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MIAMI RIVER COMMISSION 
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The Miami River Commission's (MRC) Executive Committee was called to order by MRC Chair Eric Buermann , Monday, July 16, 2007, 8:30 am, Greenstreet Café, 3468 Miami Highway , Coconut Grove , FL.

MRC Chair Eric Buermann asked if the Executive Committee had any revisions to the distributed June 15, 2007 Executive Committee meeting minutes. Upon review of the minutes, Mr. Robert Ruano asked MRC staff to clarify the fourth bullet on page four under “New Business” in reference to a recent publicly noticed meeting held with the Honorable Chair of the Board of County Commissioners Bruno Barreiro and Dr. Ernie Martin , Chair of the MRC's Greenways Subcommittee, to discuss the Miami River Greenway. Ms. Ashley Chase, MRC Assistant Managing Director, noted the aforementioned June 13 meeting, in which MRC staff and Chairman Barreiro's MRC designee Ms. Lubby Navarro also attended, was publicly noticed by Chairman Barreiro's office, as well as MRC staff. Mr. Ruano asked if the referenced $7.5 million Miami River Greenway bond line item is the City of Miami's, and Mr. Brett Bibeau, MRC Managing Director, noted that, to his knowledge, the referenced $7.5 million is a former county-approved GOB line item, which would allow the Miami-Dade County Public Works Department to oversee the creation of engineering documents and the construction of riverwalks on county-owned riverfront parcels. After obtaining clarification regarding the publicly-noticed June 13 meeting and the County's GOB line item for the Greenway, the Executive Board unanimously approved the June 15, 2007 meeting minutes.

I) Set Agenda for MRC's September 10, 2007 meeting

A. Miami River Corridor Multi-Modal Transportation Plan – Mr. Brett Bibeau, MRC Managing Director, noted he and Mr. Jim Murley , Chair of the MRC's Urban Infill Working Group, had scheduled a meeting with Mr. David Henderson, Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and Mr. Greg Kyle , Kimley-Horn and Associates (KHA), the week of July 16 to conduct a final review of the draft Miami River Corridor Multi-Modal Transportation Plan and ensure that all MRC requested revisions have been incorporated into the final plan prior to its adoption at the MRC's September 10, 2007 meeting. Mr. Bibeau noted since the first Monday in September falls on Labor Day, the next MRC meeting will be held on the second Monday of the month, September 10, 2007, noon, Robert King High New Board Room, 1407 NW 7 Street.

Mr. Buermann recalled during the MRC's July 9, 2007 meeting, the MRC directed the Urban Infill Working Group to continue participating in the Miami 21 public hearings, review new drafts and advocate for the MRC's adopted advisory recommendation.

MRC staff noted the next UIWG meeting will be held this Friday, July 20, 9 am, at the United Way Executive Conference Room, 3250 SW 3 rd Avenue . The Executive Committee addressed the following items in relation to Miami 21:

• Mr. Buermann stated he believed the MRC's main current concern with the draft Miami 21-Eastern Quadrant is that it requires boatyards, shipping terminals, and other marine industrial-related businesses along the Miami River to abide by new waterfront structure setback regulations. Chair Buermann noted he supports the incorporation of the aforementioned riverfront building setbacks and publicly accessible riverwalk requirements along riverfront restaurants and entertainment venues, for he considers the riverwalk a public amenity.
• The Executive Board discussed the few existing narrow riverfront restaurants which have tables up to the riverfront where the Miami River Greenway currently proceeds around the sites as an on-road greenway, and inquired how the new proposed new regulations would be incorporated. Mr. Robert Ruano stated he would seek verification regarding non-conforming uses and structures, etc.
• Mr. Richard Dubin noted the owners of Finnegan's River, the only SD-4 property along the Miami River that is not designated as either D1 or D2 in the proposed Miami 21-Eastern Quadrant zoning atlas, purchased two properties on the north shore of the Miami River with existing vacant buildings that have no riverfront setback (formerly known as Atco Marine Service and Sierra) with plans for creating two new restaurants. Mr. Dubin noted the owners have expressed their opposition to the proposed new 20-foot setback requirements, since both subject properties-currently designated D1 in the draft Miami 21-Eastern Quadrant-do not have the lot space to accommodate such requirements. Mr. Dubin suggested that perhaps a mechanism calling for a case-by-case review for the D1 and D2 properties along the river could be created as part of Miami 21, so as to not discourage potential river investors from creating new businesses which generate jobs.

Chair Buermann encouraged the Executive Board to attend the Friday, July 20 UIWG meeting to discuss Miami 21 in further detail prior to its second presentation before the MRC on September 10.

