HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2018-10-11 MinutesCity of Miami
City Hall
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33133
www.miamigov.com
MeetingMinutes
Thursday,,201
9:00AM
CityHall
City Commission
,Mayor
Keon Hardemon, Chair
Ken Russell, Vice Chair
Wifredo (Willy) Gort,Commissioner, District One
Carollo, Commissioner, District Three
, Commissioner, District Four
,CityManager
VictoriaMéndez, City Attorney
Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk
City Commission Meeting Minutes October 11, 2018
9:00 AMINVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Present: Chair Hardemon, Vice Chair Russell, Commissioner Gort, Commissioner Carollo
and Commissioner Reyes.
On the 11th day of October, 2018 the City Commission of theCity 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 Hardemon at 9:17 a.m.,
recessed at 12:18 p.m., reconvened at 2:01 p.m., recessed at 2:11 p.m., reconvened at 2:40
p.m., recessed at 2:41 p.m., reconvened at 3:31 p.m., and adjourned at 8:32 p.m.
Note for the Record: Commissioner Reyes entered the Commission chambers at 9:18 a.m.,
andCommissioner Carollo entered the Commission chambers at 10:37 a.m.
ALSO PRESENT:
Emilio T. Gonzalez, Ph.D., City Manager
Victoria Méndez, City Attorney
Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk
Chair Hardemon: Welcome to the October 11, 2018 meeting of the Miami City Commission in
these historic chambers. The members of the City Commissionare Wifredo Gort, Joe Carollo,
Manolo Reyes; Ken Russell, the Vice Chair; and me, Keon Hardemon, the Chairman. Also on
the dais are Emilio T. Gonzalez, our City Manager; Victoria Méndez, our City Attorney; and
Todd Hannon, our City Clerk. The meeting will be opened with a prayer by Commissioner
Gort and pledge of allegiance will be led by the Mayor.
Commissioner Gort: After the prayer, I’d like to say something.
Chair Hardemon: No problem.
Commissioner Gort: Good morning.
Invocation delivered.
Later…
Pledge of allegiance delivered.
Chair Hardemon: You may now take a seat.
PART A -NON-PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S)
PR -PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS
PR.1PROTOCOL ITEM
4924
HonoreePresenterProtocol Item
Momentof Silence for the late Rosa PlasenciaMayor Suarez Recognition
Florida Ombudsman Program VolunteersMayor SuarezProclamation
Lotus House, Domestic Violence Awareness Mayor SuarezProclamation
Month
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Parks Department from the Florida Recreation Mayor SuarezandProclamation
and Parks AssociationCommissioners
LLHCInstituteHaitian Creole Program Mayor Suarez and Certificates of
Chair HardemonAppreciation
RESULT:PRESENTED
1)Mayor Suarez and Commissioners pausedfor a moment of silencein
recognitionof the late Ms. Rosa Plasencia.
2)Mayor Suarez presented a Proclamation honoring and commending the
volunteers of the Florida Ombudsman Volunteer program. Florida’s Long-
Term Care Ombudsman Program was founded in 1975 with the overarching
goal of improving the quality of life of elders that reside in long-term care
facilities, such as nursing homes and adult family care homes, by ensuring
that their personal rights, health, safety, and welfare are properly managed.
Numerous long-term care residents in Florida do not receive visits from
family or friends, making Ombudsman volunteers a crucial component of
their daily routine. Community members who wish to serve residents of the
City of Miami through the program must first enroll, and pass a special
training designed to teach and prepare volunteers to manage challenges with
professionalism, charisma and proper care. Ombudsman volunteers have the
responsibility of investigating any concern, such as menu quality and
medication administration, faced by long-term care residents. Elected
Officials paused in their deliberations of governanceto pay tribute and
celebrate hardworking volunteers,therefore, proclaiming Thursday, October
11, 2018 as “Florida Ombudsman Volunteer Day”in the City of Miami.
3)Mayor Suarezpresented a Proclamationhonoring and commending Lotus
House. Lotus House embodies the spirit of selflessness by empowering,
educating, and supporting domestic violence victims. Established in 2006
through Sundari Foundation, Inc., Lotus House continues to provide a voice
to domestic violence survivors throughout our community. It serves
approximately 680 women and children who seek shelter at Lotus House
annually. During their stay, women and children live within the premises at
no cost, and obtain the tools needed to heal and overcome any trauma. This
organization educates our community and provides crucial information to
residents on how they can lend a hand to victims through moral and
emotional support. Elected Officials paused in their deliberations of
governanceto pay tribute and celebrate the organization’s many
accomplishments,therefore, proclaiming Thursday, October 11, 2018 as
“Lotus House Day” in the City of Miami.
4)Mayor Suarezand Commissioners presented a Proclamation honoring the
City of Miami Parks and Recreation Department who was the honorable
recipient of the 2018 Agency Excellence Award in the Environmental
Sustainability Category. This recognition is given annually to Florida’s most
outstanding Park, Recreation or Leisure Services agencies. The City of
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Miami Parks and Recreation Department have conducted over forty-two
Natural Areas Ecological Tours, sustainably removed exotic plants from the
premises, restored tree canopies and planted trees after Hurricane Irma, and
received over $30,000 grant funds for coastal restoration. The department
has been a leader in developing science, technology, recreation, engineering,
arts and mathematics program. Elected Officials paused in their
deliberations of governance to pay tribute and celebrate the many
accomplishments of the department, therefore, proclaiming Friday, October
12, 2018 as “City of Miami Parks and Recreation Department Day” in the
City of Miami.
5)Mayor Suarez and Commissioner Hardemon presented Certificates of
Appreciation to pay tribute to the student graduates of the Little Haiti
Cultural Complex (LHCC) Institute, whosuccessfully completed the Haitian
Creole program with distinction. Throughout the semester these students
demonstrated high levels of engagement, and dedication. They were
commended for their commitment, and aspirations to learn about the
Haitian-Creole Language and Culture.
Chair Hardemon: We’ll begin our presentations and proclamations.
Presentations and proclamations made.
AM -APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING MEETINGS:
AM.1City Commission -Regular Meeting -Jul 12, 2018 9:00 AM
MOTION TO:Approve
RESULT:APPROVED
MOVER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
AM.2City Commission -Special Meeting -Jul 18, 2018 10:00 AM
MOTION TO:Approve
RESULT:APPROVED
MOVER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
Chair Hardemon: Is there a motion to approve the meeting minutes --
Commissioner Reyes: Move.
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Chair Hardemon: --of July 12 and July 18?
Commissioner Reyes: Moved.
Chair Hardemon: It’s been properly moved; seconded by the Chair. All in favor of
the motion, say “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries.
Vice Chair Russell: Did we need to vote on the pocket?
Chair Hardemon: We did.
Vice Chair Russell: We did. Sorry.
Chair Hardemon: Yeah.
ORDER OF THE DAY
Chair Hardemon: We will now begin the regular meeting. The City Attorney will
state the procedures to be followed during this meeting.
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): 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 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 and online 24
hours a day at miamigov.com. Anyperson may be heard by the City Commission
through the Chair for not more than two minutes on any proposition before the City
Commission, unless modified by the Chair. If the proposition is being continued or
rescheduled, the opportunity to be heard may be at such later date before the City
Commission takes action on such proposition. The Chairman will advise the public
when the public may have the opportunity to address the City Commission during the
public comment period. When addressing the City Commission, the member of the
public may first state his or her name, his or her address, and what item will be
spoken about. A copy of the agenda items titles will be available at the City Clerk's
Office and at the podium for your 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 the Commission
chambers will be barred from further attending Commission meetings and may be
subject to arrest. No signs or placards shall be allowed in the Commission
chambers. Any person with a disability requiring assistance, auxiliary aids and
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services for this meeting may notify the City Clerk. The lunch recess will begin at
the conclusion of deliberation of the agenda item being considered at noon. The
meeting will end either at the conclusion of 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. At this time, the
Administration will announce which items, if any, are being either withdrawn,
deferred, or substituted. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice
Chairman, Commissioners, Mr. City Attorney, and Mr. City Clerk. At this time, the
Administration would like to defer and/or withdraw the following items: PA.1,
deferred to October 25; SR.1, withdrawn; RE.1, withdrawn; and RE.4, withdrawn.
Thank you very much.
CommissionerGort: Repeat them again, please.
Chair Hardemon: Any other items from any Commissioners that they wish to have
withdrawn, deferred, or continued?
Commissioner Gort: Can you repeat them again?
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes, sir. PA.1, deferred to October 25; SR.1, withdrawn; RE.1,
withdrawn; RE.4, withdrawn.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you.
Vice Chair Russell: I’ll move the items.
Chair Hardemon: It's been properly moved; seconded by the Chair. Any further
discussion? Hearing none, all in favor of the motion, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: Motion carries.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR REGULAR ITEM(S)
Chair Hardemon: Okay. So now it's our time for public comment. I'll open the
floor for public comment for anyone from the public that'd like to speak on any of the
agenda items that are on the morning agenda. So if you're a member of the public
and you'd like to speak on any of the agenda items, you may approach any of the two
lecterns. State your first and your last name, you may state your address, and what
item it is that you're here to speak about. You're recognized, ma'am.
Amal Solh Kabbani: Good morning. My name is Amal Solh Kabbani, and I'm the
President of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance. I reside in 50 Biscayne. Thank you
for listening to us and having us this morning. It's in reference to “F,” as in Frank,
R.2. First of all, thank you all for doing the wonderful job that you do for the greater
City of Miami. Each one of you brings its own vision and passion, and I cannot
thank you enough for it, starting with the homelessness, the resilience, and the green
spaces. Is 85 percent better than what we have today? Sure, it is, but I say it with
skepticism, because I still need transparency and understanding of what would the
15 percent be used for. So am I pro? Am I against? Let's just say that green space
is important to us. We need access constantly to Bayfront Park, please. Is it better
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than what we have today? Yes, it is. Again, green space helps alleviate anxieties;
and please, whenever you're considering that motion, treat it as such, in terms of
allowing us access at all times to our green space. Thank you very much.
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized.
Unidentified Speaker: Good morning. I'm not --I'm asking to speak, but not on an
item that's on the agenda, so I believe I talked to you yesterday on Twitter, and I was
wondering if I could have the opportunity to bring an issue up, but it's not before the
City now.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. Let the public comment finish, and then let me speak to
you on the side, and we'll talk from there.
Unidentified Speaker: All right.
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, sir.
Raul Guerrero: Good morning. I'm Raul Guerrero, a downtownresident. I know
we come here often to complain, but today I want to limit myself to congratulate and
thank you all, Commissioners, for giving Bayfront Park back to residents. 85
percent can only be a step in the right direction. Thank you. Thank you kindly.
Joy Prevor: Good morning. My name is Joy Prevor. I reside at 50 Biscayne. And
we have to stop meeting like this. I'm here to firstly say thank you to you for the
difficult decision that you all made at the last meeting. I know it was complex, but
we, the residents, are eternally grateful for you backing us up and ensuring that we
can have access to our park. So as it regards FR.2, I agree with what was said
earlier. We’d love 100 percent, but we're willing to settle for 85 percent. However,
it's quite important for us to understand what the additional 15 percent shall involve,
and we'd appreciate it being explained or clarified in the ordinance itself. Thank
you.
Maria Martinez: Hi. My name is Maria Martinez. I'm President of 50 Biscayne
Condominium Association. I work --I'm sorry. I live in 50 Biscayne Boulevard,
obviously. I am also grateful for the work that you --all of you give us, and thank
you for that --the vote we all came together for for Ultra. We are truly grateful.
And I wrote you guys concerning how grateful many in the community have
expressed to us; even outside the downtown community, because I know all of you
are not downtown community. Based on what I heard this morning on the City of
Miami Parks and Recreation's vision and purpose, we, the community, respectfully
request that you, the City of Miami Commissioners, approve the FR.2 in order for
downtown and adjacent communities have Bayfront Park opened 85 percent of the
year. I will take 85 percent, as opposed to --I believe it's 50 now. Hopefully, in the
future, we can be like a regular park and have 100 percent, but for now, I will take
85 percent, hoping that the 15 percent won't go against the vision and the purpose
for the parks, which I heard thismorning was resilience, excellence, and
sustainability. And I believe it's for all of the City of Miami parks, not just for a few;
am I correct? Resilience, excellence, and sustainability is for all of our parks, and
it's only fair that Bayfront Park receive the same treatment. And we want to thank
you very much, and have a wonderful day, and please remember us when you take --
have your vote. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you.
Arlene Ramsingh: My name is Dr. Arlene Ramsingh, and I live at50 Biscayne. My
husband and I are new residents in Miami, and one of our favorite things is taking
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evening walks at Bayfront Park, and what we've noticed is that --I mean,
everybody's out. We have young families out there. We have toddlers. We have kids
riding bicycles. We have older couples sitting on the park benches. We have --you
know, Iphones are out. Everybody's taking that iconic picture at Bayfront Park.
This is a park that is used by many different generations. It's a beautiful public
space, and we love it. And I would really encourage you to keep that park available
for all of us to enjoy. And I thank you. I thank you very much for your vote in
supporting the downtown residents in voting “no” for that Ultra contract, and I hope
that the park can be used for 100 percent of the time for public --for the public.
Thank you very much.
Dan Ardaya: Good morning. My name is Dan Ardaya. I'm a proud City of Miami
resident, and I also have two offices; one in Brickell and downtown. I’ve commuted
quite often between the two offices. I used the electric scooter system that was
available that was taken off. I wanted to see if there's anything that we can do to
bring that back. I'm an avid user of that system. I normally walk between offices. I
can drive, but it's quite a headache; one of the bridges goes up, and it just becomes a
45-minute drive for me within a mile distance. So I just wanted to say thank you in
advance for considering that.
Chair Hardemon: You wouldn't buy a scooter?
Mr. Ardaya: Say again.
Chair Hardemon: You wouldn't buy one?
Mr. Ardaya: I could buy one, but, you know, it’s --I'm a 40-year-old kid, I guess. I
don't think I'm going to buy a scooter. I prefer my car, but if I'm between the offices,
I guess I would do that route, so thank you.
Commissioner Reyes: Walking is very good. It's recommended by doctors, you
know.
Mr. Ardaya: It's quite hot, I got to say. This is my everyday outfit.
Commissioner Reyes: I mean, my doctor wants me to walk.
Mr. Ardaya: If I --I mean, I do walk, but --
Commissioner Gort: Not in Miami.
Mr. Ardaya: --at a time between meetings, you know, it's not quite a comfortable --
Commissioner Reyes: Well, it's good for your health, man. Okay?
Mr. Ardaya: I'm not --I'm in good health.
Commissioner Reyes: And you won't have --
Mr. Ardaya: Walking's not an issue.
Commissioner Reyes: --by walking, you won't --will not endanger anybody that is
walking on the street. I mean, this is --
Mr. Ardaya: It's a good point. I don't think I endanger anybody with this.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
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Mr. Ardaya: Good argument.
Alba Hersberg: Hi. Good morning. My name is Alba Hersberg, and I am a resident
of downtown Miami. First, I do want to thank you for your vote last time. And
second, what a great day to bring up using Bayfront Park for the residents 85
percent of the time, since we've been talking about parks, new parks, old parks, and
how Miami won the “Best Park Award.” I do hope that you support us, and I hope
one day that we will be at 100 percent use for our residents. Thank you.
Itai Benosh: Good morning. Itai Benosh, a resident of 50 Biscayne, in downtown
Miami. First, I would like to start by thanking all of you for the difficult decision
that you made two weeks ago. You chose to protect our premier public green space
and the residents and the residential communities surrounding it, and you made that
decision over significant, significant corporate benefits, and we understand that. It
was a difficult decision. Thank you for making the right decision. Thank you for
protecting your voters and the residents of downtown Miami. Regarding, FR.2 that
is on the agenda for today, I find it kind of funnythat, you know, a lot of citizens
have to take time out of their day to come here to City Hall and say that green public
spaces should be used for the public, but circumstance dictate --I guess, dictate that.
Here we are, and we actually have to make that argument. It sounds pretty
straightforward, but here we are. So please, when you consider FR.2 today, 85
percent clearly is not ideal, but it is a great step in the right direction. And we hope
that you vote “yes” on FR.2. And we would further like to ask that you clarify in the
ordinance what exactly is the meaning of “community use.” Currently, it's a little
unclear, and I think that --a better clarification of what that 85 percent of
community use really entails, and what are the limits and protections afforded to
nearby residents. Thank you very much.
Mabel De Beunza: Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Mabel De Beunza.
I'm a resident of the 1100 Brickell Bay Drive, and I'm also a business owner in the
City of Miami. I come before you today on SR.5, the scooter item that's on your
agenda. I came to offer a bit of context and to hopefully change a little bit of the
perception that is seen as a user of the product. I come before you to discuss sort of
the business practicality and savings that it has for me, both as a resident and as a
business owner. As --you know, we could sit here and have a myriad of examples of
how we use it. I certainly walk tremendously in my community, and I also used the
service up until the time it was taken offline for a myriad of reasons, one of which is
efficiency. It is --I'm always running, you know, quickly to meetings. One of my
clients is just merely a couple blocks away, and for the sake of efficiency as well. My
average monthly expense for parking fees --that includes monthly parking for my
employees and my personal use --is upwards of $1,500, which as a small business
owner, you can expect that's a very high fee for me to pay on a monthly basis. We --
during the short time that we used this ride-sharing service, it was slightly reduced;
can't say it was a tremendous dent, but it did help. And meeting with other client
without being drenched in sweat was also very beneficial. My analytics from my
apps, both the Lime that I use for a short period of time and the Bird show that I
used it 90 percent for business and 10 percent for recreational use, and recreational
was a handful of times when we went to the American Airlines Arena for a game or -
-I'm sorry; not for a game; for a concert. So I just wanted to come before you to
change a little bit of the perception of the user of a scooter sharing service. I don't
use the scooter sharing electric service, and neither do my employees, for frivolous
activity. I think we're professionals, and we're responsible residents. And more
importantly, I just wanted to make a statement and a placeholder to the incentric
demands that are very specific to people who live in my specific community, in my
specific district, and business owners as well. So today it’s scooters. Tomorrow it’s
flying cars. Whatever the case may be, I would like this Commission to acknowledge
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and take into consideration that the incentric needs of our downtown and Brickell
residents is very different than a lot of the different districts that you represent, and
some of these services might be considered as frivolous, but for us, it's very
beneficial. That's it.
Chair Hardemon: When you took the ride to the concerts, did you ride on the
sidewalk or did you ride on the street?
Ms. Beunza: We ride on the street. A lot of benefit that you have all helped create is
ride-sharing lanes, bicycle lanes, so we've used a lot of the bicycle lanes. I've only
used it on a sidewalk when there's been a concern for safety.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you. You're recognized, ma'am.
Ms. Beunza: Thank you.
Fran Fenton: Good morning, Commissioners. I'm Fran Fenton. I live at One
Miami. I'm talking about FR.2. I want to thank you also for your very difficult
decision of two weeks ago. Nevertheless, we're asking Bayfront Park to perform
miracles, to perform two diametrically different functions. Part of the time it serves
as a well-maintained green space in downtown Miami; and then, with the flick of a
magic wand, we expect it to convert into an international gathering space, which
does not require it to be green at all. Grass is covered over with planks to support
giant stages; heavy machinery moves along the sidewalks, cracking the concrete and
destroying the grass as construction remakes the park into a venue. When the event
ends, sometimes after only three days, the park is expected to magically transform
back into an oasis again, as if nothing had happened, except there is no magic wand.
Each transformation takes weeks. It doesn't seem strange --doesn't it seem strange
that a three-day event should close the park for over a month and still need another
month before the park is green again? The park has a history of re-imaging itself,
but finally, in 1980, the City approved $10 million to redesign the park, according to
a plan by Noguchi to form a village green. By the end of 1980s, the project had cost
over 40 million, which included vegetation and installation of statues. These hardly
sound like the enhancements one would make if the park were intended to be
converted into a mega event venue on multiple occasions throughout the year. The
amphitheater is currently available for concert and does not disrupt the natural flow
of the park. Let's stop killing the grass andre-sodding and then killing it again. The
park will experience normal wear and tear and will need resodding from time to
time, but the deliberate killing of the grass and the lengthy park closings deprive
taxpayers and tourists of Miami of a great experience and create expensive
landscape maintenance. Let's please work towards keeping the event small and
manageable. Please give the park a rest so it can become beautiful and stay
beautiful to serve as the oasis for the thousands of new residents. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. You're recognized.
Marin Kim: Good morning, Commissioners. Marin Kim, with Nautilus Enterprises,
at 1000 MacArthur Causeway. As an interested party or an affected party, I'd like to
ask the Chair if hewill concede our request to address this Commission when FR.1
is actually being heard by the Commission. Thank you.
Roberta Quirk: Good morning. I'm a resident at One Miami, at 335 South Biscayne
Boulevard. First, I want to thank you for your unanimous vote not to hold Ultra at
Bayfront Park. And I'm here for the FR.2 ordinance, hoping that the green space
will remain open. I'm not sure what the 15 percent is, but if we could have it open
all the time for the residents, that would be our choice. Thank you.
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Ivette Alcoba: Hi. My fame is Ivette Alcoba. I'm here --it's not on the thing, but I
filled out a paper. I'm here because on Monday, they passed a UN (United Nations)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, where the --that same day, it was
found that the climate is happening and water's rising, and we just went through the
hurricane in Florida, and I wanted to know what --I wanted to ask all of you to
please do something at the local level in terms of resilience. I'm also the President
of one of the condos on Brickell, and at the Brickell Homeowners Association
meeting, a lady, Jane --I don't remember her last name right now --did a
presentation on the resilience and building a project --Brickell Bay Drive, where the
water was --I don't know --six, eight feet at the last year's hurricane as an example
of what's happening, and we need to consider those things, because if we get hit by a
hurricane of yesterday's magnitude, I don't even know --you know, all the parks --I
love parks, but that's going to be destroyed and so are our businesses and our
homes. And I wanted to also bring up --because of this climate change, how it’s
impacting our actual water and our ability to save our drinking water --in 2014, the
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) did a report that flooding has become more
intense and frequent in storms. We live it. We know that. US (United States) cities
are entering into a state that our systems were not built for, and that's something that
we really needto address. In addition, we see that all over with the blooms, with the
contaminants, and the risks into our aquifer, particularly from last year. I don't
know where that stands. I haven't been able to find the figure, but there was an
article that stated that the FPL (Florida Power and Light) won the ability to store
radioactive waste under Miami's drinking water aquifer, and that's very concerning,
because that is going to affect, you know --if--again, if we have one of these storms,
what's to prevent from that contaminating our water supply?
Chair Hardemon: Thank you.
Ms. Alba co: So I really want you to take into account these things when you're
building and proposing to build more highways and continue building, because we
continue to bring in more people, but we're not doing anything about our current,
you know --that we have pictures that the water's going down, the quality is at risk.
And if I --
Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, ma'am.
Ms. Alba co: --could be of service--
Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much.
Ms. Alcoba: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Can --Mr. Clerk, remind you to make sure you have the counter
up, so I can see how many seconds past the time.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): I'll need to unplug it and plug it back in to be able to
test it.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. You can do that now, because I trust this young lady will
be under two minutes.
Mr. Hannon: Okay.
Matilda Kalaveshi: Hi. My name is Matilda Kalaveshi. I am a resident of 50
Biscayne. I want to start by thanking you all for your vote two weeks ago. Myself,
my family, downtown residents truly appreciate it. Today I'm here asking for your
support on FR.2, keeping Bayfront Park 85 percent of the year open to the public. I
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think it's time to write a new narrative on Bayfront Park, and I think keeping it up --
keeping it open 85 percent of the time is a good start. I think we can do better. I
think, in working together, we can do better. I believe in our city. I believe in our
Commissioners. And I think we can move forward from now on. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you. You're recognized, ma'am.
Rebecca Yu: Hi. This is Rebecca Yu, from 50 Biscayne, and we're in --supportive
of the ordinance to keep the park open 85 percent of the time. I want to say, the
Miami residents, tourists, pets, and children say thank you to all the Commissioners.
So please vote “yes.”
Lourdes Blanco: Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Hardemon: Good morning.
Ms. Blanco: Good morning, Commissioners. Lourdes Blanco, Executive Director,
Miami Sports & Exhibition Authority. I am here to speak with regards to item FR.1.
I was appointed Executive Director on December 14, 2014, and Executive Director
on July 21, 2015. First issue I encounter, cashier's checks presented by Mr. Vega
Penichet for rent payments were never deposited in the bank. Kirk Menendez says,
“Alba Bustamante, Department of Real Estate, is holding the checks.” Mr. Kirk
Menendez delivered the cashier's checks four months later. Heliport rent payments
were in arrears for one and a half years. MSEA (Miami Sports & Exhibition
Authority) had no bank accounts to deposit rent payments. I notice the Watson
Island Heliport Agreements are an integral part of each other. If one fails, the
others fail. The amended interlocal agreement and the joint participation agreement
incorrectly joins both tenants into a Watson Island Air Transportation Facility that
does not exist. I received a letter from FDOT (Florida Department of
Transportation) explaining in detail they will no longer support, nor fund the
Heliport Project; reallocating the grant funds under the JPA (Joint Participation
Agreement). I began to ask questions to Assistant City Attorney George Wysong and
City Attorney Victoria Méndez. I don't receive any answers. Financial statements,
ending in fiscal year 2016, show the heliport is going to be constructed with grant
funds from the FDOT, and the funds for both tenants are restrictive. I questioned the
restriction of both accounts. External Auditor say, “MSEA must correct, amend, or
discard the Watson Island Heliport Agreement that I am relying on to be the existing
lease agreements that Alba Bustamante and the City provide me.” I request for a
meeting with the CFO (Chief Financial Officer), Budget Director, and Senior
Assistant City Attorney for a legal opinion in reference with the Watson Island
Heliport Lease Agreement. Senior Assistant City Attorney give a legal opinion that
agrees with theExternal Auditor’s. Then Mr. Vega Penichet starts asking me
questions I cannot answer, because I never prepared any documentation that was
sent to the FDOT or to the FAA (Florida Aviation Association) in relationship with
the grant. All documentation was prepared by the Department of Real Estate. From
here on, Assistant City Attorney George Wysong and Victoria Méndez do not pay
attention to what I'm saying and ignore my many pleadings for the agreements to be
corrected, changed, or plainly disregarded. I decide to inform all board members I
will not sign financial statements on behalf of MSEA that I consider to be deceiving
and improper. Anthony Brunson, External Auditor, request again that I sign a
management representation letter covering the MSEA audit for fiscal year ending in
2017. This document says all documents that I presented to Mr. Brunson to conduct
the audit are documents without fraudulent misrepresentation, free of material
defect, whether intentional or not. Before signing the management representation
letter, I sent an email to City Attorney Victoria Méndez, requesting confirmation
whether the Watson Island Heliport Agreements are valid and enforceable. Until
today, this email remains unanswered. MSEA's financial statements for fiscal year
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ending 2017 with significant deficiencies were never discussed and were never
approved by the MSEA Board. I have retained a forensic accounting firm. I
respectfully request that you do the same before you decide to abolish MSEA to
avoid catastrophic financial consequences to the City and to the MSEA Board of
Directors, for the chief purpose for which the Board of Director hire me is the same
reason for which I am being defamed and retaliated against. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: What was the last sentence?
Ms. Lourdes: For the chief purpose for which the MSEA Board hired me is the same
reason for which I am being defamed and retaliated against.
Chair Hardemon: I thought you said something like “board of directors.” Did you
say board of--
Ms. Blanco: I'm sorry?
Chair Hardemon: --directors?
Ms. Blanco: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: What did you say?
Ms. Blanco: About that? Okay. I have retained a forensic accounting firm.
Chair Hardemon: Not that part.
Ms. Blanco: I request that you do the same.
Chair Hardemon: No, I got that part.
Ms. Blanco: Okay. Because that's going to bring catastrophic financial
consequences to the City and the MSEA Board.
Chair Hardemon: All right. I got that, too. Thank you very much for your time.
Ms. Blanco: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: Can you give the letter that you read into the record to the Clerk,
please?
Ms. Blanco: Yes. That's what I was going to request.
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Ms. Blanco: Thank you very much.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you. Sir.
Carlos Suarez: Good morning, Commission. Thank you, Chairman Hardemon, as
well as Commissioner Russell. My name is Carlos Suarez, 1550 Brickell Avenue.
I'm here this morning to express serious concernsabout a project to replace grass
with artificial grass along a stretch of Brickell Avenue south of 15th Street, as well
as Brickell Bay Drive. Several weeks ago, when the project got underway, I reached
out to Commissioner Russell's office for an explanation, and I never heard back. I
also reached out to the Mayor's Office and the City Manager, and also never heard
back; a surprise, considering I've gotten to know all three of them because of my job.
On the face of it, this project was ill-conceived. Ican't argue the cost benefit of the
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project, because I don't know the cost. I can’t argue the environmental concerns of
this project, because I don't know the type of artificial grass that is being used. I
can't argue why this project is needed, becauseI don't know why it's needed.
However, I can tell you that a majority of the residents find this whole thing asinine.
It is my understanding that the Public Works Director went ahead with this project
without Commissioner Russell's involvement, after a walk-through earlier this year
found some sways barren. It is inexcusable that to remedy this, the City thought it
best to replace lush and healthy grass, and that concrete was poured over the roots
of these trees in order to glue the artificial grass. The fate of these trees is sealed,
literally. It hasn't been a month, and already, parts of this artificial turf is loose, and
the scent of dog and cat urine is unmistakable. The water will drain in a way that
the water drains on a concrete sidewalk. Let's be clear here. Concrete has replaced
soil in an area that is known to flood. It is my understanding that this has been done
elsewhere in the City, including at public parks. However, I do not live in this other
parts of the City. I live on the southside of Brickell, because of the green space. It's
a nicer walk for my dog, and it's a more scenic route. Now, a few years ago, the City
removed trees and plants in the median and planted native plants. The decision
drew the ire of many. However, there was public notice. Folks were able to express
their concerns, and ultimately, the City went forward with it. The lack of information
on this project is astounding, and to be quite honest, the leadership on this issue has
been --left much to be desired. The Public Works Director is not accountable to us,
but this elected body is. For a Commission that loves to tout its beautification
initiative, it would be great if someone, anyone in the City could please explain why
tearing out grass ever made any sense.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir.
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman?
Chair Hardemon: If we can --let's try to get through --
Vice Chair Russell: I --this is --I mean, this has become such a big issue in my
district, it's taken on proportions way beyond the scope of the things that we deal
with, and I understand we have many very important things to deal with. I --
Chair Hardemon: I want to get through at least the public comment. I know he's
going to be patient with us to hearyour response, because I know our Commissioner
wants to respond to you.
Vice Chair Russell: No. I'd like some answers myself, so.
Chair Hardemon: But let's get through this public comments time at this point.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized.
Fabio Ribeiro: Good morning, everyone. Thanks for hearing out. My name is
Fabio Ribeiro. I live on 1796 South Bayshore Lane. I just wanted to bring you a
perspective of a scooter user. I've seen a lot of scrutiny about scooters and people
complaining about them being parked on the sidewalks and everything. I just want
to tell a little story. When they launched these scooters --I live in Coconut Grove.
I'm a business owner here, and I also go to Brickella lot for meetings. I was
considering not renewing the lease on my car, because I wasn't using it at all; I
could commute using this scooter. Or sometimes I would go to the train station,
catch the train to Brickell, and then use another scooter there, you know, something
you can't do if you have your own scooter. Or sometimes I have the kids, so I would
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Uber, and then take the scooter back. So the whole --the logistics made so much
sense to have a scooter available anywhere that I wasn't using my carat all. And as
a business owner, I noticed myself as a consumer going and visiting other businesses
that I wouldn't stop my car and park and would visit, but now that I always had the
scooter, I was talking to people, meeting neighbors, meeting other business owners,
and actually visiting. And as a business owner, I notice that Bird users are much
more likely to come over, because they do not have to park, and that made my aware
of how bad for business owners it is when, you know, you don't have enough parking
for clients. So I know --I mean, I moved to Miami thinking I was coming, you know,
to live in future of the City --or a city of the future, and I think, you know, new
means of transportation, like Uber and scooters and everything, is a way of, you
know, being part of this future. So I would love the Commission to consider, you
know, making Miami the city of the future and also a mobility park. Thank you very
much.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you. Sir.
Jose Mejia: Jose Mejia (UNINTELLIGIBLE).com. Joe Carollo, I'm a process
server; you're being served. United State District Court, William L. Fuller, Martin
Pinilla versus Joe Carollo (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I have a summons, a complaint for
him. Can I approach the --
Commissioner Carollo: Sure.
Mr. Mejia: --hand it to him?
Vice Chair Russell: I’m sorry; what’s going on?
Chair Hardemon: If --let me say this.
Victoria Méndez (City Attorney): Who are you?
Chair Hardemon: He's a process server.
Ms. Méndez: You're a process server? Get out; you can't do that here. You can
wait outside. You can't do that here. Get out.
Ms. Mejia: Okay. Can I leave this here?
Ms. Méndez: Get out.
Ms. Mejia: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: The things we see in the City of Miami. Can you beat that?
Commissioner Carollo: You know what this is all about?
Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: Characters that want to intimidate me, because I was going
to show publicly what's going on in Code and Building violations in my district. This
is on the agenda today.
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, sir.
Christopher Allen: Good morning. I'm here with the --representing Bird scooters,
and I was a charger when they launched here in Miami. And I think this is just a
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better way to get around, you know, the City of --in Brickell or downtown Miami.
And as a charger, I was making, you know, good money doing it, as well. And with
that, I met with a lot of people when I go to pick them up, and they're mad that I'm
picking them up, because they want to ride them or --you know, they see me with a
truck full of scooters. They say, "Hey, where you're going with those? I want to ride
it." So I think the demand is there, and I think everyone --you know, we should grow
together. That's all I have to say. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir.
Joshua Anderson: Hi. Thank you for letting me speak. Thank you, Commissioners
and Chairman. My name is Joshua Anderson. I live in District 3. I work in
Brickell. And I'm here to speak on my --express for the support to bring back the
scooters. I normally bike to work, and the scooters make my commute quick, easy,
and bearable. In these hot summer months, the Bird rideshare app is dynamic, easy
to use, and relieves congestion, and it's ecofriendly. Taking them away has made my
everyday experience around (UNINTELLIGIBLE) City smaller, as I share a vehicle
with my spouse towards to Midtown. With Bird, I could go from Midtown to Frost
Museum to Brickell to where I work and back, going to Little Havana in just minutes,
which I did. It exposed me to businesses downtown that I don't normally frequent,
because I'm usually a pedestrian, and walking those same distances or waiting for a
trolley during a workday or lunchtime just isn't feasible. When these became
available, I invested in a new helmet. I followed the rules laid out in the app, and I
believe from what I observed, fellow riders did as well. And I hope you take time to
consider reinstating the scooter apps. Thank you for your time.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you. You're recognized, sir.
Reidel Barrios: Good morning. I'm also here in regards to the scooters, to be able
to actually bring them back. My name is Reidel. When they were originally here --I
currently attend both University of --UM (University of Miami) and MDC (Miami
Dade College) Wolfson Campus, and that was really effective and real easy for me to
get to --in and out to campus, because, as some may know, the parking really is
difficult. The benefit of the scooter was easily for me to access some --On every
other corner, I had many other people that I would be able to drop them off and see
accessibility for these scooters at any point in time; not to mention, of course, the
parking, the fuel, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of being able to travel in and out at any point
in time real conveniently. So I would like you just really consider the possibility of
bringing the scooters back and the benefits of it. Thank you.
Ricardo Samitier: How you doing? Is everybody here?
Vice Chair Russell: Yep. You’re good.
Mr. Samitier: Okay. I'm also in --talking on behalf of the scooters. My name is
Ricardo Samitier. I was born and raised here in Miami. I don't want to reiterate
what everybody else has said, but from just sitting here today, I've seen that, you
know, traffic is definitely an issue that we're all here talking about. You know, as a
resident here my whole life, you know, I've used a lot of the transit system, and, you
know, I'm not sure if you guys are all familiar with it, but it’s not the best, you know.
There's definitely room for improvement, and I believe that the scooters are the
solution, you know. Yes, they're dangerous. Yes, we need to make laws; we need to
possibly make lanes. But at the same time, you know, the future's here; we got to
take advantage. And, you know, the projects you were speaking about, the Underline
--and I know you're a proponent of the parks and all that --we're going to have this
beautiful connectivity of the City; yet, you know, we're still going to be, you know,
stuck with our two feet. You know, we don't want that. You know, we want to be
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able to be mobile. You know, this is the future. So I just wanted to add that. And,
you know, thank you very much.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you.
Rafael Amaral: Good morning.
Vice Chair Russell: Good morning.
Mr. Amaral: My words is like them --like him. I'm living here like for seven years.
I never seen the scooters to help the people. So I'm charger and a user, so I'm here
to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) should bring back the scooters. Thank you.
Terrell Fritz: Good morning. For the record, my name is Terrell Fritz, Executive
Director for the Flagler Business Improvement District, 25 Southeast 2nd Avenue,
Suite 240, representing our board of Gary Ressler, from Tilia Properties; Dylan
Fingers, from Mana Miami; Daniel Pena-Giraldi, from Skamble; and Sergio Roc,
from Roc Enterprises; and Randy Alonso, from the most fabulous new place on
Flagler Street, La Lost Boy Dry Goods. We are looking forward to positioning
Flagler Street in the Flagler District as an exciting successful destination. And I'm
here to speak on SR.8, the proposed parking rate increase. We've had some
concerns, but I'd like to thank Miami Parking Authority. We met with Art Noriega
and MPA (Miami Parking Authority) staff, and he answered those concerns. And we
believe that if you will support the proposed amendments to the ordinance, MPA will
be able to work with us to help us position the Flagler Street District for success.
The idea: We have too many people trying to park on the street and too few people
trying to park in garages, and it's a somewhat simple dynamic. So what we would
like to do is use the demand to base pricing and flexibility, to try to use price with
data to put people into those underutilized garage facilities, which is good for
business, it's good for the vitality of the district, and it's a quality of life issue. We
had one specific issue, and that was something added after first reading: The
resident rate per hour on-street. Just on-street is identified as $1.40 an hour. We
believe that would be more appropriate to maintain the current system, which is a 20
percent discount off the posted and implemented rate. Thank you for your time.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir.
Nelia Picart: Hi. Good morning. My name is Nelia Picart. I'm here on behalf of
the Bird Scooters, and I'm also a charger for them. And I just want to ask if you guys
can consider bringing them back, considering all the traffic issues and the parking
on Brickell. I also live on Brickell. And it was also a helpful side job for me, and it
was fun, and it was good to help the community to be able to, you know, tran --have
transportation on Brickell and not be late to work and --with all the traffic
(UNINTELLIGIBLE). And so, I just wanted to ask if you guys can consider to bring
it back. Bring it back. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you.
Chris Donaghy: Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Chris Donaghy. I live
in Brickell. I moved down here four years ago because of your wonderful city, and I
appreciate everything you've done for it. I just wanted to say that I'm a little bit --
probably more of an untraditional scooter fan as --when the scooters hit Brickell
awhile back and all of a sudden, the City was flooded, there was this amazing energy
that came into Brickell, into an area that's already full of energy, but, quite frankly, I
miss that. You know, to me, it's about functionality, of course. To your point,
Commissioner Reyes, it’s "La camisa mojada." You know, it's hot. We all know it's
hot here, and that's really the key thing, functionality wise; but also, it's about fun
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and it's about freedom, and this is a city about fun and freedom. People are going to
do dumb things. They do dumb things on bikes. They do dumb things in cars. They
do dumb things when they walk. Scooters are not going to change that. Yes, you
have to make sure that you govern that in a way that there’s not too many of them,
that we make it reasonable, but it's a very positive thing, I think, for the City in terms
of the functionality, the fun, and the freedom. And I just wanted you to know that I’d
loveto see those back on our streets in Miami. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir.
Kathryn Moore: Hello. My name is Kathryn Moore. I reside in District 2. I had
the privilege of being appointed by my Commissioner, Ken Russell, to the MSEA
Board. I was not intending to speak today, but I wanted to offer a different
perspective in public comment. I disagreed with just about everything that has been
said thus far on the issue today. I would only say that when I was appointed, I felt
that I had an opportunity to really engage with the fact that Miami --I'm a Miami
native. I'm a fifth generation. We are home to the first-ever license for a seaplane
air base; we still have it. I think it's something we should be tremendously proud of.
My grandfather, who I never had the privilege to met \[sic\], worked here as an
engineer for Pan American, and I think there’s a lot that people don't know about
him, and I thought I'd be able to do something with MSEA. I believe the reason that
we were not able to be effective as a MSEA Board has nothing to do with the
previous Administration and everything to do with current leadership, and I want
that to be stated on the record. And I supported the dissolution of MSEA, because I
felt that it had become ineffective, and there was no way that we could change that.
My ego was bruised, having sat on the committee for over a year and not being able
to do anything. But I hope very much that you continue to support the organizations
that MSEA existed, at least currently, to support, and make it an existence, and that
you share the pride and the Miami historical elements that MSEA does; and that you
let this litigation continue, because I think it'll bring a lot of things to light that we
can recognize is in Miami's past but not in Miami's future. Thank you.
Ms. Alcoba: Hello again. My name is Ivette Alcoba, and I wanted to agree that the
Bird is a fantastic system. It goes with the sustainability --
Chair Hardemon: Ma’am?
Ms. Alcoba: --and also with the green grass to absorb the water, so please bring
them both back. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you. I'm going to close the public comment at this time.
Commissioner Russell, I know you had a couple questions. And before we begin, it's
now 11 o'clock. If we can get through our business, we can go to our executive
session so that we can vote on the issues regarding the police --I'm sorry, the fire --
Mr. Hannon: RE.9, sir.
Chair Hardemon: Right, RE.9. And I know that's something that people want to do
before the close of the business day, so hopefully before 12.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman --
Chair Hardemon: So it's completely up to us.
Commissioner Carollo: --we're going to have executive session before we vote?
Chair Hardemon: Correct. That's what I'm trying to say.
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Commissioner Carollo: Okay. That's what I want to be sure. Thank you.
MV -MAYORAL VETOES
NO MAYORAL VETOES
(Pursuant to Section 4(g)(5) of the Charter of Miami, Florida, Item(s) vetoed by the Mayor shall be placed by the
City Clerk as the first substantive item(s) for City Commission consideration.)
Chair Hardemon: The --Are there any mayoral vetoes?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Chair, there are no mayoral vetoes.
END OF MAYORAL VETOES
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PA -PERSONAL APPEARANCE
PA.1PERSONAL APPEARANCE
4837A PERSONAL APPEARANCE BY CITY MANAGER EMILIO T.
GONZALEZ ON OUR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AT THE CITY
OF MIAMI.
MOTION TO:Defer
RESULT:DEFERRED
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
Note for the Record: Item PA.1 was deferred to the October 25, 2018, Planning
and Zoning Commission Meeting.
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PA.1, please see “Order of the
Day.”
PA.2PERSONAL APPEARANCE
4851A PERSONAL APPEARANCE BY MARIA PERDOMO, P. E. AND
JACQUELINE SEQUEIRA,P. ., FROM FDOT DISTRICT 6 TO
PRESENT A PROJECT UPDATE ON THE I-395/SR 836/I-95
DESIGN-BUILD PROJECT.
RESULT:PRESENTED
Chair Hardemon: We do have a personal appearance; Maria Perdomo. Is she
present? You may step to the lectern.
Jim Wolfe: I'm Jim Wolfe, FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) District
Secretary; great pleasure to be here to talk about the rebuild of I-395. A lot of
people call I-395 the Signature Bridge Project, because they're focusing on the most
iconic element of it, which is a six-arch, high-level bridge in front of the Arsht
Center, but there's a lot more to the project. The biggest traffic improvement will be
a higher elevated roadway that connects 836 to the MacArthur Causeway, flying
right over I-95, improving the operation phenomenally of all those roadways. There
will also be with the project considerable improvement in the connectivity of
neighborhoods and the way that the local streets operate, but an element of the
project that I thinka lot of people are excited about is the opportunities for the under
deck area that, with the road being raised to a higher elevation, there's a great
opportunity to have a world-class public space, and FDOT's plans include all of the
construction required for that world-class public space, but we need an
operator/maintainer, a partner, and the logical partner is the City. We've had
opening discussions about that. It's something that doesn't need to be resolved for
four and a half, five years, but it'd be good to have a good lead time. We would like,
in the next year, to have a general agreement on whether the City will, in fact, be the
operator/maintainer of the under deck area and take on that opportunity and
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obligation, and then we can work --that gives us lead time to work on the details of
making the most of that opportunity. So I'd like to call up two of our members. We
got --later, we'll have Jackie Sequeira that is our top engineer during the
construction process, and will certainly be interacting with the City and with the
public during that five-year construction. And I have Maria Perdomo that is going
to talk about the design. She's our lead engineer on the design effort for the project.
Maria.
Maria Perdomo: Thank you, Secretary Wolfe. Thank you, Board Members. This
morning I’m going to be able to present to you I-395 Project. This is a design-build
project. Currently, we're in design phases of the project. There's a partnership
between Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and the Florida Department of
Transportation. In our team, we have myself as the design lead, as Secretary Wolfe
mentioned, and Jackie --Jacqueline Sequeira as the Construction Project Manager.
Leading the efforts with the MDX (Miami-Dade Expressway) is Claudio Diaferia,
and the contract was awarded this past July to the Archer Western-de Moya, a joint
venture. The project construction cost is $802 million. That includes all the
improvements I'm going to be presenting you this morning. The contract time is
approximately four years. It does not include the scheduled delays, weather delays,
and holidays. So we estimate that the project will end sometime in July --fall of
2023. The project includes improvements along the 836. They're capacity
improvements. Itbegins Northwest 17th Avenue and continue to the Midtown
Interchange. There's a Pavement Reconstruction Project that is from Northwest 8th
Street and continues to Northwest 29th Street, and the complete reconstruction of the
I-395, which is from Midtown Interchange to the MacArthur Causeway. Some of the
enhancements I'm going to go over this morning are the 836 enhancements, I-95,
and 395, and as Secretary Wolfe mentioned, the under deck area. The 836
improvements is a capacity improvement project, so we're adding an additional lane.
Currently, right now you have three lanes going east/west, east and west. In the
future, the configurations, what you see on the right-hand side, which is the typical,
which has a double deck. This double deck will have two lanes on the top, part of it,
and that --the movements go straight from northwest --west of Northwest 17th --
27th Avenue and continue all the way to the MacArthur Causeway. So any impacts
or any traffics that’s happening on the I-95 or events on the395 will not affect this
movement, the east and west movement. In addition to that, because now our
structure is no longer being widened to the outside, but we're lifting a second level,
we also have minimizing impacts to the Miami River, and also to theHistoric Grove
Park area. On the left-hand side, you see a picture of what it would look like once
you pass the toll, and then you go up to the second level. Some of the additional
improvements that we have in the Interchange is that we're adding an additional
lane to the State Road 836 eastbound to I-95 northbound movement. Right now that
ramp is a currently one-lane ramp; it will become a two-lane ramp. And in order to
be able to operate effectively, we're adding an additional lane onto the I-95 to be
able to receive that additional traffic that's coming from that lane. And as I
mentioned, the double deck will maintain and separate through traffic from local
traffic through the Interchange, so there's two levels. As we go through the I-395, it
goes into an elevated section that I’ll show you some images later on. I-395 is
complete reconstruction. And over Northwest --Northeast 2nd Avenue and
Biscayne, we're going to be spanding the Signature Bridge, as Secretary Wolfe
mentioned. The Signature Bridge is approximately 330 feet in elevation and 1,025
feet in span, so it's --as you see, it's a Signature Bridge that will also be
programmable with lights. What you see right now are blue lights; and the cables,
as they come down, are also programmable,so we can always change those colors.
These are additional images as if --when you're on Biscayne and you're looking
north. This is an image when you're inside the Arsht Center. And this is a skyline
view of what Miami would look like with the Signature Bridge. Currently,
underneath the I-395 is a --it's visually not a place where we feel welcomed --well,
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not welcomed --we feel safe to be able to walk it. The vertical clearance is very low;
it's about 14 feet. This is an image of Northeast 1st Avenue. As you see, there's a lot
of columns. It's --there's --fenced. It's not a welcoming place. To the image to the
right is the proposed layout of the I-395. There on the right-hand side is over
Northwest 3rd Avenue. As you see, we're going from a clearance about 14 feet to a
clearance at the main line about 60 feet, so it's going to have an opportunity to open
up that area. You have about 30 feet --I mean, 30 acres of community space
underneath, and this is a --kind of an overall map of what it looks --what will look
like. So in the Midtown Interchange area, you have --we'll be proposing a legacy
wall and landscaping. Then as you head east, we have other features, such as the
one I just showed you, which is an area for farmers markets or for community events
to happen. This is west of North 2nd Avenue. We also are proposing water
fountains, interactive for children, playgrounds, and so forth. These are just some of
the highlights of what we're proposing. As we go east, there's parking onthe
outsides, and there's also a pedestrian bridge that's going to go over the railroad
track. This is important, because it gives us an opportunity to connect this under
deck. There's another image. And this is in front of the Adrienne Arsht Center.
We're proposing another featured water fountain and a parking --there's a parking
area here, but during the day, it's going to be for recreational use or for pedestrians.
At night, we're proposing lighting along the structure. We're proposing landscape
lighting. We're proposing featured lighting, deck lighting. There's --it’s plenty of
lighting. It’s turning the night into day in this area, as you see some of the images.
Pedestrian and bicycles are being accoun --we're designing for. We have enhanced
sidewalks, in addition to the trail that you see in the images. These are just some of
the images that I would like to share with you; bike racks, additional emphasis on
pedestrian crossings, the pedestrian bridge that we have mentioned, and then there's
an underpass that's going to be able to connect the Perez Museum, and they won't
have to go to Biscayne; they'll be able to cross, and that's where we have it located
to be able to get to the north side of the bridge, so it's going to be an additional
means of walking. And also, we're going to connect the bicycle lanes that we're
extending to Miami Beach. Not on this project, extending it to Miami Beach; it's a
different project, but we're incorporating that last leg. These are just some of the
enhancements on the local roads. These are the city roads and the county roads.
What we are doing is that we are going to reconstruct the Northwest 2nd Avenue,
which was a commitment to Overtown to open up that lane, and that's the new street
that we're connecting. And finally, the I-95 enhancement. This is a rigid pavement
project, and the major work here is going to be that additional lane that we're
shifting the existing typical to be able to bring in that extra lane from --extra
capacity from the ramp. And then Jacqueline Sequeira, so she could --she's going to
be talking to you, giving you a little bit of an update of construction, where we're at
and what's --what are some of the anticipated events in the next few months.
Jacqueline Sequeira: Goodmorning.
Chair Hardemon: Good morning.
Ms. Sequeira: Thank you for the opportunity to present our project today. Like
Maria had mentioned, the project is a design-build, so right now we're in the design
phase. The contractor --the design-build team is working on getting the plans ready
to be released for construction, and Maria's team is working on that. The
preliminary construction activities that are going to start showing up now are just
exploratory for boards to be able to design the foundations for the bridge, but actual
construction is going to start towards the end of February. That's when we're going
to see heavy construction going on. And this construction is going to be done in
phases to minimize the impacts to the traveling public. We have milestones on the
project. We still don't have an approved schedule, since they're still working on the
design, but the contractor has already committed to how they're going to build the
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project in milestones. So Milestone Number 1 is improving the operations on I-95
northbound. They're going to have an ancillary lane, like Maria was explaining on
her design portion, where they're going to extend this ancillary lane to allow for the
movement from eastbound 836 to northbound I-95, and we expectthis to open before
the Super Bowl in 2020. So that’s their Milestone Number 1. Milestone Number 2 is
--
Chair Hardemon: May I ask you a question? Is there any possibility that any part
of this project would not be completed?
Ms. Sequeira: I'msorry? What --?
Chair Hardemon: Is there any possibility that any part of this project would not be
completed?
Ms. Sequeira: No.
Chair Hardemon: Or do you --so there's no possibility?
Vice Chair Russell: No.
Chair Hardemon: There's an absolute guarantee that if it begins, every part of this
project will be completed?
Ms. Sequeira: Yes, yes. The only part that, as the Secretary had mentioned before,
is the under deck, where we are looking for a partner to be able to maintain and
operate this area.
Chair Hardemon: Understood.
Ms. Sequeira: So whatever we have on the proposal for that under deck, it depends
on who --if we find somebody to maintain it, then that's --the construction of that
area depends on that, but everything else is --
Chair Hardemon: Not the construction, but the maintenance of it. Or are you
saying the construction, as well?
Ms. Sequeira: Well, we --for the under deck part, what we have on the proposal is
not something that the State maintains.
Chair Hardemon: Right. I understand maintain.
