286
Citv of Miami Page 129 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes
MOTION TO:
Adopt
RESULT:
ADOPTED
MOVER:
Keon Hardemon, Commissione
SECONDER:
Ken Russell, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
ABSENT:
Carollo
July 11, 2019
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item RE.S, please see "Public
Comment Period for Regular Item(s) " and Item RE.3.
RE.6
RESOLUTION
6174
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION
Commissioners
ESTABLISHING THE MIAMI COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEE
and Mayor
PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE XI, DIVISION 2, SECTION
AYES:
2-883 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS
ABSENT:
AMENDED, TO ADVOCATE AND ADVISE ON MATTERS
RELATED TO THE UNITED STATES 2020 CENSUS; STATING
THE COMMITTEE'S PURPOSE, POWERS, DUTIES,
MEMBERSHIP, COMPOSITION, QUALIFICATIONS, PROVIDING
FOR OFFICERS, MEETINGS, QUORUM, ASSIGNMENT OF LEGAL
AND STAFF SUPPORT, PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS, AND
SUNSET PROVISION; AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE
EFFECTIVE DATE.
=1kiI_C01IJiI=1ki111ikilIIIiT,I-3=1:M:aPIKI)I�-yl
MOTION TO:
Adopt
RESULT:
ADOPTED
MOVER:
Keon Hardemon, Commissione
SECONDER:
Ken Russell, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
ABSENT:
Carollo
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item RE.6, please see Item RE.3.
RE.7
RESOLUTION
6177
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION DIRECTING
THE CITY MANAGER TO PROVIDE EACH CITY COMMISSIONER
Commissioners
WITH A CRIME INCIDENT AND STATISTICS REPORT ("REPORT")
and Mayor
FOR EACH NEIGHBORHOOD ENHANCEMENT TEAM ("NET")
AREA WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE DISTRICTS ON A WEEKLY
BASIS, WITH THE REPORTING PERIOD BEING FROM MONDAY
THROUGH SUNDAY AND SAID REPORT BEING SUBMITTED BY
5:00 P.M. ON THE MONDAY FOLLOWING EACH REPORTED
PERIOD OR BY 5:00 P.M. ON THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY IF
MONDAY IS A HOLIDAY; FURTHER PROVIDING THAT ANY CITY
COMMISSIONER DESIRING TO OPT OUT OF RECEIVING A
WEEKLY REPORT MAY OPT OUT, AT ANY TIME, BY
COMMUNICATING THE SAME TO THE CITY MANAGER IN
WRITING.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0288
Citv of Miami Page 130 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
MOTION TO:
Adopt
RESULT:
ADOPTED
MOVER:
Keon Hardemon, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Ken Russell, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
ABSENT:
Carollo
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item RE. 7, please see Item RE.3.
END OF RESOLUTIONS
City of Miami Page 131 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes
M:�9Elsie] ►1IIIINE III ki[eye]NCIki/_1►[@]*I
SRA
ORDINANCE Second Reading
5383
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
MOVER:
CHAPTER 18/ARTICLE IX/DIVISION 2/SECTION 18-542(8) OF THE
Office of
CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"),
Management and
TITLED "FINANCIAL POLICIES/FINANCIAL INTEGRITY
Budget
PRINCIPLES/FINANCIAL INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES/MULTI-YEAR
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN," BY AMENDING AND UPDATING
THE INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES TO DELEGATE CERTAIN CAPITAL
PLAN AUTHORITY TO THE CITY MANAGER; CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: 13852
MOTION TO:
Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:
ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:
Keon Hardemon, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
ABSENT:
Carollo
July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Madam City Attorney, could you read all of the ordinances, second
reading and first reading ordinances, into the record while we take a quick moment
here? Thank you very much.
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): SR.].
The Ordinance related to Agenda Item SR.1 was read by title into the public record
by the City Attorney.
The Ordinance related to Agenda Item SR.2 was read by title into the public record
by Deputy City Attorney Barnaby Min.
Later...
Chair Russell: I'd like to knock out the ordinances, and then we'll come back to RE.1
and 2 before lunch if we're good about this. Commissioner?
Commissioner Hardemon: I would move to approve the second reading and the first
reading ordinances, with an amendment to FR.3, which is to remove the Community
Relations Board from the consolidation list, so to maintain that board.
Chair Russell: All right. There's a motion on SR. 1, 2 and FR. 1, 2, and 3, with an
amendment request to remove the CRB (Community Relations Board) from the
consolidation of boards from FR.3. Is there a second?
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Russell: Seconded by Commissioner Gort.
City of Miami Page 132 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): Mr. Chairman, I believe District 4 was going
to request an amendment to SR.], to clarify that any sweeping offunds remain within
the district.
Commissioner Reyes: That's what -- I was going to jump in and ask for that
amendment, and I believe that that amendment is already made -- I mean, prepared
by the Administration.
Chair Russell: Yes.
Commissioner Hardemon: Right.
Chair Russell: Commissioner Hardemon, do you accept the amendment?
Commissioner Hardemon: I do accept the amendment.
Chair Russell: Mover and seconder accepts the amendment. Mr. Rose, you have
something to say?
Commissioner Hardemon: I thought it was prepared for it, so.
Chair Russell: We're good?
Commissioner Reyes: We're good.
Chair Russell: All right. Thank you. So that's SRs.1, 2; FR. 1, 2, and 3; as amended
for SR.1 and as amended for FR.3. Is there any further discussion from this dais?
Commissioner Reyes: No.
Chair Russell: Hearing none, all in favor, say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes on SR.], SR.2; FR.], 2, and 3;
amended as noted.
City of Miami Page 133 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
SR.2 ORDINANCE Second Reading
5954 AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
Commissioners ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING A DEVELOPMENT
and Mayor AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM,
PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 163, FLORIDA STATUTES,
BETWEEN MENGAR HOLDINGS AT 709, LLC, A FLORIDA
LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, LAND 1 (ONE), LTD, A
FLORIDA LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, AND THE CITY OF
MIAMI ("CITY") RELATED TO THE PROPERTIES LOCATED
AT APPROXIMATELY 4101 AND 4121 NORTHWEST 7
STREET, 701, 709, 731, 835, AND 875 NORTHWEST 42
AVENUE, AND 750, 760 AND 770 NORTHWEST 41
AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS MORE PARTICULARLY
DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT "A," ATTACHED AND
INCORPORATED, FOR THE PURPOSE OF VACATING AND
ABANDONING FOR PUBLIC USE CERTAIN ALLEYS
LOCATED IN BLOCK 3 OF THE WHITEHEAD AND BLAIR
SUBDIVISION AS RECORDED IN BOOK 44, PAGE 78 OF
THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY,
FLORIDA AND CONVEYING CERTAIN REVERSIONARY
RIGHTS IN SAID ALLEYS FROM THE CITY TO THE
ENTITIES DESCRIBED ABOVE, IN EXCHANGE FOR THE
RELEASE OF A REVERTER ENCUMBERING THE LAND
ACCEPTED BY THE CITY COMMISSION, PURSUANT TO
RESOLUTION NO. 19-0131 ADOPTED MARCH 28, 2019
("ADDITIONAL LAND") IN ORDER TO EXPAND THE CITY'S
EXISTING FIRE STATION #10 SITE AND TO UNIFY THE
SAME; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE
QUITCLAIM DEEDS, AS MORE PARTICULARLY
DESCRIBED IN THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, TO
CONVEY SUCH REVERSIONARY RIGHTS AS SPECIFIED
HEREIN; AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO DEDICATE A
PORTION OF THE ADDITIONAL LAND AS PUBLIC RIGHT-
OF-WAY OR FOR HIGHWAY PURPOSES TO MAINTAIN
THE THROUGHPUT OF THE REMAINING PORTIONS OF
THE ALLEY IN THE BLOCK; AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO CONVEY PRIVATE EASEMENTS, IF
NECESSARY, TO AFFECTED UTILITIES WITHIN THE
CITY'S PROPERTY, AS MORE PARTICULARLY
DESCRIBED IN THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT;
AUTHORIZING ALL EXISTING USES CONSISTENT WITH
EACH RESPECTIVE PROPERTY'S CURRENT ZONING
DESIGNATION AND ANY OTHER USES AUTHORIZED BY
THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN —
FUTURE LAND USE MAP DESIGNATION; AUTHORIZING
THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE THE
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY
ATTACHED FORM, FOR SAID PURPOSES; MAKING
FINDINGS AS TO THE PUBLIC PURPOSE AND SOUND
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLANNING FURTHERED BY
SAID DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT; MAKING FINDINGS
Citv of Miami Page 134 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission
Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
AS TO THE APPLICABLE EXCEPTIONS TO SECTION 29-B
OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA AS
BOTH AUTHORIZING A CONVEYANCE TO IMPLEMENT A
PROJECT OF THE CITY AND DISPOSING OF NON -
WATERFRONT, NON -BUILDABLE PROPERTY THAT IS
LESS THAN 7,500 SQUARE FEET; CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: 13853
MOTION TO:
Adopt
RESULT:
ADOPTED
MOVER:
Keon Hardemon, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
ABSENT:
Carollo
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item SR.2, please see Item SR.].
END OF SECOND READING ORDINANCES
Citv of Miami Page 135 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes
a:MalZ&119 N N0a]Iki[eye]N311ki/_1►Is] 4
FRA
ORDINANCE First Reading
6011
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION RENAMING
THE "MAYOR'S INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL" TO THE "MAYOR'S
Office of the City
COUNCIL ON GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS" BY AMENDING
Clerk
CHAPTER 2/ARTICLE XI/DIVISION 2 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), TITLED
"ADMINISTRATION/BOARDS, COMMITTEES,
COMMISSIONS/STANDARDS FOR CREATION AND REVIEW OF
BOARDS GENERALLY," MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING
SECTIONS 2-887(8) AND 2-892(4)(A)(1) TO CHANGE
REFERENCES TO THE "MAYOR'S INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL"
TO THE "MAYOR'S COUNCIL ON GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS";
AMENDING CHAPTER 2/ARTICLE XI/DIVISION 3 OF THE CITY
CODE, TITLED "ADMINISTRATION/BOARDS, COMMITTEES,
COMMISSIONS/MAYOR'S INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL," TO
CHANGE THE NAME OF THE "MAYOR'S INTERNATIONAL
COUNCIL" TO THE "MAYOR'S COUNCIL ON GLOBAL
COMPETITIVENESS"; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE;
AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.
MOTION TO: Pass on First Reading
RESULT: PASSED ON FIRST READING
MOVER: Keon Hardemon, Commissioner
SECONDER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
ABSENT: Carollo
July 11, 2019
Note for the Record. For additional minutes referencing Item FR.], please see
Item SR.].
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): FR. I.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the Deputy City Attorney
Barnaby Min.
Mr. Min: FR. 2.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney
Barnaby Min.
Mr. Min: FR. 3.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney
Barnaby Min.
Mr. Min: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
City of Miami Page 136 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
FR.2
ORDINANCE First Reading
6154
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
CHAPTER 2/ARTICLE XI/DIVISION 18 OF THE CODE OF THE
Office of the City
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), TITLED
Cierk
"ADMINISTRATION/BOARDS, COMMITTEES, COMMISSIONS/SEA
LEVEL RISE COMMITTEE"; MORE PARTICULARLY BY
CONSOLIDATING THE FUNCTIONS OF THE WATERFRONT
ADVISORY BOARD AND THE SEA LEVEL RISE COMMITTEE
INTO A NEWLY FORMED CLIMATE RESILIENCE COMMITTEE;
FURTHER BY REPEALING, IN ITS ENTIRETY, CHAPTER
29/ARTICLE IV OF THE CITY CODE, TITLED "LANDFILLS AND
WATERFRONT IMPROVEMENTS/WATERFRONT ADVISORY
BOARD"; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
MOTION TO: Pass on First Reading
RESULT: PASSED ON FIRST READING
MOVER: Keon Hardemon, Commissioner
SECONDER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
ABSENT: Carollo
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item FR.2, please see Item SR.]
and Item FR.].
Citv of Miami Page 137 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
FR.3
ORDINANCE First Reading
6155
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
Office of the City
CHAPTER 2/ARTICLE XI OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,
Cierk
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), TITLED
AYES:
"ADMINISTRATION/BOARD, COMMITTEES, COMMISSIONS," TO
ABSENT:
REALIGN THE MIAMI COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item FR.3, please see "Public
WOMEN, THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD,
for Regular Item (s), "Item SR.], and Item FR.].
