MB RDA MINUTES JANUARY 23, 1985 MIAMI BEACH REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING
January 23, 1985 - 9:00 A.M.
CITY HALL COMMISSION CHAMBERS
INDEX TO MINUTES OF MEETING
CORRECTED AS TO RESOLUTION NUMBERS
RESOLUTION PAGE
NO. NO.
1. Roll Call - Meeting commenced at 9:37 A.M. 1-2
All members present at roll call (9:49 A.M.) .
2. Acceptance of Minutes of December 19, 1984 meeting 1-2
3. Report of Executive Director 2, 3-4
Executive Director gave brief oral status reports on:
1) Status of the Coast Guard Property*
2) Cheezem Development Agreement
3) Newman Contract**
4) Development of Regional Impact Issues
5) South Pointe Park
6) Corridor Studies.
(Copy of report filed with records of meeting.)
4. Old Business
a. Financial Statement - (for information only) 1, 4-7
Freilich and Leitner invoices deferred for further
review.
b. *Mr. Weisburd reported on Washington trip with 2-3
Mr. Fosmoen concerning Coast Guard Property.
c. **Mr. Shockett requested Mr. Newman to provide 11
Agency members with bi-weekly reports.
d. ***General Counsel advised that easement granted 9-10
by Housing Authority in area of Marina is a matter
for City Commission action, and matter has been
placed on the Commission's agenda for this date.
5. New Business
a. Redevelopment Agency Memorandum No. 85-1 6-8
Fiscal Year 1985-86 Budget
30-85 Resolution of the Miami Beach Redevelopment
Agency, adopting the Budget for the Fiscal Year
commencing on the 1st day of February 1985 and
ending on the 31st day of January 1986.
b. Redevelopment Agency Memorandum No. 85-2 8
Agreement for Managerial and Administrative
Services between City of Miami Beach and Miami
Beach Redevelopment Agency.
31-85 Resolution of the Miami Beach Redevelopment
Agency, authorizing the Chairman and Secretary to
execute an Agreement between the Miami Beach
Redevelopment Agency and the City of Miami Beach,
Florida, for the provision of Managerial and
Administrative Services.
6. Report of Agency Attorney - None *** 9
7. Adjournment - 10:33 A.M. (all members present) 12
Next meeting: Wed., February 6, 1985, 9:00 A.M.
EMB:pp
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MINUTES
MIAMI BEACH REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
January 23, 1985
Regular meeting of the Miami Beach Redevelopment Agency was held in the City
Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach,
Florida, on Wednesday, January 23, 1985, with the following members of the
Redevelopment Agency present:
Chairman Malcolm Fromberg
Vice Chairman Ben Z. Grenald
Stanley H. Arkin
Alex Daoud
William E. Shockett
Bruce Singer
Sidney Weisburd
Also Present: Rob W. Parkins, Executive Director
Arnold M. Weiner, General Counsel
Elaine M. Baker, Secretary
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
(Secretary's Note: Sound system difficulties were experienced
throughout this meeting. All efforts have been made to
transcribe recording as accurately as possible.)
FROMBERG: Good morning, welcome. Before we start the agenda, I'm going to
ask Rabbi Abraham Korf to come up and join us and to present the invocation.
Rabbi. (Time 9:37 A.M.)
(Invocation)
FROMBERG: Thank you, Rabbi.
(City Commission presented certificate to Major Fred Wooldridge,
Jr. , in connection with City's "Cleanathon", held on January 12
and 13, 1985.)
FROMBERG: Let's go into the Agency agenda, Mr. Executive Director. (Time
9:42 A.M.)
PARKINS: Mr. Chairman and members of the Agency board, we are going to be
asking in the beginning to defer the bills for Freilich and Leitner. There
were some points of (unclear) during the review with each of you that we want
to review with Mr. Freilich and Mr. Leitner, so . . . (unclear, overlap of
voices) (AGENDA ITEM 4.a.)
WEISBURD: Mr. Parkins, (PARKINS: Yes.) Judge Greenbaum is here and I think
he has to go to work, so could we give him his certificate at this point?
PARKINS: Surely.
FROMBERG: Okay, before we take the roll, let's .. . Judge, could you come
forward.
(City Commission presented certificate to Judge Martin Greenbaum.)
FROMBERG: Getting back to the Redevelopment Agency agenda, Mrs. Baker, do
you want to call the roll? (Time 9:49)
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BAKER: Mr. Chairman, you have received the Minutes of December 19, 1984 for
acceptance and all members of the Redevelopment Agency are present. (ITE3MS
1. and 2.)