Ms. Sequeira: So that is the reason. So if that --if we don't find a partner to
maintain the fountain, the duck park, and those areas that Maria showed
underneath, then we might have to change thedesign in that area --
Chair Hardemon: Okay.
Ms. Sequeira: --to build something that we could maintain, but other than that, it's
all that we have on the proposal for the $802 million, it will be built.
Commissioner Reyes: Excuse me. Mr. Chair, I have a question. This is going to be
funded by additional tolls, or it's going to be funded by State funds or --?
Ms. Sequeira: Part --the DOT (Department of Transportation) part of the funds that
Maria had mentioned before, the $616 million,are already funded, and it's State --
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Commissioner Reyes: Oh, it's already funded.
Ms. Sequeira: --and Federal funds.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Ms. Sequeira: The MDX portion, it's MDX that's paying for it, and the funds may be
different.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Ms. Sequeira: I'm not sure about that.
Commissioner Reyes: And I just want to make clear, because every time that we
have any project like this, our residents, which are a toll of two, I mean, they’re
paying a lotof tolls. They get nervous, and I want to make clear that it's not going to
be any additional tolls. MDX, that we are going to get --are there going to be any
tolls increases in this? Okay. Thank you, sir.
Ms. Sequeira: Okay. So our Milestone Number 2 is to open that second lane on the
eastbound 836 going northbound I-95. Our Milestone Number 3 will be to open the
bridge, the Signature Bridge, on the westbound direction. Then Milestone Number 4
is to open the double deck section of 836 that Maria was explaining before. Then we
have Milestone Number 5, which is to open the Signature Bridge on the eastbound
direction. And then finally, Milestone Number 6, which is completing the under deck
on the bridge portion. In maintenance of traffic, we are going to --like I had
explained before, we're going to build the project in phases, and to avoid impacts to
the traffic, we're going to close lanes in the different areas. We have restrictions on
the proposal for the contractor, that they cannot closelanes. They have to maintain
existing lanes during the day, and then lane closures will happen at night. We have
a person on our team in the Field Office that's going to be coordinating all the
events in the area of the Arena, the Arsht Center so that we don't impact them, and
that is also a requirement for the contractor. They know that they cannot impact the
traffic on days of special events. Then the upcoming activities within the next six
months, what's expected to happen out there in the construction area is the utility
relocations surveying. We’re also going to start construction in the median on I-95,
and we're also going to start the --some widening on 836 for preparation for the
double decking and the foundations for the I-395 Bridge. Another feature of the
project is the Traffic Management System. This system is going to help --it’s a
requirement also for the contractor, and it's going to help the traffic by providing --
on the existing DMS signs that we have, they'll be able to provide real-time traffic so
that the people can take different routes, and also, it's going to help on moving any
incidents that happen during construction in the work zone. We have --we also have
a Community Outreach Program, and we are setting up meetings that we're going to
have --stakeholders meetings that we're going to have every month. They're going
to happen in the MDX facility, and all the stakeholders in the area are invited to the
meeting, and this meeting is a venue for them to come and inquire --any inquiries
that they have about the project and to get questions answered and to coordinate any
events that they might have that the construction will impact their events. We have
also upcoming presentations. We have this one here today. We have a presentation
coming up at the TPO (Transportation Planning Organization) in November 14.
We're also presenting at the BPAC (Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee) in
December 11, and we have several outreach meetings scheduled already for the
upcoming months.And that's all I have for today. If you have any questions?
Vice Chair Russell: Yes. Mr. Chairman?
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Ms. Sequeira: Also, we have --I forgot; I'm sorry. We also have a website that they
can get all --the stakeholders can get all the informationfor the project, like lane
closures and videos and information about the project.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you. Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: Let me tell you, I think it's beautiful engineering, beautiful
project, and the steps you show here are very good, but our experience with DOT
has been very negative within the City of Miami. I don't know how much planning
you did, how much outsource you did, but your developer or the people you contract.
If you look at Flagler Street, it’s supposedto have been maybe two years; it's going
on fourth year. If you looking at the Northwest 7th Avenue, the same thing. So our
experience with the project --the person in charge of the project, they don't take
much in consideration, the traffic and the problem they create, and I just want to
make sure that whoever you contract --and I know the City of Miami, we’re going to
be negotiating quite a bit with you all, because my district is being affected quite a
bit; so does District 5, and the rest of Miami-Dade County, because they all go
through there. So this is something that we really have problems with. And the
experience we had with Flagler and 7th Avenue, I'm trying to do some negotiation
with DOT on the railroad tracks. It's standing still. So I'm sure we're going to be
dealing quite a bit --Mr. Manager, I want to be aware of what's going on, okay?
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Yes, sir. We've already been briefed by them,
and have already started meeting and have contact, and we'll be seeing each other
regularly.
Chair Hardemon: Mr. Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to Mr.
Wolfe and members of FDOT for presenting. This is, to me, iconic; not in the
spanning bridge portion, but in the linear park portion. It's something that FDOT
has readily admitted is not in their usual wheelhouse. And so, they've come to the
City, they've come to the DDA (Downtown Development Authority). I know they're
talking to Town Square about how weplan, design, and maintain this linear park,
which I’ve heard could be between 30 and 50 acres, if you look at different portions
of it; is that correct? To me, that's very exciting. I'm an optimist. I want to think
that a park of this magnitude could be, you know, great for the City, but I know it's
going to come to us at the end of the day. The maintenance of it and the
programming of it is going to come to us. We've had talks about it at the DDA, and
the DDA is ready to go to help in --whether it's community meetings for what the
amenities within the park would be, what we're looking for, what we're not looking
for, to help organize. And I know it spans way beyond downtown, so we need to
work together with neighboring communities to see what it isthey want, because if I
understand correctly, all of the amenities that are shown right now are possible, but
they're basically placeholders for what the finished product would be, and that's, in a
sense, a blank canvass. So the planning has to happen now so that we get it right for
the community; that the community has a say-so in it; that we don't spend a lot of
money, and then find out that people are upset afterwards, which happens sometimes
in beautification projects. And then, of course, how do we keep it clean and trimmed
and beautiful, whether it's the Parks Department? So my office is fully available to
you, and I know others are as well, and we’d like to work together on this. The DDA
is at your disposal. The other thing I'd like to talk about is making sure that this
magnificent park connects to the magnificent Baywalk. It's so close that if it doesn’t
actually connect in a seamless way, it's a huge miss, because it’s really, for us, the
pedestrian and cycling and dog-walking connectivity that we want through
downtown, it's going to connect from Overtown to the water and then the water to
the core and all the way to Brickell and the Underline. This is a major opportunity
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for connection, but I feel that Biscayne Boulevard and the crossover tothe Baywalk,
we have a little missing link, and then under 395, we have a missing link. So we're
hoping for your full cooperation as --in applying for permits and design and
finalizing the connection of the Baywalk underneath that portion of 395. I believe it
all goes together. I believe that both parks are connected and should be thought of
together. And from our side at the City, I'd like to talk with Management and the
Planning Department, and Francisco Garcia and his staff, about a new zoning
overlay that could maybe put over transit corridors. The Underline would be a
perfect candidate for this. This park could be a perfect candidate for this; where --
instead of just zoning it as transit corridor. We have a new type of park here. This
park will be activated in different ways than our other parks, and we should be
allowing different types of use, whether it's commercial, or whether we're trying to
activate it with music or nighttime. And so, we need to treat it differently, and it’ll
need different zoning. The Baywalk could end up being a linear park, but it's not a
traditional park. So I'd love to work with Francisco's office. I'm welcomed to
sponsor that legislation as it’s put forward and together, and work together with you
all to make it successful. So thank you for coming.
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chair, I have a couple of questions. I know that
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) can be enthusiastic about some parks; other parks, they are not
so enthusiastic about them. But I have a concern on thecost of maintaining that
park. You said that we are responsible for it. Is that true? I mean, once the park is
built, we are going to maintain it. And I want to ask if --I have a question: Is DDA
willing to pay for maintenance? Because it is nice to have it built, but then at the --I
think that the City, we have to make it real clear that this is not going to be a big
surprise for us that then we are responsible for maintaining, keep --the upkeep and
the maintenance of that park. And I want to make it clear who is going to and where
the funds are going to come from to --?
Commissioner Gort: CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency).
Commissioner Reyes: Hmm?
Vice Chair Russell: It is within the CRA --
Commissioner Gort: CRA.
Vice Chair Russell: --and it's within the DDA. I can't speak for --
Commissioner Reyes: CRA.
Vice Chair Russell: --either boards, but I'm sure that those agencies will step up.
One of the biggest initiatives, though, that we are all involved in is the expansion of
the Homeless Employment Program.
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Russell: And the homeless that are under 395 right now may not be the
ideal candidates, but those who have overcome drug addiction and mental illness
and are ready to get back into the workforce, the DDA is actively working with the
City to expand that program, and this could be the workforce that beautifies and
maintains this park three --
Commissioner Reyes: Well, I really hope so.
Vice Chair Russell: --years --three, four years down the road when it's ready.
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Commissioner Reyes: I really hope so. And I --you don't have to be
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) I mention the homeless, because I already been very vocal on
what should be done with the homeless and how the Homeless Trust should pay more
emphasis on it. And I know that you like to use the funds from the CRA for
everything, but I want to know exactly how this is going to be financed --I mean,
how it's going to be maintained, all of this. I mean, it might be beautiful. It might be
all to have that, and --but I know that it has a cost, and we have to be financial
responsible, and that is my question, and I want clarification on it. If you don't like
it, that's fine, okay, but I want clarification on it, okay?
Mr. Wolfe: We've had one-on-one meetings with three of the Commissioners.
Unfortunately, we have not met with you. FDOT receives, by formula, maintenance
dollars for our roadways, and that allows us, for instance, to pick up litter every six
weeks. Well, that kind of formula maintenance is not going to maintain trees,
shrubs, fountains, walkways; it's not going to pick up trash every day, so we need --
if this is going to be a park-like area with these public activities, we need an
operator/maintainer partner, and that's where the City is being invited to do that.
You have no obligation to take that on, but it's an opportunity to have a real asset for
the City by taking that on. We have done some analysis; that there are some
revenue-generating opportunities within the corridor; perhaps a public/private
partnership for a coffee shop within the right-of-way. That's an opportunity. Any --
parking is an obvious revenue generation in some areas. We don't want to dedicate
the corridor to parking, but limited locations. Whatever revenues can be derived
from the corridor could go to that partner that operates and maintains. If there's a
farmer's market and it has fees, that also is a revenue opportunity, et cetera. So I
would anticipate that if the City takes on this obligation, it will be a budget item, it'll
need to be estimated, and there will be some costs, but some of that cost can be
offset.
Commissioner Reyes: Do you have any, I would say, any feasibility study? You
have any analysis or any projections where the revenues is going to come? How
much --I mean --you mean --I don't know if it is retail or restaurant activity is
going to be there, and how much --an estimate of how much funds they're going to
generate for the maintenance of that park and --or to the City of Miami. I mean, it
is beautiful idea, but it has its cost, and I want to make sure that residents or the
citizens are protected from an additional burden, you see. And I know it's a beautiful
idea, and I wish the City will be dancing in million of dollars, which we're not, you
see. We are not. We are not in that --we don't have that much additional funds
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) to get another commitment, and I just want to know how we're
going to pay forit, and that's it. It's very simple, okay? And if you have any
information, could you please come by my office and inform me how it is and --?
Mr. Wolfe: Very good. We do have some --
Commissioner Reyes: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) So there's decisions that--
Mr. Wolfe: --additional information.
Commissioner Reyes: --have to be made, and I'm going to make it based on facts,
not on dreams, okay?
Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, Secretary. Thank you very much.
Commissioner.
Commissioner Gort: I have one question. I think it's beautiful, the design. It's a
beautiful job, and it's going to be something real nice for downtown Miami, for the
whole City of Miami. And the way the traffic --you can navigate and you're going to
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be able to go directly from 836 to I-95, I think that'll be very important. But now I
can see that you opening the underneath to create activities, which I think is very
good. And I think the City should look at the other possibility where we can use
other facilities where we can do the same thing; something very similar; not the
bridge, but use the underneath for the benefit of the community. So I imagine this
opens that opportunity.
Mr. Wolfe: Yes, it certainly does.
Commissioner Gort: Because in my understanding, in the past, we were not able to
do many things underneath the highway.
Mr. Wolfe: A lot of the refinement of the plan is going to be an iterative process
where we work with what the City --
Commissioner Gort: Right.
Mr. Wolfe: --its vision is and the refinements that they want to make, and the uses
they want for the property.
Commissioner Gort: Well, thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you so very much for your presentation. We appreciate it.
Commissioner Gort: It's beautiful.
END OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE
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CA -CONSENT AGENDA
The following item(s) was Adopted on the Consent Agenda
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Wifredo Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
CA.1RESOLUTION
4703
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION
AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO PAY ALIN
Office of the City
NICOLAS COWAN ZAYAS THE TOTAL SUM OF $40,000.00,
Attorney
WITHOUT ADMISSION OFLIABILITY, IN FULL AND COMPLETE
SETTLEMENT OF ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AGAINST THECITY OF
MIAMI, ITS OFFICERS,AGENTS, AND EMPLOYEES IN THE CASE
OF ALIN NICOLAS COWAN ZAYAS V. CITY OF MIAMI, ET AL.,
PENDING IN THE CIRCUIT COURT IN AND FOR MIAMI-DADE
COUNTY, CASE NO. 16-013152 CA 01 (11), UPON THE
EXECUTION OF A GENERAL RELEASE OF ALL CLAIMS AND
DEMANDS AND A DISMISSAL PREJUDICE; ALLOCATING
SETTLEMENT FUNDS FROM ACCOUNT NO.
50001.301001.545013.0000.00000.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0432
This matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
END OF CONSENT AGENDA
Chair Hardemon: What I'd like to do now is have a motion to approve the CA
(consent agenda) agenda and PH.1.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. CA agenda --
Vice Chair Russell: I'll move the item. I'll second it.
Chair Hardemon: Been properlymoved by Commissioner Gort; seconded by the
Vice Chairman.
Commissioner Carollo: Commissioner Gort, the CA agenda --
Chair Hardemon: It’s only CA.1. It's only CA.1.
Commissioner Carollo: It's just one that we have in the CA, right?
Chair Hardemon: That's correct.
Commissioner Gort: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: PH.1.
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Commissioner Gort: PH.1.
Commissioner Reyes: PH.1, CA.1.
Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) agenda.
Commissioner Carollo: Which was the item, Commissioner Gort, that you had for
second reading today on the food trucks?
Chair Hardemon: That's in the SRs (second readings).
Commissioner Carollo: SRs? Okay.
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: That one, if you could remind me that I want to discuss it
publicly here --
Commissioner Gort: Sure.
Commissioner Carollo: --to make sure that we put some real teeth like you wanted,
and we don't shoot ourselves in the foot.
Chair Hardemon: That's SR.6. Seeing no further discussion on the motion on the
floor, all in --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --favor of the motion, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries.
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PH -PUBLIC HEARING
PH.1RESOLUTION
4176A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), ALLOCATING PROGRAM YEAR 2018-2019
Department of
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (“CDBG”) FUNDS IN
Community and
THE AMOUNT OF $3,018,378.60 IN THE ECONOMIC
Economic
DEVELOPMENT CATEGORYTO THE AGENCIES SPECIFIED IN
Development
ATTACHMENT “A," ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTACTIVITIES IN THE PROGRAM YEAR
2018-2019; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS, IN A
FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, ASMAY BE
NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT THE ALLOCATIONS, SUBJECT TO
ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LAWS THAT REGULATE THE
USE OF SUCH FUNDS.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0433
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PH.1, please see “End of
Consent Agenda.”
END OF PUBLIC HEARING
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SR -SECOND READING ORDINANCES
SR.1ORDINANCE Second Reading
3732MAY BE WITHDRAWN
Commissioners AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
and MayorCHAPTER 40/ARTICLE IV/DIVISION 2 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED
"PERSONNEL/PENSION AND RETIREMENT PLAN/CITY OF
MIAMI FIREFIGHTERS' AND POLICE OFFICERS' RETIREMENT
TRUST", MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 40-
191, ENTITLED "DEFINITIONS", TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF
POLICE OFFICER AND SECTION 40-203, ENTITLED "BENEFITS",
TO CLARIFY CHANGES TO THE BENEFICIARIES; CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE
EFFECTIVE DATE.
MOTION TO:Withdraw
RESULT:WITHDRAWN
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item SR.1, please see “Order of the
Day.”
SR.2ORDINANCE Second Reading
4241AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION
ESTABLISHING THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE CITYOF MIAMI AS
Office of
SET FORTH AND FUNDEDPURSUANT TO RESOLUTION NO. 18-
Management and
0193 ADOPTED MAY 10,2018, AND PURSUANT TOSECTION 19
Budget
OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, TITLED
"CREATION OF NEW DEPARTMENTS; DISCONTINUANCE OF
DEPARTMENTS"; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND
PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:13792
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Chair Hardemon: Okay, read into the record, please, SR.2.
Commissioner Reyes: SR.2.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney.
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Chair Hardemon: Is there a motion?
Commissioner Carollo: Move.
Chair Hardemon: Seconded by the Chair. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in
favor of the motion, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries.
SR.3ORDINANCE Second Reading
4365
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
CHAPTER 55 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA,
Commissioners
AS AMENDED, TITLED “SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS,” MORE
and Mayor
PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 55-8, TITLED "SAME -
SAME -FINAL PLAT," SECTION55-15, TITLED “VACATIONAND
CLOSURE OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY, PLATTED EASEMENTS, AND
EMERGENCY ACCESS EASEMENTS BY PLAT,” ANDSECTION
55-16, TITLED "CONSIDERATION OF EASEMENTS AND ALLEYS
WHEN ALLEGED TO BE ABANDONED AS A MATTEROF LAW,"
TO REQUIRE THAT SUBDIVIDERS OR APPLICANTS OBTAIN
CONFIRMATION FROM THE CITY OF MIAMI (“CITY”) AS TO
WHETHER THE CITY UTILIZED ANY FUNDS, INCLUDING
RESTRICTED FUNDS, TOIMPROVE THE RIGHT-OF-WAY
PROPOSED TO BE VACATED, CLOSED, OR ABANDONED AND
TO REQUIRE THE EXPENDITURE OF RESTRICTEDCITY FUNDS
UTILIZED FOR SAID IMPROVEMENTS OF SUCH RIGHT-OF-WAY
BE REPAID TOTHE CITY IN ORDER FOR A RIGHT-OF-WAY TO
BE VACATED, CLOSED, OR ABANDONED; CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE;AND PROVIDING FOR ANEFFECTIVE
DATE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:13793
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Chair Hardemon: SR.3, please read it into the record.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney.
Victoria Méndez (City Attorney): This is sponsored by Commissioner Joe Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Move.
Commissioner Reyes: Second.
Chair Hardemon: Been moved and second. Any discussion?
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Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized.
Commissioner Reyes: I just want to clarify and -- How are we going to enforce
this? You see, I want to clarify it. How are we going to enforce it? How far are we
going to go if we --how are we going to determine if we have any grants or any
money that has been given and still using it? I mean, we need to have at least a
process to --for us to enforce this, and I want you to --and you can make it. I mean,
it doesn't have to be right now, but you have to have a process in order to enforce
this.
Fernando Casamayor (Chief Financial Officer): Good morning, Commissioners.
Fernando Casamayor, Assistant City Manager. Yes, sir, we will have a process put
in place involving CIP (Capital Improvement Programs), Public Works, the Finance
Department, and the Law Department, in order to ensure that any restricted funds
that had been used would be quantified and collected, if need be.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. I just wanted to make sure that there's a process to
enforce.
Chair Hardemon: Any further discussion?
Commissioner Gort: Call the question.
Chair Hardemon: All in favor of the motion, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries.
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SR.4ORDINANCESecond Reading
4366
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
CHAPTER 54/ARTICLE VOF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,
Commissioners
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), TITLED “STREETS AND
and Mayor
SIDEWALKS/BASE BUILDING LINES," MORE SPECIFICALLY BY
AMENDING SECTION 54-190, TITLED "NONSTANDARD STREET
WIDTHS,” BY MODIFYING THE WIDTH OF
NORTHWEST/NORTHEAST 5TH STREET BETWEEN BISCAYNE
BOULEVARD AND NORTHWEST 3RD AVENUE FROM EIGHTY
FEET (80') TO SEVENTY FEET (70'); MODIFYING THE WIDTH OF
NORTHEAST/NORTHWEST 6TH STREET BETWEEN
NORTHEAST 2ND AVENUE AND NORTHWEST 3RD AVENUE
FROM EIGHTY FEET (80') TO SEVENTY FEET (70'); AND
MODIFYING THE WIDTH OF NORTHWEST 1ST AVENUE ON THE
EAST SIDE BETWEEN NORTHWEST 10TH STREET AND
NORTHWEST 11TH STREET FROM ONE HUNDRED FIVE FEET
(105') TO SEVENTY FEET (70'), AND BETWEEN NORTHWEST
8TH STREET TO NORTHWEST 10TH STREET FROMONE
HUNDRED FIVE FEET (105') TO FIFTY FEET (50'); CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE;AND PROVIDING FOR ANEFFECTIVE
DATE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:13794
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Chair Hardemon: SR.4.
Commissioner Carollo: Move.
Chair Hardemon: Read it into the record,please.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Chair Hardemon: Been properly moved and seconded. All in favor of the motion,
say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries.
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SR.5ORDINANCESecond Reading
4465
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
CHAPTER 8 OF THE CODE OF THE CITYOF MIAMI, FLORIDA,
Commissioners
AS AMENDED (“CITY CODE”), ENTITLED "BICYCLES,
and Mayor
SKATEBOARDS, SCOOTERS, AND OTHER SIMILARDEVICES,"
TO INCLUDE SECTIONS 8-1 TO SECTION 8-7 IN A NEWLY
RENUMBERED ARTICLE I, ENTITLED “GENERALLY,” MORE
PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 8-5, ENTITLED
“PARENTS AND GUARDIANS NOT TO PERMIT VIOLATIONS OF
CHAPTER,” TO ADD A SAFE DRIVING REQUIREMENT,
ESTABLISHING A NEW ARTICLE II, ENTITLED “MOTORIZED
SCOOTERS,” ESTABLISHING A SIX (6) MONTH PILOT PROGRAM
FOR MOTORIZED SCOOTERS WITHIN COMMISSIONDISTRICT
2; PROVIDING RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE
OPERATION OF MOTORIZED SCOOTER SHARING SYSTEMS
WITHIN THE CITY OF MIAMI (“CITY”), SPECIFICALLY PROVIDING
FOR APPLICABILITY, POLICY STATEMENT, DEFINITIONS,
PURPOSE, SCOPE, PROCEDURES, MINIMUM FLEET SIZE,
ADJUSTMENTS OF FLEET SIZE, OPERATING REGULATIONS,
PARKING, OPERATIONS DATA SHARING, INFRASTRUCTURE
FUNDING, AND MINIMUMLICENSE REQUIREMENTS
(INCLUDING A NON-REFUNDABLE LICENSINGFEE, A
MOTORIZED SCOOTER FEE, INDEMNIFICATION, INSURANCE
AND BONDING), CODE ENFORCEMENT, REMOVAL OF
SCOOTERS, AND OTHER REMEDIES, RESPECTIVELY;
PROVIDING FOR COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLELAWS AND
REGULATIONS; PROVIDING FOR A REGULATORY FEE ;
PROVIDING FOR A RESERVATION OF RIGHTS TOISSUE A
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)OR SIMILAR DOCUMENT;
PROVIDING FOR A RESERVATION OF RIGHTS TO ESTABLISH
NO SCOOTERS ZONE(S);PROVIDING A SUNSET PROVISION OF
APRIL 30, 2019; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE;
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:13795
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort
NAYS:Carollo, Reyes
Note for the Record: For additional minutes referencing Item SR.5, please see
“Public Comment Period for Regular Items.”
Chair Hardemon: SR.5, can you read it into the record?
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney.
Victoria Méndez (City Attorney): This is sponsored by Mayor Suarez and Vice Chair
Russell.
Vice Chair Russell: I'd like to move the item, and I have some floor amendments.
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Chair Hardemon: Can you state what the floor amendments are?
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Commissioner Carollo: Discussion.
Commissioner Reyes: Discussion. I have --
Chair Hardemon: He wants to make some amendments to it.
Commissioner Reyes: Oh, okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. I'd like, in Section 8-10(4), to change the word
“fleet coordinator” to “local operational staff.” That's not a very substantive
change. Section 8-13(b), remove the word “franchise” before “agreement,”
because we're --they're trying to protect Deco Bike’s agreement within their leased
spaces, and it's not technically a franchise. So just the word “agreement” should be
con --it's a concession agreement, and that's places where they're not allowedto
park them. They're not allowed to park them in Deco Bikes leased area. Section 8-
13(k) and Section 8-14(e), change the “30 minutes” to “two hours,” and this is a
notification period where we want them to remove them before they would be in
breach of this agreement. However, I want it very clear within the ordinance --and
I believe that it is, and everyone needs to be aware --that as the MPA (Miami
Parking Authority) monitors this, when they see a scooter in the wrong place, they
can pick it up at site and take it back to their storage unit, and then charge the
scooter company the $25 to get it back.
Commissioner Carollo: Commissioner, the 30 minute, we had put that that if we
found a bike outside of the district, they have 30 minutes to pick itup. That's why
you're trying to change it to two hours, right?
Vice Chair Russell: They're asking for a little more time with their manpower, but
MPA can get it immediately.
Commissioner Carollo: Sure, but that's reasonable, to go to two hours,you know, if
it's outside the district. So that, I won't have any problem with.
Vice Chair Russell: Okay. Thank you. And Section 8-15, add language that
specifies that the data will be in the mobility data specification format. And this is
working with Mike Sarasti, in our Innovation Department, to make sure that he's got
the raw data to be able to analyze that nobody's able to get around the rules here;
especially with regard to how many are on the street on a given day and how many
they’ve --how much usage they've had in that month, so we can truly measure from
our side whether they warrant any increase in the fleet for the following month. We
don't want to receive a self-written report card from them at the end of the month.
We need our department to be able to manage this. And to that end, when we collect
these fees, which will be $50,000 per company that participates in the pilot, I want to
make sure and set aside enough at the beginning so that Sarasti's department, if they
need to hire a person, we can do that. If they need to bring in any software, we can
do that. The remainder of those funds, I want to go toward fortifying our dedicated
bike lanes, so that we can really create safety for these and for cyclists. We’ve now
finally got arevenue source to which we can make our bicycling safer, and it’ll also
make a basic roadway for these scooters. That's very important to me. And finally, I
would like to see this six-month pilot automatically renewed, barring a negative
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report from theAdministration at the end of the pilot. And the reason --now, let me
just tell you the reason. If this goes well, at the end of six months, we're going to
start an RFP (Request for Proposals) process. We cannot interrupt the service once
we've offeredsomething that's been successful to our residents, if it's working out;
that pilot needs to continue that second six months. If the report comes bad and we
don't like it and we're not working with it, it dies, and there won't be a second six
months, and there won't be an RFP, but I agreed to the six months last time because
I understand, we need to analyze this in six months to see if we go forward, but
barring a negative result that --from this Commission --votes it down for renewal, I
would like to see an automatic renewal of the six-month program, without an
additional 50,000. So those first companies that all get in pay 50,000, can operate
for that entire year, even during the RFP process, with that initial $50,000 license
fee. So those are my amendments.
Commissioner Reyes: Sir, I want to --just for --clarified. You said that they’re
going to charge $50,000 per license?
Vice Chair Russell: Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: And is there any additional funds that they’re going to pay?
Vice Chair Russell: Yes. $1 per scooter per day on the road.
Commissioner Reyes: So you are assuming that there's going to be enough money
collected to pay additional persons and all of that. Okay.
Vice Chair Russell: And there's also $25 per --picked up by the MPA, which we will
share with the MPA.
Commissioner Reyes: You know how I feel about it, and I haven't changed. And I
want to present this to the City Clerk, and this is a letter that was sent --an email
sent to me and she requested--from Ms. Solares, and you received one, too.
Commissioner Gort: We all did.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Now, I'm still very concerned about the use of scooters
on our street --I mean, in our sidewalks, and that's not going to change, you see.I
will feel very bad --I will feel guilty, as a matter of fact --if one of those scooters
hurts any person while they are driving on the sidewalks. And a little while ago,
there was a lady here that --the question was asked that where you ride those
scooters, was asked by the Chairman, and she said, that she uses the street
sometimes, and I've seen them, them using the street. And according to Florida
Statute 316.2128, it says, "Motorized scooters cannot be legally operated on public
roads.” Even though that we have a statute that is saying it, they're using it on
roads; therefore, they're violating. If our Police Department wants to cite them, they
could, because they are violating it. But we don't have any way of controlling that.
You see? I'vebeen in Coral Gables, and I’ve seen them --I go a lot by Miracle Mile,
and I've seen people using the scooters more for fun. As a matter of fact, I've seen
couples riding the same scooter, you see. And in my opinion, this could present a
danger. Another issue that I want to bring now is bicycles, you see. I have a bunch
of pictures here of bicycles that they are --you find them in my district, you see,
although none of them has been licensed. And I have a bunch of pictures there, you
see. All of these bicycle has been left in the middle of the street, in the middle of
sidewalks, and all of that. Unless we have a real --I mean, I would say a department
or something that be paid by them that can enforce this --I mean, look here. There's
a bicycle in the middle of the sidewalk. Left there. I've seen bicycles on the street,
you see, and we --they don't --they're --one question that I want to know, Mr. City
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Attorney --Madam City Attorney, and Mr. Manager, how in the world are those
people operating bicycles in our --I mean, in our city without being licensed and
without paying anything? And they doing it. Is this --I mean, there's no government
here that --and people can come in and then like --it’s just like a coup d’état, and
bring them all, and then I cannot get them out, because people will demand it? I
don't know what the strategy is, but it seems to me that we're going to force them on
you, and you will have to accept it, because now we're going to have a bunch of
people that are going to come to the City Commission and say how good they are
and how much they are helping our traffic problem. You see? This is a City of laws.
Either we enforce it, or we don't enforce it and anybody can do whatever they want.
Ms. Méndez: So the same way that the Commission had directed about a few months
ago to enforce the scooter problem we were having, if this is something that the
Commission wants to see the Manager and the Administration look into, the bicycle
problem we're having --
Commissioner Reyes: Absolutely.
Ms. Méndez: --that is something you could do.
Commissioner Reyes: Absolutely. And I want you to come with some sort of
legislation --if not, I will propose it --that those bicycles --not 10 minutes, not 20
minutes that should be --since they have not --they are unlicensed. They are
unlicensed. And the same goes for scooters in my district. You see? I've not seen
them, okay, in my district. Scooters in my district that if they --I mean, they told me
--somebody come here when they started talking about scooters, “Oh, no, no, no, we
can control that electronically. They cannot go beyond certain areas.” Well, how
come? Probably somebody mess with it, because they go wherever they want.
Okay? So if they --Imean, you’re talking about two hours to pick them up? That's
within your district. Within --outside of the district, within 10 minutes, because they
shouldn't be there. They shouldn't be there, you see. Either we enforce our laws, or
we are going to be more lawless than we are now, because people drive the way they
want. They don't --some people, they don't respect codes, speed limits, and all of
that. Well, let's try bring in some order to our city, and we got to start someplace.
And anybody that wants this, I'm going to give a copy to the City Clerk. So if you
want a copy of all this --I mean, all those pictures, the different type of bicycles,
Lime, the other one, without any licenses, they are using our streets, and they are
leaving their bicycles wherever they want. We got to stop that. Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman?
Chair Hardemon: You’re recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Commissioner, I cannot go along with the automatic six-
month extension. This is giving more power to the Administration that falls on this
Commission, and so, that was not there before. I cannot accept that amendment.
Secondly, I would like to add an amendment to the ordinance, and that's the State
statute that Commissioner Reyes mentioned; that these scooters are not allowed in
the streets. And I would like to add in the form that if more than twice they are cited
--in fact, I'll even go three times. If they are cited more than three times, or there's
any evidence that's given that more than three times scooters are being used in the
streets that this six-month trial period will be stopped automatically.
Chair Hardemon: I don't know if they can be written up. This is the thing about it:
I think having a scooter on a sidewalk is more equally problematic, because I can
imagine --
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Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: --looking --being on a sidewalk, even a downtown sidewalk that
is --
Commissioner Carollo: Huge.
Chair Hardemon: --that can be 40 feet long --wide, and I'm sure at40 feet wide,
some of us would have our children --let them walk themselves in the sense of not
holding our hands, et cetera, and a scooter could be problematic for that. But I have
to take a look at the statute, but I'm not sure if even a scooter is allowed to be ridden
on a sidewalk. If it's not allowed to be ridden on the street, it probably would not be
allowed to be ridden on a sidewalk.
Commissioner Carollo: I would agree with you --
Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: --in that (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Russell: Madam City Attorney, it's my understanding that the statute is
unless a city creates an ordinance, and it provides that a city can have home rule on
this issue if they create an ordinance, which would eliminate that statute; is that
correct?
Ms. Méndez: So the State statute that's dealing with this --and that's why we're here
--says that a county or municipality may enact an ordinance --
Chair Hardemon: What section is that?
Ms. Méndez: --to permit control --
Chair Hardemon: What statute is that? What are you reading from?
Ms. Méndez: 316.008, “Powers of Local Authorities.” And in Subsection (C)7, “A
county or municipality may enact an ordinance to permit, control, or regulate the
operation of vehicles, golf carts, Mopeds, motorized scooters, and electric personal
assistive mobility devices on sidewalks or sidewalk areas. When such use is
permissible under Federal law, the ordinance must restrict the vehicles or devices to
the maximum of 15 miles per hour in such areas,” which is what Commissioner
Reyes had mentioned the last time, 15 miles an hour.
Commissioner Reyes: It's extremely fast. Can you imagine, as the Chairman was
saying, a child being hit by one of thosescooters? And don't tell me that everybody
that jump on those scooters --because I've seen it --is a very, very responsible
person that takes it only to go from point "A" to point "B." That's not true.
Commissioner Carollo: But --
Commissioner Reyes: Okay?
Commissioner Carollo: --did you say --
Commissioner Reyes: Very dangerous.
Commissioner Carollo: --that statute was for sidewalks or sidewalks and streets?
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Chair Hardemon: So --
Ms. Méndez: Sidewalks and sidewalk areas. So that's when we --
Vice Chair Russell: No street.
Commissioner Reyes: No street.
Ms. Méndez: --if we create an ordinance that allows to have these on the sidewalk.
Commissioner Carollo: So Commissioner Reyes is correct with the statutethat he
read to us, that the State law prevails --
Chair Hardemon: Yeah, because --
Commissioner Carollo: --on the street.
Chair Hardemon: Yeah. It can't, because --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Chair Hardemon: --it's not a registered vehicle, so.
Commissioner Carollo: Exactly.
Chair Hardemon: And it doesn't go more than 30 miles an hour, probably.
Commissioner Reyes: And we have a statement by one of the users that was asked,
“What do you” --I mean, “Where do you” --“Well, sometimes on the sidewalk, and
most of the time on the streets.” And I've seen it. This morning, when I was driving,
I was driving to --I mean, I was driving here, and there were two persons that were
on the street, on 27th Avenue, two individuals. As a matter of fact, we had to slow
down, because they were going probably full speed, 15 miles an hour, and then
traffic was slowed down because of them.
Vice Chair Russell: Just like a bicycle.
Commissioner Reyes: Well, bicycle --
ChairHardemon: The bicycles aren't supposed to be ridden on the sidewalk either,
right?
Vice Chair Russell: No, street. He's talking streets.
Commissioner Reyes: Street. Okay, bicycles, they --also, they do it, but we have
bicycle lanes and all of that, and they cannot go on the sidewalks. As a matter of
fact --
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman?
Commissioner Reyes: --bicycle are not allowed to be on sidewalks, and they do it.
You see.
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, CommissionerGort.
Commissioner Gort: So what I'm hearing is, where can they ride?
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Ms. Méndez: These --
Commissioner Gort: Then I want to follow up with some other questions.
Ms. Méndez: So these things right now, the way that we are drafting it is so that they
could be on sidewalk or sidewalk areas.
Vice Chair Russell: And streets. Madam City Attorney, how did we get this far
without having clarity on this? Because the entire concept hinges on these being
able to be ridden in the streets. Wehave many parts of our City that don't have
sidewalks. A great portion of Coconut Grove does not have sidewalks.
Ms. Méndez: Okay. What I said is that we are allowing these to be on streets --I
mean, on the sidewalks and sidewalk areas, because they're normally not allowed to
be. So that's --
Vice Chair Russell: Right.
Ms. Méndez: --what this ordinance creates.
Vice Chair Russell: What about the streets?
Ms. Méndez: The streets, it is allowed under --on 15 miles an hour.
Commissioner Gort: Bicycle lanes.
Ms. Méndez: I mean, that is --You could be DUI (driving under the influence) on a
motorized vehicle that's 15 miles an hour, and those are allowed in streets --
Commissioner Reyes: But that's --
Ms. Méndez: --aswell.
Commissioner Reyes: --but specifically, specifically, the statute specifically says,
pursuant --
Ms. Méndez: Let me see a copy, Commissioner. It would have been nice to discuss
this --
Commissioner Reyes: --pursuant --and --
Ms. Méndez: --a little earlier.
Commissioner Reyes: --let me tell you. This is from you, a certified mail that you
sent to Neutron Holdings, Inc. It was you who made that statement, and you who
referred to that statute. That's what I read.
ChairHardemon: Yeah. It appears from the way that it’s written, it talks about
sidewalks, sidewalk areas, and then also describes, which was --it doesn't say it, as I
--
Commissioner Gort: Bicycle lanes.
Chair Hardemon: --but it includes --well, it does say it here. “The term ‘sidewalk
area’ includes bike lanes and bike paths.” So they're trying to say that the bike path
is not the roadway. That's probably what they're --probably what they mean to try
to get through this.
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Commissioner Gort: Okay. Mr. Chairman, you know, this is something that the
District 2 is asking for within certain area. I think a six-month trial, I don't have any
problem. I will not extend it to a year. Six year --six month, I don't have no
problem. I don't knowif you all remember Car2Go, a program that came here that
was very fine at first. Everybody loved it.
Chair Hardemon: It went.
Commissioner Gort: --they --where are they?
Chair Hardemon: They went.
Commissioner Gort: They went. Ithink we should let the district try it out, and I'm
sure we’re going to get --if we get some complaints, if it works --you know, that's
what the people in that area is asking for, so I don't have any problem on supporting
--maintaining six months. Make sure that they carry the right insurance, so the City
will be not be liable for any accident caused by this.
Vice Chair Russell: We have not.
Commissioner Gort: And that's my understanding.
Chair Hardemon: Well, it appears then that the motion --because there was no --
the Chair didn't acknowledge the second to the motion, right? So I want to --I want
you to make it clear, because he hadn't stated the amendments on the record. For
the motion that was made by the Vice Chairman includesall his amendments, except
he doesn't have a second for the automatic six-month renewal. So the Chair would
acknowledge that his motion is made --
Vice Chair Russell: If I could clarify that?
Chair Hardemon: --(UNINTELLIGIBLE) amendments.
Vice Chair Russell: On the six-month issue --
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Vice Chair Russell: --if I could clarify. Did we have this written into it, at what
point a evaluation would be done?
Chair Hardemon: Six months.
Vice Chair Russell: I believe we talked last time about starting the evaluation
earlier than the six-month point, so we could have a definitive --
Commissioner Gort: Sure.
Vice Chair Russell: --answer on whether this was successful and what learnings
there are at the six-month period. So if this is only a six-month pilot, I would say, by
month four, we need to conduct the analysis. In month five, it needs to come back to
Commission with a report; at which point, there would be an item in month five on
the agenda to extend the pilot program. If it takes two readings, I would like those
two readings to happen both within month five, so that if it's successful and this
Commission agrees, we can continue the pilot through the RFP process, but this
should allay the concerns of the Commission that it doesn’t go on for a year if it's not
working out well. Is that something we can agree on?
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Commissioner Reyes: We don't have no clarification where they can operate.
Chair Hardemon: Well, sidewalk, sidewalk areas. That's what it says.
Commissioner Reyes: Sidewalks. Sidewalk only. And what happen if --
Ms. Méndez: Okay. If I can clarify --and it's good to talk out these things
beforehand. I did not know that this was going to be a specific question that was
going to be asked with regard to this, so I just want to be clear. The letter that we
sent was a letter that we sent when everybody was running amuck with the scooters.
We said, “You cannot have the scooters, because it does not have a proper
ordinance, as provided by this Commission.” That is what that letter said, the letter
that you're reading that cites the State statute.
Commissioner Reyes: Ma'am --
Ms. Méndez: So the State --If I can, Commissioner, just to be --because then we
get all confused over --
Commissioner Reyes: Sure, sure.
Ms. Méndez: --the State statute. 316.212(8), “Operation of motorized scooters and
miniature motorcycles; requirements for sales.” You are correct that it says, “such
vehicles are not legal to operate on the public roads” --which is why we sent the
letter telling everybody to cease, and we started taking them and putting them in
places --you know, impounding them, because they were illegal --“may not be
registered as motor vehicles, and may not be operated on sidewalks unless
authorized by an ordinance enacted pursuant to 316.008(7)(A) or 316.212(8).” That
is what we are doing right now. We are enacting an ordinance that allows to use the
sidewalks, sidewalk areas and the streets. That's what we're doing right now.
Commissioner Reyes: Well, according --
Ms. Méndez: So I just wanted to clarify that. And then, Commissioner Russell, when
he asked me the question, I told him we --
Chair Hardemon: Not the streets. Not the streets.
Commissioner Reyes: Not the streets.
Chair Hardemon: You don’t mean streets.
Commissioner Reyes: No.
Chair Hardemon: When you said “streets” just now, you don't mean streets,
because the statute says that --“may not be operated on sidewalks unless authorized
by” --
Vice Chair Russell: How is Coral Gables doing it?
Commissioner Reyes: You are including the streets, when the State statute limits it
only to the sidewalk. I mean --
Ms. Méndez: Unless you pass this ordinance, andthat's what we’re --
Commissioner Reyes: The ordinance --
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Ms. Méndez: --doing today.
Chair Hardemon: But not streets.
Commissioner Reyes: Not streets.
Ms. Méndez: The streets also.
Chair Hardemon: I don't read that. If you could show me that, but I just --I don't
read that.
Commissioner Carollo: But --
Chair Hardemon: I mean, the law will read what it is, but I don’t --
Commissioner Carollo: --I want to be clear. While I voted for this, I even made a
motion outof respect to the district Commissioner at the time, and I expressed great
reservations at that time. From everything I'm hearing, including the State statutes,
I am not going to vote for this now, and let me be even more clear. I'm seeing that
whether it's a six months' trial period, three months, a year, this is going to be a
mess. And I don't want to have it in my conscience anybody that gets hurt out there -
-and it's going to happen --whether they're riding it on the streets, they're riding it
onthe sidewalk, you're going to see people getting hurt, and hopefully, they're not
going to be seriously getting hurt, but I can envision that. And I don't want this in
my conscience, just because companies came out with an idea that they feel they're
going to make a lot of money on, and I’m not going to vote for it for those reasons. I
will try to, if a majority of my colleagues want to approve this, put as many
safeguards on it as I can. But having said that, you know, I will, you know, give it
back to the Chair so that there could be any further comments that anybody wants to
make.
Commissioner Reyes: I feel just like you. I'm not --I don't want that on my
conscience.
Chair Hardemon: All right.
Vice Chair Russell: Gentlemen, do you haveclarity yet on the statute, or do we need
further discussion?
Mayor Francis Suarez: Chair, if I may?
Chair Hardemon: I don't think it's on the streets.
Ms. Méndez: I think that this ordinance does that; however, if this Commission does
not want them on streets and only bike lanes --
Vice Chair Russell: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Hardemon: On the bike --I believe the way it reads right now, it says, “bike
lanes.”
Commissioner Gort: Bike lanes.
Ms. Méndez: So bike lanes. Whenwe did sidewalk and sidewalk areas --
Chair Hardemon: Bike lanes.
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Ms. Méndez: --we put in the bike lanes.
Chair Hardemon: Correct.
Ms. Méndez: However, the reading of the statute --when you read all the things
about “vehicles are not legal to operate on roads, may not be registered as motor
vehicles, and may not be operated on sidewalks” --They're all together. All those
things are together --“unless authorized by ordinance.” That's what we're doing
here. If you do not want them on streets, then we just clarify that, but that is --the
intention was going to be streets, sidewalks, sidewalk areas, which we were
including the bike lanes, but all that is policy, and you just tell me what you want.
Vice Chair Russell: I --
Ms. Méndez: Thank you.
Vice Chair Russell: --if they are limited to sidewalks and only where we have
dedicated bike lanes, well, it certainly is going to point out what we're missing,
which is a lot of bike lanes and sidewalks.
Chair Hardemon: Can I stop you for a second?
Vice Chair Russell: Yeah
Chair Hardemon: And this is the part about --this is the reading of it. I understand
exactly how you read it just now. But this is the part that --I'm trying to read that
statute and try to understand why they would have separated streets and sidewalks
the way they did it and the way they wrote it. So, for instance, it says that “such
vehicles are not legal to operate on public roads,” comma, “may not be registered
as motor vehicles,” comma, “and may not be operated on sidewalks unless
authorized by an ordinance enacted pursuant to” such and such and such and such,
right? And so, what you're saying to us is that the last part of it, “unless authorized
by an ordinance,” applies to the operation on the public roads, and also being
registered as motor vehicles, as well as being operated on the sidewalk? Do we
have any authority to register motor vehicles in the City of Miami?
Commissioner Reyes: Nope.
Ms. Méndez: Same --this --
ChairHardemon: If we don't have ability to register motor vehicles, it would lead
me to believe that the last part of that sentence only applies to operating on
sidewalks.
Ms. Méndez: The same way that there's the other provision under 212(8) --
ChairHardemon: 2(8), yes.
Ms. Méndez: --that talks about how you make the golf carts available on roads, this
is only if your town, your city wants to do this, the government, the State is allowing
you to do this. That was the intention of the drafters. I mean, so that is what --how
we understood it.
Chair Hardemon: But --
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Ms. Méndez: There aren't any semicolons. There aren't any --like it doesn't --
everything on that last sentence refers back to the other three.
Chair Hardemon: Okay.
Ms. Méndez: And then I believe --and I don't know if Mr. Diaz wants to shed some
light on this, but I think all your little --they're registered. They have little
registrations of sorts, so.
Chair Hardemon: Hello, sir.
Jose Diaz: Chairman.
Chair Hardemon: I thought you were the Mayor standing there; then I saw the
beard.
Mr. Diaz: Sorry. Jose Diaz, 2 Alhambra Plaza, Suite 102, Coral Gables, Florida.
Our understanding --and I've spent a lot of time reading the State statute --is that
they are not allowed on the roads. I would suggest, in an abundance of caution, you
do strike the word "road" from it. I think --my understanding when I read it in your
ordinance was that there's going to be a move to amend State law. So once the State
law is amended, since you've already approved it, they would be allowed to be on the
road. But my interpretation, and interpretation of the company, is that if you allow
it, it's only allowed on sidewalks and sidewalk areas, which include bike lanesand
bike paths. I understand where she's coming from, and I know what you're saying,
but I do think there's a conflict with the State statute; and in an abundance of
caution, I would suggest to you, because there's so much confusion on this, to
remove that. As for the registration, there's Federal law that preempts the State on
scooter regulations, and you do not have to register an electronic scooter. They do
have bar codes, but they don't need license plates. So I think that those are the two
points that I wanted to address. And I understand the statute pretty well, if you have
any further questions. But this all came to light based on an Attorney General
opinion. The electronic scooters that are recognized by State statute predated this
current version of electric scooters. They were really thinking more of Mopeds.
This shared concept didn't exist. So when they identified Florida as a state, they
looked at that language and said, “We can work with the language and local
governments to put this in until there's clarity on the roads,” because there are
communities that don't have bike lanes, but they do have people going on the side of
the roads, because the roads are wide.
Vice Chair Russell: All right.
Mr. Diaz: Miami is not one of them.
Ms. Méndez: So, as intended by the drafter, the main drafter, which was
Commissioner Russell, we were intending for this to be on streets. However, as
you're reading the pulse of the Commission, we may need to clarify all this, then,
based on that.
Vice Chair Russell: Sounds like an easy amendment.
Mayor Suarez: If I may?
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
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Mayor Suarez: Yeah. Look, I think if you guys have come to a consensus, that
works. I think the concern that you had, Vice Chair, had to do with streets where
there is no sidewalk.
Vice Chair Russell: Correct.
Mayor Suarez: So I don't know if that can also be built into the ordinance, where it
says, you know, side --I understood it to be the way that Commissioner Reyes had --
that wasmy interpretation of it. I didn't know that they could be on streets, but I can
now also see the way the City Attorney reads the sentence as well, as the “unless”
modifying all three clauses prior to it, because they're separated by a comma, not a
semicolon, so --I mean, I get the grammar there. So I think there is a little bit of
latitude here, but it's really up to the will of the Commission as to whether or not the
Commission --in the absence of a sidewalk or a sidewalk area, maybe they would
authorize it there, because like you said, there are a lot of areas in the City that don't
have a sidewalk, and in your district in particular, which is where the pilot program
is located, that don't have a sidewalk or sidewalk area. So, you know, the
Commission may want to expand it under that limited circumstance.
Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mayor Suarez: Exactly.
Ms. Méndez: So what would you want me to draft?
Vice Chair Russell: I think we're going to get out the paint can and start painting a
lot of sharrows, because that would count as a bike lane. But if that's what's needed
to get this through, we can amend it. And so, what would exactly need to be
amended in terms of removing roads from the --?
Chair Hardemon: You know, what's interesting about that is I would actually prefer
them to be in the road --
Vice Chair Russell: They should be.
Chair Hardemon: --than in the sidewalk.
Vice Chair Russell: And I'd like to see how the other cities are doing this.
Chair Hardemon: But I'm just telling you that because they move much slower than
what you would traditionally see for a --like a Moped. However, they move fast
enough to injure someone on a sidewalk, where someone was moving at a much
slower pace. If you were in a bike lane, if you're on the road --like, for instance,
those of us who ride bikes on the road, sometimes you move a lot slower than the
flow of traffic. However, it's safer for you to operate, theoretically, on that --in that
--on that roadwaythan it is for you on the sidewalk.
Vice Chair Russell: Yeah. Because some of them have the technology through geo-
fencing that when, let's say, they go in the Baywalk and it's a sidewalk area, they can
reduce the speed just in that area so it can only go eight miles an hour, and then
when it's on the road, they can go 15. They can absolutely do that.
Commissioner Reyes: But that's what --they say that they will not go over this
geographical limit and they go, you see. You see, the bigger problem with this is it is
too fast for a sidewalk and too slow for the street, you see. In a sidewalk, they could
kill somebody if they going 15 miles an hour. A human being runs around 9 miles,
10 miles an hour. And you played football, right?
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Chair Hardemon: And I moved.
Commissioner Reyes: And you have --how many people have been --have become
paraplegic? How many people have been hurt by just a human being at nine miles
an hour hitting them? Imagine 15 miles an hour; and with this apparatus, that is
going to be traveling at that. That's mass (UNINTELLIGIBLE) speed, and that's
going to be a great impact, and that is my problem; that I don't want that on my
conscience.
Mayor Suarez: Mr. Chair?
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Mayor Suarez: Look, I can't argue with what the Commissioner is saying, in the
sense that if he doesn't feel comfortable with it, that's his prerogative. I can tell you
that --You know, this is a modality that is a last-mile alternative. I think it's
important for the City to continue --a city that is beset by traffic and cut-through
traffic that it give the ability of its residents to have the opportunity to have this
modality. It was maybe illegally operating for a certain period of time. As far as I
know, there wasn't any accidents, and there were no restrictions either. There was
lots of them, because I remember seeing them all over the place. So I understand the
concern, and I --it's perfectly valid for somebody to have that concern. I just --it
just didn't seem to bear out in the time that it was happening. You know, this --that's
why we do pilot programs. If we were going to do it, you know, permanently, then
we would just do it permanently, and that would be the end of it, but --
Chair Hardemon: So then, I would suggest, Mr. Vice Chairman, you clarify your
motion, let's have a second, and then let's move forward with our voting so that we
can address other business.
Ms. Méndez: So I am clarifying in the legislation, if you so choose that it--
Chair Hardemon: Motion. He'll tell you what his motion is.
Vice Chair Russell: I just want to hear what the City Attorney --
Ms. Méndez: --that the scooters --this program will only be utilized on the sidewalk
or sidewalk areas. We'llclarify that to mean not in the streets.
