Meeting Minutes - July 5 20181
Mayor’s General Obligation Bond Advisory Panel
Meeting Minutes
July 5, 2018
City Manager’s Large Conference Room
Chairperson Karen Rivo called the meeting to order at 9:38 a.m.
Attendance was taken. Mayor’s General Obligation Advisory Panel Members in attendance were as
follows:
Last Name First Name Present Absent Phone Not Sworn in
Rivo Karen X
Breslin Ray X
Glottman Jack X
Gross Saul X
Jones Carolina X
Leibowitz Debra X
Libbin Jerry X
Malakoff Joy X
Meiner Steven X
Peter Marie X
Ramos Margueritte X
City of Miami Beach employees and City of Miami Beach residents present included:
Dan Gelber, Mayor
Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
Eric Carpenter, Assistant City Manager
Dan Oates, Police Chief
Virgil Fernandez, Fire Chief
Tameka Otto Stewart, Budget Director
David Martinez, Capital Improvement Projects Director
Roy Coley, Public Works Director
Jose Gonzalez, Transportation Director
Elizabeth Wheaton, Environment and Sustainability Director
Margarita Wells, Environment and Sustainability Assistant Director
Jose Del Risco, Parks and Recreation Assistant Director
Elizabeth Miro, Property Management Assistant Director
Josiel Ferrer, Transportation Assistant Director
Lily Alvarez, Property Management Construction Manager
Ramon Duarte, Property Management Assistant Director
Debra Hart, Public Works
Heather Shaw, Tourism, Culture, and Economic Development Assistant Director
Brandi Reddick, Cultural Affairs Manager
Michelle Huttenhoff, Economic Development Manager
Esperance Jules, Public Works
Michele Burger, Mayor’s Chief of Staff
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Wayne Jones, Police Major
Steven Feldman, Police Lieutenant
Erick Chiroles, Aide to Commissioner Arriola
Krya Gurney, Miami Herald
Wendy Rich-Goldschmidt, Chief Oates’ Chief of Staff
Ceci Velasco, Executive Director of Ocean Drive Association
David Wallack, Ocean Drive Owner
June Henderson, Mangos Restaurant
Mike Palma, Ocean Drive Owner
Jonathan Plutzik, Betsy Hotel Owner
George Colin, Student from George Washington University
Peter Morales, Student from Belen
Roll Call
Attendance of the Panel was taken.
Introduction
Mayor Gelber opened the meeting by thanking the Panel for the work they have done. He explained
there are a lot of ways to go about a G.O. Bond. He wanted to make sure residents had their input
and who were a diverse group from all over the City to serve on the Panel. The Panel’s job is to be a
community to work with the City staff to figure out what is best. He also spoke about the City of
Miami passing a G.O. Bond. He said the main goal for the Panel is for them to give their input on
what they think should go for each category. He spoke about the staff doing a great job as well. He
said the Panel needs to decide on projects for a $300 million, $400 million, and $500 million bond.
Discussion was held regarding whether the hotel will be on the November Ballot. The decision will
be made at the end of July. The new Inspector General will be going on the ballot as well. The
Commission will decide what will go on the ballot, not the Panel.
Discussion was held regarding a 10 year or 20 year bond. A lot of people say if it was a 10 year
bond they would be more inclined to vote yes.
Shortening of the amortization schedule was discussed.
Discussion was held regarding the amount of money it will cost residents. Also, residents have said
that they would like to do a bond for 10 years and then come back and do another one.
Jimmy Morales stated that we could run scenarios for 10, 15, 20 years regarding financing.
The Mayor would like to have a meeting in July to see all of the available options. He thinks this
process has been very helpful.
Minutes June 21 and 28, 2018
Karen Rivo had everyone go through the June 21st minutes and made note that the minutes printed
out were corrected, but also said that Saul’s comments were on a separate page.
Jerry Libbin brought up Saul’s comment about his statement regarding the math on the last page of
the June 21st minutes and said that John Woodruff’s math didn’t seem right.
Jerry Libbin said that Commissioner Samuelian had gone to one of their board meetings and said for
approximately $100,000 of assessed value, assuming the bond is $500 million offering. For every
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$100,000 assessed value that it would be approximately $100 a year over the lifespan, however, in
the early years it will be much less, maybe as little as a couple of dollars. He said that is what he
was trying to say. He said John Woodruff’s comment “for every $100,000, it would be $500 a year is
not correct.
Karen Rivo wanted staff to clarify how much it would cost a homeowner for $100,000.
Carolina Jones said she has been saying what Jerry Libbin had said, $100 per every $100,000.
Karen Rivo asked if everyone approved Saul’s other corrections. She said if there are no other
corrections, she asked to approve the minutes with the corrections.
Motion: Margueritte Ramos, Second: Carolina Jones. All in favor.
Jerry Libbin said Saul Gross raised a question in page 9 about the generators and we didn’t get an
answer to that.
Tameka Otto Stewart said all parties are correct, it says between $60-100 annually per $100,000 of
taxable value.
Jack Glottmann said that is probably because it is between $300 million and $500 million.
Karen Rivo said if you have a $500,000 home, per year it would be between $300-500 per year over
time.
Saul Gross said he didn’t have a chance to review the June 28th minutes and suggested the panel
does the same thing with those that they did with the last week’s minutes and wait until the next
meeting to approve the minutes.
Karen Rivo made sure everyone was okay with that.
Jack Glottmann’s email address needs to be corrected.
Administration’s recommendations
The spreadsheet that was distributed to the Panel was discussed. The Staff and City Manager
looked at the projects.
The City Manager went through his recommendations project by project. He also provided some
more clarity on the different projects. The clarity included what the Administration viewed as the
critical projects, things they think they would be able to identify funding for during the course of this
time, and also taking into consideration the projects that should be included to put together a
package that the residents would like to vote yes on. He went through the Public Safety projects. He
explained the 5 critical things Administration highlighted.
Ocean Rescue Sub Station (removed from North Beach Oceanside Park)
Fire Stations 1 and 3
Police Headquarters
Police Radio System
Security for Public Spaces
City Manager Morales said Security Cameras can be funded incrementally over time and also
License Plate readers.
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City Manager Morales went through the Parks projects that the Administration thinks are a priority.
72nd Street Complex
Flamingo Park
Maurice Gibb
North Beach Oceanside Park, after taking out the Ocean Rescue Sub Station, what
is left is mostly the beachwalk
North Shore Park and Youth Center, ball fields are a high priority
Par 3
Scott Rakow
Soundscape Park
City Manager Morales explained he asked Parks to go through the $17 million for resiliency funds for
Parks and try to build into the numbers on page 2 what they think is resilient about each Park, so
they are tied to specific projects and not just a generic fund. Therefore, the number would come
down significantly or go away all together.
City Manager Morales went through the Infrastructure projects that the Administratio n thinks are a
priority.
Baywalk
Middle Beachwalk
Ocean Drive Improvement project
Palm and Hibiscus Neighborhood enhancements
Street Tree Master Plan
Roof Replacement for Cultural Facilities
Flamingo Park Neighborhood Improvements
La Gorce Neighborhood Improvements
Sidewalk Repairs
Street Lighting
Street Pavement
Resilient Sea Walls
41st Street Corridor
Washington Avenue
Traffic Calming
Protective Bicycle lanes
West Lots
Discussion was had regarding the resilient sea walls. There is about $8 million price tag for the sea
walls for Indian Creek. $5 million of that is already funded. We are cost sharing some of it with
FDOT. We still have a number of properties that have not signed over their property rights. We are
not quite sure where the delta will fall in between the $5 million and the $8 million. It could be a half a
million it could be $2.5 million. This is another funding source; we can also tap into the Miami -Dade
Count Inter-local agreement fund.
Eric Carpenter, Assistant City Manager, explained the money with the sea walls. It was taken from
$35 million to $10 million. He explained that there was originally $50 million in needs if we were to
redo all the City’s sea walls. We already put in $15 million into sea walls either funded or constructed
today. We are suggesting $10 million to get us to the half way point.
Discussion regarding selling one of the West Lots was had. There didn’t seem to be a lot of
sentiments of wanting to sell the lots with the Commission.
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Discussion was had regarding the cost of projects and costing them out 10 years down the road.
There was not an inflation factor use, primarily because we are not sure of the scheduling of projects
yet. We don’t know which projects are going to happen in which years. Panel members expressed
concern in needing to do that so we don’t run out of the money like with the 1999 Bond. The library
lot was discussed.
Discussion about project #2, Substation for North Beach was had. A question was raised if this item
could be incorporated in the Fire Station #3 budget.
Virgil Fernandez said the footprint right now is big enough. The back of the station is going to have
Sabrina Cohen’s Adaptive Park. We would have nowhere else to put it unless we decide to go up
and stretch the footprint a little farther east to park the vehicles. It does move it farther south. It will
have an impact on further projects that are planned out.
The Panel thinks timing is critical in all the projects.
Discussion had about the Fire Stations. They are in critical need. Station #1 has immediate need for
replacement. Station #3 is not far behind.