DAOUD: Mr. Chairman.
FROMBERG: Do we want to take a roll?
BAKER: Well, all members are present.
FROMBERG: Okay.
BAKER: And you have the minutes which have been previously sent to you for
acceptance.
FROMBERG: Do I have a motion to accept the minutes of December 19, 1984,
meeting?
WEISBURD: I'll move it.
FROMBERG: Moved by Mr. Weisburd, seconded by Mr. Arkin. Any discussion?
All in favor, signify by saying "aye". (AYE) Any opposed? Okay, the
minutes are accepted. (all members present)
BAKER: Mr. Chairman, before you go in to the balance of the Agenda, we have
requests to make on our behalf that the audience remain silent during the
sessions and that the speakers use this right microphone. Our sound system
is not producing maximum recordings and the quality is . . . They're working
on it. So, we would request your cooperation, everyone's cooperation, in
that respect.
FROMBERG: Okay, thank you. Mr. Executive Director.
PARKINS: Mr. Chairman and members of the Agency, a couple of quick
highlights of the Executive Director's report: (ITEM 3.)
The Coast Guard property . . . Commissioner Weisburd and Assistant City
Manager Richard Fosmoen scheduled a series of meetings to meet with
representatives of Senators Hawkins, Chiles and Congressman Pepper and
representatives of GSA. We've also asked the Governor's lobbyist in
Washington to attend and he did. The strategy was to first, ask GSA to
revisit the question of a donation to the City; second, to grant an extension
to the disposal through July 1985 so that we may work with the State
Legislature in identifying funding; third, reserve certain easements
including access to the Park and Baywalk areas should GSA conclude that they
want to dispose of the property; fourth, a further extension until such time
as the issue could possibly be placed on the ballot should the City want to
enter into a long-term purchase agreement with GSA. Mr. Weisburd, I know,
will have a report to give you regarding the results of the meeting when I've
concluded or . . .
WEISBURD: Last Thursday, Mr. Fosmoen and I went up to Washington and first
we met in Senator Paula Hawkins' office with her staff and a representative
from Governor Graham's office. (ITEM 4.b.) I guess when I got the packet,
which we distributed to all concerned, I saw the backup material which
indicated that we have been, I guess, negotiating through memorandums and
letters since May and, I guess this was due to the fact that the City
Commission, on May 2nd, voted to request from the Federal Government the
donation of the land from the GSA and nothing was happening until we got a
letter sometime at the end of December , I believe, telling us that if we did
not act and make an offer by January 31, 1985, they would probably put it on
the auction block or sell it to someone else, so I think it was a timely
thing for us to go up to Washington to speak to these people.
We met with the GSA individual, Acting Assistant Commissioner of the
Real Property in General Service, from the GSA, Jim Buckley. I think at the
beginning of the meeting it looked like it was all resolved that they wanted
either the City of Miami Beach or someone to purchase the property because of
what the Reagan administration has directed them to do, and that is sell off
all surplus property and not donate it, and, of course, that's their function
in the administration. The problem we found out was that they do not have a
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WEISBURD (continued:) director so you're dealing with many different people
that are trying to do things according to the book, I guess, and after much
deliberation, conversation, and trying to persuade this Mr. Buckley, by
myself and Mr. Fosmoen and Mark Israel, who represents us in Washington, I
think he got a better picture of what we were talking about because I think
we finally got him to listen. He had never been down here. He didn't know
where the property was, but we spread out a map and showed him. They were
concerned that nothing had happened since they donated the 17 acres for a
long time and we had to go into the history of the Redevelopment, the
moratorium, and, of course, the Mariel boatlift, where the previous
Commissions couldn't move too fast to do too much.
We told them what this Commission has been trying to do since we got
elected and that the South Shore Revitalization Plan had that piece of
property zoned specifically for park and not for anything else. A letter
that was sent by the Department of Interior indicated that the best use for
that area was commercial and I probably got a little excited because I said I
don't think I, as a Commissioner, or anyone else sitting on this Commission,
would ever rezone that property for anything except what it is, and that is
park, so, if they did go out on the market to sell the property, whether we
bought it or not, whoever would try to buy it would try to get a zoning
change and they wouldn't get it, so therefore the property would sit there
and not be able to be sold.
