Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout1996-01-16 Regular MeetingCOUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - JANUARY 16, 1996 The regular meeting of the Bat Harbour Village Council was held on Tuesday. January 16. 1996. in the Council Chamber at Bal Harbour Village Hall. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Spiegel at 9:35 a.m. The roll was called and those present were: Mayor Estelle Spiegel Assistant Mayor Matthew B. Blank Councilman James E. Boggess Councilman Andrew R. Hirsch' Councilman Sol M. Taplin Also present: lifred J. Treppeda. Village Manager Jeanette Horton. Village Clerk Richard J. Weiss. Village Attorney As a quorum was determined to be present. the meetin2 commenced. _. approval of :Minutes: Assistant Mayor Blank requested the minutes be corrected on page -. sixth paragraph last sentence should read "until the construction of the building is completed." A motion was offered by Councilman Taplin and seconded by Councilman Boggess to approve the minutes of the December 19. 1995. Regular Meeting as corrected. There being no further correction; or additions. the motion carried unanimously (5-0), and the minutes were approved as corrected. A motion was offered by counci'man Taplin and Seconded by Assistant Mayor Bank to approve the minutes of the December 29. 1995. Special Meeting. :'here being no changes or additions, the motion carried unanimously (5--0). and the minutes were approved as submitted. Presentations - Officer of the Month: None 4. Public Hearings: None Ordinances First Reading: None b. Ordinances Second Readit>gLPublic hearing: None Resolutions: None S. Discussion on the Author-izatio i_of-._Resor_t_ Tux Funds for Grand Opening_of Pool Area ofthe Sheraton Bal Barbour _- Raj Singh, General_ Manager Sea View Hotel: Mr. Singh explained at the last Resort Tax Committee meeting he voted against S100.000 to be spent for the Grand Vpening of the 146 pout area of the sheraton. At this time. he would like to make his feelings clear as to why he voted against this expenditure of Resort Tax Funds. as well as other things that are disturbing to the Sea View Hotel. Mr. Singh explained he has been a member of the Resort Tax wiax Committee since 1089. He stated at this time. he is unhappy the direction in which the philosophy of the Resort Tax is heading. The Resort Tax was started for the purpose of renourishing the beach so money would be available when the time came for the renourishment. The S100.000 for the Sheraton is a departure from that principle. At the time the s100.000 was approved. the Sheraton requested this funding to bring in r, big named star such as Gloria Estefan. However. that did not happen second rate singer will appear. which was not fully disclosed to the Resort Tax Committee. He further explained the Sea View has always shown good faith to the Sheraton Ba1 Harbour. Mr. Singh stated the other item he would !ike to discuss is the Emissary position. He explained an Lniissary was hired to represent the Village of Bal Harbour. but there is a departure from what was discussed and what actually it has become. He continued to explain the Village had no desire to have the Emissary on the Village payroll. therefore the Sheraton volunteered to have the Emissary as their employee. However. from that point on there are some differences. such as the contract. lie continued to explain the last budget he received for the Emissary position was for 5185.000. The changes that Greenstone Roberts made to the budget were not voted on by the Resort Tax Committee. Mr. Singh stated in his opinion the Villase's 50th anniversary should not be tiers in with the Sheraton's Grand Opening of their pool area. The 50th Anniversary celebration should be a stand alone function. Mr. Singh then proceeded to explain his comments come down to the following: Things are not thought through Actions are takers The reserve is below 2.5 million estimate given by Mr. Flynn The beaches are a priority Only if funds are left over they should be used for marketing Ba1 Harbour He further stated that these are public funds. therefore the funds Regular council Meeting 01/16/06 A r7 should oe spent the way the public feels they should be spent. Since he is a taxpayer o( the Village he feels the funds have been improperly spent. He suggested to be fair whatever funds arc received from Resort Tax should have an amount appropriated by the Cillage that would cover beach renourishment and other beach related expenses. and whatever is left over should be allocated to the parties that make the contribution in the same portion. Mayor Spiegel explained under the Village Managers reports item 9C2 the recommendation of the Village Manager and Finance Director is to defer consideration of increasing the S1.000.000 beach reserve until the end of the current fiscal year. .1t that time. the Village wilt be finished with Phase 11 Landscaping project and will know where the fund balance stands after the current fiscal year is over. Mayor Spiegel stated to her recollection. when she first came on the Council. one third of the tax collected was set aside to increase the reserve for beach renourishment. Councilman Taplin stated he was instrumental at the time the Resort Tax was invoked. At the time a Resort Tax was passed in Tallahassee it was to increase tourism. He further explained at that time he contacted Tallahassee and asked if