The North End Substation (NESS) was discussed and needs renovation and it is not on the list.
North Shore neighborhood should be line itemed separately like La Gorce and Flamingo Park.
Margueritte Ramos brought up the 71st Street Bridge project. The North Beach entrance sign was
discussed as well.
#31 North Beach Oceanside Park- It was discussed that the City Manager reduced the cost from
$7.7 to $2 million. The Panel asked for an explanation. With the developers money there was
thoughts that we were still short of completing this park.
City Manager Morales said it was explained to him that the $7.794 million included $4-5 million for
the Ocean Rescue facility and maintenance facility. $2 million was the Beachwalk area and there is
a small difference we could fund separately.
Carolina Jones is not in favor of selling City land, unless we swap it with other land.
Discussion was had regarding not including deferred maintenance costs in the G.O. Bond.
City Manager Morales spoke about a couple of things we are going to do in this budget process.
PAYGO will now also receive a dedicate millage like Renewal and Replacement,
so it will grow over time
We are looking to increase both of those funding sources slowly
Further discussion was had about the budget.
The NESS number is $1 million. Property Management explained what could be included in a
potential renovation of the facility.
Prioritization Criteria
The Panel took some time to come up with their priorities. They also want to be respectful and take
into consideration the projects the public provided input on.
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Based on the public input, Chairperson Karen Rivo went through the high priority projects in Public
Safety Category:
1. Project #7 Security in Parks -not proposed to be funded by the G.O. Bond
2. Project #14 Cameras on the Beachwalk – not proposed to be funded by the G.O.
Bond.
3. Project #11 Public Safety Radio System- proposed to be funded.
4. Project #13 Security Cameras in Entertainment District- not proposed to be funded
by the G.O. Bond.
5. Project #12 Security Cameras in Business Districts- not proposed to be funded by
the G.O. Bond.
6. Project #15 Security for Public Spaces – funded. Project #5 Fire Stations 1 and 2-
proposed to be funded.
7.
Based on the public input, Chairperson Karen Rivo went through the high priority projects in Parks
Category:
1. Project #38 Soundscape Park- proposed to be funded.
2. Project #24 Flamingo Park- proposed to be funded.
3. Project #37 Scott Rakow Youth Center- proposed to be funded.
4. Project #26 Lummus Park- not proposed to be funded by the G.O. Bond.
5. Project #39 South Pointe Park- proposed to be funded.
6. Project #18 72nd Street Park, Library, & Aquatic Center- proposed to be funded.
Based on the public input, Chairperson Karen Rivo went through the high priority projects in
Infrastructure Category:
1. Project #70 Sidewalk Repair Program- proposed to be funded.
2. Project #83 Adaptive Signalization based on Real Time Traffic Demand- not
proposed to be funded by the G.O. Bond. Jose Gonzalez, Transportation Director
said this is not funded at all; the Department did not give it a high priority because
the County is currently piloting the technology in North Beach along Indian Creek.
We are taking a wait and see approach to see how the technology functions before
we move forward with it. It is ultimately a County function and responsibility.
3. Project #51 Street Tree Master Plan Implementation/ Project #74 Resilient Sea
Walls and Living Shorelines- proposed to be funded.
4. Project #71 Street lighting improvement- proposed to be funded.
5. Project #49 Solar and Green Roofs- not proposed to be funded by the G.O. Bond.
6. Project #42 Baywalk/Project #86 Protected Bicycle Lanes and Shared
Bike/Pedestrian Paths- proposed to be funded.
Panel feels we need more input from residents. Panel members also feel they are a good sample of
the public. Panel members feels we need to get into more details when we send out information
regarding the G.O. Bond education.
The Panel will make their best decisions and the key piece will be to educate the public.
A suggestion for the criteria- if something is less than 40% voted by the public they should take a
second look at it.
Criteria/Priorities to decide on projects were discussed and Panel members provided their input, the
following are what was decided as the criteria:
1. 40% approval from the project prioritization survey
2. Citywide impact
3. Safety
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4. Resiliency
5. Neighborhoods that have not previously received funding or open items from 1999
G.O. Bond
6. Properly vetted vs. Placeholder
7. No other funding available
8. Long term ROI (return on investment)
9. Quality of Life
10. Cost of Inaction
11. Does it reduce risk?
12. Out of the box
The traffic problem in the City was discussed. It is one of the largest issues in the City.
The amount of people that are expected to vote on the ballot in November is about 15,000.
Discussion was held.
Percentages of the residents voting for projects were discussed.
The voting will be different for the individual projects versus the package deal with multiple projects
in each of the G.O. Bond categories.
People tend to support new projects.
Public Safety will be a big one to vote for because of how our world is working today.
Some of the panel members think the Artificial Reef project is an awesome idea and it didn’t come
up high on the list. It is out of the box. It is project #48 Artificial Reef and Resilient Marine Habitat.
Many residents pick their own park in the public input. The lighting in every park was discussed. It
would be a benefit to the entire City.
The Panel suggested adding LED lighting to all the parks and there should be a number for all parks
where needed.
Jose Del Risco, Parks and Recreation Assistant Director said after receiving direction at the last
meeting, they tallied up the items that did not deem to be priority items from the medium and low
priority and it comes out to $1.41 million for LED lighting in the remainder of the parks.
The Panel discussed whether there could be projects combined or added on to.
Eric Carpenter said the panel should take a look at the projects sometime today and decide which
projects would be better served in a different category.
All panel members feel the G.O. Bond should go on the ballot.
Discussion continued regarding moving projects around to the different categories.
Shade in parks was discussed. The Panel thinks Shade and LED lighting for all parks as needed
should be added separately as an item.
Panel thinks all neighborhoods should be grouped together in project #62 Above Ground
Improvements.
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Eric Carpenter explained how the numbers came about in project #62 Above Ground Improvements.
He said they took the capital improvement program for the stormwater that was in the last Bond
issue and we took 20% of the stormwater cost and put that in the above ground.
Anything that was not completed in the prior G.O. Bond should be on this list.
#5 Replace Fire Stations #1 and #3 in the criteria was modified. Correct criteria reflected on above
list.
Lummus Park was discussed. No funding was increased, but it went to the high priority list of the
Parks and Recreation Department.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross met with the Ocean Drive Association and they conveyed that
they don’t see Lummus Park being a priority for them because they are in the process of
implementing a business improvement district. They have plans of possibly staging events in
Lummus Park relating to the hotels to make it a little more cultural. They would rather see the $5
million dedicated to this project moved over to the Ocean Drive project to make it $12.5 million
because $7 million for 10 blocks is not going to go very far.
Chairperson Karen Rivo said that Ceci Velasco called her and they have worked on these numbers
since this came out and want to speak at the meeting this afternoon. Jonathan Plutzik and Mike
Palma will be in attendance this afternoon to speak on the project. They are going to request $15
million for the Ocean Drive project in order to do a really good job on Ocean Drive.
The Panel discussed their guiding principles and what they should be of the 12 criteria they came up
with.
Project Prioritization - Public Safety
The Panel decided to go through the Public Safety projects starting at #1. They also talked about
giving each project points to decide to move forward with the project or not.
Tameka Otto Stewart, Budget Director, generated a spreadsheet and will print it out for the members
to go through.
Margueritte Ramos suggested using the Police and Fire Chief’s priority list, the Panel also has the
City Manager’s recommendations.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin suggested going with or modifying the Cit y Manager’s list of
recommendations.
The Panel started at project #1 New Call Center for 911 Dispatch. They discussed whether they
should cross out project #1.
Virgil Fernandez, Fire Chief said that he feels they meet every single one of the criteria th at the
Panel came up with, with the exception of #6 and maybe #12. The call center is extremely needed. If
this can be included with Station #1, it would be in the same footprint that the Fire Station is in. It
would provide a category 5 building and allows them to deal with the shocks and stresses the City
goes through. It allows the Police Department much needed space. The $3 million would be in
addition to the $20 million for the Fire Station.
Dan Oates, Police Chief said if we are going to spend the kind of money we are going to spend on a
Fire Station, he thinks it is short sighted to not spend the extra $3 million. It is a really smart decision
to make. He thinks the Public Safety category is fairly easy like some of the panel members said.
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The Panel would like to fund project #1 New Call Center For 911 Dispatch.
Jack Glottmann recommended if we get the spreadsheet and look at each page and put our votes
on there and have an additional line item the panel members can write if they support the project or
not.
Not everyone agreed.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin made a motion to recommend the City Manager’s list in the
Public Safety category, plus to ensure that project #1, the call center be included. One caveat is
before he supported Station #1, he needs to know where they are building it. Former Commissioner
Malakoff seconded the motion.
There is not enough space where the current Fire Station #1 is to rebuild it. Even if we build a station
that doesn’t even meet current needs, we have to build something. The building is falling apart.
Discussion was held where the Fire Station #1 is going to go. We have been looking at across the
street from Flamingo Park and trying to figure something out on the 600 block of Alton Road.
