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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-0328 Special Commission Meeting SUMMARY MINUTES Special City Commission Meeting Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 6:00 p.m. City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida ATTENTION ALL LOBBYISTS: CITY LAW REOUIIU:S YOUR REGISTRATION PRIOR TO ENGAGING IN LOBBYING ACTIVITIES BEFORE CITY STAFF. BOARDS. COMMITTEES OR TIlE CITY COMMISSION. PLEASE CONTACT TIlE CITY CLERK FOR FORMS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. AGENDA 1. CALL TO ORDER / ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS The meeting was called to order by Mayor Edelcup at 6:00 p.m. with the following officials present: Mayor Norman S. Edelcup Vice Mayor Lewis 1. Thaler Commissioner Isaac Aelion Commissioner Jeanette Gatto Commissioner George "Bud" Scholl City Manager Alan J. Cohen City Attorney Hans Ottinot Asst City Manager/Financc MinaI Shah Asst City Clerk Mauricio Betancur 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE / INVOCATION Actioll: Bob Welsh led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, and City Historian Richard C. Schulman gave the invocation. Mayor Edelcup gave opening remarks of decorum. Mayor Edelcup noted additional information was distributed for Item 3A cost estimate summaries for the Gateway Park Project, as well as Add-on Itcm 3D a Letter of Agreement with John Scott Dailey Florida Institute of Govcrnment to provide Supervisor Training for City Employees. Commissioner Aelion moved and Commissioner Scholl seconded a motion to approvc thc abovc changcs to thc agcnda. Thc motion was approvcd by a voicc votc of5-0 in favor. 3. RESOLUTIONS 3A. A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, Approving the Initial Schcmatic Dcsign for Gatcway Park and Parking Garagc and Approving a Sccond Amcndmcnt to Design-Build Agl'eement between the City of Sunny Isles Beach and 4M Investors, LLC., for a Park and Pal'king Garage, Attachcd Hereto as Exhibit "13"; Further Approving a Tax Exemption Agreement; Authorizing the Mayor to Execute Said Second Amendment to Agreement; Authorizing the City Manager to Do All Things Necessary to Effectuate this Resolution; Providing for an Effective Date. Actioll: [City Clerk's Note: Cost Estimate Summaries were distributed prior to the meeting. Correspondence from Axioma3/Architects dated March 20, 2012, was distributed at the meeting.] City Clerk Hines read the title, and City Manager Cohen reported noting that cost estimate summaries were distributed on the Pedestrian Bridge, Gateway Park, and Performance Stage, and the original Estimate for the Parking Garage and Park. Public Speakers: Cliff Schulman, Esq.; Eduardo Castifieira, Architect; Joseph Milton; Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting March 28. 2012 Sunny Isles Beach, Florida Roslyn Brezin; Roberto Atisse; Bob Welsh; Cliff Schulman, Esq. representing 4M Investors, LLC., reported that a series of meetings were held including workshops, individual meetings with members of the Commission and members of staff to get their thoughts and ideas. They went back and worked very closely with the City Manager to make sure that they could deliver a product that would not only be something that you could be proud of today but had a utilitarian aspect so that you could make it even better in the future at the least possible price. With that in mind he asked Architect Eduardo Castifieira to takc us through where we were and where we are today on the additional improvements that have been suggested. Eduardo Castifieira, Architect President/CEO ofAxioma3Architects, noted his March 20, 2012 letter addressed to City Manager Alan Cohen which captures in detail the process and the dates for the meetings in which all of these ideas were discussed. He presented a rendering of the latest Site Plan reflecting all of the items that they have delineated. In reality we are doing a Site Plan submittal and they haven't really engaged fully in the design development and then later on in the construction documents. One of the important things that the City Manager stressed was, even at this early stage of the process, to make sure that nothing fell in between the cracks and all of these items were being addressed. It is very helpful to have all of this documented and they are being acknowledged as part of the items that are designed at this momcnt and items that are still going to be incorporated in the future steps as we move forward with the project. He went through all the improvements to recognize thcm and to address any questions. 1. They recognize that the garage structnre in its present location now, there might be a slight shift of about an additional 5 to 8 feet towards the east in order to accommodate a service area at the NW corner. That is something that they are going to be designing with the future outlook of a possiblc 41h floor banquet halls or a restaurant and the service that is going to be required in the future. That will also take into consideration the placement of the pedestrian bridge and the best location for that element. They still will need to go to FDOT, they will have to do coordination with FPL and several utilities, and so they are definitely in the process they are going to identify the best location for all of this, and what is important is whatcver gets built now doesn't interfere with future plans and ideas. 2. The fire sprinklcr system, they have cost it out and brokc it down for four (4) levels, and again this is looking forward to the future in which we will have a 41h level banquct hall so that we havc thc system in place with the right sizc of piping, ctc. to accommodate that growth in the future. 