City of Miami
City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, May 9, 2013
9:00 AM REGULAR
City Hall Commission Chambers
City Commission
Tomás Regalado, Mayor Marc David Sarnoff, Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort, Vice Chair Frank Carollo, Commissioner District Three Francis Suarez, Commissioner District Four Michelle Spence-Jones, Commissioner District Five Johnny Martinez, P.E., City Manager Julie O. Bru, City Attorney Todd B. Hannon, City Clerk City Commission Meeting Minutes May 9, 2013
CONTENTS
PR - PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS
AM - APPROVING MINUTES
MV - MAYORAL VETOES
CA - CONSENT AGENDA
PA - PERSONAL APPEARANCE
PH - PUBLIC HEARINGS
SR - SECOND READING ORDINANCES
FR - FIRST READING ORDINANCES
RE - RESOLUTIONS
BC - BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
DI - DISCUSSION ITEMS
PART B
PZ - PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S)
MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' ITEMS
M - MAYOR'S ITEMS
D1 - DISTRICT 1 ITEMS
D2 - DISTRICT 2 ITEMS
D3 - DISTRICT 3 ITEMS
D4 - DISTRICT 4 ITEMS
D5 - DISTRICT 5 ITEMS
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9:00 A.M. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Present: Vice Chair Gort, Chair Sarnoff, Commissioner Carollo, Commissioner Suarez and Commissioner Spence-Jones On the 9th day of May 2013, the City Commission of the City of Miami, Florida, met at its regular meeting place in City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida, in regular session. The Regular Commission Meeting was called to order by Chair Sarnoff at 9:11 a.m., recessed at 12:16 p.m., reconvened at 2:47 p.m., recessed at 6:03 p.m., reconvened at 6:18 p.m., and adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Note for the Record: Commissioner Spence-Jones entered the Commission chambers at 9:13 a.m, Commissioner Suarez entered the Commission chambers at 9:19 a.m, and Commissioner Carollo entered the Commission at 9:29 a.m.
ALSO PRESENT:
Julie O. Bru, City Attorney Johnny Martinez, P.E., City Manager Nicole Ewan, Assistant City Clerk
Chair Sarnoff: I want to welcome everybody to the May 9, 2013 meeting of the City of Miami Commission in these historic chambers. The members of the Commission are Wilfredo [sic] “Willy” Gort, the Vice Chair; Frank Carollo; Michelle Spence-Jones; Francis Suarez; and myself, Marc David Sarnoff, the Chairman. Also on the dais are Johnny Martinez, the City Manager; Julie O. Bru, the City Attorney; Nicole Ewan, the Assistant City Clerk. The meeting will be opened with a prayer by me and the pledge of allegiance by Wilfredo [sic] “Willy” Gort. Okay. I'm not much on praying, but something happened this week I thought that was very interesting, a couple things. There's a man by the name of Mr. Ramsey that had every reason in the world to do nothing in Cleveland, Ohio, but he chose to get involved. And in choosing to get involved, three women are free today because he had the courage, the fortitude, and the determination -- and think of where he sat: An African-American male has a white woman come right into his arms. That's got to be -- and I think he described it best himself -- an interesting dilemma to happen. But again, he chose to get involved. And because he chose to get involved, and as the story evolves, you will hear what happened to these three women that are just beyond the realm of comprehension. If each one of us were to choose to get involved just a little bit more each day -- and the City of Miami could use some involvement. Coconut Grove, this week we had a killing, and we had gone about three years without a killing. Now, to the credit of the Grove, after a long conversation, it got involved and the people were apprehended. But how do we stop the violence in America? I think the best way to stop the violence in America is to be involved, to care about the person on your street, to say hello to somebody, to create that sense of community. We call ourselves a great, diverse culture, but do we practice it every day? Do we practice it when we're on the street, or in our busy lives, when we don't have time to do the simple things, such as a meet, such as a greet, to show the people that we don't know we actually do care about them? So to Mr. Ramsey, I would say, thank you. To the three women whose lives will be explored for the next probably year, nobody could ever say the sorrow upon which was -- what could change their life, or how that could be explained, how that happened. To the man that did it, his end should come quickly, resolutely, and expeditiously. But to the rest of us who can learn from this, why don't we all extend a hand to the person to our left and right and please say good morning, neighbor. Thank you.
Invocation and pledge of allegiance delivered.
PRESENTATIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS
PR.1 PRESENTATION
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13-00564 Honoree Presenter Protocol Item
Haitian Heritage Month Mayor Regalado Proclamation
National Tourism Week Mayor Regalado Proclamation
Arbor Day Committee Commissioner Certificates of Spence-Jones Appreciation
Leadership Miami - Vice Chair Gort Certificates of Team Miami Shines Appreciation
13-00564 Protocol Item.pdf
PRESENTED
1. Mayor Regalado paid a Special Tribute to various prominent and outstanding members of the community in honor of Haitian Heritage Month for their commitment to building and strengthening the community through a tradition of integrity, excellence and a steadfast determination to champion causes important to both the Haitian-American community and the citizens of South Florida at large.
2. Mayor Regalado paid tribute to the Twenty-Second Annual Celebration of National Tourism Week and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau in recognition of their work with local agencies to promote the hospitality, culture and entertainment industry of South Florida's tropical paradise.
3. Commissioner Spence-Jones presented Special Certificates of Appreciation to various City Employees and Organizations that participated in the Annual Arbor Day Event in recognition to their wonderful commitment to elevating the quality of life for the residents of the City of Miami.
4. Vice Chair Gort presented Special Certificates of Appreciation to the members of Team Miami Shines of Leadership Miami 2013, a group whose philanthropy serves as a source of inspiration and an agency of hope through their noteworthy participation in a vital project to benefit and transform the environment and image of Miami Bridge.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. We will now make the presentations and proclamations. I believe the Mayor of the great City of Miami will be recognized. Mr. Mayor.
Presentations made.
Later...
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. We have one more presentation. It didn't make the agenda, but we want to make sure that we acknowledge them. This is in reference to - I'm going to do it pretty quickly.
Presentation made.
Later...
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Before we get started, Mr. Chairman I would - I have no more presentations. But I don't know if we mentioned it, but I would like for us to at least take a
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moment -- You know how we love our City employees. I'd at least like for us to take a moment of silence for Todd's mom as we know she passed away. And I just did not want the Commission meeting to start, to not remember his mom. I think it's the right thing to do. We know how close he was to his mom, so I really would like for - I'm going to turn it over to you to officially do that moment of silence for him.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Another one of my jobs I may not be the best at, but Todd Hannon is our new City Clerk. I think you all will remember that Todd's mom was ill. As a matter of fact, I think he did not even want to become the interim City Clerk because he was helping her get through her illness. And as Commissioner Spence-Jones says, she passed away, I think, yesterday. And why don't we give her a moment of silence, and convey our best thoughts, and hopes and prayers for the family.
Moment of silence.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you all very much. And now we recognize Commissioner Wifredo Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want you to know that the invocation was right on target today, because today, it's going to be my pleasure to give out some certificates of appreciation, some citizens that have been involved in this community. The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce created Leadership Miami long time ago, and this was to get a group of young professionals, young entrepreneurs, and get them involved in the community, and they've been doing so in the City of Miami for a while. This group here picked up a project. You all know Miami Bridge, the project that we have to help young kids and all that? They're over there and they did a beautiful work, and I'd like to recognize them and thank them, because these young professionals can be sitting here sometime in the future. They're going to be here. At this time, I'm going to call your names and I'd like for you -
Presentation made.
APPROVING THE MINUTES OF THE FOLLOWING MEETING:
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, to APPROVE PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence-Jones Chair Sarnoff: Madam Clerk, are there any Commission meeting minutes that need to be approved?
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): Yes, Chair. I have for your consideration an approval of the minutes for the regular meeting of April 11, 2013.
Chair Sarnoff: Do I have a motion?
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
Chair Sarnoff: Motion by Commissioner Gort; second by Commissioner Suarez. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, say “aye.”
The City Commission (Collectively): Aye.
END OF APPROVING MINUTES
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MAYORAL VETOES
NO MAYORAL VETOES
Chair Sarnoff: Are there any mayoral vetoes?
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): Chair, there are no mayoral vetoes.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
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ORDER OF THE DAY
Chair Sarnoff: All right. I think we're ready to begin, so let's just get ourselves set up. We'll now begin the regular meeting. The City Attorney will state the procedures to be followed during the meeting.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Good morning, Mr. Chair, members of the Commission, Mr. Mayor, Manager, City Clerk, and members of the public. Any person who is a lobbyist must register with the City Clerk before appearing before the City Commission. A copy of the code section about lobbyists is available in the City Clerk's Office. The material for each item on the agenda is available during business hours at the City Clerk's Office and on line at www.miamigov.com. Anyone wishing to appeal any decision made by the City Commission for any matter considered at this meeting may need a verbatim record of the item. No cell phones or other noise-making devices are permitted in the chambers. Please silence those now. Any person who becomes unruly or makes offensive remarks will be barred from further attending Commission meetings. Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid, please contact the City Clerk. And the lunch recess will begin at the conclusion of deliberation of the item being considered at noon, unless the Chair indicates otherwise.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you, Madam City Attorney.
Later...
Chair Sarnoff: All right, CA (Consent Agenda). CA.1 and CA.2, the consent agenda. Is there a motion to approve the CAs?
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
Commissioner Carollo: Are we doing deferrals?
Chair Sarnoff: Oh, yeah. I apologize. You're right. Let's do that first. Mr. --
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Yes, Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead. Anything you want to put in, please go ahead, and we'll backfill with the Commissioners' desires.
Mr. Martinez: PH.2, defer indefinitely.
Vice Chair Gort: PH.2, right?
Mr. Martinez: Yes, sir, PH.2. PH.4, defer to May 23; PH.5, defer to May 23; and PH.8, continue to June 13.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Any other things you want to add, delete, subtract, modify? Any Commissioners have any issues they want to bring up?
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. I would like to defer PH.7 to the next Commission meeting only because in discussion with the Administration and when we supplied the information, somehow there was a mix-up, and I don't think the proper information was in by the five-day rule. So I would like to defer it to the next Commission meeting; something that affects District
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3.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. So PH.7 is on the list. Anyone else have anything else they want to add? I'm going to defer SR.2, hopefully, to the next Commission meeting. That's the security shutters. Anybody have anything else they want to continue, defer, modify?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: What did you say, FR (First Reading) what now?
Chair Sarnoff: SR.2, SR.2. It's the security shutters.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff. All right. Is there a motion?
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Commissioner Suarez: So move.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion by Commissioner Gort, second by Commissioner Suarez. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Later...
Chair Sarnoff: All right, we're going to go to DI.2, which was a time certain 3 o'clock. For us, that's almost on time. Living wage discussion.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: I don't know if there's people going to be here present to speak or if it's just a discussion within the Commissioners. And if that's the case, I would ask that we then do a time certain that we had for 4 o'clock, which is with our external auditors, with regards to our CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) and the issuance of our audited financial statements.
Chair Sarnoff: You want to --? Commissioner --
Commissioner Carollo: And I'll tell you, that's one of my discussion items.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: What are we dealing with now?
Chair Sarnoff: I know. Here's what we have --
Vice Chair Gort: Discussion item.
Chair Sarnoff: -- going up right now. D1.2 [sic] is living wages, which was a time certain 3 o'clock. It is now 4 o'clock. Would you yield to Commissioner Carollo's D3.1, which is audited financial statements?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I mean, is the FR.3 -- I'm just asking -- item a long item?
Chair Sarnoff: No. This is -- we're not on F -- no, F -- we'll get to FR.3. But I'm --
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: But I'm saying, do you --?
Chair Sarnoff: -- teeing up -- your D1.2 [sic] is the living wage discussion, which you had asked for a 3 o'clock time certain.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right. I can hold off on that.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I'm fine with that.
Commissioner Carollo: And what I'm saying -- and, Commissioner, what I'm saying is we have the external auditors --
Chair Sarnoff: So what we'll do --
Commissioner Carollo: -- that should be on the line, and we had a time certain with them at 4.
Chair Sarnoff: -- we'll go to D3.1, then we're going to go to FR.3, then we'll come back to your DI. -- D1.2 [sic], which is your discussion item concerning living wage, okay, Commissioner Spence-Jones?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
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CONSENT AGENDA
CA.1 RESOLUTION 13-00456 Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, BETWEEN THE MEMBER AGENCIES OF THE CHILD ABDUCTION RESPONSE TEAM AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, FOR AN ADDITIONAL PERIOD FROM DECEMBER 31, 2012 TO DECEMBER 31, 2016, TO CONTINUE TO RECEIVE AND EXTEND MUTUAL AID IN THE FORM OF LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES AND RESOURCES TO ADEQUATELY RESPOND TO CONTINUING, MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL INVESTIGATIONS OF CHILD ENDANGERMENT AND MISSING/ABDUCTED CHILDREN, SO AS TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC PEACE AND SAFETY, AND PRESERVE THE LIVES AND PROPERTY OF THE CITIZENS, AS DEFINED IN PART 1, CHAPTER 23, FLORIDA STATUTES. 13-00456 Summary Form.pdf 13-00456 Letter - Child Abduction Response Team.pdf 13-00456 Pre-Legislation.pdf 13-00456 Legislation.pdf 13-00456 Exhibit 1.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
R-13-0170
CA.2 RESOLUTION 13-00457 Department of Police A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ACCEPTING THE BID RECEIVED SEPTEMBER 21, 2012, PURSUANT TO INVITATION FOR BID NO. 333292, FROM SUPER SEER CORPORATION, FOR THE PURCHASE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT HELMETS, ON AN AS-NEEDED BASIS, FOR AN INITIAL CONTRACT PERIOD OF TWO (2) YEARS, WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR THREE (3) ADDITIONAL ONE (1) YEAR PERIODS; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE VARIOUS SOURCES OF FUNDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE, SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED. 13-00457 Summary Form.pdf 13-00457 Award Recommendation Form.pdf 13-00457 Tabulation.pdf 13-00457 Addendum No. 1.pdf 13-00457 Invitation for Bid.pdf 13-00457 Legislation.pdf
This Matter was ADOPTED on the Consent Agenda.
Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
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R-13-0171
Adopted the Consent Agenda
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, including all the preceding items marked as having been adopted on the Consent Agenda. The motion carried by the following vote: Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
END OF CONSENT AGENDA
Chair Sarnoff: All right. CA -- this is the consent agenda. Does anybody wish to modify or change anything on the consent agenda? Then do I have a motion for the consent agenda?
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion by Commissioner Suarez, second by Commissioner Gort. Any discussion? All in favor, please say “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PERSONAL APPEARANCE
PA.1 PRESENTATION 13-00522 MR. WILLIAM TALBERT, PRESIDENT & CEO OF THE GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU TO ADDRESS THE CITY COMMISSION REGARDING THE STATE OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY. 13-00522 Email - State of the Travel & Tourism Industry.pdf
PRESENTED
Mayor Regalado: Mr. Chairman, we're also commemorating an important week. Actually, it's the backbone of our economy. Today we're celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week, and it is about the power of travel coalition. And we have here representative, Gene, Bill, Rolando. I don't know how you want to do it. And we have many members of our great Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. So I guess that you're having a report and then you -
William Talbert: It's going to be - thank you very much, Mr. Mayor, Chair, Vice Chair, City Manager. We are joined by Gene Prescott, our immediate past board chair and one of my bosses, and Rolando Aedo , our EVP (Executive Vice President), and Jenny Gutierrez, who runs our community relations program. It is - this is the 29th National Travel and Tourism Week. And at the end of the day, we're about jobs, jobs, jobs. For the last three years and three months, you have added jobs in your community in the hospitality industry, your number-one employer. How many people work at your hotel, Gene?
Gene Prescott: Six hundred and ninety-five.
Mr. Talbert: Six hundred and ninety-five people get a paycheck at the Biltmore Hotel; just one hotel. So we're quite proud. The City has led the country in March, in the first quarter, has led the country ahead of every other major city. We've got Steven Haas, City Hall. This is not City
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Hall; City Hall, the restaurant.
Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
Mr. Talbert: Huh? He went to the other place; City Hall, the restaurant. They're open for breakfast now, I guess, huh?
Unidentified Speaker: Today.
Mr. Talbert: But thank you for your - We could not do this without the marketing support. Thank you, Commissioners. Shop, Dine and Explore has made a difference, a big difference. We're also a big supporter of Haitian Heritage Month. It's about partnerships. Miami -- May is Miami Museum's Month. It's about these partnerships with the Downtown Development Authority, the Miami Where Worlds Meet program. Our new award-winning program, It's So Miami, is getting you more customers, supporting more jobs. So I'm going to get quiet. We come here every year. We raise the bar, almost double-digit increases. In 2012 we had 14 records --
Unidentified Speaker: Fourteen.
Unidentified Speaker: Fourteen.
Mr. Talbert: I'm not good at math. --in hospitality. By every measure, I think you - somebody -- you saw the convention development tax go up 23 percent in March. But what is that about? It's about the visitors. It's about customers. You know, we have hotel reports. It's about the demand for travel to Miami. It's at record levels. And we are your destination marketing organization, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. We partner with each of you, and I hope we're going to be here next year and talk about another record. But we work very hard on your behalf, and because of your partnership, we make a difference. Gene and Steven?
Steven Haas: Good morning, everyone. I just wanted to say thank you. I want to say thank you for recognizing the Bureau, but I also want to publicly say thank you for the Bureau's team. Being the chairman of this great board, I got to tell you, it is just an honor. Every time we go to meetings, every time we produce, to see in this time, in this global economic time that we're in that this City is breaking records, and this Bureau just did it by 14 different records this year is incredible. But I also just want to say thank you to the Commission, to the Mayor, to everybody for the support and for the understanding that tourism is the number-one reason for Miami. It's all about tourism, and the Bureau is the engine that drives it. Thank you so much for your support.
Applause.
Gene Prescott: We thank you for your past support and we'll be continuing to ask for it, 'cause we certainly also need continued support on getting dollars for promotion.
Commissioner Carollo: That never ends.
Mr. Talbert: But thank you.
Applause.
Mr. Prescott: And also, for the record, Ita Moriarty, our convention sales senior vice president, and Barry Moskowitz are here. They are here, and they do a tremendous job selling meetings and conventions in your city and not only in your convention facilities, but in your great hotels. So you want us all to join you up here?
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Mayor Regalado: Yes, please.
Mr. Prescott: Come on, everybody.
Mayor Regalado: And Bill and Gene and Steven, Rolando, all the team, we want to thank you. Just recently -- Bill, just recently, we started something that could be big. And we first started with a group of residents. We're doing eco-tourism. We're visiting Simpson Park and Virginia Key, and it's fantastic. People native here, residents are seeing amazing things. And I think that we would like to partner with you for eco-tourism, because we have here something that not that many cities have. There is a park in Chairman's district, Simpson Park, that out of 200 acres of native plants in the U.S. (United States), we have 9 here in the middle of downtown, and the people were fascinated by that, and visiting Virginia Key. And I hope that we can partner with you to promote this. And, Commissioner Spence [sic], thank you for your initiative.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Let's give the Bureau a hand again.
Applause.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: There's only a few things I want to say as everybody assembles themselves for the picture. I want to especially acknowledge Bill Talbert, Gene, Steven, Rolando for their leadership. And every single year, they push the envelope. They understand the importance of neighborhoods. We launched this Shop, Dine and Explore program about a few years ago, and it's growing every single day. Rolando, we're just now announcing that we will have a stop with the red - Big Bus Red - Big Red Bus. Now, that's a big thing coming to Historic Overtown. It hits every single other neighborhood, goes to the Little Havana, but it doesn't come to urban neighborhoods. So we want to really make sure that that happen. And we're excited about the cultural tourism that's happening, so I wanted to at least acknowledge that. And then, of course, our campaign to drive people to Wynwood, Little Haiti, Liberty City, Little Havana, Overtown. We really appreciate the work that you guys are doing with FIU (Florida International University). And as we continue to build the hospitality institute - because this is an industry. People go to work in hotels. They go to -- they eat in the restaurants, you know. People benefit from this from the community. So it's extremely important for us to acknowledge your good work. The list goes on and on, but I do want - I wanted to make sure that I acknowledge you personally. And in your work that you're doing in the film industry, Rolando, we really appreciate your push to bring these kind of festivals to Miami to support them so that we can cultivate the industry. So with that being said, job well done, guys. I really appreciate all you do, and it is a pleasure to serve on this board.
Applause.
END OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE
PUBLIC HEARINGS
9:00 A.M.
PH.1 RESOLUTION 13-00323 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Community and ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF COMMUNITY Economic DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ("CDBG") CLOSE-OUT AND Development DE-OBLIGATION OF FUNDS, AS SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $948,780.64 AND THE ALLOCATION OF SAID FUNDS TO THE CITY OF MIAMI DEPARTMENT OF
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COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CDBG RESERVE ACCOUNT FOR FUTURE CITYWIDE CDBG ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00323 Summary Form.pdf 13-00323 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00323 Legislation.pdf 13-00323 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence-Jones, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
R-13-0172
Chair Sarnoff: All right. PH.1.
George Mensah: Commissioners, good morning. George Mensah, director of Community Development. PH.1 is a resolution of Miami City Commission, authorizing the close-out and de-obligation of funds, as specified in Exhibit “A”, and allocating said funds to the City of Miami Department of Community and Economic Development CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) reserve, and the de-obligated funds are attached in your package.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. It's a public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PH.1, PH.1, please step up. Anyone else wishing to speak on PH.1? The Mayor is going to speak. Mr. Mayor, you're recognized for the record.
Mayor Tomás Regalado: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good morning, Commissioners. You know, several years ago, when Washington began the cuts, past Commissions and past Mayors committed to the social programs of the City of Miami that we will help. And as part of that, there was created what call the Mayor's Initiative, the Citywide Initiative, Poverty, and it was used to help.
Commissioner Carollo: Not this item.
Mayor Regalado: No, I know, I know, but I just want to tell you something that I'm sure that some of you know. It is important that today we finish the allocations, and my understanding is that the Commission had decided to ask the Budget director to add $40,000 to the allocations from the reserve fund. But also, it's important to know that Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Senator Nelson had reintroduced the bill that we all went to Washington so many times to ask Congress to do it, and this is flexibility. I think that if we work on this bill, most of the problems that we're facing now would go away. And I want to say that I am sure that all the Commissioners here that had been to Washington so many times, we will be back. And we just need to ask our delegation to support this bill. I know that Congressman Joe Garcia has already committed and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman. So I just wanted to point that out and ask you to continue with this process. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes, sir. You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: I think the agenda item that the Mayor is speaking about is PH.9.
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Mayor Regalado: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: It's not PH.1.
Chair Sarnoff: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: And, yes, he's speaking about the flexibility, which is my discussion item that we could discuss later. And, you know, I keep quiet, but, yeah, I was in Washington approximately two or three weeks ago, and I did speak to Congressman Garcia, because he's a new congressman from our area, and we have good news as the Mayor mentioned, but, that's part of my discussion item and he -- I think he's speaking about the Poverty Initiative, which is PH.9.
Mayor Regalado: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: But we're in PH.1.
Mayor Regalado: No, I understand that, but I just want to make sure that we don't send a wrong message, and that today, we continue that conversation. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. All right, you're recognized for the record, Mr. Cruz.
Mariano Cruz: Mariano Cruz, 801 Northwest 37 Avenue. That's the address of ABDA (Allapattah Business Development Agency) is the -- you know, we do a lot of work in District 1 and receive money, federal money. Like I said before, everything I pay the City is the solid waste fee, but I send a lot of money to Washington, and that's -- this is federal money. Very important that the monies are used properly. We have a lot of plans, Allapattah, you know, Little Santo Domingo, a lot of plans going on. And the main thing we need to implement the plans is money. So it is our money, our money that we send to Washington. They take a commission there and then send something back here. So it's good that part of the money comes back to us, because the money is being used. We have a lot of plans there. Things are being done. Façade -- you got to see the facades that are being done there. They look different, and something -- the Department of Public Works is helping us sometimes at fixing the street, the alleyways, and all that. Very important, because you don't do anything by fixing the front of the building if the back is not fixed and it flooded when it rains. But Mr. Zerry has been very helpful in helping us. Whenever we call, the things are done. And we are not the Grove, but we want to be treated not better or worse. We want parity. Thank you very much.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you, Mr. Cruz.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair, if I may.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized for the record.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. First of all, I move the item. I don't know if there's a motion yet, so I move the item.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion. Is there a second?
Chair Spence-Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Second by Commissioner Spence-Jones. You're recognized for the record, Mr. --
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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Chair Sarnoff: Sorry. Commissioner.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Commissioner Suarez.
Chair Sarnoff: Mr. Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: You could call me Francis. Mr. Mensah, just a quick question. We're de-allocating a lot of money, almost a million dollars. Are you going to be coming back to this Commission soon with a spending plan? Obviously, one of the big issues is -- You want to chime in?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes, with a spending plan, after you have discussed with all five Commissioners.
Commissioner Suarez: Of course, absolutely.
Commissioner Carollo: Because I wasn't aware that this money was going to be de-obligated.
Commissioner Suarez: And by the way, I want to clarify for Commissioner Carollo, because I'm sure he knows this. I asked specifically, if you recall in our briefing, if this was going to affect, in other words, the de-obligation was going to be affecting any specific Commission district, or if this was from --
Commissioner Carollo: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
Commissioner Suarez: Right -- some sort of citywide-related issues. And I think there's only one Commission district, which I believe is the Chairman's, where money is being de-allocated from that district. So -- but I agree. I mean, obviously, the expenditure of funds, which is the reason why we renamed the Poverty Initiative the Citywide Poverty Initiative, because it is the Commission that allocates funds. So I agree with Commissioner Carollo, that we need to you know, please consult with all the Commissioners. There's -- different Commissioners have different priorities in terms of facades versus, you know, capital improvements and street improvements. I know a lot of us are struggling to get our streets repaved as quickly as possible and making sure that we have funds available from sources. So I would just reiterate Commissioner Carollo's point, that you please consult with all the Commissioners before coming up with a spending plan, but that we do it also efficiently so that we don't create any problems for ourselves.
Mr. Mensah: I understand. I just wanted to answer, Commissioners. I've -- I think, from my lot -- the e-mail (electronic) from -- starting from 12 months ago, May of last year, I sent an e-mail around about our spending problems. Because of the nature of the spending problems, the only -- and I repeat -- the only activities that I will ever come and recommend to the City Commission will be activities that will require either two or three weeks or a maximum four weeks of environmental clearance. If we do any construction that will require three, four months of environmental clearance, then those funds cannot be spent by the December 31 deadline. So the activities that will be recommended would be mostly acquisitions, business loans. Those are the type of activities that you can do -- I can make plans for three to four weeks. And I will be glad to meet with all the Commissioners and explain to them a plan to spend these funds, and I will be happy to get Commissioners -- from Commissioners what activities they have planned that they can -- they think they can use these funds for within the limits that I have indicated. And I just want to reiterate that even though some of the money come from different districts, if we don't meet our deadline in December 31, January 31, it doesn't matter, because we will lose the money anyway. So I just wanted to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and I'll be glad to meet with all Commissioners about this. Thank you.
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Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, public hearing. Anybody else wishing to be heard, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, coming back to this Commission. I want to be candid with you guys. That sounded pretty informal, didn't it?
Commissioner Suarez: I hope you always want to be candid.
Chair Sarnoff: I was -- right. No, I don't want to be candid. I was going to vote against this because, if you notice on your line item budget, you'll see that the Building Department is relinquishing $400,000. I drilled into this, and it really goes to something that Suarez sort of initiated, and that was the tearing down of abandoned and unsafe structures. And, you know, I certainly have -- I actually think I have the -- I think me and Spence [sic] have the most abandoned and unsafe structures in the City of Miami, and I was just curious why it was that we were suddenly letting go of money, that I still have these structures that are still standing that --
Commissioner Suarez: Need to come down.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah, Right. So if you heard chatters in the hallway that I was opposing this, I was like, well, wait a minute. You're letting go of $400,000. I have -- I believe we went from 800 -- correct me if I'm wrong, Alice. We're down to about 400 to 600 unsafe structures. However, something has happened in the City of Miami. People are starting to buy those homes up and starting to renovate those homes. So I do understand that the economics have changed some. I just want to make it clear, Mr. Manager, that the reason I'm not opposing this is because Alice did give an adequate explanation to me as to how we're still going about demolishing unsafe structures. And something that I was bitterly opposed to, I am lukewarm okay with, providing we stay the course, we stay on track, because I know I have plenty of unsafe structures -- 57 in the West Grove -- or at least what we think as layperson; certainly not engineers -- 57 abandoned buildings, which we think are also unsafe. So I know there's adequate money and adequate resources based on what's being left there. I want to put that on the record so anybody that sees me saying, wow, you're giving up $400,000 from building on something that was really spearheaded by Suarez that I think had an impact in Miami. Actually, it had a good impact. But I'm also going to be bringing something up as a pocket item -- and I wish it was ready to go right now -- that will show you that we didn't get something right, and that happens to be on Bird Avenue, and it happens to be a car dealership right next to Coral Gables. And I love that juxtaposition, because there you have the Gables looking pristine, and as soon as you cross over to the City of Miami, you have absolutely negligent, grossly negligent, and reckless owners that just don't care. And I've been fighting this since 2006. I'll bring that up as a pocket item. I just thought $400,000 was worth discussing, simply because it was how we were taking down some unsafe structures in the City of Miami. You're recognized for the record.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I'll be very brief. I just wanted to say that we wanted to get this money allocated as an injection to start the process, and we knew at the time that that money was limited to certain income areas. And so I think the idea was from the get-go that we would start collecting on these special assessment liens, and we would use those funds as a means to actually start demolishing these properties in areas that are not CDBG limited. So my understanding is, we've collected over $300,000 worth of these special assessment fines, thanks to the City Attorney's Office and Ms. Victoria Mendez and others that have worked very hard and very closely with our office, you know, to help us with that process. And we just started to think differently about this, and I think we became much more aggressive. And now we have, obviously, funds that we can use everywhere, which will benefit much more District 2 and other areas that are not CDBG-limited.
Chair Sarnoff. All right. So we have a motion. The public hearing is closed; right, Madam
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Clerk? All right. We have a motion and we have a second. Any further discussion? All in favor, please say “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PH.2 RESOLUTION 13-00458 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE Community and CITY MANAGER TO GRANT ALLAPATTAH BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Economic AUTHORITY, INC., AN EXTENSION OF TIME FROM MARCH 31, 2013 TO Development SEPTEMBER 30, 2013, FOR THE 2012-2013 AGREEMENT FOR THE COMMERCIAL FAÇADE AND CODE COMPLIANCE PROGRAM IN DISTRICT 1; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00458 Summary Form.pdf 13-00458 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00458 Pre-Legislations.pdf 13-00458 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be INDEFINITELY DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
PH.3 RESOLUTION 13-00461 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Community and ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE ALLOCATION OF PROGRAM YEAR Economic 2013-2014 HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS Development PROGRAM SHORT TERM RENTAL, UTILITY AND MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE FUNDS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $600,000, AS SPECIFIED IN ATTACHMENT "A," ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, TO PROVIDE SHORT TERM RENTAL, MORTGAGE AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE TO LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00461 Summary Form.pdf 13-00461 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00461 Pre-Legislation.pdf 13-00461 Legislation.pdf 13-00461 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
R-13-0173
Chair Sarnoff: Okay, PH.2
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.3.
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Vice Chair Gort: No, deferred.
Chair Sarnoff: Oh, I'm sorry. PH.3. You're right. I apologize.
Mr. Mensah: PH.3 is a resolution of Miami City Commission approving the allocation of program year 2013-2014 HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS) funds for the assistance for the short-term rental, utility and mortgage assistance funds in the amount of $600,000.
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Motion by Commissioner Suarez, second by Commissioner Gort. Public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PH.3, PH.3, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, public hearing is now closed. Coming back to this Commission, any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say, “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PH.4 RESOLUTION 13-00462 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Community and ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE MARTIN LUTHER KING EMERGENCY Economic BUSINESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM GUIDELINES, AS SPECIFIED IN Development EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED; AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ("CDBG") FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $130,000, FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CDBG RESERVE ACCOUNT, AS SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT "B", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, TO PROVIDE FORGIVABLE LOANS UP TO $10,000 TO FOR-PROFIT BUSINESSES LOCATED ON OR ABOUT THE 7TH AVENUE CORRIDOR, MIAMI, FLORIDA; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00462 Summary Form (05/23/13).pdf 13-00462 Notice to the Public (05/09/13).pdf 13-00462 Pre-Legislation (05/09/13).pdf 13-00462 Legislation (Version 2).pdf 13-00462 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
Note for the Record: Item PH.4 was deferred to the May 23, 2013 Commission Meeting.
PH.5 RESOLUTION 13-00463
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Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE Community and ALLOCATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS Economic ("CDBG") IN THE AMOUNT OF $420,000, FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF Development COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CDBG RESERVE ACCOUNT TO WYNWOOD BREWING COMPANY LLC, FOR JOB CREATION; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00463 Summary Form.pdf 13-00463 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00463 Letter - Wynwood Brewing Company LLC.pdf 13-00463 WBC Equipment (05-23-13).pdf 13-00463 Pre-Legislation.pdf 13-00463 Legislation (Version 2).pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
Note for the Record: Item PH.5 was deferred to the May 23, 2013 Commission Meeting.
PH.6 RESOLUTION 13-00464 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Community and ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF COMMUNITY Economic DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS, IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF Development $265,414.98, AS SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, TO THE CITY OF MIAMI CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM, FOR NEW ROADWAY, DRAINAGE AND TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS IN ELIGIBLE AREAS OF DISTRICT 4; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00464 Summary Form.pdf 13-00464 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00464 Legislation.pdf 13-00464 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
R-13-0174
Chair Sarnoff: All right. PH.6.
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.6 is a resolution authorizing the transfer of Community Development Block Grants in the amount of $265,414.98, to the attached project. And this is basically reallocation of projects in District 4 so they can go to a new project that is ready and able to move forward right away.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Is there a motion on PH.6?
Commissioner Carollo: So move.
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Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Motion by Commissioner Carollo, second by Commissioner Suarez. It's a public hearing. Anyone from the public wishing to be heard?
Mariano Cruz: Sure.
Chair Sarnoff: Mr. Cruz, you're recognized for the record.
Mr. Cruz: Mariano Cruz, 1227 26th Street. I have a question, because I travel west. I go to Flagami there, and I seen still some problems there with the drainage. Even the State has done something, but still, it's a lot, a lot to be done, and we need that because those people in Flagami, they pay city taxes, too, and state taxes and federal taxes and all kind of taxes, and they need to be served. And this is good. That's a -- the money will be to good use there. I am for this. Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mariano.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair, if I may?
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. And I think this has been a very, very sore subject for me, a very big source of frustration, because I remember when I first got elected, I had a community meeting with then CIP (Capital Improvement Projects) director, Ola Aluko, in Flagami, and we outlined a plan to remediate the flooding and also fix the streets. Then I had a meeting with then CIP director, Alice Bravo, in Flagami with the residents to remediate the flooding and do the fixes that we had agreed to with the prior CIP director. Then I had a meeting with the CIP director, Albert Sosa, in Flagami to discuss the remediations of flooding concerns and the repaving of streets and speed humps. Then I had a meeting with Giovanni, who was the sub [sic] director of CIP, in Flagami to discuss the remediation of streets and flooding and speed humps. And then I had a meeting with CIP director, Mark Spanoli, in Flagami with the same people, by the way. They were all there. They're soldiers. They keep coming. And I'm surprised that they have not given up already on this Administration. They are -- they're soldiers. Let's put it that way -- and they're waiting. And so this allocation will hopefully bring that project to fruition.
Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
Commissioner Suarez: Hopefully not. Let's see. We still have time.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Gort is recognized.
Vice Chair Gort: I share a part of the district with Commissioner Suarez, and this is a problem that we had at a time -- I know the State got involved, the County got involved. With this last rain that we had, the problem that we had, the flooding was taking place because the pumps were not working. So my staff went out there and called Public Works and let them know that the -- And my understanding is the contract that was awarded to these pump stations, they're supposed to have certain maintenance to take place, I guess, every six months and sometimes. So we got to make sure that the maintenance for those pumps are really working, because we had a lot of flooding the last time, and we checked, and both pumps were not working. Okay?
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Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Commissioner Suarez: By the way, that project is named Yamar Raos (phonetic).
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. So with PH.6, did I close the public hearing? I did not. Anyone else wishing to be heard on PH.6? The public hearing is now closed. Coming back to this Commission, any further discussion? Hearing no further discussion, all in favor, please say “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PH.7 RESOLUTION 13-00492 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Community and ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING THE EMERGENCY UTILITIES PILOT Economic PROGRAM, AS SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND Development INCORPORATED; AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ("CDBG") FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,000, FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT 3 CDBG RESERVE ACCOUNT TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY UTILITY ASSISTANCE TO QUALIFIED RESIDENTS; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00492 Summary Form.pdf 13-00492 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00492 Legislation.pdf 13-00492 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
Note for the Record: Item PH.7 was deferred to the May 23, 2013 Commission Meeting.
PH.8 RESOLUTION 13-00493 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE Community and ALLOCATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ("CDBG") Economic FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $30,000, FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF Development COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CDBG ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RESERVE ACCOUNT TO THE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BUSINESS CENTER, FOR PUBLIC FACILITIES AND IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES, SPECIFICALLY FOR THE REHABILITATION OF THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6114 NORTHWEST 7TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE.
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13-00493 Summary Form.pdf 13-00493 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00493 Pre-Legislation.pdf 13-00493 Legislation (Version 2).pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
PH.9 RESOLUTION 13-00389 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Community and ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TOTALING Economic $402,000, IN THE AMOUNTS AND TO THE AGENCIES SPECIFIED IN Development ATTACHMENT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR PUBLIC SERVICES ACTIVITIES, FROM THE POVERTY INITIATIVE PROGRAM, ACCOUNT NO. 14010.910101.882000; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AGREEMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, WITH SAID AGENCIES, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00389 Summary Form.pdf 13-00389 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00389 Legislation.pdf 13-0089 Exhibit 1 SUB.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence-Jones, that this matter be ADOPTED WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
R-13-0175
Direction by Chair Sarnoff to the Administration for the Director of Community Development to provide the City Commission with a detailed report on the amount of funds allocated for elderly meal programs by Miami-Dade County within the past five years, to include a bar graph that depicts the trend in funding within those five years and what portion of the funds were allocated from their General Fund.
Later...
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. PH.9, and then we will take the time certain.
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): Commissioners, PH.9 is a resolution authorizing the allocation of poverty funds totaling $362,000, and that is provided in the attachment.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair, if I may.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah. Did I mishear you say -- how much?
Commissioner Suarez: Three sixty-two.
Mr. Mensah: Three hundred and sixty-two thousand.
Chair Sarnoff: Three sixty-two. Okay, I didn't hear you.
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Commissioner Suarez: That's what was advertised.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. You're recognized for the record.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. As we mentioned at the last Commission meeting, and the Mayor mentioned earlier, we had talked about an issue in De Hostos Community Center which, apparently, was serving two districts. And you made a very good point at the time, Mr. Chair, that it seemed like your district was kind of overpaying, in a sense, for services that your district wasn't receiving. So I simply felt that the right thing to do, and the right thing to do, is to increase the poverty, the Citywide Poverty Initiative by at least $40,000. And I think there's one additional -- and I don't know if you confirmed this or not yesterday, George. I spoke with Ramon from Little Havana Nutritional Centers, and he was saying that there was a $9,000 deficiency in their allocation. That's what he told me. So if that is, in fact, the case, I would like to address that at some future date. We don't have to address it now. But there is a big issue happening, and I want the Commission to know. So, first, I would amend this to increase it to four-o-two but --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Second.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. But there is an issue happening and it's with sequester and with federal funding, and it's going to impact -- and it's already maybe impacting a lot of our senior centers at this very moment. Most of our senior centers have been reduced, congregate meals. And if you haven't heard of it yet, call the directors and I'm sure they'll verify that. And what's happened is Little -- First of all, we needed to get this money approved. And I think that this is going to obviously go -- this will provide the variety of different agencies with a significant amount of help. But there's also, because of sequester, a lot of the agencies have received less money, and also, there have just been regular cuts from the federal government, as well. So that may be something that we want to look at, because I know in some -- for example, Smathers, they got reduced from like 90 meals to 50 meals. And I have elderly people who are actually waking up at 7 o'clock in the morning because they now have to compete for the very limited tickets that are available in these senior centers. I mean, it's really -- it's beyond unfair. And when we think about the $500 million budget that we have and all of the different priorities that we have, which are many, and they continue to grow, I think all of us agree that feeding the elderly in our community is one of those main priorities; that we need to do whatever we have to do to ensure that we are serving that population. So I just -- I want to put that on the Commission's radar screen. I'm going to discuss it with George, with Mr. Mensah, and hopefully, he'll have an opportunity to brief everyone on what's going on. But this is an issue that is happening, and we need to be aware of it, and we may need to take some sort of further action in the future.
Chair Sarnoff: Let me go to Spence-Jones, then I'll come back to Carollo, and then I'll go back to Gort.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Well, first of all, I want to thank Commissioner Suarez for his courage and his compassion. This is exactly what I was speaking about in our last meeting. And I do understand -- First of all, I understand why the Chairman had to make a decision, and I'm glad to see that the West Grove -- roo, roo, roo -- is moving in a very positive direction in the wonderful things that you're doing for the young people there. And I have had feedback from people from the West Grove that they are really seeing a major turnaround with what's happening in D2 (District 2) for their district. So I'm not going to even -- This is not about your D2 allocation. But I do want to say that as Commissioner Suarez has stated, you know, when we talk about seniors, these are individuals that have come to the end of their lives. They live on a fixed income. They really don't have any other options to get money and food from anywhere else, you know. And, you know, the whole purpose of us sitting up here -- one of the main purposes of us sitting up here is to have compassion for the people that we serve. And when I
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looked at the list -- and I do understand a lot of them are coming from the D5 (District 5) area. And guess what? If it wasn't a last minute request for change, then we would try to move things around to figure out how to make it happen. The reason why we're here is because it was kind of like a last minute change, which kind of shocked De Hostos, as well, and us trying to figure out how we'll handle it. Now, as we move forward, then we need to figure out how we're going to address it, but I think that it was a little -- it's a little difficult for them to find a way to handle the situation at the last moment. I think us stepping up to the plate and saying, okay, look, we'll step in now to kind of assist you this year, and as we move into next year, we'll figure out how handle it. But to just leave them high and dry, I think that that was -- that is definitely the wrong thing to do. So I commend Commissioner Suarez for his courage and his compassion for serving seniors. I saw the list. I know I had a lot of those on my D5 list, but I also saw that every Commissioner, for the most part, their seniors being fed out of that allocation.
Commissioner Suarez: Except mine.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Except you. Except you, right. So I think that the mere fact that you're pushing for this, even if it's not in your district or it's not servicing your district, you care about these seniors is extremely important. My fear was that this was going to open a Pandora's Box, and then we're going to have a whole bunch of people calling us and asking us, but I think in this instance, our response to that is: This is a last minute change, and they were already under the impression and planned and budgeted for this year, so that's the reason why we're making this decision to assist them this year as we move. So I just wanted to at least make sure that I commend him on his leadership to step up to the plate to address that issue, and that's really my only comment. The 40,000 that we're talking about that, outside of that, I do want to bring up an issue, guys, that I think is important, even from the Poverty Initiative side of it, and I had this brief conversation with George the other day, and that's we've got to figure out a way to streamline this process for this pot of money, because it is general fund money, but some of the organizations that have gotten funded have still gotten -- have not gotten their money. And this is supposed to be kind of more like a grant process, and not necessarily this whole CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) process that they have to go through. So I'm asking for the Administration to look at a leaner way -- you know, I want to make sure that we have everything in order. The business stuff is in order, you know, but let's not take these individuals through loops and hoops, you know, just to pull down grant money that's coming from our general fund. So I really want to put a tighter process, a shorter process, because already, six months ago now, they haven't gotten their money.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chair, if I may?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So I would like to make sure that that goes along with this item; that there is a streamer -- that you streamline the process in how we give this money out.
Chair Sarnoff: Let's go to Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I've listened to both my colleagues, and I agree with most of what been said. And I think if you go anywhere near District 3, I think you will hear that -- how compassionate I am and I can be. And I think it's definitely an issue, but at the same time, listen, I -- the City of Miami is never going to have more money than the federal government. So I just don't want to continue putting Band-Aid on things and not really address the problem and fix the problem, because if the federal government keeps cutting, there's no way that we're going to be able to subsidize that money, because we will never have more money than the federal government. We just won't. And that's why, back in 2010 --- I know the Mayor mentioned it -- back in 2010, I presented the resolution which was approved unanimously to actually have something that could fix the problem, which was, these monies that we keep hearing about, about the timeliness and the timeliness, and we don't spend it, and all this, actually have the flexibility to now be used for public services. And like I mentioned a few weeks
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ago, I do go up to -- I'm sorry -- I did go up to Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia), and I had a good discussion with many legislators, many congressmen and congresswomen regarding why they -- the newspapers show that we're not spending the money, yet we're asking for more flexibility. And I said, “Exactly the point.” We have money in Economic Development that we're having issues or difficulties spending because of the timeliness. Yet, we are spending general fund dollars for public services. And that's why we need the flexibility. And in my discussion items, I wanted to discuss, you know, what has come from that resolution that we passed. And in all fairness, we've all gone up to Washington, D.C., and we've pushed for this. And recently, Congresswoman Ileana Ros -- along with all the other congressmen -- Congresswoman Fredericka Wilson, Mario Diaz-Balart, Joe Garcia, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, they have introduced legislation for this flexibility again. And it's bipartisan, because in the Senate, we have Bill Nelson that's also introduced it. So to really fix this problem, you know, it can't be just using more general fund dollars. It needs to be a real solution. And this is a real solution if, finally, they pass it and we have the additional flexibility to spend economic development dollars. With that said, listen, I just think that at the same time, it's a slippery slope. Forty thousand dollars in a -- you know in a five hundred thousand dollar budget is minute. But I just -- I'm afraid about the slippery slope, which is what Commissioner Spence-Jones said, that we keep tapping into the same general fund dollars and general fund dollars for a Band-Aid, you know. And let me tell you something. I have some blame for it, because I wanted to really follow up with De Hostos because of something that was said. Commissioner Sarnoff mentioned that per individual that's being fed, it's costing a lot more for this agency than others. So I wanted to, like, you know, have a friendly discussion, you know, productive discussion to see why is that happening. Is there a way that we could solve some of that problem so more of the money goes further? So -- and again, I wanted to reach out, and these last two weeks have been somewhat, you know, hectic and crazy so I -- we weren't able to. My office wasn't able to. But I would like to really go more into the root of the problem, you know. Like what you mentioned -- Listen, I just did the calculation. It seems like other agencies are feeding each individual with a lot less money than your agency. And I want to go into more of the root of that issue. With that said, as I mentioned before, $40,000 from a $500,000 -- $500 million budget is really minute. But I'm just cautiously -- or cautious because I don't want to keep tapping into the reserve fund, the reserve fund, the reserve fund, and it's like bandages, bandages, bandages, because pretty soon, we're going to address the police issue. And what's that going to take? General fund dollars. And if everything we address is with general fund dollars, I don't know if there's going to be enough. And then we're going to get into raising the millage. And then you're going to have a whole bunch of property owners saying, hey, no, you cannot raise the millage. So, you know, I just want to cautious [sic] everyone. Again, I'm inclined to approve it this time because, once again, it's very minute from a $500 million budget, but I think for the future -- and we've already addressed with regards to the flexibility, and now we're seeing that it is moving along. There is legislation introduced from the Senate side and from the House in congress. So we are moving this to actually fit the problem; not just put a Band-Aid. And more than anything, when I wanted to speak, I wanted to give an update of what was going on. It was one of my discussion items, and at the same time, put some type of a caveat that this cannot continue, that we just tap into the reserve fund. Even though, yes, I do agree that with regards to our elderly and feeding, I mean, that's very humane and something that, you know, well need to have compassion with.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. You hold the dais right now. Do you want to -- I can move Commissioner Gort, or do you want to address the per person feeding amounts?
