n [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] please take your seats the meeting is about to begin please stand by we are going on air in 5 4 3 2 1 Bon I think I'm here uh commissioner Dominguez here and commissioner Suarez all right we got a quorum um Mr attorney do we need to read a virtual meeting participation into the record I'd be happy to do that Mr chairman so today's meeting will be conducted in a hybrid format with members of the committee physically present and uh and the public and staff appearing either virtually or in person via Zoom uh if if you'd like to participate virtually you can dial 1 888- 475 4499 and enter the webinar ID which is 8855992 3037 or join via the Zoom app and enter the webinar ID which again is 850 5992 3037 thank you Mr attorney with and uh the order for today's meeting has been distributed to to the members of the committee via memorandum in general I'm going to open up the floor to public comment for up to 30 minutes um then I'm going to uh allow staff to make a presentation following that we're going to take these items in three different parts first we're going to address parking we're going to take up item number one we're going to address the Rickman redesign we're going to take up item number two we're gonna discuss the Lincoln Road parking increase at the cuaac and then we're going to discuss the Michael Sho uh partnership for garage and p24 following the parking discussions uh we're going to address the project segmentation and then conclude with the issues of claim so so that is the agenda for for today's meeting I'm going to open up the floor for for public comments uh any members of the of the public wishing to to speak on this project please feel free to approach the podium or raise your hand on Zoom good afternoon uh Tom Nick and Commissioners I appreciate the time in this special Forum I think we're pretty much on the same page since we've kind of talked in advance and I think the fact the way you just set out the um the agenda is hitting all the points that we're asking for in particular the parking and I again I know today we're going to be looking at shortterm and long-term parking options as we look at that and so again we appreciate the Sho opportunity we appreciate uh commissioner Suarez's recommendation about the uh especially shortterm regarding West hav and Alton Road also don't let's not Overlook the opportunity for the circular parking lot whatever we can do that's probably like medium term to at least make that kind of like the old post office parking lot we can kind of definitely get more parking spaces out of that land mass and how we currently have that's very inefficient so keep that in mind as well as we look at Solutions the other thing I want to emphasize towards the end is we also because West AB is a major thoroughfare north south that we really need to think about you know phasing as we're going to talk about but the impact on traffic and who's going to help manage traffic because it's already a challenge in the afternoon now with police out there often times and with the construction I'll only make it more challenging for everyone so please keep that in mind but again we really appreciate West AV is very grateful and our supporting neighbors for this meeting today and we're looking forward to very successful conversation thank you thank you Tim any other members of the public wishing to speak on on today's meeting please approach the podium welcome Nancy welcome thank you and thank you Commissioners for having this meeting and um I want to say our our neighborhood is very grateful for all you've done for us all of all of the Commissioners really but I know David has worked with me and some of the other people in our neighborhood also to make sure that we retain the parking spots that we had so we're still down a couple but we are very grateful to all of you for your help um also we want to say please keep in mind as you proceed with this project we still need to get in and out so please phase one and phase two how however you choose to work it out work it out so that we can get in and out of our neighborhoods because a lot of us work and so we would appreciate that very much so thank you so much thank you Nancy for being here any members any additional members of the public wishing to speak on this on this item on this agenda hi good afternoon Matthew ganof I just want to thank everyone today for coming here and trying to work out a way to move this project forward I sent an email this morning to the members of the committee so fortunately uh commissioner I didn't I didn't copy you on that email but what I outlined is you know it's really important that the parking situation be addressed but that we not lose sight of the great aspects um comprehensively of the whole entire project you know besides raising the street we're beautifying the street adding more green space more tree canopy wider sidewalks Etc and the options that were outlaid by the design Builder it was actually pretty frightening uh they talked about losing potentially 9,000 square feet of green space and to put that in perspective that's three football fields uh as wide as a parking spot that would be replaced with green you know this is a resiliency project and said it would be asphalt um I also sent some census data that I compiled from the US Census Bureau and it shows you know it shows really really Stark uh contrast between the county between the state and National averages 26 times I think it was like 26 times the national average people who bicycle who ride a bicycle uh in these two census tracks where this project is taking place 13 times number of people who walk and don't forget you know work from home is also a significant um portion there so overall just I ask that you all look at this a balanced approach no one's eliminating parking and I think commissioner Suarez has some great ideas on how on how the things can be mitigated so you know listen to him and listen to the colleagues and the rest of the neighbors and let's try to find a way to move this forward it's desperately needed