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Meeting Minutes

December 13, 2012

center is almost complete, so we put it in a little prematurely -- as well as some upcoming project highlights that we think are great projects that are up and coming in the future . For reference, we have over 360 active and future projects in the plan, and the total project value for the six-year plan is $568 million. We have no new appropriations included in the capital plan. As I said, it is just a snapshot of our current and ongoing projects , as well as future planned projects. As you all know, we regularly have capital appropriations on a monthly to bimonthly basis , and at those times, we generally take up new appropriations. As we move into the future, I'd like to just announce that we are going to be working at planning our projects for the next five years in a more holistic approach. We're going to be looking at transportation plans, waterfront plans, facilities plans, parks plans, and actually program them very carefully over the next five years and identify funding for them so we can have a long-term strategy for those projects. That'll be in next year's plan that we will have ready for November. If you have any questions, I'm happy to entertain them. Chair Suarez: Thank you. You want to entertain a motion first, or do you want to just have discussion before? Commissioner Carollo: I -Commissioner Gort: Funding. Commissioner Carollo: -- don't know if I should tie it into my discussion item or not with regards to the process, and you know -- I think I'll leave it for my discussion item. Chair Suarez: Okay. Is there a motion on RE.30? Commissioner Carollo: So move. Chair Suarez: Moved by Commissioner Carollo. Is there a second? Vice Chair Sarnoff: Second. Chair Suarez: Second by the Vice Chair. All in favor, signify by saying " ye." a The Commission (Collectively): Aye. Mr. Spanioli: Thank you. Chair Suarez: Thank you.

RE.31 12-01385

RESOLUTION

District 2Commissioner Marc David Sarnoff

A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION [OPPOSING/SUPPORTING] ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL'S REQUEST TO THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ("FDOT") TO CLOSE THE NORTH BOUND LANES OF BISCAYNE BOULEVARD FROM THE CHOPIN PLAZA TO NORTHEAST 6TH STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, FOR A TWO-WEEKEND EVENT ON MARCH 15, 2013 THROUGH MARCH 17, 2013 AND MARCH 22, 2013 THROUGH MARCH 24, 2013; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO FDOT.
12-01385 Legislation.pdf
Motion by Commissioner Carollo, seconded by Commissioner Gort, that this matter be CONTINUED PASSED by the following vote.

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Votes: Ayes: 3 - Commissioner(s) Gort, Carollo and Suarez

Noes: 1 - Commissioner(s) Sarnoff Absent: 1 - Commissioner(s) Spence-Jones Chair Suarez: Okay, is the -- Ultra, are you guys ready? Yeah. Let's go. That was for a time certain of 4:30; it's 4:40. We're moving along. Vice Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Mr. Chair. Chair Suarez: Yes. Vice Chair Sarnoff: I brought this back because a tug-of-war downtown over Biscayne Boulevard is destined to intensify unless we redefine the future of Miami's central lifeline. The Ultra Music Festival aims to halt northbound boulevard traffic for 79 consecutive hours, two weekends in a row. No federal highway is geared to act in a single 15-stretch block as the driveway that feeds downtown, a string of new condos, Bayfront Park, American Airlines Arena, Bayside Marketplace, global seaport that carries both freight and the nation's total largest cruise passengers, together with two vast Adrienne Arsht performance halls. The Florida East Coast Railway will reactivate service into Port Miami, halting daily traffic for approximately two trains before closings a day. Downtown has suddenly become both a youth and active residential center and a 24-hour nightlife has blossomed, all using Biscayne Boulevard to make entry and exit. The problem: there's just one Biscayne Boulevard, and it's not only a federal highway that's also downtown's lifeline; it's an increasing clogged artery. You don't need a cardiologist to tell you that so much traffic being pushed into its main artery, Miami is heading for a heart attack . New condos arose downtown not alone caused the problems, but taken together, there's a critical traffic mass. Downtown is already hurting. As offices age and become harder to reach, downtown becomes relatively less attractive for office tenants, forcing people onto Biscayne Boulevard. Now, yesterday I received a traffic analysis for a hearing today. And Mr. Manager, I can't believe you would hold this back from me for a meeting today. Johnny Martinez (City Manager): Commissioner, I didn't hold anything back. I haven't even seen it. I haven't received it. And I sent you a reply saying I have not seen it. Vice Chair Sarnoff: Well, has anybody from the Administration seen this? Mr. Martinez: I don't know. Nzeribe Ihekwaba: Again, Zerry Ihekwaba, Public Works director. Mr. Commissioner, I received I believe the same document at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon for the first time. Vice Chair Sarnoff: Well -- I mean, the little analysis I was able to do -- and I'm not a traffic engineer, but I would suspect the people that did this may not be traffic engineers either because based on my read of this, they would be considering Biscayne Boulevard to have an " "traffic A rating. And the last time I looked, Mr. Manager, Biscayne Boulevard's traffic rating was " ." F Correct me if I'm wrong. Mr. Martinez: I don't think there's " "anywhere in Dade County. A Vice Chair Sarnoff: Okay. But I think you would agree with me, as you were the District 6 secretary, last -- when you were here, it was an " ,"okay. So, somehow, Kimberly-Horn [sic] has F fixed everything by just rerouting traffic to 2nd. And, you know, this is a quality of life issue. This Commission is going to do what this Commission is going to do . I could very well pull the five-day rule 'cause I would think that you're predicating much of your decision, Mr. Commissioners and Madam Commissioner, on this document, which says traffic won't be a problem; we have it all solved. If that's the case, we should continue to use their traffic plan because it will solve traffic in Miami forever. The problem is that Ultra Music Festival, which is