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE, THE
EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD, AND THE SENIOR CITIZENS'
ADVISORY BOARD INTO THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND HUMAN
RIGHTS COMMITTEE ("COMMITTEE"); MORE SPECIFICALLY BY
ADDING DIVISION 6, SECTIONS 2-1011 TO 2-1019 TO CREATE
THE COMMITTEE; REPEALING IN ITS ENTIRETY DIVISION 8,
TITLED "MIAMI COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN;"
REPEALING IN ITS ENTIRETY DIVISION 11, TITLED "PARKS AND
RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD;" REPEALING IN ITS ENTIRETY
DIVISION 13, TITLED "CITY OF MIAMI BEAUTIFICATION
COMMITTEE;" REPEALING IN ITS ENTIRETY DIVISION 20,
TITLED "EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD;" REPEALING IN ITS
ENTIRETY DIVISION 23, TITLED "SENIOR CITIZENS' ADVISORY
BOARD;" CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
MOTION TO:
Pass on First Reading with Modification(s)
RESULT:
PASSED ON FIRST READING WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:
Keon Hardemon, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
ABSENT:
Carollo
Note for the Record. For minutes referencing Item FR.3, please see "Public
Comment Period
for Regular Item (s), "Item SR.], and Item FR.].
END OF FIRST READING ORDINANCE
Citv of Miami Page 138 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
91a911;�6111111*11101kiIIll IALyi1.1
D1.1 DISCUSSION ITEM
6005 A DISCUSSION ITEM REGARDING UNREIMBURSED GRANT
Department of EXPENDITURES FOR QUARTER ENDING 3/31/2019
Finance
RESULT: DISCUSSED
Chair Russell: Discussion item, please, for -- just a moment. Let's take the
Discussion Item 1, Un -reimbursed grant expenditures, quarter ending 3/31/2019.
Are you prepared for that one at this moment?
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Sir, we have none.
Chair Russell: None. Okay. So DLI dispensed with. DL 3, discussion, bulky waste
pickup.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, bear with us. We have a --setting up a presentation.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
D1.2 DISCUSSION ITEM
6006 A DISCUSSION ITEM REGARDING THE 2018 COMPREHENSIVE
Department of ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT PRESENTATION
Finance
RESULT: DISCUSSED
Chair Russell: I'd like to take up Item DL2, please. D1.2 is a discussion item, a
comprehensive financial discussion from the Management, please. Do you have
your people here?
Bob Feldman: Good morning.
Chair Russell: Good morning.
Mr. Feldman: My name is Bob Feldman. I'm with RSM. I'm the partner responsible
for the City's external audit. What I'd like to do is just spend a few minutes with you
covering some of the highlights of that external audit. The first thing that I wanted to
start with is our required communications; this is so that you, as the City
Commission, can discharge your oversight responsibility relating to the audit. And
some of the things that we cover in there is, we talk about, you know, whether there
were significant issues, any difficulties that we encountered during the audit, any
disagreements with Management. The great news is that there were none,
whatsoever. We also address in that report whether or not the City adopted any
accounting policies. There was new accounting policy relating to accounting and
financial reporting for post -employment benefits in the City's case. That happens to
be mainly your healthcare plan. So the City adopted that during the current year.
And finally, one of the other things that is addressed in that communications,
City of Miami Page 139 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
whether the City had to book any audit adjustments relating to the external audit.
From time to time, like any other government, the City is subject to litigation. In
relation to your Flagstone matter, the City had to accrue a liability relating to that
matter for $20 million, and that is noted in here, as well. The next thing I just
wanted to do is just cov -- spend a couple minutes just covering some of the
highlights of your Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. And the things that I
just wanted to bring to your attention is that, number one, in terms of our opinion on
your financial statements, it is an unmodified opinion. It is what we call a "clean
opinion. " It is the highest level of assurance that we can give the City on your
financial statements. Now, what we typically like to do is we like to focus on the
general fund, obviously, being the largest operating fund of the City, so we'd like to
highlight just a couple things for you. When we look at the revenues and
expenditures of the City's general fund, the great news is, is that the City's revenues
exceeded its expenditures by $27 million, which is fantastic news. As a result of that
surplus, your fund balance grew from 160 million to $187 million. As part of the
City's Financial Integrity Principles, the City is required to maintain a reserve of 20
percent of the three-year average of your general revenues. We, as your external
auditors, evaluate that. The great news is, again, the City was in full compliance
with that. The City from time to time also receives Federal awards and State
financial assistance. In certain -- when certain criteria is met, we're required as
external auditors to evaluate whether the City is in compliance with those monies
that have been received. And again, the great news is that the City -- we tested two
Federal programs, four State programs, and the great news is that the City again
was in 100 percent compliance with those requirements. And finally, you know, as
part of the audit process, we also identify if there were any Management comments
that we want to bring to your attention. We did have a few comments relating to --
IT (Information Technolog))-related. The City has looked at those, concurred with
those; is in the process of implementing a correction to those. So with that, I
appreciate -- the last thing I wanted to do -- very important -- wanted to thank the
City's Finance team. You know, we work with a tremendous amount of large local
governments throughout the State of Florida, and I will tell you that the City has a
tremendous Finance Department. They do a great job. It really makes our life very
easy. So with that, I'll be happy to address any questions you have.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Are there any questions? Commissioner
Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. Are we -- after you said that -- we're in compliance with
our reserve requirement as of today? We are?
Mr. Feldman: Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: Does that include the -- all the amount -- the funds that we
have to pay to the Flagstone agreement?
Mr. Feldman: Well, it includes the liability that has been recognized that accounting
principles require.
Commissioner Reyes: It accounts all the liabilities that we have, in other words?
Mr. Feldman: Yes. Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. So that -- by paying those liabilities will not take us out
of compliance?
Mr. Feldman: Correct. Now, there may be other costs that will be incurred as a
result of that Flagstone matter that those --
City of Miami Page 140 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Mr. Feldman: -- haven't been reflected in terms of the financial --
Commissioner Reyes: And that's what we spoke; that the liability and the long-term,
it's not what has been informed to us; it is higher. And you agree with me on that?
Mr. Feldman: Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Thank you, sir.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much, Commissioner Reyes. Are there any other
questions? Hearing none, thank you very much for your assistance.
Mr. Feldman: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Chair Russell: All right.
D1.3 DISCUSSION ITEM
5929 A DISCUSSION ITEM REGARDING BULKY WASTE PICK-UP.
City Manager's
Office
RESULT: DISCUSSED
Chair Russell: DL 3, bulky waste pickup. Mr. Nunez, Good morning.
Mario Nunez: Sir, good morning. Mario Nunez, Director of Solid Waste. And I
have a presen -- brief presentation to make in regards to Bulky Trash Program, as it
stands today. I would like to start with a PowerPoint presentation. I think it's set up
already. And again, you know, the purpose of this is to bring awareness; although
I'm sure that each one of you Commissioners already understand the conundrum that
we face on a daily basis; the opportunities and challenges that we have to provide
not only an efficient service, but also one that deals with the issue of massive,
uncontrollable illegal dumping that happens within the City limits; and also, to share
with you the frustrations that we encounter on a daily basis. I have a -- just a very
short presentation on PowerPoint for you to see, so I'm going to go to the first slide.
And this is just to have an overview of what's happening in the United States with
illegal dumping. Cities like Chicago spends over $8 million controlling illegal
dumping; and some other cities -- Los Angeles, $12 million. So this is a national
problem at the urban levels primarily. You can see that in the City of Miami,
historically, we have been doing actually a better job. You can look at -- by the
disposal cost, we have been collecting more bulky trash for the past five years than
before. The tonnage has been also increasing. And this is only -- is dissecting bulky
trash, which includes illegal dumping, which roughly would be -- our estimates are
about 30,000 tons that we collect on an annual basis, at a cost between $62 and $76
per ton to dispose of that. I'm excluding the transportation and collection cost also
associated with that. So there are some examples, you know, of massive illegal
dumping that happens in -- not only at single-family homes, but also at multi family
dwellings; areas where there is vacant lots; below bridges and things like that,
where nobody's seeing; a combination of not only household goods, but also
construction and demolition materials; hazardous waste, as well. You can see this
government-owned lot, a pile of about 50 tires. Obviously, somebody collected the
disposal cost that we pay, you know, those who have a vehicle that we pay to
City of Miami Page 141 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
somebody to dispose of the tires before we get new ones, but somebody's pocketing
the change and basically dump all the stuff over there, so we pick it up, and we pay
for the disposal. You can see also some mattress, combined with sheetrock and other
materials by a light pole, and the damage that that causes. Actually, that picture is
from two weeks ago. It's massive illegal dumping from different people who take
advantage of the night to do that, and in this particular case, we had to have Public
Works assist us with collecting with it, because our cranes cannot handle that.
Today what we have in here is basically the collection that happens at the top of the
City on Mondays, and we end up on Fridays, you know, in District 2. However, we
are all over the City, basically putting out fires. What we want to bring here is -- to
your attention is that, yes, there's some opportunities to get things better at a low
cost by being more effective, which involves Code Enforcement, Law Enforcement,
and Collections, and a combination of these factors can produce more tangible
results. The questions has been asked about, "Hey, is there any other methodology
or frequency of collection that we can implement in order to diminish the impact on
the environment, and the quality of life of people?" It does affect property values,
definitely. You know, it is an issue that a tourist can come and see all this litter is
everywhere. And we're doing the best we can as a department. We work seven days,
seven nights a week and six days a week to keep up. But in many instances around
the City, the situation is that the illegal dumpers are moving much faster than we can
go and collect, which generates multiple complaints. One of the things that I want to
mention is that we have not requested a raise, you know, for the past 10 years. As a
matter of fact, it has been -- it will be a decade by when you approve the proposed
rate later this year. And so, there's also financial pressures on delivering the level of
service that the communities expect. As I said, illegal dumping can be done -- can be
dealt with, with more effective Code Enforcement and Law Enforcement. But also,
there is a need to also provide levels of service that are more commensurate with
what other cities and counties do in South Florida. We definitely provide a Cadillac
service; 52 pickup times per year, so every week somebody is receiving that service.
And in between this, 72 hours, there's somebody who decides that the City of Miami
is the dumping ground of the City, and I reject that idea.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, I have a major disagreement with a statement you just
made; that we're providing Cadillac service. Frankly, I think we've been providing
pretty close to Rolls Royce service for many years, because if there's one department
that has a huge deficit from what we charge our residents, it's Solid Waste. The
service we provide cost much, much more than what residents pay, and this is why
it's so important for us to give you the tools that you need to stop all this illegal
dumping into our streets, or people that are constantly moving and really don't have
the roots in our community, or care, and are dumping constantly.
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Commissioner --
Chair Russell: Vice Chairman and --
Mr. Gonzalez: I'm sorry.
Chair Russell: -- then Mr. Manager.
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes.
Vice Chair Gort: What I want to make sure you put on the record, the total cost to
the City of Miami taxpayer of collecting that trash, because a lot of trash is also
conducted by our residents, and we have to make sure we -- Code Enforcement, and
we need more cameras. I mean, you know where every illegal dumping is taking
place. We need to have a camera in each one of those places. And I want the public
to know the total cost of illegal dumping, because a lot of people don't want to call,
City of Miami Page 142 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
and they feel bad if they call on some of their neighbors because of what they're
doing, but they need to understand that we're paying for that. And I think we can
come out -- part of an idea, we can come out -- you know, let's face it. Economic
rewards helps people. Maybe when we collect certain fee, a percentage can be given
to the person; just like you do with the crime stoppers, something that's very similar.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr. Manager.
Mr. Gonzalez: I was going to comment on Commissioner Carollo's statement. When
Igo out and I speak to the businesses, the neighbors --
Vice Chair Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Gonzalez: -- in particular, sir, your district, live healthy, Little Havana, I
always ask them, "What's your biggest problem?" thinking it's going to be crime,
traffic. It always comes back to illegal dumping. People don't want mini -dumps in
their front yard. Sir, I live in your district, and I wake up and I see mattresses on my
street. Sothis is really a problem that I think --and Mario will address this --but we
need to tackle this on several levels. We need to tackle this as a public education
issue; we need to tackle this as a property value issue; and also, an economic issue.
We spend $37 million in this department. It cost -- for us, it cost us over $500 per
household; yet, we only charge 380. So I think there's an opportunity here to
educate the public. And I'm sorry to take your thunder, Mario. There's an
opportunity, I think, to dissuade people by maybe increasing fines; maybe
impounding your vehicle if we catch you. And then, again, the frequency, I think, is
something -- it's a self -licking ice cream cone, if you will, because --
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chair?
