2006 0518 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting May 18, 2006 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida portion of the beach for compaction to see if that would work and that would take the place of or be in lieu of a crushed seashell type of path that would have permanence to it, in order to have a path or walkway of that sort with permanence, there first has to be a dune in place and nurtured for approximately one year. He said we could pipe a portion of the beach and he would let the Commission know what day that would occur, on the Commission's own volition without working together, they would walk various portions on the compacted area to get a sense of how it works, if there is enough compaction here so that will really be worth doing on a periodic basis. He said in the alternative, he is then going to have staff perform what is called a stake and location in an area contiguous to Samson Oceanfront Park whereby in the public area we will stake out a public property where a dune and associated path can be constructed. He said we will stake out the area in terms of the cross section of the dune, and he is not sure at this point what grade is required if it is one on sixth, or one on eighth, but we will find that out as well as a 6 or 8-foot wide pathway and the Commission will be able to get a physical look at least in terms of dimension perspective of how that would look and what space would be available at least in front of Samson Oceanfront Park from the end of the dune to the waterfront and then we will take it from there. Mayor Edelcup said what City Manager Szerlag is saying is that we have alternatives, one is the rolling of the sand which requires very little effort to do, and if we don't like that approach, that there is another alternative but that other alternative comes with a catch to it and that is that a berm has to be built and that berm would have to be eastward of the path. City Manager Szerlag said that he would suggest that we conduct a public meeting to discuss the issue of what the Commission's sense was on the compaction via piping as well as on the dimension areas for a dune and walkway approximate to the water's edge. Commissioner Thaler asked the size of the berm and City Manager Szerlag said he did not know if there was a specification for a dune or not, but the cross section would actually stake out the smallest type of dune that would be acceptable to the appropriate permitting agency. Commissioner Goodman said to make the dune and with the beach erosion you would be taking away the public part of the beach. Commissioner Thaler suggested doing the first alternative with rolling piping of the beach and see how far that goes and we can get a number of people to go on it and look at it and then have a workshop and get their opinion. City Manager Szerlag said for expediency sake and to draw direction on the matter, in conjunction with the walk on the compacted sand from the pipe, he doesn't think it will be that big of an issue to stake and locate a public area contiguous to Samson Oceanfront Park about how wide a cross section would be again staked for a dune and then where you would place the walkway that would give you a sense of scale to the water's edge. Mayor Edelcup said to expedite it you need to see both and then we will know once and for all rather then always guessing which way we should be going. Public Speakers: Gloria Taft; Cassey Gabor Gloria Taft said she served on the Beachwalk Initiative Fact Finding Committee and it was her understanding that certain issues that were brought up about the crushed seashells was not permitted. She said the Committee had some issues with the County with DERM, we had the turtle business with the fish and wildlife, we investigated and we made a presentation back in the fall of 2005. She said that the conclusion that they came to was that we could have more or less piping that would be the best route to take, it may not be the most beautiful 22