2015-0115 Regular City Commission Meeting

Home Browse Search

Summary Minutes:Regular City Commission Meeting January 15,2015 City of Sunny Isles Beach,Florida and to express their concerns for the future when an item comes before the Commission that could possibly affect Golden Shores residents,the Commission will know their position in advance and hopefully support their goals. He began the Powerpoint and recognized the members of the Board of Directors. The Association was formed in October 2014 and currently have 120 members and growing. Their goal is to represent all 220 homes in Golden Shores. They have met with most of their neighbors and there are three(3)areas of concern that they all agree on: 1) Beautification which is primarily landscaping and pedestrian lighting; 2) Utilities addressing efficiencies and enhancements such as underground utilities; and 3) the 183rd to 185th Street Extension concern due to mostly the traffic that it will bring to their neighborhood. Jacqueline Branigan reported on "beautification" noting that she has been a resident of Golden Shores since 1990 and she has seen the demographics change drastically. The area was developed in the 1950's which was mostly retired people, and now it is all young families,and noted that it is dangerous to walk down the streets in the evening. She went to the tot lot at 191"Terrace and there is only a spot light in that park that does not light it up. As you enter 191"Terrace the traffic is right there,there is no secured gate on that park and it is a tot lot, and so it is a hazard. Golden Shores is not indicative of what Sunny Isles Beach is,if you go into Golden Shores along the waterway through Golden Beach,and then Golden Gate, when you enter Golden Shores you have what looks like a junk yard which is on the north side of the William Lehman Causeway bridge. Perhaps that little area can be opened up and beautified to give the opportunity to residents to access that area with kayaks,canoes, etc. Juan Cruz noted that one of the ideas of the residents was to create a mini-park with access to the Intracoastal for kayaks which would take place under the William Lehman Causeway. Approximately eight(8)to ten(10)feet has been fenced off but is not being used by the City's maintenance facility. They would like that area in conjunction with a five-foot walkway adjacent to the new perimeter fence. They would like to put to use equipment that is already in the storage yard there such as benches,lights,garbage cans,gravel,mulch,etc., and so in a sense it could be done very economically. Steven Ortiz reported on"utilities"noting that he has been a resident of Golden Shores since 1995,and he is a developer and an investor.The power lines running on North Bay Road are very low, some of them you could jump and touch,especially the power lines of AT&T and cable television. Also, all the lighting running from the west to east at night is very dangerous. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. Steve Trattner reported on the "183rd to 185th Street Extension" noting that he is a former Chairperson of the Safety and Traffic Sub-Committee of the City Advisory Committee. The Golden Shores residents are unified behind one vision more than any other and that is to preserve the integrity of the neighborhood charm, as well as safety for its residents. He reiterated their long standing position on restricting access to their neighborhood streets from traffic other than that of its residents. Regardless of what development project that comes before the Commission for the property south of 185th Street,we hope the Commission will consider and support the Golden Shores residents by prohibiting any use of their neighborhood streets for through-way traffic. There are a number of factors: 12