3. Thc sccurity systcm has bccn vcry important and this item has been brought up by different Commissioners, City Manager and staff that the Park will have a sccurity system and that we need to provide the framework or conduits and things of that nature in order to be able to incorporate that security system from thc sccurity consultant. 4. The rcstrooms have been made bigger than originally designed, they became twicc as big and again this is one of the staffs recommendations based on the futurc outlook of the events that are going to be happening in the Park and thc need for bigger restrooms. 5. There is a fcncc on the north side of the property and this fence at one point was 6-foot, there was a concern from staff that there was a berm leading up to the fence and children could very easily jump over or fall over the fence, and so there was a need to raise that 2 Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeling March 28. 2012 Sunny Isles Beach, Florida fence to 8-feet in ordcr to prevent that situation, and that has been acknowledged. 6. We added an cntry walkway at the NE corncr of the Park, again this is a very practicable walkway that was not there from thc previous design but wc agrecd that it makes a lot of sense. 7. We left the wallnvay path around the Great Lawn at 16-feet. Again, at one point there was a discussion to reduce it in part of the efforts to rcducc costs but then again therc is a strong feeling that the type of evcnts that are going to be happening in the Park are going to require a Kiosk and things of that naturc, it is going to require a l6-foot walkway all around the Great Lawn in thc ccnter. They have acknowledged that there will not be any loose gravel on that walkway. It was a great idea and part of that European Parisian type of idea but there is a practicality to it that it does not go well with the usage of the Park for these events. So the intent is to use a paver of some sort that will have the look of that loose gravel but it is not a loose gravel material. The subsoil underneath thc pavers will be done in a way that you will be able to drive over the pavers and that was again onc of the staffs recommendations in regards to the maintenance and even for events where you need to havc trucks go in and deliver things and those types of activities. 8. The Great Lawn was made wider at 15-fcet towards the north so that it actually grew in this direction. Again, the original idea was a very interesting one having the combination between the Great Lawn and thcn the berm, we all thought at the end of the day that thc berm was widcr than it needed to be, and staff preferred that the Great Lawn grew in width to accommodate events, and so that was a wise choice. 9. We are making sure that the daytime and nighttime lighting is in a separate circuit and all of these are with the conscious of encrgy conservation for the building and to save moncy in the long term usage of the building. 10. Incorporate LED lighting. Again, part of thc energy conservation, no fluorescent lighting, and we have an allowance there that definitely is going to maintain in order to be able to get the right fixtures and introduce that into the design. II. Make sure that the water features havc a covcrcd area for pumps and chemical storage. They don't want any of those elcmcnts to be exposed, and they are not very nice to look at and it will all bc cnclosed with structures and planters, etc., so it will not be visible. 12. We climinatcd the small berm and again, this is one of thosc design features that artistically was very nice but at the end of the day we realized that there was monies involved in that, and thosc are monies that could bc better put to use in other areas or saved. We decided to eliminatc that berm and keep that arca flat as part of the flat surface of the Great Lawn but we did keep a low bench-like elemcnt with a stone coping that will be used for people to sit along the edge and watch an event, etc. 13. There is an exotic plantcr, this is an architectural elemcnt that has bcen there from very early on in the project and again at one point there was a discussion of that element having a watcr feature element, there were issues of maintenance, and so the decision was made to kecp it as a dry planter, still keeping the artistic expression but making it much simpler so it functions simpler without maintenance issues. 14. We arc going to be studying the proximity of thc trces locatcd in the plaza to the children's water court, and it is something that he has already spoke to Landscape Architect Barry Miller about and they will be looking at the canopy of the trees and the distance. The idea there is to not have a lot of leaves and foliage fall into thc kids play area and clog the water jets, etc, and again, the idea is to do a final version of the plaza by 3 Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting. March 28. 2012 Sunny Isles Beach, Florida slightly shifting thc trce location so that we can avoid all that. But he is glad that we have placed it here because it is important for the maintenance of the facility. 