Commissioner Carollo: The thing is, listen, I'm not here to put this lady on the spot.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: I want to address it in good faith to really see, okay, you know, how much is it really costing? You know, I don't have the figures in front of me, Chairman Sarnoff. And --
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Chair Sarnoff: I want to do what you want to do.
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: That's all I --
Commissioner Carollo: But --
Chair Sarnoff: I get what you're saying. I just want to go to Commissioner Gort. I will then go back to Commissioner Suarez, who is signaling me. I'm just trying to give everybody an equal say.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: And I want to satisfy whatever it is you want.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. And -- no, obviously, I would have liked to have gone over the figures with her to see --
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: -- you know, and find if there's other remedies.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: You can ask the Administration to do an analysis on that, you know. We can pass the item today and then they can do an analysis to make sure that it's in comparison to other feeding programs that we have for seniors, I mean.
Commissioner Suarez: By the way, my understanding --
Chair Sarnoff: Wait, wait, wait, guys.
Commissioner Suarez: Okay. Sorry.
Chair Sarnoff: I don't want to -- Commissioner Gort's been very patient, and I usually let you guys debate, but on this issue, let Commissioner Gort go. I'll let it go a little more free-for-all right after that.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
Vice Chair Gort: I have a question for you. When you make -- do your tabulation where you -- how much you were paying for the meals in De Hostos, my understanding was that you put “X” amount of money when you're only serving “X” amount of people. That's why it was so expensive.
Commissioner Carollo: Right. That was --
Vice Chair Gort: Not that that's the cost of the meal.
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: That's what I was going to say.
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Vice Chair Gort: But let's clarify that. I want to make sure that everybody understands.
Chair Sarnoff: I did an analysis from a district Commissioner's basis --
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: -- not a citywide analysis --
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: -- that demonstrated -- and I used -- I'm going to be candid with you guys. I went to our CDBG director and I said, here's what you're telling me. Here's what they're telling me. I don't know about you guys. The last place I want to be is on the front page of the Miami Herald. So I'm going to trust what the CDBG guy is going to tell me. And he said, Commissioner, these are the people you serve. This is the list. This is the one I'm telling you to follow. I did. That's it. And when George says this is the list I tell you to follow, that's the list I'm going to follow. So, you know, I just wanted you to know how I did it, why I did it.
Vice Chair Gort: No, but my understanding, that price came up that high.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes.
Vice Chair Gort: Because of the amount of money you put and the amount of people that you were serving out of your district, and that's why it was so high.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes.
Vice Chair Gort: But I'm sure that's not the cost of their meals, because they all go for bids and so on. Now, we have a bigger problem that people don't realize. If you do a survey throughout the nations [sic], I can guarantee you, there are senior citizens in South Florida -- right here in Miami-Dade County -- they have the lowest fixed income in the nation, because the salaries here were always very low. A lot of those people were not able to save money. A lot of those people, this one meal a day -- and that's probably five days; and maybe on weekends, they might not get anything. So this is something -- the problem, they really need to look at it. And I agree with you; I don't think it all should come out of general funds, but somehow, we have to find ways to get the private sector to get involved and help subsidize some of those programs, and I think all we need to do that.
Chair Sarnoff: Let me just pipe in for a moment.
Commissioner Suarez: Go ahead.
Chair Sarnoff: First off, I want to -- I wish I'd said it the way Carollo said it because I think he said it a lot less -- he said it nicely. And I echo his thoughts. Let me bring two more reasons to bear. The County -- nobody has talked about the County here. How much money has the County continued to reduce its funding of elderly feeding by, Mr. Mensah?
Mr. Mensah: Commissioner, I'm sorry, I don't have the exact amount that -- I know they've all received reductions over the years, but I cannot say how much.
Chair Sarnoff: But here's my point. You have a $500 million corporation, and either if you'd like to count it as a $9 billion corporation, or I could show you how it's a $14 billion corporation. Turn it around, and 13 Commissioners up there saying it's okay; you can continue to reduce my feeding of the home -- sorry -- of the elderly, and I'm not going to do anything about it. I'm not going to touch my general fund. That's an analysis I want to see. Because, you
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know, for the County to fund an extra $100,000 is like a nickel. For us to fund $100,000 is sort of like a quarter. And I'll tell you, what Commissioner Carollo said is true. You're never going to be able to outspend the federal government, and you're never going to be able to outspend the County. And if the County continues to reduce, reduce, reduce its feeding of the elderly, the City of Miami will never be in a position to fund the County's portion. The City of Miami will never be in the position -- he's dead right -- to fund the federal government's portion.
Mr. Mensah: Commissioner, you also have the State reducing.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. I didn't know the State even pays.
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: There you go. So, you know, I share the sentiment of Commissioner Carollo, because the smallest division of government cannot withstand the reductions of the larger governments. And the County of Miami-Dade County, if I'm not mistaken, would be -- and maybe Suarez knows this -- it would be the 16th state in the United States. That's how big it is. It would be the 16th state in the United State in terms of budget. So, you know, that's something we're never going to withstand. I didn't even know the State funded. And the federal government, I'm telling you guys -- I don't care who's President. I don't care how it's going to be done -- you're going to continue to see reductions from federal spending for the next, I believe, 12 years. I think it's going to happen. I don't think it's any, you know, reason to dispute that it's not going to happen. And I thought -- well, I'll leave -- I was going to cite something that Commissioner Gort was going to say, the reasons why South Florida is in the predicament that it's in. And it has some to do with -- you know, we invite a lot of immigrants in here. They simply didn't have enough time to get quarters -- enough quarters in Social Security. And those quarters didn't accrue at enough, and the federal government allowed them to stay and then did nothing to make sure that they could --
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: -- inevitably eat. And that is the unvarnished, unabashed truth as to how we have so many seniors that are on such a fixed income in South Florida. So I know you wanted to speak to this.
Commissioner Suarez: No, I think you guys pretty much summed it up. I just -- I agree; we're never going to be able to outspend the federal government or the state government. I sincerely hope that is always the case because they're much, much larger than we are. You know, just to give it a little bit of perspective, you know, on this citywide fund, we've actually, I believe, reduced our spending. We've -- let me finish my statement -- reduced our overall spending from its high point, where it was, I believe, over a million dollars at one point, if I'm not mistaken, and it's like half of that right now. So I'm not saying we haven't increased it since we got here. I'm saying we have decreased it substantially from where it was initially so -- I guess where it was in its high point. And it does represent slightly over one-tenth of one percent of our budget, and I think that's also significant for people to put things in perspective versus, let's say, our police budget, which is slightly more than 50 percent of our personnel budget. So, you know, I think the objective here is that we -- and I think we all agree on the objective. We've all gone to Washington, and we all believe that flexibility is a much better solution than continuing to go into the general fund. I mean, there's no doubt about that. So I'm hopeful that the legislation -- that congress gets something that's so obvious, you know, to all of us, done. I mean, I can't imagine -- if they can't do something like this, I mean, I don't know what to say about our federal government.
Chair Sarnoff: George, before I recognize Danny Alfonso -- you don't have to get up, George -- I just would like for the record -- I'd like to be given to each Commissioner -- I would like to know
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in the past five years what the County's funding of its feeding for the elderly has been, and just to show a bar graph, whether it's gone down, increased; how much they have gone into their general fund, if they've gone into their general fund. I just think it's something -- You know, we tend to have more influence in the County probably than any other governmental subdivision. So, you know, maybe we can influence them to start filling --
Commissioner Suarez: And I can tell you, in the case of Little Havana -- because that was one of the examples that we used earlier today -- Commissioner Barreiro sponsored a resolution at the last County Commission meeting, that was unanimously approved by the County Commission, requesting that the Administration find -- I believe it was a hundred -- over $100,000 for Little Havana Nutrition Center from the general fund, from any sources other than CDBG-allocated funds. So I think the County's also trying to fill the hole to the extent possible. But, you know, if you look at Little Havana Nutritional Center, after the sequester cuts, and even given their -- they got an actual special allocation, which haven't been signed by the Governor yet, of LSP (Local Strategic Partnership) funding, a special allocation. They're looking at cuts in the vicinity of $250,000. So, I mean, it's a significant, significant cut.
Chair Sarnoff: But I'm not sure they've done like us. I'm not sure when their federal budget has been cut, that they've gone to their general fund. My recollection sitting up --
Commissioner Suarez: Oh, by the way, those are not County cuts and these are not -- and that's the other thing. I want to be clear. The City has been maintaining the levels of funding, and I don't know -- I'm sure -- I assume the County has, as well.
Chair Sarnoff: That's my point.
Commissioner Suarez: Maybe not.
Chair Sarnoff: I don't think -- I actually remember sitting here, so it had to be during the Diaz Administration with Regalado there, and we were filling the void left by the County, because I think they got partially defunded for violating something with HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development), and there we were filling --
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: -- it in, prior to a real crisis, but certainly in the declining years, and I just want to know -- I mean, the County has so many sources they could tap that we should not bear this brunt -- certainly not alone, and maybe not bear it at all. I don't know. So I know you're up there, Danny, and I'm sure you want to say something.
Daniel Alfonso: Yes. Commissioners, Danny Alfonso, director of Office of Management and Budget. A housekeeping item, I want to make sure that if we're going to amend this resolution to increase by $40,000 the payment to the organizations, we also need to get in this resolution an amendment to amend the general fund transfer to CDBG to increase by $40,000 and decrease a reserve in the general fund so that the balance of the budget remains and so that I have the authority to actually transfer the money to CD (Community Development) so that they can then distribute it.
Chair Sarnoff: Maker understands --
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: -- that amendment?
Commissioner Sarnoff: I amend as such.
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Seconder accepts?
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes, she does. Public -- Go ahead, Mr. Commissioner.
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. So public hearing. Anybody wishing to be heard on PH.9, please step up. You're recognized for the record.
Miriam Urra: Well, thank you very much, Commissioner.
Chair Sarnoff: Smart move. Smart move. In the words of Judge Rifkin, all you could say is thank you.
Vice Chair Gort: Great presentation.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Anybody else wishing to be heard on PH.9? PH.9, public hearing is now closed; coming back to this Commission. I think we've had enough discussion. All in favor, please say “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Ms. Urra: Good morning, Chairman, Commissioner Suarez, Commissioner Carollo, Commissioner Gort, Commissioner Jones [sic]. I'd just like -- I'm here just to express my gratitude for your concerns toward the elderly, the needy elderly in the City of Miami, not only in my community. We've been experiencing lots of cuts from the CDBG program, from the federal government, for many years back. And every year they come with more cuts. If it was not for the City, for you Commissioners, Mayor, the Commissioners that are being concerned and are being providing funds from the general monies from the City, I guess that all the programs like mine, the elder programs and other social programs, would be in huge trouble, and we won't be able to continue providing these much-needed services that they receive, like the hot meals that they have every day. It's probably only the one meal that they have in the day. So thank you. Thank you with all my heart.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Ms. Urra: On behalf of my community, thank you very much for what you do.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: And to close, I just want to -- and you know I've always said that we work up here as a team. So I just want to ask all my colleagues to -- you know, we've done this over the last two or three years, and it's still not done. They have introduced legislation, but it's still not done. Please contact your congressmen, congresswomen and thank them -- Senator Bill
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Nelson also -- for introducing the legislation in the Senate. Let them know. And, Ms. Urra, a way you could help us is, really, contact your congresswoman, congressmen, especially the ones from South Florida. Contact Bill Nelson's office, Mr. Rubio's office -- also Senator Rubio's office, and let them know that it is important. One of the discussions I had with Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz -- or let her know is that with the redistricting, there are new senior centers that are in her district, and you know, it's now, you know, additional population that she really needs to look at and help out. So, you know, please, you know, contact them and thank them.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
PH.10 RESOLUTION 13-00387 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Community and ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE ALLOCATION OF PROGRAM YEAR Economic 2013-2014 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT ("CDBG") FUNDS, Development IN THE AMOUNT OF $105,993 FROM THE DISTRICT 2 CDBG PUBLIC SERVICE RESERVE ACCOUNT TO THE AGENCIES SPECIFIED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR PUBLIC SERVICE ACTIVITIES; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00387 Summary Form.pdf 13-00387 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00387 Legislation.pdf 13-00387 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Carollo Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Suarez and Spence-Jones
R-13-0176
Chair Sarnoff: I did give a time certain to D4.2. Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: You know what, Mr. Chair. If you can, we could take it after the PH (Public Hearing) items --
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: -- if that's okay with you? 'Cause I'm going to --
Chair Sarnoff: So we'll continue on --
Commissioner Suarez: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: -- PH.10. Yes.
George Mensah (Director, Community Development): PH.10 is just the allocation of District 2 CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds, in the amount of 105,993, as distributed
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by --
Chair Sarnoff: Move the item.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you. It's been moved.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Vice Chair Gort: It's been moved and seconded. This is a public hearing. Is there anyone in the public that would like to address this item?
Mariano Cruz: Mariano Cruz, 1227 26th Street. Even if District 2 is a rich district -- Mr. Mayor lives there, too, but, still, they are needy people because you see homeless people also I am for that. I think that money should go there to District 2. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you, Mr. Cruz. Anyone else? Anyone else? Close the public hearings [sic]. All in favor, state it by saying “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
PH.11 RESOLUTION 13-00465 Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Facilities ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A GRANT OF EASEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, TO FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY, A FOR-PROFIT FLORIDA CORPORATION, FOR A PERPETUAL, NON-EXCLUSIVE EASEMENT OF APPROXIMATELY TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED EIGHT (2,208) SQUARE FEET OF CITY OF MIAMI OWNED PROPERTY LOCATED AT THE CORNER OF NORTHEAST 79TH STREET AND NORTHEAST 10TH AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA (KNOWN AS FUTURE FIRE STATION #13), AS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT "A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF ELECTRIC UTILITY FACILITIES, WITH THE RIGHT TO RECONSTRUCT, IMPROVE, ADD TO, ENLARGE, CHANGE THE VOLTAGE OF AS WELL AS THE SIZE OF AND REMOVE ALL OR ANY OF THE FACILITIES WITHIN SAID EASEMENT. 13-00465 Summary Form.pdf 13-00465 Notice to the Public.pdf 13-00465 Legislation.pdf 13-00465 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence-Jones
R-13-0178
Chair Sarnoff: Okay, PH.11.
Henry Torre: Good morning. Henry Torre, director of Public Facilities. PH.11 is a resolution
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granting to Florida Power and Light a non-exclusive easement of approximately 2,200 square feet of City-owned property located at the corner of Northwest 79th and Northwest 10th Avenue to service the future Fire Station 13.
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion by Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Second by Commissioner Carollo. It's a public hearing. Anyone wishing to be heard? Mr. Cruz, you're recognized for the record.
Mariano Cruz: Mariano Cruz, 1227 26th Street. Mariano Cruz. I'm speaking about -- I am electrical engineer, even if I didn't work here, because I -- they -- when I applied first with FPL (Florida Power and Light) or whatever, they told me, “You have an accent.” And, you know, I say, “I have an accent. I speak more than one language.” But he get so pissed off that he decide I'm not going to work here as an electrical engineer. But the other day -- FPL is doing real good. They are good now with the use of natural gas and everything, it's a good company. They get the Demings [sic] award for good corporation. Not only that, the other day, I met Armandito [sic], retiring CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of FPL, and Eloy Villasuso and Gonzalez at the Versailles, and we start talking shop about different -- the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or the transmission of electricity, and we were talking about that -- the use of natural gas and the -- plus the use of nuclear fuel. My electric bill has gone down. From $180, now I am paying $70 or less a month. All -- I don't know that everybody will be the same, because I bought a new appliance and everything, but it should be -- anything going for FPL, I know it's a good company. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. All right. Anyone else from the public wishing to be heard on PH.11? PH.11. Hearing none, seeing none, the public hearing is now closed. Coming back to this Commission, any discussion, gentlemen? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say, “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Mr. Torre: Thank you.
PH.12 RESOLUTION 13-00466 Department of Public A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Works ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE PLAT ENTITLED "C.G.B.SUBDIVISION", A REPLAT IN THE CITY OF MIAMI OF THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED IN "ATTACHMENT 1", AND SUBJECT TO THE SATISFACTION OF ALL CONDITIONS REQUIRED BY THE PLAT AND STREET COMMITTEE AS SET FORTH IN "EXHIBIT A", ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED, AND THE PROVISIONS CONTAINED IN SECTION 55-8 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, AND ACCEPTING THE DEDICATIONS SHOWN ON THE PLAT; AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER AND CITY CLERK TO EXECUTE THE PLAT; AND PROVIDING FOR THE RECORDATION OF THE PLAT IN THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA. 13-00466 Summary Form.pdf 13-00466 Notices to the Public.pdf 13-00466 Legislation.pdf 13-00466 Exhibit 1.pdf
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Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence-Jones, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
R-13-0177
Chair Sarnoff: Okay, looks like we are -- I agreed to give a first -- PH.12. PH.12 is recognized.
Nzeribe Ihekwaba (Director, Public Works): Good morning. Zerry Ihekwaba. PH.12 is a resolution of the City Commission to accept the final plats of C.G.B. (Coconut Grove Bank) Subdivision and also to authorize the City Manager to execute the related documents for the recordation.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Is there a motion?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: It needs a public hearing or no?
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah, it is a public hearing actually. I'll start with the public hearing. Anybody from the public wishing to be heard on PH.12, please step up. You're recognized for the record, Mr. Former City Attorney.
Joel Maxwell: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission. Morning, Mr. Manager, Madam City Attorney, Madam Clerk, and Mr. Mayor. I --
Vice Chair Gort: He's running.
Mr. Maxwell: No, I'm not, but I thank you, Commissioner Spence [sic], and you, for those kind words earlier, and I'm sure my colleague, Lucia Dougherty --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Mr. Maxwell: -- would echo that, as well. We simply would ask that you follow the recommendations of the Public Works Department on this item. I am here, for the record, on behalf of Coconut Grove Bank. Joel Maxwell for the record. 1 Southeast 3rd Avenue, in Miami. Here along with me from Coconut Grove Bank is Mr. Doug Sinclair. Again, we would ask that you --
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Mr. Maxwell: -- follow the recommendation and approve this item.
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Chair Sarnoff: Anyone else?
Mariano Cruz: Mariano Cruz, 1227 26 Street, a City resident. I recommend the City Commission, they follow the recommendations of the department because, you know, they -- I've seen and read it (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It looks something like -- I've read the background material and it sounds good. It should be done and get all those plats there in the book, the way it should be done. Thank you. And I am still under my two minutes. But anyway, make sure you get the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) there for the -- Saturday. That's when I come here, probably, for the advertising for that. Thank you. Bye.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. Thank you. All right,. Anyone else?
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Mr. Maxwell: Mr. Chairman, quickly, if I may, I'd like to thank also the Public Works Department for their assistance and cooperation in this. They were very helpful and I do want to thank them.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. All right. Anybody from the public wishing to be heard? The public hearing is now closed. We have a motion by Commissioner Gort. Is there a second?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Second by Commissioner Spence-Jones. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say “aye.”
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
END OF PUBLIC HEARINGS
ORDINANCES - SECOND READING
SR.1 ORDINANCE Second Reading 13-00188 Department of AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER Purchasing 18/ARTICLE III OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "FINANCE/ CITY OF MIAMI PROCUREMENT ORDINANCE", MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 18-72 ENTITLED "APPLICATION AND EXCLUSIONS," TO UPDATE OBSOLETE INFORMATION WITH CURRENT INFORMATION AND TO ADD SEVERAL EXCLUSIONS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 18-73 ENTITLED "DEFINITIONS," TO ADD SEVERAL NEW DEFINED TERMS AND TO UPDATE SEVERAL EXISTING DEFINED TERMS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 13-00188 Summary Form SR.pdf 13-00188 Local Office Definitions - Municipal Comparisons FR/SR.pdf 13-00188 Legislation (Version 3) SR.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence-Jones Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo
13380
Chair Sarnoff: You want to go with D4.2?
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. I just would like to have the full Commission, if possible, because it involves areas that are in Commission District 5, and I'd like the Commissioner from District 5, if possible, to be here.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. So we'll go to --
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: -- SR1.
Kenneth Robertson: Good morning, Commissioners. Kenneth Robertson, Purchasing director.
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SR.1 is an ordinance amending Sections 18-72 and 73 of the procurement code to add several new defined terms, and exist others.
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
Vice Chair Gort: Second?
Commissioner Suarez: For discussion.
Vice Chair Gort: It's been moved. Is there a second? It's moved.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Vice Chair Gort: Moved by Commissioner Suarez, second by Commissioner Carollo. It's open, the public.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Vice Chair Gort: No one in the public. Close the public hearing.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: You mentioned something about District 5?
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I was just cold in here.
Commissioner Suarez: Because we have a discussion item for a time certain, which is the ShotSpotter, and I wanted you to be here --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Oh, okay.
Commissioner Suarez: -- because it involves your district.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: I just want to thank Mr. Robertson for -- First of all, obviously, we had a contentious procurement, where this was a -- a heated aspect of the contentious procurement, and it was an item where him and I kind of disagreed on how the local preference should be interpreted. And that's okay, because I think professionals oftentimes disagree, and when you're a professional, it's okay, and you move on to the next item, and it's no less of an indication of his professionalism than it is of mine. I think he has always shown from the moment he's been here to be an utmost professional. And not only that, he actually listens, which is sometimes rare, and actually took the time to incorporate our ideas and what we felt to be weaknesses in the ordinance to strengthen it, and then listened a second time after I voted against it on first reading, and continued to work on it in a way that I think better defines our local business so that everyone is clear as to what the rules are, and I think that's the most important thing here. We all want to be clear as to what the rules are, and then we, of course, want to make it so that we benefit our local contractors who are the ones that are, you know, providing our community with jobs. So I just wanted to put that on the record, and I want him for his work on this. And I will be voting in favor of it even though I voted against it on first reading.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you. Anyone in the public would like to address this issue? Being none, the public hearing is closed. It's an ordinance.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by City Attorney Julie O. Bru.
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Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): Your roll call on item SR.1. Commissioner Spence-Jones.
A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above.
Ms. Ewan: Item SR.1 is adopted on second reading, 4-0.
SR.2 ORDINANCE Second Reading 13-00359 District 2- AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER Commissioner Marc 10 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, David Sarnoff ENTITLED "BUILDINGS" , MORE PARTICULARLY BY CREATING ARTICLE VII ENTITLED "SECURITY SCREENS AND SHUTTERS", SECTIONS 10-111 THROUGH 10-114, WITH RESPECT TO SECURITY SCREENS AND SHUTTER REGULATIONS, WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY BOUNDARIES, THE COCONUT GROVE CENTRAL COMMERCIAL DISTRICT, AND THE COCONUT GROVE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT; ADDING NEW TITLES, PROCEDURES, DEFINITIONS, AND CRITERIA; AND ADDING TIMELINES; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE. 13-00359 Legislation (Version 5) SR.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
Note for the Record: Item SR.2 was deferred to the May 23, 2013 Commission Meeting.
END OF ORDINANCES - SECOND READINGS
ORDINANCES - FIRST READING
FR.1 ORDINANCE First Reading 13-00520 District 2- AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER Commissioner Marc 40, ARTICLE IV, DIVISION 3, OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, David Sarnoff FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "PERSONNEL/PENSION AND RETIREMENT PLAN/CITY OF MIAMI GENERAL EMPLOYEES' AND SANITATION EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT TRUST", MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 40-255(M), TO EXCLUDE THE APPOINTED CHARTER POSITIONS OF CITY MANAGER, CITY ATTORNEY, INDEPENDENT AUDITOR GENERAL, AND CITY CLERK FROM PENSION FORFEITURE PROVISIONS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE. 13-00520 Memo - City Clerk.pdf 13-00520 Memo - Mayor.pdf
Motion by Chair Sarnoff, seconded by Commissioner Spence-Jones, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote.
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Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Spence-Jones Noes: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez Chair Sarnoff: Okay. We are now on to FR.1. Madam City Attorney.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): This is an amendment to our existing pension ordinance.
Chair Sarnoff: I apologize. This is kind of mine.
Ms. Bru: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: I thought -- actually, I thought we were doing the appointment of the Attorney. I apologize. I apologize. This is an ordinance that would allow the three certain personnel -- I guess we call them our statutory positions or our -- I like to call them the three potential gray hairs, people with a lot of experience. That would allow people who have worked for the City to continue taking their pension and allow them to either be the City Manager, the City Attorney, or the Independent Adjustor [sic], or the City Clerk. Now, primarily, I'm concerned with the City Manager and, primarily, I'm concerned with the City Attorney. Excuse me. The reason I'm sponsoring this is just to provide the potential possibility that the City Attorney, or anyone else in the City who wants to be City Manager, could continue after having gotten their pension and to -- and then allow them to become City Attorney and still collect their pension. It brings two things to bear. One, you have an experienced person who, potentially, could be the City Attorney or the City Manager. Two, you have a person who -- and may not need quite as much money while they're still obtaining their pension. And that's a gray area, I can see that, because that shouldn't be the driving force behind this. The driving force for me is the conclusion: The fact that they would not be able to, or in a financial basis, would not be able to be a part of it. I have no -- By the way, at first, I did not agree with the City Manager's position when we never would revisit people who retired to come back on consulting contracts with the City of Miami. But at the end of the day, I happen to think Johnny Martinez was right. I think I was wrong. I think he was right. And I think what it does is, a policy like that, affords the opportunity for people to move up, matriculate up in their organization. So I was -- If you remember, during the police shortage and the discussions therein, I was like, let's bring back some cops. Let's pay them $20 an hour. And maybe in a crisis, I would agree that I was right. I don't think we're at the crisis stage. But I think he was right to emphatically create the policy that when you retire, you are retired from the City of Miami. However, there are two positions -- really four, but two that I'm primarily speaking about -- the City Manager, the City Attorney that really are positions of experience, positions of knowledge, positions of -- it's not just a bad idea to get a person who's done something for a long period of time, whether it is for the City. We shouldn't exclude them where they're making a true financial decision that they cannot, you know, have their pension and still go for these positions. I'm not saying that this is to -- that I'm voicing my vote for anyone with regard to the City Attorney. I am not. But what -- I don't want to exclude that person, and I just want that person to have the potential and the ability to be able to do this. So I will make -- Commissioner Gort, so you will chair this, I will make the motion to pass FR.1.
Vice Chair Gort: There's a motion. Is there a second?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Second. But I'd like to hear from --
Vice Chair Gort: Moved and seconded.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: You've got two people standing up. Do you want to hear from them?
Vice Chair Gort: The public hearing is open to the public. Yes, sir.
Anthony Hatten: Anthony Hatten, union president, Local 1907. I'd like to object to this. I think
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we should bring in new blood and new ideas to push the City of Miami forward for the future. So I totally reject this. This is basically double-dipping.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you. Yes, sir.
Commissioner Carollo: I don't know if you want to finish with the public hearing. Do you want me to speak or --
Vice Chair Gort: Let's finish with the public hearing. Then we'll close the public hearing, and we'll --
Mr. Hatten: Thank you for your time.
Vice Chair Gort: -- discuss it among ourselves. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
Joe Simmons, Jr.: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Joe Simmons, Jr., president of the Sanitation Workers' Union, AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) Local 871. We object to this item as well. It doesn't send a good, positive message. Given the fact that most of the employees have taken a hit financially from pension and other benefits, it's just not the right time for this type of measure. I just don't -- it's just not a sweet taste in my mouth. Thank you.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you, sir. Anyone else from the public would like to address this? The public hearing is closed.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Vice Chair Gort: Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. One thing that I'm seeing with this, I don't think it was ever the intention of any government agency to set up a pension as just payment, and then that person go out and get another job and keep working. I thought it was more of a retirement plan. So when someone starts receiving a pension and they want to keep working, they want -- you know, to a certain degree, I mean, they're -- I don't want to say they're gaming the system, because that's the way it's set up, and you're not gaming the system if that's what the rules are and what the law is. You're know, they're taking advantage, and well they should, but I don't think it was ever the intention of setting up a pension fund or policy in order for people to retire, and then go back to work and make even more money. You know, I think -- and one of the issues I have with this -- and by the way, I am assuming I know who the person that we're discussing with regards to, you know, applying to a certain position and I -- by all means, I've worked with this person in the past, and I think he's great, and I'll tell you exactly the issue that I worked with him, and that was the billboards. And realistically, there was a time, a few years back, where I had significant issues with the billboards, and this City Attorney, you know, told me the law, the way it was, and so forth. And I was able to come back to this Commission and say, hey, listen, this is a bad deal, and blah, blah, blah. You all know the story. So I really -- this City Attorney I think is great to be honest with you. However, I don't think we should change the rules or the policies of the City based on one person. You know, I think that's bad policy. I think we need to really see it as a whole. Not only that, we're doing it for all those various -- what do you call it? -- constitutional positions that at least are under the City Commission. So I really am struggling to back this. And I do believe what Mr. Martinez is saying, which I have seen now in various occasions that realistically, once you DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Plan) and you're saying I'm retiring -- you know, there's people that are under -- I mean, realistically -- and, yes, I understand, in government, one position may be -- or one person doesn't last in a position in the upper, you
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know, for very long, but some do. And you have a whole slate of people that are really looking to move up. And when you retire and start receiving a pension, then all of a sudden, “Yeah, but I'm coming back and now I want a salary, also,” I don't know. I think, you know, everyone in the rank and file don't feel like, “Hey, I thought this was my opportunity now to, you know, show. So I believe in what Mr. Martinez is saying. So those are my comments on this, at least for now.
Vice Chair Gort: Commissioner Spence-Jones, you're recognized.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I want to -- actually, you were first.
Commissioner Suarez: Go ahead. Humble.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Humble? Humble? It's a lot of humility in the room today. Let me first say there is -- I do support the item. I want to be clear why I support it. I support the item not based upon a person, not based upon the money of it. It's really about the institutional knowledge that provides us with the opportunity to have someone sit in a position or a post to make sure that we don't have this startup, you know, that one would have going into these major positions. Now, is this something that I would see happening across -- citywide, you know, throughout all the departments? No. But I think as Chairman has said, when you're talking about the City Attorney, when you're talking about those key positions that are mentioned within this legislation, there's some value in having that institutional knowledge. And I would not want to cut off an opportunity to at least provide an individual or individuals, because he's -- the Chairman is saying it based upon one person. Now we just -- we're now opening it back up. There may be several other City Attorneys in that instance, since you mentioned City Attorneys They may now feel like, “You know what? I'm retiring now. Maybe this is an opportunity for me to participate, as well.” You know, I just think that when we're talking about a position like the City Attorney, I think that institutional knowledge is valuable. And I can just tell you just in general -- as a matter of fact, let me say this about Julie, just in general; nothing bad about the overall Administration. The one stable department that we have, the one consistent department that we have, division that we have is Julie's department. And that's because there's a lot of institutional knowledge there that remembers these agreements, that remembers these contracts, that remembers all of these important things that were here beyond us. Beyond us, okay? Before you got here, before I got here, there's things that that department can now -- that individual or those individuals have the institutional knowledge to make sure that we stay on the right track. So I think that when it comes to certain positions, I totally agree with you, and I support the Manager on his decision when this issue came up in other instances, but I think it's a little different when we're talking about a position like the City Attorney. I personally think the Clerk is the same thing. Any of those major -- auditors. I think those are very important positions. So I just -- that's the reason why I support it. I think institutional knowledge is extremely important in those positions.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman, follow up.
Vice Chair Gort: Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I struggled with this one. I got to be honest with you. I think what all too often happens, as Commissioner Carollo said is, you know, someone rises through the ranks to become in this position. They usually have a fairly high salary. So in a defined benefit program, I mean they're -- that means they're guaranteed a very high pension payment, by and large. So what happens is if that person gets a full salary and they're getting a full pension, then, you know, I think the majority of people in our community think that that's -- would consider that double-dipping. And I think that is something that really gets people angry, to be honest with you. The only time I've ever --
Commissioner Carollo: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
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Commissioner Suarez: Sure, sure.
Commissioner Carollo: And by the way, what you just explained is what I was saying earlier, that I don't think it was ever the intention of government --
Commissioner Suarez: Of course not.
Commissioner Carollo: -- for someone to have a full pension and then come back and have a full salary, in essence, while everyone is -- or most people are saying it could be viewed as double-dipping.
Commissioner Suarez: Exactly. And so, I mean, what I think this ordinance does is that it says you can be those positions, you can have that position, but you just can't collect your pension during that period. So you can have a full salary, but -- you can work, but you can't collect your pension while you're working. The only time -- the only reason why I struggled with -- so otherwise, I would have just been against it completely. This is why I struggled with it, and it's a discussion that the Manager and I have had, and we actually had a little bit of a difference of opinion, and I think I -- goes to your police officer idea, which is this: If we're going to lose 2 to 300 police officers in the next two to three years -- and we have a defined benefit system. That's what we have -- if that is going to eat into our general fund at “X” dollars, let's say 80 percent of the people with the most highest earnings, salary, that means that our general fund is paying, by and through the pension payments that it makes, and through the way that the pension has been funded, so it actually comes out of the pension fund. My issue is and what the Manager and I discussed was, well, if you're paying them the difference in salary, then you'll be saving a lot of money in the general fund, because the pension fund is the one that makes these payments. So we calculated, we threw around some numbers, and obviously, they're very rough estimates, extremely rough estimates,. but if you looked at the attrition that was -- that we're going to see by and through the DROP system, you could calculate numbers as high as $20 million in savings if you were to implement that sort of practice. And it doesn't have to be something that you would have perpetually. It could be something, like you said, to get through from one period to another period. Now, one would argue -- and I think it's a very strong argument -- that's what the DROP is intended to do. You know when the person's going to retire. You had seven years to plan. This Administration has had seven years to plan for the next two to three years. Seven years. We talk about 18 months when, you know -- and the Chairman is continually harping on the fact that we haven't hired police officers in our budget the last 18 months. For a police officer, you have seven years to plan for their retirement. So there should be no Department of Justice excuse. There should be no excuses why you can't hire a police officer or have people ready within seven years of someone's retirement. So that's why I think this becomes a little bit of a muddy issue, and you know, it's hard for me to support. I'll be honest with you. I wanted to listen to what the different arguments were. I probably was predisposed against it just because of what the Commissioner said; that I'm afraid that this is going to be used in a way where people are making -- and government has a tendency to do this. You know, you see a lot of examples of it in other governments where someone's making a full pension and a full salary, or more than one pension and a full salary, and we've seen examples of that in government, as well. So that's why I'm struggling with it. There's no check on that happening in this ordinance. So I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about it.
Vice Chair Gort: Commissioner Sarnoff, you're recognized.
Chair Sarnoff: But there actually is a check, because they're statutory positions. And what we have customarily done is give to one of the Commissioners the ability to negotiate with one of the statutory officers. You did it. Carollo's done it.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
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Chair Sarnoff: I don't think I've ever done it.
Commissioner Carollo: You'll get your chance.
Chair Sarnoff: But maybe I will get my chance. So the check and the balance is this Commission. This Commission could very well say to a person, well, you know what? You're receiving “X” as pension. You know, this Commission is only going to pay you “Y” because we believe -- I don't want to use the word “double-dipping,” but I completely, absolutely understand that, and I think it is ultimately inappropriate to use in other positions unless you're in a crisis. I have to agree with police. If we get to the point we're in crisis, you're going to have to do something; either that, or the National Guards. They'll probably charge us the same amount of money. But you -- unless you're in crisis. I guess I'm actually throwing you an accolade, Mr. Manager, because I think you were right on this. Inevitably, I think policy-wise, you're right, again, unless you get to the crisis. But we're only talking about four positions.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: And I'm primarily talking about two positions. I have never met -- I'm going to say this categorically -- I have never met a great 30-year-old attorney. I just haven't met him yet. I've seen potential. He's not 30. He's not 30. He's not 30.
Commissioner Suarez: I'm not. I'm 35. What are you talking about?
Chair Sarnoff: Right, but you're not 30.
Vice Chair Gort: You're not 30.
Chair Sarnoff: Thirty is three oh. My point is attorneys --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Good cover, good cover.
Chair Sarnoff: Right. Attorneys --
Commissisoner Suarez: I'm not a great attorney by the way. So.
Chair Sarnoff: Well, that was not a point. But attorneys get better with age. They just do. It's one of those professions that when you -- That's why you call it “the practice of law.”
Vice Chair Gort: It's like everything else. We all get better with age.
Chair Sarnoff: Well, this position is really genealogically attuned to “you do get better with age.” You acquire a body of knowledge. That's why it's called “the practice of law.” Very few of us get it right in the beginning, and we practice, and we practice, and we hopefully get it better as we go along. That is why I'm a real believer that attorneys with experience tend to be a little better than those without experience. The only way you're going to get one with experience is to potentially have the ability to get somebody with the institutional knowledge Spence-Jones mentioned. And the governance, the Governor up here -- Guess who's the Governors? The five of us. The five of us are that check and balance, are that Governor. We come back and we say to that person, or persons, “You know what? You're receiving 'X.' We're only prepared to pay you 'Y,'” because we're concerned about an expression which we categorize as double-dipping. I can explain it no better, no worse. I give my congratulations to the Manager for bringing me over to his side of the fence for a period of time until we get to crisis, at which point, I will drag him to my side of the fence because that policy won't work if we get to crisis. But for these -- I'd be more than glad to amend this to two statutory positions, although I think the Auditor General
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-- I think Commissioner Carollo might be able to tell me and probably convince me, a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) with 20 years experience might be better than a CPA with 5 years experiences, and I suspect he might be right. And it depends. He's right. And by the way, these are all generally speaking. But I'll be candid with you. I've never seen a great lawyer at 30 years old. I've seen the potential for great lawyers at 30 years old. I've met one at 35 that's a great lawyer, but just one. It's just a -- it is a profession you get better with as the years go on. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Vice Chair Gort: Let me ask a question. My understanding, in the past, there's a precedence that -- an ordinance was passed with -- anyone that worked for the Commissioners, and I think it was passed by you all.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Passed by us?
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I didn't hear what you said.
Vice Chair Gort: Before I came here, there was a -- my understanding, there's an ordinance that allows the Commissioner to hire someone, and continue to work and get his pension if he works for the Commissioner. Ms. Bru: Commissioner Gort -- and I just want to make sure. I see that Commissioner Suarez left the dais, but I want to make sure that you understand what's happening here. The way that our pension plan has been established, an employee who retires from the service of the City can come back and work for the City, but during the time of reappointment, the benefits, the pension benefits are suspended. There was an exception that was approved by the Commission for employees of the City who retire and come back to work for the Mayor or for the Commissioners. They can continue to receive their payment of their pension plan during the re-employment period. What this amendment would do is it would allow then for those constitutional officers that you have control over to be able to also be employees of the City who retire, can come back to service and continue to receive their payment. This would expand the exception that already is in place for the employees that you control and the Mayor controls.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: And I may have -- I knew of one employee that fell into that category, but in all fairness, our City Attorney can reapply, then, receive, you know, her benefits and reapply again now; correct, Ms. Bru?
Ms. Bru: You would be very lucky if I were to do that.
Commissioner Carollo: Well, according to Commissioner Sarnoff or Chairman Sarnoff, you would have the most experience. Therefore, you will be the best candidate according to Chairman Sarnoff's argument. Therefore, you know -- and like I said, I may have erroneously just thought of one person that fell into this category. It may also be our current City Attorney. So in all reality, she could then reapply now and --
Ms. Bru: Just for the record, I am not interested in reapplying, but --
Chair Sarnoff: Well, why is that?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: She made it very clear.
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Vice Chair Gort: All right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Mr. Chairman.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I just want to once again -- because I think this horse has, you know, already left the barn, so I think that it's -- as stated by Commissioner -- Chairman Sarnoff and stated by -- excuse me -- Suarez -- I think that we call can, you know, make the necessary adjustments on this issue because of the understanding that it is these four positions. I think that the institutional knowledge is extremely important when it comes to especially the City Attorney's Office. And again, all of the thing -- whether or not it be contracts, whether or not it be agreements, whatever they are is -- I think that there should -- we should have the option -- since it is our choice and our decision up here who we appoint, you know, to those positions, to at least have the opportunity to make those selections if we so choose to. So I don't want us to go back and forth on the issue. I think that Commissioner Sarnoff has made some very good points on the issue. I think Commissioner Suarez has made some very good points on the issue. To me, it really is about institutional knowledge. It is about the wisdom that comes with the position or that, potentially, someone that has the opportunity that has the opportunity to actually serve again, we should not cut that individual off for having that opportunity. And to my understanding -- that's why I just asked Danny -- that this would not be the City paying into -- paying them twice, correct? I mean, I just asked Danny this question on the side.
Ms. Bru: Well, Danny can answer, but, I mean, this is -- I think it's irrelevant, the fact that someone is collecting a pension. That, they're en titled to whether they work here, in Miami Beach, or in Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia).
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah.
Ms. Bru: This is just about the ability of someone to be re-employed and not have their benefits suspended. It would be an incentive for you to be able to attract experience.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right.
Ms. Bru: That's a fact.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And not only that, I love what Commissioner Sarnoff mentioned; that this also gives us an opportunity just to leave the door open, because we never know. We may have -- out of these next individuals -- We're only speaking of the City Attorney right now. At the end of the day, we still have to make the decision. So if we know what their pension is, and we know what the salary is, we make the decision as to what we need for it to be. So regardless, we're going to have to pay for a City Attorney anyway. So if it's, you know, if its 250 and we decide, okay, their pension is this amount, but yet and still, in order -- if this person wants this position, this is what it needs to be. We make that decision up here. We determine that.
Chair Sarnoff: You know, you bring up a great point, because we just made a $40,000 decision on this dais. And literally speaking, we could have offset that if we chose to based on this one or two positions, because this person would have had a pension. I'm just saying, we are the governors. We decide.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right.
Commissioner Suarez: But here is what I don't understand: I don't understand why anybody would want -- this is where I get confused, because if I'm making “X” dollars in my pension and
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I'm going to get -- if it's suspended, I'm going to get the full salary. In other words, if I came back as City Attorney, for example, and my pension under this current law, it would be suspended, my pension payment. So I would get my full salary. If the person gets their full salary when -- if it comes from the pension system plus whatever we were to give them, what's the difference for that person? Why would anybody want this then, unless they want more?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Well, not necessarily. I mean, some people could just, perhaps, love what they do. And there are individuals --
Commissioner Suarez: I understand.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- just because they're retired, they're not walking with walkers, so they still want to serve.
Commissioner Suarez: No, I get that. But talking about the money, I'm talking about the money here. I'm not talking about wanting to serve or not serve. What I'm saying is if in the pension system -- let's give an example. Okay, let's say -- and no offense to the City Attorney. I'm just using this as a number -- okay? -to make it simple. Let's say the City Attorney gets paid $100,000, just to make it simple, okay? And the person who we're talking about is eligible for an $80,000 pension, okay? If we -- We, as a Commission can say, okay, we're going to give you $20,000 as your salary. And so the $20,000 plus the $80,000 equals $100,000. That' s less stress on the general fund. That shifts it over to the pension fund. But the fact of the matter is, why would anybody want this then, if they're going to be getting the same amount of money? You see what I'm saying? In other words, if their benefit was suspended and they're getting $100,000 in salary, why would anybody care about -- unless they want more money than what that combined amount is. You know what I'm saying?
Chair Sarnoff: If I'm an attorney and I'm a municipal employee and I've spent 20, 25 years, maybe 30 years in the City of Miami, number one, which you know I loved it, because you could have left many times over.
Commissioner Suarez: That's true.
Chair Sarnoff: But I think it's -- I don't want to say the words, “feather in the cap,” but it is the pinnacle of having achieved the result you wanted all along. You know, some people wait dutifully and carefully and understand that other people are in line ahead of them, and now, this is their time that they get to serve. I think it's a service issue. I think it's a love for the job and a service issue. And not everyone does everything -- You know, I think attorneys want to make comfortable livings. I never met one that didn't. But I think once they get to that comfortable living, some of them do it out of the love. I've seen environmental lawyers, I've seen lawyers that just love poverty initiatives that just do it out of the love for what they do. And I think the person we're talking about does it out of the love for what he or she --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right. And I want to make sure we don't make it about a person.
Chair Sarnoff: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I think that, again, because I do believe that there are other, you know, attorneys or other individuals that may want to have the same option. So I don't think we should do this -- and I agree with Carollo on this. Let's not do this about a person. Let's do this about -- because we feel that this gives us an option, and it leaves things open for us to make, you know, a wise decision. I mean, that's what I think it should be based on. That's really what it's about. I think that from the negotiation standpoint, whoever gets selected -- you know, again, there are going to be five people recommended for us all to make a decision on. Depending on what's the outcome of that, maybe there won't be anybody, you know. But let's have the option
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open there -- open for those individuals that may want to have an opportunity to compete.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Don't let it be a -- I'm sorry -- a deterrent because of that.
Vice Chair Gort: Any further discussion? Being none, it's an ordinance.
The Ordinance was ready by title into the public record by City Attorney Julie O. Bru.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): Your role call on Item FR.1. Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: I can go either way on this one on first reading because, obviously, it's going to come back before us. Since I'm -- and I've got to give it a little more thought to be honest with you. I think we've flushed out a lot of different arguments here today. I'm going to think about it more, but I'm leaning against it. So since I'm leaning against it, I'm going to vote no on first and make up my mind on second. Thanks.
Ms. Ewan: Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Ms. Ewan: Commissioner Spence-Jones.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Ms. Ewan: Chair Sarnoff.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes.
Ms. Ewan: Vice Chair Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes. First reading.
Ms. Ewan: Item FR.1 passes on first reading 3-2.
FR.2 ORDINANCE First Reading 13-00288 District 4- AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AMENDING CHAPTER Commissioner 10/ARTICLE I OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS Francis Suarez AMENDED, ENTITLED "BUILDINGS/IN GENERAL", MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 10-4 , ENTITLED, "BUILDING PERMIT FEE SCHEDULE," IN ORDER TO SET THE SCHEDULE OF BUILDING PERMIT FEES AT $45.00, FOR RESIDENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS COSTING LESS THAN $2,500; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 13-00288 Legislation FR/SR.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be DEFERRED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
Note for the Record: Item FR.2 was deferred to the May 23, 2013 Commission Meeting.
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Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chairman, I'd like to defer FR.3 till the next Commission meeting.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): That's FR.2.
Commissioner Suarez: Sorry, FR.2. My apologies. Correction noted.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, we have a motion to defer. Is there a second?
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: All in favor, please say aye.
Commissioner Suarez: I think my discussion item also --
Chair Sarnoff: Meeting adjourned.
Commissioner Suarez: -- if you can roll it. Thank you.
FR.3 ORDINANCE First Reading 13-00068 Department of AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Planning and Zoning ATTACHMENT(S), AMENDING CHAPTER 62/ARTICLE XIII/DIVISION 5 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, ENTITLED "PLANNING AND ZONING/PLANNING AND ZONING APPROVAL FOR TEMPORARY USES AND OCCUPANCIES; PERMIT REQUIRED/MURALS", MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTIONS 62-602 AND 62-606, WITH RESPECT TO THE MURAL REGULATIONS BY AMENDING THE CITY OF MIAMI MURAL GEOGRAPHICAL AREA, ATTACHED AS "EXHIBIT A", TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL AREAS WITHIN THE DESCRIBED CITY OF MIAMI URBAN CORE FOR THE PLACEMENT OF MURALS AND TO MIRROR THE MIAMI-DADE URBAN CORE MAP AMENDMENT, ATTACHED AS "EXHIBIT B"; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE. 13-00068 Summary Form SR.pdf 13-00068 Legislation (Version 2) SR.pdf 13-00068 Exhibit 1 FR/SR.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Spence-Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Suarez and Spence-Jones Noes: 1 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo Chair Sarnoff: So I'm going to take up for now, Mr. Manager, FR.3. That's what I think I promised Commissioner Spence-Jones. And then we will go to DI.2.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And actually, it's really -- it's not really my item. It's an administrative item. So I want -- see if the Administration is going to present on this item. So where's the Administration?
Chair Sarnoff: FR.3, folks. FR.3.
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Alice Bravo (Assistant City Manager/Chief of Infrastructure): Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Going once, going twice.
