20121212 AAAfteraction December 12, 2012 City of Miami Beach
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City Commission Meeting
City Hall, Commission Chambers, 3rd Floor, 1700 Convention Center Drive
December 12, 2012
Mayor Matti Herrera Bower
Vice-Mayor Michael Góngora
Commissioner Jorge R. Exposito
Commissioner Jerry Libbin
Commissioner Edward L. Tobin
Commissioner Deede Weithorn
Commissioner Jonah Wolfson
Interim City Manager Kathie G. Brooks
City Attorney Jose Smith
City Clerk Rafael E. Granado
Visit us at www.miamibeachfl.gov for agendas and video "streaming" of City Commission Meetings.
ATTENTION ALL LOBBYISTS
Chapter 2, Article VII, Division 3 of the City Code of Miami Beach, entitled "Lobbyists," requires the
registration of all lobbyists with the City Clerk prior to engaging in any lobbying activity with the City
Commission, any City Board or Committee, or any personnel as defined in the subject Code
sections. Copies of the City Code sections on lobbyists laws are available in the City Clerk's Office.
Questions regarding the provisions of the Ordinance should be directed to the Office of the City
Attorney.
Special note: In order to ensure adequate public consideration, if necessary, the Mayor and City
Commission may move any agenda item to the alternate meeting date, which will only be held if needed. In
addition, the Mayor and City Commission may, at their discretion, adjourn the Commission Meeting without
reaching all agenda items.
Meeting called to order at 9:45:49 a.m.
Mayor Bower wished everyone a Happy Holiday Season.
Inspirational Message given by Pastor Victor Palacio, of the Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Poder
de Dios.
Pledge of Allegiance led by Jonah Meyers.
The City Commission will recess for lunch at approximately 1:00 p.m.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1:
C7A Resolution R5B Memorandum and Ordinance
C7D Resolution R5F Memorandum and Ordinance
C7F Resolution
C7G Resolution R7A Resolution
C7H Resolution R7B Memorandum and Ordinance
C7J Resolution R7C Resolution
C7K Resolution R7D1-2 Resolutions
C7M Resolution R7H Resolution
C7O Resolution R7M1-2 Resolutions
C7P Resolution
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SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 2:
R7H Resolution
ADDENDUM MATERIAL 1: ADDENDUM MATERIAL 2:
C4Q, C4R and C4S C4T and C4U
ADDENDUM
Motion made by Commissioner Wolfson to add items C4Q, C4R, C4S, C4T and C4U to the
Agenda as emergency items; seconded by Vice-Mayor Góngora; Voice vote 7-0.
Presentations and Awards
10:46:14 a.m.
PA1 Certificate Of Appreciation To Be Presented To The Miami Beach Police Department's Officer Of
The Month For October 2012.
(Requested by Commissioner Jorge R. Exposito)
ACTION: Certificates presented to Officers Juan Cabrera and Officer Emilio Garcia.
Commissioner Exposito introduced the item. He stated that through these officer’s investigations
and dedicated work, they were able to apprehend criminals who were using stolen credit cards.
He read the nomination sent by Sergeant Camacho into the record and presented the Certificates
to both officers.
Chief Martinez spoke.
10:35:00 a.m.
PA2 Check Presentation From Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) Commissioner T. Spencer
Crowley III, In The Amount Of $74,766 For The Pine Tree Park Shoreline Improvement Project
Grant.
(City Manager’s Office)
ACTION: Check presented.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, introduced the item.
Commissioner T. Spencer Crowley, III, from the Florida Inland and Navigation District, (FIND),
stated that he is presenting a check in recognition of the completion of the Kayak Launch; the
“Pine Tree Park Shoreline Improvement Project,” which allows people to have access to the
Indian Creek Waterway. He explained that with funds collected from the State, FIND maintains
the navigability of the intercostal waterways and provides grants to local governments to fund
waterway improvement projects.
Mayor Bower thanked Commissioner Crowley, III, for assisting the City of Miami Beach in funding
these projects.
Commissioner Libbin asked if FIND also funds seawalls, and asked Kathie G. Brooks, Interim
City Manager, to look into funding the Jewish Community Center seawall. Judy Hoanshelt to
handle.
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10:51:03 a.m.
PA3 Certificates Of Appreciation To Be Presented For The Coordination Of The 2012 Veterans Day
Parade And Ceremony.
(Requested by Commissioner Jerry Libbin)
ACTION: Certificates presented.
Commissioner Libbin explained that in November, as it has been done throughout the past five
years, his office has coordinated the Veterans Day Parade. This year many people participated
and he wanted to recognize those individuals who helped put this event together; among them
Captain Mark Causey, Miami Beach Police Department Reserve Officers, Jeffrey Singer, Dave
Patlack, American Post Legion 85, Officer Martineau, PAL Executive Director, Miami Beach Teen
Club, Andrew Plotkin, Parks and Recreation Department, John Gretchen, Ivette Diaz, his aide
Enid Rodriguez and Julio Magrisso.
A PowerPoint presentation was shown.
11:01:48 a.m.
PA4 Certificate Of Recognition To Be Presented To Clarke’s For Their Service To The Community.
(Requested by Vice-Mayor Michael Góngora)
ACTION: Certificate presented.
Vice-Mayor Góngora has known Laura Cullen for many years, and she is truly a community asset
as the owner of Clarke’s, located in the South of Fifth area. She has been a resident on and off
for the past 20 years, and has been a South of Fifth resident for eight years. Laura describes her
patrons as part of her family and states that anyone that walks in the doors are no longer
customers but relatives. Not only is Clarke’s the ideal neighborhood spot South of Fifth for locals,
but it gives back to the community. Clarke’s has implemented community programs such as
Punch Out Hunger and Toys for Tequila. The Punch Out Hunger event features complimentary
punches created by some of South Florida’s most talented bartenders and all you have to do is
bring in a minimum of five cans of nonperishable food. The Toys for Tequila will be held on
Thursday December 13 at Clarke’s. The concept is to bring an unwrapped toy in exchange for a
tequila cocktail. All toys will go to the Miami Beach Police Department Toy Drive. He thanked her
for everything she does for the City of Miami Beach.
Laura Cullen spoke.
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9:59:30 a.m.
PA5 Proclamation To Be Presented To Miami Beach Senior High SHARE Program, Marking Its 75th
Anniversary.
(Requested by Vice-Mayor Michael Góngora)
ACTION: Proclamation presented.
Vice-Mayor Góngora explained the SHARE Program at Miami Beach Senior High School and
stated that it is one of the oldest traditions still in existence at Miami Beach. This year marks the
75th year of this event. The Annual SHARE program will celebrate the program with two shows
held at the Miami Beach Senior High Auditorium. The theme of the show is Hollywood Meets
Broadway. There will be performances from the drama and the chorus groups, dancers, the
orchestra band, jazz and rock ensemble musicians, and a visit from Santa Claus. The City
Commission commends Miami Beach Senior High School for keeping the tradition alive and for
giving to the less fortunate a reason to smile and help celebrate the holiday season. He
recognized Ms. Pauline Lakanen, who unfortunately could not be here today, and Ms. Frances
Sciurba, School Media Specialist Librarian. He also introduced Shirley Dominguez, Parent
Chaperone and PTSA representative.
The following individuals were recognized: Shannon Kaplan, Allison Valdez, Nicholas Marino,
Ivan Miadziolko, Juan Botero, Vincenzo Trujillo, Olenka Namuche, Kevin Portillo, Alumine Soto,
Veronica Vallarino-Reyes and Milan Ben-Yair.
Dominique Druckman thanked the City Commission and explained the funding program and its
benefits.
11:16:46 a.m.
PA6 Proclamation To Be Presented To MiamiArtZine For Their 7th Anniversary.
(Requested by Commissioner Deede Weithorn)
ACTION: Proclamation presented.
Commissioner Weithorn recognized Harvey Burnstein, MiamiArtZine publisher, and introduced
the item. She recognized staff on their 7th Anniversary and for the work they do.
Publisher and Miami Beach Arts Trust Chair Harvey J. Burstein explained how the idea of an
online publication to better serve South Florida’s arts community and art lovers was conceived.
He recognized Roger Martin, editor; Marj O'Neill-Butler, writer; and photographers Henry Perez
and Luis Iglesias.
Roger Martin thanked the City Commission for the presentation and expressed his pride for the
work Harvey J. Burstein has done over the last few years to make the magazine what it is today.
He also recognized his wife Marj O’Neil-Butler for her invaluable efforts. He especially recognized
Charles Cinnamon for being a mentor to their staff.
Commissioner Libbin thanked Bob Goodman for a great job done at Art Basel, and congratulated
all recipients.
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10:39:56 a.m.
PA7 Proclamation To Be Presented To Publix For Their New North Beach Store.
(Requested by Commissioner Deede Weithorn)
ACTION: Proclamation presented.
Commissioner Weithorn introduced the item, and explained that this new MiMo designed Publix
store at 6876 Collins Avenue has created 216 new jobs. Commissioner Weithorn thanked Publix
for transforming the area. She thanked them for being good partners in the City, and introduced
Curt Leonor, Store Manager and Alonzo Perry.
Curt Leonor, Store Manager, stated that they are hiring employees starting in January 2013, as
the business grows, and thanked the City Commission for the proclamation.
Alonzo Perry spoke.
10:24:22 p.m.
New item:
PA8 Certificates Of Recognition To Lee & Maries Cakery Company W ho Proudly Employs And
Supports Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder To ; Andrea Travaglia, Owner, Yohanna
Waterman, Baker, Mar Pulver, Executive Assistant, Ricky Dager, Jr., Savory Chef, Lazaro
Quintana, Jr., Executive Assistant, David Binder, Warehouse Manager, Grier Harris, Server.
(Requested by Mayor Bower)
ACTION: Certificates presented.
Mayor Bower introduced the item.
Andrea Travaglia thanked the City Commission for the certificate. She gave a brief summary of
how the business started, and stated that this nonprofit business is setting a precedent by
becoming a business model used to let other industries know what wonderful employees they
have. Lee & Maries Cakery Company, besides serving delicacies, employees adults with Autism
Spectrum Disorder.
Lazaro Quintana spoke. He thanked Ms. Travaglia for the opportunity she has given him.
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10:05:19 a.m.
New item:
PA9 Proclamation To Be Presented to Oliver Stern, “One World Many Abilities Program.”
(Requested by Commissioner Tobin)
ACTION: Item heard in conjunction with item PA10. Proclamation presented.
Commissioner Tobin explained that Oliver Stern, Shari Lombardi and Indera Rampresaud are
being honored today for being instrumental in the program “One World Many Abilities.”
Commissioner Tobin explained that Oliver was born deaf and after implant surgery he has turned
his disability into a powerful teaching tool for other students. He established a program that
educates elementary school students by allowing them to understand the limitations and
challenges of persons living with disability. He read the proclamation into the record and also
recognized other students present in the audience.
Oliver Stern thanked the City Commission for the proclamation, and thanked teachers and fellow
students involved. He explained that his source of inspiration for the program was “Ability
Explosion,” and after meeting with David New, Disability Access Committee Chair, he was
inspired to create a program for children.
Mayor Bower credited the Disability Access Committee for stepping forward and creating Ability
Explosion and thanked the members for this program.
The following students spoke:
Tea Elbaz
Camila Nunez
Arian Djahed
Commissioner Tobin recognized Desiree Kane for finding these programs in the community, so
that he is able to recognize them.
10:05:19 a.m.
New item:
PA10 Certificates of Appreciation To Be Presented to Shari Lombardi And Indera Rampresaud.
(Requested by Commissioner Tobin)
ACTION: Item heard in conjunction with item PA9. Certificates presented. See details with item
PA9.
11:06:10 a.m.
New item:
PA11 Certificates Of Recognition To Be Presented To Mariana Escalona & Thelma Garcia.
(Requested by Commissioner Wolfson)
ACTION: Certificates presented.
Commissioner Wolfson introduced the item and gave a brief background of the program. He
recognized Victor Diaz, Jr., in the audience, and stated that Victor and Mayor Bower were the
genesis of UNIDAD, which is an amazing community partnership that benefits seniors in Miami
Beach.
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Mariana Escalona thanked the City Commission and UNIDAD for providing assistance in helping
her find employment.
Raymond Adrian invited the City Commission to their holiday event, Friday, December 14.
Victor Diaz, Jr., stated that Margarita Cepeda, Executive Director, UNIDAD, was unable to attend
the meeting today. He thanked the City Commission for bringing recognition to the Senior
program. In addition, he announced that in September the new North Beach Senior Center
received a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy, the building is complete and will open the facility
to the public, pending the ongoing City Parks project under CIP management. He also added
that UNIDAD was awarded a $250,000 grant to fund the meals program for seniors commencing
in March 2013.
Commissioner Libbin congratulated UNIDAD and announced the Annual Toys Giveaway. He
added that the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce also has a Toy Drive tonight, donating toys
to UNIDAD and the Fire Department.
Victor Diaz, Jr., announced that on December 22 at 10:30 a.m., UNIDAD will sponsor their 16th
Annual Toy Day where they distribute toys to thousands of children in the community in
partnership with Standard Parking.
11:23:31 a.m.
New item:
PA12 Proclamation To Be Presented to George Navarro For 21 Years Of Service in the Miami Beach
Police Department and As Director Of Emergency Management.
(Requested by Commissioner Wolfson)
ACTION: Proclamation presented.
Commissioner Wolfson introduced the item, read the proclamation and recognized George
Navarro for his dedicated services to the City with professionalism during the last 21 years. He
wished him well on his retirement.
George Navarro thanked the City for allowing him to serve in the Police Department. He thanked
former Chief Eric Yuhr and current Chief Javier Otero for welcoming him in the Fire Department.
He thanked the City Commission and the Administration for having the vision to create an
Emergency Management Program.
Commissioner Exposito recognized Mr. Navarro for his impressive work and for keeping him
informed, and wished him the best and continued success.
Commissioner Wolfson proclaimed today “George Navarro’s Day” in the City of Miami Beach.
CONSENT AGENDA
ACTION: Motion made by Vice-Mayor Góngora to approve the Consent Agenda; seconded by
Commissioner Exposito; Voice-vote: 7-0.
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C2 - Competitive Bid Reports
C2A Request For Approval To Award Contracts Pursuant To Invitation To Bid No. 64-11/12, For
Preventive Maintenance And Repair Services For Emergency Generators, To All Power
Generators, Inc., As The Primary Vendor, And TAW Power Systems, Inc., As The Secondary
Vendor, In An Estimated Annual Amount Of $31,000.
(Public Works/Procurement)
ACTION: Request authorized. Jay Fink and Alex Denis to handle.
C2B Request For Approval To Issue A Request For Proposals (RFP) For Call Center Services.
(Finance Department/EOC/Procurement)
ACTION: Request authorized. Patricia Walker, George Navarro, for EOC, and Alex Denis to
handle.
C2C Request For Approval To Issue A Request For Qualifications (RFQ) For A Construction Manager
At Risk (CMR) Firm To Provide Pre-Construction Services And Construction Phase Services Via
A Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) Amendment For The Scott Rakow Youth Center Ice
Skating Rink Mechanical Repairs And Building Renovations.
(Capital Improvement Projects)
ACTION: Request authorized. Fernando Vazquez to handle.
C4 - Commission Committee Assignments
C4A Referral To The Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee A Discussion Regarding The City
Of Miami Beach Centennial, Which Will Occur On March 26, 2015.
(City Manager’s Office)
ACTION: Referred. Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Max Sklar to
handle.
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8:02:40 p.m.
C4B Referral To The Finance And Citywide Projects Committee, A Discussion To Consider A Request
For Rent Relief From Penn 17, LLC., Regarding The Retail Space At The Pennsylvania Avenue
Parking Garage.
(Real Estate, Housing & Community Development)
ACTION: Item separated for discussion by Commissioners Weithorn and Wolfson. Item
referred to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee, subject to the rent payments being
current. Motion made by Commissioner Weithorn; seconded by Commissioner Wolfson; Voice
vote; 5-0; Absent: Commissioners Libbin and Tobin. Patricia Walker to place on the committee
agenda. Anna Parekh to handle.
REFERRAL:
Item referred to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee, subject to rent payments.
Commissioner Weithorn stated they are asking for rent relief and they are behind three months
on the rent payment. She requested amending the resolution, and not to hear this item at
Committee until they are current with the rent payments. The language for the amendment is that
it will go to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee subject to the rent payments being
current.
Discussion held regarding Real Estate brokers commission payments.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, agreed that a different structure will be worked out for
payments of brokerage commissions, especially in long-term lease situations, and the entire
commission should not be paid up front.
Discussion continued regarding brokerage agreement.
TO DO: Review process as to how the City pays commissions to Real Estate Brokers. Example:
Develop methodology where Real Estate Commission on lease property is not paid 100%
upfront, and is instead divided proportionately with the term of the lease. Anna Parekh to
handle.
C4C Referral To The Finance And Citywide Projects Committee Of A Discussion To Consider Two
Lease Agreements: One Lease With State Representative David Richardson For 690 Square
Feet Of Office Space Consisting Of Suites 402A And 402B Located At 1701 Meridian Avenue;
And Another Lease With Commissioner Bruno Barreiro For 412 Square Feet Of Office Space
Located On The Ground Floor Of City Hall; Said Discussion To Include The Setting And
Advertising Of Public Hearings For The January 16, 2013, Commission Meeting.
(Requested by Mayor Matti Herrera Bower)
(Legislative Tracking: Real Estate, Housing & Community Development)
ACTION: Referred. Patricia Walker to place on the committee agenda. Anna Parekh to
handle.
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C4D Referral To The Finance And Citywide Projects Committee - Discussion Regarding The Issuance
Of A Request For Proposals For The Installation And Operation Of Citywide Automated Teller
Machines At Various City-Owned Properties And Facilities, Approved By The City Commission
On March 21, 2012.
(Real Estate, Housing & Community Development)
ACTION: Referred. Patricia Walker to place on the committee agenda. Anna Parekh and
Trish Walker to handle.
C4E Referral To Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee To Discuss Potential Options For
Collins Canal Project.
(Requested by Commissioner Edward L. Tobin)
ACTION: Referred. Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Rick Saltrick to
handle.
City Clerk’s Note: Dade Boulevard issue with traffic circle.
C4F Referral To The Finance And Citywide Projects Committee To Discuss Benefits For City
Employees.
(Requested by Vice-Mayor Michael Góngora)
ACTION: Referred. Patricia Walker to place on the committee agenda. Carla Gomez to
handle.
City Clerk’s Note: Refer to Agenda Item regarding an article written by Caru Teproff, staff writer for The
Miami Herald, dated November 7, 2012 titled “Hallandale Beach passes 'historic' gay rights resolution.”
Hallandale Beach passes a resolution to offer a tax reimbursement to employees in domestic
partnerships.
C4G Referral To Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee To Discuss Equitable Distribution Of
City Resources To Beautify Neighborhoods.
(Requested by Commissioner Edward L. Tobin)
ACTION: Referred. Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Fernando Vazquez
to handle.
C4H Referral To Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee To Discuss Restaurant Solicitation Of
Pedestrians On City Sidewalks, Particularly Ocean Drive And Lincoln Road.
(Requested by Commissioner Edward L. Tobin)
ACTION: Referred. Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Stephen Scott and
Public Works Department to handle.
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C4I Referral To The Land Use And Development Committee: 1) Zoning & Planning Initiatives For
North Beach Area Including Ordinance Amendments For Parking Requirements And
Development Regulations; 2) Transit Enhancements For North Beach; And 3) Application Of
Parking Impact Fees To Satisfy Hotel Parking Requirements Outside Of Historic Districts.
(Requested by Commissioner Jerry Libbin)
ACTION: Referred. Richard Lorber to place on the committee agenda and to handle.
C4J Referral To The Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee - Proposed Amendments To City
Code Chapter 38 Regarding “Elections.”
(City Attorney’s Office)
ACTION: Referred. Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. City Attorney’s
Office to handle.
C4K Referral To The Finance And Citywide Projects Committee - Discussion Regarding Police Athletic
League (PAL) Lease.
(City Manager’s Office)
ACTION: Referred. Patricia Walker to place on the committee agenda. Max Sklar to handle.
C4L Referral To Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee To Discuss Building A Guardhouse At
East Entrance Of Normandy Shores.
(Requested by Commissioner Edward L. Tobin)
ACTION: Referred. Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Rick Saltrick and
City Attorney’s Office to handle.
C4M Referral To The Land Use And Development Committee - Discussion Pertaining To “Smarter
Materials For Next Generation Infrastructure,” Such As Eliminating The Disposal Of Tires In
Global Landfills And Incinerators.
(Requested by Vice-Mayor Michael Góngora)
ACTION: Referred. Richard Lorber to place on the committee agenda. Jay Fink to handle.
C4N Referral To Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee - Discussion Involving A Long Term
Solution For The Ongoing Rodent Issue On 41st Street.
(Requested by Vice-Mayor Michael Góngora)
ACTION: Referred. Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Jay Fink and Al
Zamora to handle.
C4O Referral To Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee - Discussion Involving Citywide Lighting
Conditions.
(Requested by Vice-Mayor Michael Góngora)
ACTION: Referred. Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Jay Fink to handle.
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7:05:56 p.m.
C4P Referral To The Planning Board - An Amendment To The Land Development Regulations That
Will Create Protection From Total Demolition Of Architecturally Significant Single Family Homes
Built Prior To 1942.
(Requested by Mayor Matti Herrera Bower)
ACTION: Item separated for discussion by Commissioners Weithorn and Wolfson.
Referred to the Land Use and Development Committee. Motion made by Vice-Mayor
Góngora; seconded by Commissioner Wolfson; Voice vote: 5-2: Opposed: Mayor Bower and
Commissioner Libbin. Richard Lorber to place on the committee agenda and to handle.
REFERRAL
Item referred to the Land Use and Development Committee
Mayor Bower explained that she placed this referral on the agenda because she received a call
from Bunny Patchen requested her to do something to stop the demolition of these historic
homes constructed prior to the 1942. In researching this issue, she learned that during this year
alone there have been twenty-four requests for demolition of pre-1942 homes in the City. She
added that there is an ordinance in place for preservation of these historic homes, and asked
Jorge Gomez to explain.
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, explained the current process is that if a home was built
prior to 1942 and is deemed to be architecturally significant, the replacement home has to go in
front of the Design Review Board (DRB). A lot of this has to do with the new constructions being
so out of scale from the character of the single family homes neighborhood, but there is no
protection from demolition, although it requires DRB process.
Discussion held regarding a petition.
Daniel Soraldo stated that he has a signed petition by 349 individuals asking the City to find
something to stop demolition of historic houses and is in support of referring to the Planning
Board.
Nancy Liebman urged the City Commission to refer the item to Planning.
Mayor Bower requested an analysis of what other municipalities on preservation of historic
homes. Richard Lorber to handle.
Discussion continued.
Jeff Donnelly spoke in support of the referral to the Planning Board.
Michael Larkin, Esq., representing Lisa and Leonard Holstein, homeowners at 42 Star Island
Drive, suggested adding an applicability clause that would exempt all pending Design Review
Board applications now.
Discussion held.
Vice-Mayor Góngora made a motion to refer to the Land Use and Development Committee and
invited Mr. Soraldo to attend the meeting; seconded by Commissioner Wolfson; Voice-vote: 5-2;
Opposed: Mayor Bower and Commissioner Libbin.