15. There is a decision also to maintain the Great Lawn on a constant elevation. At one point we have had diffcrent ideas, thcre was the idea of rippling a small hill like ripples that again was an artistic expression that Barry Miller came up with, and everyone thought it was a great expression of art but at the end of the day came the practicality of having events, having people gathcr in front of the stage and be part of an event and that definitely does not help for that type of function. It was sad to see it go but the decision was a wise one to kecp something that is much more practicable for the Park and what is going to be offercd to the patrons of thc Park. 16. The stagc at one point was about half smaller, it grew to a 30'x60' stage. Wc introduced a 12'x20' backroom with a bathroom also, and a backdrop wall. Again, a lot of these were concerns of differcnt Commissioners with regards to the amount of wind that comes from the ocean into the side, the back wall is really going to hclp in sheltering that, and sheltering the event that is happening on the stage. The bigger stage is definitely much more conducive to a larger orchestra or band, and pcrformance, and so we all came to the conclusion that thc 30'x60' is thc perfect size for the size of the Park and events. 17. Provide the landscape lighting fixtures with outlets. One of the big concerns in events where you are going to have kiosks and people setting up is to have plugs for electricity, and we wanted to make sure that we are providing all of those connections. 18. Provide snfficient elcctrical panel capacity for other park activities and/or functions, and again, this is something that is early on right now to incorporate into the drawings but it is good that it is notcd here because this is the information that our engineers will definitely work with. 19. Do not use Icmon 01' f,"uit trccs in the Park. Again, Barry Miller had really great ideas and color and the look of these trees but we acknowlcdge that they are problematic and they do tend to be messy and the fruit could be used as projectiles, etc., and so they will not be using these types of trees. 20. Therc was a concern about the landscape, and one of the ideas that the Commission and staff came up with was specifically identifying, having the landscape numbers and allowances and thcn giving the flexibility to further study diffcrcnt trcc spccics that can be intl'Oduccd. The idea came about with an inspiration from the Fairchild Garden in which there is a varicty of different types of trees and species and they have a tag and pcople can actually walk and learn, even people from outsidc of the area and Florida, can be more familiar with our vegetation and our trees, etc., and so again we presented as part of the site plan submittal a legend with the tree types but the understanding is that we are going to keep that somewhat flexible and wc arc going to be looking at different vegetation to incorporate and rcally play up that inspiration from Fairchild Garden. 21. We provided thrcc (3) flagpolcs at the NE corner, and that is an important feature that needed to bc incorporatcd. 22. Therc is a concern that at the top ofthc crash wall on the last floor of the parking garage of kids jumping on top of it and walking on thc edge of the wall and it is kind of a dangerous situation and so they are going to slope it so it becomes impossible to walk on. 23. At one point we had the thl'ce (3) Idds play equipmcnt arca apparatus and they reduced it to one (I) in an effort to cut back costs but again there was a decision made that it was important for the community and the Park, and so all three (3) will remain as 4 Summary Minutes: Special City COlllmission Meeting March 28, 2012 Sunny Isles Beach, Florida originally conceived. 24. The water wall and the kids watcl' court, and again this is one of those items that tend to be a little costly and they have tcchnology that goes with thc jets and the pumps, etc., and so there was a little back and forth with which one we kept and which one we leave out. At thc end ofthc day everybody camc to the understanding that it is a really fantastic feature to the design. The water wall helps create that noise of water falling and it is going to Icssen the traffic noise, it is going to add humidity to the air which is going to make it even cooler on hot summer days. The jets are a lot of fun for kids to play in especially in the summer, and so he is glad to see that they are back in and they are going to stay as part of the project and they have recognized that. 25. Thcre is a covcr ovcr the thrce (3) apparatus that is going to be there to protect them from sunlight. 26. They recognize at this moment that the 4th level banquet hall is not part ofthc scopc of worI, but again everything is being done with the fire sprinkler system, with the structurc of the building and will be done in a way to accommodatc a future banquet hall or a restaurant if need be. 27. This is one of the last rcqucsts which was to include a handicapped restroom in thc backroom of thc stage. We have already incorporated it and are taking it into consideration. Joe Milton thanked the Commission and staff for all thcir input and noted that oncc they had a focus as to where they were going, things moved very quickly. The information given to them by the City Manager and staff has given them a clear definition of where we wantcd to go. From the original concept that they had that was a very artistic design, they became very practicable and still maintained that beauty that thcy tried to impress upon at the beginning. Mr. Milton summarized the total additional improvements. They are going to be doing foundations to support the structure of a future banquet hall, restaurant, or whatever the City prefers in the future on the 4th level, and that will be in the current construction and therefore it will allow you to do that at any time. The second item, Park improvements are the 27 items that Ed Castifteira discussed abovc. The pcdcstrian bridgc will bc cormecting the north side to the Park itself. The Performance stage is a stage which has a back wall as Ed Castifteira was discussing, it has a large room for changing which will have air conditioning, a rcstroom with handicap acccssibility, and