11 City of South Miami
2 Regular City Commission Minutes
3 March 16, 2010
4
5 CALL TO ORDER:
6
7 The City Commission of the City of South Miami, Florida met
8 in regular session on Tuesday, March 16, 2010, beginning at 7:40
9 p.m., in the City Commission Chambers, 6130 Sunset Drive.
10
11 A. Roll Call:
12 The following members of the City Commission were present:
13 Mayor Philip K. Stoddard, Vice Mayor Valerie Newman, and,
14 Commissioners Velma Palmer and Walter A. Harris. Commissioner
15 Brian D. Beasley was absent.
16
17 Also in attendance were: City Attorney Laurence Feingold and
18 Deputy City Attorney Mark A. Goldstein, City Clerk Maria M.
19 Menendez and Acting City Manager Roger M. Carlton.
20
21 B. Moment of Silence: By Mayor Stoddard.
22
23 C. Pledge of Allegiance:
24 The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.
25
26 D. Presentations(s)
27
28 (NONE)
29
30 ITEM (S) FOR THE COMMISSION'S CONSIDERATION:
31
32 1. Approval of Minutes
33
34 Minutes of March 2, 2010
35
36 Moved by Commissioner Palmer, seconded by Mayor Stoddard,
37 the motion to approve the minutes of March 2, 2010 passed by 4
38 eyes and 0 nays. Commissioner Brian D. Beasley was absent.
39
40
41 2. City Manager's Report (25 minutes)
42
43 a) Atlantic Broadband: Transition of PEG Channels to
44 Digital. This item includes a letter from Atlantic
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 1
March 16, 203.0
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I Broadband regarding changes to digital for Channel 77
2 and other public access; the transition will not change
3 the channel number; for customers in the Miami Beach
4 system who do not subscribe to a digital service or who
5 do not have a digital television set and who want to
6 view the PEG channels, Atlantic Broadband will make a
7 converter available for $1.00 per month that will
8 permit access to these unencrypted digital signals.
10 b) Legislative Bulletin: This item is a weekly status from
11 the Florida League of Cities;
12 c) Request from Miami -Dade County Consumer Services
13 Department: The County wishes to install two taxicab
14 stands in South Miami: a two (2) car stand on SW 57
15 Ct /SW 72 St utilizing meters 7201 & 7203; and, a two
16 (2) car stand on 5959 SW 71 St utilizing meters 5907 &
17 5909:
18 1. Mayor Stoddard said that he sees no problem with
19 the ones at the Best Western; as for the downtown
20 locations, the Mayor said that they would be
21 taking meter spaces in prime real estate, and he
22 pointed out that the inner circle at Sunset Place
23 might be a better spot where there are no meters
24 and we would not lose any revenues.
25 d) The Wallflower Gallery: This item relates to a request
26 from the Wallflower Gallery to utilize space at the
27 Mobley building:
28 1. Mr. Carlton said that the Gallery has become an
29 institution in our downtown area, creating some
30 culture and art activities; it is losing its lease
31 and they are requesting to move into the Mobley
32 Building. Some of the members of the Gallery who
33 were present at the meeting addressed the
34 Commission about the benefits that the Gallery
35 would bring to the area.
36 2. It was the consensus of the Commission to allow
37 the City Manager to explore the possibility of
38 bringing the Wallflower Gallery to the Mobley
39 Building.
40 e) Status report on parking management RFQs /RFPs:
41 1. Mr. Carlton referred to the RFQ /RFP conducted
42 about a year ago where the submitted applications
43 were reviewed by a selection committee consisting
44 of staff and citizens; subsequent to that there
45 was a letter of protest by LAZ Parking which at
46 the time ranked third. He said that upon his
47 concern about the evaluations being changed either
48 prior to the final scoring or subsequent to it,
49 and after seeking legal advice, there were two
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 2
March 16, 2010
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1 options: either to reject the whole thing or to
2 recalculate ranking without the two that were in
3 question. Following the Commission's wishes, we
4 have re- ranked them simply on their
5 qualifications. As the result of the BAFO process
6 which looked at different alternatives: (1) to
7 operate our system as it exists today with the
8 single meters; (2) to operate with a mix of single
9 meters and in the town center with the multi -space
10 meters which are much more convenience. As the
11 result of re- scoring, the first ranked firm is LAZ
12 Parking which is our current vendor; the second is
13 Central Parking, and the third is Standard
14 Parking. Mr. Carlton also explained that he met
15 with the Cities of Miami and Coral Gables, as per
16 the Commission's directions in order to explore
17 the possibility of some sort of inner - agency
18 agreement for them to manage our spaces. To this
19 Mr. Carlton recommended to defer that option for
20 at least a year given the fact that the City of
21 Miami is going through very difficult financial
22 time, and there is a similar financial situation
23 in Coral Gables, he added. He then said that he
24 would like to enter into negotiations in the rank
25 order that we have today and to bring back an
26 agreement to operate our parking system.