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Jack Johnson suggested taking a look at some of the approved designs by DRB that are being
built in place of the houses that are being demolished; as they are inconsistent with the nature of
the surrounding neighborhood. They are the party houses that neighbors complain about. If this
Commission does not want continued complaints, he would urge them to reconsider the action
taken and address this issue as soon as possible.
ADDENDUM MATERIAL
C4Q Referral To The Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee – Discussion Regarding The
Placement Of A Fence Along The Perimeter Of The Scott Rakow Youth Center Fields.
(Requested by Commissioner Deede Weithorn)
ACTION: Referred. Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Kevin Smith to
handle.
ADDENDUM MATERIAL
C4R Referral To The Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee - Discussion Of Bringing V-Day To
Miami Beach.
(Requested by Commissioner Jorge Exposito)
ACTION: Referred. Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Max Sklar to
handle.
City Clerk’s Note: V-Day, February 14th, is a global activist movement to end violence against women
and girls. The movement was started in 1998 by author, playwright and activist Eve Ensler. Ensler has
been quoted as saying that it was women's reactions to her play that launched V-Day.
ADDENDUM MATERIAL
C4S Referral To Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee - Discuss Coordination Of FDOT
Projects In The City.
(Requested by Commissioner Jerry Libbin)
ACTION: Referred. Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Fred Beckmann to
handle.
ADDENDUM 2
C4T Referral To The Finance And Citywide Projects Committee - Discussion Regarding The Possible
World OutGames Miami Beach 2017 Funding.
(Requested by Vice-Mayor Michael Góngora)
ACTION: Referred. Patricia Walker to place on the committee agenda. Max Sklar to handle.
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ADDENDUM 2
C4U Referral To The Sustainability Committee - Discussion Regarding The Southeast Florida
Regional Climate Action Plan And The Mayor’s Climate Action Pledge.
(Requested by Mayor Matti Herrera Bower)
ACTION: Referred. Fred Beckmann to place on the committee agenda. Elizabeth Wheaton to
handle.
C6 - Commission Committee Reports
C6A Report Of The Finance And Citywide Projects Committee Meeting On November 9, 2012:
Emergency Item: 1) Discussion Regarding A Resolution Authorizing: 1) An Amendment To The
NSP1 Agreement Between The City And The State Of Florida Department Of Economic
Opportunity (DEO) And The Related Agreement Between The City Of Miami Beach Community
Development Corporation (MBCDC) To Extend The Expiration Date Of Both Agreements To
February 15, 2013; 2) To Utilize Unspent Administration Funds In The Amount Of Approximately
$248,000 To Reduce The Debt Service At The Neptune Apartments In Order To Reduce The
Rents, To Modify The Project Budgets; And 3) To Modify The Corresponding Mortgages. Old
Business: 1) Update On Proposed Municipal Marketing Program For South Pointe Park And
Other Potential Municipal Marketing Partnerships. 2) Discussion Regarding The Issuance Of
Request For Proposals (RFP) For Catering And Concession Services For The Miami Beach
Convention Center. 3) Discussion Regarding Disposition Of Surplus Equipment. 4) Discussion
Regarding A Resolution Approving Funding, In An Amount Not To Exceed $250,000, To Address
The Relocation Of The Kitchen Exhaust Venting System Installed By The Pennsylvania Avenue
Garage Retail Tenant, Penn 17, LLC D/B/A Cooper Avenue. 5) Discussion Regarding Amending
Ordinance No. 1605, The Unclassified Employees Salary Ordinances Of The City Of Miami
Beach, Florida (The “Ordinance”), By Amending The Salary Ranges And Establishing
Compensation Provisions For The City Manager And The Attorney; Discussion Regarding
Creating A New Subsection For Pay Grade 26. 6) Discussion Regarding The Issuance Of RFP
For Call Centers And Including A Local Preference So As To Provide The Highest Level Of
Service Possible. 7) Discussion Regarding An Amendment To The Lease Between The City And
Massage Partners, Inc. Located At 767 17th Street, Said Amendment Regarding A Proposed
Additional Use Of The Leased Premises, A Proposal To Grant Necessary Access To Additional
Restroom Facilities; And A Corresponding Rent Adjustment.
ACTION:
Emergency Item: 1) Discussion Regarding A Resolution Authorizing:
1) An Amendment To The NSP1 Agreement Between The City And The State Of Florida
Department Of Economic Opportunity (DEO) And The Related Agreement Between The
City Of Miami Beach Community Development Corporation (MBCDC) To Modify The
Project Budgets; And 3) To Modify The Corresponding Mortgages.
To execute the aforementioned tasks, the Administration requests extensions to both the City's
Agreement with the State, and the City's Agreement with MBCDC to reflect a new expiration date
of February 15, 2013, and further recommends that the Mayor and City Commission authorize
1.) Amendment No. 4 to the Subgrant Agreement between the State of Florida DEC and the
City modifying the expiration date of the Subgrant Agreement from November 23, 2012 to
February 15, 2013; 2.) authorize Amendment No. 8 to the related NSP1 Agreement between the
City and MBCDC to extend the expiration date the NSP1 Agreement from November 23, 2012 to
February 15, 2013; 3.) further authorize the City Manager or her designee to take such actions
as may be required with regard to preparing and having the Mayor and City Clerk execute
modifications of mortgages for the following NSP1 projects: The Neptune Apartments, and the
Lottie Apartments, to reflect the current budgeted amounts for each project, and to show the
Afteraction December 12, 2012 City of Miami Beach
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allocation of unspent Administration funds towards the debt service at the Neptune Apartments,
increasing the project development allocation of the NSP1 Program by approximately
$248,000; and further authorize the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute any
documentation necessary to effectuate the amendments to the agreements.
Old Business: 1 Update On Proposed Municipal Marketing Program For South Pointe Park
And Other Potential Municipal Marketing Partnerships.
The Committee recommended not moving forward with the naming rights and for Superlative
Group to bring back more information on the license for the Sunscreen product and to look into
the Conservancy concept to restore, manage and enhance the Parks in partnership with the
public, for the enjoyment of present and future generations.
Item No. 2: Discussion Regarding The Issuance Of Request For Proposals (RFP) For
Catering And Concession Services For The Miami Beach Convention Center.
The Committee recommended issuing the Request for Proposal (RFP) under Option 2 that states
the management agreement expires September 30, 2013 where a new RFP could be issued for
Management and Catering/Concession Services combined. In an effort to provide the City with
maximum flexibility, the Administration recommends allowing bidders to submit proposals for both
or any portion (Management or Catering/Concession Services) of the RFP.
City Clerk’s Note: See Item R7N
Item No. 3: Discussion Regarding Disposition Of Surplus Equipment.
The Committee recommended bidding the equipment out to municipalities with a minimum price
and using an e-procurement online option. If the item is donated, it is to be brought before the
Commission to determine the value and get approval for the transaction.
Item No. 4: Discussion Regarding A Resolution Approving Funding, In An Amount Not To
Exceed $250,000, To Address The Relocation Of The Kitchen Exhaust Venting System
Installed By The Pennsylvania Avenue Garage Retail Tenant, Penn 17, LLC D/B/A Cooper
Avenue.
The Committee recommended adopting a resolution appropriating an amount not to exceed
$250,000 to provide the greatest amount of flexibility to remedy the situation.
Item No. 5: Discussion Regarding Amending Ordinance No. 1605, The Unclassified
Employees Salary Ordinances Of The City Of Miami Beach, Florida (The “Ordinance”)
…Creating A New Subsection For Pay Grade 26.
The Committee recommended sending the item to the December Commission with both versions
of the contract to include the salary range and not include it for the compensation provision for the
City Attorney and City Manager.
City Clerk’s Note: See Item R5C
Item No. 6: Discussion Regarding The Issuance Of RFP For Call Centers And Including A
Local Preference So As To Provide The Highest Level Of Service Possible.
The Administration recommends the issuance of the RFP for Call Center Services.
City Clerk’s Note: See Item C2C
Item No. 7: Discussion Regarding An Amendment To The Lease Between The City And
Massage Partners, Inc. …Rent Adjustment.
The Committee asked that a standby letter of credit be issued for the contractor’s liens which
have been filed. To determine a proportionate share for use of the restroom and determine the
appropriate CAM fees to be charged and bring it back to the Finance and Citywide Committee
with the methodology used to calculate the fees.
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C6B Report Of The Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee Meeting Of November 19, 2012: 1)
Discussion To Enhance The Capital Project Entitled Normandy Shores Golf Course Aluminum
Picket Security Fence. 2) Discussion Regarding Licensing And Authorization Requirements For
Mobile Trucks And Proposal For A City Sponsored Food Truck Festival. 3) Quarterly Crime
Statistics (Recurring Item On A Quarterly Basis). 4) Follow Up Report On The Progress Of The
Cat Network’s Efforts In The City Of Miami Beach. 5) Resolutions Authorizing Agreements With
Various External Entities To Assist The City In Implementing The Action Plan To Address
Potential Corruption And Misconduct: A. A Resolution Approving And Authorizing The City
Manager And City Attorney To Negotiate An Agreement With Miami-Dade County, On Behalf Of
The Miami-Dade County Office Of The Inspector General (MDCOIG), To Authorize The MDCOIG
To Provide Independent Investigations Into City Practices And Operations In Order T o Prevent
And Detect Fraud, Waste, Financial Mismanagement, Employee Misconduct, Or Other Abuses.
B. A Resolution Approving And Authorizing The Mayor And City Clerk To Execute An Agreement
In The Not To Exceed Amount Of $45,000, With Miami-Dade County, Florida, On Behalf Of The
Miami-Dade County Commission On Ethics And Public Trust, To Develop And Provide A
Comprehensive Ethics Training Program For City Employees Who Hold Positions That Are In
Regulatory Areas Of The City. 6) Discussion Regarding Proposed Amendments To The City’s
Film And Print Guidelines. 7) Discussion Regarding An Ordinance Amending Chapter 2 Of The
Miami Beach City Code Entitled “Administration,” By Amending Article VI, Entitled “Procurement,”
By Amending Division 5, Entitled “Debarment Of Contractors From City Work,” By Amending
Section 2-397, Entitled “Purpose Of Debarment,” To Provide The Purpose For Suspensions; By
Amending Section 2-398, Entitled “Definitions,” To Provide Additional Definitions Regarding
Suspension Of Contractors; By Amending Section 2-399, Entitled “List Of Debarred Contractors,”
To Provide For The Additional Listing Of Suspended Contractors; By Amending Section 2-400,
Entitled “Effects Of Debarment” To Provide For The Effects Of Suspension; By Amending Section
2-401, Entitled “Continuation Of Current Contracts,” To Provide That Suspension May Affect The
Continuation Of Current Contracts Or Bids; By Amending Section 2-402, Entitled “Restrictions On
Subcontracting,” To Provide For Restrictions On Suspended Contractors; By Amending Section
2-403; Entitled “Debarment,” To Provide For The Suspension Of Contractors; By Amending
Section 2-404, Entitled “Causes For Debarment,” By Providing For An Additional Cause For
Debarment When A City Contractor Is Found To Have Committed Any Offense Indicating A Lack
Of Business Integrity Or Honesty That Seriously And Directly Affects The Present Responsibility
Of A City Contractor, And To Provide For Causes For Suspension; By Amending Section 2-405,
Entitled “Debarment Procedures,” To Provide Procedures For Suspension Of Contractors; By
Amending Section 4-206, Entitled “Period Of Debarment,” By Providing For Periods Of
Suspension And Requests For Reducing Periods Of Suspension; Providing For Repealer;
Severability; Codification; And An Effective Date. 8) Discussion Of Establishing Parasailing Safety
Standards. 9) Quarterly Reports Regarding Washington Avenue. 10) Discussion Regarding The
Various Types Of Water Sports Activities That Exist Today To Amend The 1964 Ordinance.
ACTION:
Item No. 1: Discussion To Enhance The Capital Project Entitled Normandy Shores Golf
Course Aluminum Picket Security Fence.
The Committee (Commissioners Tobin and Libbin present) unanimously moved to proceed with
placement of a six (6) foot aluminum fence/hedge combination placed away from the homes
along the natural boundary of the golf course’s field of play. Final location to be determined based
on a survey of the area. Another delineator (TBD) at the property line as agreed upon by the
Administration and the South Shore Drive residents was recommended
City Clerk’s Note: See C7D
The Committee also recommended in support of a low hedge around the other unsecured areas
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of the golf course and recommend the City consider funding during the next budget cycle when
working on capital appropriation.
Finally, the Committee also recommended the administration and City Attorney’s Office research
the placement of guard gate at North Shore Drive Bridge and have a community meeting with
residents.
Item No. 2: Discussion Regarding Licensing And Authorization Requirements For Mobile
Trucks And Proposal For A City Sponsored Food Truck Festival.
The Committee (Commissioners Tobin and Libbin present) recommended that Administration
extend the event for the next year and look at reducing cost.
Item No. 3: Quarterly Crime Statistics (Recurring Item On A Quarterly Basis).
Miami Beach Police Assistant Chief Mark Overton presented a quarterly report on crime statistics
within the City of Miami Beach, explaining that all around crime was down 5.51% from the
previous year (418 less incidents overall). He added that Police has implemented various
programs such as, DUI checkpoints which occur twice a month and Saturation Patrol for which a
unit was created to patrol the most troubled areas.
Commissioner Tobin recognized Police Assistant Chief Overton and Police Captain Richard
Clements for being proactive with a comprehensive effort that police has implemented in troubled
areas.
Commissioner Libbin commented on future events, and asked police to be ready and have some
training or conversations with hotel security in regards of the major event “Art Basel”
Item No. 4: Follow Up Report On The Progress Of The Cat Network’s Efforts In The City Of
Miami Beach.
Community Resource Coordinator, Lynn Bernstein presented the item, and the participation from
PetSmart Charities and the volunteers made this program a successful one, and thanked all the
volunteers who attended the meeting.
Frank del Vecchio, spoke
John Curbello spoke
The Health Advisory Committee recommendations were also reviewed by the Committee, but no
action was taken by the Committee.
Item No. 5: Resolutions Authorizing Agreements With Various External Entities To Assist
The City In Implementing The Action Plan To Address Potential Corruption And
Misconduct: A. A Resolution Approving And Authorizing The City Manager And City
Attorney To Negotiate An Agreement With Miami-Dade County, On Behalf Of The Miami-
Dade County Office Of The Inspector General (MDCOIG)…Miami-Dade County Commission
On Ethics And Public Trust, To Develop And Provide A Comprehensive Ethics Training
Program For City Employees Who Hold Positions That Are In Regulatory Areas Of The
City.
At the conclusion of the discussion the Committee (Commissioners Tobin and Libbin present)
forwarded the item without recommendation to the City Commission.
City Clerk’s Note: See R7D
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Item No. 6: Discussion Regarding Proposed Amendments To The City’s Film And Print
Guidelines.
Commissioner Tobin suggested that our Legal Department take a look at Frank Del Vecchio’s
suggestion regarding the Zoning rule in single family districts which prohibits commercial use of
private property. He would want to know if the Film & Print is a Zoning regulation and if so,
should it go thru that process. Bring back to Commission in January for further discussion.
Item No. 7: Discussion Regarding An Ordinance Amending Chapter 2 Of The Miami Beach
City Code Entitled “Administration,” By Amending Article VI, Entitled “Procurement,” By
Amending Division 5, Entitled “Debarment Of Contractors From City Work,”...Providing
For Periods Of Suspension And Requests For Reducing Periods Of Suspension; Providing
For Repealer; Severability; Codification; And An Effective Date.
City Attorney to add disclosure language
City Clerk: See R5B
Item No. 8: Discussion Of Establishing Parasailing Safety Standards.
Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to stop these vendors from doing illegal parasailing
Item No. 9: Quarterly Reports Regarding Washington Avenue.
Administration to make a presentation at the next Commission Meeting regarding all the things
we are doing with this corridor.
Item No. 10: Discussion Regarding The Various Types Of Water Sports Activities That
Exist Today To Amend The 1964 Ordinance.
Fire Chief Javier Otero presented the history of the ordinance and current locations where various
types of water sports activities exist.
Commissioner Tobin directed Fire Chief, Javier Otero to consult with Ocean Rescue and ensure
that everyone is comfortable with the current areas being utilized by these various water sports
activities.
Commissioner Libbin does not want to further restrict if there is no danger. If the swimmers are
safe and it is currently working then he is okay with it. Once Fire Chief, Javier Otero consults with
Ocean Rescue and if there is any discrepancy, then bring back to committee. Otherwise we can
go with the recommendations brought forward.
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C7 – Resolutions
7:58:15 p.m.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolution
C7A A Resolution Approving And Authorizing The City Manager Or Her Designee To Support A Grant
Application From The Miami Beach Chamber Of Commerce’s Education Foundation (Miami
Beach Education Foundation), With The Miami Beach Education Foundation Serving As The
Applicant And The City Of Miami Beach As A Partner, To The Health Foundation Of South
Florida For Funding In The Approximate Amount Of $200,000, For A Full Time Registered Nurse
(Or Equivalent Services) To Provide Services At Treasure Island Elementary, North Beach
Elementary And Ruth K. Broad Bay Harbor K-8 Center.
(Budget & Performance Improvement)
ACTION: Item separated by Commissioner Libbin. Resolution 2012-28075 adopted as
amended. Motion made by Commissioner Wolfson; seconded by Commissioner Weithorn; Voice
vote: 5-0; Abstained: Commissioner Libbin; Absent: Commissioner Tobin. Judy Hoanshelt to
handle.
Amendment
Approve the resolution, with the condition that:
• None of the moneys be used for administrative costs within the Miami Beach Chamber of
Commerce
• That the City Commission receives an accounting following the check being cut from the
Education Foundation to the Children’s' Trust
Commissioner Libbin explained that he separated this item because it is a grant that will be
applied for with the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce and the City of Miami Beach, and he
needs to recuse himself.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, explained that this item consists of the City of Miami
Beach supporting a grant application from the Chamber serving as a partner in the grant
application; the City’s role is to write the grant and apply the grant to provide and fund for nurses
in the approximate amount of $200,000; which will provide nurses for full time service at Treasure
Island Elementary, North Beach Elementary and Ruth K. Broad Bay Harbor K-8 Center,
consistent with the compact schools.
In answering Commissioner Wolfson’s question, Ms. Brooks explained that this is not City money,
and the City’s only role is to serve as a partner and helping write the grant application.
Mayor Bower asked if this is not a conflicting grant and Ms. Brooks confirmed that it is not
conflicting.
Commissioner Wolfson asked what the item has to do with the Chamber of Commerce and why
did Commissioner Libbin recused himself.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, explained that the grant would go to the Chamber
Education Foundation and not the City; the Chamber then would contract with the Children’s'
Trust for it. The City traditionally has not been involved in providing those services.
Mayor Bower explained that the Miami Beach Chamber Education Foundation raises funds and
those funds are pass through to the Children’s Trust.
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Commissioner Wolfson stated that he is trying to understand that the funds go from the Chamber
Foundation and then go directly to the Trust and asked if any of the funds are used for Chamber’s
administrative costs.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, explained that the application goes straight into the
Education Foundation and then goes directly for the nursing services, and that no administration
costs are funded to the Chamber.
Commissioner Wolfson stated that if it goes directly to the nurses and no administration cost go to
the Chamber, if that is confirmed, then he is fully supportive of the item, but he wants to know if
the application prohibits the use of monies for administrative costs for administering the grant
within the Chamber.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, clarified that that is what the application is for; the
application does not include administrative costs. The application is just for funding nurses.
Commissioner Wolfson added that as long as the City Commission receives a full accounting that
that is exactly what happens, then he has no problem. He requested a full accounting to reflect
that the monies are a pass through without any administrative costs from the Chamber to the
Trust.
Motion made by Commissioner Wolfson to approve the resolution as amended, with the condition
that none of the money be used for administrative costs within the Miami Beach Chamber of
Commerce, and that the City Commission receive an accounting following the check being cut
from the Education Foundation to the Children’s' Trust; seconded by Commissioner Weithorn.
Voice-vote: 7-0. Judy Hoanshelt to handle.
Handout or Reference Materials:
1. Form 8B “Memorandum of Voting Conflict” filed by Commissioner Libbin.
2. Supplemental Abstention and Disclosure Requirement as per Sec. 2-458 Miami Beach City Code
C7B A Resolution Setting A Public Hearing Pursuant To Miami Beach City Code Section 118-563, To
Consider Granting A Certificate Of Appropriateness For The Total Demolition Of An Existing
Single Story Building And The Construction Of A New 5-Story Parking Garage With Accessory
Ground Level Commercial Space At 340 23rd Street (Collins Park Garage).
(Capital Improvement Projects)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28076 adopted. Rafael E. Granado to notice. Lilia Cardillo to
place on the January 16, 2013 Commission Agenda upon receipt. Fernando Vazquez to
handle.
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8:15:48 p.m.
C7C A Resolution Setting A Public Hearing To Consider Granting A Waiver Of Certain Development
Regulations, Pursuant To Section 142-425(d) Of The City’s Zoning Ordinance, For The Collins
Park Garage Project, Located Within The Museum Historic District And Collins Park
Neighborhood; Said Waiver Regarding The Maximum Building Height.
(Capital Improvement Projects)
ACTION: Item separated for discussion by Commissioner Wolfson. Resolution No. 2012-
28077 adopted. Motion made by Commissioner Wolfson; seconded by Commissioner Weithorn;
Voice vote: 5-0; Absent: Commissioners Libbin and Tobin. Rafael E. Granado to notice. Lilia
Cardillo to place on the January 16, 2013 Commission Agenda upon receipt of item from
Administration. Fernando Vazquez to handle.
Commissioner Wolfson stated that he understands the law, and basically the law states that if it is
a government use you can waive the land development regulations by 5/7th vote.
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, clarified the item.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolution
C7D A Resolution Approving The Recommendation Of The Neighborhood And Community Affairs
Committee To Enhance The Capital Project Entitled Normandy Shores Golf Course Aluminum
Picket Security Fence.
(City Manager’s Office)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28078 adopted. Kevin Smith to handle.
Handout or Reference Materials:
1. Email from Max Sklar to Rafael Granado, Kevin Smith, Fred Beckmann and Fernando Vazquez dated
December 18, 2012 RE: Afteraction C7D Normandy Shores Golf Course Aluminum Fence.
8:10:54 p.m.
C7E A Resolution Authorizing The City Manager To Execute A One Month Extension, From December
31, 2012 To January 31, 2013, To The Agreement For A Voluntary Employee Loan Program
Through The BMG Money Loans-At-Work Program To Make Available Loans To Interested
Active Employees Of The City Of Miami Beach, Further Referring Renewal Of The Agreement
Versus Issuance Of A New RFP, To The Finance And Citywide Projects Committee For Their
Recommendation Of The Aforstated Matter.
(Human Resources)
ACTION: Item rejected. No action taken. Human Resources to send notice to employees.
Commissioner Weithorn explained that extending it for one month will not work because the
Finance and Citywide Projects Committee is next week and this item is not on the agenda.
Commissioner Weithorn explained that the item is the BMG loan program and there was a thirty-
day continuation. The Finance and Citywide Projects Committee meeting is next week and the
item is not on the agenda. She suggested extending for two months or not at all, but one month
extension is not going to work.
