02-01-05 Item 11 City of South Miami DRAFT
2 Regular City Commission Minutes
3 January 18, 2005
4
5 CALL TO ORDER:
6
7 The City Commission of the City of South Miami, Florida met
8 in regular session on Tuesday, January 18, 2005, beginning at
9 7:30 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 Mary Scott Russell, Vice Mayor Velma Palmer, and,
14 Commissioners Marie Birts- Cooper, Randy G. Wiscombe and Craig Z.
15 Sherar.
16
17 Also in attendance were: City Attorney Eve Boutsis, City
18 Manager Maria V. Davis and City Clerk Maria M. Menendez.
19
20 B. Invocation: The invocation was delivered in silence.
21
22 C. Pledge of Allegiance:
23 The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.
24
25 D. Presentation(s) 7:00 p.m.
26
27 1) A proclamation in honor of nine "Unsung Hero Pioneers" of
28 the City of South Miami.
29
30 The Mayor, Vice Mayor and Commissioners presented the
31 proclamations to the recipients. Ms. Lawrencia Frederick and Mr.
32 Daton Fullard read beautiful poems for the occasion.
33
34 2) A proclamation for the Kiwanis Club, for their 1149th
35 Annual Pancake Day."
36
37 South Miami Lt. Bruce Ross, a member of the Club, accepted
38 the proclamation on behalf of the Kiwanis Club. He also urged
39 everyone to participate of this event which will take place
40 January 29, 2005 from 8:00 a.m. until noon.
41
42 ITEMS (S) FOR THE COMMISSION'S CONSIDERATION:
43
44 a) Minutes of December 21, 2004
45
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Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Commissioner
Birts- Cooper, the motion to approve the Minutes of December 21,
2004 passed by a 5 -0 vote:
Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
Commissioner Sherar: Yea
Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
Mayor Russell: Yea
b) Minutes of January 4, 2005
Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Commissioner
Birts- Cooper, the motion to approve the Minutes of January 4,
2005 passed by a 5 -0 vote:
Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
Commissioner Sherar: Yea
Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
Mayor Russell: Yea
2. City Manager's Report:
Although not on the Agenda, Ms. Davis referred to the
CRA February and March meetings. She suggested to have these
moved from the 14th to the 7th in order to avoid having them back
to back with the City Commission meetings. The Commission
unanimously agreed to move the CRA meetings. The new dates for
the CRA meetings will be on Mondays, February 7u' and March 7th,
2005 at 6:30 p.m.
a) Request to substitute the February 10th workshop
from the Bank Project to the Red Road Commons
Project.
The Commission also agreed unanimously on this request, and
a workshop on the Red Road Commons Project will be held Thursday,
February 10, 2005 at 7:00 p.m.
b) Consideration of Bank Project Workshop on
February 28th.
This request was put on hold since there is a conflict with
the date. The State of the City Address has been scheduled for
February 28th. Ms. Davis said she would get back to the Bank and
email the Commission to get a consensus on another date.
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V,
1 c) Consideration of Special City Commission
2 Meeting on Feb. 17th for the 2nd reading of Zone
3 Change Ordinance - PUD M, Resolution adopting
4 the Master Site Plan, and 1st Reading of the
5 Development Agreement for the Red Road Commons
6 Project.
7
8 The Commission also agreed unanimously on this request, and
9 a Special City Commission Meeting on the Red Road Commons Project
10 was scheduled for Thursday, February 17, 2005 at 7:00 p.m.
11
12 Commissioner Sherar said that he had a problem with what is
13 being presented. He said that if they approve the PUD change,
14 they lose their bargaining power because if they change the
15 zoning to a PUD, and they do not approve the development plan,
16 then the property is left out without a zoning because they
17 cannot do anything without the development plan; he said that he
18 does not think that anyone would want to approve the PUD unless
19 they got the development plan. Therefore, he said that it seems
20 that they need to get the development plan done, and then deal
21 with everything else backwards, instead of the way we are going
22 at it. He said that there is no point in changing the zoning if
23 they cannot reach an agreement on the development plan.
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25 Ms. Davis suggested reversing the order on the agenda,
26 having the first reading of the development agreement before they
27 approve the PUD and everything else.
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29 Mr. O'Donniley explained that the PUD is the zone change;
30 the resolution is the master development plan; the third piece is
31 the development agreement. The zone change has a specific
32 requirement that is not effective until such point as the
33 development agreement is adopted. And you have the Unity of
34 Title, Ms. Boutsis added.
35
36 Mr. O'Donniley said that he thinks we have the necessary
37 protection, but he does not see any problem with reversing the
38 order. He said that the Planning Board has now heard the
39 development agreement and made a number of suggestions, so that
40 when it comes before the Commission it will be in some better
41 shape. Ms. Boutsis said that they are also making revisions to
42 it. Commissioner Sherar requested a copy of the revised draft.
43 Mr. O'Donniley said that at the workshop they can discuss the
44 order of the items to go on the agenda.