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now aiming for two weekends in a row, will close northbound traffic completely for the Friday before each weekend. I'm going to say, rightfully or wrongfully, that it is going to compete with the World Baseball Classic. Whether that works out or not, we'll find out readily. It is going to close down the park for a little over a month. And it's a quality of life issue, but it's also a business issue because you're not going to have law firms that are going to continue to send their people home on Friday; you're not going to have depositions occurring. You've heard from many of the stakeholders downtown. And that's not to say that money -- you know, that magic money we have in Miami -- that, suddenly, the person that's going to run the event suddenly puts money in someone's coffers and that satisfies that person's need for that moment. But what it doesn't do, it doesn't take care of the office buildings that are filled with businesses, filled with people that will never reach, never see that money. Not that that money would change a thing to them, 'cause I don't know whether it would or it wouldn't, but I think you'd all acknowledge, candidly, that money will never receive by a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) firm, it will never be received by a law firm, it will never be received by a doctor's office. And I think you're at the critical mass and at the critical statement. And by the way, what I read from? Not my notes. Not my statements. It was Michael Lewis' Miami Today last editorial regarding Ultra and regarding Biscayne Boulevard. And I hope Michael Lewis is listening and reading this, because I'm going to send Michael Lewis a copy of the draft traffic report so that he could do his own technical review of this and he can learn that according to Kimberly-Horn [sic], really, Biscayne Boulevard is A-rated. And he must be imagining most of this traffic. He must be imagining most of its congestion because, according to Kimberly-Horn [sic], it can all be worked out with just two traffic changes. I just put this to you as Commissioners. I am the Commissioner of the district. I am not speaking on behalf of the DDA (Downtown Development Authority). I was once the chair of the Bayfront Park. I do understand Commissioner Carollo's position. I've been there before. I've wanted to make money for that as well. But there is a critical mass and a critical stage happening. This is an event that you all cross your fingers for and you hope beyond hope it all goes well. I know what my vote will be because there is no way you can justify or satisfy me that this is going to be a safe and secure event. I leave this to each one of you for your own conscience, and that is, I hope you get through this event safely, I hope you get through this event well, and I hope there will still be a downtown element that wants to be downtown because I think you will see a great flight to Brickell, equally my district, but that part of downtown is developing extremely well and I think this event could do some permanent damage there. Thank you. Chair Suarez: Who's next? Commissioner Carollo: I think you have -Chair Suarez: Mr. May. Brian May: Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission, Commissioner Sarnoff. First of all, Brian May, representing Ultra Music Fest. I guess I should start by saying, we certainly had testimony at your meeting here about a month ago with regard to a number of issues that were -you know, that dealt with some of the disruptions that do occur of an event this size . I think we should all just be mindful, this is an event that generates -- you know, on one weekend, it will bring in about 160,000 people to the community, and it does have its challenges . It does have its disruptions, but it also has a tremendous economic benefit. And we have heard testimony over and over again from downtown restaurants, businesses, clubs that it's something that they all -quite frankly, we had testimony at the DDA that this was their best weekend of the year. So there are benefits to the event. It is the largest single event of its kind on the planet. It is a huge draw and a huge branding issue for Miami across the globe, particularly with a younger set of tourists and visitors. But that being said, it does present it [sic] challenges, right. It's a huge event. There's a lot that goes on. There's a lot that goes into it. And we heard issues of trash removal, of making sure that the crowds are under control, pedestrian ingress and egress to the event; obviously, the traffic flow, which quite frankly, this year we believe this traffic plan, which is a
