[1:20] good evening. Any person who

[1:21] receives compensation,

[1:23] remuneration or expenses for

[1:24] conducting lobbying activities

[1:25] is required to register as a

[1:27] lobbyist with the city clerk

[1:28] prior to engaging in lobbying

[1:29] activities before city staff

[1:31] boards, committees or the city

[1:32] commission. A copy of the

[1:33] applicable ordinance is

[1:34] available at the office of the

[1:36] city clerk miami city hall

[1:37] located at 3500. Pan american

[1:39] drive, miami, florida 33133.

[1:42] Thank you chair. Thank you very

[1:45] much. I will do the pledge of

[1:54] allegiance for discussion. The

[1:56] flag of the united states of.

[1:58] America and to the republic for

[2:00] which it stands one nation

[2:04] under GOD. Indivisible.

[2:05] >> with liberty and justice for

[2:16] all. Rafael, do you have to do

[2:18] a formal roll call or just

[2:20] obvious that there's only four

[2:27] four people here tonight? Okay.

[2:29] >> um, just to note that

[2:31] christopher norwood who was

[2:31] appointed by the mayor.

[2:33] >> he's here. He's just I think

[2:34] he stepped out for a second but

[2:35] he's going to be sitting right

[2:37] here. Oh great. Thank you. And

[2:40] how many people do we need for

[2:47] quorum? Eight people would be

[2:51] needed for quorum. Okay so

[2:53] we're we're only we only have

[2:56] five. Assuming with chris.

[3:01] >> norwood we have five. So yes

[3:02] with christopher norwood it's

[3:13] five. Okay.

[3:22] MR. Norwood thank you very much

[3:25] for joining us. Peter. So I'm

[3:25] just going to.

[3:27] >> do the the roll call.

[3:27] >> for for.

[3:29] >> to be on the record. Okay.

[3:32] Peter erlick here. Nicholas

[3:36] lopez jenkins. Luis casamayor.

[3:40] stephen lightner. Gary milano.

[3:43] Christopher norwood. Monte

[3:49] traynor. Daniel lopez.

[3:53] Alejandro martinez. Steve. And

[3:54] if we can just have everybody

[3:56] speak on the mics just so

[3:56] everybody.

[4:01] >> can hear. Thank you. All

[4:03] right. Any requests.

[4:06] >> for absence waiver? No I had

[4:08] didn't receive any. So we're

[4:09] going to move on to the

[4:11] discussion items. Um taking

[4:13] them slightly out of order if

[4:14] you don't mind. From the city

[4:16] attorney would like an update

[4:17] on the city commission agenda

[4:19] item that a resolution that we.

[4:23] Provided last year about

[4:23] changing.

[4:25] >> the quorum. Can we have a

[4:27] status for that item that. Yes.

[4:30] So the resolution passed. Um

[4:32] now the resolution essentially

[4:33] provides that the city manager

[4:35] will come back and bring an

[4:36] ordinance which would require

[4:37] two readings that city

[4:40] commission. So the next step is

[4:41] for the city manager to bring

[4:43] an ordinance consistent with

[4:44] what you guys have passed,

[4:46] which was attached to.

[4:47] >> the to the. Resolution and

[4:49] then that would require two

[4:51] readings. Oh, I was under the

[4:53] impression that was being taken

[4:55] care of when we submitted our.

[4:56] Resolution to the city

[4:58] commission to be approved. No,

[5:00] the resolution that was passed

[5:01] by commission essentially

[5:02] provides that the.

[5:04] >> manager will bring back an

[5:05] item. So that.

[5:06] >> wasn't completed at that

[5:08] time. So when will that item be

[5:08] back in.

[5:10] >> front of commissioners? I

[5:10] don't have that information

[5:12] would be the manager who brings

[5:14] the item. Can you can you

[5:15] follow up with the manager so

[5:16] it can be heard.

[5:18] >> in the next two or or at

[5:20] best three. Meetings I can have

[5:21] I can.

[5:23] >> have I can reach out to rafa

[5:25] rafael to reach out to the

[5:28] manager rafaela because we've

[5:31] been waiting on 12 or 18 months

[5:33] for this one item to go through

[5:37] the city commission. It's a

[5:39] shame there's still a delay.

[5:40] Parks will follow up. We will

[5:42] follow up. Will you? Yep. Thank

[5:43] you very much. We appreciate

[5:46] that. Any questions from any

[5:48] board members on that everybody

[5:50] familiar with that item how

[5:54] that item works? We have it for

[5:56] those that are in the audience.

[5:58] We submitted an item resolution

[6:00] last year to change our quorum

[6:02] requirements. It's very hard to

[6:04] get eight people almost from

[6:06] any board to show up for

[6:08] meetings like this. We often

[6:10] get sick sometimes seven five

[6:13] to night and our our item would

[6:15] change the quorum requirements

[6:16] to only require three three

[6:18] people to show up to conduct

[6:21] business. Luckily we often have

[6:24] five, 6 or 7 but the new

[6:25] legislation would let us go

[6:27] forward with three. So we hope

[6:28] that gets.

[6:29] >> gets.

[6:30] >> passed by the city.

[6:31] Commissioners as soon as

[6:33] possible through the chair.

[6:35] Yes. Just to clarify, the.

[6:36] Resolution provides for five

[6:39] voting members to constitute a

[6:40] quorum. Does it? Yeah. All

[6:43] right. Well it's still better

[6:46] than 7 or 8. Thank you very

[6:53] much. Um so then we're going to

[6:57] quickly go to the um the miami

[6:59] marine. Stadium basin mooring

[7:03] field. Is there rafael is there

[7:04] anybody from the.

[7:05] Administration here to speak on

[7:07] that or present on that item

[7:09] and the status of the miami

[7:17] marine stadium basin field. So

[7:19] alejandro is here from the

[7:20] dream department but they

[7:22] requested to provide updates in

[7:22] the.

[7:24] >> OCTOBER meeting um, when

[7:26] there will be better updates.