and we have other projects as well in the city as we know the same predicament thank you thank you Matthew any additional members of the public wishing to speak good afternoon welcome good afternoon Darren spedal board president for Bay View plaset 1621 Bay Road uh first I just like to say um how uh thankful am that we have such a thoughtful group of uh City commissioners who take the time to think through the alternative Solutions related to the West Avenue project to try to make as many constituencies happy as you possibly can which is always a challenge so we're lucky to have you all so thank you for all you do uh second I'd like to support the comments uh just made uh by the individuals here today in support of getting the uh West Avenue project moving forwards uh those of us on B Road in the surrounding area uh will greatly benefit from the uh upcoming phases of this project and we are definitely looking forward to see it through to fruition uh third I'd like to support the smart proposal being put forward by commissioner Suarez to mitigate the loss of on street parking by making metered spaces available for residential use I think this is a clever solution that'll go a long way to Mig getting the loss of uh residential spaces and uh finally I understand that the members of this board and others are working on uh potential uh additional long-term parking Solutions uh in the West Avenue area and I just wanted to encourage you to continue this out of the-box thinking uh we appreciate your efforts to look for creative ways to mitigate our local parking losses in conjunction with this project uh so thanks for your time thank you Darren any additional members of the public present in the Chambers wishing to speak on this item any members attending virtually Mr attorney wishing to speak on this item I don't see anyone with a hand raised so no with that if there are no other members of the public wishing to speak on this item I'm going to close the public opportunity to be heard and I'm going to recognize commissioner Dominguez to to to read a comment that she received into the record thank you Mr chair so this is from Stefan Jan and he wrote I'm traveling today and I will not be able to attend or connect via Zoom this afternoon one bring back up to 10 parking spaces at the West End of Lincoln Road why is that important one with the current plan as permitted that area is losing 35 spaces between Bay Road and the Bay by showing these 10 spaces instead of three currently they're still losing 28 parking spaces based on the plan these spaces are needed because they're the furthest away from any of their parking options which are all on the east side of West Avenue number two convert all metered parking spaces between Alton and West Avenue to be residents only after 600 p.m. and on weekends this could start as early as during construction three we need to insist on having the contractor follow the City Rules established following the issues with other neighborhoods with similar projects finish one segment completely except for the last code of asalt before moving to the next segment this is critical because the full neighborhood does not turn into a construction zone better control and pressure on the contractor to finish the work in each segment and prevent nightmares to access the construction zone by residents commercial spaces and delivery finally we also need the commitment from the city to negotiate with Sho uh on the construction of a parking garage next to the post office thank you thank you commissioner with that I'm going to open up uh the floor to staff uh our interim director of our Capital Improvements program to to present the items that we have before us today welcome well good afternoon uh Mr chair Commissioners David Gomez interim director of Capital Improvements um thank you for having us here this afternoon as you know this is a very important project not only to the city and his residents but it is important to CIP as well it's a project that we been managing for a while it is complex it is difficult to get a handle on every item as it comes up but we believe that that we have pushed forward and gotten to this point where now we have our we're in the home stretch so to speak where we can begin in the near future um you wanted me to go right into the to the items yes okay if give us your overv your overview we're going to go we have a list of items we're going to go through but just your General overview of what's before us today um the West Avenue contract was awarded in March of 2017 uh as with any project of this nature and this complexity it is incumbent upon the design team and the design Builder to deal with issues as they arise it's part of the development of the project this project is no exception it did encounter uh some design challenges such as the resilience accelerator and Uli Where We examined our storm water policy and approach um that was by a team of professionals and and academics supported um it encountered changes in durm requirements for water quality treatment which added a whole bunch of extra uh treatment structures and and design capacity to the system the city elected to increase its design criteria from a 5year storm to a 10year storm allowing us to handle the ever more common larger storms and Rain bombs um the location of the storm water pump station changed from Lincoln Road at the request of the residents to the parking lot next to the post office uh we encountered and and faced challenges and concerns with private property harmonization where we now have a policy that allows us to move forward and and ease a lot of the concerns that the residents raised and the most current issue that we're facing today is a loss of parking in the project area as you know this loss of parking is in some cases related to design but a lot of it is just currently unmarked spaces that are not legal or safe to use that we perceive as a valid parking space just because the part the area is overwhelmed and needs the additional parking spaces um and with that I think we can go into the first item yes with that uh Mr PL director