Ms. Bravo: Yes. Yep, yep, yep.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: And we have Mr. Garcia stepping up with. Ms. Bravo --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Bravo.
Chair Sarnoff: -- stepping back. FR.3.
Commissioner Suarez: Don't go too far, Ms. Bravo.
Francisco Garcia: FR.3 -- Francisco Garcia, Planning and Zoning director for the record -- is basically an expansion of the urban core boundary for purposes of the implementation of murals in the City of Miami. The County Commission, some months ago, made this same expansion, and we are realigning boundaries to coincide with theirs. The end result of this amendment, if approved, is that there are going to be approximately ten additional city blocks eligible for the implementation of these murals. And I would like to emphasize that the number of murals will not itself change. That will remain for the time being at 35. They will simply have now additional buildings, additional structures onto which they can be placed. Happy to answer any questions.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So I just have a couple of comments just in general about some administrative things that I definitely want to make sure that, before the item comes back on the second reading, that are addressed. And the biggest concern -- Mr. Manager, we didn't get a chance to speak about it yesterday, but I did get a chance to speak to your staff about it. And I really have some concerns with -- and I'm speaking to my fellow Commissioners -- about the ordinance itself and how it's currently written. And that -- and it's not just about my district. It's about anybody's district that this -- you know, that these murals will be in. You know, I just feel very strongly that, you know, the district Commissioner, whether or not it's District 5, District 2, District 1, should have some input, you know, and that there should be some sort of City Commission approval on, you know, what is actually going to be placed up in these -- in your neighborhoods or in your communities. Because once we vote on this item -- really, it's an administrative thing, and even the City Manager has little discretion on how it's being permitted. So I have a concern about it. I do know that the Administration has met with me back and forth on this issue. I've talked to both sides on both sides of the issue, that have projects on both sides, on things that they're trying to get done, and I understand what the overall motivation is. But my concern is, you know, once I vote on this item, then at that point, you know, the district Commissioner has no input about what's being put up in their neighborhood, and I have a concern about that. So I don't know -- there's a few questions that I have for the Administration. I know that there was an article today also in the paper today, and I would like for the Administration to kind of answer it, and it was regarding the federal concerns for the City's mural regulation. Can somebody at least respond to that? I do know that Alice has been speaking back and forth to, is it, FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation), you know, regarding this issue. But I think you should put it on the record 'cause we can't have things like this being commented and then not have a response back from you on it. Okay.
Ms. Bravo: Good afternoon. Alice Bravo, assistant City Manager. Yes, Commissioner, for approximately the -- several years we've had a dialogue going back and forth with the Federal Highway Administration involving the Florida Department of Transportation as well as far as the Highway Beautification Act. And in the last couple of months, we've narrowed our
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discussions of what the City's customary use was at the time that the Highway Beautification Act was implemented in the early '70s. And so we feel that both agencies are comfortable with what our regulatory scheme was back then. And so our discussion with them at this point has been the issue of spacing, so we're very close to finalizing an agreement where we would provide a spacing criteria. Right now a spacing between a mural and a mural would be 300 feet -- is 300 feet in our ordinance, and we would also reflect a spacing requirement between a mural and a billboard of 300 feet, which does not exist in our ordinance today. So with that, we would -- we're working on agreements and hope to have that resolved shortly.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay, so this -- so the issue of the distance requirement between the mural and billboards, are you saying that that has not -- you're working that out, working --?
Ms. Bravo: And just about finalized.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So we don't really know it at this point.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): I think that piece is resolved, isn't it, the distance?
Ms. Bravo: That -- yes, that is, in fact, what our agreement's going to reflect.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. All right, so that was at least two of the issues, 'cause that was going to be my next question around the distance between the two. I have it -- like I said, I wanted to at least mention this to my fellow Commissioners that sit on the dais with me. I have -- this particular item only really affects my district because the expansion happens in my district. And I'm just a little concerned with, you know, when you say ten murals, you know --
Ms. Bravo: Ten city blocks.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right. So I just think that when -- even though I understand that the City Manager has recommendation or has to actually approve it, I would like to see this come back on the second reading with us looking at the current ordinance on how we can address at least there being some City Commission approval on -- you know, some City Commission approval on the mural permits, period, especially when you're talking about an item that's going to be going in front -- or not an item, excuse me -- a mural that's going to be going into a neighborhood. I just think that it's important to do that. And I know the staff feels a certain way about it but -- I mean, I really have a concern about it, a big concern. I would like to -- even beyond me, whoever's sitting in this seat, I think they should be able to make a decision or at least be able to weigh in on it or the community itself be able to weigh in on it. I think that the way the process is being done, I'm really all not that comfortable with it, so I've asked the Administration to at least look at it. And I understand that Alice wants me to pass it on the first reading, and I don't have a problem with passing it on the first reading, but I just want to be very clear when it comes back, there will be no second reading for me unless we address that issue.
Ms. Bravo: And to further clarify, what you're looking for is a proposed amendment of the ordinance so that if a mural permit is being relocated from one building to another that before that relocation --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: It's the transfer of it.
Ms. Bravo: -- that that relocation, rather than being administrative, be brought to the City Commission.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I think that definitely -- I think that, you know, not only a district Commissioner, but -- especially a district Commissioner, but I also think that it should be something that also is brought in front of us, period.
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Ms. Bravo: 'Cause in many instances, we process like change of copies on an existing building without the relocation. That would continue to be administrative.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I think -- I just think that it's important for the item, if it's going to be going into anybody's district -- You're talking about a new mural that's going up into a neighborhood. I think it's important for the district Commissioner, whoever that might be, to at least have that item come in front of the City Commission.
Mr. Martinez: If that's your wish, we -- you know, we can look into that, but I think you should also include -- and I'm probably working against myself here -- not just a relocation of one to another, but the additional ten also, which wouldn't be considered relocation. It'd be an additional sign. If we're going to have --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: In those particular -- you mean, in --
Mr. Martinez: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- additional -- I mean, in the district.
Mr. Martinez: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Mr. Martinez: You know, if the Commission wants --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Well, I don't -- whatever the Administration feels -- you know what the intent of what I'm communicating, because I'm just very fearful that the next thing I know, when you ride down the street in areas that did not have billboards before, all of a sudden I just see light up city, and I'm very concerned about it, very concerned about it. So I think it's important for it to be presented. Especially since we're talking about expansion and all of those great things, I think it's important for that to happen. Now, I don't know if there are any other comments on this item at all that -- I don't know if you want to make any comments regarding this issue. No?
Unidentified Speaker: No.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Is my -- any of my fellow Commissioners have any thoughts?
Commissioner Suarez: My understanding of this item -- and I may be wrong. I may misunderstand it. But my understanding is that it was not the intention of the Administration to issue any more permits above and beyond the 35 that have already been --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: -- allocated.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Exactly. This is just to move them.
Commissioner Suarez: Right. And then -- my -- this was just simply moving over the boundary --
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: -- to your district --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right.
Commissioner Suarez: -- which, you know, I respectfully will consent to because I know it's something that I think would benefit your district, I think, with the -- I'm not sure if there's some sort of benefit agreement involved.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Well, I was hoping that Administration would communicate that, but go ahead.
Commissioner Suarez: Right. That's -- that was my understanding. So -- but that doesn't mean that there's going to be any sort of -- more bill -- I'm sorry.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Murals.
Commissioner Suarez: I get them confused. -- murals than there are currently existing right now in the City, and that was the way that it was explained to me, that there's not going to be more permits issued. That's why I was more flexible on this item than I may otherwise be inclined to be.
Ms. Bravo: Correct. There -- the existing number of permits that have been issued is for 35 murals. And with this boundary expansion in the two areas, merely someone is afforded the opportunity to move their permit into one of these areas and --
Commissioner Suarez: Just wanted to clarify that for the record. That's all.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah. This is just a matter of moving -- they have now the option to move beyond where they are.
Chair Sarnoff: And just so I can pipe in, just because I haven't heard my own voice in about five minutes. There are 35 issued permits, which means they're being paid for, but only 25 are deployed.
Ms. Bravo: No. Thirty-five are deployed.
Chair Sarnoff: Really? 'Cause I have a map here and I can only count to 25. Somebody leave out 10?
Ms. Bravo: The map I'm looking at goes -- I see number 34, 30 -- I --
Chair Sarnoff: So I'll give you my map, Alice, and you just count my red dots.
Ms. Bravo: I have a map with 35.
Commissioner Suarez: Maybe --
Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): Francisco Gar --
Commissioner Suarez: -- a difference --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: You got to count them.
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Commissioner Suarez: -- between the permits and the actual --
Chair Sarnoff: Right. I'm --
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: -- saying how many are deployed.
Commissioner Suarez: Right. And that's --
Chair Sarnoff: There are 35 permits being paid for.
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: But I'm saying only 25 are currently deployed.
Commissioner Suarez: Understood.
Mr. Garcia: Francisco Garcia, Planning & Zoning director and co-author of the map in front of you. There is -- admittedly, too small to read, and I should have brought it -- print it out large -- a legend on the lower left-hand corner, which accounts for every one of the permits issued. And if the map were in large enough scale, you would see that there are 35 dots, some of them are actually covered by others.
Chair Sarnoff: Oh, okay.
Mr. Garcia: It's a scale (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Sarnoff: Just want to make sure I can count my dots correctly. You know --
Mr. Garcia: You can't --
Chair Sarnoff: -- it's a technical job and I want to get it right.
Mr. Garcia: -- because they are superimposed. That's the problem.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: So are you right?
Chair Sarnoff: Thirty-five permits issued; thirty-five murals deployed.
Mr. Garcia: And if I may just for abundance -- for abundant clarity.
Commissioner Suarez: I thought there wasn't, but whatever.
Mr. Garcia: You may have seen in your backup information -- just to address issues preemptively, should anyone else want to take them up. You may have seen in the backup information that the County, in passing their legislation to approve the expansion of these boundaries, which we are now addressing to change and be in accordance with, in their backup information, the County counts 37 murals in place. The reason for that is that the County miscalculated and counted some of the wraparounds as two when, in fact, the legislation clearly defines them as one. So that is to account for the inconsistency between the County's number, which is 37, and our number, which is 35. We have since met with the County, taken them
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through the steps of the ordinance, and we are now reconciled. We all agree that there are 35 both in terms of permits issued and murals implemented.
Chair Sarnoff: And just so it's clear, our office also provided to the Administration two murals which we believe are illegally deployed.
Mr. Garcia: That is correct. We've taken note of those.
Chair Sarnoff: And I don't know what actions you intend on taking with them. I don't think you're the person to take that action. But Mr. Manager, we've given you pictures, we've given you depictions.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Where are they?
Chair Sarnoff: We also have about four bankers' boxes. On one of them, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) property and the other one is the one which has a parapet, which is specifically precluded under the ordinance so, actually, there may be 37. Well, I don't know if that's part of the 35, but 2 of them should be coming down or should at least have some sort of action taken by the Administration, should you, in your good judgments, determine.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Where is it? Just where are the two? I'm just curious.
Chair Sarnoff: The one -- heading down I-95, to the right, as you just get past Coral Way, you see the Chickenologist.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: I've met him, by the way. He's a good guy. His picture up there on that building -- there's no FDOT logo. There's no FDOT permit. There's no FDOT -- what do you guys call them?
Ms. Bravo: Tag.
Chair Sarnoff: Badge, badge, right?
Ms. Bravo: Tag.
Chair Sarnoff: Tag, sorry. And so if you don't have an FDOT tag, guess what; you don't even get into the arena. The other one is, if you remember -- and you were here when we passed the ordinance. We said you could not construct a building to get up high enough so that you would become a mural. It is merely our opinion, unqualified lay person, certainly not the Manager's ability, that a parapet, which is specifically precluded in the ordinance, has been created and has a very large mural deployed.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: But that'd be subject to the Manager's expert in engineering.
Mr. Martinez: Our Code Enforcement people are all over it. They --
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Mr. Martinez: -- they've been out there. I think they've cited them and everything.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. So just to give little-- people some feelings, there are two that I think
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possibly should not be up there.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: And I don't think -- I don't know -- I know on one we're not getting any mural income on. So when you don't have the FDOT tag or badge or whatever you call it, trust me, we're not getting any income on it. The other one I don't know. I don't know. All right, so --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So I see -- you see someone's here.
Chair Sarnoff: No. We haven't had a motion or a second, I don't think. Have we?
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): No, there has not been.
Chair Sarnoff: Do you want to do a motion and a second and then just -- and then -- we've had a lot of discussion.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: All right, I'll motion but, no, I'm not finish the discussion. I'll motion, but I want to make sure that, you know, the key points that I want to see happen when we come back actually happen.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. We have a motion by Commissioner Spence-Jones, as modified. Is there a second?
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Second by Commissioner Gort. Let me open up a public hearing. A public hearing is now open on FR.3. You're recognized for the record, Mr. Ehrlich.
Peter Ehrlich: Thank you very much, Chairman Sarnoff. My name is Peter Ehrlich. My address is 770 Northeast 69 Street, and I'm here representing myself and also Scenic Miami. Scenic Miami is a affiliate of the national organization called Scenic America, and we're opposed to FR.3. We hope you'll vote against it now on first reading for a plethora of reasons. I'm going to go through a couple of the reasons right away. Many of you have already mentioned that it's very tough to legislate and regulate these mural ads, which really should be called billboards on buildings, but many of them are illegal. There are a number of mural ads or billboards on buildings that are up with the fake parapet walls, which are violations of the City of Miami legislation, and should be subject to a thousand dollar a day fine. One of them is on 37 th Street and 2nd Avenue, and there's three or four other violations amongst the list of 35 or 37 that the City's got. They've been pointed out to the Department of Code Enforcement and the City of Miami six or seven times, but nothing ever happens. So they're very tough to regulate. Residents and tourists would really like to see our scenic beauty. And whether the residents and tourists are in District 2 or District 5 -- and District 5, of course, has a preponderance of the billboards and mural ads and it's -- if this proposal goes through, District 5 would get an additional, I don't know, two to ten mural ads, billboards on buildings. Obviously, the outdoor advertising industry covets the billboards facing the highways. The Miami Herald today, there is a story today -- it's online. I guess it wasn't in the print edition. But the Miami Herald has a story written by Chuck Raven [sic], who's sitting behind me, and he does talk about the problems with the Federal Highway Administration and FDOT, and we had been asking for copies of the correspondence on that through Freedom of Information Act request, and we have not gotten any correspondence response to those requests yet. Please vote no on this. Once these billboards go up, they're often up for 30 or 50 years, and they're really just targeted -- targeting and targeted harassment against the tourists and residents. Now, the two expansions, the south bump out is west of I-95, it's west of the downtown core, it's west of the urban core; it's in a predominantly residential neighborhood. I think it's been advanced by lobbyists who are promoting putting billboards on a
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residential building west of I-95. Now, the north bump out is proposed by lobbyists wanting to take advantage of tourists and residents who are traveling to Midtown Miami, the design district, the newly revitalized design district, and in Miami Beach. And again, this bump out would be going west of North Miami Avenue. We're asking you to vote no. This is a terrible precedent to start putting these billboards on buildings west of I-95 and west of North Miami Avenue. Putting billboards on buildings west of North Miami is really just a terrible precedent. Obviously, they're going into District 5, and we think District 5 residents, as well as countywide residents, would really like to see our palm trees, our waterfronts, and our new iconic buildings, and they don't really want to see more visual pollution. So please vote no on this for, really, dozens of reasons. Thank you very much.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Mr. Ehrlich: Thank you for your time.
Chair Sarnoff: Ms. Bisno, you're recognized for the record.
Barbara Bisno: Thank you and thank -- here comes the squeak again. Oh, no, this one's good. Barbara Bisno, 1000 Venetian Way, and I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this. I'm curious about what the benefits to District 2 are, what that means -- I mean, District 5, what that phrase meant, if I could have that answered at some point. You know, if I'm in your shoes -- you asked Francisco -- what would you do if you sat here? I would say what's the public interest? What is the public interest in putting up these billboards on buildings, in expanding the urban core beyond the urban core? You don't get much permit fees. You're not talking about many billboards on -- I'm not talking about the program. I'm talking about the ordinance before you today. It's a limited number of billboards on buildings, and there is no public interest. When we were at the County when they passed this that day, there was nobody from the City there. You know why? Because it's not in the City's public interest. There were the developers. There was the owner of the building on the south end. He's a politically connected guy. He wants billboards on his building. On the north side, there were lobbyists and outdoor industry people there. And the County said, where's the City people? Does the City want this? And of course, there was a lot of mumbling, but nobody came from the City. One of the former employees was there. He was -- had been hired by one of the developers, and he said, "I think this is part of what they really wanted to do," and that was enough for the County Commissioners because it was just us against it and the residents of a building next to the south -- the southernmost push out. And they said, It's terrible; we don't want it. They didn't pay any attention to them. I have to say -- and I know that Ms. Bravo is -- has a lot of responsibilities for the negotiations with the federal government. I do not believe what she said. I do not believe they're near agreements. I'm sorry. There has been misrepresented -- we believe that there has been misrepresentations by the City of Miami as to this very important concept called -- which, of course, because I'm old and I can't re -- customary use, sorry; that that's really important in this very complicated federal law. And if I'd known it was coming up, I have some information that would have enlightened you as to why we say there's been misrepresentations, but I do not believe that you should rely on the representations that the City and the federal government are about to sign any agreements. And how is it that if they're going to change the distancing, nothing's coming down? How can they do that? That doesn't make sense. Either they met the distancing from the beginning. If there's new distancing, something's got to come down, but nobody's saying what that is. Of course, Mr. Ehrlich made the position that -- made the statement, once they're up, it's very hard to get them down. So I respectfully request that at this point you vote no. There is no public interest in doing it. Though somebody could educate me on what it would do for District 5, I would love to hear it. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, thank you. Public hearing is now closed, coming back to this Commission. You all don't mind if I say something on this?
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Commissioner Suarez: No.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Sure.
Chair Sarnoff: Spence [sic] was up here, Peter Ehrlich worked for me, and Manny Diaz was drafting a mural ordinance when we had 87 murals in District 2 and 20 of them were called the "settlement murals." And those 20 murals paid money and I believe 67 did not. There were murals everywhere in the City of Miami, predominating in District 2. I walked upstairs to the Mayor's office -- we weren't exactly close at that time -- and said, I'd like to take over the mural ordinance. I want to put this straight out there. Peter, along with Dusty Melton, wrote the mural ordinance; completely redrafted it. It brought in, the first year, a little under $3 million. Today it brings in a little over $4 million. I'm a believer that the best place you can advertise is up on the building itself. I'm also a believer that if you clean up the right-of-way and stop advertising in it, scarcity will breed value. So the fewer murals you have, the more valuable those murals are. You're going to hear me at the next Commission meeting talking about the telephones. It's not that I'm against telephones. I'm against the telephone disguised as an advertising booth. And if we were to clean up the City of Miami's right-of-way from what I call this cheapened advertising, you would have -- I think you have -- I don't know if you know this -- you'd have the finest mural program in the United States. The closest you have in terms of volume of dollars next to you is the City of Dallas. They bring this $60,000 annually. You bring in about $4.1 million a year. You're going to have some hard discussions, which you've already had today, with regard to feeding some older people. We're going to have a harder discussion when it comes to police. Giving up that $4.1 million, I mean, I think it should be on the table. There are some things we could do to improve the mural ordinance. One of them, to me, may be let's not change it at all. Let's leave it as scarce as we can. Let's leave the number we have in place. I'm -- if Commissioner Spence-Jones, you know, has a reason or wants to expand the boundaries, you know, I'm all ears. I want to -- like I said, we're up here to try to figure out the best way to move the City of Miami along, but I don't really necessarily enjoy listening to people restate how we got here and why we are here right now. Because when I got on this dais -- at one time there were 107 murals in the City of Miami. When I sat on the dais, 87 murals were on the City of Miami. Peter Ehrlich and Dusty Melton, being the ghost writer of the ordinance, were the people who wrote the mural ordinance. And I took it away from Mayor Manny Diaz, who was about to get us $60,000 annually, and I think Lucia Dougherty, among others, were in the meeting, and they said, "We're never going to pay that." And I said, oh, yes, you will. And the reason a diamond is worth a lot of money is it's scarce. You can't find too many diamonds. The way you keep murals valuable, you keep them scarce, and that's the way you get the most money you can for them. That's always been my philosophy. It's always been my feeling. I think we have some cleanup to do on the right-of-way. And as I always say to people who don't like advertising -- I think it was Justice Frankfurter that said it -- simply avert your eyes. You know, $4.1 million, I could take my eye off a building. I happen to like the iPad ones. I always liked to look at that. I don't know why. I think the Manager knows. But, no, I guess if there's a particular ad I don't like, I avert my eyes. I can do that. I'm trained enough. I'm wise enough to avert my eyes. So I wanted to give you guys -- I know I've said it many times. Suarez is probably tired of listening to me talk about it, but you didn't just fall here in a parachute and, suddenly, there were murals. I want to give you the background and the history of how murals came about. And just so you know, the mayor of Dallas actually came to visit us, asking us to actually provide him the entire mural ordinance to him. Now, you're still, by far and away, the highest payer -- payee, excuse me.
Commissioner Suarez: Payee.
Chair Sarnoff: -- payee of murals in the United States and that includes New York City.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Wow. So I just want to be clear on your points, Mr. Chairman, just so that we're all on the same page. Was I -- I want to be able to respond to, you know,
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Peter's comments on the record. And I'm assuming that there's been a transformation on how he feels, I'm assuming, about murals. So are you saying it went from 70 to -- once you got involved in streamlining the process, it went from --
Chair Sarnoff: Eighty-seven to -- I think at one time we were at 25 and I think we bumped it to 35.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. And that was a part of Peter and your team kind of like restructuring it. So we're not really doing anything different, correct, than what you guys created or crafted?
Chair Sarnoff: Either you're -- Right. You're expanding the boundary right now.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. So let me just be clear really fast on, you know, my -- and I don't know where the Administration is. And I don't want to beat a dead horse. I just want to make sure that in the -- by the time it comes to us in the next, you know, reading, the second reading, we're all on the same page of the want. I would like to see -- I think that what Barbara has mentioned, I would like to see the correspondence or any communication that you have had with, I believe, FDOT regarding this issue. I think that, if they had requested it, we should at least know what the communication is.
Ms. Bravo: She hasn't requested anything from me.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. All right. Okay. So, Barbara, she said you hadn't requested --
Ms. Bisno: I haven't.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay, all right.
Ms. Bisno: I haven't.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: All right, no problem. I would still like to see the communication regarding it and that there is a healthy discussion happening around how we address the overall issue. The second thing that I wanted to make sure that I'm clear on, one of the -- based upon my briefings, one of the reasons why we are expanding the boundaries is because Miami-Dade County Commission has already expanded the boundaries, correct?
Ms. Bravo: Correct.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: It's voted and approved. And what the Administration is saying to me is that this is -- this would be the next step to allowing for that to happen, correct?
Ms. Bravo: Correct.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. So the third thing I want to do is just make sure on the -- I believe it's Section 608 and 609. I would like to make sure that, when we bring this back, there are amendments made to the ordinance. I don't know if it has to happen to this particular ordinance or we have to bring a separate ordinance back. But I do want to make sure that we address that issue so that it is not a problem regarding having public input as to what 's going up in these areas. I would like to be able to share that information as we expand out. And then I would like to also be very clear with the public, so we're all on the same page from a transparency standpoint, to be very clear about the community benefits. So, personally, I will not be supporting any one of the expansions, unless I knew it was going to benefit my district directly. So I just wanted to make sure you at least communicate on the record so that people are
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clear about what the community gets from their support -- I mean, from the support of this ordinance change.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Commissioner, if I may, let me suggest to you that you entertain this amendment just to deal with the boundaries.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Ms. Bru: And then the other issues that you're discussing, we should probably meet and discuss how we can achieve, you know, greater input, you know, by the Commissioners or whatever. Because the ordinance as it is, it's a very well thought out, very tightly crafted ordinance to meet constitutional requirements. And before we go in there and tinker with something that has worked well, we really need to discuss it. So my suggestion is just deal with the boundaries and then we can talk about something else and bring it back as a separate amendment, if appropriate.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: But I just want to be clear that I'm not going to do the one before the other, okay.
Ms. Bru: That's --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So let's be clear. And I was very clear with the Administration on that, okay, so -- I mean, it's a dead issue. I mean, this is my requirement: If it's going to be expanded in my district, that it's important to have that happen.
Ms. Bru: And let me suggest to you --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And we have now -- from now --
Ms. Bru: I'm sorry.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- to second reading to figure it out.
Ms. Bru: Right. You know, Commissioner, technically, under the ordinance, the benefits -- the monies that is generated by the mural program is supposed to be the compelling interest that the City has articulated is is that we're eliminating blight, because these blank walls would be more aesthetically pleasing by having these murals, and that the money that is generated goes to regulating the program as well as improving quality of life.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: But --
Ms. Bru: So the money is coming in.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah, but let's be clear, 'cause I definitely don't want to get into that, because some of these buildings that it's going on, they're not blighted at all, okay. So let's not -- you know, I'm allowing for you guys to come back with the ordinance changes or the suggestions on how we handle it. And I was very clear with the Administration, what my position is on this. I think it's important for -- as a district Commissioner sitting here, I think it's important for it to come back and for us to at least communicate or leave the doors -- the door open for the public to see what we're putting.
Ms. Bru: And --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That's what I prefer in my district. So --
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Ms. Bravo: And we'll work with the Law Department --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- if we don't understand that and if some people can't get that, then that is their issue, not mine.
Ms. Bravo: -- to figure out how --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right.
Ms. Bravo: -- to do this procedurally so that they happen concurrently.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Got it. So I want to be clear from the community, if there is -- 'cause Barbara just mentioned some sort of community benefits -- any benefits that's going to be coming from the community, which is what the Administration has talked to me about -- communicated to me about, I would like to make sure that as we move to the second reading, that that is communicated so it's transparent and everybody understands what's going on.
Ms. Bravo: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So I don't want it to be like a, you know, what's really happening. Let's be straight so people understand what's happening.
Commissioner Suarez: I agree.
Chair Sarnoff: What's that?
Commissioner Suarez: I agree.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. So did -- we have a motion and a second, right?
Ms. Ewan: Yes, we do.
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: And the public hearing has been opened and now the public hearing is now closed.
Ms. Ewan: Yes, it has been.
Commissioner Suarez: So can I just chime in one last thing?
Chair Sarnoff: Absolutely.
Commissioner Suarez: So let me just see if I got this right. There's no more murals?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: No.
Commissioner Suarez: The expansion is into your district?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: There are no residents from your district here complaining?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
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Commissioner Suarez: And there's a community benefits agreement that you're working on?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Well --
Ms. Bravo: Yes.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I guess the Administration, when it comes back to -- back for the second reading, they're going to be very clear of that. But I just want to make sure they're not just bringing back -- the benefits are not bringing back, you know, the additional ordinance change that I think is necessary.
Ms. Bravo: Right.
Commissioner Suarez: Got it.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Did I answer your question?
Commissioner Suarez: I think I got it. I think so.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: That's how it was explained to me.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Is it worth passing this on first reading, because --? Is that going to be a substantial amendment?
Ms. Bru: Again, the Commissioner wants to have some further information, some further initiatives advance addressed. They don't have to be addressed in this ordinance.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Ms. Bru: We can pass this, deal with the geographical boundaries, and then address the issue. Or -- I think that -- I heard the Commissioner say she doesn't want to vote on the boundaries until she has had the other issues addressed.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right. And I was very clear with Administration when I met with them in my position, so I don't know why it just -- it seems like --
Ms. Bru: So --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- nobody knows what I'm talking about.
Ms. Bru: So maybe --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: This is really --
Ms. Bru: -- this is before you prematurely.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- aggravating.
Chair Sarnoff: So that's what I'm saying. I mean --
Ms. Bravo: Commissioner, I know --
Chair Sarnoff: -- because --
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Ms. Bravo: -- what you're talking about.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: It's like I'm sitting here and everybody's looking at me like what are you talking about, like I'm --
Ms. Bravo: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- in Mar -- on Mar [sic] some -- I mean --
Ms. Bravo: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- it's a discussion.
Ms. Bravo: So the mural boundary is referenced in the same ordinance as the -- to the language of how the relocation of a mural permit is approved, which currently reads that it's approved by the Administration. So it'd be to add “to be approved by” --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: It's just one line.
Vice Chair Gort: The Commission.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: It's just one line.
Ms. Bravo: -- “Commission.”
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right.
Ms. Bravo: I --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And I was told --
Chair Sarnoff: And just so you know --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- that that wasn't even an issue.
Chair Sarnoff: -- because Julie's having heartburn there, because I worked with her on this ordinance. Once Commissioners start getting involved in the approval of content, you're going to have first amendment issues.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right. I'm not trying to approve content.
Vice Chair Gort: No, no, not the content.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That's not the issue. The issue is in this expanded area, up to ten billboards can go in that area.
Ms. Bravo: No, no.
Chair Sarnoff: Right. But I'm also hearing --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Be moved out of --
Ms. Bravo: It's ten city blocks. So with the spacing, it would be four to five.
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay, four to five. I'm sorry. But, still, if we understand -- I mean, I know the area itself, you know, and where these billboards would -- excuse me -- murals would be going. I just think that it's important for -- not just me but any district Commissioners sitting up here. It's a pretty tight area.
Chair Sarnoff: And I'm not sure -- and I just can't take off my legal hat, sorry.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: It's okay.
Chair Sarnoff: -- that I want to be in a position to approve the placement of a mural. I'm not sure --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: But then we're going to have -- I mean, I'm just telling you what my requirements are --
Chair Sarnoff: And that's why I'm --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- so we don't have to pass it on first reading, and the Administration is very clear where I am, and you don't have to vote yes or no for it.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I'm just simply telling you if -- this particular item, these are the things that I want to see happen not just for me, but for my public. I think that that's important. And I didn't -- I don't see why this is a big deal.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. So we have an ordinance, Madam City Attorney.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by the City Attorney.
Ms. Ewan: And, Chair, just for clarification, I want to make sure that we're voting on FR.3 as moved by Commissioner Spence-Jones, second by Vice Chair Gort, with modifications, correct?
Ms. Bru: There is no modification to this ordinance --
Ms. Ewan: So as presented.
Ms. Bru: -- at this time. The Commissioner is suggesting that between first and second, she wants to see certain issues addressed. Whether or not we can address those issues without having a substantial amendment that would require then yet another reading, we will work with the Administration and the Commissioner to determine that.
Ms. Ewan: Thank you. Your roll call on FR.3. Commissioner Suarez?
Commissioner Suarez: Yes, on first.
Ms. Ewan: Vice Chair Gort?
Vice Chair Gort: First reading, yes.
Ms. Ewan: Commissioner Spence-Jones?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes, on first reading.
Ms. Ewan: Chair Sarnoff?
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Chair Sarnoff: No.
Ms. Ewan: Item FR.3 passes on first reading, 3-1.
END OF FIRST READING ORDINANCES
RESOLUTIONS
RE.1 RESOLUTION 13-00507 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE Attorney EXPENDITURE OF ATTORNEY'S FEES AND COSTS FOR THE ENGAGEMENT OF THE LAW OFFICES OF RONALD J. COHEN, P.A., FOR THE REPRESENTATION OF ARMANDO ROJAS AND VINCENT LARICCI IN THE CASE OF JOSEPH DAVID BENYUNES VS.CITY OF MIAMI, ET AL., PENDING IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA, CASE NO.: 13-cv-21309-DLG; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM ACCOUNT NO. 05002.301001.545000.0000.00000. 13-00507 Memo - Office of the City Attorney.pdf 13-00507 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Spence-Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Spence-Jones Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-13-0179
Chair Sarnoff: RE.1. Let's try to knock some REs (Resolutions) out.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. City Attorney, is that you?
Victoria Mendez (Deputy City Attorney): This is also a resolution having to do with the expenditure of attorney's fees and costs for the engagement of Ronald Cohen, in the representation of Armando Rojas and Vincent Laricci. It has to do with a conflict.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So moved.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion by Commissioner Spence-Jones --
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: -- second by Commissioner Gort. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.2 RESOLUTION 13-00367 City Manager's Office A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), RELATED TO THE REAPPORTIONMENT OF THE JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES OF THE CITY COMMISSION DISTRICTS
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FOR USE IN THE NOVEMBER 5, 2013 ELECTION AND EACH ELECTION THEREAFTER; OFFICIALLY DELINEATING THE BOUNDARIES OF EACH DISTRICT AS SET FORTH IN "EXHIBIT A," ATTACHED AND INCORPORATED. 13-00367 Summary Form.pdf 13-00367 Final Report - Proposed Redistricting Plan.pdf 13-00367 Legislation.pdf 13-00367-Exhibit 1-SUB.pdf 13-00367-PowerPoint Presentation-Redistricting Alternartives Compared.pdf 13-00367-Submittal-Maps.pdf 13-00367-Submittal-Sarnoff Plan.pdf 13-00367-Submittal-Stephen Cody-Presentation.pdf DISCUSSED
Commissioner Suarez: This is going to be quick, right?
Chair Sarnoff: All right, back on the record. We are dealing with redistricting, which is RE (Resolution) --
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): RE.2.
Chair Sarnoff: RE.2?
Ms. Ewan: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: RE.2. Thank you. There you go, RE.2. You're recognized for the record, Mr. Cody.
Stephen Cody: Thank you. Stephen Cody, 16610 Southwest 82nd Court, Palmetto Bay, Florida. I'm here with Pablo Tamayo from Miguel De Grandy, PA (Professional Association). I'm happy to report, just as a side note, that Miguel is doing very well, and we expect him back -- well, the doctors were so sure about what they did; rather than put a zipper in his chest, they've sealed him up with Super Glue. So they're not going to go back and have to do that again.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That's a little too much for me.
Mr. Cody: Since the meeting on April 25, I've had an opportunity to examine the redistricting plan that the head of the Shorecrest Homeowners Association proposed to you and made certain measurements to see how it performs as you asked me to do. I've also, at Commissioner Suarez' request, made some alterations to that plan. But before we get into that, I'd like to discuss timing at this point. Now, I don't know if you have had a chance to review this letter, but Penelope Townsley, the Supervisor of Elections, sent a letter to Mayor Regalado. And in that letter she states, "The Elections Department must be in receipt of the new City of Miami Commission district boundaries no later than June 14, 2013." Then she states, "Adhering to this deadline is critical to the Department." And given that, I wanted to address a few matters with you. On the screen you can see a timeline. The blue rectangles indicate the regular meetings you have scheduled. The black is Ms. Townsley's deadline. Now, assume that you pass a plan this afternoon, in doing so, the veto period would begin to run and would end on May 19. Assuming that the Mayor took the last possible time to -- that he could to issue the veto, you would normally take up the override vote on your May 23 meeting. However, in order to expedite matters, you might consider the possibility of putting an alternative plan in the May 16 packet just in case. However, by doing that, you could then vote on the new plan on May 23. You then have a new period for veto and could take up on the 13th an alternative plan if need be. I would caution you against reading Penny Townsley's letter to say that you have all the time to go to the end because besides your passage, she notes that there's some information that she needs, which is going to take -- working
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with your Planning Department, we can probably get it done in a day or two, but it still will take some time, which is why we caution you against waiting until the last possible moment. If you do wait until June 13, there may not be time for the vetoes and all the other work that has to be done. Now, before we get into the four plans that you asked me to look at, I wanted to review some City demographics because of some of the discussions that we had during the last meeting. These are -- I'm going to be showing you a series of maps prepared by your Planning Department. And as you can see, this first one shows the distribution of non-Hispanic white population in the City. It's focused mostly in the Grove, with some in the Upper Eastside. West of US 1 and Biscayne Boulevard, non-Hispanic white population is very thin. If you look at the black population in the City, the black population is already concentrated, for the most part, in the present boundaries of District 5, with the exception of the area that you have down in the West Grove, right on the border of the City. And as you can also see, most of the Hispanic population resides in Districts 3, 4, and 1. And it's because of this that regardless of how we draw the districts, there's no way to maintain a district with the present 76 percent black population percentage and, frankly, it's going to be impossible to go above about the mid 30s in terms of the single race white -- a single race white population percentage in District 2. There just aren't enough people.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Would you repeat that?
Mr. Cody: I said, given the demographics of the City, it's going to be -- it's impossible to get a plan that meets the deviation requirements, that meets or equals the present 76 percent of black population in District 5 or we can get anywhere more than about 35 percent in District 2.
Chair Sarnoff: I'm sorry, 35 percent of what?
Mr. Cody: Of single race white. Now, you asked us to take a look at some plans and to recap. This is the plan that Mr. De Grandy and I presented to you at the March 14 meeting. And this Commission directed us that we make certain changes, such as moving the border between District 1 and District 5 back to Northwest 7th Street and then extending the boundary of District 3 to Brickell Avenue, along 12th Street and Broadway. The plan preserves District 5 as a majority African-American district. The plan also has a single race white percentage of almost 35 percent, and here are the statistics. Analysis of the elections shows that the plan allows black and Hispanic voters to elect their candidates of choice, complying with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and with a population deviation of 5.39 percent meets all of the requirements of the Voting Rights Act. And the plan also balances all the criteria that you gave us, including conforming the boundaries to the CRAs (Community Redevelopment Agencies). Now, up on your screen now is a plan that was put forward by the president of the Shorecrest Homeowners Association. This plan moves all of the Upper Eastside into District 5. However, the plan fails to move the Overtown Park West CRA into District 5, as directed by the Commission. District 5's black population drops to 66 -- or 68.07 percent, and the single race white percentage also drops below 34 percent. The plan has a deviation of 5.8 higher than the March 14 plan but still within the legally permissible range. The election analysis that we were able to do with this plan shows that it will allow black and Hispanic voters to elect their candidates of choice and it does comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. And the plan's deviation, again of 5.8, meets the 14th Amendment's one man, one vote -- or one person, one vote requirements of the 14th Amendment. During the discussion that we had at the last meeting, Commissioner Suarez asked that we take an opportunity to take a look at this plan and try to put back in the CRA, and he also requested that we move the border between 2 and District 4 further south. The problem that we had doing this is that by that, the deviation on this plan is 19 percent, which is twice the legal limit. So we didn't do any electroanalysis on this plan simply because it's one that I can't recommend that you adopt. However, with Commissioner Suarez' permission, I tinkered with that plan in order to bring down the deviations to a legally acceptable level, and rather than move population into District 4, what I had to do was to move that border back to the original boundary line, 24th Street. And then I also had to move about nine blocks back to District 2, and this is an area
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bounded by I-95 to the north, on the south by 29th Street, to the east by North Miami Avenue, and the west by Northwest 1st Avenue. District 5 still has an African-American majority; this time of 66.6 percent. District 2 has a single race white population of just over 33 percent; deviational plan is 9.8. It sits right on the edge of what's legal and acceptable but, yet, would pass muster if challenged in court. The plan does perform and will elect the African American candidate of choice in District 5 as well as the Hispanic candidates of choice in Districts 1, 3, and 4. Now -- got a little ahead of myself on my fancy graphics. Yeah, this happens. To recap, though, of the four plans that we looked at, the Jettt/Suarez plan, as I've taken to calling it, is something that we can't consider, but you can take a look at the other three. The March 14 plan has the highest percentage of both single race white in District 2 and black population percentage in District 5 and the lowest overall deviation. Again, as I said, all of these plans are available. All of these plans will perform. And if the Commission so desires, I have prepared outline maps so that if you wish to amend the resolution before you, we can go ahead and do that, substitute in the maps for any of these plans for the plan that is currently there in front of the packet. With that, that's an analysis of the four plans that you asked me to take a look at. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. Anybody else have anything they want to add or subtract or suggest?
Commissioner Suarez: I want to listen.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I also asked -- I did have a meeting with you as well, my staff and my team, regarding trying to figure out some additional solutions. I know that, you know, Jett had a plan, Suarez had a plan, everyone had a plan, but the district that was going to be affected by it the most was the D5 (District 5). But I asked for you to also come back with some recommendations. The Commissioner should have gotten copies of that -- those recommendations. Could you share this -- the additional option at this point?
Mr. Cody: Sure. That plan is up on the board -- or it should be up on the board right now. Commissioner Suarez -- Commissioner asked me to take a look at the March 14 plan and align the border between District 1 and District 5 down to the exact line of the CRA. We've been moving it to 7th and 95 back and forth. This takes it down to 22nd Street, which is the exact border and makes the cut over. We also moved the border between District 2 and District 5 from the Little River down to Northwest 61st Street. District 5 in this plan has a black population percentage of 60 to 7.79 percent. The single race white percentage in District 2 is just below 34.5 percent. Analysis of elections shows that this plan, like the others, will allow black and Hispanic voters to elect their candidates of choice and complies with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and a deviation of 8.38 percent meets the requirements of 14th Amendment. The plan also meets all of the criteria, unlike the other plans that we've discussed, with the exception of the March 14 plan, that this Commission gave, including conforming the boundaries to the CRA. If you'd like, this is a blow-up of the map of the CRA and you could see the boundary at 22nd Street and 7th, which we have followed. And if you want a little bit better detail on the upper area, you can see that we go from the City boundary to the north down to -- that's Northwest 61st Street. And so that would take Palm Grove, Shorecrest, and -- well, it --
Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Cody: Okay. How 'bout that. It takes Shorecrest and it takes Belle Meade and goes down to Bay Point. Not Bay Point, excuse me, Bayside. And so in doing that, by balancing and examining all the districts, again, we find that the Spence-Jones plan has a single race white percentage of population of District 2 of 34.44, about half a percentage point lower than the March 14 plan; it's about 2 percentage points lower in terms of the black percentage of population in District 5; and has a deviation of 8.38 percent, but still within the legally acceptable limits. So these are the plans that you asked us to take a look at and also, Commissioner Spence-Jones asked me to draft up. And so I would urge the Commissioners to --
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as I indicated before, time is of the essence. Having been an attorney who has sued, in the past, jurisdictions for not having their plans done, the County and the School Board were nice enough to pay a million and a quarter in attorney's fees over those cases in the last numerous years. The question may become which plan -- which program you have that may be worth 50 or 60 or 80 or $100,000 you want to cut to pay some attorney, but the choice is yours, you know. And with that, I'm happy to take any questions.
Commissioner Suarez: I'm in the wrong business.
Mr. Cody: Unfortunately, redistricting only comes once every ten years, so you have to be like a 17-year cicada and just sleep --
Commissioner Suarez: Not bad, though --
Mr. Cody: -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) years.
Commissioner Suarez: -- I'll take it for ten year a million and a half.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. I'll open up a public hearing. Anybody that want to speak in regard to RE. -- what are we, RE.5, RE.2?
Ms. Ewan: RE.2.
Chair Sarnoff: RE.2. RE.2. You're recognized for the record.
Elvis Cruz: Thank you, Commissioner. Elvis Cruz, 631 Northeast 57th Street. If this pen were a time machine, I would love to wave it and bring you all back to that meeting we had at Legion Park. Commissioner Sarnoff, you had a staffer there. Commissioner Spence-Jones, you had a staffer there. But I wish all five of you could have been there. We had over a hundred citizens at Legion Park, and I asked the question of the crowd, How many here are in favor of keeping the entire Upper Eastside together, whether it's in District 5 or District 2? Every hand in the room went up. I then turned it around and said, How many are in favor -- or how many are opposed to that idea? Nobody raised their hand. The will of the people is well known, but apparently, this is a situation where the will of the people is not that important. And so I ask a question. We've asked repeatedly, for there to be a study made of the possibility of keeping the Upper Eastside together in District 5 and what -- it would be possible to keep it all together in District 2. We've asked, repeatedly, where's the District 2 plan? There is no plan demonstrated tonight by the consultant of keeping the entire Upper Eastside together in District 2. Why is that important? Commissioner Spence-Jones has reservations about moving the entire Upper Eastside into District 5, and now we're hearing that they want to split the Upper Eastside. We would like -- again, for like the fourth or fifth time, I'm asking this Commission to direct the consultant to present a plan that shows the entire Upper Eastside in District 2. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Well, I hate to say this, Elvis, but I think there is two plans up here. There is the Jett plan and there is the Jett/Suarez B plan.
Mr. Cruz: That -- they do not show the entire Upper Eastside staying in District 2.
Chair Sarnoff: Oh.
Mr. Cruz: It shows it going to District 5.
Chair Sarnoff: I'm sorry.
Mr. Cruz: We'd like to see both permutations all in 5, all in 2.
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Mr. Cody: Well -- Mr. Chairman, can I respond?
Chair Sarnoff: Sure.
Mr. Cody: At the meeting before the last meeting -- actually, after the -- we had those two public meetings with the people, both at Legion Park and here at the City Hall, we heard them and we did a preliminary analysis. By keeping all of the Upper Eastside in District 2, we're going to have to find the population south of 36th Street, which would probably mean taking everything to the west of the FEC (Florida East Coast) corridor and probably below the CRA boundary, coming out to about Miami Avenue and coming down to the river. That's something that when we described that, there was no reaction from the Commission or direction to us to draw a plan. But I can tell you that that plan has a much lower black population percentage because we're having to go into some fairly heavily Hispanic areas to get the population we need to rebalance. And that -- you know, while anybody with $500 and a federal bar number can file a lawsuit, that plan presents more of a challenge, more of a problem because of the resulting drop in what is a safe performing district in District 5 to a district that is in the low 60s. And when there was no enthusiasm from this Commission, no direction, we did not draw such a plan. We've looked at it. Mr. De Grandy addressed that. That's in one of the reports that we gave to the Commission. That should be on the Clerk's web site. So we have dealt with that. But the problem again remains, if you say everything above 36th Street is off limits, then I've got to find 16,000 people below 36th Street to move into the district.
Mr. Cruz: And I would ask the Commission to have him actually present a plan and not just give his off-the-cuff impression as you've just received. Put it in writing. Let's see the hard numbers so you can compare apples and apples. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Anyone else wishing to speak on RE.2?
Bob Powers: Bob Powers, 565 Northeast 66th Street. The object has been provided. Ken Jett did all the work here. The proposal to you guy is -- shows a .50 difference, you know, which I think is livable to put the entire Upper Eastside. The bottom line is that we have gone through seven or eight years building a brand, the Upper Eastside, okay, with the MiMo (Miami Modern) District, Palm Grove, all those neighborhoods, which are all historic districts, the largest historic district in the entire City, okay. And what we don't want is to be split in half. And it -- and we're not concerned whether we go with you or we stay with Commissioner Sarnoff. That's not the issue. The issue is that the neighborhoods want to stay together. United we stand. Divided we fall. We've all seen it. And it would be like asking Grand Avenue to be split in half. That wouldn't go over well in the Grove. I don't think Grovites would like that either. I don't think anybody would like to be -- have their district that's historically been one thing to be split. So that's really -- you know, the numbers are the numbers, but we're only talking about a .50 difference in numbers, okay, and I don't think that that is going to take anything away from anybody. The neighbor -- that area of the -- has kind of taken care of itself, for the most part, and we've had a great Commissioner, Commissioner Sarnoff, who got a lot of things addressed that were -- hadn't been addressed in 20 years up there and we're -- and we appreciate that. But we really want to stay together, and I have to echo that sentiment. You know, rich, poor, or indifferent, that neighborhood has got its own little vibe up there and it really doesn't want to be split, and I would really like you to think about that. And not only that, you guys are all running for office too. So the thing is, is that I'm a voter and I'm an active voter, and I want to let you know that how you vote for this is going to be how I support you guys. So you need to keep that in mind. And, you know, we do turn out to vote up there when we need to turn out to vote. So the thing here is this, that you've got a very active community up there that would like to stay together, and that's all we're asking you to do. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized for the record.
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Ken Jett: Good evening, Mr. Chair, Commissioners. Ken Jett, 8320 East Dixie Highway, here on behalf of Shorecrest HOA (Homeowners Association) and myself. Thank you, Mr. Cody, for getting rid of that water that I selected out there in my plan. Thank goodness, we don't count those homeless people in the inner tubes on the water. You've been presented tonight with two options to consider: the one that was presented to you last time, called the Jett plan; the Jett/Suarez B plan I believe is what the other plan has been named as. The others, because of variation and because of not keeping the Upper Eastside as a whole, don't fulfill the requirements. Again, on the public record, I'd like to ask one more time, as you heard Elvis, we'd like to see a model with the Upper Eastside whole in two. If you choose not to do that tonight, you do have two models that work and you will keep many people. In fact, as Elvis pointed out, everyone who attended those public hearings will be satisfied with either of the two viable options that you've presented tonight. So I want to thank you for your time and effort. The process has been enlightening. I look forward to you making the right decision. Thank you.
