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Meeting Minutes 1.27.22 General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee City of Miami Beach MEETING MINUTES No. 31 January 27, 2022 Members in Attendance Via Zoom: Karen Rivo, Chair Jason Greene, Vice-Chair Jack Glottmann Carmen Browne Scott Needelman Laura Veitia Francisco Diez-Rivas Adam Kravitz Sean Smith Jason Koslowe Staff and Guests Attendance: Maria Hernandez, Liaison Devin Ramirez Thais Vieira Allison Novack David Martinez John Woodruff Justin Karr Alex Denis Eric Garcia Lauren Firtel Elizabeth Estevez Colette Satchell Cristina Ortega Castineiras Jose Del Risco Deborah Tackett Dexter Peralta Digna Abello Frank Garcia Giancarlo Pena Amy Knowles Vanessa Vazquez Matthew LePera Maria Cerna Omar Leon Rickelle Williams Tameka Otto Stewart Kevin Pulido Roland Aragunde Jani Singer Judy Hoanshelt Robert Rabinowitz Katherine Townsend Taylor Scheurmann Michael Fisikelli Clive Pearce Meeting Start Time: 4:30 pm General Notes: These meeting minutes are condensed and seek to capture the overall intent of discussions as interpreted by the meeting coordinator. Each paragraph indicates the time on the audio recording where the discussion commenced during the meeting. For more detail on the discussion, please refer to the audio recording in its entirety. All current and past meeting materials including agendas, handouts, minutes, presentations, and audio recordings are available by visiting: www.GOMBInfo.com/OversightCommittee/Meeting Records. G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes No. 31 January 27, 2022 Page 2 of 12 I. Roll Call and Introductions (Refer to the Meeting Audio Recording 01.27.2022 on the G.O. Bond Website.) 1:00 Chair Karen Rivo called the meeting to order. Roll call was completed. II. Committee Business (Refer to page 2 on the Agenda & Handout Packet on the G.O. Bond website.) Welcome New/Reappointed Members 2:36 Sean Smith noted that this will be his last G.O. Bond Oversight Committee meeting. He has been appointed to be the Chairperson of the Parks and Rec Committee. 2:46 Chair Karen Rivo welcomed Adam Kravitz, who is the new ex officio representing the Audit Committee. A representative from the Budget Committee is still pending. Adoption of Meeting Minutes from 11-18-21 3:34 Chair Karen Rivo asked for a motion to approve the November 18th meeting minutes. Motion: 3:52 Carmen Browne made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. 3:54 Jack Glottmann seconded the motion. Motion passed. 2022 Calendar 4:15 Maria Hernandez explained the calendar for 2022, found on page 2 of the Agenda & Handout Packet on the G.O. Bond website. III. Community Outreach (Refer to pages 3-5 on the Agenda & Handout Packet on the G.O. Bond website.) Upcoming Public Meetings 6:00 Maria Hernandez discussed the upcoming public meetings calendar with items related to G.O. Bond projects, found on pages 3-5 of the Agenda & Handout Packet on the G.O. Bond website. She added the ADCD Vision Plan Workshop which is on February 23rd. IV. Program General Status, & Sub-Projects Update, Closed Projects (Refer to pages 6-17 on the Agenda & Handout Packet on the G.O. Bond website.) 10:45 Maria Hernandez reported that Staff has spent a little over $46 million of the Tranche 1 funds. There is $20 million encumbered and $80 million available. In total, Staff has completed 8 master projects and 35 sub-projects. Sub-project #18 Scott Rakow Gym Floors is the most recent sub-project to be completed. A picture is found on page 11 of the Agenda & Handout Packet. G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes No. 31 January 27, 2022 Page 3 of 12 11:10 Elizabeth Estevez explained that Staff is going through punch list issues that need to be resolved at Scott Rakow. The moment the issues are resolved, a soft opening will be scheduled, and this committee will be advised. 11:27 Maria Hernandez continued to report the program general status. She stated that the City has been successful in the recent past on the ability to leverage the G.O. Bond projects with many state funded grants. The City has been awarded about 34 grants, totaling $43.4 million, where $15.2 million has gone directly to 14 G.O. Bond projects. These agencies are looking for shovel ready projects and matching funds. The chart on page 13 is an analysis of the projects scheduled to be completed by the end of Tranche 1. Of the 57 projects in total, 42 projects are commencing in Tranche 1. There are 84 sub-projects that have commenced in Tranche 1 and 57 of them are expected to be completed by the end of Tranche 1. The remaining savings balance is currently $2,033,724, after the $1.2 million savings transfer to Maurice Gibb Park. Currently there are 35 completed and closed out sub-projects, 10 sub-projects in construction, 23 sub-projects in the design phase and 12 sub-projects in the planning phase. 