2008 0221 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Regular City Commission Meeting February 21, 2008 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida Commissioner Goodman asked if he would consider a taxi stand on 183rd Street on the outside of Publix parking lot, and Mayor Edelcup said that we had better wait until the school gets built before we start committing to anything. Public Speakers: Dollila Pinkhasov Dollila Pinkhasov, a resident at Winston Tower 500, said she has a big issue with commercial vehicle parking as she is also the owner of two towing trucks, one is a flat bed, and one is a small wrecker that fits into a normal parking space. She said that recently Winston Tower 500 Board of Directors decided that they will no longer allow any kind of commercial vehicles, and so she decided to park one of the cars between the Church and the Temple, and then the signs went up that no commercial vehicles are allowed to park on the premises. She said that every single day they are penalized anywhere from $25 to $48 per ticket, for different reasons, and she addressed those issues with the Community Development Department/Parking Authority in City Hall, and there was no help as far as explaining what and when that came into effect. Ms. Pinkhasov said she uses one of the trucks, not just for commercial purposes, but for her private use as well due to the cost of living, expensive insurances, etc., and it puts her through a big inconvenience to park her small truck 40 minutes away from her residence. She said the driver of the truck is either her or her husband, at the same time putting that truck so far away penalizes her by losing jobs that brings income into her family. She came to the Department 3-4 weeks ago, and they advised her to park under the William Lehman Causeway, and she went there 2-3 days in a row and there are no available parking spaces. She said that the City has put her in a very bad position, and she noted that her neighbors are here on the same premises, that own commercial vehicles, taxi cabs, etc., and it is very hard for them to use the commercial vehicles/private use without any information, without any proposal to park their vehicles, and they are willing to pay a fair fee and bring the revenue to the City but then again be fair to them, assign some spaces to park commercial vehicles, and make sure those spaces are available. She said the amount the City is charging for the space under the Lehman Causeway per month is approximately $180 per space, it is very expensive. She understands that the City is looking into the issue, but what do they do in the meantime. Mayor Edelcup said that we need to find an immediate solution for the larger vehicles somewhere in the City, whether it be under the Lehman Causeway, under Sunny Isles Boulevard, or create a designated space somewhere in this City. He said we have been facing this issue for a long time and not coming up with an answer, and he thinks we are duty-bound to come up with an answer, and hopefully at the next Commission meeting, Community Development Director Solera can come up with a plan that addresses the vehicle size on the streets, and vehicle sizes above that where they can be put immediately, we need to come up with an answer. Community Development Director Solera said that they have been diligently trying to work on an answer, the City is very pressed for parking spaces, we have hardly any locations, and in Ms. Pinkhasov's case she has a tow truck and we cannot issue a decal for resident only 26