Eileen Botari: Hello. Eileen Botari, 505 Northeast 76th Street. I just want to put it into the record 'cause you Commissioners don know my neighborhood. We're on the west side of Biscayne Boulevard, Palm Grove. It's a historic neighborhood. It starts at 78th Street and it goes all the way down to 58th Street. So this last plan that was just spoken about where he's cutting us off at 62nd Street, you would be cutting our neighborhood apart because our neighborhood goes all the way down to 58th Street. So I just wanted everyone to be aware of that. Thank you.
Mr. Cody: Mr. Chairman, just to be clear, that -- the Spence-Jones plan came down on the water side to 61st Street but took in all of Biscayne Boulevard from the City boundary down to 36th Street, so Palm Grove is included in District 5 and is not cut. It's cut between Morningside -- or excuse me -- Bayside and Morningside.
Chair Sarnoff: Describe that one more time.
Mr. Cody: Okay. The -- well, let me -- I can back up really quick and just show you the upper detail, the close-up on the Spence-Jones plan. Okay, here's the blowup. The Palm Grove is basically the area between 4th Court and Biscayne Boulevard, running down to the area where Biscayne Boulevard takes that turn. That is all included in District 5. It's the -- 61st Street is the boundary basically between --
Chair Sarnoff: Is there a hard copy of this plan I can look at?
Commissioner Suarez: I haven't seen it. I never heard of it.
Mr. Cody: I -- or I sent to each of your offices --
Chair Sarnoff: Any of you have a hardcopy of that plan?
Mr. Cody: -- a -- I can give you --
Commissioner Suarez: I never got it. I never had it.
Unidentified Speaker: We never received that. I'm just going to let you know. This is the first time we're seeing that.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Mr. Cody: This is a set of outline maps that are like the maps that are attached (INAUDIBLE).
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Chair Sarnoff: Mr. Cody.
Mr. Cody: Yes, sir.
Chair Sarnoff: Is -- from 61st Street to I-95, do Commissioner Spence-Jones and I share Biscayne Boulevard?
Mr. Cody: Yes. Well, the district is split between there and, yes, I-195.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: But I want to just respond to the 61st Street because her statement on the record was that they actually end on 58th, which would be Palm Grove and not 61st.
Mr. Cody: Well, according to the maps that I have looked at, Palm Grove is defined as an area to the west of Biscayne -- between Biscayne Boulevard and Northwest 4th Court, stretching from the portion of the -- where the Biscayne Boulevard takes that diagonal down to where it meets Federal Highway. That's generally considered to be, by most of the maps Mr. De Grandy and I looked at, to be Palm Grove, from there going up. Some of the maps we looked at took it all the way up and beyond the new river to the border of the City; others stopped at the new river. But that's generally considered to be the area of Palm Grove. You have in the Upper Eastside stacked, you've got Shorecrest, you've got Belle Meade, you've got Bayside, you got Morningside, you got Bay Point, and then you've got Magnolia Park, which is right on 36th Street, and so they sort of stack like a layered cake --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah.
Mr. Cody: -- but to the east of the Biscayne Boulevard and Palm Grove's on the west.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Let me -- I'm sorry.
Chair Sarnoff: Do you --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Let --
Chair Sarnoff: I'm sorry. -- have statistics on this one?
Mr. Cody: On that one, yes, sir.
Chair Sarnoff: Can I just see those, please?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And let me just say this really quickly, and I definitely want to have the feedback from my fellow colleagues that are sitting on the dais. But before I get into -- I know there were some comments made, and I really want to make sure that we don't take this to the place of it being a political agenda at all regarding, you know, people voting and people not voting. This is about -- this is not about me. This is about a district that I serve now. This is about what comes after me and me making sure that whatever decisions I make are not based upon me. It's based upon what's good for the overall district. So I want to be clear on that. So my motivation is never going to be politics on this issue like that. So I want it to be really clear. Let me tell you what my concern is. And maybe if I can address the concern -- and this is something that I've had this discussion with Steven and the consultants on. When you look at my district, District 5 -- and I'm speaking of the areas in which I represent now -- this -- all of the plans are based on 2010 census, right? And one of the concerns I have is if you're saying presently now I have 78 -- I think it's 78 percent -- 79 percent -- I mean, in my current district now.
Mr. Cody: We have approximately 76 percent African-American population.
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: Seventy-six African American. -- represented in my overall district, but these are -- this is based upon -- which means people -- and this is based on the 2010 census. Well, the more we drill down on how many people I actually have in my district that I represent, we begin to kind of look at, okay, where are these people? Because when you start looking at Liberty City and when you start looking at Overtown -- I'm just looking at these two areas just in general now -- over the last three years, the population or the individuals that are living there aren't there. So when you start to say I have 78 percent of African Americans or 76 percent of African Americans living in D5, when you actually ride through the district -- I mean, if you know the district like I know the district, you know the abandoned lots, you know the vacant buildings, you know the foreclosures, so the people that lived there three years ago aren't there. So -- and I understand -- and this is what I -- you know, my question with Stephen, you know, was Ste -- you know, Stephen, is there any way that we can, you know, look at the numbers and try to get a better understanding of, you know, what is the true population? Because we're doing it off of false numbers, clearly, and I'm going to give you an example. Perfect example is in the district -- I mean, the area in which Gort and I share. Originally, I was trying to pick up that 20th Street area -- I mean, the 7th Avenue area because the assumption was in that slip -- or that slither that there were 300 people there, which would have given me more to go in my district. So we went out and we rode the district 'cause I really wanted to see for myself, and there are no people living there. They're all abandoned houses; nobody in there. So the 300 people that you think are there that I thought I was picking up aren't really there. So you -- when you hear me, you know, passionate about this issue and really trying to make sure I do the right thing, I can't make decisions based upon numbers that, quite frankly, are just not there. And if any one of y'all want to ride in Liberty City any day, I'll take you. You want to ride in Overtown, any day I'll take you. And the buildings and the apartment buildings, the houses, the abandoned houses, the number of abandoned houses I have in my district where people might have been there in 2010, they just clearly aren't there now. I'm making a decision off false information. So, you know, I don't want to get caught up in people's politics because that ain't my agenda. You know, vote for me because you want to vote for me, period. If it's meant for me to be here, I'll be here. I'm never going to make a decision based upon a vote. Just not going to do it. If you don't know who I am, if you don't know what I represent and how I try to serve my district, that's fine, and I don't have a problem with that. That's why we have the right to vote for who we want to vote for. But I am not going to make a decision that I know is going to be detrimental beyond me. And I have a responsibility as the District 5 Commissioner that's sitting here right now. I would expect that my fellow Commissioners will respect the district Commissioner of the area. If you guys had to make the same decisions in your areas -- the Commissioners that are most affected is Commissioner Sarnoff and I; that we should be able to weigh in on this process to tell you what we think is best for our districts. Every other Commissioners that sat up here that had to go through this process all respected each other's district and did what they felt was best for the district Commissioner that was sitting there. Now, I love Upper Eastside. I love all the areas. I love Palm Grove. I'm there probably in those areas more than I'm actually in any own areas 'cause that's the closest place that I can go at this point, until the other parts of my districts grow, to really go out and have a good meal and really go out and have a good time because that area is growing. So I support -- I love MiMo (Miami Modern). I love what they're doing there. I mean, if I could pick it all up, I would, but it's not about me. It's about really making sure that I make a decision that's going to be best for the district beyond me. And I know for a fact when we start looking at 2010 numbers compared to 2013 numbers and who's actually living there, they're not there. And I can look at Upper Eastside, and I can ride from Palm Grove, I can ride to Shorecrest, and I can ride to Morningside, and I best -- I can bet you that we see very few abandoned lots, very few abandoned buildings, very few homes in foreclosure, not compared to the areas in which I represent, Liberty City, Little Haiti, and Overtown. So the numbers aren't there. So that's my concern, is I don't want to make a decision where I'm not -- where I'm thinking that, okay, based upon the numbers you're giving me, Stephen, yes, in 2010, they might have been there, but in 2013, they're just not there and so, for me, it's off balance. Now, the other thing that Commissioner Sarnoff mentioned in the last meeting, which, you know, some
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people gagged on it and said, you know, while -- you know -- well, I'm not going to say they gagged on it. They were little -- the wind was taken out of them a bit when he mentioned the issue of not -- well, you know, hey, I understand that you want African Americans. Are we -- in making sure that we complied to what, you know -- you know, what we're supposed to comply to based upon why we're even in this situation, but what about having that additional voice on the dais? I think it's important to have, you know, a Hispanic, an African American, and an Anglo on the dais. I think it's extremely important because you have the opportunity to have more than one voice or opinion heard, and we all come from different walks of life. And the only place that he could really pick up any additional Anglo -- and this is the reality, 'cause I kept asking Stephen, But where can he pick up the additional Anglo? The only place he can pick it up is on the Upper Eastside. There's no place for him to -- else to pick it up. So when I asked him to break it down, Well, how do we give him --? Even though it's not much. I believe it's like two points or something like that. But where else can we give him the additional, you know, population that he spoke of? He mentioned Morningside and Bayside. He said Morningside and Bayside. That would be the only places that he could actually pick it up. So I said, okay. Well, let's see if that works and maybe that, you know, assist us with us, one, making sure the District 2 Commissioner, the issues and concerns that he had, we're able to address, you know, by having a different voice on -- always having a different voice on the dais. So the recommendations were recommendations that I thought that I would be able to help a fellow Commissioner as well and, at the same time, understanding the population that I already know was actually there, even though 2010 is saying something else, I just don't want to be in a position where I make a decision that is going to be detrimental to the life of the district. Now, what I do want to say, 'cause I think it's important to say, I think that if a comment is made or a suggestion is made by the public about showing -- even if it -- even if we know or even if you think the numbers are not going to look right with it being all in D2, we still owe them -- we still should show them -- if they've asked for it two or three times, to at least show them -- show it to them like we have it here. I think they need to see what happens when everything goes into D2, and I don't know if you have it in your system, but I think it's important for them to see what it is and not kind of guess and not know what it is. I know you already -- you've already told me, Commissioner, this is what it is. I'm telling you what it is, but this is the recommendation that they brought forth for us to at least show them. And then last but not least, I want to, you know -- operating in the spirit of humility today, I do want to make sure that we acknowledge the fact that I did ask for the Mayor to actually get a letter from Penny regarding this issue because I did not want it to be -- just be words, and she produce the letter -- he did produce the letter. I believe it was yesterday or so. And I just want to be clear. Originally, we were told this stuff had to be completed by April, correct, the end of April? And based upon what I'm being told by the consultants, it -- at that particular point, it did because of the Dolphin stadium vote --
Commissioner Suarez: Correct.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- correct, which meant all of that stuff had to kind of be put in place. So that was the reason why she said April. So the letter that she has sent now -- and I'm just acknowledging it, because he got the letter and it says now June, which means we still have -- I know what you're saying -- based upon her time frame, we still do have up until June to at least provide her with that information, correct?
Mr. Cody: That's the date on which she said she needs the district boundaries and the shape files so that they can plug that into their computer system and begin the process of reprecincting the City.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. So I just wanted to at least make sure I acknowledged, you know, the correction of, you know, the fact that we asked for him to bring the letter; he brought the letter, but it was all based upon the April time frame and not the -- was based upon the vote of the Dolphin stadium, which got us to that April time frame, correct? So we do have more time?
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Mr. Cody: You do have more time. However, as I indicated in the presentation, you don't have -- I would not recommend you waiting until June 13 to pass a plan.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Oh, no, no, no.
Mr. Cody: And I think you'd be better off, frankly, adopting a plan tonight simply because the options that you asked for we've presented.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah, but the only reason why I'm saying -- and I know, Steve, you're going a little crazy with this. But at least two of them have gotten up there and said they have still not seen the --
Mr. Cody: And we did -- we asked the Commission, as a group, Would you like us to draw that plan? And we got absolutely no one up there who said yes, draw that plan. We work for the Commission as a collective body.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I know.
Mr. Cody: And so, you know, I don't normally take requests from members of the public because --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I understand.
Mr. Cody: -- you're paying me --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I understand.
Mr. Cody: -- and it's my obligation to give advice to you. Just like as an attorney in a case, I wouldn't have --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I understand.
Mr. Cody: -- somebody sitting in the --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I understand.
Mr. Cody: -- audience saying, let me ask you about what you did and why and whatnot. But that's why we didn't draw a plan because we got no direction from this board to draw the plan, but we've looked at it. As I've said, we've looked at it and it presents problems for D5 in terms of bringing down the black population percentage and it forces, you know -- again, think of -- the most expedient way is to just go down the FEC (Florida East Coast) line, Midtown. Everything to the east of that has to be moved into District 5 below 36th Street. And then when you go down around where the CRA is, take that line off of 5th Street instead of Northeast 1st Avenue, come over to Miami Avenue or maybe even to the -- you know, to the Brickell Bring in order to get the popula -- the districts to get near the maximum 10 percent, not talking about a plan that's got a much better balance. So I work at the discretion of this body as a group so --
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: And I just want clarity. And I know there is various plans presented, and I want clarity. It seems like the Ken Jett plan and the Ken Jett plan with the addition that you did, the “B,” works with regards to the requirements, correct? Is there an issue with it?
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: Well --
Commissioner Carollo: 'Cause I'm not understanding. It appears like the ones that they brought up meets the requirement. Yeah, some is 9 percent deviation or 8 percent deviation or so forth, but more or less, it works and I'm just not understanding. So up here, no, we're not okay with it or what --?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Well, I think that we had a Ken Jett plan, we had a Ken Jett/Suarez plan --
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, that one didn't work.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- and then we had my plan. Again, my district is the one that's going to be affected the most by it, okay. So, you know, during -- before we closed out that meeting, I said, well, I want to also make sure that you know that there's some suggestions that I want to bring to the table as well, so I made it clear that we were going to do that. So -- and, again, I -- if I have to reiterate it, I think the biggest issue and concern I have who you had there in 2010 in my district, those individuals aren't there now. So that means the population that was there in 2010 -- ride in Liberty City. I don't have to -- all you got to do is take a stroll down 17th Avenue. Just stroll down 17th Avenue or 62nd Street, you'll see; abandoned buildings, vacant lots, nobody living there.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. And the issue is that it breaks up the Upper Eastside by "X" amount? And can we go to Commissioner Spence-Jones plan, please?
Mr. Cody: Sure.
Commissioner Carollo: It's not in the papers you gave us, right?
Mr. Cody: No. The boundaries are in that package that I gave you. That's the Spence-Jones boundary --
Commissioner Carollo: This one?
Mr. Cody: Yes, sir. This is the Spence-Jones plan.
Commissioner Carollo: And --
Mr. Cody: It's on your computer screen right now.
Commissioner Carollo: So the majority of the Upper Eastside stays in District 2?
Mr. Cody: Well, the upper -- the three neighborhoods, Shorecrest, Belle Meade, and Bayside.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: No, not Bayside.
Mr. Cody: Not Bayside.
Chair Sarnoff: It is Bayside.
Mr. Cody: No, Bayside, and then Morningside is below it on 61st Street.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Oh, yes. I'm sorry.
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Mr. Cody: So --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I was thinking Bay Point. Go ahead.
Mr. Cody: No. Bay Point is further down below Morningside.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm confused.
Mr. Cody: Yeah, I kept thinking this was the Bayside -- when I first started doing this, the Bayside Mall way, way, way down, but that -- those areas plus because that -- what lies between that and District 5 is Palm Grove. We went through Palm Grove, picked up Palm Grove, and got these three neighborhoods in the Spence-Jones plan. And this gives us a plan, again, with a deviation of 8.38 percent, 67.79 percent African American population in D5, and 34.5 percent -- just below 34.5 percent non-Hispanic white in District 2.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay, Mr. Cody, then, let me ask you, Is there any way then to draw up -- and I guess it's what -- I guess what Mr. Cruz has said. Is there any way then, the other areas, to include it in District 2 and see where else or where the deviations are or see where else --?
Mr. Cody: Well, if you keep --
Commissioner Carollo: I mean, if -- also, if she's okay with it, but I think she would be. But -- I think, realistically -- and the issue -- and, you know, I don't want to beat a dead horse, but the issue is that the residents want all of Upper Eastside to be there in District 2 or District 5. So the plan -- the Ken Jett plan has all of Upper Eastside in District 5. I believe Mr. -- Commissioner Spence-Jones plan has a great majority of the Upper Eastside in District 2 and then some in District 5. So I'm saying, is there a way of that some in District 5, to move it to District 2?
Mr. Cody: Well, if you kept all of the Upper Eastside in District 2 -- you know, keep in mind, the area down below off of Biscayne Boulevard and I-395 where -- if you look on the map, it looks sort of like -- I call it the pig's snout just because it looks like the profile of a pig's nose coming out.
Commissioner Carollo: Gotcha.
Mr. Cody: That's got about 3,000 people in it. So because the -- District 2 is 16,000 people overpopulated and District 5 is about 12,000 and change underpopulated, I need to move -- if you say all of the Upper Eastside is off bounds, then below 36th Street, I then have to find about another 8,000 people to move into District 5. And I -- as I indicated, you know, following -- trying to find -- or follow the dictates that the board have of following natural and manmade boundaries, keeping neighborhoods together and such, we have looked at it, but it requires us moving -- you know, coming down the FEC corridor, moving everything to the west of that into District 5, and then taking below the pig's snout out almost to the edge and dropping down to the river. That gets us to within -- gets us into a plan that performs for African Americans and gets us a plan that balances out the districts and it has an acceptable deviation. However, again, we discussed that in broad terms with the Commission; nobody had any enthusiasm for us even preparing a proposed plan for it.
Commissioner Carollo: Is it possible to see a plan like that? I mean, Commissioner Spence-Jones, I know this is majority of your district, but I'm trying to see some consensus here in using your plan, which is what you started. If we move some of that -- some of the area of the Upper Eastside that, in your plan, will go into D5, if we move that to D2, can Mr. Cody then work with, for lack of a better terms [sic], a pig nose and make it bigger like you said and --?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah, but what he's saying is I'm going to pick up more Hispanics.
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Mr. Cody: Right. But by doing that, the problem that I've got is that -- and again, I'll go back to -- if I can switch back to the map that I had up here of the demographics of the City -- the three neighborhoods that were selected by Commissioner Spence-Jones --
Commissioner Carollo: Are you going to show it? Oh, okay.
Mr. Cody: Okay. Yeah, just took a second to load. The three neighborhoods on the Upper Eastside -- shown on this map are, in the Upper Eastside, the most heavily African-American districts or heavily African-American areas. If you look to the south of 36th Street, there is no heavy concentration of African-American population. And because of that, I'm concerned about a potential dilution claim being brought against the City, because we're going to be bringing down the black population percentage from -- I mean, she has it at -- in her plan, I believe it's 66.6 percent. We're going to be -- generally, the courts, for a black pop -- for a black district, consider 65 to be pretty much the safe harbor. If you're within a point or two of that, you're fine. Once you start dropping below 66 -- or 65, the greater chance you have that the district won't perform, given factors of economics, turnout, past -- I mean, the past history of discrimination, stuff that I had to prove when I changed the School Board and the County Commission. All of that will come into play. Again, can I find bodies down there to balance out the plan? Yeah. Is it going to be a plan with a much significantly lower black population in D5 and could that affect its performance? It could. Part of my job is to helping you assess the risks. It's ultimately your decision, collectively, to make the policy decision. But by moving south of 36th Street and trying to add population to D5, you take on a risk by diluting the district's black population percentage.
Commissioner Carollo: And you're taking it from 66 to what percentage? You don't know because you haven't done the --
Mr. Cody: You would take it probably down to about, as I recall when I did it, 62.
Chair Sarnoff: She's presently at 78 percent?
Mr. Cody: She's presently at 76 percent, but that's with a district that is incredibly underpopulated.
Mr. Powers: And Mr. Jett's percentage is 68 percent, correct?
Mr. Cody: Well --
Mr. Powers: Sixty-eight percent.
Mr. Cody: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) error.
Chair Sarnoff: Well, you don't have to respond. So let me sort of say some things. I had no idea Commissioner Spence-Jones had no preparational thought about what I was going to say this morning for a prayer 'cause I don't usually do the prayer.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: You did a good job.
Vice Chair Gort: You did very well.
Chair Sarnoff: I did the best I could. You know, I've been on this dais going almost on seven years and I've never had an issue come before me that I have no feel for, no way of grasping, no way of dicing up, because a part of me is so resistant to understanding it that all I could do is go back to the oath of office that I took together with the oath of office I took as a lawyer and that was to uphold the law. And whether I agree with the law or not, I'm going to uphold the law.
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I've never liked anyone using the word African American. I don't like Jewish American. And I don't like Cuban American. I've always thought we were Americans first. I always thought where we came from was secondary. I always thought that it was weird that we do this and now it's like thrown right in my face. This is how we have to preserve what we need to preserve. But I understand what the law is. I also think there's something called reverse discrimination as well. You told me there's a case out there. That's fine. I also have a letter from the Morningside Civic Association stating that they want to remain in District 2. I believe I'm getting one equally from Bay Point saying they want to remain in District 2. This -- you know, it's like what part of the body do you want to cut off? Do you want to cut your right wrist off, your left wrist off, your left foot off, your right foot off? I'm the district that's getting parts. And I wouldn't want to be in their shoes and I don't want to be in my shoes. But I took an oath of office and I'm going to follow the oath in which I took. I equally want to say something that I said early on, and that was -- and I think I knew what I was saying on June 28, 2012, and I think Suarez kind of piped up. I said I always wondered when I could use this quote. My favorite movie in the world is The Thin Red Line. And Sean Penn is in the reeds, and he obviously is in Japan and they're shooting at him, and he talks to John Cassavetes, and he says, “You know, what is this war all about?” Sean Penn says, “It's about the real estate, man. It's just about the real estate.” And what this is not about is real estate. This is about population. And this is about the movement of population and not the movement of lines just to satisfy lines. So I happen to actually agree with Spence [sic] on her plan. And when I really look at the Upper Eastside and I really think about Spence-Jones, I know that we're more than capable of sharing the burden of this district, and it's not always a burden. It's actually kind of fun. I was very careful to look at the record when we talked about the 35 feet. You supported it. You were right there for them. The TDRs (Transfer Development Rights) were selling. The third TDR's going to sell next week. So -- and then I'm also mindful of Morningside. I'm also mindful of the fact that Morningside, in a letter, has demanded or requested that it stays in District 2, so I'm mindful of that. I'm equally mindful of two movements made by two Commissioners, and I'm going to speak to you, Commissioner, because if you look at the Spence-Jones plan, I have the smallest deviation that there is now. Meaning, I have the least population in the City of Miami. And you said on March 14, "If I can help with the deviation, I really would like to help." And then you asked to move that deviation onto Brickell Avenue and grab a section of Brickell. Well, that deviation is no longer necessary, so I'm going to ask that your deviation -- that that particular -- I call it the nipple -- go back to where it belongs because, statistically, that's not a move that needs to happen, and that's something that I could support. I'd equally ask Spence-Jones when she is moving her boundaries in the downtown area, that she allow me to maintain the Biscayne Boulevard section right there, which is the towers. Commissioner Spence-Jones: I'm not picking up that, though, right?
Chair Sarnoff: You're just picking up -- you're picking up right to there, but I'm asking to go to the back of there.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Oh, okay.
Chair Sarnoff: I think it's 2nd Street or 2nd Avenue.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: So I'm asking for those modifications to occur and then, statistically, I actually just become neutral. I become a zero population deviation. I could support that plan. There's nothing here that's going to satisfy everyone. I heard from our chair district when they heard that I was going to go -- that some of them were going to go to you. And to my surprise, a couple of them said -- not a couple -- they said, “I'd prefer to stay with you.” And I said -- you know, I said, despite the fact we have a language barrier? And they said, “You're learning Spanish. You're doing pretty good.” So I find this whole thing sort of macob and weird because it's the first time that we're up here acknowledging race or it's the first time we're up acknowledging
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culture and we're drawing legal boundaries predicated upon that, and it's an uncomfortable place for me, but it is the law. And, you know, as a lawyer, I was sworn to uphold the law, and as Commissioner, I was equally sworn to take an office and uphold the Florida Constitution, as well as the United States Constitution which, I suspect, the Voting Rights Act is based upon. So I don't want to mince words with anyone. If somebody can give me those two changes, I can support the Spence [sic] plan and that's -- I don't have anything more intellectual, less intellectual, more soulful or less soulful to say than that.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So you're asking for -- I just want to be clear. You're asking -- is this the Park West area that I was picking up?
Chair Sarnoff: Just -- it's just the -- yeah, we're --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That's considered the Park --
Chair Sarnoff: The Biscayne Boulevard.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- is that considered the Park West area?
Chair Sarnoff: I think it is.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That's the -- okay, so --
Chair Sarnoff: I think those --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: 'Cause I think they were trying to line it up with the Overtown CRA.
Chair Sarnoff: I know..
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. And then I'm still keeping the Overtown piece over there? Is that --
Chair Sarnoff: Yes.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- 'cause that was not indicated in this -- is this included in this plan?
Mr. Cody: This includes the --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: The slither [sic].
Mr. Cody: -- sliver on 7th Avenue down to 22nd.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That's going to go -- right -- to Gort.
Mr. Cody: Well, no. We -- you directed us to move the boundary. We had it at I-95 to move it back to 7th Avenue.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right, right.
Mr. Cody: Your plan splits that basically in half, like Solomon. This baby is now at 22nd Street. From 36th Street down to 22nd Street, that is still going to be in Commissioner Gort's District 1. From 22nd Street south, that will be in your district --
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah. I was thinking --
Mr. Cody: -- District 5.
Vice Chair Gort: Overtown.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- on the opposite side, on the west side -- on the east side. I was speaking of the east side.
Mr. Cody: Of the east side, okay. So --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: 'Cause it looks like you kind of carved it out. That's why I'm asking.
Mr. Cody: Well, what we --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: First Avenue.
Mr. Cody: Right. Well, what we did there is that follows the CRA, the area along 390 -- I-395, down to Biscayne Boulevard and over to Northwest 5th. That is the current boundaries of the CRA.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right, right.
Mr. Cody: And so --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: But -- right -- do you understand what I'm saying, Marc? Right now you have Overtown CRA -- I mean, Overtown/1st Avenue, that little section over there. In this plan, it seems like you're taking it out and you're keeping it.
Chair Sarnoff: It's the -- correct. It's just the Biscayne Boulevard (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Spence-Jones: No, no. I'm saying the Overtown piece.
Chair Sarnoff: Well, I think it -- it's the 395 -- I hope I'm seeing this correctly.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: No. I'm talking about 20th Street, off 1st Avenue, that section that Commissioner Suarez put in. This section here.
Chair Sarnoff: Oh, I don't --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah. Commissioner Suarez put this -- in his plan, he put it back in Overtown.
Chair Sarnoff: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: He -- in this plan, it's taking it out.
Mr. Cody: Right. Well, I had to do that because even with moving the area --
Mr. Powers: So, essentially, you guys had a conversation about this that we never even saw this plan. We've never seen this.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right.
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Mr. Powers: But you're now --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And I think what we're going to do is have -- I'm assuming that what we're doing is having a discussion now, and I'm assuming that we're going to at least allow for you to have an opportunity to go through it. I think that what he's doing is making recommendations on what he'd like to see happen in the plan. I'm making sure that my recommendations are included. And if any of the Commissioners can chime in, then this will be an alternative plan that you'll be able to also --
Mr. Powers: I understand that.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- go through it.
Mr. Powers: It's just that we've never even seen this. The other thing also that I find odd in this whole thing is that the Commissioner who still represents me reads a letter from a homeowners association -- a civic association that that board did. That never went to a vote of their homeowners association. That's what their board's recommendation was. That never went to a vote, and that's exactly what it says, because I have a copy of it.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right.
Mr. Powers: Okay. So you have six people, seven people representing different neighborhoods of the Upper Eastside saying that we want to all go together, wherever you put us, but we'd like to all stay together. So I think that far outweighs a group of people, of which not one of them is here, and it isn't like they couldn't be here. They've chosen not to come, but to send you a letter. So I could have sent you a letter. I could have put it -- I already put it to a vote for my neighborhood association and we all want to stay together as the Upper Eastside.
Unidentified Speaker: I'm here. I just (INAUDIBLE).
Mr. Powers: Oh, okay. Well, dissenting vote. One, he showed up.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So I definitely don't have a problem with definitely, you know, making sure they have an opportunity to digest whatever we've discussed up here as a body. I do want to finish making the recommendations to the consultants so we're all on the same page. Commissioner Suarez, you mentioned -- I just want to make sure. What was the area that you put in your plan, so I'm clear, 'cause right now it's in Sarnoff's area?
Commissioner Suarez: I'm going to be completely honest with you guys. I'm a little confused. I mean --
Commissioner Carollo: A little.
Commissioner Suarez: -- I never saw -- with all due respect, I never saw your plan until this moment. I was never briefed on it so -- and going through all the different permutations -- and I think I'm pretty good at dealing with these things 'cause I came up with one of the plans on the spot too. I'm a little confused, to be honest with you. But I have a lot of comments on some of the stuff -- I haven't spoken. I don't know if you guys want to hear it now or later or -- neither has Commissioner Gort.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead.
Commissioner Suarez: I've listened to what everyone has had to say, and you know, I think everybody up here always wants to make everybody happy. That's -- at the end of the day, that's what we get elected for. That's what we're trying to do. And I -- that means us with each other,
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as well as us with the people that we represent. I've heard a lot of things here, a lot of different permutations and changes and adjustments. And my thinking on it all is I wouldn't mind seeing a plan that keeps the Upper Eastside in District 2. I think it's doable, to be honest with you, personally. I think it is doable. I think it is actually doable. It would require us all to be flexible with our district boundaries. That it would require, and I'm willing to do that, and I've been willing to do that from day one. I have -- listen, I have neighborhoods that are split in half, like Shenandoah, that I represent with Commissioner Carollo. I have neighborhoods that are split in half with Commissioner Sarnoff that wants to stay with Commissioner Sarnoff. They don't know me that well. That's why, Commissioner. That's -- they have -- I haven't represented them yet so -- no, I'm just kidding. You know, so -- I mean, we all have neighborhoods that are split. I mean, sometimes I think about all this stuff and I think, you know, we're talking about lines, these imaginary lines. To me -- I mean, this -- I don't really get that because, like I said, we do represent areas in common, and I think that, in some ways, it's more effective, that two Commissioners represent an area because you have a duality of resources. Commissioner Carollo and I are teaming up on a project on 17th Avenue where I'm putting $300,000, he's putting $300,000, and the County's putting in $6,000 to redo all of 17th Avenue, which is going to be beautiful once it starts. So I -- some of this stuff just is beyond me and then -- and like the Commissioner says, this does become political and all this other stuff, and veto -- threatened vetoes and all this stuff, you know, and -- I have a hard time believing that we can't make everybody happy on this. I really do. I really, really do, with my heart, have a hard time believing it, but it requires us all to be flexible. And I think if we're all somewhat flexible, I think we can come up with something. I appreciate the fact that we seem to have a little bit more time, but I think we should have a mixture -- I mean, we've talked a lot about a lot of different possibilities, but I wouldn't mind seeing one with -- that has all the Upper Eastside in District 2. That may not be a bad idea to try to see if we can do that. And I could tell you how I think we could do that, to be honest with you. It would just require flexibility on my district, a lot of flexibility on my district, a lot of flexibility in Commissioner Gort's district. But if you moved all of the Upper Eastside into District 2, you would have to take a lot of population from District 2. You would have to take -- you would have to add population to District 1. You would have to shift population from District 1 to District 4 and you'd have to shift population from District 4 to District 2. And it can be done that way, but -- I mean, it takes --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: But what are you going to --
Vice Chair Gort: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- how are you going to handle District 5?
Commissioner Suarez: What's that?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: 'Cause I'm the one that lost the population. Where am I going to get it from?
Commissioner Suarez: You can get it from moving the western boundary up to -- I don't know what -- the thing is, I can't tell, with these maps, exactly what some of these things are, what some of these boundaries are. This boundary here -- that's why it's hard to look at -- so -- I mean, look --
Alfred Sasiadek: Right now the plan shows you with a surplus over the other districts. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Jett/Suarez plan B, you had a surplus of 5,400.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right. I -- and --
Mr. Sasiadek: And your point that some of that population isn't there. The demographics --
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: It's not there.
Mr. Sasiadek: -- are changing all the time.
Commissioner Suarez: And here's my question.
Mr. Sasiadek: So either they move --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) not even that it's demographics. The people aren't there.
Mr. Sasiadek: If they've moved the --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So you're telling me something that don't make no sense.
Mr. Sasiadek: -- rest of the City --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That's what I'm trying to tell you.
Mr. Sasiadek: -- it makes the balance --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: There's no people there.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Commissioner Suarez: Wait, wait, wait, I'm not saying anything, first of all. Second of all, let me just --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Get some bodies.
Commissioner Suarez: I understand. I got your point. I think it's a good point, that things change, even in three years. From the census of 2000 to 2013, things change so -- and I understand that. That's very easy to understand. My question to you is we have single-member districts, so how does that interplay with all this as well, which is another factor? And then we don't talk a lot about that. In other words, we have single-member districts. We have five Commission districts and then --
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Commissioner Suarez: -- and the thinking behind that was to have an ethnic diversity representation on the Commission. So let's say, for example, that we were to set our district boundaries now and in six years, what the Commissioner's fearing happens. In other words, there's a loss of population. Does that trigger anything?
Mr. Cody: No. Because it's based upon the census. Just as an exercise --
Vice Chair Gort: It's by law.
Mr. Cody: -- I sat down and tried to figure out what size Commission you'd need to have to assure that you would have at least one district that was majority Anglo, single race, white. We'd need to increase the size of this Commission to 29 people.
Commissioner Carollo: Oh, no, we're not increasing that bureaucracy.
Mr. Cody: No. And I'm saying that you all could sit here and --
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Commissioner Carollo: You totally lost my vote there.
Mr. Cody: No. But I'm just saying that --
Commissioner Carollo: Hell, no.
Mr. Cody: -- that's what it's going to take to ensure --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Anglo.
Commissioner Suarez: We'd have to increase --
Mr. Cody: -- ethnic diversity.
Commissioner Suarez: -- increase this body by 29 people? Is that what you're saying?
Commissioner Carollo: You know what would be the budget that we need for 29 Commissioners?
Mr. Cody: I'm just telling you that what -- where you are today -- and I showed you the demographic maps before -- are a process of people moving in, people moving out, people being born, people dying; and that has unbalanced, over a ten-year period, your districts. We have to use the Census Bureau -- as much as we might like to say in three years, I know that the population has changed, unless the City is willing to take and undertake the cost of doing a house-by-house new census -- and they've done them in some areas, but usually in towns that have 800 people to get more accurate. You've got a town population, 399, 457 people. The cost of recensusing [sic] your town would be probably half your budget. So we, by law, have to rely upon the statistics, as imperfect as they are, that we have. One of the ways to deal with the population problem in District 5 is that in our plan and, by coincidence, in Mr. Jett's plan, that tends to overpopulate District 5. And that -- if you look at the election date, I'd make sure that that area still performs to elect an African-American candidate of choice in our plan and I'll even say in Mr. Jett's plan and in the Jett/Suarez Plan B, and it still works in your plan, too. In making the decisions about where to go, I was very conscious about how the district performed. I can draw you a plan that doesn't perform, but then I'd be buying you a lawsuit.
Chair Sarnoff: And according to you, 65 percent below is the -- is that statistical variation that gets an African American in trouble.
Mr. Cody: It --
Chair Sarnoff: Anything below that.
Mr. Cody: Below that is a figure that the courts take a very, very hard look at. And given the history of racial discrimination that I had to prove in the Meek case and I had to prove in the School Board case, somebody can bring up all that history that's already been -- you can read the opinions in the federal supplement. And it's already been established in this community that you have racial disparities, you have differing economic abilities, you have differing opportunities for participation in the political sphere between the black community to a lesser extent now in the Hispanic community, because when I did those cases, Hispanics were still a minority of both the population, voting-age population and voters, but certainly for the black population. Sixty-five is, again, pretty much considered; 62, if you go pretty much below that, you could be inviting a lawsuit, and again, it's a risk you'll all have to assess. It's like -- I'm attempting to be a doctor in telling you, you know, I can operate, but I can't guarantee an outcome. And if you want me to -- I can trim your toenail or I can take off a leg. And if I take off
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the leg, you got a problem; infection, other issues come in. So I'm here to --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Mr. Chairman, I --
Mr. Cody: -- do whatever the Commission directs.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead, Commissioner.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- do not have an issue with us directing the consultant, one more time, to look at a D2 plan that includes everything in your district with some of the adjustments that we -- I know. I see it on your face. -- just one more time, to bring it and to make sure that the community understands exactly what those numbers represent. Again, as Bob said earlier -- where's Bob?
Mr. Powers: Right here.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Oh, okay. As Bob said earlier, you know, they haven't had an opportunity to look at, you know, what's being proposed by me; and I think, you know, it would be the right thing to do, to allow them to do that. I don't have a issue with that. I want to make sure that whatever we vote on, we're all at least comfortable with it. This is a recommendation I made, you know, as an additional option that would give the D2 Commissioner a little bit more Anglo in his district, keeping Morningside and Bayside -- Bay Point together --
Chair Sarnoff: Bay Point.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- which, you know, I thought that that was a compromise, but I'm fine with, you know, having another option to the Spence-Jones plan as well and having, you know -- or at least having a different option, keeping D2 all the Upper Eastside just so that we could see the numbers. But I want to caution my City Commissioners. It's, you know -- I really think you need to take a ride in my district. And I know you focus on your own districts so you don't really have time to do that. But when you ride through there, then you'll see exactly what I'm talking about, you know; just in a matter of three years, what has happened.
Alfred Sasiadek: I'd like to address Commissioner Sarnoff about the letter that you have from the Morningside Civic Association. I'm Al Sasiadek. I live at 463 Northeast 55th Terrace. I'm on the board. Yes, the board -- two things. They wanted to keep the Upper Eastside together. As Elvis said, in the meeting there was a unanimous vote of the people that attended that meeting. But we also would like to stay in District 2, and that's one of the reasons why we'd like to see that plan compared to the other plan.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And I'm cool with that. I mean --
Mr. Sasiadek: Overriding, we'd like to be together. Common interests, we don't -- just like that area of Overtown, you're doing -- want that broken out. We have commonality with both sides of the Boulevard. Wherever we are, we have commonality. And we'd like to see that other plan, everything in District 2.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: May I ask a question? Thank you. I just -- my only concern or comment or question -- it's not even really a concern. I just -- whatever plans we come up with, either by
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what we've done here or what we come up with in the meantime between one Commissioner and the other, I would ask, respectfully, that we get a copy of it beforehand, because I -- no offense to anyone -- didn't get a copy of it. I don't know if any of my other colleagues got a copy of it.
Chair Sarnoff: I didn't get a copy.
Commissioner Carollo: I did not.
Commissioner Suarez: So I would just request that we get a copy of it and -- because we may have another idea. Another idea may come up between -- in the next two weeks, and that's fine, 'cause we all brief -- and then we all brief on these plans. Because we may have an idea -- 'cause coming up here and tinkering and doing a little, it's really hard to follow.
Mr. Cody: Okay.
Commissioner Suarez: It really is. Although, I think it's good in some ways, particularly when we're giving broad direction to the consultant in terms of what we want. That's what we have to do. He's not going to do anything unless --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: We have to have this discussion because we don't have --
Chair Sarnoff: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) you can't --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- any other time to talk about it.
Commissioner Suarez: And that's the other problem.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: We have to have the open forum because, you know, sunshine won't allow us to do it any other time.
Commissioner Suarez: I agree.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So I would like to make sure that he has clear direction with some of the recommendations we just put in the -- on the record tonight so that he's very clear of what we need to see happen in the next meeting. And we already know we're dealing with a very short -- every week we wait, we're getting closer and closer to that deadline. So he did provide us with information regarding, you know, the time frame, so we know we have to have it done by a certain time, and that really is, I'm assuming, the next meeting. And the next meeting should be us taking a vote.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. The only thing I request is that I receive the plans and the data 'cause I have not -- I know Commissioner Sarnoff mentioned various deviations and all this and we're going off the cuff 'cause I -- honestly, I haven't seen your plan, Commissioner Spence-Jones. And when we start cutting here and cutting there and adding here and this deviation and that deviation -- I mean, I'm not saying that I don't trust anyone's numbers, but I'd like to like see them, analyze it, and also, you know, confirm.
Mr. Cody: Okay. Mr. Chairman, may I ask a question? What I would suggest is -- I'll be happy to take whatever direction the Commission chooses to make. Would it be possible, when I prepare these plans, to upload a copy to the Clerk's office and have them post it on the City's web site? In that way, anybody who wants to make the inquiry --
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Mr. Cody: -- can find them --
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Mr. Cody: -- can look at them.
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Mr. Cody: I'll even post the KMZ (Keyhole Markup language Zipped) file so they can -- it's a variation on this plan or a data file. They can open up Google Earth, and in Google Earth, load in that file, and they will be able to zoon down to the street level with either a map or the aerial photos. You can see exactly who's house is in a particular district. And I'll be happy to do that, happy to provide that. And I'll -- you know, and if -- I'll make that available to the Clerk. And if you could direct the Clerk to make sure that that gets on your website, we will have 100 percent transparency.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: I think that's a great idea, by the way. I just want to end this on a good note. I like to end my days on a good note. I really want to thank everyone for being here and all the Commissioners. 'Cause what Commissioner Spence-Jones says is correct; we only have this opportunity to talk about this. And I think there has been a serious, serious effort to cooperate. Everyone has made a tremendous effort to cooperate, and no one here has gotten everything that they want. So let's be mindful of that, particularly over the next couple of weeks. You know, let's be mindful of that. Let's come back in a spirit of cooperation so we can get this done, so that we don't get sued, and we don't have to pay someone like him another $1 million. No offense
Mr. Cody: It wouldn't be me, of course. I got a conflict.
Commissioner Suarez: Well, you're conflicted out --
Mr. Cody: Yeah.
Commissioner Suarez: -- but someone like you, someone as smart as you. Anyhow -- so I just -- I want to end it on a good note and just say that I think everyone has been very --
Chair Sarnoff: Let me recognize you for the record.
Richard Laird: Sorry. I'm Rich. I signed up to speak. I live at 931 Northeast 86 Street. The things that have been said over the last three minutes have made me much less frustrated, 'cause I wanted to talk about Michelle's plan, Steve's plan. And I've been trying to follow this as a citizen and I had some real problems with what was going on in the beginning of this meeting, 'cause all the information I could get was four plans. The (UNINTELLIGIBLE) plan seemed to be a good plan to me. Your initial plan really had some reservations with splitting my neighborhood, and what I was hoping is to get some alternatives. And what she said, she just made a huge amount of snakes, 'cause I was trying to follow what you were doing up there and I wasn't there. I couldn't see it. I'm not sure what (UNINTELLIGIBLE) out. Michelle, I couldn't see what you were doing, what you were talking about. And we're talking about public participation, so we all want to have that. So if that can be loaded to the sites ahead of time so we can all digest it. 'Cause in the end -- Marc's my Commissioner. Michelle, you'll probably end up being my Commissioner. But in the end, you know, the oath is that you work for me and I
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should be able to follow this. And I just wanted to also speak to where the people were -- and I do travel. Every single day I go through your district, and maybe I don't look like I go through your district.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: No, no, no, no.
Mr. Laird: But I assure you, I do. And I know a lot of people in your district. And there's a lot of hurt going on. Where did the people go? Why does he have more? Why do you have less? Keith Mack, got a family of two kids. He left your district. You know why. I know why. And he moved to Miramar, and face it, face it. I'm probably the only person that came up here and spoke that has a family. It's not friendly. It's not going well. So, you know, the more information you put out the public, the better it is. And going from District 2 to District 5, you know, I've got a kid. I've got concerns. And, you know, things aren't good in Shorecrest now. They maybe have improved. But, you know, I'm in it for the long-term. I've been here 13 years. You're worried about the numbers in the last three years being bad. You know, 2019, it may not be much better, you know. Families don't really get a good shake in this. So I hope you do make the right decisions. And these lines are going to be hard to draw. But if you can keep it public and let us know ahead of time -- 'cause I hate spinning through these trying to figure out what the hell's Michelle Jones [sic] -- I guess I've crossed out -- I don't know where we are. And I have a college education, so I should be able to follow it. So let's keep it transparent. And I did hear them last -- and I have been coming to the meetings. The last one I couldn't get 'cause I was literally working. But at the same time, you know, I need to see your plan ahead of time. But I thought they did ask for it, the District 2 being in the Upper Eastside, so maybe we can look at that again. But, anyhow, thank you very much. I -- that was very encouraging, that you could put it on the web site and get it to us ahead of time.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Mr. Cody: And Marc, I just want to make sure -- and, please, correct me if I need to be corrected. On the public record, we do have Shorecrest, we have North Palm Grove, we have Bayside, all public -- all on public record as saying that they want to stay together in the form of letters that have been submitted to both the Commission and read -- some of them read into the public record. So I wanted to make sure, do I need to do that each time?
Chair Sarnoff: I understand what the Upper Eastside has said, and I also understand what two civic associations have said. And, you know, at a certain point in time, something gets cut. Somewhere it gets cut. And you've done a yeomen's work when it comes to this. And, you know, I've taken meetings with you. I'll continue to take meetings with you. But at a certain point in time, when her statistical number goes below 65 percent, you know, I'm mindful of the issues facing us.
Mr. Jett: And again, I've provided the Commission with one that is at 68 percent that gives her fantastic numbers and it maintains our community. But again --
Chair Sarnoff: I want her to be comfortable with it too.
Commissioner Suarez: It's actually 67 percent.
Chair Sarnoff: I want Spence-Jones to be comfortable with it too.
Mr. Jett: And again, we are requesting that the Commission keep the Upper Eastside together.
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That doesn't mean split at 61st Street.
Chair Sarnoff: I understand what it means.
Mr. Jett: Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So do you want to -- can we go ahead and give him the direction real fast so we're clear?
Chair Sarnoff: I'm going to give him a map is what I'll do.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: Show him a map. It'd be part of the record. Take -- be able to take photocopies of it. I don't care. But these are the two changes I'd like to see.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay, but those changes also take into consideration that I want to see the numbers on those changes and I want to see exactly where we are because your recommendation may not be my recommendation. And, you know, all I want is, you know, transparency and see exactly where all the numbers are so then we can make an educated decision, 'cause some of those recommendations were based on your district being zero deviation, correct?
Chair Sarnoff: Right now --
Commissioner Carollo: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: -- in this plan, I'd be at minus 3 percent, minus 3.017 percent.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. But if that's the case, then there's another district that went up at "X" percent.
Chair Sarnoff: District 5 is at 3.3 -- is at 3 -- let me read these right.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So while you're reading that right, the only thing I want to say is that's why I want to see it, you know, in front of us before, because this is the first time that I've heard about the Spence-Jones plan. And, you know, I just want all the numbers. You do what you need to do and let's see. But I don't want you to take that Commissioner Sarnoff's recommendations are necessarily my recommendations.
Mr. Cody: Oh, I understand. And what I can do prior to this meeting -- about a week before this meeting, I sent to each of your offices the four maps that I initially talked about with the population breakdowns. I can provide that again both in that format, as well as I can e-mail you a KMZ file, the Google Earth file, and you -- Google Earth is a free program you can download. You can then load in the KMZ file on your own computer, zoom in as far -- or as -- away as you want to see. You'll be able to know exactly, you know, whose swimming pool is in your district and whose swimming pool is not in your district.