[7:30] Okay. Um then we we will we are

[7:32] going to hear from the public

[7:34] tonight on that item and we can

[7:37] also um continue that item

[7:39] until the next meeting in two

[7:41] months. And so we will be

[7:43] hearing from. Alejandro in in

[7:46] more detail in two months

[7:48] unless he wants to add some.

[7:49] Comments tonight. After he

[7:52] hears from the public and we

[7:53] would like to hear from the

[7:55] public. There's some wonderful.

[7:57] Advocates I know in the room

[7:58] tonight who have great

[7:59] information and have been

[8:01] attending meetings for years.

[8:06] You can speak in any order. Any

[8:06] .

[8:07] >> microphone that's working.

[8:09] Excuse me. Clearly the

[8:11] microphone works. I'm sorry

[8:14] ma'am. Um, I'm I'm new here

[8:17] and, uh but there's an item on

[8:19] the agenda and there's no one

[8:21] here to speak about what the

[8:23] item is or is anybody going to

[8:25] speak as to what what you know

[8:28] what the item. Even as a

[8:31] discussion item? Uh, that's a

[8:32] great question. The board's

[8:34] been discussing this particular

[8:37] item for three or 4 or 5 years.

[8:39] So I understand you're new to

[8:41] the you're new to the to the

[8:43] board there we requested

[8:44] somebody from the

[8:46] administration to speak on this

[8:47] specific item tonight, but

[8:50] nobody from the. Administration

[8:51] wants to go into detail

[8:53] tonight. Unfortunately there

[8:55] are members of the public that

[8:56] have a massive amount of.

[8:58] Information and some

[8:59] information that hasn't even

[9:01] been. Distributed to the board.

[9:03] They've been attending some.

[9:05] Meetings with government

[9:08] officials that we have not been

[9:09] attending, and they're going to

[9:11] be updating us on what they've

[9:14] heard. So if you if you like,

[9:16] we're going to hear from some

[9:16] members of the.

[9:18] >> public and I think you'll

[9:20] you'll learn a lot fairly

[9:22] quickly. MR. Chair, I would

[9:23] love to hear from the and we

[9:24] will hear from the public. But

[9:26] first I would like to hear who

[9:28] from the. Administration is

[9:29] attending this meeting.

[9:35] >> right now. Two members.

[9:36] >> gentleman on your left.

[9:36] Yeah.

[9:38] >> so director danny lopez

[9:40] acting parks director okay. And

[9:42] alejandro martinez. I'm the

[9:43] director of the dream

[9:45] department. Of the marine

[9:46] department. Dream department of

[9:47] real estate and asset

[9:49] management. Got it. And so can

[9:52] someone explain to me what the

[9:53] miami marine stadium basin

[9:56] mooring. Field is? What exactly

[9:59] is it? Why don't we let.

[10:01] Alejandro handle that question?

[10:04] Yeah. So I think the better way

[10:05] to probably to handle it. So go

[10:07] ahead and listen listen to the

[10:08] public give their presentation

[10:09] because like the chair

[10:10] mentioned this this project has

[10:12] a long standing history. Um,

[10:14] you and I can probably meet

[10:16] offline as well and I can give

[10:17] you a better summary of what

[10:19] the project is. Um, so so a lot

[10:21] of the topics on this there's

[10:22] going to be a more formal.

[10:24] Presentation made in OCTOBER. I

[10:25] would like the benefit of

[10:26] listening to the public because

[10:27] then maybe we can incorporate

[10:29] some of their points in that

[10:30] presentation and address some

[10:32] of their concerns. So I think

[10:33] the best course of action is to

[10:34] go ahead and listen to the

[10:36] public and then we can I can

[10:38] provide comments as appropriate

[10:40] and if not we can give you, you

[10:41] know. Documentation onto the

[10:42] project itself because it's

[10:43] it's it's a pretty.

[10:45] >> significant project with a

[10:47] pretty significant history. Um,

[10:49] if you don't mind, MR. Chair.

[10:52] No, not at all. Uh, I'm new to

[10:55] this committee but I'm not new

[10:57] to serving on. Committees and

[11:00] boards and I've never sat on a

[11:01] committee or board when there's

[11:02] an item on the agenda that

[11:04] there's not somebody from the.

[11:06] Administration who. Presents

[11:09] what. Exactly the item is. And

[11:11] so I definitely want to hear

[11:13] from the public and I'm sure

[11:15] they can add to whatever the

[11:17] later. Presentation MAY be by

[11:18] whomever from the

[11:19] administration. I just want to

[11:21] know what is the miami marine

[11:23] stadium basin mooring field and

[11:25] why is it on the agenda? And I

[11:27] would like to hear from staff

[11:30] to explain that so I can

[11:32] provide a little bit of insight

[11:35] on on this I why is it in the

[11:37] agenda I don't know right. But

[11:41] um the. Basin mooring field

[11:43] basically there for years folks

[11:45] have been able to you know, go

[11:47] to the basin anchor and

[11:49] completely neglect their boats.

[11:53] And so now the city has worked

[11:55] through a process of creating a

[11:56] mooring field there to now

[11:58] create rules and. Regulations

[11:59] for folks to come and.

[12:00] Properly.

[12:03] >> uh, you know, secure their

[12:05] boats and also pay a fee to the

[12:07] city for for for that. And then

[12:09] you know, with that comes.

[12:09] Services.

[12:12] >> uh, from the marinas also

[12:15] the marinas uh, division.

[12:17] Itself used to be under the

[12:18] dream department and now it's

[12:20] under the gsa department. Uh,

[12:22] so that that change just just

[12:24] happened not too long ago.

[12:25] That's a little bit of insight,

[12:27] you know, on on that, but

[12:28] that's basically what the

[12:31] mooring field is. Uh, you know,

[12:33] I don't know as.

[12:34] >> far as it being in the

[12:36] agenda this is my first

[12:39] meeting. So so just to clarify

[12:42] the the the the marine, the I'm

[12:44] sorry, the. Stadium basin field

[12:47] is a is a is a is out in the

[12:49] water. Yes. Okay. So it's.