the Village could impose a 2% Resort Tax for the single purpose of building a beach. He continued to explain Tallahassee approved the Resort Tax for the nourishment of the beach. If the Village did not have the Resort Tax at that time they would not have a beach because the Federal Government would not nelp to build a beach. He then proceeded to explain 1 million dollars was borrowed from the Community Bank to build the beach. and some of the Ocean Front property owners had to guarantee the loan. The total cost to build the beach was million dollars. The Federal Government did reimburse the Village 2 million dollars. Today the Village finds it is in the same position. since the beach is 50', eroded. He stated he appreciates the fact that most of the Resort tax funds come from the Sheraton. and they want to have the say where the funds are spent. He stated in his opinion. ne thinks the Sheraton should have a say in the spending of these funds. but he wonders where the Sheraton would be without a beach. At this time the most important issue is the renourishment of the beach. Therefore. the Council should revaluate how the funds should be spent. forget about the trees or promoting the Sheraton Bai Harbour. Sea View Hotel or the Bai Harbour Shops. Councilman Boggess stated when the Beach Renourishment Reserve reached 3 million dollars, the Village Manager was directed to see what would be a reasonable amount to have in that reserve. The Manager at that time contacted the Army Corps. of Engineers anu they said 1 million dollars should be kept in that reserve. He asked Mr. Treppeda if this was correct. Councilman Hirschl stated this is in the minutes and the answer is ycs. Therefore. the funds Regular Council Meeting Ol/16/96 148 were transferred at that time without concern. Mayor Spiegel asked Mr. Treppeda where the Village stands as co sending out divers to locate a source of sand. Mr. Treppeda replied he is waiting for a response to his letter to the Army Corps. of Engineers. Mayor Spiegel asked for an update on the Emissary agreement. Mr. Weiss explained he is working on two items. one is amending the letter of employment. and the other is a simple grant agreement between the Village and the Sheraton Bat Harbour. He the❑ proceeded to explain the grant agreement to the Council. Assistant Mayor Blank referred to the same letter that Mr. Weiss mentioned. which states in the first paragraph that it is a joint venture between the Sheraton Bal Harbour and the Bal Harbour Shops. He further stated the letter congratulates Ms. Cardenas on her promotion. In his opinion. a promotion is being promoted to a higher job, therefore he was of the opinion that Ms. Cardenas was working for the Sheraton Bat Harbour and they promoted her. He asked this be clarified. Mr. Fine explained that Ms. Cardenas was not an employee of the Sheraton. and that was a standard letter that is sent to new hires. Councilman Boggess stated he understood the Emissary would not be a Village employee because of the added benefits, but the Sheraton's benefits amount to 4S'.. Therefore, maybe it would be beneficial to have this person as a Village employee. Councilman Hirschl explained from the Committees' standpoint. since this program was modeled after the Swan and Dolphin hotels in Orlando. it was felt there would be a better control if the Emissary was under the direct supervision of the hotels. The Committee discussed the different benefit package of the Sea View Hotel and the Sheraton. and they decided the difference was only a few thousand dollars. It was decided that the Emissary would be employed by the Sheraton. He further explained the Emissary program is the next step following the key Promotion, now is the time to directly market Bal Harbour Village. Councilman Hirschl explained the grant is self limiting. and is only for the balance of this budget year. He then proceeded to explain the issue of the Emissary business card. and that the minutes reflect the fact that the Emissary represents everyone. Mr. Fine. Director of Marketing Sheraton Bal Harbour, addressed the Council and explained the Emissary position is for the community. The position was designed and patterned after a similar community's Emissary in Orlando. He further explained the focus of this position is that they will go out and represent this community and the three selling entities. The primary focus will be to stage events in Latin America and North America to generate tourism for Regular Council Meeting 01/16/96 4 this community. He continued to explain Ms. t'ardenas w.ii1 make monthly reports to the Resort Tax Committee. and she will be managed by him on a day to day basis. Mr. Fine then proceeded to explain the event that will be held in March at the Sheraton. He displayed a sample of the 50th anniversary logo banners that will be displayed at the hotel. He then proceeded to explain the event will be held with the Miami Project as the charity, and Mike Love formerly of the Beach Boys will be the entertainer. He then proceeded to explain how the Village's 50th anniversary will be celebrated at this event. Discussion followed as to the expenditure for the March event at the Sheraton. Councilman Boggess stated he toured the Sheraton pool area and he was amazed by the renovations. HHe the explained the he sees nothing inappropriate about proceeding Shera event. Councilman Taplin asked if there will be a charge