Discussion was had about the North End Substation.
Discussion on the Fire Station was had.
Marie Peter said she thinks it is the City’s responsibility to pick a place for the Fire Station and have
Chief Fernandez get it going. It is a serious situation.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said there are 4 high priority projects that were voted by the
public that the City Manager said we are going to fund from operating funds from the City. He would
like to put a friendly amendment, unless the Commission votes to allocate some real number of the
budget for these kind of projects, he would be in favor of funding them from the G.O. Bond.
Chairperson Karen Rivo said we can make all the recommendations we want that the City will put
the projects in the budget, but if it is a high enough priority for the panel we need to think about
putting it here.
Former Commissioner Libbin would be open to amending his motion to include the cameras,
projects #12 Security Cameras in Business Districts and #13 Security Cameras in Entertainment
District. He also really likes the license plate readers.
Chairperson Karen Rivo confirmed the projects the panel will add back in. #12 Security Cameras in
Business Districts, #13 Security Cameras in Entertainment District, #8 License Plate Readers, #7
Security for Parks, #14 Security Cameras on Beach Walk. The public gave a high priority to the
security cameras.
#15 Security For Public Spaces was explained by Chief Oates. It includes the bollards for Lincoln
Road, Soundscape Park, and South Pointe Park.
License Plate Readers are not really a G.O. Bond type thing. The License Plate Readers are about a
5-7 year investment.
The Radio System is a 20 year investment.
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Former Commissioner Malakoff thinks the Panel should go with Former Commissioner Jerry Libbi n’s
original motion. She doesn’t think License Plate Readers or Cameras belong in the G.O. Bond.
Margueritte Ramos would like to add the NESS as an amendment to Former Commission Jerry
Libbin’s motion.
The NESS was discussed. Chief Oates said there would be more capacity for police officers to work
out of there.
$1 million for the NESS, it is a new project.
Security Cameras were discussed. The fiber is about $1 million which is a 20 year investment, but
the cameras have a lifetime of about 5-7 years.
Eric Carpenter said what the Panel is hearing from the City Manager’s Office along with the Police
Chief are not inconsistent. We think that this is important and this is something we want to fund that
we believe the residents and Commission is in favor of. What the City Manager meant when he said
he believes there are additional funding sources is that there is enough consensus around the item
that the money will be found at the Commission level. Over the next 5-10 years we think we can fund
a lot of these things through general appropriations in the budget as opposed to making them a G.O.
Bond item.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said as part of the Panel’s recommendation to the Commission, if
the Panel approves his motion, we can have an additional motion that says the Panel urges the
Commission to fund these through the methodologies that the City Manager mentioned. He said the
public and the Panel sees them as a high priority and they strongly recommend the City Manager
and the Commission find a way to fund these.
Chairperson Karen Rivo said she thinks that is what the Panel can articulate.
The fiber cable for the cameras was discussed. It is about $1 million.
Eric Carpenter said it is also worth mentioning that Project #71 Street Lighting Improvements also
has a fiber backbone component that would assist with the camera roll out.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin restated his motion, which is to include all of the City Manager’s
recommendations, $49,350,000, adding the $3 million for the call center and $1 million for the
NESS, which brings the total to $53,350,000. Also, including the recommendation that the
Commission do the 4 other projects through alternate funding, #7 Security for Parks, #8 License
Plate Readers, #12 Security Cameras in Business Districts, #13 Security Cameras in Entertainment
District, and #14 Security Cameras on Beach Walk . Former Commissioner Malakoff seconded. All
members in favor.
Carolina Jones mentioned having a new place to put the new Fire Station #1. If we sell something
we should buy something else for the City. We need to be careful with what we sell. We shouldn’t
reduce the City owned inventory.
Chairperson Karen Rivo said they will take a 5 minute break. Tameka Otto Stewart updated the
spreadsheets and after the break they will come up with the criteria they want to list to make sure
there is a consensus and start there.
Project Prioritization - Parks & Beaches
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Chairperson Karen Rivo said they are going to start with the Parks projects now and she
recommended as the Chair to start with the City Manager’s recommendations as we did before and
then go back and see if there are other ones we should reconsider or look at more closely.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff motioned to approve the City Manager’s recommendations
totaling $127,896,000.
Eric Carpenter said Project #50 Resiliency Fund for Parks will most likely be broke up into
component parts and reappear in some of these park projects under Parks and Beaches. We don’t
have those final numbers today, but he said what he thinks is going to happen when it gets front of
Commission is that some of these numbers are going to adjust slightly that are incorporating the
resilient components into the existing projects.
Margueritte Ramos suggested an amendment to the motion to consider $1.15 million for LED
lighting for 7 parks and $450,000 for shade for 7 parks.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff said she would consider the LED lighting, but not the shade
because it needs to be replaced every few years.
Margueritte Ramos seconded the motion without the amendment for now.
Project #28 Maurice Gibb Park was discussed.
Jack Glottmann asked what the cost for the soil remediation is. Margarita Wells, Environment and
Sustainability Assistant Director said it is between $800,000 and $900,000 of the total.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross the public ranked this project low and he wondered why there is
so much money allocated when the park seems like people are happy with it.
Eric Carpenter said the challenge is tearing up a large percentage of the park to do the remediation.
The regulatory agencies are coming down on us for waiting so long.
Margarita Wells said we are in the process of pursuing a Brownfield designation.
It was suggested to separate the Marine Patrol facility from the project.
Jack Glottmann supports the park, but thinks the other items need to be separate project or cut out.
It could be argued the Marine Patrol facility can go in the other bucket.
Virgil Fernandez said part of the overall picture, there are restrooms there. If they do decide as a
park that they want bathrooms, once we have that as a building we have to fix, we need to know if
we build a building that goes up and have the ability to house the fire boat. The reason it is being
asked for is there are no ADA restrooms. This would combine Fire and Marine Patrol capabilities.
Discussion continued.
Eric Carpenter said the City Manager was recommending the Maurice Gibb Park project go forward,
but when they discussed it they didn’t delve into the transient facility part. He doesn’t believe he
opined on that part.
Jose Del Risco said the Marine and Waterfront Protection Authority recommended the transient
facility because if a transient marina is created, those boats that are moored there that the
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community is not happy with them discarding waste and so forth into Biscayne Bay would then be
legally pushed out. The goal is to push the boats that are illegally moored out of there.
Mooring is a big problem.
The park renovation is $1.6 million. $2.7 million for the Marine Patrol and Fire boat facility and $1.2
million for the transient facility and $600,000 for the transient dock.
We either need to do something with the restrooms for the park to meet current code or we need to
build a separate park restroom facility in the park.
Part of the $1.6 million we are asking for the park improvements has an allotment there to renovate
the restrooms that are existing. As long as all we are doing is cosmetic we are fine, the minute we
start modifying things it kicks in to part of the code that would require everything to be brought up to
code, which we would then have to make major renovations that would be covered under the Marine
Patrol budget.
The Marine Patrol facility as it is now cannot accommodate the fire boat.
Eric Carpenter explained the reason the Marine Patrol facility was not in the public safety category is
because driver on the process really was the discussion on the park, which led to a discussion on
the restrooms and so on. He said we can discuss whether it should be moved to public safety. The
Marine Patrol facility does belong in Public Safety, but he doesn’t think we have looked at it in that
context until now because the driver had been the park itself.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin added an amendment to reduce the project to $1.6 million just for
the park remediation.
Jack Glottmann asked what the chances are we get the Brownfield money for the remediation
because we might not even need $1.6 million.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff thinks the Marine Patrol/Fire Boat facility component should be
included in the Public Safety category.
Debra Leibowitz disagreed.
LED lighting will be modified for the parks as needed and the Panel would like it added as an item.
Summary: Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff accepted the amendment for project #28 Maurice
Gibb Park to be only $1.6 million, added item for LED lighting for all parks needed (don’t have
number yet), Parks will go down the list and quantify.
Marie Peter said some of parks have playground equipment is unsafe and we need to include that.
Project #27 Marjory Stoneman Douglas Park is recommended to be funded from Capital funds. It
should be added to the list that the Panel has that they would like to request the Commission to
fund.
Discussion continued regarding the LED lighting and breakdown of the Parks.
The Panel discussed how the skate park is not on the project list. The community has been
promised a skate park. The estimate it would cost is about $3 million.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin would like to see the skate park be included in the G.O. Bond.
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Former Commissioner Saul Gross recommended taking money from project #18 72nd Street Park,
Library &Aquatic Center for the skate park.
Carolina Jones said she is in agreement with Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin that regardless of
where the all wheels skate park goes funding should be allocated in the G.O. Bond.
Debra Leibowitz mentioned that she chaired the Blue Ribbon Committee for Parks for a year and a
half and the number one issue that people in North, Mid, and South Beach wanted was a skate park.
She thinks it should be a $3 million separate line item.
The Panel added $3 million for project #42 Baywalk for the skate park.