So, I think what we accomplished was, number one, getting them to
listen; number two, making them understand that we have now a group of people
on the Commission that are moving and trying to get this city to move forward
by redeveloping that entire area. The park is on its way. The marina is on
its way to completion, and, of course, we talked about the area where Cheezem
is going to develop. Putting all this together, and showing him on a map, I
think he got a better picture that we were not stalling, we were finally
moving forward with our plans.
When we left Washington, the idea was for us to send a recap, I guess,
of the meeting, to all parties, especially our representatives in Congress
and Governor Graham and whatever other parties we decided to copy in, to
indicate that we would like them to come down, again, the GSA people, and
hopefully to meet with us instead of just come into the city and go out
without talking to anyone in the City, and reevaluate their decision on that
property. Of course, the most, I guess, acceptable option would he to get it
donated to the City, as the 17 acres were donated several years ago, and, I
guess, I had said at that time that had the three acres been available, in
other words, not being used by the Coast Guard or Corps of Engineers at the
time that the 17 acres we r_e donated to the Redevelopment Agency at that time,
we probably would have had it at that time for the same donation . . . being
donated to us.
Anyway, we're in the process of putting together a memo, letter , to
these people indicating that the option is for them to come down, reevaluate,
hopefully with the idea of a donation. I guess the next option would be to
have at least a portion of the area so that we can have that direct route
into the park, so we would ask for I don't know how many feet of easement so
we can get into it. I guess the third option would be to give us the time,
if all things fail, to permit us to be able to get some help from the State,
possibly in a land swap or. whatever .i t may take. As I said earlier, my
feeling is that it should be donated to the City. I even said that if Ronald
Reagan had a chance to come down here, he probably not only would donate to
the City the land, but probably would get us additional dollars to develop
it.
I think that's about it unless Mr. Fosmoen has some more to add.
PARKINS: Thank you, Mr. Weisburd. Continuing on with the report:
Cheezem Development Agreement - Cheezem is proposing to provide
necessary assurances to the City that any pre-loading of the site, including
portions of Collins Avenue, would not result in any expenditures to remove
the pre-loading should that be necessary. Final development drawings for
Cheezem's Phase One are currently under review by Development Services.
Mr. Newman's Contract - In order to have more substantive material
available for the Developers' Conference, we have rescheduled the date to
March 14 through March 16. The South Pointe Subcommittee reviewed these
changes and concurs. Developer invitations will be mailed within the next
two weeks, and a "hold the date piece" is scheduled for mailing the week of
January 21, 1985. You'll find attached in your agenda a schedule of events
M.B.REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY - 1/23/85 Page 3
PARKINS (continued: and activities that will occur in the Developers'
Conference. Audio visual material being prepared by Mr. Newman is scheduled
for, completion during the first week in February. The first quarterly
newsletter is scheduled for distribution during the week of January 21, 1985.
The DRI issues (Development of Regional Impact) - Very quickly, it's our
intent to proceed with the rescission of the Development Order which was
passed for the previous South Shore Development Plan and anticipated a single
major developer. You have that both in the Agency and, I believe, on the
City Commission agenda.
South Pointe Park - Phase One construction is approximately 25%
complete; Phase Two is approximately 5% complete. The project is on schedule
and within the budget.
Finally, on the Corridor Studies - The team members met for two day in
Miami for an intensive workshop. Additional meetings were with the
consultants in Washington on January 16th and 17th. Preliminary results will
be presented today. Meetings will be held also with representatives of the
South Pointe Subcommittee. I believe Jerry Rappaport of Halcyon is here to
give a brief presentation, if that's your pleasure, Mr. Chairman.
FROMBERG: Does anybody want to hear the report?
PARKINS: That, of course, is a consideration, too. (laughter)
FROMBERG: Do you want us to hear the report?
PARKINS: It's not necessary. I don't know . . . Mr. Fosmoen, is there
something you think . . .
FROMBERG: Is there something you want to present to us or are you asking us
whether we want to hear from him?
RICHARD FOSMOEN: No, we're available for questions if you wish. We are
working again today and tomorrow, or I guess it's yesterday and today. I
think at your next meeting we'll have a considerable amount of material to
present to you.
FROMBERG: Okay. Gentlemen, we're talking about the Corridor Studies. A
representative from Halcyon, is here if any of you have any questions you
want to ask of him.
DAOUD: Mr. Mayor.
FROMBERG: Yes.
DAOUD: I had two questions which I wanted to raise. Number one, on the
Cheezem Development agreement, it stated under it, Cheezem has proposed "to
provide necessary assurances to the City that any pre-loading of the site,
including portions of Collins Avenue, would not result in any expenditures to
remove the pre-loading should Cheezem fail to close on the property by May
1985." I wanted to ask the Administration whether they have any feelings . . .