21:28 Sean Smith stated that he has heard that Staff is spread out very thinly. He asked if the City has Staff to handle all of these projects. He also asked as an Oversight Committee, what should the Members do to help Staff. 22:20 Maria Hernandez responded that some staff leaving and new hires replacing them has always been a challenge and the City is currently experiencing vacancies in several departments. City Manager Alina Hudak has said at commission meetings and internal meetings how much the Administration does with the small number of Staff the City has. The Staff is a group of hardworking employees who work long hours and do the best they can with what they have. 24:17 Chair Karen Rivo asked Sean Smith if there is any specific project he had a question on regarding a delay due to staffing. 24:30 Sean Smith explained that his question was general, but he wanted to mention what he has heard before he leaves the Oversight Committee. 25:20 John Woodruff stated that the Capital Improvements Department (CIP) gets paid by charging projects, so it makes sense to hire more staff when there are more projects. On the other hand, the Parks and Recreation Department experiences waves of projects, which may not always be constant, so hiring additional staff does not make much sense there. Staff tends to focus more on departments such as CIP when it comes to staffing, but that does not mean other departments are not receiving any attention. With many projects, the beginning of the project is the busiest time and it tends to slow down when construction begins. V. Grant Status Update (Refer to pages 18-20 on the Agenda & Handout Packet on the G.O. Bond website.) 27:45 Judy Hoanshelt discussed the Grants and Contracts that Support GOMB2018 Projects chart, found on pages 18-20 on the Agenda & Handout Packet. She explained the new column called G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes No. 31 January 27, 2022 Page 4 of 12 GOMB Project Award Subsidy, which lists the funds that are going directly to a project’s scope. There are 6 new grants received that support #10 Maurice Gibb Park, #34 Above Ground Improvements, #42 Neighborhood Traffic Calming and Pedestrian-Friendly Streets, #45 Fire Station #1, and #47 License Plate Readers. Staff is continuing to aggressively search and apply for all applicable grants. 35:34 Jack Glottmann thanked Judy Hoanshelt and her team for their hard work. He asked Judy Hoanshelt if she can share how many grant requests are pending and how many dollars are being requested. 35:58 Judy Hoanshelt stated that she can report at the next G.O. Bond Oversight Committee meeting all the related grants that are forthcoming. 36:30 Sean Smith asked if these grants are mostly state and federal funded for infrastructure projects. 36:40 Judy Hoanshelt answered correct. 36:41 Sean Smith asked if Judy Hoanshelt’s team looks at grants for parks. 36:55 Judy Hoanshelt answered that her team absolutely does look for grants for parks and have received some in the past. It is harder to receive funds from Foundations compared to receiving them from federal, state, and local governments since Foundations tend to award funds to non- profits. VI. Public Comment 37:56 Chair Karen Rivo asked if there is anyone from the public who would like to speak. 38:09 Robert Rabinowitz asked Judy Hoanshelt if there are any grants available for the cameras on the beachwalk from 46th to 63rd. 38:45 Judy Hoanshelt said she is not familiar with that project. She asked Maria Hernandez for more information. 38:55 Maria Hernandez asked Roland Aragunde if this is the section the Police Department is breaking ground on. 39:12 Roland Aragunde said no. He explained that there was no infrastructure done for cameras at the area where Robert Rabinowitz is asking about. Staff would have to do something similar to what was done on 14th to 24th, which is go back and retrofit that section. 40:00 Maria Hernandez asked Judy Hoanshelt if there is a public safety category where Staff can leverage some of the bonds that the City already has. G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes No. 31 January 27, 2022 Page 5 of 12 40:22 Judy Hoanshelt responded that she would be happy to meet with Roland Aragunde to try to find grant funded for that project. VII. Critical Targets Update (Refer to pages 21-22 on the Agenda & Handout Packet on the G.O. Bond website.) 