let's read into the record item number one okay Mr chair item number one is a discussion to consider a potential parking solution for permanent residential parking as part of the West Avenue Phase 2 Segment 1 and two project and David just just give us an overview in item number one what's before us and what is staff's recommendation item number one commenced in September of 23 uh when the commission referred an item to this board to look at a proposal provided by the residents and and the property that is 1450 Lincoln Road or Lincoln Bay Towers The Proposal is uh to divert the Baywalk behind their building uh the intent being to use that or save that money on the Baywalk in order to recuperate additional spaces for the city to be used for public parking in exchange we would build a structured parking above their existing lot on the south side of their property there's a number of challenges that we would have to look into further in developing this whether it planning zoning and and other regulations would allow it access to neighboring properties for their parking uh engineering underground utilities all of those things would have to be investigated before we could look further uh at a cost obviously that we would have to engage a consultant to do it the administration is not at this time recommending that we pursue uh this proposal um the we believe that the benefit to the general public is not does it does not warrant that type of investment thank you Mr director colleagues this item is is before us I personally have concerns about placing a public facility of dis importance in a private property and the potential impacts it could have on the Baywalk and uh and whether whether our own ldrs would would support such a measure with that I'd like to open up the floor to your comments and input commissioner SS you recognized thank you Mr chair I feel um I feel I have the same sentiment I think and we're only going to be able to get I think 20 parking spots and then we'd have to build a structure then you'd have to go through different land use uh zoning changes that we would have to go through so um I'm going to be a no on that is that a motion to to accept staff recommendation on this on item number one I'll move it is there for on the motion there's been a motion and a second is there more discussion on the on the item seeing no further discussion from members of the of the committee um I think by acclamation we can accept staff recommendation on item number one there's a director is that is that good yep thank you with that uh I'd like to move into the the the issue of we have I I've laid this out just in in in an order of sequence I'm going to move into the Rickman redesign uh which uh uh which which would cause a reduction of parking spaces uh by 44 spaces David guide us a little bit on this yes um early on well not that early on I guess it was about 2022 at the result of a lot of uh concern from the residents and and the commission and Commissioners at the time we looked at the number of spaces being lost we uh directed The Design Builder to do a parking analysis and and come to a determination on how many spaces would be lost we we met with the community in our offices uh commissioner Fernandez was there we explained why the number of spaces were being lost and it was a code restriction a lot of the push back was why are the codes there why are the standards there uh we came back to the commission and and through the commission they they directed us to do an analysis of the parking codes and standards uh and we went back and we found that there was only one code or standard that we had any control of it's a city Miami Beach standard in discussion with Public Works we decided to wave it and through that analysis we were able to the design Builder was able to identify 44 additional spaces and that is the the parking change that is currently underway we have directed The the design Builder to implement those changes in the drawings and they have begun that process okay what are the implications as it relates to time and expense associated ated with that redesign discussions with the design Builder indicate that a minimum of six months of delay are encountered by incorporating those changes despite our arguments and best efforts to convince them that they could start the underground work ahead of uh completing the above ground design they have insisted that they could not there was as of a couple of weeks ago a claim on the table of a of a approximately $2.6 million in additional cost and 500 Days of delay uh as of last week re we received a formal claim uh for 8.6 m696 days of delay all right and we'll get a little bit later into the meeting into a separate discussion about the claims but colleagues um how how do we feel about about the Rickman read the I personally have concerns about delays uh that this that this could cause but commissioner you're recognized thank you Mr chair uh so when we were speaking these 44 spaces are going to be created in front of the single family homes that have never really had parking in front of them correct the majority yes the the majority so you know we're in a situation now where single family homeowners for decades that have have that have enjoyed their community that their their space in front of them might have parking in front of them so um you know I think I I don't think that's a good plan I don't think that that's the way we should go I'm going to be a no on this uh proposal and and and just for for the record on a short-term basis some of these single family homes will probably still have parking on a short-term basis but this relates to the redesign for for for the long term is that correct that's correct the commission uh directed us to go ahead and implement the short-term parking strategies among which was providing temporary parking in front of on on Flamingo Way and 14 Terrace during construction only which equaled a little over 20 spaces I I I I believe we need to preserve as much as we can the residential character of those of those streets and I got concerned by the uh time implication