Commissioner Wolfson added that the item is the loans to the employees; these are the payday
loans that they take the money out of the employee paychecks. He requested the numbers from
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Administration of how many loans were taken out and how many were paid back and refinanced.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, informed Commissioner Wolfson that there were a total
of 202 issued loans, totaling $469,909; of the total amounts, 160 were new loans, 42 were loans
that employees refinanced, and requesting either increase in the amount of their initial loan
requests or an extension of the amount of the repayment period. There has been one loan that
has been paid up to date.
Commissioner Wolfson expressed his concern that they are putting City employees further into
debt and they have created a worse situation for themselves; and instead of lessening their debt
and paying the bills they have caused employees to take out more money and create further debt
at a 25% interest rate, and he thinks is a horrible thing that has been allowed to happen.
Discussion held.
Mayor Bower believes that this is usury and a disgrace, and since the rate is so high, the debt
remains.
Vice-Mayor Góngora suggested rejecting the item, and it was unanimously agreed that it was a
very bad deal for employees.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, gave the statistics on the loans.
Commissioner Wolfson stated this program is a detriment to employees, as it facilities them going
further into debt.
Commissioner Wolfson and Mayor Bower expressed concerns over the high interest rate that
was being charged to City employees.
Discussion held.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolution
C7F A Resolution Authorizing The Donation Of FY 2010/11 And FY 2011/12 Surplus Computer
Equipment In "As Is" Condition To The Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition.
(Information Technology)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28079 adopted. Gladys Gonzalez to handle.
7:51:21 p.m.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolution
C7G A Resolution Amending The Authorization Granted By The City Manager, Pursuant To Resolution
No. 2008-26738, To The Miami Beach Senior High School Parent Teacher Association (MBSH-
PTA), A Not-For-Profit Entity, To Utilize The Public Swale Area Located At Dade Boulevard,
Adjacent To The School, To Provide Additional Parking From February 15-18, 2013, For The
Miami International Boat Show, Through A Fundraising Event; Such Amendment Providing An
Increase In The Parking Fee Charged By The MBSH-PTA From $20.00, To $30.00 Per Vehicle.
(Parking Department)
ACTION: Item separated for discussion by Commissioner Exposito. Resolution No. 2012-
28080 adopted. Motion made by Commissioner Exposito; seconded by Commissioner Weithorn;
Voice vote: 6-0; Absent: Commissioner Tobin. Saul Frances to handle.
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Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, explained the item.
Commissioner Exposito explained that this neighborhood has become the default parking lot
whenever there is an event at the Convention Center. He has shown photographs to the Interim
City Manager and the City Attorney of cars parked up and down the swale. He had to call the
Parking Department on numerous occasions because cars have actually been parked half way
into the driveways. He explained that there were two things promised by the Miami-Dade County
Public Schools, which have not been done: to park in entrance allowing the semi-circular
driveway to allow less impact into the single family neighborhood; they need to continue to look at
this option, and additionally he is asking that there will be no parking permitted on the swales of
the single-family homes because it becomes a detriment to the neighborhood. Saul Frances to
handle.
Discussion held.
Commissioner Exposito requested to work with the homeowners association to find out what can
be done to stop the problem. Saul Frances to handle.
Saul Frances, Parking Department Director, stated that they would work with the homeowners
associations because some of them rely on the swale parking for their own people because they
have additional vehicles.
Discussion continued.
Commissioner Libbin announced that tomorrow at 12:45 p.m. there is going to be a special
ceremony initiated by the Chamber of Commerce, to have the School Board name the Bus Way
in honor of Rose Ann Sidener. He invited the public and the City Commission to the ceremony.
The Busway will be permanently named Dr. Rose Ann Sidener’s Way.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolution
C7H A Resolution Approving, Pursuant To Section 2-367 (d) Of The Miami Beach City Code, The Sole
Source Purchase Of Taser X-2 Electronic Control Devices (ECD), And All Department-Issued
Accessories (Extended Warranties, Battery Packs, Holsters, Cartridges, Etc.) From DGG Taser,
Inc., The Sole Source Distributor In The State Of Florida.
(Police Department/Procurement)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28081 adopted. Chief Martinez and Alex Denis to handle.
C7I A Resolution Approving, Pursuant To Section 2-367(d) Of The Miami Beach City Code, The Sole
Source Purchase Of Alliant Techsystems (ATK) Ammunition, From Florida Bullet Inc., The Sole
Source Distributor In The State Of Florida, In An Amount Not To Exceed $44,767.70.
(Police Department/Procurement)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28082 adopted. Chief Martinez and Alex Denis to handle.
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SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolution
C7J A Resolution Approving And Authorizing The Mayor And The City Clerk To Grant A Utility
Easement To Florida Power And Light At Marjory Stoneman Douglas Park For The Installation
And Maintenance Of Pad-Mounted Transformers That Will Provide For Underground Service Of
The Lighting System.
(Public Works)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28083 adopted. Jay Fink to handle.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolution
C7K A Resolution Approving And Authorizing The Mayor And The City Clerk To Grant A Utility
Easement To Florida Power And Light On Lot B Of The Hibiscus Island Tract For The Installation
And Maintenance Of Conduits, Switch Cabinets, And A Capacitor Bank That Will Provide For
Underground Service Of The Lighting System.
(Public Works)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28084 adopted. Jay Fink to handle.
C7L A Resolution Approving And Authorizing The Mayor And City Clerk To Execute A Stormwater
Pump Station And Pollution Control Structures Maintenance Memorandum Of Agreement, A
Memorandum Of Agreement Regarding Off-System Construction And Maintenance Of
Improvements, And A Perpetual Easement Agreement With The Florida Department Of
Transportation, For The Construction Of Drainage Improvements Along 43rd Street, And
Maintenance Of Pump Station And Pollution Control Structures, As Part Of The State Road
A1A/Indian Creek Drive Project, From 42nd Street To 44th Street And State Road A1A/Collins
Avenue/Indian Creek Drive Along 43rd Street Projects.
(Public Works)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28085 adopted. Jay Fink to handle.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolution
C7M A Resolution Approving, Pursuant To Section 2-367 (d) Of The City Code, The Sole Source
Purchase Of Trash Receptacles From Recycle Clear (To Match The Recycling Receptacles
Being Provided At No Cost By Coca Cola, Under Its Sponsorship Agreement With The City), In
The Estimated Amount Of $34,400 For Fiscal Year (FY) 2012/13.
(Public Works)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28086 adopted. Jay Fink to handle.
C7N A Resolution Receiving The Incentives Review And Recommendations Report From The
Affordable Housing Advisory Committee.
(Real Estate, Housing, & Community Development)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28087 adopted. Anna Parekh to handle.
Afteraction December 12, 2012 City of Miami Beach
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SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolution
C7O A Resolution Approving An Assignment From Syanna, LLC., A Florida Limited Liability
Corporation, As Lessee/Assignor, To Italian Food Factory, LLC., A Florida Limited Liability
Corporation, As Assignee/New Lessee, Of That Certain Lease Between The City And Assignor,
Dated November 17, 2010, Involving The Use Of Approximately 2,216 Square Feet Of City-
Owned Property Located At 22 Washington Avenue For Use As An Outdoor Café; Said Lease
Having A Commencement Date Of November 18, 2010, And Expiring On November 17, 2015,
With An Option To Renew For Four (4) Years And 364 Days.
(Real Estate, Housing, & Community Development)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28088 adopted. Anna Parekh to handle.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolution
C7P A Resolution Approving The Neighborhoods/Community Affairs Committee’s Recommendation
To Extend The North Beach Music And Food Festival Through The End Of FY 2012/2013.
(Tourism & Cultural Development)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28089 adopted. Max Sklar to handle.
C7Q A Resolution Approving And Authorizing The Appropriation Of A Contribution From The Ocean
Drive Association Of An Amount Not To Exceed $145,000 In Support Of The Closure Of Ocean
Drive For The 2012-2013 New Year’s Celebration And The 2013 Bowl Championship Series
(BCS) Game.
(Tourism & Cultural Development)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28090 adopted. Max Sklar to handle.
End of Consent Agenda
REGULAR AGENDA
R5 - Ordinances
7:35:33 p.m.
R5A An Ordinance Amending Chapter 10 Of The Miami Beach City Code Entitled “Animals,” By
Amending Section 10-11, Entitled “Running At Large Prohibited,” By Extending The Pilot Program
Off-Leash Area For Dogs In South Pointe Park Through And Including March 31, 2013, Providing
For Repealer, Severability, Codification, And An Effective Date. 10:30 a.m. Second Reading
Public Hearing
(Requested by Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee)
(Legislative Tracking: Parks & Recreation)
(First Reading on November 14, 2012)
ACTION: Public Hearing held. Title of the ordinance read into the record. Ordinance No.
2012-3785 adopted. Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to approve the ordinance; seconded
by Commissioner Exposito. Ballot vote: 7-0. Kevin Smith to handle.
Handouts and Reference Materials:
1. Ad in The Miami Herald – Ad #754
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7:02:12 p.m.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Memorandum & Ordinance
R5B Option A
An Ordinance Amending Chapter 2 Of The Miami Beach City Code Entitled “Administration,” By
Amending Article VI, Entitled “Procurement,” By Amending Division 5, Entitled “Debarment Of
Contractors From City Work,” By Amending Section 2-397, Entitled “Purpose Of Debarment,” To
Provide The Purpose For Suspensions; By Amending Section 2-398, Entitled “Definitions,” To
Provide Additional Definitions Regarding Suspension Of Contractors; By Amending Section 2-
399, Entitled “List Of Debarred Contractors,” To Provide For The Additional Listing Of Suspended
Contractors; By Amending Section 2-400, Entitled “Effects Of Debarment” To Provide For The
Effects Of Suspension; By Amending Section 2-401, Entitled “Continuation Of Current Contracts,”
To Provide That Suspension May Affect The Continuation Of Current Contracts Or Bids; By
Amending Section 2-402, Entitled “Restrictions On Subcontracting,” To Provide For Restrictions
On Suspended Contractors; By Amending Section 2-403; Entitled “Debarment,” To Provide For
The Mayor And City Commission, At Its Option And By Majority Vote, To Hear Debarment Or
Suspension Matters, And To Provide For Procedures For The Suspension Of Contractors; By
Amending Section 2-404, Entitled “Causes For Debarment,” By Providing For Additional Causes
For Debarment, And To Provide For Causes For Suspension; By Amending Section 2-405,
Entitled “Debarment Procedures,” To Amend The Procedures For Debarment And To Provide
Procedures For The Suspension Of Contractors; By Amending Section 4-206, Entitled “Period Of
Debarment,” By Providing For Periods Of Suspension And Requests For Reducing Periods Of
Suspension; Providing For Repealer; Severability; Codification; And An Effective Date. 11:00
a.m. Second Reading Public Hearing
(Requested by Mayor Matti Herrera Bower)
(Legislative Tracking: City Attorney’s Office)
(First Reading on November 14, 2012/Referred to NCAC)
ACTION: Public Hearing held. Ordinance not adopted. Item heard in conjunction with R5B-
B.
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7:01:10 p.m.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Memorandum & Ordinance
R5B Option B
An Ordinance Amending Chapter 2 Of The Miami Beach City Code Entitled "Administration," By
Amending Article VI, Entitled "Procurement,” By Amending Division 5, Entitled ''Debarment Of
Contractors From City Work,” By Amending Section 2-397, Entitled "Purpose Of Debarment," To
Provide The Purpose For Suspensions; By Amending Section 2-398, Entitled "Definitions," To
Provide Additional Definitions Regarding Suspension Of Contractors; By Amending Section 2-
399, Entitled "List Of Debarred Contractors," To Provide For The Additional Listing Of Suspended
Contractors; By Amending Section 2-400, Entitled “Effects Of Debarment" To Provide For The
Effects Of Suspension; By Amending Section 2-401, Entitled "Continuation Of Current Contracts,”
To Provide That Suspension May Affect The Continuation Of Current Contracts Or Bids; By
Amending Section 2-402, Entitled "Restrictions On Subcontracting," To Provide For Restrictions
On Suspended Contractors; By Amending Section 2-403; Entitled "Debarment," To Provide For
The Mayor And City Commission, At Its Option And By Majority Vote, To Hear Debarment Or
Suspension Matters, And To Provide For Procedures For The Suspension Of Contractors; By
Amending Section 2-404, Entitled "Causes For Debarment," By Providing For Additional Causes
For Debarment, And To Provide For Causes For Suspension; By Amending Section 2-405,
Entitled "Debarment Procedures," To Amend The Procedures For Debarment And To Provide
Procedures For The Suspension Of Contractors; By Amending Section 4-206, Entitled "Period Of
Debarment," By Providing For Periods Of Suspension And Requests For Reducing Periods Of
Suspension; Providing For Repealer; Severability; Codification; And An Effective Date
(Requested by Mayor Matti Herrera Bower)
(Legislative Tracking: City Attorney’s Office)
(First Reading on November 14, 2012/Referred to NCAC)
ACTION: Public Hearing held. Title of the ordinance read into the record. Ordinance
approved on first reading. Item heard in conjunction with R5B-A. Motion made by
Commissioner Libbin to approve the ordinance (Option B); seconded by Mayor Bower; Ballot
vote: 7-0. Second reading and Public Hearing scheduled for January 16, 2013 at 11:00 a.m.
Rafael E. Granado to notice. Lilia Cardillo to place on the Commission Agenda if received. Kevin
Smith to handle.
Commissioner Wolfson asked the City Attorney about a “morality clause” within the contract for
breach of contract.
Discussion held regarding language added in the ordinance.
Deborah Turner, First Assistant City Attorney, distributed Ordinance Option B at the dais.
Raul Aguila, Chief Deputy City Attorney, recommended Option B, which incorporates comments
made at the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee meeting, where Commissioners Libbin
and Tobin had strong recommendations. He thanked Commissioners Libbin and Tobin for their
input in making this a better ordinance.
Handouts and Reference Materials:
1. Ad in The Miami Herald – Ad #754
2. Ordinance Option B distributed
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7:46:13 p.m.
R5C An Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 1605, The Unclassified Employees Salary Ordinance Of
The City Of Miami Beach, Florida, By Amending The Salary Ranges And Establishing
Compensation Provisions For The City Manager And The City Attorney; Providing For Repealer,
Severability, Codification, And An Effective Date. 11:40 a.m. Second Reading Public Hearing
(Requested by Commissioner Jonah Wolfson)
(Legislative Tracking: City Attorney’s Office)
(Continued from October 24, 2012/Referred to FCWPC)
ACTION: Item deferred to January 16, 2013. Title of the ordinance read into the record.
Heard in conjunction with R7K. Motion made by Commissioner Wolfson to defer items R5C and
R7K; seconded by Commissioner Libbin; Ballot-vote: 7-0. Lilia Cardillo to place on the
Commission Agenda when received. City Attorney’s Office to handle.
6:50:18 p.m.
R5D Miami Heart Institute FLUM Change And Zoning Map Change
1. An Ordinance Amending The Future Land Use Map Of The Comprehensive Plan By
Changing The Future Land Use Category For The Parcel Known As The “Miami Heart
Institute,” More Particularly Described In The Legal Description Attached As Exhibit “A”
Hereto, From The Current PF-HD, “Public Facility, Hospital,” To The Future Land Use
Category Of RM-1, “Residential Multifamily Low Intensity;” Providing For Inclusion In The
Comprehensive Plan, Transmittal, Repealer, Severability And An Effective Date.
5:01 p.m. First & Only Reading Public Hearing
(Requested by Applicant - 4701 North Meridian, LLC)
(Legislative Tracking: Planning Department)
(Continued from October 24, 2012)
ACTION: Item opened and continued to January 16, 2013. Motion made by
Commissioner Tobin to open and continue; seconded by Commissioner Wolfson; Voice
vote: 7-0. Richard Lorber to handle.
6:51:30 p.m.
2. An Ordinance Amending The Official Zoning District Map, Referenced In Section 142-72
Of The Code Of The City Of Miami Beach, Florida, By Changing The Zoning District
Classification For The Parcel Known As The “Miami Heart Institute,” More Particularly
Described In The Legal Description Attached As Exhibit “A” Hereto, From The Current
Zoning Classification HD, “Hospital District,” To The Proposed Zoning Classification RM-1,
“Residential Multi-Family Low Intensity,” Providing For Codification, Repealer, Severability
And An Effective Date. 5:01 p.m. Second Reading Public Hearing
(Requested by Applicant - 4701 North Meridian, LLC)
(Legislative Tracking: Planning Department)
(First Reading on October 24, 2012)
ACTION: Title of the ordinance read into the record. Item opened and continued to
January 16, 2013. Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to open and continue the item;
seconded by Commissioner Exposito; Voice vote: 7-0. Richard Lorber to handle.
Handouts and Reference Materials:
1. Ad in The Miami Herald – Ad # 749
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6:52:12 p.m.
R5E Parking District No. 5 - Sunset Harbour
An Ordinance Amending The Code Of The City Of Miami Beach, Florida By Amending Chapter
130, “Off-Street Parking,” Article II “District; Requirements,” Section 130-31 “Parking Districts
Established,” By Creating A New Parking District No. 5; Amending Section 130-33, “Off-Street
Parking Requirements For Parking Districts Nos. 2, 3 And 4,” By Adding New Parking
Regulations For Parking District No. 5 For Properties Generally Bounded By Purdy Avenue On
The West, 20th Street On The North, Alton Road On The East And Dade Boulevard On The
South; Amending Section 142-483, “Conditional Uses” By Adding To The List Of Conditional
Uses In The I-1 Urban Light Industrial District; Amending Chapter 142, Article II, “District
Regulations,” Division 5, “CD-2 Commercial Medium Intensity District,” By Amending Sections
142-302, “Main Permitted Uses,” Section 142-303, “Conditional Uses,” And Section 142-305,
“Prohibited Uses,” By Clarifying The Permitted, Prohibited And Conditional Uses In Parking
District #5; Providing For Codification; Repealer; Severability; Applicability; And An Effective
Date. 5:15 p.m. Second Reading Public Hearing
(Requested by Land Use & Development Committee)
(Legislative Tracking: Planning Department)
(First Reading Public Hearing on November 14, 2012/Referred to LUDC)
ACTION: Public Hearing held. Title of the ordinance read into the record. Ordinance No.
2012-3786 adopted. Motion made by Commissioner Weithorn to approve the ordinance;
seconded by Commissioner Wolfson; Ballot vote: 7-0. Richard Lorber to handle.
REFERRAL
Item referred to Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee to discuss:
• Handicap Parking
• Elimination of four parking spaces
• Relocation of Maintenance Vehicles
• Remove on-street parking to widen sidewalks
Terry Bienstock, Sunset Island III and IV Association, stated that the overlay district
makes sense for the Sunset Harbour neighborhood, and with the changes discussed during
first reading that have been incorporated they are in support of this. The only thing that
they ask is that there are three issues that will not amend this ordinance, but are related to
the effects of the ordinance and they would like referred to Neighborhood/Community
Affairs Committee, and they are: 1) the handicap parking issue, 2) the elimination of the
four spaces and 3) the relocation of the maintenance vehicles to another location.
Gabrielle Redfern urged the City Commission to support it, and asked that they consider
now that they have this preferable parking, perhaps removing the on-street parking
adjacent to the garage to expand the sidewalks which are very small.
Scott Robins stated that he is in support of this ordinance.
Handouts and Reference Materials:
1. Ad in The Miami Herald – Ad #754
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5:27:44 p.m.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Memorandum & Ordinance
R5F An Ordinance Amending The Code Of The City Of Miami Beach, By Amending Chapter 66,
Entitled “Marine Structures, Facilities And Vehicles,” By Amending Article II, To Be Entitled
“Restricted Wake Zones,” To Create Regulations For Restricted Wake Zones; Providing For A
Purpose; Providing For Definitions; Providing For Restricted Areas; Providing For Posting Of
Regulatory Markers; Providing For Exemptions; Providing For Enforcement And Penalties;
Providing For Repealer, Severability, Codification, And An Effective Date. First Reading
(Requested by Commissioner Jorge R. Exposito)
(Legislative Tracking: City Attorney’s Office)
ACTION: Item heard in conjunction with R7I, which was referred to the Land Use and
Development Committee. Motion made by Commissioner W olfson to refer item to LUDC;
seconded by Commissioner Tobin; approved by acclamation. Max Sklar and Deborah Turner to
handle.
REFERRAL:
Land Use and Development Committee between first and second reading
See action with R7I.
Handout or Reference Materials:
1. Sunset Harbour Yacht Club Permit Sketch dated November 30, 2012
R7 - Resolutions
11:35:15 a.m.
R7A Levine Memorial Bench Donation
A Resolution Accepting The Donation From The Levine Family Of A Memorial Bench Designed
By Agustina Woodgate Honoring The Community Legacy Of I. Stanley Levine, For Placement On
The Nine Hundred Block Of Lincoln Road; And Further Authorizing The City Manager To Execute
A Contract With The Levine Family Accepting The Donation Valued At $40,000 And Establishing
A Maintenance Reserve Account Of $1,000 For The First Year Of Maintenance And Repairs To
Said Memorial Bench. 10:15 a.m. Public Hearing
(Tourism & Cultural Development)
ACTION: Public Hearing Held. Resolution No. 2012-28091 adopted. Motion made by
Commissioner Libbin to approve the resolution; seconded by Commissioner Wolfson; Voice-vote:
7-0. Max Sklar to handle.
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, explained that this is a resolution accepting the
donation from the Levine family for a memorial bench designed by Agustina Woodgate honoring
the legacy of I. Stanley Levine for placement in the 900 block of Lincoln Road. The item has
travelled for about two years through Commission committee, and the outstanding item to be
negotiated is the maintenance for the piece. At a meeting held with Administration, manufacturer,
the artist and conservator, it was agreed that $1,000 annually would be required to be put on a
maintenance reserve fund to maintain the piece above and beyond normal washing and cleaning.
The Administration concurs with the recommendation of the Neighborhood/Community Affairs
Committee (NCAC) to approve this donation from the Levine family.
Robert Levine, on behalf of the Levine family, expressed sincere thanks for the opportunity to
donate to the City and the people of Miami Beach this beautiful project in memory of I. Stanley
Levine, former Chair of the Lincoln Road Task Force, who transformed Lincoln Road into the
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wonderful destination that it is today. He thanked all of the people who worked on this project,
the committees and boards for their wonderful efforts and unanimous enthusiastic support of this
project during the last two years. He thanked Mayor Bower for sponsoring this effort and thanked
all the Commissioners, particularly the ones that worked in the Neighborhood/Community Affairs
Committee (NCAC) for their efforts. This is an absolutely stunning, beautiful piece of art for
Lincoln Road that is going to be a wonderful tribute to his father and the people of Miami Beach.
Commissioner Libbin thanked Robert and the Levine family and stated that he had the privilege of
working with Stanley years ago. He was a champion for the Arts and for Miami Beach in general,
and this is a fitting tribute. He is proud of everything they have accomplished and he is happy to
make the motion. Commissioner Wolfson seconded the motion.
Commissioner Exposito explained that one of the issues discussed at committee is that the piece
is made out of fiberglass material, and they need to make sure that proper attention is given to it.
This is a beautiful legacy that this young man is doing on behalf of his father; and they do not
want it tarnished by vandals or have it used as a skate facility. He requested the Administration
to pay attention in preventing damage to the piece, since it is made out of fiberglass, it is more
susceptible to damage and to repair it would require having it removed and taken to another
facility. It is exceptionally important that because it was decided that this artwork not be concrete,
but rather a fiberglass structure, that this attention is given to it; as it is an asset and non-ending
legacy to Mr. Levine.