27 f) Status report on the City of South Miami Municipal
28 Parking Garage regarding ad valorem taxation:
29 1. Mr. Carlton explained that the Parking Garage is a
30 combination of a privately- operated segment of
31 retail stores, and a public parking garage which
32 is also operated by Mr. Richman; he said that we
33 need to change the revenue - controlled system; the
34 deal that we have provides that anything in the
35 garage that is taxable must be paid by Mr.
36 Richman, but the City has agreed to offset its
37 portion of the total tax bill. That offset comes
38 in the manner of grant abatement. The retail
39 portion of the garage is currently taxable; the
40 City agreed that a portion of the tax bill which
41 is allocated to the City of South Miami receives
42 rent abatement.
43 2. Commissioner Newman said that there are many
44 issues relating to the parking garage that need to
45 be looked into.
46 3. Mr. Carlton explained that the Tax Appraiser
47 approached him recently warning him that they will
48 be closing the rolls soon and the issue is whether
49 the public portion of the garage becomes taxable,
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 3
March 16, 2010
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1 and in order to avoid for the public portion to be
2 taxable there has to be some sort of division of
3 the property which is the condominium system; they
4 also want to review the documents to make sure
5 that the way that the payments are structured
6 doesn't turn it into a private operation. He said
7 that he is working closely with legal to resolve
8 this issue so that the public portion would not
9 become taxable.
10 4. Commissioner Newman said that there is no way that
11 a contract can be amended; there is no going back
12 and renegotiating; they signed the contract and
13 nowhere in the contract does it say that we are
14 responsible for paying any type of ad valorem
15 taxes. She then requested pulling all those
16 Commission tapes when this agreement was signed
17 and that they review those tapes at a public
18 workshop so that everyone is clear as to what was
19 discussed.
20 5. Commissioner Palmer said that on April of last
21 year a huge stack of documents relating to the
22 parking garage dating back to 2001 were presented
23 to the Commission; Mr. Richman's attorney was
24 present, as well as our attorneys, and after going
25 through all of those documents she said that she
26 thought that was the end of it. She then said that
27 she will request to look into this issue at
28 another time because this will take too much time.
29 6. Mayor Stoddard said that he has his own opinion on
30 the subject but that he will save it for the
31 workshop.
32 g) Recycling batteries:
33 1. Mr. Carlton said that at the request of
34 Commissioner Harris, he looked at two approaches:
35 one is to put plastic bags in the recycling
36 process; and the other is to put boxes in
37 strategic locations. Both of these have a cost and
38 that he will be back to the Commission with a
39 report.
40 h) Rescheduling the City Commission meeting of April 20,
41 2010 to Monday, April 19, 2010 due to Miami Dade Days
42 in Tallahassee:
43 1. There was no objection to this recommendation and
44 a resolution rescheduling the second Commission
45 meeting in April will be presented at the next
46 meeting.
47 i) Meeting with `'Miami -Dade County School Board Staff
48 Regarding Palmer Park Lease Extension and South Miami
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 4
March 16, 2010
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1 Park Joint Development with David Fairchild Elementary
2 School:
3 1. Mr. Carlton said that he met with the senior
4 planning staff of the School Board which has a
5 long -term lease with the City to share the field
6 of Palmer Park for the school during the day; that
7 lease has expired and it appears that the School
8 Board approved the extension without coming to us
9 to see whether we had any issues that we would
10 want to talk about, and we do have issues,
11 particularly in terms of aesthetics, so we have
12 initiated some discussions along those lines with
13 the School Board staff; at the same time, we
14 brought up the possibility of working with the
15 School Board, as well as the YMCA and the City on
16 coming up with a better plan for South Miami Park
17 that would end the traffic congestion problems
18 that impact the surrounding neighborhood. All of
19 this will be brought up before the Superintendent
20 within the next two weeks; Mr. Carlton then asked
21 the Commission if they wanted to designate a
22 representative to accompany him on this
23 presentation at the School Board.
24
25 With no further comments the City Manager's Report ended.
26
27
28 3. City Attorney's Report (15 minutes)
29
30 Mr. Feingold at this juncture requested moving item no. 22
31 out of order so that the labor Attorney would not have to wait
32 for too long.