41:12 Maria Hernandez reported the Critical Targets - Tranche 1 chart found on page 21 of the Agenda & Handout Packet. She explained that this is a more developed chart compared to what was presented at the November 18th Committee Meeting. The Gantt version of the chart is found on page 22. This chart shows the status of projects that are needed to be completed in order to complete Tranche 1. Explanation continued. 46:04 Sean Smith asked if the park located by project #23 Pedestrian Bridge, done by Terra Group Miami, is open. 46:12 Maria Hernandez said she believes it is still fenced because they were waiting to receive a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO). 46:38 David Martinez reported that although the park is not open, they are very close to completing it. CIP and Parks & Recreation are scheduled to do a walkthrough before the opening, which should be in the next 30-60 days. 47:15 Sean Smith asked if that park would remain open during the rest of the construction on that site. 47:25 David Martinez explained that the intent is for the park to remain open during construction and stated that the park still belongs to the developer. At some point in time, there will be a transfer of ownership to the City and the Parks and Recreation Department will manage it. 50:00 Jason Koslowe asked if there is anything specific that is affecting the timelines of projects since there are a lot of delays in the Park’s category. 50:44 Maria Hernandez explained that there isn’t just one issue delaying the projects; the delays are project specific. David Martinez will explain the delays of each project in the next section. VIII. Tranche 1 Projects Update (Refer to pages 23-30 on the Agenda & Handout Packet on the G.O. Bond website.) #1 72 St. Community Complex 51:42 David Martinez reported that at the January 20th Commission Meeting a resolution was adopted by City Commission which authorized the Administration to do three things. 1) The approval of a funding source that was recommended and spear headed by Commissioner G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes No. 31 January 27, 2022 Page 6 of 12 Richardson, 2) The authorization to conclude negotiations with Haskell, and 3) The authorization for the City Manager and City Clerk to sign the contract. 54:04 Carmen Browne stated that she saw that there will be further negotiations with Haskell regarding reducing the funding gap. 54:50 David Martinez explained that his goal is to try to do whatever is necessary on Staff’s end to not use any of the G.O. Bond funds to close the funding gap. 55:36 John Woodruff noted that if negotiations with Haskell don’t go as planned, Staff could always use savings from the park’s category. He stated that since approval from the Committee would be needed to use savings, it would be ideal to get approval sooner than later to not waste time. 56:30 Maria Hernandez explained that Staff could bring this item back at the March meeting, unless John Woodruff believes it should be done sooner. 56:44 John Woodruff stated that the budget amendment would make this transfer happen, which is scheduled for March 9th, which is why he believes Staff should get a preapproval. 57:11 Chair Karen Rivo asked Maria Hernandez to remind the Committee Members the amount of savings in the park’s category. 57:17 Maria Hernandez reported that the park’s category has a savings of $952,256. 57:55 Chair Karen Rivo asked if anyone would like to make a motion. Motion: 58:23 Laura Veitia made a motion for the G.O. Bond Oversight Committee to consider funding the gap up to $557,619 with the savings from the Park’s category and allocating it to the 72nd St. Community Complex project if Staff cannot reach an agreement with Haskell. 58:53 Jason Greene seconded the motion. 59:29 Jason Koslowe stated that his one concern is there being a future park’s project that may also need the funds. 1:00:13 John Woodruff explained that there is probably a myriad of projects that may need this additional funding at some point. Staff works with the City Commission in asking them what the highest priority projects are. He noted that he does not want anyone to think there will be a large savings five years from now, when Staff starts to run into inflation. 1:02:20 Jason Greene stated that this project is one of the largest projects in the program and the Members have been discussing it since day 1. As a South Beach resident, he has always tried G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes No. 31 January 27, 2022 Page 7 of 12 to pledge any North Beach project. He supports the transfer of savings in the park’s category to this project. 1:03:20 Carmen Browne expressed that she would like to see this project get fully funded and supports using the savings from the park’s category. 1:04:11 Scott Needelman asked if there are any other projects in the park’s category in the pipeline now that are underfunded. 