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, explained that at the last committee meeting they had
spent a lot of time talking about those very issues.
Mayor Bower added that she spoke to the artist, and was told that if there was any damage, she
would correct the damages. She also stated that the discussion of adding stoppers to prevent
skaters from reaching the piece had been held and explained that the memorial for Stanley is a
great example of art placed in our streets as public art and should be kept and maintained to the
highest standards, because that is what Stanley was all about.
Elizabeth Resnick, former Chair of the Beautification Committee and current Vice-Chair of Art in
Public Places Committee, stated that the I. Stanley Memorial is a beautiful piece and fits in with
the architecture of Morris Lapidus. The committee wants to see this happen, however, the issue
of maintenance must to be properly addressed. The committee hired an art conservator to do an
analysis on the piece, and there are numerous concerns about public use, most significant
among these are: a) the high use that the bench will receive - this will require monthly
maintenance to keep clean; b) properly anchored skateboard stoppers are a must. This bench is
expected to require regular maintenance due to its location and white color; bearing any
vandalism is expected to require monthly cleaning to remove dirt, gum, accretions, marks and
grime. The current appearance of the nearby fountain is an indication of how quickly this area
requires cleaning and repairs; minor repairs to the gel coat cannot be predicted fully but it is safe
to allow for 20 hours per year including set up and breakdown costs for such work. c) The
polyester resins used in the gel coat are toxic and odorless; if the public is kept five feet away
there should be no problem with toxicity. The members are concerned that the Levine Family
agrees to $1,000 for the first year only.
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, clarified that the direction from NCAC was to
determine the cost for the first year, analyze that after the first year, and see if there was a need
for an increase going forward. Initially, Rosa, the City’s consultant, participated in recent meetings
with the Administration, along with the family, manufacturer and the artist to review this. Her
opinion after that meeting has changed, and the piece will be finished to match the Road,
because it is supposed to look like it is coming up out of the street. It will not look like a fiberglass
finish, but will be painted to look like a concrete finish. Minor repairs can be made on-site and any
major repairs, they would have to remove the artwork from site, make the repairs and bring back.
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Motion made by Commissioner Libbin; seconded by Commissioner Wolfson; Voice-vote: 7-0.
Handouts and Reference Materials:
1. Ad in The Miami Herald – Ad #755
2:00:04 p.m.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Memorandum & Resolution
R7B A Resolution Granting An Easement To Collins 3300, LLC And 3420 Collins Avenue, LLC,
Owners Of The Properties Located At 3301 Indian Creek Drive, 3400 Collins Avenue And 3420
Collins Avenue, Following A Duly Noticed Public Hearing, For A Proposed Subsurface Parking
Garage, That Spans The Entire Width Of The 50-Foot Public Right-Of-Way Of 34th Street For A
Length Of Approximately 93 Feet. 10:45 a.m. Public Hearing
(Public Works)
(Continued from October 24, 2012)
ACTION: Public Hearing held. Resolution No. 2012-28092 adopted. Motion made by
Commissioner Wolfson to approve the resolution; seconded by Commissioner Libbin; Voice-vote:
6-0; Absent: Commissioner Tobin. Fred Beckmann to handle.
Neisen Kasdin explained that they can make a short presentation.
Mayor Bower thanked Mr. Kasdin for allowing her to discuss the Convention Center item first.
Neisen Kasdin, representing the FAENA Group, the developer with the Saxony Project,
introduced Jason Long, from OMA, the architect for the project, and explained that the
presentation will be available for viewing if needed. Mr. Kasdin stated that this item has gone
before multiple boards and has been approved by the land use boards. Sergio Jalife, CEO of
FAENA Group is also present. This project will involve over $400 million of private investment. It
is restoring the historic Saxony Hotel and making it into a 209 room ultra-luxury hotel; bringing
Norman Foster to Florida for the first time ever to design a project, which will be the Saxony, the
condominium building on the northern lot, and across the street a collection of buildings, including
the restoration of the Atlantic Hotel to be designed by OMA/Rem Koolhaas, the first and only
project they will have done in Florida. The landscaping is being done by Raymond Jungles for
this investment, bringing this incredible array of talent to town, the only thing that is needed at this
moment to make the project work in the best manner possible is a small easement underneath
34th Street, 14½ feet in height, so that cars can drive from one side of 34th Street to the other, so
we can have an underground parking garage; also the first in the City at an enormous expense to
the FAENA Group. They think they are bringing an incredible amount to the table for the City,
and asking for very little; since having the underground parking in terms of urban design and the
street scape rather than having above ground garages is better. This will make the project work
better and be good for the City. They have worked with staff and there is only one item that they
differ that should be discussed with the Administration. Every component of the project has been
approved by the Historic Preservation, Zoning and Planning Boards. The plans are in, and
building permits are in for the condo towers, and the rest of the restoration for the Saxony Hotel,
and they are moving quickly on the plans on the west side of Collins. They appreciate their
approval. The only thing they want to take out is this requirement of being subject to a further
appraisal, which is identified, because when the process was started, the City did an appraisal
and they did an appraisal. The City's appraisal appraised this small 14-foot high box
underground, which can only be used for a driveway and some parking, at the value of buying a
piece of dirt on Collins Avenue where a seven story hotel can be built. Their appraisal was much
less. Notwithstanding that, they negotiated with City staff and came up with a package of things
given to the City, with respect to the boardwalk and the beach walk that exceeds in value the
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City's own appraisal. They would ask that now the rules of the game not be changed where they
are now subject to another appraisal and their time significantly.
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, clarified that this is about the underground easement, and
when this was discussed at the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee, their direction was to
get a fee simple appraisal of the easements, and that came out to about $1.2 million. Mr.
Kasdin’s clients performed their own appraisal, which took into account the discount that the fact
that they can't really use the land for its highest and best use and came up with appraisal of about
$150,000. In discussing the issue about granting easements in general with both Land Use and
Development and Finance Committees, it really came down to, not so much as an argument
about what is the right appraisal and the right value, but it is really that by giving or use of this
public land, you are still granting them added value to their property, and the question really
becomes what are the benefits to the community as a whole? The Commission also asked
Administration to look at the highest possible value. The Administration identified a public benefit
that they agreed to, and that is the construction of the beach walk from 32 through 36th Streets
along the ocean. They would put up $900,000 of hard costs and they would also supply a lot of
the soft costs associated with the design, permitting and construction management; the soft costs
are more intangible to come up with and the City estimates that the value is close to $200,000.
This Commission needs to look at what does the granting of the easement accomplish?
Obviously it does accomplish for a better project, because; a) it provides parking in an area where
they can pay a fee in lieu of providing parking at a lesser cost per space than construction
spaces; b) by having the parking underground it provides a better pedestrian solution and a more
of a context sensitive solution in this historic district. There are benefits to the project overall. The
big important benefit they think the Commission should take into account is that this is the west
side of Collins Avenue, that stretch of the 30's on Collins Avenue where little investment has gone
into that area, so by this reinvestment into the property, the rehabilitation of a historic building and
building on the two vacant lots is an investment that will have a positive impact to the area, to
increase interest for more development or more property owners interested in upgrading and
developing their properties, so there is that benefit. However, the Commission’s direction to
Administration was to obtain the revised appraisal to calculate the highest possible value and
evaluate the request for the easement versus the public benefit and that benchmark, so there are
two wide appraisals right now, and that is why the Administration’s recommendation is subject to
approving the granting of the easement in concept, subject to that appraisal. If the appraisal
came in extremely high or much higher than the $1.2 million they would have to come back or
they walk away or pay the difference, and that's where we are right now. There are other things
they have put on the table, some to their benefit and some to the City’s, so besides the beach
walk, they want to pay $35,000 per removal of on-street spaces of parking space, which he
calculates that there will be a loss of about seven spaces, but then at every project there is a loss
of spaces with a driveway or a loading.
In answering Mayor Bower’s question, Mr. Gomez explained that as part of the variance approval,
one of the things the developer has to do is improvements to a surface parking lot that the City
owns on 34th Street between the Versailles Condominium and the Saxony property. That parking
lot has to be redone and they are exploring to see if there is a way to make more efficient parking
layout and that is an opportunity there, and also an opportunity to explore the surface lots at 35th
to 36th Street. It is a rather unique area of the City, in that there are two surface parking lots for
the public nearby, and that helps minimize any loss of on street spaces, because there are public
spaces there.
Mayor Bower stated that they should look into fixing and trying to make the parking lots more
efficient.
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Neisen Kasdin explained that the Saxony Hotel does not have required parking, when it is in
operation it needs to provide parking, and the fact that the developer is able to do the
underground garage to provide those 150 spaces underground is of great benefit not only to the
hotel but also to the neighborhood. It is a mutual need.
Mayor Bower expressed her concern and requested to have the public purpose benefit for the
area in form of a resolution from the City, since this is the first one and she wants to know how it
will be handled.
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, stated that at the Land Use and Development Committee
this issue had been discussed and about a process.
Commissioner Góngora stated that although he agrees with the comments, he stated that this is
the first time they are looking at this. This is a very nice project that will revitalize an area of
Miami Beach that needs it. There is public benefit in the form of increased taxes that the property
will create from the real property, from the employment that it will create, and the beautification of
the area. He does not like the way the process started, because the developer had obtained all
the land use boards’ approvals based upon underground parking, and then came to the City
Commission at the end and now an easement is needed. Every board has seen it and it is a
beautiful project and so he is not going to use it to hold up this project, and he agrees with the
Mayor that they need a process, but in the future if there is a need for an easement, that needs to
come first to the City Commission.
Discussion held.
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, explained the process discussed at Land Use and
Development Committee. When they request an easement, a referral is placed to the appropriate
committee and that is where the initial discussion occurs. The Commission can give guidance in
terms of some of the issues associated, guidance as to what the public benefit might be and that
is the first check in; they go through their regulatory process while the City does the appraisals
and works out the public benefit and any other direction that is given, and the Commission gives
the final approval of the easement.
Discussion was held about parking under the street.
Mayor Bower asked if the new construction meets the parking requirements.
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, stated that all new construction meet the parking
requirements; as in a historic district existing buildings do not have a parking requirement so the
rehabilitated Saxony and Atlantic Hotels on the west side do not have parking requirements, but
they are providing additional spaces above the requirements to help with that operational needs
that the historic hotels have.
Vice-Mayor Góngora stated that as far as what the value is, he sees both views; this is a little
piece of property under the ground that could not be used, but it adds a lot of value to the
property, and there is a huge value that the applicant is gaining from this easement. He does not
want this to be lost. He added that the public benefit is good and they are contributing significant
money to redoing portions of the beach walk that is not abutting their property, which the
Commission has identified as one of the priorities to move forward. He likes the fact that it allows
the project to move forward as it is. It is a very interesting design. Again it revitalizes that
particular area. The City will see an increase in property taxes and employment and he thinks it
is good, but he also believes that this Commission needs to set the rules and the framework
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because this is the first, but there could be more to come, and they need to know how to address
this in the future. He will support the item today.
Mayor Bower asked Mr. Kasdin what he is going to do about the parking lot.
Mr. Gomez explained that as part of the variances, in the 34th Street parking lot, between the
Saxony and the Versailles, they are committed to do improvements and strengthen the
pedestrian connection to Collins Avenue to the beach walk along with other improvements.
Commissioner Libbin asked how many spots are in the 34th Street block, or how many will there
be when it is improved.
Mr. Gomez stated that it is an inefficient layout as it has some angle parking and parallel spaces,
but at their cost, the developer did a layout that would increase the number of parking spaces by
seven or eight, but there was no landscaping and it would be difficult to approve something like
that without landscaping.
Commissioner Libbin asked if the developer is proposing to do the landscaping to improve the lot
and if it is part of the $900,000.
Neisen Kasdin stated that it would be about $500,000, and added that they hired Raymond
Jungles, who is not the everyday landscape architect, and the other City improvements they are
working on.
Commissioner Libbin applauded the creativity and when this first came before them he was
pleased to put the parking underground. He knows it is a tremendous increased expense. He
thought it was creative to go under 34th Street and connect the underground parking, especially
where you do not need to provide the parking, as they could have opted out; granted it makes it a
much more viable project for themselves, but he will support it. There is public benefit here, and
there are mitigating circumstances on both sides. You can’t always take the highest value. There
will be a $400 million investment in an area that needs it; is quite significant and welcomed, and
he applauds the whole project. He thinks the effort to provide a million plus dollars for the beach
walk between the hard and soft costs and another $500,000 they are required to do on the 34th
Street Parking Lot, he is prepared to move forward with it today.
Motion made by Commissioner Wolfson; seconded by Commissioner Libbin.
Neisen Kasdin requested that the motion not be subject to the further appraisal.
Commissioner Exposito asked for clarification in terms of the 34th Street lot, are they going to
reconfigure it and landscape at their cost?
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, explained that that is part of the variance so it is a final
order from the Board of Adjustment. Discussion held.
Jose Smith, City Attorney, in answering Commissioner Exposito’s question regarding liability of
parking underground, explained that there is indemnity language that Legal has worked into the
easement already to ensure that the City has no liability.
Commissioner Exposito likes the project and the idea of getting in and out of the vehicles for the
parking underneath, which eliminates crossing on Collins Avenue, which is a busy street to begin
with, so he has no other issues. He stated that the fact is that they are in effect adding seven or
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eight parking spaces, and once they put in the landscaping he is sure they will be going to add
some back.
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, explained that in fact they have to pay for the spaces. It is
important to know that the $900,000 does not include the payment for the $35,000 per space of
lost parking spaces. The agreement states that they will pay it out over a five year period.
5:15:20 p.m.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolution
R7C A Resolution Approving The Extension Of Hours For Certain Alcoholic Beverage Establishments
With A 5:00 a.m. Liquor License And Under Certain Specified Conditions Pursuant To Section 6
Of The City Code For Winter Party (March 8 - 9, 2013) And White Party (November 29, 30, 2013)
As Recommended By The Land Use And Development Committee.
(City Manager’s Office)
(Requested by Vice-Mayor Michael Góngora)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28093 adopted. Motion made by Vice-Mayor Góngora to
approve the resolution; seconded by Commissioner Wolfson; Voice-vote: 4-3; Opposed: Mayor
Bower and Commissioners Tobin and Weithorn. Max Sklar to handle.
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, stated that the resolution before the Commission is to
approve the extension of hours for certain alcoholic beverage establishments for the 5 AM liquor
license for the weekends of March 8 and 9th for the Winter Party, and for the White Party,
November 29 and 30th, 2013, as recommended by the Land Use and Development Committee
(LUDC). On occasion, there is a request to extend the hours for alcoholic beverage
establishments to the 5 AM liquor license. The committee met two months ago and
recommended in favor of the extension of hours for both events for the weekend 2013.
Vice-Mayor Góngora clarified that the item came in front of the entire commission as a
recommendation from the Mayor's LGBT Business Committee and a few members are here to
speak in favor of the item, but the original recommendation was to do extended hours over four
weekends: White Party, Winter Party, Gay Pride and the Aqua Foundation Dance, and as a result
he referred it for discussion to the LUDC. At that time, three Commissioners voted unanimously
in favor of extending hours for two of the four events that were long standing proven events in
Miami Beach, the White Party and Winter Party, which resulted in extended only for Friday and
Saturday evenings of the events from 5 AM to 7 AM, as it is done in New Year’s Eve and certain
other holiday weekends to encourage business with these long standing LGBT community
events.
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, added that this applies to all alcoholic beverage
establishments with a 5 AM liquor license, as long as they met the code requirements specified
on Agenda pages 453 and 454, then they would qualify.
Commissioner Libbin asked that when they extend someone with a 5:00 AM license to two hours,
does that automatically extend someone who has a 2 AM license to 4 AM.
Mr. Sklar replied that it only applies to the 5:00 A.M.
Commissioner Tobin asked if they are putting more police on the streets during those nights, to
which Max Sklar replied that they have extended staffing during March for Winter Party.
Commissioner Tobin stated that he understands that in the Police Chief’s discretion an individual
bar can be required to have an off-duty officer, but he is more concerned with making sure that
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there is enough manpower on the street and then asked who absorbs the costs associated with
additional staffing, the taxpayers?
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, stated only if the City requires off-duty staffing at those
specific establishments; otherwise it would be absorbed by the Administration and the taxpayers.
He explained that they anticipate for it. In March they advanced staffing. The Police Chief did look
at the arrest and crime statistics for those two weekends over the last three years and they were
very consistent. There wasn't a lot of fluctuation, obviously March is higher because it is peak
(Spring Break) and higher than any other crime statistic but there wasn't a fluctuation whether the
hours are extended or not.
Commissioner Tobin asked how many years has the City Commission been extending the hours,
and Mr. Sklar answered that the last time they did for these weekends was in 2010, for the White
Party.
Discussion held.
Vice-Mayor Góngora explained that since the Winter Party is coming up in March that needs to
be advertised, and he moved to extend the hours for this event at this time and revisit the White
Party at another meeting.
Mayor Bower and Commissioners Libbin stated that they do not have an issue with extending the
hours for all the events, but Commissioner Tobin stated he will be opposed.
Discussion held.
Commissioner Libbin asked Police Chief Martinez for any statistics on any increase or activities,
arrests or anything that was attributable to have either the White Party or Winter Party.
Chief Martinez informed that during the last three years, and the last time the hours were
extended was in 2010, it really does not show a difference in the arrests. The only thing that
arrests show is during Spring Break and the numbers are high.
Commissioner Weithorn stated that one of the comments was can they have enhanced staffing in
March, but how about for Thanksgiving Weekend. She asked that if the hours are extended for
the two hours, will the Police change their staffing in any way because of the two hours for any
time that they are extended.
Chief Martinez explained that normally during Spring Break enhanced staffing only goes until 6:00
AM because the bars close at 5 AM; if they are extended to 7 AM then they have to keep the
officers until a little after the bars close to make sure the crowds get out. The additional time the
offices are kept are compensated at time and a half.
Commissioner Libbin asked why not just have the next shift come in two hours before, and they
would be there for the two hours later?
Chief Martinez explained that most of the calls for service are during the night, because that is the
busy time.
Motion was made by Vice-Mayor Góngora to extend the hours for both events; seconded by
Commissioner Wolfson. Opposed: Mayor Bower and Commissioners Tobin and Weithorn.
Mayor Bower stated that the motion passed, but if anything goes wrong with the first party she
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may bring the issue back for discussion.
7:38:58 p.m.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolutions
R7D Resolutions Authorizing Agreements With Various External Entities To Assist The City In
Implementing The Action Plan To Address Potential Corruption And Misconduct:
1. A Resolution Approving And Authorizing The City Manager And City Attorney To
Negotiate An Agreement With Miami-Dade County, On Behalf Of The Miami-Dade County
Office Of The Inspector General (MDCOIG), To Authorize The MDCOIG To Provide
Independent Investigations Into City Practices And Operations In Order To Prevent And
Detect Fraud, Waste, Financial Mismanagement, Employee Misconduct, Or Other
Abuses.
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28094 adopted. See action in R7D2. Motion made by
Commissioner Tobin to approve the resolution; seconded by Commissioner Weithorn;
Voice-vote: 7-0. City Attorney’s Office and Carla Gomez to handle.
2. A Resolution Approving And Authorizing The Mayor And City Clerk To Execute An
Agreement In The Not To Exceed Amount Of $45,000, With Miami-Dade County, Florida,
On Behalf Of The Miami-Dade County Commission On Ethics And Public Trust, To
Develop And Provide A Comprehensive Ethics Training Program For City Employees
Who Hold Positions That Are In Regulatory Areas Of The City.
(Human Resources)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28095 adopted as amended. Motion made by Mayor
Bower to approve the resolution; seconded by Vice-mayor Góngora; Voice-vote: 7-0. City
Attorney’s Office to handle. Leslie Rosenfeld to handle schedule of training.
Amendment
At the request of Commissioner Weithorn, the motion was amended so that if an
agreement is entered into, it be subject to the Commission on Ethics allowing the City to
videotape the program for its use in/and to be integrated into other courses taught by the
City.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, stated that the item has to do with agreements
with the Ethics Commission and with the Office of the Inspector General to conduct ethics
trainings for 230 employees for $45,000, and to serve as Inspector General (IG) role, two
separate contracts, the second being with the Office of the Inspector General to serve in
the IG role for the City. It should be noted that at this point in time the IG has indicated
that they are not available. However if the item is passed the direction from
Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee is that the Administration reach out again to
the Inspector General's Office.
Commissioner Tobin stated that Leslie Rosenfeld has put together a program that teaches
employees Ethics and for the money, he would do it in house.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, clarified that the Commission can take both items
individually, but explained that they are different.
Jose Smith, City Attorney, stated that he prefer to take each item separately.
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Commissioner Tobin stated that in regards to the Inspector General he would vote, and if
there is a unanimous vote for the IG, fund them and then work out the details of what they
investigate or not, he would vote for that. As far as paying the money to teach the
employees ethics, he prefers to have Leslie Rosenfeld teach an Ethics class, and he
would vote no on this item.
Mayor Bower asked for separate motions.
MOTION TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
Commissioner Tobin made a motion to negotiate with the Inspector General; seconded by
Commissioner Weithorn. Voice-vote: 7-0.
MOTION FOR ETHICS
Mayor Bower announced that she would pass the gavel and moved for the City to retain
the Commission on Ethics to teach for a one-time. She thinks it is important, especially
after the problems the City has had. Motion seconded by Vice-Mayor Góngora.
Commissioner Exposito stated that he attended a program presented by the League of
Cities where the Commission on Ethics taught a class and that and it was good.
Commissioner Tobin explained that Leslie has put together a program, but after the City
had all the problems, she was told not to say anything about the program she developed
so they could have the press conference; and for him, he will stick to his guns and they
should do it in-house and save the money.
Commissioner Weithorn asked if Leslie has a program.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, explained that Leslie Rosenfeld has an online
program. It is not as interactive as this program would be with the person doing the
training, and the only thing that she would say if they do go forward with this, is that she
thinks it would be great to take elements of this to build into further trainings the City has.
Commissioner Libbin stated that the program is for 230 employees involved in regulatory
agencies; those handling money, parking, etc. The cost comes out to about $15 or $16
per hour. Mr. Centerino attended the Neighborhood/Community Affairs meeting last
month and stated that there was no profit built in. He thinks it is well worth spending the
money given the issues. He does not think the City can have too much of it, and he
encouraged Leslie to also do this, it is not one versus the other. He will support it.
Commissioner Weithorn asked the maker of the motion to approve the item, subject to the
Commission on Ethics allowing the City to videotape classes for those not attending. It is
important for the people training now, and it is important for future employees to videotape
and integrate into the City’s training program.
MOTION FOR ETHICS
Motion made by Mayor Bower to approve the resolution as amended; seconded by Vice-
Mayor Góngora. Voice vote 7-0.
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6:57:43 p.m.
R7E A Resolution Approving And Authorizing The Mayor And City Clerk To Execute Amendment No 1
To An Employment Agreement Between The City And Kathie G. Brooks, Extending Ms. Brooks’
Engagement As City Of Miami Beach Interim City Manager For An Additional Three (3) Month
Period, Commencing On January 8, 2013, And Ending On April 30, 2013.
