2006 0615 Regular City Commission Meeting

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- Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting June 15,2006 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida Commissioner Goodman asked what would the probable cost be per homeowner, and Commissioner Iglesias said about $500 to tap from the house to the line. City Attorney Ottinot clarified that the FPL representative indicated to him that the cost may vary based on the age of the home. 13. CITIZENS' FORUM: REQUESTS, PETITIONS & OTHER COMMUNICATIONS 13A. Request of Herbert Abramson to Discuss the Status of the Beachwalk. Action: City Manager Szerlag thanked the Commission for taking time out of their schedules to walk the area on the public beach contiguous to Samson Oceanfront Park that was piped with an 8-foot piece of railroad tie, while that area that was piped did not result in better compaction per se, it was easier to traverse and the residents that were there indicated that we should try to, on a continuing basis, have an area for a beachwalk that is essentially piped by using a combination of moisture and a heavy pipe or piece of wood to drag along the beach. City Manager Szerlag said that this issue is also intertwined with the umbrella and beach chair issues that he is working on with property owners on the east side of Collins A venue. He said he believes after meeting with those property owners, addressing some of their concerns, taking two of their number and reinstating the Beachwalk Fact Finding Committee, and address this issue of exact location of the piping in conjunction with maintaining the entire public and private beach area, as well as locating chairs and umbrellas, that we may be able to find a commonality that is acceptable to all, with the recommendation coming back to the Commission. Public Speakers: Mercedes Cantrell; Alex Fusco; Dr. Kathy Schultz; John Higgins; Herb Abramson; Isaac Aelion Dr. Kathy Schultz, Chairperson of the Beachwalk Fact Finding Committee, noted that how pipe is dragged or what exactly you use definitely alters what kind of a surface you get. She said over the last year privately contracted Shane French [Beach Service East, Inc.] has handled doing a lot of the smoothing of the beach, and he went through great pains to make sure it was approved by DEP and people that allow how much you can compact and where you are going to interfere with the turtles. She said if you go slightly west of where the garbage cans tend to be, that area is already somewhat more compacted because the trash vehicles, emergency rescue vehicles, and parks vehicles tend to go there, and once Mr. French does his thing across it, it actually becomes very comfortable shallow walking and provides a very firm surface. City Manager Szerlag noted that he has invited Shane French to the meetings that he is going to be having as a resource person. Herbert Abramson said there have been some good improvements in the center of Collins A venue, safety improvements, putting fences in the landscaping to prevent visitors and citizens alike crossing and being injured or killed, or destroying the landscaping, but unfortunately at Poinciana Island at 160th Street, the City has allowed concrete to replace landscaping, allowing a developer to pour concrete where landscaping should be and he asked that the Commission reconsider, as that developer went ahead and took out Poinciana's 14