his understanding is it will bc donated by somcbody to thc City. There is also a $100,000 credit and that is because they are currently dcsigning the fire sprinkler system to cover the two future slabs including the closed banquet hall on thc top floor of thc garagc, and so they will be over sizing the pumps as part of the design, the size of the piping, and since they are not doing the top two floors they provided the credit. Initially they providcd a 5% discount to their pricing to get it to their goal of$6.5 Million which is the additional total that they are providing today. They expect, from the history the City has had with Heritage Park, that you should have another at least $200,000 in savings from the tax purchasing that profit for the City bringing it down to $16.3 Million. When you consider a donation by the other individuals to the City, it should put you at a total cost of$15.8 Million. City Attorney Ottinot said he noticed that Joe Milton had indicatcd additional items that were 5 Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting March 28. 2012 Sunny Isles Beach, Florida requested by the Commission at the last Workshop [March 2, 2012], and Mr. Milton said ycs, that they want to corrcct that on the record, they wrote in there by mistakc that it was requested by the Mayor when it should say rcquested by the Commission [page 3 of letter]. Mr. Schulman said lastly while we havc flexibility in our landscape plan, it is still their intention to create what their Landscape Architect has called a Butterfly Park with plants that attract butterflies which is a vcry unique European idea and they would like to try to keep that going. The project has developed quickly and very extcnsivcly for the future of the City. Commissioner Aelion said we gave ourselves a cciling of$16.5 Million for the project, and we are at that level. On the footnote in the letter [page 2] you note that you don't have a soil rcport yet, and once this is incorporated into the final design you may have a variance of cost and you mentioned $20 a square foot, is that something that may potentially incrcase the number that we have or is it something that you took into account, and Mr. Castiiieira said it is actually the other way around, it would decrease the number. Right now we have it priced in the worst case scenario which is with the structural slab. So once we get the soil rcport, and oncc wc get the engineer involved and actually doing an analysis, if we can do it as a non-structural slab and more of what they call a floating slab or slab on break then thcre will be a reduction. They call it a floating slab because it is not attached to the main structure, it would be a fraction of an inch ifanything. City Manager Cohen said to clarifY for the record, the slab that we are talking about is specific only to the storage area, the rest of the structure will be built on a pile system with the structural slab. This is where based on the soil conditions it will be determined whether or not thc slab in the storage area requires a structural slab or a floating slab. Commissioner Aelion said on the possible future built of a banquet hall above the garage structure, he noted there are side built elevations from the garage, protruding up, on top of the level of the open space of the garage, is that taken into consideration for the future built, when you build something on top and you havc thosc two protruding site structures, he finds it hard to see how that can be incorporated into a future build on top. Mr. Castifieira said as part of the process of dcsign at this moment and to get to this point, we did a study of a possible 4th floor addition already, and thc 4th floor will actually be layered back so that the element doesn't become a conflict and it becomes actually part of the artistic element. Commissioner Aelion asked about the potential bridge, it was not clear that from south going north if the connection would bc from the 2"'1 floor or from the 3rd floor garage area going across and is it something from the ground bcing built as an ercction with a elevator or walk and then across. Mr. Castiiieira said in the previous package they had photographs of it, it is going to be the towers at either end of the pedestrian bridge which are completely indcpendent of the garage, and they house the elevator shaft, the elevator in the middlc, with a stair that wraps them to also have stair access to the pedestrian bridge. Commissioner Aelion also wanted to address the issue of the 8-foot fence which is quite visible and clevatcd, it is the aesthctic look and so he doesn't know if we need to make some enhancements. City Manager Cohen passed around the page from the schematics, at the bottom of the page it shows what the fence would look like at this location ifit were 6-foot, and the difference is on the south side there is no berm and we would leave a 6-foot fence but on the north side because of the berm, the fence is only extending about a foot. Ifit werc 6 Summary Minutes: Special City Commissioll Meeting March 28. 