MB RDA MINUTES MAY 15, 1985 •
MIAMI BEACH REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING
MAY 15, 1985 - 9:00 A.M.
CITY HALL COMMISSION CHAMBERS
INDEX TO MINUTES OF MEETING
RESOLUTION PAGE
NO. NO.
1. Roll Call - Meeting commenced at 9:52 A.M. All members 1
present.
2. Acceptance of Minutes of May 1, 1985 meeting 1
3. Report of Executive Director 1-2, 3-4
Executive Director gave brief oral status reports on:
1) Coast Guard Property - Announcement that Senator
Paula Hawkins' office is working toward getting GSA
property recalled from GSA.
2) Cheezem Development Agreement
3) South Pointe Park
4) South Pointe Promotional Efforts
5) SSDI Lawsuit
6) Corridor Study
7) Housing Authority Negotiations. (see 4.c. below)
(Copy of report filed with records of meeting.)
4. Old Business
a. Financial Statement - Question re an expenditure 4
for travel for Maria Pellerin of MBDC answered
satisfactorily. (Copy of report filed with
records of meeting.)
b. Mr. Friedlander, representing Cheezem Development 2-3
Corp. , requested considerations be given Cheezem
with respect to dates of closing by modifying
Development Agreement to allow exercise of option
on 5/31/85 and closing on 7/14/85 to coincide with
their Option Agreement; and inclusion of City
Federal Savings & Loan Assn. , as land financier
and as lead lender in creating a syndicate to
provide construction financing, to be noticed if
default occurs. Action taken later by City
Commission.
c. Agency advised by Executive Director that Freilich 3
& Leitner has declined to give opinion re Housing
Authority/Marina easement matter.
5. New Business
33-85 a. Resolution adopted authorizing the creation of an 5-6
Advisory Board from the South Pointe Subcommittee
of the Mayor 's Ad Hoc Economic Development
Council. (Arthur Courshon, Harry Levy, Jerry
Robins, Marty Taplin, and Tibor Hollo)
Mr. Weisburd raised issue of incorporation of Ad
Hoc Economic Development Council into Rediscover
Miami Beach Committee. Executive Director and
Agency Attorney to review.
34-85 b. Resolution adopted conceptually to give assistance 6-7
to School Board in assembling property adjacent to
South Beach Elementary which is scheduled to
reopen in 1986.
6. Report of Agency Attorney - None 7
7. Adjournment - 10:10 A.M. 7
Next meeting: Wed., June 5, 1985, 9:00 A.M.
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MINUTES
MIAMI BEACH REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
May 15, 1985
Regular meeting of the Miami Beach Redevelopment Agency was held in the City
Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach,
Florida, on Wednesday, May 15, 1985, with the following members of the
Redevelopment Agency present:
Chairman Malcolm Fromberg
Vice Chairman William E. Shockett
Stanley H. Arkin
Alex Daoud
Ben Z. Grenald
Bruce Singer
Sidney Weisburd
Also Present: Rob W. Parkins, Executive Director
Arnold M. Weiner, General Counsel
Elaine M. Baker, Secretary
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER AT 9:52 A.M. , MR. FROMBERG IN THE CHAIR.
FROMBERG: We'll call to order the meeting of the Miami Beach Redevelopment
Agency. Mrs. Baker, will you call the roll? (Item 1.)
BAKER: Mr. Fromberg Here
Mr. Shockett Here
Mr. Arkin Here
Mr. Daoud Here
Mr. Grenald Here
Mr. Singer Here
Mr. Weisburd Here
You have before you the minutes of the May 1st meeting for acceptance.
FROMBERG: Motion to accept the minutes. (2.)
ARKIN: So moved. SINGER: Second.
FROMBERG: Moved by Mr. Arkin, seconded by Mr. Singer. Any discussion? All
in favor, signify by saying "aye". (AYE) Any opposed? Let the records
reflect, it passes unanimously. Mr. Executive Director. (3.)
PARKINS: Mr. Chairman and members of the Agency board, we have some
highlights to give you today.
Late breaking information provided by Mr. Gilbert in the Miami Herald,
apparently Senator Hawkins' office is working to get the GSA property (1)
recalled back from GSA, the 3.4 acres, so we'll keep you informed as that
develops.
South Pointe Park (3) is about 69% complete on Phase I; Phase II is 26%
complete. The project is on schedule and within the approved budget.
Promotional Efforts (4) continue. You've received the latest
publication.