I'm sorry, this sound system is terrible, Larry, maybe you could lower it a
little, please.
PARKINS: That's the best he can do, Mr. Daoud.
DAOUD: Okay. Maybe you could possibly let us know if you have any feelings,
Dick, if they're not going to close on this property or why we worded it this
way.
FOSMOEN: There is no indication that they're not going to close. However,
they want to pre-load the site which is about a 3-month process, and in order
to protect the City, you know nothing in life is certain, in order to protect
us and in case something happens on that closing, we will require a bond from
them so we can remove the pre-loading material. There's nothing indicating
that they will not close.
DAOUD: Okay because I'm sure the Administration will want to monitor that
and I think, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to go hack and ask one thing and I'm
glad, Rob, that you took off the bills from Freilich and Leitner. (ITEM
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DAOUD (continued) :
(ITEM 4.a.) I want ho congratulate the Administration on
it because I had one or two questions, which I'd like to put on the record,
Mr. Chairman, so the Administration can follow through with it. Number one,
I noticed on page 15, and I'm glad because Rob picked this up, too, when we
went through the agenda item, that the Agency was billed for Mama's New York
Pizza in Delray Beach. Were they representing us in Delray Beach in
anything? That was my first question.
PARKINS: No, they were not, sir.
DAOUD: They weren't. Okay, I'd like you to check into that. Is Mama's
Pizza any good? Check into that one, too, so maybe we can get . ..
PARKINS: Okay. (laughs)
ARKIN: Will they deliver?
DAOUD: "Will they deliver?" (laughter) Number two, is, I noticed on their
airline bill, on page 16, that they flew into Palm Beach or West Palm Beach
and then rented a car and charged it to the Agency.
ARKIN: That's so they could get the pizza.
DAOUD: "That's so they could get the pizza." (laughs) I'm sure that
there's closer pizza right here on Miami Beach. It's not so expensive to the
taxpayers, Stanley.
Last, but certainly not least, I'd like you find out from Leitner if
they have a client in Palm Beach that they represent, because if they do I
think they should be prorating their billing for air expenses to those
individuals and not charging the taxpayers of Miami Beach.
But, again, I want to commend you because you did take it off. Oh,
also, too, I want to mention a Joe's Stone Crab bill came in, for lunch, I
think for $53.92? Is there a State statute that controls how much a body can
spend for lunch? I don't know if we go on a . . .
WEISBURD: We only pay $21 a day.
DAOUD: We pay $21 a day, is it?
WEISBURD: For three meals.
FOSMOEN: Mr. Daoud, in that case, there were about five people, or six
people for lunch that day.
DAOUD: Five? Okay, well, Richard, I just wanted to bring it to your
attention so that you can monitor these things. I don't understand why they
flew to Palm Beach and drove down here and charged the car to the taxpayers
or ordered a lunch in Palm Beach. Now if they're doing business, fine, but
if they're billing it to the Agency for another client and billing us then
that's not good.
PARKINS: These were issues that came up in the agenda review, Mr. Chairman
and members of the Agency board, and they're good issues, good points, and
that's the reason for the request to defer so we can review futher.
DAOUD: I'll tell you, I've got to compliment you for taking it off. I
really do, because this to me is something that we've got to -- and I'll tell
you the truth, and I'd like to carry this a step further, I'd like to have
your staff, Rob, and you, personally, review the other bills because I don't
have a list of their previous bills, but a lot of this seems to be
duplication.
PARKINS: All right, we'll check on it.
DAOUD: I would love to have you start to examine that.
PARKINS: All right, sir, other than . . . I'm sorry.
M.B.REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY - 1/23/85 Page 5
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DAOUD: Because there's one area in which we were just billed, from what I
gather, were telephone calls. The majority of the hills that came through
. . . and, again, if you'd just verify them and make sure that they were done,
and Express Mailing again and things like this.
PARKINS: All right, we'll double check each of those and make sure that
there's justification for them.
DAOUD: Thank you.
PARKINS: With the exception then of that portion of your b i-weekly financial
statement, the $6,710.87, being deferred, the balance of it we'd ask for your
. . . It's for your information, but if there are no other questions on it, we
will consider it approved.
FROMBERG: I'm happy that you go through these things with such detail,
because it's good that the matters that you have brought up are clarified.
