2008-26746 ResoRESOLUTION NO. 2008-26746
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI
BEACH, FLORIDA, SETTING FORTH THE INTENTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION TO INITIATE THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROCEDURES UNDER
THE FLORIDA GOVERNMENTAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION ACT (SECTIONS
164.101 THROUGH 164.1061, FLORIDA STATUTES) FOR THE PURPOSE OF
RESOLVING THAT CERTAIN CONFLICT BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE SCHOOL
BOARD OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, RELATED TO THE SCHOOL
BOARD'S CONSTRUCTION OF IMPROVEMENTS AND EXPANSION TO MIAMI
BEACH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL AND THE RESULTING NEGATIVE IMPACT FROM
STORMWATER RUN-OFF ONTO THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY OF THAT SECTION
OF PRAIRIE AVENUE, RUNNING FROM DADE BOULEVARD ALONG THE HIGH
SCHOOL PROPERTY, WHICH HAS RESULTED IN FLOODING OF SAID RIGHT-OF-
WAY, AND OF THE ADJACENT RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES, WITH INCREASED
SEVERITY.
WHEREAS, on or about 2004, the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida (School
Board or the Board) commenced a significant renovation to Miami Beach Senior High School
involving construction improvements and expansions to the School (the Project); and
WHEREAS, a portion of that Project included making certain improvements on Prairie
Avenue and Dade Boulevard, respectively, which entailed the proposed use of City property and/or
City rights-of-way including the construction of a new drop-off area along Dade Boulevard and a
drop-off area on Prairie Avenue; and
WHEREAS, as part of its construction program, the Board undertook the design and
construction of a stormwater system; and
WHEREAS, the stormwater system, as designed, does not have the capacity to meet the
City's minimum criteria of collecting, conveying, and discharging rain fall generated by a five (5)
year/24 hour storm event; and
WHEREAS, the Board's construction of the Project is the only significant change which has
been made in the drainage basin surrounding the High School and, as such, the design and
construction of said improvements have resulted in flooding, with increased severity, along that
section of the public right-of-way on Prairie Avenue, from Dade Boulevard, and running along the
High School property, and which has resulted in flooding onto the adjacent residential properties in
the area; and
WHEREAS, representatives of the City and the School Board have been meeting (and
continue to meet) to resolve this issue, but have not been able to reach agreement as to who should
pay for the re-design and construction of a more adequate stormwater system; and
WHEREAS, the City maintains that, as the party responsible for altering the historic drainage
basin (as a result of the construction improvements to the High School), the School Board is
responsible to mitigate and/or resolve any resulting drainage problems; and
WHEREAS, the School Board has maintained that it is not responsible, since it has
addressed the drainage on its specific property, and therefore bears no responsibility for any other
impact associated with drainage in the larger drainage basin; and
WHEREAS, the aforestated ongoing matter was discussed at the January 3, 2008 Joint
Meeting of the City of Miami Beach Finance and Citywide Projects Committee and the City's Land
Use and Development Committee, which meeting included participation from members of the City
Commission, the City Administration, representatives of the School Board, and affected residents
and property owners; and
WHEREAS, the Joint Committee recommended unanimously that, notwithstanding the City
and School Board's intentions to continue to meet to amicably resolving this matter, and prior to
initiating legal proceedings, the City should initiate the conflict resolution procedures under the
Florida Governmental Conflict Resolution Act, as codified in Sections 164.101 through 164.1061,
Florida Statutes; and
WHEREAS, additionally, under that certain Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility
Planning in Miami-Dade County, to which the School Board and the City are both parties, and which,
in part, pertains to the City and the Board's respective responsibilities and obligations regarding
coordination between the parties for significant renovations undertaken by the School Board,
including construction improvements to existing schools, the School Board and the City agree
therein to employ the dispute resolution procedures in the Florida Governmental Conflict Resolution
Act prior to initiating court proceedings.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City Commission hereby set forth
the intention of the Mayor and City Commission to initiate the conflict resolution procedures under
the Florida Governmental Conflict Resolution Act (Sections 164.101 through 164.1061, Florida
Statutes) for the purpose of resolving that certain conflict between the City and the School Board of
Miami-Dade County, Florida, related to the School Board's construction of improvements and
expansion to Miami Beach Senior High School and the resulting negative impact from stormwater
run-off onto the public right-of-way of that section of Prairie Avenue, running from Dade Boulevard
along the High School property, which has resulted in flooding of said right-of-way, and of the
adjacent residential properties with increased severity.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 16th Day of January, 2008.
MAY R
ATT ST:
~,.~-'l J~`~ -
CITYCLERK
Robert Parcher
F:~atto\AGUR\RESOS-ORD\Conflict Resolution Act (Procedures).doc
Matti H. Bower
APPROVED AS TO
FORM & LANGUAGE
~ FOR EXECUTION
i~/D~~
City Attom Date
COMMISSION ITEM SUMMARY
Condensed Title:
A Resolution setting forth the intention of the Mayor and City Commission to initiate conflict resolution
procedures for the purpose of resolving that certain conflict between the City and the School Board of
Miami-Dade County, Florida, related to stormwater run-off onto the public right-of-way of Prairie Avenue.