Mr. Gonzalez: -- the more frequent we allow this, we start drawing -- I spoke to a
Code Inspector yesterday, who says they caught a guy who was coming down from
Hollywood, Florida to dump their stuff in our City.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir. Yes. And --
Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: -- we spoke at this at length when -- I had spoke this at length
with Mario, and I spoke this with you, also. And by experience, I can tell you that
part of my district is cleaner now, and we have curtailed a lot of illegal dumping by
education. Mario and his staff, and the NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team)
Office, they have gone around the neighbors, and informing them that they would be
fined. And also, I think that the answer to this is that if you get caught, you're going
to pay heavy for it. But in order to do that, we need more enforcement. We need
more education. And as a matter of fact, I am looking at the possibility of obtaining
about four or five cameras that we can place, and you know they are effective,
Mario. You see, how much is each camera that you have now and you place? You --
how many you have now?
Mr. Nunez: We started about three years ago with four cameras. I'm pleased to
announce that this Administration has increased the cameras to 34, and we're hitting
for 50 cameras, at a cost of about $5,300 each. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: Well, we need -- every district, you see, we have hot spots.
We have spots that people, they come and -- you know. I mean, you guys know that
they -- those are hot spots. Well, let's use those cameras. Let's use surveillance, and
really fine them. Fine them in a way that it's going to hurt, you see? Another thing
City of Miami Page 143 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
that my NET OKce has done is they have come and -- you see, you're supposed to
bring the trash the day before, right?
Mr. Nunez: Correct.
Commissioner Reyes: And people that -- by Sunday. They come on Wednesday. By
Saturday, they have a bunch of furniture, a bunch of things in front of the house.
Well, those people, they had a knock on the door and said, "Bring it in. And if you
do it again, we're going to fine you. " Those are residents; those are not people from
other areas. Those people from other areas that come here, we have to be on the
alert to pick them -- I mean, to pick them up, and go and knock on the doors, and
give them a citation, you see? And if we get them, I agree with the Manager. Let's
have a resolution -- and I don't know how legal it is -- that we will impound their
vehicle.
Vice Chair Gort. No, we did that.
Chair Russell: Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Gort: We did that already. My understanding, we had -- within my
district, we created a cleanup campaign, Mi -- Keep Miami Clean.
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah.
Vice Chair Gort: And that's something that we need to continue to do so. But we
have impounded vehicles that were caught throwing away trash, illegal dumping.
Commissioner Hardemon: And arrested individuals.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah, and arrested the individuals, also. And --
Commissioner Reyes: But we have to give you the amount of personnel that you
need and the resources to go after illegal dumping, because I don't think the answer
is to stop picking up, or pick up every three weeks or something. What we're going
to have is a big dump, because that's not going to stop it. They only way that they be
stopped, it is by fining them, by -- I mean, being on the alert, and having the
resources to catch them. And we have to go after the neighbors, too. If you do it
before the time, we will get a fine. Give them a warning. Make them pick them up
and bring them back to the backyards, and next time, I'll give you a fine. Once you
do that -- and I have neighbors, that I have seen how they have changed their
behavior, you see. That -- certain areas, and thanks to you. You have helped me a
lot -- they are not bringing the trash out before the time that they're supposed to
bring it. Why? Because they can't -- some inspectors told, "Bring it in. Bring it
back in, and next time, you get a fine. " That was it.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Hardemon.
Commissioner Hardemon: First, I'd like to thank you for your work, and all the men
and women that work in your department. It's a very difficult job for them to have,
but they do it. That doesn't mean there's room for improve -- there's not room for
improvement, because when we drive through other cities and other places, we see
immaculate grounds keeping, and I believe that our men and women in your
department can meet that standard, as well; yours and others, right? And so -- but
in regards to the bulky trash pickup, reducing the amount of pickup, you know, for
me, I think it's problematic, especially when you do it before the education
City of Miami Page 144 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
component. The education component is really essential, because at the end of the
day, it's a reduction in services to the people if we reduce the number of pickups.
Commissioner Reyes: Right.
Commissioner Hardemon: If we increase the cost, that's plain what that is, so -- and
today it's not necessary; it is not necessary for us to increase the cost, even though it
may cost us more than we're charging the end user or the consumer. Ultimately --
and I've had dumping that was done on the -- say the southwest part of my property,
and also on the north part of my property. The north part of my property, it seemed
to be -- which is interesting when we talk about neighbors. I had a renter that was
next to me, and what we found was that the renter was in cahoots with the guy that
would come illegally dump. And so, that guy who illegally dumped was arrested
eventually, but we didn't notice that until the way that the renter came out and
interacted with the officers. And then, I realized later on that they -- when you see
that truck come back that they were friends. So, you know, sometimes the neighbors
are in cahoots. And then on the southwestern part of the property, there was a
structure, a home that's been renovated, but at the time, they were using it almost
like a rooming house. They had chopped up the single-family home into many
different rooms, and lots ofpeople were staying there. And the individuals who lived
there would constantly take things and dump them on my swale instead of in front of
their home, and they would do it, of course, at whatever time they wanted to. Since
that house was renovated and since that renter -- or that person was arrested, we
haven't had significant problems of illegal dumping in that -- in those areas. So it
does lend me to believe that the neighbors are part of this problem. And so, what I
would suggest is that we mail every single resident -- I know it's going to cost money,
and that's what we're here for -- but we mail every single resident in the City of
Miami at least three times to educate them about the illegal dumping and the
processes that they need to follow. We may need to -- don't just send them
something. Let's think critically about how it reads, how it looks so that the person
who receives it in the mail doesn't just take it and throw it away, but they actually --
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Commissioner Hardemon: -- you know -- try to digest the information, because it's
important, because this is part of reducing the quality of life in our neighborhoods
that we're trying to get rid of. So I understand what you're doing. I just don't think
that reducing the services immediately is the way to go about doing it. I think
education is a critical component, as I've said in the future -- as I've said in the past,
and I think if we start this whole process of what you're doing right now, we can
have a solution. Do we have people coming from outside and dumping in our
community? Of course, we do, and we see it all the time, and it's happening. And
so, we need to, as we're doling out the cameras, and utilize the Police Department to
really make those arrests where they're necessary, and that's the next thing. And this
kind of -- it interacts with the Police Department. Make sure -- and this is to the City
Manager's Office -- that the Police Department is aware of what the statutes are that
matter in these circumstances, because you may have a police officer that comes and
says, "Well, I don't know how much" -- "I don't know how much it weighs for me to
make a felony arrest. "
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Commissioner Hardemon: Right? "It's a misdemeanor, because I don't think that it
weighs more than such and such." Well, that's not for you to determine, right? If
you look at this thing and it appears to weigh more than what it's supposed to, to
trigger the felony, then you -- it's a felony, and the State Attorney's Office gets
involved from that point forward, or when they take it away, they can actually weight
City of Miami Page 145 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
it. But, you know, if you have probable cause to believe that someone committed a
felony in your presence -- or outside of your presence -- then you can make that
arrest. And so, we want them to be very clear about it, because it means something
to the residents that live in the area that have to deal with that type of trash. And I
have pictures in my cell phone, Mr. Manager; I've shown it to you before. It's
incredible, the amount of trash that's being dumped. We have citizens that are
involved -- like, for instance, in Overtown -- that literally take pictures of all the
people that are dumping in their area, and they document, and provide it to the City,
so if they can do it, then certainly, we can do it, because it's important to them, and it
should be important to us.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Manager.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, I think -- and I'm blowing Mario's excellent presentation here,
and I apologize, but I think what we're seeing is that, notwithstanding the diversity of
our Commission districts, this is a citywide problem. And to Commissioner
Carollo's earlier comment, we do provide Rolls Royce service. But we've also
identified this problem has a cost; it has a cost to our quality of life; it has a cost to
our residents and the value of their homes, and it has a cost to the City in providing
this Rolls Royce service. And what we wanted to do was bring this to you as a
discussion item, take the temperature of the Commission. Give us some guidance. I
agree with Commissioner Reyes; this is a multi -layered situation. We need public
education. I'm for greater enforcement to dissuade people. And I also think we need
to consider not having a weekly pickup. We can, as honorable people, discuss how
often it should be, but I think that the weekly pickup tends to be a magnet for out-of-
towners. And, unfortunately, it's adding onto this problem. I'm prepared to be
wrong but I just wanted to bring this up. I think as an Administration, we owe you
the opportunity to know what we're seeing. I talk to Code and Public Works, and
people on the street all the time. They always mention the illegal dumping issue, and
I think it's time (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chair?
Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: I disagree with you, and just on the principle of the broken
windows. You see, if we don't stop people bringing the bulk out and the trash out
and -- that's not going to stop people from other areas to come here and illegally
dump them. As a matter of fact, when they see that there is some trash there, they're
going to say, "Oh, let me dump it over here. " I mean, I think that you -- I completely
disagree with you. We need enforcement. We need to make -- and that's one thing
that I was talking to you right now that was done before -- that the police was aware
and on the alert of people that were illegally dumping, and then they were caught,
and they were fined, okay? What we need is enforcement and education. Those
people in my district that has been -- I would say scold [sic] for bringing the trash
out before they did -- they should have -- they stopped doing it. And every time that
you get anybody, anybody that is illegally dumping in the City of Miami, and you
give them a $500,000 fine, that person is not coming back. But if you stop it, you
know what's going to happen? Our City, the whole City is going to be full of trash,
and the experts here could tell you about it.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, I don't disagree with you at all. I'm just saying that we should
consider a strategy of a tiered approach where maybe cutting back on pickup is the
last thing we do, and we start with public education; we start with an opportunity to
perhaps increase fines, and empower -- greater empower our professionals to do
something. And maybe the change in pickup can be at a different level, at a different
time, but 1 just want to put everything out here --
City of Miami Page 146 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Mr. Gonzalez: -- so we can continue to have this discussion.
Chair Russell: Commissioner Hardemon, then Commissioner Carollo, then the Vice
Chairman.
Commissioner Hardemon: And I'll be very quick. When I was a kid, on my
grandmother's street --
Commissioner Carollo: How long ago was that?
Commissioner Hardemon: Yesterday.
Commissioner Reyes: I know; I mean, he's a young puppy.
Commissioner Hardemon: You guys have aged me.
Commissioner Reyes: You're a young person still.
Commissioner Hardemon: The -- when I was a kid, at the end -- on the main avenue
side of the street that my grandmother lived on, there was a huge hole in the Swale,
right? I mean, it was so big that, say, for instance, if a truck parked over the Swale
area, you could walk -- you could literally go under the thing. And I thought that it
was the dump. I thought that, as a kid growing up, it was the dump. Every week,
people -- every day, people dumped in it. And people who walked down the street
would walk past and throw trash in it. You know, that was like a garbage can. And
it was something that was kind of like engrained in my mind as a kid that that was
the dump. And the story that I gave you about the gentleman who would put trash on
my Swale, he would come across the avenue and put trash on my swale, he told me
that it's the dump. And I said, "No, no, no, it's not the dump. " I said, "Anywhere you
put trash, they will pick it up. So, for instance, if you want to put your air
conditioner parts, et cetera, out, put it on your side. " And I had a -- about a 10 -
minute talk with him, because he really believed that that was the dump until they --
and he -- and that's how that stopped, and he started putting it on his side. They
would pick it up. But it's just interesting. That's why I'm saying the education
component is big. But what I don't want is what Commissioner Reyes is saying,
which is now, instead of a week before the trash is picked up, because they're
dumping --not on Sunday to be picked upon Monday. They're dumping on Tuesday
to be picked up on the next Monday. So now almost a week passes by before our
City services are kind of put into action and remove that stuff. And now what we're
describing is that it could be as long as two to three weeks before that could happen,
and that's the part that I'm really worried about. And I think that that's going to be
more problematic than anything.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Carollo and then Vice Chairman Gort.
Commissioner Carollo: This is a very healthy discussion that we needed to have.
But frankly, this City as a whole has been having this discussion since I was a young
man; the other day, too.
Commissioner Reyes: How long ago was it?
Commissioner Hardemon: Thank you.
Vice Chair Gort: When I was a kid, too.
City of Miami Page 147 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: About 40 years ago when I started; a young man. The --
before I proceed, let me ask you a question. How many Code Enforcement Officers
do you have that work for Solid Waste as Solid Waste Code Enforcement Officers?
Mr. Nunez: We have nine Code Enforce -- Sanitation Code Enforcement Officers,
including the Chief of Inspectors.
Commissioner Carollo: For a city this size, it's ridiculous that we only have nine.
That has to be increased. And Mr. Manager, I suggest that this would be a prime
area that we look at to increase in our next fiscal year's budget, because whatever
we put in in new monies, to hire new Solid Waste Code Enforcement personnel,
we're going to more than make back by stopping people from dumping into our
streets in fines that we're going to be able to put, plus the new Colonel Gonzalez law;
taking the cars away if you catch them, right? You're going to put marshal law
there, okay?
Chair Russell: Thank you. Vice Chair --
Commissioner Carollo: No, no, no, I'm not done.
Chair Russell: Sorry.
