HomeMy Public PortalAbout1998-01-20 Regular MeetingCOUNCIL MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING - JANUARY 20. 1998
The Regular Meeting of the Bal Harbour Village Council was held on Tuesday, January 20,
1998, in the Council Chambers at Bal Harbour Village Hall. The meeting was called to
order at 3:00 p.m. by Mayor Spiegel. Mr. Weiss explained that Councilman Boggess is
restricted in his ability to talk so he has suggested that Councilman Boggess raise his hand
in order to vote, or if Councilman Boggess wants to write something he would be glad to
read his comments for the record. Those present were:
Also present:
Mayor Estelle Spiegel
Assistant Mayor Andrew R. Hirschl
Councilman James E. Boggess
Councilman Daniel S. Tantleff
Alfred J. Treppeda, Village Manager
Jeanette Horton, Village Clerk
Richard J. Weiss, Village Attorney
Absent: Councilman Peg E. Gorson
As a quorum was determined to be present, the meeting commenced.
2. Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Assistant
Mayor Hirschl.
3. Approval of Minutes: Mrs. Horton stated that on page 6, the motion to
deny the zoning, there is a mistake. The motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Hirschl
and seconded by Councilman Tantleff.
A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Hirschl and seconded by Councilman Tantleff to
approve the minutes of the December 16, 1997, Regular Meeting, with the correction to
page 6. The motion carried unanimously (4-0), with Councilman Gorson absent, and the
minutes were approved as corrected.
4. Presentations - Officer of the Month: None
5. Public Hearings: None
6. Ordinances Second Reading/Public Hearings: None
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7. Ordinances First Reading/Public Hearings: The Ordinance was
read, by title, by the Village Clerk amending chapter 15 "Signs," of the Village Code.
Mr. Weiss explained that this is an ordinance to address the issue of the sculptures that
were being put up on a particular property within the Residential Area, which brought to the
Council the fact that Bal Harbour didn't have any regulations over all dealing with this kind
of an issue. This ordinance treats those sculptures basically as a sign. It is retro-active.
This ordinance takes effect as of a particular date. The sculptures that have been put up
were legal uses under Bal Harbour's Code. This ordinance would make them a legal non-
conforming use, which means as long they are there, they can stay there. If they are
removed, they could not be replaced and someone else couldn't do that, and additional
ones could not be placed.
Mayor Spiegel opened the public hearing for comments. Assistant Mayor Hirschl
questioned Mr. Weiss if there would be no way to remove existing "signs" as defined by the
ordinance. Mr. Weiss stated this is the way to remove existing signs and he would do
some more checking. He stated that if Bal Harbour is interested in amortizing the existing
sculptures beyond the one that's allowed, he could check into that between first and
second reading. Assistant Mayor Hirschl stated that he would like him to. Councilman
Tantleff questioned if there are similar ordinances in other municipalities like this or if Bal
Harbour is setting precedence. Mr. Weiss stated that this is fairly cutting edge stuff. They
did pattern it after some other things that they saw, but this is fairly unique. Councilman
Tantleff questioned if this ordinance is prohibiting flag poles. Mr. Weiss stated not this
particular ordinance. There is another ordinance in the Code Book.
Mr. Howard Berlin addressed the Council. He stated that the Civic Association has been
very concerned about the fact that there is no ordinance that governs this type of activity.
He questioned the definition of "sign," because it seems to suggest that almost any
decoration that one puts outside on their property would be caught up in this definition. Mr.
Weiss stated that it has to be used for identification, advertising, information or display
purposes or any statuary, sculpture molding, casting or other objects used for identification,
informational, advertising or display purposes. Mr. Berlin questioned about holiday
displays. Mr. Weiss stated that he would look at that and exempt out holiday decorations.
There being no further comments, Mayor Spiegel closed the public hearing.
A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Hirsch) and seconded by Councilman Tantleff to
enact this ordinance. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye;
Assistant Mayor Hirsch) aye; Councilman Boggess nay; Councilman Gorson absent;
Councilman Tantleff aye.