uh given the other options we do have on the table for uh permanent long-term solutions to mitigate the parking lws I'm fine uh doing away with the uh with with that redesign uh but I welcome more more feedback from the dasas commissioner Dominguez you recognized thank you uh I'm on the same line as commissioner Suarez if it's a residential Family Home and they had that in front of their house for decades to now make the change where it just doesn't sit right all right is there do is there a motion on the table I'll move it so then with that the recommen the moved recommendation the the the recommendation of the committee is not to proceed with a with a redesigned uh I see we have our assistant City Manager David Martinez welcome uh good afternoon um Mr chair and commissioner just want to point of clarification just want to make sure I understand the direction from the commission is to uh get away from the overall redesign to reduce the lost by 44 not just on Flamingo away and 14 terrrace I'm just clear that that redesign includes these residential streets correct right so my question is is the whole redesign of that adds back brings back the 44 spaces or or just those two streets I I would say the whole because my concern and I and I'll open up the floor to my colleagues is also the time implication uh associated with this and and other and other cost I think we have other options through which to recoup uh these uh these spaces and so and so um I would say for the entire project but I'll defer to the maker of the motion to to get his input I I um correct me if I'm wrong Martinez I think you the direction that we are want to give you is to go back to the original design and then I think and the as far as the rest of the agenda it might be modified however we vote on on the rest but um we are going to abandon this uh design where we somehow create 44 parking spaces in front of single family hes perfect y so with that the item's been moved by commissioner Suarez has been seconded by commissioner Dominguez by acclamation can we show that item adopted all right with that uh let's proceed to item number two Mr director please read the item into the record okay Mr chair item number two is a referral to the special May 28th 2024 for land use and sustainability committee a discussion to consider expanding parking options for residents within the West Avenue neighborhood by permanently converting approximately 133 metered on street parking spaces within Zone 12 to meter 24-hour residential spaces I'm going to recognize commissioner Suarez who is sponsoring this item followed by the administration commissioner SS you're recognized thank you Mr chair uh David if you don't mind coming up and also um um if you want to te this up for me um this item was ref uh was brought to the committee at uh last commission uh it was commissioner Suarez's item uh and the analysis is that as part of the short-term uh parking solution or mitigation plan we had identified the potential of of opening up 133 commercial spaces to residential use 24 hours commissioner sarez had proposed that we consider doing this as a permanent solution and providing that space those spaces to Residence 24 hours as a in a hybrid situation where it's open to both commercial and residential use and and through the chair so uh through through my research I believe there was 105 parking spaces that uh were going to be um that were going to be lost as a result of the Reconstruction and um you know I approached the administration I asked them you know can we get these side streets to be converted to a hybrid of um commercial and residential and and they said it was already on a short-term basis and I said okay look how about we make it permanent until perhaps we have a a parking garage that's being built for the area uh in which it in which case it could be reverted back to commercial so um I'm seeking the support of my colleagues on on this item to to alleviate the parking situation and move the project forward thank you commissioner Suarez uh commissioner domingus you're recogniz thanks I have a question for David Gomez um so if it's made residential is it the same rules where Monday through Friday anybody can park there so if somebody wants to go to one of the businesses they would park there that's correct it would be hybrid so that it is open to both residential and and then if it's res resdential they wouldn't pay correct if you have a residential pass you don't have to pay if you do not you would have to is there an impact like would we for by not having it metered before 6 o' is there an economic impact of not having people pay for parking that normally would have in a commercial Corridor yeah I would have to ask our parking Department to speak on that good afternoon Mr chair committee members Jose Gonzalez trans ation Mobility director and interim parking director we don't foresee a significant economic loss as a result thank you commissioner Dominguez that was my question thank you um uh any other uh I'm if I open the floor to you I'm so sorry I have to open up to anyone else that raises their hand from the public I'm sorry no problem have to be fair is there any other comments from the days on this item is there a motion on the table I'd like to move it uh one last comment yes before officially making it permanent I'd like to see if it works and how it goes and maybe try it until for a year um how about we how about we have look again this is just to move the project along and to give relief to parking for the for the neighborhood how about um we do this until uh perhaps the Sho parking garage is open um and and pushes forward again that kind of ties into the other agenda items or perhaps we do it for a little bit longer than a year maybe two years I would say minimum I I I think if I think one of the advantages that we have is that we can always alter this so we adopt this and then Midway you know once we've adopted this you know we see an opportunity let's say p p23 p23 Tim Carr uh the West Avenue neighborhood association brought up a very good point we have the opportunity to redesign