1:04:40 Maria Hernandez responded that project #30 Skate Park is the only one that comes to mind, but Staff is working on receiving a $200,000 grant for this project. Originally, a bathroom was not budgeted for this project because Staff believed the bathrooms at Northshore Park would be available, but they have recently concluded that the distance is a problem. Maurice Gibb Park had received the Florida Inland Navigation District grant of $1.2 million after the transfer of $1.2 million from savings. Staff has allowed CIP to keep the $1.2 million until after construction bids are received. Once received and CIP sets aside a 10% owner’s contingency, the rest of the savings can return to the Park’s category fund to be used for another project. 1:07:35 Adam Kravitz asked if this motion will pull the rug out from under the negotiations since they are currently occurring. 1:08:14 John Woodruff stated that this already happened at the January 20th Commission Meeting because Commission approved $557,000 to come from Haskell, savings, and any other source Staff needs to close the funding gap. 1:08:52 David Martinez agreed with John Woodruff. He reported that Haskell has been aware that Staff and the City Commission have been seeking additional funding. 1:10:18 Francisco Diez-Rivas expressed that he understands everyone’s points, but the truth of the matter is that this park will be very active, and it serves all of Miami Beach. 1:12:42 Motion passed. #45 Fire Station #1 1:13:29 David Martinez reported that the City Commission approved the required Development Waivers at the 833 6th St. site. Staff met with the Historic Preservation Board on December 13th and the item was deferred to their January 11th meeting. The Board requested more information, so Staff is scheduled to go back to the March 8th Historic Preservation Board (HPB) meeting. CIP has been working closely with Deborah Tackett, from the Planning Department, in order to fulfill the requests from the Board. Assuming Staff gets through the March 8th HPB meeting, the schedule has slipped a couple of months. Staff is projecting bringing back an award for construction in February 2023. 1:15:36 Chair Karen Rivo asked David Martinez to remind the Committee Members the main issues that HPB has. G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes No. 31 January 27, 2022 Page 8 of 12 1:15:42 David Martinez explained that there is a lot of sensitivity to the existing South Shore Community Center building and its history. HPB is trying to find ways to bring in some of the physical aspects of the existing building to the new design, which is very challenging. #5 Flamingo Park Master Plan 1:17:08 David Martinez explained that this project has 4 main components, which are the softball field, the baseball field improvements, the lodge, and the butterfly garden. All of these elements were mostly designed already, except the resilient components that were recently added. Staff is designing an underground water storage tanks that will help collect stormwater under the softball and baseball fields. Staff cannot take both fields out of service at the same time, so Staff is planning on starting procurement this summer for the softball field, which is the higher priority to the Parks and Recreation Department. As soon as construction begins on the softball field, staff will begin the procurement process for the baseball field. 1:20:31 Sean Smith asked if the synthetic grass is still part of the project. 1:20:48 David Martinez answered yes. 1:20:49 Sean Smith asked if the residents of the Flamingo Park neighborhood are aware that the park is moving from natural grass to synthetic. He also asked if there has been any discussion with the baseball team at Miami Beach High School about anything that has been going on at their field. They have been going to the Parks and Rec Committee asking questions regarding purchasing items for the team and are unaware of the timeline of this project as well as its elements. 1:22:10 David Martinez agreed with Sean Smith. He said that the City Commission recently approved the repair of the bleachers with non-G.O. Bond funds. He stated that he is happy to have some discussions with John Rebar regarding meeting with the baseball team. 1:23:11 Jose Del Risco reported that he had a walk-through last week on both fields. Staff works very closely with the Athletics Manager, who works very closely with Staff at Miami Beach High. 1:24:28 Scott Needelman explained that the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association has not had a big discussion regarding the synthetic grass, but he has noted that generally people like the idea of the synthetic grass. 