Mr. Weiss questioned when the second reading would be. Mrs. Horton stated that,
according to state statute, second reading, or one of the two public hearings, should be
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after 5:00 p.m., unless the local body by a majority of vote plus one elects to conduct it at
a different time. A motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Hirsch) and seconded by
Councilman Tantleff to have the one public hearing at the next Council meeting, before
5:00 p.m. The motion carried unanimously (4-0), with Councilman Gorson absent, to have
the public hearing on February 17, 1998, at 3:00 p.m.
8. Resolutions: The resolution was read, by title, by the Village Clerk
authorizing application for grant from the Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond Program.
Mr. Treppeda stated that he did apply and Bal Harbour did get approved for its per capita
share of $30,000 from this grant program; however, this is something that Bal Harbour
needs to pass as part of the procedure.
A motion was offered by Councilman Tantleff and seconded by Assistant Mayor Hirschl to
adopt this resolution. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye;
Assistant Mayor Hirsch) aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson absent;
Councilman Tantleff aye; thus becoming:
RESOLUTION NO. 571
RESOLUTION OF THE VILLAGE OF BAL HARBOUR
AUTHORIZING APPLICATION FOR GRANT FROM THE
SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS BOND PROGRAM.
Mr. Treppeda stated that this $30,000 will be used toward the jogging path restoration.
9. Reports and Recommendations:
A. MAYOR AND COUNCIL: Councilman Tantleff stated that the Miami -
Dade County League has been selected as a service provider in the "Welfare to Wages'
program. If Bal Harbour is interested, they can hire a welfare recipient in an employment
slot in the City, at no cost to the City. He just wanted to mention it and pass it on to Mr.
Treppeda for his records.
B. VILLAGE ATTORNEY: Mr. Weiss stated that, as the Council is
aware, Bal Harbour has been served with an appeal of the zoning decision. He would like
to request an Executive Session to discuss litigation strategy and how this litigation can
proceed. He requested that the Clerk coordinate with the Council's schedule to do that as
soon as possible.
Mr. Treppeda stated that Mr. Cleveland wanted to have an Executive Session for the
Munisport issue. Mr. Weiss requested an Executive Session on the Munisport matter on
behalf of Mr. Cleveland.
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It was the consensus of the Council to have both the Executive Sessions on the same day.
C. VILLAGE MANAGER'
Special Master Appointment: Mr. Treppeda stated that Bal
Harbour only has one Special Master at this time and an application was received from
Russell Mace. Mr. Treppeda proceeded to read Mr. Maces qualifications. Mr. Mace
addressed the Council. Assistant Mayor Hirschl questioned Mr. Mace why he wanted to
do this. Mr. Mace responded that he thought it would be very interesting and he has been
a resident in Bal Harbour for about a year and a half and he really enjoys living in the
Village. Assistant Mayor Hirsch) questioned if he has seen any of the proceedings occur
here with the Special Master, Darcee Siegel. Mr. Mace responded no he has not.
Assistant Mayor Hirsch) questioned if his current position as an Assistant Public Defendant
was an appointment for a long period of time. Mr. Mace stated it is a yearly contract. Mr.
Treppeda stated that he had put that in there, but Mr. Mace had said that he has not been
appointed at this point until he passes the BAR Exam. Assistant Mayor Hirsch) questioned
Mr. Mace if he has passed the BAR Exam. Mr. Mace stated no, that he takes it in three
weeks. Assistant Mayor Hirsch) questioned Mr. Weiss if that is a requirement for this
position, to be an attorney. Mr. Weiss responded no, he doesn't think so, but he will check.
Mr. Treppeda read that they just have to possess outstanding reputations for civic, pride,
interest, integrity, responsibility, and business or professional ability. Mr. Weiss stated that
there is no requirement that they be an attorney
A motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Assistant Mayor Hirsch)
to approve the appointment of Mr. Mace as a Special Master. The motion carried with the
vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirsch) aye; Councilman Boggess
aye; Councilman Gorson absent; Councilman Tantleff aye.
Mr. Treppeda stated to Mr. Mace that he would be in touch with him to let him know the
procedure.