Vice Chair Russell: So if --
Ms. Méndez: And “sidewalk, sidewalk areas” includes the bike lanes, those --you
know, all the other places where bikes are allow --it's defined already, but if that is
your motion, then I would clarify that in the drafting.
Vice Chair Russell: It seems your interpretation is that it's a policy decision, and
that if we chose to allow them in the streets, it would be okay under State law.
Ms. Méndez: Yes.
Vice Chair Russell: If that's the case, I would like at least three of this Commission
to allow this pilot to allow for that to see how it goes; otherwise, I think we're setting
it up to fail. If we're putting it on the residents to recognize where we have a
sidewalk, a bike lane, and a street, and some streets that don't have any but the
street, what are they supposed to do? And are we going to start arresting? Are we
going to start citing them? So I don't want to set it up to fail. And if you have the
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legal backing to say we can do it and the will of this Commission is there to do it, I'd
like to leave it as is.
Chair Hardemon: And the thing about it is that --
Ms. Méndez: The problem is --
Chair Hardemon: What I imagine is this, and I want everyone to really think about
this: Imagine you're traveling on Biscayne Boulevard, going north, and you are --
give me a location --you're south of --what's the steak house on Biscayne
Boulevard, before you get over the bridge? I know all of you eat steak. You're
traveling north on Biscayne Boulevard. You're in traffic. You're basically on one of
these scooters. You're actually on the street. And what you're going to do when it
comes to a red light, you're going to go over on the sidewalk. And then you're going
to ride on the sidewalk, and then you'll come back down on the street. And so, a lot
of this --I kind of envision these scooters kind of going in and out of the traffic, and I
don't know that's --you know, if it's a good thing. If you keep it in one space, maybe
it's more positive; keep it in another space, maybe it's more positive. I don't know
about if I have the best decision for it, but, you know, that's the only issue that I see.
You know, people get mad at motorcyclists because of how motorcyclists drive
through traffic and how motorcyclists tend to find themselves to the front near the
light, but at least they don't blow the light, right? They don't go onto the sidewalk.
And so, this is a different thing. Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: Look, I know there's a group of residents that came here, and
like the Cars2Go, I think that we’re going to have the same effect. I think, once you
put all those motorcycles, those scooters, whatever you call, on the streets, and they
start causing problems and all that, the Commission's going to hear from his
residents in his area. They’re going to call him and complain to him right away.
Chair Hardemon: Right.
Commissioner Gort: So he's going to get the information immediately.
Chair Hardemon: So I suggest then you make the motion how you deem you want to.
Vice Chair Russell: Well, do I have the votes to leave it as is?
Chair Hardemon: I think you probably do.
Commissioner Reyes: I want to --
Chair Hardemon: We know we got two vocal “no’s,” so.
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chair, and I want to answer Mayor Suarez' statement. I
know that it is --now it is in vogue to, you know, talk about the last mile, and it looks
fine, but let me tell you something. That is --that applies when you have a
transportation system that has stations that they are within mile or two miles. We
don't have that here. If a person that --let's say on your district that is in the
northeast, you know, on 60th Avenue --I mean,60th Street and Biscayne Boulevard,
if he wants to go to --I mean, a Metrorail station, you have to go about four miles,
five miles. I mean, it doesn’t --that does not apply in here.
Mayor Suarez: I disagree.
Commissioner Reyes: And you also made the statement that there is not --that it is -
-there have been no accidents or anything. Well, the literature that I --and that's
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what --I got the decision, and I can offer you some of this. It is --they have an
article here that says --it's CNN--those of you that believe in it, but --that electric
scooter might be fun. It might also be deadly. We have --a friend said 20 --24
years old was on his way home when accident occurred. There are bunch and bunch
and bunch of different, different, even pictures of people that they have been --that
they are in hospital beds because they were --had accidents, and not only with
automobiles; accidents that --by using this on the sidewalk. Okay? So, yes, sir,
there have been accidents. There arepictures about accidents. You see?
Mayor Suarez: Mr. Chair?
Commissioner Reyes: There have been a bunch of accidents, okay? And that's what
I'm saying, man. I'm --I don't agree with it, because of --I'm afraid somebody’s
going to get hurt.
Commissioner Carollo: So --
Mayor Suarez: And like --wait. Let me just --Mr. Chair, first of all, I totally
understand and respect your disagreement over the ordinance, and I --that's --you
have every right to do. I don't agree with your first statement. I do think the Brickell
downtown area is the densest area in the City. And there is thousands, if not tens of
thousands, of people that live within a mile of transit or two miles of transit; whether
it be a Metromover station, whether it be a Metrorail station, or whether it be a
trolley station. So we just disagree on that. On the second part, I didn't say there
wasn't people that had been hurt. Clearly, if you have a national program --
Commissioner Reyes: You said, “No accidents.”
Mayor Suarez: Let me finish. Clearly, if you have a national product, someone's
going to get hurt. What I said was, "In the time that they were operating in the City
of Miami, for a period of time, I did not receive any reports that anyone had been
hurt." That's what I said. So clearly, I'm sure, somewhere in the country, someone
has been hurt on a scooter. I'm not making that argument. But I'm just saying that
in the limited time that they were operating and they were operating without
restriction as to the number of them, I did not get any reports that anybody was hurt.
That's why I think it's a pilot program, limited in time. You guys will do an analysis,
and you'll come back in month four; and then month five, you either extend it or you
won't.
Vice Chair Russell: So thank you. Just to clarify my amendments as originally
stated, not including the amendment that Commissioner Carollo proposed of a more
than twice regarding the State statute, and no amendment regarding roads. That's it.
Commissioner Carollo: The --
Vice Chair Russell: And no --
Ms. Méndez: As --
Vice Chair Russell: --amendment under one year.
Ms. Méndez: --as drafted then?
Vice Chair Russell: It's as drafted, plus the amendments that I made when I first
opened the conversation.
Commissioner Carollo: I --
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Ms. Méndez: So then we are allowing --
Chair Hardemon: But not including the automatic renewal.
Vice Chair Russell: Right, there's --
Ms. Méndez: Right.
Vice Chair Russell: --no automatic renewal.
Ms. Méndez: It has to come --
Commissioner Carollo: The only --
Vice Chair Russell: But it has to come back in time for us to have looked at the
analysis so it can be renewed if we want to.
Commissioner Carollo: --other thing that I would like to add, if we could get a
biweekly notification of any problems that have arisen, beginning after two weeks
that it started, obviously.
Ms. Méndez: So I believe Commissioner Carollo had requested that we add some
“whereases” that have to do with any civil actions, or anything like that, that we can
give these reports to you; any problems that arise. Is that what you're --?
Commissioner Carollo: Any problems whatsoever that arise in a bi-weekly basis,
that we get a report --
Mayor Suarez: That's fair.
Commissioner Carollo: --so that we could be on top of it.
Chair Hardemon: Does the --?
Commissioner Carollo: Obviously, the one thing that --we need to be fully assured
that they're going to give us full immunity as to --
Vice Chair Russell: That's already in there.
Commissioner Carollo: --any sued claim or what have you.
Vice Chair Russell: It's already in there.
Chair Hardemon: Does the mover agree?
Vice Chair Russell: No. I--you can ask for whatever you want in terms of reports
directly from Administration, but if you're a "no" vote, you don't get to amend it.
Commissioner Gort: No.
Commissioner Carollo: Of course --
Vice Chair Russell: Come on board and you can amend all you want.
Commissioner Carollo: --you do. Of course you get to amend it.
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Commissioner Gort: He’s got to come on board (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Russell: Well, someone's got to accept your amendment.
Commissioner Carollo: It’s start --that's starting to sound undemocratic,
Commissioner.
Commissioner Reyes: Yep.
Commissioner Carollo: You're going off the deep end now.
Chair Hardemon: So you asked for a friendly amendment; he declined to accept the
friendly amendment.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Then --
Vice Chair Russell: But I don't think that's necessary as a part of the ordinance. If
you want a report from the Administration, you can ask --
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Vice Chair Russell: --for it separately or directly; it doesn't matter.
Commissioner Carollo: --it should be part of the ordinance, because then we
should all get the same thing, and it's clear that we should get it. I don't want to be
having to send 20 memos constantly to the Administration to get something that
should come in automatically, and that's --You know, even the Mayor said that was
fair. It's no big deal.
Vice Chair Russell: What I'd like is a month --I'm not going to get his vote --I’d like
a monthly report, and that'll show all the numbers of usage, it'll show all of the
accidents that have happened, any infractions, but most importantly, that's their
monthly report card that also measures whether or not they can increase or decrease
their fleet. So I'd like that on a monthly basis (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: I would accept that; it's a monthly one. At least we have a
report that's not going to be the tail end. Okay.
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman?
Commissioner Reyes: Why don't we limit it from one mile from --since it is the last
mile, or the Mayor wants just one mile from the station.
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman?
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Commissioner Gort: My understanding, this is District 2. It's not only in downtown
Miami; it's all of District 2.
Chair Hardemon: Correct.
Commissioner Gort: I can assure you, the Commissioner, if it goes bad, he's going
to hear very soon from all his residents in his district.
Chair Hardemon: Yes. All right, so --
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Commissioner Gort: So for that reason --
Chair Hardemon: --include --that's including the month updates --the monthly
updates that the Vice Chairman had requested, so I'll take that then as a second by
Commissioner Gort. Seeing no further discussion, all in favor, say "aye."
Vice Chair Russell: Aye.
Commissioner Carollo: Nay.
Chair Hardemon: All against?
Commissioner Reyes: Nay.
Chair Hardemon: Motion carries.
Ms. Méndez: As amended?
Chair Hardemon:Yes.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: As amended, yes.
Vice Chair Russell: Amended.
Commissioner Reyes: D2.
ORDINANCE Second Reading
SR.6
4618AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
CHAPTER 31/ARTICLE II OF THE CODE OF THECITY OF MIAMI,
Commissioners
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED ("CITY CODE"), TITLED “LOCAL
and Mayor
BUSINESS TAX AND MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS
REGULATIONS/LOCAL BUSINESS TAX (BTR),” TO ESTABLISH A
NEW SECTION 31-51 OF THE CITY CODE,TITLED “FOOD
TRUCKS,” REGULATING FOOD TRUCKS AND FOODTRUCK
GATHERINGS WITHIN THE CITY OF MIAMI; CONTAINING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE;AND PROVIDING FOR ANEFFECTIVE
DATE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:13796
MOTION TO:Adoptwith Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Chair Hardemon: Madam City Attorney, can you read into the record SR.6?
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): Yes.
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The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney
Barnaby Min.
Chair Hardemon: Quick discussion.
Commissioner Gort: Move it for discussion.
Chair Hardemon: This isn't the one --It's been properly moved by --
Commissioner Carollo: I second --
Chair Hardemon: --Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Carollo: --for discussion.
Chair Hardemon: Seconded for discussion. So this isn't going to necessarily kill
food trucks?
Mr. Min: No, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, that's not the intention that the --
Commissioner Gort: No.
Commissioner Carollo: --Commissioner has, but here's my concern,
Commissioner: Each of our districts are similar butdifferent, and your intention on
the food trucks is to make sure that they're not going to put at a disadvantage the
brick and mortar places, which is my concern, too. What I'm concerned with is that I
think --it's twofold: One is how far they have to be away from a restaurant
establishment. 500, I mean, is like nothing. You're right there. You're going to be
affecting any place, 500 feet. And secondly, for how long of a period can they stay?
Because food truck is supposed to be so it could be moving; that's why it's a truck;
that's why it's got wheels, why it's got an engine; not to be stationary. And I'm
envisioning, if we pass this in the fashion that it is and don't try to tweak it a little
more, this is going to create for you, for me, for someof us, others maybe not, more
of a nightmare that we were trying to stop than what we're stopping. So I want to be
absolutely sure what we're voting on before we get this, and tweak it in the best way
possible before we vote on it, because I will tell you, 500 feet is nothing. And my
other concern is, for how long are these trucks going to be allowed to be sitting
there?
Commissioner Gort: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: 500 feet is --what? --a typical city block?
Devin Cejas (Director of Zoning/Zoning Administrator): 500 feet is about a typical
city block.
Commissioner Carollo: No, it's not.
Mr. Cejas: Well, 400 --
Commissioner Carollo: No, no, no, no, no.
Mr. Cejas: A little bit larger than --
Commissioner Carollo: There's no way that that's a typical city block.
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Chair Hardemon: If you do --
Mr. Cejas: On what frontage?
Chair Hardemon: --(UNINTELLIGIBLE) 50 --
Mr. Cejas: On what frontage?
Chair Hardemon: I'm thinking about -- Look, 50 feet across for every --say, a
residential block. 50 feet across is someone’s (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: There's 10 houses.
Mr. Cejas: 380.
Commissioner Carollo: That's 10 houses. That's a real small block. You got some
blocks that might meet that, but those are small blocks. It's a small block. Most
have if --more than that in a block and --
Chair Hardemon: Okay, longer blocks, right. I think about --
Commissioner Carollo: You're thinking about maybe residential blocks in some --
and the smaller size, but when you're out in commercial areas, those blocks usually
are longer in space, and you can be 500 feet, and still, you're affecting an
establishment there. But before we get into the feet, which is more important, to the
Assistant City Attorney, what are the provisions for how long they could be there?
Mr. Min: As drafted in Section 31-51(3)(d), states that if there are no more than two
food trucks present --
Commissioner Carollo: Excuse me?
Mr. Min: --if there are no more than two food trucks present, and they are not
present for more than three times per week, and do not park on site overnight. That
is for the requirement.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Let's go a little slower, so I could get this down. No
more than two food trucks --
Mr. Min: No more than two food trucks per property; no more than three times per
week --
Commissioner Carollo: No more than three times per week.
Mr. Min: --and they cannot park overnight.
Commissioner Carollo: Not overnight. Okay. And what kind of places can they be
put in?
Mr. Min: They are not permitted to operate within, as you stated, 500 feet of a food
service establishment, gasoline, natural gas or other combustible energy source
establishment, or in a T3 or T4-R transect zone, which are residential transect zones.
Commissioner Carollo: So the places they could be at are what places; lots, empty
lots?
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Mr. Min: It does not have to be on an empty lot, but it would be in T5 and above
transect zones, so mostly commercial types of transect zones.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, I will tell you what this is going to do for me, from
what I'm seeing. And I see the Zoning Director's got a happy smile. The --what this
is going to do is that it's going to fill 8th Street with food trucks, and I will tell you
right now, you're going to end up killing every brick and mortar restaurant on 8th
Street, because I could envision right now all the places that they're going to be put
in. Now, what is the lawthat we presently have?
Mr. Min: The current law is --
Commissioner Gort: There's none.
Mr. Min: --on private property, if there is vacant land, there's a temporary use of
vacant land permit that they could apply through the Zoning Office. The other
option is if they have a peddler's license, which requires them to constantly be on the
move, they can only stop when there's an actual transaction. Otherwise, currently, I
believe the majority, if not all the food trucks that are operating in the City are not
operating legally.
Commissioner Carollo: Are not?
Commissioner Gort: Commissioner, let me --
Mr. Min: Are not.
Commissioner Gort: --explain the reason why I brought this up. This is something
beginning to --within my district, and a lot of the districts beginning to come up.
They're not licensed. They're close to gas stations. They have fire. They have all
kind of dinners equipment, and we did not, I believe, issue any permits for it, so
anything that happens in that --in those locations, the City is liable for. So they got
to have the insurance, or the property owner who rents the space for a trailer to be
there, he’s got to have the insurance, he’s got to make sure that he's covered, and the
City of Miami is covered in order to be there. I can see the problem within 8th
Street, because you got a lot of restaurant right next to each other. I can see it with -
-we can put certain longer distance in some other places.
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman?
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Vice Chair Russell: I do support the legislation as written on 8th Street, unless I'm
misunderstanding it. With that 500-foot rule, I mean, 8th Street is pretty much
restaurants up and down,so it's going to eliminate the ability for a food truck to stop
pretty much anywhere on 8th Street.
Commissioner Carollo: Not necessarily with 500 square feet. 500 --
Vice Chair Russell: Linear feet.
Commissioner Carollo: --believe me --or linear feet --500 is pretty small, frankly,
and you could do it --maybe in some areas, it might be fine to 500, but others
require more than 500.
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Commissioner Gort: Let me ask you a question. What will be the distance of two
blocks?
Commissioner Reyes: Go out there and measure it.
Commissioner Gort: Will a thousand --?
Commissioner Carollo: You have --look, for liquor license, you usually have 1,500
square feet.
Mr. Cejas: If I may? Devin Cejas, Zoning Administrator and Director. If you give
me a chance, I could pull up our GIS (Geographic Information System) System and
do a brief analysis on the distance between establishments on, let's say, the north
side of 8th Street to the residential district to make certain that 500 --
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Mr. Cejas: --may capture your concerns.
Commissioner Gort: But this has got to be citywide, so it's going to affect citywide,
so we have to make sure that we have the right numbers --
Mr. Cejas: Absolutely.
Commissioner Gort: --within certain areas that there's more restaurants close to
each other, where this could be affected quite a bit, so.
Chair Hardemon: The problem with this is that the initial thought of the food truck
being on the --being on a vacant lot, utilizing a TUP (Temporary Use Permit), was
that it was going to bring some activity to a space that --where there was no activity.
So I'll give you an example. In Overtown, you have many vacant lots, and I'm not --
we don't have many food trucks in Overtown, but --except for certain events. But in
Overtown, you have many vacant lots. There's no economic activity on those lots,
whatsoever. We had to fence those lots in, because you had people that were
creating encampments and using drugs on those lots and overdosing, right? That's
what the lots look like in Overtown. And so, utilizing a TUP, if those owners of lots
said, "Hey, I want to monetize these lots," they could in fact utilize a TUP today, put
food trucks on them, and have gatherings now in that space where there was none
before. You have the gatherings, it enhances the likelihood that you'll be able to
actually build on that lot, because now people will feel more comfortable coming
into that face. If people feel more comfortable coming into the space, people have a
more natural desire to build housing or commercial frontage to be there. You look
at Wynwood, what's happening right now with the Wynwood Yard, it's coming to an
end, it's closing. They're closing it down, because they're going to be building an
apartment building there and actually covering more space than just that vacant lot.
They'll be taking away Old Cinema as well. So that's one aspect of what it was like
before this ordinance, but with this ordinance, it kind of--it's in a different spirit.
The ordinance is more concerned with established businesses, brick and mortar
restaurants, et cetera, and seeing that the trucks are now coming and infringing on
their space. And so, how is it that we can do the things tomake those established
businesses satisfied, but also taking into account for those areas where there is not
any business being conducted? And we have a desire for food trucks, which can
operate much more quickly, to come there to bring people to that space.
Commissioner Carollo: Exactly, Chairman. And I have no problem in places that
there's no business. And I don't remember exactly when that ordinance was
established --I was here already --that you proffered for the empty lots. We opted
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out inDistrict 3. In fact, I'm inclined to feel that the same reasons that we used for
opting out on that ordinance that was pass should be used on this ordinance, too,
because 8th Street is a very unique area in comparison to other places, and then
you're going to have a lot of people take advantage of it, and then seeing what I've
seen already, the mess that we have. We're not capable to measuring who's 1,500
feet away. And then we got all these warrants and all these games that are going on
that we don't know what gets approved, because now, with Miami 21, it was taken
from us. We don't get to see a lot of the decisions that are made until they're made.
So, Mr. Assistant City Attorney, can --in the same way that we opted out in District
3 for the reasonsthat were established in the previous ordinance --I don't know; five
months ago, or whatever it was --can we do the same thing in this ordinance --
Mr. Min: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: --with the same wording?
Mr. Min: Yes. We can draft an exemption based on the uniqueness of certain areas.
To clarify, you're looking at 8th Street; not all of District 3, just 8th Street, or is it all
of District 3?
Commissioner Carollo: I would do all of District 3, because in Flagler, for instance,
you have some of the same problems. There's an area of 7th Street that falls in
District 3 --
Commissioner Reyes: 17th Avenue.
Commissioner Carollo: --that the same thing falls there and others. I think that
even the number should be higher than 500.It should probably be 1,500 in other
areas, but in Commissioner Hardemon's district, it should probably be 500, so we
should --because of the uniqueness; that you have all these empty lots and nothing
else around. So maybe we can make this clarification within an ordinance that in
District 5, would be 500 feet, because of the uniqueness of the area; in
Commissioner Gort's, it should be, you know, 1,500, or whatever; and we're opting
out for the reasons stated previously in the last ordinance on District3.
Mr. Min: Mr. Chairman, if I could also clarify, just to address --because we keep
talking about distances. The 500 feet distancing requirement I spoke about deals
with two or less food trucks. If there are three or more food trucks, that would be
considered a food truck gathering. Under that provision of the Code, as drafted,
there are no distance separation requirements. It simply says you cannot be in a T3
or T4-R transect zone.
Commissioner Reyes: Excuse me. Chair?
Vice Chair Russell: This doesn't sound right.
Commissioner Reyes: I need some clarification. I do agree that I do understand
that restaurants and brick and mortar restaurants, they are going to be suffering, but
we have certain instances and certain businesses that they have activities that in
which they get more than one or two, four, five food trucks. You see special events,
like you can see --go to Magic City Casino, they have sometimes food truck night,
and they have more than two; they have three, four, five.
Commissioner Carollo: That's a special event.
Commissioner Reyes: A special event.
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Commissioner Gort: That's a special event.
Commissioner Reyes: Special events. And I, myself, when I have movie night,
sometimes I bring three or fourfood trucks so that they will be distributing food,
okay? Special events, we don't --they are --they just have a special permit, right?
Mr. Min: As this ordinance is currently drafted --
Commissioner Reyes: Okay, that's --
Mr. Min: --it states that private prop --
Commissioner Reyes: Explain it to me.
Mr. Min: --property with over 250,000 square feet of useable land shall be exempt
from these regulations.
Commissioner Carollo: How many square feet?
Commissioner Reyes: That’s --I do agree with the language.
Mr. Min: 250,000 square feet.
Commissioner Gort: Let me tell you what my problem is. What's taking place in my
neighborhoods, people have a little trailer, they bring it in, and they rent from the
gas station, and they rent from an existing business that is there, and they pay a lot
less than what you will be if you’re a regular restaurant paying insurance, paying
the whole works. They don't have any insurance, they don't have any protections,
and the one who's responsible for what's going on in there.
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah, that had happened even in 8th Street, because --
Commissioner Gort: I want to be able to regulate that, because what happens is
you’re talking about the broken window --
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Commissioner Gort: --(UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Hardemon: So is there --
Commissioner Reyes: I agree with you.
Chair Hardemon: --a desire to move the item, exempting Commissioner Carollo’s
district?
Commissioner Gort: I don't have any problem with that, and then let him come back
with the special --anyone who wants to be exempted is fine, or we can make it a pilot
program within District 1 and look at how it works.
Commissioner Carollo: You still want to go with the 500 only, or you want to
include more feet to it?
Commissioner Gort: Within my district, I don't see any problem with 500.
Vice Chair Russell: 500 is fine.
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Chair Hardemon: So it's been properly moved as it is; seconded by the Chairman,
exempting Commissioner Carollo's district, though.
Commissioner Reyes: With the exemption of Mr. Carollo is on the distance more
than a hun --I’m sorry?
Vice Chair Russell: He doesn't want it at all.
Chair Hardemon: Just the district.
Commissioner Reyes: Oh, you don't want it at all?
Chair Hardemon: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: The uniqueness to the district and the effect that it will have.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Commissioner Gort: You're talking about a specific area, which is
(UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: I do understand; 8th Street would suffer a lot.
Chair Hardemon: So I'll be clear --
Commissioner Gort: I think I know a little bit about 8th Street.
Chair Hardemon: --we’re exempting Commissioner Carollo's district. There's no
special consideration of any place.
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah. Let me ask you something. I have a --part of my
district, I have some --I mean, some of Calle Ocho, you see, and I'm concerned in
Calle --I mean, what --everything that is 8th Street, how much it’s going to be
affected, because --you see? Maybe we can go a little higher on the distance from
the businesses in that area.
Commissioner Gort: Well, Commissioner Carollo came upwith a suggestion in
creating an ordinance, where you can select certain --different streets because of
the use of those streets, and make your own regulations.
Commissioner Reyes: May I suggest that we can tweak it later on or let
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Vice Chair Russell: Always amend later.
Commissioner Reyes: --that could be amended later on?
Chair Hardemon: You can always amend it.
Commissioner Reyes: Huh?
Chair Hardemon: You can always amend it.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but this is --
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
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Commissioner Carollo: --second reading.
Chair Hardemon: No. What I'm saying is that there can always be another --
Commissioner Reyes: Another --
Chair Hardemon: --a change to the ordinance.
Vice Chair Russell: Ordinance.
Commissioner Reyes: Change to the ordinance. And then when --
Chair Hardemon: And then (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: --we measure real well and you analyze and we analyze the
distance betweenevery businesses and all the restaurants that we have there, then
we can see --we can determine if 500 feet is enough, because --I mean,
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Mr. Min: The other option, Mr. Chairman --not that I'm advocating, because I'm
not a fan ofthis --if you want to turn this into a pilot program. And so, it's only for
one year; come back, re-evaluate, we see how it worked, and we modify if we need
to, we terminate if we need to, we continue if we need to.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. I will vote for it, if we can amend it later on when we --
Chair Hardemon: We can amend it later on. It's been properly moved and
seconded. Seeing no further discussion, all in favor of it, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against?
Commissioner Carollo: And --
Chair Hardemon: Motion carries.
Commissioner Carollo: --again, you're going to send it to us with the District 3
being opted out --
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: --and forthe reasons that were previously stated on the
other ordinance that passed?
Mr. Min: Yes, sir. We'll draft it accordingly.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. Can you --
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Mr. Chairman --
Chair Hardemon: --read into the record SR (second reading) --
Mr. Hannon: --as amended.
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SR.7ORDINANCESecond Reading
4485
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
CHAPTER 50 OF THE CODE OF CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS
Office of the City
AMENDED (“CITY CODE”), TITLED “SHIPS, VESSELS, AND
Attorney
WATERWAYS,” TO ESTABLISH A PROCESS FOR THE
REMOVAL, DESTRUCTION, AND OTHER DISPOSITION OF
DERELICT VESSELS BY A HEARING SETTING FORTH PURPOSE
AND FINDINGS, DEFINITIONS, A PROCEDURE FOR REMOVAL
OR RELOCATION, HEARING DATE SCHEDULING, AND HEARING
PROCEDURES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE;
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:13797
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): SR.7.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney
Barnaby Min.
Vice Chair Russell: I'll move the item.
Chair Hardemon: Been properly moved; seconded. Is there any further discussion
on the item? Hearing none, all in favor of the item, say “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries.
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SR.8ORDINANCESecond Reading
4588
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
CHAPTER 35/ARTICLE IV OF THE CODE OF THECITY OF MIAMI,
Off-Street Parking
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED,TITLED “MOTOR VEHICLES AND
Board/Miami
TRAFFIC/PARKING RATES,” MORE PARTICULARLY BY
Parking Authority
AMENDING SECTIONS 35-191 THROUGH 35-196 TO UPDATE
RATES AND FACILITIES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY
CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE
DATE.
MOTION TO:Defer
RESULT:DEFERRED
MOVER:JoeCarollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Note for the Record: Item SR.8 was deferred to the October 25, 2018, Planning and
Zoning Commission Meeting.
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): SR.8.
Commissioner Carollo: Here is a problem that I have and the parking rates; not
with you. I want to compliment again the Parking Executive Director. You don't
want to hear the next one I got, Emilio.
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Sir, I want to hear everything you have to say.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay, thank you. He's done his job for the City, and I thank
him, but my problem is that we're going to be increasing rates; granted, our citizens
are going to get very little of it in the residential areas, if not at all, but others that
come to our City are going to be paying, and I don't mind taking this step because
we need this money and every other penny that we could get, because we got a big
gap that you'll hear that is coming for next fiscal year, but it's here already, and it's
here big time. We had a balanced budget only because we took monies out from
reserves, and only because one big judgment that's coming our way was put out until
January for us to know just how big it's going to be. So having said that, I had asked
the Manager to give me rates and comparables on our marinas. What I got back --
that I think the Manager was in agreement with me --doesn't add up; that if we
would raise it to market rates, we could only get amillion dollars then.
Mr. Gonzalez: Actually, sir, a little less than that.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, I will show you rates from the war of the marinas; the
world wars, the Virginia Key one. Look what they charged there. And their rates
are about 50 percent above ours. And in the bigger boats that we charge the same
as the little ones, it's even higher than 50 percent; it's about 60 percent, maybe. And
the bigger they are, the higher it goes. So, you know, I don't know what, you know,
numbers were used, but I want to say this: That we either have to do one or two
things: Either we have the willpower to raise rates in our two marinas --and the
one here is the largest marina in the State of Florida. Very few of our local residents
will be affected, but let me say this: Even those that are, if you could afford to have
a boat here, you're not starving. It's not like people in my district or the rest of the
districts in Miami. So what I want you to understand, Mr. Manager --and to my
colleagues --that we have to go at the same time and bringing in all the revenue we
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can; not leaving sacred cows anywhere. And if we don't want to raise the rates there
that we could bring more money without hurting the 99.999 percent of our residents,
then I'm going to be bringing up a motion that we put these two marinas out to bid,
and bring it to the private sector so that at least we could get what we should be
getting out of it, because we're not right now.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, I agree with you. There is a will to put our rates where they
should be. Slip space is at a premium; I know personally. If I could ask Dan
Rotenberg, our DREAM (Department of Real Estate and Asset Management)
Director, to talk about the actual comparables \[sic\] to other marinas,but I agree
with you. I think we can do better than the roughly 8 to $900,000 that we could get
additional.
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman, briefly, before Mr. Rotenberg speaks, I do want
to address the fact that as these marinas are in my district, I would like it noted --
especially the Dinner Key Marina is a neighborhood --they are homes, and it could
even be considered a form of affordable housing. These are folks who are living on
their boats; doesn't necessarily mean wealthy, but they don't have a brick and mortar
house. This is their home. So they do count on us, and we do offer a very
competitive rate there, and we do offer a pretty good service there; just to keep that
in mind as we do consider rate raising; that these are homeowners, as well, in a
sense.
Commissioner Reyes: But --excuse me a minute. You see --
Vice Chair Russell: They've called "live-aboards."
Commissioner Reyes: I do agree with Commissioner Carollo that they are marinas;
that they are run by us, and I --talking and doing some investigating, I don't think
that they --we are receiving what should be receiving from those marinas. I will
completely support any resolution in order to place --put them in a --place an RFP
(Request for Proposals) and try to get them to the private sector, so they could
administer the way it should be administered, and we'd be receiving with --you
know, let's place --let's see how much are we going to get for them. I do agree with
it, and I think that that's an excellent idea, andI--we are on the same page there.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, let me say this: One, the marinas might be in your
district, and they're only in your district --just like a lot of the rich parts of Miami
are in your district --so that we could have had balance in this Commission, and
that was done when I was Mayor. When we lost the sole African-American seat in
this Commission, and for the first time, we didn't have an African America in recent
years as a member of this Commission, I put my politicalweight behind a Charter
change so that we could be sure that we would always have a balanced Commission,
so we would always have at least one African American --
Commissioner Reyes: And one Anglo.
Commissioner Carollo: --and one Anglo; even though I hear you're not one
anymore, so --I don't know. Maybe we need to redistrict it, but we'll see about that
in the future. But the bottom line is that no matter if it's my district, your district,
there are assets in each of our districts that can be considered the --they're big
enough and important enough that it's for all the districts, for all Miami. For
instance, the Marlins Stadium in my district should be a decision --whatever is made
there should be made by all members of the Commission. We certainly paid enough
for that white elephant, and we all paid for it; and likewise, in different districts.
Now, having said that, in that aspect of it --and I hope I cleared out --cleared up
what my feelings are on that --I'm over --almost flabbergasted to hear that people
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that are living in the conditions that I see day in, day out, they're living in Little
Havana; that I know and see; they're living in Overtown and Liberty City, even parts
of the West Grove, in Allapattah, in Wynwood --
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: --that we're going to compare them to people that have
live-aboards in this marina or in any of our marinas by the bay here, this is amazing.
I know that it's always good to get an extra 20 or 30 votes in an election from live-
aboards, but this is how we've been killing the City. We've been taxing the people
that can least afford to pay taxes, and we've been giving special privilege to those
that are the wealthiest. Now, I'm going to make it simple. If in this budgetthat we
approved in September to have a balanced budget that I don't know how quite this
worked out, but $6.1 million --and correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Budget Director --
was included in this budget that we passed from the Off-Street Parking monies that
we have here today. Well, let me be as clear as I can. I'm not voting for another
increase on anything, including this one, until we bring all the ones that are easy,
that are going to be the ones least affecting the least amount of our residents. So if
you want my vote in this one today, then let's look at increasing the rates in marinas
and anything else that's going to bring revenue so that a year from now, we're not
sinking in quicksand, because we don't know how to balance our budget. And if
that's the case, you know what? I'd rather for everything to explode right now if we
don't want to be responsible and go forth, and do what we need to. Thank God that
we had the financial crisis. I had a Lawton Chiles --democrat Governor, a great
democrat Governor --that worked with me so that we could --he had an oversight
board, because if not, this is the same attitude that the Commission back then was
going to have; that they wanted to keep playing politics and not do what was right
for the City, and we wouldn't have had a city left. But, Commissioner, I know you
won't know about that, because you weren't living here at the time. The Governor
that came after Chiles was Jeb Bush, and he understood what Chiles did, and he
understood the importance of that oversight board to make sure that the Commission
would do what was right. And that helped me as a Mayor back then, working with
the Governor to get things done, and from inheriting a city that was at a 50 percent
deficit in its budget --yes, you heardright, 50 percent --because we were left with
25 percent deficit in the year that had just passed. We were now in the new fiscal
year; another 25 percent. You add it up, you got 50 percent. From being in a 50
percent deficit, we were able to leave theCity when I left as Mayor with
approximately $100 million in reserves. We don't have anywhere near that today,
and what we have are dire predictions. And frankly, they're going to be even uglier
than anything that I've been told, because of some of the things that I explained, and
others that I haven't. So my vote today, Mr. Manager --and you could do this on
your own if the willpower in here --we got to raise the rates, here. But I'm not
voting for this ordinance, so you guys figure out then how to balance the book or tell
the State that, "Gee, we made a mistake and we don't have a balanced budget."
Chair Hardemon: So we haven't considered raising the rates on our marina?
Daniel Rotenberg (Director): If I may? Daniel Rotenberg, Department of Real
Estate & Asset Management. The rates at the marinas really haven't been raised
and we have to compare apples to apples. The private marinas are charging more
than our marinas are, and there is room, but we're also at a point where we're not
charging for utilities, and a lot of other marinas are.
Chair Hardemon: Right. So --and then I agree with Commissioner Carollo. If
there are opportunities to earn more revenue --I don't know how much it would
amount to. We heard on the record it's possibly a million dollars --that is revenue,
and it was a striking comment for the Commissioner to say that we tax --everyone is
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taxed. We know everyone is taxed. But to say, "We tax the poor, and then we give" -
-
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Chair Hardemon: --"basically breaks to the rich," is a true statement, because it is
the fact that the rich have an opportunity, the knowledge, the wherewithal, and the
ability to go out there and get the discounts that mean a lot to their bottom line. And
that's interesting, because many times, the poor don't have access to those same
discounts if you compare them to the amount of discount they would get from
negotiating with the government. So all I'm saying is that he has a very good point,
and, you know, we --in this bit of legislation that we're discussing right now, which
is the parking rates, we know that no City of Miami residents will have an increase
to their parking rate with what's been proposed.
Commissioner Reyes: But --
Chair Hardemon: We know that they remain flat.
Commissioner Reyes: --I--
Chair Hardemon: And so, what I would like to see is if we have an opportunity to
create more revenue sources for the City of Miami --
Commissioner Gort: We have to.
Chair Hardemon: --in ways with --where you can park --or parking boats, then I
think that we should do that.
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chair, last meeting, I asked for an analysis of how much
are we making in all the City-owned run marinas, because I consider and I think that
we can RFP (Request for Proposals) them and get a better deal, and get more money
if we --if they are run the way it should be run, see. I agree with Commissioner
Carollo that we have to look in --at other ways of bringing revenues for the City of
Miami, and I stated it, you see. Although the City of Miami pays --the argument is
that the rates, the parking rates are lower than any other place, we have the lowest
median income than any other place. And since we are --it's fine. Citizens --I mean
residents ofthe City of Miami, they are not going to pay an increase, but businesses
will be affected, because people that come, and now they have to pay twice or three
times as much as they had to pay before in order to patronize a business, we are
going --they'll lose some customers, also. You see, we are raising the rates higher
than Coral Gables, and Coral Gables is a very rich place, you see. I think it is
unfair, and I'm not going to vote for it. But once again, Mr. City Manager, could
you please, please go ahead and analyze the feasibility of privatizing the marinas
that they are run by the City? I have heard a lot of complaints that there is a lot of
cronyism; that some people pay less, some people pay more. What we have to do is
look for other sources ofincome. And if we have 6 point --so many millions dollars
included in our budget, because we forecast that we're going to obtain additional
funds from an increase in parking fees, no. I mean, I am --in all honesty, I'm going
to tell you that shouldn'thave been done, because you don't count your eggs until
you have them in your hand.
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Reyes: I know it's legal, but I don't think it should have been done.
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Gort.
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Commissioner Gort: By the way, Commissioner Carollo, I'd like to remind you that
when you were doing that way back in the '90s, you had a lot of help from
Commissioners, too.
Commissioner Reyes: Oh, yes.
Commissioner Carollo: I got one Commissioner that I see here. Others, they said
they were going to resign if they had to; they weren't going to vote for anything until
the Governor said, "You got until tomorrow, or I'm taking you out." And boy, they
jumped onboard like there was nothing more they could do that day.
Commissioner Gort: Going back into the --one of the things we discussed in all our
budget hearings is that we need reoccurring revenue.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Commissioner Gort: I mean, we just approved a couple of contracts that we don't
know how much it's going to cost us in the future, so we need --continue to have and
use our facilities to produce the most reoccurring revenue that we can get.
Mr. Rotenberg: If I may, I just want to clarify something, because I think the
Commission is trying to say this: The privatizing of the marinas, if we're going to go
to look at that route, we're looking at having a management company coming in; not
a full-time operator, because if an operator would step in, like any other property we
have,we would get a lease payment, and we would end up getting a percentage of
that person's --or that operator's profit. If we would get a private management
company in, we would pay them a fee --say 3 or 4 percent --and we would still get
97 percent of the income. We would benefit from having somebody from the outside
come in and run it; almost like a regular residential or a commercial property. I
believe that's what you're asking.
Commissioner Reyes: Then that's what I would rather do.
CommissionerCarollo: Then I don't care how we do it as long as we bring the top
dollar to the City.
Commissioner Reyes: As long as we're getting more money than what we're getting
now.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Mr. Rotenberg: Gladly.
Commissioner Carollo: Here's what I have here, and from the City's part, correct
me if I'm wrong. I have here that for non-live-aboards, we charge, regardless of
how long the boat is, $19 a square foot.
Mr. Rotenberg: A linear foot.
Commissioner Carollo: For a live-aboard --yeah, a linear foot. I'm sorry --for
live-aboards, it's $24 a linear foot. In the Virginia Key Marina that, you know,
they're fighting to the death on to see who gets it, for boats that are between 35 and
61 feet, 35 a month. We're charging 19. They charge for boats that are between 62
and 74 feet --linear feet --40 a foot; and boats that are 75 and above, 60 a linear
foot. So if we go with the smallest dock areas, there is a major difference between 19
and 35, guys. That's over 40 percent, 45 percent.
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Mr. Rotenberg: Also, additional fees, because at other marinas, they do charge
separately for utilities, for water and electric, which we don't do. There is definitely
room over there --
Commissioner Reyes: That's it.
Mr. Rotenberg: --and we would welcome that.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but that's minor.
Mr. Rotenberg: Yeah, actually, it is. It --you --some of these boats, you would be
paying another 25 to 50 bucks a month for the utilities if we brought them out --
Commissioner Reyes: But that would be paid by them, not by us, as it is paid now.
Mr. Rotenberg: By them. It would --
Commissioner Reyes: By them. Right now, we incurred that cost.
Mr. Rotenberg: Correct. It would be a substantial amount to do --to go and have
them pay the utilities direct.
Commissioner Carollo: So the bottom line is that we could make a lot more money
here.
Commissioner Reyes: Oh, hell, yeah.
Mr. Rotenberg: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: And we're not.
Mr. Gonzalez: Commissioner, if I may, I think we all agree that the marinas is an
area that we could increase our income on. And to Commissioner Reyes' point, not
only do we need to increase income, we need to cut expenses. And I will --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Mr. Gonzalez:--commit to you to come back to show you a plan where we would
increase these accordingly.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Manager --
Mr. Gonzalez: I agree with you, Commissioner Carollo. I think the number we were
originally given was a little low, but we will move in that direction.
Commissioner Carollo: --I will say this to you: Once you get that that you're ready
to go, and I hope it's by the next meeting. Then I'll entertain voting in favor of this,
because this is the only way that we're going to make the City move in the right
direction in finding revenues before it hits us, and we have no other way to go but to
raise taxes or to lay off employees.
Chair Hardemon: In the projections that you made for this ordinance, when do the
rates beginto increase?
Art Noriega (Chief Executive Officer, Miami Parking Authority): It's January 1.
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Mr. Rotenberg: So we have time.
Chair Hardemon: So we have a little bit of time. All right.
Vice Chair Russell: Could we just tie a ribbon on the otherone, though? I'd like to
organize a meeting with the Administration, my office, as well as the live-aboards, to
discuss some of those issues so that they know what's happening with their rates, and
that they can be involved in the discussion, as well.
Commissioner Carollo: How many live-aboards --
Chair Hardemon: Do live-aboards pay taxes? Do they pay like a --?
Commissioner Reyes: How many live-aboards --?
Commissioner Carollo: --do we have in the marina here? Do we know, off the top
of your head?
Mr. Rotenberg: How many live-aboards?
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Mr. Rotenberg: I think the number was about two dozen.
Commissioner Carollo: Two dozen.
Chair Hardemon: Do they pay taxes? I don't know like if --
Mr. Rotenberg: They don't--property taxes?
Chair Hardemon: Yes, taxes.
Mr. Rotenberg: No.
Commissioner Reyes: They don't pay property taxes.
Chair Hardemon: No property taxes.
Fernando Casamayor (Chief Financial Officer/Assistant City Manager): Sir, as
former Tax Collector, they don't pay property taxes. They do have vessel
registration fees that they have to pay on a yearly basis.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Chair Hardemon: What is that, a hundred dollars?
Mr. Casamayor: It depends on the linear foot of the boat and whether it's a
registered vessel or not.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. And that's the only way that in Miami you get to
build whatever you want, do whatever you want without having to get a City permit.
Maybe we'll soon have a club, you know, dockin here and --
Chair Hardemon: Hey, hey --
Commissioner Reyes: Stay --Don't say it, man.
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Chair Hardemon: --telling everyone our secrets. Okay. So what I hear then is a
motion to defer this to the next meeting?
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. It's a motion.
Chair Hardemon: Was it two meetings do you need; next meeting?
Vice Chair Russell: That's SR.8?
Commissioner Reyes: I second that motion to defer it
Chair Hardemon: You're the mover.
Commissioner Reyes: So I'll move it.
CommissionerCarollo: You want it for the next meeting or the first meeting in
November, Mr. Manager?
Commissioner Reyes: I will say --
Mr. Noriega: No, I would encourage us to move on this as quickly as possible, but --
because it does have a little bit of a lead time on the ramping up of the adjustment.
Hopefully, to make this a little easier for the next time, next go-around when we get
there, just briefly, I know all of you have reviewed the ordinance. We did exactly
what we were asked to do relative to themodifications. I, you know, appreciate the
feedback we got at the last reading; more particularly, from Commissioner Reyes. I
know he's still not a hundred percent in, and I can appreciate his perspective, but he
was instrumental in pushing this that way, in addition to Commissioner Carollo,
Commissioner Hardemon. All of you really gave us a lot of very valuable insight;
and Commissioner Russell, certainly, for accommodating some of the changes. But,
you know, from a fiscal standpoint, we certainly have time. And I understand your
concern, Commissioner Carollo, and you want to use this as leverage.
Commissioner Carollo: It's not with your department.
Mr. Noriega: I know, I know. I understand the rationale. I just --when we get to
this item at the very next meeting, hopefully, that's what I --would be my request --
in case there are any other issues that we need to address. I'd like for us to try to get
to this as soon as possible.
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Noriega --
Mr. Noriega: This helps us from a planning perspective.
Commissioner Reyes: --Mr. Noriega --
Commissioner Carollo: Be ready for the next meeting.
Mr. Gonzalez: Next meeting is fine, sir.
Commissioner Reyes: --I want to make one thing perfectly clear, you see. This have
nothing to do with you or with your department. What it has to do is that we have to
find alternative ways of increasing revenues without placing our hands on the
people's pocket, you see. I mean, we live in a poor city, I mean, except some
different little areas, different pockets of the City. But our people, they cannot be
burdened with more taxes, more fees, more tolls, you see. I mean, there's a lot of
people there that are living in --with minimum wages. There --have a lot of retirees
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that theygo to cut the hair someplace else, and they come here that --they have little
businesses --or people that have little businesses that they --it's a day-to-day, what -
-how they are surviving. And now, if we're going to increase the parking cost of
some of the patrons, you see, they might lose them. You see, that's my --that is my
problem.
Mr. Noriega: Can I speak to that? Because I want there to be --I want it to be
absolutely clear, because you were very crystal clear with me that you didn't want
there to be any impact to small businesses, which is why we rolled back the increase
in your district, in Commissioner Carollo's district, and a significant part of
Commissioner Gort's district, because that's where those small businesses lie.
Commissioner Reyes: Still there's a lot on 8th Street. I mean, you have a bunch of
them on 8th Street. And I had a lot of complaints and I had a lot of calls from small -
-I mean, just look at it --
Mr. Noriega: But we rolled everything back on 8th Street. The only area that we
increased the rates in Commissioner Carollo's district, so to be clear, was the area
he has at West Brickell, which is basically in Brickell.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Mr. Noriega: So you have to go to the --on the east side of the Metrorail Line. So
I'm telling you that we were very, very crystal clear on the feedback we got at the
last meeting, and we adhered to that request to the letter of the request in terms of
every minute detail, and trust me when I tell you --and I'm happy to go through it
with you in very minute detail --
Commissioner Reyes: Let's sit down again.
Mr. Noriega: --we really addressed the issue of small --of the small businesses.
Commissioner Reyes: But what --one thing that personally bothers me is that we're
going to use your department to increase the revenues --I mean, taking it from the
residents --when we have other alternatives; when we have other ways of bringing
revenues, like we just was discussing here; like going into the departments and be
more efficient; by --like cutting cost, you see.
Chair Hardemon: Right now we have a move --a motion and a second for a
deferral. We're going to be discussing this another day. I want to defer this. Is that
fair? Is that fair to everyone?
Commissioner Reyes: That's fair.
Chair Hardemon: All right.
Commissioner Carollo: Or the next meeting. The Manager said be ready now.
Chair Hardemon: That is correct.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Manager --
Chair Hardemon: So all in favor of that deferral, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? It is deferred.
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Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Manager, I want to say this on the record: I don't want
staff to go out and reinvent the wheel and go to Homestead somewhere, the Keys,
somewhere else to get me comparables \[sic\]. It's very simple. Start with Virginia
Key. That's the prime marina that, you know, all the fighting's been about. Get the
rates there. Get the rates on Monty. Get the rates at Grove Harbor.If you got a
couple of more in here, that's fine. You could even get the one at the Omni behind
there that's not ours; a private one. And I'll be very satisfied with whatever the
median rate is between those marinas. The amount that we're charging also on dry
docks is ridiculously low. And if we're going to be managing the dry docks until this
lawsuit comes to an end and we decide who's the last man standing that gets the
marina, and we got to turn that marina as part of that Request for Proposal, I would
also like for you to come back on the dry docks that we run at Virginia Key in raising
those rates. I believe our rates there are 17 --no--yeah --17.25 covered --or
uncovered, rather; 19.50 covered. The rates at the marina right next door,
Rickenbacker, it's 30 per linear foot, 30. And we're charging at most 19.50, if it's
covered; 17.25, uncovered. It's a big difference. And you know what? They have in
their marina 150 people waiting list, and it could be double or more, and they don't
haveit double or more, because they won't take anybody else, because they'll never
get it, you know, beyond 150. So what are we doing? I mean, this is not the way to
run a business. And these are ways that our residents don't get affected.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir, you'll have that information by next week. We have most of that
information available. We'll double check it and get it to you and the rest of the
Commission by early next week.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. This is simple.
Mr. Gonzalez: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Manager.
END OF SECOND READING ORDINANCES
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FR -FIRST READING ORDINANCES
FR.1ORDINANCE First Reading
4656AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMICITY COMMISSION ABOLISHING
THE MIAMI SPORTS ANDEXHIBITION AUTHORITY("MSEA”) BY
Commissioners
AMENDING CHAPTER 2/ARTICLE XI/DIVISION 2OF THE CODE
and Mayor
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED (“CITY CODE”),
TITLED "ADMINISTRATION/BOARDS, COMMITTEES,
COMMISSIONS/STANDARDSFOR CREATION AND REVIEW OF
BOARDS GENERALLY," MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING
SECTIONS 2-887(B) AND 2-892(4)(A)(1) TO DELETE MSEA FROM
SAID BOARDS; AMENDING CHAPTER 2/ARTICLE XI/DIVISION 6
OF THE CITY CODE, TITLED "SPORTS AND EXHIBITION
AUTHORITY," MORE PARTICULARLY BY REPEALING SECTIONS
2-1011 THROUGH 2-1023 IN ORDER TO ABOLISH MSEA; AND BY
AMENDING CHAPTER 18/ARTICLE III OF THE CITY CODE,
TITLED “FINANCE/CITYOF MIAMI PROCUREMENT
ORDINANCE,” MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTIONS
18-72(A)(2) AND 18-74(C)(6)(R) TO DELETE MSEA FROM THE
PROVISIONS OF THE MIAMI PROCUREMENT CODE;
TRANSFERRING ALL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES TO THE CITY;
ESTABLISHING A SPECIAL REVENUE ACCOUNT; DIRECTING
THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR GENERAL TO CONDUCT AN
AUDIT; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
MOTION TO:Pass on First Reading
RESULT:PASSED ON FIRST READING
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Note for the Record: For additional minutes referencing Item FR.1, please see
“Public Comment Period for Regular Items.”
Chair Hardemon: What are we doing about FR.1? Are we reading FR.1 into the
record and having a vote on it today?
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): I believe that's the intent; yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. Read it into the record, please.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney.
Vice Chair Russell: And I will move the item.
Chair Hardemon: It's been properly moved. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Move.
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Chair Hardemon: Second. It's been seconded by Commissioner Carollo. Any
discussion?
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. I have some questions. And I have been always --I'm
concerned, because I haven't clarified --I mean, the --all the contracts. You see,
which contracts are now in place? And I remember when MSEA (Miami Sports &
Exhibition Authority) was made --I mean, was formed. And it was not formed to run
Watson Island, I mean. It was formed to --itwas a Sport & Exhibition Authority. It
was to promote sports and exhibition here. You remember that?
Commissioner Carollo: Absolutely.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. You remember that. Now, it has gone out of this way,
but before you --we abolish thisboard, I would like to know that --if we are legally
free. I want to know what are the contracts, you know, that are in place now
between MSEA, the City, the airport, and heliport, you see. I do understand there is
some sort of litigation going on between them, and I want to have everything clear;
that we don't subject ourself \[sic\] to future litigation or any lawsuit that the City --
You know, every time that somebody has the slightest --I will say it --opportunity to
sue us, they go ahead and they sue us. That's why I want to know if the contracts
that we have and that are those that are --the City Clerk has, they are the same
contracts. I want you to confirm that the same contracts that we have been told are
the one contracts, that they are being--with the City Clerk's Office --they have been
given to him, and I have been --they are in the records, because I'm not willing to
vote for this unless I get this very clear: The reason why we're doing it, the finances
why we're doing it. What's going to happen with all the liabilities that MSEA was
paying? The funds that they were receiving, where are they going? You see? And
what's going on there? Because I hear from different people that some people, they --
I mean, somebody has the license to be an airport, and then we don't have the
license. And the other person thinks that that's their license. I mean, what's going
on? What is going on? I want this clarified, and I --be willing to move to defer this
until all the papers are clear, because on a clear conscience, I cannot vote for this
right now, because I don't think that anybody has anything --I mean, I don't
understand this, what's going on real well, you see. I want to know the finances,
what's going on, okay?
Unidentified Speaker: Excuse me, Commissioners. We had asked --
Commissioner Gort: Excuse me.