Debra Leibowitz said she feels that selling the land for #18 should be park of the discussion in order
to fund some of the project.
Eric Carpenter said it was something that was contemplated when looking at Project #18 72nd Street
Park, Library &Aquatic Center.
Margueritte Ramos said we would have to put the sale on the ballot and wait to see if the voters vote
yes to sell the lot and it could fail and then we would lose the project, which has been completely
processed.
Discussion continued regarding the value of the land. The Panel said they should point out the
possibility to sell the land where the City can get the greatest value for the residents.
The size of the pool was discussed for project #18 72nd Street Park, Library &Aquatic Center. It will
be a competition size swimming pool.
Further discussion continued regarding project #18 72nd Street Park, Library &Aquatic Center.
Parking was discussed. Some concerns were raised regarding if Parking funds could pay for some
of the project because there is a parking component.
Eric Carpenter spoke with Kathie Brooks and said the additional parking spaces that would be added
would purely be for the uses on the particular property, whether it’s the swimming pool, the fitness
center, etc. The Parking Department is seeing this as revenue neutral and what they said is that they
don’t have the funding currently and the only way they would be able to put any additional funding
towards this is to issue bonds against existing revenue and they are very leery about going out to the
bond market right now at an extremely declining time.
The Panel decided there is a need for parking.
Marie Peter said the numbers are going to matter and they are going to jump out at people. She
suggested separating the garage item as stated before so it is not all lumped together in the $60
million for the project.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross suggested a revitalization bucket for the commercial revitalization
projects. There are a lot of projects that he thinks people will support.
Margueritte Ramos read out the description of project #18 72nd Street Park, Library &Aquatic Center.
The Panel had a discussion about which category the project should be in.
Discussion continued regarding the project.
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Carolina Jones suggested having staff repackage the $60 million for the project into 2 buckets that
make sense.
Staff will return a little later with a reconfiguration of the project #18 72nd Street Park, Library &
Aquatic Center into 2 buckets.
The Panel moved on to #24 Flamingo Park.
Debra Leibowitz said her concern goes back to the Fire Station and the PAL. We are assuming we
are going to give them $10 million for the Fire Station, but she wanted to know how that relates to
the PAL in the same space.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff said the Commission had considered previously is building the
Fire Station #1 on the asphalt parking lot in Flamingo Park, providing additional parking for the tennis
center.
Eric Carpenter spoke about the PAL building. He said there are a lot of maintenance issues. There
are also some programmatic issues. There is some space that really should be combined that is split
between the first and second floors because it is not configured as well as it could be. We are hoping
to be able to utilize this building as part of the emergency response efforts in the future because the
closest community center is really Scott Rakow Youth Center.
There are only a few places to put the Fire Station, Flamingo Park and South of Fifth.
The Panel kept project #24 Flamingo Park at $30 million.
Chairperson Karen Rivo mentioned that the City Manager didn’t recommend funding Lummus Park
or Marjory Stoneman Douglas Park because those can be capital funding.
Carolina Jones said that Lummus Park is about $5 million. She would like to fast track the Lummus
Park and she thinks it is important to the Ocean Drive revitalization. She would argue to add it to the
G.O. Bond.
Jonathan Plutzik and Mike Palma are coming to discuss the Ocean Drive Improvement Project later
and the Panel will wait until later.
The Panel moved on to #31 North Beach Oceanside Park. The Panel agreed the dollar amount was
fine.
#32 North Shore Park & Youth Center was discussed. The amount increased $2 million for baseball
fields.
Carolina Jones said we need more baseball fields to accommodate the kids. Right now there are 2
baseball fields and what they want to do is invert it and make a quad of baseball fields, it is not just
adding a field it is redesigning the whole space.
This project eliminates some existing parking.
Debra Leibowitz said the perimeter of the North Shore Tennis Center does not allow parking, they
could make it angled parking and they should allow people to park there.
Jose Gonzalez said we can take a look at that.
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Carolina Jones said this is going through the vetting process right now and the Panel should leave it
the way it is and make sure they make a comment that the parking and the drop off for youth are
kept in mind during conversations.
Chairperson Karen Rivo confirmed that the Panel is okay with the $6.4 million for the project.
Debra Leibowitz said as long as it doesn’t eliminate parking. Other Panel members agreed.
#34 Par 3/Community Park was discussed.
The Panel agreed to fund it.
#37 Scott Rakow Youth Center for $5 million was agreed on.
#38 Soundscape Park was discussed. The money is down to $4.5 million. $4.3 million was taken
out, which was to pedestrianize Lincoln Lane. It was taken out because the Panel felt that it should
be paid from the Lincoln Road Project.
Lincoln Lane was discussed.
The $4.5 million includes the funding for technology and the restrooms. The Panel agreed on it.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin thinks the Commission should ask for some more public benefit
from the New World Symphony.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said they provide a lot of public benefit.
Marie Peter brought up South Pointe Park, she asked everyone to read over the deterioration that is
occurring and they need the shade structure. She said that is the one big thing South Pointe is
asking for.
Jose Del Risco said South Pointe Park is a highly used park. The reason it wasn’t on the high priority
list is because it isn’t in as bad of condition as some of the other parks, like Marjory Stoneman
Douglas.
#23 Fisher Park, #39 South Pointe Park, and a few other parks that were on the medium priority list
were discussed. LED lighting was discussed. LED lighting will be pulled out from all parks projects
as needed.
Shade in the parks was discussed.
Elizabeth Wheaton discussed the Street Tree Master Plan. She is going to check the RFQ to see
what it includes.
The total lighting number is $4.3 million.
The Panel would like to add an additional project for LED lighting and shade for all parks as needed.
Debra Leibowitz requested Belle Isle be added. She said she was told that the tree project would
help with the flooding.
Eric Carpenter said that Elizabeth Wheaton informed him that there are trees included for the parks
in the Street Tree Master Plan.
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Elizabeth Wheaton said that Belle Isle was an area identified that is in need of trees.
Marie Peter said some of the parks have LED lighting.
LED lighting will be done as needed.
The Panel would like for $5 million to be added to the list for LED lighting and Shade as needed in
parks.
Carolina Jones brought up an item on behalf of Ray Breslin, he made one request for the playground
at Collins Park. It was an addition because it is the one park that doesn’t have a playground.
Debra Leibowitz said her understanding is that the Panel is accepting the City Manager’s
recommendations with the exception of dividing project #18 72nd Street Park, Library &Aquatic
Center into 2 parts. The Panel is adding 2 items, one being a skate park for $3 million and one is
LED lighting/shade for all parks as needed for $5 million. #28 Maurice Gibb Park is being reduced to
$1.6 million.
Chairperson Karen Rivo said if the Panel gets through everything today they can come back to the
July 12th meeting and look at what the numbers flesh out to with each category and do a priority
ranking.
Carolina Jones said she thinks when Commission is talking about the Panel’s recommendation that
many of the members should be there to clarify any of the finer points.
Eric Carpenter said there is a Commission meeting on July 17th, a workshop on July 20th, and a final
Commission meeting on July 25th. He said they are hoping the Panel can present their
recommendations on July 17th, so Commission has them going into the workshop on July 20th.
Chairperson Karen Rivo said she wanted to do an official motion to accept the City Manager’s
recommendations with the changes that Debra Leibowitz mentioned. All in favor.
Former Commissioner Malakoff made the motion originally and Margueritte Ramos seconded.
Project Prioritization – Infrastructure
The Panel continued on to discuss the infrastructure projects.
#42 Baywalk was discussed.
Debra Leibowitz asked about the rights of ways and there was a question in the past about if the City
had the ability to use some of the areas for the Baywalk, as far as whether we can eminent domain.
Eric Carpenter said we can eminent domain private property, we run into problems is if the property
is State owned. Typically the State doesn’t like to issue permits to build things unless you have a
property interest.
Elizabeth Wheaton explained what areas of the Baywalk the project will cover. She said it includes
the building South Bay, Bay Garden Manor, and Lincoln Bay Towers. There is also money in there to
improve consistency once it is constructed. There are a number of those we are able to build on land
if we are able to get the easement from the property. However, Bay Garden Manor, Bay View
Terrace, and Lincoln Bay Towers will for sure have to build the bay walk over water because there is
not room.
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Eric Carpenter said we were able to obtain an easement from the property owner of 500 Alton Road
when we vacated an alleyway to be able to get a launch point for a pedestrian flyover of the existing
Alton Road flyover. The concept was that you would leave from the southwest corner of the 500
Alton Road property, cross over the MacArthur Causeway and touch down on the northern most end
of the bay walk/cut walk at the northern end of the marina. It would be a huge undertaking.
Marie Peter said overwhelmingly this is a priority from West Avenue and South of Fifth
neighborhoods, it is for safety also. The residents are looking for this, they feel safety wise it is a big
thing.
Discussion continued regarding the project.