33
34 With no further comments the City Attorney's Report ended.
35
36
37 PUBLIC REMARKS
38
(5 minutes)
39
40
David Tucker Sr.
addressed the
Commission regarding the
41
foundations of our Constitution and the
Bill of Rights.
42
43
Hector Fernandez
addressed the
Commission with concerns
44
about existing group
homes in the City
and requested that a
45
moratorium be placed for
the approval
of group homes within the
46
R3 designated area; he
also requested
a workshop to discuss this
47
issue.
48
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 5
March 16, 2010
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1 Dick Ward addressed the Commission with concerns regarding
2 item no. 23 on the agenda relating to allowing the sale of
3 alcoholic beverages in a place across from a church. He said that
4 when this project was built (Red Road Commons), he met with his
5 former Minister, Tom Nelson, and Jerry Proctor who represented
6 the referred project and that his specific question was whether
7 there would be any establishment in there that would serve
8 alcoholic beverages and that Mr. Proctor's comment was
9 emphatically no, that isn't what they intend to do.
10
11 Rev. Cathy Felber, Pastor of First United Methodist Church
12 of South Miami addressed the Commission in opposition of item no.
13 23 on the agenda relating to allowing the sale of alcoholic
14 beverages in a place across from her Church. She then read a
15 letter into the record, stating among other things that her
16 Church has a long history of concern for social justice.
17
18 Louis Tash, a member of the above - referenced Church, also
19 addressed the Commission with concern regarding the possible
20 consumption of alcohol beverage at an establishment across the
21 street.
22
23 Sharon McCain spoke about the restaurant that will be
24 opening soon at 58th Avenue and 73rd Street. Said restaurant is
25 supposed to comply with the site plan showing a raised curve on
26 58th Avenue and that this has not been done. She referred to the
27 parking garage and the ad valorem taxes. With regard to item no.
28 21 on the agenda relating to setting time limits for projects in
29 the TODD district she said that there was no backup information.
30
31 Ramon Ferrer, Florida Power & Light (FP &L) Area Manager
32 addressed the Commission regarding the resolutions on the agenda
33 relating to FP &L. Mr. Ferrer then provided an update on the
34 process for the proposed route for transmission lines and related.
35 issues.
36
37 Beth Schwartz commended Mayor Stoddard for sponsoring the
38 resolutions on the agenda relating to Florida Power and Light, as
39 well as for the resolutions creating advisory committees on
40 community gardens and landscaping.
41
42 With no further speakers the public remarks section was
43 closed.
44
45 COMMISSION REPORTS, DISCUSSION
46 AND REMARKS
47 (25 minutes)
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 6
March 16, 2010
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Mayor Stoddard announced the next Community of the Whole
(COW) meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 23, 2010. The items
for discussion at this meeting will be the new City Manager's
agreement and how to move forward on the Murray Park pool project
and invited the public to attend.
Mayor Stoddard said that he has been meeting with the City
Manager and the City Attorney concerning the contract for the
City Manager and that they are working to bring options back to
the Commission for consideration.
Vice Mayor Newman said that the ongoing issues with the
group homes need to be resolved and recommended having a workshop
on the issue, and also to have the City Attorney to take a look
at the current ordinance to see if it can be strengthened.
Vice Mayor Newman said that she has received a call from a
resident who lives along the proposed Ludlam Trail who was
contacted by someone who has some type of a plan for a light rail
system.
Mayor Stoddard said that there is no light rail plan; what
has been discussed at various meetings at the County level is
something called the guided bus way; the concept is that if it is
strictly a bike path, is open to invasion by other uses.
Vice Mayor Newman said that the residents that live along
the Ludlam Trail are vehemently opposed to any form of motorized
vehicles along there, and the Commission supported that
resolution with the idea that there would be no motorized
vehicles on this area, and that this would consist just of bike
trails and walk paths. If that is the case, then we need to get
notice to the residents that this is even in the works so that
they have the option of attending these workshops and expressing
their concerns.
Commissioner Palmer spoke about residents who have recently
voiced their disappointment with the City's Administration as
well as the City Commission regarding but not limited to:
dismissal and demotion of City staff without due process and
exposing the City to numerous lawsuits. She said that during her
years at the Commission, these have been the most challenging
four months that she has experienced.
Commissioner
meeting of the
recommends meeting
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES
March 16, 2010
Harris said that
Community Action
face to face with
7
he has recently attended a
Agency (CAA) and that he
the CAA so that many ongoing
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BTMN
issues could be cleared up at their next month meeting which is
where they would like to meet.
