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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHPB Minutes 2012-0215 SUMMARY MINUTES City of Sunny Isles Beach Historic Preservation Board Meeting 18070 Collins Avenue, First Floor Meeting Room Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 7:00 p.m. 1. Call to Order by Chairperson: Action: Chairperson Joe Masters called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., and each member introduced themselves. The following Board Members and City Officials were present: Committee Members: City Officials: Joe Masters, Chairperson City Manager Alan J. Cohen Cassey Gabor, Vice Chairperson Assistant City Manager/Sharon Ragoonan Shari Blank Assistant City Attorney Fernando Amuchastegui Janet Cini City Clerk Jane A. Hines._ CMC Trina Duluc Warren J. Stamm City Liaison: Guest: Richard C. Schulman, City Historian Former City Commissioner Roslyn Brezin Absent: Mark Glicksman 2. Approval of Minutes: July 13, 2011 Historic Preservation Board Meeting. Action: Shari Blank moved and Janet Cini seconded a motion to approve the July 13, 2011 Board meeting summary minutes. The motion was approved by a voice vote of 6-0-1 (Mark Glicksman absent) in favor. 3. Update/Report on the Reconstruction, Design, and Permitting of the Sunny Isles Beach/ Newport Pier. Action: City Manager Alan Cohen reported they started to put in the fencing, the cranes are in, and pile driving will begin next week. The Project will commence soon with completion expected in December 2012, however, they may still be doing finishing work on the building. City Manager Cohen responded to questions posed by the Board. City Historian Schulman asked the status on finding a restaurant, and City Manager Cohen said we do not have a contract with anyone right now. We are looking into entering into a management agreement with Dr. Comfeld. The project will cost$4 Million of which Dr. Cornfeld is contributing$2 Million. Dr. Comfeld wants to make sure a quality operation is maintained and they decided to go with the food court concept. The demographics played a part which would more likely support a food court concept. A single operated restaurant would want to stay open later and so a food court would fit in better with the area. City Historian Richard Schulman said that the Pier was the City's first Historic Site,and that the pilings were originally built and rebuilt in wood. City Manager Cohen said the new structure will be rebuilt in concrete with a much wider girth and a different shape which will provide a better safety factor, also non-combustible materials, and a stronger structure with the heavier Summary Minutes 021512 HPB Mtg Page 1 of 3 concrete pier. It will also be built several feet higher than the original Pier. City Historian Schulman said when the Pier is completed the statue of the boy fishing here in the lobby will be placed at the Pier with an historic plaque. City Manager Cohen presented the schematic to the Board and noted that the footprint of the Pier will not change in any way. Warren Stamm asked if there was any parking other than at LaPerla, and City Manager Cohen said parking will primarily be at Gateway Park,of which most all of the buildings are vacant except one which will be vacant by next week. We will begin demolishing that property next week. Mr. Stamm asked if the kiosk hours of operation will extend into the evening,and City Manager Cohen said possibly but no later than what was previously there,he is still trying to verify that. Mr. Stamm asked about a liquor license,and City Manager Cohen said that is yet to be determined, they are not sure about liquor being served on the Pier. They are talking about Dr. Cornfeld becoming the Manager of the Pier and he would be looking into that. Trina Duluc asked about handicap accessibility, and City Manager Cohen said it will be ADA compliant as well as providing handicap parking. Cassey Gabor asked when will the grand opening take place, and City Manager Cohen said in January or February 2013, of course we are subject to weather conditions which could set us back. 4. 2011 Annual Report of the Sunny Isles Beach Historic Preservation Board. Action: [City Clerk's Note: The Annual Report was distributed at the meeting.] City Historian Richard Schulman reported that the Sixth Annual Report was completed and forwarded to County Clerk Harvey Ruvin, and to Chairperson Kathleen Kauffman of the Dade County Preservation Board. Miami-Dade County requires an annual report from each municipality from their respective Historic Preservation Boards. Chairperson Masters noted that this is one of the best reports given, and the Board thanked Historian Schulman for his dedicated hard work. 5. An Update/Discussion on the Camels in Front of the Sahara Motel. Action: City Historian Richard Schulman reported that five(5)camels and riders in front of the Sahara have been a landmark for several years. Last year there was vandalism to the camels and the City wanted to fix them and have them donated to the City. We prepared an agreement of donation for the Sahara to sign but they never did, and they repaired the camels. Once the Dezer family is able to purchase additional units at the Sahara, we will then get them donated to the City,as well as items from the Golden Nugget. Warren Stamm who is also the attorney for the Dezer family said that the Sahara, the Golden Nugget, and the Blue Grass were all individual units. The Golden Nugget and the Blue Grass is completed,and they are now working on the Sahara, and when complete, it is their intention to donate the camels to the City. They recently tore down the back portion of the Golden Nugget however the front portion is still in tact. He and Richard will look at the memorabilia and will designate whatever they can. 6. Old Business. • Cassey Gabor asked what the status of the Temple B'Nai Zion lawsuit is, and Assistant City Attorney Amuchastegui said it is still being litigated and is in the discovery stage. It is a federal lawsuit and he does not know how long it will take. Summary Minutes 021512 HPB bite Page 2 of 3 7. New Business. • Cassey Gabor asked City Historian Schulman if the list of artifacts that the City owns has been completed, and City Historian Schulman said yes, we prepared a list of the major pieces such as the Horse and Carriage;etc., and a Letter Agreement will be completed by the Dezers on the artifacts. Cassey Gabor asked if there were any other artifacts that are not displayed, and he said no but we do have a number of photographs, and that the Egyptian pieces are ready to be displayed once that is ready. Warren Stamm said another City did a drive"Remember When",and they were amazed at how many items they received. It just needs a grass roots effort to reach out to gather them, and it would give the City the PR. Former Commissioner Brezin said that Seth Bramson is into this extensively, and City Historian Schulman said Mr. Bramson has already donated several photographs and they are already up in History Hall. • Cassey Gabor asked if we can get a motel to be designated as an historic site, and it was noted that the Dezers already purchased those properties. Cassey Gabor then suggested that Mary Magdalen Church be designated as historic,and City Historian Schulman said it has been discussed many times and it doesn't meet the criteria. Janet Cini said it has been here since the 60's, and that it was once a Lutheran Church. • Cassey Gabor suggested that the 20-minute film produced by Seth Bramson be showed on Channel 77 once a month, and Janet Cini suggested it be showed in June around the anniversary of the City. • City Manager Cohen introduced the new Assistant City Manager Sharon Ragoonan over Community Development which includes Building, Zoning, and Code Enforcement. 8. Date and Time of Next Meeting. Action: After discussion it was decided to schedule the next meeting on Wednesday, September 5,2012 at 7:00 p.m. City Manager Cohen noted that a potential application might need to come before the Board as Commissioner Scholl is interested in doing landscaping to his property, and since his home is an historic site, the request will need to come before the Board and so we may need to meet sooner. Trina Duluc asked about his windows being boarded up and if he can remove the boards, and City Manager Cohen said he will check into it. 9. Adjournment. Action: Shari Blank moved and Cassey Gabor seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting, and Chairperson Masters adjourned it at 7:48 p.m. Respectfully submitted, September 5. 2012 Jane /1 roes, CMC,City Cleik Date Summary Minutes 021512 HPB Mtg Paee 3 of 3