Eric Carpenter said we did look at 3 different options, one was the overpass concept, one was
tunneling under, and one was trying to build out and under the existing bridge and at the end of the
day we believe it is the best option. He said we are concerned about a tunnel from a public safety
perspective. Going out into the waterway was a challenge from a permitting perspective and it was
also less aesthetically pleasing. Ultimately he said we believe the pedestrian flyover is the best
alternative.
#45 Ocean Drive Improvement Project was discussed.
It was slated at $7.5 million.
Mike Palma, the Chairman of the Ocean Drive Association and Jonathan Plutzik, owner of the Betsy
Hotel spoke on behalf of Ocean Drive.
Jonathan Plutzik spoke. He explained that there are a lot of misconceptions about Ocean Drive, but
his hotel is ranked one of the best and it is on Ocean Drive. He also chaired the Mayor’s Task Force.
He gave some background regarding the plans for Ocean Drive that were developed in the past. He
also mentioned that private businesses on Ocean Drive have spent and are spending over $500
million. The brand of Ocean Drive is still the brand of Miami Beach worldwide. He said the private
sector is doing their part. It is time for the City to step up and allocate around $25 million to get
Ocean Drive correct and connect them to all of the other things in Miami Beach.
Mike Palma spoke and said they are putting together a dynamic BID it is going to be a B ID with
Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue. Having the infrastructure piece done, the BID can then go around
the corner and do the activations. The BID is another multimillion dollar resourc e that they are going
to tap into to help develop the community, but they need the infrastructure to help the BID.
Discussion was had about Ocean Drive.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said Ocean Drive is really the front door of Miami Beach. It is the
most important economic street we have in our City. There is nothing that is a close second. We
should do everything we can to make it better. It is so important to the success we are doing. This is
the time to do it. There is not going to be a second chance to do this. He is ready to vote for it.
Marie Peter asked if Ocean Drive has ever been considered like Lincoln Road. She said why not
have it paved and not have to worry about cars coming down the street. It would be a beautiful place
to have it.
Jonathan Plutzik said that the Shulman plan he referenced was a plan like that, but it was never
implemented. Directionally we need that kind of exploration to get Ocean Drive to the right place.
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Former Commissioner Malakoff said it was not implemented because there was push back from
Hotel owners. They were very much against pedestrianizing Ocean Drive.
Marie Peter also said that the reason the Panel did not consider Lummus Park was because they
were told the residents or the association didn’t want the City to do anything in Lummus Park
because they had some ideas for the future.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said he is curious if there is other money that can be allocated
and this is just the G.O. Bond piece we are talking about.
There is nothing set aside right now.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said he agrees that the budget needs to be increased if
something transformational were to be done.
Ceci Velasco spoke and said during her discussions with Karen Rivo, she mentioned they would
need $25 million for the whole scope, they were hoping that minimally there would be $15 million in
the G.O. Bond.
Since the private businesses already spent $500 million, they would like for the City to spend $25
million.
The Panel would like to know what the gap is between the $25 million and the $7 million. They would
like to know if there is a study or drawings.
Jonathan Plutzik responded that there is no definitive plan, there have been plans drawn up over
time, he refers to the Shulman one because it is interesting, which costs $25 million plus. He said to
do the 10 blocks; they need at least $25 million.
There is $4.7 million allocated for Lummus Park, so the Panel wanted to know if the Ocean Drive
Association had thoughts on Lummus Park.
Jonathan Plutzik said Ocean Drive and also South Beach cannot be successful unless Lummus
Park is made into one of the most important parks in America. It means putting some monumental
sculptures in there and create other family reasons to walk into the park.
Discussion was had regarding what the $7.5 million includes. Conversion of the right of way to an at
grade street was included. Also, sidewalks with different colored concrete were included. Bollards
would go up and protect the street and can go down when needed. The reason the number went
from $6.3 to $7.5 million was because cost escalations were taken into account and tightening up
the number that was about 3 years old. 5-7 feet would be added to the sidewalks that are currently
there today.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said we are trying to improve revenue production for Washington
Avenue and 41st Street from a City point of view, but Ocean Drive is probably the biggest revenue
producer as it is. If we don’t do something that is transformational it is in danger of falling down.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said this is probably one of the best investments we can make,
$25 million in the scheme of things that we are talking about is a no brainer and he would move that
the Panel incorporate a plan to be designed, he is generally not in favor of placeholders, but in this
case the Panel should recommend $25 million that will enhance and transform Ocean Drive. Former
Commissioner Saul Gross seconded the motion.
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Margueritte Ramos mentioned that this seems to get everything the Ocean Drive Association wants
and she would like to know what the additional $18 million does.
Eric Carpenter said as we are looking at this through the 2018 lens as opposed to the 2015 lens,
one of the things we are trying to focus on is incorporating things like permeable pavement as
opposed to a solid impermeable pavement. We would probably want to go with something of a paver
as opposed to concrete and maybe think of it like as something that was done on Espanola Way. He
said he knows there was significant premium on the paver system that was put on Espanola way
over and above colored concrete, which probably would add a significant increase. There is probably
a 30-40% premium.
The Panel wanted to know where the $25 million number came from.
Jonathan Plutzik said that they are simply saying that the $7.5 million that has been allocated is
insufficient to have a transformational Ocean Drive. He doesn’t have construction documents or
estimates. He said we need to take a step back and look at the whole thing and see what the right
answer is for this street. There are a lot of questions to be answered, which he cannot answer today
how to make this Ocean Drive thing transformational.
Chairperson Karen Rivo confirmed with the Panel that Ocean Drive is a very import ant street.
Everyone agreed.
The cost of the stormwater was discussed. Eric Carpenter said the above ground cost is about 20%
of the stormwater. In this particular location, we are talking about an enhanced above ground
approach. Because there is a limited footprint with a lot of permeable space on the east side and it is
already high ground, he doesn’t know there is a big stormwater number there.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff would like to include Lummus Park in the $25 million because
she believes it should be transformed at the same time.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said why don’t they just put in the Lummus Park in the G.O. bond
for the $4.6 million as one issue.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff said she was thinking $5 million for Lummus Park and $20
million for Ocean Drive if they will be combined.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin did not accept the amendment at first and said he would accept
to add the $4.6 million as another project to include for Lummus Park.
Other panel members liked Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff’s idea of doing $25 million for Ocean
Drive and Lummus Park together.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin then accepted the amendment.
All in favor of the motion for $25 million for Ocean Drive Improvement and Lummus Park together.
The Panel moved on to discuss project #75 41st Street Corridor.
Chairperson Karen Rivo said the Panel’s recommendation for the 41st Street Corridor project is $20
million and the City Manager’s recommendation is $10 million.
Michelle Huttenhoff, Economic Development Manager explained that a few months ago the Mayor
created a 41st Street Committee because it is the gateway corridor to Miami Beach. She explained
that the City retained an urban design form to create a plan to guide us through the process. She
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said they recently received their recommendations and she is working with CIP to come up with a
cost analysis. They ran some numbers with CIP and FDOT and the basic level came out to around
$15 million, it doesn’t include green and blue infrastructure, seating and benches, bus shelters, etc,
so that is why the number was increased from $10 million to $20 million.
Seth Gadinsky, Chair of the Mayor’s 41st Street Committee spoke. He said he grew up on this street
and it looks the same as it does today except for the Royal Palm trees. He said there are a variety of
people on this Committee and he has never seen so many people agree. He explained they need
the money to make the street more livable and usable for pedestrians and bicycle riders to maybe
have the business put some life out on the street. There is not a lot of parking; there are a lot of
people driving around looking for parking. The $10 million won’t be enough to make all the
necessary improvements needed.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said that last week he said that this project should be at $20
million. If we are going to do projects we should do them completely and well.
Michelle Huttenhoff reiterated that the $15 million would just take care of things at the basic level.
She said that Miracle Mile was a $22 million project. She said there are also bridges to account for
as well and safety.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff said most people come through 41st Street and it has been
neglected for years and she is not sure $20 million is the correct amount, but $10 million isn’t
enough.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross agrees that this project, Washington Avenue and Ocean Drive all
need the extra money, but he is curious about the bus rapid transit and wanted to know if there is
any discussion about building an intermodal facility that ties Mount Sinai into 41st Street.
Mr. Gadinsky said they have talked about, but it is kind of out of the Committee’s purview.
Jose Gonzalez said for a few years they have been looking at a few different sites in the vicinity of
41st Street and Alton Road, including on the Mount Sinai campus and the FDOT parcel south of
there. An intermodal facility is still a goal and a long term objective. It doesn’t need to be a large
facility; it just needs to be able to accommodate a good amount of transit. We have not been able to
find the right spot for it yet. He said we are also looking to retrofitting some of the existing parking
garages along 41st Street and on 42nd Street and Sheridan Avenue.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said he would like to have projects in this G.O. Bond that address
mobility and traffic.
Chairperson Karen Rivo asked the Panel to decide what they would like to do about the amount of
money for this project.
Margueritte Ramos motioned to put this project back to $20 million. Marie Peter seconded. All in
favor.
#43 71st Street Bridge was discussed.
