HomeMy Public PortalAbout1960-03-17 Special Meeting67
Bal Harbour Service Station's request for permission
to operate a parking lot on the filling station property was
presented to the Council. It was the recommendation of the
Village Manager that this request be denied because that
property is zoned for a filling station only. Mr. White then
moved that the recommendation of the Village Manager be accepted
and the parking lot request be denied. This motion was seconded
by Mr. Broeman and unanimously approved.
Florida Power & Light Company made a request for per—
mission to erect a transformer vault at 96th Street so that
they might have a second feeder into the south section of Bal
Harbour. At the present there is only one feeder for the
entire south end of the Village and in case of a breakdown
at any part of the section, the entire area is blacked out. It
was the recommendation of the Village Manager that their request
be approved. Mr. Broeman then moved that the Village Manager
should go ahead and make the best arrangements possible with
Florida Power and Light and permit them to build the transformer
vault. Said motion was seconded by Mr. Faulkner and unanimously
approved by the Council.
There being no further business to come before the Council,
the meeting was adjourned upon motion by Mr. Broeman.
Attest:
Village Clerk
February 27, 1960
March 17y 1960
Mayor
A special meeting of the Bal Harbour Village Council
was held March 17, 1960 at 9:00 a.m. at the Village Hall.
White.
Those present were Messrs. Beatty, Faulkner, Hart and
Absent: Mr. Broeman
Also present were W. H. Webb, Village Manager; Mary T.
Wetterer, Village Clerk; and Thomas H. Anderson, Village
Attorney.
Mayor Hart called the meeting to order and announced
that the special meeting had been called to consider the legality
of the 23 additional taxi licenses which were issued in October,
1959. The Clerk then read the Village Manager's report to the
68
Council which stated the results of his investigation and
his recommendation. The Clerk also read Sec. 6.03 of the
Taxi Ordinance No. 68 which was a part of the manager's
report. The following conclusions were included in the
report:
"1. There are no more cabs serving Bat Harbour Village
this year than last year inasmuch as there are no
stands and the 46 cabs still are emanating from other
locations on call as in the past. It has been brought
to my attention that the Yellow Cab Company, this
year, has negotiated an exclusive contract with the
Americana and are parking a limited number of cabs
on their property.
2. I believe that the whole situation before us today
has been provoked by the exclusive contract that the
Americana Hotel continues to negotiate with one company.
In this regard, I wish to quote Section 6.03 from our
Taxi Ordinance No. 68, as I feel that the hotel and
the Yellow Cab Company are not adhering to the law as
stipulated in said section.
3. The only solution to this problem would be to
either create a public stand in front of the hotels,
or have the hotels and the taxi companies follow
Section 6.03.
4. My recommendation to the Council in past years
has always been to recommend the licensing of several
companies that are also licensed in the area surround—
ing Bal Harbour as I feel that no company should be
entirely dependent on Bal Harbour Village business to
survive, but should spread out and rely on the other
adjacent areas for their survival. I have not had
sufficient time to make an estimate of how many cabs
would be required to serve Surfside, Bay Harbor Islands,
the Motel Strip, and Bal Harbour Village.
5. It would be my recommendation to leave the licenses
as is and adjust at the beginning of next season if
the Council sees fit to do so."
Mr. John Wahl, attorney representing the Morse Taxi Co.
explained to the Council that according to their records, Morse
Cab Co. had controlled 85 percent of the business in Bal Harbour
during the peak of the season in 1959 and that the maximum
number of cabs used in any one shift was 16; therefore, they
feel that 23 cabs is more than enough to take care of the
business except during exceptional times. He further stated
that since the additional licenses had been issued that Morse's
income had dropped by 50 percent from last year. He again
stated that it was their feeling that the additional licenses
March 17, 1960
69
were issued in violation of the Metro Taxi Ordinance as well
as the Bal Harbour Ordinance and that if all the licenses
are permitted to remain in effect that one or more companies
will be forced out of business.