Key Intended Outcome Supported:
Ensure well-designed quality capital projects.
Supporting Data (Surveys, Environmental Scan, etc.): 58% of residents rated storm drainage (to
avoid flooding) as fair and poor.
Issue:
Shall the City Commission adopt the resolution initiating a formal dispute resolution process?
Item tiummary/Kecommenaat~on:
At the January 3, 2008 joint meeting of the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee and the Land Use
and Development Committee, drainage improvements on Prairie Avenue generally between 23rd Street
and Dade Boulevard were discussed. The Joint Committee recommendation to the City Commission
was to proceed to construct as expeditiously as possible a drainage system on Prairie Avenue, with a
design as proposed by the City, and also to recommend that the full City Commission adopt a
Resolution initiating a formal dispute resolution process between the Miami-Dade School District and
the City of Miami Beach. The dispute to be addressed is relative to the cost sharing associated with the
drainage system construction.
In the joint meeting with the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee and the Land Use and
Development Committee there was a general committee agreement that given the cost of an
appropriate area drainage solution, that the Schools offer of a $234,000 commitment was insufficient.
The $234,000 amount offered by the Miami-Dade School District has been identified as that amount of
funding in their current construction contracts devoted to the construction of underground improvements
to address drainage on exclusively the high school side of Prairie Avenue.
The Committee action to initiate a dispute resolution process was to both preserve the City's right to
litigate if necessary with the Miami-Dade School District over financial participation on this project and
also to provide a formal mechanism that would allow the respective legislative bodies from the Board of
Education and the City of Miami Beach to address financial participation which would be appropriate.
It is recommended that the Commission adopt the Resolution initiating a formal dispute resolution
process with the Miami-Dade School District relative to drainage improvements on Prairie Avenue and
the appropriate cost sharing for said improvements. It is further recommended that the City
Commission direct the City Manager to meet with School representatives in the 30 days following
delivery of the dispute notice to the School to negotiate a written extension of the statutory time
requirements to allow a legislative solution to be pursued.
Adviso Board Recommendation:
N/A
Financial Information:
Source of Amount Account
Funds: ~
2
OBPI Total
Financial Impact Summary:
City Clerk's Office Legislative Tracking:
Si n-Offs:
Department Director Assist # City Manager Manager
=:\cmgr\$ALL\BOB\mbhsconflictresoprocedurecomsum.doc
~~ ~~ ~~~ ~ AGENDA ITEM ! E
"~' DATE ' (o' ~o
m MIAMIBEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Matti H. Bower and Members of the City Commission ~
FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager ~ ~~~
DATE: January 16, 2008
SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, SETTING FORTH THE INTENTION OF THE MAYOR
AND CITY COMMISSION TO INITIATE THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION
PROCEDURES UNDER THE FLORIDA GOVERNMENTAL CONFLICT
RESOLUTION ACT (SECTIONS 164.101 THROUGH 164.1061, FLORIDA
STATUTES) FOR THE PURPOSE OF RESOLVING THAT CERTAIN CONFLICT
BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE SCHOOL BOARD OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY,
FLORIDA, RELATED TO THE SCHOOL BOARD'S CONSTRUCTION OF
IMPROVEMENTS AND EXPANSION TO MIAMI BEACH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
AND THE RESULTING NEGATIVE IMPACT FROM STORMWATER RUN-0FF
ONTO THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY OF THAT SECTION OF PRAIRIE
AVENUE, RUNNING FROM DADE BOULEVARD ALONG THE HIGH SCHOOL
PROPERTY, WHICH HAS RESULTED IN FLOODING OF SAID RIGHT-0F--WAY,
AND OF THE ADJACENT RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES, WITH INCREASED
SEVERITY.
ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION
Adopt the Resolution.
ANALYSIS
At the January 3, 2008 joint meeting of the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee and
the Land Use and Development Committee, drainage improvements on Prairie Avenue
generally between 23rd Street and Dade Boulevard were discussed. The Joint Committee
recommendation to the City Commission was to proceed to construct as expeditiously as
possible a drainage system on Prairie Avenue, with a design as proposed by the City, and
also to recommend that the full City Commission adopt a Resolution initiating a formal
dispute resolution process between the Miami-Dade School District and the City of Miami
Beach. The dispute to be addressed is relative to the cost sharing associated with the
drainage system construction.
The appropriation necessary for the subject drainage improvements is a companion item on
the City Commission January 16, 2008 agenda. In that item, the Administration provides the
drainage system background, design proposal and recommends an appropriation by the City
Commission in order to proceed with the construction of the project.
This Commission Memorandum deals with the second part of the Joint Committee
recommendation which was to adopt a Resolution to initiate a dispute resolution process
with the Miami-Dade School District regarding the sharing of costs associated with the
drainage improvements on Prairie Avenue.