for the residents of the Village. Mr. Fine explained the $100.000 is dedicated to bring a name performer to entertain at the event. The total expenses for the evening will be approximately S200.000. He further explained he will be meeting with Susie Safie of the Miami Project to discuss the cost of the tickets for this event. Denis McGeary. Bal Harbour Manor asked if the entertainment could be underwritten. Mr. Fine replied this was looked into. but they were unable to find anyone to underwrite the entertainment. Councilman Boggess questioned who asked Alice Fisher to form a 50th Anniversary Committee. Mr. Treppeda replied no Committee has been formed at this time. Councilman Hirsch' explained what hat transpired at the last Resort Tax Committee meeting in reference to this Committee. Mayor Spiegel stated she thought Ms. Fisher would be present at this meeting. since she is the Village's Public relations agent. Councilman Boggess stated the Council should be Ex-Officio members. that each Council member submit names to the Village Manager. and that one member be from the Sheraton Bal Harbour. Sea View Hotel and Bal Harbour Shops. Therefore. the Committee will be comprised of eight members plus the Council as Ex-Officio members. Discussion followed as to different event, that should take place for the celebration of the 50th Anniversary throughout a twelve month period. Mr. Weiss explained this committee is subject to the Sunshine Law. The meetings must be noticed to the public. and minutes recorded. Discussion followed as to the renourishment of the beach. Assistant Mayor Blank referred to a letter received from Mr. Ilynn. In which Mr. Flynn stated the cost to renourish the peach would '..•e ? million dollars. Councilman Boggess stated if the Village should renourish the beach the cost would be approximately 3 million dollars. Councilman Taplin suggested the Village borrow the funds and pay them back with Resort Tax Funds and increase the Beach Regular Council Meeting 01/I6/06 150 Renourishment Reserve. Mr. Treppeda stated as soon as he received a reply from the Army Corps. of Engineers he will advise the Council. Assistant Mayor Blank referred to the Passporte Program that was voted on to spend $73.000. and the minutes reflect purchases of $144,000 that are contributed to the Passporte for last year. Now it was voted to spend another $73.000. Councilman Hirschl stated this is not correct. Assistant Mayor Blank then proceeded to read from the Resort Tax minutes on what transpired as to this approval. It was in the minutes that only 324.000 was approved and not $73.000 as Assistant Mayor Blank first stated. Assistant Mayor Blank questioned if it is wise to spend $73.000 and only receive S144.000 in purchases. it seems no one is following through. He then proceeded to question the cost per page charged to the advertisers. Mr. Fine explained the charge to advertisers is $3.000 for a full page and $1.500 for a half page. Last year's Pasaportc had only 16 advertisers. but for this year there are 24 advertisers. Therefore. the actual cost to Resort Tax funds is only $24.000 this year. He then proceeded to explain the Passport program. which is worth $800 to the customers. The Passporte is a marketing tool. which helps market guest rooms. Assistant Mayor Blank asked where are the results from the other 12 retailers that had taken ads. Mr. Fine replied the biggest beneficiary was Saks Fifth Avenue. but Nieman Marcus had an offering that just said come into the store and they will give a $25.00 value item. They were unable to qualify the amount of purchases associated to that giveaway. but they went through 2000 items. Councilman Hirschl asked Mr. Fine if it was true that it was easier to sell the advertisement this year to the repeat stores. Mr. Fine replied yes. Mayor Spiegel stated she appreciated Mr. Singh appearing before the Council. and giving them his point of view. In doing this. he opened up a discussion that the entire Council was able to participate in. At this time. Councilman Hirschl requested a vote of confidence for the Resort Tax Committee. He further stated that close to two hours has been spent discussing Committee work that has already been discussed. He then stated maybe the Resort Tax Committee should be abolished. and the Council make the decisions. Mr. Treppeda asked the Council if they are happy with what they are receiving from the staff. He further explained Mrs. Horton had given the highlights of the last Resort Tax meeting. and if the Council so desires this would be continued. It was the consensus of the council that they be given the highlights of the Resort Tax Committee meetings. Mr. Singh stated that no funds have been budgeted for the 50th Anniversary events. Mr. Treppeda explained there is a $30.000 line Regular Council Meeting O1/16/96 6 151 item in the Resort Tax budget for special events that is not allocated. which will be used for the 50th Anniversary events. Assistant Mayor Blank asked Mr. Treppeda what is the fund balance of the Resort tax. Mr. Treppeda replied if everything is spent that is budgeted the fund balance would be $844.899 plus the $1,000.000 for beach reserve. Assistant Mayor Blank then asked what the fund balance was two years ago. Mr. Treppeda replied $2,819.408. plus $1.000.000 beach reserve. Reports and Recommendations: A. Mayor and Council: None B. Village Attorney: Mr. Weiss explained the