Commissioner Harris also asked about the status for the City
to get control of our roads. Mr. Carlton said that he and Rudy de
la Torre met with the County to determine exactly what taking
control means but that he still, does not have a recommendation
for the Commission. He also needs to clear with legal as to what
our responsibilities will be.
With no further comments this section was closed.
Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Vice Mayor Newman with
all in favor to move item no. 22 on the agenda out of order (now
item no. 4)
ORDINANCE (S) FIRST
4. An ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the
City of South Miami, Florida amending the South Miami
pension plan, providing for compliance with Chapter
2009 -97, Laws of Florida; providing for a reduction in
certain employee contributions for one fiscal year;
providing for severability; providing for codification,
ordinances in conflict; and providing for an effective
date. 3/5
(Acting City Manager)
Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Palmer to
approve this item.
With no further comments, the motion to approve this item
passed by a 4 -0 vote:
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES
March 16, 2010
Commissioner Palmer:
Vice Mayor Newman:
Commissioner Beasley
Commissioner Harris:
Mayor Stoddard:
I
Yea
Yea
Absent
Yea
Yea
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
ORDINANCE (S) FIRST
5. An ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the
City of South Miami, Florida, relating to amendments to
Land Development Code: Section 20 -2.3 entitled
"Definitions" in order to provide a definition of
"Liquor Store "; Section 20- 3.3(D) entitled "Permitted
Use Schedule" in order to change drinking place and
liquor store from a Permitted use in commercial zoning
use districts to a Special use in commercial zoning use
districts; Section 20 -3.4 entitled "Special use
conditions" in order to provide regulations allowing
for a revocation of a special use approval; providing
for severability; providing for ordinances in conflict;
and providing for an effective date. 3/5
(Acting City Manager)
Moved by Commissioner Harris, seconded by Commissioner
Palmer to approve this item.
With no further comments, the motion to approve this item
passed by a 4 -0 vote:
Commissioner Palmer:
Yea
Vice Mayor Newman:
Yea
Commissioner Beasley:
Absent
Commissioner Harris:
Yea
Mayor Stoddard:
Yea
END OF UNFINISHED BUSINESS
(BEGINNING OF CONSENT)
49 -10 -13083
6. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
City of South Miami, Florida retroactively approving
the filing of a funding application with the Miami -Dade
Metropolitan Planning Organization for Transportation
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES
March 16, 2010
E
1 Enhancement Program for Fiscal Year 2014 in the amount
2 of $1,000,000 with 10% matching; and providing an
3 effective date. 3/5
4 (Acting City Manager)
5
6 50 -10 -13084
7 7. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
8 City of South Miami, Florida, authorizing the City
9 Manager to disburse the sum of $38,541.00 from account
10 number 001 -1340- 513 -4634 to Sungard HTE Inc. for the
11 annual support & upgrade of the City's AS400; and
12 providing for an effective date. 3/5
13 (Acting City Manager)
14
15 51 -10 -13085
16 *8. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
17 City of South Miami, Florida, relating to the
18 sponsoring and waiving of the requirements
19 of Resolution No. 27 -03 -11576 for the South Miami
20 Twilight 5 K Run and Walk; providing an effective date.
21 (Acting City Manager) 3/5
22
23 52 -10 -13086
24 9. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
25 City of South Miami, Florida, retroactively authorizing
26 the City Manager to issue a letter to Gomez Barker
27 Associates, Inc., confirming a one -year extension of
28 the legislative (consulting) services; and providing an
29 effective date. 3/5
30 (Acting City Manager)
31
32 Moved by Commissioner Palmer, seconded by Mayor Stoddard,
33 the motion to approve the Consent Agenda passed by a 4 -0 vote:
34
35 Commissioner Palmer: Yea
36 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea
37 Commissioner Beasley: Absent
38 Commissioner Harris: Yea
39 Mayor Stoddard: Yea
40
41 *On item no. 8 under the Consent Agenda, Mayor Stoddard
42 requested a breakdown in order to understand how the final figure
43 was estimated. Mr. Carlton said that he will bring back a report
44 to the Commission after the fact.
45
�.
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 10
March 16, 2010
11aTt
1 RESOLUTION (S)
'r'
3 (This item was withdrawn from the Agenda)
4 10. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
5 City of South Miami, Florida, relating to boards and
6 committees; appointing Yvonne Beckman to serve on the
7 Charter Review Committee for a period of one year,
8 ending March 1, 2011; and providing an effective date.