DAOUD: Also, too, Rob, since I do have it marked down, too, if you'd take a
look at -- on page 26 and 27 - the bill for the car and have that one verified
also, the $85.
PARKINS: All right.
DAOUD: Because that was billed out of Palm Beach also again.
PARKINS: Delray Beach. Okay.
DAOUD: Delray, I'm sorry. That is Delray. Is that the one we discussed
with Delray?
PARKINS: Yes, sir.
DAOUD: Yes, that was billed out of Delray. I don't know if they were doing
business for us in Delray Beach. Rob.
PARKINS: Yes, sir.
FROMBERG: Okay.
PARKINS: We have also, if I may, we have the budget for fiscal year 1985-86
beginning February 1, 1985, through January 31, 1986. (ITEM 5.a.) It's
presented on pages 32, the resolution is on page 31. We'd ask for your
approval of the budget.
Just some quick highlights, you'll note that we have built in Marina
Rental. We have some discussions we're having with the marina folks that
I've reviewed with each of you relative to their cash flow and the delays
that have occurred and we believe we're reaching a good agreement and that
things are going to move along very well.
The tax increment revenues are exhibited as a trust for the County
portion as indicated. We are charging the Agency certain City services, or
in the context within which we are now, the Agency is paying the City for
some services. That's exhibited under Management Agreement in the
expenditures column and we would ask for your approval of the budget and the
resolution attached thereto.
FROMBERG: Okay. Can I have a motion to approve the budget?
DAOUD: Mr. Chairman, . . .
FROMBERG: Yes.
DAOUD: I'm sorry. Before you go on the budget, there's one other item I
discussed with Rob and I want to share it with my colleagues. On page 29 of
the packet, the Rosenberg, Reisman & Glass expenditure and Rob found this and
I think it's very good and I want to share it. The Crown Courier, they
charged us $43.35 for transporting an item from their office over to us, and
I think Rob is right. If they have any further transportation, Arnold, let
them call us. We can send, we have our own courier service that the City
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DAOUD (continued) : uses that we could supply. That's a lot of money, Mr.
Chairman, to turn around and just have one item brought over to us for
$43.35. If it happens in the future .. . It's on page 29 for those of you
that are following the agenda item.
FROMBERG: Well, as you suggested, I think we ought to get an explanation for
this and it's good that you called it to our attention.
PARKINS: All right, sir.
SINGER: Let me ask you a question on that item because that really sticks
out like a sore thumb. Would that be for one transportation or would it be
several that may be added together?
WEINER: It's for one transportation that includes yards of files.
SINGER: Oh, yards of files.
WEINER: It was their entire work file on the SSDI lawsuit.
SINGER: Okay, so it's not like where we get courier service for . . .
WEINER: No, $12. This wasn't an envelope with a piece of paper in it. This
was literally yards of files.
SINGER: Well, understanding that, the only reason why I wouldn't check that
any further, it would cost the City more than $43 to send an employee out
there who receives a very large hourly wage. That may, in fact, have been
cheaper. I don't think that's unreasonable, Alex, if they are moving filing
cabinets of material over here.
FROMBERG: Well, he raised it just to find out the facts. Now we've found
out the facts . . .
DAOUD: But, also, the point is, Mr. Chairman, we have our own courier
service so we have people that are paid anyway so I'd just like to see that
we be given the opportunity in the future to evaluate and let the
Administration see if they'd rather send their own couriers in the future
because we have our own staff, as we know, that deliver the agendas and
deliver various items of emergency through us.
FROMBERG: Very good.
WEINER: I'll alert my staff.
FROMBERG: Very good.
WEISBURD: Mr. Executive Director.
(At this point Chairman Fromberg, acting as Mayor, set some time
certains for the City Commission agenda.)
FROMBERG: Okay, going back to the Agency agenda. (Time 10:16 a.m.)
WEISBURD: Okay. You know, I had mentioned this to Mr. Parkins and I thought
he would bring it up. I assumed, I guess, or recollect that we had only
extended Freilich and Leitner's contract for six months and here I see a year
allocation of funds.
PARKINS: Commissioner, you're correct. My apologies. I meant to note for
the record a shift in . . . Freilich & Leitner's line item ought to be $30,000
and the contingency should be $7,200. My apologies for that, you are
correct, you brought that up to me.
WEISBURD: Okay, it's going to be changed. Okay, thank you.
FROMBERG: Okay, any other items or matters on the budget? Can I have a
motion to approve the budget and the resolution attached to it.
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