2013-0409 Special City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes:Special City Commission Meeting April 9,2013 Sunny Isles Beach,Florida Vice Mayor Aelion said on the renderings,first floor,he counted spaces that are identical to what is on the legend, on the second and third floors,and so 121 spaces,reflected as is. On the first floor you only have 30 spaces while the legend says 58. Architect Castifleira said in his office when they are counting the spaces, they are counting the ramp as well, and all of the ramps of the parking garage will be parking spaces also. He said that is an important point because the length of the ramp is such to accommodate the slope required by Code to be able to park on it because if it becomes too steep,by Code you are not allowed to park on it because people will fall when they walk down the ramp. From ground to second we have 15 feet,and then smaller from there on. Vice Mayor Aelion said he does not see a rendering of the northwest elevation, on the west side, and he asked if that was identical to the south elevation section where he has the grid from the ground floor up? Architect Castifleira said he will be producing three(3)more renderings as we now enter from an architectural design development,working with Building Official Parker,and those renderings will show all three facades. There will be tweaks to it because with design development there will always be tweaks but will be very similar. On the back façade, it will be very similar to this with the exception on the bottom. Instead of having the glass box concept you have a privacy wall for the service area, the entire length of the building, it will be the metal skin. Vice Mayor Aelion said you have 58 parking spaces and on the same level we have banquet hall/restaurant/retail,etc. The question is are we allowing for good air circulation taking into account? Architect Castineira said by Code, even with the metal screening, we have to maintain a certain amount of open ventilation for the exhaust of fumes from the cars. There is a wall that will separate one side of the project from the other side. So,the air that comes in from this side of the building,and also remember that the backside of the building is open. That will create enough circulation to not to have any problems in the banquet hall area,etc. Commissioner Gatto said you touched a bit on the garage façade but we have had some façade issues,and she asked if he would talk about the material he will be using for the actual façade. Her second question is, is it just three sides by design or is it a cost issue? Architect Castineira said there have definitely been issues on budget,costs,etc. There has always been an understanding that the west side façade doesn't really need it, and the City has agreed to that. There is landscaping there that will more than take care of that. The rest of the facades are very visible from the streets. Commissioner Gatto said she is really concerned with the materials, is it sturdy,etc.? Architect Castifleira said there are multiple materials out there in the market as South Florida is unique because we have the Hurricane Codes. One of the materials that we have identified and definitely want to use is the Hunter Douglas, the Wealth, it is a fantastic brand and top notch material. We are doing the research in terms of meeting products approval, meeting hurricane winds, etc., all the checks have to be there. There are several other alternatives and we will definitely be able to identify them. But at the end of the day we are looking at a material that is a prefab material, is meant for the exterior and to take weathering conditions. It is definitely going to be secured and put up in a way that it will not blow away with a gust of wind. City Manager Russo said what Commissioner Gatto is referring to with problems,meaning the façade on the Heritage garage and the peeling of the paint, a mural if you will,that is on that. What the intention is right now is that this be solid single materials, not a paint, not anything else applied to it. Architect Castineira said right, and to his understanding, and he doesn't know the specifics of Heritage, that was fabricated panels that were fabricated and 5