Mr. S. R. Costanzo, attorney representing the Yellow
Cab Co., appealed to the Council to allow the licenses to
remain in force and read articles from the Miami Herald call—
ing attention to the shortage of cabs in Bal Harbour during
the American Bar Association Convention. He reminded the
Council and those present that Yellow Cab Company was the first
company to operate in Bal Harbour and that they had a contract
with the Americana to fulfill or they would be liable for suit.
This contract was negotiated with the belief that all of their
licenses were issued legally. He further read from Sec. 2.08
of the Ordinance No. 68 which gives the six reasons by which a
license may be revoked. He then stated that the concern of
the Council is not the financial status of the individual cab
companies, but service to the public. Mr. Costanzo summed up
his argument by stating that the revocation is out of order;
that they are operating on the licenses in good faith; and
that the service to the public is such that they could be
proud of and the public could best be served by leaving the
licenses as is.
During the discussion, Mr. Wahl asked Mr. Webb, the
Village Manager, if the additional licenses were approved by
Metro. Mr. Webb again reminded them that Mr. Reynolds of
the Department of Public Transportation, was in his office
and verbally approved the licensing of the additional cabs when
he was assured that it would not mean bringing any new companies
but merely issuing licenses to the cabs that had been operating
in the Village over a period of years. This verbal approval
was given by Mr. Reynolds in the presence of Chief Owens. Since
that time, he has reversed that decision. Mr. Wahl again stated
that in his opinion, the licenses were not issued in accordance
with the law as no public notice was given to the companies con—
cerned that the matter of increasing the number of licenses would
be considered at the October meeting. At this time, Mr. Beatty
asked Mr. Anderson, the Village Attorney, whether or not in his
opinion the licenses were issued in compliance with the Bal
Harbour Ordinance. Mr. Anderson replied that the licenses were
not issued in compliance with the Bal Harbour Ordinance as the
Clerk had advised him that no notice was given to the cab
companies that application for additional taxi licenses would
be considered at the meeting to be held on October 24, 1959.
Mr. Webb explained that taxilicense applications have always
been issued in October of each year and the number of licenses
issued were the numbers requested by each of the three companies
and it was his belief that representatives of all three companies
were present at the meeting. Mr. Morse stated that no representa—
tive from Morse was present at the meeting as they had no idea
that the number of licenses would be increased. Mr. Carney,
March 17, 1960
70
Secretary of Surf Cab Company agreed that he was present at
the October meeting. Mr. Nudelman of Yellow Cab Co. also
stated that he was present at the October meeting.
After a lengthy discussion, Mr. Beatty then moved
that the additional licenses issued in October, 1959 be re—
voked. This motion was seconded by Mr. Faulkner and on roll
call was unanimously approved by the Council. Mr. Beatty
then moved that a public hearing be held on March 26, 1960
to consider the application for taxi licenses and that the
Village Clerk notify the companies concerned of the public
hearing at least 5 days prior to the date of the meeting.
This motion was seconded by Mr. Faulkner and on roll call
was unanimously approved. Mr. Nudelman requested time to
terminate operations due to their contract with the Americana
Hotel. Mr. Beatty then moved that his original motion be amended
to read that the additional licenses issued in October be re—
voked as of midnight of the night preceeding the Council meeting.
This motion was seconded by Mr.Faulkner and unanimously approved.
Mr. Webb then asked for a clarification of just which licenses
were affected and Mr. Beatty said it affected all the addition—
al licenses issued for the new license year.
There being no further business to come before the
Council, the meeting was adjourned upon motion by Mr. Beatty
seconded by Mr. White.
Mayor
Attest:
Village Clerk
March 17, 1960.
simb
March 26, 1960
The Bal Harbour Village Council held its regular meeting
at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 26, 1960 at the Village Hall.
Those Those present were:
Faulkner and White.
Absent: None
Messrs. Hart, Beatty, Broeman,
Also present were: W. H. Webb, Village Manager; Mary
T. Wetterer, Village Clerk; and Thomas H. Anderson, Village
Attorney.