(City Attorney’s Office)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28096 adopted as amended. Motion made by Commissioner
Libbin to approve the resolution; seconded by Commissioner Exposito; Voice-vote: 7-0. City
Attorney’s Office to handle.
Amendment
Extend the contract until a new City Manager is hired or through November 13, 2013.
Commissioner Libbin stated that he is supportive of keeping Ms. Brooks as Interim City Manager;
this is a resolution to extend her contract for three months, but he suggested that the contract be
extended until they hire a permanent City Manager; otherwise this item will keep coming back for
extension over and over again. That is his motion. He explained that the resolution was to extend
her contract until March, and he asked the City Attorney if the contract can be amended. Motion
seconded by Commissioner Exposito.
Jose Smith, City Attorney, stated that the contract can be amended to say so.
Commissioner Weithorn asked if there is a drop deadline and Commissioner Libbin stated that
the deadline was November 13, 2013.
Commissioner Wolfson suggested that the contract be extended until another City Manager is
hired permanently or through November 13, 2013 (outside date).
7:33:55 p.m.
R7F A Resolution Adopting The Official Certificate Of The Miami-Dade Canvassing Board For The
Final Results Of The November 6, 2012 Special Election For The City Of Miami Beach, And
Declaring The Final Results Thereof.
(City Attorney’s Office/City Clerk’s Office)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28097 adopted. Motion made by Commissioner Weithorn to
approve the resolution; seconded by Commissioner Libbin; Voice-vote: 7-0. City Attorney’s
Office to handle.
7:35:08 p.m.
R7G A Resolution Ratifying And Confirming The Appointment Of Rafael E. Granado As The City Clerk
For The City Of Miami Beach, Florida.
(City Attorney’s Office)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28098 adopted. Motion made by Commissioner Weithorn to
approve the resolution; seconded by Commissioner Libbin; Voice-vote: 7-0. Rafael E. Granado
to handle.
City Clerk’s Note: Signed and notarized oath scanned and filed with the resolution.
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5:41:05 p.m.
7:25:47 p.m.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 – Resolution
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 2 –Alternate Resolution from Commissioner Jonah Wolfson
R7H A Resolution Approving Special Event Permit No. 201377 For WMC DJ Mag, Produced By
Jonathan Cowan Productions, LLC, From March 20, 2013 To March 24, 2013, As Well As Load-
In And Load-Out.
(Tourism & Cultural Development)
ACTION: Resolution failed. Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to deny the event as
proposed; seconded by Commissioner Tobin; Voice-vote: 4-3; Opposed: Commissioners
Exposito, Weithorn and Wolfson.
FIRST MOTION:
Motion by Commissioner Libbin; seconded by Commissioner Tobin to accept the City Manager’s
recommendation and deny the request. Voice vote: 5-2; Opposed Commissioners Exposito and
Wolfson.
FINAL MOTION:
Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to deny the event as proposed; seconded by
Commissioner Tobin; Voice-vote: 4-3; Opposed: Commissioners Exposito, Weithorn and
Wolfson.
PROPOSAL:
A four-day event with an occupancy at 2,500
End event daily at 9 PM instead of 11 PM
Move eastern fence line most property line 25 feet west to reduce the footprint
Consider increasing off duty rates in general, not just for this event, but for that week for off-duty
jobs to incentivize police officers
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, explained that this item was discussed at the
November Commission Meeting; however, consensus was not reached at that time, but the
Commission gave direction to the City Administration to work with the promoter and hold
community meetings, for the promoter to work with the sound engineer to address noise concerns
and come back with an amended request to the City Commission. Since that time, the
Administration has been working with Mr. Cowan and his team to reduce the proposed
occupancy for the event from 3,500 as originally proposed to 2,500 people currently proposed
and submitted in the memorandum on the Agenda. On November 29 a community meeting was
held to discuss this event, and the general consensus among the public and general manager
from the W Hotel, was that the length of the event, and the potential for the noise impact in the
area were too great. Additionally feedback was requested from the adjacent properties, and
feedback was received from the W Hotel, The Setai and the Cedar Hotel, and they were not in
favor of the event at that location, due to incompatibility with the neighborhood. An email was
received from Mr. Augustine stating that he was not in favor of the event, and a copy of the email
was distributed upon request of Commissioner Weithorn. He added that City Staff, police, fire
and sanitation meet with the team and review the proposal. At this time, the Administration is
recommending against the event, based on the criteria and the requirements.
Commissioner Libbin explained that the Police, the Administration and the neighborhood are not
in favor of this event, and he made a motion to support the Administration’s decision to deny this
request due to lack of staffing requirements.
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Commissioner Tobin explained that he was not present for the discussion during the November
Commission meeting, but he thought reducing the occupancy to 2,500 was approaching a
number that could be manageable, and the Commission had requested for the producer to come
back within five days; he did not think it was fair to cut everyone off. He tends to agree with
Commissioner Libbin but wanted to hear from Mr. Cowan.
Commissioner Libbin explained that during discussion at the Neighborhood/Community Affairs
Committee meeting, the policy was changed, but the Police is stating that they cannot adequately
staff this event, Fire and Sanitation are hesitant, the neighbors do not want it.
Commissioner Góngora explained that he will not support it as presented in the Agenda. The
length of the event has not been shortened, only the occupancy, and his comments have not
changed from the last Commission meeting. If the producer can do a shorter festival that they
can work with the community, he will consider it.
Commissioner Exposito asked if there was an overlap between the function of this event and
another event during Agenda Review, and he learned that there is no overlapping of events.
Does that change the opinion of Police and Fire as far as staffing?
Chief Martinez explained that Spring Break is one of the busiest weeks, and informed that last
year during the same one-week time period, enhanced staffing overtime was incurred at more
than 4,778 hours; in addition to that, there were 2500 hours of off-duty hours, and together that’s
the equivalent of 182 full-time officers working 40 hours per week. As currently proposed, this
event would require probably another 2100 hours of office hours for that week, which is another
52 officers, and they have reached capacity and are unable to staff it, taking into consideration
that the enhanced staffing off duty are all volunteer hours.
Mayor Bower asked if the Shelborne was denied an event this year.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, explained that the Shelborne held events inside the
hotel, and they do not need a permit for that.
Motion was seconded by Commissioner Tobin.
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, explained that the Shelborne has a conditional use
approval that allows them to have pool parties with occupancy of up to 400, Friday, Saturday and
Sunday until 7 p.m., anything after those hours, will require a special events permit and the City
could deny it, but they do not require special staffing.
Commissioner Wolfson asked Vice Mayor Góngora what size and number of dates would he
agree with, four-day event with 2,000 occupancy?
Vice Mayor Góngora explained that the City Commission cannot impose unless it is mutual
agreement due to the exorbitant fees involved, and feels pressured into supporting this. He does
not have a problem with the occupancy, but perhaps with a three-day event.
Rafael Andrade, representing Mr. Cowan, thanked the City Commission for considering the
application. He also thanked the City Manager and Administration for working with them through
the process. Initially the event was for ten days with an occupancy load of 5,000 people. After
meetings and listening to staff and community’s concerns, the event was cut down from 5,000 to
2,500 occupancy and from ten days to five days to balance the needs of the community, the
Administration, the Police and his client, Mr. Cowan. He suggested that the resolution provides
for repayment of time and a half to officers that work this event, therefore, incentivizing additional
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officers to come in to work. Another option the Police suggested to address staffing issues is to
hire a certain level of security to satisfy the Police Department’s needs, and asked for approval of
his client’s application. He added that the representation of the opposition to this event is
inaccurate; the Collins Park Neighborhood Association passed a resolution encouraging this
event, the Cedar Hotel has approved this event, and concerns raised by the W Hotel relates to
noise, and a sound expert engineer has been brought on board from Los Angeles to relieve the
impact of the noise. As far as Sanitation, the City has resources to provide the needs, and they
could also hire a third party vendor. This is a good event. He has been a responsible producer
for at least eight years with very few incidents in the past and asked for the opportunity to
demonstrate to the City that they can do what the City is asking for and put on a good and
responsible event. In addition to providing 30 police officers, they will have 35 manned security
teams within the event.
Frank Del Vecchio stated that people watching this on camera should know that somebody, a
promoter, wants to take over the public beach for five days for a patron paying event, which is
loud music for 2,500 patrons. Now, this promoter does not own the beach. He does not own the
Upland Hotel, behind which this event will take place, and in answer to Mayor Bower’s question,
he does not own the Shelborne. The public filled up the Commission Chamber a couple of years
ago, asking for more police, code and sanitation protection during Spring Break. He attended the
meeting and was invited to speak for the neighborhood at the Special Meeting that Commissioner
Libbin asked for the special event. Members of the public came and they are extremely
concerned. They believe that they should respect the Interim City Manager, for whom he has the
highest regard, who has come out with the first significant negative recommendation he has
heard from her since she has been here for a few months. The Police Chief said in front of us
that the Police Department cannot handle this event. They do not want Police, Sanitation and
Code resources diverted to this event which scares him when he hears the promoter say that
they are going to hire their own security guards. What kind of patronage are they to expect from
this event? When they say the noise will be tolerable, the Manager of the W Hotel does not think
that the guests will stand for it after paying $1,000 or so per night. He does not know why they
are bending over backwards to accommodate a promoter.
Mayor Bower stated that there is a motion and a second to support the recommendation of the
City Manager.
Rafael Andrade added that he heard from a representative of The Shelborne, t hat they will be
seeking a special events moving forward and they are in no way suggesting or encouraging that
this event not be issued a special event permit when they applied, for the record.
FIRST MOTION:
Motion by Commissioner Libbin; seconded by Commissioner Tobin to accept the City Manager’s
recommendation and deny the request. Voice vote: 5-2; Opposed Commissioners Exposito and
Wolfson.
Commissioner Tobin is voting yes and stated that he takes the hat off to the City Manager and
the Police Chief for making a tough call.
Commissioner Weithorn is voting in favor and she stated that she asked them to get the
neighbors sign off and she does not see that happening, so she is in support.
Commissioner Wolfson explained that he is voting against it because he thinks they can work out
something smaller and does not think that they have to go to Alpha Bravo for a party of 2,000
people is accurate.
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Mayor Bower stated that she is voting in support because she thinks five days is too long on the
beach and is concerned with the noise.
Rafael Andrade asked if they could revise the proposal and come back.
Mayor Bower suggested that they negotiate outside of the chambers and come back at a later
time.
7:25:47 p.m.
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, explained that after talking with they are proposing a
four-days event with an occupancy at 2,500, and the event daily at 9 PM instead of 11 PM; move
the eastern fence line most property line 25 feet west to reduce the footprint, and then as a result
of that in order to provide off duty that we consider increasing off duty rates in general, not just for
this event, but for that week for off-duty jobs.
Chief Martinez stated that his concern is being at capacity. One of the things that they did in
2010 during the Super Bowl was to raise the off-duty rates during that time period to make an
incentive for officers to come out and work. He spoke with Alex Bello, FOP President, and they
are concerned about raising the rate across the board, as it is penalizing those existing jobs like
Publix and Joe’s that have been here year-round and penalizing them to pay a higher rate; so he
would recommend the club jobs be required to pay the higher rate and that would incentivize
more officers to volunteer and to work, and this would give the Police Department more of a pool
and resources to staff this, should you approve it.
Commissioner Libbin stated that in earlier discussions with Chief Martinez and in the statements
in the agenda book, it is clear that he did not feel that he had the staffing to do this, and he would
like to know whether this is a good thing to do or not? Does it make a significant difference that is
four days rather than five in terms of ability to staff this because the staffing is going to be every
day?
Chief Martinez clarified that his recommendation would be not to do the event.
Commissioner Libbin read a report from the Fire Department, which states that in prior years the
Fire Department has had difficulty filling the number of off duties requests during this period of
time; therefore, if required to staff this event there would not be sufficient number of Fire
personnel to staff those events during this time. Sanitation and Fire, as well as Administration
recommend against it.
Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to deny the request; seconded by Commissioner Tobin.
Commissioner Wolfson asked Chief Martinez if the increase is approved, can the Police
Department staff the event.
Chief Martinez explained that if the increase is approved they are going to do the best to protect
this City just like they do in Memorial Day.
Commissioner Weithorn explained that the parliamentary procedure states that they have a motion on
the floor and to call the question and move forward.
Final voice vote taken.
FINAL MOTION:
Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to deny the event; seconded by Commissioner Tobin;
Voice-vote: 4-3; Opposed: Commissioners Exposito, Weithorn and Wolfson.
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8:18:42 p.m.
Mr. Andrade suggested that the event be subject to approval and discuss with his client, with four
day event, 2,500 people ending at 9 PM. There was no consensus on the dais to approve this
item and no motion was made for reconsideration of the previous vote.
Handouts or Reference Materials:
1. Email from Rafael Andrade to Kathie Brooks dated December 11, 2012 RE: Signature Survey Form
from the W Hotel approving of Mr. Cowan’s special event permit application.
2. Email from Melissa Szulsteyn to Max Sklar dated December 12, 2012 RE: WMC DJ Mag Event
5:27:44 p.m.
R7I A Resolution Accepting The Recommendation Of The Marine Authority Board At Its October 9,
2012 Meeting For The City Commission To Consider A No Wake Zone Ordinance And Referring
The Proposed No Wake Zone Ordinance To The Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee
For Its Further Consideration.
(Requested by Commissioner Jorge R. Exposito)
(Legislative Tracking: City Attorney’s Office)
ACTION: Heard in conjunction with item R5F. Resolution 2012-28100 adopted. Motion
made by Commissioner Wolfson; seconded by Commissioner Tobin to accept the
recommendation of the Marine Authority Board and to refer to LUDC. Voice vote: 7-0. Richard
Lorber to place on the committee agenda and to handle. City Attorney’s Office, Marine
Patrol and Max Sklar to handle.
REFERRAL:
Referred to the Land Use and Development Committee (LUDC)
Michael Larkin, Esq., representing Sunset Harbor Yacht Club, explained that the Florida State
Legislature granted the City authority to create a No Wake Zones and Slow Speed Zones
throughout the waters where the City has jurisdiction. The reason they are asking to do so is
because typically boats go way too fast, creating dangerous situations, particularly around the
City’s only public boat ramp where there are boats backing out or kayakers from nearby kayak
stores; it also creates damage to boats parked at the Sunset Harbor Marina. This ordinance will
establish three No Wake Zones and two Slow Speed Zones. The No Wake Zone means they
have to go very, very slow. Slow Speed Zone means that just have to go slow. The No Wake
Zones will be now the Miami Beach Marina, around the public boat ramp at the Maurice Gibb
Park, and then there is a blind corner at the northern edge of the Sunset Harbor Marina, 300 feet
from there. The Speed Zones will be on the bridge between Belle Isle and Rivo Alto on the
southern half, and the larger area around the Standard Hotel west of the Sunset Harbor Marina.
The purpose is to ask boaters to slow down and not create such a wake and a tremendous
dangerous situation for all other boats and kayakers in the area.
Mayor Bower asked if these are the only places where No Wake and No Speed Zones will be.
Michael Larkin explained that the criteria are stringent. The Slow Speed Zones are all around the
western side of Miami Beach; however, the No Wake Zone can only be in front of boat ramp, fuel
pump or around a blind corner. The No Wake Zone is in a 500 foot radius from the fuel
dispensing pump at the Miami Beach Marina.
Commissioner Wolfson stated that at the Miami Beach Marina they have these massive concrete
walls in the water that essentially stop the wake anyway. For eight months out of the year there is
an existing No Wake Zone for the manatee zones. He added that if someone gets two speeding
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tickets in any area of the bay, it is a misdemeanor. The first violation if speeding in any area of the
bay, it is a misdemeanor. He stated that they should be real careful as this is done. His second
point is that in the northern side there is an enormous area outside the Sunset Harbor Marina,
boaters have to bring the boats all the way back and wait to go all the way through there.
Michael Larkin, Esq., explained that the boats go very quickly through here, and often they are
trying to make the bridge, so they zoom between Belle Isle and in that area it looks like they go
very close to the boat ramp and the Marina there, and that is why it is important to ask them to
slow down in that section because it is dangerous for them to go fast.
Commissioner Wolfson stated that in many parts of the bay, there is a manatee speed zone,
during April through December, and throughout the entire bay.
Discussion continued.
Jose Smith, City Attorney, stated that to put this in context, all this is right now is a resolution
accepting the recommendations of the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee and the
Marine Authority, that this Commission first has to vote on before they vote on any ordinance, but
the recommendation is not to vote on the ordinance today, but to accept the resolution from the
Marine Authority and the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee (NCAC), and refer back to
NCAC, because the committee has not had an opportunity to weigh in on this particular
ordinance.
Jose Smith, City Attorney, explained that the proposed ordinance is attached to the resolution,
and there is also a separate item if the Commission wishes to vote on the ordinance on first
reading they may, or they may send it back to committee to weigh in on.
Mayor Bower asked for a motion to refer to NCAC.
Commissioner Wolfson explained his concerns are that eight months out of the year there already
is a No Wake Zone anyway. The second ticket for speeding is a misdemeanor crime, so he just
feels that increasing the No-Wake Zones has become throughout South Florida an impediment to
boating, it is excessive. It is going to make people not want to come this way.
Commissioner Tobin suggested referring the item to the Land Use and Development Committee
(LUDC).
Commissioner Wolfson agreed to refer item to LUDC.
Motion made by Commissioner Wolfson; seconded by Commissioner Tobin to approve the
resolution and refer item to Land Use and Development Committee. Voice-vote: 7-0.
Handout or Reference Materials:
1. Sunset Harbour Yacht Club Permit Sketch dated November 30, 2012
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7:47:24 p.m.
7:49:32 p.m.
R7J A Resolution Urging The State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle To Aggressively Prosecute
The Criminals That Are Perpetrating Crimes In The Normandy Shores Neighborhood And
Requesting That The Chief Judge Joel Brown Of The Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court In And For
Miami-Dade County Give Due Consideration To The Administration Of Such Matters In The
Interest Of Victims’ Rights.
(Requested by Commissioner Jerry Libbin)
(Legislative Tracking: City Attorney’s Office)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28101 adopted. Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to
approve the resolution; seconded by Commissioner Weithorn; Voice-vote: 7-0. City Attorney’s
Office and Chief Martinez to handle.
Commissioner Libbin introduced the item. People were caught on camera damaging City
property in Normandy Shores, they were arrested and there have been hearings before the
Judge were both residents and police officers have appeared; yet the Judge has not heard the
item. By this resolution, we are trying to send a message that the City of Miami Beach wants the
State Attorney to aggressively prosecute the criminal that are perpetrating crimes in the
Normandy Shores Neighborhood. Commissioner Libbin moved the item; seconded by
Commissioner Weithorn.
Commissioner Wolfson suggested adding to the Resolution an item that he believes his
colleagues will support in prosecuting crimes. Recently there was a disturbing incident where a
homeless man was punched in the groin. He would like to add to the motion that the State
Attorney prosecute all hate crimes in a vigilant fashion. He asked Commissioner Libbin if he
would accept that as an amendment to his motion.
Commissioner Libbin replied that he would like to keep his motion the way it is.
7:46:13 p.m.
R7K A Resolution Accepting The Recommendation Of The Finance And Citywide Projects Committee
At Its November 9, 2012 Meeting To Consider The Attached Ordinance Amending The Salary
Ranges And Providing For Such Other Terms, Conditions, And Benefits As The City Commission
May Deem In The Best Interest Of The City.
(City Attorney’s Office)
ACTION: Item deferred to January 16, 2013. Item heard in conjunction with R5C. Motion
made by Commissioner Wolfson to defer items R5C and R7K; seconded by Commissioner
Libbin; Ballot-vote: 7-0. Lilia Cardillo to place on the Commission Agenda when received. City
Attorney’s Office to handle.
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11:47:08 a.m.
R7L A Resolution Approving The Recommendation Of The City Manager To Shortlist The Two (2) Top
Ranked Proposers Of Portman CMC And South Beach Ace Which Will Proceed To Phase II Of
Request For Qualifications (RFQ) No. 22-11/12 For A Public-Private Mixed-Use Development In
Miami Beach For The Enhancement Of The Miami Beach Convention Center Campus/District,
Including The Expansion Of The Miami Beach Convention Center And Development Of A
Convention Center Hotel (The RFQ); Authorizing The City Manager To Negotiate Letters Of
Intent (LOI’s) With The Respective Shortlisted Proposers; And Further Providing That The
Negotiated LOI’s And Master Plan(s) Developed By The Respective Proposers Be Brought Back
To The Mayor And City Commission At A Future Date For Further Action.
(City Manager’s Office)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28102 adopted. Motion made by Commissioner Exposito to
approve the Administration’s recommendation of the two (2) top ranked proposers: Portman CMC
and South Beach Ace; seconded by Vice-Mayor Góngora; Voice-vote: 6-1; Opposed:
Commissioner Wolfson. Jorge Gomez to handle.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, stated that this is a resolution approving the
recommendation of the City Manager to shortlist the two teams of Portman, CMC and South
Beach Ace to continue on to Phase II of the Miami Beach Convention Center RFQ, and
authorizing the City Manager to negotiate Letters of Intent with the shortlisted proposer. The
primary objectives of the RFQ were to facilitate the ability of MBCC to attract high impact events
in an increasingly competitive environment, transform the Convention Center District into a
vibrant neighborhood with increased outdoor public space, a walkable district providing
connectivity between the MBCC, Lincoln Road and the City’s historical district with iconic
architecture, incorporating sustainable design and principles with sensitivity to the residential
neighborhoods. The minimum requirements are enhancing the Convention Center with classy
renovation of the function stage and additional meeting space, development of a headquarter
hotel and provision of a multipurpose ballroom space of 60,000 square feet. In the RFQ phase,
proposers were evaluated based on experience of undertaking comparable other mixed use
mass development projects of the magnitude contemplated, with a lead architect evaluated on
relevant experience in providing designing services for comparable other mixed use master
development. Those proposals shortlisted will move to Phase II of the RFQ Phase, whereby they
will be required to solicit community input in the development of detailed proposal for the district.
The City received eight qualification packages, leading five teams, CConnectMB, Portland CMC,
Ready Development Corporation, South Beach Ace and Turnboy Lincoln Village. The evaluation
committee and the City’s professional consultant, Strategic Advisory Group, recommended to
shortlist the two top ranked proposals, Portman CMC and South Beach Ace to proceed to Phase
II, and she is concurring with that recommendation because 1) two proposers she feels will
dedicate more resources when they have a 50/50 chance of being successful; 2) the community
will be able to focus its attention on two master plan proposals and not be burdened with
attending multiple community meetings and reviewing multiple master plans, and it will facilitate
the negotiation process with the two proposers.
Motion made by Commissioner Exposito to accept the recommendation to shortlist the first top
two proposers: Portman CMC and South Beach Ace; seconded by Vice-Mayor Góngora. No vote
taken.
Martin Margulies, Key Biscayne resident and Evaluation Committee member, stated that one of
the reasons he participated in the committee is because he felt a civic duty, not only for Miami
Beach but the entire County. This is an amazing venture that the City will undertake and feels
that this will be a legacy and hopes that it goes forward on this because it is really very necessary
for this community. When Art Basel first started, he was asked for suggestions for the way this
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fair should be run, and his suggestion was that they do not listen to any suggestions. This is one
of the greatest fairs in the country. At one time they were romancing the Los Angeles area
because of new museums there and the attractiveness of some of the collectors, and as you
probably know they purchased a fair in China. He is speaking for himself, and not for the
committee. They sat there for three days and evaluated all the proposals and there were some
terrifically world class architects involved, but in his opinion this is really about the usage.