Unidentified Speaker: --a special --
Commissioner Gort: Excuse me.
Unidentified Speaker: --concession from the Clerk.
Commissioner Gort: Excuse me.
Unidentified Speaker: I wanted to address --
Commissioner Gort: No, you're not --we're not open to the public yet. We're
discussing among ourself \[sic\], okay?
Unidentified Speaker: Okay.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
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Commissioner Gort: When we open to the public, the Chairperson will allow you to
speak, and you will get an opportunity to speak. I think the Mayor's here. I'd like to
recognize the Mayor.
Mayor Francis Suarez: Thank you.
Commissioner Gort: And I'm sorry I took over the ownership, but --
Mayor Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I've served as a MSEA board member, as
Commissioner, and later --now as Mayor. We changed the law with reference to
MSEA to take it out of the exception provision so that it cannot be used as a conduit
to get outside of the Charter for purposes of referenda. And the reason why I
support this is several-fold. The first is MSEA right now operates at a deficit. If you
take into consideration the grant money that it's giving, it's a significant deficit. But
the entity itself generates about 152,000 a year, and it's got $111,900 in operating
expenses, exclusive of a subsidy from the general fund of an additional 64,000,
which takes you up to about 171,900 in total expenses for an agency that's
generating $150,000 in total expenses. I would defer to the City Attorney with
reference to your legitimate questions about what potential ongoing liability would
exist for the City.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir. And from what I understand, there was --DOT
(Department of Transportation), they offered a grant and that it was financial
assistance from DOT, and I think that it was in reference of the interlocal agreement
in 2013. I want to know if we still are receiving that grant, and if not. And also, I --
as I do understand now --and correct me, Joe, if I'm wrong on this --MSEA was
being funded by the bed tax, right; part of the bed tax.
Mayor Suarez: Sure.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: It was, but then --
Mayor Suarez: It was.
Commissioner Carollo: --until --
Commissioner Reyes: But I want to know that. Since we gotten the funds, MSEA
funds, they have been used for other sources, you see. And all those bed taxes, and
because of the interlocal agreement, has been diverted --
Mayor Suarez: Correct.
Commissioner Reyes: --to other --to a payment of --
Commissioner Gort: The stadium.
Chair Hardemon: The Marlins Stadium.
Commissioner Reyes: --the stadium. For the payment of the stadium.
Mayor Suarez: Right.
Commissioner Reyes: That's what it is.
Mayor Suarez: The garages, yeah.
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Commissioner Reyes: A garage and all of that.
Mayor Suarez: Yeah.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Mayor Suarez: And the second part is, obviously, based on some comments that
were made here and some of the concerns expressed, we took this issue to the board.
The board also voted unanimously to abolish MSEA. So, you know, my
recommendation, as its Chair, you know, in defense of what the board has
recommended; and also, given the fact that it's operationally running ata deficit
annually, is to abolish it. So what my understanding of the consequences of it are is
we would save a significant amount of money in terms of operational savings, and
we would not incur --and I'll let the City Attorney speak to this --but we will not
incur any additional liability or any additional legal responsibility that we would not
otherwise have, given the fact that MSEA is a subdivision of the City, and we're
essentially on the hook for anything that MSEA does in any regard.
George Wysong (Assistant City Attorney, Supervisor): That's absolutely true, Mr.
Mayor. I’m sorry.
Commissioner Gort: Let me --excuse me. Let me --Since I was the only person
here that was part of the board at the time we voted, the board voted unanimous to
dismiss MSEA, but to keep the contracts the same way they are --
Mayor Suarez: Correct.
Commissioner Gort: --and during our meetings, we made certain changes and
adjustments to those contract, and we moved that those would be maintained the way
they are right now.
Mayor Suarez: Correct.
Commissioner Gort: Now, the --I know a lot of allegations has been made here that
talked about DOT. A lot of things are going back and forth. And I think before we
come back --this is the first reading. It's up to you if you want to approve it or not.
But in the second reading, one of the things that the board requested is to make sure
that all the contracts that legally bind by the new --whoever takes it over, that the
same motions that we had made in the past be maintained; any adjustment --the
amendment that we had made to any of the contracts and approved by MSEA's board
would be maintained. And I know there's a lot of questions about DOT, who owns
the license, and all that. That is something that needs to be approved. Also, I'd like
to see the numbers, because --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Gort: --I don't believe we're running it as a deficit, but I'd like to see
the numbers. Those numbers haven't been shown to me.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Commissioner Gort: Okay?
Commissioner Reyes: We want a --I agree. We want --me, personally, I want to
clarify --
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Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Commissioner Reyes: --you see, that --so there'll be no question, you see. Are we
running a deficit? Are we not running a deficit? The contracts are being --they are
--I mean --
Commissioner Gort: Well --
Mayor Suarez: I mean, I can answer them, but I'll happy --be happy to furnish you
with that information.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Mayor Suarez: On an operational basis, exclusive of grants --because when you
throw grants in, it's a whole --it creates a different scenario --exclusive of grants,
technically, the organization is making $152,000, which is essentially $72,000 in
rent payments from Chalks and 84,000 in rent payments from the Watson Island
Heliport lease. That's about a hundred and --I'm sorry --156,000, roughly. The
operational expenses are 111,900, which is a slight --slightly less than adeficit. But
we're getting a $66,000 subsidy from the general fund. So that puts it at about 176
in total expenses, which brings it into a deficit position. What has been happening is
we've been cannibalizing the reserves. MSEA has about $522,000 in reserves, and
we've been giving grants from the reserves. So one way or another, MSEA will
essentially run out of money at some point in the near future.
Commissioner Carollo: You are saying that MSEA had grants. Where were those
grants coming from?
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Mayor Suarez: The grants are issued by the board.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but from the reserves?
Mayor Suarez: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Mayor Suarez: That's right.
Commissioner Carollo: So that'swhere you're saying, it’s not that --
Mayor Suarez: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: --we were getting it from somewhere else?
Mayor Suarez: Correct. That's right, Commissioner.
Commissioner Gort: No.
Commissioner Reyes: We're not getting money --any other revenues than the grant
from the heliport and Chalks, right?
Mayor Suarez: I --
Commissioner Reyes: That's the only revenues --
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Mayor Suarez: That's right.
Commissioner Reyes: --that MSEA is getting --
Mayor Suarez: That's right.
Commissioner Reyes: --is from those --only those two sources.
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Mayor Suarez: And we're getting $2 from the Miami Children's Art Museum.
Commissioner Reyes: And $2?
Mayor Suarez: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Reyes: Oh, that's a lot. That makes a difference. Okay. That makes
a difference.
Commissioner Carollo: I was chairman of MSEA, going back 16, 17 years, for
about six, seven years, when MSEA had real money.
Commissioner Reyes: Yep.
Commissioner Carollo: That's back when we had the old Miami Arena that's no
longer there. We had the Miami Heat and Panthers that played there. But a lot has
changed since then. Commissioner Gort was there through a lot more since I've
been gone. I've been back for less than a year. And I will defer to whatever motion
you see fit --
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Commissioner Carollo: --from your experience in the years you've been there, and
will second it.
Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner Gort?
Commissioner Gort: My understanding is the whole full board saw the need to
disband MSEA. But at the same time, the board made sure that the contract was
valid, the adjustment that has been made to the contracts were being maintained,
and most important, the --who owns the airport, if it's the City, DOT, or whatever.
We need to have that clarified --
Commissioner Reyes: That's my point.
Commissioner Gort: --before it comes to us in second reading.
Commissioner Reyes: That's my point. I agree with you a hundred percent.
Commissioner Carollo: My only question --which I think yours is heading that way
--that I want to ask to the Assistant City Attorney that's here: MSEA was basically
kept alive, whether we want to admit it or not, for the sole purpose of going around
the Carollo Amendment.
Commissioner Reyes: Mm-hmm. That’s right.
Commissioner Carollo: And my question is --
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Commissioner Reyes: It is true.
Commissioner Carollo: --if we're going to be dissolving MSEA, and instead of
finding another entity to deal with MSEA, MSEA's going right to the City, does that
put us in conflict? Now, I was told before, "no." But, you know, I got to ask it again,
because I'm not convinced of that.
Mr. Gonzalez: Sir --
Vice Chair Russell: What I was told is, if we haveto renew our leases, then we're
going to have to go to referendum and follow the Mayor.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Mr. Gonzalez: --sir --
Vice Chair Russell: But, for the moment, they'll transfer smooth; is that --?
Mr. Wysong: I can answer that.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
Mr. Wysong: First thing, as the Mayor indicated, the MSEA Code was changed, so
that loophole no longer exists. So even if MSEA were to survive, there is no way
around Section 29 of the Charter.
Vice Chair Russell: Correct, we didn’t change (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Wysong: But these agreements were signed. There's three lease agreements,
Commissioner: One for the Miami Children's Museum; one for Linden, for the
heliport; and one for Nautilus Chalks. The MiamiChildren's Museum is a 50-year
lease, the Linden is a 30-year, as well as the Nautilus Chalks. So the Nautilus
Chalks and Linden will expire in the year 2043. Those leases are valid and binding.
This change will not have any effect on them. The only issue is, as we --as has been
discussed is that the leases exist as they exist. If there is any attempt to modify or
change those leases, they would be subject to Section 29 of the City Charter.
Mayor Suarez: But they would be subject --
Mr. Wysong: They would be --
Mayor Suarez: --irrespective of whether MSEA is abolished or not --
Mr. Wysong: Correct.
Mayor Suarez: --because that cannot be used anymore as an instrumentality for
circumventing 29.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you for clarifying.Commissioner Gort, a question for
you: If the original intention of this fund, this --the money generated was to help
with events and large-scale things that help Miami's image in the terms of sporting,
would it be smart for us to earmark the reserves and remaining income toward that
purpose in the future? We're always asked by major sporting events when they come
to town --whether it's Super Bowl, Orange Bowl, F1, whatever --to contribute in
some way. And it's tough for us to dig into the general fund when we've got that
spoken for. But if we --
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Mayor Suarez: I would agree to that.
Vice Chair Russell: --set this aside and we use it for that purpose --
Mayor Suarez: I would agree to that.
Vice Chair Russell: --and it's the Commission's decision on however it's spent,
would that be a good idea --?
Mayor Suarez: You could put it in a special revenue account.
Commissioner Gort: The idea that was created and the grants, that we allow those
grants to give --for example, the --what was the --that concert that was done? The
--in downtown Miami, the station, the radio station, the --
Vice Chair Russell: What year?
Commissioner Gort: I can't think of the word right now.
Mayor Suarez: DNA?
Commissioner Gort: No, no, the --yeah, the jazz --
Mayor Suarez: WDNA, yeah.
Commissioner Reyes: Jazz festival.
Commissioner Gort: --that took place --the jazz festival took place.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Commissioner Gort: There were a couple of events that were --took place that we --
that did it because they were sports facility; people that wanted to create it for
sports, and I think that's --that could be a good idea. I mean, those --the MSEA was
created to attract --revenues to attract sports, and we were able to bring the Miami
Heat. That's one of the reasons the Miami Heat is here.
Commissioner Reyes: Sports and conventions, that's why (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Gort: And convention, but we don't have a convention at that --at
this time.
Mr. Wysong: Mr. Chair, between first and second reading, we intend on adding
some language to the ordinance. The first provision will say, "All the rights, duties,
and obligations of MSEA shall be transferred to the City, including title to all the
property and assets of MSEA." The second one will go to this concern: "A new
special revenue account titled, 'Sports Facilities and Activities,' is established and
funded in an amount equal to all fund balances remaining in the accounts of MSEA
are transferred to the City, andthe City Manager is authorized to accept and
appropriate said funds in accordance with applicable local, State and Federal laws."
Vice Chair Russell: And revenues.
Mr. Wysong: Right. The third one would be, "All indebtedness, duties, and
obligations of MSEA are hereby assumed by the City." And fourth, "The
Independent Auditor General is directed to conduct an audit of the accounts and
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finances of MSEA upon its abolishment, in accordance with Section 2-528 of the City
Code."
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
Mr. Wysong: That way, the Commission will have --
Commissioner Reyes: Sir --
Vice Chair Russell: Just a moment. Todd, I was the mover. Should I pass the gavel
to Commissioner Gort, just to keep things --
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Vice Chair Russell: --straight?
Commissioner Reyes: Commissioner Gort --
Commissioner Gort: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Reyes: --if I may?
Commissioner Gort: You're recognized.
Commissioner Reyes: Are we clear that we don't have to --those contracts don't
have --they're not --they will not be subject to Section 29, the Carollo Amendment?
Mr. Wysong: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: Is that clear?
Mayor Suarez: I'll let him answer. Yeah, I'll let --
Commissioner Gort: You'll get a chance --Look, I promise, the public, I'll give
them a chance. Right now, we're discussing among the County \[sic\] Commission.
Commissioner Reyes: You see --
Commissioner Gort: If you want to get involved --
Commissioner Reyes: --I want to --I just want tomake it --
Commissioner Gort: --with that discussion, you're welcome to do so, but it might be
against you.
Mayor Suarez: I think --
Commissioner Gort: Well, look, we've been here all day, too. He can wait, and he
can speak when I open it to the public. Okay?
Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Gort: No, no, no. We're still in discussion right now. A motion is not
going to be taking place. If a motion takes place and a vote take place, we will hear
from the public before we take a vote. Okay?
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
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Vice Chair Russell: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Chairman Gort.
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah. I mean, that's the way to keep order in the court. Here
comes the judge.
Mr. Wysong: Yes, sir. I --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. I was asking the City Attorney a question that I want to
make perfectly clear, because we had had some instances and --that a decision or
opinion from the City Attorney, and then later on, we being sued, you see. And I
don't want to have any loophole or any reason for anybody to challenge those
contracts.
Mr. Wysong: Right.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay?
Commissioner Gort: Look --
Mr. Wysong: So what is going to happen is, there's something called an attornment
provision. An attornment provision means that, essentially, MSEA will step out and
the City will step in. And those contracts that are currently existing --the 30-year
contract for the two tenants, as well as the 50-year contract for the Children's
Museum --will remain in full forceand effect; otherwise, we may subject ourselves
to an impairment of contract if we tried to cancel those contracts. They have a valid
living contract that will remain after this attornment provision.
Commissioner Reyes: But MSEA was, I mean, the vehicle that bypass the Carollo
Amendment. By being MSEA dismantled --
Mr. Wysong: Right.
Commissioner Reyes: --then somebody add --I mean, I'm just being devil's
advocate.
Mr. Wysong: Right.
Commissioner Reyes: By being --MSEA being dismantled, then wouldn't be possible
for somebody say those contracts are not legal, because they did not --it's the City
the one that is --I mean, now is the owner of those contracts. And now, there's --or
now, we have to go back again, or go into some sort of RFP(Request for Proposals),
because now, those contracts are not valid, because they not --I mean, they did not
satisfy the Carollo Amendment.
Mr. Wysong: Well --
Commissioner Reyes: Would that be possible?
Mr. Wysong: I don't think so, sir, because that's the point of an attornment
provision. An attornment provision protects a tenant whenever you have --
Commissioner Reyes: I just want to make sure.
Mayor Suarez: Yeah. That’s fine.
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Mr. Wysong: --a change of the landlord. So the attornment provision is in the
contracts, and it protects them. So any attempt to say that they could not step in the
shoes would potentially lead to liability. But that's why we're saying that this will be
relatively simple transition. It'll be just the City takingover for MSEA.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. DREAM (Department of Real Estate and Asset
Management) is taking over.
Chair Hardemon: Right.
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman?
Chair Hardemon: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Gort: Once again, the board, when they made the decision, they
asked, did we wanted to get all the information --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Gort: --because a lot of people suing the MSEA right now. We have
to get that information. At the same time, my understanding, couple of people thinks
the City of Miami has the airport license; some other people says DOT do. So those
questions have to be answered, so we'd like to get the answer for those questions.
For the second reading --
Mr. Wysong: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Gort: --we got to have all of that.
Commissioner Reyes: I agree with you.
Commissioner Gort: And Mr. Chairman --
Commissioner Reyes: Call the roll.
Commissioner Gort: --I did not open to the --no. I didn't --did not open to the
public.
ChairHardemon: No, I understand. We're looking at one of our tenants, so, I mean,
you have the --I'll give you the floor to express whatever desire --
Ignacio Javier Vega-Penichet: Please. Thank you very much.
Chair Hardemon: --it is that you want to express. However, he's not a lawyer, so I
always remember that. I keep saying this, but I know that. But hopefully, we're not
hearing anything about any lawsuits or anything like that.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: No, no, no, no, no; absolutely not.
Chair Hardemon: Okay.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Those --my lawyers are taking care of that.
Chair Hardemon: Okay.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: I'm talking about a different --I'm talking about what you just
discussed right now.
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Chair Hardemon: You just want to be sure that you have the same rights, et cetera,
right?
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Of course.
Chair Hardemon: So go ahead and make --
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --you can express yourself, sir.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Well, my name is Ignacio Vega-Penichet. I'm Chalk's
President, and I agree --completely agree with you that we need to know if it runs in
a deficit or not. That's --it's not in --it's inconsistent that we run in a deficit; that,
for example --or that this board adopt the resolution to abolish MSEA without even
knowing or approving their financial statements for --ending on September 30,
2017, where there's a contribution of $200,000, which is two years of expenditures of
MSEA. And then, we say that we're running at a deficit. I want to explain a little bit
--just go a little bit. First of all, I would like to say that I left this hall last time
happy and content, because with just a few words that I said, you understood
perfectly, and you arrived to a resolution where this abolishment of MSEA was going
to be postponed until these attornments were completed prior to the abolishment,
and in a seamless manner and without interfering. The truth is that the City Attorney
has not straightened anything out. She has done anything \[sic\]. And not only that,
she has not answered to our multiple calls and letters, asking for a meeting to see
how was --this was going to be done. I would love to say --I would have loved to
say that we are in the same position the last time, and just say, "Let's adjourn it," but
we're not. We're in a worse position, and I'll tell you why. I have --I had a records
request from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), and I have received a letter
from City Attorney George Wysong, informing the FAA that they're taking over the
airport in Watson Island.
Chair Hardemon: That who?
Mr. Vega-Penichet: That the City is taking over the airport. I have the license. I
have a license to operate the Miami Seaplane Base as a public-use airport, granted
by the FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation), who is the one who has to
issue that license. And having the City Attorney say, just one minute before I left,
that if all I wanted is to continue as I am --and I said, "yes"; in short, I said, "yes."
And suddenly,I see that they're sending letters to the FAA, saying that they're going
to take over the airport? Okay, that's my first problem. You see, Commission --
Mr. Wysong: Could I just interject that that is the subject of a lawsuit, and I --
Mr. Vega-Penichet: No, no, no, no, no. This --
Mr. Wysong: They've already sued us on that ground, and we shouldn’t discuss this.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: --we were discussing this year --I'm sorry, I don't want to talk
about lawsuits.
Chair Hardemon: Okay.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: I'm just saying what we said here and --I'm --excuse me? Sir,
what we said here is that we were going to do that; that it was going to be attorned
\[sic\], or whatever. And suddenly, this happens. Okay? I'm just saying that. That's
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my concern, Commissioners. I’m not only concerned about the contracts and the
signatures and all that stuff; I'm worried about what the City Attorney and City staff
do, regardless of what the contracts agreements state, and I'm not the only one. I
would like to share with you right now the complaint voiced by one of the most
recent-appointed board members at the MSEA meeting. At that meeting, Ms.
Kathryn Moore had the courage to defy the Mayor, the City Attorney and all his
assistants; the Assistant City Manager, all of whom probably outnumber the
members of the MSEA Board present at the meeting, to say that she accepted the
appointment to the board with a big ego, assuming that she will be able, by being a
board member, to locate some of the contracts with signatures on all of the
documentation. Then I went to review the last meetings before the Mayor was
appointed as a Mayor, because, since then, we haven't had any meetings in MSEA
and--you know.
Mayor Suarez: That’s not correct.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: And in that last meeting, I found some comments from some
other board members that state on the record --they want to state on the record that
he believes that the City Administration has lied to the MSEA Board. Member
Veloso further demands to know who authorized Aldo Bustamante, an employee of
the City, to present an item to the City Commission to approve a revised and
amended interlocal agreement by and between the City and MSEA, that MSEA not
even --had not even seen or approved. And that's my big concern. In any case, the
resolution adopted by the board, it's true; they accept to abolish MSEA. They
recommend to abolish MSEA. But they don't accept that these attornments are done
before, as we --or you decided that you were going to do it here. Besides, this
authorization is given to the Chair, which I don't know if that's legal, frankly,
because the --when MSEA was incorporated, it says that all the execution of all
contracts has to be done by the Executive Director. So the Executive Director is the
only other choice, as I see. And that choice, we don't have it, either. Why? Because
there has been a summary --executive summary investigation on MSEA, questioning
her --Lourdes Blanco's position, which she believes that it is --how do you say? --
I'm sorry, I just lost myself; just a minute. She believes as \[sic\] she's being retaliated
because of this, just because she has brought to the attention of the board --of the
members of the board, of the City staff, and everybody certain deficiencies in the
financial statements.
Chair Hardemon: So she's made --she's already made her statement public. I'll --
Mr. Vega-Penichet: No, she's been doing this --
Chair Hardemon: No, no, I understand --
Mr. Vega-Penichet: --for two years.
Chair Hardemon: --but what I'm saying is that she came earlier today, and she
made a statement --
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Yeah, I heard her.
Chair Hardemon: --on the record. But my question to you is, because now we're --
you know, we're about six minutes in now--is, so what are you saying? Are you
against us abolishing MSEA, or are you for it --
Mr. Vega-Penichet: No. What I'm saying, sir --
Chair Hardemon: --as long as there --your interests are protected?
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Mr. Vega-Penichet: No. What I'm saying, sir--I'm sorry. I will answer this. I don't
have --as I said the first time I came here, I don't have anything against, in favor, or
in --as long as it's good for the City, I'm fine. All I'm saying is that before we do
that, we have to have a report --complete report of what the --what MSEA has and
what it doesn't have.
Chair Hardemon: Right. Understood.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: And what I'm saying is that we need to know exactly what it is,
because one of the things --and I'm sorry I had to make reference to her; not
because of what she said this morning; just because she's bringing up something that
is a significant deficiency in the finances.
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: And why is that? It's because, again, the same thing; the same
thing that Moore was saying; that the interlocal agreement --we don't have the
interlocal agreement, which is, in their (UNINTELLIGIBLE) interlocal agreement
that is being applied. Okay? I have the two of them here. If you apply this one,
which is theone circulated 2013, those monies that were distributed, the 200,000,
were properly done. If you use this one, they have been --it's money deviated to
private entity, and I'll tell you why. The only difference is two words. This one says,
"The Authority shall pay or cause to be paid" --okay? That's the new one. This one
says, "The Authority shall cause to be paid by the sub-tenant." So what I'm saying,
sir, is that we --if we look at the situation right now --right now --and you ask me,
"What isthe situation --as you were asking --"of the seaplane?" Okay? With this
interlocal agreement, I would be paying $6,000 per month, and that's your money.
The heliport would be paying 2,000, and that's their money. If you use this one, I
would be paying 6,000; it would be going to a restricted account. The heliport
would be paying 2,000; it would be going to a restricted account. In that 10 month,
the heliport will be getting $8,000. So all I'm saying --that's what I'm saying.
Chair Hardemon: Understood.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Now, that's the whole thing. So it is very important, because
this affects my rights, as well. This contract, the one from 1997 --by the way, and I
don't see why a contract between a city and a board would remove three words to
say, "That have to be paid by sub-tenant." I mean, that would be something that I
would remove from my contract, but not from this contract. So what I'm saying, sir,
is that this contract was the one that was applicable before; it was the one thatwas
applicable in my original contract, which was amended in 2014. This one contract
says that there should be nothing here that could interfere or be a detriment to me in
the future if it's amended; and in any case, that it needs my consent. That was my
form --what my former lease said.
Chair Hardemon: All right.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: And I have never been asked for any consent to this. But let me
tell you, and the reason is --I'm saying this is because of this contract, which is
based on a 1992 study with the Miami Greater Bureau --I don't know what --and
then that couldn't happen, because it was not approved. Then there was a second
chance in 2004, which was for Flagstone to move, to relocate the heliport, because
of all that. Here, the resolution, by the way, that was done in 2002, addresses this
sort of facility in 980 MacArthur Causeway, which is not the heliport, which is not
my address (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The report done by Kimley-Horn says that
Flagstone is going to finance the aviation center and that Linden is going to be a
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helicopter operator; not a heliport operator. So there has been a lot of things here,
sir, that I think --And first of all, let me tell you, I think that this is something that is
very difficult; it is very difficult to prove and to go through every little thing, but --
Chair Hardemon: Yeah, I know it is --
Commissioner Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Hardemon: --and that's the difficulty thing that this City Commission is going
to be --is going to have to deal with, because --
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: --if you ask why things have been difficult on the MSEA Board,
it's because of what you're seeing right now.
Mayor Suarez: Exactly.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Exactly.
Chair Hardemon: So what I'm--
Mayor Suarez: You just hit the nail on the head.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Sir, just give me a minute to finish. Just --
Chair Hardemon: 20 seconds to finish.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Okay. No, just give me a minute, sir. This is a very important
thing.
Chair Hardemon: But the issue is this --
Mr. Vega-Penichet: I'm going to stand side by side with this brave lady, the
Executive Director, who did what she had to do; that's her job. That's why we hired
her. I'm going to stand still and by the side of Ms. Kathryn Moore, who's asking --
she doesn't get paid for what she does, and she's asking for a contract, because she
has --I don't care what kind of doubt she has --the right to get all the information
she needs. And let me tell you, I'm going to stand with them. And I'm going to ask
you --because we all have the same fear here. We have pledged alliance to the
Constitution of the United States. And this is a great city, but it's a great city
because it belongs to the United States of America, because we have the best
Constitution in the world, and because we have the tools to make that Constitution
move, and you gentlemen have the --that right or that power to make that system
work. And I think that we're not asking something that I want for me. It's not
something that we're asking for anybody else. We just want to be sure that what
we're --it has been done here is correct. When I do the litigations, sir, believe me
that I don't like it. I'm going to tell you something else. My minimum investment
when I acquired Chalks --and I came here, I went to the Mayor, and said, "I want to
take over Chalks." I went to the MSEA Board, and I said, "I want to take over
Chalks, as long as my vision is not contrary to higher expectations that City may
have for this property." And they said, "No." We (UNINTELLIGIBLE) agreed. So I
am here with all my right to say what I'm saying. And the other thing that I want to
say --
Chair Hardemon: You keep --every time, you --
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Mr. Vega-Penichet: Okay. Finish--
Chair Hardemon: --transition to something else.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: I'm sorry?
Chair Hardemon: Every time you say, "This is it," you transition to something else.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Okay. You're right, and I agree with you.
Chair Hardemon: Have you ever spoken about the (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Mr. Vega-Penichet: And you let me talk because you know that I have the right to
talk, sir.
Chair Hardemon: No, no, it's not that.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: And let me tell you, I know. I know.
Chair Hardemon: You --look, the public has a two-minute comment period.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: You've spoken for 10 minutes, because you're intimately --
Mr. Vega-Penichet: 20 seconds and I --
Chair Hardemon: Hear me, hear me.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: My word, 20 seconds.
Chair Hardemon: Because you're intimately involved --
Mr. Vega-Penichet: 20 seconds.
Chair Hardemon: --in this situation.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: No.
Chair Hardemon: But there are some other people that are intimately involved, as
well.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: I know. I'll let him answer the question of the $200,000.
Chair Hardemon: Now you said 20 seconds.
Mr. Vega-Penichet: Okay, 20 seconds. I --my minimum investment is $2,100,000;
I've already spent $7 million inexpenses. I don't like litigations, gentlemen, because
I could have three-times my minimum invested constructed there with a restaurant
open and having my money that I deserve and having the best seaplane in the world.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry. And I'm sorry for this voice --
Mayor Suarez: Mr. Chair?
Mr. Vega-Penichet: --but I know that you want to do the best for our city.
Mayor Suarez: Mr. Chair, if I may?
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Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir.
Mayor Suarez: Can I just address a couple points very quickly? We've had two
MSEA meetings since I'm Mayor: One on May 31; another one on September 25, so
that was factually inaccurate. By the way, I voted for his assignment on --in favor of
him receiving the assignment for the Chalks’ lease, and I also voted for the up-
zoning of the property to allow him to build what he's building there, so I'm not sure
that I understand all of that. And I do agree that we do have the best Constitution in
the world; that part, I agree with. The --right now, the current budget is running at
a--and I don't know any other agency that does this, where it collects revenue and it
spends 73 percent of its revenue in cost. Certainly, the CRA (Community
Redevelopment Agency) does not do that, okay? They spend, at most, you know, 20
percent of the revenue that they collect. This is 73 percent. By the way, that's
exclusive of a $60,000 general obligation --I'm sorry --general fund subsidy, that if
you included that in the budget, which I would highly recommend if you don't abolish
MSEA, that you include it in the budget, and you have a true picture of what MSEA
costs the taxpayers. It would have an operational deficit of about $20,000 a year.
That's exclusive of the grants that are cannibalizing the --I'm sorry --the reserves
that --whatever is left. So I really think we should move on, and then we can
provide the Commissioners on second reading whatever information that they need
so we can move forward.
Chair Hardemon: Now, I didn't promise you an opportunity to speak.
Manny Prieguez: But since my client's name was involved on various occasions, I
would greatly appreciate it, and I do promise --please put on the clock --that I will
be much less than two minutes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Manny
Prieguez, 4000 Malaga Avenue, Miami, Florida 33133, representing the Heliport on
Watson Island. You heard a lot --a lot --in the last 10 minutes. And the ironic thing
about that is, is that the only way that all of those issues get explored and get
analyzed is byyour City staff; not by the MSEA staff, because they only have one
person, but by the City staff, by your professional City staff. So it's ironic that he
should be asking for you not to move forward with this, given the fact that, at the end
of the day, the entity that's going to be responsible for rendering an opinion is the
City Government. So why have MSEA? I mean, even MSEA itself recognized this
fact and voted the way they did, unanimously. So that's the first thing that I want to
put on the table. The second thing, very quickly, is you have the great luxury of
having that gentleman over there be your City Manager. Two or three facilities on
Watson Island are aviation facilities. Mr. Manager, you were the Director of one of
the biggest airports in the United States of America for how many years? Five
years. If you can't trust that gentleman over there to run two aviation facilities on
Watson Island, I don't know what to say. Thank you very much.
Commissioner Carollo: Did you put him up to this, Emilio or --?
Mr. Gonzalez: No, sir. I wouldn't, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: By the way, who was he representing; the plane, the
helicopter, or the (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Commissioner Reyes: It was (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Emilio.
Mr. Gonzalez: I think me.
Mayor Suarez: Automobile.
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Chair Hardemon: Now I'm going to hold you, because you are an attorney, so I'm
going to --
Marin Kim: Actually, I'm not an attorney.
Chair Hardemon: You're not an --?
Commissioner Reyes: Finally.
Ms. Kim: 20 seconds --
Chair Hardemon: And a new person.
Ms. Kim: --just because he's very impassioned, and I'm not --well, I am, but I just
wanted to make very clear, just for the record --
Chair Hardemon: Can you state your name for the record?
Ms. Kim: Marin Kim, with Nautilus Enterprises, at 1000 MacArthur Causeway.
Four weeks ago, when this Commission instructed the City Attorney to reach out to
its sub-tenants to have agreements in place, I wanted to say that for the last four
weeks, we have heard nothing. We sent an email last week, we sent a follow-up
email, we left three or four voice mails, and this morning at 9:43, 43 minutes after
the City Commission convened, we were given a call back to let us know, "Oh, we're
working on a one-pager, but we don't have it yet." So that does not give me comfort.
And I would ask that this Commission consider the deferment until at least Chalks
has received some documentation from the City on how it expects to attorn, because
we do not have an attornment clause, as George Wysong knows very well from the
memo he prepared. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you.
Mr. Wysong: Don't want to sell beyond the closing, but I just wanted to make the
comment that none of that material will matter if this abolishment of MSEA occurs.
They have sued the City. They have sued MSEA. These --this litigation will survive
this. They will have the opportunity to defend themselves. Nothing will change by
changing the relationship of who they deal with; either the City or MSEA. So I just
wanted to make that clear.
Chair Hardemon: But they want an attornment.
Mr. Wysong: Yes. In fact --and we have said --I have said several times today that
they will get an attornment. The interlocal agreement, sec --Article 22 of the
interlocal agreement between the City and MSEA says that the sub-tenants will not
be affected if the interlocal is terminated. The effect of abolishing MSEA is the
termination of the interlocal agreement. If they don't want to attorn and lose their
contract, then they can voluntarily give up their contract. It's actually in their best
interest for the attornment provision to apply to them, and I don't understand why
they're arguing against the attornment provision.
Ms. Kim: No, we're not, but we don't have an attornment clause, and therefore, any
modification of my lease requires that you cannot unilaterally amend the lease;
which you, by the way, tried to do, and you notified the FAA, as if we had accepted
your unilateral agreement. So we're not saying we're not going to attorn. We're not
going to say we're not going to transfer, but you need to show us paperwork.
Chair Hardemon: All right.
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Ms. Kim: Everything is subject to paperwork. I'm not going to take it on the --"Oh,
I promise I'm going to give you a document." I'm just asking, give me a paperwork,
let's sign it, and then we can bring it back to this Commission. We're not going to
change our lease. We're saying, if you're going to allow us to attorn, and we consent
to that attornment in exactly the same terms and conditions, once it's executed by
your office, the City of Miami, and Chalks, then there's no issue.
Chair Hardemon: All right.
Ms. Kim: But you cannot unilaterally amend our lease --
Mr. Wysong: The attornment --
Ms. Kim: --which you already tried to do.
Mr. Wysong: --agreement will be attached to the package for second reading.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. Sounds good.
Mayor Suarez: Fair.
Chair Hardemon: But they need it before second reading, so.
Mayor Suarez: Fair.
Chair Hardemon: All right. It's been properly moved. It's been seconded. It's been
discussed ad nauseum. Is there any further discussion? Hearing none, all in favor
of the motion, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries.
ORDINANCE First Reading
FR.2
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
4894
CHAPTER 38/ARTICLE III/SECTION 113 OF THE CODE OF THE
Commissioners
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED “PARKS
and Mayor
AND RECREATION/BAYFRONT PARK MANAGEMENT
TRUST/RESERVATION OFPARK USE,” TO INCREASE THE
RESERVATION OF PARK USE FOR THE COMMUNITY TO
EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT (85%) AND TO REMOVE THE
RESERVATION OF EXCLUSIVE USE BY THE BAYFRONT PARK
TRUST; 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:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
SECONDER:Ken Russell,Vice Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:Gort
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Note for the Record: For additional minutes referencing Item FR.2, please see
“Public Comment Period for Regular Items.”
Chair Hardemon: FR.2, read it into the record, please.
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): FR.2 is an ordinance of the Miami City
Commission, amending Chapter 38, Article 3, Section 1 --There is a scrivener's
error that needs to be stated --
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney
Barnaby Min.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Mayor Francis Suarez: I support it.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Vice Chair Russell: I'd like to second the item.
Commissioner Carollo: Which item is this?
Mayor Suarez: FR.2.
Chair Hardemon: It's been properly moved and seconded. Any discussion on FR.2,
the Bayfront Park?
Vice Chair Russell: Yes, just a quick question.
Commissioner Carollo: Yes. Absolutely, yes.
Chair Hardemon: Quick questions or we'll do the comment? Question --I'll go to
the comment first.
Commissioner Carollo: No comment.
Vice Chair Russell: Oh, I (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: I think I was very clear on that at the last meeting. And, you
know, 85 percent is much higher than the 50 percent we had before.
Chair Hardemon: I always wondered what the percentage of usage is at places like
Millennium Park in Chicago. You know, they have lots of concerts, they have lots of
events. I mean, it certainly is a space --If Bayfront Park is a park, then I can play
football on it, right?
Commissioner Carollo: The --
Chair Hardemon: I can take the Optimist Club and go out there and have an
organized gathering, things of that nature --
Commissioner Carollo: --difference between Millennium Park --I grew up in
Chicago, yeah.
Chair Hardemon: You grew up in Chicago, yeah.
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Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, even though Millennium Park wasn't there then. The
difference between Millennium Park, where it's at, and Bayfront Park is that
Millennium Park is not surrounded by all these residents.
Chair Hardemon: What is near it? Because when I'm there --
Commissioner Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Hardemon: --I know there --because I've stayed near Millennium Park
before, so I know that there are --
CommissionerCarollo: Nobody is living there in that area.
Chair Hardemon: I know that there are hotels there, but I'm not sure if there are
residences. Maybe that somebody could --
Commissioner Carollo: No, no residents.
Chair Hardemon: --(UNINTELLIGIBLE) let me know. But the thing about it is that
--because this is not --when people talk about the downtown area, it is mixed use. I
mean, it is a space that you're expected to have the rustle and bustle of commercial
uses of the streets in the area that isnear it. It is not --it is unlike your T3, it is
unlike your T4, et cetera. And so, you know, when you have certain events, it is what
attracts people to that space, and it is --what I've seen, it is not a passive park. It is
not a space where you goand --well, you can --but it is not a space where you go
and you sit on the water, and everyone around you is doing things that don't cause
any noise. And what I'm afraid of is an area like Bayfront Park, the downtown area
becoming a space where it's just for the people that live there, because it's just --it's
not that. And that's my biggest fear when it comes to this sort of conversation that
we're finding ourselves into, because you're saying 85 percent --Because, look, the
parks that are in our neighborhoods --Shenandoah Park and all these parks that we
all traditionally grew up on --if you said 85 percent of the time, it could only --it
had to be unused, if you will, in that fashion, then we could not have the organized
sports that go on on those parks. You could not have the usage of the fields the way
that we do. I mean, there are so many things that go on on those parks you would
not be able to do, because you're saying 85 percent of the time, it needs to be where
we can just walk out there at any time and just be on the park. You're recognized,
sir.
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman, thank you. And --
Commissioner Reyes: Just to clarify --
Vice Chair Russell: --this --I will --so --
Chair Hardemon: No, let him go first.
Commissioner Reyes: You may not --
Chair Hardemon: Let him go first.
Commissioner Reyes: --know about Millennium Park. And I lived in Chicago.
Millennium Park doesn't have any residents around.
Chair Hardemon: Okay.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay? We have residents here.
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Chair Hardemon: But Chicago does something that's very beautiful that Miami
didn't do.
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah. I mean, you have --that's right.
Chair Hardemon: What Chicago did that Miami did not do --
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah, that there are no residents around.
Chair Hardemon: --Mia --Chicago preserved their waterfront for the people.
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah.
Chair Hardemon: They preserved their waterfront for people to --
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah.
Chair Hardemon: --everyone to be able to go; unlike in Miami, where you can buy
waterfront properties in Miami Beach. You can buy waterfront property, and it's for
your quiet enjoyment for yourself. So Chicago is beautiful in that sense. And so,
they encourage people to come to Millennium Park. Still, what I'm saying is that the
people --but people go there.
Vice Chair Russell: No, it is meant to be everybody's park, and it is meant to also
house events, but primarily be for passive and recreational use. I'lltake this moment
to say both Regatta Park and Peacock Park for probably 90 percent of the time are
just open, passive parks. In the winter, we do a lot of the sailing events and things
like that, but I'll take this moment to plug this Saturday and Sunday, if everyone's
available, the Grovetoberfest is happening on Saturday in Peacock Park, and the
Pumpkin Patch Festival is at Regatta Park. And it is a residential neighborhood and
just something that people enjoy, and it's a beautiful thing, and it's cleaned up the
day after. The grass is fine, and off we go. I think the 15 percent is absolutely
reasonable. I want to see how it goes for a year; what events we can run, what limits
it does put on us. There was a request from the neighbors, if the sponsoris open to
it, to change the word, "community use" to the words, "free access and enjoyment of
the general public," so that a large event couldn't qualify themselves as community
use, because a lot of the community come to their events, but to sort of just clarify
that it's meant for free --that is, 85 percent is meant for free access and enjoyment of
the general public. I think both accomplished the goal, but one just eliminates a
potential loophole that someone could exploit.
Mayor Suarez: I'm fine with that.
Chair Hardemon: Are you willing to accept that friendly amendment?
Commissioner Carollo: Which is the friendly amendment?
Vice Chair Russell: Just to change the word, "community use" to "free access and
enjoyment of the general public," so that somebody that runs an event couldn't call
"community use" their event.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Commissioner Carollo: Are any of the residents from the area here? I know there
were some here before.
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Vice Chair Russell: They messaged myoffice about it, and that was their request;
residents of 50 Biscayne.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. If they're not going to have any problem and you're
assuring me that that came from there, then I have no problem accepting it.
Mayor Suarez: You looking at me? I'm good with that.
Chair Hardemon: It's been properly moved and seconded. There's been some
amendments to it.
Commissioner Carollo: You're okay?
Mayor Suarez: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm okay. Remember that book? No; you were tooyoung.
Mayor Suarez: Too young. Sorry.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, they --we used to read that.
Mayor Suarez: 1977, October 6, Libra. Great day.
Chair Hardemon: Yeah, it is a great day.
Mayor Suarez: Daughter. Supposedly, one of the most popular days to be born.
They say it's a --conception is --
Commissioner Carollo: We all had to read it at one time.
Mayor Suarez: --December 31.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Mayor Suarez: I think we're good.
Chair Hardemon: Seeing no further discussion, all of you who want to end all the
events in the City of Miami park, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: Against? Motion carries.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): As amended.
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FR.3ORDINANCEFirst Reading
4928
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING
CHAPTER 35/ARTICLE IX OF THE CODE OF THECITY OF MIAMI,
Commissioners
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED (“CITY CODE”), ENTITLED "MOTOR
and Mayor
VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC/VALET PARKING," MORE
PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 35-312 OF CITY CODE,
ENTITLED “DEPARTMENTDENIAL, REVOCATION, OR
SUSPENSION OF PERMIT; REMOVAL OF EQUIPMENT OR
PERSONAL PROPERTY OFTHE PERMITTEE/OPERATOR AND
STORAGE FEES,” TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
TREBLE PAYMENT OF FEES AND/OR
REVOCATION/DEBARMENTFOR UP TO TWO (2) YEARS FOR
FAILURE TO PROPERLY PAY AND/OR REPORT OPERATIONAL
FEES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
MOTION TO:Pass on First Reading
RESULT:PASSED ONFIRST READING
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Chair Hardemon: FR.3. Is it FR.3? FR.3 is related to the valet parking?
Victoria Méndez (City Attorney): The valet ordinance, yes.
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Carollo, you want that read into the record?
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney.
Commissioner Carollo: Madam City Attorney, have you been able to work in some
of the areas that you discussed with me with staff yesterday, or do you need to do it
for second reading?
Ms. Méndez: Yes, between first and second reading --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Ms. Méndez: --just some points that are going to be tweaked. We will have a
debarment provision that complies with another section of our Code that's
potentially three years and not two.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. All right, that's fine.
Ms. Méndez: We have --we add --we're going to add other sections of the Code in
Subsection 6; that there are violations pursuant to those other sections in Chapter
35. And we're also going to add that the hearing process for any debarment or
treble fees will be after a hearing before the Code Enforcement Board, pursuant to
Chapter 2,Article 10 of the City of Miami Code, under any penalties applicable,
pursuant to Section 35-347 herein. So those are the minor tweaks of this ordinance.
But basically, it's to make sure that valet operators are operating appropriately
within the City; and if not, they'll have to pay treble fees and they could be
suspended. Their ability to work in the City can be suspended or revoked.
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Commissioner Carollo: And before I make the motion, let me explain to my
colleagues what this is about. I started seeing that individuals that were stealing
money from us for years really had no down side to it. Those that got caught, they
would end up paying less, because we could never go back as many years and
confirm as many years of how much they were stealing. And those that didn't get
caught, they came out even better, so there was no price to pay. Now we're trying to
put some teeth into it; that if they're going to steal from us that there is going to be a
price to pay, and you’re going to see that we're goingto get a lot more revenue every
year, because if they are caught, then they conceively \[sic\] lose the right to work in
the City for several years.
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized.
Commissioner Gort: Let me ask a question. Is this --should also be applied to the
parking lots? Because we have a lot of parking lots that not complying with it.
Commissioner Carollo: I have no problem with it, if --
Commissioner Gort: Huh?
Commissioner Carollo: I have no problem with it, if you want to include others, but
--
Commissioner Gort: I think we should add it to it --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Commissioner Gort: --because there's a lot of parking lot that coming up illegally
that not performing.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir. Yes.
Ms. Méndez: So with regard to this, this is only valet operators.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Ms. Méndez: If you would like for us to --
Commissioner Carollo: That's what he --that's what he's asking.
Commissioner Gort: I'd liketo expand it, to amend it.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. And I would have no problem if they want to include
parking lots that are being used for that also, because he is right; that's part of
where we get our share of what they make.
Ms. Méndez: So tobe clear, the valet parking lots as well or parking lots in
general?
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Ms. Méndez: Because if it would be --
Commissioner Gort: Parking lot in general.
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Ms. Méndez: Okay. If it would be parking lots in general, we may need to do a
separate ordinance, because it would be expanding the scope of this one a little too
much that was --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Then do a separate one and bring it back to --
Chair Hardemon: Why can't we expand it and move it to second read --I mean to
first reading again?
Ms. Méndez: Because it's not even this section of the Code.
Chair Hardemon: Oh.
Ms. Méndez: It's not even --
Chair Hardemon: Okay. Well, that's a good (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Ms. Méndez: It's not --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Chair Hardemon: That's a good reason.
Ms. Méndez: But we can bring it for first reading.
Commissioner Gort: But if it's related for parking, what's the difference in parking
in the Code?
Ms. Méndez: Right. So there's this case called Numont (phonetic), and we can't
expand or change between first and second reading the composition of the ordinance
intent, and this would be adding a whole other section of the Code. We haven't
noticed it appropriately for first reading. So for those purposes, we would --but I
could bring you a new ordinance on first reading October 27.
Commissioner Gort: I would like to see it, because there's a lot of parking facilities
coming up, and they're not paying their taxes they're supposed to be paying, so
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) some extra revenues that we can get.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Commissioner Reyes: But those are parking lots that charge for parking.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Ms. Méndez: Okay. So we will bring you a first reading on that, and then we will
continue with this one for second.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. I'll make a motion on this one, first reading.
Commissioner Reyes: I second it.
Chair Hardemon: All in favor of the motion, say "aye."
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Vice Chair Russell: Quick question. Madam City Attorney, this is prospective, not
retrospective?
Ms. Méndez: Right, it's prospective. So whatever comes up --
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
Ms. Méndez: --then we would have a --yeah, a hearing.
Commissioner Carollo: You could only do that in the law, Commissioner. You can't
go back; you could only go forward.
Ms. Méndez: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: Unless you --
END OF FIRST READINGORDINANCES
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RE -RESOLUTIONS
RE.1RESOLUTION
4792A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, PURSUANT
TO SECTION 18-72 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,
Commissioners
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED (“CITY CODE”), AUTHORIZING THE
and Mayor
ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS FROM THE MAYOR’S SHARE
OF THE CITY’S ANTI-POVERTY INITIATIVE ("API"), IN A TOTAL
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEEDONE THOUSAND DOLLARS
($1,000.00), TO THE ELEVATE MIAMI CHURCH, INC., A FLORIDA
NOT FOR PROFIT CORPORATION ("ELEVATE MIAMI"), IN
SUPPORT OF ELEVATE MIAMI'S INTERACTIVE STATIONS AT
THEIR COMMUNITY EVENT HELD AT THE BOYSAND GIRLS
CLUB OF MIAMI-DADE; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO NEGOTIATEAND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL
DOCUMENTS NECESSARY,IN A FORM ACCEPTABLETO THE
CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
MOTION TO:Withdraw
RESULT:WITHDRAWN
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item RE.1, please see “Order of the
Day.”
RESOLUTION
RE.2
4793A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, PURSUANT
TO SECTION 18-72 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI,
Commissioners
FLORIDA, AS AMENDED,AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF
and Mayor
GRANT FUNDS FROM THEMAYOR’S SHARE OF THECITY’S
ANTI-POVERTY INITIATIVE ("API"), IN A TOTAL AMOUNT NOT TO
EXCEED FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($500.00), TO LUMANA
GLOBAL CORPORATION, A FLORIDA PROFIT CORPORATION
("LUMANA"), IN SUPPORT OF LUMANA'S PARTICIPATION IN THE
11TH ANNUAL DOWNTOWNMIAMI RIVERWALK FESTIVAL;
FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE
AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY, IN A
FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID
PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0434
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MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
Chair Hardemon: All right. If we can --all right, we got four Commissioners. Let's
do--Is there a motion to approve RE.2, 3, 5, and 6 --
Vice Chair Russell: So moved.
Chair Hardemon: --including Number 12, too? So 2, 3, 5, 6, and 12. Properly
moved --
Vice Chair Russell: So moved.
Chair Hardemon: --by the Vice Chairman; seconded by the Chairman.
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): RE.12 would be as amended, to indicate that
the donor is going to be responsible for maintenance.
Chair Hardemon: Sounds good.
Vice Chair Russell: Mover accepts.
Chair Hardemon: Accepts it?
Commissioner Reyes: Which one of you said? Can you repeat --? RE.2 --
Chair Hardemon: RE.2, 3, 5, 6, and 12. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all
in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries.
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RE.3RESOLUTION
4862
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, PURSUANT
TO SECTION 18-72 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI
Commissioners
("CITY") FLORIDA, ASAMENDED (“CODE”), AUTHORIZING THE
and Mayor
ALLOCATION OFGRANT FUNDS FROM THEMAYOR’S SHARE
OF THE CITY’S ANTI-POVERTY INITIATIVE ("API"), IN A TOTAL
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEEDFIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS
($15,000.00) TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONFOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, INC. ON BEHALF OF
THE MIAMI-DADE BRANCH OF THE NAACP, A FOREIGN NOT
FOR PROFIT CORPORATION ("NAACP"), THE NAACP SERVING
AS THE GRANTEE, IN SUPPORT OF THEIR SEPTEMBER 28,
2018 “EMBRACING OUR PAST…BUILDING OUR FUTURE”
EVENT; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY ANDALL DOCUMENTS
NECESSARY, IN A FORMACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY
ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0435
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item RE.3, please see Item RE.2.
RESOLUTION
RE.4
4863A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, PURSUANT
TO SECTION 18-72 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI
Commissioners
("CITY") FLORIDA,AS AMENDED (“CODE”),AUTHORIZING THE
and Mayor
ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS FROM THE MAYOR’S SHARE
OF THE CITY’S ANTI-POVERTY INITIATIVE ("API"), IN A TOTAL
AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEEDFIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS
($5,000.00) TO ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOXCOMMUNITY
("ST. SOPHIA"), IN SUPPORT OF THEIR GREEK FESTIVAL
EVENT; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE ANY AND ALL DOCUMENTS
NECESSARY, IN A FORMACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY
ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
MOTION TO:Withdraw
RESULT:WITHDRAWN
MOVER:Ken Russell,Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
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Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item RE.4, please see “Order of the
Day.”
RE.5RESOLUTION
4717A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, BY A FOUR-
FIFTHS (4/5) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, RATIFYING, CONFIRMING,
Department of Fire-
AND APPROVING THE CITY MANAGER’S EMERGENCY
Rescue
FINDING, ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED AS EXHIBIT "A,"
THAT IT IS MOST ADVANTAGEOUS FOR THE CITY TO WAIVE
THE COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING PROCEDURES,
PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-90 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED; FURTHER APPROVING THE
RETROACTIVE SELECTION OF TERMA OF NORTH AMERICA
INC., A FOREIGN PROFIT CORPORATION, FOR THE PURCHASE
OF A MARITIME RADAR ANTENNA, IN THE AMOUNT OF
$105,433.08.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0436
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item RE.5, please see Item RE.2.
RE.6RESOLUTION
4718
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, BY A FOUR-
FIFTHS (4/5) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, RATIFYING, CONFIRMING
Department of
AND APPROVING THE CITY MANAGER’S EMERGENCY
Planning
FINDING, ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED AS EXHIBIT "A,"
THAT IT IS MOST ADVANTAGEOUS FOR THE CITY TO WAIVE
THE COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING PROCEDURES,
PURSUANT TO SECTION 18-90 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, FLORIDA; FURTHER APPROVING THE RETROACTIVE
SELECTION OF YNIGO LANDSCAPING AND LAWN SERVICES,
INC., A FLORIDA PROFIT CORPORATION, AND VISUALSCAPE,
INC., A FLORIDA PROFIT CORPORATION, FOR TREE
RESTORATION SERVICESFOR THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT,
FOR A TOTAL EXPENDITURE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED
$150,000.00.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0437
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MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item RE.6, please see Item RE.2.