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draft, okay, which has been also distributed to most of the downtown constituents that have registered complaints about it -- and I'm going to just give you a list of folks that we have met with in between your last meeting and this meeting. We did meet with the Miami Center. We met with the Hotel InterContinental, with 50 Biscayne, with Vizcayne, with 900 Biscayne, 200 South Biscayne, Bayside Marketplace, 100 Biscayne; and we have had discussions with the Miami Heat, as well as the Port of Miami, and as well as the Miami Parking Authority. All of their issues really boil down to, but for the traffic and the noise, a coordinated effort between the festival and the constituents downtown to bring on more manpower, more police power, and really, more resources to deal with the disruptions, and we think we can do that and we think we can do it well. We have met with the InterContinental and specifically talked through a number of the issues surrounding the World Baseball Classic that takes place on the proposed first weekend. Their issues are -- largely relate to the port-o-johns that were basically up against them last year. We have -- working on alternative plan to try to move the great majority of those. They also had significant issues with the ingress and egress of bus traffic coming in and out of the InterContinental. We've assured them that we will provide them all the resources from an off-duty police and a traffic standpoint to deal with that. We've also dealt with the Miami Center on all of those very same issues. We have ongoing conversations with Bayside to actually try to incorporate them more into the festival. Actually, try to provide them some programming so that they can enjoy more of the benefits from the crowd. But at the end of the day, the traffic plan is really why we're here today because what we seek is, at the very least, a conditional approval from this Commission for us to move forward and pursue the draft traffic plan that we have before you, which in essence, does take the southbound lanes from Northeast 4th Street all the way down to 1st Street -- actually, 2nd Street and makes them one-way going north. Last year those -- that southbound lane was two-way traffic, so people going north who were trying to make a left into downtown were basically clogging up traffic, backing it up all the way around over by Epic and into that area. This traffic plan creates much more lane and flow going forward -- going north in the southbound lanes and actually will, for instance, allow the bus traffic coming out of -- for the World Baseball Classic to come out of the InterContinental, head north, okay, and actually be able to utilize those streets going east and west to get over to the stadium. So we're going to work through that with the InterContinental, with the Miami Center to make sure that they have -- especially the Miami Center -- proper ingress and egress as it relates to both Fridays during the event weekends. In essence, what this traffic plan does, it creates much more of a loop, much more flow, much more capacity to move people in one direction or the other, which really wasn't there last year. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions. But again, what we would like today -- to see is a -- is an approval, even if that is conditioned upon the police department sign-off and the Manager's sign-off, which we would have to have anyway before going to FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation) for the permit to close the northbound lanes, and also conditioned upon working with our neighbors and our constituents downtown to get -- to make sure that everybody's on board, which again, we had to do last year. In order to get that permit, it was a requirement, so it will be this year. Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman. Chair Suarez: Yes. Mr. May: And we're happy to answer any questions. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A few things. And Mr. May, you know me; I tell it how it is. You know, I hear Commissioner Sarnoff mentioning -- and it is a draft -- but him receiving the traffic plans, survey yesterday? Vice Chair Sarnoff: At 5 o'clock. Commissioner Carollo: You know more than I do; I haven't even seen it yet. So I have issues with that because, in all fairness, I think I should have gotten a copy too . As a matter of fact -City of Miami
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and I understand it's draft. It's not a final copy, but you know, I think, you know, we should have all received one or at least, you know, been informed that there's one, in case we wanted to see one. Now, with that said -- and you're -- and you know what, I -- you know, as the -- I don't know if I'm the founder of five-day rule or what's the right way of saying it. But sponsor of the five-day rule, you know, I don't take that very lightly. With that said, I attended a DDA meeting that you had with regards to Ultra. And obviously, I was here at the last Commission meeting when the people came forward to speak up whether in favor or against Ultra. Actually, I was surprised. I actually thought there was more -- there was going to be more of a outcry. There was basically three, possibly four, individuals or persons that represented, you know, buildings that stated that this would affect them. Out of those three or four, it appear like all of them, with the exception of one, could make some type of accommodation or come to -- or could come to some agreement with Ultra. My first question, Mr. May, have you reached out to those three or four people? I don't have their names right here, but I could go to my office and -Mr. May: Absolutely, yes. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. And I'm talking about the gentleman from the InterContinental. There was two other buildings that had representatives. I don't -- and I don't quite recall the fourth. Have you reached out to them? Mr. May: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: Have -- you've come to some agreement that is reasonable and adequate to them? Mr. May: Yes. We have basically -- so you understand, we have committed that either we will provide resources monetarily or we will provide resources that we can gather from the economies of scale of the event for security, for clean up, for all those, what I would call, disruption issues . We do have to sit down with everybody because, in all honesty -- I apologize for not getting everybody the traffic study, but we didn't get it till yesterday morning, and what you have before you is just the summary. The full plan is 499 pages long. So, as you might imagine, it took a very considerable amount of time to put that together by Kimley-Horn. It's not a Mickey Mouse study. It's a very serious study. It has looked at things six ways to Sunday and tried to optimize a plan so it would be least disruptive to everybody. But the answer is yes, we have met with everybody. We have a tentative agreement, but I will not stand here and tell you that we do not have work to do with each one of those constituents. We have to finalize whether we are going to be providing security or we are reimbursing them. We have to finalize, for instance, with Bayside or -- are we going to provide them programming? Is there a certain part of Bayside that could be actually part of the village? Those are issues that we have to work through. We're just -- we just haven't had time to work through all those details. Commissioner Carollo: And I'll go a step further. Now I'll propose the same with Bayfront Park Management Trust. Mr. May: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: 'Cause we did our approval based on certain terms and conditions -Mr. May: Absolutely, yes. Commissioner Carollo: -- which we still have not concluded. Mr. May: Absolutely. But we -- I think -- I'm sorry. Commissioner Carollo: And let me go back a little bit on history. I remember last year when
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Ultra first came to the Bayfront Park Management Trust, the original plan -- and I think you all knew flat out -- we denied, and it was going to be closure for two, three weeks. I forgot what it was, but it was flat out denied. And, you know, we worked through a lot of obstacles and we made it work. Mr. May: Right. Commissioner Carollo: As far as the traffic plan, keep in mind, we had Ultra for three days. And during those three days, we also had Disney on Ice in the American Airlines Arena; we also had Cavalia at Bicentennial Park; and then we also had the Arsht Center having shows. The Arsht Center and the DDA came forward and said, Listen, the traffic and nothing with Ultra really affected us. And if I'm saying something that's incorrect, then, you know, please correct me or -- you know. So I guess to a certain degree, you know, I have seen what Ultra has done with regards to traffic studies and the traffic plan 'cause last year, with all those shows, with all those events happening at the same time, I really did not hear that outcry. As a matter of fact, I heard a lot of people complimenting us and speaking on how did you all have so many events in downtown Miami and it relatively flowed smoothly. Now, was it perfect? No. It's -- you know, nothing's ever perfect. But I think this year they've even tried to make it even better. So I'm seeing that, Commissioner Sarnoff. You know, as far as the park closure, it is my understanding, the Bayfront Park will not be closed for a month due to this event. Am I incorrect or --? Mr. May: You will have to talk to the Park director about that. I don't know specifically how many days. Commissioner Carollo: As a matter of fact, I see our executive director, and if he could come -please come forward, I want to make sure, because that was not what -Tim Schmand: Tim Schmand, Bayfront Park, 301 North Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida. In my conversations with the producers of the events, they have warranted to me that certain parts of the park will be opened on the days that events are not taking place: the children's area, places for people to walk their dogs, and of course, nearest to my heart, a place to do yoga. So Ray? So we have a commitment that it won't be closed for a month. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Mr. Schmand: Thank you. Commissioner Carollo: And then I want to speak about the financial impact it will have to our City. Last year there was an impact study done. Mr. May, if you could please come up, please. Last year there was an impact study done on the impact of the Ultra. Is that correct? Mr. May: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: Do you recall what was the number or what was the report stated as impact to the area? Mr. May: Is that $79 million was the overall number. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. So it goes -- it substantiate what we also saw that -- at that DDA meeting; and speaking with some of the stakeholders, some are in -- very much in favor of it. Mr. May: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: So with that said -- and it does have a big impact on the revenues for Bayfront Park. With that said, I mean, I'm comfortable moving forward with this, subject to the