Commissioner Carollo: And --
Mr. Powers: Through the Chair. Commissioner Spence-Jones, and as well as Commissioner
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Suarez, also asked for a study to be done showing the Upper Eastside staying in District 2 as well.
Chair Sarnoff: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Powers: Well, I just want to make sure that that's part of the direction that -- because that was not what was given the last time, which is why we're back here again.
Commissioner Suarez: Agreed.
Mr. Powers: All right
Commissioner Carollo: We're there.
Mr. Power: That's all.
Commissioner Suarez: It's a plan.
Mr. Power: Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Mr. Cody: No. Well, wait. Just --
Vice Chair Gort: Wait a minute.
Mr. Cody: -- make sure that we have very clear direction. So you want me to prepare first, as the gentleman just stated, a plan that keeps all of the Upper Eastside in District 2 --
Chair Sarnoff: Correct.
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Mr. Cody: -- and all the population change that's going to take place between 2 and 5 will have to be below 36th Street? 'Cause that's the only --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Chair Sarnoff: Well, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) --
Mr. Cody: But --
Commissioner Suarez: Or however you can get it.
Commissioner Carollo: However you can get it.
Chair Sarnoff: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is making the Upper Eastside stay intact, then you're going to have to show us, statistically, what that does.
Mr. Cody: Right. Well, I can tell you that that's --
Chair Sarnoff: I know you can tell us.
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: Well, it hasn't happened yet.
Mr. Cody: But that's --
Chair Sarnoff: They want Missouri. They want to be shown.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Cody: All right. And all I'm --
Commissioner Carollo: And --
Mr. Cody: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: -- I want you -- at the same time, I want to make sure that we're not just going west of 36th Street. Is there any other possible way that we can get there? I mean, I --
Mr. Cody: West of 36th Street?
Commissioner Carollo: I'm sorry. Listen --
Mr. Cody: You mean south of 36th Street?
Commissioner Carollo: South of 36th Street.
Mr. Cody: Okay.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm sorry. I want to make sure -- and I think Commissioner Suarez is also saying the same thing -- that I don't want to limit it to that. I want to see, hey, is there another way of doing it?
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Mr. Cody: Well, again, the Upper Eastside is the boundary -- the southern boundary is 36th Street.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair, may I --
Mr. Cody: So if you're saying that all of that is off limits, that's fine. But that means that south of 36th Street is where I need to find population to move --
Commissioner Suarez: No, no.
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Commissioner Suarez: What we're saying is keeping the Upper Eastside in District 2 and finding other ways to figure out the rest of the population.
Commissioner Carollo: Exactly.
Mr. Cody: I will --
Commissioner Suarez: And what I would encourage you to do is, however you find them, just get them to us with enough time that we can analyze them and digest them.
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Mr. Cody: I will -- as I said, I will get you that double-page spread that I did before --
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Mr. Cody: -- and the KMZ files.
Vice Chair Gort: Be creative.
Mr. Cody: And now, there was also talk about -- I mean, what I call the pizza wedge that comes off of District 3. Do you want me to prepare plans with variation showing that as part of -- for instance, that keeping the Upper Eastside in District 2 and a variation showing that pizza wedge not there? So that way --
Commissioner Carollo: I think you should -- I think Commissioner Sarnoff -- or Chairman Sarnoff mentioned that he'd like to see without it. I'd like to see it with. I'd like to see both. I want to see what's the deviation.
Mr. Cody: I just want to make sure that I give you everything that you asked --
Chair Sarnoff: I'll show you exactly what I'm talking about right here.
Mr. Cody: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Mr. Cody: All right.
Chair Sarnoff: FR.3 is still up, guys. Is it okay if we just --
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah, defer it.
Chair Sarnoff: -- defer it to the next Commission meeting?
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: And Mr. Chairman -- yes, I don't have a problem with that.
Later...
Mr. Cody: Well, one last thing. The change that we made between District 1 and District 5 rounding out the differences on 22nd Street --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That's fine.
Mr. Cody: -- do you want me -- I know, but do you want me to make that a feature of each plan that I prepare --
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Mr. Cody: -- or not --
Commissioner Suarez: Be creative.
Mr. Cody: -- consider that at all?
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Mr. Cody: So I will make that a feature of every plan that will be provided to you.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes. And then -- and don't forget the section of OT (Overtown) that's in Marc's now.
Mr. Cody: Well, I'll look at his -- I'll get a copy of that.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Cody, I think what we're saying is show us all the different possibilities.
Mr. Cody: I will overwhelm you with data.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Commissioner Carollo: Overwhelm us.
RE.3 RESOLUTION 13-00467 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Purchasing ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE PROCUREMENT OF AN EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE PROGRAM, FROM THE REMI GROUP, LLC, ON A CITYWIDE, AS-NEEDED CONTRACTUAL BASIS, UNDER EXISTING STATE OF NEW YORK CONTRACT NO. PS65207, EFFECTIVE THROUGH JANUARY 23, 2016, SUBJECT TO ANY EXTENSIONS OR REPLACEMENT CONTRACTS BY THE STATE OF NEW YORK; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM THE VARIOUS SOURCES OF FUNDS FROM THE USER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES, SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED; FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE PROGRAM CONTRACT NO. 16195, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00467 Summary Form.pdf 13-00467 Contract Award Notification.pdf 13-00467 Agrmt. No. PA65207.pdf 13-00467 Legislation.pdf 13-00467 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Spence-Jones, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Spence-Jones Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-13-0180
Chair Sarnoff: RE.3.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Kenneth Robertson: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Kenneth Robertson, Purchasing director. RE.3 is a resolution authorizing the procurement of an equipment maintenance program from the Remi Group, on a citywide, as needed, contractual basis, using an existing state of New York contract.
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Chair Sarnoff: Got a motion?
Vice Chair Gort: Move it.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So move. Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Motion by Commissioner Gort, second by Commissioner Spence-Jones. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.4 RESOLUTION 13-00468 Department of A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE Fire-Rescue PROCUREMENT OF PHARMACEUTICALS FROM CARDINAL HEALTH, INC., AND THE PROVISION OF PHARMACEUTICALS RETURNED GOODS PROCESSING SERVICES FROM GUARANTEED RETURNS, INC., UTILIZING EXISTING MINNESOTA MULTISTATE CONTRACTING ALLIANCE FOR PHARMACY ("MMCAP") CONTRACTS, EFFECTIVE THROUGH JUNE 30, 2013, AND NOVEMBER 1, 2013, RESPECTIVELY, SUBJECT TO ANY FURTHER RENEWALS, EXTENSIONS OR REPLACEMENT CONTRACTS BY MMCAP, FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FIRE-RESCUE, TO BE UTILIZED ON AN AS-NEEDED CONTRACT BASIS, SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED; ACKNOWLEDGING THE COOPERATIVE PROCUREMENT BENEFITS OF MMCAP THAT ENABLES THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY") TO AGGREGATE ITS PURCHASING VOLUME WITH THAT OF OTHER PARTICIPATING MEMBER AGENCIES IN ORDER TO REALIZE A LARGER PERCENTAGE DISCOUNT PRICING STRUCTURE TO THE FINANCIAL BENEFIT OF THE CITIZENS OF THE CITY; FURTHER AUTHORIZING PIGGYBACKS OF OTHER AND FUTURE COOPERATIVE MMCAP CONTRACTS WITHOUT ADDITIONAL CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZATION, UPON THE DETERMINATION BY THE CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER THAT SAID PIGGYBACKS ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 18-111 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED (THE PROCUREMENT CODE), SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND BUDGETARY APPROVAL AT THE TIME OF NEED. 13-00468 Summary Form.pdf 13-00468 Award Recommendation Form.pdf 13-00468 Memo - Office of the City Attorney.pdf 13-00468 Cardinal Health 110, LLC - Contract.pdf 13-00468 Guaranteed Returns - Contract.pdf 13-00468 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Spence-Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Spence-Jones Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-13-0181
Chair Sarnoff: RE.4.
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Maurice Kemp: Hello. Maurice Kemp, Fire chief. RE.4 is a resolution of the Miami City Commission authorizing the procurement of pharmaceuticals from Cardinal Health Care and the provision of pharmaceutical return goods processing from the same company.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion on RE.4?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So moved.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion by Commissioner Spence-Jones --
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: -- second by Commissioner Gort. By the way, Chief, great job. We used to pay for this stuff; now we get paid for it. Can't beat that. All in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chief Kemp: Thank you.
RE.5 RESOLUTION 13-00540 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE Attorney DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO PAY TO AND ON BEHALF OF LISA HINES, SUBJECT TO THE CONDITIONS IMPOSED BY CHAPTER 440, FLORIDA STATUTES, THE TOTAL SUM OF $397,000, IN FULL SETTLEMENT OF ALL CLAIMS AND DATES OF ACCIDENT ALLEGED AGAINST THE CITY OF MIAMI, WITHOUT ADMISSION OF LIABILITY, UPON EXECUTION OF A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND GENERAL RELEASE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM ACCOUNT NO. 05002.301001.524000.0000.00000. 13-00540 Memo - Office of the City Attorney.pdf 13-00540 Memo - Financial Signoff.pdf 13-00540 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Spence-Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence-Jones Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo
R-13-0182
Chair Sarnoff: RE.5.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): Mr. Chair, RE. 5 would be a settlement of a workers' compensation claim. This would be a total washout of a claim for the amount of 397.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So moved.
Chair Sarnoff: Motion by Commissioner Spence-Jones --
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
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Chair Sarnoff: -- second by Commissioner Gort. By the way, Ms. Bru, absolutely outstanding job on this one.
Ms. Bru: It is -- Iliana Forte handled this matter.
Chair Sarnoff: Let me tell you something. This may be the finest settlement this City has entered into.
Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Great job. RE.6.
Mark Spanioli: Good afternoon, Commissioners. Mark Spanioli, director of Capital Improvements.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): Chair, I'm sorry. You did not vote on that item.
Chair Sarnoff: We did not?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: No.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: All in --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I thought --
Ms. Ewan: You had a mover and a seconder.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: All in favor?
Chair Sarnoff: All in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.6 RESOLUTION 13-00399 Department of Capital A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Improvements ATTACHMENT(S), AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A Program PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, WITH ATKINS NORTH AMERICA, INC., THE HIGHEST-RANKED FIRM PURSUANT TO REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS NO. 12-13-016, TO PROVIDE CAPITAL PROGRAM SUPPORT SERVICES, FOR A TWO (2) YEAR PERIOD, WITH THE OPTION TO EXTEND FOR TWO (2) ADDITIONAL ONE (1) YEAR PERIODS, IN THE TOTAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $1,500,000; ALLOCATING FUNDS FROM VARIOUS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00399 Summary Form.pdf 13-00399 Legislation.pdf 13-00399 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Spence-Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote.
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Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Suarez and Spence-Jones Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Carollo
R-13-0183
Mark Spanioli (Director, Capital Improvement Program): RE.6 is our --
Chair Sarnoff: (UNINTELLIGIIBLE) vote against that. Brief installation. All right, RE.6.
Mr. Spanioli: -- capital support services agreement with Atkins North America. CIP (Capital Improvement Program) put out an RFQ (Request For Qualifications) and Atkins was rated the highest-ranked firm for this program. They are actually also our -- currently our vendor for this project. They provide support staff services for our JOC (Job Order Contract) program, including estimating and support, CAD (Computer Aided Design) support and project tracking support under this program. In addition, we use them for on-call work orders, et cetera, as needed.
Chair Sarnoff: Is there a motion?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So moved.
Chair Sarnoff: Motion by Commissioner Spence-Jones --
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: -- second by Commissioner Gort. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.7 RESOLUTION 13-00560 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ACCEPTING A Attorney PAYMENT TO THE COCONUT GROVE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, IN THE AMOUNT OF $28,260, FROM GRAND AVENUE PROPERTY, LLC., IN FULL SETTLEMENT OF ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS BETWEEN THE CITY OF MIAMI AND GRAND AVENUE PROPERTY, LLC.; DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE CITY ATTORNEY, TO EFFECTUATE THE SETTLEMENT. 13-00560 Memo - Office of the City Attorney.pdf 13-00560 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Spence-Jones, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff and Spence-Jones Absent: 2 - Commissioner(s) Carollo and Suarez
R-13-0184
Chair Sarnoff: All right. So now let's see if we could knock some things out real fast, 'cause I got my --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Marc, did we do any of the REs (Resolutions) items?
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Chair Sarnoff: No. I know. I'm going to try to get some people out of here.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: RE.7 is the Grove BID (Business Improvement District) settlement. Is Victoria Mendez here?
Victoria Mendez (Assistant City Attorney): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) yes.
Chair Sarnoff: There you go. Let's try to get RE.7 out.
Commissioner Suarez: RE.7?
Chair Sarnoff: RE.7.
Ms. Mendez: Victoria Mendez, Deputy City Attorney. This is a resolution in order to be able to settle a --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So moved.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a motion. Commissioner Gort, second?
Vice Chair Gort: What is it?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: The Coconut Grove BID.
Chair Sarnoff: It's a resolution --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: The settlement.
Vice Chair Gort: No, I understand it, but I want her to finish reading it.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Oh, okay. Go ahead.
Ms. Mendez: It's a resolution to settle a claim with reference to the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District and a property in Coconut Grove at Grand Avenue for $28,260 with regard to parking waiver fees that are outstanding.
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, we have a second. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion, all in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
RE.8 RESOLUTION 13-00398 Department of Capital A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH Improvements ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING THE BID RECEIVED APRIL 8, 2013, Program PURSUANT TO INVITATION TO BID ("ITB") NO. 11-12-053, FROM ABC CONSTRUCTION, INC., THE LOWEST RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER, FOR THE CORAL WAY COMMUNITY CENTER-CDBG PROJECT, B-30365E, IN THE AMOUNT OF $548,000, FOR THE SCOPE OF WORK, PLUS A TEN PERCENT (10%) OWNER CONTINGENCY AMOUNT OF
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$54,800, FOR A TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED AWARD VALUE OF $602,800; ALLOCATING FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $602,800, FROM SPECIAL REVENUE PROJECT NO. 91-02994; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, CONSISTING OF THE ITB DOCUMENTS AND ATTACHMENTS, FOR SAID PURPOSE. 13-00398 Summary Form.pdf 13-00398 Legislation.pdf 13-00398 Exhibit 1.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence-Jones
R-13-0185
Chair Sarnoff: RE.8. Is he here? Yeah, here he is.
Mark Spanioli: Good afternoon again, Commissioners. Mark Spanioli, director of Capital Improvements. RE.8 is a contract award to ABC Construction, in the amount of $602,800, for the Coral Way Community Center project, CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funded project. It came in under budget. This is a District 3 project.
Chair Sarnoff: Is there a motion?
Commissioner Carollo: Move it.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Motion by Commissioner Carollo --
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: -- second by Commissioner Suarez. Any discussion? Hearing no discussion -- or do you want the discussion?
Commissioner Carollo: Real quick. Yes, this is a City asset. It is a building that caught fire years ago and it's just been sitting there. Unfortunately, for the past three years, I've been trying to renovate it and refurbish it and it's back to, you know --
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: -- the process, how long it takes and so forth. So I want to move it along because, you know, we're using federal fundings [sic] to actually refurbish a City asset and put it to use. So I hope that I have your support. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Any further discussion? All in favor, then please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Mr. Spanioli: Thank you.
END OF RESOLUTIONS
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BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
BC.1 RESOLUTION 13-00405 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT COUNCIL FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Tomás Regalado
Mayor Tomás Regalado
Commissioner Frank Carollo
13-00405 Arts CCMemo.pdf 13-00405 Arts Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.2 RESOLUTION 13-00406 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE AUDIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
Chair Marc David Sarnoff
13-00406 Audit CCMemo.pdf 13-00406 Audit Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.3 RESOLUTION 13-00407 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE BAYFRONT PARK MANAGEMENT TRUST FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
Jeanie Hernandez Commission-At-Large
13-00407 Bayfront Park CCMemo.pdf 13-00407 Bayfront Park Current_Board_Members.pdf
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Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Spence-Jones, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
R-13-0186
A motion was made by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Spence-Jones, and was passed unanimously, to appoint Jeanie Hernandez as a member of the Bayfront Park Management Trust; further waiving the attendance requirements in Section 2-886 of the Code of the City of Miami, as amended, by a four/fifths (4/5ths) vote of the members of the full City Commission, as it relates to past absences on record for Jeanie Hernandez as a member of the Bayfront Park Management Trust.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): We have BC.3, Bayfront Park Management Trust. There is a Commission at-large appointment to be made. The seat is currently held by Jeanie Hernandez. If there is a Commissioner who chooses to appoint at this time.
Commissioner Carollo: Move it.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Second.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Ms. Ewan: Okay. Just for the record, Ms. Hernandez requires a four-fifth attendance waiver.
Commissioner Carollo: Go ahead.
Chair Sarnoff: All in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Ms. Ewan: That concludes your board appointments. Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thanks. All right, I've been asked for a five-minute recess. Let's take a true five --
Commissioner Suarez: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: -- and we'll come right back.
BC.4 RESOLUTION 13-00501 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE CIVIL SERVICE BOARD FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
Commission-At-Large
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13-00501 Civil Service CCMemo.pdf 13-00501 Civil Service Current_Board_Members.pdf 13-00501 Civil Service Exec Sec Memo.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.5 RESOLUTION 13-00408 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Chair Marc David Sarnoff
Commission-At-Large (Alternate Member)
13-00408 CEB CCMemo.pdf 13-00408 CEB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.6 RESOLUTION 13-00409 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Chair Marc David Sarnoff
Chair Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
13-00409 CSW CCMemo.pdf 13-00409 CSW Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.7 RESOLUTION 13-00511 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY RELATIONS BOARD FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
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Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort
13-00511 CRB CCMemo.pdf 13-00511 CRB Current_Board_Members.pdf 13-00511 CRB Memo and Application.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.8 RESOLUTION 13-00410 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY BOARD FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
Ken Gilmore Commissioner Francis Suarez
13-00410 CTAB CCMemo.pdf 13-00410 CTAB Current_Board_Members.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
R-13-0187
Chair Sarnoff: And, Spence [sic], you have something?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: No. I was just wondering if we were doing appointments or we're going to wait on those?
Chair Sarnoff: I -- let's go to redistricting? Or do you have appointments you want to make?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: No. If we don reappointments, we just say -- we should -- I don't -- I think we should just leave it -- are we all -- you do have appointments?
Commissioner Suarez: I only have one. I just have --
Vice Chair Gort: City Manager.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I don't have any.
Chair Sarnoff: Let's do your (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Vice Chair Gort: I have one.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I don't have any.
Commissioner Carollo: And I have one.
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Commissioner Suarez: I have one. What's mine?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: You have none?
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): You have Community Technology Advisory Board. Do you want to do all of --? There's just nine board appointments.
Chair Sarnoff: No, I don't. I want whoever's got something to do something to do something.
Commissioner Suarez: Just got one.
Commissioner Carollo: And I got one.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead. Commissioner Suarez, you're recognized for the record.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. My appointee for Community Technology Board
Ms. Ewan: Yes, that's -- that would be BC.5 --
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Ms. Ewan: Excuse me. I'm sorry. Hold on one second. BC.8, Community Technology Advisory Board. Commissioner Suarez will be appointing Ken Gilmore.
Commissioner Suarez: Yes. So moved.
Commissioner Carollo: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: All in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. Thank you, Chairman.
BC.9 RESOLUTION 13-00502 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE EDUCATION ADVISORY BOARD FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
Rev. Guillermo Revuelta Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort
13-00502 EAB CCMemo.pdf 13-00502 EAB Current_Board_Members.pdf 13-00502 EAB Resume for Appointment.pdf
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Carollo, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
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R-13-0188
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): We have BC.9, Commissioner Gort, Education Advisory Board. Commissioner Gort will be appointing Reverend Guillermo Revuelta
Vice Chair Gort: Correct. Move it.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: Got a motion, second. Any discussion? All in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
BC.10 RESOLUTION 13-00368 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING CERTAIN Clerk INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Chair Marc David Sarnoff
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones
Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones
FOP
IAFF
13-00368 EOAB CCMemo.pdf 13-00368 EOAB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.11 RESOLUTION 13-00369 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Frank Carollo
City Manager Johnny Martinez
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13-00369 Finance CCMemo.pdf 13-00369 Finance Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.12 RESOLUTION 13-00370 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE HOMELAND DEFENSE/NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT BOND PROGRAM OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Mayor Tomás Regalado
Chair Marc David Sarnoff
Chair Marc David Sarnoff
Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Francis Suarez
13-00370 Homeland CCMemo.pdf 13-00370 Homeland Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.13 RESOLUTION 13-00504 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE MIAMI SPORTS AND EXHIBITION AUTHORITY FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
13-00504 MSEA CCMemo.pdf 13-00504 MSEA Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
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BC.14 RESOLUTION 13-00505 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING A Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL AS A MEMBER OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD FOR A TERM AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEE: NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Francis Suarez
13-00505 PRAB CCMemo.pdf 13-00505 PRAB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.15 RESOLUTION 13-00373 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD (UDRB) FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Chair Marc David Sarnoff
Chair Marc David Sarnoff
Vice Chair Wifredo (Willy) Gort
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Francis Suarez
13-00373 UDRB CCMemo.pdf 13-00373 UDRB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
BC.16 RESOLUTION 13-00374 Office of the City A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION APPOINTING Clerk CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS OF THE WATERFRONT ADVISORY BOARD FOR TERMS AS DESIGNATED HEREIN.
APPOINTEES: NOMINATED BY:
Commissioner Frank Carollo City of Miami Page 107 Printed on 6/25/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 9, 2013
Commissioner Frank Carollo
Commissioner Francis Suarez
13-00374 WAB CCMemo.pdf 13-00374 WAB Current_Board_Members.pdf NO ACTION TAKEN
END OF BOARDS AND COMMITTEES
DISCUSSION ITEMS
DI.1 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00561 District 2- DISCUSSION REGARDING CDBG EXPENDITURES FOR DEMOLITION OF Commissioner Marc UNSAFE STRUCTURES. David Sarnoff
13-00561 Email - CDBG & Unsafe Structures.pdf
WITHDRAWN
Chair Sarnoff: Okay, DI.1. I lost her, right? Oh, no, I guess DI.1 we could talk about, City unsafe structures, CDBG (Community Development Block Grant), Mr. Manager. Going once, going twice. It's my issue. That's why I should be discussing it. That's the one -- we were going to let this one go, right?
Alice Bravo (Assistant City Manager/Chief of Infrastructure): Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Because you satisfied me?
Ms. Bravo: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: How did you know that you satisfied me? You don't know. But thank you. All right, DI.1, we will remove from the agenda. Is that good enough? Okay.
DI.2 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00562 City Commission DISCUSSION REGARDING THE CITY OF MIAMI LIVING WAGE ORDINANCE. 13-00562 Email - Living Wage Ordinance.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner, you -- I wanted to get your living wage done.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: We can go ahead and deal with it. I don't know if Kirk is here, though. I know he was supposed to give us an update as well on -- oh, he is, Kirk -- just an update on what's happening in Tallahassee. And then also -- where is Danny? I know Danny was also -- So, Kirk, you want to give us a quick update?
Chair Sarnoff: He wants to put --
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: I know you've been sending me --
Chair Sarnoff: -- the living wage.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- sending us all e-mails (electronic) --
Chair Sarnoff: The living wage.
Kirk Menendez (Intergovernmental Affairs Liaison): Right, on the --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- on all the -- And as you -- if you don't mind, just so he can give us a quick little briefing on what has happened in Tallahassee. I know you text us all --
Mr. Menendez: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- but I think just from a public perspective --
Mr. Menendez: Sure.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- I think it would be good to let them know.
Mr. Menendez: After I do this part -- and I'm working on the final report. It's just a lot of bills were -- amendments were made at the last second. So I think by tomorrow or Monday, I should be able to distribute the final report with a breakdown of all of the bills. Basically, a lot of the big-ticket items that you perhaps already know about did not pass. ALF, assisted living facilities. Legislation again failed despite pressure. There was a difference between the house version and the senate version. I met consistently with Eddy González and Erik Fresen, and unfortunately, until last week of session, there was an impasse and the bill failed, though we had our language ready on that front. Gun safety legislation, only one bill passed, and that was supported by the NRA (National Rifle Association). In fact, not only was it supported by the NRA; there's about 40,000 signatures that -- communications that went to the Governor to veto that, even though the NRA was supporting it. Everything else stalled in committee.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So we still can have guns in our parks, our City parks?
Mr. Menendez: Unfortunately, unfortunately. Other key legislation: Pension reform, a significant pension reform. Again, that legislation did not pass, though it was a heated debate throughout session. Again, pension reform didn't pass. With regards to red-light cameras, the big difference is now that with the passage of HB 7125, the bill prohibits cities from issuing red -- issuing right-on-red infractions by camera if a person came to a complete stop after the stop bar. Based on communications with the City staff, we currently don't ticket those, but legislation passed to not allow those to move forward. Claims bill -- the Colindres claims bill that's been back in Tallahassee against the City for more than $2 million, it did not pass. It failed to move forward. They're working on claims bill reforms.
Chair Sarnoff: Kirk.
Mr. Menendez: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: You were here -- and I'd be more than glad to put you up next Commission meeting for everything that has --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: No, it was my fault. I just asked -- I asked --
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Mr. Menendez: She asked.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- for a quick -- just a quick update.
Mr. Menendez: And I can go --
Chair Sarnoff: It's more (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the living wage.
Mr. Menendez: -- straight into that. Not a problem. I was just answering Commissioner's --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: He was just --
Mr. Menendez: -- request.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- adhering to what I asked.
Mr. Menendez: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Mr. Menendez: With regards to HB 655, dealing with living wage, the legislation did pass. Through session, there was a battle going on between the senate version and the house version. The Senate passed an amendment removing preemptions to cities. The House refused to take it up. But, eventually, on May 2, the House concurred and the bill did pass. And I met with the City Attorney earlier today, and I've had discussions with others involved with this bill, including the Florida League of Cities. And, basically, the way the bill reads, it does not impact local government's authority to deal with living wage ordinances to its own employees. It does -- local governments are not allowed to impose living wage regulations on private businesses that they do not do business with. However, if the City does do business --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That they do not do business with?
Mr. Menendez: Right.
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Mr. Menendez: But --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Oh, I see what you're saying.
Mr. Menendez: -- if the City enters into a contract with a private company --
Vice Chair Gort: Then you can impose --
Mr. Menendez: -- and it's providing funding, then the City does have, according to the bill, the authority to mandate certain living wage requests.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Which is kind of what we're doing now?
Mr. Menendez: Exactly.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
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Mr. Menendez: And that was the battle, but the bill passed. And after my discussions with the City Attorney, that's the impact of the bill, HB 655, on the City.
Chair Sarnoff: So if we contract with somebody, we could put a living wage component in there?
Mr. Menendez: Based --
Chair Sarnoff: We just can't pass municipal a ordinance that requires a living wage be paid in the City of Miami?
Mr. Menendez: Exactly, on private businesses.
Chair Sarnoff: On who businesses?
Mr. Menendez: On private businesses.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Private business.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mr. Menendez: Yeah.
Vice Chair Gort: Not doing business with the City.
Mr. Menendez: Exactly.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Thank you for that clarity.
Mr. Menendez: My pleasure.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Thank you. Well done.
Mr. Menendez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And, Danny, I guess you're going to give us, in a quick nutshell, the impact. I'm assuming it was for Danny to give us an impact?
Chair Sarnoff: Where are you --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: The impact.
Chair Sarnoff: -- on the agenda, Danny? I don't know where I see you. Just help me. You're just up here. I know you're Danny. I know you're here about budget. I'm the United States government and I'm here to help, right?
Daniel Alfonso (Director, Strategic Planning, Budgeting and Performance): That is correct, Commissioner. Danny Alfonso. I'm --
Chair Sarnoff: But where are you on the agenda?
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Mr. Alfonso: -- from the government and I'm here to help. Not --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Living wage.
Mr. Alfonso: -- there was a question about living wage and what the impact of -- right now we have City temps that are below the living wage. If we wanted -- if the City Commission, as a matter of policy, wanted to increase their pay to the living wage, it would cost approximately $1.6 million on a yearly annualized basis, recurring.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Mr. Alfonso: That's short and sweet.
Chair Sarnoff: That was. That was a night bitter pill. Thank you.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: All right.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Julie O. Bru (City Attorney): You know, I think I need to clarify that. It's not a matter of policy. It is the law. You have a law in place that requires that living wage be paid to temps. There was a provision for it to be phased over a five-year period. That five-year period has lapsed. So now you're into either you amend your ordinance and you delete that provision or you comply with that provision. But it's not a policy decision, and you've made the policy decision a few years ago.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Thank you for that clarity. So --
Vice Chair Gort: How many temps do we have? And some of them have been temps for 10 years, 15 years.
Calvin Ellis: Calvin Ellis, director of Risk Management. We have approximately 230 part-time and full-time temporary employees.
Chair Sarnoff: Two thirty?
Mr. Ellis: Yes.
Vice Chair Gort: Two hundred and thirty.
Mr. Ellis: Correct.
Vice Chair Gort: Part time and full time?
Mr. Ellis: Correct.
Vice Chair Gort: And my question is, a lot of them have been working for more than five years?
Mr. Ellis: Yes. There is a study that was done, and there are a number that have actually been working more than ten years as temporary workers.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay. My question comes to -- this is something I've been working with the labor relation board. Some of those people can fill up some of the -- I mean, if they've been working as temp for ten years, they should have the experience or the knowledge to move up or apply for some of the jobs that the City's opening.
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Mr. Ellis: Correct. And there's nothing that precludes them from doing so.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Mr. Ellis: And they're actually, I believe, given a little higher level of priority than a non --
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Mr. Ellis: -- temporary worker.
Vice Chair Gort: Next City Commission, I would like to be on agenda, give a report on some of the meetings that we've had in the past with the labor relation committee, okay. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Well --
Vice Chair Gort: I have another question.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead.
Vice Chair Gort: Nuisance Abatement Board, where are we with that?
Chair Sarnoff: It's the Code Enforcement Board. It sits as the Nuisance Abatement Board.
Vice Chair Gort: I understand. How many arrests and -- does it take to away the --?
Chair Sarnoff: Three.
Vice Chair Gort: Three. Okay. Because I have places with -- we have more than ten arrests a month on prostitution and drugs, okay. So that's something I might want to bring in the future.
Chair Sarnoff: Mr. Manager, while we're getting all of ) the -- since we're going to have to deal with living wage one way or the other --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: The other.
Chair Sarnoff: -- I think we need a little bit of financial analysis of -- if -- you know, on such and such a date, living wage is about to apply. It's going -- we know it's going to cost 1.6 million. If we made these people permanent, it would cost "X" dollars. If --
Vice Chair Gort: I'm not talking about permanent. I'm talking about --
Chair Sarnoff: Whatever you --
Vice Chair Gort: -- we're going to have a lot of vacancy. Give them an opportunity to apply for those vacancies.
Chair Sarnoff: I don't pretend to understand his staffing. I don't.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: In all fairness, I think I need to ask a question. Do you have the resources at this time, Mr. Manager, to provide that analysis? Because part of what's happening
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with the CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) is we don't have the resources to give the auditors the information we have. And the information we've been giving, when tested, has been a lot of errors. I mean, it wasn't just a construction in process. In reality, they first started saying by when we first got the initial CAFR, there were a lot of errors and issues. So, I mean, in all fairness, do we have the resources to actually do that analysis?
Mr. Alfonso: Danny Alfonso. To do a cost estimate on employees and what would it cost to bring them as permanent employees, those things we actually have done, and we did them when we were talking about labor negotiations last year. We talked about temps that were more than ten years, more than five years, more than eight. I mean, we have done that. There is a significant impact. There's also issues there with labor agreements, civil service. I mean, they would have to compete for the jobs. There's no guarantee that those people would get the jobs. I mean, all those issues have been discussed.
Commissioner Carollo: And the outcome? In other words, I -- do you have the information that Chairman Sarnoff and Commissioner Spence-Jones have requested?
Mr. Alfonso: The -- if you asked a specific question as to the cost of doing those things, yes, we have those studies. We would have to update them because they are eight, nine months old. Temps come. Temps go. There's new people that now fit the criteria of more than five years, more than ten years.
Chair Sarnoff: Could you just --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Danny --
Chair Sarnoff: -- create some sort -- let me just -- can you just create some sort of a document or brief me --? Because I'm going to ask the City Attorney to put something on the agenda to either -- well, I guess the first thing to do is get briefed on it to see what the delta is. And, you know, you're right. I mean, either we comply with the ordinance we passed or we now modify the ordinance. And it's part of this whole discussion of feeding the elderly, police officers. It's part of this whole --
Commissioner Suarez: We need to get back to it.
Chair Sarnoff: Right. It gets right back into -- you know, that's what a budget's all about, finding out what's important to each Commissioner. What it's all about. So I think what you should do is brief every Commissioner for the delta. And I think at the next Commission meeting, we should have a brief discussion item on the living wage ordinance one more time so that we can decide -- well, we all now know where we stand. When is your mid-year coming? When is the mid-year?
Mr. Alfonso: The mid-year actually passed already, Commissioner.
Commissioner Carollo: It passed the last Commission meeting. Yep.
Mr. Alfonso: The issue with anything that we do in terms of living wage --
Chair Sarnoff: Here's the problem. I mean, what if the City Attorney says June 1, your temps got to be paid living wage? That's going to affect your budget.
Mr. Alfonso: Absolutely.
Chair Sarnoff: I don't think the fact that --
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Mr. Alfonso: And not only is it an impact this year; it would also become a recurring impact into the next year.
Chair Sarnoff: Sure.
Mr. Alfonso: And, certainly, that's not something we had anticipated.
Chair Sarnoff: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: But some of these temps -- without getting into the details, some of these temps have been there five, ten --
Mr. Alfonso: And that is a different question.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: You know, I mean -- and they're not making the living wage amount. They're actually making more than the living wage amount.
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: 'Cause they're --
Chair Sarnoff: They're making more than the living wage?
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Mr. Alfonso: Sometimes are. But there's a number of temps that are below --
Commissioner Carollo: Yes.
Mr. Alfonso: -- particularly your laborers, your parks laborers, some of the NET (Neighborhood Enhancement Team) people that do --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: But those people that have been there five, ten years, they're not making it.
Mr. Alfonso: No. There are actually people that are making $8.70 an hour and they have been there for five, six, seven years.
Commissioner Suarez: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That's terri -- that's awful, Danny.
Commissioner Suarez: We have ten-year temporary workers.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That is horrible.
Commissioner Suarez: People that have been there for more than ten years.
Chair Sarnoff: I think we got to get briefed, and I don't know that the best place to brief us is on the dais on this issue.
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Ten, fifteen years --
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Chair Sarnoff: So --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- making $8 an hour?
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chairman, if I may? I've extensively studied this with Danny and it's a problem. It's a big issue. But it's also -- with like all big issues, it's an expensive fix. So that's -- now we get back into the whole issue of, you know, all the decisions that we've been making and how much resources are available, et cetera, et cetera. But I think every Commissioner here deserves an extensive briefing --
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah.
Commissioner Suarez: -- on what this issue is and what it will amount to, and then I think we can go from there.
Chair Sarnoff: Would you -- I want to be briefed. He's obviously been briefed. I don't know --
Commissioner Suarez: I asked for it. I asked for the information 'cause --
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah.
Commissioner Suarez: -- I was the one that was interested in -- 'cause I actually got approached by someone in a parks -- in a park saying -- you know, explaining to me this -- you know, one of our employees explained to us this issue. “Can you do something about it,” you know.
Chair Sarnoff: So in the next two weeks, would you brief every Commissioner?
Mr. Alfonso: Commissioner, honestly, can I ask for a month? 'Cause I'm running a few things --
Commissioner Suarez: Absolutely.
Mr. Alfonso: -- together with the budget --
Commissioner Suarez: Absolutely.
Mr. Alfonso: -- and --
Commissioner Suarez: Absolutely.
Commissioner Carollo: Back to the resources.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah, he's right.
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: That's fine. We've waited this long; we can wait a month.
Mr. Alfonso: Yeah. Thanks.
Chair Sarnoff: But just get to every Commissioner so we understand it, and then we'll put something on the agenda once we understand -- you know, we need to sit with you and you need to say, if you want this, this, this, and this; and Sarnoff, you've been talking about cops, cops, cops, cop, cops --
Mr. Alfonso: Exactly.
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Chair Sarnoff: -- and Suarez, you want to do this --
Commissioner Suarez: Exactly.
Chair Sarnoff: -- to your parks and you want to do this to your sidewalks; and Carollo, you want to give -- whatever you want to give; and Spence [sic], you want to do this. That's a bucket of money. Maybe we have that bucket. Maybe we don't have that bucket.
Commissioner Suarez: It's called long-term planning.
Chair Sarnoff: LTP (Long Term Planning).
Commissioner Suarez: And when you have so much instability and so much turnover, it's very hard to do that.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Commissioner Carollo: Somewhere in there we'll be able to issue our financial statements.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah. Whatever you do, don't disrupt the financial statement. So let's go again.
Commissioner Suarez: All right.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. So we're now --
Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chairman.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes, sir.
Vice Chair Gort: I think Anthony wants to address you.
Anthony Hatten: Mr. Chairman?
Chair Sarnoff: Yes, sir.
Mr. Hatten: Yeah. I'd just like to say the temps have been -- yeah, there's some 16, 17 years temporary. And I also like to say when jobs do open, it's up to the director's discretion. But on some openings, they're not letting City employees -- they qualify, but they won't let them go to the interview process.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Why?
Mr. Hatten: Because the director determines who goes and who doesn't go. And it's really disturbing because this is happening in HR (Human Resources), which is, they're supposed to be the ones who protect everybody.
Chair Sarnoff: You want to respond to that?
Mr. Alfonso: Yes, I actually would. And I do have a little different take on this.
Chair Sarnoff: Figured you would.
Mr. Alfonso: In talking to some of our directors in terms of these very long-term temps, if you open up a position that now this term -- this person who's currently a temp may be making $9 an
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hour is going to apply for, he has to meet all the qualifications and he needs to go through an interview process. Frankly, some of these temps do not have a great command of the English language. Therefore, in an interview setting, they are very likely not going to end at the top of the selection, which means that they will be out of a job. So, in some cases, what has happened honestly is that maybe they don't get selected for that full-time position that opened up and they stay as temps. I mean, that's really the --
Chair Sarnoff: You almost --
Mr. Alfonso: -- bottom line truth.
Chair Sarnoff: -- described --
Vice Chair Gort: That's not what he's talking about.
Chair Sarnoff: -- resign to run.
Mr. Hatten: I'm talking -- I'm sorry. I switched gears on you. Okay, I'm talking about in HR right now. They had a generalist for HR. They just opened it up. They had over -- I think over a hundred applicants.
Mr. Alfonso: Right, but those are not temps that you're talking about.
Mr. Hatten: Correct.
Mr. Alfonso: Okay.
Mr. Hatten: They're four people that work in HR right now and they never had a chance. They qualified. They got their cards saying they qualified for the job, but they had no way to go to the interview process. They were rejected from going to the interview.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: But why?
Mr. Hatten: You have to ask --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: HR?
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Why don't we let the --
Mr. Hatten: -- the HR.
Mr. Martinez: -- HR --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah.
Mr. Martinez: -- director expand on that, please?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I mean, it would seem that if somebody worked part time in the City for six, seven, eight years, that they should have an opportunity.
Mr. Hatten: Well, these are full times.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: No, no.
Mr. Hatten: These --
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: I'm not talking about -- I'm saying -- are we speaking of part time now applying for full-time positions?
Mr. Martinez: No.
Mr. Hatten: No, talking about full time.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Oh, okay.
Mr. Martinez: Current, existing employees.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Beverly Pruitt: Beverly Pruitt, Human Resources director. We had the Human Resource generalist's position open. There were four vacancies. We received over probably 185 applications. A hundred and eighty-five of them were qualified. We reviewed the list of those qualified and selected the best individuals to interview based on their qualifications. We first had to interview the veterans who are given preference and then we looked at those other candidates who have senior-level experience in HR, which was more experience than what individuals in HR currently has in their capacity.
Mr. Hatten: Okay. Let me ask you this. They -- you sent -- you said they were qualified for the job, but you never gave them a chance to do the interview. These are all people that are not City employees. And how many candidates did you bring in to be interviewed?
Ms. Pruitt: We had a total of 11 individuals we interviewed, 6 of those individuals were veterans. One of the veterans declined the interview process. So we interviewed five veterans and six others, other than City's employee individuals.
Mr. Hatten: So you interviewed 11 totaled?
Ms. Pruitt: Yes.
Mr. Hatten: Okay. For the whole day?
Ms. Pruitt: We had two days of interviews.
Mr. Hatten: I just don't understand why wouldn't you let the four people that were in your office go to the interview process.
Ms. Pruitt: If you would like to meet with me, I can discuss. I would not want to speak to a person's qualifications here in the meeting. I can speak to you directly regarding each of those individuals and why they were not selected for an interview.
Mr. Hatten: Okay. But they did qualify, correct?
Ms. Pruitt: They qualified under the minimum requirements for the job, yes.
Mr. Hatten: Okay. I just don't understand -- I just like to -- you know, if we could do something --
Ms. Pruitt: It's in the a policy that the City --
Chair Sarnoff: No, we're not going to do anything --
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Ms. Pruitt: -- director --
Chair Sarnoff: -- up here.
Mr. Hatten: Okay, I understand.
Vice Chair Gort: Up here we're not going to do anything.
Chair Sarnoff: The Commission's not going to do anything.
Mr. Hatten: I understand.
Chair Sarnoff: This Commission's not crossing any thresholds of any charter.
Mr. Hatten: Well, I am talk --
Chair Sarnoff: You got your explanations. You can meet with Beverly and you can then file whatever grievance or petition you want with the Manager and he'll look at it.
Mr. Hatten: Okay, sir.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Mr. Hatten: That's fair enough. Thank you. Thank you for letting me speak.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
END OF DISCUSSION ITEMS
PART B: PLANNING AND ZONING ITEM(S)
Chair Sarnoff: We're going to be going into the P&Z (Planning and Zoning) agenda, so I'm imagining that the City Attorney could read what she needs to read, and Madam Clerk can do what she needs to do. So why don't we start with that?
Maria J. Chiaro (Deputy City Attorney): Well, the PZ items shall proceed according to Section 7.1.4 of the Miami 21 Code. Before any of the two items is heard, all those wishing to speak will be sworn in by the City Clerk. The staff will briefly describe these items. The members of the City Commission shall disclose any ex parte communications. The petitioner will then present the request and may waive the right to an evidentiary hearing. The order of presentation shall be described as in the City Code. Members of the public will be permitted to speak on these petitions. The City of Miami requires that anyone requesting action by the City Commission must disclose before the hearing anything provided to anyone for agreement to support or withhold objection to the requested action. Any documents offered to the City Commissioners that have not been provided seven days before the meeting as part of the agenda materials will be entered into the record at the City Commission's discretion. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. Madam Clerk.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Before I administer the oath, will anyone here require a Spanish or Creole interpreter?
Ralph Desmongles, official Creole Interpreter, and Deborah Spector, official Spanish Interpreter, translated the Assistant City Clerk's comments.
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Ms. Ewan: Thank you. Anyone speaking on today's Planning and Zoning items, if I can please have you stand up, raise your right hand.
The Assistant City Clerk administered the oath required under City Code Section 62-1 to those persons giving testimony on zoning issues.
Ms. Ewan: Thank you, Chair. You may proceed.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
PZ.1 ORDINANCE First Reading 05-00410ap AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING WITH CONDITIONS, PURSUANT TO ARTICLES 3, AND ARTICLE 7, OF THE MIAMI 21 CODE, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS AMENDED, THE REZONING OF CERTAIN PARCELS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 8.14 ACRES FOR THE RIVER LANDING SPECIAL AREA PLAN ("SAP"), A MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 1400, 1420 AND 1500 NORTHWEST NORTH RIVER DRIVE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, CONSISTING OF APPROXIMATELY 2,147,331 SQUARE FEET OF DEVELOPMENT; INCLUDING: A) APPROXIMATELY 444 RESIDENTIAL UNITS; B) APPROXIMATELY 1,618,383 SQUARE FEET OF COMMERCIAL USE; C) APPROXIMATELY 130,732 SQUARE FEET OF OPEN SPACE; AND D) APPROXIMATELY 2,418 PARKING SPACES; AMENDING THE ZONING ATLAS OF ORDINANCE NO 13114, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION OF THE ABOVE REFERENCED PROPERTIES FROM "T6-8-O" URBAN CORE ZONE TO "T6-24-O" URBAN CORE ZONE; THE SQUARE FOOTAGES ABOVE ARE APPROXIMATE AND MAY INCREASE OR DECREASE AT TIME OF BUILDING PERMIT, NOT TO EXCEED A TOTAL OF 2,147,331 SQUARE FEET OF DEVELOPMENT; MAKING FINDINGS OF FACT AND STATING CONCLUSIONS OF LAW; PROVIDING FOR BINDING EFFECT; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 05-00410ap CC 05-23-15 Fact Sheet.pdf 05-00410ap Analysis (New), Maps, Waiver Decision & UDRB Reso.pdf 05-00410ap PZAB Reso & Updated Zoning Write Up.pdf 05-00410ap Letter of Intent.pdf 05-00410ap CC Legislation (Version 4).pdf 05-00410ap Exhibit A.pdf 05-00410ap Exhibit C.pdf 05-00410ap Exhibit D.pdf 05-00410ap (Exhibit D) River Landing Plans/Concept Book.PDF 05-00410ap River Landing SAP Binder.pdf 05-00410ap-PowerPoint Presentation-River Landing.pdf 05-00410ap-Submittal-Letter-Miami River Commission.pdf 05-00410ap-Submittal-Letter-Miami River Commission 05-23.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately 1400, 1420 and 1500 NW N River Drive [Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort - District 1]
APPLICANT(S): Javier F. Aviñó, Esquire, on behalf of River Landing
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Development, LLC, Contract Purchaser (Mahi Shrine Holding Corporation, Owner)
FINDING(S): PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval with conditions*. PLANNING, ZONING AND APPEALS BOARD: Recommends approval with conditions* on April 17, 2013 by a vote of 10-0. See companion File ID 05-00410da. *See supporting documentation.
PURPOSE: This will allow the "River Landing" SAP development.
Motion by Vice Chair Gort, seconded by Commissioner Suarez, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. Mr. Planning Director, you will please proceed with PZ.1 and PZ.2
Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): Happy to, sir. Items PZ.1 and PZ.2 are companion items. They are the presentation to the Commission for a special area plan for a project known as River Landing, approximately located at 1400 Northwest North River Drive. Item PZ.1 is the special area plan itself, which subsumes the change in zoning for the parcel of land from T6-8-O, which it is presently to T6-24-O. And the land use remains the same. It's already appropriately designated. I'll mention by way of highlight some of the characteristics of the project just to introduce them. I know that the applicant will have a thorough presentation in a moment or two. The project consists of a 2,147,000 square-foot development proposal with 444 residential units; approximately 1,600,000 -- a little bit more than that -- square feet of commercial space; approximately 100 -- I'm sorry -- yes -- 130,000 -- a little bit more than that -- square feet of open space; and 2,400 and change parking spaces. So it's certainly a large project. We believe that this project is going to be a great catalyst for redevelopment in the area. We have enjoyed working with the applicant, the whole team over the last months. It may actually be upwards of a year by now, but certainly around that time frame. And we are today recommending to you approval with conditions, as did the Planning and Zoning and Appeals Board unanimously. And we'll certainly happily answer any questions you may have. I'd like to also introduce the notion that we are aware that there are a few conditions, other conditions that once they were approved by the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board, or recommended, I should say, that we still have to refine. There is some disagreement as to how they might best be phrased or if they should be there at all. And we have committed to the applicant that we will gladly meet with them to work them out. We -- I would like to characterize our respective positions as being at 99.9 percent of the way there. And we've already set up a meeting for next Monday, actually, to conclude those. And having said that, I'll yield to the applicant for presentation and certainly happy to answer any questions you may have.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. Good morning -- afternoon, sorry.