45
46 Mayor Russell said that all of these items will prohibit
47 from any ex -parte communication with regard to this issue and
48 asked Ms. Boutsis to address it one more time.
49
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1 Ms. Boutsis explained that since there is pending
2 application on this project, the Commission must not have any ex-
3 parte communications, or receive any letters, correspondence of
4 any sort, or phone calls. If you do, please direct it immediately
5 to the City Clerk, to disclose it at the next meeting, and just
6 make sure that you will be able to continue with impartiality and
7 try to refrain from any communications from anyone from the
8 community, the developer or anyone.
9
10 d) Compensation for the repair of Manor Lane
11 guardrail.
12
13 Ms. Davis explained that this item is on the Agenda as the
14 result of Commissioner Sherar, who was following up on the issue
15 of the guardrail reimbursement from the insurance company. Back
16 in April when this came to my attention, she continued, we went
17 after the insurance company and I am pleased to report that we
18 received $5,800 which covered the full expense to repair the
19 guardrail.
20
21 e) Discussion regarding ranking City Attorney
22 applicants.
23
24 Ms. Davis said that it is time to rank the attorneys that
25 the Commission interviewed, and requested some direction. You
26 interviewed them, she added, at length, and it is an item that
27 has been hanging and we need to get it resolved.
28
29 Mayor Russell said that she thought that Commissioner Sherar
30 was going to put it in resolution form for them to fill 'in the
31 blanks.
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33 Commissioner Wiscombe said that he did not have the
34 opportunity to interview the attorneys since he was absent at the
35 time.
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37 Ms. Davis said that what she had planned was to hear from
38 the Commission tonight and then come back with a resolution.
39
40 Commissioner Wiscombe said that they have usually done it
41 the opposite way.
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43 Mayor Russell said that the resolution will have a blank for
44 them to fill in the name of the attorney, and then all their
45 rating sheets can be handed to the City Clerk and she can give
46 them back to them in a packet so that they can all see where
47 everybody else is going.
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Mayor Russell said that this is how they had done it'with
the hiring of the City Manager, and that she thinks this is the
way that it should be done with the City Attorney.
Ms. Davis said that it will be on the next agenda in
resolution form.
With no further comments or discussion, the City Manager's
Report concluded.,
At this time, Commissioner Sherar made comments regarding
sidewalks repairs. He said that we have enough money to do about
2,000 feet of sidewalks; there is a maintenance issue about
maintaining sidewalks; there is also an issue about whether or
not we should use the money to maintain sidewalks to put in new
sidewalks. The place that I have always been concerned about on
the sidewalks, he continued, is the big thoroughfares which are
mainly SW 64 Street and Miller because of the canals and the
people walking to the schools; unfortunately, those are outside
of our jurisdiction.
Ms. Davis said that this is a policy issue and that she
discussed it with the Commissioner; we do need to maintain our
existing sidewalks from a liability perspective. However, if this
Commission wishes for us to begin installing new sidewalks, that
is a policy issue and it needs to come from the Commission.
Commissioner Wiscombe said that we had an issue where we
went to Commissioner Morales at the time and asked him for
funding, and he helped us to do some of the areas, but we also
had a great amount of opposition from property owners to put in
sidewalks along Miller because they did not want it in their
yard.
Mayor Russell said that building and repairing are two
different things; building sidewalks costs a lot more and we need
to repair what we have and then determine a plan.
3. City Attorney's Report:
(None)
PUBLIC REMARKS
(5- minute limit)
David Tucker Sr. addressed the Commission referring to the
upcoming presidential inauguration.
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1 Jay Beckman said that tonight he would be representing the
2 SMHOA. What they are going to do this year is to try to bring
3 issues to the Commission's attention that affect the quality of
4 living in the City and try to give suggestions on how to make the
5 City function better. Tonight he said he would refer to traffic
6 since most residents have traffic problems and they are very
7 anxious about when the City will get the traffic issues resolved.
8 He then said that they have three suggestions that might help
9 with the situation: (1) Have a standard procedure by which a
10 neighborhood can get the City to investigate their traffic
11 problem; (2) If there are going to be any changes to the streets
12 that would be affecting neighboring properties, such as widening
13 an intersection, there should be some notification to the public
14 and maybe a workshop or a public hearing in front of the
15 Commission, where -citizens can look at the changes and make
16 comments on them before they are built; specifically, there is
17 the intersection of SW 64 Street and Ludlam which is going to be
18 redesigned and constructed this year. Everybody around the
19 intersection is worried that they are going to have a turn lane
20 near their living room; (3) it would be very helpful if the City
21 Manager would give a periodic update on what is going on
22 regarding traffic calming in the City, at least quarterly, since
23 those projects take a long time to get done. He then referred to
24 SW 70th Street in the Cocoplum Terrace area which has been
25 scheduled to be closed, he said, for the past three decades and
26 it has never been done. He then announced that on the second
27 Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.(should be the second Wednesday) in February,
28 the SMHOA will meet and discuss the City's Comp Plan and make
29 suggestions for the EAR, and invited all citizens to come and
30 help them do that.
