2007 1115 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting November 15,2007 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida whenever we started there would always be an inconvenience, and again if the watermain hadn't broken when it did we would have gotten started sooner. He said that we still would have been interfering with your business for part of the year perhaps not in your high season, but the events have played themselves out to where they are today and there is not much that we can do about it today other than try to work with you and the other businesses there to get the project done as quickly as possible, to make sure that the openings remain there and there is enough signage, correctly printed, for each of the businesses so that we can only attempt to mitigate some of your problems, but unfortunately the problem won't go away until the project is completed. Ms. Mass said that the City can help financially because of the City's oversight, why doesn't the City walk up and down the Boulevard to see what is going on there. Mayor Edelcup said that staff did go out there and found the problem, we should have gone out there sooner, you would have known about it sooner but it wouldn't have changed the facts. Community Development Director Solera said that notifications didn't go out until October 8, 2007 because the project was not going to be starting as we had delays with the watermain break and some other inspector issues which did not allow for notification to take place until we were certain that the project was going to start, which started on October 22, 2007. Commissioner Iglesias said if we would have started the project on the south side, then on January 15 we would have to move to the north side and that would really hit your season because we can't stop the project, so the idea was to begin the project in June and be out of there in October or November but because of the watermain break it delayed it. He said we will try to help you as much as we can, first we need to see what we can do to speed construction and get out ofthere so we can move to the south side so your businesses don't get impacted as much as they are doing right now, and he proposes whatever needs to be done by the City Manager, maybe look at working a double shift, and Ms. Mass said there are only 2 or 3 people working at one time. City Manager Szerlag said that he had asked our Construction Manager Shahin Hekmat, P.E., to try to expedite the work on the north side of Sunny Isles Boulevard and we were looking at tightening the timeframes between the phases and see what the cost would be to have the crews come in and work after hours. Leon, owner of Amazing Flowers, 227 Sunny Isles Boulevard, asked the City to help financially, and Ms. Mass asked if the City could place in the correct signage with directions to their businesses if they pass it and go through the loop. Mayor Ede1cup said on behalf of the Commission that they want staff to work as closely as possible with the business owners on Sunny Isles Boulevard to make their inconvenience as small as they can possibly make it for a shorter period oftime. Ms. Mass said they were told if they put up any signs or banners to help show where the entrance is, they will be cited, and Community Development Director Solera said he told the business owners that as soon as the signs were placed by the City locating their businesses as to where they were and how to get to them, he asked them to remove those signs because they were not in accordance with the Code but he understood that signs should have been out there before the project started, but they have had illegal signs out there for the past three weeks or more and he has not cited anyone of those businesses because of that reason. Ms. Mass asked about eminent domain if it is true, and Mayor Edelcup said that the City is always looking for sites for additional parking and park land for the southern part of our City 19