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conditions that you meet with any other stakeholders or the stakeholders and come up with something that is reasonable to them where any type of problems that they may have could be mitigated and also, once again, subject to the terms and conditions of Bayfront Park Management Trust. So I'd be willing to support the item. Vice Chair Sarnoff: Could I just say two things, Mr. Chair? Chair Suarez: Yes. Vice Chair Sarnoff: Just a little bit of rebuttal. Financial impact, I would suggest to you it is displacement and not enhancement because you have a significant event happening on that time frame. Matter of fact, 98 percent of the InterContinental is booked by the World Baseball Classic, so it isn't like you're enhancing. In regard to traffic, I'll give you my personal experience, 'cause I wanted to see how it went last year. So as I'm coming up I-95 to go to the Marquis, after an hour and a half of trying to get through downtown , I gave up and went home. So if that's acceptable level of traffic, as a participant in that traffic, I'd have to tell you, I don't think that works. And I'm not going to five-day rule this because I don't believe in the five-day rule, honestly, but that's okay. You've proved it worked great once. So I'm not going to five-day rule this. I'm just going to say to you all, you've been very, very lucky in Ultra. I happen to have an office in the Miami Center. We average about 30 people a day either urinating, defecating, or throwing up in our building, in the traffic garage. It's all captured on video. If you want to see it, we have it for you. I surmise that they're going to somehow get somebody to clean that up and that'll be paid and that satisfies somehow. About 70 to 80 percent of these kids are on some sort of mind-altering drug. You've been very, very lucky. You put two of these weekends together in a row; I don't think you're going to be so lucky, but that's for each Commissioner's conscience. If money's that important to you, you'll vote the way you're going to vote. Chair Suarez: Commissioner Gort. Interesting. First of all, I think the last time we spoke about this, there were the stakeholders -- three or four stakeholders were here and they were very vociferous. I'm surprised that they're not here today, and I don't know why exactly or not. I would think and I would have hoped that they could have been here to corroborate or to negate anything that Mr. May has said with reference to the progress that they have supposedly made. So that's just something that -- you know, I'm not sure why they're not here. So that's number one. Number two, you know, I kind of -- the last part of what you just said, Commissioner Sarnoff, I get it. You know, I think -- I do think that Ultra is a big worldwide event. I do think it's something that is -- that puts the City of Miami on the map, so to speak. You know, I don't know -- it's such a hard decision for me because it's your district and so you're the one that feels, intimately, the impacts of whatever it is, just like in your district, Commissioner, and my district. It's -- some ways, it's easier for me because it doesn't impact my district to make a decision because the economic impact could flow to, you know, residents of my district, et cetera. But we've also been very, very deferential to district Commissioners on issues that intimately affect their district. So it's really a tough place to be. I hope, you know, when you're talking about at the end of having it for two weekends, you know, whether that could be like the tipping point for something negative happening. You know, obviously, that's not something that would be good for the City. So, you know, I feel like I'm in a tough position. I don't know, you know, exactly what to do in this circumstance. But I'd like to hear what Commissioner Gort has to say. And I know this doesn't have to be -- I think the event is in March, correct? Commissioner Carollo: Yes. Chair Suarez: So I don't think -- I don't know that we have to do anything right this moment, but do you -- is there anything that would persuade you that there could be some significant progress made between now and January 10? I mean, is there conditions that you can articulate that might assuage your concerns. Say for example, if the interested parties came before us and said, look, we feel reasonably confident that the measures that we have agreed to with Ultra would
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resolve at least our problems, then you have more time also to analyze that traffic study, which I don't even have either, by the way. You don't have it. You just got it. And maybe talk to other -like, you know, the police department; maybe also talk to Public Works or any other department. We do have a traffic engineer on staff that you might want to talk to and see whether the traffic plan that's being advanced is feasible, makes any sense; whether it will work; whether it will not work. Vice Chair Sarnoff: Effectively, here's what happens, Commissioner -- Mr. Chair. The Miami Center closes two Fridays, so businesses that are still expected to pay rent have now two days they have got to close their offices. You might say that's no big deal. Tell that to the businesses. Two Hundred Biscayne will effectively close. Again, you might say what's the big deal? It's just two days. Tell that to the businesses. Those are the two most effective office buildings. Tibor Hollo's building will be significantly impacted. What Michael Lewis is saying is really true in a manner of speaking. These are slightly older buildings that are majestic in