31
32 Philip Stoddard also referred to the Cocoplun Terrace
33 intersection of SW 62nd Avenue and SW 70th Street, referring to an
34 accident that took place around there before the traffic circles
35 were installed; he said that several cars hit the house at the
36 end of the line, where a car as the result of a terrible accident
37 caught fire and the person inside died because it could not get
38 out in time. He said that things have improved somewhat with all
39 the traffic signs blocking the entrance on 70th Street, however,
40 the problem persist because not all motorists respect the signs.
41
42 Sharon McCain asked that the Bank workshop be conducted in
43 the same fashion as the "CRA Visioning" meeting which proved to
44 be more effective than other workshops. She then said that she
45 does not see that the new criteria is being followed regarding
46 the rescheduling of the Planning Board meetings, specifically
47 referring to the rescheduling of the PUD (Red Road Commons
48 project) . She then referred to the purchase of additional police
49 cars, and also wanted to know whether the police are still taking
50 the cars home. About the resolution on landscaping said that it
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1 does not address how much it will be spent on medians, if the
2 medians are under the jurisdiction of the County, who is going to
3 maintain them and if there is going to be any other landscaping
4 in any other part of the City. She then said that she is
5 concerned about T. J. Pavement Corp. which seems to be getting
6 every contract; she said that the bids are not being announced
7 when they are opened. She also referred to the resolution
8 regarding the grant administrator saying that she does not think
9 that we need that position, and suggested that each department
10 might be able to write their own grants. About the sidewalks, she
11 said that she lives east of the highway saying that she has taken
12 a ride around town and found not one sidewalk east of the highway
13 as part of the $50,000 that are being spent.
14
15 Doris Hall said that she wanted to invite a fair housing
16 workshop for the City of South Miami. She said that she is
17 working with HUD and will be delighted to supply the materials
18 for the workshop and bring a speaker from that organization. She
19 referred to the item on the agenda involving a resolution to hire
20 a new employee regarding City grants; she said that she wanted to
21 bring to the attention of the Commission of the Planner that we
22 have and are paying for on a daily basis with US money which is
23 taxpayers' money —and this is a question to the City Attorney —is
24 the City of South Miami a sub - recipient of OCED funding
25 presently? Mayor Russell informed that they do not comment during
26 public remarks. She then urged the Commission to find out who the
27 representative is for South Miami and also get on board with the
28 applications for all of the low to moderate income individuals in
29 the City and to take advantage of the free grant dollars that are
30 available for this.
31
32 Shaunte Wells again spoke about her concerns regarding the
33 After School House Program. She said that she still sees no
34 accountability concerning this program; neither Mr. Ricke nor the
35 City Manager has been held accountable for the money that is
36 being spent versus the quality of the program. She said that she
37 has not received the information that she requested regarding the
38 square footage of Phase One. She said that in reviewing the 2003-
39 04 budget, she has found hotels and police per diem being paid
40 from that budget, but did not see anything being credited back.
41 She also said that she has been trying very hard to hold a
42 workshop with the Commission but that she has been told that it
43 is illegal for the Commission to attend a workshop and asked the
44 City Attorney as to the legality of this. Finally, she said that
45 how they can stay so calmed when the program has gone from over
46 seventy -five volunteers to five or maybe ten now.
47
48 After there were no more speakers, the Public Remarks
49 section was closed.
50
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1 Mayor Russell, with the unanimous consent from the
2 Commission, moved item no. 11 (now no. 8) to be placed following
3 the Consent Agenda.
4
5 At this point Commissioner Sherar pulled item no. 8 from the
6 Consent Agenda (now no. 11).
7
8
CONSENT
Resolution No.03 -05 -11982
4. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER, AS PER THE APPROVED 04/05 BUDGET, TO
DISBURSE A SUM NOT TO EXCEED $62,000.00 TO MEARS
MOTOR LEASING FOR THE PURCHASE OF TWELVE 2001
FORD CROWN VICTORIA POLICE PURSUIT VEHICLES,
DISBURSEMENT OF $48,000.00 FROM ACCOUNT NUMBER
1910- 521 -4450 (PURCHASE /LEASE - POLICE VEHICLES) ,
AND ONE FORD EXCURSION, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
VEHICLE DISBURSEMENT OF $13,500.00 FROM ACCOUNT
NUMBER 615 - 1910 -521 -4450 (FORFEITURE
PURCHASE /LEASE - POLICE VEHICLES), AND PROVIDING
FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
(City Manager)
Resolution No.04 -05 -11983
5. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH TAMIAMI
CARPET & TILE FOR CARPETING SERVICES FOR THE CITY
COMMISSION CHAMBER REHABILITATION IN AN AMOUNT OF
$5,400.00 TO BE CHARGED TO PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
ACCOUNT NUMBER 001- 0000 - 1710 - 519 -3450; PROVIDING
FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
(City Manager)
Resolution No.05 -05 -11984
6. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, MANDATING 100%
PERFORMANCE BOND ON EVERY RIGHT -OF -WAY
CONSTRUCTION PERMIT ISSUED, TO BE USED FOR
UNSATISFACTORY WORK PERFORMANCE INCLUDING REMOVAL
OF UTILITY MARKING OR REPLACEMENT OF SIDEWALK
STAINED AS A RESULT OF UTILITY MARKING; PROVIDING
FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
(Commissioner Sherar)
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1 Resolution No.06 -05 -11985
2 7. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
3 THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE
4 CITY MANAGER TO ISSUE A SERVICE WORK ORDER TO
5 MILIAN SWAIN & ASSOCIATES, INC FOR PROFESSIONAL
6 ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR SURVEYING & TESTING,
7 DESIGN, BID AND CONSTRUCTION PHASE SERVICES FOR
8 THE MANOR LANE TRAFFIC CALMING AND DRAINAGE
9 IMPROVEMENTS, IN AN AMOUNT OF $68,971 TO BE
10 CHARGED TO PEOPLE TRANSPORTATION TAX ACCOUNT
11 NUMBER 124- 1730 - 541 -3450; PROVIDING FOR AN
12 EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
13 (City Manager)
14
15 Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Commissioner
16 Sherar, the motion to approve the Consent Agenda passed by a 4-
17 0 vote:
18
19 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
20 Commissioner Sherar: Yea
21 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
22 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
23 Mayor Russell: Out of the Room.
24
25
26 ORDINANCE (S) FIRST READING PUBLIC HEARING (S)
27
28 8. AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
29 THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, ADOPTING PHASE
30 II PLAN SUPPLEMENT AS UPDATING AND MODIFYING THE
31 SOUTH MIAMI COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AND
32 PROVIDING FOR TRANSMITTING THE PLAN TO THE MIAMI -
33 DADE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS;
34 PROVIDING FOR FURTHER ACTIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE
35 PLAN; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR
36 ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
37 DATE. 3/5
38 (City Manager)
39
40 Moved by Vice Mayor Palmer, seconded by Commissioner Birts-
41 Cooper to approve this item.
42
43 Mr. O'Donniley explained that this is the Plan update for
44 the CRA which has been considered by the CRA Board and
45 recommended to the Commission for approval. It will be
46 considered tonight on first reading and public hearing and it
47 will return to the Commission for a subsequent second reading.
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He referred to page 26 of the Plan update which outlines the
key elements that were developed as the result of the community
visioning session. He then referred to page 28 dealing with
Policies and Administration, where the second major point was
to maintain and stabilize CRA staffing. As for Programs, the
Commercial Facade was recommended, providing an average of up
to three commercial facades with a maximum amount of $20,000
each. Mr. O'Donniley continued going over the Plan in detail.
Finally, Mr. O'Donniley informed the Commission that they had
been presented with a substitute page for Table 5.1 CPA Action
Plan Schedule which has been corrected.
At this time Mayor Russell opened the floor for public
hearing.
Jay Beckman said that he objects this Plan and urged the
Commission to look carefully at the Plan before voting. One of
the objections is that the timeframe is too long; most of what
is in the Plan can be accomplished in five years without
bonding. He said that bonding is totally unnecessary. Also, the
basic function of the CPA is lost in a lot of ways within the
Plan. He said that the Plan is totally irresponsible; it is not
detailed. He does not. think that it is responsible to the
taxpayers of the City and urged the Commission to ask for more
details and reduce the timeframe. He also said that he does not
think that this is ready to be voted on or passed.
David Tucker Sr. urged the Commission to go back and
evaluate the original plan.
Levy Kelly said that what everybody needs to understand is
that in the last five years they have been doing exactly what
they are doing tonight, talking about it and not moving
forward. He said that we lost five years and he thinks that the
term should be longer than five years. (Tape inaudible)
Josephine Anderson asked for clarification with regard to
the extension of the CPA. Mayor Russell explained that we are
asking for the extension. Ms. Anderson then requested a copy of
the Plan. She also asked whether we are keeping the people that
have worked so hard on the CPA. Mayor Russell explained that
the Commission is only responsible for hiring the City Manager,
the City Attorney and the City Clerk; as for the rest of staff
is up to the City Manager. Ms. Anderson then turned to the City
Manager and asked whether she would be "dismissing all of
them." Ms. Davis responded that she does not hire on the basis
of race but rather on qualifications.
Alan Dale Mobley urged the Commission to stay the course. He
then said for the records that the CRA is a principle that is
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being presently operative in over 140 CRAB within the State of
Florida. He said to have found that none of the 140 CRAB were
limited by having an initial operating period of five years as
it was done in our City; also, none of them are under the tax
increment split of 500, but that they get a greater share. He
also said that most of the CRAB operate on a 30 -year term, and
there is a provision for them to be up to 40 years, and he does
not think that there is another CRA in the State of Florida
which is limited to a 5 -year term. He said that some of the
most successful CRAB in the State are Ybor City in Tampa,
Deerfield Beach, the beachfront in Ft. Lauderdale, and Church
Street in Orlando. He said that South Miami deserves the same
chance to join those ranks, but the only way that it is going
to achieve it is by giving it a reasonable amount of time and
support from the entire community. He said that the CRA area in
South Miami has never looked better and the trend is definitely
upward.