Commissioner Carollo: The -- I hear about education, but education hasn't really
worked in 40 years since I've been here. The only way that education can have a
shot at truly working is if you use the type of education that you teach them "the
carrot or the stick" type of education. And by that, I mean that you give the carrot
out, that you show how this is all affecting everyone, that everyone needs to pitch in
and help their City. The stick is the cost that is going to be borne by the City in
possibilities, like what the Manager is suggesting, and more; but more so for people
to know that they're going to get major fines; that the Colonel's going to place
marshal law, and the vehicles are going to be impounded. So -- and that might be a
good thing to put out, so that's one for you today, Mr. Manager.
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: But it's not enough. We have to follow it up, the education
carrot and the stick, more Code Enforcement Officers, and most of all, cameras; and
cameras that are going to be under your control and your department, Mario,
because you guys are the ultimate people responsible for solid waste in our City.
And frankly, you and your people have done a tremendous job, and, you know, that's
one department that, you know, I don't get much complaints about; every now and
then, maybe because of the weather that there's a late pickup or what have you, but it
works. And I remember you mentioned the window -- what window were you talking
about?
Vice Chair Gort: Broken window.
Commissioner Carollo: The broken window. Well, the broken window policy, I
personally got an earful in New York City at Gracie Mansion with Mayor Guiliani, a
friend of mine. Some of you that have been around for a while in the City remember
when I brought him over to the MRC (Miami Riverside Center) back in the day, and
he explained to me firsthand that -- how the broken window policy worked. And you
cannot make it work by cutting back on service that our people had been used to. It
has to work by taking immediate action. And in the same way that -- Mr. Manager,
this one you might want to hear -- that the broken window policy that Mayor
Guiliani implemented and made popular nationwide worked in New York, it will
work in the City of Miami, also, if we truly implement it, because if not -- for
City of Miami Page 148 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
instance, if you have -- and not getting away from solid waste, but give you an
example that you might want to hear -- if you have an individual that builds without
any permits a lounge or bar, then they're going to build another one and another one
the same way, and another one, like I've seen happened in the City. Solid waste is no
different. Now, the cameras, I don't know what the expense is on the cameras, but
that's the way that we need to go, and heavy. And whatever the cost is, we're going
to save so much more money, even in the first year, because with the high cost that
we have to pay for -- to the County for dumping our -- all the trash we're picking up
in the street in bulky items, if we could cut that even by 25 percent, the money that
we would save, this would more than pay for itself, and we would have additional
funds in the general fund. Now, there are things that we could do with the cameras
that I'd rather not discuss in public, because then it would maybe give the bad guys a
heads up, that we could discuss privately. But we need to immediately, Mr.
Manager, come up with a plan that will be included in the next fiscal year's budget,
because this is not only one that would help the quality of life in our City, but it's
also going to save the City money and it's going to make additional money, and
bring in additional money that we're saving to the general fund that you're going to
have for next fiscal year.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, we appreciate your guidance. In fact, this is the whole purpose
of us bringing this up as a -- I'm sorry I didn't ask for permission -- as a discussion
item.
Chair Russell: I agree. Vice Chairman Gort, and then let's start to wrap up this
discussion.
Vice Chair Gort: Look, according to the numbers you gave me, we pay about $5
million a year in illegal dumping. If we can save 25 percent, that's $1.2 million, like
Commissioner Carollo stated. I think, believe it or not, you'd be surprised how much
ignorance there is in our neighborhoods. People are not aware of the penalties it
can cost. At the same time, I got new neighbors that moved in and they started
putting the trash before, and I went and I tell them, "Look, you have to wait for the
day they get picked up. " Now, Code Enforcement, you got your people; but also, at
the same time, the NET Office can help. You got your people that work for the NET
Office, the Code Enforcement people that go out on the street. As they go out, they
see something, information should be given. I think we should create some pamphlet
telling people the penalty, and we should use this on social media, whatever media
that we can. Let them know, people, what the penalty is going to be for illegal
dumping or for putting the trash before, because a lot of times, the truck goes by --
this department is the best that the City's had. They've done a great job. You pick up
on Wednesday, and Thursday, it's throwing out again, because right now, the same
neighbors, they were picked up on Wednesday, and on Thursday, they throws out
some trash. That person's got to be penalized. That person's got to learn what's
going to take place. We can -- we got to spend a little money in that, putting a
pamphlet together. Code Enforcement can go by and put it. How many people leave
the trash -- left the trash with the containers out for two or three days? I have to go
tell them, "Listen, put it back in. You should not leave it out." I think education
would be very helpful, but enforcement, and for people to know the penalty that
they're going to receive. They can lose their vehicles or they can get 500 or a
thousand -dollar fine.
Chair Russell: Thank you. I'd like to bring this to a close.
Commissioner Carollo: Chair, before you do, if I could just take no more than two
more minutes.
Chair Russell: All right. But we're being a little repetitive on the subject.
City of Miami Page 149 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: No, I'm not.
Chair Russell: We've said a lot of the same points over and over again.
Commissioner Carollo: Not on this. This is a visual one that I'd like to put in
related to what our Director is suggesting in bringing it to us. And this, I believe, is
just in one week. What my office is doing, we're going out on a weekly basis.
District 3 along with District 5 are the two main districts in the City that are getting
hit with illegal dumping. It's unreal. And I'm sending out staff members on a weekly
basis, taking pictures, pointing out where it's happening. And here's one example,
but if you could quickly go through some of them, and these are the small samples.
But you see -- go ahead, if you could go to the next one, please. This is just in one
week, one week. You might think, "Well, maybe there was a sale on mattress for the
week," but you get the same thing every week; mattress after mattress after mattress,
so it's not that they had a sale for, you know, Fourth of July; furniture, like, you
know, there's no tomorrow. You know, that's enough, because, I mean, I could show
you another 40, 50 pictures in the same week in what you're seeing. Now, what
we've done -- and maybe you could put that map up, if we can, of District 3. We're
plotting out the key hot spots that we have with the district, and this is only in the one
week. With the additional weeks that we have doesn't change much; that it's the
same places, time and time again. This is why we need cameras and we need more
Code Enforcement Officers, and we need the Solid Waste Department to have a
hundred percent of that responsibility. Thank you.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. Is there any more discussion on the item?
Mario, are you good?
Mr. Nunez: No. I thank you for your time.
Chair Russell: Thank you, Mr. Director.
Vice Chair Gort: I think the union wants to.
Chair Russell: Would you like to make a comment?
Joe Simmons: Yes, sir; just a quick comment. Joe Simmons, Jr., for the record,
President of Sanitation Workers Union. One of the things --ideas that may, guys,
want to consider is scheduling of the Code Enforcement patrolling in conjunction
with our solid waste collection. What we know historically, Code Enforcement, if
they patrol those areas the day before, the collection area, they can kind of identify
some of those illegal dumping and provide education to the citizens. We see this
time in, time out, what works. And another thing is, also, Public Works, sometimes
they trim trees. Make sure that they coordinate those -- resource the information
together, so we can provide seamless service, so we won't have lagging service.
Commissioner Reyes: Sir --
Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, Mr. Chair. And I -- this is very important, because I
have noticed there is lack of communication between departments.
Mr. Simmons: Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: You know that.
Mr. Simmons: Yes.
City of Miami Page 150 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: There is a lot of lack of communication among departments. I
don't know if it is because one department, they fear taking the initiative and calling
somebody, but that goes to the -- Mr. City Manager, you see, we are talking about
lack of coordination and communication among departments. And in order to be
efficient, we have -- you will have to give authority to those -- I mean, to the different
departments' personnel that they can communicate, and the means of communicating
with other departments, because what the gentleman is saying is true. Sometimes
they are -- Public Works is trimming trees and those trees remain therefor a long
time, because you haven't heard about it.
Mr. Simmons: Right.
Commissioner Reyes: You see? You haven't heard about it. So we need to
coordinate; more coordination among departments, and more communication within
departments.
Mr. Gonzalez: Point taken, sir. Thank you.
Mr. Simmons: Thank you.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much, everyone. I sincerely apologize to those who
are here for our last two remaining items, which are the Olympia Theater item, as
well as the Virginia Key Marina item. I expected us to get through this last item a
little bit quicker. So we'll have to take those items up after the break. Gentlemen,
2:30?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Chair Russell: 2:30?
Commissioner Carollo: 2:30 is fine.
Chair Russell: Those are the last two remaining items we have, in addition to our
board appointments and the PZ (Planning and Zoning) item that we'll be deferring,
but we'll reconvene at 2:30. Thank you very much, and I apologize for those of you
who have waited up to now.
City of Miami Page 151 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
DIA DISCUSSION ITEM
6139 A DISCUSSION ITEM REGARDING THE POSSIBILITY OF
Department of REINSTATING THE CITY OF MIAMI'S USE OF SPECIAL MASTERS
Planning TO ASSIST WITH HEARING CODE COMPLIANCE -RELATED
CASES.
MOTION TO: Defer
RESULT: DEFERRED
MOVER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
SECONDER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT: Carollo, Hardemon
Note for the Record. Item DI.4 was deferred to the July 25, 2019, Planning and
Zoning Commission Meeting.
For minutes referencing Item DI.4, please see "Order of the Day. "
D1.5
DISCUSSION ITEM
5732
A DISCUSSION ITEM TO BE HEARD BY THE MIAMI CITY
Department of Real
COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), REVIEWING THE
Estate and Asset
PROPOSER'S UNSOLICITED PROPOSAL, FOR A PUBLIC -
Management
PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, TO REFURBISH THE PROPERTY; MAKE
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS THERETO; AND, SEEK THE MIAMI
CITY COMMISSION'S APPROVAL TO ISSUE A REQUEST FOR
PROPOSALS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 18-119, CODE
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI.
RESULT: DISCUSSED
Note for the Record. A motion was made by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by
Commissioner Hardemon, and was passed unanimously by the Commission; to
reject the unsolicited proposab
For additional minutes referencing Item DI. 5, please see "Public Comment Period
for Regular Item(s). "
Chair Russell: I would like to bring our attention to DI. 5, the Olympia Theater. Do
we have a presentation on this item?
Daniel Rotenberg (Director): Good afternoon. Daniel Rotenberg, Department of
Real Estate and Asset Management. I believe the proposers are here; they can give
a presentation.
Chair Russell: Thank you. And one note for Administration, please. In the future --
and I have mentioned this before -- this discussion item does not actually give any
substantive hints as to what it is referring, so there's no address there. It does not
say, "Olympia Theater, " it does not say "Guzman. " It just says, "the property. " You
have to actually click on the item to learn what it is. So a simple search of our
City of Miami Page 152 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
agenda would not even yield this. I really want us to be more transparent on our
(INAUDIBLE).
Mr. Rotenberg: We actually had this. We had to correct something in agenda, and
somehow, when this was being sent, the -- RE.2 -- it was on the documents, and it got
lost somehow when it was sent. It was originally on the document.
Chair Russell. Thank you. I know it wasn't intentional. There's been plenty of
advertising on it, so --
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Understood, sir.
Chair Russell: -- anyone who wants to know about this, I know, knows about it, so.
Good morning -- good afternoon.
Mario Abati: Good morning -- good afternoon. Sorry. I do have a presentation. I
have shared it with many of you -- actually, all of you. I don't have an HDMI (High -
Definition Media Interface) cable with my Wad, but I could definitely talk about it in
depth.
Commissioner Hardemon: Do you need one?
Mr. Abati: I don't have an HDMI connector.
Chair Russell: Oh, a port; he doesn't have a port.
Commissioner Hardemon: So I'm saying, you need like some sort of adaptive device,
or something of that nature?
Mr. Abati: Something to --
Commissioner Hardemon: You need like an adapter?
Mr. Abati: Yeah.
Commissioner Hardemon: Let me check. I'll see. I may be able to have one, so.
Mr. Abati: Thank you. I can talk briefly about my organization and what we're
looking to do. Again, my name is Mario Abati, and I'm one of the founders of the
New Urban Initiative.
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Sir, can you come over here and see if this adapter
works, also?
Mr. Abati: Sorry; new technology. My apologies; be more than happy to share it
with you. But again, the New Urban Initiative is a nonprofit organization that seeks
to acquire cash flowing commercial properties, whereby over 50 percent; 50 percent
of the net proceeds goes back into the community to other nonprofit organizations
that focus on four key areas: food and housing insecurities, special needs, and
education. Again, that's over 50 percent of net proceeds goes back into local
nonprofits. So our proposal for the Olympia Theater is to completely renovate the
theater on the interior, as well as the exterior; in addition to that, convert the
existing tower into an 80 -room boutique independent hotel. We have accounted for
all the cost necessary to do the renovations to the exterior, and the interior
renovations to the hotel would be done by our organization. So just to give you an
example, the property, upon stabilization -- the hotel component itself will generate
$1.4 million annually, not including debt service and taxes. Over the course of six
City of Miami Page 153 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
years alone, the City would receive close to $3 million in taxes, leases, as well as 3
percent of gross revenue from the hotel to a preservation fund; an additional 2
percent of gross revenue to emergency evacuation fund. The rest, again, goes back
to the New Urban Initiative, which then get distributed here locally. Our goal is to
acquire over 10 properties, commercial properties here in South Florida, and have
over $10 million where nonprofits can pull from annually. So with that said, I'll be
happy to answer any questions. Again, I apologize for the technology. I'd be happy
to send everybody this package.