II) Review of Financial Status Report - Per the request of Mr. Robert Ruano at the MRC July 9, 2007 meeting for additional information regarding the MRC's financial status, Mr. Bibeau distributed the “Miami River Fund, Inc. (d.b.a. Miami River Commission) Accrued Balances as of 6/30/07”, listing each sub-account and its potential uses, both programmatic and operational. In addition, Mr. Bibeau distributed the previously adopted “Fiscal Year 2007 and Fiscal Year 2008 Operational Budget” as well. Mr. Bibeau noted the available cash with operational expenses as a potential use is $365,389 and the current operational budget (7/1/07-6/30/08) is $185,563; therefore if the MRC were unable to receive additional financial support, the current programs & operational reserves ($179,826.26) would sustain the MRC for less than one additional year.

Mr. Ruano stated he would like to receive additional information regarding the financial status and asked Mr. Bibeau which program he used to calculate the aforementioned figures and maintain the Miami River Fund, Inc accounts, and Mr. Bibeau replied “Quickbooks.” Therefore the Executive Committee directed the next financial report to include QuickBook print outs of the quarterly activity within each sub-account.

III) Discussion of Future Miami River Commission Funding Sources - Per the request of MRC Executive board member Gary Winston , and in response to the need to secure future MRC funding sources, Mr. Bibeau noted MRC staff had included this item in today's agenda for discussion. Chair Buermann noted the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) had preliminarily approved his request to renew its annual $250,000 appropriation to the MRC for Fiscal Year 2008. Chair Buermann added he had recently discussed the Miami River Maintenance Dredging project's current financial status with SFWMD Executive Director Carol Wehle, whom had replied that the SFWMD could potentially provide $3 million in Fiscal Year 2008, towards the Federal Cost share balance due. Chair Buermann stated there is an estimated $9-12 million shortfall in the federal cost balance due to finish the project before the 5-year contract expires in April 2009. Chair Buermann therefore recommended requesting $5 million from the Legislature, $3 million from the SFWMD and $3 million from the county, city and FIND from the local cost-share partners in their respective FY '08 budget cycles to secure the federal funding shortfall.

Ms. Sallye Jude asked for the Miami River Dredging Maintenance project's recommencement date, and Mr. Bibeau replied that dredging was scheduled to recommence in the Miami River by July 23, 2007, yet the contractors had recently met with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) representatives to request an extension (up to 120 days) provided for their remobilization, based on the timeline for the Boskalis sediment processing plant to return from overseas. Mr. Bibeau added that the ACOE had yet to make a decision regarding the contractors' request to extend the 60 days the contract currently allows from award of the acceptance section to recommence dredging. Chair Buermann asked MRC staff to continue working with the ACOE to minimize delays as much as possible.

Mr. Bibeau thanked everyone whom attended the Honorable Chairman Barreiro's mock check presentation on July 9, announcing the combined $20.5 million appropriated to continue the 40% complete Miami River Maintenance Dredging project. Mr. Bibeau noted the event was well-attended, including the Honorable Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, several members of the Florida Legislature, and the Florida Inland Navigation District. Mr. Bibeau distributed a document he created entitled, “Elected Representative Appropriations vs. Paperwork and Signatures - July 16, 2007,” featuring a status update of the three agreements (paperwork) provided by the ACOE to the County, which need to be fully executed ASAP in order to use the currently available funding and avoid an additional demobilization only a couple of months after dredging recommences. Mr. Bibeau noted dredging within the currently awarded accepted sections 7 & 8 will only take three months to complete, and the agreements need to be executed in order to utilize the additional currently appropriated and available funding to dredge additional acceptance sections. The Executive Committee directed Mr. Bibeau to continue advocating for all the required agreements to be fully executed ASAP. Mr. Ruano asked if Mr. Carlos Espinosa, DERM Director, has been kept up-to-date on the dredging project's status, and Mr. Bibeau replied yes, adding that he continues to attend the third Wednesday of every month publicly noticed Dredging Subcommittee meetings.

IV) New Business - The following items were addressed/discussed:

Mr. Bibeau provided an update concerning the collapsed seawall at the Miami Circle and distributed copies of the following documents:

•  “ Miami Circle Timeline”

•  Renditions of the site, as illustrated in the Miami River Greenway Action Plan, adopted by the MRC, County and City in 2001.

•  July 2002 Letter from Janet Snyder Matthews, Director of the DOS Division of Historical Resources to Chris Keena, Director Department of Management Services, requesting the creation of a request for proposals (RFP) including up to $95,220 for necessary Batter-pile-with-cap sea wall repairs, to be funded from available Conservation and recreation Lands (C.A.R.L.) funding. The seawall repairs never occurred.