Sharon McCain said that she believes in protecting these
people's homes. She said that our CRA Acting Director has no
experience but yet she pays Mr. O'Donniley $10,000 to do her
job. She also inquired about the renewal of the CRA. (Tape
inaudible)
Worrell Troup with the Princeton Pre - School expressed full
support for the CPA and said that he hopes that the time limit
is extended to 15 -30 years so that much more can be done. He
then invited everyone to come and visit the school.
Rev. Gregory Gay concurred with Mr. Troup, urging the
Commission to extend the CRA another 15 -30 years, or
indefinitely, because it is very much needed in this area where
many people have benefited from it.
Shaunte Wells saiyd that the people living in the CPA are the
ones who truly know what they need. She said that they have
very well educated people living in that area and that she is
tired of listening to people who do not live there and speak as
if they knew what is best for the CRA. She also said that she
has a huge problem with the City Manager being the Director and
getting no further information as far as an actual director
being hired. She then said that she also has a problem with
having missed the deadline.
Philip Stoddard said that he would like to talk about why
some people outside of the CRA might be interested in what
happens there; over the 20 -year projected expand of the CRA, he
continued, I'm going to pay over $2,000 out of my pocket for
the CRA, and that is assuming that we are not bonded, because
if we are, then it will be about $3,000; for this reason he
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said that he may have a vested interested in what happens in
the CPA. He said that he likes the area since he was brought up
in poor neighborhoods and that he can see what can be done. He
said that he also writes and receives federal research grants
on a regular basis and agrees with Mr. Beckman, that it is good
to have a series of short -term horizons on a long -term project.
He said that we are here talking about extending it for twenty
years when there is no accountability for the past five years.
He said that he realizes that there are still many things to be
done but that we need to have some type of mechanism in place
to make sure that it happens.
Leon Valentine spoke to endorse the extension of the CPA for
fifteen years. He said that concurring with Mr. Mobley, it is
important that we take a look at some other CRAs that have been
successful.
James Burgess spoke with concern about the need for
accountability and who is running the CRA.
Sarah Tompkins said that we continue to say what did not
happened with the CRA during the past five years. That is
something that you should build upon, she said; if.you had five
directors in five years, what do you expect to accomplish? She
said that the last director produced more that all the ones
before him. She also said that having a negative attitude does
not help to get things done.
Frank Cuzzocrea Jr, said that it is hard to project five
years ahead. A 15 -year plan is too long and many things could
happen. He hopes that the plan is more about economic
development. He said that bonds are very expensive and they
have to be reissued once they are due.
Doris Hall urged the Commission to deal with the rule of
law. She said that FS 163.3, which governs the CRA, clearly
states the reason why they could not vote in favor of moving
this forward tonight. She said that they should look at how the
CRA must function for all of the taxpayers, and not racially
profiling a neighborhood and then leaving behind the rest of
the City without earmarking a true, time certain, cost certain .
and project certain plan. She then urged the Commission to go
back to the initial CRA plan and look at the Findings of
Necessity which was the document that was weighed as far as the
5 -year life was to be provided. She also urged them to look at
the mixed -use housing, which clearly states assemblage of
properties.
With no further speakers the public hearing was closed.
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Commissioner Wiscombe said that he remembers going down to
the County with Mr. Tucker and a group of people to fight for
the CRA and to have it enacted. He said that he has never have
to look at the color of his skin to know that he fits in and
that people accept him for what he is because he tirelessly
walks and talks with the community. He talked about the vacant
lots where he used to find needles and all kinds of things that
were there which should not have been there for the safety of
the children. However, he saw those vacant lots soon being
filled with housing that would not be used for drugs or safety
hazards for everybody in the community. He said that he looks
at where we were five years ago and looks at where we are
today, and even when some people in this room may not agree, he
knows that we have made some progress. A lot of houses in the
community have been fixed, painted, roofs repaired. I can't
tell you, he continued, when I first came on the Commission the
problems that we had with the consultants. He said that the
City Manager is not collecting a salary for acting as CRA
Director. We took a tour of the other CRAs, on our own time, to
see what could be done. We had a workshop over at the Senior
Center; we talked about the HUD houses; we talked about
relocation; we did not want to relocate one single family if we
did not have to, we wanted them to stay in South Miami. That
was the wish of the Commission and the CRA Board. We discussed
the Madison Square project. He also said that he thinks that
thirty years is too long and that we can get things done sooner
than that. We have for the first time identified projects; we
have set timeframes; and that has never happened.