p23 it was something that was explored in the past I think David correct me if if if I'm wrong we've been discussing this but we could potentially gain 20 parking spaces there potentially that's correct um if we engage in a redesign of p23 is that correct that's correct and probably you know still a few million dollars is probably two or three million dollar um but we have parking um parking funds that we could potentially use from the Enterprise fund to support something like that we decide to do that is that correct that's correct and so in the future if we find Opportunities to regain parking spots and then we're we we can undo some of this we can certainly pass a new resolution to undo some of this and I don't know if that satisfies your your concern commissioner Dominguez um I think it does okay great so the items been properly moved and second um any other questions discussions comments from the deis seeing none um I think we can show item number two passed by acclamation yes all right and that's to transmit uh item number two with a favorable recommendation to the city commission that's correct okay all right uh David uh since we have you before us um the next item I'd like to bring to the committee's attention is a cold toac at at Lincoln Road and the redesign to uh increase from three to potentially 10 uh parking spaces yes um during our discussions with the residents and commissioner Fernandez was there back way back when commissioner schores helped us bring it to light again recently uh there is an opportunity to add some spaces directly east of the culdesac um and even though they haven't finished the engineering on that it looks like we could potentially gain up to 10 spaces there a net increase of three over the present plan I'm sorry a net increase of seven over the present plan yes and commissioner SS I'd like to recognize you because you've been as of you know most recently taking this on I'd like to recognize you to present on this thank you I appreciate it Mr chair um you know I I don't think it's just me I think it's all of us on on the day that has really listened to the resident concerns um and you know a lot of it a lot of it's from Nancy um and and and look yeah you know there's certainly a way of life at this particular end of the culdesac that people have and it would it would be disruptive to change that and so I asked the administration um to see if this would alter at all the uh timeline of the project and they said no um and we can move forward with the original Phase 2 uh and have this change at the West End of Lincoln Road uh and there would be no delays may I don't know maybe like a month or so but nothing like years and um it it's already part of uh I think what they're going to do what they're going to implement regardless of what we were going to do with item um with with the redesign so um I'm happy to push this forward and and have the project the original project move for as intended um with the change in the West End of Lincoln rad and and thank you commissioner I want to commend you because about a year ago we had a meeting at the CIP conference room and I think we probably had about 20 residents and we had looked into this and it wasn't possible at the time and you got that and you ran with it and you've brought it to fruition and I want to congratulate you because that is so important to the residents and the stakeholders at the cold Des sack at the de end of of Lincoln Road so is there a motion on the table I'd move it it's been moved by commissioner Suarez it's been seconded by the chair on the motion commissioner Dominguez you're recognized um I'm just going back to the comment that Stefan D had me read into the record where he asked for bring back 10 parking spaces at the West End of Lincoln Road and then I heard you say that seven would be coming back not 10 yeah the current plan shows three so by putting in 10 at the end it's a net gain of seven okay it's a net gain thank you for the clarification thank you commissioner Di has been properly moved and second any further questions comments from the de uh without any opposition can we show this item adopted all right with that uh let's move on uh to to the discussion about p24 and a potential partnership with Michael Sho uh to to develop parking spaces there commissioner Dominguez thank you for your leadership on this item I'd like to recognize you to present uh thank you so much I um have had several meetings with Michael schow even from the very beginning and included um uh West Avenue uh Tim and Stefan and other folks um had meetings with alfredo back and forth and making this better and there's a proposal for um more for a parking garage to be built where uh The Pump Station currently is and I would like to read I couldn't find it uh a motion uh for the body to consider I move to recommend that the city commission refer an item to land use and uh the finance committee to consider a proposed agreement with BH the Alton LLC which is a scho entity regarding the city parking lot at 1671 West Avenue between Lincoln Road and 17th Street lot p24 where the pump station is currently being built and the purpose is to consider a proposal by BH the Alton LLC to build for the city a parking garage designed by Foster and Associates which would cover the pump station and provide much needed additional parking for the neighborhood this referral will allow the administration to begin engaging with the developer thank you commissioner uh there's an item that that's been moved before the body is there a second on the second the it has been properly moved and second um commissioner on that item how many parking spaces potentially could could the area be gaining uh approximately in that area I'll say very generically because it's still in um the uh design uh idea phase but about 243 okay so that's potentially 243 parking spaces that is significant commissioner thank you for bringing this item forward and and I I also want to highlight that this is in addition to the 133 uh uh meter which you know we can always revisit that in in in the future um and you know we're