2012 Sunny Isles l3cach. Florida a 6-foot fence it would only extcnd a foot above. Stafffelt it was a safety concern, and so we are only proposing the 8-foot fence on thc north cnd where this berm exists, the other three sides would be the standard 6-foot fence, where most of the fencc will be shielded. Mr. Castifieira said thc look of the 8-foot fence would be identical to the 6-foot fence which they will follow the standards that the City implcmcnted in the medians and so it will be along thosc lines that will be the similar design. Commissioner Scholl said he is hoping that staff has a very detailed spec as he is looking at little things like docs the back stage have air conditioning, is that on the plan, are we raising the grade to street level, are we going to be subjected to flooding, we are building a stage, are we going to put conduit in for speakers out in the Park, because these always seem to be afterthoughts and these are the things we get hammered with change orders down the road from contractors. He is satisfied with the product, Ed and Barry did a great job, it is a great plan but his concern is docs staff have detailed enough specifications for all aspects of this job to manage the job down to the level of detail that we need so we don't get clipped down the road. If the budget starts getting tight and all ofa sudden the details are not there, there is substitution. Mr. Milton said that all the items that Commissioner Scholl mentioned have been covered from the piping for the music system. the additional lighting, the stage itself, the air conditioning in the room behind it, the sizc of the room for it to be sufficient, the bathroom facilities to havc at location of the stage, the whole site is raised to the samc height as the sidewalk, nothing is lower, everything you mentioned is something that staff has already rcviewed and discusscd, and is included in the pricing. They have detailed all of these items, it is all included. One of the great surprises was the amount of detail and time that they put into it. Commissioner Scholl said if there are change orders he wants to hear about them bccause that has been our biggest nemesis with thcse public projects. As hc has said many times, professional scheduling and change orders, but it seems like we continually get bit on these issues and he knows that Mr. Milton is going to give us a firm price but it secms like it always comes back to haunt us. City Manager Cohen said we know that we have attend cd to every detail that we could possibly think of, that doesn't mean that there might not bc details that we didn't but this was a group process, and we really tried to brainstorm ahead of time. As a matter of fact, a couple of meetings ago when we were negotiating with both Joe Milton and his father, his father made a comment that he had never seen this level of detail in any project effort. We have really endeavored to avoid this because he does not want to come before the Commission in the future and request a change order for this project. Commissioner Gatto asked whcre exactly that entry walkway is located, and Mr. Milton said it is in the NE side of the Park and is NE of the stage, it allows you to bring a vehicle in and to exit. They have made the whole walkway 16-feet wide. Commissioner Gatto loves the idca of a Butterfly area, and City Manager Cohen said it was Vice Mayor Thaler's idea. Vice Mayor Thaler said he knows we havc thc Fairchild Gardens which is above and beyond but he just does not want the Butterfly area lost in the Park, it would differentiate from any of the other Parks that wc have. In the water court and water wall, he was under the impression that we were going to look for a change in that, that we didn't think that the water wall was what we were looking for, similar to what we have at Heritage Park only we were going to 7 Sumrn,uy Minutes: Specilll City Commission Meeting Mllrch 28. 2012 Sunny Isles Beach, Florida make it bigger. City Managcr Cohcn said actually what we ended up with is both, thc water feature at Heritage Park was added into this projcct adjacent to the water wall. Vice Mayor Thaler agreed with Commissioner Scholl regarding change orders, we should be 110% as sure as we can of everything that we want up front should be in here, and yes if there are some things that have to come back, it should come back to the Commission no matter what the amount is. Mayor Edelcup discussed the construction fence that we are going to need while the Park is under construction. In the past we have had something that has been pretty plain and he just wanted to raise to the Commission thc idea that maybe we want to do something that has a mural cffect on thc South side of this Park structure bccause construction will be going on for 18 months, and Commissioner Scholl mcntioned that he liked what Joe Milton did with St. Tropez. Mayor Edelcup agreed and said we need to talk about this now rather than havc it become an add-on later. Vice Mayor Thalcr said it depends on approximately what the cost factors of what we are dealing with, going from the fence that is supposed to be there and upgrading the fence. Mr. Milton said that they can provide diffcrcnt designs for the Commission to approve, and that it would be an honor and a pleasure to say it would be free but there are certain considerations and it all goes back to your Building Department in relative to what are they going to request. There are several designs, he had two designs for St. Tropez and he has seen several designs around the City. He said from a chain link fence to that, you are talking about a huge amount of difference in money, if you are talking about allowing him to do a wood wall with plywood paneling on it and we apply paintings, etc., then that is completcly different. If we can work with that, we would be more than glad to provide that as their gift but he would need to have cooperation from the Building Department. City Manager Cohcn said knowing what we know about other construction sites in this City and how they have done their construction fences, he is confident that we can comply within the parameters Mr. Milton has outlined. Mr. Milton said then it would be a pleasure to provide that construction fence. Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Sharon Ragoonan said we havc a lot of construction projects going on now who have a fence along with a really nice and attractivc sign and so we can certainly work something out. Mayor Edelcup on behalf of thc Commission said that they are all anxious to see a bcautiful Park, and like the Vice Mayor, he would like to see it done before November 2014, and he is sure that it will be done before then, and he knows it will be a beautiful Park and a great addition and entrance to our City. Commissioner Scholl noted just to be clear that the savings from the tax exemption and any transfcr offunds does not give a cushion in the budgct, it reduces our cxpense and a change ordcr would not get folded into that, and staff will still have to come back for any additional changes. City Manager Cohen said it is his expectation that this project will come in at$15.8 Million nct expense for the City. Commissioncr Aclion asked if the sccurity procedures for these cameras have been taken in consideration and also that it is within the cost. City Manager Cohen said what is within the cost is the conduit for the security system so that we won't have to go back later and punch holes in the walls, etc. We are going to be sending these plans off to our new security consultant and this will be one of the first things that thcy do is to providc Mr. Milton and his 8 Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeling March 28, 2012 Sunny Isles Deach, Florida associates with a scheme of where the cameras should be so that they can move forward with the installation of the conduit. Wc will be coming back in later as part of our City security camera system and it will be a forfeiture fund project. We just want to make sure the infrastructure is in now so it will not cost us more later. Former City Commissioner Roslyn Brezin said the City is growing in population, and she noted that the plan includes a foundation for growth, another building possibly for a restaurant or a building that would house a banquet hall, and she would like them to elaborate a little more on thc foundation that they are providing for this building. City Manager Cohen said the foundation that we are refelTing to is actually the same foundation of the parking garage that is going to be built, and what we are planning on doing is reinforcing the foundation of the parking garage to allow for additional construction on the top of it thereby allowing for growth in that space that is already built on while at the same time preserving the rest of the green space for the benefit of the community. Roberto Atissc noted he just became the Atlantic Isle Civic Organization President and he said the Park is beautiful but don't forget what the Park is, it is the gateway to our Riviera and that Park is also an extcnsion of the Pier, and when you are sitting at that Park you should be looking at the Pier and the Ocean. You are saying that later you will be building a restaurant or banquet hall but if you don't do it now, come 7:00 or 8:00 at night your Park and yonr parking garage is going to be empty. At the bcginning in October 2010 it was brought out that this is for entcrtainmcnt, for us to go specifically to restaurants, he can understand thc budget constraints but right now the way it stands when nighttime falls your Parks are empty. This restaurant/establishment that you are providing not only will it give you more or less a half a million dollars a year in revenue but also your parking garage will be full. You can create things also to take people to thc Pier, maybe a trolley system, they can maybe have dinner upstairs, they can enjoy and have a good time, walk downstairs, walk in the Park, go to the bcach, see the Pier, it is an attraction. There are thousands of cars going by there on a daily basis, this is your entrance, make it right. Mayor Edelcup said that his comments are appropriate and certainly everyonc on this Commission would like something at some point be built there. Based on the current cash needs of the City and the current cash expcctations we feel it is probably prudent to start at this level. We recognize that maybe there would have been some cost savings if it all would have been donc simultaneously but on the other hand that would havc forced us to make a commitment of cash that we don't really see is quite available at this time but as soon as that situation does change, he is sure that the Commission will be looking at your comments as well as the thought process that we really would like to see something in that Park that would make it more useful, particularly during the evening hours. Bob Welsh said in the past wc have had paved streets and built Parks and then a year later we saw that the drainage was not sufficient and we had to do something again, and so his question is, will we have to do something again or did we really plan for no flooding and proper drainage. City Manager Cohen said that we have expressed those concerns and when the building plans come in we will be reviewing those as well to ensure that the drainage for the Parking Garage is designed in a way to accommodate the water load that we expect. We already know that we have more than adequate drainage in the Park area, we are not relying 9 Summary Minutes: Special Cily Commission Meeting March 28. 2012 Sunny Isles Beach, Florida on natural drainagc as we do in other Parks but a special drainage system is being installed underneath to accommodate that aside from the fact that it is being brought up to grade as well, so we don't have that sink hole effect that was mentioned carlicr. These are concerns that wc have been discussing. City Attorney Ottinot clarified that we need to include the free mural fence on the south side by Mr. Milton, also evelY change order must be approved by the Commission, and any material change to the design must also be approved by the Commission. Commissioner Scholl said also that we are clear that any savings is not in the hudget for any changes. Commissioncr Scholl moved and Vice Mayor Thalcr seconded a motion to approvc the rcsolution, as amcndcd. Resolution No. 2012-1883 was adoptcd by a voicc votc of5-0 in favor. [City Clerk's Note: The Commission/oak a 5-minute recess.] 