[12:51] >> a it's it's it's near the

[12:53] marine stadium. Yeah. So

[12:53] basically.

[12:54] >> you have the marine.

[12:55] >> stadium and then.

[12:57] >> you have the basin right in

[12:57] front of it.

[12:58] >> so it's a body of water.

[13:00] It's a body of water. It's

[13:01] called the basin mooring field.

[13:03] The basin is called the marine

[13:05] basin uh the marine the marine

[13:07] stadium basin that's what it's

[13:08] called. And a mooring field is

[13:09] going to be.

[13:11] >> implemented in that basin.

[13:13] Thank you. All right. Thank you

[13:15] very much. Um you asked very

[13:17] good questions, MR. Norwood.

[13:20] you're absolutely right.

[13:22] Normally and it's completely

[13:24] appropriate for an expert from

[13:26] the city or the county or

[13:27] whatever government entity we'd

[13:30] like to in front of us to give

[13:31] us a background information on

[13:34] a particular item. The the

[13:36] mooring field that we're.

[13:39] Discussing will be in the miami

[13:40] marine stadium. Basin.

[13:41] >> which I believe is

[13:44] approximately 45 acres. Is that

[13:47] correct? And it's also.

[13:51] Designated historic. Um

[13:52] everybody's. Familiar with

[13:55] that. Gary milano you recall

[13:57] the designation of the miami

[14:02] marine basin as historic. Okay.

[14:05] Um, which which means it has a

[14:07] whole whole different set of.

[14:07] Requirements.

[14:09] >> that should be honored. Uh,

[14:12] anything historic should be

[14:19] should be reviewed. Um. I have

[14:21] a for for chris norwood to

[14:23] review quickly. There's an

[14:24] article there's a publication

[14:27] here. This is from dade

[14:29] heritage trust. Independent

[14:32] called. Preservation today.

[14:35] Historic miami marine stadium

[14:38] rebirth of an icon. This is.

[14:41] 1617 years ago. This is from

[14:43] 2009. Gary can you hand this to

[14:45] chris to [Laughter] Look at the

[14:48] pictures? I'm I'm fine. I I

[14:49] would love to review this

[14:51] absolutely absolutely. I just

[14:53] wanted to understand just what

[14:55] what it is and and it's on the

[14:56] agenda. It's on the agenda.

[14:59] >> because we're. Reviewing

[15:02] what about it? Oh we've been

[15:04] we've had we've heard a lot of

[15:05] comments from. Constituents

[15:09] taxpayers. Residents um. Rowers

[15:12] dragon boat rowers about the.

[15:14] Future of marine stadium basin

[15:16] and they they been asking for

[15:18] an. Update on the.

[15:20] >> status of the proposed

[15:21] mooring field. Perfect. I'm

[15:23] good I'm ready all right thank

[15:25] you thank you thank you your

[15:26] comments are excellent.

[15:28] Questions are excellent. Um

[15:29] leah would you like to speak

[15:33] first? Thank you, MR. CHAIRMAN.

[15:36] My name is leah kennard and I

[15:39] am a very frequent user of the

[15:41] basin and I thank you MR.

[15:43] Norwood for asking those

[15:45] questions. Um and I also am

[15:47] just going to state the value

[15:50] of this this board.

[15:52] >> for the involvement of the

[15:56] public has renewed my belief in

[15:59] democracy. Um it's really it's

[16:02] a vibrant opportunity for the

[16:04] public to participate in city

[16:06] decision making. And so I'm

[16:08] very grateful that we can talk

[16:10] about what's happening in the

[16:12] basin tonight so that the

[16:14] people who are here are all

[16:15] people who are interested

[16:17] either because they're out

[16:20] there rowing or paddling or

[16:21] because they're concerned about

[16:23] the environment and what

[16:26] happened. And the reason we are

[16:28] all here is because like you,

[16:31] we did not know what was

[16:33] happening in the basin and the

[16:36] city was moving forward with a

[16:39] full permitting process to put

[16:43] in 195 healix anchors into the

[16:45] floor of the basin that

[16:48] literally covers the acreage of

[16:50] the basin. Some changes were

[16:54] made initially um to what the

[16:56] city's plan would be, but it

[16:58] was never brought to this board

[17:00] to discuss this. And so we have

[17:02] not had an opportunity as

[17:05] paddlers as the community of

[17:07] paddlers, uh, to be able to

[17:09] react to what the plans were.