draft ordinance does not require discussion. he requested the Council review the draft, which is based on the recommendations of the Village's planner. He further stated after the Council reviewed the ordinance he would be happy to speak individually with them about the ordinance. C. Village Manager: Landscape Light Shields: Mr. Treppeda explained on January 10th a lighting demonstration was held to compare the internal shield to the external shield on tic landscaping lights for the Phase II Landscaping project. He further explained everyone present agreed that the internal shield virtually eliminated the glare to both pedestrian and vehicle traffic. The internal shield would also direct more light to the• head of the tree. creating a Netter lighting effect. He continued to explain with the use of internal shields the ground cover could be eliminated, which would save the Village approximately $6.000. At this time. he requested Council approval to switch from the external shields to the internal shields and from ground cover to soot. A motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Assistant Mayor Blank to approve the internal shields and sod as ground cover. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye: Assistant Mayor Blank aye: Councilman Boggess aye: councilman Hirschl aye: Councilman Taplin aye. Beach Renourishment Reserve: This was discussed previously under item 8. Quarterly Financial Report: Mr. Treppeda explained the General Fund is expended be ??'. which is Regular Council Meeting 01/l6/96 .i52 right on line for this period of time. He further explained fluctuations in individual departments above or below 25 can be attributed to expenditures which are made up front for the entire year or expenditures which have not been made. He continued to explain the General Fund revenues arc high due to ad valorem taxes are received at the beginning of the year. Resort tax revenues arc down due to construction work at the Sheraton Bal Harbour. The water and sewer fund show artificially low amounts which is due to accounting procedures. Mr. Walker advises that for the first quarter. revenues and expenditures are within appropriate levels. He then asked the Council if they had any questions about individual line items. Councilman Hirschl asked why either General Government is expended by 40';t. Mr. Walker replied all insurance for the Village is pre paid for the entire year. Councilman Boggess stated he is very concerned about the statement that both the Water and Sewer Funds are under the 25<. level. and this trend is expected to continue. Mr. Walker stated that is not a true statement. He explained this memo was given bi him over tiie phone and was a miscommunication. Councilman Hirschl asked Mr. Walker if there was any department that he is concerned with. Mr. Walker replied he is concerned about Resort tax revenue. He then proceeded to refer to the chart included in the agenda packet. He explained that he believes the revenue is down due to the construction that has taken place at the Sheraton Ba1 Harbour. 50th Anniversary Committee and Event at Sheraton: Mr. Treppeda explained this item was already discussed under item 8. L0. Other Business: Councilman Taplin stated there has been complaints about employees of the contractors parking on the beach. Mr. Treppeda explained the police department is working on this. and has issued parking tickets. Charles Brown gave an update on what has transpired in December and January on the amphitheater issue. He explained at the City of North Miami's January meeting discussion will be held on a bond issue for the building of the amphitheater. Another concern of the coalition is that the theater will be run under a 50 year management contract and not leased. Councilman Boggess stated no further mediation session has been scheduled. The sessions were recessed until the developer came up with a set of plans that could be reviewed. In his opinion. no Regular Council Meeting 01/16/06 8 work is being done on plans. and the bond issue is for tne clean up of the site. Bob Maute, Fairfield Manor. stated he noticed when coming to the Council meetings there are not many parking spaces available in the parking lot.' Mr. Treppeda explained the lot is open to the public. Mr. Treppeda explainer McCall Magazine will be doing a photo shoot using Bai Harbour as a back drop. and there would also be some test about Bal Harbour. At the time this was discussed at the lesort Tax Committee it t,as believed the hotels would be donating rooms. The Sheraton is full at that time. and Mr. Singh said he would give the rooms at cost which is $110 per room. Therefore. at this time he is requesting Council approval for $2.h40. A motion was offered by Councilman Hirschl and seconded by Councilman Boggess to approve this expenditure. the motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye: Assistant Mayor Blank aye: Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Hirschl aye; Councilman Taplin absent. 11. Adjourn: There being no further business to come before the Council. a motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Councilma❑ Hirschl to adjourn. The motion carried unanimously- (4-0). with Councilman Iapli;i absent. and'the meeting adjourned at 1l:35 a.m. Mayor Estelle S Attest: Jeanette Horton. CMC/AAF. Village Clerk Councilman Taplin left the meeting at this time. Regular Council Meeting Ok/i6/96