Vice Mayor Palmer said that there is no perfect plan, but we
do have a plan with twelve components. She said that she has
gone over and over the plan and has made questions to the City
Manager when she needed some clarification. She said that there
is no such thing as a perfect plan; this is a plan in progress
and that all of those components are important. She then said
that she wished to make an amendment in order to increase the
percentage stipulated in the Plan, page 23, (NE CRA Mixed -Use
Site) from 5 percent to 15 percent with regard to the multi-
family units constructed that will be classified and marketed
as affordable housing units. Mr. O'Donniley explained that the
language indicates "at least 5 percent" and it does not max out
a percentage. Ms. Boutsis said that this is a pending project
coming for public hearing and a discussion on the percentage
should be done at that time. Ms. Boutsis then proposed an
amendment on page 22 of the Plan (A. MIXED -USE AND RESIDENTIAL
PROJECTS) by adding the following sentence to the first
paragraph: The CRA seeks to reach at least 15 percent
affordable housing in future projects. She said that this would
cover the Vice Mayor's concern of what she is looking for, but
it does not become site- specific to this project.
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 13
MINUTES - January 18, 2005
Moved by Vice Mayor Palmer, seconded by Commissioner Birts-
Cooper, to add the following statement to the CRA Plan, on page
22 under III, A. MIXED -USE AND RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS, after the
end of the first paragraph with the word location: The CRA
seeks to reach at least 15 percent affordable housing in future
projects. The motion to amend the Plan passed by a 5 -0 vote:
Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
Commissioner Sherar: Yea
Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
Mayor Russell: Yea
Commissioner Sherar spoke of the possibility of college
students taking advantage of the affordable housing provision.
Commissioner Birts- Cooper said that she has been active in
the community for some time now, and since she moved to the CRA
area four years ago she has been paying even more attention to
the needs of the community because she is a part of it. She
said that she knows what the residents want because she asks
them. She said that the community needs to come together and
the CRA could help on that regard. Workshops have been held in
many occasions, but people are still confused about the CPA.
She said that the Commission and the Board should get behind
this project and make it work.
Commissioner Sherar said that he does not think that there
is any accountability of the CRA. He urged everyone in the
community to make their voices heard by the time this item
comes around for the second reading. Otherwise, he said that
comes September, this room is going to be full of people crying
about their taxes. The CRA costs the City approximately
$400,000 of our budget; otherwise, he said, he could lower
taxes by five percent. He said that when a new project comes
into town there are all sorts of incremental costs attached to
it: police, parks, Public Works. When a new project comes into
the CPA area, whatever money that it is going to come to us, is
cut in half. He said that according to the Codina's own
analysis, the new project will represent an increase of
$300,000 in tax base, but half of that will go to the CPA;
however, the rest of the people will have to pay for the police
and everything else that is associated with the project. He
said that he is against the CPA because the CRA was based upon
a false premise and a fraud. According to Chapter FS 163, the
CRA should be developed in a slum and blighted area. He then
referred to the Shops at Sunset area in order to make a point.
He also said that it should be the responsibility of the
residents in the community to make an effort to make sure that
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 14
MINUTES - January 18, 2005
things happen. He said that they should have gone to many
sports leaders such as Magic Johnson requesting that they
invest in the community. He said that there is nothing in the
Plan that the Commission can do without expending $400,000 a
year. He then referred to the criteria discussed by the Vice
Mayor with regard to affordable housing. He went through the
Plan expressing his viewpoint and the reasons why he does not
think that the CRA should continue.
Mayor Russell addressed some of the concerns brought up by
residents. She said that the deadline was missed and that the
OCED Committee is going to hear both of our requests; for
deadline extension, as well as the submittal of the Plan at the
same time; on the concern about relocation, that is not a part
of this Plan, and it will be considered on a case -by -case
basis. We have discussed this issue, we are concerned about it,
and we do not want to displace anyone that does not want to
leave. The CRA Board has discussed relocation in depth and this
is tremendous concern on the forefront of our minds; therefore,
we are not ignoring relocation just because it is not drafted
in here. There are approximately 2,000 residents in the CRA
area, and this Commission is looking to make a $400,000
investment annually into that area; however, there is no
guarantee that if we budget that money for redevelopment, that
the next Commission would not kill it. Then, we have the
opportunity to double that money, so for the $400,000
investment that this City Commission and this City is willing
to make, the County is going to give us back $400,000 that
would have gone elsewhere in the County. So, we are making a
commitment to 2,000 residents to spend $400,000 a year to
improve the quality of life in their surroundings and to create
opportunities. When we interviewed the CRA directors, each
director said that we should be able to complete the goals of
this CRA in ten years. To have the option to bond even a
portion of the money to get some of the wheels moving is
appealing, and that is another tool, as the CRA is a tool;
therefore, the 15 -year extension makes sense for that reason to
me, she continued; it is not a 30 -year extension as originally
proposed; I had asked for ten, but after giving it careful
thought and discussion this Commission has decided that the
fifteen years make the most sense economically. About the
Enhanced Public Safety, she said that we can use some of our
CRA dollars to fund an additional police officer; therefore,
some of the investment we are making is going to enhance the
services such as public works and code enforcement, so some of
the financial responsibility for that 2,000 residents area is
being paid for from this investment. She said that the research
that Commissioner Sherar requested from the Building Department
shows that there are three commercial buildings that have begun
in the CRA area, and one multi - family dwelling —the Valencia;