[17:12] So it is something that is

[17:14] discoverable through all of the

[17:17] permitting process with

[17:18] diagrams of what the anchorage

[17:20] will look like. And the city's

[17:24] plan has been a very good idea

[17:26] that we don't want boats to

[17:28] just be dropping anchors in the

[17:30] basin and and dragging the

[17:33] anchors around. And so the idea

[17:35] of having a mooring field would

[17:37] be that boats would come in and

[17:39] they would connect to boys that

[17:40] are anchored in the bottom of

[17:43] the basin. And that would be a

[17:46] better idea for preserving the

[17:51] environment. Uh, it also is um

[17:53] it would take care of the

[17:54] derelict boats. There used to

[17:56] be a number of derelict boats

[17:59] sitting in the basin. Um and

[18:02] then after covid began, uh,

[18:04] people discovered that the best

[18:06] way for me to live is on the

[18:08] water in the basin or all

[18:10] around miami on a boat. And so

[18:13] there were close to 200 boats

[18:15] that were parking in the basin

[18:17] and we were all out there

[18:18] paddling around them. All these

[18:22] people know that um and it was

[18:24] very uncomfortable because

[18:26] there was a lot of sewage in

[18:28] the water as well. It used to

[18:30] be that the miami marine

[18:32] stadium basin was a place for

[18:34] manatees. We would see them

[18:36] frequently for dolphin

[18:37] sometimes stingray. I even

[18:39] remember seeing a baby shark

[18:41] out there one time from the

[18:43] boat. When you're paddling or

[18:45] rowing you are touching the

[18:47] water so you understand the

[18:50] water. It's not like being in a

[18:51] motor boat where you're looking

[18:53] down at the water. I mean we

[18:55] experience what the marine

[18:59] stadium basin is. And so when I

[19:03] became aware through the um

[19:04] friends of biscayne bay that

[19:06] the permitting process was

[19:09] process was going on, I read

[19:12] every single um permit and I

[19:15] was shocked and so I prepared

[19:17] this document that highlights

[19:19] what I think the real issues

[19:22] are so that you have some

[19:24] background information to be

[19:28] able to um to consider and so

[19:29] you can read through the

[19:31] document. I'm just going to hit

[19:33] the high points of this and

[19:35] that is that um the first item

[19:37] number one says the current

[19:39] proposal represents a dramatic

[19:41] expansion beyond previous

[19:43] public discussions and ignores

[19:45] the long standing concerns of

[19:47] long standing stakeholders. And

[19:50] I know that roger bernstein and

[19:52] I have been talking at this

[19:55] microphone since 2018 about

[19:58] mooring fields. Roger is very

[20:00] familiar with mooring fields.

[20:03] I'm I'm familiar as a user of

[20:06] the basin and so um, something

[20:08] that is of interest to me is

[20:10] that the virginia key advisory,

[20:13] the virginia key master plan

[20:16] that dates back to 2010. And

[20:18] this is also for those of you

[20:20] who are newer in this group, it

[20:23] is it was developed by city

[20:25] charrettes that went on for a

[20:27] long period of time and the

[20:29] public actually designed what

[20:32] they thought the master plan

[20:34] for virginia key should be. And

[20:37] the master plan is still being

[20:39] used. And one of the reasons

[20:41] that that got my attention is

[20:43] because it was used as an

[20:46] argument to build the boat ramp

[20:48] and we were not people that

[20:50] were really in favor of the

[20:51] boat ramp because we weren't

[20:53] sure how the parking was going

[20:54] to occur, how the traffic was

[20:56] going to exist, what the

[20:57] traffic on rickenbacker was

[20:59] going to be. But in the

[21:01] meantime the city used the

[21:03] virginia key master plan and

[21:07] one line that said boat ramp.

[21:09] And so I point that out now

[21:11] that the virginia key master

[21:14] plan has no lines about a

[21:17] mooring field, it does not

[21:19] exist in the master plan. And

[21:21] so if we're going to use the

[21:23] master plan, I would put that

[21:25] out there that it doesn't exist

[21:27] in the master plan. Secondly,

[21:29] the current proposal is not

[21:31] consistent with the long term

[21:34] vision for virginia key and

[21:36] that's where I was that's I

[21:37] read that instead I need to go

[21:39] back to the first one because

[21:40] the argument for the first

[21:42] statement is that the city

[21:46] commission has approved 75

[21:50] mooring buoys for a mooring

[21:52] field. There has been no

[21:54] conversation about 195 anchors

[21:58] in the basin anywhere in in the

[22:00] public in a general public

[22:02] meeting that I'm aware of. Um

[22:08] and so we jump from 75 buoys to

[22:11] 195 anchors which are also

[22:14] potential buoys. Number three

[22:16] the mooring field must not be

[22:17] planned in isolation. And

[22:19] that's because all of the

[22:20] projects that are going on on

[22:22] virginia key right now have

[22:23] interaction they intersect with

[22:27] each other and um and I find it

[22:30] sort of interesting that when

[22:33] it comes to traffic, there's

[22:34] traffic that all of these

[22:36] projects create, there's

[22:37] parking needs that all the

[22:39] projects create and there's

[22:42] also traffic in the basin as

[22:43] well and and the permitting

[22:45] process. There's no

[22:46] consideration of any traffic in

[22:52] the basin. Um. Going on the

[22:55] current proposal falls a fails

[22:56] to account for the basin's

[22:58] daily recreational use by the

[23:00] paddling community who are

[23:01] represented here. I know here

[23:04] we see outriggers the outrigger

[23:07] community is represented the

[23:09] paddling teams uh dragon

[23:11] slayers who've been out there

[23:13] for at least two decades. Um I

[23:15] don't know that there are any

[23:16] puff representatives here

[23:19] tonight and the sos are the

[23:21] dragon boat team that I'm a

[23:23] member of um is currently

[23:24] competing in [Laughter] France.

[23:26] That's why none of my friends

[23:29] are here. I stayed back

[23:33] [Laughter] And um but oh thank

[23:38] you but so they I mean and it's

[23:40] a statement that all of these

[23:41] teams are internationally

[23:44] known. The coaches for our

[23:46] teams are people that are

[23:48] recognized around the world.

[23:50] They're usa certified quite a

[23:52] number of them are they offer

[23:54] training and so the basin is

[23:55] not only a place for

[23:57] competition it's also a place

[24:01] for practice um public input

[24:03] and changes in state and county

[24:04] laws are helping to support the

[24:06] basin as a safe place for

[24:08] marine life and the reputation

[24:09] and attraction for miami for

[24:11] water sports. And I'm going to

[24:13] refer here to and have roger

[24:16] bernstein talk because um, in

[24:18] going back through my notes, I

[24:21] realized that in 2018 we were

[24:23] already talking about anchorage

[24:26] limitation area. We ourselves

[24:28] had talked to an attorney who

[24:29] was knowledgeable about that

[24:31] and roger has kept up with that

[24:34] all along and he can speak in a

[24:35] much more intelligent way about

[24:37] it than I can. But that's

[24:39] referenced in the last part. So

[24:40] I have two things that I would

[24:42] like to see happen that the

[24:44] city discontinue the committing

[24:47] the current permitting process.

[24:50] That's why to meet tonight

[24:52] rather than waiting until

[24:55] there's a quorum until OCTOBER

[24:58] because if the city could get

[25:01] serious about involving the

[25:03] community about this, we can

[25:05] avoid making a lot of mistakes.

