October 12, 2022 Meeing Minutes
1700 Convention Center Drive Miami Beach, FL 33139 www.miamibeachfl.gov/northbeachcra
MEETING MINUTES AD HOC NORTH BEACH COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Wednesday, October 12, 2022 – 4:30 pm Normandy Shores Golf Club 2401 Biarritz Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33141
Members in Attendance: Chair Jose Smith, John Bowes, Ronnie Issenberg, Romina Orozco-Encino, Manning Salazar, and David Sexton
Members Absent: Vice Chair Betsy Perez
1. Welcome & Attendance
At 4:42 p.m., Committee Chair Jose Smith opened the meeting and greeted all attendees.
2. Approval of September 13, 2022 Meeting Minutes
Before making a motion for adoption of the draft September 13, 2022, meeting minutes, Chair
Smith requested that a spelling error be corrected.
• Motion: To approve the draft meeting minutes of the September 13, 2022, Committee meeting.
Made by: David Sexton Seconded by: Romina Orozco-Encino
Motion passed by acclamation
3. Governing Body/Board Update
At 4:44 p.m., Rickelle Williams, Committee Co-Liaison and Economic Development Director, informed the Committee that, at the October 6, 2022 meeting of the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners (“County Commission”), County Commissioner Sally Heyman was appointed as the County Commission’s delegate to serve as a North Beach CRA board member. The Interlocal Cooperation Agreement among the City, the County, and the North Beach CRA permits the County Commission to appoint a designee as representative to the North Beach CRA, but the Interlocal Agreement does not specify that the designee must be a sitting County
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Commissioner or the current District 4 County Commissioner, whose district includes the North Beach CRA.
With former Miami Beach City Commissioner Micky Steinberg soon replacing Sally Heyman as the District 4 County Commissioner, Chair Smith expressed his opinion that Micky Steinberg is well-qualified to serve as the County’s delegate on the CRA board, given that Ms. Steinberg will soon be the acting County Commissioner for District 4, she resides in the CRA district, and has
long-standing ties to the community. Board members Manning Salazar and David Sexton expressed agreement with the Chair on this topic. Old Business
4. Update: Deauville Hotel Demolition At 4:50 p.m. Dexter Peralta, Neighborhood Affairs Coordinator for North Beach, provided a status update regarding the Deauville Hotel property located at 6701 Collins Avenue. Mr. Peralta
informed that the Miami-Dade County Division of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) had overseen onsite asbestos remediation and a crew has completed conventional demolition of approximately one third of the existing structure. Chair Smith inquired whether the site work would be affected if the Deauville property referendum question does not succeed on November 8, 2022, which is integral to the proposed redevelopment project that was supported by a unanimous
motion of the Committee on July 14, 2022. Ricardo Dopico, Deputy City Attorney, opined that, if the proposed redevelopment project does not receive voter approval on November 8, 2022, the ongoing demolition process will continue.
Rickelle Williams informed the Committee that the City will host an informational meeting at City Hall on the proposed Arts and Culture G.O. Bond immediately following today's meeting. If approved, the Arts & Culture G.O. Bond, slated for a voter referendum on November 8, 2022, would impact North Beach assets within the CRA district. Mr. Sexton added that a similar event will be held on October 20, 2022 at the Normandy Shores Clubhouse and Ms. Williams offered to
send out a calendar invite to the Committee. Mr. James Quinlan, Director of the Rhythm Foundation, the nonprofit cultural arts organization which manages the North Beach Bandshell on behalf of the City, extended an invitation to attend an event at the Miami Beach Bandshell on October 20, 2022. The event is a tribute to Norman Giller, the Bandshell’s architect, and in celebration of the property’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places.