The SSDI Lawsuit (5) , we're negotiating with those folks. We still have
the Exercise of Option hearing rescheduled to May 20, 1985.
Corridor Studies (6) are attached in draft.
The Housing Authority negotiations (7) , we're still awaiting the
response from Freilich & Leitner.
I have the pleasure of introducing to you today, this morning, Mr.
Charlie Cheezem and Bill Friedlander, to bring you up to date on the Cheezem
Development Agreement (2) and they have some good news.
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FROMBERG: Welcome, gentlemen. We're delighted to have you.
WILLIAM A. FRIEDLANDER: Gentlemen, we've received and have accepted a
commitment from City Federal Savings & Loan Association to provide the land
financing for the South Pointe project and they have also undertaken to act
as lead lender in creating a syndicate for the purpose of providing the
construction financing for the entire project. We have, in effect, by
accepting the land loan from them, entered into a right-of-first-refusal
agreement that allows them to lead the construction.
In connection with those negotiations, there are three points that I
want to bring before you and ask that you agree to in your capacity, I
believe, as the Commission, rather than as the Agency.
First of all, City Federal would like to see the Development Agreement
amended to simply state that in the event that at a later date you conclude
that there is some default under the Development Agreement by Cheezem, as
developer, that you would give City Federal notice of that and give them the
opportunity to appear before you at any hearing. That's really a pro forma
amendment. I don't think that any of you would have any problem with that.
FROMBERG: Well, let's hold off on that one. Mr. City Attorney, have you
heard that? (response not audible)
FRIEDLANDER: That's . . . I didn't think it would be a contested issue. They
just want notice of default if they're going to advance $38,000,000.
WEINER: I'm not suggesting that it is a contested issue. I'm just
suggesting it's the first time I've heard it.
FRIEDLANDER: Yes, I'm sorry for not having discussed it with you. The ones
that I have discussed with the City Attorney and the ones that are the most
important to us, I think, are these.
In connection with our examination of the Option Agreement, the
Development Agreement, and this Commitment Letter, we've determined that
there is a substantial economic advantage to us in tailoring the exercise
date and the closing date to the outside date set forth in the Option, rather
than in the Development Agreement. For reasons that I have no recollection
of, it says in the Development Agreement, we will exercise by the 15th and
close by the 25th. The Option Agreement says we will exercise by the 31st
and close within a reasonable time. If you read all of the dates in there,
you can get to an outside date of approximately July 14th. The importance of
it to us is that under the Option Agreement, we do not pay interest on the
existing land financing between the date of exercising and the date of
closing and that is an interest factor that exceeds $150,000.
In addition to that, as I say, we are in the process of creating the
syndicate for the construction financing and what we would like to do is
close the land loan and the construction loan together with City Federal and
avoid duplication of legal fees and the points. We calculate that the
additional fees and closing costs, that we will incur if we close the two
loans separately, at around $100,000. So, for all of those reasons, we can
enjoy a savings which will go directly into the project of some $250,000 if
you will accommodate us and simply modify the Development Agreement to say
that we can exercise as late as May 31, rather than May 15, and that we can
close at the outside date, in the Option Agreement, which is July 14th.
We do not believe it will impact the City in any way. We will continue
with the construction. We've got our crews out there right now and I don't
believe, in all honesty, that there is any detriment to the City at all from
this request. We would ask that you vote in favor of it.
FROMBERG: Both of these matters have to be approved by the Commission.
FRIEDLANDER: That's correct. The Commission. The Mayor signed the
Development Agreement, on behalf of the Commission rather than the Agency. I
think it's a Commission vote.
FROMBERG: Let me make a suggestion and that is that Mr. Weiner discusses
this with you, if he needs to, and then when we meet as the Commission, we'll
take it up.
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WEINER: If I could be excused from the Chambers for a moment, I would like
to confer with Mr. Friedlander about the second point. I would say, though,
parenthetically, going into the City of Miami Beach meeting that the requests
are within the province of the Commission to grant since they are benefits
that flow to the City.
FROMBERG: Okay, why don't you take a minute and meanwhile maybe we can
finish the Agency agenda and then we'll come back as the Commission.
SHOCKETT: I have something that I wanted to ask Arnold about.
FROMBERG: Okay.
SHOCKETT: An Agency matter.
FROMBERG: Then let's just hold off your three requests. When we finish the
questions that any of us have, on the Agency agenda, of Mr. Weiner, he'll
come out with you and then we'll come back as the Commission and we'll take
that as the first order of business.