their own way because they were built at a time when probably building costs were a little bit less, but they're a little bit aged and, in comparison to Brickell, they're not quite deriving the rents that Brickell does. If you give people another reason to say you know what, I'm not going to deal with Ultra, I'm not going to deal with this second weekend, I'm not -- I'm being asked to be shut down two days by the City of Miami. Those two buildings are going to suffer. And what's going to happen is the $31 a square foot they think they're worth is going to go down to $25 a square foot. And you might say that's business development in Miami. But is that the way you want your city to develop? And I'm from New Orleans, and I'm familiar with the Jazz Festival and I'm also familiar with Mardi Gras. But the Jazz Festival occurs on the fairgrounds of New Orleans, a solid, probably seven miles from downtown New Orleans, very -- you know, everybody goes there. Jimmy Morales is a huge fan of it. Ray Aberdeen, sometimes we see each other there. And it's a great place to sort of let loose. I don't deny that these events don't have a certain place, and I don't deny one man's Jazz Fest should be another man's Ultra, but they don't occur downtown. And the other thing I'd say to you is, if it's Mardi Gras -- and that does occur, on occasion, downtown -- that parade lasts an hour, an hour and a half . So you're really putting Miami in a place where very few cities are willing to tread. I hear Mr. May. Mr. May is what I call the best presenter of any person I've ever met. Anything that seems to be a problem seems to be a solution. He's very good at that. Money seems to solve everyone's problem. It will solve the problems of the big office buildings, but it won't solve the problems for the renters. And what seems like an easy solution today -- when somebody goes to renew their lease, says to themselves, you know, I couldn't take depositions that day, I didn't go to the office that day, you know -- And I'm not going to say these are mop-and-pop businesses. Shutts and Bowen is not a mom-and-pop business. The offices in my -- there are a few, but there are some substantial law firms in there. There's some substantial accounting firms in there. But I think their rights are just as -- I think their rights are the same as anyone else, and they will close those two Fridays. So last year they closed one Friday. To me, it's a balancing act. I balanced and I certainly don't disturb Ultra coming in because I thought it was just about the tipping point but not quite . Now you come and you say two weekends. All right, I think you've tipped; just me. Next weekend -next year it'll be, let's do the month. Well, in that case, you know, you've changed the complexion of downtown. Look, I know what I have to do as the district Commissioner. Commissioner Carollo pretty well depicted the DDA board meeting. Jose Goyanes will tell you right here, right now at Tres, it is the two -- what will be the best weekend of my life. I suspect it will be the best two weekends of my life. And I completely understand that. Maybe La Epoca will say this is great. Maybe they won't 'cause La Epoca -- depending upon the crowd and the ruliness [sic], it'll depend. I just say to you that I think a weekend is adequate. I think a weekend we can all live with. It's the second weekend that I believe you start at the tipping point, and one man's tipping point is another man's acceptable. I completely understand that. Chair Suarez: Can I just chime in a little bit more? Vice Chair Sarnoff: Sure.
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Chair Suarez: You know -- first of all, a law firm of that magnitude being closed on a Friday, that should be -- that might persuade us to do it so -- of that size . Having a bunch of lawyers not working for a day, that's probably a good thing for society. Anyhow, sorry for that digression. No, what we talked about the last meeting -- and I was trying to -- you know, sometimes I do like to play it kind of the, you know, real estate lawyer who tries to bring the two sides together, and I think both sides have articulated very good points. If you hadn't, then I'd -- it'd be easy for me to make a decision, and I honestly, legitimately feel kind of torn. You know, one of the things that we talked about at the last meeting was, you know, the possibility of doing this on a pi -- I mean, we're not like doing this forever. I mean, we're doing this for one year. Commissioner Carollo: One year. Chair Suarez: So, you know, we -- and I reminded you of another instance where we took a chance on a exemption of a noise ordinance that I thought -- I think we all kind of -- part of us that kind of pinched our nose and said, we don't know how this is going to go and we did it and it worked out and it was a wonderful event and I don't think there was any complaints and -- So what I'm trying to get at is maybe with a little bit more time, you can analyze the traffic plan; you can talk to stakeholders, whether they be large stakeholders or small stakeholders because I think we all value our stakeholders equally. It doesn't really matter whether they're a big law firm, whether they're a small mop-and-pop shop. And maybe consider the possibility of doing this on a one-year trial basis, you know -Commissioner Carollo: Pilot. Chair Suarez: As a pilot. And, you know, if it doesn't work out, clearly, we have that experience and we can look back and say this did not work out and we're not going to do this again. So that's just -- I would suggest that we defer this for one more meeting. Vice