In order to have a specific design solution and an estimate of costs, the City undertook to
complete a drainage design for that portion of Prairie Avenue north of Dade Boulevard and
generally adjacent to the Miami Beach High School property and construction site. Until the
City undertook at its own cost to complete a drainage design that was appropriate to the
entire drainage area, the two principal parties the Miami-Dade School District and City of
Miami Beach had no agreement as to who should do the design and what the appropriate
cost sharing associated with the construction would entail. With the City completed design,
which is currently at 30% construction drawings, a specific design solution appropriate to the
area and the drainage basin has been identified and a price estimate for construction
provided. As described in the previous item relative to the appropriation, the current cost
estimate for the appropriate drainage solution is approximately $2,000,000.00.
There is no factual question that the construction of the high school improvements are the
only significant changes which have been made in the drainage basin surrounding the high
school. As the only changed circumstance in the drainage area, those improvements are
the specific cause for the flooding condition which now exists. The City's position has been
and continues to be that the party responsible for altering the historic drainage basin is also
responsible to mitigate and/or to solve any resulting drainage problems. The schools
position has been that since they addressed the drainage on their specific property, they
have no responsibility for any other impacts associated with drainage in the larger drainage
basin.
In the joint meeting with the. Finance and Citywide Projects Committee and the Land Use
and Development Committee there was a general committee agreement that given the cost
of an appropriate area drainage solution, that the Schools offer of a $234,000 commitment
was insufficient. The $234,000 amount offered by the Miami-Dade School District has been
identified as that amount of funding in their current construction contracts devoted to the
construction of underground improvements to address drainage on exclusively the high
school side of Prairie Avenue.
The Committee action to initiate a dispute resolution process was to both preserve the City's
right to litigate if necessary with the Miami-Dade School District over financial participation
on this project and also to provide a formal mechanism that would allow the respective
legislative bodies from the Board of Education and the City of Miami Beach to address
financial participation which would be appropriate.
The dispute resolution process which is to be initiated is created in State Statute. The
process obligates governmental entities when there is no immediate dangerto health, safety
or welfare of the public, to engage in negotiation and mediation to resolve disputes between
the entities. The dispute resolution process can be initiated before a lawsuit is actuallyfiled.
If a lawsuit is filed, the governmental entity filing the lawsuit must request that the Court
abate such court process until such time as the dispute resolution process is concluded.
2
The dispute resolution process begins by having a governmental body, in this case the City
Commission, enact a Resolution stating it is the intention of the City Commission to initiate
the conflict resolution procedures provided by the State Statute prior to initiating a Court
proceeding. The Resolution also must state what is the issue at conflict. The Resolution is
then provided to the Miami-Dade School District and a time frame for meeting and
negotiating a Resolution is established in Statute.
The initial meeting must be conducted within 30 days of the receipt of a letter initiating the
dispute resolution procedure. Based on a meeting between the School and City staff on
Thursday, January 10, 2008, at the staff level it was agreed that an extended time line for
the dispute resolution process would be appropriate at the beginning of the process.
In the January 10, 2008 staff meeting, the City and School discussed the possibility of a
special State and perhaps Federal Capital project appropriation to help address the
drainage funding concern. In a cooperative manner both entities would engage their
respective State lobbyists to pursue an appropriation. Funding issues of this magnitude
have a reasonable chance of approval by the State Legislature. State funding would
address some and perhaps all of the funding issue.
The School also agrees that in the event additional funding measures fail or are insufficient
to address the issue, subsequent cost sharing conversations would be necessary to resolve
the matter.
In order to allow this funding option to develop, the statutory time of 30 days for the initial
dispute. meeting would need to be extended. State Statute anticipates and allows parties to
a dispute to mutually agree in writing to a time extension of any of the identified time
requirements in Statute. An extension to the March/April time frame would be necessary to
implement this option.
The time extension would not impact the time anticipated for construction, as the City would
still proceed to build the drainage system. Bypassing the dispute resolution and putting the
School formally on notice the City's future rights are preserved.
In the event no resolution can be agreed upon in the first dispute resolution step, there is a
defined process in statute to lead the parties through a series of discussions and ultimately a
3~' party mediation. If the mediation is unsuccessful, the statutory procedures have been
satisfied and each of the parties has the ability to utilize or avail themselves of their
respective legal rights.
It is recommended that the Commission adopt the Resolution initiating a formal dispute
resolution process with the Miami-Dade School District relative to drainage improvements on
Prairie Avenue and the appropriate cost sharing for said improvements. It is further
recommended that the City Commission direct the City Manager to meet with School
representatives in the 30 days following delivery of the dispute notice to the School to
negotiate a written extension of the statutory time requirements to allow a legislative solution
to be pursued.
JMG\RCM\sam
F:\cmgr\$ALL\BOB\mbhsconflictresoprocedurecommemo.doc
3