5. Update: 72nd Street Community Complex At 4:56 p.m., Maria Cerna, Division Director of the Office of Capital Improvement Projects, updated the Committee regarding the status and project funding for G.O. Bond Project #1, the 72nd Street Community Complex. Ms. Cerna shared that the project’s design-builder, the Haskell Company, submitted a July 2022 memorandum indicating that construction costs to date increased from $85
million to $101 million (without inflation) and up to $126 million (with future inflation). Ms. Cerna noted that, on September 30, 2022, the City Manager advised the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee that contract negotiations will cease with Haskell due to impasse and the City will
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proceed to negotiate with the second ranked proposer, PCL Construction Services. Ms. Williams offered to provide the Committee with a link to view PCL’s original design proposal. Ms. Cerna
advised that staff met with PCL on October 6, 2022 to discuss PCL’s original cost proposal with follow-up expected from PCL by October 24, 2022. Manning Salazar reminded the Committee of its September 16, 2021 motion to express support for the project, subject to a project cost limitation of $110 million. Chair Smith expressed concerns
regarding whether procurement rules prevented the City Manager from commencing negotiation with the second-ranked proposer at this stage of the project’s development. Ms. Cerna clarified that the City Commission had adopted a resolution authorizing the City Manager to negotiate with the second-ranked proposer if negotiations were unsuccessful with the first-ranked proposer. New Business
6. Discussion: Commercial Façade Improvement Program
At 5:05 p.m., Rickelle Williams introduced Mr. Luis Wong, Administrative Services Manager in the Economic Development Department. Mr. Wong is a veteran City employee who will be involved with CRA projects and budgeting matters. As concerns the Commercial Façade Improvement
Program, Ms. Williams shared that the approved CRA budget for FY 2023 contains $210,000 available for beautification, which is divided as $110,000 for the Commercial Façade Improvement Program and the remaining $100,000 for a Residential Façade Improvement Program. Ms. Williams hoped that the Committee could brainstorm and provide insights regarding eligibility criteria, funding
requirements, and other parameters, in order for staff to commence drafting program guidelines. Ms. Williams has surveyed best practices among other local CRAs and she proposed that the Committee consider a grant that is based on reimbursement of expenses and that is based on a matching amount proffered by the program participant.
The Committee discussed different details and concerns with developing a façade improvement program, including the role of property owner versus tenant, grant award amount, the proposed French design theme, and potential obstacles to program implementation. Per Mr. Sexton’s request, Ms. Williams agreed to prepare and provide the Committee with a geographical map of the program’s boundary, which highlights properties that are potential participants, broken down in phases of implementation and identifying property ownership. Committee member Ronnie Issenberg offered to reach out to RK Centers, the property management company that owns substantial commercial property in the Normandy Fountain business district. The Committee also discussed prioritizing commercial properties. Chair Smith noted that the City had operated a façade improvement program in the past using Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding and it would be prudent to examine lessons learned. 7. Discussion: Abatements as Incentive for Affordable/Workforce Housing
At 5:42 p.m. Ricardo Dopico, Deputy City Attorney, reported that he reached out to the North Miami Beach city attorney at the request of Chair Smith. Although North Miami Beach does not currently operate any tax abatement programs to incentivize workforce housing, programs do exist in various forms throughout other municipalities around the country. Mr. Dopico noted that the City of Miami Beach recently adopted legislation, which he and Ms. Williams worked on, which waives certain
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development fees, specifically for workforce and affordable housing projects. Ms. Williams mentioned that on October 25, 2022, the Planning Board will discuss strategies for promoting
affordable and workforce housing and potential recommendations to send to the City Commission. Ms. Williams will share a calendar invite with the Committee. 8. Public Comment
At 5:52 p.m., James Quinlan, Rhythm Foundation Director, invited those in attendance to an Italian Music Showcase on October 15, 2022, at the Miami Beach Bandshell. 9. Committee Member Comments
At 5:53 p.m., David Sexton invited those present to attend the kickoff event for the Normandy Fountain Business Association on October 16, 2022, at the Normandy Fountain. Manning Salazar brought up the issue of rampant commercial vacancies and questioned whether there exist stronger incentives or motivators to induce property owners to help devise a plan to solve the
issue. Ms. Williams informed the Committee that the Economic Development Department has been directed to help prepare a Vacant Storefront Registry Program, which will be developed and presented before the City Commission in the coming months. Mr. Salazar raised another concern regarding the consideration for extending the CRA boundaries
to include certain areas that were excluded from the original boundary map, such as Parkview Island. Ms. Williams noted that the County Commission will experience new board member composition in the following months and that the same formal process would apply to expand the CRA boundary, including a documented finding of necessity and undergoing a formal request process for official County approval. 10. Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made at 6:00 p.m. Next Meeting: Tuesday, November 8th at 4:30 pm – Zoom virtual meeting