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05-03-05 Item 7CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER INTER - OFFICE MEMORANDUM To: Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor and City Commission From: Maria V. Davis / l City Manager &_ REQUEST South Miami Ail- AmedcaNy 2001 Date: May 3, 2005 Subject: Agenda Item # Commission Meeting 5/03/05 Re: Appointment of City Attorney A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA APPROVING A CONTRACT FOR LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY CITY ATTORNEY AND LAW FIRM; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS The attached resolution is in compliance with the Commission's wishes as expressed during the meeting of January 18th. The fee schedule as outlined in the frm's proposal will be effective retro- active to February 1, 2005 when they were appointed by resolution no. 14 -05 -11993 RECOMMENDATION: Approval is recommended. 1 RESOLUTION NO. 2 3 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY 4 OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA APPROVING A CONTRACT FOR LEGAL 5 SERVICES PROVIDED BY CITY ATTORNEY AND LAW FIRM; PROVIDING 6 AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 7 8 WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission have selected the law firm of Nagin Gallop 9 Figueredo to provide the services of the City Attorney, to serve at the will and pleasure ofthe,City 10 Commission; and, 11 kQ 12 WHEREAS, the City Attorney is required to provide the professional representation described in 13 Article II, Section 7, paragraph A(3) of the Charter of the City of South Miami, Section 2 -10 of the Code 14 of Ordinances, and as may be normal and customary; and, 15 16 WHEREAS, Louis Figueredo is a partner of that law firm and will be the responsible supervising 17 attorney, thus filling the position of City Attorney with other members and paralegal assistants of the law 18 firm approved to provide services to assist in the performance of his /her official duties; and 19 20 WHEREAS, Section 112.313, Florida Statutes, providing for standards of conduct for public 21 officers, was amended by Ch. 94 -277, Laws of Fla. (1994), to prohibit a local government attorney from 22 utilizing the services of other members of the law firm unless a written contract authorizes such services; 23 and , 24 25 WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission believe it is in the best interests of the City of 26 South Miami and the City Attorney to enter into a written contract for legal representation. 27 28 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION 29 OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA, THAT: 30 31 SECTION 1. The Mayor and Commission of the City of South Miami hereby accept the 32 attached proposal from Nagin Gallop Figueredo, dated July 12, 2004, as a binding contract for that firm's 33 legal service. 34 35 SECTION 2. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon approval. 36 37 PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS DAY OF , 2005. 38 39 ATTEST: APPROVED: 40 41 42 CITY CLERK MAYOR 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 CITY ATTORNEY Commission Vote: Mayor Russell: Vice Mayor Palmer: Commissioner Wiscombe: Commissioner Birts- Cooper: Commissioner Sherar: Maria Menendez Proposal For Legal Services July 12, 2004 practice, Mr. Montalvo worked in Washington, D.C. with the U.S. Department of Justice, where Mr. Montalvo focused primarily on civil rights cases. Ms. Catherine A. Van Horn received her law degree from the University of Chicago in 1990. She is an accomplished trial lawyer and specializes in commercial litigation, media and first amendment law, copyright and trademark law. Her practice areas also include intellectual property and anti -trust litigation. Ms. Nakia D. Henry, a recent law graduate from the University of Miami, is also engaged in the firm's litigation and government practices and now acts as counsel during CSM's special master hearings. II. Proposal We propose to provide the city of South Miami with all necessary, usual and customary general counsel legal services, such as attending meetings, negotiating contracts, preparing resolutions and interlocal agreements, preparing ordinances, counseling concerning compliance with applicable federal and state law, and any other necessary services as requested by the city commission, the city manager, or as deemed necessary by us to protect the city's legal interests. Staffing of this engagement will be provided by Mr. Figueredo (Fla. Bar No. 0454613), who will be the responsible supervising attorney. Ms. Boutsis (Fla. Bar No. 0082538) and Mr. Montalvo (Fla. Bar No. 0887056) will also be actively involved in the day -to -day representation of the city. Mr. Figueredo and Ms. Boutsis will serve as lead counsel for meetings, hearings, compliance, and general consultation. Either Mr. Figueredo or Ms. Boutsis will serve as the main contact for the firm. The staffing for the legal services to be provide under this engagement will generally consist of the following: (a) Attendance at all meetings of the City Commission, including special and emergency meetings, and all required committee or agency meetings; Responsible Attorneys: Luis Figueredo, Eve Boutsis and Nakia Henry (b) Preparation of resolutions and ordinances; Responsible Attorneys: Luis Figueredo and Eve Boutsis Maria Menendez Proposal For Legal Services July 12, 2004 (c) Preparation of legal opinions; Responsible