RE.7RESOLUTION
4902A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE MODIFICATION OF THE
Department of
2016 -2019 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT ("CBA")
Human Resources
BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI AND THE EMPLOYEE
ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS THE INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 587;
AUTHORIZING THE CITYMANAGER TO EXECUTE THE CBA, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0438
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort
ABSENT:Carollo, Reyes
Chair Hardemon: Okay. Calling the meeting back into order. Is there a motion on
RE.7, 8, and 9?
Vice Chair Russell: I'd like to move RE.7, 8, and 9, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Hardemon: It's been properly moved to accept RE.7, 8, and 9; Chair to be put
down as the second. Any further discussion on that? Hearing none, all in favor, say
“aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries; 7, 8, and 9.
Later…
Chair Hardemon: So what I'd like to do is this: I know that this appeal process is
going to take some --take a little bit of time, so I really want to close out our
business that we have in the City. And so, if we can read into the record SR.7?
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman, before we do, there is something that we do
need to close out, because I think in these issues, we need to vote as one. I wasn't in
when we voted on the Fire contract, and I'd like to add my vote to the rest of you.
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Chair Hardemon: We can't quite do it --you can express your --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --desire as to what your vote would have been.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Then my desire is so expressed.
Chair Hardemon: Understood.
Commissioner Carollo: And make sure it's included in part of what you type next to
the vote.
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Yes, sir. It will be in that section of the minutes.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
Later…
Chair Hardemon: Sir?
Troy Sutton: Mr. Chairman, if you would allow me 10 seconds. As you guys know,
the Commissioners --
Chair Hardemon: State your name for the record, as well.
Mr. Sutton: Troy Sutton, City of Miami Firefighters, Local 587; been here probably
for almost three decades. As you guys know, our union President’s out of town. He
asked me to walk up and thank you guys from the bottom of our hearts. It's been a
long-time issue. We're glad to settle this issue. Thanks --I want to thank all y’all for
the hard work, and our Mayor for the hard work, and the Management of theCity
for your hard work. You know, we look forward to continue serving our citizens, as
we always have. Thank you guys so much.
Commissioner Carollo: Who's your President these days?
Mr. Sutton: Freddy Delgado.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Commissioner Reyes: That's --
Mr. Sutton: The President's out of town, and unfortunately, he won't even get to cast
his vote, so --
Commissioner Gort: Have some Tequilas.
Mr. Sutton: --thank you guys so much. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Read into the record SR.8, please.
Mr. Sutton: More importantly, thank our taxpayers for allowing us to serve. Thank
you.
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RE.8RESOLUTION
4903A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE MODIFICATION OF THE
Department of
2019 -2022 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT ("CBA")
Human Resources
BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI AND THE EMPLOYEE
ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS THE INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 587;
AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE CBA, IN
SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0439
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort
ABSENT:Carollo, Reyes
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item RE.8, please see Item RE.7.
RE.9RESOLUTION
4908A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
Department of
ENTER INTO A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY
Human Resources
THE ATTACHED FORM, WITH THE INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 587 ("IAFF")
TO RESOLVE THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE PETITION FILED
BY IAFF IN THE CASE STYLED MIAMI ASSOCIATION OF
FIREFIGHTERS, LOCAL 587, OF THE INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS OF MIAMI, FLORIDA V. CITY
OF MIAMI, CASE NO.: BP-2018-001 (CR-2018-001 AND CA-2010-
124), PENDING BEFORETHE PUBLIC EMPLOYEESRELATIONS
COMMISSION; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGERTO
EXECUTE THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0440
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort
ABSENT:Carollo, Reyes
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item RE.9, please see Item RE.7.
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RE.10RESOLUTION
4923
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Department of
AGREEMENT ("CBA") BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI AND THE
Human Resources
EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS THE FRATERNAL
ORDEROF POLICE, WALTER E.HEADLEY, JR., MIAMI LODGE
NO. 20, FOR THE PERIOD OF OCTOBER 1, 2018 THROUGH
SEPTEMBER 30, 2021; AUTHORIZING THE CITYMANAGER TO
EXECUTE THE CBA, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM.
MOTION TO:Defer
RESULT:DEFERRED
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort
ABSENT:Carollo, Reyes
Note for the Record: Item RE.10 was deferred to the October 25, 2018, Planning
and Zoning Commission Meeting.
Chair Hardemon: Is there a motion on RE.10?
Vice Chair Russell: I move to defer RE.10.
Chair Hardemon: Properly moved; seconded by the Chairman. Are we deferring it
two weeks, to the next --?
Vice Chair Russell: October 25.
Chair Hardemon: October 25 meeting; the Chair can be the second. Any
discussion? Hearing none, all in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries on the deferral.
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RE.11RESOLUTION
4711
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE ANNUAL
Miami Sports and
BUDGET OF THE MIAMI SPORTS AND EXHIBITION AUTHORITY
Exhibition
("MSEA"), ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, IN THE AMOUNT
Authority
OF $678,085.00, TO PROVIDE FOR THE OPERATIONS AND
CAPITAL EXPENDITURESOF MSEA, FOR THE FISCALYEAR
COMMENCING OCTOBER 1ST, 2018, AND ENDINGSEPTEMBER
30TH, 2019.
MOTION TO:Defer
RESULT:DEFERRED
MOVER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Note for the Record:Item RE.11 was deferred to the December 13, 2018, Regular
Commission Meeting.
Chair Hardemon: What are we doing with RE.11?
Joseph Napoli (Deputy City Manager): We need to defer, Mr. Chairman. We'd
prefer to defer to December, after the --
Chair Hardemon: Okay. So if there is no objection --
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Is there a motion?
Commissioner Reyes: I move to defer it.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: Been properly moved and seconded by the Chair, so --
Commissioner Carollo: RE.11 is deferred?
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah.
Chair Hardemon: That's what we're trying to do now. All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries.
Mr. Hannon: For the record, that'll be December 13.
Chair Hardemon: Right.
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RE.12RESOLUTION
4910
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
Commissioners
ACCEPT A DONATION INTHE AMOUNT OF FOUR HUNDRED
and Mayor
EIGHTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($485,000.00), IN THE FORM
OF A SCULPTURE, AS WELL AS ALL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH
THE INSTALLATION OF SAID SCULPTURE (“DONATION”), FROM
THE NILDA MILTON REVOCABLE TRUST (“TRUST”) PURSUANT
TO A DONATION LETTER, ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED AS
EXHIBIT "A," FOR THE PURPOSE OFINSTALLING SAID
SCULPTURE AT ALBERT PALLOT PARK; FURTHER
AUTHORIZING THE CITYMANAGER TO NEGOTIATEAND
EXECUTE ANY AND ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS,INCLUDING
A MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO
THE CITY ATTORNEY, TO ACCEPT SAID DONATION.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0441
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item RE.12, please see Item RE.2.
END OF RESOLUTIONS
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AC -ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION
AC.1ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION
4895UNDER THE PARAMETERSOF SECTION 286.011(8), FLORIDA
STATUTES, A PRIVATE ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION WILL BE
Office of the City
CONDUCTED AT THE OCTOBER 11, 2018 MIAMI CITY
Attorney
COMMISSION MEETING. THE PERSON CHAIRING THE
COMMISSION MEETING WILL ANNOUNCE THE
COMMENCEMENT OF AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION,
CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC, FOR PURPOSES OF DISCUSSING
THE PENDING LITIGATION IN THE CASE OFWALTER E.
HEADLEY, JR., MIAMI LODGE #20, FRATERNALORDER OF
POLICE, INC. V. CITYOF MIAMI, CASE NO. BP-2017-013 (CR-
2017-001), TO WHICH THE CITY IS PRESENTLY A PARTY. THE
SUBJECT OF THE MEETING WILL BE CONFINED TO
SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS OR STRATEGY SESSIONS
RELATED TO LITIGATION EXPENDITURES. THISPRIVATE
MEETING WILL BEGIN AT APPROXIMATELY 10:00 A.M. (OR AS
SOON THEREAFTER AS THE COMMISSIONERS' SCHEDULES
PERMIT) AND CONCLUDEAPPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR LATER.
THE SESSION WILL BE ATTENDED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE
CITY COMMISSION, WHICH INCLUDE CHAIRMAN KEON
HARDEMON, VICE-CHAIRMAN KEN RUSSELL, AND
COMMISSIONERS WIFREDO “WILLY” GORT, JOE CAROLLO,
AND MANOLO REYES; CITY MANAGER EMILIO T.GONZÁLEZ;
CITY ATTORNEY VICTORIA MÉNDEZ; DEPUTY CITY
ATTORNEYS JOHN A. GRECO AND BARNABY L. MIN; DIVISION
CHIEF FOR LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT KEVIN R. JONES;
ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEYS STEPHANIE K. PANOFF AND
BARBARA DIAZ; LUKE SAVAGE, ESQ.; AND MICHAEL
MATTIMORE, ESQ. A CERTIFIED COURT REPORTER WILL BE
PRESENT TO ENSURETHAT THE SESSION IS FULLY
TRANSCRIBED AND THE TRANSCRIPT WILL BE MADE PUBLIC
UPON THE CONCLUSION OF THE ABOVE-CITED, ONGOING
LITIGATION. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT
SESSION, THE REGULARCOMMISSION MEETING WILL BE
REOPENED AND THE PERSON CHAIRING THE COMMISSION
MEETING WILL ANNOUNCE THE TERMINATION OFTHE
ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION.
RESULT:DISCUSSED
Chair Hardemon: Madam City Attorney, can you read into the record for the
executive session?
Victoria Méndez (City Attorney): On September 27, 2018, under the provisions of
Section 286.011(8), Florida Statutes, I requested that this City Commission meet in
private to discuss pending litigation in the case of Walter E. Headley, Miami Lodge
Number 20, Fraternal Order of Police, Inc., versus Cityof Miami, Case Number BP-
2017-013 (CR-20170001), pending before the State of Florida, Public Employees
Relations Commission, to which the City is presently a party. The City Commission
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City Commission Meeting Minutes October 11, 2018
approved my request, and we'll now, at approximately 2:05 p.m., commence a
private attorney-client session under the parameters of Section 286.011(8), Florida
Statutes. The subject of the meeting will be confined to settlement negotiations or
strategy sessions related to litigation expenditures. This private meeting will
conclude approximately one hour later. The session will be attended by members of
the City Commission, which include Chairman Keon Hardemon, Vice Chairman Ken
Russell, and Commissioners Wifredo Gort, Joe Carollo, and Manolo Reyes; City
Manager Emilio González; City Attorney, myself, Victoria Mendez; Deputy City
Attorneys John Greco and Barnaby Min; Division Chief for Labor and Employment
Kevin Jones; Assistant City Attorneys Stephanie Panoff and Barbara Diaz; Luke
Savage, Esquire; and Michael Mattimore, Esquire. A certified court reporter will be
present to ensure that the session is fully transcribed, and the transcript will be made
public upon the conclusion of the above-cited ongoing litigation. At the conclusion
of the attorney-client session, the regular Commission meeting will be reopened, and
the person chairing the Commission meeting will announce the termination of the
attorney-client session.
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AC.2ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION
4896
UNDER THE PARAMETERSOF SECTION 286.011(8), FLORIDA
STATUTES, A PRIVATE ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION WILL BE
Office of the City
CONDUCTED AT THE OCTOBER 11, 2018 MIAMI CITY
Attorney
COMMISSION MEETING. THE PERSON CHAIRING THE
COMMISSION MEETING WILL ANNOUNCE THE
COMMENCEMENT OF AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION,
CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC,FOR PURPOSES OF DISCUSSING
THE PENDING LITIGATION IN THE CASE OF MIAMI
ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS, LOCAL 587,OF THE
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE FIGHTERS OF MIAMI,
FLORIDA V. CITY OF MIAMI, CASE NO. BP-2018-001 (RELATES
TO CR-2018-001 AND CA-2010-124), PENDING BEFORETHE
STATE OF FLORIDA, PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RELATIONS
COMMISSION, TO WHICHTHE CITY IS PRESENTLY A PARTY.
THE SUBJECT OF THE MEETING WILL BE CONFINED TO
SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS OR STRATEGY SESSIONS
RELATED TO LITIGATION EXPENDITURES. THISPRIVATE
MEETING WILL BEGIN AT APPROXIMATELY 10:00 A.M. (OR AS
SOON THEREAFTER AS THE COMMISSIONERS' SCHEDULES
PERMIT) AND CONCLUDEAPPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR LATER.
THE SESSION WILL BE ATTENDED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE
CITY COMMISSION, WHICH INCLUDE CHAIRMAN KEON
HARDEMON, VICE-CHAIRMAN KEN RUSSELL, AND
COMMISSIONERS WIFREDO “WILLY” GORT, JOE CAROLLO,
AND MANOLO REYES; CITY MANAGER EMILIO T.GONZÁLEZ;
CITY ATTORNEY VICTORIA MÉNDEZ; DEPUTY CITY
ATTORNEYS JOHN A. GRECO AND BARNABY L. MIN; DIVISION
CHIEF FOR LABOR ANDEMPLOYMENT KEVIN R. JONES;
ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEYS STEPHANIE K. PANOFF AND
BARBARA DIAZ; LUKE SAVAGE, ESQ.; AND MICHAEL
MATTIMORE, ESQ. A CERTIFIED COURT REPORTER WILL BE
PRESENT TO ENSURE THAT THE SESSION IS FULLY
TRANSCRIBED AND THE TRANSCRIPT WILL BE MADE PUBLIC
UPON THE CONCLUSION OF THE ABOVE-CITED, ONGOING
LITIGATION. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT
SESSION, THE REGULARCOMMISSION MEETING WILL BE
REOPENED AND THE PERSON CHAIRING THE COMMISSION
MEETING WILL ANNOUNCE THE TERMINATION OFTHE
ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION.
RESULT:DISCUSSED
Victoria Méndez (City Attorney): Chairman?
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Ms. Méndez: I'm going to read both of them, since, chances are there'll be
discussion on both. On September 27, 2018, under provisions of Section 286.011(8)
Florida Statutes, I requested the Commission meet in private to discuss pending
litigation in the case of Miami Association of Firefighters, Local 587 of the
International Association of Firefighters of Miami, Florida versus City of Miami,
Case Number BP-2018-001, relates to CR-2018-001 and CA-2010-124, pending
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City Commission Meeting Minutes October 11, 2018
before the State of Florida Public Relations Commission, to which the City is
presently a party. The City Commission approved my request and now, at
approximately 2:05, we'll commence a private attorney-client session under the
parameters of Section 286.011(8), Florida Statutes. The subject of the meeting will
be confined to settlement negotiations or strategy sessions related to litigation
expenditures. This private meeting will conclude approximately one hour later. The
session will be attended by members of the City Commission, which include
Chairman Keon Hardemon, Vice Chairman Russell, Commissioners Wifredo Gort
and Joe Carollo and Manolo Reyes; City Manager Emilio González; myself, the City
Attorney, Victoria Mendez; Deputy City Attorneys John A. Greco and Barnaby Min;
Division Chief for Labor and Employment Kevin Jones; Assistant City Attorneys
Stephanie Panoff and Barbara Diaz; Luke Savage, Esquire; and Michael Mattimore,
Esquire. A certified court reporter will be present to ensure the session is fully
transcribed, and the transcript will be made public upon the conclusion of the above-
cited ongoing litigation. At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the regular
Commission meeting will be reopened, and the Chairman will announce the
termination of the attorney-client session. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much. So right now we're going to move into our
session upstairs, and we'll be back as expeditiously as possible. Thank you.
Later…
Chair Hardemon: (INAUDIBLE) closed, which is AC.2.
Ms. Méndez: Thank you, Chairman. Since I've already read the attorney-client
session announcement for AC.1 before we went upstairs, we will now go into the
executive session for AC.1. Thank you.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): The Commission is in recess.
Later…
Chair Hardemon: Also, I want it to be known that we've closed the second executive
session.
END OF ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION
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BC -BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
BC.1RESOLUTION
3684A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT COUNCIL FOR
Office of the City
TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
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BC.2RESOLUTION
3685
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE AUDIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR TERMS
Office of the City
AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.3RESOLUTION
4871
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A CERTAIN
INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE BAYFRONT PARK MANAGEMENT TRUST FOR
Office of the City
A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEE:NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Joe Carollo
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
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BC.4RESOLUTION
4251
ARESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE
Office of the City
FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Ken Russell
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.5RESOLUTION
4253A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A CERTAIN
INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD FOR A TERM AS
Office of the City
DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEE:NOMINATED BY:
Verania “Betty” HermidaCommission-At-Large
(Alternate Member)
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0443
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Chair Hardemon: Were there any boards and committees that needed to be
appointed?
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): Good evening, Chair and Commissioners.
BC.5, the Code Enforcement Board: Commissioner Carollo will be appointing
Verania "Betty" Hermida to --as an alternate at-large member of the board.
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): Mr. Chairman?
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Chair Hardemon: Is there a mover?
Commissioner Gort: I’m not the Chair.
Chair Hardemon: Motion. Is there a motion?
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Chair Hardemon: Properly moved by Commissioner Gort; seconded by
Commissioner Carollo. All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against?
BC.6RESOLUTION
4833A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION CONFIRMING A CERTAIN
INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE CITY OF MIAMI COMMUNITY ADVISORY
Office of the City
BOARD FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEE:NOMINATED BY:
Gustavo PerezCommission-At-Large
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
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BC.7RESOLUTION
4744
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD FOR TERMS
Office of the City
AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
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BC.8RESOLUTION
4255
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
Office of the City
FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Chair Keon Hardemon
Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Joe Carollo
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
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BC.9RESOLUTION
4257
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS
Office of the City
AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Chair Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
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
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BC.10RESOLUTION
3855
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ADVISORY BOARD
Office of the City
FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Chair Keon Hardemon
Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
IAFF
FOP
AFSCME 1907
AFSCME 871
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
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BC.11RESOLUTION
3856
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE FOR TERMS AS
Office of the City
DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Commissioner Joe Carollo
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.12RESOLUTION
4907A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERSOF THE GENERAL EMPLOYEES' AND SANITATION
Office of the City
EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT TRUST FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Luis FernandezCommission-At-Large
(AFSCME Local 871)
(Term: 10/14/2018 through 10/13/2020)
Clarence Graves, Sr.Commission-At-Large
(AFSCME Local 871)
(Term: 10/12/2018 through 10/11/2020)
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0444
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
City of MiamiPage 122Printed on 12/5/2018
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Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): BC.12, General Employees and Sanitation
Employees Retirement Trust: AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and
Municipal Employees) Local 871 is requesting confirmation of Luis Fernandez --
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Ms. Ewan: --and Clarence Graves.
Commissioner Reyes: Move it. Second.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Chair Hardemon: Been properly moved and seconded. All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? Motion carries.
RESOLUTION
BC.13
1599A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE HEALTH FACILITIES AUTHORITY BOARD FOR
Office of the City
TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Commissioner JoeCarollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
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BC.14RESOLUTION
4395
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL
Office of the City
PRESERVATION BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES/CATEGORIES:NOMINATED BY:
Julie ODellVice Chair Ken Russell
(Real Estate Broker –Category 5)
(Term: 10/12/2018 through10/11/2019)
Hugh RyanCommissioner Joe Carollo
(Historian/Architectural Historian -
Category 3)
(Unexpired Term: 10/12/2018 through 6/14/2019)
Luis Prieto y MuñozCommissioner Joe Carollo
(Business and Finance or Law –Category 6)
(Unexpired Term: 10/12/2018 through 6/14/2019)
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0445
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): BC.14, Historic and Environmental
Preservation Board: Vice Chair Russell will be appointing Julie ODell;
Commissioner Carollo will be appointing Hugh Ryan and Luis Prieto y Munoz.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Vice Chair Russell: Move it. Second.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Hardemon: All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: Motion carries.
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BC.15RESOLUTION
4874
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE HOUSING AND COMMERCIAL LOAN
Office of the City
COMMITTEE FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES/CATEGORIES:NOMINATED BY:
Annie LordCommission-At-Large
(Actively engaged in the residential
home building industry in connection
with affordable housing)
Nancy GagginoCommission-At-Large
(Actively engaged as a for-profit
of affordable housing)
Pierre RutledgeCommission-At-Large
(Represents Essential Services
Personnel)
Erica PaschalCity Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
Joe EisenbergCity Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0446
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:Hardemon
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): BC.15, Housing and Commercial Loan
Committee: The Department of Housing and Community Development is requesting
confirmation of Annie Lord, Nancy Gaggino, and Pierre Rutledge. City Manager
Gonzalez is requesting confirmation of Erica Pascal and Joe Eisenberg.
Vice Chair Russell: Is there a motion?
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Commissioner Reyes: Second.
Vice Chair Russell: Seconded. All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Vice Chair Russell: Motion passes.
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BC.16RESOLUTION
4064
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE MAYOR'S INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR
Office of the City
TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Chair Keon Hardemon
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.17RESOLUTION
4872
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A CERTAIN
INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE MIAMI FOREVER BOND PROGRAM CITIZENS’
Office of the City
OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEE:NOMINATED BY:
Ralph RosadoCommissioner Manolo Reyes
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0447
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MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
SECONDER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
AYES:Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:Hardemon
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): BC.17, Miami Forever Bond Program
Citizens’ Oversight Board: Commissioner Reyes will be appointing Ralph Rosado.
Commissioner Carollo: Ralph who?
Commissioner Reyes: Rosado.
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Vice Chair Russell: I'll move that.
Commissioner Reyes: I seconded.
Vice Chair Russell: I'm sorry. I've got the Chair. I've got the --
Commissioner Carollo: You picked the right day for it.
Commissioner Reyes: Yeah. Yeah. He's going to do a good job.
Vice Chair Russell: Seconded by the Chair. Moved by Commissioner Reyes, yeah?
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, move it, please.
Vice Chair Russell: All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Vice Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes.
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BC.18RESOLUTION
4748
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE MIAMI SPORTS AND EXHIBITION AUTHORITY
Office of the City
FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.19RESOLUTION
4852
A RESOLUTIONOF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION CONFIRMING THE
APPOINTMENT OF A CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE OFF-STREET
Office of the City
PARKING BOARD FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEE:NOMINATED BY:
Stephen NostrandOff-Street Parking Board
(At-Large Appointment)
MOTION TO:Continue
RESULT:CONTINUED
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES:Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:Hardemon
Note for the Record: Item BC.19 was continued to the November 15, 2018, Regular
Commission Meeting.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): BC.19, Off-Street Parking Board: Off-Street
Parking is ask --is requesting the continuance of this item until November 15
meeting.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
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Vice Chair Russell: Is there a motion to continue?
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Commissioner Carollo: Motion.
Commissioner Reyes: Continue.
Vice Chair Russell: It's been moved and seconded. All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Vice Chair Russell: Motion passes.
RESOLUTION
BC.20
4749A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A CERTAIN
INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE OVERTOWN ADVISORY BOARD/OVERTOWN
Office of the City
COMMUNITY OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR A TERM ASDESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEE:NOMINATED BY:
Akua B. ScottChair Keon Hardemon
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0448
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
AYES:Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:Hardemon
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): BC.20, Overtown Advisory Board/Overtown
Community Oversight Board: Chair Hardemon is requesting the reappointment of
Akua Scott.
Commissioner Carollo: Move.
Vice Chair Russell: It's been moved --
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Vice Chair Russell: --and seconded. All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Vice Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes.
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BC.21RESOLUTION
4261
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
Office of the City
FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Wifredo(Willy) Gort
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
City Manager Emilio T. Gonzalez
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.22RESOLUTION
4882
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A CERTAIN
INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE PATRICIA AND PHILLIP FROST MUSEUM OF
Office of the City
SCIENCE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEE:NOMINATED BY:
Sandra ForgesCommission-At-Large
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0449
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MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Commissioner
SECONDER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
AYES:Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:Hardemon
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): BC.22, Patricia and Philip Frost Museum of
Science: Commissioner Gort is requesting the reappointment of Sandra Forges to
an at-large seat.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Commissioner Carollo: Move --second.
Vice Chair Russell: It's been moved and seconded. All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Vice Chair Russell: Motion passes.
BC.23RESOLUTION
4396A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD
Office of the City
FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
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BC.24RESOLUTION
4873
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE SEA LEVEL RISE COMMITTEE FOR TERMS AS
Office of the City
DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Kilan Ashad-BishopChair Keon Hardemon
Wayne PathmanCommissioner Joe Carollo
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0450
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:Hardemon
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): BC.24, Sea Level Rise Committee: Chair
Hardemon is requesting reappointment of Kilan Ashad-Bishop and Commissioner
Carollo is requesting reappointment of Wayne Pathman.
Commissioner Carollo: Move.
Commissioner Reyes: Second.
Commissioner Gort: Second.
Vice Chair Russell: It's been moved and seconded. All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Vice Chair Russell: Motion passes.
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BC.25RESOLUTION
3692
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A CERTAIN
INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE SENIOR CITIZENS’ ADVISORY BOARD FOR A
Office of the City
TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEE:NOMINATED BY:
Antonio Gonzalez-SanchezMayor Francis Suarez
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0451
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:Hardemon
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): And BC.25, Senior Citizens Advisory Board:
Mayor Suarez will be appointing Antonio Gonzalez Sanchez.
Commissioner Carollo: Move.
Commissioner Gort: Move it.
Commissioner Reyes: Second.
Vice Chair Russell: It's been moved and seconded. All in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Vice Chair Russell: Motion passes.
Ms. Ewan: Thank you, Vice Chair.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you very much.
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BC.26RESOLUTION
3693
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE STARS OF CALLE OCHO WALK OF FAME
Office of the City
COMMITTEE FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commission-At-Large
Commission-At-Large
Commission-At-Large
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
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BC.27RESOLUTION
3476
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD
Office of the City
(UDRB) FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Chair Keon Hardemon
Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.28RESOLUTION
4263
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A CERTAIN
INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE VIRGINIA KEY ADVISORY BOARD FOR A TERM
Office of the City
AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEE:NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
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City Commission Meeting Minutes October 11, 2018
BC.29RESOLUTION
4411
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE VIRGINIA KEY BEACH PARK TRUST FOR
Office of the City
TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Joe Carollo
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
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City Commission Meeting Minutes October 11, 2018
BC.30RESOLUTION
4264
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD FOR
Office of the City
TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
Clerk
APPOINTEES:NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Francis Suarez
Mayor Francis Suarez
Chair Keon Hardemon
Chair Keon Hardemon
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Vice Chair Ken Russell
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Joe Carollo
Commissioner Manolo Reyes
RESULT:NO ACTION TAKEN
END OF BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
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DI -DISCUSSION ITEMS
DI.1DISCUSSION ITEM
4730DISCUSSION PERTAINING TO THE QUARTERLY NON-
REIMBURSABLE GRANT EXPENDITURES FOR QUARTER
Department of
ENDING JUNE 30, 2018.
Finance
RESULT:DISCUSSED
Vice Chair Russell: All right. What else do we have on the agenda?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): DI.1 and DI.2.
Vice Chair Russell: All right. Let's get that out of the way.
Commissioner Gort: DI.1.
Erica Paschal (Director): Good evening, Commissioners. Erica Paschal for the
Finance Department. DI.1, per the City's Financial Integrity Ordinance, we're
required to report any non-reimbursable expenditures for the quarter ending June
30, 2018. For June 30, 2018, there are no expenditures to report at this time.
Commissioner Gort: Great. Thank you.
Ms. Paschal: Thank you.
DI.2DISCUSSION ITEM
4621DISCUSSION ON THE STATUS OF HIRING POLICE OFFICERS.
Department of
Police
RESULT:DISCUSSED
Chair Hardemon: DI.2. Were we --did we --?
Joseph Napoli (Deputy City Manager): We deferred it last time.
Chair Hardemon: We deferred it; that's what I thought.
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Chair Hardemon: But we deferred it to this day or --?
Mr. Napoli: Yeah, we deferred it to this date. We're checking on where the Chief is.
Chair Hardemon: Is there anyone here that represents the interests of DI.2?
Commissioner Carollo: What are you saying, DR?
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Chair Hardemon: DI.2.
Commissioner Carollo: DI (discussion item).
Chair Hardemon: Now I would be happy to move on.
Commissioner Carollo: Right. I want to see if the --
Chair Hardemon: Defer it to the next meeting, because these beautiful people here
arefor some real business. Oh, no, I think we have some representation.
Commissioner Carollo: DI.2. Be back in a minute.
Commissioner Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) hiring police officers.
Commissioner Carollo: Thanks.
Ron Papier: Good afternoon. Ron Papier, Deputy Chief of Police. Currently, our
TO (Training Officers) is 1,370 and our staff is 1,338. We have 32 vacancies and 49
in the Field Training Officer Program.
Chair Hardemon: Are you having any officers that are going to be retiring that --?
Deputy Chief Papier: Yes. So this year, we only have maybe three retirements left;
and next year, only 13.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. So what do you do when you have the --you have 49 in the
academy. So all of them won't be hired, or how does that work?
Deputy Chief Papier: Yes. Once they graduate, they'll --they're already hired, so
once they graduate, they'll enter the FTO (Field Training Officer) Program, and
they'll be on their own.
Chair Hardemon: So then you'll be hiring more than --?
Deputy Chief Papier: The --what?
Commissioner Carollo: You'll have attrition?
Deputy Chief Papier: We'll be hiring --
Jorge Colina (Chief of Police): Those count. The ones that are in the academy
count --
Chair Hardemon: Oh, they count. I'm just --
Deputy Chief Papier: Right. They're in the --yes.
Chief Colina: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) police officers. Those are already counted.
Deputy Chief Papier: In the 1,338. It's in the --
Chair Hardemon: Okay.
Deputy Chief Papier: Yeah. The 1,338, just for clarification, is everybody from the
Chief of Police to our Police Recruiting Academy.
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Chief Colina: So everyone that's in the academy.
Chair Hardemon: Okay.
Deputy Chief Papier: That --
Chief Colina: Jorge Colina, Chief of Police.
Commissioner Reyes: Let me ask you something. And this is not the nine positions
that were supposed to be eliminated and were saved, right; that you're going to be
hiring more?
Chief Colina: We have officers that are eligible to be hired.
Commissioner Reyes: Officers that are --
Chief Colina: We have recruits; we have people that have gone through
backgrounds that are cleared for hire.
Commissioner Reyes: During the budget --I mean, when we were discussing the
budget, they were eliminating nine positions, andthen we found a way, you see, by
reducing some money from me; and on the rest, taking it from some other places that
--in order to save those positions. Are those positions going to be filled?
Chief Colina: We're going to fill --we have 25 applicantsthat have been cleared for
hire. So our total number of officers that were allotted, that has not changed. I hope
that clarifies --
Commissioner Reyes: But that includes the nine positions that were going to be
eliminated?
Chief Colina: We --yes. We did not freeze any police officer positions.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Thank you.
Chief Colina: Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: Just wanted to know that you are filling those positions.
Chief Colina: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: When you were here last, I had asked you how many
mounted patrol units we had and --
Commissioner Reyes: Motorcycle.
Commissioner Carollo: --how many motorcycle units. I forgot one more.
Chief Colina: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: How many dogs do we have?
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Chief Colina: We just graduated a couple of more K-9. I think the total of K-9
maybe now is 12. I can get the exact number for you. And it's four --what is it?
Three?
Unidentified Speaker: Three sergeants and (INAUDIBLE).
Chief Colina: Right, the three sergeants, so if you want to count the sergeants; the
sergeants use the dogs, as well --
Commissioner Carollo: Well, I --
Chief Colina: --16 officers for K-9.
Commissioner Carollo: --I'm not worrying about rank. I'm worried about the dogs,
how many dogs we have.
Chief Colina: Well, but it makes a difference, because these are actual working dogs
with the sergeant. So it's not just somebody supervising; it's somebody working with
the dog.
CommissionerCarollo: Yeah. I'm assuming all the dogs are going to be working,
so.
Chief Colina: Yeah. So 19 total, if you count the three supervisors.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. On the mounted, you had said --how many you had
the last time we met?
Unidentified Speaker: The last time (INAUDIBLE).
Chief Colina: Yeah. We added one additional mounted. So originally, it was one
sergeant, six; it's now one sergeant and seven.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So you got eight that you have.
Chief Colina: Riders.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Not six, like I had heard the rumor somewhere.
Chief Colina: It's seven now.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. All right.
Chief Colina: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: Very good. Are you going to be planning to increasethat
throughout this fiscal year for the next one, Chief?
Chief Colina: If I am allowed to; it depends on the circumstances, Commissioner.
One of the issues with mounted --first, we're the only department in Miami-Dade
County that has a mounted unit. I think Key West has two in Monroe. In Broward, I
believe Fort Lauderdale is the only one that has a mounted unit. One of the reasons
for that is there is the expense of the maintenance and the care of the horse.
Additionally, during the tour, remember, you're not getting the same amount of hours
out of the mounted; because of the time you prep the horse, take him out, take the
horse out, then you got to put the horse back in, bring him back to the stables. We
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don't get the same amount of hours, but I'm a fan of the mounted officers; it just
depends on what our need is at the time.
Commissioner Carollo: Motorcycles.
Commissioner Reyes: That was (UNINTELLIGIBLE) going to ask. Good.
Chief Colina: I want to --I would like to grow the motor unit.
Commissioner Reyes: Good.
Chief Colina: This is something that we're in discussions with now. Ideally, I'd like
to have 24 motor officers. I'd like every commander to have two motor officers
assigned to their NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) area, where the
commander has more say on where those motors are used based on the need from
the public as they bring them to the area commander. It gives us, I think, a little bit
more flexibility in how we utilize them, so that is the goal of where we would like to
be.
Commissioner Reyes: How many we have now?
Chief Colina: Right now, I believe we have 16?
Unidentified Speaker: 3 sergeants and 15 officers.
Chief Colina: 15 officers, 3 sergeants.
Commissioner Reyes: So it's 18. You need six more.
Chief Colina: Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Commissioner Reyes: Six more.
Commissioner Carollo: --hopefully, you could get it back to around 40, because
with a city this size now --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: --and with the traffic problems we have --back in the day,
that's where we had it at.
Commissioner Reyes: Yep.
Chief Colina: We were the biggest motor unit back in the day. We're really the
biggest one right now, Commissioner, and the reason for that, too, is there's also the
expense. Someone goes down on a motor, even if it's minor, that motor is out; and
then, of course, the officer has to recover. And so, it's a safety issue, as well. As you
know, it's an extremely dangerous jobbeing on the motor; and so, that's a factor, as
well.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, that's why they get paid a little more.
Chief Colina: Well, they do get paid a little bit more; they do, yes.
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Commissioner Carollo: Hopefully, we don't have too many accidents.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Chief Colina: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: The biggest problem that you have with the motors is that
the minute it rains, even if it's just a little bit, you got to take them out.
Chief Colina: You got to take them out.
Commissioner Carollo: But I'm sure you have squad cars where you can just put
them in.
Chief Colina: Right now we do have cars, but that's a consideration, as well. We'd
have to lease additional motors and then have cars available. We do have cars for
them now when the weather --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Chief Colina: --doesn't permit them to be on the motor.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah; even though, since they're going to be riding motors,
you don't have to have really newer cars for them; they could use some of the older
ones, since they're not going to be using them every day or taking them home.
Commissioner Reyes: Sir, can we use the PSAs (Public Service Aides) in --on traffic
--I mean, to assist on traffic? I mean, I don't know. That's a question that I had,
and I can place --
Chief Colina: The PSAs --Yeah.
Commissioner Reyes: --I place it to you.
Chief Colina: The PSAs we can use for traffic enforcement --parking enforcement,
but not for summonses, moving violations.
Commissioner Reyes: I know that we have in --I think on Biscayne Boulevard some
traffic specialists that when the --we have events there, they clear traffic real fast,
without, I mean, waiting for the lights to change; they clear the traffic. Canwe try
that in very congested areas? I mean streets like Coral Way, Flagler, 8th Street.
Chief Colina: So one of the things that we're doing now that we're changing,
Commissioner --and partly, it was an idea that we actually discussed when --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Chief Colina: --we met in your office --
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Chief Colina: --is the commanders are going to have a PSA that will be assigned to
them directly.
Commissioner Reyes: Good.
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Chief Colina: That way, that commander --based again on complaints, depending
on what's happening in that NET area --will have control, as opposed to the PSAs
go out and are dispatched to calls. We have additional Public Service Aides that
we're going to assign --almost like a PSA/NRO (Neighborhood Resource Officer) --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, sir.
Chief Colina: --for the commander; that way, the commander can deploy them on
where the greatest need is within the specific NET area.
Commissioner Reyes: Well, any additional assistance you need from us, please feel
free to come, and we pledge our --
Chief Colina: Thank you, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Chief.
Commissioner Reyes: Thank you, sir.
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: Chief, let me ask you a question. My understanding is the
County has those camera up there to see where the traffic is --how the flow in
traffic. And according to what they see, they leave the lights more for one side than
the other side. Do you guys get involved in talking to them? Because there's a lot of
--
Chief Colina: We --
Commissioner Gort: --curves in the City of Miami. There's a lot of corners that we
have a lot of problems with traffic, and the lights is the one that doesn't work.
Chief Colina: You're speaking of the actual traffic lights?
Commissioner Gort: The traffic lights, yes. It's called "special peak hours."
Chief Colina: We're met with FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation).
There is something that's called a "smart light," which means the light itself knows
that there's no traffic this way, so it doesn't change. What we've been told --I don't
know what the schedule is, but what we've been told is that they're going to start
deploying those on Biscayne Boulevard. Obviously, that would help. I don't know
what the timetable of that is, but, clearly, if there's no cars that want to go one way,
then the light should stay green for the cars that are flowing.
Commissioner Gort: I’ve seen that, but we have a lot of problems in a lot of the
intersections within the City of Miami; Northwest 7th Street, Flagler, 8th Street --
Chief Colina: 6th Street.
Commissioner Gort: --and 6th Street, and the traffic lights is --maybe they need to
get to school or something and get it--so they can get a little smarter.
Chief Colina: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Gort: But I know the County uses it, too.
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Chief Colina: I don't know where they're at with the deployment in Miami-Dade
County as far as those smart traffic lights.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you, Chief. We appreciate your time.
Commissioner Reyes: Thank you, Chief.
END OF DISCUSSION ITEMS
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PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S)
Chair Hardemon: Ladies and gentlemen, I'm about to open up the floor for public
comment for the Planning & Zoning agenda. I want you to understand what public
comment is. Public comment is the opportunity for people from the public to speak
for two minutes to this body about an item that is on the agenda. Public comment is
not the opportunity that you will have individually to plead your case. So if you are
a--an appellee --or --I'm sorry --if you are an appellant, and you're looking to put
forth testimony on the actual case, that will be done onthe case in chief. It's not
going to be done during the public comment time. Yet and still, if you'd like to leave
a public comment, you are allowed to do so. I just want you to understand what the
difference is; that the public comment time is an opportunity for people to make
general state --well, statements regarding items that are on the agenda. It is not the
time that we take actual testimony from the appellant. So at this time, I’m going to
open the floor for public comment on any of the afternoon agenda items. Is there
anyone from the public that would like to come to the lectern --so we have two
lecterns --and speak? State your first name, your last name, which item it is that
you're speaking about, and you may state your address.
Later…
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman, with respect to some of the folks who have to get
back to work, is it possible to do the public comment on the PZ agenda?
Chair Hardemon: We did the public comment. I know there was a couple people
from --we did the public comment, Mr. Armbrister. There were a couple people who
--as this young lady here, and I saw a gentleman who was of a taller stature that
was to my left; I don't see him anymore; and, of course, Mr. Williams Armbrister
would love to say something on the record regarding the public comment, so --
Williams Armbrister: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Russell: Is --
Chair Hardemon: --what I'll do is --
Vice Chair Russell: --there anyone else? Because I thought there was --
Chair Hardemon: No. I mean, I opened the public comment for everyone. Now, I
know we have people who are parties, and the people who are parties can be called
as witnesses on the record, if need be. But we have concluded public comment,
which is why when I came back, I continued on with the business to try to get things
taken care of. And you have something you want to show us, ma'am?
Sandra Riley: Yes.
Vice Chair Russell: As public comment.
Ms. Riley: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: How long is that?
Ms. Riley: This is relative to the designation of the historic homes in the West
Grove.
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Chair Hardemon: No, I understand. But how long is the piece?
Ms. Riley: A minute and a half.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. So what I'll do is I'll open--because I specifically was
looking for you, so I'll open up the public comment for you, as well as Mr. Williams
Armbrister. There was another gentleman that was tall that was here during the
public comment time, but I think he realized that --
Commissioner Gort: He's over there.
Chair Hardemon: No, that's it's not you, sir. It wasn't you. But were you here
earlier when we were doing the public comment?
Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), yes.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. I'll allow you and the lady with the --who's walking and
approaching the second lectern, so you four to speak. You're recognized, ma'am.
Ms. Riley: Okay. All right, thank you. My name is Sandra Riley. I'm a historian
and playwright, and the archivist --one of the archivists at the Woman's Club of
Coconut Grove. It's a little history about the culture of the Grove on this video,
followed by Mariah Brown herself. I'll give you Mariah Brown.
Note for the Record: An audiovisual presentation was made at this time.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you. Mr. Armbrister, you're recognized. And that's the
tall gentleman that I was looking for. Yes. You wanted to give a public comment,
didn't you? Correct. Mr. Armbrister, you're first.
Mr. Armbrister: Praisethe Lord Jesus, because he's worthy to be praised. And if
you agree, you can say, "Amen."
Vice Chair Russell: Amen.
Mr. Armbrister: I'm here because I want to thank Commissioner Russell. First of
all, I'm glad that I can thank you for something, Commissioner Russell, because you
had a vision listening to the people in this community on how you can impact the
preservation of our community and it's long-standing. We know that Bahamians
have been coming to Coconut Grove since 1860s. We've --andwe've had E.W.F.
Stirrup. He was one of the successful Bahamians that came to Coconut Grove,
which is good. We know that if we don't begin preservation on our community, there
will never be any hope for restoration, and what these historical house offersthis
community is a sense of our beginnings. So if we can do something --the City can
do something to assist those homeowners that do have --God, I've got so much; I'm
trying to get out of here --the homesteaded --these homes that are homesteaded
assist them, because if you want profit, go play the stock market. Myself and many of
the members in this community are long-term investors, and in my case, my children
are the fourth generation of long-term investors for Coconut Grove. So help those
who have the homestead exemption. And if they're just buying these homes to
bulldoze them so they can continue changing the character of the community, it isn't
fair to the long-term investors that have been there for generations, and that's what
my hope is, that you'll consider what we would like to maintain with what is left in
our community.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, sir.
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Mr. Armbrister: Thank you very much.
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, sir.
Daniel Coraldo: Hi. Good afternoon. My name is Daniel Coraldo. I work at the
Miami Design Preservation League, but I'm speaking today on my own personal
behalf. I've been following the shotgun homes designation process, and originally,
there was a plan in Little Havana to also look at the bungalows of Little Havana,
and I do think that these shotgun homes are worthy of designation. But the real
reason I'm here is because there is a process the Historic Preservation Board
follows and it is quasi-judicial, so I understand, as Commissioners, you are going to
hear a lot of points on both sides, but my hope is that you will support the decisions
of the Historic Preservation Board, assuming that they followed all of the protocol,
because these homes are important, and we could agree to disagree. But I will tell
you that there is profit to be made. Somebody mentioned you don't have to make a
profit, but if you designate the homes and if you all provide incentives, maybe allow
some flexibility, they can become very profitable as well. So please keep an open
mind. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir.
Christine Rupp: Good afternoon. Christine Rupp, Dade Heritage Trust. Our
organization was founded in 1972, with a mission to preserve Miami's architectural,
environmental, and cultural heritage. As we know, gentrification of Miami's diverse
urban neighborhoods and loss of affordability are probably some of Miami's most
pressing issues. Chairman Hardemon, I know preservation is front and center in
your district in Little Haiti,with residents fighting to hold onto their culture in a
rapidly evolving neighborhood. In the West Grove, the Bahamian Americans were
the original settlers; they helped build Miami, and the historic houses of the West
Grove remain as symbols of that Bahamian-American culture. Keeping the multi-
property designation, and thus, the historic neighborhood intact is the first step in
upping the --excuse me --profile of the West Grove in terms of historical,
educational, cultural, and economic vibrancy. Historic designation also maintains
the naturally occurring affordable housing in the area, and ensures that while
gentrification will certainly occur, it is sensitive to the residents and will not lead to
additional displacement of those who call the West Grove their home. On the
contrary, granting these appeals will result in a negative impact on the majority of
homeowners who are not appealing designation, as it will degrade the historic fabric
and future of the neighborhood and its Bahamian-American heritage. Working with
Dade Heritage Trust Board of Directors and consultants with expertise in land use
and historic preservation law on process, Dade Heritage Trust has formulated
document that presents legal arguments against granting these various appeals.
Chairman Hardemon, if I could, I'd like to read a very brief paragraph from the
document and then submit it into the record, and I will be brief. Is that okay? All
right. “According to Florida Statutes, the rich and unique heritage of historic
properties in this State, representing more than 10,000 years of human presence, is
an important legacy to be valued and conserved for present and future generations.
The destruction of these non-renewable historical resources will engender a
significant loss to the State's quality of life, economy, and cultural environment. The
designation of the properties included in the wood-frame vernacular residences of
Coconut Grove Village West, multiple property designation, represents a cohesive
historic district that is consistent with the regulations outlined by the Secretary of
Interior and national best practices. The thematically cohesive nomination would
create an historic district that will protect the typology found in Coconut Grove
Village West. Further, the multiple property format and designation, in general,
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have been upheld in all levels of courts across the United States, including that of the
Supreme Court.” Thank you.
Commissioner Reyes: Can I ask you a question, ma'am?
Ms. Rupp: Yes.
Commissioner Reyes: Do you live in one of those shacks?
Ms. Rupp: I don't.
Commissioner Reyes: Would you live in one of those?
Ms. Rupp: Would I live? Oh, I'd love to live in a shotgun home.
Commissioner Reyes: Why don't you buy one and declare it historic preservation
and live there?
Ms. Rupp: I have to talk --because I'd have to talk my husband into leaving our
house. I'd have to talk my husband into leaving, Commissioner. He won't do it.
Commissioner Reyes: It is very easy --
Ms. Rupp: But that's not --
Commissioner Reyes: --to condemn people to live in a place like that.
Ms. Rupp: --the question at hand, really --
Chair Hardemon: All right.
Ms. Rupp: --where I live.
Chair Hardemon: So I’m goingto move on. Everyone, decorum, please. Decorum,
please. You know, we don't want no problem with anyone from the Grove, okay?
I'm from Liberty City; I don't want those problems. I know you knew where I live.
You're recognized, ma'am.
Jacqueline Storey: Yes. My name is Jacqueline Storey. I'm here to talk about my
shotgun house.
Chair Hardemon: Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Storey: It's at 3628 Frow Avenue. It has been in my family for over a hundred
years. I would like to see all the shotgun houses preserved in Coconut Grove,
because that's our history, our Bahamian history. My grandparents come from
Eleuthera Island. They came here. They settled here. And it's a miracle that we
kept it in the family for over a hundred years. I have a grandsonthat's four year old,
and I would love to see him see how the Bahamians built and had everything without
a blueprint. And we need to keep the property going and the Bahamian structure
going, because after a while, we're not going to have anything. If welet these
shotgun houses go, you know what's coming next? They going to go after our
churches. Once they go after those --they already went and attacked once before,
and it was denied, about the graveyard. They wanted to move them out and put
condos there. Please don't let this happen. Preserve --give us something, please.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you.
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Phoebe Webb: My name is Phoebe Webb. I live at 2951 South Bayshore Drive. I'm
here to support preservation of the historic Bahamian threads woven into the fabric
of our community, especially the shotgun houses. This is not just about people losing
their houses or homes; not just about little insignificant structures of a bygone era.
It's about keeping and nurturing the rich Bahamian culture and history, interlaced in
the living neighborhoods of Coconut Grove, symbolized especially by the shotgun
houses. We have heard the arguments on --from many factions about --eager to
deny that certain shotgun homes should be on the historic protection list. Developer
dollars are screaming for demolishing and leaving some of these off the list for good.
I think we need some creative problem-solving here. We must kind of find a
comprehensive answer that begins with making sure the designated historicallist
includes all of the shotgun houses. Other cities have creatively designated thematic
groups of a particular architectural style or a type of construction, and moved ahead
with some significant success. Don't tear down, destroy, or rip out of our community
the treasured Bahamian threads that weave deeply into the tapestry of our
neighborhoods. Protect them as proud proofs. Remember, they are part of the DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid) of Coconut Grove.
Travis Renville: Good afternoon. My name is Travis Renville, and I'm the Executive
Director of Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade. Just to let you know what we do
really quick, we provide free home repairs and renovations for low-income elderly,
veteran, and disabled homeowners, free of charge, and what we really focus on is
critical home repairs. I'm here to speak in favor of the historical designation of
shotgun homes in Coconut Grove. Currently, this year, we have repaired and
renovated 12 homes in Coconut Grove or are in the process of doing so. Four these
homes are historical properties. And I can tell you from having worked with these
homeowners one on one that these are homes that their families have lived in for
generations, and if we don't save them now, they're not going to get saved. And by
this --with services we provide, these homeowners will get new roofs, new impact
windows, and repairs they might not otherwise receive. And so, we're not only
preserving these homes for the homeowners, but also keeping the historical integrity
of Coconut Grove intact and saving it from developers. I mean, we already lost so
many shotgun homes; we need to preserve what we have left. And we've been
working with Dade Heritage Trust, as well as the City of Miami, just to provide these
repairs. And the great thing about Rebuilding Together is if you give us $1, we can
turn that into three and make so many more repairs than would otherwise would be
possible. So I just want to say we need to do everything we can to preserve these
properties and make sure they're intact for future generations.
Chair Hardemon: Have you ever spoken in a Baptist church?
Mr. Renville: I have not, but I did grow up Baptist.
Chair Hardemon: You all get it, right? You all get it.
Mr. Renville: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: You’re very welcome. You're recognized.
Clotilde Luce: Good afternoon. My name is Clotilde Luce. The reason I'm here --
it's not my neighborhood, but for many years I've been involved in preservation, and
I have been writing for various publications in Europe, and --since I moved back to
the States. I write about travel, and I write about cities, and I write about what
makes cities interesting, and why cities become incredibly boring and banal in
anywhere. You have something quiteextraordinary here. You have a combination
of a typology, and you have a very interesting narrative that goes with these homes.
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I think that this is of great value. I have --I was very impressed by the film I saw the
last time, showing people who havebeen here for generations, and they are the
pioneers. And then I was very moved by the young people who wanted to keep their
neighborhood. The criteria have not changed since the Historic Preservation Board
decided that these homes are worthy of designation. If the criteria haven't changed,
how can you change the criteria? Aren't you sort of rule of law, or something like
that? I was going to say, the young people who want to keep their neighborhood,
you don't want them to get cynical. You don't wantthem to think that real estate
runs our City Halls, right? What does real estate do? It's entirely short-term
thinking. Value is when you have a narrative and you have a typology and you have
a history, and you can point to something and tell people a history they didn't know.
I think you could find incentives to perhaps allow certain kinds of additions that
would not crush or engulf the original house. You would have to be very careful
about the footprint on the lot and so forth like that, and you know, massing, and it
would have to be very sensitive. You could allow people to upgrade and do
additions, but I think to keep the homes and to keep the history is valuable and shows
respect for the people who were here, starting in 1860, and for the young people who
see the value in a neighborhood and not just real estate. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you.
Thelma Gibson: Good afternoon. Good afternoon to all of you --
Commissioner Reyes: Good afternoon, Thelma.
Ms. Gibson: --Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission.
Chair Hardemon: How you’re doing, Commissioner?
Ms. Gibson: I'm Thelma Anderson Gibson, and I live at 3661 Franklin Avenue, and
I'm here in favor of historic preservation. Now, let me tell you, they’re not all
shotgun houses, because I lived in Coconut Grove all of my childhood on Charles
Avenue, at 3382 Charles Avenue, and it was a two-bedroom with a hallway and a
kitchen, and a big front porch and back porch. And so, it was not one of the shotgun
houses, but it was built of Florida pine. And when you see a hurricane like we saw
going through Tallahassee and Panama City Beach yesterday, when they came
through this area, they were able --the wind --because they were built of Florida
pine and because they were sitting up off the ground, the wind was able to go under
the house and over the house, and houses were not destroyed. Back in those days,
we used to just put tape on the windows. I think some of you may remember that.