Vicky Garcia-Toledo: Good afternoon, members of the Commission. My name is Vicky Garcia-Toledo, and I'm here with my partner, Javier Aviño, from Bilzin Sumberg, on behalf of River Landing. And it is particularly a pleasure for us to represent this project, because it's the dream come true of an entire neighborhood and stakeholders that have for many years been meeting to bring this type of catalyst into the neighborhood. The project before you is an SAP, a special area plan. The purpose of a special area plan is, according to Miami 21, to relax the land use regulations required by Miami 21 to allow these large projects, with the assistance of a great architectural firm, like Add, Inc., who's here today represented by Jonathan Cardello, and you will hear the presentation by Alana Lopez, who is the project manager in their office, as well
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as the cooperation and extreme hard work of your Planning staff. And I would like to commend -- I've said this to Francisco, but I think it merits going on the record. I'd like to commend Carmen Sanchez, the assistant director of the Planning Department. Without Carmen and the staff being willing to get together at short notice, give us their expertise and input, work with our architects endlessly, we would not be here today. And Miami 21 allows us through the SAP to create our own regulatory plan for special projects of this kind, and ultimately, it is approved by the actual SAP resolution that has that regulatory plan, as well as a development agreement, which is the companion item that you will be hearing today. I think the director has already informed you that this application has a zoning change. The reason for that zoning change is just to accommodate the two residential towers in height. I think you also heard that we're not changing the density. And so the overall build-out of this project is very similar to what would have been allowed without that zoning change, except we needed the zoning change particularly for the tower, the height of the tower, so in a design concept, which Miami 21 is, we didn't want to have a squat looking building at this location. The history -- I think, to many of you who are sitting at the dais, it is history. You'll remember, this is the Mahi Shrine site. It's been part of this neighborhood forever. In 2005, I represented a joint venture of a local firm and a Chicago firm, and we were approved for a MUSP (Major Use Special Permit). Unfortunately, things happened as they did in our real estate market, and it was never built. And so ever since -- for about six years, I am fortunate enough to have a client who came as a young man to Miami, and it's a University of Miami graduate. I mean, he actually, I think, won some very important contest as a -- in sports when he attended that university. And I still haven't figured out how a Hurricane went out and hired a Gator to design the River Walk. But I guess only a Gator can figure out what -- those grasses, how they grow, right? So we have an incredible team. From Savino and Miller, Barry Miller is here. And my client was motivated by a group of photographs of the river as it was in its original inception. And you all have seen that commercial where the very elegant couple walks into a architect's office and says -- puts a faucet on the table and says, “Build us a house around this.” Well, that's kind of what Andy Hellinger and Coralee Penabad did with this project. They first developed the river and the river walk, and then said to Add, Inc., based on the design from Barry for the river walk, “Build me this kind of a project.” And so that's a little different, because the muse for this whole thing was the desire to create a main street for this neighborhood, which has long been missing; a heart, a place where the neighborhood, those who live there can come and enjoy themselves, and about 30,000 people that come to the health district every day can also have options. And so the project cost will be over $200 million. That will -- it's about 160 million of construction cost, plus land purchase, plus outside improvements. The job creation will be about 500 construction jobs over two years, about 1,000 permanent jobs once everyone is fully active, and about 600 indirect jobs. And all this information is in the document. Part of Andy -- Andrew Hellinger's interest in this area for about five years, and this particular piece of land led him to meet a lot of people on the ground, a lot of friends, a lot of individuals that already live in this area. And so all of that was input that he received long before he even started designing this project. And I'm happy to say that we come to you with approval of the Spring Gardens [sic] Homeowners Association. They asked -- they told us what they wanted and what they felt was important, besides the river, which I think is extremely important to this community, and that river walk. They also asked us to keep the parking of the commercial separate from the parking of the residential and to keep the entrance to the two towers separate from the commercial area, and we have designed that project. We've had multiple meetings with the committee, the Greenway Committee and the Infill Committee. In fact, we've appeared before them three times. They gave us conditions or suggestions on the first meeting, and we made sure that we worked very closely with them. So by the time the project went to the board of the Miami River Commission, we received from them all kinds of accolades for what we have done on the river, and in this project, and a unanimous approval with that condition. And I think Brett Bibeau is here from the River Commission and will address you a little later. We also have a recommendation to your board of approval from the Planning and [sic] Zoning Appeals Board. They approved it with the conditions. The motion was made by Judge David Young, who's a member of that board, and he specifically addressed -- because I asked him to do so -- the fact that we would meet with -- their recommendation would also
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include enough wiggle room for the director to meet with us and address some of the conditions that are really a non-starter for my client and for this project. We also addressed many of the concerns that the Miami Partnership -- which was created about 12 years ago for this project, and it involves all the stakeholders and the homeowners associations -- talked about having more commercial -- giving the 30,000 visitors and workers come into this area -- options and services, as well as the local groups. So this is kind of coming full circle and completing those efforts that were started some time ago. We have heard from UM (University of Miami). They were concerned that the traffic study did not include a particular intersection, which is the intersection of Northwest 12th Avenue and 14th Street. I conferred with our engineers, and he's here, our traffic engineer, if you want to ask any questions. But basically, I have communicated with UM, and I am now putting it on the record that we will expand the traffic study to include that particular intersection, and that if mitigation is required, we will do that mitigation subject to the approval of, of course, the regulatory agencies. At this time, what I'd like to do is bring forward our architect to give you the presentation of the project. I will also take a moment to introduce -- You know, in Miami, you know when a project, and when a neighborhood and an area has arrived because there is always a national celebrity, or international, well known celebrity designer involved in the project. And so I am very pleased to announce that we have arrived, because we have my favorite HGTV (Home and Garden Television) personality on this project, so that's also been a treat, David Bromstad.. And I need to give you a little background about David, because I am so proud. He was the -- after many years, I believe, as a designer with Disney, he was the first designer chosen through the HGTV design star competition. He was given a program and operated a program called Color Splash, from the West Coast; actually, San Francisco. And after a couple of years, David said, “You know what? Miami is where it's happening.” So the show is now, after David moved everything to our City, called Color Splash Miami. And so we're very proud to have him helping make designs for this project. At that point, I'd like to ask Alana to come forward and present the project, and then I'll be back to answer any questions you may have and to address the conditions. Thank you.
Alana Lopez: Good afternoon, Commissioners. As Vicky mentioned, my name is Alana Lopez. I am the project manager on the project, and an architect with the firm of Add, Inc. Just give me a second to load up the presentation. Imagine a place on the river where you can stroll by the water under the shade of a large gambalina tree, or perhaps sit at a park bench and read a book as you watch the boats go by. Imagine a place on the river where you can spend a Sunday morning having brunch with your family, and maybe shop for an hour or two after that. Imagine a place on the river where you can do all these things and many more. That place would be River Landing. As Vicky mentioned, we've assembled a team of design professionals who not only live and work in Miami but are very tied into the community in making sure that it progresses and grows in an appropriate manner. We have an all star team from the design team of Add, Inc.; from -- the landscape architect, Savino Miller; our design consultant, Bromstad; our civil engineers, Kimley Horn and Associates, along with our exceptional attorney team of Bilzin Sumberg. And when we were approached as a team on this project, we were asked by the client to take a look at the river and really respect the river as a muse for the project, and make sure that the muse is carried through in a modern-day interpretation of some of the historical importance that the river presents. So I'm going to present that project to you today. I understand that most of you are familiar with the site, but for those of you who aren't, the River Landing project is slated to be on that -- what currently is occupied by the Mahi Shrine Auditorium. It's got a great proximity to the health district and a lot of the judicial courts. It has spectacular visibility from the 836, as well as accessibility from many local roads. But perhaps the most important aspect of the site is its southern boundary, which is the Miami River, and the opportunity that this creates to celebrate the patrimony of the river, not only to the area, but to the City as a whole, to its residents and its visitors alike. When we started the project as a team, we got together and we decided that we needed a series of inspiration images to really understand the character of the river. We wanted to be sure that whatever we designed would be in communion with the spirit of the river to really bring back the vivacity, the livelihood, the activity that the river really deserves and needs, and really hasn't had in so many years. So we
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started to collect a series of images that talked to the characteristics of the river as a working river. And one of the most important images you'll see here, both on your screen and in the board, is the image on the bottom right-hand corner. This is a historic 1940's image of what the river used to look like, and the idea that there was a floating dock presence. And I think that the most important take away from that image is really the idea that the land and the water were so intimate with each other. They were so closely connected that you almost begin to blur the boundaries. And this was the spirit that we wanted to infect the project with. When we take a look at the landscape plan, you begin to see the primary importance that the landscape plays in creating this pleasant pedestrian experience, and the fact that we've actually landscaped the entire perimeter of the project, as well as the central area of the project, which is considered the pedestrian promenade. The Savino Miller design team really wanted to take advantage of that character of that 1940's photograph and pay homage to the native landscape; pay homage to this interconnectivity between the river walk, and the river, and the site, itself, on a larger scale. And so they developed a characteristic of a river that is -- a river walk -- I'm sorry -- that is actually based on this native landscape a diversity of plant material, a diversity of paving material, but all in keeping with that spirit and that character of a maritime and industrial kind of river. And you can see that reflected in some of the materials that are at the bottom of this slide. For instance, the reclaimed wood paving with the rivets talks to that industrial nature of the river. We've also paid close attention to provide pedestrian access from the City side along Northwest North River Drive at various points of the site. So there is a seven-foot landscaped sidewalk on both the western edge of the property and the eastern edge of the property as well as the landscaped pedestrian promenade, which is that 90-foot large opening that brings you through the center of the project down to the river walk. We also took the character of the river walk, itself, and brought it up in through the center of the project almost as though it were a tributary of the river. We wanted to be sure that this central heart of the project would be considered a primary community gathering space, a town center of sorts, you could say, that would again mimic and echo the importance of the river walk and the characteristic. I'm going to now take you down into some perspectives of the river walk, itself. We'll begin where you see the Number 1 on your slide at the western edge of the property, and then we'll move a little further down over to the retail edge where you see the Number 2. So when you're actually standing at the river walk, you start to kind of understand the experience -- the large shade trees, the diversity of planting, the indigenous trees and other plant material that will be there -- really, this kind of vivacity and richness of an experience along that river. As we move a little further down into the retail space, you'll see that we introduce towards the left-hand portion of the slide, we begin to introduce these outdoor terraces. And what this does is it provides a location for us to allow for outdoor seating, outdoor dining. It also gives a visual interest to the river walk in general. It further enhances the meandering of the past. It also pushes the building back farther, so while we've maintained the 50-foot setback along the length of the river, in some locations, especially where there are restaurants, we've actually pulled the building back to lengths of upwards of 70 feet so that we can create this outdoor terrace experience, provide for additional seating areas. And one thing that I really love about this image is, you know, the fact that you can see so many different activities happening at once, you know. There's people sitting out and eating. There's a group of girls sitting and people-watching. There's a couple that's just admiring the context and the beautiful river. There's really a richness to the amount of activity that can happen here and the diversity of that activity. This next view takes us out of the river walk almost as though we were floating over the water itself, looking at the heart of the project, the center of it. And you can see in this view the way that the architecture and the landscape really meld into one, and so they need each other in a really pleasing way. Not only that, you can see the width and the breadth of the central pedestrian promenade, the way that it opens up to the other side of the project, which is the City side, and allows for the passage of pedestrians from one end of the project to the other. It also emphasizes that openness to the air and sky, and that importance of bringing the activity not only along the river, but into the center of the project, at well. What's interesting also to note here is that we really wanted to take that concept of activity and movement and bring it up through the building in a vertical fashion, so you'll see that on the upper floors, we've also created opportunities for outdoor balconies, for additional
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seating, for restaurants and other such venues. And then we've also pulled back the retail boxes on a portion of the eastern side of the property to allow for balconies where people can have areas of respite while they shop, you know, if they want to have a second to sit and look out, and just enjoy their surroundings. I'd also like to make special note of what we endearingly term “the jewel box,” and that's the box that you see in the front center of the image. It's the retail box that's covered entirely in glass, and I think that it's one of the points of the project in general that brings to heart this idea of a close communion between the project and the river. I mean, imagine, where else in the world can you -- I mean, I'm sure there's few places in the world that you can actually stand, and shop, and be in such close communion with nature, you know, be completely encased by glass. As we walk into the center of the building, you begin to see that richness of activity happening on various levels; the way that the characteristic native landscape comes into the heart of the project, the way that the diverse paving happens, the same way that it happens on the river walk. River Landing, as a whole is a symbiosis of three different programmatic elements: The retail, the residential and the parking. And so this view is a view of the project in its entirety, and you begin to see the overall architectural composition of the project. So on the eastern end of the site is where the main bulk of the retail sits, and on the western end of the site is where the parking structure sits with the two residential towers atop it. The parking structure is lined by residential flats on both the riverside and the City side, and there's also smaller-scaled retail centers across from the pedestrian promenade on the parking side. One important thing to note is that the retail boxes are treated with an architectural precast concrete, a sample of which you'll see. We've brought with us today. And we really wanted to create a textured surface that would create visual interest to the project and minimize its scale. We've also worked with City staff to include a large amount of glass, again bringing to light that idea that the river is the muse, that -- the importance of integrating the use of the building with the view of nature, but making sure that the retail boxes are still functional for the retailers at the end of the day. When we conceived originally of the retail boxes, we thought of it as a series of gift boxes. If you think of gift boxes that you stack on top of each other, and then you take that stack of gift boxes and you push them in different directions. And what that begins to do is it begins to minimize the scale of the project as a whole to bring it down to a more humanistic scale and proportion. In addition, it also alleviates the need to have a large monolithic wall like you see in so many big box retail centers. When you look at the plan as a whole, you can begin to see this bifurcation of almost two separate buildings, separated by the central promenade. So we have the larger retail boxes towards the right of the screen, which is the eastern end of the property flanked by smaller retail boxes across from the promenade and the parking structure. We've paid special attention to promote alternative forms of transportation. We've accommodated for a trolley stop as well as multiple motorcycle and bicycle space parking. We've also, as Vicky mentioned, made particular close attention to separate or segregate -- better said -- the different types of vehicular traffic. So, for instance, the loading dock is actually a sub-grade loading dock, and it happens over on the eastern portion of the site where you see the ramp coming down into the space in blue. On the western end of the site is where the main entrance to the retail parking is. And once you come in from Northwest North River Drive, you have the option of parking on the ground floor, or you can come up the extended circular ramping system, which takes you directly up to whichever floor you need to go without the need of stopping on interstitial floors. And then we've created an access road on the western end of the property that is dedicated solely for the residents. And this has two drop-offs, one for each of the residential lobbies, and it also has a separate entry to the residential parking, which is all sub-grade. As we move to the upper floors, you begin to see how we provide these extra open air spaces. So we take that idea of the open air, the communion with nature, and we begin to allow for larger courtyard spaces, community gathering spaces on the upper floors. You'll see on the third, fourth and fifth floors, we take the same attitude, providing the smaller balcony spaces and larger open court areas where people can gather, communities can hold events. There could be a series of different activities that happen at that point. And then sitting atop the parking structure are the two residential towers, and those are across from each other. And between the two is a lushly landscaped amenity deck with a clubhouse, and a pool and other amenities for the residents. When we look at the overall materiality of the project -- We worked
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very closely with the landscape architects to create a palette that provided a coherent visual composition to the project. So we wanted to make sure that not only the character of the river walk and the landscape would resonate throughout the project, but also that the architectural characteristics would be in line with that, as well. So you'll see that we have a variety of different materials that also speak to the industrial and maritime nature of the site, such as the reclaimed wood with the rivets, these kinds of maritime bollards that we look to introduce, some of the tree grading and the metal mesh railings on most of the balconies. And I'd like to end the presentation with a view of the building from the east. This is a view of the building at night. And we think of the eastern elevation almost as the front door to the property where most people are going to be arriving, especially from the judicial and the health district areas, and so we wanted to treat this elevation with as much care, and rigor and specialness as we treated the elevation along the river. I think I speak for the team when I say that we believe passionately that River Landing is the beginning to a beautiful relationship with the Miami River, and we hope you'll feel that way, too. Thank you.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Commissioners, I'd like to answer any questions you may have, but before we go there, if I could ask you that you approve this project with some slight changes of the conditions, and there is a very critical reason for this. Because this is a commercial project and the developer is going to the ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) in Las Vegas to meet with the tenants and hopefully negotiate the final leases, we need -- we cannot have any open-ended issues. We really need to have the exact items and elements that we're going to build so he can calculate how to negotiate leases. In the world of commercial tenants -- national commercial tenants -- I am told that these leases are quite extensive; that they're very specific; that there has to be a date of occupancy, and that if that date is not met, then there is breach, and they can walk away. And that's, of course, the last thing we want. So in being very accurate, my client has asked that the following conditions be modified as follows, and these all go to Item 9 of your first item for approval, the SAP. These are the conditions from Planning and Zoning. Nine k, we believe we have satisfied. A sheet for this space -- it talks about preparing a plan for the open space. That has been changed consistent with what they have asked. They keep telling us that's not what it is, but we believe that we meet all of the open space requirements on the property that is subject matter of this application. I should also add that that new document has been in the plans for over two months, so we would like to tell you that we have complied, and have the Department accept that. Nine l is an open-ended issue about the western end of this property. We have it designed with a seven-foot sidewalk from North River Drive to the river and six feet of landscape. We -- they're asking us to redo it for a wider sidewalk and less landscape. Our landscape architect designed that as the optimum. We certainly wouldn't mind going to nine feet sidewalk with four-foot landscaping, but we need it to read exactly the way it's going to be done here. We can't leave it open-ended and spend time negotiating, and coming up with who knows what the outcome will be. We would like to amend 9g, which is asking us to reduce our footprint of our building to make a wider sidewalk. We already have a wider sidewalk than required. We've already put in land from the private side, not on the right-of-way. And the reason for this is that the neighborhood homeowners association, as well as the Infill Committee, has asked us to put parking on the street. In cutting into the swale to be able to accommodate that parking on the public right-of-way in front of the building, we had to go into our property to make a wider sidewalk. We don't object to putting an even wider sidewalk, but we would like to do that because from the existing median and swale on the other side, we're going to have to redo the entire -- and redesign the street. So we'd like to pick up those four feet from the public realm since it's for use in the public realm. And the reason for that parking on the street front is that -- to allow the trolley, when you all see fit to have it come to this project, to have a place in front of the building to actually be able to drop off and pick up. We do ask that you delete 9f. Nine F is asking that that promenade in the center be widened from, I think, 65 feet. Actually, right now, it's at 90 feet. So we have already widened that as much as we can. We need to know exactly what the footprint of our commercial space is. If we leave this open to further negotiations, we'll never know what we really have.
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Chair Sarnoff: Wait, wait. I don't understand.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: The promenade --
Chair Sarnoff: I get that. Let me ask a question. This is what I heard: You want -- the PZAB (Planning, Zoning Appeals Board) wants you to go to 65 feet, but you're at 90 feet?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: No. I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. We are -- the condition -- These conditions are from staff. They're not from the PZAB.
Chair Sarnoff: Whoever.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: The condition was to widen the promenade. Through negotiations and request, we've already widened it from the original 65 feet or 60 feet to 90 feet. What you have in your plans right now, that promenade that Alana so well described --
Vice Chair Gort: Is 90 feet wide?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: -- is 90 feet wide. Depending on the actual tenants, that 90 feet may become a much larger space, because in some floors, the tenant front door would be at 90 feet. But in another place where we have like smaller national retails -- let's say like a Michael's and a TJ Max -- those are smaller footprints. So under roof, their front of their stores would move in much further. So the a-- It's not just the promenade that you're looking. In front of the stores, there will be more space. So we feel that we cannot -- we have to have an exact footprint to negotiate with these tenants.
Chair Sarnoff: But are you agreeing it would not -- be not less than 90 feet?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Not less than 90 feet. It would be as per plans in your document.
Chair Sarnoff: And what we're looking at is 90 feet, so then you would like it -- you would like us to just say not less than 90 feet?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: To approve it as per plans on file, yes.
Chair Sarnoff: So when you say, “yes,” you're agreeing to my question?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Yes. Not less than 90 feet. No more -- no -- no more than 90 feet, right?
Chair Sarnoff: Not less than 90 feet.
Commissioner Suarez: Not less than.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: They want more.
Chair Sarnoff: The lawyer over there is going to tell me I'm right.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: They want more.
Vice Chair Gort: They want more than 90?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Than 90.
Vice Chair Gort: They want more than 90 but no less -- no less --
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Ms. Garcia-Toledo: They want more than 90. They're still not happy at 90. They want more than 90.
Vice Chair Gort: They want more than 90. Okay.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: But not less than 90.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: And I don't want to give them more than 90.
Commissioner Carollo: At least 90.
Chair Sarnoff: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Can we just ask staff? I mean, can we just ask them quickly? Because I want at least -- because is it staff that's making the statement --
Chair Sarnoff: Somehow, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I'm not understanding it, this one. So.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah. Francisco, I mean can you at least chime in?
Mr. Garcia: Absolutely happy to. And as discussed previously, we fully appreciate -- I happen to know firsthand how important the annual ICSC Conference in Las Vegas is for developers of this kind of product. And hopefully, this will address their concerns, which are certainly valid. What we are happy to say is that to the extent that any of these conditions would alter to any extent the footprint as presented in the plans on file, we are happy to withdraw those conditions. And hopefully that was -- and the intent certainly is meant to -- because as they presented to you -- and I can certainly vouch for this -- the footprint and volume of the building has gone through numerous considerations. We think that they have arrived at a place that is very different and certainly very attractive. So we are happy to refine, review, withdraw any conditions that would have any impact to reflect whatsoever on the actual footprint of the project.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: And I appreciate that, Francisco. The issue is that this particular condition, 9f, besides the width, is also asking that we remove the leaf that you see covers that canopy, because, you know, we live in Miami, so when you're walking from store to store across an uncovered -- you know -- area. Now, it's not a roof. We've tried to keep it as open as possible. The canopy is supported from underneath. It doesn't touch, it doesn't close, but it still has to give some coverage for the people who are shopping and moving back and forth. So we really need to remove that condition, not only as to the footprint, but from the requirements that it's making, because it doesn't make sense. Nobody would walk across -- you know, if it's raining, you know. So -- And then Condition 9h is to remove the residential lobby and drop-off from the corners of the building, which we don't feel it's appropriate at all. It would require a redesign of the entire project, and it would require us to not follow the suggestion of the residents of the neighborhood and homeowners association who specifically asked us to keep those two uses as --
Vice Chair Gort: Separated.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: -- as separated from each other as possible.
Vice Chair Gort: So 9h is to remove the front from the corner, the entrance of the condominium.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Right.
Vice Chair Gort: To the front of the building.
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Ms. Garcia-Toledo: For the residential, that's correct.
Vice Chair Gort: For the residential section.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Can you comment on that?
Mr. Garcia: What I'd like to do is, I mean, I'd like to comment generally. I think we have -- your Planning and Zoning Department has a very good track record in working with developers to resolve these comparatively minor items. But I have prior to this meeting committed to the attorney for the applicant that we would do is to work collaboratively with them to address all these to our mutual satisfaction. Again, this is a one year and going working relationship that has gone, I think, remarkably well. What I would not like to do right now, quite frankly, is to address each of these point by point, because we don't know what the ultimate result is going to be to the plan overall. What I'm happy once again -- and I'll try to be as clear as I can -- to do on the record is to say that to the extent that any of these conditions as enumerated are objectionable would compromise the viability of the project or to be resolved otherwise, we will work with them gladly between now and second reading to address all of these. And I'm here to commit to you that this would not be the first time that you would on second reading hear from the applicants that we were intransigent and that we were unreasonable, and that we caused the project to fail, because that will not happen.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: And I have never said that. In fact, I opened this hearing thanking the staff. Unfortunately, because Francisco has been so busy, we have not been able to meet with him who is the ultimate decision maker, or all of these things would have gone away already. Our fear is that my client needs to know in order to enter those leases. So what I would suggest is that --
Chair Sarnoff: Wait, wait, wait. Stop, stop. Your client couldn't know until second reading.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Normally, if staff doesn't have conditions at first reading, or if these things get resolved at first reading, you don't even hear about them. They're done. And like I started -- the first two -- we think we've complied.
Chair Sarnoff: But is the -- what is it? NCA, whatever you're going to?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: ICSC.
Vice Chair Gort: That's the largest developers and commercials facility in the world.
Chair Sarnoff: What's the date of that? What's the date of that?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: It starts on Sunday. The 19th is registration. The negotiations -- in fact, my clients have 35 meetings in two days with national chains.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. As soon as you can get this on the agenda -- because you're not going to have a second reading to know exactly what the conditions are before the beginning of the convention.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Well, what I was going to propose was that you approve without -- with these changes to these conditions. We're accepting all the other ones. I mean, this is, you know, insignificant. Francisco is saying he's 99.9 percent sure that we are that close. What I would like to do is what I've not had an -- my client and I have not had an opportunity to do. I'd like you to accept my changes to the conditions. We will meet with him on Monday. If we don't give him enough satisfaction of what we have changed and the reasons for those changes, then he can come back to you on second reading and say, “Look, I can live with this one and this one but not
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that one.” And then at that point, I guess my client will have to decide whether it's some -- For example, if we move the lobbies and the drop-offs, we've got to redesign the project.
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: It's not insignificant. And I understand, you know, planners, and architects and lawyers do something different than business. But before I became a lawyer -- I have a business degree in management. I ran major institutions in this community for 12 years. I know that in the business side, you have to know what it costs before you can negotiate anything. And so this is not an insignificant issue. If this issue stays here, we have to start from zero, and that will kill this project. So, you know, it depends where you view things from; from the legal, from the architectural or from the business. And these are the realities we live in. So if you would accept my changes, approve it with my changes, we will meet with him on Monday. We will give him detailed reasons for all this, and if he doesn't agree with anything, then he can always come back and put them on when he -- on second reading.
Mr. Garcia: Commissioners, I think that, actually, that proposal gets us to where we both want to go, which is to allow us to meet on Monday and to resolve these two items.
Chair Sarnoff: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) items (UNINTELLIGIBLE) We've got to move this along.
Mr. Garcia: I'm sorry?
Chair Sarnoff: We've got to move this along. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) first reading.
Mr. Garcia: And so what I was about to say again, just by --
Chair Sarnoff: You're saying it's okay what she's saying.
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah.
Mr. Garcia: Exactly. So what I would propose we would do or I would suggest to the Commission we do is to -- perhaps you can enumerate once again the items that you would like to have removed as conditions presently with the explicit agreement that we will still meet on those particular items and try to have them revised and resolved prior to second reading.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: We will give you the reasons that I believe once we have an opportunity to discuss this with you, you will agree with us it's the right thing to do.
Mr. Garcia: I think that makes sense.
Chair Sarnoff: So, Willy, why don't you make a motion.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes. I'll make a motion with the amendments that have been 9k, 9l, 9g, 9f, and 9h as has been applied by the applicants. Let me --
Chair Sarnoff: Discussion.
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah. I want some discussion afterwards.
Chair Sarnoff: Let me get a second. Then you discuss.
Commissioner Suarez: Second.
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Chair Sarnoff: Second. Now, discussion, Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay. I have to tell you, when I first got in, in 2010, Allapattah was having a lot of problems. Merrill Stevens was closed. We finally got Merrill Stevens open. At this time, I'm working with the County, with the health structures and all the hospitals in the area to create, implement the health district plan to improve that area, make it more attractive. At the same time, if you take a right to Northwest 36th Street that at one time used to be the headquarters for used cars and trucks and all kinds of vehicles taking place, it's coming back. And this project really will help that area. That area has not had a project like this, never. When we lost the downtown that we used to have on 36th Street between 12th Avenue and 27th Avenue, when they built that 112, we lost that. We need this project, and that's the reason why I'm behind this project. The river is in favor of it. The homeowners association is in favor of it, and I think it will create the amount of jobs we need, and that's very important. We need to create jobs, and I have -- one of the requests that I have is we have organizations that are training our people from our neighborhoods to make sure that whenever you need people to work for you all, your subcontractors can contact our office to make sure they employ the people within the district or within the City of Miami.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Let me open it for public hearing on this. We're opening for public hearing on PZ.1 and PZ.2, so the record will reflect the public hearing on both.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: I need to address an issue on the PZ.2. I thought we were only doing PZ.1.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. We'll just do a full public hearing on PZ.1 instead.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Thank you, sir.
Chair Sarnoff: Anyone wishing to be heard on PZ.1, please step up.
Brett Bibeau: Honorable City Commission, good afternoon. Brett Bibeau, managing director of the Miami River Commission, with offices located at 1407 Northwest 7th Street. This letter serves as the Miami River Commission's official statement as requested in City Resolution 00-320 regarding today's agenda Items PZ.1 and PZ.2, which impact the Miami River. During the Miami River Commission's March 4 public meeting this year, Vicky Garcia-Toledo presented the subject River Landing mixed-use project, featuring a 50-foot wide public river walk, two side yards, a middle corridor, which are all publicly accessible 24 hours per day, seven days per week, with no waivers, no exemptions, no exceptions, no reductions of the public river walk provisions required under the City of Miami Zoning Code Section 3.11 and Appendix “B.” The Miami River Commissioner passed a unanimous resolution recommending approval of River Landing as it is consistent with the adopted Miami River Greenway Action Plan and the Miami River Corridor Urban Infill Plan. Your continued support for the Miami River is sincerely appreciated. Thank you, sir.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you, Mr. Bibeau. Anyone else from the public wishing to be heard on PZ.1, please step up. Hearing none, seeing none, the public hearing is now closed. Coming back to this Commission, any discussion?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I just want to ask something. First of all, I want to commend, you know, Willy and, you know, just his vision of what, you know, he wants to see happen within his district. I mean, these are the kind of projects that we all wish for and hope for in our district. Brett has already mentioned it, and I really take my cue a lot from Brett and what he feels is good for the river, because I know that he's truly passionate about what happens on the river, and he really has the river's interest at best. So I take his recommendation pretty highly. I'm just glad to
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see that a project like this is coming to the area. The river has been waiting a long time to see some progress, to see something happen, and hopefully, it will connect to all the other projects that we have happening on the river so that we can have a vibrant river, and a wonderful river walk. And this will be the catalyst to bring interest back to the river. So I'm hoping that staff can work through those issues, and we can find a happy place on both sides, because I understand that their objective is to do their jobs, you know, and -- but I also understand as a district Commissioner's perspective, we need the jobs, you know, we need vitality, we need life, and this would definitely bring it. I know one of the things that Brett and I have talked about, and I think as a part of our overall discussions about the project with staff is I definitely would like see, you know the art-based things that you are looking at engaging in your project that they reach throughout the whole entire river. So everything is connected and working together. I think we've created a program called River Arts, and I know that you guys are going to have a big art piece that's attached to your location. I'm extremely excited that you went and sat down with Spring Gardens, because I know that --
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: We did.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- you know, they were not all that comfortable in the very beginning about, you know, major development and projects that would intrude on their neighborhoods. So I'm just glad to see that you've come to a great place with them, and they were able to give you recommendations. And I think it's important to support the neighbors that are in the surrounding areas. So I just want to commend all of the folks that are working on the project. I'm very excited about seeing where it's going to go from here, and hopefully, by second reading, we'll have it done.
Chair Sarnoff: Anyone else want to be heard on PZ.1? All right. Madam City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
Maria J. Chiaro (Deputy City Attorney): Before I read the ordinance, I want to be clear that we have the amendments to this ordinance on the record.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): Yes, Madam City Attorney.
Mr. Garcia: And what I'd like to do -- I'm sorry to interrupt -- is to read into -- so that there's abundant clarity -- to read into the record the specific conditions that the applicant would like to have removed at this point in time and which we have specifically agreed to discuss further on our meeting on Monday to report to you on.
Chair Sarnoff: Wait, wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. I mean, I took detailed notes. How could --
Vice Chair Gort: Got it here.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah. I mean, she said five things.
Mr. Garcia: No, I'm sorry. There is -- I think --
Chair Sarnoff: Open space, seven-foot sidewalk, six foot landscape, produce footprint under sidewalk, parking on street, promenade 90 feet, not less than -- withdraw any -- you suggested withdraw any and all objections we may have that would change the building footprint, and 5.9h, to remove residential lobby and drop-off.
Mr. Garcia: That stand, Commissioner. What I'd like to do, begging your indulgence, is to enumerate in the record what conditions she's particularly referring to so that that would facilitate our process, as well.
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Chair Sarnoff: Let's put them, as they say, paste verbatim on the record.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: PZ.1: 9k, 9l, 9g, 9 -- those are amended. And then 9f and 9h to be deleted.
Mr. Garcia: Agreed.
Chair Sarnoff: No. You want her to be more specific than that?
Mr. Garcia: That is perfect, actually. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro.
Ms. Ewan: Commissioners, your roll call on Item PZ.1.
A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above.
Ms. Ewan: Item PZ.1 passes on first reading, 5-0, as modified.
PZ.2 ORDINANCE First Reading 05-00410da AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), APPROVING A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 163, FLORIDA STATUTES, BETWEEN MAHI SHRINE HOLDING CORPORATION AND RIVER LANDING DEVELOPMENT, LLC, APPLICANT ENTITIES AND THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, RELATING TO THE REZONING OF CERTAIN PARCELS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 9 ACRES FOR THE "RIVER LANDING" SPECIAL AREA PLAN ("SAP") AT APPROXIMATELY 1400, 1420 AND 1500 NORTHWEST NORTH RIVER DRIVE, AS DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT "A", FOR THE PURPOSE OF REDEVELOPMENT OF SUCH LAND; AUTHORIZING THE FOLLOWING USES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO: RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, LODGING, CIVIC, EDUCATIONAL AND CIVIL SUPPORT, AND ANY OTHER USES AUTHORIZED BY THE "RIVER LANDING SAP", AND PERMITTED BY THE MIAMI COMPREHENSIVE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, AND THE MIAMI 21 CODE, THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR SAID PURPOSE; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
05-00410da CC 05-23-15 Fact Sheet.pdf 05-00410da CC Legislation (Version 3).pdf 05-00410da Development Agreement - Revised 05-23-13.pdf 05-00410da Exhibit A.pdf 05-00410da Exhibit B.pdf 05-00410da Exhibit C.pdf 05-00410da-PowerPoint Presentation-River Landing.pdf 05-00410da-Submittal-Letter-Miami River Commission.pdf
LOCATION: Approximately 1400, 1420 and 1500 NW N River Drive
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[Commissioner Wifredo (Willy) Gort - District 1]
APPLICANT(S): Javier F. Aviñó, Esquire, on behalf of River Landing Development, LLC, Contract Purchaser and Mahi Shrine Holding Corporation, Owner
FINDING(S): PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT: Recommends approval. See companion File ID 05-00410ap.
PURPOSE: This will allow the development for the "River Landing" SAP.
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Commissioner Spence-Jones, that this matter be PASSED ON FIRST READING WITH MODIFICATIONS PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 4 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo and Suarez Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence-Jones Chair Sarnoff: PZ.2.
Commissioner Suarez: Move it.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Second.
Vicky Garcia-Toledo: I need to address --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Second.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: -- that item.
Chair Sarnoff: There was a motion by Commissioner Suarez, second by Commissioner Spence-Jones. Do you want any of the public record for PZ.1 to be a part of PZ.2?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Probably, I do.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. So then every Commissioner understands what we heard on PZ.1 will apply to PZ.2. You're recognized for the record, Ms. Toledo.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Thank you, sir. I'd like to make a clarification on the development agreement. There's two items we need to address. One is Section 9 of the development agreement. The -- there is a missing line that staff and I had agreed to add. What we have done in this project is that the designers -- the architects did the signage for this project as part of the SAP (Special Area Plan). It was all reviewed and approved and consistent with the staff in the Planning Department. We had added a line that basically clarified that the signage is already approved by the SAP, that any tenant requiring signage would bring it back for final review by Planning Department, and that the Planning Department would issue an SAP permit so that -- for that signage so that all the departments in the City that have to, you know, approve this would know that it was within the SAP and did not require a separate, you know, hearing or anything. For some reason -- I think just a clerical error -- it was dropped, so I would -- we would like to have that put back in there to -- for clarification. The other issue is 21(b), which refers to a piece of property that is not within this project. It is not -- this board has no jurisdiction over it, neither does your staff. My client has the hopes that he will be able to negotiate for a piece of property next door that is owned by Miami-Dade County. We have started that process. But any conditions that you put on that land at this point in time will make the value -- will change the value, will change the ability of us to negotiate to try to do
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what my client would like to do, which is, at some point, do the riverwalk for that property from where this project, the river landing project ends to the end of that piece of property which goes under the bridge. This is equivalent to the parcel that you supported for the Merrill Stevens deal with the County some two or three years ago that never went anywhere. What we would like to do is see if we can negotiate to obtain that land and do those improvements, but it's not part of this application. It was not used in any way for the calculations of this project. This project can move forward without it, and your staff's attempt to tie it into this project in any way defeats the very purpose of my client trying to bring it in. So we would like to have that removed.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead. Yeah. I'm sorry, Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: No.
Chair Sarnoff: You want to address that?
Francisco Garcia (Director, Planning): I would. So, very briefly -- and again, not to burrow into the details greatly, our intent was certainly not to encumber the projects to any extent at all; rather, by specifying that we would like to see this land be set aside for open space, the intent there was to make it clear that this was not to add additional development, but to actually to preserve open space. So we, frankly, intuited that the result would be the contrary. You would actually bring a realistic so-called market value to the land, reducing that, because in the SAP -- and by the way, this is absolutely a part of the process -- some flexibility was introduced to reduce the amount of open space; otherwise, we would require -- we thought it would be worth it to explore this vigorously and try to bring it and add it to the City's inventory of open space. That said, the language that you have there, as one of the conditions in PZ.2, we agree is worded in a possibly onerous way, and we have committed to the applicant that we will work with them to revise the language. However, we do think that, in principle, that aspiration should stay at least on the radar screen, subject to further negotiations.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: My argument --
Vice Chair Gort: What you're saying is you need to be open space, and it should not be used to build anything in it, and it should not be used for any calculation or additional building. Right?
Mr. Garcia: That's the aspiration, sir, yes.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: My architect, who signed and sealed the documents, is telling me that we need the open space on our project --
Vice Chair Gort: No, I understand that. I want to make sure from now on, all the projects that come in front of us is going to have all the open space requirement and all that, so I'm aware of that.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Commissioner -- yeah. And we are in an SAP, so if we wanted to reduce it, that's part of the process under Miami 21, but we have not. We have met the open space.
Mr. Garcia: I'll correct myself and say strike open space; insert view corridor. View corridor is what I meant to say.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
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Chair Sarnoff: But wouldn't that have to be a voluntary covenant on their part right now? Wouldn't they have to --? If we have no jurisdiction over that parcel --
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: -- wouldn't they have to voluntarily right now offer that to us?
Mr. Garcia: The SAP process --
Chair Sarnoff: Hate to practice law in front of you guys, but isn't that the way it's going to have to happen?
Mr. Garcia: The SAP process allows for them to ask for reductions, as they have. And in many instances when they have made sense, we have said yes, absolutely, that's a reduction worth considering; we've recommended approval. It also allows us to try to make compensation for that consideration lost or diminished. And we are not saying, we are not saying that this is the land that should be pursued or provided. We are encouraging them, because of the proximity of the land, to do so; however, we would certainly accept some consideration in lieu thereof.
Chair Sarnoff: So --
Mr. Garcia: That is very much feasible.
Chair Sarnoff: -- interpretation of that is since we're taking an action right now, we would be taking that action and in the interim, you would be somehow negotiating with them so that when we finally take the second reading, it would be worked out?
Mr. Garcia: And there is exactly -- and it allows enough flexibility for them to accomplish that. It is not unlike a bonus program where they provide consideration in lieu of compliance with the strict terms of the ordinance.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: If I may, Commissioner? He's asking me to provide land anywhere.
Vice Chair Gort: Anywhere, yes.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: So rather than negotiate with the County --
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: -- and improve the riverwalk by some --
Chair Sarnoff: What are the chances of the County giving you that anyways?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: -- at $4 million worth of riverwalk so that we can have the continuity, that is, this board's policy; and the gains and the goals of Miami 21 is giving me the option of not doing anything, coming back and saying, oops, I couldn't get the County, and I'm going to give you a piece of land in Timbuktu that it doesn't have the water, you don't get the -- I mean, it's counter-intuitive, what he's doing, by asking us that.
Chair Sarnoff: Well, I sort of agree with you --
Vice Chair Gort: Look --
Chair Sarnoff: -- because I'm taking action right now. And the action I take I have no jurisdiction over. So if I have no jurisdiction over it, the only thing you could do is voluntarily
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offer something. On the other hand, everybody's impressing us to take an action today.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Correct. And the fact is that we have been saying all along, our goal -- we have volunteered this. We brought this to the City. They have never asked us for extra land. They have never addressed this item before. So my client, for being the good guy and saying, you know what, I want this connectivity, I want to improve this; and oh, by the way, what I'd like to do is once I do the riverwalk and if I get this land, I would like to put on the wall a panel so that just like they do at the Performing Arts Center and at the Philharmonic or -- wherever it is in Miami Beach -- when there are these events, we can maybe get some agreement with the City that they will show 'em and the people of this neighborhood will have the same opportunities my client is being restricted. And, you know, what is that old saying? No good deed goes unpunished? You're looking at it.
Mr. Garcia: Very briefly --
Vice Chair Gort: The maker of the motion --
Mr. Garcia: -- to put it in context. I'll simply say it this way in ten words or less. I'll skip to the gist of the point of the condition, which says “equitable alternative proposal for City Commission approval.” And what I'm suggesting to you is that if there has been a significant reduction in the view corridor, we would do well to pursue that option for your consideration, respectfully.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: But we haven't proposed anything.
Chair Sarnoff: What does the maker want to do?
Vice Chair Gort: The maker --
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Maker, what do you want?
Vice Chair Gort: -- of the motion --
Chair Sarnoff: Right, there's the maker. I apologize.
Commissioner Suarez: I yield to the district Commissioner.
Vice Chair Gort: I agree. I don't want to tie it to -- and if they're going to use any of the land or they're going to put any of the land, I would have to decide to say so because it's within my district. So I'm the one who have to make the decision My understanding is, the County, it does not have any use for that facility. My understanding is the County will probably want to see a park there -- created in there. So I'd like to have that removed.
Commissioner Suarez: I agree.
Chair Sarnoff: So the maker is withdrawing any requirement for a view corridor. Okay.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: No, no, no, no. We have view corridors on site. What we're review -- what we're removing is 21(b).
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Vice Chair Gort: 21(b).
Chair Sarnoff: 21(b). Seconder accepts?
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Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. I want to just make sure -- I mean, I -- Listen --
Commissioner Suarez: It's fine.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- I understand what, you know, the group is trying to get done, and I definitely understand the district Commissioner. But I want to make sure we understand City staffers. I don't want it like -- ultimately, it's our decision, but I don't want Francisco to sit up here and feel like we have totally put his hands behind his back. I mean -- so, let's at least respect and at least try to understand what he's trying to communicate. Can we at least give him the opportunity to be clear on that?
Mr. Garcia: Actually -- thank you very much, Commissioner, but I think I'm very clear. It is certainly within the Commission's discretion to consider whether or not the reduction between 25 percent to 15 percent of the view corridor is to be considered. What I am hearing from the Commission is that that is an acceptable proposal, because the merits of the projects, you know, are certainly worthy of considering, and we can certainly take that direction. It's perfectly fine.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay, no problem. I just want to make sure that, you know -- want to still respect you for -- you're in the position for a reason, so --
Mr. Garcia: I appreciate that.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- we want to be able to hear from you. We may not agree with you, but we still want to hear from you, okay?
Mr. Garcia: Fair enough. Absolutely.
Chair Sarnoff: Are you --
Vice Chair Gort: You can always say he's very professional, and I agree with his opinions, and then we make the policy here.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right.
Vice Chair Gort: But he's got to tell us what he believes that should be done and then we make a decision.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: But I'm not sure I heard what he would do, so I'm going to ask the question directly to him. So Francisco, if you were sitting in one of the Commissioners' seats up here, would you -- No, no, no, no, that's a fair question. That's a very fair question.
Vice Chair Gort: You never know.
Chair Sarnoff: -- remove 21(b) when you consider the constellation of this project?
Mr. Garcia: What I will do after this vote is taken, if it is taken in this particular forum, is I will certainly pursue with the applicant every opportunity I can to try to achieve some compensatory means to abide for the difference between 15 percent and 25 percent, and I think our relationship with the applicant and developer is good enough that we will achieve that.
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Chair Sarnoff: So when you answer my question, I'll move on.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: He's a politician.
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: No. The only politicians sitting up here are the five of us. Everybody else is (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I'm not a politician. I'm a public servant. I'm not a politician.
Mr. Garcia: I'm satisfied that I can work with them to achieve something desirable.
Chair Sarnoff: So the answer to my question is “yes”?
Mr. Garcia: Absolutely.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. All right, so we have a motion. Did I do a public hearing on PZ.2?
Vice Chair Gort: Second. I accept.
Chair Sarnoff: PZ.2. Anyone wishing to be heard on PZ.2, please step up. Mr. Cruz, you're recognized for the record.
Mariano Cruz: Mariano Cruz, 1227 Northwest 26th Street. I live in the neighborhood. I go by there almost every day, the Mahi Shrine. I remember years ago when the property was sold -- I think it was 25, $26 million -- and they were supposed to develop it. Then there came the problem of the condominiums and nothing was done. The same thing with Hurricane Cove. We need something in the river there, because then they will connect with the new trolley and all that, everything, Northwest 20th Street, and our neighborhood benefit, especially when we will have some Little Santo Domingo there, too. Okay, thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. Anyone else from the public wishing to be heard on PZ.2? Hearing none -- you're recognized for the record, Ms. Bisno. Anybody else wishing to speak should be standing behind Ms. Bisno right now or the public hearing will close. You're recognized for the record.
Barbara Bisno: Thank you. This is just a question, because I'm not familiar with the Miami 21 special -- whatever you call it -- area permits. In terms of signage, external signage, what is being approved?
Chair Sarnoff: Francisco, you want to answer that?
Mr. Garcia: Certainly. What's being approved -- and you will find it in the package that has been submit -- I'm sorry, can you hear me properly?
Ms. Bisno: I can hear you, but I don't -- I'm (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Garcia: You're wincing.
Ms. Bisno: I (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. Garcia: I think you might not --
Ms. Bisno: I'm sorry about this squeaking.
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Mr. Garcia: All right. I'm sorry. So what is being approved is an alternate regulatory scheme as contained in the package. So there are some relaxations that are compatible and commensurate with the scale of the project that's being proposed. So they will basically have -- just to answer the question as clearly as I can, they will essentially have their own signage regime within Miami 21, as has been done in previous instances with every other special area plan.
Ms. Bisno: So -- I'm sorry. To me, that's a bit of jargon. I'm not quite sure I understand. May I continue?
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead. I don't think you're being abusive. Go ahead.
Mr. Garcia: I'll try it again. They will have their own rules.
Ms. Bisno: They will have their own rules.
Mr. Garcia: That is correct. They will have their own rules.
Ms. Bisno: So nobody in the Commission, no public --
Vice Chair Gort: There's no (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Ms. Bisno: -- nor you will have any approval process for their external signage?
Mr. Garcia: Subject to review and approval by the Planning & Zoning Department, pursuant to the regulations contained within the special area plan as attached as backup material to this particular hearing.
Ms. Bisno: What does that mean?
Mr. Garcia: It means that they will --
Ms. Bisno: I'm going to try it this way because I'm --
Mr. Garcia: It means they will have their own rules.
Ms. Bisno: I know. But does that mean that if they wanted to do just an LED (Light-Emitting Diode) electronic billboard for items not necessarily on sale within their area, they could?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: No.
Mr. Garcia: No.
Ms. Bisno: No. Okay. So it has to advertise goods and services within their project?
Mr. Garcia: That is correct.
Ms. Bisno: But it could be an LED electronic billboard?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: No.
Ms. Bisno: No. Who said that ”no”?
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: And I think I can address that, Ms. Bisno.