9 (Commissioner Harris) 3/5
10 (Deferred 3102110)
11
12 (This item was withdrawn from the Agenda)
13 11. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
14 City of South Miami, Florida, authorizing the City
15 Attorney to verify that Article II, Section 6.1 of the
16 City's Charter conforms with the amendment adopted by
17 voters on November 4, 2008; and providing an effective
18 date. (Deferred 3102110) 3/5
19 (Commissioner Harris)
20
21 53 -10 -13087
22 12. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
23 City of South Miami, Florida, directing the City Clerk
24 to delete from Article II, Section 6 D.1 of the Charter
25 language indicating that four affirmative votes from
26 the City Commission are required "To apply current land
27 use and development regulations in any manner to make
28 them less restrictive "; in that said language does not
29 conform to the ballot question presented to the voters
30 on November 4, 2008; and providing an effective date.
31 (Commissioner Harris) 3/5
32
33 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Palmer to
34 approve this item.
35
36 Commissioner Harris said that the reason for directing to
37 remove the language from the Charter is because that is not what
38 the voters approved.
39
40 Vice Mayor Newman reminded that the ordinances that passed
41 amending the Land Development Code in order to comply with the
42 new language in the Charter need to be amended accordingly. Mr.
43 Youkilis explained that said ordinance will need to go before the
44 Planning Board first.
45
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 1 1
March 16, 2010
m1a f t!
1 Commissioner Palmer asked for clarification from staff as to
2 how and when the new language was placed in the Charter. Mr.
3 Youkilis explained that it had been the decision of the former
4 City Attorney and the late Commissioner Beckman.
5
6 Mr. Feingold explained that even though the intention was
7 made within the ordinance where the ballot question was adopted,
8 only one question relating to the five -fifth vote was in the
9 ballot; the additional language which is directed to be removed
10 from the Charter was not approved by the voters.
11
12 With some further comments, the motion to approve this item
13 passed by a 4 -0 vote:
14
15 Commissioner Palmer: Yea
16 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea
17 Commissioner Beasley: Absent
18 Commissioner Harris: Yea
19 Mayor Stoddard: Yea
20
21
22 54 -10 -13088
23 13. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
24 City of South Miami, Florida, urging members of the
25 Florida Legislature to support an amendment to Florida
26 Statutes, Chapter 403, Part II, Electrical Power Plant
27 and Transmission Line Siting, to provide for input from
28 municipalities and more oversight from the Public
29 Service Commission; providing an effective date. 3/5
30 (Mayor Stoddard)
31
32 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Palmer to
33 approve this item.
34
35 Mayor Stoddard said that the residents of South Florida and
36 of the State in general have had a very difficult time getting
37 their point across with the Public Service Commission after many
38 workshops and numerous public comments filed. This is basically
39 asking to allow the municipalities to provide more input.
40
41 With some further comments, the motion to approve this item
42 passed by a 4 -0 vote:
43
44 Commissioner Palmer: Yea
45 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea
46 Commissioner Beasley: Absent
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 12
March 16, 2010
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1 Commissioner Harris: Yea
2 Mayor Stoddard: Yea
3
4
5 55 -10 -13089
6 14. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
7 City of South Miami, Florida, urging the Department of
8 Environmental Protection ( "DEP ") to suspend FPL's site
9 certification application for Turkey Point units 6 and
10 7 with regard to placing 85 to 105 foot overhead high
11 voltage transmission lines on US 1 to connect the
i2 Turkey Point power plant to the downtown Miami;
13 allowing the City Manager to use all legislative and
14 administrative means necessary to ensure DEP's
15 suspension of the application; providing for an
16 effective date. 3/5
17 (Mayor Stoddard)
18
19 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Palmer to
20 approve this item.
21
22 Commissioner Palmer asked Mr. Ferrer as to whether FP &L is
23 willing to work with the City in order to be able to bury our
24 portion of the transmission lines.
25
26 Mr. Ferrer said that the request for undergrounding which
27 they have received from many municipalities is definitely taken
28 into consideration, and they are considering all types of
29 technologies; however, the issue of undergrounding is the cost
30 which according to the current regulations, in order to be fair
31 to all of their customers, the Public Service Commission has
32 determined that it needs to be paid by the entity requesting to
33 bury the lines. As for the certification process, he explained
34 that this is an open process where the public is invited to
35 express an opinion. The hearing is scheduled for June 25, 2010.
36 He said that they are committed to continue with the process of
37 licensing the Turkey Point 6 and 7 project, including the
38 transmission lines.
39
40 Commissioner Palmer said that she would be in favor of
41 amending this resolution by saying that the lines be buried
42 underground.