Chair Russell: Thank you. And I received a briefing from your group earlier on
this, and I appreciate that.
Commissioner Hardemon: Apple is pretty interesting, right? Remember when Apple
first started? It wasn't compatible with a lot of those things that were going on with
the Mac -- with the PC (personal computer) world. And then there came a time
where Apple, the products you could use, and it was compatible with the PCs and,
you know, it was all good. Now, it's almost like Apple is going back to that same
thing, because here we are; we can't give a presentation because Apple decided to --
Vice Chair Gort. You got to buy their own products.
Commissioner Hardemon: Yeah. You got to buy their own stuff. So now you can't
make the presentation.
Ms. Mendez: Would you like to email it to us? And then we could put it on one of
our --
Mr. Abati: Certainly, yes, absolutely. I can do that right now.
Chair Russell: So Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: I heard that you heard his presentation before?
Chair Russell: Not exactly what was said just now, but I've had a briefing on this
issue.
Mr. Abati: I've reached out to every --
Vice Chair Gort: I did, too.
Mr. Abati: -- Commissioner here to get an appointment. I've met with Mr. Gort and
a representative from Mr. Hardemon, and Mr. Russell himself. I wasn't able to get a
meeting with Mr. --
Commissioner Reyes: Oh, I thought that --
Mr. Abati: --I didn't leave you out, I promise.
Commissioner Reyes: -- the Chairman had caught up with me, because I don't
remember seeing you in my ojjice.
Mr. Abati: No, exactly.
Commissioner Reyes: And I said, "Oh, my God, you know that Mr. Alzheimer
already got a hold of me. " But -- because when you -- categorically, you said that
you have gone to -- and have met with everybody, you know --
City of Miami Page 154 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Abati: No. I've --
Commissioner Reyes: -- except me.
Mr. Abati: --we've reached out and we've sent a proposal.
Commissioner Reyes: Oh, reached out, but you didn't reach out here.
Mr. Abati: Correct, correct, correct.
Mr. Abati: We sent emails, but we just never fully connected.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. This is the first time I see your face, you know. I never
Mr. Abati: Okay.
Commissioner Reyes: -- seen you before.
Chair Russell: Thank you. And thank you for this proposal and your interest in the
property. The truth is we are not being a good steward of our historic structures and
properties, and we need to do a better job as a city, and we need to do it more
quickly and more proactively. I don't blame folks for coming and bringing
unsolicited proposals for properties that we are either neglecting or falling behind
on, or their previous owner is coming back to us and saying, "Hey, what's going
on?" We really need to kick ourselves in gear here to make sure that we do right by
this historic structure at the very minimum, at the very bare bones, the renovation of
what is falling apart from a safety perspective and a historic perspective. The asset's
just too important. And if you've ever been inside, you instantly feel how important
this is to the City of Miami that we get this right, so I do thank you for your proposal.
That being said, I'd like to ask the City Clerk if you recall or have on record the
resolution that we passed giving direction to the Manager to come back to us with an
agreement between the City and Miami Dade College about a year ago. Is that --
more or less? Do we have a date on that reso that was passed? Can someone find
that?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Sure. We can look it up.
Chair Russell: Thank you. And I know we have representatives from Miami Dade
College here, because at that time, an idea had come about, as Miami Dade College
has proven itself a good steward of our historic structure and theaters, as well, to
work together with them and come -- bring something back. Nothing has yet to be
brought back. And I don't know whose ball the court is in [sic], but I believe that we
owe that proposal its day before we issue an open RFP (Request for Proposals),
because I think that our intention, government to government, with Miami Dade
College, was to put together a student housing proposal with a theater --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Chair Russell: -- management proposal, and a complete renovation package from
the City side for the exterior and from the college from the interior. I would love to
see from the Management in the next -- I'd say by one of the September meetings
something that gives us a solid ability to make a decision on this about Miami Dade
College with regard to all the financing possibilities that can be used -- utilized to
meet that 15 to 25 -million -dollar gap, whether it's transfer development right,
transfer development density, outside financing historic, whatever, to see exactly
what our gap is, to see exactly what our financing possibilities are, our management
City of Miami Page 155 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
possibilities for the theater, and for the housing that's inside. I don't think this is
necessarily a bad idea that's been brought to us, but I believe we're on a path that we
haven't completed before we take this next step. And if that path is exhausted, then
we take this RFP step, and whether it's a boutique hotel, or whether we want to open
it up a little more broadly for different uses, because the housing options that are
there now are affordable. The student option is a type of affordability for youth that
we don't have in the core, and the boutique hotel is an option. I'm open to all of
them, but I'd like to do the proper process.
Mr. Rotenberg: I just want to add one little item. We have sent Miami Dade College
agreements, and we are waiting back for a response. Last time we'd spoken to them,
they were asking the City to take over the renovations and fund these renovations,
and fund some of the operations. They were willing to do the interiors.
Chair Russell: Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Gort: Let me ask you a question. My understanding, in your
presentation, you stated the other funding to do all the renovations that needs to be
done in the theater and outside?
Mr. Abati: No. So we have come up with a plan for the funding of the exterior
renovation, which includes the sale of TRDs [sic] and TDDs (Transfer Development
Densities). If I must add one thing to your comment --
Chair Russell: Please.
Mr. Abati: I am -- my proposal is very well adept to the needs of Miami Dade
College, so there is room for changing this proposal. I'm a hotelier at heart. I do
not do theaters, but I am a buff of historic properties. So technically --
Vice Chair Gort: What is it?
Mr. Abati: -- if Miami Dade College would like to come in and use that as a theater
operation, I would be more than happy to work with them on that. In addition to
that, my company also is currently asset -managing eight brand-new student housing
facilities in Little Havana, of which I would love to talk to Miami Dade College
about.
Commissioner Carollo: Can I get in --?
Commissioner Hardemon: Before you go -- I know you're going to go into the Little
Havana and the student housing -- could I say something really quickly?
Commissioner Carollo: Go ahead.
Commissioner Hardemon: Okay. Thank you. The students don't necessarily take
the -- they're not the best stewards of housing. I -- in my experience as a student.
And I've watched colleges build housing, University of Miami, et cetera, and usually,
those older dorms get torn down and they build a new one, right? They just --
students abuse housing, right? And this being such a historic structure as it is, I
don't know if I even like the idea of it being student housing. It -- the building is
obviously very important. The theater is obviously very important, and seeing it
being used, I think is -- will do tremendous things for the City of Miami. And it's
huge. I mean, it's a huge space that we can use. But the spaces that are above it, we
know used to be some commercial spaces before, et cetera. But to see it become a
boutique hotel, and a boutique hotel attached to a theater like that -- not saying his --
this goes out for an RFP anyway, but I think it just would attract a much different
City of Miami Page 156 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
element to that space. Obviously, we want to partner with our institutions that are
near certain things, and I think that's important for us to do, but to have this
structure kind of come to life in that kind of way would be, I think, a tremendous
asset to the City of Miami.
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chair --
Chair Russell: Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, I'll let Commissioner Reyes, and I'll comeback.
Commissioner Reyes: Well, I'm going to answer. Before --after I finish, please tell
me where in Little Havana you have the institute and housing. But in my opinion,
there is great importance in that building. And Keon, you might know this, but our
offices, they used to be there; the Law Offices and the Budget Office was there when
Howard Gary was the --
Commissioner Hardemon: Howard, Howard.
Commissioner Reyes: -- I worked in that building, you see. And -- but in my opinion
-- and I might be wrong -- the most important part is the Guzman Theater. The
theater is unique. It is unique, and how it is going to be managed and how it's going
to be used, that is extremely importance. You see, what you do with what it is above
that -- I mean, you can do hotel, you can do student housing, and even you can go
commercial. But the -- but we have to preserve and utilize more, because I would
love to see that theater with the flavor and the architecture it has used extensively. I
would love to see it --see productions coming into that theater. We might not have a
Broadway play, but we can have all the plays that would come there, you see, and
that's what I would like to see more than anything else. And my concern is you --
that I might believe -- that I don't believe in historic. I do believe in historic, but as
long as it has history behind it. That is a historic building.
Chair Russell: It is.
Commissioner Reyes: And that theater -- you cannot find in the State of Florida a
theater like that.
Chair Russell: That's true.
Commissioner Reyes: You cannot find it. And that is my main concern. How do we
preserve it and how do we use it? And you said that you don't have any experience
in that.
Mr. Abati: Sir, I --
Commissioner Reyes: Just to ask. You said --
Mr. Abati: No, no. I do actually have a plan for that. In fact, we've met with a
number of third party operators who are very experienced in this field. But also, in
addition to that, I've actually worked on a number of historic properties throughout
my career, and I look forward to --
Commissioner Reyes: But this is not a typical historic property.
Mr. Abati: Correct, correct.
Commissioner Reyes: This is a special historic property.
City of Miami Page 157 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Abati: Very special, and all the more reason why we need --
Vice Chair Gort: In Miami.
Mr. Abati: -- all the more reason why we wanted to present this proposal, because
we really feel that should this wait any longer, it will run the same course as the
Coco Walk Theater -- Coco Theater here in Coconut Grove; Coconut Grove Theater,
here in Coconut Grove. And we don't want that to happen. In fact, you know, this
plan is fully encompassing. It does more than just preserve the building, but it
actually generates revenue for the community for years to come. If you're familiar
with the Newman's Own product, it's very similar to that. It's taking a product and
then giving the contributions back to nonprofits, and that's what we really want to
do. Again, please, if anything, don't look at my proposal. Let's send it out to RFP
and see what everybody else wants to do. If it's not mine, and somebody else's, that's
fine. At least it moves the ball.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Yes. You had mentioned that you have boutique hotels, or
student housing, or something in Little Havana. What did you say
(UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Mr. Abati: So, we're currently -- so we currently asset manage about 30 properties
throughout Miami -Dade County, and 8 of them will be brand-new student housing
facilites in Little Havana. Its with a group called Metronomic.
Commissioner Carollo: Will be?
Mr. Abati: Will be.
Commissioner Carollo: And where is this at?
Mr. Abati: Mostly around the Intra America Campus, and closer to the baseball
stadium.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Now, you also talked about third party operators. Is
that for the theater or for the boutique hotel?
Mr. Abati: For both. So third party operator is for the theater. That's what they
specialize in --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Mr. Abati: -- is theaters. We've identified a few, but we're also open to other ideas
with other nonprofits.
Commissioner Carollo: But who are your third party operators that you've talked to
for the --
Mr. Abati: So we don't have --
Commissioner Carollo: -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Mr. Abati: -- signed up. We don't have anybody signed up as of yet, but for the hotel
City of Miami Page 158 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: But you're not going to run it yourself. You're going to give
it to a third party operator.
Mr. Abati: Correct, correct. And so, the hotel will be run by a group called Sonders
that's backed by Jeff Bezos, API Integration, Cloud Based Technologies, the most
efficient --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. Abati: -- system for our hotels.
Commissioner Carollo: All right. When you're saying for the hotel, it's a group
called --
Mr. Abati: Sonder.
Commissioner Carollo: But that's not going to be the one operating it?
Mr. Abati: They're going to be the one operating the hotel, correct.
Commissioner Carollo: They'll be the ones operating the hotel?
Mr. Abati: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: And where are they from?
Mr. Abati: Out of California.
Commissioner Carollo: Out of California?
Mr. Abati: Mm-hmm.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mr. Abati: But they have local offices here in Wynwood.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Do you have any other business outside of Florida?
Mr. Abati: No.
Commissioner Carollo: No? Nothing in Panama or --?
Mr. Abati: Panama? No. I have never been to Central or South America.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. No, no, no. I'll find that out in two minutes, if you're
not, you know -- if you're being forgetful.