What I have to let you know, I lived back in the ‘20s and '30s; born in the '20s and
lived in the '30s and ‘40s right there on Charles Avenue. Before it became Charles
Avenue, it was called Evangelist Street, and the reason for that is the three major
churches in Colored Town --I also have to tell you, y’all who don't know, it was
“Colored Town” and “White Town.” All this stuff about West Grove and East
Grove and North Grove and all that, we didn't have back in the day. It was just
“White Town” and “Colored Town.” And I lived in ColoredTown, and I enjoyed
my days there, you know. I used to climb trees, and I used to fight. I'm sorry,
Commissioner Carollo; (UNINTELLIGIBLE) this.
Chair Hardemon: That's why you see, I didn't want anything with the people from
the Grove, because if this young lady was fighting, imagine.
Ms. Gibson: But you have to know about this, because my church just celebrated its
117th anniversary, and I was telling the people how Macedonia Church --was a
black, colored church --was the first church built there on Evangelist Street back
then it was called. The reason for Evangelist Street is because the three churches
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started there. And just down the street --up the street was St. Paul AME (American
Methodist Episcopalian) Church; and the Anglican communion \[sic\], who are now
called “Episcopalians” over here, but in the Bahamas, they were Anglicans. They
came and didn't have a place. So our church, which is Christ Episcopal Church,
which we fought to become historic, was the third church, right there in the same
block as the other two churches. So the three largest churches and oldest churches
in Coconut Grove were started on Evangelist Street, which is now historic Charles
Avenue. And I think that the shotgun house and the houses that Stirrup built and
then, finally, Blumenthal and all the people built these houses, they built them for a
reason, and they built them to stand so that we could enjoy them for years and years
to come. Now, you'll ask me --and I know my friend, Commissioner Reyes, will say,
“Do you live in one of those now?” And I'll say, “No, I don't live in one of them
now, but I’d like to be able to see them and be able to know that they're a part of the
old Coconut Grove, the historic Coconut Grove, and I would hate to see all of them
go.” Now, I know there's some people here who want to say there are houses that
are not shotgun really. And so, I think those people ought to be heard, too, and to
understand that they do not all have shotgun houses, but I do want the historic
designationfor those that are truly historic in our community. And thank you for
listening to me. I know you're tired of seeing me down here, but --
Vice Chair Russell: No, no.
Chair Hardemon: No, no, no.
Commissioner Reyes: No, we are not tired.
Vice Chair Russell: No, no, no, no.
Commissioner Reyes: And since you mentioned --
Ms. Gibson: I have to come. I have to come.
Commissioner Gort: You can give us a lot of history, which is --
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Ms. Gibson: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Gort: It’s important for people to know how we got here and why
we're here.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Ms. Gibson: You're both amazing. I sit here watching --we lost some people,
because they had to go pick up their children from school. And when I was on the
Commission for that short time, we used to start at 2 o'clock, because, Commissioner
Reyes --well, I won't --I shouldn't call his name --the other Commissioner had a
radio show to go to,and he didn't come back until 2.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Ms. Gibson: So we were always ready to start the meetings, but we did lose some
people, because we started so late today. But, you know, I like what you're doing. I
appreciate what you're doing. My Commissioner Carollo, thank you for all you're
going to do to help us get this passed today, because we really, really need it. Again,
thank you.
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Commissioner Reyes: Thank you, Thelma. Ms. Gibson, I remember when I used to
go to your house and see Father Gibson and all of that. We were very good friends.
And with Jack Alfonso, if you remember, we used to be there all the time. And I am
not against historic preservation. What I'm against is forced historic preservation
that will condemn some people to live in that home, even if that --what they want to
is they want to remodel it, make it bigger. I don't want the heritage --the Bahamian
red heritage to leave, but what I want is the person that live in one of those shotgun
houses, if they have a kid, or it is --given it to his or her daughter or her son and
they don't want to leave Coconut Grove, they’ll be able to move there, make a big
house. You see, I think that historic preservation is important, but I don't think that
every single one of those shotgun houses should be declared historic. There are
some of them that ridiculously declared historic when they are being totally
destroyed. I think that we should --the City should, I mean, get 5, 10, 12 of the best
of them, and so that nobody can pay and nobody can do that, and I propose that the
City of Miami would provide financial incentives to those owners. And the other
ones, they can --I mean, I don't want to condemn anybody to live in that little house,
because what they going to do? You see, if you become more prosperous and you
want to make that home, I mean, bigger, you can preserve the characteristics of it,
but he's going --once you're declared historic, you are constrained, and that is what
I am against. I'm against being --infringing on my right --the right of my property.
That's --and condemning people to live there, you see.
Ms. Gibson: Commissioner, the people --nobody lives in those houses, who own
them. They don't live there; they rent them. And if they tear them down, they're
going to build something that our people cannot afford --
Commissioner Reyes: No, I want the people --
Ms. Gibson: --and that's the only thing I have --
Commissioner Reyes: --to keep them.
Ms. Gibson: --against that --
Commissioner Reyes: No, no.
Ms. Gibson: --because I think --and it loses what we had coming up in this area.
You know, we were segregated, and so --
Commissioner Reyes: No, I don't want that.
Ms. Gibson: --we had to live where we could live.
Commissioner Reyes: I don't want that. I don't want people --I don't want anybody
to leave there.
Ms. Gibson: But you're going to give my --
Commissioner Reyes: I want them to be able to make a better house.
Ms. Gibson: --Commissioner Russell the money to help him get --
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman?
Ms. Gibson: --those people to repair --
Commissioner Reyes: Well --
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Ms. Gibson: --those places.
Commissioner Reyes: --Commissioner --I mean --
Ms. Gibson: --and bring them up to status.
Commissioner Reyes: --those of you that are --want historic preservation, have you
been offered some money to --
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman?
Commissioner Reyes: --I mean, to remodel?
Chair Hardemon: Let's do this.
Commissioner Reyes: Is there any funds to remodel?
Chair Hardemon: Let's not ask questions to the body just yet. I know the Vice
Chairman wants to be recognized.
Vice Chair Russell: When Travis spoke very vociferously a few moments ago with
Rebuilding Together, I do want to mention that my office has allocated $325,000 of
both API (Anti-Poverty Initiative) and CDBG (Community Development Block
Grant) funds to his organization to be spent over the coming months in renovations,
and we will be finding more and more and more. Once these designations are in
place, we have nothing but to help fund and build them, and help everybody make the
best of them in the cases of maybe moving them, if necessary, buying them from
people, if necessary, but we need to save them in any way we can.
Ms. Gibson: We need to save them. There’s no question about that.
Vice Chair Russell: But we need to come with the money. We do need to come with
the money.
Ms. Gibson: But the shotgun --not all of them, but the shotgun houses, especially,
we need to save, because they're truly historic. And I thank you for letting me go on
with you, Commissioner, because I know you --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. And believe --
Ms. Gibson: --eventually, you're going to vote for this.
Commissioner Reyes: --I--believe me, I have nothing on historic, but what I'm
against is the imposition of a board that could use historic preservation to curtail
development in an area, and that is --we arethreading a very fine line here, you see.
I mean --and I'm also against by declaring historic a property, the rightful owner
cannot make it a better place to live, you see, because now you will have some --you
will get some windows and things, but you cannot add to it. I agree with that lady
that was there, that she said, "Let's allow them," you see, "to make it a better home."
And if you have --we have so much money, as Commissioner --allow those people
that live in those shotgun houses to add additional rooms and --preserving the
structure, but add original rooms, make it a better home. I'm more up for that, but
I'm not for just keeping the shotguns the way they are, you see; imposing people to
live in that little small space.
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Ms. Gibson: Inmost cases, it's not room on those houses to just add rooms to them,
Commissioner.
Commissioner Reyes: Well, you see, but --
Ms. Gibson: So, it’s --I mean, the land is not large enough for it.
Commissioner Reyes: --as the family grows, you know that --
Ms. Gibson: And your City has some rules that they cannot add, so.
Chair Hardemon: Shotgun homes are typically built on 2,500-square-foot lots?
Ms. Gibson: How long does it take to --?
Chair Hardemon: No, no. I said, the shotgun homes --
Vice Chair Russell: 5,000.
Chair Hardemon: --most of them, they were 5,000 lots down there?
Vice Chair Russell: 5,000 square feet.
Chair Hardemon: That's good. In Overtown, they probably were 2,500 square foot.
Vice Chair Russell: Well, there are some with two on one.
Chair Hardemon: I guess --
Vice Chair Russell: There are some with two on one, 5,000 square feet, so you're
right.
Ms. Gibson: Now, Mariah Brown’s house is not a shotgun house --
Chair Hardemon: Okay. Right.
Ms. Gibson: --and it certainly needs to be historic, and it needs to be --the money
needs to come to get that finished, because they have been working on that for years
and years and years, trying to get that house done.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much, Ms. Gibson.
Ms. Gibson: So we appreciate you. And the Commissioner will be asking for more
and more money for us, I'm sure.
Commissioner Reyes: Good.
Ms. Gibson: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much.
Commissioner Reyes: Thank you, Thelma.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. So --
Valencia Gibson: Hello.
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Chair Hardemon: How you're doing?
Ms. Gibson: Hi. I'm Valencia Gibson. I live at 3537 --
Commissioner Gort: Bring your mike up, ma'am. There you go. Thank you.
Ms. Gibson: I was holding my voice down, because I got a voice.
Commissioner Gort: That's all right. This is the place to --
Ms. Gibson: Yeah. And I live at 3537 Charles Avenue, and I'm in --not a shotgun
house; I'm in a loveable cottage. It was built in 1930, and I thank you all for
accepting to keep the cottage, the front shape of the house, and extending the
bedrooms and extending the back room and the bathroom and the kitchen.
Commissioner Reyes:I'm all for that.
Ms. Gibson: I thank you all for all of that. I came in here so that I can just let you
know how proud I am of you all for what you are doing that is positive.
Commissioner Reyes: I'm all --I agree for that.
Ms. Gibson: I thank you all for where you're sitting, where you are. And it is
needed for us to keep Coconut Grove like Coconut Grove and to better it and to just -
-it's gorgeous, and you're here for a purpose, and I thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
Ms. Gibson: Okay? Okay. Thank you.
Linda Williams: Good afternoon. Thank you. I'm Linda Williams, 3523 Charles
Avenue, and I'm here as a resident of Coconut Grove, Village West. I just want to
say to those that do not want to designate their homes, it's their right, and we
understand that. For those that do, we look forward to all encouragement and
support to preserve the wooden houses. This is our history. It's our culture. It's
what we know. We have to coexist, live together. What's coming when the wood-
frame houses are gone are the types of buildings that we can't afford to buy and/or
rent, so it winds up pushing large members of our community out. I think we can do
better. I know we can. Preserving these homes is very valuable to our culture, and
it represents who we are and our history. Thank you.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: All right.
Loretta Scippio-Whittle: Good afternoon.
Chair Hardemon: Good afternoon.
Ms. Scippio-Whittle: My name is Loretta Scippio-Whittle. I am not just Bahamian
descent. My ancestors come from North Florida, and my ances --one of my
ancestors was one of the original charters of the City of Miami in 1896. So the
reason why I'm standing here is this: First of all, I think that the history of Coconut
Grove should be preserved. If you continue to destroy our history in Coconut Grove,
our schools, our churches, and our homes, then we as African Americans, black
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Americans, Negro Americans, will cease to have a history. And as
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) says, that persons without a history will not be asked to go to
the back door, but one will automatically go to the back door. And when there is,
Commissioner, no back door, then we will absolutely carve one for ourselves. And
one more thing that I would like to say, that one person's shack is another person's
mansion. Thank you.
Vice Chair Russell: That was beautiful.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. So the public comment is closed.
Vice Chair Russell: One more.
Chair Hardemon: It's been closed. I only opened it for a few people, but you look
like you can run fast, so I'm not going to --
Rose Fountain: My name is Rose Fountain, and I live in Coconut Grove. I found
out about this meeting. And from what I've been told, there are people who have
been placed on this list to have their homes repaired, and some of them have decided
to sell their homes. So I'm here trying to find out the intent or the purpose of this
meeting, and if the residents or the people who have done this are --or do --are they
aware of the situation and the seriousness of what we feel about our preservation. I
understand there are about 15 people that want to do this. So I'm here trying to find
out, you know, what's going on with the meeting, and if this is --or the intent is
preservation of these homes. That's what I'd like to know.
Chair Hardemon: The meeting --it’s not the entire meeting. The Planning &
Zoning items that are before us right now were items that were designated historic.
Ms. Fountain: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: And the home owners appealed that decision of the HEP (Historic
& Environmental Preservation) Board, and so it comes before us in the Commission.
And by appeal, meaning they disagreed, and they said that, "I don't believe that what
you're designating my house as should be. And so, therefore, I want a different
decision to be made." So they're going to present evidence to show why their house
should not be designated historic, and the people who designated the houses historic
will present evidence as to why it should be designated historic. And then the
members of the board will decide if the appeal is going to be upheld, which means
granted, which means that the homeowners’ desires of it not being designated will be
honored, or if the City and who designated --the HEP Board, who designated it as
historic, their decision should be upheld. So that's why we're here.
Ms. Fountain: Okay. So the intent is to find out whether they want their structures
to be historical?
Chair Hardemon: No. We know that they do not. If you appeal this --
Ms. Fountain: Oh.
Chair Hardemon: --you do not want your house to be declared historic.
Ms. Fountain: Oh, so that is the intent. And the ones that don't or have decided, are
they in compliance on what is being done, or are they willing to sell their homes?
Chair Hardemon: When you say, "the ones who don't" --
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Ms. Fountain: If you're telling me this, then there are people who don't want their
homes declared historic.
Chair Hardemon: Right, those are the ones who appealed. So, for instance, they --
there are about 15 items on the agenda. Those 15 homes, those individuals said, "I
disagree with what you said about my home. And so, I'm going to appeal this, and
I'm going to seek a decision from this body, the City Commission, that is against
what the designation was."
Ms. Fountain: Thank you, because that was my concern.
Chair Hardemon: If you needany further clarification, feel free to ask anyone in the
suits, and they'll help make it happen, okay? All right. So the public hearing is
closed at this time.
PART B: PZ -PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S)
Chair Hardemon: (INAUDIBLE) order the October 11, 2018 meeting. Madam City
Attorney, can you read into the record the afternoon --?
Victoria Méndez (City Attorney): Thank you, Chairman. PZ (Planning & Zoning)
items shall proceed according to Section 7.1.4 of the Miami 21 Zoning Code. Before
any PZ item is heard, all those wishing to speak must be sworn in by the City Clerk.
Please note, Commissioners have been briefed by City staff and the City Attorney on
items on the agenda today. The members of the City Commission shall disclose any
communications, pursuant to Florida Statute 286.0115 and Section 7.1.4.5 of the
Miami 21 Zoning Code. 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 modifiedby the Chair. If the proposition is being continued or
rescheduled, the opportunity to be heard may be at such later date before the City
Commission takes action on such proposition. The Chairman will advise the public
when the public may have the opportunity to address the City Commission during the
public comment period. When addressing the City Commission, the member of the
public may 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 your ease of reference. Staff will then briefly present
each item to be heard. For applications requiring City Commission approval, the
applicant will then present its application or request to the City Commission. If the
applicant agrees with staff recommendation, the City Commission may proceed to
deliberation and decision. The applicant may also waive the right to an evidentiary
hearing on the record. The order of presentation willbe as set forth in Miami 21
and the City Code, providing the appellant shall present first. For appeals, the
appellant will present its appeal to the City Commission, followed by the appellee.
Staff will be allowed to make any recommendations they may have. All persons
testifying must be sworn in. The City of Miami requires that anyone requesting
action by the City Commission must disclose before the hearing anything provided to
anyone for agreement to support or withhold objection to the requested action,
pursuant to City Code Section 2-8. All documents offered to the City Commissioners
that have not been provided seven days before the meeting as a part of the agenda
materials will be entered into the record at the City Commission's discretion. Thank
you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you. Mr. Clerk.
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Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Good
afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. If you'll be speaking on any of today's Planning &
Zoning items, may I please have you stand and raise your right hand? If you'll be
speaking on any of the Planning & Zoning items, may I please have you stand and
raise your right hand?
The City Clerk administered the oath required under City Code Section 62-1 to those
persons giving testimony on zoning issues.
Mr. Hannon: Thank you, Chair.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much.
Later…
Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): Sir, preliminarily, if I may? I believe that
there are two items that are likely to be either withdrawn or continued. If I may
address that?
Chair Hardemon: Please.
Mr. Garcia: It is my understanding, and we have received correspondence from the
appellants for PZ.3, and I will read the address for their reference. PZ.3 is the
appeal for the property at 3536 William Avenue. We understand that there is a
request to withdraw that appeal. I hope that the representatives for the site are here.
They communicated as much in correspondence, but we have not received a written
affidavit, so this will be the time for them to approach --
Chair Hardemon: Right.
Mr. Garcia: --you to request that. And in addition, I am told that the appellant for
Item PZ.15 is also going to request actually a continuance in this case, as they are
not available today to make their presentation.
Chair Hardemon: Are they here today to request a continuance? Is anyone here for
PZ.15? But you stated on the record that you do know that they would like a
continuance, because they're not able to be here to --?
Mr. Garcia: They have conveyed to us that they had difficulty being here today.
And if it is the case that before the proceedings are over, they have not appeared, we
are happy to enter a request for a continuance on their behalf.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. And what about PZ --I believe you said, 3 --
Mr. Garcia: PZ.3.
Chair Hardemon: --3536 William Avenue? Is the representative from 3536 William
Avenue here? No? Okay.
Mr. Garcia: Thank you, sir.
Chair Hardemon: I'll just give it some time before we take some action on that. Is
there anyone from the public that’d like to speak on any of the public comment
items? Seeing none, I'm going to close the public comment.
Later…
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Mr. Hannon (as translated by Official Spanish Interpreter Carole Hollantand
Official Creole Interpreter Dorothy Bealees): Good afternoon, ladies and
gentlemen. Will anybody be requiring a Spanish or Haitian/Creole interpreter?
Later…
Chair Hardemon: And now we can move back into our Planning & Zoning, and take
care of what we've come here for. I know that there were some requests for
withdrawals and/or continuances. Have we gotten any further comment from
anyone; particularly, PZ.3, 3536 William Avenue; and PZ.15, 3859 Washington
Avenue?
Vice Chair Russell: What wasthe motion on those two?
Chair Hardemon: The --
Vice Chair Russell: Or request?
Chair Hardemon: --first request, I believe, was for a --
Commissioner Gort: withdrawal.
Chair Hardemon: --withdrawal of 3536, I believe, if I'm correct on the record, and
a deferral or continuance on PZ.15, 3859 Washington Avenue.
Vice Chair Russell: You need a --?
Chair Hardemon: So is there anyone here representing the property of 3536
William Avenue? Is there anyone here representing the property of 3859
Washington Avenue? You are. Can you step to the lectern, sir? State your name on
the record.
William Arthur: My name is William Arthur, 2920 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Coral
Gables. I'm here to represent PZ.15. The owner had just learned about this hearing
about a day and a half ago, and there was some confusion whether or not we could
present. We did not hear back from staff, so we are prepared.
Chair Hardemon: You're prepared today?
Mr. Arthur: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. Have a seat. And whatabout PZ.3?
Mr.Garcia: As pertains to PZ.3, I would like to read into the record a request from
the property owner to withdraw the appeal. We received electronic correspondence
from a Ms. Alicia Kossick, whom we've verified is the property owner, today at 3:07
p.m., saying the following: "Please withdraw the appeal. I want to designate it
historic. Thank you." With that, sir, we are requesting that the appeal for Item PZ.3
--if I'm not mistaken?
Chair Hardemon: Is there a motion on that?
Mr. Garcia: --PZ.3 is withdrawn.
Vice Chair Russell: Move to with --do you need a motion to withdraw?
Chair Hardemon: This is not our item. No? This is --
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Vice Chair Russell: He says, "yes."
Mr. Garcia: It --no.
Chair Hardemon: I don’t think so.
Mr. Garcia: It's withdrawn de facto.
Mr.Hannon: No, no, no, not from a procedural standpoint.
Mr. Garcia: My apologies.
Chair Hardemon: Well, there --it's an appellant, so I would assume
(UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Russell: I'll move it.
Chair Hardemon: It's been properly moved; seconded by the Chairman. Any
further discussion on the withdrawal of PZ.3? Seeing none, all in favor, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? It's withdrawn. Okay. So this is what we're going to
do: The way that our procedures work, the appellant has the first opportunity to
speak; then the appellee, which is, in this case, usually a representative of the HEP
(Historic and Environmental Preservation) Board; and some comment from the City
is always third. The way that we're going to do it is this: We're going to allow a
brief opening statement. The opening statement is just simply what you intend to
show. And by "brief," I do mean brief. I'm not going to do one big opening
statement for all of the different participants, and the reason being is I'm afraid that
it's going to get too far into a case in chief, and I don't want this to get away from
me, so a brief opening statement. When I say "brief," I mean less than five minutes --
five minutes max --to say what you intend to show. Then we'll have an opportunity
for the appellee to give a brief opening statement. And then we'll go into the case in
chief, where the represent --the lawyer that is representing the appellants will have
an opportunity to put on evidence to show what they intend to show, as what they
stated on the opening statement. Then the appellee will have an opportunity to
respond in their case in chief. And then, from there, I'll give an even shorter time for
a closing argument of three minutes. And then from there, this board will decide --
well, we'll deliberate amongst ourselves, and then come up with a decision. Is that
fair?
Vice Chair Russell: One by one. I'm sorry.
Chair Hardemon: Yeah, it'll be one by one, the case in chief, because, see, we know
we have to consider each of these separately.
Vice Chair Russell: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: So the case in chief will give an opportunity. And I'll say this: I'll
give 10 minutes for each case in chief. If you want more time in your case in chief, I
would suggest you reduce the amount of time in your opening statement. It can be
done. It can be done. And so, we'll do this strictly and we'll do it timely, and we'll
get some people home, hopefully, with smiles on their faces, and that could be either
party.
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Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman?
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Vice Chair Russell: So just so that the --we, as the board, understand exactly what
it is that we are voting on today, it's my understanding that there's basically three
items we need to identify: Was the process followed? Was the notification
appropriate? And then, does each home meet the criteria? So the first two kind of --
it's a blanket, because if we messed up the process, we messed up on them all. If we
messed up the notification, we messed up on them all. But then, each house has,
obviously, whether or not it met the characteristics, as laid out by the --Is that a
consensus amongst us of what we're voting on, Madam City Attorney, Planning
Department?
Ms.Méndez: Yes.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
The following item(s) shall not be considered before 2:00 PM
PZ.1RESOLUTION
4659
ARESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION,WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
ANDREW RASKEN ("APPELLANT") AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TOSECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3295/3297 CHARLES AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO
NUMBER 0141210075130.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0452
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: A motionwas made by Vice Chair Russell, seconded by Chair
Hardemon, to deny the appeal filed by Andrew Rasken, which FAILED by the
following vote: AYES: Chair Hardemon and Vice Chair Russell; NOES:
Commissioners Gort, Carollo and Reyes.
Note for the Record: For additional minutes referencing Item PZ.1, please see
“Public Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items”and Item NA.7.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. PZ.1, 3295 and 3297 Charles Avenue. Is there a
representative here of PZ.1?
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Frank Schnidman: Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice Chairman, members of the Commission,
finally, after a year, we are here. And the issue is that --And my name is Frank
Schnidman. I'm at 1858 Northeast 34th Street, in Fort Lauderdale.
Chair Hardemon: And you're representing the interest of PZ.1?
Mr. Schnidman: And I'm representing 11 of the 13 appellants. And I think that we
have a record --we have a submission for the record, andI had anticipated, since
this is such a unique situation, because, number one, normally in the application for
historic preservation, an appeal from the HEP Board --the last two that you did on
May 24 were two and a half hours each. Additionally, this is the first time ever that
the City Commission itself is the applicant; and so, that you have --initially have 39
designated properties, 15 of which are being appealed. And under the multiple
property designation, each one of them was supposed to be individually done the
same way that if an --as if the owner had done it, and that the standards that you are
to use --according to your analysis report, you used the standards of the United
States Department of the Interior. Whether or not --
Chair Hardemon: I want to ask you a question.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: Are you getting clarification from us, or are you trying to begin
your opening statement?
Mr. Schnidman: No. I'm seeking clarification on a due process issue, because there
is also a serious due process issue, because, as I said, this is the first time that the
City Commission itself is the applicant, and you have forced involuntary historic
preservation on property owners. And so, as the adverse property --adverse party
to the property owners, as the applicant, you sit in an interesting situation in that you
are also the judge of the decision of whether or not these appeals will be revoked or
affirmed.
Chair Hardemon: No, but there --is there any other way that you see this being
handled besides us deciding whether or not these --they should be affirmed or not?
Because I will tell you this: If you're asking should this be shipped off to some --
Commissioner Gort: No, no, no.
Chair Hardemon: --third-party judge --
Mr. Schnidman: No, I am not. No, I am not asking that at all. I'm just saying that
you have to separate yourself from the fact that you are both the adverse party and
the judge.
Chair Hardemon: Understood.
Mr. Schnidman: And I'm willing to deal withthat as long as you're willing to give
me a greater time, because I'm representing 11 property owners. And as I
mentioned to you earlier, we have an opening statement that covers all 11, because
there's common issues to all 11, and then there are issues to each specific property.
So I would like --
Chair Hardemon: What I would suggest --
Mr. Schnidman: Excuse me?
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Chair Hardemon: What I would suggest --
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: --is that you narrow your opening statement to the property that
we're talking about, and you'll have an opportunity to give another opening
statement about the next property and the next property, because the issues --I
understand that they --there --they have some commonalities, but I want to keep a
clean record --
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: --in the sense that every individual property, you had an
opportunity to tell us what their issues are with that property --
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: --in your opening statement, and then get into your case in chief
with that property, and then we address that individual property, and then move on
to the next one.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. May I have your permission, then, before I begin my
opening statement, to present a video that introduces you to the property owners?
Chair Hardemon: I will allow you to do that.
Mr. Schnidman: Please. And then, let me ask the property owners to stand.
Chair Hardemon: How long is the video?
Vice Chair Russell: It's long.
Mr. Schnidman: 13 minutes.
Chair Hardemon: I'll give --I'll --go ahead.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. Property owners, if you would. These are the appli --these
are the people that are appealing their designation. And so, JB, you want to --
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Hardemon: You're welcome. Are you the gentleman that's going to give us
the pleasure of playing the video?
Jean Bernard Diederich: You know.
Mr. Schnidman: He's got the magic finger.
Chair Hardemon: Okay.
Mr. Diederich: Just once.
Chair Hardemon: It's all in the magic, that's right.
Note for the Record: At this time, an audiovisual presentation was given.
Mr. Schnidman: Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission, I would just
outline for you what is in the material that has been submitted for the record, and
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then we will go on to the first presentation. As you all know, each of the agenda
items for tonight has about 500-plus pages in the record, trying to make sure that if
this goes on to appeal, there's an adequate record for each of the individual items.
The material that's provided for you today includes --The first tab is the one that is -
-that covers the points; we then list the clients; the third is the press release that had
the video; the fourth is the --is a quote from a book that really deals with the reality
of shotgun homes in South Florida. There is a HEP Board --the HEP Board memo,
Secretart of Interior Standards; the re --your resolution waiving fees. There is a
section on common wooden homes that are available and exist in all of the districts,
no different than the ones in District 2; many more than were on the video. There is
a selection of excluded homes, homes that were on the list and were excluded. And
these were excluded because at the HEP Board, they had representatives show up.
Then there is a list of included homes, homes that were not removed from the list,
and they were not removed from the list because nobody showed up to explain to
them that, yes, that was stucco, or the porch was enclosed, and it should have been
removed. And there is an equal protection problem here, because in the examples
that are provided in your materials in the record, you will see when you did not have
a--when you had a representative and your porch was enclosed, or there was
stucco, you got off. But if you did not have a representative there, the board just
designated, designated, and designated. And then I just want to make a point about
the standards of the Secretary of the Interior, because you are going toget a legal
memo that basically says that they don't have to follow --that you, as the applicant,
do not have to follow the Secretary of Interior's regulations, because they're only
advisory. It's only when the owner applies that that stands. And your --even though
your analysis report --there is a 27-page statement that justifies the designation of
51 properties, and then there's a seven-page analysis report that analyzes. And in
that analysis report, it says that you follow the criteria of the Secretary of the
Interior. And we're not talking about the criteria for the maintenance of historically
designated homes. We're talking about the criteria for how you designate. You say
that you followed them, and it doesn't make any difference whether you have to or
not. In fact, in the rec --in this record is not only the statement from the Secretary of
the Interior, the regulations from the Federal Register that say that the Department
of the Interior regulations are the guidance that local agencies should use, because
otherwise, what you're being told is you don't have to have any standards, you don't
have --you can be as arbitrary and capricious as you want, because there are no
designation standards under the rules and regulations of the HEP Board orin
Chapter 23. You do not have --if you're the City and you're going to forcibly,
involuntarily designate your taxpayers, your law-abiding property owners who are
not seeking demolition, you do not have to follow what would be required of an
individual owner. And let me say before we call the first one up that if an individual
owner came before the HEP Board with the information that was provided on each
property that you did as the applicant, the HEP Board wouldn't even agenda you,
because the information would be so inadequate. And is that fair to forcibly,
involuntarily --? And it has been over a year, and not one staff person and not one
HEP Board member has even contacted or visited the properties. They did not do
the section --the Chapter 23, community engagement, that is required by law. And
when you did the resolution that said that you wanted them to study an historic
district, it says in the "whereases" that they are to go --do community engagement
and get resolutions from the neighborhoodassociations. It was never done, and the
property owners were never contacted. In fact, the designation list was done before
anyone was contacted. And so, the real issue is if you are not to follow the Secretary
of Interior's guidelines --it reminds me--I mean, you got a --you have a legal
opinion that says, because you're the City Commission, you don't have to follow.
And I just want to say that when you forcibly, involuntarily choose to designate
people who have taken care of their homes, and noteven bother to do anything but
drive by their homes and take a photograph, it's just not right. Okay. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman, Vice Chairman, for your indulgence. So --
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Vice Chair Russell: I noticed our Planning Department --before we get into them
one by one, I think there was going to be a statement and a statement. I notice some
shaking of heads over here. Clearly, they don't agree with many of the things that
were said here, and before we get lost in the middle of it all, I'd like them to be able
to refute, if they want to, anything that was said at this point.
Chair Hardemon: I don't take what he put into the record right now as evidence. To
me, that was not evidence. So we haven't even gotten to the point right now where
we're receiving evidence. So anything that Mr. Schnidman said on the record right
now is just an attorney talking; that's the way that I see it. He's going to go into his
opening statement, which is going to tell us what he intends to prove in PZ.1. Then
he'll have an opportunity to put on the record the proof for PZ.1.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, yes.
Chair Hardemon: Those are the things that we should consider as a board; same
way you'll have an opportunity to put on the record what you believe are the facts
that we should consider for PZ.1, and that's the way that I see it.
Rafael Suarez-Rivas (Senior Assistant City Attorney): Mr. Chair, and I understand,
and that is perfectly logical. But if I might suggest just for parity or for, you know,
uniformity, the same way thatthe appellant made an argument, and the way I think
Planning often makes a report about any item, maybe you want to get some kind of
brief statement from the professional staff involved.
Chair Hardemon: Do you want to make a brief statement about the entire process,
the way that he did it?
Warren Adams (Preservation Officer): Yes.
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized.
Mr. Adams: Good evening. Warren Adams, Preservation Officer for the City of
Miami. And for the record, I have a master's with distinction in historic preservation
and I have a bachelor's in land economics. I am a member of the Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors, which is recognized around the world, and I have their
certification in historic preservation. I've worked in this field for 14 years; four of
them in the UK (United Kingdom), and then --sorry --18 years; four of them in the
UK and 14 in Florida. I've surveyed hundreds, if not thousands, of properties for
various purposes. I've been the Historic Preservation Planner for the City of
Boynton Beach, the City of West Palm Beach, the City of Delray Beach, and I've
been the Executive Director of the Brother Trust for Historic Preservation. I was
also the Chair and the former Chair of the Palm Beach County Historic Resources
Review Board, and the former Chair of the City of Boynton Beach Ad Hoc Advisory
Committee in Historic Preservation; multiple property designation of thematic
designation (UNINTELLIGIBLE) groups of related significant properties based on
themes, trains, and patterns. The multiple property designation concept is well
established and has been used to designate sites, both on the National and Local
Registers. National Register examples include Clubhouses of Florida's Women's
Clubs, Florida's Historic Black Public Schools, and the Opa Locka Thematic
Resource. At a local level, both the Cities of Coral Gables and Tampa include the
option of thematic designation in their ordinance, and other cities that use this
process are Providence, Rhode Island; San Diego, California; Roxborough,
Pennsylvania, among others. Multiple property designation was adopted into
Chapter 23 of the City Code on November 16, 2017, only for NCD (Neighborhood
Conservation District)-2 and 3. The three elements that we've used for the multiple
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property designation in this case are --these properties are wood frame vernacular
residential structures. No one has said this designation application is for shotgun
homes only. Shotgun homes are a form of wood frame residential vernacular
architecture. All of these properties are associated with Bahamian and African-
American history. They're all located in the West Grove, and they were all built
between 1911 and 1941. We used the Property Appraiser's construction dates and
for consistency throughout this process. Each site in the multiple property
designation must also meet the criteria for individual designation, as required by
Chapter 23. The properties that are over 50 years old, they do have architectural
and historical significance, and they do retain much of their integrity. In other
words, yes, we know that they somehow have been altered, but overall, we believe
they retain their architectural significance. Our survey process has been questioned.
We started off with an initial (UNINTELLIGIBLE) survey, identifying potential
structures that appear to meet broad criteria, i.e., wood frame residential structures
in the West Grove, and we gathered information on the neighborhood to establish a
historic context. This was followed up with windshield survey of the sites that
appear to meet the criteria, a review of tax cards and historic photographs to
determine construction and integrity, and a survey of each site from the street to take
photographs and obtain a description of each and everyindividual structure. We
then followed this up with a view of the City directories to find information on
previous owners and tenants to establish the wear associated with Bahamian and
African-American history of the West Grove. As this process moved forward, the
number of eligible structures that we found obviously reduced, because we were
removing structures which didn't meet the criteria. Each site was surveyed and
evaluated individually by staff. Each site was assessed individually by the Historic
and Environmental Preservation Board. At the final meeting for the final evaluation,
staff recommended 10 sites be removed from the list, which they were, and presented
43 sites for the inclusion in the designation. The board then removed four of these
sites; leaving 39 sites, which are currently designated. Our public outreach has
been questioned. We held five meetings, all of which were adequately --in fact, we -
-they were advertised beyond what we were required to do, and I have all the
notification details there that I can put into the record, if required. And so, the
notification process was not only followed, but we went beyond that. We also went
beyond the required notification process for both the preliminary and the final
designation hearing. And the appeal grounds --we have a number of appeal
grounds in Mr. Schnidman's letters. Unfortunately, a lot of these are incorrect and,
in some cases, misguided. And I will be entering a letter from Alissa Slade Lotane,
Bureau Chief, Bureau of Historic Preservation Division of Historical Resources,
Florida Department of State. It is not true that we do not have to answer to anyone.
The City of Miami is a certified local government. To retain that status, we must
meet State requirements, and we do.And the letter that we received from Ms.
Lotane, and there is --you know, I won't read it all; I will put it into the record, but it
does say that we were accused of having stated that we had surveyed all of our
historic resources, but that is not true.We are required to update our surveys from
year to year, so these are purely properties that were added to it. It states that --and
with regard to the appeal letters, there appears to be a fundamental
misunderstanding regarding surveys of historic properties in the letter you attach.
Surveys cannot identify every historic property due to time limits and limits on
available information, which is one of the issues we do face with some surveys. And
this letter also confirms that thematic designation is an established process. Again,
the letter states this is a well-known historic preservation concept, and it states that
properties identified by multiple property submissions must each individually be
nominated; however, the local process may differ. And with regard to not meeting
certain requirements, the State confirmed that the City does meet all of its certified
local government requirements, including the content of Chapter 23, including its
survey processes, including its designation processes. And I asked the first survey
method adopted for the survey of these properties was suitable, and it was responded
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that the process you describe in your email is a valid means of conducting research
for a multiple-property submission. Again, I'm paraphrasing from this. I also asked
if the City meets all CLG (certified local government) requirements, which we do. I
asked them in the pro --I questioned them whether we are meeting all the
requirements of our programmatic agreement with the State, which we do. And
finally, I asked them about the document that is mentioned in the appeal letters, the
Secretary of the Interior Standards and Guidelines for Architectural and
Engineering Documentation. My opinion is that we do not have to follow those
standards for the survey. The State's opinion is that this document only applies to
historic American building survey and historic American engineering
documentation. It does not apply to local historic designation, which is guided only
by the local Historic Preservation Augments, and our augments meets all of their
requirements. So, really, just quickly, to run off another few concerns, in my
opinion, I'm backed up by the State. Most of the grounds for appeal in the letter are
incorrect and unsubstantiated, and that's backed up by the State. And further
concerns include the designation criteria --in other words, the criteria we have
designated these properties under --have not been questioned. There has been no
expert testimony presented. There has been no historic preservation consultant
consulted, no architectural historian, no engineer, no building --certified building
person that can attest to the condition of these properties. The letters state
insufficient research has been undertaken, and they have mentioned a 27-page
report; however, they have neglected to mention the over 200 pages of backup
documentation that focuses on each individual property, which was uploaded for
public consultation prior to the designation hearings. Again, no expert testimony
hasbeen provided to dispute the eligibility of the properties. These are all opinions
based on no expert testimony, and as far as I'm aware, no expert qualifications. The
appeal letters mention economic hardship; however, the section of Chapter 23
referredto is economic hardship caused by the certificate of appropriateness
process; not the designation process. The letters state that properties designated as
historic must meet maintenance requirements. Designation does not force property
owners to undertake repairs; however, any property that falls into disrepair, historic
or not, could be cited by Code if they become dangerous. They mentioned that no
additional incentives or grants will be provided. These designated properties have
all the incentives ofour existing historic districts; not only that, as Commissioner
Russell pointed out, we are working on finding more incentives for these properties.
It's been stated that the cost of maintenance will increase. These properties were
built using the cheapest materials: wood frame, wood siding, shingle roof, and then
wood frame windows. We just heard someone mention that their property had Home
Depot windows installed. Aluminum impact windows of an appropriate pattern are
absolutely appropriate for this style of properties. So there is no reason for the
maintenance costs to increase. Shingle roofs, wood siding, and aluminum frame
windows; probably the cheapest materials you can buy. Public outreach: We've
been accused of not doing enough; however, we held five meetings, all noticed well
beyond what they should have been. And it's also been mentioned that some of the
properties are unsafe structures. Some of these properties have a notice on them
stating that they should be repaired or demolished; in other words, they are capable
of being repaired. I received another email from our Unsafe Structures Department
today. Not one of these properties has been to the Unsafe Structures Board. Not one
of these properties has officially been deemed unsafe. So in summary, all these
properties do meet the criteria. The only elements that are open to interpretation are
the integrity of the buildings. Have they been altered to a point where they have lost
their architectural or historical significance? And in our opinion, no, they haven't.
Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you, sir. Mr. Garcia.
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Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): Mr. Chair, just out of an interest in
protocol, would this be the appropriate time for Mr. Adams to introduce his
credentialsfor the record? And likewise, would this be the appropriate time to
request that Mr. Schnidman introduce his credentials for the record? Frankly, I am
curious as to whether Mr. Schnidman is speaking to us as an attorney --
Chair Hardemon: That's --
Mr. Garcia: --or if there's something that --
Chair Hardemon: --and that's exactly --this is exactly why I want to follow the
procedure that I outlined for you. So --and I made this clear. My first question is to
you, sir. Are you the individual that did the research, the individual --did you --
Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Hardemon: Are you the person that actually went out to each of the homes,
and have --you have firsthand knowledge of the information that is going to be
presented today?
Mr. Adams: Myself and two staff members were responsible for the research and the
report. I personally looked at each individual home. We are only required to look at
them from the street; however, when we were invited to actually enter homes, we
took up that opportunity.
Chair Hardemon: And that's --this is important, because --can't be --what I expect
of you, counselor, if you don't have your own witnesses that's --I expect you then to
properly call on this person, because what you're asking --what you're basically
saying is that the information that's being provided from the HEP Board is --it
should not be relied upon; they're incorrect, et cetera, and you want to poke holes
into what information they've presented, unless you have your own witnesses that
you're going to put up that's going to show something completely different. So I
expect you to put on --because what he did just now --
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: --for instance, is exactly what you did, which is talking.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: And you're making arguments.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: But, really, that's for a close.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: You know, I expect to hear that from a close. I'm going to --what
I expect to hear from you now, when we get started, is an opening statement to tell
me what information you intend to bring out so that all of us know where this is
going. Then I expect for a witness to be called. When that witness is called,
whatever information it is that you need to pull out of that witness --these are the
things that you're expecting to close on --I want to hear that information.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
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Chair Hardemon: Because I want to be able to get the facts onto the table --
Mr. Schnidman: Right.
Chair Hardemon: --and not just arguments from one person to the next, because if
we're going to do that, we could have read the record and we could be done.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: And so, I --you know, I don't want that to happen. Sir, you have
a question. You're been raising your hand.
Mr. Arthur: Again, William Arthur, 2920 Ponce, Coral Gables. You mentioned that
we'd be giving a summary. Would you like me to give my summary now?
Chair Hardemon: No. This is only PZ.1. Really, this is all about PZ.1, so I just
want to take care of PZ.1.
Later…
Chair Hardemon: So what I'm going to do now is open the floor for your opening
statement --
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Mr. Schnidman: Now what do I do about the fact that comments made by staff were
actually inaccurate?
Chair Hardemon: --regarding PZ.1.
Chair Hardemon: Right. So that's an argument that you make in your closing --
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --or during his --when you --if you call him as a witness --
Mr. Schnidman: Yep.
Chair Hardemon: --you can bring that information up. You can cross-examine --
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --you can do all kinds of things. But, you know, it's not for you --
we're the determiners of fact.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: So you're going to give us the information, and we're going to
determine whether or not the statement that was made was accurate or it was not.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: Or what we believe is to be accurate.
RafaelSuarez-Rivas(Senior Assistant City Attorney): Mr. Chair, would you like to
hear just a very brief statement from us about the Code and the appeal or --?
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Chair Hardemon: That's fine.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Okay. So on the appeal, what theCommission could be
considering is, are the traits that are cited in the reports exemplifying historical,
cultural, political, economic, and social trends of the community; portray the
environment in an era of history characterized by one or more distinctive
architectural styles; embody those distinguishing characteristics of an architectural
style, or period, or method of construction? There can be designation if it meets one
or more of the following criteria: An appeal: The Commission can affirm, modify,
or reverse the board's decision by a three-fifths vote of all members of the City
Commission, and the Commission would --
Chair Hardemon: It's not a majority; it’s three-fifths? The appeal is three-fifths?
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: The appeal is three-fifths. Yeah, simple majority is three-fifths.
For you to do whatever --
Chair Hardemon: No, no, no, no, no. Three-fifths is not a simple majority. Three-
fifths is three-fifths.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Right.
Chair Hardemon: Simple majority is two out of three.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: It's --All right. Let me clarify, Mr. Chair. It's three-fifths of a
vote of all members of the City Commission, so that, to us, means three, to be
perfectly clear.
Chair Hardemon: Okay, three votes, right.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas:Three members, yes, sir, and on whatever grounds you have.
Vice Chair Russell: Question: Rafael, you said, "an affirmative vote." Would --
now, we're voting to approve or deny the appeal, correct?
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Right. Any decision to reverse the board's decision shall require
a three-fifths vote of all members of the City Commission. So the City Commission
may affirm, modify, or reverse the board's decision. Looking at that requirement of
three, I would think that it's the requirement of three for any of those things. Yes.
Vice Chair Russell: Right. But you're saying we're affirming the board's decision by
voting "no" on the appeal.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Correct. Yes, sir.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Yes. All these resolutions are written that way. You affirm the
board, you deny an appeal; or you reverse the board, and you grant an appeal.
Vice Chair Russell: Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Yes, sir. Thank you.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, sir.
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Mr. Schnidman: Yes. Okay.
Chair Hardemon: Five on the clock.
Mr. Schnidman: The first property that we're going to be talking about is the
3295/3297 Charles Avenue. If you recall, during this appeal process --
Commissioner Gort: You got to speak in the mike.
Mr. Schnidman: --during the --As you recall, during this appeal process, there
was a resolution to waive the fees for filing and to cover the cost, because there was
a recognition that you, as the applicant, were forcing this designation on the
property owners, and they really couldn't afford to make the --these payments. And
so, we want you to recognize that spending 10 or 20 or $30,000 on expert witnesses
at this point was beyond what the property owners could pay. And so, what we're
doing is, we will rely on cross-examining the staff; and also, we have a photographic
expert, and we're going to be calling upon the property owners to testify. But again,
this is an involuntary forced designation by a city that gamed the process by passing
a resolution that said that old wooden homes in Coconut Grove, between 1911 and
1941, were the thematic multi-property designation; and so, you have to very --very
difficult to argue on a wooden home in Coconut Grove, between 1911 and 1941, that
it doesn't meet those standards.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Mr. Schnidman: And so, Andy.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Andrew Rasken: My name's Andrew Rasken, 3295 Charles. Actually, in fact, to
Frank's point, I did research to look up to see how many homes in Coconut Grove
were built between 19 --
Chair Hardemon: I just want to understand who you are now, because Mr.
Schnidman, you're here representing him as a lawyer, correct?
Mr. Schnidman: Correct.
Chair Hardemon: Not as a lobbyist.
Mr. Rasken: As a lawyer.
Mr. Schnidman: As his lawyer.
Chair Hardemon: As a lawyer. And you own the property --
Mr. Rasken: That's right.
Chair Hardemon: --that we're talking about, right?
Mr. Rasken: That's correct.
Chair Hardemon: Okay; just be clear.
Mr. Rasken: I just wanted to make one point before I speak, actually, which was
interesting to his point. One of the criteria for the designation is homes in Coconut
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Grove that were built between 1911 and 1941. Takea wild guess, anybody.
Anybody? 1,392 homes in Coconut Grove were built between 1911 and 1942. In
West Coconut Grove, guess how many were built between 1911 and 1941, actually?
140. Yet, you've selected 50 homes. Why? What's the logic? Anyway, I'll talk about
my property, but that's just a general statement. As Warren Adams just mentioned,
which I was unaware of, actually, the thematic historic property designation was
only entered into the Code November 16, 2017; that's less than a year ago. I
purchased my property at the end of November 2017; 10 days after you put this into
the Code, unknowingly, unaware, not disclosed. It's sad, actually. It's terrible
timing and really unfair. I purchased the property from a slumlord who owned the
property since 2002; a County employee, who never disclosed the historic
designation to me, who operated the home as a rental property. When I purchased
the home, I kept the tenant in place when I went --because I went forward with the
demolition process. I purchased the home to build a home for my family. I work in
Coconut Grove. As my waiver was turned down because of this issue, I was told if
my property is an unsafe structure, I would be removed from the list. As Warren just
mentioned to you, which is not true, that none of the homes have gone in front of the
Unsafe Structure Board. That's not true; my home has. I was called in front of the
Unsafe Structure Board, because my home was designated unsafe structure. I was
turned down from being heard, because I was being considered for historic
designation. So when he stated that no homes have been considered, I was not
allowed. I was not allowed; not a single person was. I was told to go home and wait
till the outcome of this designation. Not only did I miss my timing, because I
purchased 10 days later, I was told to go home. As you can see from the record that
we submitted, I actually went ahead and I hired a third-party structural engineer
who did an analysis of my property; Tab 12 on the record. The analysis and the
outcome of the property, if you look at the conclusion, states, "This property is not
only an unsafe structure; it is in disrepair and must be demolished." If you look at
the pictures on the Tab 12, you'll see the main structural support beam of the house
is cracked, damaged; disrepair. The roof trusses on the property, cracked;
disrepair. The house is required to be demolished. I would have said this in front of
the Unsafe Structure Board had I been allowed to be heard.
Chair Hardemon: Mr. Schnidman, your opening statement time has concluded.
Mr. Rasken: The property has termites, the property is rotten, and the property is
unsafe and in an uninhabitable condition.
Chair Hardemon: Sir?
Mr. Rasken: I was told by Warren --
Chair Hardemon: Sir?
Mr. Rasken: --Adams --Just give me one second.
Chair Hardemon: I cannot --
Mr. Rasken: --by Warren Adams --
Chair Hardemon: I want you to understand to me --listen to me. I know that this is
important to you.
Mr. Rasken: I spoke to my --
Chair Hardemon: It's important for us to hear it. Mr. Schnidman is your attorney.
He had a responsibility of providing an opening statement. It's a technical term that
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he completely understands. We're going to move on to the next opening statement.
He'll have an opportunity to have a case in chief. He'll call witnesses if he chooses
to, but we're going to follow the process, because that's the only way that we're
going to be able to get through this.
Mr. Rasken: I understand.
Chair Hardemon: Okay? Thank you very much.
Mr. Rasken: I understand you have a procedure. I understand you have a protocol.
Chair Hardemon: So let me --so let us follow it. Let us follow it.
Mr. Rasken: Thank you.
Mr. Schnidman: Mr. Chair, for the record, I just want to say that when an individual
property owner comes before you on a HEP Board, the appeal sometime for one
property is over two hours --
Chair Hardemon: Sir --
Mr. Schnidman: --and I just wanted that in the record.
Chair Hardemon: --but this is not --
Mr. Schnidman: That's all.
Chair Hardemon: The appeal can be --we've had appeals where, you know, it lasts
a few minutes; we have some that lasts a few hours. It mostly deals with the
attorneys and how they choose to follow the rules. It used to be that we'll have an
appeal and the public would speak at the --during the time in which we were
actually handling the appeal. So we've handled things in ways that were erroneous,
I believe, in the past, but right now, we're just trying to keep the record as clear as
possible. So right now --we just had an opening statement.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: And in the opening statement, we’re --
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: --there's already comments about the --what was done wrong
from a statement that was made right here before this body --
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: --and that's just not proper. Sir, you're recognized. Opening
statement.
Mr. Adams: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon:Five minutes.
Mr. Adams: We believe that this property met all the criteria for the multiple
property designation, and it's a wood frame structure, it was built within the time
period, it's located in West Grove, and is associated with African-Americanor
Bahamian history of the Grove. It is over 50 years old. Yes, it does need some
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repairs, but in our opinion, the property still retains its architectural significance. I
received an email regarding the Endangered Structures Board today, and I would
agree that this case has not yet been had, but I would point out that should this case
go to the Unsafe Structures Board, if a property is found to be unsafe and it must be
torn down, that property would come down regardless of whether it is designated as
historic or not. In other words, the Unsafe Structures Board basically trump any
sort of historic designation. So if that property did go to the board and was
determined to be unsafe, it would come down even if it was designated as historic.
Chair Hardemon: Is that all you have?
Mr. Adams: Yeah; apart from we do believe it (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the criteria, and
it retains sufficient architectural significance to be included.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much.
Mr. Schnidman: This slide --
Chair Hardemon: Is there a witness that you want to call to put on testimony?
Because I want to make this very clear.
Mr. Schnidman: No, sir.
Chair Hardemon: Hear what I'm saying to you.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: What he did was said, "We believe that it meets the criteria for
these reasons, and we're going to prove that to you later."
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: Right? And so, what you're trying to say is that it does not meet
the criteria for certain reasons. Now those reasons, you haven't quite put to us yet,
but we need to understand what they are for us to consider those facts and make a
decision in this case that we're talking right now. So now is your opportunity to
either --if there is information --For instance, youjust said that what he said isn't
true. You can call him as a witness.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: You can question him about --
Mr. Schnidman: Excellent.
Chair Hardemon: --things.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: And you can point out those particular things that you believe
don't meet the criteria. You're not going to make the argument right now --
Mr. Schnidman: Right.
Chair Hardemon: --but you're going to point those things out.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
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Chair Hardemon: And then when it's time for you to do your closing, you make your
argument, and we go from there.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: He'll have an opportunity to call a witness --
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: --but he's primarily the witness in this case. So --
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --here you are.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir. Thank you very much. Warren --
Mr. Adams: Yes.
Mr. Schnidman: --I see on the slide that you have under "owner" or "tenant" the
three names.
Mr. Adams: Yes.
Mr. Schnidman: What are those three names?
Mr. Adams: Joseph Brian, David Mitchell, and James Tompkins.
Mr. Schnidman: And what are those --? Now, those are the --this building is 80
years old, and those are the only three people that have lived in the building for 80
years?
Mr. Adams: That is not what we said. What we said is we would list people who we
believe, based on the City directories, have an association with African-American or
Bahamian history, which tie these properties to it. And I do have copies of the pages
here. In fact, yes, we have some other names here, and they were included in the
designation material. We also have Esther Armbrister, Jessie Gore, Dorothy
Clarice, Anna Wright, Austin and Nellie Addison.