The Panel discussed putting this on their recommended list of projects for the Commission that they
would like to see funded from another source.
Carolina Jones and Margueritte Ramos would like to see this funded from the G.O. Bond.
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Margueritte Ramos motioned to approve the project be funded in the amount of $950,000. Carolina
Jones seconded. Motion failed. Will be added to capital funding list.
#44 Middle Beach Beachwalk everyone agreed on. The City Manager recommended moving this
project to the Parks and Beaches category along with #50 Resiliency Fund for Parks.
Margueritte Ramos said she thinks that is a big problem. She said leave it in the infrastructure
category.
The Panel left the project for now in infrastructure.
#46 Palm & Hibiscus Neighborhood Enhancements was discussed.
Marie Peter said residents of this area have said they have waited 10 years to even get sidewalks,
they feel they have been ignored. They have all this damage with landscaping. They also took their
own money from their residents to put LPRs in and donated them to the Police Department. They
are trying to become whole.
Eric Carpenter said we are bringing to Commission on July 25th to fund the generators in this fiscal
year rather than way until the G.O. Bond or next fiscal year.
The dollar amount is $2.3 million. The landscaping is what they need.
Debra Leibowitz said her understanding was that Palm and Hibiscus Island has all of these problems
because they have been undergrounding for several years and that was their own decision. She is
concerned we are opening up a can of worms and other neighborhoods are going to want this too.
Eric Carpenter said he is not sure he understands how it relates to the undergrounding. It is
enhanced landscaping that was requested by the islands, coming out of their neighborhood
improvement project.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said we should give them enhanced landscaping if that is what
other neighborhoods got.
David Martinez said this is a whole comprehensive landscaping treatment.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said it violates priority number 5 on their list, since they received
G.O. Bond money before. He said every neighborhood had to decide what they wanted in their
neighborhood. He thinks it sets a bad precedent.
Marie Peter said these residents have been saying they were promised all of this and they have
been waiting and the City has put them off for quite a while and that the storm did a lot of damage to
their landscaping and the project wasn’t finished.
David Martinez said their ask for landscaping came after their construction project was already
awarded. From their perspective, if they are going to go through all of this chaos for a period of time,
they wanted to get a complete project and continue on.
Eric Carpenter said they did have trees that they lost during Hurricane Irma. We are going to be
replacing trees Citywide, but he doesn’t know that what they will get will match their expectations.
Chairperson Karen Rivo brought up a point on whether another area in the City could use this $2.3
million for landscaping; she wanted to make sure this is a good use of the money.
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Eric Carpenter said what they have been striving to do is meet with the neighborhoods and try to
give them an enhanced finished product over and above what they originally started with. In many
neighborhoods those enhancements are probably not to the level that is being asked for these
islands, but to be fair to these islands they also have extremely large medians, which the City is
responsible for maintaining and landscaping. We have larger areas that we would be landscaping.
Based on what we are asking for above ground improvements across the City that this $2.3 million is
commensurate with that for this neighborhood.
Marie Peter motioned that the Panel pass the $2.3 million for this project. Motioned failed.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff moved that the Panel approve this project at the $1 million level
so that the additional $1.3 million can be used in a capital area for other areas that still need it.
Margueritte Ramos seconded.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said since it sounds like a lot of trees, maybe there isn’t enough
money in the overall tree program and maybe that is a good place to put the money, so it is not
specifically earmarked.
Debra Leibowitz said everywhere in the City as a result of the hurricane is lacking in trees, she
thinks it sets a bad precedent.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said for project #51 Street Tree Master Plan $5 million may not be
enough money.
Jack Glottmann suggested maybe taking the $2.3 million and adding it to the $5 million.
Debra Leibowitz suggested resiliency for Parks #51 Street Tree Master Plan be $15 million.
Discussion continued.
Motion failed to fund #46 Palm & Hibiscus Neighborhood Enhancements for $1 million.
#48 Artificial Reef and Resiliency Marine Habitat was discussed.
Debra Leibowitz said she really wants this one and it is the one out of the box project.
Elizabeth Wheaton said this project was an out of the box concept; we will have to go and work with
Miami-Dade County DERM to identify potential locations that are most appropriate for something like
this. There is a meeting set later in July where they are going to begin those conversations,
however, looking at other projects they are looking at anywhere from $1 million to $2.5 million for a
single area.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said there was a project that was totally designed and costed out
with ECOMB when he was on the Commission and he doesn’t know what happened to it and it was
ready to go.
Elizabeth Wheaton will follow up on that.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross motioned to put a placeholder for $1.5 million. Margueritte
Ramos/Jack Glottmann seconded. All in favor.
Discussion continued.
Elizabeth Wheaton said $1.5 million can be a great starting project.
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There will be a breakdown for #50, $17 million as a placeholder.
#51 Street Tree Master Plan for $5 million was discussed.
The Panel thinks there needs to be more money.
Elizabeth Wheaton said this project was estimated based on looking to plant between 3,500-5,000
trees. Depending on the type of tree it would dictate the cost, but they are looking at $800-$1000 per
tree. They feel it will allow the City to put trees in the ROW as well as parks, etc. The Master Plan
will be completed in 2019 and that will be the road map to do the planting and see what trees are
best for certain neighborhoods. They will know there will be a set planting palette to work off of. She
said when the quote was produced, it was based off of areas we know there is a need, but if we are
going to be supplementing CIP projects we will need more because there is an expectation when
CIP projects come in they pay for their own trees. If there is that expectation to include CIP projects,
the number will need to be increased.
$5 million remains the number.
Debra Leibowitz brought up project #49 Solar and Green Roofs, which the public rated very high.
Elizabeth Wheaton explained the project. It includes the following three locations, the Botanical
Gardens, PAL, and Art Deco Welcome Center. When we went back to rate of return, we determined
it would be about 15 years in order for us to begin to see a profit.
Marie Peter mentioned that she had asked about the fire issue on some of the roofs.
Elizabeth Wheaton said there is no safety issue and they are being permitted and the installation of
solar panels would have to go through the building department for approval. The City has not been
able to find back up to the safety issue that was brought up.
Some of the Panel members mentioned combining this project with #60 Roof Replacement For
Cultural Facilities.
Carolina Jones had a problem with that, if we are not doing the Fillmore then that number should be
reduced.
Discussion was had about the Fillmore and continued discussion about the green/solar roofs.
The Panel does not want to do #49 Solar and Green Roofs and they want to put it into #60 Roof
Replacement For Cultural Facilities and do green/solar roof if feasible.
Project #60 Roof Replacement For Cultural Facilities includes Fillmore, Colony Theater, and Miami
City Ballet. The Panel agrees to keep the $3 million and let Staff determine the best way to go.
#52 Waterway Restoration was discussed.
The City Manager did not recommend funding this project. Special assessments will be done.
#54 ADA Accommodation Restroom Renovations was discussed.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said it is a law to have ADA restrooms and why wouldn’t we do it.
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Eric Carpenter said that ultimately we are looking to do it all at once with this project as opposed to
phasing it in over time.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said we need to do them from the G.O. Bond we should do it
because it is our responsibility.
Jack Glottmann agreed, everything at the City should be ADA compliant. He feels that these are
dollars that should come out of capital funds over the years and not a G.O. Bond.
Debra Leibowitz agreed with Jack Glottmann’s comment.
The facilities on the list have never been done and they are older facilities, so Property Management
saw the advantage with the G.O. bond to get them done all at once.
Eric Carpenter made note that ADA laws are changing over the years, so we have made changes to
these facilities, but there are updates that need to be made and implemented. The City Manager’s
recommendation was doing this over time in pieces rather than all at once.
The Panel went through their criteria to see if it qualifies.
The Panel would like a number for the restrooms with removing the 555 building and Police. $1
million will be put as a placeholder and take another look at it again when they get the estimated
number.
Margueritte Ramos asked if there is a number on the breakout for #62 Above Ground Improvements.
Eric Carpenter explained that they through the 8-10 year stormwater capital program and allocated
20% of the stormwater funds to each of the projects and ended up with the following list: North
Shore for $8 million, South Pointe for $5 million, Orchard Park for $3 million, Nautilus for $6 millio n,
Town Center for $4 million, City Center for $8 million, Middle North Bay Road $1.5 million,
Normandy Isle South $8 million, La Gorce Island for $2 million, Indian Creek Parkway for $2 million,
Sunset Island 1 and 2 combined for $2.5 million. Tranche 1 and 2 have already been bonded out on
the stormwater program, tranche 3 is the Miami-Dade County inter-local agreement, tranche 4 is the
next round of rate increases, and then there are future revenue streams in blue and brown (blue first
and brown later). What was funded was tranche 2, 3, 4 and the blue for the future revenue streams.
Belle Isle has pump stations that are operational so they are in the brown, future funding, but there
wouldn’t be above ground work. The below ground money isn’t funded for 8-10.
Orchard Park only got water improvements. Nautilus would be dug up again. Sunset Islands 1 and 2
would be dug up again. Sunset Islands 1 and 2 are asking for temporary pumps during king tides.