Mr. Abati: Feel free.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, all this stuff in the Panama papers. You know, that's
only in make believe. I could find out any company you want in two minutes, so. I
don't feel right in this, at all. I -- my sixth sense is telling me, you know, this is not
the time for this. Truly, look, I cannot imagine that we're going to end up doing a
boutique hotel at that location; if anything, I mean, there might be a lot of good
ideas, but I -- you know, unless we're going to lose a tremendous amount of money --
and I haven't looked at the financials -- it would make a lot of sense to me to go with
Miami Dade and explore the possibility of student housing there. I'd like to go
City of Miami Page 159 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
through that scenario first before Igo to the next one. Now, having said that, what I
am not thrilled about is to give anybody -- whether it's Miami Dade, whether it's
your company, or any other company -- a run of the Olympic [sic] Theater. This is
the prime jewel that the City of Miami owns. As Commissioner Reyes said, there's
nothing like it anywhere in the State of Florida. And, my God, if there's anything
that we can be proud of that's historical, truly historical, is that Olympic [sic]
Theater. And if we can't even maintain that ourselves, then what the heck are we
talking about in building anything else? How can we be going forward in discussing
building another white elephant in the Marine Stadium, and we're not even willing to
take care of the Olympic [sic] Theater? And I submit to you, that's the first thing we
should resolve before we proceed in anything other -- any other venture like the
Marine Stadium. So if we can't afford one, how can we afford the other? So my
support will not be for you or anybody else to put an RFP such as this. I -- and I --
you know, after 40 years that I started as a very young man here, I sometimes can
smell things, and besides Psalm 91, that's what's kept me alive. Even before they
launch the missile at me, I know it's being launched, and the radar is on, and the
anti-missile batteries are working. And on this one, it don't smell good to me. You
know, I happen to have seen a certain lobbyist around here today that I hadn't seen
before. He might not have anything to do with you, but, you know --
Mr. Abati: I have no lobbyists.
Commissioner Carollo: --he --yeah --was after something. And so --
Chair Russell: Commissioner, is that a motion --
Commissioner Carollo: -- I --
Chair Russell: -- to reject?
Commissioner Carollo: It's a motion to reject, sir.
Chair Russell: Is there a second?
Commissioner Hardemon: I'll second it.
Chair Russell: Seconded by Commissioner Hardemon.
Commissioner Hardemon: And I'll second it because -- just for this discussion,
right? So the thing about the unsolicited proposal is it forces us to kind of go out
there at the time. And although I'm not in agreeance with necessarily student
housing above it, because I think that is going to truly cause a degradation of the
property, I do want us to kind of have that conversation about what we should do
with this stadium -- I mean, with the --
Commissioner Carollo: Well, that's a fair --
Commissioner Hardemon: -- building.
Commissioner Carollo: -- statement.
Commissioner Hardemon: Yeah. And I --
Commissioner Carollo: Even though I'll tell you, today's students, especially at
Miami Dade, they don't party as hard as you used to when you were in college.
Vice Chair Gort: They don't have the funds.
City of Miami Page 160 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: You know, and in fact, if I could, housing is our crisis right now;
boutique hotel is not necessarily our crisis. We have 80 units of affordable housing
there right now, even though the covenant has expired. You can see in this picture
eight floors of 10 units on each floor, and I've walked each floor. I've done the tour.
They're actually quite cute studio units. You almost feel like you're in New York,
overlooking a busy street over this, and housing attached to a theater is not a foreign
concept in a large city. I don't believe that the students that would attend Miami
Dade College, just as Commissioner Carollo is saying, they're not going to trash this
property any more than affordable housing residents have trashed this property; they
haven't. Its -- it has been well kept, and with credit to the group that has been
managing the theater, the housing has been intact and fully occupied; the theater has
been operated. The group that has helped keep it afloat deserves much, much credit
for that, because it is doing regular shows at this time of good quality. So that being
said, I would like to see us exhaust the issue of Miami Dade College. If there is no
path there, I'd like to know that sooner than later. I believe there could be a path
there. I believe there are options there. And you hear the will of this body to protect
this asset. As little of it as we can tap into, but being willing to do so, the Miami
Forever Bond does have buckets that specifically have to do with cultural assets,
which this could apply. And if we've set those funds aside and this is a crucial asset
we need to take care of, we need to step up and take care of our assets.
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Chair Russell: One thing I'd like to say, and just before I pass the floor, I would like
to put it out there and get consensus from this body that we are not interested in
developing above the theater or the units. A lot of the proposals that have floated
around in the past in order to get the highest potential monetary use is to develop
higher and actually build structurally. And so, I would love this body to know that I
am not in agreement with that, and that if we do an RFP down the road that it does
not include that as an option. And I'll --
Commissioner Carollo: I agree with you.
Commissioner Reyes: I agree with you, sir.
Chair Russell: Commissioner --
Commissioner Carollo: This is --
Chair Russell: -- Carollo, and then --
Commissioner Carollo: -- truly a historic building.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: It's just not the theater, but the whole building is historic,
and I would fully agree with that statement on this particular site. But again, the
path of going through Miami Dade, I think it should be a two prong approach; one
having to do with the actual 80 units that we have. And I don't mind that we can
enter into a discussion, even though I think I've made myself clear here, that we
could discuss with them the Olympic -- Olympia Theater, but I think we need to
separate both of them, because at the end, this might not be a joint deal. The
upstairs, I'm very amicable in discussing that very deeply with them, as long as we're
not going to lose money, but the downstairs is another thing.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
City of Miami Page 161 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: This one, we need to do a lot of soul searching, because I'm
not about to give our prize jewel away. And you said something about monies that
we have in the bond issue. My God, if this doesn't qualms for culture and art, I don't
know what does then.
Chair Russell: Thank you. And to answer your other question about bifurcating,
from what I have heard of the initial talks with Miami Dade College, the concept
would be bifurcated; potentially, a management agreement of the theater. And then
for the housing side, they would do the entire investment of the gut renovation;
millions of dollars internally to that housing for the students, and then they would get
a longer term lease for that if they're going to invest in that, but we would be
responsible for the exterior faqade restoration. Commissioner Gort, then Mr.
Manager, and then --
Commissioner Reyes: Chairman?
Chair Russell: -- Commissioner Reyes.
Vice Chair Gort: I (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I made the motion to get the funding to do
affordable housing in the '90 [sic] of this building.
Chair Russell: I'm sorry?
Vice Chair Gort: I'm the one that provided the funding for this building to build
affordable housing.
Chair Russell: Was that 30 years ago?
Vice Chair Gort: More or less.
Chair Russell: Because the covenant's finished.
Vice Chair Gort: I know it's finished, but it's been -- I've been around for quite a bit,
and --
Commissioner Carollo: What year was that?
Vice Chair Gort: -- at one time --
Commissioner Carollo: 19 -- what?
Vice Chair Gort: -- I was member of the -- I was the president of the Downtown
Miami Business Association, where we had worked a lot on that, and worked with
the DDA (Downtown Development Association) in getting all those things done. I
think this is something -- now, let me ask you about air rights. To sell the air right
doesn't mean that they're going to build on top it. You can sell the air rights to --
Mr. Abati: We can, sir, yes.
Vice Chair Gort: -- sell it, but to use it in some other facility --
Mr. Abati: Yes.
Vice Chair Gort: -- because there is a market for air rights; I want you to
understand that, because there's funding that can be provided there.
Mr. Abati: Yes, sir.
City of Miami Page 162 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Vice Chair Gort: So I think the Managers needs to sit down and look at all the
options, and let's get it done. I mean --
Chair Russell: Can you bring us something in September, Mr. Manager?
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes, sir, we can.
Vice Chair Gort: After Miami Dade.
Mr. Gonzalez: I'm just -- I'm sorry. I just want to agree. In fact, I believe that right
now Miami Dade College is the most frequent user of that theater, if I'm not
mistaken, and I think they would be very valuable stewards. I just want to be clear
that we are continuing our conversations with the college. We have put forth
proposals. We have not received responses yet; that's one. The other is, we are
rejecting, if I understand the will of this Commission, the unsolicited proposal that's
before us today. And lastly, we will save an RFP process for later or do you want us
to do these simultaneously or --? I just want to make sure we get the right guidance
from you, sir, because we all agree. It's a wonderful -- it's a jewel of our community,
and we want to make sure it's protected, it's taken care of, and we want to do it right.
Commissioner Carollo: We're not talking about any RFP process, as I understood.
Chair Russell: Until after the Miami Dade College possibly is exhausted.
Commissioner Reyes: Absolutely, absolutely. What we --want to see what Miami
Dade has to offer. If we don't agree with it --
Chair Russell: Then we'll (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: --then we'll take the necessary steps to preserve and to find
somebody that will manage it and will use the building, or we can bifurcate, like he
said. You see?
Mr. Gonzalez: Understood, sir. Thank you for clarification.
Commissioner Reyes: You see?
Chair Russell: Thank you very much. There is a motion and a second to reject the
current proposal with respect, and thanks for those who have prepared it.
Mr. Abati: Can I just ask one question?
Chair Russell: Yes.
Mr. Abati: If I was able to work with Miami Dade College where they were the
managers of the theater, and I put in a separate proposal just for the tower, under
the same circumstances I let forth here, would you guys be more interested in a
proposal such as that?
Chair Russell: I would say that's between you and Miami Dade College --
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Chair Russell: -- to work together and see if there's something, because right now,
they are at the table with a directive of this body to the management from the
previous -- Did you find the date of when we --?
City of Miami Page 163 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
D1.6
6027
Commissioners
and Mayor
Commissioner Carollo: But let's be clear. What we discussed with Miami Dade was
for student housing.
Commissioner Reyes: Not for a hotel.
Commissioner Carollo: Notfor a hotel.
Chair Russell: Correct.
Mr. Abati: Correct. And so, the other thing, the proceeds, again, we were
accounting around $700,000 a year that goes towards building single-family
affordable homes here in Miami -Dade. Again, I just want to make sure that you guys
are aware that this is a very philanthropic, social business model that can be
changed to work for everybody's needs; it truly, truly, honestly is. And if there's any
way that I can make this work, please let me know.
Chair Russell: Thank you. And I believe you should talk to Miami Dade College.
Vice Chair Gort. They're right there.
Chair Russell: I've just found the reso from the Clerk, and it was 15 months ago that
we passed a resolution asking for the management to work together with Miami
Dade College.
Commissioner Reyes: It's about time.
Chair Russell: Whichever side has kept things slow, this is our deadline to say, by
the second meeting in September, to bring something back to us solid that we can
make a decision on. And I know Miami Dade's going through their own transitions.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, we can get you something the first meeting in September, if you
like; we're ready.
Chair Russell: Even better. Thank you very much. Is there any further discussion
on the motion on the floor? Hearing none, all in favor, say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes. Thank you very much.
DISCUSSION ITEM
A DISCUSSION ITEM REGARDING KEYS TO THE CITY AND CITY
PROCLAMATIONS.
MOTION TO: Defer by Unanimous Consent
RESULT: DEFERRED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT
Chair Russell: I would recommend that we adjourn at this point. The one last
discussion item, the Mayor has asked if you would defer it, as he's not here to
address the issue, and I think you had a discussion that has to do with
(UNINTELLIGIBLE).
City of Miami Page 164 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Carollo: I will do that for him. Its no problem.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Just continue to next meeting DI. --
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): To the July 25 --
Chair Russell: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: -- DI. 6.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
END OF DISCUSSION ITEMS
City of Miami Page 165 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission
BCA
5544
Office of the City
Cierk
Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
I*Z*07ilNBill FAkiI9Xd01LviIJllIll aI; I�?
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT COUNCIL FOR
TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Citv of Miami Page 166 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
BC.2
5545
Office of the City
Cierk
BC.3
5441
Office of the City
Cierk
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE AUDIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR TERMS
AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE
FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
fRESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
Citv of Miami Page 167 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission
BCA
6150
Office of the City
Clerk
BC.5
6166
Office of the City
Clerk
Meeting Minutes
RESOLUTION
July 11, 2019
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION CONFIRMING THE
APPOINTMENT OF A CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE CIVILIAN
INVESTIGATIVE PANEL FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
RESULT:
RESOLUTION
APPOINTEE:
NO ACTION TAKEN
NOMINATED BY:
Civilian Investigative Panel
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A CERTAIN
INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE CODE COMPLIANCE TASK FORCE FOR A
TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE:
Enrique Urzais
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0291
MOTION TO:
Adopt
RESULT:
ADOPTED
MOVER:
Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:
Ken Russell, Commissioner
AYES:
Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
ABSENT:
Carollo
NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Chair Russell: Good afternoon. Calling back to order the July 11 meeting of the
City Commission. We only have a few substantive items left on the agenda. I'd like
to go ahead and start with the -- How many board item -- how many board
appointments do we have; only two? Let's go knock those out. We've got our --
we've got a quorum. We'll do board appointments first; then we'll take up the
Olympia discussion, and then finish up with the --
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): Thank you, Chair.
Chair Russell: -- Rickenbacker.
Ms. Ewan: On BC.S, the Code Compliance Task Force: Commissioner Reyes would
like to appoint Enrique Urzais to the board.
City of Miami Page 168 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission
BC.6
6144
Office of the City
Cierk
Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Ms. Ewan: It's a vacant position.
Chair Russell: Thank you. We have a motion.