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 15
MINUTES - January 18, 2005
1 but there is still a lot to be done. About the potable water
2 throughout the City, she said that we are working on it and it
3 has not been neglected or ignored. About the public remarks
4 that we have not put any money east of the highway —with all the
5 money we just got back from Tallahassee, we have two water
6 mains downtown because we needed to improve the water flow if
7 we ever needed to put out a fire, so we put 8 and 15 inch water
8 mains throughout the downtown area to make it safe. We put new
9 sidewalks, new landscape, new pavement; $7 million worth of
10 improvements on that side. Finally, she said that if anyone
11 should have any further questions, to get together with the
12 Manager, Mr. O'Donniley, James McCants or anyone in the
13 Commission. She thanked everybody for their thoughts.
14
15 With no further comments or discussion, the motion to
16 approve this item as amended passed by a 4 -1 vote:
17
18 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
19 Commissioner Sherar: Nay
20 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
21 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
22 Mayor Russell: Yea
23
24
25 ORDINANCE (S) SECOND READING PUBLIC HEARING (S)
26 (None)
27
28 RESOLUTION (S) /PUBLIC HEARING (S)
29 (None)
30
31 RESOLUTION (S)
32
33 Resolution No.07 -05 -11986
34 9. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
35 THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, DIRECTING THE
36 CITY MANAGER TO INITIATE LANDSCAPING ON THE
37 MEDIANS ON SUNSET DRIVE BETWEEN SW 67TH AVENUE AND
38 SW 62' AVENUE AS CURRENTLY PLANNED AND BUDGETED;
39 PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
40 (Commissioner Wiscombe)
41
42 Moved by Commissioner Wiscombe, seconded by Vice Mayor
43 Palmer, and Commissioners Sherar and Birts - Cooper to approve
44 this item.
45
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 16
MINUTES - January 18, 2005
1 Commissioner Wiscombe said that when they went through the
2 budget hearings and setting aside things for landscaping, he
3 spoke to the City Manager about this since we needed to upgrade
4 Sunset Drive which has not been done in ages, particularly
5 between 67 and 62 Avenues. He said he has also talked to the
6 Manager about other projects throughout the City.
7
8 Mayor Russell said that the irrigation system is going to be
9 a great improvement in keeping the medians looking good. She
10 said that she is happy to see this project underway, as well as
11 other ones throughout the City, particularly at the entrances
12 of the City; she then referred to the section at Snapper Creek,
13 coming off of Red Road where there is a large median with
14 Chicago brick sections, saying that this median could be so
15 beautiful if it were cleaned up and enhanced. Commissioner
16 Wiscombe said that also the landscaping along the Metrorail on
17 US1 has not been touched in ages.
18
19 Ms. Davis said that perhaps the $65,000 budgeted for
20 landscaping will not be enough but that she will do what she
21 can.
22
23 Mayor Russell said that the palm trees illuminated from the
24 ground would look beautiful at night.
25
26 Vice Mayor Palmer reminded Ms. Davis about the dying palm
27 trees on 62nd Avenue which are not being kept, dead branches are
28 falling off and can be hazardous. Ms. Davis said that
29 unfortunately 62nd is not a City road, that is Dade County's.
30
31 With no further comments or discussion, the motion to
32 approve this item passed by a 5 -0 vote:
33
34 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
35 Commissioner Sherar: Yea
36 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
37 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
38 Mayor Russell: Yea
40 Resolution No.08 -05- 11987
41 10. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
42 THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA RELATING TO A NEW
43 EMPLOYEE; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO HIRE A
44 JUNIOR ACCOUNTANT TO ADMINISTER CITY GRANTS USING
45 PROCEEDS OF THE GRANTS FOR WAGES AND BENEFITS OF
46 THE NEW POSITION; PROVIDING FOR EFFECTIVE DATE.3 /5
47
48 (City Manager)
49
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 17
MINUTES - January 18, 2005
Moved by Vice Mayor Palmer, seconded by and Commissioner
Sherar to approve this item.
Ms. Davis clarified that this is not for a grant writer but
rather for a grant administrator. We have millions of dollars
in grants that we need to report quarterly. It is too heavy of
a load for the one person who is handling it now because she
has other duties as well. This is really a full -time job, and
in keeping with the Commission's request to not add any
positions without coming before the Commission first, this is
why this item is on the agenda. The cost of the grant
administrator will be coming out of the grant funds.
Vice Mayor Palmer inquired about salary. Mr. Oshikoya
explained that the salary will be $34,000 and this will not
have any impact on the budget since the funds will be coming
from the grants.
19 Ms. Davis said that they did talk about a grant writer
20 before, fifty percent of the salary coming out of the CRA, the
21 other fifty percent coming out of ad valorem. We are in the
22 process of advertising for that position now; we have budgeted
23 for it and it will be brought before the Commission for their
24 approval.