43
44 Mayor Stoddard said that this is specifically addressing the
45 overhead lines in the context of their certification application
46 on Turkey Point 6 and 7; in that request they have the inclusion
47 of the request for overhead transmission lines up to the US1
48 corridor, and that is what we are opposing in this resolution.
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 13
March 16, 2010
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m1a t
With some further discussion, the motion to approve this
item passed by a 4 -0 vote:
Commissioner Palmer:
Yea
Vice Mayor Newman:
Yea
Commissioner Beasley:
Absent
Commissioner Harris:
Yea
Mayor Stoddard:
Yea
56 -10 -13090
15. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
City of South Miami, Florida, opposing Florida Power
and Light's ( "FPL") plan to place overhead high voltage
transmission lines on US 1 to connect the Turkey Point
power plant to the downtown Miami substation; urging
the placement of underground lines within the City of
South Miami; requesting the Public Service Commission
( "PSC") to revisit its opinion with regard to these
underground costs not being shared by all FPL users in
Florida; providing for an effective date. 3/5
(Mayor Stoddard)
Moved by Commissioner Palmer, seconded by Commissioner
Harris to approve this item.
Mayor Stoddard explained that this issue really concerns the
current law that requires only the local municipality affected by
the transmission line to bear the cost of burying it which is
approximately $18 million per mile as quoted by FP &L, and we have
1.4 miles on the corridor within the boundaries of our City. This
is requesting that all FP &L users in Florida be sharing the
underground costs. He added that all the other affected
municipalities feel the same way that we do.
With some further comments, the motion to approve this item
passed by a 4 -0 vote:
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES
March 16, 2010
Commissioner Palmer: Yea
Vice Mayor Newman: Yea
Commissioner Beasley: Absent
Commissioner Harris: Yea
Mayor Stoddard: Yea
14
1 57 -10 -13091
2 16. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
3 City of South Miami, Florida, allowing the City Manager
4 to explore self funded sources for the City of South
5 Miami to finance the construction of underground high
6 voltage transmission lines to connect the Turkey Point
7 power plant to the downtown Miami substation, within
8 the City, in order to effectuate savings for the City
9 of South Miami and generate revenue on a lease of the
10 utilities to Florida Power and Light; providing for an
11 effective date. 3/5
12 (Mayor Stoddard)
13
14 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Palmer to
15 approve this item.
16
17 Mayor Stoddard said that there are new technologies that
18 have been developed that are very effective shielding, and there
19 are some questions as to whether we might be able to do it
20 cheaper ourselves than the prices that we have been quoted.
21 Therefore, this is the direction for the City Manager to look
22 into that and see whether we might wish to consider in the future
23 the option of creating those transmission lines ourselves and
24 leasing them to the utility company for their use in transmitting
25 power to our City.
26
27 With some further comments, the motion to approve this item
28 passed by a 4 -0 vote:
29
30 Commissioner Palmer: Yea
31 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea
32 Commissioner Beasley: Absent
33 Commissioner Harris: Yea
34 Mayor Stoddard: Yea
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36
37 58 -10 -13092
38 17. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
39 City of South Miami, Florida, relating to boards and
40 committees; creating a Citizens Advisory Group on
41 Community Gardens and Farmers Markets; which group will
42 be charged with establishing and promoting community
43 gardens and a South Miami farmers market; appointing
44 group members; providing an effective date. 3/5
45 (Mayor Stoddard)
46
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES lj
March 16, 2010
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Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Palmer to
approve this item.
Mayor Stoddard said that this is a citizens' initiative and
that we have a number of people interested who are meeting
tomorrow at Tropical Audubon to see how they might proceed on
this. The purpose of this resolution is creating an official
advisory group so that they have a means for returning
recommendation back to the City on these subjects.
With some further comments, the motion to approve this item
passed by a 4 -0 vote:
Commissioner Palmer: Yea
Vice Mayor Newman: Yea
Commissioner Beasley: Absent
Commissioner Harris: Yea
Mayor Stoddard: Yea
59 -10 -13093
18. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
City of South Miami, Florida, relating to boards and
committees; creating a Citizens Advisory Group on Urban
Landscape; which group will be charged with working
with city staff to create implement a landscape and
tree - planting plan for streets and city property;
appointing group members; providing an effective date.
(Mayor Stoddard) 3/5
Moved by Commissioner Harris, seconded by Commissioner
Palmer to approve this item.
Mayor Stoddard explained that this is a very popular
citizens' initiative and a lot of them have expressed an
interest for belonging to this committee.