Chair Sarnoff: I don't know if they can, 'cause I was told that you needed a provisional okay. Am I wrong or am I right on that? Mr. May: Listen, we -- I mean, we have to move the process forward. We're starting to submit the permit to FDOT, and that means that the Manager has to begin his review, the police department their review, and we have to start building support, okay. But the number-one place, because of this resolution where we need to start that, is here today. And we understand because, again, it is a draft traffic study, a draft plan that is subject to change to accommodate needs from the City, from the stakeholders, from the American Airlines Arena. I've spoken to Eric Woolworth. They're reviewing it. They know that -- we know that on that second weekend, there will be basketball games at the Arena, and we're going to have to really work with them seriously at the northern end of this traffic plan to make sure that people can get in and out of the Arena and then they're not disrupted to the point that it's a serious problem, but it kind of starts here. We need a place to start that process, and frankly, a positive start to that process in order to really get the ball rolling so we can make submission of the permit. Commissioner Carollo: Mr. Chairman. Chair Suarez: Yes. Commissioner Carollo: Thank you. Couple of points. First of all, yes, my intention has always been that this is going to be a one-year pilot program and we will, you know, once it occurs, reevaluate and speak to the stakeholders and see what their experiences were before, you know, we commit to anything the following year. So it definitely will be a one-year pilot program. With regards to the law firms, I mean, I think we could agree that most attorneys are relatively educated, maybe not to the level of a CPA. So they read the newspaper. They read different
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articles. They know what's going on. And again, I don't see the outcry on their part. It's for them to be coming forward and say, Hey, listen, you're going to tear down our business or you're going to, you know, greatly hinder our -Vice Chair Sarnoff: Let me -Commissioner Carollo: You understand what I'm saying? Vice Chair Sarnoff: I do. Let me tell you the irony I'm facing. What they tell Mr. May and what they tell me privately are two different things. And they expect me to represent their interests without me having to say some of these guys come in front of this City -Chair Suarez: Right. Vice Chair Sarnoff: -- some of these people are major stakeholders, and they don't expect me to disclose who they are, and they expect me to do exactly what I'm doing. And, you know, I listened to what Brian is saying. I mean, I know exactly the position of Miami Center. I know exactly the position of InterContinental. I have not refuted anything he's said because he's been very careful in what he's said. And I'm not going to kid you; I think he could come to an accommodation with them, and I think it involves a great many dead presidents and I think they would be satisfied because, you know, they candidly said to me, Can you stop this? And I said I can only provide one vote. I can only say what my position is. So I'm going to honor their request. I'm going to honor what they've said to me. You know, in my heart of hearts, I think I'm doing the right thing. I think Carollo, in his heart of hearts, thinks he's doing the right thing. I don't take any animus towards him at all. I completely understand what he's doing. I've been in his shoes before at the Bayfront Trust. Commissioner Carollo: Commissioner, I have always said that I welcome discussion. I mean, I think this is healthy, you know. And ultimately, what I have seen, especially with this Commission, is that when we have discussion, especially long discussions -- some taking a lot longer than most people would think -- something positive comes out of it. Even if it's a little bit of tweaking here or tweaking there, it actually makes whatever we do better, and most of the time we actually reach consensus. And I think we're trying to work that way, you know, where we're saying, hey, listen, if we approve this, it will be a pilot program; it will be, you know, a leap of faith. We saw that last year, one weekend it worked. Listen, I had my reservations when they first came to me also, you know, and I had to weigh everything out. I think there's a lot of positive. I think, once again, we will be put, you know, in [sic] the map in a positive light. I mean, listen, I don't know too many events that, out of the blue, Madonna passes by and feels that she needs to be part of this event, you know. So there's a lot of positive to it, so I guess -And I'm also now going under history and I'm saying, listen, it seems like every year they've actually done what they've, you know, promised to do and they've made it, you know, a better event where there's less incidents; they deal with the traffic issue. And I'm saying, you know, in a pilot program, let's try, you know, one time and see how it goes. If it goes in a negative manner, I can assure you, I'll be the first one that says no way; this is not happening again, because I definitely don't want to see the City of Miami in a negative light. But at the same time, listen, I'll go a step further. I don't think you're going to see me at the Ultra event. And with that said, I also realize that this is a diverse community. We're a diverse city. And maybe what I may not like and I may not attend other people may attend and do like. And as a matter of fact, it's proven because as soon as tickets go on sale, they sell out. And most of them -- most of the attendees aren't necessarily even from South Florida or Dade County. I mean, they're actually coming from all parts of the world to come to this event. So even though I may be biased and I may not necessarily attend the event, I do realize that if we are, you know, the gateway of the Americas, if we actually are such a diverse city -- Listen, there's different likes for different people and we need to accept that, you know. Maybe some people don't like sailing, but we had a big sailing. Maybe some people don't like sports. Maybe some people don't like the arts, but
