2010-0318 Regular City Commission Meeting

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- - Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting March 18,2010 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida Mr. Owens reported that the Heritage Wall is currently being proposed at the northeast corner of the site and will be very visible from Collins A venue and also inside the Park. He showed renderings of the wall with the middle section in marble or limestone, like a blank canvass for any immortalization or history, etc., it is also going to be up-lit. The wall varies in height, on the far left and far right ends it is approximately 9-feet above grade, and when you walk up steps and enter into the Heritage Wall area the wall grows in height to about 11-12 feet. Mayor Edelcup said he has some problems with the wall being so tall, he thought the wall would be at ground level and there would not be any stairs up, it would be strictly a wall that would be showing the history of those who have served the City, and it would have a fountain with it. He said he already asked the City Manager to reconsider that approach. Vice Mayor Thaler said if you are standing across the street, the park looks like it is enclosed within the tall walls, the park should look like it is open. Commissioner Goodman asked what the height was, and Mr. Owens said the wall is 9-feet, at the bottom ofthe steps it is 7-feet and it goes up about 2.5 feet in elevation. Mr. Owens said it includes a ramp for the handicapped people. Commissioner Scholl asked if the wall was part of the performance stage feature, the backdrop to the stage, and the Consultants said yes. Mayor Edelcup proposed that the stage or performance area go to the rear of the Park at the rear circle, the southwest corner instead of the northeast corner since there wouldn't be a raised stage as we are bringing it down to ground level. Commissioner Scholl asked if the water feature on the back side of the semi circle was the kind that kids can play in that shoots out of the ground, and Mr. Owens said no, and Ms. Gladstone said we kept it low at the surface because if it becomes water jets that kids can play in, then we have to integrate bathrooms and showers adjacent to it because then it becomes a health issue. City Manager Conner said there are standards set by the County and State and one of them say you have to have restrooms immediately available, and so we had it as a waterfall feature. Commissioner Scholl asked that he be given the HRS Regulations. City Manager Conner said in the center of the wall is a tall glass wall in between the stone segments and water is going to come down into the pond on either side of the glass wall, and the Mayor had commented that instead of the blue seal, to have something bronze because the glass is hard to keep clean and it would be more like art in public places. He said the wall is Florida limestone and it has a gate on each end, and the fence then continues because the Park is enclosed. Commissioner Scholl asked if the fence is six feet like at Town Center Park, and City Manager Conner said yes, that was the plan. Commissioner Scholl said then that the transition to a low wall may be on the right track, if you are going to have a 6-foot wrought iron fence, then at the same time we need to do something that mitigates the fence, and so with a 9-foot wall we might as well go with what they have and do a architectural statement. Mayor Edelcup said to do two renderings, one with a higher wall and one with a lower wall so they can compare the two. He remembers seeing some site plans that we looked at years ago that gave you the 3-dimensionallook, and they could work with our IT people. He noted that the concession stand is in the garage, and Ms. Gladstone said yes, it is on the northern end of the parking garage. 8