[25:08] So that's one of my asks. The

[25:11] second one is to engage the

[25:12] public in the planning

[25:13] committees and workshops to

[25:15] consider all the factors

[25:16] associated with the mooring

[25:18] field. And so we're ready to

[25:21] help. I mean I think the city

[25:22] could come up with a much

[25:24] better plan if we are involved

[25:27] in doing that. But roger can

[25:29] explain a lot more about the

[25:32] laws and policies. Before you

[25:35] sit down for a quick question

[25:39] if there were I mean this this

[25:41] board did was aware of the

[25:42] legislation pending for I think

[25:45] it was 50 mooring that I

[25:47] believe. It's turned into 75 at

[25:48] a city commission meeting.

[25:50] >> I believe it went to the

[25:51] city commission with 50 and

[25:52] during the meeting

[25:56] commissioners suggested through

[26:00] the interest of some of the

[26:02] boating lobbyists that it go

[26:04] from 50 to 75 and I think it's

[26:08] 75 past. 75 past. 75 didn't I

[26:10] believe come to this board? But

[26:13] my question is if there were

[26:15] 100 or 195 mooring in the

[26:17] basin, what would that do to

[26:20] people's ability to grow cruise

[26:22] shells or dragon boats or

[26:25] triathlons or use the basin for

[26:27] recreation and and

[26:30] non-motorized boating? My

[26:32] opinion is it would basically

[26:34] put us out of business because

[26:37] we have a need for events. Uh,

[26:39] i know that the permitting

[26:42] process includes the estimate

[26:44] that the marine stadium might

[26:47] have five events in a year that

[26:50] would require moving vessels if

[26:54] the basin was filled up with

[26:57] vessels on those mooring, the

[26:59] marine stadium would not be

[27:02] able to have events. Um because

[27:05] you cannot move we can tell you

[27:06] it's tough to move any vessel

[27:08] because we tried to do that

[27:10] before. Okay, so I guess we're

[27:12] going to hear from roger and

[27:13] anybody else that wants to

[27:15] speak. Does anybody else have a

[27:17] question for leah I do jerry.

[27:19] Um you said that they're in

[27:21] permitting right now. Do they

[27:23] have not obtained a permit for

[27:25] the project yet? Correct. So

[27:26] they're not amending an

[27:29] existing permit. They're

[27:30] requesting a new permit.

[27:36] Actually, uh julia and I can

[27:38] explain more about that. Um

[27:40] that's how I became familiar

[27:43] with the process was because of

[27:44] the work that they were doing.

[27:46] And the other thing is the

[27:48] objective the objective of the

[27:50] mooring field originally was to

[27:53] get rid of the derelict vessels

[27:54] that were anchoring in the

[27:56] basin, correct? Correct.

[27:59] >> and right now all of those

[28:00] boats derelict vessels have

[28:03] moved out of the basin and

[28:05] they're on the south side of

[28:07] the causeway at this point.

[28:07] Correct.

[28:10] >> do you know why and how that

[28:12] occurred since the original

[28:14] objective of the mooring field

[28:18] was to provide a mechanism to

[28:20] regulate the area within the

[28:22] marine stadium basin? That's a

[28:25] wonderful question, gary. Um,

[28:28] for those of us of us that have

[28:30] been out there watching vessels

[28:34] disappear, it was a mystery

[28:37] where all at once the vessels

[28:40] are gone, the the dolphin are

[28:44] coming back. Um we can only um

[28:46] you know, think that it was

[28:48] because of enforcement and we

[28:51] can say that enforcement worked

[28:54] for calming down the jet skis.

[28:58] We had a horrible jet ski

[29:02] problem in the basin. Um and in

[29:04] fact caesar is here tonight

[29:07] and. So you'd have to you have

[29:08] to speak on the microphone.

[29:10] >> yeah. Why don't you come up

[29:11] and. Talk and I'll step away.

[29:12] Thank you.

[29:13] >> very much.

[29:17] >> I'll introduce andre. Or do

[29:20] you want excuse me. My name is

[29:22] andres sosa. Andres sosa. I'm

[29:25] also part of this community.

[29:27] It's that we use the basin what

[29:30] I see in the proper way like

[29:33] the basin historically we have

[29:35] the marine station. I think

[29:37] it's a purpose that we are

[29:39] spending money renewing the

[29:42] marine stadium and at the same

[29:43] time we're discussing something

[29:45] that is going to block the

[29:47] purpose of the renewal of the

[29:49] marine stadium. In my point of

[29:50] view marine stadium the basin

[29:52] was built for sports yes motor

[29:54] sports water sports but it was

[29:57] sports and we want to keep it

[29:59] that way. We have the mrc here

[30:01] that we have a growing

[30:02] community over there. We have

[30:03] dragon boaters, we have

[30:06] paddlers. That is the only spot

[30:07] one of the few spots that we

[30:09] have in miami with access to

[30:11] the water for small watercraft

[30:14] not suffering dangers like

[30:16] crazy people driving jet ski

[30:18] and run over the. I saw this

[30:20] personally both friends of mine

[30:22] run over by jet ski. I saw

[30:24] people dying in the marine

[30:26] stadium with jet ski because in

[30:28] miami it's really easy to rent

[30:30] a boat. You don't need a

[30:31] license or nothing. Anyone can

[30:33] have a boat in my opinion

[30:36] transforming as you ask you ask

[30:39] the most crucial question. The

[30:41] purpose of the mooring fields

[30:43] was to block people from

[30:45] sleeping with boats over that

[30:48] and control that from the past

[30:49] year and a half this is not

[30:51] happening and I have an answer

[30:53] for that because cesar put a

[30:54] race over there every year I

[30:56] put an event every day every

[30:58] year that is a polynesian

[30:59] festival that I bring people

[31:00] from french polynesia, from

[31:02] hawaii, from rapanui, from

[31:04] brazil and I do a festival

[31:06] polynesian festival. So we have

[31:08] to deal with the police

[31:10] requesting to move those boats.