Mr. Schnidman: In this building?
Mr. Adams: Sorry?
Mr. Schnidman: In this --these are the people who you say lived in this building, in
addition to the slide?
Mr. Adams: These are the people who the City directories list as either living,
owning, or renting these --this property.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. That slide that you're presenting is the slide that you used at
the HEP Board, right?
Mr. Adams: I believe it was, yes.
Mr. Schnidman: It is, because I took this from the screen shot from the video.
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Mr. Adams: Okay.
Mr. Schnidman: So these three people are Bahamian or black?
Chair Hardemon: Do you know the difference between (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
Mr. Schnidman: Now --
Chair Hardemon: I'm black.
Unidentified Speaker: I'm white.
Mr. Adams:According to the --
Mr. Schnidman: I went to college with somebody named David Mitchell, and he was
not black.
Mr. Adams: Well, I'm sure many David Mitchells aren't. And --but this --the City
directory does --and it's rather unfortunate what theydid in the past; however,
certain names that have the letter "C" next to them, and that generally denoted their
ethnicity; and certainly, all of the names that we have here from the City directories
do have the letter "C" next to them.
Vice Chair Russell: So the City of Miami designated the tenant or owner by their
ethnicity with a "C" for "colored" or a "W" for white; is that correct?
Chair Hardemon: Makes perfect sense to me.
Mr. Adams: That information was used to determine if there was an association with
African-American or Bahamian history, and this was the only way --the only
evidence that we had as to the ethnicity of certain peo --of certain poor people.
Mr. Schnidman: So Warren, am I to understand that in your expertise as a historic
preservation expert, in trying to connect this property with African American and
Bahamian background in 80 years, in the decision that was --the information that
the HEP Board had to decide this, there were only three names in 80 years that
connected this to Bahamians or African Americans?
Mr. Adams: Well, if I'm correct, my slide from the HEP Board actually had two
separate slides --one for 3295 and 3297 --and both those slides had all of those
names on them. For appeal purposes, I just brought one slide with me. But if you
look at the record, I think you'll find all the names on the slides that were submitted.
Mr. Schnidman: All the names from the --in other words, we're talking about the
fact that you have names from one half of the duplex and theother half?
Mr. Adams: I believe that's what I did for the Preservation Board meeting, because
we determined each individual property address.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. Now --
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chair, just to --sorry to interrupt. We are --and I want to
make sure I'm understanding this correctly. We are hearing this de novo; and so, if
additional names are introduced at this time or brought out that the HEP Board did
not see, we are able to consider them; is that correct?
Mr. Adams: I can submit these to the record, yes.
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Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, and we understand that. And we understand that. Now, one of
the issues related here was to the whole unsafe structure, and the fact that you felt
that not --that doesn't really relate to the character and integrity and so on of the
building as the designation was made. And I wanted to ask you, because of an equal
protection question, about 3447 Williams, which relates directly to this property.
Mr. Adams: Yes.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes. Now, the representative of 344 \[sic\] Williams --now 344 \[sic\]
Williams, in your designation report, there were five homes that were listed as poster
child of buildings that should be preserved because of their historic nature. And in
fact, in 3447 Williams, you said in that report, "The community referred to the two-
story residence as 'the Bullard House.' A review of City directories, United States
census records and deeds indicate the Bullard family lived in the home for multiple
decadesand owned it since its construction." So this was a critical historic property.
The owner came before this City Commission and the owner --and she explained to
the City Commission that she had an unsafe structure --
Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) you got to get to your question.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. The question is, in your final designation report --and you
are being the expert --
Mr. Adams: Yes, sir.
Mr. Schnidman: --you basically said that you were removing this property, which
was a poster child of what should be preserved, because --and you weren't sure,
because when you look at it, in the final HEP Board resolution, you said that the
Preservation Officer removed this building either because it was not the original
building or that thebuilding had been so structurally altered that it was not
appropriate. So how did we come from a poster child and then when the final report
was done, the page with this building was removed, but all the pages afterwards
were not changed? So we removed this one, and the only reason that it was
removed, it appears, is the advocate came to the City Commission, asked for it, and
then it was removed.
Mr. Adams: No, that's not correct. This property was originally because it
appeared to meet the criteria, as I explained at all the meetings and at the
Preservation Board meetings --
Chair Hardemon: Now this is 3447 --
Mr. Adams: Williams Avenue.
Vice Chair Russell: How is it related to PZ.1?
Mr. Adams: This is the church, the church property.
Chair Hardemon: He's relating it to PZ.1 because he's saying --it appears from his
line of questioning that the houses are similarly built.
Mr. Adams: Right.
Vice Chair Russell: Equal protect --
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Mr. Adams: This was a wood frame structure, which appeared to meet the criteria.
We were then provided with documentary evidence that the house that exists was
either so altered from the original structure that it would bear --bore no
resemblance to what was there; or more likely, the original structure had been
demolished and the existing structure was built at some time 'round about 1944.
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chair?
Mr. Adams: So quite simply, the original property had either been so altered that
had changed appearance, or it had been demolished and a new property was built
that was outside the years that we were looking at.
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chairman?
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized.
Commissioner Reyes: I --and as a matter of fact, I think --a little bit of guilt about
this, because the 17th of November was my first meeting here, and that was --I had a
very heated argument with Commissioner Russell, because they wanted to declare --
give you guys the authority to go anyplace and declare whatever you felt like
historic, without taking in consideration the --what does that entails. And we
agreed about 20 shotguns. He said, "Well, at least 20 shotguns that we're going to
do over there." So when I agree with it and, I mean, we stopped that argument.
Then they came with this thematic thing. Now, thematic, it is the whole City of
Miami, okay. But I am reading here from --some information on this book. It said,
"Standard Guidelines." It said, "Standard 1" --
Chair Hardemon: Let's --let me --I want to keep this clean.
Commissioner Reyes: No, no, but I want to know if it was taken into consideration.
The Standard Guidelines, it said, "Documentation shall adequately explicate and
illustrate what is significant or valuable about the historic building site, structure, or
object being documented," you see? I want to know if you follow that. I mean, you
have it all documented?
Mr. Adams: Yes, we have it all --
Commissioner Reyes: Okay. Then Standard 2, it says, "Documentation shall be
prepared accurately from reliable sources with limitation clearly stated to permit
independent verification of the information. The purpose of documentation is to
present an accurate record of historic properties." And then if you go back, you see,
it says things that you have to do. The guidelines organized are follow:
"Definitions, goal of documentation, content, quality, materials, presentation,
architectural and engineer, documentation prepared for other purposes." These are
the guidelines; that they are by the Secretary of the Interior Standards in order to be
able to declare a property historic. I mean, if you do --if you go on --and I read
this, you see, what you got here, this is arbitrarily by somebody that comes and said,
"Oh, yes, I think that this is historic." You can come to anyhouse in Miami, any
house that --I mean, if you go to Mr. Carollo's district, every single one of those
houses, they are going to be thematic. You go to your district and your house is
going to be thematic, too. Your house is going to be thematic. I mean, it seems to
me that --and I don't think that it --when you have a structure that is totally in
decay, that structure --and doesn't have --I believe in historic preservation --
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Reyes?
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Commissioner Reyes: --but if they have history behind --because the word says
"historic." There was a house that it was --I mean, it was built by certain person,
and certain person lived there, or it has some historic behind, but not because that
you or a group of people let --you just come in and just --
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Reyes?
Commissioner Reyes: --they just declare historic.
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Reyes?
Commissioner Reyes: I mean, I want to know if you prepared this. If you prepared
this and you don't have any of this --you didn't follow all these steps here, all the
standards, then it is not valid.
Mr. Adams: I haven't actually --I'm not sure what document you're referring to, but
the State did point out that we followed all required processes, and the State also
pointed out that certain documentation referred to by Mr. Schnidman was
appropriate only for the Historic American Building Survey; not for local
designation.
Commissioner Reyes: You have all the documentation that's here?
Mr. Adams: And it's also important to point out that the weight of significance of a
property is not determined by the amount of information you have on it. Obviously,
a building like the Marine Stadium that was designed by a well-known architect that
was well documented, where we have drawings, we have a lot more information on
these buildings than we do on wood frame structures built in the 1920s with no
architect, with very little information on the community.
Commissioner Reyes: Then it's arbitrarily; it's what you believe.
Mr. Adams: So --but according to the --
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Reyes?
Mr. Adams: --State, we've met all requirements, yes.
Commissioner Gort: Gentlemen, we can be discussing this all night.
Chair Hardemon: Right. Listen, this is his witness. You did a good job of bringing
out the issue. He responded to the issue. Do you have any more questions for him?
Mr. Schnidman: Yes. I understand that you're not a lawyer; is that correct?
Mr. Adams: I am not an attorney, no.
Mr. Schnidman: Did you read the Federal Register that implements the Department
of Interior Standards that relate to designation?
Mr. Adams: No, I did not.
Mr. Schnidman: In there, it basically says that this is to be guidance for local
archives. And --
Chair Hardemon: You're testifying.
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Mr. Schnidman: Pardon?
Chair Hardemon: You're testifying.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. I'm sorry. So the --were you aware that in the Federal
Register, it specifically says that this information from the United States Department
of Interior Standards, which in your analysis report said you followed, says that it
applies to --it is guidance for local archives?
Mr. Adams: Is this from the Historic American Engineering Survey document?
Mr. Schnidman: It is from theFederal Register that implements the standards for
the --for that portion of the designation standards for the Secretary of the Interior.
Mr. Adams: The State has responded that, yes, we have met the requirements, and
local municipalities are responsible for determining their own methods, so we have
that from the State, who we are answerable to for our certified --local government
certification.
Mr. Schnidman: Right. So basically, under the --it's the procedural agreement that
you have with the State to get Federal money for historic preservation. You have
gone to the State, who said that you comply with the standards under the Department
of the Interior?
Mr. Adams: If this is regarding Federal funding, are you referring to Section 106
agreementsand the survey methods for that?
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Mr. Adams: The State had confirmed that --and that's a different process, and it's
not required for this. I have it in the document, Section 106, and that is where I think
the State had mentioned that there does seem to be some misunderstanding
regarding the survey process from the appellant.
Mr. Schnidman: Well, under the programmatic agreement that you have with the
State and with the Federal Government, it says that when you are dealing with --and
I will agree --it says that when you are dealing with the rehabilitation of historic
structures --
Chair Hardemon: A question.
Mr. Adams: The --
Chair Hardemon: Question. Make it a question.
Mr. Schnidman: Sure.
Mr. Adams: Just to be clear--
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Mr. Adams: --the programmatic agreement refers to National Registered properties
--
Mr. Schnidman: Yes. One of --
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Mr. Adams: --and Federal funding. These are local registered properties with no
Federal funding. It's two completely separate things. And as we stated, there does
seem to be some confusion between the national and the local designation process.
Mr. Schnidman: There is no confusion. The question that I have for you is, if you
are dealing with standards for the designation of property, because you are required
to do it for the Federal Government when you're dealing with Section 106, at the
local level, when the City Commission is, in fact, the applicant, forcing mandatory
involuntary historic preservation, do you not think that those same standards should
be applied to the way that you designate property at the local level?
Mr. Adams: I'll just support my --
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Just for the record, I know you want to give latitude, but the
question is, you know, improperly stated, and interjects facts into the record that are
not there, that the City Commission --that, you know --forcibly, you know --So I
wish the question would be rephrased. And also, the question has been asked and
answered. I think the witness already said the Federal standards are different.
Chair Hardemon: You want to rephrase it?
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. Yes, sir.
Commissioner Gort: Warren?
Mr. Schnidman: When the Federal Government decides standards should be used in
dealing with Federal historic preservation property, do you think that those
standards are too severe to be used at the local level?
Mr. Adams: We use local standards for local level and Federal for national level.
It's two completely different things.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. So that there's a lesser standard of what you need at the
local level than what you would need for the Federal level?
Mr. Adams: There's a required standard for what you need at a local level, but, you
know, whether some people would regard that as lesser or not, then that would be
opinion.
Mr. Schnidman: Thank you.
Commissioner Reyes: Doesn't Federal laws precedes State and local also? Is that
true, Mr. Attorney?
Chair Hardemon: I'm not here to put (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on the record.
Commissioner Reyes: No, because that's what I've been taught, you know. And
when I taught --
Chair Hardemon: It's different.
Commissioner Reyes: --government, that's what I was teaching all the time.
Chair Hardemon: It depends. It's different. It’s different. Federal law applies to
Federal issues and State law applies to State issues.
Mr. Adams: Sorry?
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Chair Hardemon: No, I'm just talking. Is there --so do you have any further
questions for this witness?
Mr. Schnidman: Not on this property.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. So do you have any witnesses you want to put on the stand
\[sic\] to get out any facts to support your case?
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, I do.
Chair Hardemon: Who is that that you want to call?
Mr. Schnidman: I want to put J.B. Diederich, who is an expert in photography, to
talk about the tax cards that are used as the basis of the comparison, because if you
check the record, you will see that in --that most of the HEP Board members, if not
all of them, had not visited the property, were not familiar with the property, and
were basing their decision on whether or not these properties were --the ones
between 1911 and 1941 --we're looking at the bottom tax card picture and
comparing that to the street view that the City staff had taken. And what I --
Chair Hardemon: But help me understand better --
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: --how this person is a photography expert.
Mr. Schnidman: Ooh. Okay. I'll introduce him and let him present that
information.
Chair Hardemon: Can you --you can bring him to this space, because I --
Mr. Schnidman: Say again?
Chair Hardemon: You can call him to this lectern here, because I want you to be
able to --
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --right, because I just need to be able to understand --
Mr. Schnidman: So then --
Unidentified Speaker: Huh?
Mr. Schnidman: --go to that podium. Because what we want to show, so that you
all understand, is that the tax card pictures, which have no date, and which there is
no real bibliographic information in the report, are actually pictures taken after
1941. So if you're trying to compare a property that was in the period of 1911 to
1941, if you're using a picture taken after 1941, then the designation is void, because
you have no basis --
Commissioner Reyes: That’s right. That’s what it says here.
Mr. Schnidman: --no background, no foundation, because you're looking at a
picture after the period in which you're saying there is Bahamian and African, and
whatever standards they're using. It's an old wooden house.
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Chair Hardemon: So you're not saying that a home that was built in 1911 that was
photographed in 1950 is or is not --or does or does not fit within this category?
Mr. Schnidman: No. What I'm saying is that the HEP Board standard was changed,
significant change; whether the porch was enclosed or whether it was not enclosed;
whether there was stucco; whether this or that was different; whether additions were
put on. And so, they were comparing what it looked like then to what it looked like
now, and the photographic evidence of what it looked like then was actually outside
of the period. And so, when there --
Chair Hardemon: No, but --I understand that, but my question to you more
particularly is this:If I built a house in 1911 --
Mr. Schnidman: Right.
Chair Hardemon: --and in 1950, I take a picture of it, if there hasn't been any
change in that time period --
Mr. Schnidman: How would you know that?
Chair Hardemon: I don't know that; that's your job.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: Okay? And then the next thing is, if there's been change then
after the picture was taken, that's the type of evidence that I expect you to bring out.
So that's why I was just trying to --wondering --because when you say, "expert,"
then, you know, it's a signal to me that he's going to give us a bit more information.
He may give us his opinion, and we might not be willing to take his opinion, if we
don't understand how his expertise applies in this situation.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. He --
Chair Hardemon: So that's what our issue is right now.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chair?
Mr. Schnidman: And I think that his expertise --
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Was there also a suggestion that HEP Board
members have some requirement to visit the property? Did I understand that as part
of the --that's in their job description?
Mr. Schnidman: Submitted into the record by Christina Huff (phonetic) earlier was
a manual for HEP Board expert --for HEP Board appointees, and in that manual of
what is best practices includes that they have to attend all the meetings, visit the site.
And so, we're talking about best practices. And again, I bring the issue up. It's one
thing when an owner comes in and says, "I want to be historic." It's another thing
when the City Commission amends the ordinance to create a vague standard, and
then as the applicant designates involuntary mandatory --
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Chair Hardemon: You keep saying this, but I want you to understand. The City did
not --you said the City Commission designated these homes as historic.
Vice Chair Russell: The HEP Board did.
Chair Hardemon: The HEP Board designated --
Mr. Schnidman: The HEP Boarddid.
Chair Hardemon: Right, so I just want to make that very clear that there is a
distinction. You said it a few times. I was going to wait on it, but --
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --I'm just --the City Commission --
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: --did not designate these homes.
Mr. Schnidman: It was the City of Miami's HEP Board that designated the property;
not the City of Miami's Commission. But it's the City of Miami's Commission that is
the applicant here of the designated properties. They are the ones that asked the
HEP Board to do it, and they are the ones that are supporting the designation by the
City of Miami's HEP Board.
Chair Hardemon: They asked them to analyze --the City Commission asked them to
analyze the properties to determine who fits within a designation and who does not.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Mr. Chair, for the record, that's correct, because you wouldn't be
hearing an appeal of your own decision. You're here as an appellate body to affirm,
reverse, or modify the HEP decision. In this city, under our current Code, it's the
HEP Board that makes the decision to designate or not.
Chair Hardemon: Mr. Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Rafael, is it a requirement of our Code for the HEP
Board members to visit a property before designating it?
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: That is not required under Chapter 23, sir.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: So he's proffered what sort of information the gentleman’s
supposed to give us in thiscase. Do any of you have any objection to him being
determined an expert? I know we haven't learned what his credentials are.
Unidentified Speaker: I can tell you what they are.
Chair Hardemon: But do you have any objection, City, of him being deemed an
expert?
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: We'd like to have a proffer of his credentials, but if it's a
photographic expert and he has --is that --am I understanding your question
correctly?
Chair Hardemon: Yeah, you are.
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Mr. Suarez-Rivas: If he can establishthat, you know, he has photographic
experience, I'm not --you know, I can't speak for the Administration, but I think
you'd want to hear it and determine that, yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: Mr. Schnidman?
Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: Can you tell us about your expert?
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. Mr. Diederich, let me ask you a question first, please.
Mr.Diederich: Very well. Thank you.
Mr. Schnidman: I'm going to proffer you as an expert in photography, and I'm going
to proffer you as an expert for the fact that you can date when these photographs
were taken, which are supposed to be the foundation and the base date for
comparison as to whether or not these structures fit within the category of 1911 to
1941; the Bahamian and African American resources of the Village West. And so,
I'm going to ask you, have you had any photographic experience?
Mr. Diederich: Absolutely. I used to work for Time Magazine --I--as a still
photographer. I worked for all the big magazines, including Life Magazine. I have
done assignments all over the world. I lived in the Soviet Union before the fall. I
was the first westerner to enter the home of Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov in the
Soviet Union. I have worked in Cuba; I photographed the Pope; I traveled
throughout Latin America; I used to be a conflict photojournalist in Latin America
and the Caribbean; I was the first one to enter Panama. Before Noriega was
indicted, I was there; got full access to him for three weeks before coming back to
Miami, and then being here for his indictment; and then went right back to Panama;
went --gave everybody access through my access, basically; to ABC and all the big
magazines. I worked on the Paradise Lost issue of Time Magazine here in South
Florida in the '80s, and I worked on the cocaine wars; two very controversial
magazine articles that made a big difference in Miami. And if that isn't enough, tell
me what you need. I've been honored --
Chair Hardemon: Well, let me say this --
Commissioner Carollo: Do you know Billy Cohen?
Mr. Diederich: Huh? I've been honored by --
Commissioner Carollo: Do you know Billy Cohen?
Mr. Diederich: --the Overseas Press Club.
Commissioner Carollo: No, no. Do you know Billy Cohen?
Mr. Diederich: Billy?
Commissioner Carollo: Cohen.
Mr. Diederich: From who --from where?
Commissioner Carollo: The guy that claims he did the Cocaine Cowboys Series.
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Mr. Diederich: Oh, yeah, I --no. I didn't do video; I did still.
Commissioner Carollo: Oh, okay.
Mr. Diederich: But I was on the Blue Lightning Don (UNINTELLIGIBLE) boat, on
the --
Chair Hardemon: What?
Mr. Diederich: --cruising the waters and catching dope dealers for months.
Commissioner Carollo: When did you land in Panama with Noriega?
Mr.Diederich: I went in before --I got into Panama basically three weeks before
the indictment. I went to see him. I got through --
Commissioner Carollo: Did you say the indictment when we invaded or --?
Mr. Diederich: No. The indictment when Dick Gregory actually unleashed the
indictment --
Commissioner Carollo: Oh, okay.
Mr. Diederich: --from the US Attorney’s Office.
Commissioner Carollo: Because I was going to say, I didn't see you at the airport
when I landed in the first plane, but --
Mr. Diederich: Well, I'll tell you that I was there before, and I --
Commissioner Carollo: No, I'm saying (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Diederich: --photographed Noriega drunk in a bar three weeks before the
indictment, and Noriega came to me basically --or they had me taken in.
Eventually, they arrested me, threw me in jail, took my gear. But he gave me full
access and then took my gear.
Commissioner Carollo: Did Vickie know he was drunk or not?
Mr. Diederich: I beg your pardon?
Commissioner Carollo: Vickie; did she know he was drunk at the time?
Mr. Diederich: I don't know.
Chair Hardemon: So --
Mr. Diederich: I'm just (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Hardemon: --from your question, he’s established that he's a photographer.
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Mr. Diederich: And --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Well --
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Chair Hardemon: Can you --I'm just --
Mr. Schnidman: And tell me about your investigative skills about looking at
photographs and trying to figure out when they were taken, and what experience you
have had that allows you to do that.
Mr. Diederich: I was also a WCIX investigative producer, working with Susan
Candiotti. We got four Emmys together in one year, doing all kinds of
investigations, especially after Andrew. I was also the Andrew (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
producer.
Chair Hardemon: Help us understand. Answer that question, the one he just asked
you.
Mr. Diederich: Okay.
Mr. Schnidman: The photographs that I'm going to ask you to show --
Mr. Diederich: Okay.
Mr. Schnidman: --will relate to figuring out the date that the photo --the range of
date that the photograph was taken, and what basis do you have for being able to do
that?
Mr. Diederich: Well, I took a lot of the photos that have very little information on
them. They are --
Mr. Schnidman: When you --excuse me. You didn't take the photos. Those photos
were taken by the City --or provided by the City. You basically, physically, “took”
those photos; you didn't “take” those photos.
Mr. Diederich: Right, no. I took hold of the photos for appropriate --
Chair Hardemon: No, what I --what we want to understand is this: What about
your skill as a photographer --or your experience, your schooling, your credentials;
what about that experience allows you to be able to take a document --a photograph
that has no date on it and determine when it was taken? That's particularly the level
of expertise that we need to know.
Mr. Diederich: I tried to kept it --keep it really simple. And I would like to
distribute these you guy --to you guys for the record so that you could see for
yourselves. It doesn't take a lot of effort at this point. I looked at them all very
carefully for any sign that could allow me to pick a date and try to date these
pictures, because a lot of the homes that were --that claimed to be tax card photos of
when the houses were built have old growth coming from underneath the houses, and
I don't think it's a common practice to build a house over a tree.
Chair Hardemon: So, Mr. Schnidman, I'm not hearing any expertise that allows --
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. So --
Chair Hardemon: --him to be able to do that. But I can --he is a fine witness that
can tell us about the --
Mr. Schnidman: Right.
Chair Hardemon: --elements of the photo that we should point out. If you --
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Mr. Schnidman: Correct.
Chair Hardemon: --would like him to do that, he can do that.
Mr. Schnidman: Correct. And so --
Unidentified Speaker: Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Schnidman: --we can put it in for right --
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Mr. Chair, Mr. Chair --right --if he's established to your
satisfaction as an expert for photographer, you can decide what weight to give his
ability to date photographs if you --
Chair Hardemon: Right. No, but as a witness, still, as well. So --
Mr. Schnidman: Yes. I defer to the Attorney's opinion, and ask if it'd be all right to
submit into evidence for the record the J.B. Diederich handout?
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Mr. Schnidman: And make --yeah. There's 10 copies.
Commissioner Carollo: He is your expert, right?
Chair Hardemon: Now --
Mr. Schnidman: Pardon?
Chair Hardemon: So --
Commissioner Carollo: He's your expert?
Mr. Schnidman: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: And this is for --
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Is the City providing an expert?
Unidentified Speaker: Beg your pardon?
Commissioner Carollo: No, the City.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Our --I can't --the expert that the City had that gave tran --is
Warren Adams, Historic Preservation Planner. But I don't think the City has a
photographer, to my knowledge.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm just making sure you weren't Char --you weren't going
to hire Charlie Crespo.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: I have no hiring authority, so I, you know --
Chair Hardemon: The --okay. I want to ask a question.
Mr. Diederich: Frank?
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Mr. Schnidman: Yes, sir.
Chair Hardemon: In this packet, does it include PZ.1? Does it include the photo of
the property, PZ.1?
Mr. Schnidman: This is not PZ.1, but this relates to the veracity of the pictures
taken.
Chair Hardemon: No, but I just want you to understand --
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --so PZ.1 is not in there --
Mr. Schnidman: Right.
Chair Hardemon: --but you're about to say that maybe a few photos of some houses
that are in here --I'm assuming --were taken outside --the pictures were taken
outside of that time period.
Mr. Schnidman: Correct.
Chair Hardemon: And then you want us to believe that about PZ.1.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. I want you to understand that the level of research that was
undertaken to forcibly designate these historic properties --
Chair Hardemon: To designate, right.
Mr. Schnidman: --was not adequate, and we are a year into this, and the staff still
has not contacted any proper owner --
Chair Hardemon:Okay. So --
Mr. Schnidman: --to physically visit the property or talk to them about who lived
there.
Chair Hardemon: --show us through your witness.
Mr. Diederich: I wanted to point out that the first --
Chair Hardemon: Wait till the question --
Mr. Diederich: Oh.
Chair Hardemon: --he asks you a question.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. There is a picture you have here of 38 --3581 Hibiscus
Street. What exactly does that show?
Mr. Diederich: This house in the tax card shows what appears to be a water meter,
a concrete water meter to the front and to the right of the walkway. The lower photo
shows the location of the water meter today in the street on Hibiscus. According the
Miami-Dade Water and Sewer, water was not installed in that street until 1951. So
there was no way to have a water meter in that photo if there was no water. Second
photo, if I may, is 3057 New York Street, built in 1928. As you'll see in the tax card
photo, there is a car on the left, lower left part of the photo. Thatcar --was difficult
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to find it by accessing social media car clubs. I had a lot of opinion, and the car that
appears in that photo is a 1940s Dodge split rear window. If you look at the picture,
you could see the emblem is right there, right below the windows, and you can see
the hood coverings. It is a match. If you look at the next picture, you have a 1935
home on 3875 Washington Avenue. If you look at the lower left-hand side, you see
an old car that seems to have seen better days. Well, that car--if this house was
built in '35, that's a 1937 Ford sedan. It's called a Ford Humpback. That car is the
same one --or the same style car that appears in the photograph. That --if that
house was photographed in 1935 --first of all, you have a car there that is already
old and seen better days.
Commissioner Carollo: Is that for sale by any chance?
Mr. Diederich: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It was on eBay, one of them. But anyway, so
--
Commissioner Carollo: I can afford that.
Mr. Diederich: --the problem is that a lot of the houses --a lot of the photographs
from the tax cards show old growth and show a lot of damage. These houses, as I've
explained before, suffer a lot of wooden rot on the walls and the sides over time.
And a lot of the photos show a lot of the rot and a lot of the damage, and they show a
lot of plants that are coming underneath it and that have taken their time to grow.
There's also trellises and everything. I didn't bring those. But it brings into question
the validity of allof these tax card photos, plus I've gone there --three times, I've
gone to the City to look for tax card photos of my home, and nobody in the tax card
division has the photos.
Chair Hardemon: Right. I don't have a tax card photo of my home, either. It's just
a simple line drawing. So your witness has established that these pictures were
taken outside of the time that the home was built.
Mr. Schnidman: Correct.
Chair Hardemon: Okay.
Mr. Diederich: In 19 --
Chair Hardemon: Is there any other question or any other witness that you want to
bring forth?
Mr. Diederich: May I add one more thing, sir?
Chair Hardemon: You have a question for him?
Mr. Schnidman: Yes. What other information --
Mr. Diederich: When do I take --when did I take --?
Mr. Schnidman: --do you have to provide for the record?
Mr. Diederich: Thank you. What I wanted to say is that in 1949, Dade County
commissioned a study on the Negro districts of the area, and it took 10 months for
them to do an inventory of the homes in Dade County in the Negro district. Now, I
believe that these photos were taken between 1949 and 1951. Also, 35 millimeter
photography was not very friendly in the '20s and '30s, so a lot of these are 35
millimeter photos, and that would have been --with the Likas that came out in 1940s,
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early 1940s and post-war, that's when you would have had a lot of these photos
coming out, at --towards the end. So this is my two cents on it.
Chair Hardemon: Is there any cross-examination of this witness?
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: How many published photos have you had, more or less?
Mr. Diederich: Hundreds.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Okay.
Mr. Diederich: Thousands.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Okay. And have you ever time-dated photos in respect to any
engagement you've had --not just as a witness --in any professional engagement?
Mr. Diederich: Not necessarily. What I have done is basically worked with a lot of
photographs, and I have done retouching, and I have worked with electronic
materials to try to bring them up todate.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you.
Mr. Schnidman: J.B., may I --
Chair Hardemon: Vice Chairman.
Mr. Schnidman: --ask one last question?
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. I have a question for Mr. Suarez-Rivas, please.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE). Rafael?
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: I'm sorry.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. I have a question. In order for the HEP Board to
designate historic, does it need an original photo from the year the building was
created, or do they just gather what they can throughout history and are able to
interpolate? What is the requirement?
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: The --you have to have sufficient evidence to tie it to the correct
criteria, but Commissioner, I cannot tell you that I am aware of a specific
requirement about the sufficiency of the photographic evidence. I would defer to
staff.
Chair Hardemon: I would probably --and I'm just --you know, I'm just a guy with a
old house. But if everybody needed to have a picture of their house when it was built
to be declared historic, no one's house would be declared historic.
Mr. Diederich: If I may add that if you go back to the HEP Board meeting --I'm
sorry that I'm not --I'm answering my own question, but if you go back to the
designation night whenwe were all designated, the strength of the designation came
from the comparison, from the so-called tax card photo with today's photo. Now, as
we learned and as you guys learned with the church property, that --they said that it
had been demolished at one point and rebuilt.
Vice Chair Russell: 3447.
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Mr. Diederich: Yeah; that it had been demolished and rebuilt. So how do we know
that that is not the case with all these properties?
Chair Hardemon: Right. But this is not about all these properties.This is about
this property.
Vice Chair Russell: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: Do you have any more questions for your witness?
Mr. Schnidman: In photojournalism, they actually give awards, do they not?
Mr. Diederich: Yes, they do.
Mr. Schnidman: Did you ever receive any?
Mr. Diederich: I've been honored by the Overseas Press Club, the New York Art
Directors Club. I've --
Chair Hardemon: So I'm going to stop it --
Mr. Diederich: --but there's plenty awards.
Chair Hardemon: --for relevance. Thank you very much, sir.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. Thank you very much.
Chair Hardemon: Do you have any other witnesses?
Mr. Diederich: Gentlemen, thank you.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay, that's it.
Chair Hardemon: Okay, great. Do you have any witnesses from --? Oh, you
haven't put on your case in chief yet, so please. You've been very good as far as
getting to the heart of the issue.
Mr. Adams: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: So we expect you to put on your testimony to the heart of the
issue. You'll have an opportunity to be cross-examined, because, you know, you are
a witness, and then we'll go from there.
Mr. Adams: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: Start the time for 10 minutes.
Mr. Diederich: Very well.
Chair Hardemon: You’re recognized.
Mr. Adams: You'vesuggested that the photographs were taken outside the period of
significance?
Mr. Diederich: Yes.
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Mr. Adams: And you've suggested that you analyzed the photos based on water
meters and cars?
Mr. Diederich: Yes.
Mr. Adams: But you haven't compared those photos with any other photos of these
properties from prior to that time?
Mr. Diederich: That's incorrect. I've --
Mr. Adams: Sir, you are --
Mr. Diederich: --compared the photos to today's photos.
Mr. Adams: --you have other photos of that property --
Mr. Diederich: Today.
Mr. Adams: --earlier photos?
Mr. Diederich: No, no earlier photos.
Mr. Adams: Sir, you have nothing to compare them with which predate the photos
that we have?
Mr. Diederich: No.
Mr. Adams: And you're not anexpert in historic buildings?
Mr. Diederich: No.
Mr. Adams: So if my opinion was that these properties may have been altered, but
they still retain their historic significance, based on the fact that there are no earlier
photos as far as we know --
Mr. Diederich: Well --
Mr. Adams: --would you think that my rationale and my experience and my
background would be correct; we have nothing to compare them with?
Mr. Diederich: Well, the thing is that if you're presenting photos from the 1950s that
--and you are representing them as photos that were taken during the period of
significance; and you are accepting some homes and throwing out some others,
because they do not have photos or because the photos are not distinguishable
enough; or because of those photos, you're seeing that there has been some changes,
you're determining that the significance of these properties is because they look like
the photos in the tax card. And if the tax card photos were from 1950 and your
period of significance is from 1910 to 1941, then basically, what are we doing here?
Mr. Adams: Can you point out in the designation report where I --
Chair Hardemon: No, no, no, no. I --whoa, whoa, whoa.
Mr. Adams: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: This is your opportunity to put onevidence.
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Mr. Adams: Yeah.
Chair Hardemon: It's not his opportunity to speak. He was a witness.
Mr. Adams: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: So you don't have any business speaking to the witness. So what
you're going to do is tell us why you met the standards for this home to be declared
historic. Now, he did put on evidence. If you want to show us evidence that that
does not matter, that it doesn't apply here, that this house has been altered, whatever
you choose to do, you can do that. But you're not going to talk to --
Mr. Adams: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --the witness.
Mr. Adams: Okay. And --
Chair Hardemon: So you talk to us.
Mr. Adams: --these are the earliest photographs that we could find of these
properties, and some photographs are better than having no photographs at all. And
in my expert opinion that, yes, we anticipate the properties will change over time,
they will be repaired, they will be added to, certain things will be altered. But my
job is to determine if this property still retains architectural and historical
significance and that it meets all of the required criteria, as outlined in the report;
and in my opinion, it does.
Commissioner Gort: Very good.
Chair Hardemon: Now you gave us your opening statement. What elements did you
use --I'm just going to ask you this question. This is sort of like a cross-examination,
but what elements did you follow to determine that this property met historic
designation standards?
Mr. Adams: The properties were individually surveyedby staff; they were
photographed; the tax cards were examined; the historic photographs that were
available were examined; the City directories detailing previous occupants and
owners were examined; and the Property Appraiser's website was used to get a
construction date. And based on all of this information and on our expert
experience, we determined that any changes that had been made for this property
were appropriate. In other words, it retained sufficient integrity to convey its
historic architectural significance, and it was associated with the African-American
or Bahamian history of the West Grove.
Chair Hardemon: And the property that we're talking about right now, PZ.1, what
about that property helped you to come to that conclusion?
Mr. Adams:Again, we followed exactly the same research processes, and historic
photographs, site visit, current photograph, City directories, tax cards, previous
designation reports, available histories on the area. Admittedly, this property does
appear as if it needs repair, and we do not --it has not been determined by the
Unsafe Structures Board that this is an unsafe structure. And in our opinion, it can
be repaired, and we believe that it meets all of the required criteria, as outlined in
the historic designation report.
Mr. Schnidman: May I --?
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Chair Hardemon: Do you have any more testimony you want to put on the record
supporting your argument?
Mr. Adams: No; only that we do have concerns regarding the grounds for appeal,
many of which do not appear to be correct, and we do have questions about the
qualifications of the attornment. There is no expert testimony to contradict what we
have said about these properties.
Chair Hardemon: All right. Cross-examination.
Mr. Schnidman: Cross-examination?
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Mr. Schnidman: Warren, in all of your experience as a historic preservation effort,
have you --expert --have you ever done a multiple property designation?
Mr. Adams: No; this is my first.
Mr. Schnidman: This is your first?
Mr. Adams: Yes.
Mr. Schnidman: At the HEP Board meeting, there was discussion of what
"thematic" meant, and a concern that it was too vague. Do you recall that?
Mr. Adams: Who suggested it was too vague? Okay --
Mr. Schnidman: I would like to call up a fact witness who actually attended all of
the meetings --
Mr. Adams: Okay.
Mr. Schnidman: --and can respond to these questions.
Mr. Adams: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: This is cross-examination. You're cross-examining him now.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: So if you have a question of him --
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --to his recollection, then ask it.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. So you --do you recollect that there was a discussion of
what exactly was "thematic" and a request to be more definitive in the definition of
"thematic"?
Mr. Adams: Not specifically, but we would have discussed the process and thematic
designation, yes.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. And then the other question I have: Please explain what
you mean by "surveyed the property," in Appeal Number 1, because it is my
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understanding that even after a year, no one from the City, from either the staff or
the HEP Board, has contacted the owner about visiting the site or talking to him
about the property. So what exactly was the survey?
Mr. Adams: Property Number 1 is actually one that we were invited to, and we saw
around the property and inside the property so --
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Mr. Adams: --we did --we were invited to that one, and we did go out, yeah.So we
have --you know, we've seen all four sides. We've seen the interior of this particular
property at the invite of the owner.
Mr. Schnidman: And seeing the condition of the property and that it had an unsafe
structure, you still felt that it was appropriate?
Mr. Adams: I am not an engineer.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Mr. Adams: I am not an architect. I am not a building contractor. So I follow the
recommendation of our Building Department. They're the people who would
determine if this propertyis unsafe or not. And as I explained, even if this
designation is upheld, should this go before the Unsafe Structures Board and should
it be declared unsafe, then we would sign off on its demolition, because we --you
know, they basically trump us in their assessment.
Mr. Schnidman: Now, are you aware in what you'd just described that you're talking
about significant costs for all of these reviews in the creation of professional
information experts that are going to have to attend these hearings to be --to bring
these determinations?
Mr. Adams: All I can say is I am not an expert in these fields.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Mr. Adams: I have to follow the guidance of the people that are.
Mr. Schnidman: Okay. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: All right.
Mr. Schnidman: I'd like --
Chair Hardemon: I'm not going to let you call a witness --
Mr. Schnidman: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --to bring in hearsay testimony.
Mr. Schnidman: I understand.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. Are you ready to close?
Mr. Schnidman: Ready to close on Number 1, okay.
Chair Hardemon: You're ready to close on Number 1; give you five minutes.
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Mr. Schnidman: Okay. We have a property that was built in 1939 that has, under
Tab 12, a construction evaluation that says it is an unsafestructure that needs to be
demolished. There is also in Tab 12 a statement that shows to bring this property
under --up to Code is going to cost over $260,000. They have visited the site, and in
their detailed research of this building, which was builtin 1939, they identify three
people that have lived there, and no more. It's hard to say that this building has a
connection to the Bahamian and African-American community that was based upon
the founders and their descendants when the property was builtin 1939. And also,
the issue with a lot of these properties --serious issue --is that they don't really
reflect what it is that you're trying to protect, because what you're trying to protect,
given the discussions that are had at all of the meetings --and yes, I will admit that
there were many, many meetings --but the reality of it was the landowners were
never noticed until it went to the HEP Board. And the excuse that will be given is
they're not legally required to. Many of the owners --almost all of the owners that I
represent --only one owner, the property just dealt with, is the one that seeks to be
demolished, because he bought the property from a slumlord who basically had it in
a condition unfit for human habitation, and he was --bought it, and he was going to
tear it down. He bought it from a government employee whose --who never got
Code enforcement, and he bought it from a government employee who knew that it
was going to be designated under historic, and he bought it from a government
employee who never informed him of the historic nature. He's being asked to go
through an entire process as an --through the HEP Board to be able to get this
building demolished when it actually shouldn't even be on the list. And if, in fact, the
Building Department says that a building that is unsafe --and in fact, his unsafe
structure notice that was served on this property said that no one could live there.
He had no tenants. He couldn't get any rent. And in fact, this is the same issue that
we're bringing up with 3447, is because the representative of that property came to
this Commission and said, "I have an unsafe structure notice." And that, if you
watch the video, and you see will be the basis upon which that property was
removed. And youcan say whatever you want about the removal of one of the poster
children that you didn't --You can say, "Oh, I just didn't know enough about the
property to know that it wasn't actually the original structure," when everybody in
the neighborhood will tell you it was. But we're saying we have an equal protection
issue with this property. You got a unsafe structure notice, the same as 3447. They
took 3447 off, and they left this property on; an unsafe structure that they anticipate
this property owner,who did not ask for historic preservation, is involuntarily being
mandated to be historic preservation. We all know it's going to get demolished, and
he is going to be asked to incur significant costs to get this property removed. It is
just unfair whenthis City Commission, sitting as the applicant who amended the law
to make thematic multiple property designation so easy that you could designate
anything that was thematic, wooden, between 1941 --excuse me --between 1911 and
1941. And I did find it very interesting when Jackie Rose's property on Frow came
up, and it was removed, because in the chain of all of these people, a white family
lived in the building. I really don't understand all of the standards. I don't
understand why this is being done.I feel that it is inappropriate for government to
do this to its citizens; to forcibly declare historic preservation on a building that is
an unsafe structure, knowing the burden that you are going to be putting on this
legitimate tax-paying owner. It is just unfair. It's almost un-American. Thank you
very much.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Mr. Adams.
Mr. Adams: I would suggest that respecting and recognizing and documenting and
protecting the country's heritage is most definitely American; especially the heritage
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that is perhaps unrecognized or not as recognized as it should be, and that's what
we're attempting to do here. This is more than just the historic properties. This is
what these properties reflect. These properties reflect the culture of the area. These
properties reflect methods of construction. These properties reflect the lives of the
people who lived and grew up in and adapted and developed that area and the City
of Miami. These properties, as I outlined earlier, have to meet certain criteria. And
no, this doesn't give us free rein to do this. We are restricted to NCD-2 and NCD-3
with multiple property designations. These properties are all in the West Grove.
They were all built within a particular time period. They are all of a particular
architectural style. In our opinion, they retain sufficient integrity to convey that
historic significance. They are all over 50 years old. They all meet three of the
required criteria in Chapter 23, when it is only required that a property meet one.
And even though some may have been adapted and some may have been repaired,
we believe that these properties do still reflect their significance, and that's why we
have included 3295, 3297 Charles Avenue in this multiple property designation.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. Mr. Adams, quick question: On notification --
because that was brought up --
Mr. Adams: Yes.
Vice Chair Russell: --you sent notifica --notification is required to be sent to the
address of the owner, whether or not that's the site; is that correct? That's the
requirement?
Mr. Adams: What we did with --for the public meetings --We actually have a note
from the NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) Office here, so the NET Office
provided us with all the notification that they did for the public meetings, which
included notifying the various homeowners associations and other associations in
the neighborhood, and they distributed the flyer by email, and there were flyers
produced for each meeting.And also, the NET Office suggested that they --or told
us that they actually distributed the flyers for the two meetings in June to the
individual properties, and we have a list of the properties, sir.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you. That establishes the five public meetings which you
assess --which you assert are above and beyond what the requirement is of a
reasonable public outreach. What I was asking about was the actual notification
with regard to the designation or the --
Mr. Adams: Yes. Again, what we did was we are only required to notify the owner
of the property regarding the designation. However, what we did was we sent
notification letters to both the owners as listed on the Property Appraiser's website
and the individual property itself, and these were sent by certified mail and regular
mail. So we made every effort to make sure that property owners were informed of
this.
Vice Chair Russell: So you went above and beyond the regular mailing requirement
in terms of notification?
Mr. Adams: Yes, as outlined in Chapter 23. We went beyond that, yes.
Vice Chair Russell: Got it.
Commissioner Reyes: I have a question.
Mr. Schnidman: For the record, I just want to state that the meeting notices that
were mailed were received the day after the meeting for a number of my clients.
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Mr. Adams: All meeting notices were mailed within the allotted time period that they
should be mailed. In fact, they were mailed a couple of days before the date that
they should have been, so --and we haveall of that documented, and we have all the
proof so --
Vice Chair Russell: Commissioner Reyes.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes. I insist that the Federal Standards were not --and
Guidelines were not --they were not followed. I mean, it was --standards that you
wanted, they're the ones that were followed. And I don't think that you went through
all the procedures to determine the history behind the house. And you had records
and--records of the site, the structure, everything. Everything. I don't think you
followed that. And besides that, there is an inconsistency in here, because according
to the attorney, there was another structure, that it was similar to this one, and you
had--that had a historic value, because somebody that was very well known in the
community that lived in that structure, and it was same shape, or maybe a little bit
better than the shape of this property, and you declared that that house should be
demolished. And we have here --I have it in Tab 12 --I have a report by Cueto
Engineering that says that this is an unsafe structure, and all the pictures say it --I
mean do it --they show it, that it should be demolished, you see. I cannot, I cannot, I
mean, understand why one house that --one of these shacks was declared that it was
unsafe and these conditions were about the same, but the other one had more history
behind it, and then this one is --I think, sir, with all due respect, I think there is
certain --some type of prejudice or, sir, some type or arbitrary decisions, I mean.
And I'm going to ask Francisco. Francisco, you seen the property. The property
was --I mean, is totally unsafe. And do you believe that this could be --I mean, it's
worth being declared historic?
Chair Hardemon: I think that's a very difficult question, first of all. Listen, I want to
say this: It's not about it being unsafe or historic. It's about being historic. A
property can be both historic and unsafe, so let's just make that very clear.
Mr. Adams: And I should point out, William Avenue was not removed because it was
determined to be unsafe. It was removed because it did not meet the criteria, based
on documentary evidence that we received from the owner representatives.
Commissioner Reyes: Excuse me, sir. They --accordingto the attorney here, the
other structure had more, more documentation of being historic than this one.
Mr. Adams: But if it does not meet the --I mean, the Miami Marine Stadium has
more documentation than this particular property, but it's --
Commissioner Reyes: And it is historic.
Mr. Adams: --it does not meet the criteria for this particular designation.
Commissioner Reyes: But the Miami Marine Stadium is historic.
Mr. Adams: Yes, but --
Commissioner Reyes: I mean, you are --you picked the wrong example, you see.
Mr. Adams: But if we were including properties here that did not meet the criteria,
then we would not be doing our job. That property was determined not to meet the
criteria.
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Commissioner Reyes: Those criteria are very, very,very subjective.
Mr. Adams: No, it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Commissioner Reyes: I mean --yes, sir, extremely subjective.
Mr. Adams: No. That decision is based on documentary, and the evidence does
(UNINTELLIGIBLE) plan too.
Commissioner Reyes: But it show the documentary, because when I asked you if you
had all the documentation and all that, you said, "Yes," but you never showed it.
Mr. Adams: The --
Commissioner Reyes: I mean, Standard Number 1 from the Secretary of Interior
Standard and Guidelines, I enumerated all of them --
Mr. Adams: Yeah.
Commissioner Reyes: --you see. Even with --I mean, what you have to do is you
have to --
Chair Hardemon: Counselor, counselor, you're doing a very good job of being the
attorney on the case, but what we need to do is this: We need to --I want to --we
have a motion that could possibly be made. So I want to acknowledge the Vice
Chairman for his motion; then I'll come to Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd like to move that we deny the
appeal based on the fact that the process was followed correctly, and that it does
meet all three of the following characteristics or traits required by the Code:
Exemplify the historic, cultural, political, economic or social trends of the
community; two, portray the environment in an era of history characterized by one
or more distinctive architectural styles; and three, embodies those distinguishing
characteristics of an architectural style, period, or method of construction. Ido not
believe the appellant has disproved any of this.
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: There's a motion.
Chair Hardemon: There's a motion.
Commissioner Carollo: How many --
Chair Hardemon: Seconded by the Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: --homes like this do you have in the Grove; the shotgun
homes or frame you have in your historical group? How many of these shotgun
wooden frame homes do you have, historical, in this area of the West Grove?
Mr. Adams: The final designation for this --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Mr. Adams: --included 39 properties.
Commissioner Carollo: 39.
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Mr. Adams: 15 have been appealed; however, I think one of those appeals has been
withdrawn.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So if --
Commissioner Gort: You have 29.
Commissioner Carollo: --we would grant --yeah, you would have --
Commissioner Reyes: 39.
Commissioner Carollo: --no. You would have 25 left. You don't --
Mr. Schnidman: Which is the number you started out with.
Commissioner Carollo: --think that you got enough with 25 to show history?
Mr. Adams: What we have to do --
Commissioner Carollo: I mean --
Mr. Adams: --is follow the process, and then any properties that meet the process,
we've included.
Commissioner Carollo: I hear that in the process, but --
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman?
Commissioner Carollo: --you know, when we were here doing all this, I --
Chair Hardemon: Wait.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm a history buff, and I like to, you know, lookat history.
And one of my favorite movies is Brave Heart, so I hit in here historic properties in
Scotland. And if I would show you what is historic in Scotland and bring people like
you from Scotland, they would laugh you off, you know, the podium there in what's
historic. Now, let me tell you what my big problem is. If you would tell me you got
just a handful of these, I would understand. But I have a major problem in naming
historic or putting eminent domain when people have either a home that's a
homestead. In this case, a lot of them do not have it as a homestead, but we're taking
rights away by naming it historic that that --you know, it's going to be so much more
expensive for them to do anything there. They can't tear it. I mean, it's --this should
not be the place of government, unless you have something like the Tower Theater,
the Freedom Tower downtown, the Olympic \[sic\] Theater. That's historic. And, you
know, I'm petrified that --by the criteria you guys are using. Next thing you know,
we'll have the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) socialite states of District 2 going into District 3
and trying to name everything historic, too. And, you know, this has got to stop
somewhere.
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Carollo: This is America. We don't do this to people in this fashion.
Commissioner Reyes: Absolutely.
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Commissioner Carollo: And if you got 39, you are going to have 24 examples left.
I'm going to tell you as straight as I can --so look at my eyes --I'm voting to grant
these 14 the exception that they want.
Commissioner Reyes: Me, too.
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: Let me tell you how I stand on this. I think I always stated
from the beginning, I hate to see a --someone have their property dedicated historic.
And I can understand, Commissioner Russell, what you're trying to do, and I
applaud it. But I think some of the people who live there and have they have
homestead exemption should receive all the help that they can to maintain their
historic. Now, if you want to maintain a neighborhood, my house was --is 81 years
old. If you come in my area, you're going to declare it historic.
Commissioner Carollo: I agree.
Commissioner Gort: A lot of people that thinking in Allapattah, they're going to be
buying property, and I can tell you people, don't sell. Just like our Chairman says, if
you don't want something to change, don't sell your property. A lot of these property
had been sold in the past. Now we’ve done in the City of Miami, as I recall,
Northwest 16th Avenue and 1st Street Northwest, there's a cottage in there, a house
very similar to some of this, the government --the City bought it. The City's paying
over half a million dollars, and we have that, and it's still there. There’s a couple of
those things that the historical sites have been maintained within the City of Miami.
The City bought them, and the City gave them the funding to establish it the way they
should have been from the beginning, and it's very expensive. We've done quite a
few of that. And --but these people have bought their property, they're the owner,
and they have the rights to their property.
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Chairman, I remember years past when we had the --I
was in the Oversight Board for the bonds, and we bought the first house that --the
first building that housed Miami High. That's historic, you see. That's historic. And
it was a little shack. And you remember that --I don't know, Willy, if you remember.
Commissioner Gort: It's over at Lummus Park.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right. And it was taken from the place that --it was
moved into a park in order to maintain the history --
Commissioner Gort: The history behind it.
Commissioner Reyes: --behind that building. But this --I mean, to declare historic
a building that it is stated \[sic\] for demolition, I think that is overreach.
Chair Hardemon: Okay. So right now --
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman?
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, Mr. Vice Chairman.
Vice Chair Russell: I apologize. Thank you. But I just --I do need to speak,
because some of this hurts to hear. To say that the history of these homes are not
worth saving, because they're not the Leaning Tower of Pisa, is --it's insulting to the
history and the culture of --
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Commissioner Reyes: Don't, don't, don't --
Vice Chair Russell: Just let me finish.
Commissioner Carollo: Here we go again.
Vice Chair Russell: Please let me finish.
Commissioner Reyes: No, no, no. Don't (UNINTELLIGIBLE)--
Commissioner Carollo: Bring up the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) again.
Commissioner Reyes: Don't start (UNINTELLIGIBLE) like that, okay?
Vice Chair Russell: My feeling is this is very important --
Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Russell: --because when you say that, there is an entire population in
history of people whose story there that is getting systematically erased. It hurts
them. It hurts them to know that their story is being pushed out by market forces and
otherwise. This effortto save that story is very important. The ability to tell that
story in its greatest context is very important, and it deserves so much more. They
deserve a complete historic district in a traditional sense, and the only reason they
can't have it is because so much is already gone. And for us, as a City, as a Historic
Preservation Board, as a department, and as a Commission to try and save that story
and what is possibly left of that community and cherish it and lift it up and rebuild it
and bring all the funding necessary to help it, it's our duty and it's our responsibility.