Somebody who is out in Wisconsin or a Dental Convention or some other type of Convention are
more interested in the usage of what is the attraction to come to Miami Beach to have a
convention. He applauds that Portman, CMC team was really a brilliant move in putting their
teammates together. Portman is undisputedly one of the great urban developers in the country
as evidenced by Peach Tree which is a 14-block complex and Embarcadero in San Francisco.
They put together an excellent team; they are well known and well recognized.
Commissioner Tobin asked Mr. Margulies his opinion regarding suggestions that the City
Commission allow all four teams instead of two teams, although at this junction he tends to agree
with two teams.
Mr. Margulies explained that if there were four teams or three teams they would have to put an
enormous amount of money into this process, architects, schematics, renderings, attorneys,
surveyors, etc. They have a tremendous expense and if there are four teams, it dilutes their fear
of putting all this money up, when they have a 25% chance of getting this, and he feels a 50%
chance is much better and he is sure the principles will go at it in a much substantial way.
Mayor Bower recognized former Commissioner Saul Gross, Chair of the Evaluation Committee.
Tim Nardi echoed Mr. Margulies’ comments, and stated that former Commissioner Saul Gross
was an exceptional in leading the team and the committee, there was great synergy, discussion
and dialogue among members and wanted to thank them for including him in the committee
representing the hotel industry. The process was great and the discussion on the second time
was better than the first one. It is critical to attract quality meetings to this amazing destination
that is Miami Beach, and he asked that they move forward as expeditiously as they can.
Jackie Lalonde, Evaluation Committee Member, also echoed those same sentiments and added
a few of her own. She thinks it is a legacy decision on the City Commission part. It will probably
be, with the exception of casinos, the most important decision that the Commission makes during
their tenure at the City of Miami Beach, and we felt the same way when they performed the
evaluation and going through the process. They had a diverse committee on different levels and
a diverse group of applicants and talents that they brought, but the process was a very clear
process for them and there was no confusion in their minds about who the winners were and why
they were winners for them. There were two power house financial giants, if you will, both of
whom have vision. One personally who she thinks has extraordinary vision, but wanted them to
know and have comfort in the fact that they were very clear about selecting those two applicants
in the end, because they had revisited this process if you recall, so it gave them time to stew with
their decision making efforts. She is naturally drawn to something that is powerful and dynamic,
assuming both teams were financially equal. She was personally impressed with the Wennet
team because of their vision and how she knows after traveling the world how they can change,
not just the City, not just the State, not the Nation, but they will create a world destination with this
project if this Commission is bold, provocative and decisive in the process and without a doubt
they have the best two qualified applicants. They both have vision. She urges them to be
decisive and pass this measure.
Saul Gross, Chair of the Evaluation Committee, stated for the record, that the reason that the
Evaluation Committee met the second time was to cure a potential
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Sunshine Law violation, and just want to say that the discussion the committee had was like it
started from scratch again. It was no rubber stamping. He thought frankly going in many of the
committee members would not be too happy again to do the same thing and watch the same
video, but it was odd that people saw things different the second time and with the benefit of a
month or two in between can be often different. In the end they did see something different but
came to the same conclusion, and fast tracking the two teams, and in fact it was stronger in
recommending those two teams. That's the first point. The second point, for him certainly looking
at the proposers his preference is to recommend a hometown developer. This is Miami Beach,
and there are developers that are capable and he wanted to recommend one of them, and he is
sure most of the committee members felt the same way, but at the end of the day even the two
that were top ranked, they were looking at the prime developer in Tishman and Portman, the
depth of the development experience of those two institutional firms even though they are from
out of town, was compelling to the committee members and even they are accomplished and
have their own experiences, if the lead local developer is unable to perform, how strong is the
organization behind them? And this can be a project that can be stretched out over a number of
years, and how would the different teams perform if that happened, and that is part of the reason
why the committee recommended these teams even though they wanted to recommend the local
teams. The third point he would like to make is that this is never an easy decision for the
Commission in terms of saying no to two teams that are qualified. There is no question that they
are qualified, and sometimes the tendency is to say yes to everybody just to move on to the next
phase and you end up with four teams, but the political difficulties after teams have spent $500 or
a million dollars and they start lobbying, it is only going to get harder to say no. It is never easy to
say no particularly to friends and local developers, but this is the best time to do that, now rather
than later. The last point he would like to make, is that he thinks at some point the Commission
needs to give some direction to the proposers as they move into the master planning process.
There is a lot of concern as vocalized by Commissioner Wolfson very eloquently that this project
not get out of scale. Everyone shares that. Mayor Bower has built her 30 years of activism on
those points and when he hears 6 billion square feet, this scares and makes him nervous. He
thinks it is incumbent on the Commission at some point, to put the project in scale so it will not
overwhelm the neighborhood in which it will sit, but to make it additive to the Lincoln Road
experience and connect to it, but not overwhelm it in anyway.
Commissioner Weithorn stated that she actually watched the Evaluation Committee videos, and
she added that as Committee Chairs go, she thought Saul did an extraordinary job. First of all,
everyone on that group was accomplished, and to allow everyone to express their opinions and
do their things with the grace that he did is a set of instructions for any future chair, and she
complement him on that. In regarding size and scale, and when going through the presentation,
were the members tied to a size and scale that would frighten this Commission? She thinks two
is fine unless one drops out, and then we have a problem. Do you think both groups understood
size and scale?
Saul Gross stated that the natural tendency for developers is more rather than less; however, the
instruction given was to try to minimize the public contribution to the project, and the way to do
that is maximizing the private side of it, so those forces are kind of fighting against what residents
are afraid of, so that is why he thinks the Commission needs to give some instruction. He thinks
there is a minimum size probably that they feel they need to build in order to justify their
involvement in the project. A Convention Center refurbishment, ball room and a hotel are
needed, but how much beyond there and the 6 million square feet, but he is thinking more of a
million feet as something that it still is a lot, but the community could tolerate. The public will
certainly weigh in, but is the public coming to four different community meetings every time a
group has to meet?
Mayor Bower explained that everything is in the detail, and what she would like to achieve is the
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greatest way that they can have the public input because this will only be a very great success if
we have a lot of public interest. We have to sell it to the public. Public input is needed and to
implement their feedback, so that is a successful project, and for the public to believe in the
project, and that's the only way that it is going to work, and she thinks that the project will develop
in the process, but they need to hear from the public. Also the developers will need to hear from
the public, and they will need to hear from the public. Let the public speak and then let us go to
the meetings. Let this Commission hear what the public has to say. How are we going to
maximize the public input on whatever projects?
Saul Gross added that staff also has to deal with all of the proposers and the staff is dwindling.
Mayor Bower explained that she is very confident and if they move this forward it will happen with
people like Mr. Gross and all the members of the committee. She does not perceive this as a
legacy so much, as a need that the City has, that needs to be fulfilled so the City can move
forward as a good City.
Saul Gross stated, in closing, that Mayor Bower really needs to be recognized, because when
she was elected she took this on as something she wanted to see happen. People thought
Mayor Bower was against development and fighting with the Convention Center and thought she
would never be for this project, but to her credit she has been pushing this project for a long time,
and unfortunately at times it is like moving the titanic and does not happen quickly, but she keeps
pushing.
Alan Lips, Chairman of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, introduced past chairman
Aaron Perry and Stephanie Reese, to let the Commission know that the Chamber of Commerce
Board of Governors has voted unanimously on a formal resolution stating that the Chamber's top
priority moving forward is the enhancement of the Miami Beach Convention Center as to allow us
once again to compete for the business of companies such as Microsoft and other top technology
and medical technology companies that currently will not book business on the Convention
Center due to its current limitations. Additionally, based on the recommendation of industry
experts such as the Greater Miami Beach Visitors and Convention Bureau, whose job is to book
conventions for the City, this enhancement will include the construction of an adjoining hotel. The
Chamber's Board of Governors has also voted unanimously on a resolution that states that it is a
priority of the Board, that the process by which the City moves forward towards an enhancement
is accomplished as expeditiously as possible. Therefore, it is the Chamber's position to support
both the Miami Beach Convention Center RFQ selection committee and the Interim City
Manager's recommendation.
Bill Talbert, Present of the Greater Miami Beach Visitors and Convention Bureau, wanted to
remind everyone that back in August 14, the 502 team came together and most of the
stakeholders are here; 67% of the voters on Miami Beach approved the ballot for the Convention
Center penny hotel tax. The GMCVB, the Hotel Association, the Chamber and others are here in
support. He stated that the Trans Catheter Group said we need to expand and modernize and
we need a Convention Center hotel.
Steve Prescott, Past Chair and Miami Hotel owner, stated that he has discussed this with the City
Commission when he was Chairman and it is time to do it and he echoed what was said before,
and looks forward to their leadership and get it done.
Gregg Cook, Eden Roc, stated that for 10 years they have been talking about this Convention
Center and he asked that they move and act.
Commissioner Tobin asked Mr. Talbert if his position is that the City moves forward with the top
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two as well. Mr. Talbert explained that they support the two for exactly the same reasons stated.
Wendy Kallergies, President and CEO, Greater Miami Beach Hotels Association, and on behalf of
Raj Singh, Chairman of the Board and Peggy Benua, Chair Elect, stated that they have a group
of hotel members from Miami Beach as well as from Downtown Miami here today and the
overwhelming response of the members that we are recommending is in support of the
recommendation of the Interim City Manager and the Selection Committee to continue on to
Phase II of the Miami Beach Convention Center RFQ and authorizing the City Manager to
negotiate Letters of Intent with the shortlisted proposers. On November 17, 2011, the GMBHA
Board of Directors voted unanimously to pass a resolution in support of the renovation and
expansion of the Miami Beach Convention Center to include a Convention Centers headquarter
hotel. They would like to see the already over 10 year effort to renovate and expand the
Convention Center accelerated in order for the actual project to be completed as soon as
possible. Partners Bill Talbert and his team at the GMCVB, Alan Lips, Chair, the Miami Beach
Chamber of Commerce, the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the Latin
Chamber of Commerce and the MBVCA worked together with them this summer to educate
residents about the importance of the Miami Beach Resort tax campaign. The vote was passed
thanks in part to the 2/3 vote by the citizens of Miami Beach. That was a resounding affirmation
of their support for the Convention Center. As our destination continues to grow nationally and
internationally, the competition in the convention conference meeting world can be as close as
Orlando and the Bahamas and as far as Dubai and China and it is their responsibility to ensure
that MBCC is upgraded, renovated and expanded, according to the requests and needs of the top
meeting planners across the world. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Jimenez stated at the
GMCVB's annual meeting last month that this is already a global destination and a new
Convention Center will push to new heights. There is large interest in connectivity from the
mainland to the beach and traffic flow improvement, and discussion has already begun for future
funding for this project.
Joshua Wallack, CEO of Mangos Tropical Cafe and member of the Convention Center Advisory
Board added that there is unity and a common vision and the vision is a new Convention Center
that will add a huge slice to the economy in Miami Beach. There are months that go by, mostly in
the fourth quarters, where businesses and hotels are empty, and when the Convention Center is
built and the business is coming in filling up the rooms getting people out into the streets it is
going to change the economy in the City by an order of magnitude. He believes that, and he
highly recommends that they go forward with this proposal.
Frank Del Vecchio explained that he supported the 1% additional tax to modernize the
Convention Center and not be totally development in a massive development plan. There are
concerns people share: 1) a feeling that maybe a gambling casino will come in unintended, and
he is sure the Commission will deal with the process to obtain commitments, probably from the
beginning; 2) there is a concern that Convention Centers nationally are being overbooked, and
that they may become a rare element. Most members of the Convention Center Advisory Board
are concerned that the developers will overreach and come up with too large of a Convention
Center, which will have drawbacks to it. Citizens are concerned and many professionals in the
field are concerned about the timetable and the scope have to be put in perspective; there may
not be a great deal more than additional space, electronic upgrade, the addition of the ballroom
and an essential adjacent hotel. The concern is not to overbuild elements of the Convention
Center district that go beyond the Convention Center itself, and detract from Lincoln Road and
other hotels and businesses that are making evolutionary City.
Ray Breslin is concerned that the Convention Center is a huge wall on the western border now,
and cars can be parked there, but when redone, there has to be more availability of getting back
and forth, and attention needs to be paid for development of Collins Avenue. They also need to
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reach out to the community for other needs.
David Edelstein explained that he was the third proposer chosen and they presented twice at
committee. He has the highest regard for Hugo Columbo and Robert Wennet and he thinks is a
wonderful choice. He thinks it is a mistake to leave out a third bidder on this RFQ process. He
explained that CConnectMB is a group in Canada, probably the only one that has built a
Convention Center. He is personally committed to Miami Beach; he was the visionary developer
and owner of the South Beach Hotel in Miami, he is buying the Raleigh Hotel soon, and has been
investing on Lincoln Road for 20 years. He has built projects around the country and they can
build a Convention Center of appropriate scope and scale that this town needs. There are
challenges to be met as they do not want to overdevelop, pedestrian and vehicular traffic issues,
and they recognize the need for streamlining the process, but it is better to have at least three
bidders. They will spend the money to present to the community, to the Commission a
presentation that gives the City of Miami Beach what it needs, a first rate Convention Center, that
they will guarantee the cost of the Convention Center, and the cost of the operation of the
Convention Center. They will operate that Convention Center at no cost to the City of Miami
Beach. They are committed to building in a scale that is appropriate and they have starchitects
and local architects. They understand City planning and traffic flow. He owns a hotel and a
shopping center on the strip in Las Vegas. He knows how to deal with traffic, parking, Convention
Center, conventions throughout the entire year, so we have great experience in that, and most
importantly he is personally committed both to the City of Miami Beach, the hotel industry, the
Lincoln Road development, the Lincoln Road retail mall, and the development of the Convention
Center.
Timothy Eakin echoed David's comments and stated that they are committed to this project. It is
once in a lifetime opportunity. One of the points he wanted to address is the vision for the
Convention Center. It focuses on the Convention Center because that is the driver of this entire
project and they have unique financing structure that is different than everybody else’s that
focuses on building the Convention Center and ensuring that benefits to the community, as well
as responsiveness to their needs are going to be realized. He understands the desire for a
streamline process, but added a couple of things relative to that. 1. How far would you like to limit
the competition, given the fact that there has been no discussion about any design concepts for
the Convention Center itself or the surrounding area and there has not been a discussion around
dollars at all? 2. There has been some discussion around financing approach, but where there
are hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of public assets for this project, and no single discussion
around dollars, and the decision that is being contemplated is to significantly limit that
competition; they would suggest a unique financing approach that will drive more value to the City
of Miami Beach. He disagrees that developers will only invest if they have a 50-50 chance of
getting the project, but he added that developers will invest based in the confidence they have
that they are the best team for the project. Their team is extremely confident. They have done
this before. They have built convention centers and are the experts in this type of financing.
They have done this on behalf of state and local governments around the country and these
entities have partnered with them because they have done these developments in other
locations. They have a distinguished factor for their team; they are focused on the things that are
specifically going to drive value for this project, including developing Convention Centers, public
private financing, etc.
Wayne Pathman, Law Offices of Pathman Lewis, stated that while he respects the comments
made earlier by the City Manager and those that served in the Evaluation Committee, he thinks
that there is something that has been overlooked; the process itself. If you have two and one fails
or one pulls out, they are left with one and win by default, so to having three involved gets the
best product for the City. They are committed to spending the money. It should be the City's
concern because this is the biggest project in Miami Beach and they want to hear from the best
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architects, the best developers in the world. His clients were the only ones that presented P3
financing during the evaluation committee. This might have been misunderstood. The Miami
Tunnel is a P3 project as well as the Turnpike; and people need to educate as to what a P3
project is. There are two here in Miami-Dade County, and to exclude them will exclude their
ability to understand what P3 financing is and deal with the one entity that has built a Convention
Center, which obtained worldwide acclamation. They are ready, willing and able to perform; there
is no downside to the City. He asked that the City Commission considers a third bidder before
making a decision.
Commissioner Libbin asked Mr. Edelstein to elaborate on the comment made about operating the
Convention Center at no cost to the City and if it includes the management, how would you
envision if the City is not satisfied with the management that they get out of the agreement if that
was part of the deal.
Raul Aguila, Deputy Chief City Attorney, reminded the City Commission that Phase I of this
process is selection based on qualifications. At the Finance Committee meeting it was clear that
they do not give opportunities to the proposers to open the door to either elaborate their plans or
to in essence start negotiating before we get to actual negotiations, so he just want to remind
everybody here that they are not here to negotiate a deal or ink out a proposal or select based on
a proposal. They are to select based on qualifications, so if the City Commission gives one
proposer that lead way, he is very concerned that they may have issues raised by other
proposals that in essence they are allowing them to supplement their proposals by telling you
how they are going to do the deal. That is not part of phase one.
Commissioner Libbin then asked if that question is out of bounds.
Raul Aguila, Chief Deputy City Attorney, stated that the question is out of bounds. Their
qualifications are certainly something within your purview, but they were asked to provide broad
strokes of their approach to the project financing. They were not asked in Phase I to give
specifics. It may go towards qualifications and the particular decision from the City Commission to
include a third proposer because of the financing structure, but he cautions the City Commission
again to what he was directed at Finance and Citywide Projects Committee, so they do not
negotiate on the floor and not open the door to additional information which was not in the written
proposals.
Commissioner Weithorn asked for clarification, if anything this team or any other team proposed
that they find troublesome, they should consider as a concept and not a negotiating item on the
other side? In other words, if we do not allow them to clarify, we should consider all of these as
options, issues and concepts, but not real proposals.
Raul Aguila, Deputy Chief City Attorney, stated that she is correct. Phase I contemplated
qualifications and part of it was to provide their broad strokes to project financing, and he
cautioned that it is not appropriate at this point to start negotiating further.
Discussion held.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, suggested that Strategic Advisory Group comment on
the issue of two bidders versus three.
Jeff Sachs, Strategic Advisory Group Consultant, explained that he has been doing this since the
late 1980's, and leading these projects ranging from small to large, and added that when you get
to this level of competition just by way of history they never had anyone drop out. He cannot
make any guarantees of that, and typically what happens in this case is that the City does not
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eliminate number three and number four. If number two drops out, the notion is to go to number
three. Most cities take the top two and see how good a deal they get, and then they still go to
three, so it is just a process. Most cities take the top two, but they do not cut loose three and
four.
Eric Zichella, 3P Management Group, explained that he does not think that the Committee had a
very complex task and they did good work in that task, and he will not deal with their work product
or the fact that they are pillars of the community and understand Miami Beach probably well and
maybe better than the teams, but he wants to talk about the process, about to commercial close,
financial close and the negotiation process. He was involved in the P3 Florida Turnpike Service
Plaza project from the beginning to the financial close on the winning team, and helped organized
the proposal, so he has experience with these types of projects and has seen a number of
successful projects, and there are a number of reasons why bidders do not go forward, and not to
be Contrarian but I rarely see a P3 project where a bidder does not go forward. It could do with
the capital market, their ability to raise debt, the specs imposed; assets in portfolio that limit their
ability to raise debt so there are reasons to have more than two bidders going forward. He added
that he represents companies of the fourth bidder but is here to talk about process. So the issue
is if there are two bidders and one drops, there is one bidder left, what do you have then? Every
issue that comes up in negotiation both bidders have the City over the barrel. There is nothing
that you can say or impose upon the bidders or tell them with a strong stance here's what you
expect them to do, so you need more than two bidders and he would make the argument than
when the City Commission looks at successful public private partnerships, projects that have
gone forward, reached commercial and financial close you usually see four bidders, because you
do not want three and one drops and in the same position again so having four makes the most
sense.
Roger Abramson, member of the Miami Beach Convention Center Advisory Board, stated that
members are totally committed to the Convention Center. They initiated the referendum that
came up, and the public passed it. The main desire is to get the Convention Center up and
running. That means a new ballroom. The Convention Center is not a terrible place regardless
of what everyone says, it is a nice facility now. They want to bring it up-to-date so technologically
is great. The only person that he represents are the citizens of Miami Beach, and if they go too
far, and it is developed too big when that referendum comes up it will be defeated. So just keep
in mind you have three things: 1) a hotel, which everyone is willing to go along with; 2) a ballroom
which is absolutely necessary, and 3) a renovation; however, the most important thing is to get
the job done now. They have been trying to do this for the last 12 to 15 years and he thinks it
needs to be done now.
Mayor Bower reminded once again how the process works of going to the public, and she hears
this going over the top, and even from Saul, and asked that he informs everyone so they can
understand how the process works.
Raul Aguila, Deputy Chief Attorney, explained that before Phase I, which is what is being
discussed now, is to decide whether or not to shortlist the proposers, which is based on
qualifications. At this time they were not asked to give any project design, any concept plan, any
outlines for the deal. Once it is shortlist, then Phase 2 is entered into, which is the development of
the Letters of Intent (LOI), and also the development of the Master Plan. The Letter of Intent will
ink the broad strokes of the deal and will specifically outline the financing structure, the City's
contribution, the developer's contribution and the Master Plan will show what they envision for the
site.
Mayor Bower asked if both bidders go simultaneously and prepare the LOI immediately.
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Raul Aguila, Deputy Chief Attorney, stated that because of the aggressive timeline they have,
which is basically A six month process, they envision it to happen simultaneously, so they will be
negotiating the terms of the LOI, and at the same time their lead architect and their development
team will be going out to the community and developing the Master Plan and hearing comment
about the Master Plan, so both things are expected to happen together.
Mr. Aguila stated that the community and the City Commissioners are concerned about issues
such as scale, type of components, whether they are going to utilize the minimum as
Commissioner Libbin pointed out, the hotel, the Convention Center, traffic, displaced parking or
whether they are going to have other components, so he envision through a series of public
meetings or charrettes that the public, is going to be able to comment on the design, and the
design should come back to the Commission on stages, and give direction if this is not what they
want.
Mayor Bower stated that her aim in asking these questions is to understand it first, and for the
community to be at ease that their input is going to be taken and even Mr. Gross is saying the
scale and the masses and over the top, so she thinks that they need to explain exactly what that
process is. What is it to be expected that is going to happen once the teams are picked today?
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, explained that the way that they envision the process is
that one of the very first things the shortlisted teams will have to do is have this community
meeting for that initial input. The way that meeting should work is that they are not coming in with
drawings. They are coming in with note pads, and they will have the items that are in the RFQ.
These are the things the Commission identified through the process as the key elements. Asking
the community questions such as: how do you feel about those, what do you think those impacts
are, what are the concerns if they meet those issues. The next phase they do is to create that
concept plan. There is still no architecture, it is sort of programming in bubbles and
diagrammatically, how is it that they responded to the RFQ, those minimum requirements?
Whatever else they feel they need to add to make it economically feasible and how are they
responding to the preliminary input from the community. And at that point and time there is
another community meeting, probably a Commission Workshop on that to see how they are
moving along, and eventually they will keep taking that through a Master Planning phase, (refer to
rough sketch on page 575 of the Commission Agenda). Those are the initial steps, and at the
very beginning you have the community input. He already had one brief meeting with concerned
citizens of the neighborhood a couple of weeks ago and even before they finalized the memo he
had told them that how they envisioned it.