FRIEDLANDER: Very good.
FROMBERG: Any other report, Mr. Executive Director?
PARKINS: No, Mr. Chairman.
FROMBERG: Any Old Business? (4.)
SHOCKETT: I have a question.
FROMBERG: Vice Chairman Shockett.
SHOCKETT: Mr. Parkins mentioned, very briefly, something about Freilich &
Leitner. We were waiting for a response to our inquiry regarding the effect
of the agreement with the Housing Authority on our lease with Carner-Mason.
I think more than sufficient time has passed for us to have a response.
(4.c.)
PARKINS: All right, sir, we'll get with them.
SHOCKETT: I understand you have a response.
PARKINS: We have a letter we received after this was prepared and I didn't
bring it with me. If you want me to get a copy of it, Vice Chairman, I will.
SHOCKETT: I understand it's very simple, they're not going to give us the
opinion.
PARKINS: That's my understanding, but we didn't have a chance to really
review it, so that's why it wasn't included . . .
SHOCKETT: Well, I'd like to know about it because if they're not acting as
our attorney, I think that we ought to do something about it.
PARKINS: All right, sir.
SHOCKETT: I think it's . . . We've paid them tremendous fees. We're
continuing to pay them fees and if they're not going to respond, then I don't
know why we should be paying them fees. Maybe we should be getting some of
our fees back. We asked them a question regarding the legality of something
which they were the authors of.
DAOUD: Mr. Chairman.
FROMBERG: Mr. Daoud.
DAOUD: Under number five (3.5) , SSDI, it says, "We are continuing to
negotiate a development agreement with representatives . . . ". Rob, who is
negotiating?
M.B. REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY - 5/15/85 Page 3
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PARKINS: The Agency Attorney and Mr. Fosmoen.
DAOUD: So Freilich & Leitner are not negotiating in this?
PARKINS: No.
WEINER: No.
DAOUD: Okay, fine. Also, too, I wanted to ask on this letter we received,
on page 2, in which they mentioned, the General Services Administration, that
we had a certain amount of time to arrange for funding. I remember at one of
our Commission meetings, we discussed that we had applied to CD for a loan
for $260,000, applied for use as a down payment on the property. Whatever
happened to that application, Mr. Fosmoen?
FOSMOEN: In conversations with the . . . Let me make two points. First of
all, it would have taken considerably more than $260,000 to make the down
payment. Number two, we had no way of assuring that we would get reimbursed
into the CD Block Grant money and we would be committing the City to debt for
a period of more than one year, in excess of $250,000, so it appeared that we
were flying in the face, also, of the Falk Amendment.
DAOUD: So, in other words, . . .
FOSMOEN: We couldn't do it.
DAOUD: . . . we never followed through or just . . .
FOSMOEN: We couldn't do it that way. That's been my point all along to GSA.
They have claimed that we haven't made efforts. They suggested that Mr.
Maltby perhaps should sit through out budget session so he could see the kind
of problems that the City is facing.
(Mr. Weiner left the Chambers at approximately 9:52 a.m. Assistant City
Attorney Rafael Suarez-Rivas took Agency Attorney's chair in interim.)
DAOUD: All right, because I was just wondering what had happened to that
original loan application. Under the Miami Beach Development, we received
some bills, I guess they were for travel, Maria Pellerin for $133. What was
this related to?
FOSMOEN: Both she and Stu Rogel went to Tallahassee to examine funding
sources and it just so happened, Commissioner, that we arranged for both
tickets at the same time and are paying for them, but we will bill MBDC for
reimbursement of Ms. Pellerin's travel.
DAOUD: Okay. I have no more questions on this.
FROMBERG: Okay, any other Old Business? (4.)
WEISBURD: I think what Mr. Fosmoen didn't mention to Mr. Daoud is that this
thing is far from dead. (referring to Coast Guard property)
FOSMOEN: GSA?
WEISBURD: Yes, the GSA property, and the Department of Interior is still
working with us to reevaluate the entire situation. So, it's still a
possibility of us getting it donated to the City. (3.1)
FOSMOEN: Yes, Congressman Pepper's office is spending a great deal of time
on this issue, sir.
WEISBURD: Okay. I just want that known because the newspapers reported it
incorrectly.
PARKINS: The newest article hasn't come out yet, I guess.
FROMBERG: Any other Old Business?
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