Discussion continued.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross feels that this project has the ability to sink all of the infrastructure
projects.
Eric Carpenter raised the question how can we do the stormwater piece without the above ground
component. He said during the king tides we are needing to deploy temporary pumps and he raised
the question are we are continuing to raise rates and we not going to fix the problem and keep doing
temporary pumps or are we going to deal with the problem.
Discussion continued.
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Roy Coley, Public Works Director, said they had an extensive discussion at the South of Fifth
Neighborhood Association and mentioned they had drainage wells installed about 5 years ago and
of course they didn’t want to go through the pain of construction again, but the wells have flooded
the properties during king tides. They need some additional improvements. The question that rose at
the meeting was why did we do this 5 years ago and now we have to do it again? The only thing we
could offer was that 5 years ago that DERM wanted everything to go to wells for pollution control and
after the wells had become artesian they stopped accepting water and the regulators have changed
their position which allows us to go back to outfall which changes our position. The cost of not doing
anything is the flooding. Another example is the Orchard Park community, they had some water
improvements a few years ago along with some drainage improvements, trench drains was the
technology and those have also become artesian. Every time there are high tides the City is being
called by the residents of 44th and Post to install temporary pumps.
Several Panel members think we need to move forward with this.
Debra Leibowitz and Former Commissioner Saul Gross were not in agreement.
Margueritte Ramos asked if every neighborhood on the list going to undergo street raising.
Eric Carpenter said the above ground isn’t really driven by the street raising. It is more driven by
going in and doing the stormwater improvements and leaving it in better condition than what we
found it in.
Discussion continued.
Eric Carpenter said if we were to go in and raise the streets then the stormwater program would
cover the entire width of the street. If we go in and just install a stormwater pipe we would basically
replace the lane where we installed the stormwater pipe and any broken flags of sidewalk along the
stretch. Ultimately what this is doing is resurfacing the entire street, covering the replacement of all
the sidewalk so it is uniform and aesthetically pleasing, increasing the landscaping, improving certain
things like lighting, curbing, etc. Where the street is low it would include raising. There are areas of
North Shore when you get closer to Tatum Drive that are going to have to be raised as you get
closer to Collins Avenue.
Jack Glottmann said that Lakeview is one of the neighborhoods that is in the queue for street raising
and he didn’t see any dollars in here, he asked if that is included in another number.
Eric Carpenter said that the La Gorce neighborhood is really La Gorce and Lakeview.
Debra Leibowitz said she wanted to advocate the addition of Belle Isle somewhere because their
streets are flooded when it just rains, not a king tide. The park is often under water after rainstorms.
Carolina Jones wanted to clarify about the Palm and Hibiscus neighborhood, their issue they are
having that their landscaping and curbs were not put back as they had anticipated. This is going to
eliminate that problem for these neighborhoods, it will be the same or better than.
Eric Carpenter confirmed.
Carolina Jones said somehow we need to give the community assurance that it is going to happen
that way. She said she thinks we need to do some education and outreach and make some harder
promises attached to this item.
The Panel wants the neighborhoods to be broken out on their own.
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Eric Carpenter said stormwater funding is already planned out to 2022 for most of the projects that
are listed. Those neighborhoods are the ones that are planned to get the improvements in the case
where you have lower streets include raising of roads.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross mentioned that Commission voted 4-3 for upper North Bay Road
not to proceed with the plan being advocated for right now, he asked what is going to change going
forward that they are going to want to do that in these other neighborhoods.
Eric Carpenter said it is really going to come down to engaging another design criteria professional
to come up with a citywide concept plan that incorporates all of the things brought forward by ULI
they believe will make some changes. It is not going to change the overall premise that the sea
levels are rising and we need to do something about it or else we are going to be under water. Staff
has been directed by Commission to build permanent generators into the RFP packages for all of
these neighborhoods.
Chairperson Karen Rivo said the alternative is that it can be unfunded.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said his point is that the Commission said to delay and don’t
make a decision on this until we have better information. So to put it in the G.O. Bond that has the
potential to knock out all of the projects to him seems a little rushed.
Former Commissioner Malakoff asked why we cannot call it above ground beautification.
Some of the Panel members believe it is that, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Discussion continued.
The Panel would like the neighborhoods separated by the ones that have been done and the ones
that have not been done yet.
#63 Alleyway Restoration Program was discussed. The City Manager recommended doing the
project from capital funds.
Marie Peter advocated for the project. She said we were supposed to come back and talk about
signage. She wants to feel very comfortable that this will be put in the capital budget.
Carolina Jones motioned to add it to the G.O. Bond list. Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin/Marie
Peter seconded. All in favor. Adding $1.2 million for this project.
#66 Flamingo Park Neighborhood was discussed.
Eric Carpenter said this project actually the above ground expenditures from the 1999 Bond were
spent in the neighborhood at the request of the neighborhood association. This is new money in
addition to the improvements that were already done from the 1999 Bond.
Debra Leibowitz said the project going on there now is among the worst projects she’s ever seen,
you cannot enter there and it has been going on for years.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff motioned to make this a $10 million project. She said a lot of
money has been spent there and there is so much other need throughout the City for these same
monies, and the Panel already added money for ADA restrooms, alley restoration, and they keep
increasing and they need to decrease somewhere otherwise the bond will not get to $500 million or
less. Debra Leibowitz seconded.
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Discussion continued.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff withdrew her previous motion since the Panel doesn’t really
know what they are getting.
The Panel would like to keep the dollar amount and get more information.
#69 La Gorce Neighborhood Improvements was discussed.
The project was never done.
Jack Glottmann requested the neighborhoods be named.
Direction from Commission was given to name this project Upper North Bay Road/Lakeview.
$14 million.
#70 Sidewalk Repair Program was discussed.
$13 million was agreed on.
#71 Street Lighting Improvements
The City Manager recommended $15 million.
Roy Coley said that currently we are negotiating with our RFQ selected contractor to do a Master
Plan for the City for the lighting, what was assumed was that the $15 million would be for the first
phase and what is not determined is exactly what the first phase will be, what the greatest need to
the City will be. How the project will be phased whether by geography or product has yet to be
determined. The contractor will make the recommendation.
Roy Coley said this lighting system will have all the benefits of LED lighting and adjustable lights,
brighter lights, and dimmer lights, but it will also have the fiber backbone to it to be able to add
components to the system.
Discussion continued.
The Panel talked about having this project put in the safety category because there is a safety
component. They decided to keep in the infrastructure category.
The Panel asked if Police has opined on the fiber backbone piece for cameras.
Roy Coley said that the Police Chief has spoken to him many times and he repeatedly told him he
wants a lot of light. There was a photometric analysis in their packet he referenced. He said they are
looking to even out the lighting because there are also environmental concerns.
The Panel agreed to keep this project at $15 million.
#72 Street Pavement Program for $30 million.
The Panel agreed that the streets around the City need to be paved.
#74 Sea Walls was discussed.
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Eric Carpenter said this is 3 miles of City owned sea walls citywide and at about $2,000 a linear foot
it comes out to about $50 million. What we have done to date is about $15 million worth of
improvements in the worst areas. What we have decided to bring the number back to hopefully
something that can be approved is to use $10 million instead of the remaining $35 million to do
everything to get the worst half done and then worry about the second half later. Among that there is
Indian Creek; there is one on Jefferson Avenue and Lenox Avenue, there is one on garden, one up
at Bonita, etc. They are all over the City.
Discussion was had about finishing Indian Creek.
The Panel agreed to keep the dollar amount at $10 million.
#79 Washington Avenue Corridor for $10 million was agreed upon.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin advocated for more money, he thinks we should treat the
commercial corridors be treated equally. He motioned to increase the funding to $20 million. Former
Commissioner Saul Gross seconded.
Debra Leibowitz said 41st Street is a main entrance and she doesn’t think there needs to be an equal
amount for each. She thinks if Washington Avenue asked for $10 million she wouldn’t up it to $20
million.
Margueritte Ramos said if no one is asking for more than $10 million, why would they increase it,
unless someone is going to give a presentation on why they need it. She would like to get more
information.
Motion did not pass.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said he can have a representative from Washington Avenue
come to the July 12th meeting.
#81 North Beach Entrance Signs was discussed.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said this has been trying to be funded for many years.
Margueritte Ramos asked the Panel to please support the project. She motioned to approve this.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff seconded.
Jack Glottmann said for $2.7 he would like to see a rendering.
Debra Leibowitz said she thinks they should add to the list that they are going to ask the
Commission to fund from capital money and that it doesn’t really fit the criteria of the Panel.
#83 Adaptive Signalization Based On Real Time Traffic Demand was discussed.
Debra Leibowitz said 69% of the people voted for it.
Josiel Ferrer said he knows how challenging traffic signals are. This is under jurisdiction of the
County, we have someone on staff and do have access to make changes to signal timing, however,
maintenance and operation of signal timing rests with the County. He continued on to talk about the
pilot studies that were done by the City and the County.