Mayor Bower clarified that there is no one here that has the RFP put out because that's how it
was put out. I think we agree at some point that the RFP was put out that way, and so now is the
time to plan what is going to come. They know for sure that they want a Convention Center that
is the best Convention Center that we can get. We know for sure that we want more meeting
rooms because that's what I heard all the time that we need. We know for sure we need that
ballroom with a beautiful chandelier so everybody is happy with that. And we know for sure we
probably need a hotel, what size and scale that's the issue. Whatever else we do not know.
Where is it going to be? We do not know. How many, how it is going to look, or how it is going to
be? We do not know. That's the input she thinks that they need; what else the developers need?
We do not know. That's what is going to go out to the community. That's what the community is
going to speak on. That's what they are going to have the input in.
Raul Aguila, Deputy Chief Attorney, stated that from the legal perspective, that is also going to be
determined throughout the negotiations because obviously once the plans start to be flushed out
a proposer may tell us "in order to minimize the public contribution he needs to maximize his
private investment and private development so he needs retail or commercial, so that is one of
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the areas, and maybe the Commission wants to do periodic status reports, because that is one of
the areas where the Commission says "I can't live with this or I can live with this or this is
interesting to me" And that's perhaps some of you envision bringing in one of the other ranked
proposers, but these things will be fleshed out concurrent with the master plan.
Mayor Bower wants to assure the residents that there is no agenda here from anyone; they all
want this to be the best for the residents, for the community at large, that nobody has anything
here except the best for the community.
Commissioner Libbin thinks that they all want to be sensitive to what the community wants, and
we will be because ultimately the community will decide what is to be built. We have a real
opportunity here and build-in safeguards based on the comments, but we have developers here
that will give us a Master Plan that if we went out and asked for would have cost us a million
dollars or more to get. We can get this now for free. This is a gift to the community for the Master
Plan. We just paid $500,000 to Architectonika for a Master Plan that we rejected only on the
Convention Center. We have the opportunity to have a fully developed master plan for City
center that could show how to integrate, and we have public input along the way. It is a gift and
worth millions of dollars that we now have to look at, absorb and get feedback on and I think it is
a great opportunity. The one thing he wants to say that can give us the protections that we are all
concerned about is that as we give a go ahead to the shortlisted developers, we should ask them
to commit either in the LOI, to commit at least the minimum requirements. We are all anxious
with what they come up and how it will integrate with the community, but at the minimum we know
what elements we need and he would like an assurance if that is where we end up they are
willing to do that and that would make us all comfortable at the very minimum that's what they are
going to build, the elements that the community needs.
Stu Bloomberg, Chairman, Miami Beach Convention Center Advisory Board stated that the
bottom line is that this is a defining day particularly for someone like him who had interest in this
building for 50 years. All he can say is repeat what they say at the Indianapolis Speedway
"Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines". I would ask that this Commission move this and let's
get started.
Vice-Mayor Góngora stated that he is comfortable with the process, with the selection committee
the City used, and not once but twice, and have that time and experience to reflect about the
recommendations. Commissioner Tobin asked the question why two instead of four and we heard
a solid reason for moving forward with two. The Mayor articulately put out there so the residents
can feel comfortable that we are not agreeing to build anything in particular other than we
absolutely need to move the project forward and he appreciates the time and attention people
have invested to this project and he is very comfortable voting.
Commissioner Wolfson respectfully disagreed. In voicing his concerns with the stakeholders, this
is just a qualifying process. His problem is that it is limitless. 52 acres in this neighborhood is
limitless and if he lived around the corner he would be scared. He thinks that they let these
things progress and get further and further down the road. You have a lot of developers in the
room whose job is to make money for the companies that they work for and run, so they have to
justify putting the money into the public side of it, so as Commissioner Gross said they are going
to have to increase the side of it that would make them some return, and he thinks that in pushing
these things forward and trying to force this neighborhood to develop at an exponential rate, it is
unfair to the neighborhood. Miami Beach is a small City with character, with residents who walk
the streets. There are a lot of people in this room. As he looks around and as the Mayor said
there are a lot of people in the room that supports this. With all respect everybody has skin in the
game and everybody is trying to do what they believe is best for the City from their own angle and
he is trying to do the same thing. Regarding the economics with the hotel, his concern with that is
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that he thinks it is a flawed concept because what we are saying is that we need to add space to
the Convention Center so that we can attract shows and build a hotel to put the people in that
hotel, but the hotel rooms you are building will never be at the rate that the business you are
trying to attract that those people will be able to afford those rooms, so I do not think you are
going to be ultimately attracting the business that you think you will, and on the public input, he is
in agreement that we need as much public input as possible. The easy way to get public input is
by having an absolute requirement that we go to referendum on this and let the people decide.
Every voter that wants to vote on the size, the scope and the expenditure associated with this
Convention Center, so he would make a motion to amend and add an absolute requirement that
this go out to referendum so the people of Miami Beach can decide if this is something they want.
Two very different things to say that the tax pass that would raise about $150 million, and the
people voted for that, but presenting them with the full 52-acre development, it is not the same
thing. They are totally two different things. If this is a ridiculously sized and scoped project you
are never going to get the same support for it that you got for the tax, so I would say that's my
motion to require to have absolute requirement on the referendum on the size, scope and
expenditure associated with this development, public expenditure.
Mayor Bower explained that there is a motion and a second on the floor. Maybe a little later we
can take that motion when the project is further up.
Commissioner Weithorn does not concur with either one of them, so it is going to be an
interesting afternoon. Number two bothers me because we do not know the scope and scale we
want and whether that is still attractive to proposers, and wish the third was closer to one and
two. She feels more comfortable with three in the game than with two. With two something could
happen and this isn't what we want. If we want to take the public input and create the contextual
relationship we have to give ourselves more choices and maybe they are not exactly the choices
we wanted, but I'm just troubled with two. She is really troubled with two and thinks that having
three is an insurance policy, because like her colleagues who she usually agrees that we need
the Convention Center expansion and it is not going to be out of scale; we are too smart a
community and these are two professional players to give us something we do not want, but in
order to protect our brand we need the collaborative space and you make it whatever you want it
to be whenever it will be, and we need the Convention Center hotel and we constantly get
comments so we have a need. She wants to make sure the process stays. And when the Mayor
is done with her term and we actually get there and she is asking for insurance and is more
comfortable with three. If the third one is that behind, it is their risk, and they have a lot of
catching up to do, and if they are willing to play and put skin in the game, she is not sure we
should say no so that is my perspective.
Commissioner Tobin was impressed by all the presentations and would like to thank the local
entities certainly, Mr. Edelstein. By no means is this a reflection on their inabilities. It is just a
tough decision and he wanted to thank them for all the things that they do in our community and
hope that this does not leave a bad taste in their mouths on this because they do appreciate
everything that they do for our community, and Mr. Soffer is not here, but he grew up in the
Fontainebleau in the Novac days and wish it did better but they did not in terms of the selection.
He agrees with Saul Gross and wished for the local guys, but it does not seem likely. Portman
and Tishman presented so he is very excited to see what group comes up with because it is
going to be unbelievable and to scale and we are not doing anything crazy, so there is a second
already on the table he would call the question.
Commissioner Exposito wants to assure the public. He lives in the neighborhood adjacent to the
Convention Center, so he has a huge stake in this process and it is important for him to let the
developers know he is holding their feet to the fire because he is watching every step they take
hopefully over the years to make sure the process is done correctly, appropriately to scale, and
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with conscientious concern for the citizens of this community. He had proposed initially, and this
will be part ongoing, that part of anyone that is involved in this Convention Center must provide
him with a return on the investment analysis. He is not going to vote for 400 million, 600 million,
whatever it is unless they can demonstrate to him that the money we are going to spend is going
to have a return on the investment that we are placing in it. We have been hiring Jeff to lead us
in this process. We are spending public funds. We need to be responsible for those funds and
we need to insure and we have a fiduciary duty to the citizens that the funds are spent for the
right reasons. I am comfortable with the two, with the explanation that legal counsel provided us
if someone pulls out or we feel at any point we are not happy we can always bring the third one
in, and with all due respect he thanked everyone that participated in the process.
Vote taken. Opposed: Commissioner Wolfson.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, announced that the presentations and deliberations of
the evaluation committee are available on the City’s website along with the copies of the
proposals. The Administration anticipates that the first community meeting will be held in
January.
Mayor Bower thanked all the proposers, particularly the third-ranked proposer and expressed her
gratitude for their participation.
Commissioner Weithorn requested a methodology to notify the public how to participate in the
process. City Manager’s Office to handle.
Jack Portman, Vice Chair, Portman CMC, explained that his company was founded by his father
60 years ago, and he is still Chairman and works six days a week now. There was a comment
earlier about a preference for local developers, and he was always under the impression that
Atlanta was a suburb of Miami Beach, so he considers himself local, but they are very grateful for
the confidence they have shown in the company. His stated that the combination of creative
talent on this team and the experience they have had on local and national and international level
is the most exceptional talent they have worked with, so they look forward to the creative fight,
internal fight, and in the process. He hopes it will yield a result that will make everyone happy.
As far as the competition is concerned they are a formidable competitor. They have respect for
them and admire their accomplishments and are pleased to compete with them and it is through
competition that makes people reach higher and work harder, so he thinks, as Stu said, let's start
your engines. You have seen pictures of what we have done. You have heard us and everyone
tell you how good they are, why they are the best, but now the time is not to talk. Now the time is
first listen and we have talked to scores of people already about what are the requirements, the
needs and concerns of the constituencies, and once we are able to absorb all of that then it is
time to show you what kind of development we can do. What kind of environment we are going
to create here, and there is a justifiable concern about this, but developments like this with
Convention Centers are usually a bit off pitch to the main center of a town because they need a
lot of area, so what happens in those situations become very high density because you need to
create a certain synergy to make that formerly poor destination a desirable destination. We do
not have that problem here. You are right in the middle of a dynamic amazing urban environment
and it is for us to understand that and absorb the requirements to enhance that, not to overwhelm
it, not to compete with it, but to complement it and enhance it, so when it comes to scale he does
not necessarily think that all developers thin necessarily bigger is better. So what we have to do is
take all of the existing conditions into consideration, and from that create something that is
appropriate in scale, appropriate in use, and makes it a place people love to be, so with that he
thanked the City Commission for this opportunity, and they look forward to working with the City.
Paul Diamond, Senior Vice-President, Tishman Hotel, appreciates the opportunity and the direct
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feedback received. He has heard this Commission all along and they look forward to hearing
directly from the community. We understand that the scale is really important here. We
understand that the uses are going to be important here. What we have done is just show their
qualifications that we are qualified to now roll up the sleeves and do the work and figure out the
right way to phase this so you get the right product in the right time in a responsible schedule and
that we welcome the opportunity to now be able to gather our team together and you have seen
in our RFQ how fantastic our team is and let these guys really start to get to work and prove to
you that we are going to get you the right master plan and the right product, so thank you very
much.
Mayor Bower thanked everyone that took time to come here and those individuals that have
worked very hard to make this happen, the Bureau, the Chamber, the Hotel Association, and
everyone that has taken the time to make this happen. Nothing happens alone, and she thanked
staff that has worked very hard on this issue. She stated that they have moved forward and is
personally very happy.
7:48:08 p.m.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL 1 - Resolutions
R7M ROW Infrastructure Improvement Program - Central Bayshore
1. A Resolution Authorizing The Mayor And City Clerk To Execute Amendment No. 1 To The
Construction Contract Between The City Of Miami Beach, Florida, And Lanzo
Construction Co., Florida, For The Construction Of The City Of Miami Beach Right Of
Way Infrastructure Improvement Program, Neighborhood No. 8 Central Bayshore
(Package A) And Lake Pancoast (Package C); Dated April 8, 2011 (The Contract), In The
Not-To-Exceed Amount Of $306,194 To Provide Complete Milling And Resurfacing Of
The Roadway In Lieu Of Asphalt Overlay For Certain Areas Within Package A, North Of
34 Street To 41 Street Between Alton Road And Meridian Avenue; And Package C, 25
Street, 26 Street And Flamingo Drive North Of 25 Street; With Currently Appropriated
Funding In The FY 2012/13 Capital Budget, In The Amount Of $278,358 For Construction,
And $27,836, For Contingency, For A Grand Total Of $ 306,194.
ACTION: Item heard in conjunction with R7M2. Resolutions No. 2012-28103 and
2012-28104 adopted. Motion made by Commissioner Weithorn to approve the
resolution; seconded by Commissioner Exposito; Voice-vote: 7-0. Fernando Vazquez to
handle.
Kathie G. Brooks, stated that this is a resolution authorizing the execution of amendment
one to the construction contract with Lanzo Construction for Central Bayshore and Lake
Pancoast and does two things and both were discussed at the July
Finance meeting on capital projects and subsequently the funding was incorporated into
the Capital Budget. At that time, it was discussed that there was additional scope needed
related to storm water improvements related to milling and resurfacing and related to
some water service to the front yard. At this point the storm water is still under design and
we need to bring that later but there are portions, number one we can complete the milling
and resurfacing, it allows for the contractor to keep working and not have delayed claims
and at the same time allow us to finish work in at least those areas, which is a positive
thing, and it also provides for moving the backyard service to the front yard, so the City
Administration recommends approval of the amendment.
Commissioner Weithorn made a motion to approve the City Manager’s recommendation
and extending the contract; seconded by Commissioner Exposito; Voice-vote: 7-0.
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2. A Resolution Approving An Increase To The Base Construction Contract Value, For The
Right-Of-Way Infrastructure Improvement Program - Neighborhood No. 8 - Central
Bayshore (Package A) And Lake Pancoast (Package C), In The Amount Of $415,450 For
Additional Water Meter Boxes And Relocation Of Backyard Water Services; From
Previously Appropriated Funding From Fund 424 - Water And Sewer Bonds 2000 Series.
(Capital Improvement Projects Office)
ACTION: See action in R7M1. Fernando Vazquez to handle.
1:37:45 p.m.
R7N Convention Center Management And Catering Solicitation
1 A Resolution Authorizing The Issuance Of A Request For Proposals (RFP) For
Management And Operation Of The Miami Beach Convention Center, And/Or To Provide
Catering And Concession Services For The Convention Center, As Recommended By
The Finance And Citywide Projects Committee.
ACTION: Motion made by Commissioner Weithorn to authorize the City Administration to
negotiate with Global Spectrum; seconded by Commissioner Tobin; Voice-vote: 6-1;
Opposed; Commissioner Wolfson. Max Sklar to handle.
Motion #1:
Commissioner Weithorn clarified that she is bifurcating the two issues. For management
only she is moving to waive the competitive bidding and it is for the reasons in LTC 319-
2012, which only talks about Convention Center Management and two players are
restricted on the bid.
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, explained that the item is a resolution offering
the issuance of an RFP or an invitation to negotiate for the management and operation of
the Convention Center and/or to provide catering or convention services for the
Convention Center. As you may recall at September 12 Commission meeting the
Commission considered the food and beverage RFP. At that time, due to a number of
circumstances, the Commission passed a resolution rejecting all bids, continuing the
current contract on a quarter to quarter basis with a 90 day termination provision and
referring to the Finance Committee. It was heard at Finance on November 9, and
because of the timing on things presented the fact that the MBCC management contract
with global spectrum expires in September of 2013, and so in light of the timing of things,
it would be prudent to look at both agreements at the same time. At that Finance
Committee meeting we presented two options to the Committee. One was to proceed
with RFP's for both on individual basis or proceed with a joint RFP combined that gave
perspective bidders the opportunity to bid on both components together or any one of the
two components of the RFP. The committee gave a recommendation to proceed with the
option combining the two giving the maximum flexibility for the City and proposers to
consider at the same time or individually. Subsequently, the new Procurement Director
Alex Dennis, as he was reviewing this suggestion stated that it would give greater
flexibility if we consider an invitation to negotiate, which essentially is the same as RFQ
but in the end you shortlist and negotiate with two or more firms at the same time and
gives greater level of flexibility.
Commissioner Libbin thanked Alex Dennis and he likes the idea; they kind of did things
like that in the past when we directed the previous manager to try to get the best deal by
negotiating with one or the other and I liked it, and after hearing discussion from the rest
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of the dais that is my inclination.
Commissioner Weithorn normally likes the invitation to negotiate, but thinks this is a
special case. She asked Max if everyone had seen the LTC? As you know there are two
players in the market and that's why the Invitation to Negotiate works. One of the two
runs a competing center in Ft. Lauderdale where they need permission to bid or negotiate.
In addition, they were just awarded the Knight Center management agreement for the
specific reason that their contract did not think that this was a competition, which makes
her believe that they would think that Miami Beach would be competition, so she is not a
fan of waiving competitive bidding but if there is ever a story line to do it this is it, and she
moved to go ahead think and negotiate with Global Spectrum and in the event we do not
reach a deal we move to the next one. Commissioner Weithorn distributed copies of the
LTC.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, asked if that is the recommendation for the
management side.
Commissioner Weithorn stated that the catering she would like to go out and she prefers
to bifurcate the RFP and the intent to negotiate on the catering, but will wait for the
Commission to weigh in then.
Commission Tobin agreed with Commissioner Weithorn. There are two players in this
industry; they had one of the players for 20 years and are not happy, they are not making
the center profitable, there are problems with maintenance and they switched. They are
happy that the place is well maintained and well run, it is showing a profit now and if there
are specific things within the contract we can do better negotiating it, maybe they get a
copy of the last deal, whatever it is, but to tell them we will put them out to bid with the
other player that we know that did not do a good job for us, at least in the last bunch of
years, he thinks is the wrong approach and I think we should give them a first shot.
Commissioner Tobin seconded Commissioner Weithorn's motion, and added that as far
as the food goes there are times when he has not been happy with the food in the last
couple of years at the Convention Center and thinks the present personnel can do better,
and if you can prove you can do better that's great. Then you will have his support, but he
thinks we definitely need to go out to bid and have the best possible, although his mind is
not made up, we need to do the best. He think s we should put it out for bid and he second
the motion.
Commissioner Weithorn clarified that she is bifurcating the two issues. For management
only she is moving to waive the competitive bidding and it is for the reasons in the LTC
that only talk about Convention Center management and two players are restricted on the
bid.
Commissioner Wolfson is not in support of it but asked clarification of the motion. He
thinks the motion is to negotiate and ascertain whether or not you want to waive
competitive bidding.
Mayor Bower asked for the process; if they negotiate and they come back, do we have to
waive competitive bidding at that point, to which Max Sklar answered affirmatively.
Commissioner Weithorn stated that she would change her motion to let them negotiate
and bring it back, but Mayor Bower stated that she did not need to change her motion.
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Raul Aguila, Deputy City Attorney, clarified that a final agreement would have to come
back to the City Commission.
Mayor Bower clarified that the motion made by Commissioner Weithorn does not have to
be changed. The motion stands. She clarified that what Commissioner Wolfson brought
up is good point, but they do not have to waive it, it will be waived when it comes back.
Commissioner Wolfson asked if anyone wanted to go out to bid on it?
Mayor Bower explained that it is a sole vendor and discussion was held regarding the
proposers and SMG.
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, clarified that they are not technically waiving
the bid now. The Commission is bifurcating the process and asking the Administration to
negotiate and come back.
Discussion held regarding SMG agreement with the City.
A voice vote was called 6-1; Opposed: Commissioner Wolfson.
Bobby Sanchez spoke.
Handout or Reference Materials:
1. LTC No. 319-2012
1:49: 31 p.m.
2. A Resolution Authorizing The Issuance Of An Invitation To Negotiate (ITN) For
Management And Operation Of The Miami Beach Convention Center, And/Or To Provide
Catering And Concession Services For The Miami Beach Convention Center.
(Tourism & Cultural Development)
ACTION: Resolution No. 2012-28099 adopted. Motion made by Commissioner Libbin
to approve the resolution; seconded by Commissioner Exposito; Voice-vote: 6-0; Absent
Commissioner Tobin. Max Sklar to handle.
Commissioner Weithorn asked before how many people get to do it and how we
determine that?
Alex Dennis, Procurement Director, stated that the vendors move into the negotiation
phase so the shortlist vendor list is developed by the evaluation committee.
Discussion held regarding evaluation committee process.
Mayor Bower asked if there was an issue with this that we were going to wait because the
management has also a food vendor? Wasn't there an issue with this?
Kathie G. Brooks explained that there was an issue with that that Global Spectrum has a
subsidy company, Ovations, that provides food management as well. You separately
decided to negotiate with Global Spectrum.
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, clarified that if Ovations wanted to bid on this,
they would have to get a conflict of interest opinion from the Ethics Commission.
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Commissioner Weithorn stated that her preference for exactly the Ovations issue is that
we do the standard bid process. Either way we need the Ethics opinion, but if they do not
go out and get it on the bid, then we know their answer. Otherwise we are sitting there
asking them and she does not want to put pressure on them or have us potentially take a
bad step either, and she think it is cleaner in this case just a bit.
Libbin stated that that does not answer why the recommendation was from our
department head that you have more leverage when you are able to have the manager
negotiate with more than one company. Ovations does not play into it. Either they can or
cannot, based on whatever the Ethics Commission may say. Irrespective of that we have
more leverage with the Manager if she can negotiate with two or more. There is no
reason not to.
Max Sklar stated that the recommendation is to, in light of this other solicitation process
that we weren't familiar with before, to proceed with the ITN as it gives the ability to
negotiate with two or more firms at the same time. The evaluation committee would
shortlist as opposed to rank them in order. Then you would confirm that shortlist and will
negotiate with them. Ultimately we would bring back the agreements for the Commission
to select the final one. All the terms and conditions whether there is a guaranteed
minimum, how much contributions for marketing reserve, scholarship funds, Obviously
they are going to give a food taste at that time.
Commissioner Góngora stated that regarding the quality of the food, whatever gives the
most flexibility at the food for the best price that's what he will support.
Commissioner Weithorn thinks the point is when there is a bad situation like this everyone
puts the best food forward and not the food that you get day to day and you have
unrealistic expectations.
Max Sklar, Acting Assistant City Manager, explained that part of the solicitation requires
them to provide menus, pricing and survey evaluations.
Motion made by Commissioner Libbin; seconded by Commissioner Exposito;
Commissioner Wolfson asked for the ITN process, and asked for clarity on how it works.
Alex Dennis, Procurement Director, explained that the committee will evaluate the
proposals and shortlist and that comes before the Commission for ratification or
confirmation, and at that point the City Manager commences negotiations with the
shortlisted proposers, so two are shortlisted. Negotiations would go on simultaneously.
Kathie G. Brooks, stated that this is not typically something we have done in the City.
Max Sklar stated that they do the normal evaluation process; they respond to in this case
the ITN gets issued.
Alex Dennis, Procurement Director, in answering Commissioner Wolfson’s question,
explained that the difference between an RFP and an ITN process is at the negotiation
phase, so at the negotiation phase typically in an RFP process you negotiate with the top
rank proposer and if you are successful you move the contract forward. If not, you
declare impasse and move to number two and go down the line. In an ITN process the
only difference is you negotiate with all of the shortlisted or ratified proposers
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simultaneously so you have a little more leverage. The Commission will approve the
shortlist and authorize the City Manager to negotiate.
Discussion held.