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Ms. Bisno: Oh, I'm sorry. I'm looking the wrong way. I'm sorry.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: It's the voice from above.
Ms. Bisno: It was very nice, but I didn't know where it was coming from.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Ms. Bisno and I are friends so, you know, I can kid with her. Basically, we are not exceeding the aggregate amount of signage that is in the code right now. What we have is flexibility as to how we allocate it to the different tenants, because in this commercial world, your anchor tenants, as they are called, get more signage than the smaller guys, so it's -- we're not exceeding the aggregate of what's in the law right now. What we are being allowed to do is to be able to negotiate who gets how many square inches or feet of signage, and it will be part of their leases. And then within that total aggregate -- And all of the drawings that are in the signage package, which is within the SAP book, in place of the old MUSP (Major Use Special Permit) book -- you're very familiar with -- the staff has already the parameters of what they can do, and they will issue -- and this was something that I learned from staff just a couple months ago -- an SAP permit because they have to have a way of letting the Building Department and the Code Enforcement and everybody else what has been approved for that tenant based on what's included in the SAP. But I know your feelings about murals and light -- bright lights and all those kinds of things, and, no, we are within those requirements that exist today.
Ms. Bisno: Okay, I think. I mean, I just would -- I guess it's reassuring that there's a review. Is there a public -- There's no public. And -- okay.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: And this only applies to this project. It doesn't apply citywide or to the district or anything. It's just project specific.
Mr. Garcia: And what we're happy to do, for the Commission's clarity, as well as anyone else who might be concerned, the very intent and nature of special area plans is that large properties in the City of Miami are master plans, and so the design of all of the components are actually well integrated and well coordinated so that it's one sort of seamless development project. What I would invite you to do -- and, perhaps, if you'd like to come in, we'll certainly entertain that -- is show you the regulations that we have in place for this project. So there are a different set of regulations for this project, a different set of regulations for the Brickell CityCentre project, et cetera. And by looking at those, you will then have a good sense of what type of signage, generally speaking, will be placed in this particular development proposal.
Ms. Bisno: All right, I appreciate that offer. Thank you very much, Commissioner.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Public hearing is now closed. Coming back to this Commission, any further discussion? Hearing no further discussion -- oops, yes, there is. Go ahead.
Vice Chair Gort: Let me add a little something. We began with the trolley system. That's something you brought up, I think, before we got here, that it was going to be in the Brickell. And I want you to know at this time, we're connecting all of the City of Miami through the trolleys to 20th Street. They go all the way through the health district. They go all the way down to Overtown and Brickell. They connect on Biscayne Boulevard. They go to Brickell and they connect to the Miami Stadium, that area there. So that trolley is really being used and it's a great idea. So I want to thank you for that.
Chair Sarnoff: You know what? The trolley -- I know there's some County people out there. You could then -- they're sort of pink in color. I don't know why that is. They glow in the dark somehow. They should be listening to the routes that work in the City of Miami, because we are
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not the regional authority associated with transportation. Yet, we're doing a pretty good job of --
Commissioner Suarez: Free.
Chair Sarnoff: -- moving people along. So I would think the County would take good note of us, and maybe emulate us. There's somebody there, I think, that knows the Mayor back there. You might want to suggest that. All right, Madam City Attorney, it is an ordinance.
The Ordinance was read by title into the public record by Deputy City Attorney Maria J. Chiaro.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): Your roll call on item PZ.2.
A roll call was taken, the result of which is stated above.
Ms. Ewan: Item PZ.2 passes on first reading, 4-0, as modified.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you very much.
Ms. Garcia-Toledo: Thank you.
END OF PLANNING AND ZONING ITEMS
MAYOR AND COMMISSIONERS' ITEMS CITYWIDE
HONORABLE MAYOR TOMAS REGALADO
END OF CITYWIDE ITEMS DISTRICT 1
VICE CHAIR WIFREDO (WILLY) GORT
END OF DISTRICT 1 DISTRICT 2
CHAIR MARC DAVID SARNOFF
D2.1 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00563 STATUS OF HIRING POLICE OFFICERS.
13-00563 Status - Hiring Police Officers.pdf 13-00563-Submittal-Chairman Sarnoff.pdf DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnoff: DI.2, we still don't have Spence-Jones. Discussion items -- district page items, I'll start with mine, status of hiring police officers. Chief.
Manuel Orosa (Chief of Police): Sir.
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Chair Sarnoff: How we doing on hiring police officers?
Chief Orosa: Well, this Monday we hired five more certifieds [sic] and one individual to send to the academy, thus putting our vacancy rate at 41. We have seven that are going to medical next week. If they all pass, we'll be at 34.
Chair Sarnoff: So you're at 1,087, right? Am I wrong on that? I can keep these numbers in my head. It's scary.
Chief Orosa: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: Is it 1,087?
Chief Orosa: I'm not sure. I'm going with the vacancy rate, which is -- right now it's -- like I said, it was 47 last week. We hired 6; that puts us at 41. And we have 7 that are about to go to medical next week. If they all pass, we'll be at 34 --
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Chief Orosa: -- which is a few below the 50 threshold that you were always striving for.
Chair Sarnoff: So as far as you're concerned, you're close to being on schedule, close to being at the number you want, correct?
Chief Orosa: Correct. And we also are in the process of doing the backgrounds on 100 certified that came in for orientation, and then we have another 120 basic recruits, and after that we have another 200 basic recruits. And in two weeks, we're opening up the application process for the 50 to try to get the 50 certified that we got the permission from DOJ (Department of Justice).
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Chief, the reason I'm -- obviously, the reason I'm bringing up status of police hiring is I'm like a broken record and the record just continues to spin. But I wanted to show you something, and I was almost reticent in not doing it, but it's so pervasively out in my area, as well as Suarez' area, I want to show it to you. These are on telephones poles, not one, not two, but I think we counted almost 30. Now, I'll give you one so you can read it. It's in Spanish. It's in English. And I gave the Commissioners photographs so they could see that they're out there. And here's essentially what it says. And this is dangerous for a number of different reasons. It says, “Warning. Sunday, March 31, 1:15 a.m., 25th Terrace and 31st Avenue” -- it's right on our boundaries -- “in front of my home, I was attacked by two African-American black men, bandannas covering their faces, carrying two guns.” Okay. I -- a group of residents came to see me. Your lieutenant came to me as well; wasn't extremely clear that this was as documented as we had hoped. But here's the problem, Chief. I would not want to be an African-American male in that neighborhood right now because these are all over the place. And you also have a number of people now sort of banding together, and when they go outside, they're -- my concern's a little bit of vigilantism. And I was going to let this go. People came to see me. I almost was going to send them to Suarez. I don't know why but. Very nice people, and they have a real concern. And they also brought up a concern of drug selling, as well, and your lieutenant -- who's your lieutenant there right now? 'Cause it's not -- the commander's in the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations) center.
Commissioner Suarez: Correct.
Chair Sarnoff: Commander Albert Albert.
Chief Orosa: Albert Albert, yeah. Avila is the lieutenant.
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Chair Sarnoff: Avila, yeah.
Chief Orosa: Yeah, Avilla.
Chair Sarnoff: So, you know, these are up right now, and they're up on about 30 telephones poles. This isn't good for anyone.
Chief Orosa: No, I understand that. And it's unfortunate that somebody, you know, put it up. Any crime is a bad crime, but again, let me reiterate -- and I'll be sending something to the Manager tomorrow -- the first four months of this year, it shows that in this area, there's a 14 percent decrease in crime. All -- citywide, there's an 8 percent decrease in crime. And out of all the NETs (Neighborhood Enhancement Teams), there's only 2 that are in the plus column; all others are in the negative column. You know -- so, you know, even though that we're 14 percent down in this specific neighborhood, this is one too many crimes, but --
Chair Sarnoff: We all know perception is reality in the City of Miami.
Chief Orosa: Correct.
Chair Sarnoff: And you say that more than anyone else. It doesn't matter what -- and by the way, if you're the victim of the crime, who cares about the status. It doesn't matter.
Chief Orosa: And that's what I said, one is too many.
Chair Sarnoff: Right, I agree. But, you know, this is a neighborhood that may be a little bit of a forgotten neighborhood to some degree because the District 2 Commissioner traditionally didn't interact adequately with this neighborhood.
Commissioner Suarez: I think it's being very well taken care of.
Chair Sarnoff: No, I have been -- I (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know -- I work with Suarez pretty extensively in this neighborhood. I used to work with Regalado pretty extensively in this neighborhood. But the one thing it never really has had -- and I mean this with absolute candor to you -- a very significant police presence. It really never has. And while we can beautify things, put trees out there, find out why people don't want trees 'cause that is not -- that's a mixed neighborhood for different issues in terms of trees, not trees, curbs, not curbs.
Commissioner Suarez: Swales.
Chair Sarnoff: But for police, it is imperative that we have a stronger police presence out there. I know Suarez goes to the same meetings that I do and it's the first thing they ask. You know, the first thing is, you know -- and I'm going to try to do my Spanish. But I mean, it's exactly -- these issues come up time and time again. And we -- you know, I implore you that when you see these -- by the way, the fact that you don't know these signs were up -- and I don't think the Chief of Police should know that, but your patrol division should know this. And they should be saying, you know, I'd make the call to the woman. I'd ask her permission to take down these signs. These signs should not be up. Commissioner Spence-Jones, I think, missed what I was saying. It is not good for the neighborhood. It is not good for African-American males. This is a recipe for a bad situation to come. And, you know, like I said, I was almost reticent to bring it up until somebody showed me that magnitude of how many of these signs exist up there. And, you know, I bring it up to you because I'll tell you what my week was like as a Commissioner for District 2. I had a murder in the West Grove. I had two strong-armed robberies. And you want me to go out there and tell everybody crime is down. It's hard. It's hard to do. And, you know, I must be like that little piece of sand in that clam that creates an oyster. I'm sure I don't feel like a -- tries to create a pearl.
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Chief Orosa: Pearl.
Chair Sarnoff: I'm sure I don't feel like a pearl to you just yet. I will be a pearl someday to you, but --
Chief Orosa: Oh, I thought I was going to be the pearl --
Chair Sarnoff: There you go.
Chief Orosa: -- and you're the pieces..
Chair Sarnoff: So, you know, I'm here trying to budget and appropriate for you. I'm here trying to cajole you. I'm here trying to do whatever I can do to help you hire more cops and maybe get the most out of your cops as well. And I'm not the motivator you are. So I just bring this to bear to you. And anyone else who wants to pipe in on this, you're more than welcomed. We share the neighborhood. There's a significant amount of drug sales going -- you know, you go to a meeting with some folks and they're like, Oh, we have some drug sales going on. Who do you sort of (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? I guess you do it with a little bit of disdain and like, Well, how do you know? Then they show you a videotape. And sure enough, you see drug sales. And not one drug sale; about 35 drug sales, and it's going on at the Metro station on 27th, the Metrorail station, out in the open. It's not African Americans. It's not Latin Americans. It's not Anglos. It's everybody. And this is just a good mix of everybody doing everything. So it's nondiscriminatory. It's out there. And there are folks, I think, that live in fear, and I hope you would take care of it. And I hope you would graciously make the call to the woman on that phone and ask her permission to take down those signs.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you. You're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. And I think, you know --
Unidentified Speaker: You have the phone?
Chief Orosa: I don't --
Chair Sarnoff: There's not a phone number on there?
Chief Orosa: There's no phone. And we're going to -- well, we'll look into the case and we'll figure out who it is and we'll contact --
Chair Sarnoff: Got you.
Chief Orosa: -- whoever the victim is.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: I'm sorry.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. No, that's okay. Look, I think -- you know, obviously, violent crime is not acceptable in any part of the City, and I think we all agree on that. I think there are certain areas where they're not accustomed to violent crime and it's -- and what we're seeing is violent crime creeping into those areas as well. As I mentioned at the last Commission meeting -- before the last Commission meeting, I went to a community meeting in Flagami where there's
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not usually, you know, violent crime. And somebody was -- there was a home invasion robbery and the person was shot pointblank. And then when you see something like this happening in -- you know, in an area that maybe is not accustomed to it, I think that's why the fear may be even greater than the statistics because it's violent crime, it's crime that that community is not accustomed to, and so to them, that has a tremendously impactful feeling, you know, versus looking at a statistic and saying, Well, crime is down in this particular neighborhood. Well, you know, it's hard to understand when something of this magnitude has transpired.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Thank you, Chief. Appreciate it.
Chief Orosa: Thank you, sir.
END OF DISTRICT 2 DISTRICT 3
COMMISSIONER FRANK CAROLLO
D3.1 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00567 UPDATE REGARDING THE ISSUANCE OF THE AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ENDING FOR THE YEAR SEPTEMBER 30, 2012/EXTERNAL AUDITORS TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION. 13-00567 Email - Issuance of Audited Financial Statements.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnoff: All right, D3.1.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And if someone from the Administration can address the Commission with regards to our external auditors.
Janice Larned: If I may, Mr. Commissioner. Janice Larned, assistant City Manager, chief financial officer. I'd also at this time like to introduce Maria Eisenhart. She is the comptroller for the City. The audit does fall under her purview. She is the one that singularly has been trying to push this along for the last few weeks. We do have Gracelyn Hodge and John DiSanto from Ernst and Young on the phone. They apologize for not being here in person today, as they had other engagements. One in particular was a federal agency audit, which required them to be out of the country. They have made themselves available to us as much as possible, but I will let them -- I will defer to them for any other reasoning. Thank you.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Is Mr. Hodge -- and is it Hodge, Hodges?
Ms. Larned: It's Ms. Hodge --
Commissioner Carollo: Ms. Hodge.
Ms. Larned: -- and Mr. DiSanto.
Commissioner Carollo: Ms. Hodge and Mr. --
Gracelyn Hodge: Testing. We're having some background noises and possibly some echoes, so hopefully you can hear us well. We are not hearing you as well as we would like, so we'll -- if you can hear us and this is an acceptable level for you, please just confirm that you are hearing us appropriately.
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Commissioner Suarez: Confirm that.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, I --
Commissioner Suarez: I confirm.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, I --
Vice Chair Gort: This is really for (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Ms. Hodge: Okay, thank you. Well, this is Gracelyn Hodge and here with me is John DiSanto. I'm the coordinating partner. John is the engagement partner on the account. Thank you for accommodating us via the conference call. We have been asked by the City management, on behalf of the Commission, to present to you a update on our -- of the audit of where we are. So I'm going to ask John to present kind of quick overview of where we are, and then we'll open up to any questions that you may have.
John Di Santo: Great, great. Thank you, Gracelyn. Hopefully, you all can hear me okay. As you recall, when we left this deal, it was probably around the mid -- it was probably about -- around the middle to end of March, and there were two areas that -- not yet complete. One of them was the City's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and the other was our testing in the construction in process area. With respect to those, I want to give you a brief update as to where we stand on the specific audit and reviews of those items. With respect to the City's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, we did receive an original draft that was prepared by the City in February. We did review that draft through all levels, including our independent partner. We had very many comments on that related to numbers, required disclosures, and numbers within the CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) document itself tying out internally, such as numbers between the MD&A (Management's Discussion and Analysis) and basic financial statements and the financial statements and footnotes. We've recently received an updated draft, and we are currently working through that to ensure that all of the items we raised based upon our original reviews have been addressed. Based on a quick scan of the document, our overall comment is that the quality of the document is improved significantly from where it was. Although we do still have some of those same issues, they're nowhere near the extent that they were at based on the prior draft that we reviewed.
Ms. Hodge: I guess we suspect that this would be close to our kind of final review of that draft, absent the closure of the other (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. DiSanto: Great.
Ms. Hodge: And in terms of what we're hearing preliminarily (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Mr. DiSanto: And with respect to our testing over construction in process, our original testing over construction in process identified many issues. We did receive -- we did point out those issues to the City. The City has provided us very recently, about a week ago, with updated information. We are currently actively working through that information in finalizing the documentation in that area. City staff is working with us diligently through the process. We do know that there is going to be a pretty significant adjustment coming out of the work that was performed in this area, and once we receive that final adjustment, we will -- that adjustment will need to still be flowed through the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. I did want to point out that there -- with respect to testing the additional information in construction in process, that there still are some open items in that area that we are -- as of today, we're still waiting on, but we are working through those and working actively with City management in resolving those items.
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Commissioner Suarez: Wow.
Mr. DiSanto: And that's pretty much an update as to the two areas that are still open with respect to our audit. Gracelyn, I don't know if you had anything else you'd like to add to that or if we just want to open it up for questions.
Ms. Hodge: We can just open it up for questions.
Mr. DiSanto: Okay. Well, with that, we'll just open it up for any questions that you might have. And keep in mind, we are having a difficult time hearing, so bear with us.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: We are too.
Commissioner Carollo: Okay. First of all, I'd like to thank Ms. Hodge and Mr. DiSantos [sic] for addressing this Commission. At the same time, I caught a lot of what you were saying, but you cut off a lot of times or, at least, it was difficult to understand, but I didn't want to cut you off. And pretty much, I just want to, you know, get down to the chase. Why do you feel that the audited financial statements are going to be issued late? What --? I know you mentioned that in February, there was a CAFR presented to you and that's where you had a lot of -- I don't know if they were misstatements or -- but could you elaborate and see why exactly are we late? Because it was -- at what point -- and I think it was in March, it was stipulated to this Commission that we were not going to be late, so why do you feel we are late?
Mr. DiSanto: I couldn't hear that.
Ms. Hodge: We got very limited pieces of that.
Commissioner Carollo: I'm sorry?
Ms. Hodge: Can you please -- repeat the question, please.
Mr. DiSanto: Yeah. We're just not -- we didn't hear all of that. We heard pieces of it.
Commissioner Carollo: I can't -- this is not working too well.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: He said that he only got piece -- he said he only got pieces of it, so they can't really hear you and we can't really hear them. It sounds a little muffled. Where are they? I mean --
Commissioner Carollo: I was hoping they were going to be here present and then the excuses came, and I said, you know, excuses are unacceptable. I want to hear from a third party what exactly is going on with our financial statements, so I wanted to hear from our external auditors. Obviously, this is not working very well with the reception and being able to listen, both them hearing us and we hearing them. So I don't know how to address it. I don't know if IT (Information Technology) can address it somehow or what's the best way. But I think we need to know why we're late, where exactly are we. You know, this large adjustment is obviously a big concern. And then third of all, when are we going to issue our audited financial statements? Are we going to issue our single audit by the June 30 deadline? You know, so these are questions that need to be answered, and I would want our external auditors to answer them.
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Did you guys hear this?
Mr. DiSanto: Well, I heard that comment. I don't -- I heard a couple of things about single audit. I heard single audit and --
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Mr. Martinez: Yeah, John, basically is why are we late and when are we going to have our single audit statement? Are we going to have that in time?
Commissioner Carollo: Our CAFR and our single audit. I added --
Mr. Martinez: Both.
Commissioner Carollo: -- single audit to it. But we need to know when are we going to have our audited financial statements and then a separate question is our single audit.
Mr. Martinez: Right.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And then the greater question for me is, I mean, is the Clerk picking up all of this?
Commissioner Carollo: I'm sorry?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I mean, is the Clerk picking up all of this? 'Cause you can't really hear it.
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Clerk): It may be very difficult to transcribe this.
Commissioner Carollo: So this is actually --
Commissioner Suarez: This is not -- yeah -- working.
Commissioner Carollo: Yeah, this is not working.
Mr. DiSanto: Okay. I will -- based on the bits and pieces I think we were able to hear, if I could just paraphrase, I think you're asking about, you know, what's the delay, why it's late; and I think you're also asking will the single audit as well as the financial statement audit be audited together.
Commissioner Carollo: No. When are they going to be issued?
Daniel Alfonso (Director, Budget): When will they be issued?
Mr. DiSanto: Well, I think, as I mentioned earlier, we -- even in the construction in process area, we are still waiting on information. Depending on, of course, when we ultimately receive that information and the quality of it, that will clearly affect that. It's hard for me to give a date with any certainty at this point. Also, I can tell you with respect to the CIP (Construction in Process), as I mentioned, there is a large adjustment to construction in process and we're still waiting to actually have that final -- that adjustment finalized by City management and recorded and flow through the CAFR so that we can audit it, and that still not has happened.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized..
Commissioner Suarez: May I? I think I'm just going to reiterate the question that you asked, which is how large of an adjustment, more or less -- do they have an idea of how large an adjustment? Danny, can you ask him the question?
Mr. DiSanto: Well, as far as how large is the adjustment, as I did hear that, what I can tell you
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-- and I can only tell you what the total adjustment is as of today 'cause we're still, again, finalizing our testing in that area and still waiting on supporting documentation -- the City has reported an original construction in process balance of about $232 million as of the end of September. Of that number, our audit procedures identified 155 million of that that relate to projects that should have been closed and transferred to asset account and depreciated in year 2011 and prior, some going back even as far as 2006. In addition to that, based on the additional testing that the City has done over the portions that we did not audit, the City identified about another $34 million in addition to the 155 million that need to also be released or removed from construction in process. So combining those two numbers -- and again, our testing is not finalized -- that total adjustment is $189 million --
Ms. Larned: John, hold up just a sec --
Mr. DiSanto: -- from a balance of two hundred and --
Ms. Larned: John, hold on --
Mr. DiSanto: -- thirty --
Ms. Larned: -- just a second. It's Janice. To put that in perspective, the 150 million that he spoke about did include the Marlin's garage, which was approximately $100 million for one project. However, he is correct; it had not been brought into service when it was placed in service in April.
Commissioner Carollo: Question. There is information that the auditors are waiting from the City staff. When is that information going to be provided to them? What's taking so long? So it's a two-part question: What information is it? And what's taking so long?
Marie Eisenhart (Chief Accountant/Finance): The information that needs to be provided to the auditors' additional testing from the CIP, they -- we gave them all of the information they required and they picked a sampling, an additional sampling, and that is the information we need to provide on some of the projects. We have five projects which were -- we categorized them as complex projects and they have different pieces and parts to it and they capitalized at different intervals; and they're still requesting a few information as to the dates that we placed them into service, proof of the dates we put them into service, and the invoices related to the expenditures in those years.
Commissioner Carollo: And why hasn't that information been provided?
Ms. Eisenhart: This was one of the last requests received by them late last week. As their -- John DiSantos [sic] indicated, some of these invoices are dated, and we have been having a little bit of an issue placing some of these invoices 'cause they're a little bit on the older side.
Ms. Larned: Let's be specific. Some of these invoices go back to 2002, 2003, which is prior to the conversion, which we have mentioned on several occasions has been a real roadblock for us. Going back beyond 2006 is something where -- let's just say that it is not necessarily the most reliable data and has required a great deal amount of research.
Commissioner Carollo: Do you foresee that information given over any time soon? And what I'm concerned is that this continues and our auditors already doesn't -- in other words, I don't even see the light at the end of the tunnel, you know. 'Cause if the auditors can't even tell us when they foresee that this audit might be issued and complete, then I'm thinking they're still quite -- they're still concerned, they're still not comfortable with, you know, the construction in process. So, you know, that's sort of alarming that we're in this situation at this point in time, especially when just -- well, not just -- a month and a half or a month ago -- more than a month
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ago -- a month and a half ago, we were told that the financial statements were going to be issued on time. So to be in this situation now in mid May, it's really alarming and it really comes to question our Finance Department, so I'm really concerned. And that's why I wanted our auditors to actually address us. It's frustrating, very frustrating.
Ms. Larned: Mr. Chair, if I may? We -- the Commissioner is correct. I acknowledge that. The latest report, prior to the March 31 due date -- I myself reported that we should be on time -- is March 21, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, where, during a conference call, the construction in progress [sic] testing came to light, and it was from that point forward that we amassed a great deal of resources not only in the Finance Department but just about the whole of the Capital Improvement Program Department engaged, and it was approximately six to seven days of pretty intensive gathering of data. This is not something -- and I say this with all due respect -- -- this is not an issue that occurred overnight. It is not an issue that's going to get resolved overnight. Unfortunately, the testing covered it -- uncovered it this year. There was, in fact, indications last year that this existed. And again, we were late last year, and it was through the efforts of the former director of Capital Improvement Program, as well as the former director of Finance, that had in fact worked very closely with Ernst and Young and they identified what they thought was all the projects. When Ernst and Young came in this year, they did not just take our word for it as they had last year. When these particular items began to fail in their testing, they asked that we look at all projects, and that's what has totally unfolded since the end of March. It is frustrating. I'm not going to stand here and say that any of us are accepting of this circumstance. I will say -- and I did hear and I do believe that Ernst and Young needs to follow through -- that there has been significant research that has been provided. We are down to five complex projects and by description you'll know pretty quickly why. They're usually road surfacing contracts that you can't just see one particular building or you will have sidewalk improvements or sidewalk replacements that are very difficult at times to determine whether it's a maintenance and repair or whether it's a capitalized expenditure. The entire project review has been undertaken by not only myself, but my colleague, Assistant City Manager Alice Bravo, along with the director of Capital Improvement Program. We have gone through these projects thoroughly. We have whittled it down to approximately five that still remain. I will speak for Maria, but she's certainly welcomed to stand to the microphone. She indicates that that information should be ready for Ernst and Young tomorrow. That was not on the CIP (Capital Improvement Program) Department. That was in the Finance Department. It was a cleanup of the spread sheet that should have been done probably three to four weeks ago. The reason I bring that up is, once again -- again, with all due respect to the Commission -- it has been reported on several occasions that the depth and experience of putting together a document this complicated is not well seated in the Finance Department. It is why we did bring in additional resources. This is not something to get solved overnight. It's not going to get solved in one year. So it is going to be slow in process. But I can tell you that I work side by side with most of those folks and there is improvement, but it is not where we want it to be. Commissioner Carollo: No, it's definitely not where we want to be. And with that said, I'm going to be bringing it back in the next Commission meeting, 'cause I want a Commission meeting -- in other words, every two weeks update to see exactly where we're at. I want our external auditors to reach out to us again next Commission meeting, as [sic] possible, even if -- it doesn't even have to be that long, 15, 20 minutes, but we need to know where we're at and what's going on. I want to hear from them. If the information they requested from the City, they actually received, did they test it, and what has happened? Did they test it? The testing failed so they need additional information; or they're ready to issue a report, whether it's unqualified, qualified or adverse, which I seriously doubt it should be -- it will be adverse, but then again, anything is possible in the City of Miami. So with that, you know, I'll yield to any of my colleagues if they have any questions.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Gort is recognized, then Commissioner Suarez.
Vice Chair Gort: Let me ask a question. Did I hear some of the issues goes back to 2002?
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Ms. Larned: Some of the expenses. Not necessarily the issues, but the expenses. When a project is not complete --
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Ms. Larned: -- as you know, we hold the expenditures in construction in progress [sic] until we can either bring it out as an asset or we have to reclassify it as an operating expense. And until a project is complete -- and it may take several years -- that expense can be held in construction in progress [sic]. Those invoices, in order to prove to the auditors, can be dated back a number of years, depending on how old those expenses are. Yes, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Hodge: We do have May 23 on our calendars as the date of the next Commission meeting, and both John and I plan to be there physically.
Commissioner Suarez: Transfer --
Ms. Hodge: We -- you know, one of the things I do want to mention here is that we did do a sample selection of 27 items. So far we have cleared and closed and agreed in terms of over 16 of those. A lot of them have moved a lot farther along. There's been a systems implementation in that duration of time. There has also been, you know, information going (UNINTELLIGIBLE). It has been a huge effort. I know that the City management has put a tremendous effort into getting all the data close together to really evaluate the account in a detailed analysis. The two really have analyzed it. We've had numerous conversations. Things are progressing. And I just wanted to pause and acknowledge the progress that has been made, considering the data is going back, you know, seven, eight years. But, really, the intent to address this account holistically once it's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and know the exposure and close it has taken effort and we have reviewed along the way. And I just wanted to acknowledge the progress that has been made. While we do have some open items, it will be remiss to not mention the progress that actually has been made. And we do have May 23 on our calendars previously, and we intend to be physically at the meeting, and hopefully, by then obviously we would have gone through the CAFR that John mentioned in his (UNINTELLIGIBLE) improvement and hopefully be able to give a -- you know, an update and work very closely with this, and at that point be able to give a lot more certainty around a date, which we sit here optimistically thinking that that will be possible.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. Thank you. I feel like I'm in the movie, the Ground Hog Day. Every year it's the same story. It's the same day repeating itself over and over and over again. You know, this -- throughout this whole year, we received -- and actually last year too -- assurances that our CAFR was going to be done on time and repeated assurances up until very recently. I think one of the things that I want to know is I want an explanation of the significant adjustment and how, if at all, it will impact our fund balance. Obviously, that's something that I'm interested in knowing. And just generally, whenever there are things of this nature, it really shouldn't take a Commissioner -- I appreciate the Commissioner for doing what he's doing, just like I appreciate the Chairman for doing what he's doing with regards to the police department.
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But it really shouldn't take Commissioners to do this, for us to be getting periodic updates on things that are significant. That's not the way that our government's supposed to function. It's supposed to be the other way around. But anyways, we've had to do it. We've continued to do it. We've continued to harp on areas where we think there's weakness in the government. And I would like to know just simply, you know, what this $150 million adjustment means and how -- you know, for the lay person, the non-accountant here and what -- how that's going to impact our fund balance. So, you know, you don't have to say it now, but I'd like to at some point know.
Ms. Eisenhart: Maria Eisenhart, comptroller for the City of Miami. The impact on the financial statements will be on the government-wide statements. Basically, we're going to reclassify the construction in progress [sic] amounts to a depreciable asset. The impact will be on the depreciation expense that we will be catching up for the prior years, and that is the impact that E&Y (Ernst & Young) also has to assess, the prior depreciation. This will affect our net asset at the government-wide.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Ms. Larned: Which is not at the fund level, and it is a noncash expense.
Commissioner Suarez: I got it. I got that one. But thank you. But it's important, you know, I think still to understand, you know, what that means. I appreciate it.
Chair Sarnoff: It's a good question because, to the average person, it sounds horrible.
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: Plus, it just simply means here are the assets of the City, here are the liabilities to the City.
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Ms. Larned: For the record, it is -- because we know that there are rating agencies that watch this particular hearing, it is important to note that while it may not affect fund balance, it is a misstatement of our overall values at the government-wide level. So from that perspective, we do have a responsibility, and I don't want anyone --
Commissioner Suarez: To minimize that.
Ms. Larned: -- to believe that we don't take this seriously.
Chair Sarnoff: All right.
Commissioner Suarez: And --
Chair Sarnoff: I'll be picking Ms. Bru up off the table in a few minutes.
Commissioner Suarez: No, and I think the point is that getting our financial statements done on time, on our self-imposed timeline is also an indication of the health of our organization and it is a good or bad signal, depending on, you know, our ability to comply, and that does affect our credit rating in the way that we're viewed by the investment community.
Ms. Larned: If I may, Mr. Chair, I think it's important to note that while we generally speak not only about the CAFR, but we also speak about the vacancies in the department. In one of the previous updates, we do have a director of Finance that's coming on board. He's been in the government sector for 21 years. He has been a comptroller. He, I believe, is the right asset to
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have in this organization to be able to begin this process of pushing down into the organization , instead of just having it at the management level, all of the people in the department understanding what it is and how their work relates to preparing this important document. So in the other positions, we have already conducted interviews. We have at least another position that has -- an offer has been accepted. We completed a second interview yesterday. I asked the director of Finance designee to participate. We may have a treasurer within the next couple weeks. Once we get these assets that have that kind of experience coming to the table, it -- again, it will be a long process, but it has turned that tide.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Thank you all very much.
D3.2 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00568 UPDATE ON RESOLUTION R-10-0221 REGARDING CDBG. 13-00568 Update On Resolution R-10-0221 - CDBG.pdf
DISCUSSED
Note for the Record: Please see Item PH.9 for minutes referencing Item D3.2
Commissioner Carollo: And, Mr. Chairman, on D3.2, I just want -- it's a discussion item. D -- it's my discussion item. D3.2, I just want the record to reflect to see -- to please see PH.9 in this Commission meeting, because we discussed --
Chair Sarnoff: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: -- my discussion item in PH.9.
Chair Sarnoff: Right.
Commissioner Carollo: So I just want the record to reflect for D3.2, to please see PH.9.
END OF DISTRICT 3 DISTRICT 4
COMMISSIONER FRANCIS SUAREZ
D4.1 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00430 DISCUSSION REGARDING CREATION OF A FIXED BUILDING PERMIT FEE FOR RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS UNDER $2,500.
13-00430 Creation of a Fixed Building Permit Fee.pdf
DEFERRED
Note for the Record: Item D4.1 was deferred to the May 23, 2013 Commission Meeting.
D4.2 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00433 UPDATE REGARDING POSSIBLE IMPLEMENTATION OF GUNFIRE LOCATOR SYSTEM IN OVERTOWN AND LIBERTY CITY.
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13-00433 Update - Implementation of Gunfire Locator System.pdf 13-00433-Submittal-ShotSpotter-Proposal.pdf DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnoff: Want to go to D4.2? Sure.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I very much appreciate your indulgence in setting my discussion item as a time certain. It was deferred from the last Commission meeting, and I thank your office for working with me to get it assigned. This is a project that I -- an idea that I brought up to the Commission a few months ago, and we had a comprehensive presentation on what the gunfire locator system looks like, feels like, and how it operates. I just wanted to provide some additional information from that last discussion item. In 2012, there were 1822 gunshot incidents reported in the City of Miami. That's a 15 percent increase over the last two years.
Chair Sarnoff: Give us those numbers again.
Commissioner Suarez: Yes. Two thousand and twelve, there were 1822 gunshot incidents reported in the City of Miami.
Chair Sarnoff: Can I just ask, what's gunshot -- is that discharge of a firearm or somebody being shot?
Commissioner Suarez: Someone calling in shots fired. That's a 15 percent increase over the last two years. There were also 72 homicides in the City of Miami in 2012, a 5 percent increase over the last two years. In the last week alone, two disturbing headlines were splashed across the pages of the Miami Herald. One on May 5, three people shot in Miami Opera Tower; another one on May 2, man shot in Little Haiti. We must do something to stem the violence. On February 4, I sponsored a discussion item regarding the possible implementation of a gunshot locator system in the City of Miami. As you will remember, this is a system that detects and conveys the location of gunshots through the use of acoustic sensors. I promised at that time that I would continue exploring this issue and come back to the Commission with more details. Since then, we have obtained four pricing options and I think -- Have they been distributed? Okay -- for you all to look at and analyze and digest and potentially, at some point, if not today, at some point in the near future, act on. Our office obtained two proposals from ShotSpotter for coverage in a three-square-mile and a four-square-mile territory. In designing the coverage areas, we used a map from a CBS4 (Central Broadcasting System) news story that Commissioner Sarnoff had highlighted last month. The CBS map plotted nearly every shooting that took place in Miami-Dade County in 2012. We used the CBS map to identify coverage areas with the largest -- with the highest volume of gun incidents, and we obtained proposals from ShotSpotter, coverage in a three-square-mile and four-square-mile territory as I mentioned before. In addition to our proposal, the Police Department -- and I want to thank them for their cooperation and their help on bringing this presentation before you -- obtained additional proposed coverage areas that were slightly larger. In the attached document, we have summarized and depicted the different coverage areas for the Commission to analyze, including the amount to be paid by the City and the amount to be paid by the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency). As you can see, the cost in year one is always higher than subsequent years because of startup and training cost. So just to summarize, Option ”A,” which is a three-square-mile coverage area, is one square mile in the Overtown/Park West area and two square miles in Liberty City or Model City. The cost to the City would be in year one 146,666, and to the CRA, it would be 73,333, for a total of about 220,000. Option “B,” which is slightly larger, includes Little Haiti, would have the City paying 202,000 and the CRA paying 72,000, for a total of 275,000. Option “C,” which is a slightly larger area of Model City and Little Haiti,
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which was proposed by the Police Department would have the City paying 349,650, the CRA paying 71,600, for a total of 421. And year two, that amount drops dramatically to 236,250, the CRA 50, for a total of 286. And Option 4 has a slightly larger coverage area of Overtown at 1.42, slightly -- the identical coverage of Liberty City as Option “C,” and the identical coverage of Little Haiti as Option “C,” for a total cost to the City of 379,150, the CRA being 71,500, for a total of 450,000. I think the gist of this presentation is that we have to do -- We have a serious problem in the City of Miami with gun violence. I think we have, as a Commission, addressed it, discussed it, discussed different solutions. Commissioner Spence-Jones had proposed in Liberty City Square for there to be potted plant street closures. Commissioner Sarnoff has proposed on numerous occasions, increasing our patrol force to a level that more accurately reflects what major cities have on a per thousand person basis. And my idea has to do with utilizing technology as a means of locating where these gunshots are happening so that we can identify where we need to patrol. We can recover ballistics faster. We can also use it to apprehend subjects and to also locate witnesses, because we know exactly where the incident occurred. So, you know, we need to think outside of the box. This is a tremendous problem, and I just wanted to come back to the Commission with this additional analysis. And I want to thank again the Chief, and I want to thank Mr. Aguilar for helping us, and his department for being a participant in this process. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Chief, do you want to say anything?
Manuel Orosa (Chief of Police): No. My only issue is that the -- whatever cost it's going to cost, one year is not sufficient enough to be able to collect the data to make sure everything is working and everything is running. Two years is a little bit better, but the ideal would be three years. And on top of this, for this system to work the way we would like for it to work, we need to add license plate readers to it so that when the gunfire, the alarm goes off, they tell us where it's at, we can automatically take a look at the license plate readers to see the car going by, and be able to identify it quickly. And like the Commissioner says, it's a tool, but it shouldn't be the only tool in our arsenal if we want to try to stem the shootings that are occurring. And there's a couple of things that we cannot rely on ShotSpotter. It's not going to work indoors, so the Opera Tower situation, it would not have helped. That's a different story with the Opera Tower. Those are three individuals that were up to no good, and got involved in an argument, and they decided to shoot it out. So it's -- this is a good first step, but we would like to also be able to add the license plate readers on top of this, which will make it even a better system. And keep in mind, it's only going to tell us where the gunfire came from. It's up to us then to react quickly and try to put a net around the area so we can catch the offender. And sometimes, it's going to work. Sometimes, we will catch the offender later on.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: Let me -- Suarez and then go to Spence-Jones.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you. No, I basically agree with everything the Chief has said. I think he's right. I think this is only one tool in the toolbox, obviously. You know, you have identified another one, which is to have an adequate number of police officers. I think Commissioner has identified another one in the Liberty City Square project, which is to make it difficult for assailants to get out of the project and to navigate through the project easily . So I think you're right. I think there are a variety of different tools, and I think technology, as I mentioned in the first time that we discussed this issue, is only as good as our ability to utilize it
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effectively. I think, you know -- I'll give you an example. The Chief mentioned the readers. I guess they're license plate readers. And I didn't get a chance to talk to him about this item before today, but there was an article on May 4 -- and this different. This is surveillance cameras. But it says here: Surveillance cameras fail as crime concerns grow at Goulds Housing project. And it talks about how the assailants were able to disable the surveillance cameras. So, you know -- because people figure out where they are in the community, and in that particular case, the boxes which actually control the cameras were very low. So I think there are things that we need to discuss to make sure that whatever ideas we implement are ones that are going to further the objective of reducing crime in our inner cities. But like I said, I'm open to -- particularly to technology-based solutions because they have a tendency to cost less in the sense that -- and to be very effective, because we've seen that in other areas of our city. So I just wanted to --
Chief Orosa: One good news that I would like to add is that some years ago, we bought two license plate readers, mobile license plate readers, and they never did work as --
Commissioner Suarez: Intended.
Chief Orosa: -- it was described to us to work. We finally got our money back, and we're going with another company, and buying a couple of mobile license plate readers, as well. So it'll be probably helping out this, but we're going to need fixed mobile LPRs (License Plate Readers).
Chair Sarnoff: Let me go to Spence-Jones and then to Commissioner Gort.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: First of all, I want to again commend -- you're getting all the commendations today -- for your leadership and stepping --
Vice Chair Gort: Humility.
Commissioner Suarez: Humility
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Humility, humility -- for stepping out on an issue quite frankly that your district is really -- not really affected by in the multitude, like my district, meaning there's constant shootings that take place in my district alone. Last night, I had a shooting on 62 and 14, right across the street from the Square. So almost -- It has nothing to do with the Chief and what he's doing.
Chief Orosa: We got the guy.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And you got the guy.
Chief Orosa: And the gun.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: But, you know, it could have been a lot worse.
Chief Orosa: Yes.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay? So in my district, Liberty City, Little Haiti and Overtown, it's -- A person will pull out a gun a lot faster than they will pull out anything else. So whatever we can do, whatever solutions, positive solutions that we can create, develop, then we need to try to support those solutions. So I want to thank you, and give you an “A” for your effort to at least come up with a solution. Let's not just continue to talk about the problem. Let's try to find a way to resolve the problem. I do want to say, Chief, I want to say thank you, too, for working along with Commissioner Suarez to kind of figure out what makes the most sense. I totally agree with you, and I love the concept of the license plate reader going along with it, because I know that we talked about you did -- both of you guys had mentioned this in this meeting, but we talked
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about just including it to the red light cameras that are already there. So it's very hard for a thief, for a criminal to kind of get up on -- the red light camera is up -- and add it to that, because it's already catching people as they go by. So I know that's one of the things that you said that you would look at trying to include as a part of it. And it really only focuses on like highways and major roads --
Chief Orosa: Correct.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- and where there is a light, where you can catch a car that's actually coming through those areas. So I think that the two -- I'm sorry -- I think that the one really should not operate without the order I think -- without the other. So I think the ShotSpotter, and if we can do the license plate reader involved in this overall proposal, I think that that would be great. Now, based on what I'm seeing, it only -- it does not include the license plate reader in it, so I'm assuming that would be something separate?
Chief Orosa: Yes. We reached out to the red light camera company and we gave them a map with locations of where we would like license plate readers, and most of the locations if not all do not have red light cameras. So they're going to take a look at the feasibility of installing red light cameras, and then later on adding the LPRs to those red light cameras.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. So you're saying like --
Chief Orosa: And the revenue generated from the red light cameras could go to pay for the LPRs.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. But I'm -- Like on 62nd and -- it's the expressway -- I95 -- is there not a red light camera there?
Chief Orosa: At the exit, I'm not sure. We -- I know we got a map of all the red light cameras, and I sent the Assistant City Manager a memo with all the intersections.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Locations?
Chief Orosa: Right, where we would like new red light cameras --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I would definitely like to see the ones that are in my areas of my communities that are already there, because I could have sworn 62nd and I-95 already had one, but I could be wrong.
Chief Orosa: There's very few.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Very few.
Chief Orosa: Yes.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay. So I would like to definitely get a copy. So I support Commissioner Suarez in this, and then also, so that my fellow Commissioners know, next Commission meeting, we will be bringing the item for the planters, which I think that goes along with us, you know, once again, trying to find creative ways to address crime that's happening in that overall area. Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: Let me just go to Commissioner Gort. Then I'll go to Commissioner Suarez.
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Vice Chair Gort: Chief, let me ask you a question. His map shows the calls that you have received of shots heard, right?
Chief Orosa: Which map are you talking about, Commissioner?
Vice Chair Gort: The one which shows all the -- where the shootings have taken place.
Chief Orosa: That --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: That's from CBS4.
Chief Orosa: That's a Channel 4 map.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Chief Orosa: That's not from the police department. They did a story, and they developed this map.
Vice Chair Gort: Well, according to this map, is that very accurate, to your knowledge?
Chief Orosa: It's accurate, but it doesn't show us how far back it goes. I don't know if it's six months, a year, five years.
Vice Chair Gort: Because by looking at it, you can see there's concentration in certain areas. And I imagine, if you had this facility, you probably would need a special tactical squad to be able to respond to it right away, and then you might be able to catch the individual.
Chief Orosa: Well, the way it would work is that the spotter would go off. It would alert every -- all the units in the area in our communications. And then at that point, we start locking down the areas. And at that point, we start looking at the LPRs as well, and focus on catching the individual.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you.
Chief Orosa: Because part of this system is that not only our communications, but we will have a certain number of our computers able to monitor, and those would be the computers on the officers' cars nearby, and it would send an alarm.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: You're recognized, Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah. I didn't know about the portable license plate devices. I think those are a great idea. To be honest with you, I'm not a big fan of the red light cameras, but I think the portable scanners are good for two reasons: One is when you get the data from ShotSpotter, then you can put the scanners where they are -- where there's the most activity. And I think the second part is to prevent exactly what this article talks about, which is somebody -- you know, if you see situations where there's problems, you can move it --you know what I mean? -- And be a little bit clandestine with where it is.
Chief Orosa: It's good and bad. It's good because of exactly what you said.
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Chief Orosa: But it's bad, because if we put it out there, it can get vandalized.
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Commissioner Suarez: Sure.
Chief Orosa: It's just a car with an LPR on it.
Commissioner Suarez: And so can the red-light camera sticks where everybody knows where they are. They can get destroyed. So anyhow --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I want to be clear on the red light cameras. That was a conversation that you and I had, the Chief. And what he was suggesting at the time was that, you know, Commissioner, some of these cameras are already there, so it's a lot cheaper for us to add it to the existing cameras. Of course, I don't support red light cameras like that, either. But if it's going to stop, you know, someone from shooting in the neighborhood or it can assist us with a crime, if the camera is already there and it's going to save money, by all means, attach whatever you need to do to make sure that we're capturing those individuals that are coming through. So that's what was kind of communicated, that we would have to spend less money, because the cameras are already there. This is the first time I'm hearing that the cameras were not --
Commissioner Suarez: Right. And I just want to clarify that, because the memo that was given to the Manager was additional locations. So then what happens is you're going to get the calls from your constituents when they start getting red-light camera tickets like I get complaining that these cameras are everywhere. And so I just -- I like the idea of the -- that you explored with the system that didn't work, and now, you have the money to do it under that system. To me, that makes more sense.
Chief Orosa: The whole idea of putting them on red light cameras is to avoid the installation cost of LPRs, which are about $25,000 apiece. If we go to a company and says, okay, install the LPRs, it's $25,000 apiece. Red light cameras, all they got to do is turn on the button because those cameras are already have the software in the system to be LPRs. All they got to do is turn on the button and charge us a monthly fee. And, of course, when they do install the red light cameras, it's not going to cost us money, as well.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. Mr. Manager and Commissioners, I would like to propose Option “B,” which is -- which will be paid partially by the CRA, if the CRA so chooses to do it and we have --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes. Bring it up at the next City Commission -- I mean CRA meeting.
Commissioner Suarez: And that would cover the one square mile of Overtown, and it would cover two square miles in Liberty City and one square mile in Little Haiti, and it would cost the City 202,500. So --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I just want -- before we do that, though, I mean, I definitely support the options, but what I would like to see happen is I'd like to see it on a map according to -- like, what does one mile look like, what does four miles look like?
Commissioner Suarez: Absolutely.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Because I want to make sure we have enough coverage, especially in those hot zones, so -- and I can't really tell by saying -- what is a one-mile radius? You know, my question --
Commissioner Suarez: You're absolutely right, Commissioner. And let me just say that this is a
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discussion item, so I don't want to push any sort of expenditure on a discussion item.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: So what I think what we can do is work with the police department. I'm going to work with him the next couple of weeks, if that's okay, Chief, to give you that information as a resolution.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes. No problem.
Commissioner Suarez: So that, you know, you have the five days, and you can digest it and ask questions. And I certainly don't want to do anything that, you know, would make you think you have to make a decision right now.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And when you include the maps, Chief, of the one mile, or the four miles, or the two miles, if you could show us like what areas, and then I'd like to see, just as Channel 4 did in their -- which I think is great -- if we can kind of see something similar, like the number of shootings that are actually taking place in that radius or in that area. That way, we'll know we're actually hitting those targeted zones.
Commissioner Suarez: Absolutely.
Chief Orosa: Just a side note.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Chief Orosa: If -- There are more companies that do this technology, so if we do go out to bid and procurement officer can negotiate, and maybe we can even get a better deal on the pricing.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: I've not said anything. I'd like to support it as Suarez does, but I want to also caution that. I want to hear from you as Chief of Police, who's going to stake his reputation on this -- because you will be in my opinion -- that this is something necessary, that this is something you need and that this allocation of money is absolutely necessary, because I figure every dollar I allocate towards a IT (Information Technology) function, or police car or something is one less cop that I get to hire. I don't mean it like that. I mean it just -- it's a depletion. I want to hear from you that this is what you want, so -- And you don't have to say it now to me. You could study it.