[31:13] They move those boats. So on my

[31:15] point of view I think it's like

[31:16] they understand that it's

[31:18] better to take care or have

[31:20] suffering three months we are

[31:22] taking more of the marine

[31:23] stadium so the law enforcement

[31:26] is working right now. We just

[31:27] need to keep the law

[31:28] enforcement running and we

[31:30] don't need to spend money

[31:31] putting more infields over

[31:33] there that is going to cut the

[31:34] purpose. Maybe we can put

[31:36] sports again in the basin using

[31:37] the marine stadium. You know,

[31:39] with that beautiful skyline of

[31:41] miami that's one one we can

[31:44] work together as a community if

[31:46] you guys allow us to

[31:48] participate and help you guys

[31:51] to restore that the amazing

[31:53] place that is the basin, you

[31:55] know the marine stadium that's

[31:59] our only access to the water

[32:01] safely. You know to put like

[32:02] you have like a ladies here

[32:05] dragon boaters for from 15

[32:08] years old to 80 using that

[32:10] basin you know and you don't

[32:11] know how dangerous it is

[32:12] sometimes people in the boat

[32:15] they don't have the knowledge

[32:17] and the view and the

[32:19] perspective of being in a small

[32:21] watercraft in the ocean with a

[32:23] 55 foot boat they come close to

[32:26] you, they make waves. You can

[32:28] you can go down in the water if

[32:30] a person that already has a

[32:32] certain age turns like a death

[32:34] and life in that moment, you

[32:37] know? So it's a very crucial

[32:39] point this this discussion here

[32:41] and we want to be involved.

[32:43] It's not about oh we're here to

[32:44] block this or block no, we want

[32:45] to get involved to ban better

[32:46] for everyone. That's the whole

[32:48] point of we are. Here staying

[32:49] on second. Gary do you have a

[32:51] follow up question? Thank you.

[32:53] Um the other thing I see is

[32:56] that the marine stadium

[32:58] restoration just passed through

[33:01] the referendum. So the marine

[33:03] stadium is going to happen. So

[33:05] the marine stadium to have

[33:08] venues needs to have the basin

[33:10] available to be able to provide

[33:13] a variety of different.

[33:13] Exactly.

[33:16] >> so I see the mooring field

[33:18] conflicting with the marine

[33:21] stadium venues in the future as

[33:22] well. Exactly. So at this point

[33:24] I think it's important you know

[33:26] again we're going to hear a

[33:28] formal presentation on OCTOBER

[33:30] 27th here at 530 and we'll hear

[33:32] from the city and we'll be able

[33:34] to ask them questions and find

[33:36] out where the permitting is and

[33:38] where the funding is. The

[33:40] biggest problem we as a board

[33:42] have seen through the years is

[33:46] that the city provides they put

[33:48] together these projects, they

[33:50] go to the funding source, they

[33:52] obtain the funding without

[33:54] coming to us and I've got

[33:56] documentation here that any

[33:59] project on virginia key is

[34:00] supposed to come before this

[34:03] board before it goes forward

[34:04] and that's something that the

[34:06] city has failed doing and

[34:08] because of that they get

[34:11] project funding which they

[34:13] don't want to return. They've

[34:14] got you know, a gazillion

[34:16] dollars and they go oh, but we

[34:18] got this money now we we just

[34:19] can't turn away from it. But

[34:21] that's the thing the city needs

[34:25] to do to provide the proper to

[34:27] follow the master plan. Exactly

[34:28] .And that's something that

[34:31] this board was put together to

[34:33] oversee the implementation of

[34:34] the master plan. And that's

[34:36] what we do every day on this

[34:38] board is basically look at

[34:39] projects and hopefully this

[34:41] project will be reviewed, you

[34:44] know by you you know once we

[34:45] get a formal presentation we'll

[34:47] be able to ask questions. But

[34:48] permitting is one thing and

[34:50] funding is the other. And

[34:51] that's the thing that we need

[34:53] to kind of see where that's at

[34:55] and see if there's a way that

[34:57] through community involvement

[34:59] we can maybe change the course

[35:01] the direction of this mooring

[35:03] field project. Thank you so

[35:05] much. And I just want to point

[35:06] out that this amount of people

[35:09] that you see here actually I

[35:10] wouldn't say there's not 110%

[35:12] of what we have of paddlers

[35:14] over there, but it's a huge

[35:15] community that we if we bring

[35:16] everyone we're going to load

[35:18] this like three times. It's a

[35:20] big community that enjoys the

[35:22] basin and we just keep

[35:23] continuing enjoying and we

[35:24] don't want to stop progress.

[35:26] I'm not here we know that

[35:28] progress but like as you said

[35:30] we can use the money properly

[35:32] maybe make the basin better for

[35:33] everyone really better for

[35:33] everyone.

[35:34] >> well thank you for taking

[35:36] the time to come. Roger

[35:38] bernstein and anybody else that

[35:40] wants to speak and we'll be

[35:42] able to get up after roger

[35:45] speaks. Hi there, I'm roger

[35:46] bernstein. I live in the city

[35:50] of miami. I've rowed in the

[35:52] marine stadium basin for over

[35:53] 30 years and I've seen it

[35:55] change. I've seen it

[35:56] deteriorate and I've seen it

[36:00] improve this proposal for

[36:01] mooring field and this is a

[36:03] proposal that doesn't exist at

[36:05] this point. Proposal for a

[36:07] mooring field is a solution in

[36:09] search of a problem that no

[36:12] longer exists. The problem was

[36:15] that the basin had over the

[36:18] years accumulated all kinds of

[36:20] vessels including derelict

[36:24] vessels at risks of sinking

[36:25] boats that were anchored out

[36:29] there as the rate for wet

[36:32] storage docks went up and up.