Commissioner Hardemon: I have a question. Is that --I have an appointment for
Code Compliance, as well?
Ms. Ewan: Not the Task Force. You've got --
Commissioner Hardemon: Oh, that's the Task Force.
Ms. Ewan: Yes.
Commissioner Hardemon: All right. (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Go ahead. And if --
and just -- because I don't have my staff here -- if my staff can bring me my agenda
plasma, that would be great.
Ms. Ewan: We have a motion by Commissioner Gort.
Chair Russell: Seconded by the Chair. Any discussion? All in favor, say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes.
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A CERTAIN
INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD FOR A TERM AS
DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE:
Samuel Latimore
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0292
MOTION TO
RESULT:
MOVER:
SECONDER
AYES:
ABSENT:
Adopt
ADOPTED
Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
Keon Hardemon, Commissioner
Russell, Gort, Reyes, Hardemon
Carollo
NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): And the last one is for BC.6, the Code
Enforcement Board. Commissioner Hardemon would like to appoint Professor
Samuel Latimore to a vacantposition.
Commissioner Reyes: Move.
City of Miami Page 169 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Hardemon: Seconded
Chair Russell: It's been moved by Commissioner Reyes; seconded by Commissioner
Hardemon. Any further discussion? All in favor; say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes. Thank you very much.
Ms. Ewan: Thank you, Chair.
Chair Russell: Thank you. That was easy.
13C.7 RESOLUTION
5547 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
Office of the City INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD FOR TERMS
Clerk AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
City of Miami Page 170 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission
BC.8
5839
Office of the City
Cierk
Meeting Minutes
RESOLUTION
July 11, 2019
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
L RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Citv of Miami Page 171 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
BC.9 RESOLUTION
5198 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
Office of the City INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS
Cierk AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
Citv of Miami Page 172 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Manager Emilio T.
Gonzalez
(Voting Member)
City Manager Emilio T.
Gonzalez
(Post -Secondary Education
Representative)
City Manager Emilio T.
Gonzalez
(School District Representative)
City Manager Emilio T.
Gonzalez
(Children's Trust Representative)
City Manager Emilio T.
Gonzalez
(Ex -Officio Non -Voting Member)
City Manager Emilio T.
Gonzalez
(Ex -Officio Non -Voting Youth
Member)
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
Citv of Miami Page 172 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
BC.10 RESOLUTION
5976 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
Office of the City INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ADVISORY BOARD
Cierk FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
IAFF
FOP
AFSCME 1907
AFSCME 871
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
Citv of Miami Page 173 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
BCA 1 RESOLUTION
5662 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
Office of the City INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE FOR TERMS AS
Cierk DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.12 RESOLUTION
1599 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
Office of the City INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE HEALTH FACILITIES AUTHORITY BOARD FOR
Cierk TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
Citv of Miami Page 174 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
BC.13
5451
Office of the City
Cierk
BC.14
5199
Office of the City
Cierk
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE MAYOR'S INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR
TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Commission -At -Large
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE MIAMI FOREVER BOND PROGRAM CITIZENS'
OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Citv of Miami Page 175 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
BC.15
5039
Office of the City
Cierk
BC.16
5452
Office of the City
Cierk
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE OVERTOWN ADVISORY BOARD/OVERTOWN
COMMUNITY OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
(Youth Member)
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
Citv of Miami Page 176 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
I RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
*sm N=91011110j1Is] h
5346 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A CERTAIN
Office of the City INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE SEA LEVEL RISE COMMITTEE FOR A TERM AS
Cierk DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.18 RESOLUTION
5043 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
Office of the City INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE SENIOR CITIZENS' ADVISORY BOARD FOR
Cierk TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
Citv of Miami Page 177 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
BC.19
3693
Office of the City
Cierk
BC.20
5453
Office of the City
Cierk
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE STARS OF CALLE OCHO WALK OF FAME
COMMITTEE FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commission -At -Large
Commission -At -Large
Commission -At -Large
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD
(UDRB) FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Citv of Miami Page 178 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
BC.21
5844
Office of the City
Clerk
BC.22
5550
Office of the City
Clerk
I RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE VIRGINIA KEY ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS
AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES:
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commission -At -Large
RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE VIRGINIA KEY BEACH PARK TRUST FOR
TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
L RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Citv of Miami Page 179 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
BC.23 RESOLUTION
5551 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
Office of the City INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD FOR
Cierk TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Keon Hardemon
RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN
END OF BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
Citv of Miami Page 180 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
1»_1►1kiIIki Aki19t*07►11►[eye]NC;I:telam: I;vsli'1
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S)
PART B: PZ - PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S)
The following item(s) shall not be considered before 2:00 PM
PZ.1
ORDINANCE First Reading
5310
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
ORDINANCE NO. 13114, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY
Commissioners
OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("MIAMI 21"), MORE
and Mayor- PZ
SPECIFICALLY BY AMENDING ARTICLE 1, SECTION 1.2, TITLED
"DEFINITIONS OF TERMS," TO MODIFY THE DEFINITIONS OF
ATTAINABLE MIXED -INCOME HOUSING AND WORKFORCE
HOUSING; BY AMENDING ARTICLE 3, SECTION 3.15, TITLED
"AFFORDABLE AND ATTAINABLE MIXED -INCOME HOUSING
SPECIAL BENEFIT PROGRAM SUPPLEMENTAL REGULATIONS," TO
ADD NEW INCENTIVES, INCLUDING A FLOOR LOT RATIO ("FLR")
BONUS AND NEW MINIMUM UNIT SIZES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT
OF PROJECTS, PROVIDING HOUSING FOR MIXED -INCOME
POPULATIONS AT OR BELOW ONE HUNDRED FORTY PERCENT
(140%) OF AREA MEDIAN INCOME AS ESTABLISHED BY THE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT, AND TO PERMIT AFFORDABLE AND ATTAINABLE
MIXED -INCOME DEVELOPMENTS ABUTTING A T3 TRANSECT
ZONE BY PROCESS OF EXCEPTION WITH CITY COMMISSION
APPROVAL; TO CLARIFY LANGUAGE WITHIN MIAMI 21; MAKING
FINDINGS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
MOTION TO: Continue
RESULT: CONTINUED
MOVER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
SECONDER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes, Hardemon
Note for the Record. Item PZ.I was continued to the September 12, 2019, Regular
Commission Meeting.
For additional minutes referencing Item PZ.1, please see "Order of the Day. "
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): And PZ 1 ?
Chair Russell: Yes. Can I get a motion to defer PZ.1 to the --?
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Commissioner Carollo: Motion to defer. Second.
Chair Russell: And management was requesting what date for that one, the PZ
(Planning and Zoning) item? Next meeting?
Citv of Miami Page 181 Printed on 1010812019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: No. I --
Chair Russell: July --
Commissioner Reyes: -- we have to wait until -- I think that -- there's still some
things that -- some issues that we have to iron out.
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Right. And I think --
Commissioner Reyes: And I've been talking to Francisco, and I'm trying to get an
agreement with him.
Chair Russell: September?
Mr. Gonzalez: Well, sir --
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah, September.
Mr. Gonzalez: -- I think July is pushing it. If we can get it --
Chair Russell: First meeting in September.
Mr. Gonzalez: -- we'll do it in September.
Chair Russell: First meeting in September.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, that's right.
Chair Russell: There's a motion. There's a second. Any further discussion? All in
favor, say "aye. if
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: I'm sorry.
Elvis Cruz: Mr. Chair?
Mr. Hannon: We're on PZ. 1.
Chair Russell: PZ.1.
Mr. Hannon: And it's being deferred to when? My apologies.
Chair Russell: First meeting in September.
Mr. Hannon: First meeting in September, so that's September 12. This gentleman
wanted to speak on the deferral.
Chair Russell: On the deferral of PZ. 1.
Mr. Hannon: PZ. 1.
Chair Russell: Yes.
Michael March: Go ahead, Elvis.
City of Miami Page 182 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mr. Cruz: Thank you. Elvis Cruz, 631 Northeast 57th Street. Gentlemen, I've been
here many times already about this issue. I would -- I'm very disappointed that it's
being deferred. I would hope that from what I heard at the last meeting that this was
discussed, there were at least, by my count, three Commissioners that were in
agreement that the 500 foot buffer between T3 and affordable housing should be
maintained. So --
Chair Russell: Thank you for your comments.
Mr. Cruz: -- I would ask that you, in your conversations with Administration, be
firm in that. Let me also give you a very brief history when the whole concept of
granting incentives to affordable housing, specifically parking requirement
reductions (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Russell: Please speak to the deferral, not the substance, if you could;
timeliness is what we're dealing with here.
Mr. Cruz: All right.
Chair Russell: Because it is a very complicated legislation, and those are very valid
points, but we're not actually taking up the discussion.
Mr. Cruz: Okay. That was the basis for even bringing it into reality; the
neighborhoods would be protected. So please consider that as you go forward.
Chair Russell: Well noted. Thank you, Ellis [sic]. Is that it? You have a comment
on a specific item?
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Russell: Do you have a comment to make about --?
Michael March: Yes. Thank you, Commissioner. Yes, I just have a comment about
the deferral of PZ. 1. I'm distributing --
Chair Russell: Your name, please.
Mr. March: --a list of --a letter I wrote regarding public benefits packages.
Chair Russell: Please state your name for the record.
Mr. March: Yes. My name's Michael March. I live in the West Grove, 3543 Plaza
Street. In preparation for September, I'm talking about public benefits. This is a
proposal that I would like to see. PZ.1 is a proposal I would like to see killed. It's
been deferred three times now; continued a third time, it would seem. When I was
here last month to talk about this, I mentioned how the public benefits are not being
distributed throughout all of Coconut Grove as part of the NCDs (Neighborhood
Conservation Districts). This is related to public benefits. And so, you said that you
were not aware of how it was not -- the public benefits were not being extended
throughout all of the Grove. If you take the time to read my letter, which I would
appreciate very much, I talk about the language in the NCD legislation, which will
prevent public benefits from going into the North Grove and to the Center Grove and
stay in my neighborhood, which is the West Grove. So I do resent that; that we're
being targeted, okay? And just -- I ask you out of respect, please read my letter that
I'm taking the time to distribute to you today. Thankyou.
City of Miami Page 183 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Chair Russell: Thankyou very much. Thanks for coming. And for the letter, we will
study it; although NCD and PZ.1 are separate -- quite separate issues, though.
Mr. March: I -- but the thing that they have in common is public benefits.
Chair Russell: Understood. I get your point.
Mr. March: Okay? And so, the reason that they're related is because as part of the
NCD amendments, FLR (floor/lot ratio) is being renewed from homeowners, like
myself, and it's being given to developers in the name ofpublic benefits.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
Mr. March: Thank you.
Chair Russell: Well noted. If there's no further business from the Commissioners --
Mr. Hannon: And Chair, just again, so PZ.1 is being defer -- or continued to
September 12? I just want to make sure I --
Chair Russell: Yes.
Mr. Hannon: Thank you. Sorry.
Commissioner Reyes: Hit it.
Chair Russell: All right. Everybody, thank you for your work today. Thank you for
your advocacy and your involvement. Have a good night.
Commissioner Reyes: Hit it.
Chair Russell: We're adjourned.
END OF PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S)
City of Miami Page 184 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes
NA - NON -AGENDA ITEM(S)
NA.1 DISCUSSION ITEM
6205 VICE CHAIR GORT RECOGNIZED THE STUDENT INTERNS THAT
City Commission ARE WORKING IN THIS OFFICE.
RESULT: DISCUSSED
Chair Russell: Is the Mayor available for the proclamation sheet?
Vice Chair Gort: May I have a privilege point for a minute?
Chair Russell: Absolutely.
July 11, 2019
Vice Chair Gort: I have some interns in here that done some work in my office, and
I would like to recognize them, so if they could stand up. Philip Brooks, Cedric
Gomez, Juan Larrain, and Alex Kim. This is high school kids doing work and
helping in our office. Thankyou.
Chair Russell: Thank you. How about a round of applause for them?
(Applause)
NA.2 RESOLUTION
6206 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION WAIVING THE
City Commission INDIRECT CONFLICT OF INTEREST ARISING FROM FOWLER
WHITE BURNETT, P.A. S, WITH ITS PARTNER FIRM O MELVENY &
MYERS LLP'S, REPRESENTATION OF ITS CLIENT JOHNSON &
JOHNSON SERVICES, INC. THAT EXISTS AS OF THE DATE OF
ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION; ACKNOWLEDGING THAT NO
FUTURE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST RELATED TO DIRECT
LITIGATION REPRESENTATION OF JOHNSON & JOHNSON
SERVICES, INC. SHALL BE WAIVED, SHOULD THEY ARISE, FROM
THE FIRM'S REPRESENTATION OF CLIENTS IN ANY MATTERS
DURING THE PERIOD OF TIME THE FIRM IS RETAINED TO ASSIST
THE CITY WITH THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AT THE CITY -
OWNED PROPERTY KNOWN AS THE MELREESE GOLF COURSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0289
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER: Keon Hardemon, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes, Hardemon
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Chairman?