1:25:13 Jose Del Risco explained that he has attended many community meetings, and no one has brought up an issue with the artificial turf. #10 Maurice Gibb Park & #15 Par 3/Bayshore Park 1:26:27 David Martinez reported that Staff has had very good feedback from Miami-Dade County DERM. Staff is projecting that procurement will commence this spring for both projects. Within the next 2-4 weeks staff will be ready to proceed. Regarding Maurice Gibb Park, the City has an emergency utility project near the park, on the Venetian Causeway, and it was originally believed that this emergency construction would need to take place at the park. It is now believed that G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes No. 31 January 27, 2022 Page 9 of 12 this construction will not be needed, which helps Staff. Both parks have received the required funding based on the cost estimates received. 1:29:51 Jason Koslowe asked where the City is in terms of receiving approvals from the City. 1:30:50 David Martinez explained that although Staff does not have the DERM permits in hand, Staff does ‘dry run’ reviews early on with the Building Department. These dry runs allow Staff to address any concerns the Building Department may have to facilitate the permitting process. Discussion continued. #23 Pedestrian Bridge 1:33:15 David Martinez reminded the committee Members that this project is tied to the condominium tower, which is currently delayed. The current projection is not beginning construction until June 2023. Unfortunately, Staff does not have much control of the schedule for this project since it being constructed by the condominium developer. #23 Skate Park 1:34:08 Jose Del Risco reiterated that this project has a funding gap. Originally, this was a $3 million project, but Staff was asked to lower the cost estimate prior to the referendum. The designer did 30% of the preliminary work to get a true cost estimate based on all the concepts that Staff were considering, which came out to be around $2.5 million. Staff is working on receiving a grant of about $200,000 and are also in communication with the Tony Hawk Foundation for possible grant funding. 1:37:59 Chair Karen Rivo asked if Staff can pursue naming rights on these types of projects. 1:38:07 Jose Del Risco reported that naming rights are one of the options that Staff has to fund the gap. Staff is working with the designer to see what can be delivered with only the $750,000 budget or the $950,000, which includes the grant. 1:38:55 Sean Smith stated that this item came through the Parks and Rec Committee many years ago and the budget was around $3 million. This project is an example where the budget kept decreasing in order to get it into the G.O. Bond Program, but the current $750,000 budget was unrealistic. #46 Ocean Rescue NOBE Facility 1:40:00 David Martinez reported that CIP has been working very closely with the Parks and Recreation Department negotiating an interlocal agreement with Miami-Dade County, because it is a shared location with them. Once negotiation is complete and City Commission approves the interlocal agreement, the City can issue a Request for Qualifications to hire a consultant to begin the design. IX. Reforestry Initiative Process (Refer to pages 31-39 on the Agenda & Handout Packet on the G.O. Bond website.) G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes No. 31 January 27, 2022 Page 10 of 12 1:44:35 Amy Knowles presented the G.O. Bond Reforestation Initiative, which is found on pages 31-39 of the Agenda & Handout Packet. Overall, this is a $5 million initiative, which calls for 5,000 trees to be planted on public property. The canopy goals and types of trees planted are guided by the Urban Forestry Master Plan, which was unanimously adopted by the City Commission in October 2020. Presentation continued. 1:48:38 Amy Knowles reported that the current reforestation project is in Mid Beach. Staff has planted 300 out of 400 trees. In addition to electronic communications used, she showed the door hangers and letters provided to residents to notify them of the project. 1:50:41 Chair Karen Rivo opened the floor to any comments and/or questions. 1:50:51 Scott Needelman stated that he believes that this is one of the better projects that the City is doing because it is needed. The problem is how the City is doing it, in terms of what happened specifically at his mother’s house. He explained that no one he has spoken to in that area had received any notice that construction was occurring. The swale out front is the only location where cars can park when there are visitors, which now has trees planted. There were 10 trees that are planted between his property and his neighbors. Scott is working with Omar Leon, who is the City’s Urban Forester, to discuss this issue. 