Commissioner Weithorn asked for an item clarification and removed her objection and
stated that she was fine with it.
Bobby Sanchez spoke.
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R9 - New Business and Commission Requests
R9A Board And Committee Appointments.
(City Clerk’s Office)
ACTION: The following individuals were appointed and/or removed:
BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE:
Moni Cohen Tem ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/18
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
John Gardiner Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/16
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
COMMITTEE ON THE HOMELESS:
Prakash Kumar Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/16
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
COMMITTEE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION IN MB:
Sheila Duffy-Lehrman Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/17
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
Michael Bernstein Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/16
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD:
Barbara Montero Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/15
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
CONVENTION CENTER ADVISORY BOARD:
Alan Lips Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/19
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
DISABILITY ACCESS COMMITTEE:
Andrew Feuerstein Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/19
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Andrea Lisa Travaglia Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/19
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
FINE ARTS BOARD:
Ellen Brazer Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/17
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Carmen Maria Lopez Term ending 12/31/13 Appointed by Commissioner Góngora TL 12/3/20
Michael McManus Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Mayor Bower TL 12/31/17
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Michelle Ricci Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Tobin TL 12/31/20
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Deborah Ruggiero Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/18
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER COMMITTEE (GLBT):
Michael Bath Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/17
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Billie Kemp Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Mayor Bower TL 12/31/16
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Laura Veitia Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/16
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
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GOLF ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
Gregory Carney Removed no longer a resident
HISPANIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE:
Ida Percal Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/16
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Elaine Soffer Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/17
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
LOAN REVIEW COMMITTEE:
Mario Coryell Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/117
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Steve Zuckerman Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/14
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
MARINE AUTHORITY:
Maurice Goodbeer Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/19
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
MIAMI BEACH COMMISSION FOR WOMEN:
Laura Bruney Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/13
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Laura Cullern Removed due to absences
Karen Edelstein Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/15
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Maribel Quiala Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/16
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
PARKS AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES BOARD:
Lizette Lopez Resigned
Jeffrey Forster Resigned
POLICE CITIZENS RELATIONS COMMITTEE:
Beverly Aberbach Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/13
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Dina Dissen Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/14
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Giinaluca Fontani Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/18
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
PRODUCTION INDUSTRY COUNCIL:
Allee Newhoff Fashion Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/13
Bruce Orosz Fashion Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Tobin TL 12/31/15
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
SAFETY COMMITTEE:
Calvin Kohli Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/16
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Jason Witrock Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/19
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE:
Lanette Sobel Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/17
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
TENNIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
David Berger Term ending 12/31/13 Appointed by Commissioner Exposito TL 12/31/120
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Rebecca Boyce Resigned
Jeffrey Forster Term ending 12/31/13 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/20
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Carrie Johnson Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Weithorn TL 12/31/20
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
Lissette Lopez Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Mayor Bower TL 12/31/20
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
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Eve Tegan Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Góngora TL 12/31/20
EFFECTIVE 11/20/2013
TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING COMMITTEE:
Maria Mayer Removed due to absences
Dr. Corey Narson Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/18
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
WATERFRONT PROTECTION COMMITTEE:
Barbara Herskowitz Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/14
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
YOUTH CENTER ADVISORY BOARD:
Jeffrey Graff Term ending 12/31/14 Appointed by Commissioner Libbin TL 12/31/16
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
CHARTER REVIEW BOARD: Effective 01/01/2013-01/01/2014
Victor M. Diaz Term ending 01/01/14 Appointed by Mayor Bower
EFFECTIVE 01/01/2013
R9A1 Board And Committee Appointments - City Commission Appointments.
(City Clerk’s Office)
ACTION: No appointments were made.
Handout or Reference Materials:
1. Memorandum from Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk to Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the
City Commission, dated December 12, 2012 RE: City Commission At-Large Nominations for
Wednesday, December 12, 2012 Release #1 and Release #3
2:27:35 p.m.
R9B1 Dr. Stanley Sutnick Citizen’s Forum. (12:30 p.m.)
ACTION: The following individuals spoke:
Terry Bienstock spoke on the Sunset Island election on the undergrounding held by the City
Clerk’s office recently. It was an unusual and arduous process, and he thanked Rafael E.
Granado, Liliam Hatfield, Raul Aguila and Patricia Walker for putting the process in place. He
added that 95% of the residents voted and they are in favor of the undergrounding. He thanked
everyone for the effort.
Jo Manning gave an update on the attempts to declare the Miami Herald headquarters a historic
building, and informed that the Miami Herald Building is lost. She added that five people on the
Miami Historic Preservation Board have no idea what historic designation means. There needs to
be more education.
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8:18:16 p.m.
R9B2 Dr. Stanley Sutnick Citizen’s Forum. (5:30 p.m.)
ACTION: The following individuals spoke:
Rafael Andrade spoke.
Paul Jonas requested that starting on January 2013 the advertised time for the City Commission
meetings should be 9:30 a.m. since they start at that time anyway.
R9C Discussion Regarding Preparing A Directive To Federal Legislature Lobbyist, Asking Them To
Promote A Federal Windstorm Program.
(Requested by Commissioner Jorge R. Exposito)
(Item not reached in November 14, 2012)
ACTION: Item not reached.
2:31:22 p.m.
Committee of the Whole Announcement:
Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk, announced that the Committee of the Whole Meeting for item R9D will
take place during lunch recess.
R9D The Committee Of The Whole Will Meet During Lunch Recess Of The December 12, 2012 City
Commission Meeting At The City Manager’s Office Large Conference Room To Discuss
Resumes Received For The City Manager’s Position.
(City Manager’s Office)
ACTION: Discussion held. Committee of the Whole commenced at 4:00 p.m.
S. Reneé Narloch, Vice President - Eastern Region, Bob Murray & Associates presented the
item.
Ms. Narloch recapped that at the October 24, 2012 Committee of the Whole, she had notified the
City Commission that 60 resumes had been received for the position of Miami Beach City
Manager. After discussing the applicant pool, the City Commission had instructed her to conduct
reference checks on four of the candidates: Steve Alexander, Monica Cepero, Rob Franks and
Mike McNees. The reference checks were conducted, and were provided to the Commission via
the City. The City Commission further instructed her to extend the application process to
December 3, 2012, as the City Commission had been dissatisfied, overall, with the applicant pool.
Ms. Narloch summarized the results of the reference checks conducted on the four initial
candidates, and provided an overview of their qualifications. (Note Mr. McNees has accepted the
City Manager position in the City of Melbourne, and therefore no longer an applicant for the Miami
Beach position.)
Discussion was had regarding applicant Steve Alexander who had recently accepted the interim
City Manager position in the City of South Miami.
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Ms. Narloch informed the City Commission that since the October 24, 2012 Committee of the
Whole meeting, she had received 33 resumes of additional applicants for the City Manager
position. Of the 33 applicants, Ms. Narloch was recommending two candidates for preliminary
interviews: Mr. Steve Barwick, currently the City Manager for the City of Aspen, Colorado and
Tom Wilson, currently the Assistant City Manager for the City of Palm Springs California. Ms.
Narloch provided an overview of Mr. Barwick and Mr. Wilson’s qualifications.
Ms. Narloch was instructed to perform reference checks and preliminary interview on Mr. Barwick
and Mr. Wilson.
In response to a question from Commissioner Exposito, Ms. Narloch recommended that the
recruitment process not be extended any further, as the City could potentially loose the applicants
it is currently considering.
After discussing the qualification of the candidates recommended by Ms. Narloch, the City
Commission asked that the following individuals be invited for in person interviews with the City
Commission: Stephen Barwick, Monica Cepero, Robert Frank and Thomas Wilson.
Ms. Narloch inquired of the Commission if there were any other applicants that the City
Commission wanted her to conduct preliminary interview and/or reference checks.
Thereafter discussion was had regarding additional candidates and the process by which to
select additional candidates to interview. Upon conclusion of the discussion, Commissioners
Exposito, Góngora, Tobin and Wolfson requested Ms. Narloch to conduct telephone interview of
the following additional candidates: Jimmy Morales, Emanuel Mayer and Frank Rollason.
Thereafter a consensus was reached whereby Ms. Narloch is to conduct telephone interviews on
the additional three applicants, and provide the City Commission with a written recommendation
as to whether Ms. Narloch recommends for the City Commission to add any of these three
candidates to the City Commission in person interview list.
TO DO: Schedule dates in January to conduct interviews. Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk, to
coordinate interview schedule with the Office of the Mayor and Commission. For scheduling
purposes, the three additional candidates will be placed on the Commission Interview schedule,
pending the evaluation by Ms. Narloch.
Mayor Bower instructed that the interviews be scheduled as soon as possible.
11:30:24 a.m.
R9E Discussion Regarding The Condition Of The Stones In The 1100 Block Of Lincoln Road.
(Requested by Commissioner Jonah Wolfson)
ACTION: Item referred by Commissioner Wolfson. Discussion held. Motion made by
Commissioner Wolfson to refer the item to the Land Use and Development Committee; seconded
by Vice-Mayor Góngora; Voice vote 7-0. Richard Lorber to place on the committee agenda.
Public Works to handle.
REFERRAL:
Referred to Land Use and Development Committee
Handouts or Reference Materials:
1. Letter to Raul J. Aguila, Co-Chief Deputy City Attorney, dated December 4, 2012 from Albert E.
Doston, Jr., Esq., RE: Maintenance Agreement by and between UIA Management, LLC and CMB.
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6:48:40 p.m.
R9F Discussion To Consider A Potential Development Of The Parking Lot Between 72nd And 73rd
Street Of Collins Avenue.
(Requested by Commissioner Jerry Libbin
ACTION: Item referred. Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to refer the item to the Land Use
and Development Committee; seconded by Commissioner Weithorn; Voice vote: 7-0. Richard
Lorber to place on the committee agenda and to handle.
REFERRAL:
Referred to Land Use and Development Committee
Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to refer items R9F, R9G and R9H to the Land Use and
Development Committee; seconded by Commissioner Weithorn; Voice-vote: 7-0.
6:48:40 p.m.
R9G Discussion To Consider An RFP For The Development Of The West Lots Between 79th Street To
87th Street Of Collins Avenue.
(Requested by Commissioner Jerry Libbin)
ACTION: Item referred. Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to refer the item to the Land Use
and Development Committee; seconded by Commissioner Weithorn; Voice vote: 7-0. Richard
Lorber to place on the committee agenda and to handle.
REFERRAL:
Referred to Land Use and Development Committee
6:48:40 p.m.
R9H Discussion To Revisit The Absolute Necessity For Mass Transit Connectivity From The Mainland
To Miami Beach.
(Requested by Commissioner Jerry Libbin)
ACTION: Item referred. Motion made by Commissioner Libbin to refer the item to the Land Use
and Development Committee; seconded by Commissioner Weithorn; Voice vote: 7-0. Richard
Lorber to place on the Committee Agenda and to handle.
REFERRAL:
Referred to Land Use and Development Committee
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6:49:00 p.m.
R9I Discussion Regarding The Creation Of Procedures To Provide A 24 To 48 Hour Notification To
Homeowners Prior To Water Being Shut Off Due To Non-Payment.
(Requested by Commissioners Jorge R. Exposito And Edward L. Tobin)
ACTION: Item referred. Motion made by Commissioner Weithorn to refer the item to the Finance
and Citywide Projects Committee; seconded by Commissioner Exposito; Voice vote: 7-0. Patricia
Walker and to handle.
REFERRAL:
Referred to Finance and Citywide Projects Committee
6:09:00 p.m.
R9J Discussion Regarding The Seawall Along Historic Collins Canal And Employee Accountability.
(Requested by Commissioner Edward L. Tobin)
ACTION: Discussion held.
Commissioner Tobin explained that he just do not know how this big seawall along the historic
Collins Canal was built, and now that we all see what we got I think we are all sort of extremely
disappointed, and thinks that perhaps the neighbors adjoining told us what we should expect and
they were right, so would like to see what we can do. He will certainly let administration introduce
it and let the public speak, but to block that canal and to block the water is a mistake, and we just
should own up to it and figure out how we can undo what has gone on and I think Administration
is moving in that direction if we give them those instructions.
Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager, sent out an e-mail this morning and apologized for not
having gone out earlier because she did get the information from Public Works before; the
process went through extensive review, including many, many meetings with Homeowners
Associations, going to Historic Preservation, etcetera. There was a requirement, the actual
seawall once the bike path is put in, the portion of the seawall will only be about six inches above
that payment. That is the seawall portion, and there is a crash area portion that is 23 inches, so
the total wall that will be left visible will be 29 inches which is very different to what you are seeing
today. There will also be landscaping along with that, so it is going to look a lot better than you
see today. The issue in hindsight is if that crash barrier, 23 inches, can that been done in some
other way? The County recommended that it be in concrete because it needed a crash barrier for
the bikes and the automobiles. She knows that there are other areas where there are pedestrian
bikeways along canals where there are not concrete walls, but she can't tell you if the County
would have approved it. That's what they asked us to. She thinks it is a challenging process at
this point to go back, and is not sure how you go back and relook at that. Ms. Brooks stated that it
is going to look quite different with the landscaping.
Commissioner Tobin understand that, but shame on whoever did not realize that they were taking
away the historic view of the historic canal, and whether it is blocked by a concrete wall or a metal
barricade, whatever it is going to be blocked by, shame on who did not have the will to do
something for the community. That drawing is not representative obviously of what we are going
to see, but he can see the water line from where he is sitting, and that's without the metal barrier.
Are they going to cut a foot off the wall when the City starts construction?
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, explained that the crash barrier requested by the County
was much higher. That was rejected by the Historic Preservation Board and this is what they
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came back with and adopted. What it is important is that this is a bare area and the discussions
with the community are important and we have been exploring how can we widen the pedestrian
area to create the landscaping. And when you put the landscaping you see even less of the
canal, but it is so important because what we are trying to do is not enhance or improve or
maintain the view of water from a vehicle, but creating this pedestrian corridor and creating an
amenity that does not exist, which will allow bicyclists and pedestrian to enjoy the views of the
water. When someone is walking there, obviously they will see the water, and that is the next
critical thing. Commissioner Tobin is very involved with the community in trying to explore how we
can, with support of the other commercial property owners, move the curb out to get the
landscaping and enhance it for the bicycles and the pedestrians. The wall obviously jumps to the
other side of the canal once past the Convention Center area because the canal walk is on the
opposite side, so on those areas of Dade Boulevard, again, from a car once you put the seawall
elevation to what it needs to be, you will have blocked views of the water. He does not think the
Board explored all of the possibilities, or fought with the County enough to see what other
opportunities we had to build a different type of barrier. If it was the metal railing standard, that
would not have been acceptable either. The metal guard rails would have been unacceptable to
the community. The sidewalk is going to be much higher and when you are walking; again it is an
amenity for the pedestrians and it does not take into account the view from a vehicle.
Sheryl Gold, Palm View and co-founder of Green Space Advocacy Group, stated that it gives her
no satisfaction to stand up here today and tell the Commission, “I told you so.” Her group worked
for thousands of hours raising the alarm and trying to find solutions for this. In this current Miami
Beach magazine it says "so here's a toast to not only the last century of the Collins canal, but to
its future". It does not have a future until you fix this project that is so flawed. Now Jorge Gomez
just referred to the HPB. They should really never have been allowed to approve this wall or
anything. They only had jurisdiction over the section of the Palm View historic district, because
this canal is in in our neighborhood, but instead somehow in the process they were allowed to
approve this construction for the entire length of the canal. And she objected to it. At the HPB
meeting, they went on and on about how you could not do this landscaping and it would obscure
the view of the water. They were so focused on that, but yet they approved something that does
not allow anybody to see the water. The wall is a disaster. Even up to today, we talk to the
County, and we asked them "what is the criteria for this that would have permitted this result?"
The answer is "you need to talk to the Public Works department because that's the agency that
designed this project." Commissioner Tobin has a copy of that. It is an Email that came from the
County today. This three years process has been misguided. The HPB does not have the
experts to weigh in on a project like this, and we are still working on solutions as we speak trying
to set up a meeting with a private corporation to fix the landscaping problem, but this should
never have happened. This should be the jewel; this is the oldest man-made surviving structure
on Miami Beach and look what we have done to it. It is a travesty and it is going to be the
gateway for the new Convention Center development, so I do not know how we are going to
spend hours and hours about the Convention Center, but you do not want to spend hours and
hours about this.
Gabrielle Redfern, Bicycle Activists for a Safe and Integrated Community, stated that this project
is over eight years in the making and ask you to withhold your judgment on this pedestrian and
bicycle amenity until it is done.
Commissioner Tobin explained that he objects to the barricade wall.
Ms. Redfern asked that this Commission holds judgment until the project is done and thinks they
will find it is a well-used and safe amenity that many people will travel outside of their cars and
you will have a view of the canal that you did not have before because that side of the road was
impassable.
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Terry Bienstock stated that they (Sunset Islands I and II Association) have always been very
strong and protective of the waterways and view of the waterways and unless something is going
to happen between now and finishing the job that is going to lower a concrete wall, he is not sure
waiting until the end makes a lot of sense. It seems to him that there are issues with the height of
the wall and blocking views. Now is the time to be taking a look at those.
Gary Hunt shared Sheryl's sentiments, but also would like a renewed commitment by the
Commission on moving the curb to widen the bicycle pedestrian area so that it can accommodate
more planting than the one foot that remains after the bike pedestrian path, and as well as the
engineer offering his proposal to reintroduce mangroves where it is not going to impact sea grass.
He hopes the Commission, in order to take a bad thing and make it better, goes forward with
planters of mangroves in the canal so you have enriched planting area; and in the upland area to
move the curb after we get approval from the company that we are going to take away the left
hand turn lane and that would enable us to put landscaping in that would make this a much more
palpable project.
Commissioner Tobin introduced an email from Architect Juan David into the record, stating that
the concrete wall is blocking the natural feature of a canal that has been on Miami Beach for
more than a century. He made a motion to charge somebody in the Administration with figuring
out what is the least amount of obstructive or intrusive mass that can go there. He does not want
landscaping in certain portions, but someone that is committed to keeping the wall in the
administration, to have the least obstructed, least intrusive mass there so that will be my motion.
Commissioner Exposito seconded the motion and asked to make sure that in addition to
reduction of the wall, being able to expand to provide for the proper type of landscaping and
actually make a good walk way.
Mayor Bower asked if they should stop the project?
Commissioner Tobin stated that he would say stop the project, and get someone who won't take
six months to fix it.
Mayor Bower asked for clarification of the motion.
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, stated that there are some landscaping that is already part
of the project on the wall itself. The expansion or moving the curb which would allow for
landscaping to be introduced just enhances that pedestrian walk.
Discussion held.
Commissioner Exposito stated that we want to build the project and do it right and it is an
excellent opportunity to do something along this canal, but if we do not work together to arrive at
the same goal we are not going to do it. Maybe the only way to do it and force everyone's hand
is to actually act upon it to see what we can and cannot do. He stated that when you drive by it
looks like a Jersey barrier. It is ugly and without the ability of the additional space to landscape it,
it is going to continue to look ugly and not like the picture with the flower trees that the
Commission has been shown because you need a minimum of three feet to plant those trees and
you do not have it.
Commissioner Weithorn asked how long do you want to stop this for? Until next month?
Secondly, there was funding from someone other than the City and what does that do for the
funding issues? And if we are on the hook for millions of dollars she wants to know that before
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she votes.
Mayor Bower inquired that if they find a solution and need a new design, how much more money
it is going to cost us; she sees the project delayed for over a month, and wants to not have
people come forward and say it is taking too long. She wants clarification of the motion.
Commissioner Tobin stated that they need to start letting employees go that are approving things
and letting thing go that have this kind of horrendous esthetic. If you charge Administration with
this, they are going to take their sweet time. If you get somebody else to do this, somebody that
does not work here that has an interest in getting this done, we will get an answer in short order,
and if the answer is that we do not need the barrier wall and remove it, then we remove it and
remove the employees that did not get the best aesthetic for our home and thoughtlessly put this
kind of wall in here.
Mayor Bower needs to find out more and whoever is going to pay for whatever that mistake is
and where are we going to get the money from? She does not know what process will take
place, and wants to clarify what Commissioner Tobin is asking to do, so it will not be a surprise
when it come backs. After this is finished, you will be able to bicycle, to walk, to really enjoy that,
but she understands the issues with the wall.
Commissioner Góngora asked what is the best way to resolve this?
Commissioner Wolfson understands the concerns, but he looked at a report on the different
community input stages, and at this point it is what it is. If you are going to run any kind of
organization and get anywhere and get anything done you have to live with your decisions and he
thinks this is a decision that the City made. He understands the importance of the canal, but it is
not the kind of thing, it is not the architectural or vista marvel of the City. It is a canal. At certain
points he would not mind if the vision across the canal was blocked. He thinks we have to let the
project finish. It is just going to cost more money if we revisit these things.
Mayor Bower asked how much money?
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, stated that the entirety of the project and seawall
construction is a $7 million project.
Discussion held and Mayor Bower asked for clarification of the motion. Is it to stop the project , on
the wall? Also Commissioner Exposito wants more green added.
Commissioner Libbin stated that his question is if stopping the project means not moving forward
with the sidewalk, because you are going to have a sidewalk, will there be any difference
between the height of the sidewalk the City is going to put in whether or not there was a wall? Is
there a reason why the sidewalk could not be lowered more than 6 inches below the top of the
seawall?
Jorge Gomez, Assistant City Manager, explained that the suggestion does not help the
accessibility question and makes the pedestrian feel worse, since there is more solid wall
between the people and the water.
Voice vote taken.
Mayor Bower agreed that discussion items take up a long of time and they should be discussed
at committees because this takes time from other business. That is why the committees were
formed, so when it comes up it is been discussed thoroughly at committees and comes already
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with a consensus.
A vote was called on the motion. Commissioners Exposito and Libbin voted yes. Mayor Bower,
Vice-Mayor Góngora and Commissioners Weithorn and Wolfson voted no. Motion failed.
6:49:30 p.m.
R9K Discussion On The Florida Statues Regarding License Plates.
(Requested by Commissioner Jorge R. Exposito)
ACTION: Item referred. Motion made by Commissioner Exposito to refer the item to the
Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee; seconded by Commissioner Libbin; Voice vote: 7-0.
Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Chief Martinez to handle.
REFERRAL
Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee
End
6:49:30 p.m.
R9L Discussion Regarding The Sudden Ticketing Of Vehicles With License Plate Covers.
(Requested by Vice-Mayor Michael Góngora)
ACTION: Item referred. Motion made by Commissioner Exposito to refer the item to the
Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee; seconded by Commissioner Libbin; Voice vote: 7-0.
Barbara Hawayek to place on the committee agenda. Chief Martinez to handle.
REFERRAL:
Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee
R10 - City Attorney Reports
R10A City Attorney’s Status Report.
(City Attorney Office)
ACTION: Report given.
Announcement
Jose Smith, City Attorney, announced the Closed Executive Session below:
R10B Notice Of Closed Executive Session
Pursuant To Section 447.605, Florida Statutes, A Closed Executive Session Will Be Held During
Recess Of The City Commission Meeting On Wednesday, December 12, 2012, In The City
Manager’s Large Conference Room, Fourth Floor, City Hall, For A Discussion Relative To
Collective Bargaining.
ACTION: Closed Executive Session held.
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Reports and Informational Items
Reports and Informational Items (see LTC No. 314-2012)
Meeting adjourned 8:20:16 p.m.
End of Regular Agenda