Atlantic Beach Club: Mr. Treppeda stated that at the last meeting
he was requested to check and make sure that Atlantic Beach Club is complying with
everything. He stated that they do have occupational licenses up to date with the Village
and their Licensing Agreement with the Sheraton is still in effect. Mr. Treppeda stated that
Jim Harrison is here and David Fine, from the Sheraton. He stated that Mr. Harrison did
send notices out to the Council to see if anyone wanted to meet with him individually. Mr.
Treppeda stated that there was a problem with vehicles parking on the beach frequently
and Mr. Harrison has worked with him and he isn't getting any more complaints about that.
Mr. Harrison also cleaned up a lot of equipment that was stored in the sea oats in that
area. Assistant Mayor Hirschl stated that those were areas that raised concern and Mr.
Harrison has addressed them properly and thanked him for doing same.
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Village Hall Renovations Change Orders: Mr. Treppeda stated
that Jose Fernandez from Middlebrooks & Associates, who is the Project Manager for the
Village Hall Renovation, is here to explain some change orders, that actually end up being
a credit for the Village once you add them all up.
Mr. Fernandez addressed the Council. Mr. Fernandez stated that the charges for the
General Contractor's overhead and profit are not the quantities that are stipulated in the
contract and they have to be adjusted down. So, he would like to present this today
knowing that these amounts are the offset and they will be adjusted. There is about a 3%
difference. Mr. Fernandez reviewed the change orders.
Mayor Spiegel questioned Mr. Fernandez about the time. The promises that Carivon
makes are not in line with the events that are happening. Mr. Fernandez stated that
Middlebrooks is aware of that and his office has sent notification to the Village to that
effect. The net result of their progress is that 80% of the time has been consumed in doing
roughly 50% of the work. Therefore, they have serious reservations that the 20% of the
time remaining can accomplish the other 50%. They have impressed upon Carivon the
necessity to speed up the job, both in the meetings they've had and conversations.
Carivon has represented that the factors of being a very tight site, of having to work around
people, and having too many constraints because ifs such a small site, essentially
impedes them from moving any faster. Mr. Fernandez stated they have impressed upon
Carivon the need to have additional men on site and maybe more supervision. Mr.
Fernandez stated that he is letting the Council know of the problem in time so that the
Village has the ability to prod Carivon in other ways, and he thinks those other ways should
be explored at this point. Mr. Treppeda stated that he has turned some information over
to Nina Boniske, Weiss Serota & Helfman, P.A., and she is getting ready to formulate a
letter to send to Carivon.
Assistant Mayor Hirsch) asked Mr. Fernandez to address change order numbers 6 and 7.
Mr. Fernandez stated that the documents were prepared for the Annex using the existing
underground lines for water and sewer. After they were excavated and they saw the
quality of the line that was there and in which they were now going to be discharging a
substantial amount of flow, they felt that two things could occur. It could be used with
those pipes and maybe a plumber would need to be out there often because they could
clog up, or they could replace them. Essentially, that was number 6. He continued that
number 7 really surprised them. The mechanical room essentially has created a flu
between the ground floor, the second floor, and the roof. There were no dividing dampers
or structures. So, in essence, in the event of a fire or something it would have been like
a fireplace in which everything could go up into the attic. Apparently the building went
through a series of renovations, and at one point in time when they decided to connect one
floor with the other, they went ahead and built chases and enclosed the chases, but never
provided the necessary fire barriers and dampers. One of the issues they also discovered
is that the fresh air drawal was air coming in from the attic. That is also a condition that is
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not wanted because the air in the attic has moisture and dust, and that was being infused
into the system in-house. So their recommendation was to put in new duct work, to provide
fire dampers, and to isolate each individual floor and to avoid drawing air from the attic into
the fresh air intake.
A motion was offered by Councilman Boggess and seconded by Assistant Mayor Hirsch)
to approve change orders 5 through 16. The motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor
Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirsch) aye; Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson
absent; Councilman Tantleff aye.
Approval of Lighting Consultant: Mr. Treppeda stated that this
is budgeted this year in Resort Tax. He stated that one proposal is included in the agenda,
the others were not ready yet. The one that they have is from Maguire Hilbish Associates
and explained that Mr. Stanley Whitman has used this lighting consultant and has been
pleased with his services. The Resort Tax Committee also recommended this person. His
bid is between $7,200 and $9,700. Mr. Treppeda then passed the bid for Bailey
Engineering to the Council members. The price for Bailey Engineering is for $9,000. He
stated that Middlebrooks & Associates also got a third proposal; however, they bid on the
wrong specifications. They thought they were doing much more and they came out with
$27,000.
