I.  CHAIRS REPORT:

II.  Urban Infill Plan Presentation

Mr. Everingham stated that this was the day appointed for final action on the Urban Infill Plan.   Mr. Everingham turned the program over the Jim Murley, Chairman of the Urban Infill Working Group and Steve Lefton, lead consultant from Kimley-Horn hired to complete the Plan.  Mr. Murley advised the MRC of the status of the Plan.  He stated the Working Group felt the Plan was too important for the future of the Miami River and it would be better not to expedite this version and provide additional time for complete review and comprehension by all MRC members, so a vote for approval of the Plan will not occur today.  Jim further explained that the Plan has significant follow-up steps for action by the State Legislature, the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County and the MRC should diligently review this full draft and not try to expedite approval.  Jim wanted to present this full final draft and present a summary of the document for discussion.  Jim explained that before the September 9^th MRC meeting, they will assemble a full set of consolidated amendments of the Plan for review by the MRC members after consultations with the County and City. Jim suggests that the MRC adopt this Plan under the Enabling Act of the MRC as a strategic plan at the September 9^th meeting and after our adoption it will be forwarded to the City and County recommending that they adopt the Plan under the provisions of the Urban Infill Re-development Statute.  Jim stated he is very pleased with the Plan and feels it clearly meets the requirements of the Urban Infill statute.

                Mr. Steve Lefton reported on how the Plan has evolved and provided an overview of the various sections of the Plan and then focused on the implementation strategies.  Jim Murley was asked to provide an overview of the governance structure and provided a detailed description of the proposed governance section of the Plan.    Jim explained the governance diagram and the recommendations for a slightly revised MRC structure.  Additionally, he explained the rationale for the request to the City and County governments should a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District eventually evolve from this Plan.  As an example, once the Greenway is completed the question is who would manage the greenway and fund maintenance, security, etc.  The Plan suggests that a Riverfront Trust entity be established to manage the Greenway.  The 5- year strategic funding plan is also a significant issue covered in the governance section.  Jim Murley then responded to various questions from the members and discussion took place.  Dr. Martin asked about the MRC funds and the need to contract legal assistance to guide the MRC concerning the opportunities for creating a TIF and research other funding opportunities contained in the recently enacted Urban Infill and Redevelopment Act contained in State Statute 163.  David Miller responded that the Executive Committee has authorized expenditure of funds for legal assistance and staff is currently seeking proposals from several law firms with the assistance of Jim Murley.  Further discussion took place regarding this issue.

                Javier Fernandez commented on the need for an economic analysis of the marine industry, specifically in the section of the river from 5^th Street Bridge to the county line.  Javier feels the maritime presence in the county section of the river is well documented and financially understood, but he points out there are no facts or analysis to support or not support creating maritime protection areas in the middle section of the river.   Javier feels this analysis is essential before amending land use criteria.  Jim Murley explained that the Urban Infill Plan was not envisioned by the state to provide this type detailed analysis, but the Plan provides the background data and supporting information to initiate more detailed studies to improve the river corridor and Javier’s comment could be incorporated as one of the implementing steps.  Mr. Everingham said that there has been a clear consensus or feeling that the Marine Commerce aspect of shipping terminals and boatyards on the River are very important to the economy of the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County and these need to be given special attention and hopefully maintained.  There is a concern that the development on the River may be such that it would put pressure on marine interests.  Mr. Everingham concurs that an analysis is prudent to provide the economic justification for the marine industry along this section of the river. Sara Babun suggested that more could be done promoting the marine industry off the riverfront by developing warehousing, freight consolidation and Customs Inspection stations that could also be helpful for the airport.  Jerry Fernandez suggested that  “adaptive management” concepts could further the planning initiatives.  Jim Murley explained that the economic analysis and creation of freight warehouses is exactly what the 5-year strategic funding plan would include and that is how these recommendations will be implemented.  Further discussion took place. 

                Mr. Everingham asked what are the current boundaries of the TIF District recommended in the Plan?  Jim explained that that information is on page 82.   Discussion took place regarding the boundary being changed.  Mr. Everingham asked if the revised TIF boundary generates sufficient revenues to cover river improvement funding requirements listed in the Plan.  Mr. Murley said yes, as this funding can be leveraged with numerous state and federal matching grants available for river improvements.  The ability to leverage TIF funds is one of the most important aspects of creating a TIF District.   Mr. Everingham asked if the County and City Staff agreed with what is in the Plan?   Mr. Murley explained that the county concurs with the Plan; however, the city has concerns with the TIF District and they also feel the need for additional analysis before they can fully support certain sections of the Plan.  Discussion took place.  Commissioner Barreiro explained that the TIF is not an increase in tax.  It simply is capturing the growth of tax revenues in the District over a period of time and that those revenues must be spent in the TIF District.    

