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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.