[36:33] People said I'm not going to

[36:35] pay $3,000 a month for my 30

[36:37] foot sailboat. I'll find a

[36:41] place to put it. And the marine

[36:43] stadium was fairly accessible

[36:45] from the shore and it became

[36:47] covered with these things. Now

[36:50] these boats would sit out there

[36:53] and not be used. I would row at

[36:54] 6:00 in the morning. It was

[36:56] pitch dark by law they're

[36:58] supposed to have lights on

[36:59] them. They had no lights. They

[37:02] were improperly anchored. They

[37:03] drifted all over the place. You

[37:06] had no idea where the boat was

[37:07] here yesterday and today it's

[37:11] over there. It was horrible. So

[37:15] the city of miami said we under

[37:18] florida law do not have the

[37:20] authority to regulate our own

[37:23] water. It has to come from fwc

[37:26] and tallahassee by law they

[37:28] regulate the waters of the

[37:31] state of florida and the one

[37:33] solution the city came up with

[37:36] they said if we applied fwc and

[37:38] we get a permit for a mooring

[37:40] field, we can put that mooring

[37:42] field in the basin and then we

[37:47] will displace all of these

[37:48] garbage boats that are anchored

[37:51] there. And that was the idea.

[37:53] So originally it was 50 mooring

[37:57] .Then the commission passed

[37:58] 752 years ago they came up with

[38:01] this plan for 195 and I've

[38:03] asked that it be circulated

[38:05] here. It covers the basin from

[38:07] top to bottom side to side.

[38:11] That's it. No more public use.

[38:13] Why did they do that? I sat

[38:15] with them at dream and they

[38:19] said we're doing this because

[38:21] the mooring field by law will

[38:23] prohibit anybody from anchoring

[38:25] their boat there. And in

[38:28] addition the law says 100ft

[38:31] perimeter beyond that mooring

[38:32] field they can't anchor their

[38:36] boat so mechanically to fill up

[38:37] the basin. That's what we do.

[38:39] So that plan is two years old.

[38:41] Guess what the last session of

[38:44] the florida legislature they

[38:45] extended the 100 foot perimeter

[38:49] to 300ft. So that's 600ft from

[38:51] side to side and top to bottom.

[38:53] You don't have to put mooring

[38:55] there because you can't anchor

[38:58] there by law that plan does not

[39:00] anticipate that. The second

[39:03] thing that has happened is I

[39:07] told you that the state had

[39:09] authority to regulate anchoring

[39:13] in the county's and they were

[39:15] very jealous about that

[39:16] authority and they would not

[39:20] let the counties do very much.

[39:22] The legislature recently passed

[39:27] a law and the beginning of it

[39:30] says previously florida

[39:31] statutes generally preempted

[39:33] local governments from

[39:34] regulating the anchoring of

[39:36] vessels outside the mark

[39:40] boundaries of mooring field.

[39:45] Section 327.4 e108n2 of the

[39:47] florida statutes provides a

[39:49] limited exception to the

[39:50] anchoring preemption under

[39:52] which a county could establish

[39:54] a 45 day anchoring limitation

[39:57] area under certain conditions.

[40:00] With that 45 days means is if a

[40:02] boat is anchored in the marine

[40:04] stadium, it can be there for no

[40:06] more than 45 days. Then it has

[40:09] to move. So the idea of

[40:10] derelict vessels sitting there

[40:14] for years until they sink is

[40:17] finished. This is a county

[40:19] ordinance. It has gone through

[40:21] all of the procedures. I

[40:23] believe the final reading is on

[40:29] OCTOBER uh it will create.

[40:33] Section 7-40.1 of the of the

[40:38] code of miami-dade county. This

[40:41] means that the county can

[40:43] working with the city designate

[40:47] any portion or all of the

[40:49] marine stadium basin as an

[40:51] anchoring limitation area and

[40:53] boats can't go in there. So

[40:57] this ridiculous 195 ball

[41:00] mooring field made the plan

[41:02] made two years ago does not

[41:04] take account of the 300 foot

[41:05] perimeter does not take account

[41:07] of the anchoring limitation

[41:09] area. It can't go forward. We

[41:12] need to look at this and say

[41:14] hey there's been enforcement.

[41:19] The basin is clear. We don't

[41:23] need 195 ball mooring field to

[41:26] clear the basin. We MAY not

[41:29] need any mooring field in the

[41:38] basin. And. As leah said, they

[41:41] can't blindly move forward with

[41:43] this thing when the

[41:46] circumstances have changed. The

[41:47] basin is empty of derelict

[41:52] boats. There's a 600 foot area

[41:54] 300ft on each side top and

[41:56] bottom around a mooring field

[41:58] and the county has the ability

[41:59] to create an anchoring

[42:02] limitation area for some or all

[42:06] of the basin. So this idea of

[42:10] 195 ball mooring field is a

[42:12] solution to a problem that no

[42:17] longer exists. Questions? Roger

[42:18] .

[42:19] >> yes. Quick question. Thank

[42:21] you. I know you've been working

[42:23] on this issue for for years

[42:25] many years and you've been

[42:26] wonderful coming to the

[42:28] meetings and educating all of

[42:29] the board members and city

[42:32] staff. And in the next few

[42:34] weeks can you reach out to

[42:37] alejandro on my right who is

[42:40] the director of dream and um

[42:42] maybe have a meeting with him

[42:45] and and share your ideas. A

[42:47] question is this under dream or

[42:49] capital improvements or what?

[42:52] Um, I think daniel lopez said

[42:54] can you can you enlighten us

[42:55] daniel and who's in charge of

[42:57] this project now? Yeah.

[42:59] >> so my understanding is that

[43:02] mooring fields are within the

[43:04] marinas division and the

[43:06] marinas division is now under

[43:08] the gsa department. Now I can't

[43:11] speak to specifically you know

[43:13] how that has transpired but

[43:14] that that's the best

[43:15] information I can provide at

[43:17] the time. You can go ahead and

[43:18] reach out to me and then I'll

[43:19] make sure that the appropriate

[43:21] people are part of the

[43:22] discussion because it's going

[43:23] to be multifaceted, right? So

[43:24] it's obviously a very

[43:26] complicated project. It has a

[43:27] lot of moving pieces. So I'll

[43:28] make sure that the right people

[43:30] are in attendance to this

[43:31] discussion. Good.

[43:34] >> uh certainly we will do that

[43:39] and. I think everybody has the

[43:42] same intention here which is to

[43:44] keep the basin open and free of

[43:48] derelict vessels and available.