Chief Orosa: Well, I'll say this: In conjunction with LPRs, it's another tool in our arsenal that should work to catch shooters faster. Will it avoid shootings? Probably not.
Chair Sarnoff: Chief, you and I are talking past each other which happens so many times in depositions, so I'm going to put it to you just the way I want you to answer the question. I want to hear you tell me -- don't tell the other Commissioners, but they'll be at a public hearing -- this is something you recommend, this is something you want and this is something worth the allocation thereof. Then you could explain whatever you want to me. It's a tool, it's a this -- Because you have a limited resource.
Chief Orosa: Do you want me to answer your question right now?
Chair Sarnoff: If you want to.
Chief Orosa: Okay. I will not stake my reputation on it because I do not control the program. I
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do not control the function. I have an elementary way of knowing this program because I'm not an engineer, I'm not an IT person. I really don't know the “X's” and “O's” to make this program work. So I am not going to stake my reputation or my job on something that I do not have full control of or something that I don't know fully all its capabilities.
Chair Sarnoff: Well, and the response I would give to you before Suarez jumps up is you have the ability with your personnel to make as an informed decision as you can. But I want to hear from you exactly the way you answered it. But I don't need -- I'm not going to hold you to that answer today, but when you come back to this Commission and this comes out as an allocation, unless this is a recommendation from you, I'm not going to support it, because I'm not the Chief of Police. I don't have the qualifications to be Chief of Police. And I was a cop for a very short time. I still don't have the qualifications to be Chief of Police, and I would suggest others up here don't, either. Everybody up here is trying to find a solution to an ugly problem, and I laud everybody's attempts. But all we could do is throw ideas up. And you're the guy that's going to make the decision on what the idea is, because you're our Chief of Police; “Chief,” meaning the person in charge of how resources are allocated.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chairman, if I may.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: I could tell you --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And I definitely want to have some input on it.
Commissioner Suarez: I could tell you what we're doing right now is not working. I don't need to be Chief of Police to tell you the, okay, the last two years, our murders are up 5 percent, and our gunshots are up 15 percent. So I can tell you what we're doing right now is not working.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And I can tell you that the young people that are dying, they're dying in my district.
Commissioner Suarez: Right. So I'll tell you this --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So, you know, at the end of the day, I'm the person going to visit the mothers and the fathers, and the brothers and the sisters, you know, and the family members, still consoling them today, two or three weeks after a murder.
Commissioner Suarez: And by the way --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So whatever -- by all -- any means necessary, we have tried programs and spent money on other things --
Commissioner Suarez: We have.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- you know, that, quite frankly, that, you know, I question sometimes as to whether or not we even -- why we even supported. So here is an option that has come up, quite frankly, from a Commissioner that really does not have the amount of violence happening in his community, but has stepped up to the plate and said, “Here's a solution. Let's try it, at least.” So, I mean, we can drill down on a lot of things we vote on up here, and I'm sure I would have some issues too. But please let's -- when it comes to somebody's life or lives that are being affected by gun violence, I think we need to try to find whatever solution is possible.
Commissioner Suarez: But I will say this -- let me just say one thing, Mr. Manager, before you --
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Mr. Martinez: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Suarez: Please.
Mr. Martinez: Excuse me.
Commissioner Suarez: Please, let me just say one more thing, because I think the Chairman does make a good point. The point is this: For technology to function, it has to be adopted. It has to be utilized. For someone to accept it and not utilize it, it's going to -- it's guaranteed to fail. There's no doubt about that. So the idea here and one of the reasons why I was thanking the Chief and Mr. Aguilar is because they've worked with me from the beginning. You know, it may be there was some reluctance at the beginning, but they've worked with me. They sat with me on more than one occasion, and we've talked about it, gone back and forth, seen presentations, discussed it, talked about how it would be implemented and how it could be utilized. But I agree with that fundamental point. If it's not adopted and it's not utilized, it's not going to succeed, certainly.
Chief Orosa: Commissioner, if --
Vice Chair Gort: The program is as good as the people that are going to implement it.
Commissioner Suarez: Of course.
Chief Orosa: Commissioner, what I can guarantee you is that if it's the wish of the body to move forward and we do get the equipment, I will make sure and I will have everybody committed 100 percent to making this work.
Commissioner Suarez: And that's important.
Chief Orosa: I just don't want to create the vision that it's going to stop our shootings.
Commissioner Suarez: I don't think anyone is under that impression.
Chief Orosa: Correct.
Commissioner Suarez: I think the idea here is that we have a negative trend, and we need to find ways, think outside of the box to reverse that. So I don't -- I'm not -- I don't think anyone up here believes that there's a magic -- you know -- solution. If there was, we would have found it, hopefully and we would have implemented it, certainly. And this is a problem that didn't happen or occur overnight. It's just a negative trend, and we need to do everything that we can to stop the negative trend. So I appreciate the fact that you're here, committed to utilizing the technology. I know that part of the money involved in expending the funds is for training and making sure that the people in the police department understand how to use the technology effectively. So I very much appreciate that statement. That means a lot to me. And I know that, you know, you and I and your staff have worked very diligently on this issue, and I thank you for that, as well.
Chair Sarnoff: Mr. Manager, you're recognized for the record.
Mr. Martinez: I think a couple of the things that I heard was the ShotSpotter by itself wouldn't be an effective way to either reduce crime or prevent crime.
Vice Chair Gort: Of course not.
Mr. Martinez: The ShotSpotter with the license plate reader probably won't reduce crime, but
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it'll help in getting the bad guys after they fire a shot, or commit a crime. If you catch the bad guy early, it'll keep him from making another crime, and another crime. And that has a value which I don't think we can factor in here.
Commissioner Suarez: But I think there's a secondary issue, which is once you identify where the shots are occurring, you also can deploy resources there, as well.
Mr. Martinez: Correct.
Commissioner Suarez: Which should, in theory, you know reduces --
Mr. Martinez: But my point is still the same; that the crime already happened. So it helps in apprehending the people that did the crime.
Chair Sarnoff: You know, I'm going to say something. I'm going to let it go at this time. Until this Chief of Police comes to me and says to me, “This is essential, I need to have this, I need the 250,000, the $500,000 allocation for this,” I'm not going to vote for it. Now, let me say this: If you get the MPD (Miami Police Department) alerts, as I now do, only for the past six weeks --
Commissioner Suarez: Me too. I do too.
Chair Sarnoff: -- it's new to me -- I could tell you exactly where the shootings happen. Fifty-Ninth Street, there's a lot of shootings. Fifty-Third Street, there's a lot of shootings. You know exactly where the shootings are happening, Chief. I've yet to see five different streets where shootings aren't happening. I got to see the Grove for the first time in 18 months, and there was a death. I got to hear Opera Towers, a place I don't expect to see a shooting. I'm not blaming you for any of this stuff, but, I mean, we know where the shootings are happening. This is -- look at -- if this map is right, you know, if this map is right, there's been 56 shootings I counted within eight blocks. Well, gee, Chief -- and I'm not the Chief -- I'd put a cop in those 50 -- in those eight blocks. I'd put four cops in those eight blocks. All I'm saying is I lack the capacity, and the understanding, and the strategy, and the initiative to understand how to stop shootings. But that is what your resume says, you have all those capacities. And until you come to me and say, “This is part of what I want,” I'm not -- you know, and I respect the hell out of Suarez, and I respect the hell out of the fact that he's coming up with options and ideas, but you're the guy that's going to say this is where the money should be spent, because I actually think it's a charter provision. I actually think we shouldn't be telling you how to spend the money. It's your job. You're the guy that has all those stars on your collar. I assume you earned them all. You're the guy that has the gold badge. You're the guy that has this body of knowledge. It would be like you saying, “Commissioner, let me show you how to -- let me show you how to defend this commercial dispute, you know, against Burger King versus McDonald's because there's an encroachment on an antitrust violation.” You know, I'd be looking at you going, “Gee, Chief, I didn't know you had that body of knowledge.” And I guess you'd be looking at me right now and saying, “Hey, Commissioner, if you think I'm going to put four cops on 59th Street, you got another think coming.” And you'd be right. You might have a whole different strategy employed.
Chief Orosa: And part of what we do every single day is we monitor where crimes are occurring, and we put resources in those areas. That is a perfect example -- as Commissioner Spence-Jones brought up, that shooting that happened the other day, the guy did the shooting, crossed the street and our cops were there to apprehend him, because they were deployed half a block away. So we do that. We have a COMSTAT (Computer Statistics) every other week that we monitor all these situations, and we deploy policemen to those situations.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair, if I may.
Chair Sarnoff: And just let me say this, Commissioner: As we sat up here today, this morning,
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there was an armed robbery on Carter Street last night, and his cops today made the arrest and took through custody the two guys on the armed robbery. So I'm assuming you're doing something right. Now, what the courts do with that is something -- I think it's something we need to monitor, because if the court puts that person back on the street, number one, it's an armed robbery. That meant there was a gun involved. Number two, I think we should know that and figure out where the problem is. I think -- Look, I love holding you accountable. You know that about me. And you and I have gotten -- maybe we've bristled each other's feathers this week, maybe.
Chief Orosa: No, no.
Chair Sarnoff: And that's okay because it's a natural occurrence. But you're the expert. I'm the amateur. But I'm the resource allocator, and you're the guy that's got to demand the resource, to recommend.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chairman, thank you. Look, I think we're getting a little bit off topic here to a certain extent, because today, we were talking about giving you details on what it cost. We actually already talked about why we think the system is effective, but we can -- we continue that discussion. Part of it because it reduces the time between an incident and when the police department knows that it occurred. So you have about a minute to two minute lead time from a phone call, and you also get reports that would not -- gunshots that would not have otherwise been reported. So it fills in the gaps in terms of your knowledge. I think that, in combination with some other strategies can create a deterrent effect, okay. If criminals know they're being caught, and they're being caught at a higher rate, it deters them from committing crime. That's part of what makes you effective at policing. And by the way, the system has been implemented in other cities. It's not like we're the first city that's going to be implementing the system. And it has shown itself to be successful in other cities. It's not, you know, like something -- and I had the presentation that I made. When I made the presentation, I gave you the examples of like five, or six or seven other cities, including Oakland, California where it's a system that's been implemented. And it's being implemented in systems in cities as close to us as Miami Gardens and Dade County. So, I mean, it's a system that other police chiefs have obviously felt is important to reducing gun violence in their communities. And obviously, with the trend being in the opposite direction, I just can't sit back and continue to watch our crime rate and our murder rate go up and do nothing about it.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. So we're going to be in adjournment [sic]. However, we have a special signing ceremony. Does anybody know where that's taking place?
Vice Chair Gort: What?
Chair Sarnoff: Special signing ceremony. Small Business Administration celebrates Strategic Alliance Memorandum. Is that happening here?
Unidentified Speaker: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. We will be -- Do we need to be in recess for that, or could we take a -- How do we deal with a protocol item?
Nicole N. Ewan (Assistant City Attorney): It's part of the agenda, so I would recess after that.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay, So we're not in recess. So now, we will have the special signing ceremony, Small Business Administration celebrates Strategic Alliance Memorandum. I don't have the person that's presenting this. Oh, William Porro. There you go. William, next time, put your name on it and own it, buddy.
END OF DISTRICT 4
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DISTRICT 5
COMMISSIONER MICHELLE SPENCE-JONES
D5.1 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00565 DISCUSSION REGARDING AWARDING ALL EMPLOYEES A MID-YEAR BONUS. 13-00565 Email - Awarding Employees Mid-Year Bonus.pdf
DEFERRED
Note for the Record: Item D5.1 was deferred to the May 23, 2013 Commission Meeting.
Later...
Chair Sarnoff: Spence [sic], you okay with your issue? Okay, Spence [sic] is going to come back up the next time.
END OF DISTRICT 5
NON AGENDA ITEMS
NA.1 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00614 A MOMENT OF SILENCE WAS OBSERVED IN MEMORY OF PATRICIA FORD, CITY CLERK, TODD HANNON'S MOTHER. DISCUSSED
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Before we get started, Mr. Chairman, I would - I have no more presentations. But I don't know if we mentioned it, but I would like for us to at least take a moment -- You know how we love our City employees. I'd at least like for us to take a moment of silence for Todd's mom. As we know, she passed away. And I just did not want the Commission meeting to start, to not remember his mom. I think it's the right thing to do. We know how close he was to his mom, so I really would like for - I'm going to turn it over to you to officially do that moment of silence for him.
Chairman Sarnoff: Okay. Another one of my jobs I may not be the best at, but Todd Hannon is our new City Clerk. I think you all will remember that Todd's mom was ill. As a matter of fact, I think he did not even want to become the interim City Clerk because he was helping her get through her illness. And as Commissioner Spence-Jones says, she passed away, I think, yesterday. And why don't we give her a moment of silence and convey our best thoughts and hopes and prayers for the family.
Moment of silence.
Chairman Sarnoff: Thank you all very much.
NA.2 DISCUSSION ITEM 13-00615 PERSONAL APPEARANCE BY RICHARD WEISS, CHAIR OF THE CITY ATTORNEY SELECTION COMMITTEE, TO PROVIDE A STATUS UPDATE City of Miami Page 167 Printed on 6/25/2013 City Commission Meeting Minutes May 9, 2013
ON THE PROCESS AND TO REQUEST CLARIFICATION FROM THE CITY COMMISSION ON HOW TO PROCEED. 13-00615-Submittal-Revised Timeline and Announcement.pdf
DISCUSSED
Chair Sarnoff: Let me start with - I guess it's sort of a unscheduled item. I was approached yesterday by the chair of the committee that we have appointed to help in the selection of the Clerk [sic]. He asked to address this Commission at 9 o'clock this morning.
Commissioner Suarez: You mean the City Attorney?
Chair Sarnoff: For the City Attorney. Did I say City Clerk? I apologize. It's Mr. Weiss. I believe it's your appointment, who is the chairman, and I think it's just best that he -- Is he here now?
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: Yeah. Why don't you just step up and tell us what your concerns are.
Richard Weiss: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission. I assume that attorneys are not noise-making devices that are prohibited in the chambers.
Chair Sarnoff: We welcome attorneys, as long as they pay their lobbyist fees.
Mr. Weiss: All right. I am the newly minted chairman of the attorney selection committee. We had our first meeting yesterday and wanted to first thank Beverly Pruitt and your City Attorney staff for doing an excellent job providing us with the information that we need. I think you've appointed an excellent group who are taking this job very, very seriously, and we wanted to make sure that we were on the same page as the City Commission in terms of our work going forward. For your information, we received 50 applicants, based upon the advertisements that we had. Based upon the screening that your staff did, which is not necessarily the final screening, less than 20 of those applicants met the qualifications in the ad, based upon the criteria that you set. And with that in mind, we have from the committee who's instructed me to ask you three questions. The first one is the approved ad reads in-house - it deals with local government experience. And the first question that we had was, Did you intend for us only to consider applicants that have been in-house for a local government, that have worked for a city, county, municipality, or did you want us to consider applicants that may have practiced in a private firm but done local government work? So that was the first question. I don't know if you want me to stop after each question so I can get my answers?
Chair Sarnoff: Let's put the three out there and then -- because I think one of your issues sort of goes to the -- underscores whether -- how we proceed forward.
Mr. Weiss: Okay. The second one, there was concern about the dissemination of the ad. There -- your staff did a good job of publishing the ad, but several of us received phone calls from people who were interested in applying and did not know of the opening. They -- the time that they found out that there was an opening was when there was an article in the paper telling who the committee was. And -- for instance, the Florida Bar News, which is a newspaper that comes out -- physical newspaper -- I think that if you decide that we should do a little bit more advertising, that would be one of the places that it should be, in the classified ads in the Florida Bar News. There was an e-mail (electronic) sent out by the Florida Bar, but like -- but for many of us, those immediately go into a spam filter or go into a -- and so some people might not have received it. And we know that some people who might have applied were not aware of the opening. And the third thing, which relates to what the Chairman was talking about, is that the time frame that you have given us is to make our recommendations of five candidates to you by
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May 23 and that you were to make a selection by June 27. All the committee members are happy to do as much work as quickly as we can, but we -- there -- some are in trials, some are -- have other -- you know, vacations, got other things. And the question is, Will you give us -- do you have the flexibility to allow us to push the schedule, which also might relate to the additional advertising item? So those are the three questions: The in-house versus local government experience; the concern about the way that the ad was published. And by the way, I don't want. in any way, to be critical of your staff. They did an excellent job. There was just some concern that it might not have been disseminated. Personal view, I view this to be one of the greatest jobs in America. I don't want it, by the way, but I think it's a wonderful job. It's got a very significant compensation, and I think it should -- you know, somebody should be very excited to have this job; very challenging. So -- and then the third item is on the time. And I'm -- I'll just sit down and listen.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you.
Chairman Sarnoff: And the reason I brought this up this way, because if the dissemination of the ad is at issue, then that means the pool itself becomes an issue, and then the time frame itself becomes an issue. So if we just talked about the dissemination, that will help us govern whether -- you know, where we go from here. So I'll recognize Commissioner Suarez.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I agree with the Chairman, that this is a very important selection. We've turned over two out of the three constitutional officers that we have since I've been here, and this is a decision that will shape the future of the City and the advice that we receive. So I don't think it's one that -- and I don't think anybody here is, in any way, shape, or form, taking it lightly. So I want to mention that. I think one of the intelligent things that we did as a body is that we decided to engage in this process very early. That also gave us a lot of flexibility. My understanding is that the current City Attorney is going to be here at least till September, so -- I'd say at least September 1, hopefully. And we're on May 9. So, I mean, there's approximately six months for us to finalize this process. So I don't see a -- although I think six months can come and go very quickly, I don't think there is an emergency need to have a selection by May 30 -- May 23. So that's my opinion on the May 23 date. I don't think that there should be a rush to have the committee give us the five names. I would like the committee to actually take the time to deliberate and to have due -- go and, you know, undertake whatever process they think is necessary to evaluate all the candidates. As far as advertising in the Florida Bar News, I think it's a no-brainer. I mean, I think, if we feel that there isn't a sufficient -- if the committee feels that after having 50 applicants, only 20 of which -- or less than 20 of which actually fit the criteria, I think we should do -- now that we have the time to really, you know, explore our options, I think we should, you know, take the committee's recommendation about potentially disseminating the ad in other different forms. And, you know, on the issue of the local government experience, I think I was very clear at the last Commission meeting where I specifically stated that I felt that, you know, we should open up the criteria; that local government experience should be something that can be looked at as a basis for the qualifications, but it shouldn't be a prerequisite, because you can have someone that maybe comes from the private sector but has a lot of experience in local government work that could be qualified, or even someone who has no experience in government work but has a tremendous amount of private sector experience, 20, 30, 40 years' a managing partner of a major firm, for example, and decides, after making millions and millions of dollars in their career, that they want to come and give back to the City. And I agree with the Chairman's position that this is a great job and that this is a great city and that we should expect the best in this position, so -- and that we should strive as a body -- and I think we've done that with our other constitutional officers. I don't think we have cut any corners. We've taken our time, and we've gotten great people, and they've served the City very well in the time that they've been here. Thank you.
Chair Sarnoff: So if I --
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Vice Chair Gort: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: Let me just paraphrase. You are open and, I think, even advocating a --
Commissioner Suarez: I am.
Chair Sarnoff: -- resubmission. And I looked at the debate from the last Commission meeting, as well. I think you and I both suggested, and Commissioner Gort for a period seemed to agree, that maybe it did not have to be a prerequisite --
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Chair Sarnoff: -- local government experience, in terms of having to work in-house.
Chair Suarez: Yes. And it can be looked at. I mean, the committee has the right to weigh whatever factors the committee wants to weigh in making its recommendation. The committee may put a tremendous amount of weight on someone being a City Attorney, County Attorney, or having an extensive amount of government experience, but they don't necessarily have to have that as a prerequisite to even be looked at and considered as a candidate. And I think that's where we're seeing a smaller pool of candidates than maybe one would expect for a city of this size.
Chair Sarnoff: All right. Commissioner Gort.
Vice Chair Gort: I agree. I think we discussed it quite a bit. We debated the minimum requirement, and we were not sure if we should have it or not. So I think that should be not a minimum requirement.
Chair Sarnoff: So you're in agreement with Suarez --
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Chair Sarnoff: -- that this may need to go out to new advertisement, relinquishing the in-house requirement as just a suggestive or --
Commissioner Suarez: Well, I think --
Chair Sarnoff: -- not a prerequisite?
Commissioner Suarez: Not a prerequisite. It's something preferred, I think, was the word that we were thinking of. You know, in-house experience preferred, but not necessarily dispositive of, you know, what is needed.
Chair Sarnoff: And Commissioner Spence-Jones.
Commissioner Spence Jones: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm glad that this item actually was coming up. I was going to ask you to bring it up as a blue page, because, as you know, I've been one of the main individuals up here kind of pushing us getting the City Attorney process moved. I think that we all have made outstanding choices for individuals to sit on the committee, and one of the greatest things that we can do after we empower people to make a decision is when they come back and make a recommendation about what's not working, then we can then, you know, respect that decision. In our last City Commission meeting, I mentioned that I was kind of hearing this stuff floating around about just, you know, trying to be clear about whether or not the process was, you know, all put in place, whether or not even the board members even received notice that they were even on the board. So there were key things that I think that we
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needed to just kind of put in place, and I think that we're at that point now. I agree -- I don't know where Mr. Weiss is. I guess you're -- he's the chairman of the committee. He was actually the person that was thrown today to come and let us know what his recommendations or thoughts were or what the committee's recommendations and thoughts were. I said even in the last meeting that I felt that it needed to be advertised, you know, in -- I believe I mentioned that, as well, because that was one of the complaints that we were getting -- at least my appointee was getting, why wasn't it advertised. So I think that this just allows us to have a greater breadth of people to choose from. Ultimately, it's our decision anyway, but at least we know that they would have vetted out, you know, great candidates. And I know, for instance, from my appointee, one of the things that he actually mentioned was that he felt that there should have been some input from the committee itself on what some of those recommendations were or part of the description should be; that they had some ideas and thoughts that they would like to include. So I would like, if there are thoughts and ideas, that you share them with Beverly. I don't know where Beverly is. She should be -- oh, Beverly, I'm sorry. If there are some recommendations and thoughts, I think we should consider them. I think that Commissioner Suarez mentioned, you know -- all three of you guys actually mentioned about, you know, the idea of kind of opening it up beyond just, you know, governmental, you know, workers or somebody that's been in government for a certain period of time; that there are attorneys, for instance, that we know that actually work in major firms, but they handle nothing but municipal government which, you know -- so to me, that should mean something. You know, I know that's one of the things that at least my appointee mentioned, that there are several firms that are doing that work. I see our former Assistant City Attorney sitting here, Mr. Joel Maxwell.
Vice Chair Gort: I asked him but he --
Commissioner Suarez: And Lucia Dougherty, too.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So -- but my point is he's working for a firm now, you know, and definitely has the experience and the knowledge. And so anyway, that -- I'm glad that we're moving in this direction. This is where I thought we should be going, and I'm happy to see that we're making a choice to do that, make a change.
Chair Sarnoff: Commissioner Carollo.
Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Well, I think, pretty much, hearing my colleagues, it seems that the will of this Commission is to go that route. You know, the only thing that I caution, I don't think it's really six months. We have, I think, two months, because we're already in the middle of May. We got June, July. August, the Commission doesn't meet. Then September, you know, she's -- you know, so I -- she -- our City Attorney retires. So I think it was always the intention of this board to have the appointment prior to August.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah.
Commissioner Carollo: So, you know, we need to be cautious with the time frame. And at the same time, I just -- I'm hoping that this process doesn't get politicized, and that's the only concern that I have. I've been sitting as a Commissioner for three and a half years now, and this is the issue that, by far, more people have come to see me about or reached out to me about, whether -- one reason or another, whether it be -- you know, part of the selection committee or, you know, being an actual candidate. So -- and, you know, I say that with the caveat that -- and you all pretty much know and hear the rumors -- lobbyists are usually not very warm to me, so I don't get to see many of them. But the bottom line is that this has been the one issue, in the three and a half years, that I have been -- I don't know if lobby is the right word -- but have been called or reached out about the most. So I just hope this whole process does not get politicized. Thank you.
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Chair Sarnoff: Okay. So it appears it is the will of this Commission -- and I actually suggested to you, Mr. Chair, that you actually draft an advertisement that would satisfy us.
Mr. Weiss. Yeah. What I did --
Chair Sarnoff: Have you had the opportunity to do that?
Mr. Weiss: I did. I sent it to your staff this morning. But listening to listening to what you've said, the question is whether -- well, it seems like that -- the suggestion is that local -- in-house local government experience preferred is what, sort of, I'm hearing.
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Mr. Weiss: And so that was not in what I had sent as a draft.
Chair Sarnoff: Right. I think the expression we're going to use -- and I hope everybody agrees -- preferred but not a prerequisite.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
Mr. Weiss: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: So if we can make it as preferred but not a prerequisite. If your advertisement needs to reflect that, I hope it would or it does -- I have -- candidly, guys, I have not seen this advertisement, and I just suggested that.
Mr. Weiss: Well, I sent it very early this morning, so it's possible that your staff just didn't get a chance to look at it.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Well, I'd like to think they're a little more updated than that, but I'll find out. Why don't we do this, because Commissioner Carollo has a point about time frame? Why don't we just table -- you don't need to be here. I need you to go back to work. But why don't we table the discussion. I'll make sure that everybody gets a copy of the advertisement so we can just debate that late today. You could say, well, I'd say this or this looks fine to me. And once we get the advertisement going, everything -- it's like an election -- falls in line after that. And --
Mr. Weiss: There are some publishing deadlines for the Florida Bar News. Maybe we can find that out before.
Chair Sarnoff: Beverly, could you find that out before the end of Commission today, the advertising deadlines for --? I mean, I'd even put it in the Miami Herald. I mean, I know that sounds --
Mr. Weiss: I was looking at the Daily Business Review this --
Chair Sarnoff: The DBR (Daily Business Review).
Mr. Weiss: -- morning, too, and there's a -- the one point I do want to make is that I heard the word recommendation. You know, we wanted to make sure we were on the same page as you, and if you wanted us to be -- if you wanted it to be more narrow, the committee was okay with that.
Chair Sarnoff: Right.
Mr. Weiss: But they wanted to make sure that we just had clarity on the point. So I didn't want
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to think (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that we're pushing one way or another. We just wanted direction.
Commissioner Carollo: And, Mr. Chairman, if I may. And I'm glad Mr. Weiss brought up that point, because it's not that they're recommending that we go one way or another. They just want clarity on what this Commission wants.
Mr. Weiss: Exactly, exactly.
Commissioner Carollo: So it's not that they're recommending --
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Mr. Weiss: Sure.
Commissioner Carollo: --that we should open it up.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Mr. Weiss: So I -- if I -- if it's all right with you, I'll work with Beverly this morning, and we'll do a redraft of an ad, and then we'll get it to you this afternoon.
Chair Sarnoff: Beverly, just have the City Attorney slip me a paper as to when we -- I want to give everybody at least an hour with their own chief of staffs [sic] where they can say this is the advertisement they're recommending --
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: -- and then they'll have an hour in which to read it. Then we'll bring it up late today.
Commissioner Suarez: I yield to -- go ahead.
Commissioner Carollo: Thanks, Commissioner Suarez. Mr. Chairman, real quick. I want to know what is -- okay, I understand in-house. What's government experience? Because let's say you work for a large firm and that firm has government experience. And --
Chair Sarnoff: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
Commissioner Spence-Jones: You said municipal --
Commissioner Carollo: Right. And all of a sudden, you know, you were part of a team, but you were not the lead. You were not -- you know, you just --
Chair Sarnoff: I think the word lead counsel is an understood term of art in our industry, and I think it should be lead counsel who has appeared on behalf of governmental entities. Look, you have to be intimately familiar with Florida Statute 160. You have to be --
Commissioner Carollo: I am.
Chair Sarnoff: Right. I know you are. But so does the person who is trying to come before this Commission. And there will be people that will -- And he brings up an interesting point, because there will be people who have government experience with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), for instance. That's not exactly municipal. It's --
Mr. Weiss: I would suggest something: Local government experience, you know, which would
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be cities, counties. Obviously, they have to be a member of the Florida Bar. So it would be cities, counties, villages, maybe even a special district, something like that.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes, sir.
Commissioner Suarez: I guess I have two additional thoughts. One is, I think that along with the ad, we should get a suggested time line, because Commissioner Carollo is concerned that we're not meeting in August, and we have to make a selection before September, so that really puts us into July, some point in July. So I think we need that. My personal opinion -- and I said it, you know, at the last Commission meeting, and I'll reiterate it today -- is that we have a great committee. Each person here has empowered great committee members. I believe it's an apolitical committee, and so I don't want to hamstring them any more than to say -- you know, they've come back to us and told us that they have a concern that there was 50 applicants and only 20 of them qualified or less than 20 of them qualified. So, you know, I think we should open it up a little bit in terms of their discretion. At the end of the day, what they're doing is making a suggestion to us. They're suggesting five candidates to us, and then we have to select among those five candidates. So there's a discretion in terms of what they recommend to us, and then there's a discretion that we have in terms of what we value and what we select. So we may value, we may put a premium, and we may select a third person because they have much more governmental experience than the second or the first. So we have a value choice, as well, once those recommendations come before us.
Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman, I just want to verify. Are you recommending that we advertise in the additional periodical or --?
Vice Chair Gort: Yes.
Mr. Weiss: Yes.
Commissioner Carollo: Because, you know, at the same time, 19 candidates or, you know, if less than 20 -- I don't know how much less than 20, but let's say 19 candidates. That's still a lot of candidates. I haven't seen them. I don't know who they are. That's 19 resumes that you have to read through, and that's still a lot. And again, I just want to make sure exactly if -- you know, what you're coming to this Commission and asking --
Mr. Weiss: OK. I --
Commissioner Carollo: -- and recommending.
Mr. Weiss: It's an important point, and I want to make sure that I separate my own personal thoughts on this versus what I'm supposed to convey. The committee wanted direction from the Commission as to whether they wanted us to broaden the advertisement -- broaden the nature of the advertisement and advertise it in some other places, so that's -- we're asking for direction. That's what we're here for.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: And I think that, you know, even in our last City Commission meeting and even in this discussion, I mean, the idea is we want to make sure that -- I'm sure we have some great candidates in the 19, but if you -- you've empowered people to come back and bring to you an issue of concern, we need to address what that issue is. And there was key publications that we already talked about even in the last Commission meeting that should have been included that was not. So this gives us an opportunity -- We should want to get the best of everything that we can get. This is -- I don't want -- honestly, I don't want time to be the only factor in us making a decision.
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Chair Sarnoff: Well --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: When we make decisions just based upon time, we make mistakes.
Chair Sarnoff: And --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: So I know that we have to get it done by August, and I don't have -- and I think we still have enough time to get it done, because we started early.
Chair Sarnoff: -- bear in mind, you know, let's say we hire somebody September 15. Well, I got news for you. On November 15 you'll be sitting as a new Commission, and that Commission is going to make a new selection. So, now, think about this. You're an applicant, you know. Your name is Jane Smith. And is Jane Smith going to put her application for the City Attorney's position for the two-month or one-month or 97 days to be City Attorney, only to be reappointed or possibly not reappointed by the next Commission?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I don't -- I mean, I guess the point is -- I don't want us to -- I think we just need to focus. And I know that we can sit up here all day, and we can look at every, you know, scenario. The question that Mr. Weiss needs to know is, Are we okay with just putting this back out? We -- that's the discussion, like you said, and I think you had a brilliant idea. Let's bring this back when we talk about timelines. Let's table it now.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Let's allow Mr. Weiss to go about his busy day. I'm sure he has a million and one things that he needs to do today. But we respect the fact that you have come in front of this board and at least made, you know, your position or the committee's position known. And I think that our decision is, at this point, you know, to -- we could talk about it later on, but I think we all agreed that we do need to widen the --
Mr. Weiss: Yes.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- what do you call it?
Commissioner Suarez: The pool.
Chair Sarnoff: Widen the field.
Mr. Weiss: Broaden the net.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Right.
Vice Chair Gort: The field.
Mr. Weiss: I just would like to make one comment about your leader -- the word lead attorney posi -- I think that that is -- I'm not so sure it's well -- it's that well understood. I think if at some -- I'm going to send you a draft. But I think if it's five years local government experience, significant local government experience, or local government experience preferred or -- you can look at it. But I think using that word lead attorney means they would have had to serve as a city attorney someplace.
Chair Sarnoff: I don't think it does. I think, if you look up the rules in the Southern District of Florida, you'll see the term of art, lead attorney. And that is what will allow you to be barred in the Southern District. So I think it is the term of art. I certainly bow to you. I don't want to put
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any constraints on anything. I share --
Mr. Weiss: I'll do a draft.
Chair Sarnoff: -- Commissioner Carollo's concern.
Vice Chair Gort: Yeah.
Chair Sarnoff: Just because you're in a law firm and that law firm happens to do governmental experience and you handled two hearings in front of the Doral City Council, I'm not sure that is adequate.
Commissioner Carollo: Showed up and had someone else (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Commissioner Suarez: Yeah, but --
Chair Sarnoff: So --
Commissioner Suarez: -- wait, wait, wait.
Chair Sarnoff: -- I do understand what lead attorney means, and I think the Southern District does, too.
Commissioner Suarez: What are we talking about here?
Chair Sarnoff: But I'm not going to sit here and micromanage this issue.
Commissioner Suarez: Exactly.
Chair Sarnoff: You guys are --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Experts.
Chair Sarnoff: You know what? I mean --
Vice Chair Gort: They got an excellent committee.
Chair Sarnoff: -- you're a committee of, you know, excellent attorneys. You'll figure out what lead attorney is.
Commissioner Suarez: You don't think they can figure --?
Chair Sarnoff: You'll figure out what adequate experience is.
Vice Chair Gort: I have a question.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead.
Vice Chair Gort: The 50 applications, the 30 that were eliminated, that the five years of government a must, a requirement, eliminate some of those, I guess. So you have to go back and check those.
Ms. Pruitt: Beverly Pruitt, director of Human Resources. When we reviewed the applications, we just indicated whether they had that information on their application or their resume. So it
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did not indicate the, you know, gravity that you would give to it. That was to be for the committee. So they have all the applications to identify whether that --
Vice Chair Gort: So the committee is the one that eliminated the 30?
Commissioner Carollo: No.
Ms. Pruitt: No.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay
Mr. Weiss: No. I think each committee member -- What happened was we asked your staff to do that.
Vice Chair Gort: Right.
Mr. Weiss: And they made us a chart. And some people were eliminated, because people applied that had only been practicing two and three years, so those people -- My own -- this is my -- not chairman. This is my own. I had about 18 people that I felt were sort of in the running based upon my own evaluation.
Vice Chair Gort: They could have been in, but they were eliminated because of the classification that we --
Mr. Weiss: Well, the 18 people I thought were -- met the qualifications that you had set.
Vice Chair Gort: Okay.
Mr. Weiss: I think her -- the -- there might be some variations based on what people put in their resumes.
Vice Chair Gort: Gotcha. Okay.
Mr. Weiss: But it was sort of -- everybody did their own, but your staff did do sort of an initial chart for those.
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you.
Mr. Weiss: Okay. So we're going to -- I'm going to do a draft with her this -- now. We'll get it to you, and we'll try to get a timeline for you in terms of the re-advertising, and then if you could just approve it so we can get it back to you.
Chair Sarnoff: That's fine. Beverly, please make sure you get it --
Vice Chair Gort: Thank you very much.
Chair Sarnoff: -- to each one's chief of staffs [sic] -- each Commissioner's chief of staff, get one to the Manager, and get one to the Clerk so that we can at least have an hour to have read it before we bring it up.
Mr. Weiss: And I think we'll sit and do it now, if you can.
Chair Sarnoff: Thank you.
Later...
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Chair Sarnoff: Friendly reminder just handed to me by Madam City Clerk. Has everybody had a chance to look at the advertisement, the documents that provide -- I read it during lunch --
Commissioner Suarez: I have not.
Chair Sarnoff: -- for the City Attorney's position? Remember, we tabled it? No? A lot of blank stares. No? Okay. I -- how do you want to handle --? I looked at it and it is exactly what we said we would do, which was the issue with regard to whether you have the experience is not a prerequisite but is a factor.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I mean, for me, the greater discussion was, again, more availability, more putting the advertisement out in other venues. To me that was really what I've been speaking about for the longest. So -- I mean, I think that we should take Mr. Weiss', you know, recommendations 'cause he had additional ones. It wasn't just that. But I think what we all agreed on is that we should make sure that it is -- that we put the announcement out in other places. That will give us a wider breadth of people.
Chair Sarnoff: Beverly, you probably have some time frames that could help us a little bit.
Beverly Pruitt: Yes. Beverly Pruitt, Human Resources director. Included in your packet was a proposed timeline based on the change in the recruitment. If we recruit, beginning tomorrow, we will contact the publications, one being the Florida Bar News, which is the newsletter that everyone would like to have it posted, the Daily Business Review is a new one that we didn't have on the previous list. And during the discussion, Miami Herald was mentioned, but I -- Attorney Weiss and I didn't get a sense if that was what you wanted to have or just a suggestion.
Chair Sarnoff: I'd like to see the Herald 'cause --
Commissioner Suarez: I would too.
Ms. Pruitt: So included in your packet was the print page of what the classified cost would be for that as well. So based on the recruitment timeline being revised to show a recruitment period from May 13 to June 21, following that date, the committee will meet and have three weeks to review, interview, and select their top five. In July 25 at -- your agenda item will be the selection committee presenting.
Chair Sarnoff: So the second meeting in July, which is we cannot push that? Because then we'll go to August, no meeting, and then July -- and then September.
Ms. Pruitt: So in the timeline, your time -- after you receive the five, you will have from the July 25 date, when they present, until August 30 in order to prepare the item of your selection, after you interview, for the September 12 agenda, which is the first agenda following your recess where you would then present the candidate.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Or we could always have a special meeting. You know, if this is something --
Chair Sarnoff: We could set a special -- you know what my concern, though, really is, these are pretty successful lawyers and my guess is summer might be tough on these guys. I don't know. I'm just bringing it up as a possibility. But we could certainly set a special meeting in August.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yeah. I mean -- I think that it's best for us to get the best, you know -- as many options as possible, then -- I just don't want to time frame to drive our decision --
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Chair Sarnoff: I agree.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- you know. So that's my --
Chair Sarnoff: So is everybody okay with the new advertisement, the Miami Herald, DBR (Daily Business Review), and Florida Bar --
Ms. Pruitt: Florida Bar News.
Chair Sarnoff: -- News?
Ms. Pruitt: Just those three in this go round? Or do you want to revisit the ones we did previously, which were Florida --
Commissioner Spence-Jones: I think both --
Ms. Pruitt: -- Bar Association, which was the e-mail (electronic) blast, and the posting on their career page; the Miami-Dade County League of Cities; Florida Municipal Attorney's Association has a newsletter; the Florida League of Cities, and the International City County Management Association.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Well, I think that --
Vice Chair Gort: I think you need to do them all.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- we should just do it all -- we should redo them all anyway. Because remember, the committee members, they had some suggestions that they wanted to make towards the announcement as well so --
Chair Sarnoff: So let's readvertise all across --
Ms. Pruitt: And include --
Chair Sarnoff: -- inclusive of what -- the three we just provided to you. We'll reset based on your timeline.
Ms. Pruitt: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: Go ahead.
Commissioner Suarez: Real quick. On the Florida Bar, what kind of ad is it going to be? Is it going to be a display ad or --? What kind of ad are we talking about?
Ms. Pruitt: Florida Bar News offers a classified ad and then it offers one with the -- a standard. A standard does not have a border around the ad. And then you have the display ad, which has the border and --
Commissioner Suarez: Right.
Ms. Pruitt: -- presents -- stands out a little better. So it depends on presentation.
Commissioner Suarez: Can we do one that stands out a little bit better?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Yes.
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Ms. Pruitt: The display ad.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you.
Ms. Pruitt: Um-hum.
Commissioner Carollo: And one more recommendation. If we're going to go with these periodicals, I would also suggest maybe the Miami Today.
Ms. Pruitt: I'm sorry, I didn't hear.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Miami Today.
Commissioner Carollo: Maybe the Miami Today.
Commissioner Suarez: Absolutely.
Ms. Pruitt: Miami-Dade --
Chair Sarnoff: That's fine.
Commissioner Suarez: Of course.
Ms. Pruitt: Miami Today.
Commissioner Suarez: Very well read in the --
Ms. Pruitt: Thank you.
Commissioner Suarez: -- legal community.
Commissioner Carollo: Absolutely.
Chair Sarnoff: Anything else, guys?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: No.
Chair Sarnoff: All right, that's it. Thank you, Beverly, very much.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Do we have -- are we --
Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Can I ask just --?
Commissioner Spence-Jones: -- dealing with the nominations or no?
Chair Sarnoff: Wait, wait. Let me go to him.
Mr. Martinez: Just curious. I know I have no dogs in this fight, but the people that applied that --
Chair Sarnoff: We could put a dog in there, if you want.
Mr. Martinez: -- didn't make the cut because of the criteria, the criterias changed, would those be included in your list or do they have to apply?
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Ms. Pruitt: The individuals who've already applied will be considered according to Attorney Weiss. They would like to keep them in the pool of applicants. And then any new candidates, they would like to see those as well.
Mr. Martinez: Okay.
Commissioner Spence-Jones: Okay.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay.
NA.3 RESOLUTION 13-00623 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION AUTHORIZING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO TAKE ALL LEGAL ACTION NECESSARY, INCLUDING INITIATING ANY AND ALL LITIGATION, IN LAW OR IN EQUITY, TO FORECLOSE ON THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 3851 BIRD ROAD, MIAMI, FLORIDA, OWNED BY PREMIER LUXURY INVESTMENTS, LLC, RAYMOND MITRI, THE REGISTERED AGENT AND ALL RELATED ENTITIES. 13-00623-Submittal-Presentation-3851 Bird Road.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Suarez, seconded by Vice Chair Gort, that this matter be ADOPTED PASSED by the following vote. Votes: Ayes: 5 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Sarnoff, Carollo, Suarez and Spence-Jones
R-13-0189
Chair Sarnoff: All right. I actually had a pocket item I wanted to discuss, and I know it's going to happen right after redistricting. We're going to want to get up real -- very, very quickly. Do you have it on --? Can you get it up there real quick? So, Mr. Manager, this is not a cost-sensitive pocket item, but it's something that I just can't get any traction on. You ready?
Commissioner Carollo: Do I need to brace myself?
Chair Sarnoff: No. This is what -- I call this a Suarez. He's going to figure this out for me. He did a PowerPoint presentation --
Commissioner Suarez: Thank God, I had my manual with me.
Chair Sarnoff: -- and it's a place you're all familiar with. It's 3851 Bird Road. 3851 Bird Road is really the beginning, if you will, of the City of Miami juxtaposed to Coral Gables. If you know anything about Bird Road, you could tell the difference of when you're in the City of Coral Gables versus when you're in the City of Miami pretty apparently. So the day I got elected to the City Commission, I happen to notice that there's -- 3851 happens to be a building that has a ton of graffiti on it, and we sent to the City a complaint. This is the '08 complaint, so it's 7/31/2008. You could see -- this abandoned building has been an issue for the past two years. And in case you don't know, Gables Sports Cars are right next door and they complain about it. This is what the building looked like in 2008, but don't worry; it'll look worst today. This person or entity that owns this also owns all of the properties surrounding it. And you all astute politicos will know (UNINTELLIGIBLE). When did he arrive? Quite a few years ago. So we come back to this Commission -- to this City in June 6, 2011, and we're again asking for some -- to do something. And the City's reaction is -- actually, they start a Code enforcement case and this Code enforcement case, as it turns out -- and you can go to the property today and see it. It's no different today than it was in 2006. It's no different today than it was in 2006. It's no different
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today than it was in 2008. It's no different today than it was in 2011. And, you know, the owner of this particular property -- I don't want to call the guy out -- happens to be Premier Luxury Investments, LLC (Limited Liability Company). And that guy is Raymond Mitri of 1395 Brickell Avenue. Raymond owns quite a few businesses in the City of Miami, but he currently doesn't care what his businesses look like. Now, up until about an hour ago, Mr. Manager, to the credit of your now Code Enforcement director, we were told the City never filed liens on these properties. As it turns out, the liens would have been $299,500; 220 -- let me say what it is. Failure to maintain the outside of his storage. Failure to maintain -- another $220,200.50; failure to register an abandoned building, $133,000; graffiti -- and here's the thing with graffiti. There's an irony to graffiti. 'Cause, you know, when a Commissioner complains, the Manager does listen, and he has somebody go out there and immediately paint it, but painting it doesn't resolve this problem. And what -- guess what happens. That particular Code enforcement goes away because it's been painted. So I was coming before you today saying what do I do? 'Cause I didn't know what else there was to do. And lo and behold, to Mr. Orlando Diaz's credit, as it turns out, we actually have liens filed. And so now what I'm going to ask, Commissioner Suarez -- since I usually ask your help -- if we have a piece of property on Bird Avenue, it's got to be worth, the worst day, a half a million bucks; the best day, a million dollars, why don't we just foreclose on that property?
Commissioner Suarez: May I answer that question?
Chair Sarnoff: Yes, certainly. Go ahead.
Commissioner Suarez: Thank you. This feels like a law school class question, my property class. By the way, I got an “A” in property. But the first question you have to ask yourself is, Is there a mortgage on the property?
Chair Sarnoff: We could not find one.
Commissioner Suarez: You need to -- You could not find one?
Chair Sarnoff: Correct.
Commissioner Suarez: So if there's not a mortgage on the property, then whatever liens you impose, whether they be special assessment or Code enforcement, have equal priority, so -- I mean, we're going to get that money back. So that kind of goes to the second part of what we started a few years ago with the Code Enforcement. One of them was let's get these structures declared unsafe. I don't think this one -- I mean, I'm not a building director, but I don't think this one can be declared unsafe. I think this falls into the other category, which is aggressive enforcement of our Code enforcement fines and liens. It cost, what, now three hundred and something dollars to file a lawsuit in Dade County?
Chair Sarnoff: Correct.
Commissioner Suarez: It may cost a little bit more than that if it's -- if you're foreclosing on a special assessment lien, but it doesn't cost very much. If the property doesn't have a mortgage, your investment is very safe in the lawsuit. And they have two options. They can either, you know, comply and try to find a way to get the court to negotiate with them, the settlement, or they can pay the fines, you know, or you can get a lien that's foreclosable. You can foreclosure on that lien and you can sell the property on the courthouse steps to get your money back. So if what you're asking me is whether we should do a resolution right now to ask the City Attorney to file suit, the answer to that question is, I would make the motion if --
Chair Sarnoff: So we have a motion?
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Commissioner Suarez: Yes.
Vice Chair Gort: Second.
Chair Sarnoff: We have a second. Any further discussion?
Commissioner Suarez: No.
Chair Sarnoff: All in favor, please say "aye."
The Commission (Collectively): Aye.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay, Mr. Manager, expeditiously. Madam City Attorney, can we start the foreclosure process? There should never be that profound a difference driving from City Beautiful to City of Miami. It's -- we should -- I'm not saying we look the same, but it should be a little less seamful [sic] and a little more seamless.
Commissioner Suarez: Mr. Chair.
Chair Sarnoff: Yes.
Commissioner Suarez: And I think this should start the ball rolling, like we started the ball rolling with unsafe structures. This really should start the ball rolling on a new way of doing business in the City of Miami. Because the fact of matter is, our hands are tied, by and large -- or we tie our own hands, I guess is a better way of saying it. We tie our own hands, by and large, with these kinds of issues because we just don't go after them. So I think we should all identify properties that are in similar situations so that we can be aggressive in terms of our prosecution of our loss.
Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Thank you all very much for supporting me on that.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
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