Jim Murley requested the MRC members to closely review the Plan and any comments that members may have be forwarded to MRC staff no later than August 15, 2002.  These comments will be compiled by staff and presented to the Urban Infill Working Group for review.  Also the Executive Committee will review the recommendations of the Working Group.  At the next MRC meeting on September 9, 2002 the Working Group will provide and addendum of recommended changes to the current draft Plan for review and approval by the full MRC membership. 

III.      Miami River Renaissance Development

                Mr. Everingham introduced Ines Marrero-Priegues, an attorney with the office of Akerman Senterfitt.  She made a presentation regarding the Miami River Renaissance development project and all members were provided with copies of the proposed development plans.  This project is located on the river in downtown Miami on a vacant parcel of property located on the north bank of the River, immediately to the west of the South Miami Avenue Bridge.  The developer is filing with the City of Miami for a major use special permit and they will not be requesting variances, re-zoning, or waivers of the set back requirement.  The entire project includes:  2,024 dwelling units, 265,358 sq. ft. of office space and 88,318 sq. ft. of retail space.  They have looked at all the criteria and recommendations for the Riverwalk development and incorporated those items into the project.

                Mr. Reinaldo Borges explained the development includes three towers.  Parking garages cannot be seen from the Riverfront.  The project will be developed in three phases.  All the recreational facilities are on the top of the roof pedestal towers.  Areas for restaurants and retail were shown and explained.    Discussion was held.  Steve Lefton from Kimley-Horn provided an overview of the landscaping, shade trees, public access and Riverwalk design.  A motion was made by Jerry Fernandez recommending approval of the Miami River Renaissance project and seconded by Ernie Martin.  After discussion the motion was amended to recommend approval of the project subject to increasing the Riverwalk width near the Miami Avenue Bridge Tenders Tower.  The amended motion passed unanimously. 

IV.       2001 Miami River Economic Report

                Mr. Everingham said that Megan Kelly was unable to attend this meeting, but has several points to bring up at a future meeting.               

V.         COMMITTEE REPORTS

Dredging Working Group

                Dick Bunnell reported that in regard to the dredging of the Miami River, there was slippage in the Corps’ plan to put out the Request for Proposal (RFP).  The RFP was initially planned to be out in July, but has been delayed until late August 2002.  It is hoped that even with this delay the project will still start construction by the end of the year.  As far as the County’s effort on the bank-to-bank dredging issue, they are proposing an amendment to Chapter 24.  The amendment basically allows the County to act as the applicant for the permit that has to be processed to do the actual dredging outside the federal channel.

               Grant Investigation and Greenways

                Dr. Martin reported that the MRC has received a $100,000 grant from the Department of Environmental Protection for Greenway improvements located at the Miami Circle.  Dr. Martin said they also have identified another funding source from the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) for $200,000; however, only a municipality or county government can submit this grant.   Dr. Martin made the motion for the MRC to assist the City or County with a Miami River Greenway FRDAP improvement grant.   It was seconded by Janet McAliley and passed unanimously.

                Dr. Martin said at the Greenway Committee meeting Sewell Park was discussed.  When the Committee first heard about the proposal for the Police Department to utilize 5 out of 9 acres of Sewell Park for a horse stable and dog training, the Committee asked the Police department to revisit the proposal and to keep waterfront areas protected and not remove trees.  It was the opinion of the Greenways Committee that they were still very uncomfortable with the use of non-direct park activity in a public facility of Sewell Park.  Dr. Martin made a motion that the MRC express concern about the proposed use of public park space for non-park activity and suggests the City explore other areas for the stable.   Janet McAliley seconded the motion.  Discussion was held.  Discussion about utilizing property under Interstate 95 near Booker T. Washington School in Overtown was discussed as a much larger and possibly better site for the horse stable.  Dr. Martin said the Police Department would come back to the Greenway Committee, after they finish reviewing other sites.   A vote was taken and the above motion passed unanimously.

VI         NEW BUSINESS

                Brenda Marshall and Lavinnia Freeman thought this was an appropriate time to   recognize Jim Murley for all his significant contributions to both the Miami River Commission and Trust for Public Land.  Brenda presented Jim with a beautiful framed picture from the last TPL newsletter.  Significant loud applause followed, clearly recognizing the group’s appreciation for all for Jim’s dedication and hard work.