With no further comments or discussion, the motion to
approve this item passed by a 5 -0 vote:
Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
Commissioner Sherar: Yea
Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
Mayor Russell: Yea
Resolution No.09 -05 -11988
11. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE
CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH T J
PAVEMENT CORP. FOR SIDEWALK REPAIRS IN AN AMOUNT
OF $55,563.50, TO BE CHARGED TO PUBLIC WORKS
DEPARTMENT STREET, LOCAL OPTION GAS TAX ACCOUNT
NUMBER 112- 1730 -541 -3450; PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE. 3/5
(City Manager)
Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by and Commissioner
Birts- Cooper to approve this item.
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 18
MINUTES - January 18, 2005
1
2 Commissioner Sherar proposed to defer this item so that they
3 can look at this again and bring it up at the next meeting. He
4 wanted to know if we have some type of criteria for the order
5 in which the sidewalks are repaired. Mr. Balogun said that they
6 have a master plan with the sidewalk repair locations, ranking
7 them as high, medium and low priorities. They are going down
8 the list now to identify all the high priorities.
9
10 Ms. Davis said that there are no addresses on the
11 photographs from sidewalks submitted by Ms. McCain, and she
12 asked the Commission to allow staff to proceed. She will have
13 Mr. Balogun to check on the areas that are being prioritized
14 since they can always change the course.
15
16 With no further comments or discussion, the motion to
17 approve this item passed by a 5 -0 vote:
18
19 Commissioner Wiscombe: Yea
20 Commissioner Sherar: Yea
21 Vice Mayor Palmer: Yea
22 Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Yea
23 Mayor Russell: Yea
24
25
26 ORDINANCE (S) FIRST READING
27
28
29 12. AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
30 THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA.RELATING TO ALARM
31 SYSTEMS; REPEALING ING SECTION 15-4 1N 1TS —ENTIRETY
32 AND CREATING A AMENDING SECTION 15 -4 -1 THROUGH
33 15 -4 -10 ENTITLED BURGLARY AND ROBBERY ALARM;
34 PROVIDING FOR ALARM PERMITTING, PERMITTING FEES
35 AND FINES FOR NON - COMPLIANCE, ISSUANCE OF FALSE
36 ALARM REPORTS AND APPEALS OF FALSE ALARM REPORTS;
37 PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, ORDINANCES IN
38 CONFLICT, AND AN EFFECTIVE. DATE. 3/5
39 (Mayor Russell)
40
41 Moved by Commissioner Sherar, seconded by and Commissioner
42 Wiscombe to approve this item.
43
44 Mayor Russell explained that this is just to bring forward
45 things that they discussed during the budget process. This is
46 to make it a one -time registration fee and not an annual fee.
47
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 19
MINUTES - January 18, 2005
1
Moved by
Commissioner Sherar, seconded by Vice Mayor Palmer,
2
the motion to extend the meeting for five minutes beyond 11:00
3
p.m. passed
unanimously by acclamation.
4
5
Mayor Russell
reassured the residents that
we will continue
6
to respond
to residents' alarms. She said that
in order to
7
clarify the
language in the ordinance.
8
9
With no
further comments or discussion,
the motion to
10
approve this
item passed by a 5 -0 vote:
11
12
Commissioner Wiscombe:
Yea
13
Commissioner Sherar:
Yea
14
Vice Mayor Palmer:
Yea
15
Commissioner Birts- Cooper:
Yea
16
Mayor Russell:
Yea
17
18
19 COMMISSION REMARKS
ali
21 Commissioner Birts- Cooper said that in the future she would
22 like to see all the directors at meetings, because a lot of times
23 comments can be taken care of right then and there. People may
24 talk to the director outside and they can bring up the matter to
25 the Commission.
26
27 Mayor Russell said that most of the directors were here
28 tonight.
29
30 Ms. Davis said that the only director that is not here
31 regularly is the HR Director because there is very little that
32 comes before the Commission pertaining to that department.
33
34 Vice Mayor Palmer said that there were a lot of residents
35 tonight at the meeting, it was a good meeting and a lot was
36 accomplished.
37
38 Mayor Russell extended her thanks to the MLK Committee for
39 the fantastic parade, the best we had yet. She also wished to
40 extend her appreciation to Joyce Price for organizing the Prayer
41 Breakfast that she attended with Commissioner Sherar on Saturday
42 morning at St. John A.M.E. Church. It was a moving service and a
43 really great community come - together, and they enjoyed being
44 there. She also thanked them for the wonderful week of activities
45 the Committee put together. She thanked the Commission and the
46 taxpayers for supporting the MLK Committee; also thanked Miami -
47 Dade County Commissioner Gimenez for his contribution to the MLK
48 Committee of $2,500.
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION 20
MINUTES - January 18, 2005,
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
There being no further business to come before this Body,
the meeting adjourned at 11:05 p.m.
Attest
Maria M. Menendez
City Clerk
REGULAR CITY COMMISSION
MINUTES - January 18, 2005
21
Approved
Mary Scott Russell
Mayor