With some further comments, the motion to approve this item
passed by a 4 -0 vote:
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES
March 16, 2010
Commissioner Palmer: Yea
Vice Mayor Newman: Yea
Commissioner Beasley: Absent
Commissioner Harris: Yea
Mayor Stoddard: Yea
Ile
m1a f t!
1 60 -10 -13094
2 19. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
3 City of South Miami Florida, directing the
4 administration to initiate a Request for Qualifications
5 (RFQ) for a professional consulting firm which can
6 assess City buildings and operations and establish a
7 plan with specific recommendations and a schedule for
8 the City to become a "Platinum Green City" certified by
9 the Florida Green Buildings Coalition; and providing an
10 effective date. 3/5
11 (Mayor Stoddard)
12_
13 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Palmer to
14 approve this item.
15
16 Mayor Stoddard explained that this item is important, first
17 because it will get us to move forward on making our City's
18 operations much more energy efficient; and the second is that
19 there will be another RFP coming from the Department of Energy
20 looking for proposals on how the City can improve its own
21 infrastructure to make it more energy efficient. He said that
22 this is on the Priority List as the "Green Action Plan ".
23
24 With some further comments, the motion to approve this item
25 passed by a 4 -0 vote:
26
27 Commissioner Palmer: Yea
28 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea
29 Commissioner Beasley: Absent
30 Commissioner Harris: Yea
31 Mayor Stoddard: Yea
32
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34 61 -10 -13095
35 20. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
36 City of South Miami, Florida, establishing procedure
37 for advanced notice of add -on item(s) on the agenda;
38 and providing an effective date. 3/5
39 (Mayor Stoddard)
40
41 Moved by Commissioner Palmer, seconded by Mayor Stoddard to
42 approve this item.
43
44 Mayor Stoddard explained that the purpose of this resolution
45 is to provide citizens and Commissioners alike with advanced
46 notice so that people may come and speak on add -on items before
47 they come up so that they may provide proper input.
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 17
March 16, 2010
m1a f t�
1 Mr. Carlton explained that any add -on item will be placed on
2 the City's webpage either by the Clerk or by MIS immediately
3 after being notified. The Clerk then will have copies available
4 for the public at the meeting.
5
6 With some further comments, the motion to approve this item
7 passed by a 4 -0 vote:
8
9 Commissioner Palmer: Yea
10 Vice Mayor Newman: Yea
11 Commissioner Beasley: Absent
12 Commissioner Harris: Yea
13 Mayor Stoddard: Yea
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16 62 -10 -13096
17 21. A resolution of the Mayor & City Commission of the
18 City of South Miami, Florida, relating to boards and
19 committees; establishing the Budget and Finance
20 Committee for the fiscal year 2010 -2011; providing for
21 the appointment of members for a term ending September
22 30, 2010; and providing an effective date. 3/5
23 (Vice Mayor Newman)
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25 Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Harris to
26 approve this item.
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28 Mayor Stoddard appointed Mr. Thomas Kosky who has submitted
29 an application already.
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31 Commissioner Harris appointed Mr. Patrick Bell who has an
32 application on file.
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34 Vice Mayor Newman appointed Mr. Oliver Von Gundlach who has
35 an application on file.
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37 Commissioner Beasley's nomination was Robert Plessett who
38 has an application on file. Mayor Stoddard and Vice Mayor Newman
39 contributed to this information in the absence of Commissioner
40 Beasley.
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42 Commissioner Palmer said that she will be informing in the
43 near future who she will be appointing for this Committee.
44
45 With no further comments, the motion to approve this item
46 passed by a 4 -0 vote:
47
48 Commissioner Palmer: Yea
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 18
March 16, 2010
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Vice Mayor Newman:
Commissioner Beasley
Commissioner Harris:
Mayor Stoddard:
llaTt!
Yea
Absent
Yea
Yea
22. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the
City of South Miami, Florida directing the Planning and
Zoning Department and the Planning Board to consider an
ordinance revising Land Development Code Section 20 -8.9
entitled "Special exceptions" in order to set a time
limit for commencing a development project which has
been granted a special exception in a Transit Oriented
Development District (TODD); and providing for an
effective date. 3/5
(Acting City Manager)
Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Palmer to
approve this item.
Mayor Stoddard asked staff for information as to which
projects in the TODD would be affected by this if implemented.
Mr. Youkilis said that there is a project on 62nd Avenue for
a six -story office building; the project received special
exception approval back in 2005 and that approval in that zoning
district does not have any time limit. However, the hometown
district has a regulation in the Land Development Code whereas
after 24 months if the project has not started it is required
that the applicant goes through the whole process again.