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guess what. We have it for everybody. We have it for all likes and, you know, that's what makes us unique, that's what makes us so diverse. And with that attitude, you know, I think we should give this a chance. Commissioner Gort: I know I won't be there. Chair Suarez: I was about to say the opposite. I'm young enough to be there. Commissioner Gort: And I have to -- I have a lot of ignorance towards this event. I've been stayed away, and I'm not seeing a police report. I have not seen a traffic report. But I have to tell you, although I'm away about ten blocks, I suffer from -- on those Friday. The traffic, it becomes very bad. And we close the office midday and we're on 10 Brickell. So if I was to vote today, my vote would be no. Vice Chair Sarnoff: Well, I think you're going to end up with a two-two tie so -Commissioner Carollo: A two-two tie will fail then, and then we also have to look at then would there be any possible litigation 'cause I think tickets have gone on sale. Vice Chair Sarnoff: Whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, that's not a fair statement. This Commission -Commissioner Carollo: I'm just saying. I'm just putting everything out there for us to -Chair Suarez: No, no, no. Commissioner Gort: What was the --? Chair Suarez: No. Look, I think the issue here is if it looks like it may -Commissioner Gort: Look -Chair Suarez: Wait, wait, wait. Let me just say something. If it looks like it may fail, then maybe what we should do is defer it for a meeting. Commissioner Gort: Yeah. Chair Suarez: You know what I mean? We've got -- it's the 13th. We got till the 10th. We got 20 day -- 30 days almost for all the stakeholders, big and small, to get together and see if maybe we can get buy-in like -- other than, you know, them coming in, getting bought in -- brought into the whole thing -- or bought into it, as Commissioner Sarnoff would suspect, but -Vice Chair Sarnoff: Little bias. Commissioner Carollo: And by the way, saying that also, at the same time, everything that -- at least what Bayfront Park Management Trust agreed to and I think everything that we have spoken here has been subject to conditions, you know. And I even stated earlier that one of the conditions would be them meeting with all the stakeholders and making sure there's some reasonable accommodations. Commissioner Gort: Let me clarify my statement, because I think both of you are doing what you think is right for what you represent. You on the Trust and you need the income for the Trust, and I understand that. But Commissioner Sarnoff represents his district. That's his districts [sic] and he's there every day and he talks to the people there every day. So it's a very tough decision for us. We had a couple of those today. I mean, today is very -- been a very unique day and, believe me, it is not hard, but I have to listen to the Commiss -- the district Commissioner. I
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think his input is very important, like it is to you when you have any issues within your district . Although we might have differences, we respect your opinion because that's your district. That's what I base my position on, okay. Chair Suarez: Look, I think we should defer it. I think we should try to -- give them an opportunity to work -Commissioner Gort: I don't have any problem. If they can work it out, it's great. Chair Suarez: I mean, if it dies, then there's no hope for a possible, you know, reconciliation. I mean, doing it as a one-year, you know, pilot program -Commissioner Carollo: Yeah. Then let's defer and see where we are in January and take it from there. Vice Chair Sarnoff: Okay. Commissioner Carollo: Okay. Vice Chair Sarnoff: So you have to move to defer it, I guess. Commissioner Carollo: I make a motion to defer this to the January 10 meeting. Chair Suarez: Is there a second? Commissioner Gort: Second. Chair Suarez: Second. All in favor, signify by saying " ye." a Commissioner Carollo: Aye. Chair Suarez: Aye. Vice Chair Sarnoff: No. Commissioner Gort: Aye. Chair Suarez: Commissioner Sarnoff -- I'm sorry. If you can register the Vice Chair as a no, please. Thank you. Mr. May: Thank you.

RE.32 12-01404

RESOLUTION

Office of the City Attorney

A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, WITH ATTACHMENT(S), ACCEPTING A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ("MOU") BETWEEN THE STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ("STATE"), BRICKELL PLACE PHASE II MARINA ASSOCIATION, INC. ("BPM II"), AND THE CITY OF MIAMI ("CITY"), ALLOWING BPM II TO PROCEED WITH THE PERMITTING OF ITS MARINA CONSTRUCTION IN AN EFFORT TO ALLOW THE CITY AND THE STATE TO WORK OUT THEIR GLOBAL SUBMERGED LANDS ISSUES; AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE MOU, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE ATTACHED FORM, AND ANY OTHER NECESSARY DOCUMENTS, IN A
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