looking at the pump station also this is this is tremendous this is a a tremendous uh gain uh and and Mitigation Of of parking lot so thank you commissioner Dominguez for your leadership uh on this item uh commissioner B you recognized commissioner Dominguez oops commissioner Dominguez it might be very early to have answers to these questions but would this be intended to be um a lot where the um residents would be able to use their discounted parking rates I think I I I I or is it a like a regular retail lot that people it's intended for residents okay um and would the um show companies um take on the cost of building it or is it a shared correct it would be um the public benefit there's still things to be negotiated so um they would include the parking in their building for their offices so there's there's more to come okay but the idea would be to for that this committee recommends that the city commission gives direction to the administration to negotiate a possible partnership to bring back to the table for consideration Mr attorney I'd like to recogniz that's right Mr chairman I if the committee makes this recommendation to the city commission and the city commission approves a referral to the land's committee and the and the finance committee those are th that's one of the terms that that uh that that we could negotiate thank you um with that there's been uh a motion and and and a second uh that's that that's on the table any further questions from the de any further discussions from the de on this item um without opposition can we show that as adopted yes okay great um con congratulations commissioner I think that this is such an exciting uh opportunity not just to have more parking but to have a a beautiful design in our in our uh in our community there as well uh so this is very exciting certainly um I'd like to move on to discuss the issues relating to project segmentation uh David if you could come forward and tell us where we were at with this I've heard concerns about one segment proceeding before the other one's complete uh where are we with this and how can we make sure that we do not interrupt the the the traffic flow uh of this area um by contract the design Builder is required to complete a sub a section before moving on on to the next segment um I don't believe the contract actually uses the term segment it's it actually refers to sections uh essentially if you could imagine a block is a section the contractor must commence and complete that section almost to 100% imperceivable difference before he moves on to the next segment uh in order to mitigate some of the uh ongoing challenges and and design challenges that they fac the about the of last year the design Builder proposed allowing them to proceed in a leap frog fashion which is to commence in one segment get to a certain point begin the next segment while they finish the first segment in all conditions both segments the the first segment would have to be complete before they begin the third segment and and the idea there is they can bring in their underground Crews begin the underground work and then while the above ground crews are doing that work the underground work crew can go on to the next section and begin there um it was at the time of a a what we believe to be a valid way of shortening the overall duration of the project even though the duration in any one particular particular segment would be unchanged um it just gives them uh the ability to move a little faster uh we did hear some of the resident feedback and we approached the design builder in terms of their sequencing and they agreed to alter their sequencing in order to reduce some of that impact in particularly in the first two segments um and right now where we are is is that ongoing discussion about the sequencing and the segmentation okay I think it's important to ensure that these roads are drivable that they're parkable and that they're safe before we allow the designed Builder to move from one SE to the next for the design Builder this is a project this is a construction site for us and most importantly for the public and the taxpayers this is their home this is their Community this is where a business owner engages in in business uh and so what I would like to see for example I know segment two I know segment two is a concern that's Lincoln Road that's where Nancy lives that's where Stefan has his business that's where a number of our of our residents live we can't say move on from segment two unless it's at a point that that is safe that is drivable and that there is parking and I think that this should be the rule how do we get to that point I think what you're what you're inferring is what we referred to as beneficial occupancy and what that means is that the segment is not complete they may still have sidewalks to do they may still have Landscaping to do but the streets are drivable they it can be used for its intended purpose and allows the residents to park or use the streets while they finish that segment and that reduces the impacts to the quality of life of our residents and before they proceed to the next segment it needs to get to these conditions okay that's yes that's something that we can propose to the design Builder um I would consider by that def finition they would be able to go to more than two segments at a time I would limit them to those two segments obtain beneficial occupancy start the next segment but not go to the third until the first one is substantially complete that's correct so allowed to achieve beneficial occupancy on one segment which means you can drive you can park and it's safe you can proceed to the next segment but you cannot proceed to the Third until the until until the original segment is substantially completed okay and I think that that's a fair medium I think I think it achieves the purpose and the and and the intent our resers will be able to access their homes our resers will be able to access the businesses and they'll be able to access the much needed parking that is needed in this area uh before they proceed to a second segment or a third segment