Vice Mayor Newman indicated that she had seen a provision in
the Land Development Code (LDC) for time limits which may apply
to the TODD district. Therefore, she requested that this item be
deferred so that this issue may be clarified. She wants to make
sure that any proposed new language to be included in the LDC
will not trigger projects such as the one referred above to be
grandfathered in.
Moved by Mayor Stoddard, seconded by Commissioner Palmer,
the motion to defer this item passed by a 4 -0 vote:
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES
March 16, 2010
Commissioner Palmer: Yea
Vice Mayor Newman: Yea
Commissioner Beasley: Absent
Commissioner Harris: Yea
Mayor Stoddard: Yea
19
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3 ORDINANCE (S) SECOND READING PUBLIC HEARING (S)
4 (NONE)
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6 RESOLUTION (S) PUBLIC HEARING (S)
7 (NONE)
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10 ORDINANCE (S) FIRST READING PUBLIC HEARING (S)
11 (NONE)
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14 ORDINANCE (S) FIRST READING
15 (CONT'D)
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17 23. An ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the
18 City of South Miami, Florida amending the South Miami
19 Code of Ordinances by amending Chapter 4, Alcoholic
20 Beverages Article 1, Section 4 -2 entitled "Distance
21 requirements; nonconforming use; certificate of
22 occupancy "; in order to modify the spacing requirements
23 between restaurants that serve beer and wine and
24 residential uses for certain properties located on Red
25 Road (SW 57 Ave.) between SW 66 Street and South Dixie
26 Highway; providing for severability; providing for
27 ordinances in conflict; and providing for an effective
28 date. 3/5
29 (Acting City Manager)
30
31 Moved by Commissioner Palmer, seconded by Mayor Stoddard to
32 approve this item.
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34 Mayor Stoddard referred to Mr. Ward's public remarks with
35 regard to this item and the promises that were made about having
36 no intention of serving alcoholic beverages in that project; he
37 said to be troubled by the fact that those promises do not seem
38 that have been kept. The other thing is, he said, that he has
39 seen no residents coming forth in favor of having an
40 establishment with a beer and wine license in this neighborhood.
41 The other problem with this request is the fact that most of the
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 2 0
March 16, 2010
Tla fft!
1 tenants are students from the University of Miami and they are in
2 the borderline drinking age. He also mentioned the proximity of a
3 Church and the opposition of its Pastor and other members, adding
4 that he is not comfortable with this request.
5
6 Vice Mayor Newman concurred with Mayor Stoddard.
7
8 Commissioner Harris said that he does not like the idea of
9 an ordinance defining and addressing this on this particular
10 location.
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12 Commissioner Palmer also concurred with the sentiments of
13 the Commission. She said that the main reason for her opposing
14 this is because of the youth and the Church.
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16 At this time Mayor Stoddard invited Steve Helfman, a new
17 counsel for the ownership group, to address the Commission and
1.8 clarify some of the concerns being expressed.
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20 Mr. Helfman said that there is a retail component in the Red
21 Road Commons project, and that they are very interested in this
22 particular item because the principal tenants that have
23 approached them are restaurants, and without exception each one
24 of them have turned away because they are unable to serve beer or
25 wine from that location.
26
27 Mr. Jay Jacobson, co -owner and developer of Red Road Commons
28 also addressed the Commission. On the specific question regarding
29 Mr. Ward's statement, Mr. Jacobson said that he has been involved
30 with this project since December of 2006; he said that he has had
31 dozens of meetings addressing this particular issue, four or five
32 specifically with the Church group across the street, and at none
33 of those meetings was ever addressed by either Mr. Proctor or by
34 him that the contemplated uses in Red Road Commons would not
35 include a beer and wine component to any restaurant users. He
36 said that this project has been in the approval stage since 2004;
37 the original plans submitted by the prior owner and developer
38 before he got involved, didn't include any retail whatsoever; it
39 was to the PUD process that some retail was added. If there were
40 ever any comments made to the effect that restaurants would not
41 be in the facility or beer and wine, or liquor uses might not be
42 contemplated, then this had to take place a good six or seven
43 years ago.
44
45 With some further comments, the motion to approve this item
46 failed by a 0 -4 vote:
47
48 Commissioner Palmer: Nay
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 21
March 16, 2010
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Vice Mayor Newman:
Commissioner Beasley
Commissioner Harris:
Mayor Stoddard:
Nay
Absent
Nay
Nay
There being no further business to come before this Body,
the meeting adjourned at 10:59 p.m.
Attest Approved
Maria M. Menendez Philip K. Stoddard
City Clerk Mayor
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES 22
March 16, 2010