What's before us today is, Did these properties meet the criteria, and did we meet the
process? And I do thank you for your trust in me that I am working to bring all the
fundingnecessary so that these will come back to life in the way that they should.
Dade Heritage Trust is working with my office, Rebuilding Together is working with
my office, and we will make this happen. But it is important to note that when you
diminish the importance of these houses or say that someone important didn't live
there --An entire important population did live there. And when I went to Tampa a
month ago, I studied their historic thematic district, their multiple property
designation of shotgunhomes, and they saved so many, and it created such a
beautiful Ybor City District. But their story of shotgun homes came from the Cuban
story when they came over as cigar-rolling factory workers. And that workers class
was considered to be sacred and their story is sacred and they can tell it today,
because those buildings are still there. I do believe that these are worthy of saving.
The question today --if any one of these comes up and shows us that they do not
meet the criteria, that is our job today to say, "You're absolutely right." And I'd be
the first one to say, "If it doesn't meet the criteria, let it off the list, because we
should be protecting the ones that deserve it by the criteria set out by the
department."
Commissioner Reyes: Mr. Russell, let me make my comment very clear. You have a
tendency of insinuating that they are insensitivity on some of us, because we don't
agree with you. Don't play that card again. You see, I have not said that this --that
some of these homes, they should be preserved. I never said that. But they have to
have history behind it. Okay? And what I'm totally against is that the building that
it is --I mean, it is stated \[sic\] for demolition, then --and nobody knows who lived
there --and then arbitrarily is picked over another building that was stated \[sic\] for
demolition, and that was not picked. But I'm going to ask you a favor, sir. Don't do
that again, because I am not insensible \[sic\] to any of the residents or any of the
people that live in theCity of Miami. I've been in the City of Miami longer than you,
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because I came in 1959; probably before you were born. And I've been part of this
community and I have been working for this community before you even, even
started doing politics and playing politics with people, using the race card. Okay?
(Applause)
Chair Hardemon: No, no, no.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman, can we call the question?
Commissioner Reyes: Yes.
Chair Hardemon: It's been properly moved and seconded to deny the appeal of
PZ.1. Okay, we understand what the motion is, right?
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, to deny the appeal.
Commissioner Reyes: Deny the appeal.
Chair Hardemon: Right. All in favor of denial, say "aye."
Commissioner Carollo: In favor of the denial.
Chair Hardemon: Let me --okay. There is an appeal. If you grant the --
Commissioner Carollo: I know; in favor of the denial.
Chair Hardemon: If you're in favor --
Commissioner Carollo: I want to make sure that people understand it.
Chair Hardemon: Right.
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman?
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Vice Chair Russell: I would like to give direction so that the HEP Board, when --if
this gets fully designated and the appeal is denied, and they approach the HEP
Board for a Certificate of Appropriateness, or the department, because they would
like to alter the structure or move the structure, I would like to see flexibility within
that. These --there --and --because sometimes, it might be considered --
Chair Hardemon: Sir?
Vice Chair Russell: --it might be considered --
Chair Hardemon: Sir?
Unidentified Speaker: Sorry.
Chair Hardemon: Now I need you to just step outside for a second. You can hear
from the --from outside.
Vice Chair Russell: I've done researchand studied and learned that these are very
modular homes. They're very moveable. And in many people's cases, that's a part of
their argument why they don't want this designation. They want their rights to that
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property, to develop it how they want, todo something different, and I would --you
know, this is the HEP Board's decision to grant or deny at that point, and then it
could be appealed back to us, a Certificate of Appropriateness. But I want it on the
record here today that I do hope for that flexibility so that we can be flexible with
these properties if they are to be moved to another location or redeveloped in a
different way for adaptive reuse.
Chair Hardemon: So to clarify, the motion is to deny the appeal. All in favor of the
denial, say "aye."
Vice Chair Russell: Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against, say "nay."
Commissioner Carollo: Nay.
Commissioner Reyes: Nay.
Commissioner Gort: Nay.
Chair Hardemon: Motion fails.
Commissioner Carollo: Now, I would like to make a --
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): For the record --
(Applause)
Chair Hardemon: No, no, please.
Mr. Hannon: Chair, for the record, I just have that 1/4; one "yes"; four "no."
Commissioner Carollo: If I could make a motion now, Chair.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Right; be a motion to grant the appeal.
Commissioner Carollo: If I could go further. Look, I stated what I stated. It's late.
We can't be here until tomorrow morning with basically the same situation. I'm
going to make a motion that we approve PZ.1 through 15, and you could take out the
one that changed their mind, which means you got 14 that are going to approve --be
approved. I don't remember which one --
Commissioner Gort: PZ.3.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: PZ.3 was withdrawn.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So --
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was deferred.
Commissioner Carollo: --from PZ.1 through 15, with the exception of PZ.3 that's
been withdrawn, I make a motion that we approve their request.
Commissioner Reyes: I second.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: You approve the appeals based on the evidence and testimony,
and you don't think the criteria is met?
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Commissioner Carollo: That's correct.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: If that --I would just like for the record, please, just for the
attorney for the majority ofthe appellants to say that they have no objection to that.
Mr. Schnidman: There is a 700-page record for each of the properties; and so, we
will rest on the record, because the record shows sufficiently if we have to go to
judicial appeal that we will prevail.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Please, can you answer my question? Do you have any objection
to that?
Mr. Schnidman: I do not have any objection --
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Thank you.
Mr. Schnidman: --to calling the question --
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Thank you.
Mr. Schnidman: --at this time for the --
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Thank you. Thank you.
Mr. Schnidman: --remaining properties so that if you --yeah. Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: It's been properly moved and seconded. Is there any further
discussion?
Mr. Garcia: And please be --my apologies, but this is important. Mr. Schnidman
does not represent all of the cases. I would like also to hear from the representative
for the other two cases that he does not represent, please.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: That's an excellent point. Those persons, as the Director said,
that he does not represent need to come forward and be asked the same question; if
they object to it just being heard of and disposed of this way. And you are, and
you're what number, sir?
DavidPorter: David Porter, President of Stirrup Properties, and I do not object.
Mr. Schnidman: He’s got two properties.
Chair Hardemon: What item is it? What item is it?
Mr. Porter: Properties at (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Yes. Can you please, just for the record, tell --can you give us
the address of the properties?
Mr. Garcia: I'm happy to do so on his behalf. We have it on the record. I believe
the gentleman represents properties at 3673 William Avenue and 3644 Frow Avenue.
Is thatcorrect, sir?
Mr. Porter: Yes, it is.
Commissioner Gort: 15.
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Commissioner Carollo: You know, if it weren't so late, I might say a few more
things, but I just want to get a vote and get out of here.
Chair Hardemon: One more person. You, sir, you're recognized.
Mr. Arthur: William Arthur again, at 2929 --2920 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Coral
Gables. I'm representing the owner of PZ.15, 3859 Washington. I do not object to
what is being proposed. I did bring an architectural presentation. I am --
Chair Hardemon: Wonderful.
Mr. Arthur: --an architect, and I do have a background in historic preservation. I
was taught at the University of Florida and trained by the Deputy Director of the
Department of Interior. I can't speak for all the houses, but I can speak for my own,
and some of the ones that we've seen here tonight are not architecturally significant.
I question some of staff's analysis, although I applaud them for their efforts in
general. There are some that should be disputed.
ChairHardemon: Thank you, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: Call the question.
Chair Hardemon: Any further discussion? If there is no further discussion --
Mr. Hannon: Chair, I'm sorry. Who was the seconder to Commissioner Carollo's
motion? My apologies.
Commissioner Carollo: The seconder?
Chair Hardemon: Yeah.
Commissioner Reyes: I seconded.
Chair Hardemon: All in favor of the motion, say "aye."
Commissioner Carollo: Aye.
Commissioner Reyes: Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against?
Vice Chair Russell: No.
Mr. Hannon: Motion passes, 4-1.
Chair Hardemon: Motion passes.
Mr. Suarez-Rivas: Thank you.
Mr. Schnidman: Thank you.
Vice Chair Russell: Get out the bulldozers. Good job.
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PZ.2RESOLUTION
4657
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
MARIA CRISTINA LONGO("APPELLANT") AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3616 THOMAS AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO
NUMBER 0141210075650.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0453
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.2, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items,”“Part B: PZ -Planning and
Zoning Items,” andItem PZ.1.
RESOLUTION
PZ.3
4658A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
ALICIA KOSSICK ("APPELLANT") AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3536 WILLIAM AVENUE,MIAMI , FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO
NUMBER 0141210076140.
MOTION TO:Withdraw
RESULT:WITHDRAWN
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Keon Hardemon, Chair
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.3, please see “Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items”and “Part B: PZ -Planning and
Zoning Items.”
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PZ.4RESOLUTION
4643A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
ALEXANDRE JEAN-BERNARD DIEDERICH AND FRANCESCA MAE
Planning
MIRES DIEDERICH ("APPELLANTS") AND
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3475/3477 HIBISCUS STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO
NUMBER 0141210074740.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0454
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.4, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items,”“Part B: PZ -Planning and
Zoning Items,” andItem PZ.1.
RESOLUTION
PZ.5
4644A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
ALEXANDRE JEAN-BERNARD DIEDERICH, FRANCESCA MAE
Planning
MIRES DIEDERICH, GINETTE DREYFUSS AND BERNARD
DIEDERICH ("APPELLANTS") AND
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3758/3760 FROW AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO
NUMBER 0141200060490.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0455
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MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.5, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items,”“Part B: PZ -Planning and
Zoning Items,” andItem PZ.1.
PZ.6RESOLUTION
4645A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
CASPIAN DEVELOPMENT,LCC ("APPELLANT") AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3418 CHARLES AVENUE,MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITHTHE FOLIO
NUMBER 0141210075260.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0456
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.6, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items,”“Part B: PZ -Planning and
Zoning Items,” andItem PZ.1.
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PZ.7RESOLUTION
4660
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
3508 HIBISCUS, LLC ("APPELLANT") AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, ASAMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3508 HIBISCUS STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO
NUMBER 0141210076120.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0457
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.7, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items,”“Part B: PZ -Planning and
Zoning Items,” andItem PZ.1.
RESOLUTION
PZ.8
4661A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
MICHAEL MARCH ("APPELLANT") AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3541/3543 PLAZA STREET AND 3586/3588 CHARLES AVENUE,
MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITHTHE FOLIO NUMBER 0141210076360.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0458
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
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Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.8, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items,”“Part B: PZ -Planning and
Zoning Items,” andItem PZ.1.
PZ.9RESOLUTION
4640A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
ANTOINETTE SIMMONS ("APPELLANT")AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3587 HIBISCUS STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO
NUMBER 0141210077050.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0459
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.9, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items,”“Part B: PZ -Planning and
Zoning Items,” andItem PZ.1.
PZ.10RESOLUTION
4662A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
TELICA HENRY-MCQUEEN AND ELESTER ANDERSON AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3671 WILLIAM AVENUE,MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITHTHE FOLIO
NUMBER 0141210075760.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0460
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MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.10, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items,”“Part B: PZ -Planning and
Zoning Items,” andItem PZ.1.
PZ.11RESOLUTION
4641A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
STIRRUP PROPERTIES, INC. ("APPELLANT") AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3673 WILLIAM AVENUE,MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITHTHE FOLIO
NUMBER 0141210075750.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0461
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.11, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items.”
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PZ.12RESOLUTION
4642
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
STIRRUP PROPERTIES, INC. ("APPELLANT") AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYINGTHE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATEDAT APPROXIMATELY
3644 FROW AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO NUMBER
0141210072410.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0462
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.12, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items.”
RESOLUTION
PZ.13
4639A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
3837 THOMAS LLC ("APPELLANT") AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OFTHE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3837 THOMAS AVENUE AND 3841 THOMAS AVENUE, MIAMI,
FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO NUMBER 0141200070680.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0463
MOTION TO:Adopt withModification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.13, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items,”“Part B: PZ -Planning and
Zoning Items,” andItem PZ.1.
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PZ.14RESOLUTION
4638A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY
Department of
HERNAN GUERRERO APPLEWHITE ("APPELLANT") AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/OR MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE
MIAMI HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3637 OAK AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO NUMBER
0141210070950.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0464
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.14, please see“Public
Comment Period for Planning & Zoning Items,”“Part B: PZ -Planning and
Zoning Items,” andItem PZ.1.
RESOLUTION
PZ.15
4637A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH
ATTACHMENT(S), GRANTING/DENYING THE APPEAL FILED BY NE
Department of
APARTMENTS ASSOCIATES, INC. ("APPELLANT") AND
Planning
REVERSING/AFFIRMING/MODIFYING THE DECISION OF THE MIAMI
HISTORIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION BOARD’S
APPROVAL, PURSUANT TO SECTION 23-4 OF THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, OF THE FINAL
EVALUATION OF LOCAL DESIGNATION AS A HISTORIC
RESOURCE OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY
3859 WASHINGTON AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, WITH THE FOLIO
NUMBER 0141200070210.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0465
MOTION TO:Adopt with Modification(s)
RESULT:ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATION(S)
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
NAYS:Russell
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Note for the Record: For minutes referencing Item PZ.15, please see “Part B: PZ
-Planning and Zoning Items”and Item PZ.1.
END OF PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S)
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D3 -DISTRICT 3
COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT THREE JOE CAROLLO
DISCUSSION ITEM
D3.1
4899DISCUSSION ITEM REGARDING CODE ENFORCEMENT.
Commissioners
and Mayor
MOTION TO:Defer by Unanimous Consent
RESULT:DEFERRED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT
Note for the Record: Item D3.1 was deferred to the October 25, 2018, Planning
and Zoning Commission Meeting.
END OF DISTRICT 3 ITEM
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NA -NON-AGENDA ITEM(S)
NA.1DISCUSSION ITEM
4987COMMISSIONER GORT RECOGNIZED OCTOBER AS BREAST
CANCER AWARENESS MONTH AND BROUGHT AWARENESS
Office of the City
THAT EARLY DETECTIONSAVES LIVES.
Clerk
RESULT:DISCUSSED
Commissioner Gort: At this time, I’d like to --today we’re wearing pink in
recognition to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is so important that we
understand that. And please remember that early detection is the key to be a
survivor. My wife is a cancer survivor for five years, so early prevention is very
important.
NA.2RESOLUTION
4988A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION
EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR ALL OF THE FLORIDA
Office of the City
PANHANDLE RESIDENTS WHO HAVE SUFFERED THE
Clerk
DEVASTATING EFFECTS OF HURRICANE MICHAEL; DIRECTING
THE CITY MANAGER TO COORDINATE WITH THE MAJOR
MUNICIPALITIES IN THE PANHANDLE TO OFFERANY
ASSISTANCE AND EXPERTISE NECESSARY IN THE
HURRICANE RECOVERY EFFORTS; DIRECTING THE CITY
CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO MIAMI-
DADE LEAGUE OF CITIES, INC.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0466
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Ken Russell, Vice Chair
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Reyes
ABSENT:Carollo
Vice Chair Russell: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Hardemon: You’re recognized.
Vice Chair Russell: Point of privilege regarding Hurricane Michael. I believe this
city got very lucky last night on a hurricane --one year after Hurricane Irma. We
honestly got lucky last year, but our friends in the Panhandle did not. And what they
suffered last night, we’re only beginning to understand as the sun comes up this
morning; there have already been a couple fatalities, but for sure, they will have a
recovery effort even much greater than Miami had last year. We’ve been through
this. We have a little bit of experience. And I’d like to recommend a motion that
directs our City Manager to reach out to the major municipalities in the Panhandle
to see how we can be of service. I know that our Fire-Rescue is already there; 80
people strong; swift water, high water rescue efforts are going on as we speak, and
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the City of Miami is there to help. But when it comes to debris removal, utility
connection, we do have some experience; and whether that is advice, whether that is
manpower, or whether that’s actual boots on the ground that might be able to help, I
think we need to count our blessings today and help our neighbors. So I’d like to
make that motion.
Commissioner Reyes: I second it, and I commend you, Commissioner Russell, for
your concern about them, what our brothers up north are going through. I second
that motion.
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: I would like this motion to pass onto Miami-Dade County
League of Cities so they can go ahead and pass it on to all themunicipalities.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: All right. No discussion, motion carries without objection.
Emilio T. Gonzalez (City Manager): Mr. Chairman, if I may? Commissioner
Russell, that number has since increased to 120 firefighters. Task Force 2 was
activated; they went first. And the next day, another 40 firefighters were asked to
head up there; half of those are ours, so we have a substantial presence up in the
Panhandle.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you, Mr. Manager.
DISCUSSION ITEM
NA.3
4997DISCUSSION BY VICE CHAIR RUSSELL REGARDING ARTIFICIAL
TURF ON SWALES ALONGBRICKELL AVENUE AND BRICKELL
Office of the City
BAY DRIVE.
Clerk
RESULT:DISCUSSED
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll try to keep it brief. Ihave a lot
of very upset constituents who are being very vocal about an issue of artificial grass
in the City; in the swales in Brickell. Clearly, we’ve used this throughout the City
for a positive effect in dog parks and in sporting fields. But any time a major project
comes in to a district, a Commissioner's district, I believe there should be a protocol
with which the Administration works with the district Commissioner. This project is
over $300,000, so it's not just choosing some plants to put down or some ground
cover, but we have a process. And we all went together back in the early summer to
walk with the neighbors down all of Brickell Ave., from 25th to 15th, and find every
problem. And the Administration did an amazing job, knocking out a punch list, of
fixing sidewalks, fixing bus shelters, fixing some planting and trees and everything.
But this choice to bring in nearly $300,000 in that spot and then on Brickell Bay
Drive of artificial grass is a bit different. It's a project. And your electeds \[sic\] are
here because we have the pulse of our community. It's not about engineering.
There's many reasons to have put in the grass. It may make sense, but there's a
process. We need to get buy-in from our neighbors; I don't think that was done.It
certainly wasn't done with my office. And so, I'm very upset about this. It seems like
a trivial thing, but it's very important to many people. And so, I'd like to understand
from the Administration that they’re not going to implement projects in our districts
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without talking to Commissioners; that they're not going to run major events in our
districts without talking to Commissioners; that major project approvals for
construction come through our offices so we know and we can communicate with our
neighbors about what’s happening. This is a small example of something that's been
happening for years, but I'd like to see this change with the Administration.
Commissioner Gort: Mr. Chairman?
Chair Hardemon: You're recognized, Commissioner.
Commissioner Gort: You know, I agree with Commissioner Russell. I mean, we've
been here in the public hearing; we have listened to different people, residents of
City of Miami, and the different opinion in different neighborhoods. What applies in
one neighborhood might not apply in another neighborhood. For scooters for the --
in downtown, I think it's great, and it’s a great facility to have the scooters in
downtown. I hate to see them in my district; we got so many senior citizens on the
sidewalk, and they're not going to be using it, but they have to be very careful. I
think any development that’s going to take place --I know the Administration is
looking at the City as a whole, and that's very important, but I think implementation
in the different neighborhood, they have to have the input of the residents of the area
or our self \[sic\].
Chair Hardemon: You want to speak on behalf of the City?
Alan Dodd: My name --Alan Dodd, Director for the Department of Resilience and
Public Works. I came into the City in June, and this was one of the first projects that
we did discuss. We did a walk-through with the President and the board of the
Brickell Homeowners Association. I attended at least four or five meetings with
different homeowners associations in that area in the month following, where we
talked about this project and others. So I believe that we did try to communicate
with the residents and inform them as to what our plans were. I do agree that we
can communicate better with all the Commissioner offices about everything that
we're doing. There is a lot of projects and things that we're doing to try to improve
it. This was one of many projects within our overall Beautification Program that we
are trying to attempt, but it is about communication, and we did try to communicate
at what we were intending to do, and as we were proceeding with the project, exactly
what we were applying, and trying to do it in a responsible manner.
Vice Chair Russell: I mean --
Commissioner Gort: My understanding is, you had public hearings at the
homeowner associations or the condo associations. You had presentations there.
Mr. Dodd: Commissioner, I went to several meetings where we talked with residents
about the beautification plans that we had, the projects that we were doing in the
Brickell area. In that month --as I said, right after I got here, we had several
different meetings where we talked to people who attended those meetings.
Vice Chair Russell: It's --you've been doing an amazing job in Public Works, and I
enjoy working with you very much. I --when your predecessor was here, and as well
as the predecessor at Capital Improvements, in my very first meeting I had an
argument with them; that they felt electeds \[sic\] don't have aplace at the table with
regard to engineering projects, because they're not engineers, and I really pushed
back, because I believe we're the ones who are accountable to the people with what
they want or don't want. I understand the reasons you put in thegrass, because it
does make literal sense in terms of avoiding use of water, and pesticides and
fertilizer; we have high traffic --foot traffic in that area; grass was having trouble
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growing. It makes sense, but it doesn’t make sense everywhere, and it --sometimes,
it's what the people want, and there are other alternatives. I was working through
June. I have text messages with Urban Paradise Guild, trying to find solutions on
those exact swales, and they do exist. We could do something there. But then,
without knowledge of my office, boom; in goes a $300,000 project. And so, I'm stuck
on the back end of this. I mean, I don't want to ask for it to be ripped out at this
point. This is also --A few people spoke with your office and spoke with the Mayor,
and there was an interest to do it. And so, the Mayor is also elected by these
residents, and so, I understand he's in support of this project; I'm not, but I don't
want to get in a fight over an item like this, but it is a huge waste of money whenwe
don't do it the right way. My predecessor put in little black fences just before I got
into office, because maybe two people had asked for it in Brickell on these exact
swales. That was his solution for keeping people from walking on it, but then even
dogs couldn't go on it or anything, and nobody wanted it. And so, I actually asked
and said, “Let's take them out.” And it was a waste of $150,000 because there
wasn't general neighborhood consensus. I know some people will like it, some
people won't,but in this case --and I'm seeing you're hearing it now, and you're
going to hear more. There was a protest on the streets last night about this very
thing. People care about the trees. They're very concerned about the concrete that
was laid around the root base of the trees for this project. I do believe there were
other options that were not considered, and I was not at the table on this, and that's
not the way the Commission --Commissioners of the district should --they should be
involved. They should be involved.
Mr. Dodd: And Commissioner, if I can specifically address the concrete, that was
not done in accordance with the plans and specifications. As soon as we became
aware of it, we did direct the contractor to remove all concrete from around the
roots and the base of the tree. And there is a aggregate that is being placed around
the trees and in the majority of the swale area, which does allow for drainage into
the roots of the trees. It allows for about 45 gallons per hour of percolation per
cubic yard, which is pretty close to natural flow. The --
Vice Chair Russell: So there will be full drainage?
Mr. Dodd: --concrete is only on the barrier around --where it connects with the
sidewalk to help to adhere it down so that itdoesn’t become a tripping hazard.
Vice Chair Russell: My last question is with regard to cleanliness, as people do
leave their dog waste there. I'd like to know what the City is going to do now to
maintain this, because it does hold a smell, it doeshold the dog waste; doesn't break
down as easily if somebody leaves it there. So what is our plan to clean these
swales?
Mr. Dodd: Commissioner, currently, maintenance of the swales is the responsibility
of the adjacent property owner. We don't have a plan for the City to assume that
responsibility.
Vice Chair Russell: I think we're going to need to come up with something, because
it--
Commissioner Reyes: I have a question --
Vice Chair Russell: --(UNINTELLIGIBLE) created (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: --if I may?
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Commissioner Gort: My suggestion is, put those little booth where they have the
little bag.
Commissioner Reyes: That's right.
Commissioner Gort: Because when I walk my dog, I pick it up.
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, and enforcing it. I want to ask a question. I'm --even I
am getting calls and emails, and it's outside of my district. But I want to know who
authorized --I mean, how the decision was made to use artificial grass in those
areas? Imean, who knew all that?
Commissioner Carollo: Which is super expensive.
Commissioner Reyes: Which --I mean, I don't know. I just --out of curiosity, I want
to know, because --I want to know who authorizes Mr. Russell's district to use
artificial grass. I want to know because --I mean, I have a district also. I want to
know --I don't to get up one morning and have something in my district and nobody
inform me about it, you see. I don’t want to be surprised of that. How this
happened? That's the only thing that I want to know. Who is responsible for
authorizing it?
Mr. Dodd: Commissioner, the contract with Easy Grass, which is the company that
we're using, was authorized in 2013 by resolution, so that was what allowed us to
use this type of an artificial turf application (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, but you're not answering his question.
Mr. Dodd: Commissioner, again, I'm just saying that we were using an authorized
contract and means.
Commissioner Carollo: Well --
Mr. Dodd: Now, as far as the specific project, which is, I believe, your main
concern, I was not part of the initial conversations, but I do know that within the
Public Works staff that we were working with our arborist to see what applications
we can use in order to improve the swales in this area. It was a very high priority
with the homeowner association and the residents. And so, the solution to place the
artificial turf came from within the Department of Public Works, and I do believe
there was some conversations with the staff.
Commissioner Reyes: But who knew besides the Department of Public Works? Who
elected official? I mean, there was an elected official --you have a Commissioner
here; he should be informed. I mean, anybody else knew about it?
Mr. Dodd: Commissioner, I can't talk as to conversations (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Reyes: No. I'm just --want --I--
Mr. Dodd: I do know that --
Commissioner Reyes: --I'm just asking questions, because I don’t want it to happen
again.
Mr. Dodd: --but when we did the --Yes, Commissioner. When we did the walk
through in June with the homeowners association, Commissioner Russell was there.
We did talk with the homeowners association, and he may not havebeen there when
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we had that specific conversation, but we were discussing it at that point and time. I
believes that the Commission had a understanding of exactly what we were doing as
we were moving forward in the project. It now sounds like that may not have been
as well understood as I believed.
Commissioner Reyes: Somebody (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Russell: I'm sorry; I need to push back, because my staff or I have been
at every HOA (Homeowners Association) in the Brickell area that we are invited to.
If there's a meeting that takes place that we're not invited to and a decision's made,
but the other night, after the grass was involved, was the very first HOA there where
I heard from them about this issue, and I don't believe there's a consensus amongst
the HOA that they wanted it. There's certainly a large voice that doesn't want it. I
understand that the Mayor has a large initiative on beautification in Brickell, and I
really do appreciate that, because it is a big investment of the City; it's not coming
directly from the capital budget that I've approved. And so, this was not an item that
I was --that was before me to approve, and he is an elected of that area as well. So
I'm not trying to get in a fight with the Mayor over this issue, but it's my
understanding that a couple residents went to him, and that this got approved, and it
never came to my Commission office. And I know it seems small; it's one swale, but
it's a very big expense, and I think it's a big waste of money, and I think it's
something that you did with good intention that the neighbors are not going to thank
you for at the end of the day, and it's going to look bad for us as a city and us as
electeds \[sic\]; and in the end, we may end up having to rip it out, based on the
consensus of the neighbors, how it goes, because this will get louder and louder, I
guarantee you, and I think it's going to end up being a big waste of money, because
we didn't do it in the right way.
Chair Hardemon: So thank you for --No, no, no, I want to end this discussion now
so we can get to some of our business. I think the point has very much been made, so
I appreciate you coming to answer our questions. Okay?
Commissioner Carollo: I do need one more question, though, at least.
Commissioner Russell, from what I'm hearing from you, you were not told that this is
going to be installed, correct?
Vice Chair Russell: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, this is outrageous that something of this nature is
going to be done and a district Commissioner is not going to be told, because today,
it happened to you, but tomorrow, it could happen to any of us, and that's not right;
not only to mention that artificial turf cost 10 times the amount of grass, so we could
plant 10 times grass there at different times, and that will be the cost of what
artificial turf would be. And it's one thing when you're putting it in dog parks or
even in some parts of parks, but when you're putting it in areas --and particularly in
Brickell, when you haveso many buildings, there’s so little green space, and every
other apartment has a dog --that it's going to get so much usage. It --I don't know
who thought of this, but it doesn't make sense. You need grass.
Chair Hardemon: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: That's what you need. And I will tell you, there's going to
be $300,000 that, you know, is going to be out in the trash can, because I don't think
that's going to last that long there; certainly not anywhere near the time that it was
expected.
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NA.4RESOLUTION
4998A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION DIRECTING
AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF MIAMI (“CITY”)
Office of the City
ADMINISTRATION (“ADMINISTRATION”) TO SEEK AND OBTAIN
Clerk
THE APPROVAL OF THE RESPECTIVE COMMISSIONER WHOSE
DISTRICT IS THE LOCATION OF ANY CITY CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (“PROJECT”) UNDER
CONSIDERATION; FURTHER DIRECTING AND AUTHORIZING
THAT, SHOULD SAID COMMISSIONER OF THE DISTRICT
WHERE SUCH A PROJECTIS LOCATED DISAPPROVE OF THE
SAME, THE ADMINISTRATION PREPARE AN ITEM FOR
INCLUSION ON THE NEXT AVAILABLE COMMISSION MEETING
AGENDA FOR THE CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF THE
COMMISSION AS A WHOLE.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0467
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Hardemon, Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
Commissioner Carollo: So I'd like to make a resolution now, Mr. Chairman, that
any improvements that are going to be made in districts of the City of Miami, that
before they're made, the Administration gets the okay, the approval from the district
Commission. And if the district Commissioner is not in favor of it, and the
Administration feels so strongly that they want to move forward with it, then it be
brought up to the whole body so that the wholebody could make a decision on it.
And that is my motion.
Commissioner Reyes: I will second that motion, because of the sake of argument,
Commissioner Russell, you said that the Mayor has strong --and I know he did it,
because he started in --made agood job, and I want to continue what he started on
Coral Way. But I’m still finding out who ordered that. I mean, who was in favor of
that and who made the decision? Was the Mayor the one that made the decision to
install that without Commissioner Russell's knowing? I mean, I just want to know.
Or it was the Park Manager, or was the --? I mean, I don't know. I just want to
know, because somebody must have given the order or make the decision, because
we --this is not --this does not happen by --out of --I mean, just out of the blue
skies, somebody says, “I'm going to place grass here.” Commissioner Russell
mentioned that the Mayor has that --I mean, strong feelings about using that type of
grass. I want to know who did it.
Chair Hardemon:We have 49 minutes now left in our meeting.
Vice Chair Russell: I apologize. I've spoken with the Mayor about it. He did say
this was his initiative. He does believe (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Commissioner Reyes: Okay, that's what I wanted to know.
Vice Chair Russell: --product, and he does believe that residents want it.
Commissioner Reyes: Okay, that's what I wanted to know.
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Vice Chair Russell: And so, he brought it forth.
Commissioner Reyes: And I think that we should with --asCommissioners, we
should be consulted, you see. And it's --I mean, we are a body over here, you see;
that we are a legislative body, and we all should be --and we are representing those
residents, you see. Okay?
Chair Hardemon: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Dodd: Commissioner, if I can just offer that we have several beautification
projects that are part of the plan --
Commissioner Reyes: Yes, you do.
Mr. Dodd: --and we can sit down with each of your offices --
Commissioner Reyes: And I commendyou for it.
Mr. Dodd: --and go through in detail on all those projects to make sure --
Commissioner Reyes: I commend you for it.
Mr. Dodd: --that you agree with the path forward for each of them.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, there's a motion; there's a second, Mr. Chairman.
Chair Hardemon: Yeah, there was a motion made. There was a second made.
Mr. Hannon: Public hearing.
Chair Hardemon: Is there anyone from the public that’d like to make a comment on
that motion that ison the floor?
Carlos Suarez: First of all, thank you for everyone kind of going along with this,
because I know it's not anywhere, you know, on your agenda; perhaps, it’s not as
specific to this --what's being passed on your resolution. Just so that we're very
clear here, a couple of sways \[sic\] along Brickell Avenue were in bad shape. I
know; I live there. I run. I walk there. I walk my dog. We've now said --the Public
Works Director has admitted, to a certain extent, that because of these bad sways
\[sic\], we went along with this project. So these trees that were in bad condition, and
those surrounding areas around it, we’ve put this artificial grass, but now we've
removed certain parts of it where the concrete was poured, because these trees
aren't going to be able to get their water. So now, we've started a project because of
bad sways \[sic\] that were usually these large trees, and now the artificial turf that
was installed has now essentially been either peeled back or removed because of the
issue. So there's a complete disconnect to why we started this project and now we're
pulling it back, and in the meantime, we've removed entire plot --I mean, I'm talking
about plots of grass. Any --the --it--the length of an entire building, where there's
not --I can tell you right now, I know exactly which sways \[sic\] you're talking
about. The one right on 15th Street, the one near 17thth Street where the church is,
and the one across from the hotel. Those are three large trees that, yes, the sways
were bare, and there was grass --I mean, there was a lot more dirt than there was
grass, but now that was the impediments to this, and now those are the parts that
we've essentially taken back.
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Vice Chair Russell: Well, they're going to removethe concrete, but they're putting
back the fake grass. And this project's moving forward as long as the Mayor wants it
to, and that's it.
Mr. Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Any further comments?
Commissioner Reyes: Nope.
Chair Hardemon: Seeing none, I'll close the public comment time on this item. Any
further discussion? Hearing none, all in favor of the motion, say “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Hardemon: All against? That motion carries. Thank you very much, sir.
DISCUSSION ITEM
NA.5
4999UPDATE BY MIAMI-DADE COUNTY HOMELESS TRUST CHAIR,
RON BOOK, REGARDING THE PROGRESS OF RESOLVING
Office of the City
ISSUES WITH THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT LOCATED IN
Clerk
OVERTOWN.
RESULT:DISCUSSED
Chair Hardemon: I know we're at our lunchtime right now, but what I'd like to do is
invite Mr. Ron Book to come before us. I know we've been dealing with some issues
together, and I know he wanted to give us a quick update about some things that are
occurring.
Commissioner Gort: Yeah, I read this morning.
Chair Hardemon: Did you see that?
Commissioner Gort: Yes. Well, I go through there every day. Don’t forget; I come
out of the police station --
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Commissioner Gort: --and go through there.
Chair Hardemon: Mr. Book.
Ronald Book: Mr. Chairman, if I could, 18851 Northeast 29th Avenue, Suite 1010,
Aventura, Florida, in my role as Chairman of the Homeless Trust. Mr. Chairman --
and I don't know if Mr. Vickers is within ears’ range of me, but we've spent an
inordinate amount of time over the last week and a half with the Manager’s staff,
Police Chief’s staff, Deputy Chief, outreach teams, all of our staff --and I mean all
of them --the folks from Jackson, folks from Needle Exchange; folks from the
Eleventh Circuit Court, meaning the judges, in an effort to get that area of Overtown
cleaned out, done, and closed. We've made an inordinate amount of progress in the
last four days. I want to first thank you and the Commission for passing the
emergency ordinance --resolution that you passed two weeks ago to close the streets
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to vehicular traffic. It has helped make a difference. In the last probably four days,
we've moved close to 30 of the individuals out. They've either gone to detox or
they've gone to rehab. Our staff was back out there this morning getting everybody
else that's out there entered into our system. I believe that the City has a plan that
they began to implement this morning, from a signage perspective, making it clear
that once we are cleared out, which is --the intended date is next Friday --that that
area would be cleaned up, cleared out. I will tell you, since I was last here, Mr.
Chairman, I was called to address the issue at the School Board. I don't need to tell
you that there are five schools and the Overtown Youth Center in the immediate
vicinity of the encampment. And for the benefit of those others on the dais, less
maybe day-to-day familiar with what's going on in Overtown, the area between 1st,
2nd, and 3rd Avenues, 13th, 14th, and 15th Streets, has turned into nothing but an
open opioid and sex den. We do not call it a homeless encampment, even though the
Homeless Trust has coordinated with their partners, the City of Miami, in getting it
closed and remedied.
Chair Hardemon: And I'll say this, just to add to what you just stated: I was there
with my sergeant-at-arms maybe yesterday or the day before, and we watched people
get out of their cars and go into that space. So it's an incredible sight to see to let
you know that it's not about homelessness there.
Mr. Book: We are --Mr. Chairman, I said this to the School Board; I'm going to say
it more clearly here. In the 24 and a half years that I've been Chair of the board, all
of those encampments we had under I-95, 195, 395; Commissioner Gort, all of those
that you witnessed us tear down, fence out, pull the dirt up, have it incinerated and
closed, we have nothing --we had nothing then like what this is; that there are --and
I--on Monday morning, I will use as an example --I was there Monday morning at
7 o'clock. The little children and their mothers that are walking through there and
seeing the sex that's going on in the open, in the broad daylight, watching cars come
in and do the drug exchanges, but watching the individuals who are at 7, 7:30 in the
morning, in a complete drug stupor, is nothing that a seven-, eight-, nine-year-old
should ever see, let alone, look out the windows --and again, for those less familiar,
those three-story and four-story multi-unit dwellings look right down into that
encampment. You cannot look down there, daytime or nighttime, and not see the
open sex, not see the drugs. We watched --I've got a picture from this morning's
visit. There's a woman that we thought we had committed to go to Jackson. She's a
health mess. She's likely to --and I don't know that they amputate lips, but she's
likely --her lips are black of what appears to be gangrene. She would not go. A
woman walking through yesterday told us they watched this woman as she was out;
food hanging out of her mouth; and a rat on her face, eating the food from her
mouth. We saw this morning a rat by the lady's body in her comatose state. We
could not get her to go. Those that are unwilling to go, we do intend to use the legal
process, the Marchman Act, to move them into detox. I want you to know that,
together with your staff, we have, I think, largely been successful today, but there's
more to be done. No community, Mr. Chairman --and I --you are the one who
originally called the overall area to our attention seven months ago, nine months
ago. We had not focused on the encampment till, as you know, late spring, early
summer. We did not understand what it was then; we do now. No community should
ever have that. And I will tell you, in today's New York Times, there's a front-page
story about a place in Philadelphia that is much like this. Their city, Mr. Manager,
wherever you went, I --no. The story on the front pageof the Times today,
Kensington, Pennsylvania, where they did not grab it when it started like ours, and
today, it is considered the most open-free drug market on the East Coast of the
United States. That is not going to happen in your city, and it's not going to happen
in your community. And I want to thank the Manager, I want to thank Mr. Vickers, I
want to thank your Police Department; most importantly, your Public Works and our
outreach teams that we coordinate and work together on as partners, for helping us
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get there. But I am remiss if I don't thank the folks at Jackson and the South Florida
Behavioral Health Network, Judge Leifman, for having moved the monies around
that were absolutely on an emergency basis needed to deal with it, and we're talking
about hundreds of thousands of dollars of detox and rehab dollars that were shifted
around to meet the problem in the community. My biggest fear, as Mr. Vickers will
tell you, yesterday was that we had not necessarily fully adopted a plan to assure
that when they were out that nobody move back in, because we knew yesterday how
many we had taken out, and we saw new people showing up. And we know that on
Thursday afternoon, Thursday nights, people show up for their weekend binging at
the site. He has assured me that their plan is tight and in place to assure that when
they're out, they're out, and those that are still there Friday will be moved along in
one way, shape, or another. All of the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)
positive individuals, as ofyesterday evening, had been moved out and moved into
detox or rehab. And I don't know if I've missed anything. No, but I think that's --
Joe Napoli (Deputy City Manager): Just a minute.
Mr. Book: Yes.
Mr. Napoli: Ron, thanks for coming over.
Mr. Book: Yes.
Mr. Napoli: This is a problem, as you know, Mr. Chairman, that we need to take on
--
Chair Hardemon: State your name for the record.
Mr. Napoli: Joe Napoli. I'm Deputy City Manager. --that we need to take
ownership of andwe have. In conjunction with Mr. Book and the other agencies, we
do have a plan in place to clean this up next week. We do have a plan in place to
ensure that people do not come back to the area, the entire area; and also working
with Judge Leifman and others to make sure that these problems do not fester and
then grow into what has become what it is now in the future. So we have to take
ownership from the start. We have to take care of this problem and take ownership
from the start on any other incident like this that occurs in the future.
Chair Hardemon: You know, and I must say, I'm happy to see the sort of ownership
that the City of Miami, along with its partners, are starting to have in this. It's
complicated in many ways, but what I believe Mr. Book is speaking of is not allowing
these sorts of issues to cloud our judgment on what has been deemed homelessness.
And so, these are two very different situations that the normal passerbyer \[sic\] may
mistake as homelessness, but it is not that. And so, I just want to thank everyone for
coming together and really taking a real good look at this, and making that area a
better place for people to live, because they deserve better. You know, I'm used to
growing up in a community where children walk toand fro, how they choose to be,
but there, it’s much different. And you've never seen more mothers and fathers
walking with children than you've ever seen in a neighborhood like that than there in
that space, but it has to happen, because they have no way that they can literally go
to take care of their daily affairs but through what's happening underneath the 395.
And so, you know, I appreciate the attention and --Also, I want to say that we had
our State Attorney, Katherine Fernandez Rundle. She wasthere as well to take a
firsthand look at this.
Mr. Napoli: Right.
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Chair Hardemon: I mean, it's astonishing. And so, thank you all for giving it the
attention that it deserves.
Mr. Book: I got to tell you, nobody should have to tell their children they can't look
out of their window of their home or go out to play, because 10 yards outside of their
door is what's out there right now. It's just --nobody should ever do that. Nobody.
Chair Hardemon: Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Gort: My understanding, we're working in the legislation to try to
pass something to make Baker Act a lot easier, because a lot of these people that’s
sick, they don't understand they’re sick, and like the case you were stating a little
while ago, they’regoing to die.
Mr. Book: Mr. Chair, through you.
Chair Hardemon: Yes.
Mr. Book: I think the plan is to use the Marchman Act as opposed to the Baker Act.
Marchman Act is more appropriate here as an instrument to be utilized, because it
dealswith the addiction issues; Baker act is dealing more with the mental health
issues, threat to yourself or others in the community. We're looking at a series of
amendments to the Baker Act and the Marchman Act going forward into this
legislative session. When we have those cooked, I will bring them to you so that the
Commission can consider endorsing them.
Commissioner Gort: Well, whatever we can do, I think that you need that tools. If
you don't have those tools, it makes it very difficult.
Mr.Book: I don't --If I could, Mr. Chair, through you --think we do. California
just passed an advanced conservatorship statute in the last two weeks that would
allow a greater effort to go in and go directly at these individuals and put them into
care for a year. That's real --if you don't --people are unwilling to embrace their
addiction and want to get better; they don't. Sometimes government's got to go into
the legal system and force that, and that's --California adopted this as a pilot, in San
Francisco, L.A. (Los Angeles), and San Diego, where they have that massive drug
epidemic situation going on in the opioid arena.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you.
Mr. Book: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Thank you very much.
Mr. Book: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: Okay, so we're on recess for lunch, until we come back at 2
o'clock.
Vice Chair Russell: And then shade --executive?
Victoria Méndez (City Attorney): Chairman --
Chair Hardemon: I don't think we can do it that way. I was --
Ms. Méndez: --are you --?
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Chair Hardemon: --trying to get the executive session done before our lunch break
--
Ms. Méndez: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --but it’s --
Ms. Méndez: So that's what I wanted to clarify.
Chair Hardemon: --not going to be able -- Yeah. It's not going --you know, I
apologize for everyone who has to wait. I know people had some obligations.
However, when those people who are coming for the appeal come, you know, they're
going to want to be heard, so it's--I don't think it's right for us to go up into an
executive session --
Ms. Méndez: Okay.
Chair Hardemon: --no telling how long that would take for us.
Ms. Méndez: So I just wanted to clarify, we'll leave the session for later on in the
day, because, remember, I have to read my little speech, so I'm not reading anything
now. Thank you.
Vice Chair Russell: Thank you.
Chair Hardemon: We're in recess till 2 o'clock.
RESOLUTION
NA.6
4977A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION
SUPPORTING TRAFFIC FLOW MODIFICATIONS ATTHE
Commissioners and
INTERSECTION OF SOUTHWEST 15TH ROAD, SOUTHWEST
Mayor
3RD AVENUE, AND SOUTHWEST 13TH STREET, MIAMI,
FLORIDA, WHICH INCLUDES THE INSTALLATIONOF A
ROUNDABOUT AT SAID INTERSECTION; DIRECTING THE CITY
MANAGER TO INSTRUCT THE DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAMTO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS
RESOLUTION TO THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS
AND WASTE MANAGEMENTDEPARTMENT, THE FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT SIX
SECRETARY, AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY TO CONSIDER APPROVAL OF
THE PROPOSED TRAFFICFLOW MODIFICATIONS.
ENACTMENT NUMBER:R-18-0442
MOTION TO:Adopt
RESULT:ADOPTED
MOVER:Joe Carollo, Commissioner
SECONDER:Manolo Reyes, Commissioner
AYES:Russell, Gort, Carollo, Reyes
ABSENT:Hardemon
Commissioner Carollo: I have a resolution I'd like to bring. Madam City Attorney,
it's the one on the traffic flow modification on the Roads.
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Victoria Méndez (City Attorney): Yes, Commissioner Carollo. It's beingpassed out.
Vice Chair Russell: It's a pocket item?
Ms. Méndez: It's a pocket item.
Commissioner Carollo: It's an FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) one
that everyone's in favor of.
Vice Chair Russell: Where is this exactly?
Ms. Méndez:It's a resolution of the Miami City Commission supporting traffic flow
modifications at the intersection of Southwest 15th Road, Southwest 3rd Avenue, and
Southwest 13th Street, Miami, Florida, which includes the installation of a
roundabout at said intersection; directing the City Manager to instruct the Director
of Capital Improvements Program to transmit a copy of this resolution to the Miami-
Dade County Public Works and Waste Management Department; the Florida
Department of Transportation, District 6 Secretary; and the Florida Department of
Transportation Secretary to consider approval of the proposed traffic flow
modifications; sponsored by Commissioner Carollo.
Vice Chair Russell: I'll open the floor for public comment on this item. Nobody?
We'llclose public comment. Open to the floor.
Commissioner Carollo: Move.
Commissioner Reyes: Second.
Vice Chair Russell: It's been moved by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by
Commissioner Reyes; open for discussion. All in favor of the item, say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Vice Chair Russell: Any opposed? Motion passes.
Commissioner Gort: Let me ask a question, Commissioner Carollo. In your district
--
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Commissioner Gort: --I believe it's between --you know where the Publix is on 7th
Street, Southwest 7th Street and --?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Commissioner Gort: That is one street just behind the Publix that goes one way; it's
only that one street. In other words, if you try to go north or south on that street, you
can't, because it's one way going north.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. There's a couple of streets like that there. I don't
know which one you mean. You got 3rd; and then, of course, you got 4th, that you
come out on that side --
Commissioner Gort: That's about 3rd Avenue.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
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Commissioner Gort: I believe it's 3rd Avenue.
Commissioner Carollo: 3rd goes up. If you're on 8th Street, you make a left, it goes
only up one way.
Commissioner Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. That's where the little soccer fields are at.
Commissioner Gort: Right, right.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. And then if you go up a little more, you pass the
underpass, the other one, you could only go left. If you go right, you're going to get
all the cars hitting you --
Commissioner Gort: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: --that come up 95.
Commissioner Gort: No, but I'm talking about the one right behind the Publix. You
can only go --
Commissioner Carollo: Where?
Commissioner Gort: --south. Right behind the Publix.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Yeah.
Commissioner Gort: It's about 3rd. It's 7th Street Southwest and then I think it's 3rd
Avenue.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 6th Street behind the Publix.
Commissioner Gort: It's 3rd Avenue. Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, yeah, 6th Street and 3rd Avenue.
Commissioner Gort: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Commissioner Gort: It's goes one way only for one block, and then it goes both
ways north and south of it.
Commissioner Carollo: You're --
Commissioner Gort: Just food for thought.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. You're two blocks from Jose Martí Park there.
Commissioner Gort: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. What would you like to see, Commissioner?
Commissioner Gort: Two-way.
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Commissioner Carollo: Might be possible. We'll look at it and see if we could do it.
Commissioner Gort: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Because you're right, you know; it would flow better.
NA.7ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION
4994
UNDER THE PARAMETERSOF SECTION 286.011(8), FLORIDA
STATUTES, A PRIVATE ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION WILL BE
Office of the City
CONDUCTED AT THE OCTOBER 25, 2018 MIAMI CITY
Clerk
COMMISSION MEETING. THE PERSON CHAIRING THE
COMMISSION MEETING WILL ANNOUNCE THE
COMMENCEMENT OF AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION,
CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC, FOR PURPOSES OF DISCUSSING
THE PENDING LITIGATION IN THE CASE OF WALTER E.
HEADLEY, JR., MIAMI LODGE #20, FRATERNALORDER OF
POLICE, INC. V. CITYOF MIAMI, CASE NO. BP-2017-013 (CR-
2017-001), TO WHICH THE CITY IS PRESENTLY A PARTY. THE
SUBJECT OF THE MEETING WILL BE CONFINED TO
SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS OR STRATEGY SESSIONS
RELATED TO LITIGATION EXPENDITURES. THISPRIVATE
MEETING WILL BEGIN AT APPROXIMATELY10:00 A.M. (OR AS
SOON THEREAFTER AS THE COMMISSIONERS' SCHEDULES
PERMIT) AND CONCLUDEAPPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR LATER.
THE SESSION WILL BE ATTENDED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE
CITY COMMISSION, WHICH INCLUDE CHAIRMAN KEON
HARDEMON, VICE-CHAIRMAN KEN RUSSELL, AND
COMMISSIONERS WIFREDO“WILLY” GORT, JOE CAROLLO,
AND MANOLO REYES; CITY MANAGER EMILIO T.GONZÁLEZ;
CITY ATTORNEY VICTORIA MÉNDEZ; DEPUTY CITY
ATTORNEYS JOHN A. GRECO AND BARNABY L. MIN; DIVISION
CHIEF FOR LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT KEVIN R. JONES;
ASSISTANT CITYATTORNEYS STEPHANIE K. PANOFF AND
BARBARA DIAZ; LUKE SAVAGE, ESQ.; AND MICHAEL
MATTIMORE, ESQ. A CERTIFIED COURT REPORTER WILL BE
PRESENT TO ENSURE THAT THE SESSION IS FULLY
TRANSCRIBED AND THE TRANSCRIPT WILL BE MADE PUBLIC
UPON THE CONCLUSION OF THE ABOVE-CITED, ONGOING
LITIGATION. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT
SESSION, THE REGULARCOMMISSION MEETING WILL BE
REOPENED AND THE PERSON CHAIRING THE COMMISSION
MEETING WILL ANNOUNCE THE TERMINATION OFTHE
ATTORNEY-CLIENT SESSION.
RESULT:DISCUSSED
Barnaby Min (Deputy City Attorney): Mr. Chairman, before we adjourn, I do need
to announce a shade meeting for the next meeting. May I read it?Mr. Chairman
and members of the City Commission, pursuant to provisions of Section 286.01\[sic\]
Subsection 8,Florida Statutes, the City Attorney is requesting at the City
Commission meeting of October 25, 2018, an attorney-client session,closed to the
public,be held for the purpose of discussing the pending litigationin the case of
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City Commission Meeting Minutes October 11, 2018
Walter E. Hadley, Jr., Miami Lodge Number 20,Fraternal Order of Police, Inc.,
versus City of Miami, Case Number BP-2017-013 --
Chair Hardemon: Mr. City Clerk, you --pause one second. I do want the record to
reflect that on the one that was presented that I was a "no," okay?
Todd B. Hannon (City Clerk): On --Is that PZ.1?
Chair Hardemon: Correct.
Mr. Hannon: PZ.1?
Chair Hardemon: The initial vote. That was the initial vote. It failed, but initial
vote. Continue on.
Mr. Min: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. --pending before the State of Florida Public
Employee Relations Commission, to which the City is presently a party. The subject
of the meeting will be confined to settlement negotiations and strategy sessions
related to litigation expenditures. Thisprivate meeting will begin at approximately
10 a.m. or as soon thereafter, asthe Commissioners' schedules permit,and conclude
approximately one hour later. The session will be attended by the members of the
City Commission, which include Chairman Keon Hardemon, Vice Chairman Ken
Russell, Commissioners Wifredo "Willy" Gort, Joe Carollo, and Manolo Reyes; City
Manager Emilio Gonzalez; City Attorney Victoria Méndez; Deputy City Attorneys
John Greco, Barnaby Min; Division Chief of Labor and Employment Kevin R. Jones;
Assistant City Attorneys Stephanie Panoff and Barbara Diaz; Luke Savage, Esquire,
and Michael Latimore, Esquire. A certified court reporter will be present to ensure
the session is fully transcribed, and thetranscript will be made public upon the
conclusion of litigation.At the conclusion of the attorney-client session, the City
Commission will be reopened, and the person chairing the City Commission meeting
will announce the termination of the attorney-client session. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:32 p.m.
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