Attorneys: Luis Figueredo, Eve Boutsis and Jim Montalvo (d) Preparation of contracts, employment agreements and other documentation; Responsible Attorney: Luis Figueredo and Eve Boutsis (e) Expert advice on local government law and procedure (including, without limitation, Chapter 166, Fla. Stat., Chapter 119, Fla. Stat., Public Records Act, appropriations and procurement laws, competitive bidding law, Ethics Code for Public Officials, conflicts of interest and parliamentary procedure); Responsible Attorneys: Luis Figueredo and Eve Boutsis (f) Advice on general questions of zoning, land use, labor, utilities, municipal finance litigation and other matters; and Responsible Attorneys: Luis Figueredo and Eve Boutsis (g) Liaison with outside counsel, when required. Responsible Attorneys: Luis Figueredo and Eve Boutsis Mr. Nagin and Ms. Van Horn will be available as needed for litigation matters. Mr. Montalvo will provide consultation on civil rights and employment matters. III. Fee Schedule Nagin Gallop Figueredo has traditionally collected a retainer fee from the City for general services and billed the city hourly for special projects. This proposed fee structure is designed to provide the city with a cost cap on general services. This ensures that the city's legal fees for general services will not exceed the retainer amount. We find that the Monthly retainer as opposed to a straight hourly charge encourages city staff to utilize legal staff. Special projects initiated by the city and litigation will be charged to separate matters and will be billed at a reduced hourly rate of $200.00 per hour. Maria Menendez Proposal For Legal Services July 12, 2004 Monthly Retainer — includes all matters $8,500.00 per month plus costs addressed in letters (a) through (g) Expenses such as photocopies, postage, addressed in Article II of this proposal. facsimiles and court reporters charges will continue to be billed to the city when incurred. IV. Government practice We have vast experience in government, development and business transactions. We will present only a few examples here. Working closely with the City of South Miami, we created the South Miami Health Facility Authority, which issued-over $200 million in three series of bonds to South Miami Hospital and Baptist Health Systems. We took over and successfully prosecuted a CERCLA cost - recovery action for the city of North Miami, the removal of the Munisport landfill for the National Priorities List (Superfund), and participated in making the land available for a DRI -scale mixed use development by Swerdlow Partners. We also serve as village attorney for newly incorporated village of Palmetto Bay. In the capacity as village attorney, we negotiated interlocal agreements with Miami -Dade County for funding, local patrol and specialized police services, transfer of parks, and assisted in the start -up of the village. In addition to providing city attorney services to the city of South Miami and the village of Palmetto Bay, we serve as general counsel to the Housing Authority of the city of Miami Beach, and the South Miami CRA. We currently serve as special counsel to the city of Pompano Beach, the city of Miami Beach, the city of North Miami and the village of Miami Shores and special litigation counsel to the Miami - Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. V. Miscellaneous No member of the law firm has any knowledge of likely potential conflicts of interest because of other engagements, work performed, or personal or professional activities. The law firm meets usual government requirements for insurance coverage. Maria Menendez Proposal For Legal Services July 12, 2004 Thank you for the opportunity to provide this information to you. We have enjoyed our relationship with the city and take pride in the various successes we have been able to obtain on the city's behalf. It is our sincere desire to be able to continue to provide the city with exceptional legal services. Should you need any further information or documentation, please do not hesitate to contact us. Very truly yours, uis R. Figueredo Encl. References and Law firm profile HP LASERJET 3150 SEND CONFIRMATION REPORT FOR PRINTER /FAX /COPIER /SCANNER CITY SOUTH MIAMI 3056636345 APR -25 -05 10:55AM JOB START TIME USAGE PHONE NUMBER /ADDRESS TYPE PAGES MODE STATUS 748 4/25 10:53AM 1'52" 3058565537 SEND .............. 5/ 5 EC144 COMPLETED......... ............................... TOTAL 1'52" PAGES SENT: 5 PAGES PRINTED: 0 CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI 6130 Suruet Drive South Miami, Fl. 33143 (305) 663 -6318 (305) 663 -6345 (fax) ROM: Maria Davis, City Manager�J"p'% O: I Commissioner Craig Sherar NUMBE : 305 -856 -5537 E: March 3, 2004 OF PAG (including this cover sheet): 7 Contract with City Attorney(s) . Menu: er Ms. Davis, plea a see the following pages (Resolution Cover Memo, elution, relevant pages from Nagin, Gallop, Figueredo Proposal) for your review and vents, you. CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI 6130 Sunset Drive South Miami, FL 33143 (305) 663 -6318 (305) 663 -6345 (fax) FROM: Maria Davis, City Manager rr• �� TO: Commissioner Craig Sherar COMPANY: FAX NUMBER: 305- 856 -5537 DATE: March 3, 2004 NO. OF PAGES (including this cover sheet): 7 RE: Contract with City Attorney(s) Comments: Per Ms. Davis, please see the following pages (Resolution Cover Memo, Resolution, and relevant pages from Nagin, Gallop, Figueredo Proposal) for your review and comments. Thank you.