Chair Russell: Yes, Madam Citv Attorney.
City of Miami Page 185 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Ms. Mendez: Could I bring up my pocket really quick while they setup?
Chair Russell: Yes. Madam City Attorney has a pocket item regarding the Melreese
issue. Please.
Ms. Mendez: Yes. Commissioners, I need to ask you for permission for a waiver for
Omelveny. They are representing Johnson and Johnson in unrelated matters, based
on their firm experience with Johnson and Johnson, but it's an indirect conflict, so I
need your permission to continue working with them in the Melreese item.
Chair Russell: Madam City Attorney, is there a direct conflict or an indirect
conflict?
Ms. Mendez: Right now, it's indirect. In the future, if it becomes direct, then we will
cease working with them, but for now, I just need permission for your -- for -- to
continue working with them on their indirect conflict. It should not be a problem,
based on the fact that it has nothing to do with -- at this time with the City. If --
Chair Russell: So if the conflict does become direct, you'd bring it back to us.
Ms. Mendez: We would.
Vice Chair Gort. Move it.
Chair Russell: There's a motion by Commissioner Gort to give direction to the City
Attorney --
Commissioner Hardemon: I'll second it.
Chair Russell: -- waiving any indirect conflict with regard to Omelveny on this
issue. Moved by Commissioner Gort; seconded by Commissioner Hardemon. Is
there any further discussion?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): My apologies, Chair. Madam City Attorney, is this a
resolution or is this --?
Ms. Mendez: It's a resolution. I'll give -- later I'll give you the wording. It's just a
waiver of a conflict.
Mr. Hannon: Understood. Public hearing?
Chair Russell: Thank you very much, Mr. Clerk. Is there anyone here from the
public who'd like to speak on this item? This has to do with -- the Melreese lease
deal is being negotiated by attorneys that have been put together by the City
Attorney, and approved by this Commission. One of those attorneys has an indirect
conflict, which there has been a motion and a second to pass a resolution to waive.
Is there anyone here who'd like to speak on that from the public? Hearing none, I'll
close public comment. Is there any further discussion on this item from the dais?
Hearing none, all in favor, say "aye. "
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes.
City of Miami Page 186 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
NA.3 RESOLUTION
6207 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING
City Commission THE CITY ATTORNEY, IN CONSULTATION WITH AND THROUGH
THE CITY OF MIAMI'S ("CITY") OUTSIDE COUNSEL, SHUTTS AND
BOWEN LLP, TO ENGAGE PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANTS,
INCLUDING PROPERTY APPRAISERS AND A PEER REVIEW FIRM,
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTS, AND TRAFFIC ENGINEERS, FOR
THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING A FAIR MARKET VALUE OF THE
MELREESE GOLF COURSE PROPERTY, LOCATED GENERALLY AT
1400 NORTHWEST 37TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, IN
CONNECTION WITH THE NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE CITY AND
MIAMI FREEDOM PARK, LLC.
ENACTMENT NUMBER: R-19-0290
MOTION TO: Adopt
RESULT: ADOPTED
MOVER: Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER: Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES: Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes, Hardemon
Commissioner Carollo: Since we're on that item --
Chair Russell: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: -- that just passed, I'd like to bring another one up, because
we need to move this forward if we're going to meet our timetable.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: At the last meeting, why the Administration brought to us
the name of a company to do the appraisal when we were very clear -- and I
certainly was -- when we chose and went through the process of choosing the firms
that were going to represent us, and we brought one for the real estate portion, one
for the stadium site that had the expertise, and we stated that they were going to be
the ones choosing and helping us choose the firms for the appraisal. So we voted
that down last meeting. I don't want more time to go by --
Commissioner Reyes: No.
Commissioner Carollo: -- before we give our approval for the process that we're
following, and this is why I'm bringing this out. When we voted for these firms in the
process that we followed, I believe we did it giving them the authority to bring in
whatever firms they needed to give appraisals; independent firms. So I'm bringing
this out for two reasons: One, based upon the voter approval for us to negotiate, one
of the conditions was that any appraisal firms, et cetera, would be paid by the people
that won this property, so they will be the ones paying for any firms that are chosen.
Secondly, I want to make sure that we don't have any problems right now for those
firms to proceed in choosing an appraiser for the project. And the way that I see it is
it's going to require at least two independent, separate appraisals. This project is
too big just to have one. They have to choose two different firms, and then possibly a
third firm then to put together what the other two did. So I'm bringing this out so if
there's any objections with anything like this that we air it out now, because we need
to move on with this quickly.
Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr. Mayor.
City of Miami Page 187 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mayor Francis Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I agree with the Commissioner.
We're having an awesome day today, Commissioner. We're agreeing on everything
today. I think --
Commissioner Carollo: Hawaii was good, huh? You got fresh air and --
Mayor Suarez: You got -- Hawaii was good. I was wondering how many Hawaii
comments I would get today, so --
Commissioner Carollo: You know, another trip, you know, to get --
Mayor Suarez: Did you meet your quota? Are -- is there two more --
Commissioner Carollo: No. We wished you were here.
Mayor Suarez: -- coming later? Because, you know, I'll come back if you want. No,
I'm still jetlagged. It's like 15 hours. It's awful. Anyhow, look, I agree with you
wholeheartedly. I think it's time to move forward. You know, the team has been
pressing us to negotiate. Frankly, we haven't even been able to hire our entire legal
team. And all this time, in Fort Lauderdale, they have won an RFP (Request for
Proposals), demolished a building, and gotten a lease done. So I think you're right.
I think what I would hope is that if the process that this Commission wants is that --
from my understanding and what was articulated at the last Commission meeting
was that the attorneys are going to select the appraisers, which I have no problem
with. I don't care who the appraiser is. As long as they're a reputable company, I
don't care who the company is. So my -- is it your expectation, Commissioner, or the
Commission, that that is going to come back, or do they have the authority to --
Commissioner Carollo: Well, look --
Mayor Suarez: -- make that decision?
Commissioner Carollo: -- my -- When we voted upon this --
Mayor Suarez: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm of the impression that we voted upon --
Mayor Suarez: To give them the authority.
Commissioner Carollo: -- giving them the authority to do it. However --
Mayor Suarez: Perfect.
Commissioner Carollo: -- if it is the will of this Commission that they want to
approve it, then what I am saying is let's hear it now so that we can get the firms we
chose to come back this afternoon and let us know what they have so we could
choose.
Mayor Suarez: And I have no problem with that. Obviously, I think that's a wise
course of action. I think we have to -- if we empower them, that's fine. I have no
problem with empowering them, and they can choose who they are. The issue I have
is we have one more Commission meeting in July, and then we're already in
September. So that's the concern that I have. I -- you know, and as you all know, the
deadline for the July meeting is Tuesday, so we have Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
Monday, and Tuesday for the July --
City of Miami Page 188 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: Listen, we are delaying this too much. I agree with
Commissioner Carollo. We empowered these firms and one of them was not on my
packet, that we -- the Commission and the City Attorney -- I mean, hire them, that we
empower them. They have to --they have the authority to pickup -- to pick a couple
of appraisals and start working, and that is the problem. I don't see why you say, "I
don't have any problem, " and you are not the one that is dealing with this.
Mayor Suarez: Well, I'm the Mayor, so.
Chair Russell: Mr. Mayor.
Commissioner Reyes: So you're the Mayor.
Mayor Suarez: So -- okay. Mr. Chair, thank you. So second question, Mr. --
Commissioner, because I want to clarify this, as well. Does that authority extend to
them selecting anyone to do an independent environmental assessment of the parcel?
Commissioner Carollo: Of course.
Commissioner Reyes: Of course, of course.
Commissioner Carollo: We did.
Mayor Suarez: I just want --
Commissioner Carollo: And it has to be. The only thing --
Mayor Suarez: I want to --
Commissioner Reyes: We will (UNINTELLIGIBLE) what they have to do, that's it.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. The --
Mayor Suarez: I'm have -- I just want to be clear, that's all, because we don't have --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. And --
Mayor Suarez: -- we have limited opportunities, right? We're here today. We won't
be here for another two weeks.
Commissioner Carollo: Francis, this is what I'm trying to do --
Mayor Suarez: Good.
Commissioner Carollo: --for everybody to be clear --
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: -- so we don't have any difference of understanding in what
we did and how we're moving forward, and to be perfectly clear that they are to
follow the referendum language that the bidder for this, the sole bidder that we had
will be responsible for paying all those bills.
Mayor Suarez: No, I agree with that.
Commissioner Carollo: That's what the referendum language stated --
City of Miami Page 189 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Mayor Suarez: I agree with that.
Commissioner Carollo: -- that they would pay for any of those bills.
Mayor Suarez: But I just want to be clear that this Commission has authorized those
attorneys to select, at their discretion who they think is the best appraiser, and who
they think is the best independent environmental assessor; that that does not have to
come back to Commission for further approval.
Commissioner Carollo: This is why I'm bringing it out. So I'm asking the same
question that you are, to make sure everybody is of the same understanding.
Commissioner Reyes: And the word is "independent. "
Mayor Suarez: Yes, of course.
Commissioner Reyes: Just like the traffic analysis --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Commissioner Reyes: -- that we received, Joe; "independent. "
Mayor Suarez: Agreed.
Chair Russell: Madam City Attorney.
Victoria Mendez (City Attorney): Thank you so much --
Commissioner Reyes: Independent traffic analysis.
Ms. Mendez: --for bringing this up, Commissioner Carollo. The main thing is that
this Commission passed a resolution saying that we would bring back items to you,
so I wanted to clarify, because the Administration has been trying to make sure that
they come back and talk to you at every step of the way. So I just need for a
resolution telling us that the independent attorneys that are assisting us will pick the
appraisers --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but --
Ms. Mendez: -- and pick the environmental --
Commissioner Carollo: -- Madam --
Ms. Mendez: -- and it doesn't have to come back to you.
Commissioner Carollo: -- but Madam Attorney, you're talking about two different
things here. It's not the same. The resolution that we passed was reference the
Administration; not the people that we chose to represent us.
Ms. Mendez: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: So I don't think --
Ms. Mendez: But I just wanted to --
Commissioner Carollo: -- I think if we're all clear on this --
City of Miami Page 190 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: -- there's no need for a resolution. But if you insist --
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: --you know, we'll give you a resolution.
Mayor Suarez: Or add it to the resolution --
Chair Russell: Mr. Mayor.
Commissioner Reyes: Move it.
Mayor Suarez: -- that -- the packet resolution, which is just a section that says that
the in -- that the outside counsel is empowered to hire independent appraisers, and
independent environmental consultants --
Commissioner Reyes: And traffic.
Commissioner Carollo: As needed.
Mayor Suarez: -- as needed.
Commissioner Reyes: And traffic.
Mayor Suarez: That doesn't have to come back to the Commission.
Chair Russell: Is there a motion on this item?
Commissioner Carollo: There's a motion.
Commissioner Reyes: And a second.
Chair Russell: Motion by Commissioner Carollo; seconded by Commissioner Reyes.
I'd like to open the floor for public comment on this item. Is there anyone here who'd
like to weigh in on this? Seeing none, I'll close public comment. Any further
discussion from the dais? All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes. We're clear. Thank you very much.
DI. 3, discussion on -- Madam City Attorney.
Ms. Mendez: I'm sorry, Chairman. Really quick, because Commissioner Reyes had
mentioned it --
Commissioner Carollo: Where is my --?
Ms. Mendez: -- and I want to make sure that it's part of the reso, but it wasn't
recorded. He mentioned traffic, and then Commissioner Gort --
Vice Chair Gort: Traffic study.
Ms. Mendez: -- had mentioned that they also wanted an independent traffic, so I
want to make sure that that's amended as part of the reso. So environmental,
appraisal, and independent traffic, as well.
City of Miami Page 191 Printed on 10/08/2019
City Commission Meeting Minutes July 11, 2019
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Russell: Independent traffic.
Ms. Mendez: Okay.
Chair Russell: And financial appraisal.
Ms. Mendez: Thank you.
Chair Russell: Environmental, traffic, and financial.
Ms. Mendez: The appraisals, the --
Chair Russell: Correct, correct.
Ms. Mendez: Yes.
Chair Russell: I believe that was captured.
Ms. Mendez: Thank you so much. I just wanted to clarify. Thank you --
Chair Russell: Thank you.
Ms. Mendez: -- Mr. Clerk.
Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
The meeting adjourned at 6:13 p. in.
City of Miami Page 192 Printed on 10/08/2019