and commissioner Dominguez you're recognizing um and sorry if you mentioned this but um what is substantially complete sub and I'll I'll I'll David but substantially complete is when they're when they've actually completed the last layer of ashfold or or right before that in the case of a neighborhood project we usually leave the last layer of asphalt to the very end so in in this case substantial completion would be the Landscaping is done the sidewalks are done uh there's only punch list items remaining and the last lift of asphalt so if um possible instead of saying substantially complete say that the Landscaping because then wouldn't it leave room for er error that the none of that would be done and Rickman will say well we'll we're we think we're substantially complete and and part of the process of attaining substantial completions we have to have an inspection where everyone walks it agrees to it generates a punch list and identifies if yes it's been substantially completed or not fa and through the chair and also commissioner uh they will not get paid obviously for anything they haven't completed in addition to that we also withhold 5% retainage on on anything that they have completed that we have paid so there's reassurances that they have to complete uh it it would be a contractual mechanism so they would have to complete those areas and they wouldn't be able to proceed to the third segment until the original segment is substantially completed that that is correct I I again for for the record remember this is something we're talking about here I think it's a plausible uh way to move this project forward we will still have to obviously negotiate that with the design Builder but I think it's something that's uh a a reasonable way to meet them halfway to one The Other Extreme I believe it's a very reasonable position that it places Us in uh any any further comments from the de on this is there is there yes commissioner B um I I think I I would like to support commissioner dominguez's suggestion that we spell out even before we have the punch list so that there's no you know they've already shown themselves to be a little contentious so there's no quibbling about what our view of substantially complete so if that's not already in there through the chair um our contract is very specific and it has an actual definition of what substantial completion means and it's it's a whole almost like a whole page that describes so in the industry that's a it's a recognized term y z yeah perfect thank you so is there a motion on the table as I'm not allowed to make a motion I'll move it oh yes no no I'll second it okay so the motion on the table is to to to to to allow uh a project to achieve uh beneficial occupancy that is safe that is drivable that there's parking before they proceed proed to a to to the next segment but that before they proceed to the third segment that first segment needs to be substantially completed so that's the motion and the second um do I sense do do I hear any opposition from the body with by acclamation can we show that as adopted great thank you colleagues Mr chair if I just one thing uh again just to make sure we understand correctly all these motions you've all made and and and passed these will all be be brought back to the city commission to the full City commission for final vetting and the official policy Direction that's correct and my and and my hope is that by a majority of us being present here and not hearing any opposition that this could be a very smooth uh decision that we can make at the city commission so that we allow this project to move forward without any further uh impacts to the to to the time schedule here unless somebody's feeling particularly orinary and just coming out the works no I'm kidding we're all here we're all here all right so with that I just want to ask you know because I'm hearing talks about a claim and and it brings us to the last item on our on our agenda for today um you know David does a claim need to be resolved before we proceed uh before this project is allowed to move forward or can we move forward uh with this project uh with without finishing this claim no we the contract uh actually stipulates that in the case of a claim the contractor must continue to move forward while any claims are resolved so it should not prevent them from moving forward and what is the what is the current claim the current claim is 8.61 million for 696 days of delay okay so let me ask you about this and Mr attorney I'm glad that you're present um because when when was this claim presented to us Wednesday of last week Wednesday of of last week is that a certified claim in yes it is and they they have language certifying the claim in the letter yes okay and how what was the claim before that April of uh April 25th the claim was at uh$ 2.678kg long uh letter with a lot of documentation that I haven't been able to complete the analysis Mr attorney let me ask you something because you know this project needs to move forward and and I think you've heard from this committee unanimous support for this to move forward and we've and we've been very reasonable in our in in our approach but what does the code tell us about claim influ ation and and and anything having to do with claims that might go beyond what they should be um Mr chair I I believe what you're what you're getting at is the city's false claims ordinance and and anyone who is found to have submitted a false claim uh is is is liable to the city for three times the amount of the of the claim that is false uh is required to Forfeit the entire amount of the claim and is liable to the city for for all our our costs and fees and and lastly uh the the claimant would be subject to to debarment from being a City Contractor uh for a period of 5 years and so if someone is found just to make sure I get this right if they're found to be inflating a claim they could be subject to three times the amount of of the claim that's that's inflated they need to Forfeit the entire amount of the claim and be liable for all of our costs that that's under our our our false