1:53:30 Chair Karen Rivo stated that Scott Needelman highlighted how the project is being managed and she appreciates him speaking up. She asked Amy Knowles how this information helps Staff moving forward. 1:54:30 Amy Knowles noted that Omar Leon and his team are very quick to respond to any concerns that anyone may have. She understands that some homeowners only have the option to use the swales as parking spots, and that 4% of properties (10 out of 261) have declined trees. She has been discussing with Maria Hernandez the option of hiring a PIO (Public Information Officer) to go door to door and schedule meetings with residents. The City is open to hearing about any methods of public outreach to better communicate with residents. 1:55:55 Scott Needelman reiterated that there was no public outreach done in this neighborhood. He also believes that reconsidering the location of the trees would help the issue. 1:57:15 Amy Knowles clarified that there are 55 homes in the neighborhood and the planting is not complete. She assured that public outreach occurred. Discussion continued. 1:59:50 Chair Karen Rivo asked for an update on this project at the March Oversight Committee Meeting. G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes No. 31 January 27, 2022 Page 11 of 12 X. Brief Updates #52 Flamingo Park LED Lighting 2:00:07 Elizabeth Estevez explained that submittals are being prepared by the manufacturer currently and Staff should be receiving them in the next week. Once Staff approves, manufacturing begins and permitting will be done concurrently. 2:00:55 Sean Smith reported that this project was a discussion at a Parks and Rec Committee meeting. The question of lighting at the playground arose at the meeting since it currently gets dark earlier. 2:01:34 Elizabeth Estevez stated that the Parks and Recreation Department has received this request before, but this project is specifically for sports lighting. There is a capital project coming soon to replace the playground, and lighting will be a consideration. #24 Middle Beach Beachwalk 2:01:58 David Martinez reported that of the eleven street ends, nine have been opened. Staff has been struggling with the last two because of the staging area and the excess sand that was being stored there. The last two locations are on 26th St. and 41st St. Staff has run into an issue with two trees that are impacting some of the improvements at the 26th St. location. The current projected completion date for these two street ends is in March. #54 Marine Patrol Facility 2:03:53 David Martinez reported that the consultant did an assessment of the structure and it was determined that the demolition of the building and rebuilding a new facility was the best thing to do. Staff is proceeding with that direction. The consultant has provided schematic drawings and Staff is working closely with the Police Department and Fire Department. #9 MSD Playground and Sidewalks 2:05:24 Elizabeth Estevez stated that Staff met with the contractor onsite for a preconstruction meeting. Mobilization will occur within the next two weeks. Once mobilized, the construction should take about two and a half months. 2:05:56 Chair Karen Rivo asked if anyone has any questions on any projects that were not discussed. She stated that she would like to receive an update on project #40 41 Street Corridor Improvements. 2:06:23 David Martinez explained that the contract was approved by the City Commission and has been provided to the City Attorney’s Office for their final approval. Staff is also squaring away the funding requirements to issue a purchase order according to the contract. Design will hopefully begin in the next coming weeks. XI. Public Comment 2:07:04 Chair Karen Rivo asked if there is anyone from the public who would like to speak. G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes No. 31 January 27, 2022 Page 12 of 12 2:07:21 Katherine Townsend thanked the Staff for their work and the transparency that is provided. She stated that she is interested in learning more about the infrastructure that is being developed in her area and how some of the decisions are made in relation to sustainability. 2:09:54 Chair Karen Rivo thanked Katheryn Townsend for joining the Committee Meeting and participating. She asked Maria Hernandez if she can meet with Katherine Townsend offline and introduce her to Staff that can help her specifically with her interests. 2:10:22 Maria Hernandez reported that project #43 Bike Lanes & Shares Paths has a budget of $5 million. She stated that Josiel Ferrer can provide an update on all the bike lane projects at the March G.O. Bond Oversight Committee Meeting. XII. Adjournment Meeting was adjourned.