•  September 21, 2005 letter and site plan from the Related Group (when seeking approval of their adjacent Icon development) to Ryan Wheeler, DOS, stating, “#3 The design and development of the Miami River Greenway trail through the 2.2 acre Miami Circle property is also reflected in the Design Concept prepared by the Related Group of Florida and is consistent with the planned baywalk improvements within the Icon Brickell project and the adjacent Brickell Park permanent improvement plan. To date, the related group of Florida has funded the cost of this initial Design Concept and is committed to a continued financial support to implement the desired concept plan.”

•  August 2002 Miami Today article entitled “Work to open Miami Circle landmark to public likely this year”

Chair Buermann noted he planned on contacting Mr. Mike Sole, Director of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to discuss the status of the Miami Circle , and asked Mr. Bibeau for his input on the appropriate course of action. Mr. Bibeau recommended that the State file a permit application for the Miami Circle 's seawall replacement, while on a parallel path seeking a $500,000 match for a potential $500,000 FIND grant for the seawall replacement. Upon completion of the seawall replacement, Mr. Bibeau stated he hoped the Related Group would fund and construct the site's publicly accessible riverwalk, as offered in their 2005 letter.

Mr. Bibeau stated MRC staff had attended a meeting at the Historical Museum of South Florida (HMSF) with Miami Circle stakeholders on June 28, 2007, in which Mr. Wheeler, DOS, had shared plans to provide temporary repair measures to stabilize the site's collapsed seawall, while the DOS submits a $2.5 million legislative budget request, which will be considered in May 2008, to potentially fund the final and long planned permanent repair of the Miami Circle seawall. Mr. Bibeau stated DOS's request for $2 million was denied by the Legislature last year. Mr. Bibeau noted the HMSF has invited Miami Circle stakeholders to another meeting on Monday, July 23, noon, at the museum. Mr. Bibeau added the Honorable Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen and the Honorable ST Rep Luis Garcia expressed their support to expedite the repair of the Miami Circle seawall, followed by construction of a publicly accessible riverwalk, by inviting local, state and federal officials, public and the media to a press conference at the site on Saturday, July 21, 2007, 1 pm. The MRC Executive Committee directed staff and the Greenways subcommittee to continue advocating for the immediate and permanent replacement of the collapsed sea-wall at the Miami Circle and the creation of a publicly accessible waterfront walkway adjacent to the Miami Circle similar to the renditions depicted in the adopted Miami River Greenway Action Plan.

Mr. Bibeau reported on June 13, 2007, the MRC's Greenways subcommittee reviewed the City Commission approved Major Use Special Permit for the “Latitude on the River” development, which has almost completed constructed, and depicts a publicly accessible riverwalk connecting to the riverwalk section beneath the Miami-Dade County owned 2 nd Ave Bridge, although the City of Miami 's issued building permit for the project depicts the riverwalk as built, which doesn't connect to the 2 nd Ave riverwalk, rather dead ends into the side of the 2 nd Ave Bridge retaining wall. Since the GSC meeting, Mr. Bibeau stated that Miami City Commissioner Joe Sanchez had requested a meeting with Mr. Bibeau and the developer of “Latitude on the River” to address inconsistent riverwalk dimensions and the site's lack of connectivity to the adjacent development “Neo Vertika” and the NW 2 nd Avenue Bridge . During the meeting, Mr. Bibeau noted the City Commission approved riverwalk renditions for the aforementioned riverfront development are wider than the as-built riverwalk. Mr. Bibeau added that the approved MUSP provided connectivity to adjacent riverwalk sections, but the as-built sections failed to connect. Mr. Bibeau noted the developer of “Latitude on the River” seemed willing to provide a riverwalk connection to the NW 2 nd Avenue Bridge through the installation of a 6-foot cantilevered bridge. Mr. Bibeau noted that the developer owned the submerged land which extended 16 feet into the river, and could therefore provide a safer riverwalk with that width. Mr. Ruano asked if a connection to the NW 2 nd Avenue Bridge was featured in the approved MUSP, and Mr. Bibeau replied yes and per Mr. Ruano's request agreed to forward him all plans/pictures regarding this item. Mr. Ruano asked how Commissioner Sanchez felt about the situation, and Mr. Bibeau replied that it his understanding the Commissioner regards greenway connectivity as an important issue and is currently considering meeting with the developer of “Neo Vertika” to address their needed shoreline repair which would help improve riverwalk connectivity to adjacent parcels, such as “Latitude on the River.” Mr. Dubin noted the lack of coordination between city departments may have attributed to the continued aforementioned riverwalk inconsistencies. The Executive Board directed MRC staff to continue advocating for the City to require the developers to honor the Riverwalk dimensions unanimously approved by the City Commission.

Ms. Chase noted MRC staff would like to honor Ms. Lavinia Freeman , whom has recently resigned from the Trust for Public Land , with a commemorative plaque for all her work on the Miami River Greenway. The Executive Board unanimously welcomed this idea and agreed to present her with a token of their appreciation at the next MRC meeting, if not sooner.

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