A motion was offered by Councilman Tantleff and seconded by Assistant Mayor Hirschl to
defer to the Resort Tax Committee and to approve Maguire Hilbish Associates. The
motion carried with the vote as follows: Mayor Spiegel aye; Assistant Mayor Hirschl aye;
Councilman Boggess aye; Councilman Gorson absent; Councilman Tantleff aye.
Mr. Treppeda stated that he will contact Mr. Hilbish.
Discussion of Sidewalk on East Side of SunTrust Bank: Mr.
Treppeda stated that he knows that Councilman Tantleff was contacted and he wasn't sure
if any other Council members were. Some residents would like the Council to consider
adding a sidewalk on a missing segment on the east side of the SunTrust Bank.
Councilman Tantleff stated that there is a piece of sidewalk that is clearly missing where
it ends right before the Bank, and then it continues east of the Bank. There are many
residents that walk to The Shul, etc. It's on the west side of Collins Avenue, on the east
side of the Bank.
Mr. Whitman stated that he received a FAX from the Village Manager appointing Tony
Noboa of the SunTrust Bank, Jaime Valdes of the Sheraton Bal Harbour, and himself as
a Sub -Committee of the Resort Tax Committee on completing the work to be done on
Collins Avenue and 96th Street. He would submit to the Council that this sidewalk be a part
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and parcel of that. The Sub -Committee should take into consideration the traffic, the land,
the cost, what they're getting for the money, the aesthetics, and all of those and report
back to the Council.
Assistant Mayor Hirsch) stated that he thinks it's unfortunate that the Council, at the time
of the approval in variances granted to the SunBank for their construction, did not take this
into account. They should be paying for this, they should be doing this for the City, and he
would like to discuss that with Mr. Noboa and the Officials of SunBank, because maybe
they would like to pick up the tab for that.
Mayor Spiegel stated that she thinks it's a dangerous place to walk. Assistant Mayor
Hirschl agreed. Councilman Boggess stated that without a railing it is extremely
dangerous. Mr. Weiss stated that if there is a safety issue, Bal Harbour might want to have
their Engineers look at it, or have SunTrust Bank have their Engineers look at it. Mr.
Treppeda stated he would have the Engineers do a study.
10. Other Business: Mr. Treppeda asked Mr. Weiss if he wanted to do the
Executive Session next week. Mr. Weiss stated that its not urgent, but it needs to be
moved on. Next week would be fine.
Mr. Treppeda stated that he also needed to schedule a Workshop Meeting for the Beach
Master Plan and will call each one of them.
11. Adjourn: There being no further business to come before the Council, a
motion was offered by Assistant Mayor Hirsch) and seconded by Councilman Tantleff to
adjourn. The motion carried unanimously (4-0), with Councilman Gorson absent, and the
meeting adjourned at 3:40 p.m.
yae:a
.Mayor Estelle S
Attest:
anette 3-for> on, CMC/2LAE
village Clerk
/elw
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Mayor Spiegel stated that we are about to have an attorney/client
session in accordance with Florida Statute 286.011. The session is
estimated to last one hour or less. The following people will be
in attendance at this meeting:
Village Councilmembers and Mayor
Village Attorney Richard J. Weiss
Village Attorney Joseph Serota
Village Attorney Stephen Helfman
Village Manager Alfred J. Treppeda
Mayor Spiegel the proceeded to explain these proceedings will be
recorded by a cer fied court reporter..' At the conclusion of all
litigation discusse., the transcript will be made part of the
public records.
At this time, the Vi1 :_e Clerk let the meeting.
/
3. Attorne - Cli-st Sess. n Case No. 95-0403:
The following people were i a tendance at this meeting:
Village Counci m• bers and Mayor
Village Attor ey • thony Cleveland
Village Atto ey raid Richman (by phone)
At the conclusion of the/ Attorney/ Tent session Mayor Spiegel
reopened the public meetir, and the illage Clerk returned to the
Special Council Meeting
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