2014-0320 Regular City Commission Meeting

Home Browse Search

Summary Minutes:Regular City Commission Meeting March 20,2014 City of Sunny Isles Beach.Florida respect to the relocation of the utility box. Therefore tonight after instruction from the City Manager with the easement document,he believes that the Condo Association is in violation of the Easement Agreement. He is asking the Commission to give him permission to move forward to seek legal remedies to enforce the Ingress/Egress Easement Agreement. Before he pursues a legal remedy he will issue a Demand Letter to Porto Bellagio to indicate that the utility box needs to be removed within a certain time period. Public Speakers: W. Tucker Gibbs, Esq. Mayor Edelcup said when the utility box was first put there, did the Condominium Association or any other agency get the City's permission since we already had the Easement? City Attorney Ottinot said no,we never got noticed about the utility box. In fact, one of the things that he did was to try to research and find the easement agreement, generally they will record it in public records, and he couldn't find it. He communicated to Porto Bellagio's attorney of the problem to relocate the box prior to coming here. Vice Mayor Aelion asked if this will freeze the process of bridge construction, and City Attorney Ottinot said the City Manager and Assistant City Manager have informed him that we cannot have the soft landing spot with the utility box in the way. Assistant City Manager Evans said yes we need that but we are going forward with the design for both the Emergency Bridge Project and the FPL project to relocate the switch cabinet and the transformer box out there. Vice Mayor Aelion said then when this is resolved and everything is ready, you can then go forward without impeding the process. Tucker Gibbs, Esq. representing Porto Bellagio Condominium Association said his clients are mystified why the City is threatening to sue them. For the record, the issue of the location of the FPL electrical vault was first addressed to his client last Tuesday through an email from the City Attorney,and the City Attorney characterized it as I want to provide you with an update and at that point he said"I have been directed to look at all avenues to resolve outstanding issues. My technical consultants have advised me that your client has refused to agree to remove the utility box.",and Mr.Jimenez responded by saying"This is the first time he has heard about this." His clients are a Board of a Condominium Association which needs to get a formal request, a letter from somebody in the City, not just an email. His clients and your representative have been out to the site, and to the easement. They have been talking to representatives of his client, and they have been informed informally that yeah no problem moving the vault. We need to get an official letter from you all telling us you want us to remove them, it goes through the process, it goes to the Engineer, it goes to the Attorneys, and it is recommendations made to the Board, and the Board votes on it. Mr. Gibbs said Porto Bellagio was built in 2002, those vaults provide electricity for Porto Bellagio, and they were installed prior to the easement with the City. They did not install those after 2005, they were already in place and installed in 2002 when Porto Bellagio was built. He said he was concerned with the language in the proposed Resolution,and he would like to know the basis of these statements. For example,has the City made any requests that Porto Bellagio has refused regarding the removal and relocation of these, and the answer is no. They have given every indication that pending the vote of the Board that we are probably going to be in favor of it. How has the City acted in good faith when the City's only formal communication is on this agenda tonight telling his clients that the City wants to sue you so 14