claims ordinance and again that would you know that would require us to bring a a civil action but but yes and if the Inspector General were to investigate this what happens if the Inspector General finds that any of this is is is inflated uh in in a way contrary to what is allowed well first first of all the the Inspector General has broad authority to um to to investigate uh City contracts right and and under this agreement uh the city has and and every other agreement the city has has has audit rights um any information that the inspector General identified that that would be that that could support um uh a civil action under the false claims ordinance you know obviously that would be uh that you know that would be used in the case and if the Spector General finds that uh that that there's been inflation of the claim on someone inflating their claim on the taxpayers of the city of of Miami Beach what responsibility does the Inspector General have to notify law enforcement agencies if the Inspector General identifies a violation of of of an Ethics code or identifies uh evidence of criminality then the ordinance requires the IG to refer that matter to the appropriate agency I think it's extremely important for this to be placed on on the on the record uh because I have concerns when I see something being inflated from from from a month ago $2.6 million to now today 8.6 million it's not proper in my opinion uh to the taxpayers of the city of Miami Beach uh and uh and I'd like to uh make a motion that uh that this committee uh recommend to the city commission that the inspector General uh investigate the Val the validity of these uh claims and the increased uh claims commissioner s you're recognizing thank you Mr chair uh we're going to be in arbitration with them shortly right Gomez the or the excuse me the amendment did pass but it has not been executed yet okay so yes the answer is the soon as it's executed we are able to engage that Clause so when do we start engaging them in arbitration I I would also like the City attorney to app on that in terms of the the time frame yeah I'd like to ask uh Rick to weigh in um at this time I don't think that we are going to move forward with arbitration in light of this $8.6 million claim until we better understand it and and through the chair and to understand it that would be up to Gomez and Martinez your team to parse through and look at what these claims are it would be us in conjunction with the city attorney and their recommendation on how to proceed I think before we um refer to ig wait let's wait till the next commission meeting see what they say and see maybe the look I think it's ridiculous that I went from 2.6 to 8 but let's see what our city staff says um you know before we start saber rattling sure and and this committee and thank you commissioner Suarez this committee cannot uh make the referral to the Inspector General uh that referral can only be made by the city commission and so between now and the city commission meeting if if this committee makes that recommendation it allows uh our staff to further vet that uh but but but I have concerns when in one month the claim goes from 2.6 million to it goes up by $6 million in one month and that's that that's not just $6 million that is $6 million taxpayer dollars um through the chair yes so uh Rick are you telling me that you're not going to go through arbitration at this time we're not sure what we're going to do but I I don't I don't think that with a claim that size we should proceed with arbitration until we know what the basis or if there is a basis for such a large CL claim and and let me ask will it be beneficial for the Inspector General in your opinion to review uh to review this claim I think it could always be helpful for another set of eyes to look at a claim particularly when the amount goes up so significantly from one month to the next and so I I I think it's we and and and let me ask you Mr attorney does the Inspector General and I just want to make sure you know we understand this right if the Inspector General looks into this claim this project can still be moving forward is that correct absolutely that would not delay this project it would not derail this project we could still proceed uh with with with moving forward uh with a progress that there's no reason that the project should be delayed as a result of that no okay so with that yes one one last one last question so if we were to go through it would be a civil action or we would so we would have to vote on that correct to to do a civil lawsuit or would that just be incumbent upon the city attorney's office that's something we'd want to look at that because the the code actually says the manager can bring the suit so we'd want to look at that yeah interesting okay does does this require any action right now no no okay should should we make a recommendation to the city commission that we um that we request that the inspector General look into this increased uh claim that has brought that has been brought forward to us last week I'll defer to this body as to whether you wish to do that okay I think I I think we should we should make that motion uh and we can certainly further discuss it at the next city commission meeting uh but I think it's important that that when it comes to claims against the taxpayers dollars we take the strongest position that we can and when we see a claim of $6 million in one month what will be the claim next month and the claim the following month and so I think we owe it to our taxpayers to show that that that you know we are not going to tolerate this and that we will use every resource in our disposal to make sure that any claim is in indeed appropriate uh and is not uh more than what it should be is there a motion on then I'll move that I'll second can we show that adopted without opposition great colleagues uh any other matters for the good of the order staff any any additional items that you need us to Pro to to address it this time on the West Avenue project with that colleagues thank you so much staff uh Mr attorney thank you for your time