3B. A Rcsolution ofthc City Commission of the City of Sunny Islcs Beach, Florida, Approving the First Amendment to Agrcemcnt with Craig A. Smith & Associatcs, to Providc Ciyil Enginccring Scrvices for Phase II ofthe 1741h Strcet Drainagc Improvement Projcct, in an Amount Not to Exceed $65,000.00, Attached Hereto as Exhibit "A"; Authorizing the Mayor to Execute Said First Amendment to Agreement; Authorizing the City Manager to Do All Things Necessary to Effectuate this Resolution; Providing for an Effective Date. Actioll: City Clerk Hines read the title, and City Manager Cohen reported that this year's budget included a capital project to address stonnwater management on 1741h Street. We staged it in two parts, we have completed the preliminary stage, we reported back to you on that, and we are now ready to move forward with thc hard design for the project which will then allow us to let the projcct out for construction. Public Speakers: None Commissioner Aelion said in looking at this he sees a professional tie-in for an existing outfall along the drainage site, and that an outfall continues and becomes an iatrical part of the property which is the Winston Towers Park adjacent to the Winston Towers 700 Building, all the way down according to the design. City Manager Cohen said we are talking about an outfall that runs by the 600 Building but he will clarify that point and let him know if we are representing that incorrectly. Mayor Edelcup said the site plan is on pages 16, 17, 18, and 19 but he thinks that the whole project is related only to the area, but it is showing the entire street. Commissioner Scholl said on page 17 the outfall goes down the street and that is what they arc tying into. Commissioner Aelion said on page 16 it says existing outfall, size unknown, and so it may behoove us to ask the architect if it has anything to do with that particular property and if so to investigate it. Vicc Mayor Thaler said to clarify it, this project is in front of Buildiug 600 whcre the flood is. Vice Mayor Thaler movcd and Commissioner Aclion seconded a motion to approyc the resolution. Rcsolution No. 2012-1884 was adopted by a voicc vote of 5-0 in favor. 10 Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meelillg March 28, 2012 Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 3C. A Resolution of the City Commission ofthc City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, Approving an Agreement with Sttoatcgic Govcrnmcnt RcsoUlOccs (SGR) to Conduct a Search for a Dircctor of Organizational Developmcnt and Human Rcsources, in an Amount Not to Exceed $18,000.00, Attached Hereto as Exhibit "A"; Authorizing the Mayor to Execute Said Agreement; Authorizing the City Managcr to Do All Things Necessary to Effectuate this Resolution; Providing for an Effective Date. Action: City Clerk (-lines read the title, and City Manager Cohen reported noting the rate shect that includes all the diffcrent services wc can utilize however we do not intend on utilizing all of them, we are asking for an amount not to exceed $18,000 but he is hoping not to spend more than $15,000 on this. Public Speakers: None Commissioner Aelion said with unemployment as high as it is that an Ad that we normally do would be sufficc, hc docsn't undcrstand why he is using a recruitment agency. City Manager Cohen said he considers this position to be extremely vital for moving this organization forward and bringing it to at least the next level if not the next two. He also bclieves that wc willlikcly cnd up finding a candidate in the private sector rather than in the public sector. Most public sectors practitioners are transactional in nature rather than stratcgic in nature and we are really looking for a different profile thcn what we would typically find through our own scarches. Anothcr reason is that where we have been very comfortable using our own staff for our other searches, he did not feel as comfortable having our HR staff directly involved in this search for this HR position. He wanted to have a search done with complete objectivity and no one would have any questions about the objectivity of the work that was done on the search. Commissioner Aelion said he feels this could be handled without an outside source. Commissioner Scholl asked ifhe wants an outsider, why is he going to Strategic Government Resources, and City Manager Cohen said they do have both public and privatc reach but they specialize in filling government positions. He did look at firms that specializes in the private section who were asking for $40,000 or more for those searches, and that is probably the main reason we are talking about SGR right now, he did not feel spending that amount of money was a prudent investment. Commissioner Scholl said he was just questioning the logic of it but hc does agree with the premise that HR folks should not scope thcir next boss. City Managcr Cohen said HR typically participates in our interviews, they are the ones that actually pull in all the resumes, they do the initial pre-screening, he will be doing the interviewing but what we are paying for here is not the interviewing process, it is the pre- screenmg process. Commissioner Gatto said this is a very important position to fill, they have been the backbone of an organization, it is really important to have somebody that knows what they are doing in that area. Therc arc a lot of employee laws that are tricky, and you need to have expertise in that area, and she strongly urges that we do use a search finn and get the right person for our organization. Mayor Edelcup said given these circumstances that the City Manager indicated that this is for 11 Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting March 2&. 