The Panel decided to take it off the list for the G.O. Bond.
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#84 Intermodal Facility was discussed.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said this had 59% approval and everyone complains about traffic
and that is how you reduce traffic by providing nodes for public transit.
Discussion continued.
The Panel went back to #81 North Beach Entrance Signs after everyone saw the pictures of the
signs.
There was a motion to approve the $2.7 million for the signs. All in favor of adding the money for the
signs.
The Panel went back to #84 Intermodal Facility.
Margueritte Ramos motioned to put this project on the list for the G.O. Bond. Former Commissioner
Saul Gross seconded.
Jose Gonzalez said the one facility that was mentioned earlier on the south side of 5th Street costs
about $20 million, $15 million of that will come from the capital appropriation funds that were set
aside. This project would be to buy the private site.
Marie Peter said people didn’t want that site there because it was next to a school.
No one knows where the facility will go yet.
Jose Gonzalez said they are doing feasibility studies in the North Beach area around 72nd Street and
Collins Avenue and Indian Creek Avenue to accommodate a few spaces.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said when they establish a commitment that we are doing
something to connect to Miami, then they could recommend $5 million be added to the G.O. Bond in
addition to the funding that is already escrowed for transit for them to develop an intermodal station.
Margueritte Ramos accepted the amendment. All in favor except Former Commissioner Joy
Malakoff.
#85 Neighborhood Traffic Calming and Pedestrian-Friendly Streets was discussed.
Josiel Ferrer said one of the more common complaints they get is equal speeding in neighborhoods
or people cutting through neighborhoods. What we had in the past years at our disposal are speed
bumps. In 2015 when the new design guidelines were adopted for the City there have been a lot
more traffic calming features that play well with the above ground, aesthetics, and landscaping. He
named a few. These items that are found to be more in line with the City’s vision and moving forward
to be more aesthetically pleasing, this project there are 2 neighborhoods prioritized that have current
funding are Nautilus neighborhood and Bayshore neighborhood. In addition to that we have a
number of other neighborhoods we collaborate and coordinate with. The neighborhood program and
the resiliency program in order to implement and bring in some of those design aspects as part of
those projects.
Discussion continued.
Eric Carpenter said the City Manager had suggested combining #85 Neighborhood Traffic Calming
and Pedestrian-Friendly Streets and #86 Protected Bicycle Lanes And Shared Bike/Pedestrian
Paths and funding $10 million.
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Former Commissioner Saul Gross said he has a preference for the pedestrian bicycle lanes rather
than the traffic calming. Some other members agreed.
Josiel Ferrer and Jose Gonzalez showed a map of the bicycle plan.
Debra Leibowitz suggesting putting #85 Neighborhood Traffic Calming and Pedestrian-Friendly
Streets, #86 Protected Bicycle Lanes And Shared Bike/Pedestrian Paths, and #87 Pedestrian
Improvements together.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross motioned to put #86 and #87 at $8 million and $2 million for #85.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin seconded.
Carolina Jones said she would rather scratch #85 Protected Bicycle Lanes And Shared
Bike/Pedestrian Paths, give the full amount to #86 Protected Bicycle Lanes And Shared
Bike/Pedestrian Paths , and #87 Pedestrian Improvement can happen by itself.
The Panel would like to keep the previous idea.
Debra Leibowitz said that she would like to take the entertainment district out of the description
because it is redundant. She would like to see some other locations added for #87 Pedestrian
Improvement.
#79 Washington Avenue Corridor was discussed again.
Michelle Huttenhoff explained that Washington Avenue recently formed a BID, so we feel that it is a
good time to look at the Street, update the 2015 Master Plan that was larg ely based around a
streetcar that is no longer the focus, so we have been working with the BID to put together a scope
of work. There is an RFQ to be approved by Commission to go to the July 25 th Commission meeting
and to hire an urban design firm similar to what was done with 41st Street. This would really be
looking at sidewalk to sidewalk improvements with some construction, but a lot would be looking at
lighting, street flow, how we connect it to the larger Entertainment District and some different type s
of parking, maybe a valet service.
Discussion was had.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said $10 million is little money for 10 blocks.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff asked if there could be investments from some of the hotels on
the street and it will increase their property values.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said if we were to increase this to $20 million, which he thinks
they should, and if they don’t do anything else they would have added overall about $47 million, so
they are still under $500 million.
Tameka Otto Stewart who has been keeping track of the numbers is at $482 million.
Michelle Huttenhoff said they estimated the $10 million, but based on 41st Street, the $10 million will
probably not be enough, because that number does not include lighting.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said the 2004/2005 project on Washington Avenue costed about
$13 million, but it was mostly stormwater drainage, there was some sidewalk replacement as well.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin had motioned before to increase the funding to $20 million.
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Margueritte Ramos said she doesn’t have enough information to vote yes today.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said he can get Andrew to come and make a presentation.
Motion failed to raise to $20 million.
The Panel members would like more information next week.
#88 West Lots was discussed.
Margueritte Ramos read out the description of the project. She motioned to approve $20 million
instead of the $10 million. Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin seconded. T here was also the $3
million for the skate park that will probably go here, but we don’t know for sure where it is going to
go.
The City Manager recommended $10 million.
Chairperson Karen Rivo said a lot of people have asked her if the neighborhood wants all of this
development on those 8 lots.
Carolina Jones said if you really think about it is I not development it is all super low rise community
activation, recreational use. There recently was a charrette.
Tameka Otto Stewart said we are at $482 million assuming we do $10 million for the West Lots.
Jack Glottmann said there is a parking garage for $10 million and just down the street another
parking garage for $24 million.
Discussion continued.
Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff said she doesn’t know whether this has been discussed already,
but for instance Echo Hotel and City Market could be something that the commercial interest in the
City or from out of the City could be interested in building for the City and leasing land and the City
will make money which will help pay for the water square or the playgrounds. She thinks we should
seriously consider that. She said she is more comfortable with $10 million to start it and she would
like to look into how we can get the private sector to help with leases. She thinks $10 million is
enough to kick start the project.
Motion failed. The amount will stay at $10 million.
Wrap-Up
The Panel concluded discussion about all projects. They then went to talk about the amount in each
category.
Public Safety Category: $53,350,000
Parks: $145,046,000
Discussion was held regarding the changes.
Infrastructure: $280,880,000
Grand Total: $479,276,000
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Next time they will go back and re-rank the projects to come up with a lower grand total number.
The Panel did not vote on the project #62 above ground.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross wants to vote and put on the record that he doesn’t want to go
back into neighborhoods that were already dug up.
The Panel reiterated they want the neighborhoods broken out as separate projects.
Chairperson Karen Rivo suggested the new spreadsheets include just the projects that were
approved today.
Carolina Jones said we could take the $479 million and group it into 3 sections, highest priority,
which would fall into the $300 million, then the middle at $400 million, and then the low priority which
would get us to the $500 million.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin said we can do it in layers, but he wouldn’t label it like that.
Debra Leibowitz asked if they are going to then rank the projects they have left.
Former Commissioner Jerry Libbin suggested taking the percentage of dollars in each of the
categories out of the $479 million, if you go with $300 million that is top 60%, if you go with $400
million that is 80%, and if you go with $500 million this is what is recommended by the Panel.
Discussion was held.
Chairperson Karen Rivo suggested starting with the infrastructure category next week since it is the
highest in dollar amount.
Eric Carpenter mentioned this would be a great opportunity to bring in Jack Glottmann’s concept of
putting numbers next to each project and having that ready for the next meeting or even sending it a
day in advance so we can provide where the priorities fall and basically the Panel can say whether
they agree or not and then they can change things.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said he thinks it might be better to have the group agree by
consensus like they did today.
The Panel requested an email with the criteria list.
Former Commissioner Saul Gross said almost $100 million is in Economic Development, which is
why the infrastructure category is so high. Maybe that category should be split into 2.
More information will be provided next meeting for project #62 and then the Panel will make a
decision.
Eric Carpenter said his concern with putting individual projects down for all of these is ultimately you
are going to do 2 things; you are going to leave some people out and also if the priorities change
and some projects move forward and others move back you are going to limit your availability to be
able to do that.
The Panel will get a new spreadsheet for next week’s meeting.
Debra Leibowitz said she thinks they should think about naming the categories differently.
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Former Commissioner Joy Malakoff said resiliency is so important for the City of Miami Beach; she
referenced the criteria that they came up with earlier in the meeting. She agrees with should add
economic development and make it more sellable, but infrastructure relating as far as it applies to
resiliency is important, there may be things that are less important that the Panel can get rid of. She
suggested that next week when this is talked about again think about resiliency, unless the City is
built higher or the City has proper drainage and sea walls are raised, unless we do the things we
need to do to survive, there is no point in making pedestrian walkways, etc.
Discussion continued.
Chairperson Karen Rivo said if anyone has any ideas of how to make next week’s meeting run
efficiently to reach out to staff and let them know.
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 5:54 p.m.