2012 Sunny Isles Beach, Florida a position to hcad up HR thcn it makes more sense to have a third party actively involved in it rather than the Department itselfin hiring its own boss. In gcneral otherwise he would be more supportive of Commissioner Aelion's position that we should be able to do this ourselves, and he doesn't expect this to be something that would come forward again in the near future. Vice Mayor Thaler moved and Commissioner Gatto seconded a motion to approve thc rcsolution. Resolntion No. 2012-1885 was adopted by a voicc votc of5-0 in favor. 3D. Add-On: A Resolution of the City Commission of the City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into a Lettcr of Agreement with The John Scott Dailey Florida Institutc of Government at FAU to Provide thc Supervisor's Apprcnticeship Training, in an Amount Not to Exceed $11,250.00, Attached Hereto as Exhibit "A"; Authorizing the City Manager to Do All Things Necessary to Effectuate this Resolution; Providing for an Effectivc Date. Action: [City Clerk's Note: This item was distributed prior to the meeting.} City Clerk Hines read the titlc, and City Manager Cohen reported that we have a number of supervisors in our organization that would grcatly benefit from supervisor training, and we are also promoting some new people to supervisory positions. In all wc have identified 30 peoplc in our organization to participate in this training. He also noted that Item 3C above and this item are already within our existing budget. Public Speakers: None Commissioner Scholl said he commcnds the City Manager on this one. In government and private practice folks don't get enough management training, they rise through the ranks based on technical capabilities and end up in leadership positions that they really don't know how to handle and thcrc is never enough in-housc training, it is a constant problem. Maybe you get one out of ten that naturally handlcs thc position, but the other nine are sometimes floundering and so he thinks this is very good from a professional development standpoint. Commissioncr Scholl moved and Vice Mayor Thaler seconded a motion to approvc thc rcsolution. Rcsolntion No. 2012-1886 was adoptcd by a voice vote of 5-0 in favor. 4. DISCUSSION ITEMS: 4A. Add-On: Discussion on the Local Mitigation Stratcgy. Action: City Manager Cohen said he had both an update and a response to a question from Commissioner Aelion from many meetings ago. If you will recall, two or three meetings ago the Commission voted on the ratification of the Local Mitigation Strategy which is part of the County's Mitigation Strategy, and he had explained that this was part ofa larger effort for us to improve our community rating as part of the Community Rating System. As a result of our efforts we actually did improve our score from an 8 to a 7. Previously our residents were 12 Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting March 28. 2012 Sunny Isles Beach, Florida entitled to a 10% discount in their Flood Insurance, and as a result of this new rating they are now cligible for a 15% discount in their Flood Insurance, it applies to every building in Sunny Isles Beach including all the ones on the east side of Collins Avenue, which is what Commission Aelion had asked about. Vicc Mayor Thaler askcd how do we make our residents aware of it, and City Manager Cohen said that this is onc of the reasons why he is saying it tonight on air, and we will put an article in the newspaper, this is something that should happen as a matter of fact with insurance companics providing local coverage to our community. Your insurance agent, when you renew, should look at your new CRS rating and your new rate should reflect the 15% discount. Mayor Edelcup said all you have to do is rcmind them, all the insurance companies arc on their own, when you negotiate with your insurance agent ask them to make sure you have the new rate. Commissioner Aelion said what he was pointing out is that on the east side of Collins A venue there are certain high rises that are deemed flood zonc and some that are not. City Manager Cohen said that technically we are all in a flood zone. There are different elevation requirements along the beach, some properties are required to be built 8 feet above high tide, and other buildings are required to bc built 10 fect above because of specifically where they sit, and some buildings only require 7 feet. All of them are eligible for the same discount. 5. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Ede1cup adjourncd the meeting at 7:23 p.m. Respectfully submittcd by: Approved by the City Commission on April 19, 2012 i~,i"1~ ~tu A:~ Jane A. Hines, CMC, City Clerk 13 Preview TO: FROM: DATE: RE: Page I of I City of Sunny Isles Beach 18070 Collins Avenue Sunny Isles Beach, Florida 33160 (305) 947-0606 City lIall (305) 949-3113 Fax MEMORANDUM The Honorable Mayor and City Commission .Jane A. Hincs, CMC, City Clcrk 4/19/2012 Summary Minutes for the March 28, 2012 City Commission Meeting RECOMMENDA nON: Attachcd for your considcration are the Summary Minutcs for the March 28, 2012 Special City Commission Meeting. REASONS: N/A ATTACHMENTS: Summary Minutes Agenda Item S c.. 4-lq-1 ~ Date http://sibagcnda.sibfl.net/agenda/Preview.aspx?I temID=7 51 &MeetingID~