[43:50] Well roger that's that's not an

[43:54] accurate statement. Since

[43:57] you've got a drawing here with

[43:59] 195 mooring, you cannot say

[44:02] that everybody is in favor of

[44:04] keeping the basin open.

[44:06] Somebody is working diligently

[44:08] and incredibly detail and

[44:11] putting in dozens or hundreds

[44:13] of hours to achieve achieve

[44:13] this goal.

[44:15] >> yeah. But the expressed

[44:17] reason for that horrible thing

[44:21] is to displace the illegally

[44:24] anchored boats. I believe I

[44:25] hear you and I understand. And

[44:28] I'm not going to question the

[44:30] intention of whoever is behind

[44:34] this yet all I'm saying is the

[44:37] the problem has been solved by

[44:39] enforcement. And by the way, if

[44:41] you put a mooring field in

[44:42] without enforcement guess what

[44:44] happens? You get illegally

[44:47] anchored boats. Gary do you

[44:50] have any questions? Roger chris

[44:52] norwood roger bernstein for

[44:55] roger. Yeah, I do I not

[44:58] necessarily from the gentleman

[45:00] at the microphone but. Is your

[45:02] microphone on? Oh I'm sorry.

[45:04] Yeah I do have some questions

[45:06] but perhaps for the gentleman

[45:09] but not necessarily um you

[45:10] mentioned before someone

[45:12] mentioned before that there has

[45:15] been a project that has uh not

[45:17] gone before this board relating

[45:19] to virginia key. What what is

[45:21] that exactly? Is it is it the

[45:22] the subject matter that we're

[45:24] talking about right now? Well,

[45:26] essentially by charter and the

[45:28] city attorney can opine more

[45:30] accurately than I can but items

[45:33] that affect virginia key park

[45:35] that are substantive and might

[45:36] be changing the park are

[45:38] supposed to come before this

[45:41] board before moving on to the

[45:42] city commission and we're

[45:44] supposed to hear the items in

[45:47] detail and vote. We can vote.

[45:49] We only vote as

[45:50] recommendations. We can vote

[45:51] yes or no. It doesn't have to

[45:53] have any impact whatsoever on

[45:54] the city commission. No, I

[45:55] understand that, MR. Chair. My

[45:57] question was what has gone

[45:58] before the city that has not

[45:59] come before this board? What

[46:00] exactly are we talking.

[46:02] >> about this we did hear this

[46:04] item as it pertained to request

[46:09] for 50 more moving it up above

[46:11] 50 to 75 which was occurred

[46:12] during the course of a

[46:14] commission. We haven't seen any

[46:16] item or any information

[46:18] whatsoever about the mooring

[46:21] fields going up from 75 to 190

[46:22] 100 or 195..

[46:24] >> got it. And then um I'm

[46:26] hearing from some of the

[46:28] members here some of the people

[46:30] from the public I I'm the

[46:31] question just keeps popping in

[46:33] my mind what is it that we're

[46:34] trying to accomplish that can't

[46:35] be accomplished through

[46:38] enforcement? What exactly are

[46:40] we trying to accomplish with

[46:41] the more info that cannot be

[46:43] accomplished with proper

[46:45] enforcement under the current

[46:48] policies or codes of the city?

[46:49] Roger, do you want to answer

[46:51] that? Well, I would like to

[46:53] know from the parks like or

[46:55] dream what exactly are we

[46:57] trying to do that cannot be

[47:00] done by proper code

[47:04] enforcement? So that's one of

[47:06] the items that that we need to

[47:07] circle back. So so obviously a

[47:08] lot of the information that's

[47:10] presented to here is very

[47:11] valuable. I don't want to give

[47:12] an incomplete answer. So I want

[47:14] to circle back with staff and

[47:15] in the OCTOBER presentation

[47:17] that's obviously going to be

[47:18] you know part and parcel of

[47:20] what's presented to the group.

[47:22] >> thank you very much. And

[47:23] that that's going to be a big

[47:25] question for me at that meeting

[47:27] because I I really need to

[47:29] understand, uh you know, what

[47:31] is it that we're trying to do

[47:33] that just simply cannot be done

[47:34] through proper enforcement? And

[47:36] then lastly, um, my last

[47:39] question is, um, give me one

[47:45] second the um. If and this is

[47:47] actually to the question that I

[47:50] had because as I read the the

[47:54] code, you know, the in 50-2 it

[47:56] talks about the marine stadium

[47:58] prohibitive anchorage area and

[48:01] so what additional regulatory

[48:03] authority does establishing a

[48:05] permitted mooring field give us

[48:06] that we do not presently have?

[48:08] And again I know that's going

[48:10] to be a question I'm going to

[48:11] ask in OCTOBER and I would

[48:13] really like an answer, uh, to

[48:16] that to that question. And then

[48:17] this is someone who doesn't

[48:19] know too much about rowing or

[48:20] anything like that, but I'm

[48:22] assuming the basin is important

[48:25] again, I, I offer that clearly

[48:27] I don't know a lot about rowing

[48:28] and things of that nature, but

[48:30] I'm assuming this is attractive

[48:32] because it's calm water. Is

[48:34] that why it's attractive to

[48:37] boating and boats wanting the

[48:38] more that and so on and so

[48:40] forth. It's attractive because

[48:43] it is protected on three sides

[48:48] but it doesn't not have the

[48:50] infrastructure that you would

[48:52] want in a mooring field. In

[48:54] other words, if I'm coming here

[48:57] from connecticut on my 40 foot

[48:59] sailboat and I want to come to

[49:02] miami and spend 2 or 3 weeks

[49:04] here getting my boat ready to

[49:07] go to the bahamas, I want a

[49:09] place where I can safely attach

[49:13] my boat which you can to a

[49:16] mooring. I want ready access

[49:21] to. Grocery stores, marine

[49:24] supply stores, parking

[49:27] restaurants none of that exists

[49:29] around the marine stadium. If I

[49:32] put my boat there now I'm

[49:34] taking taxis and ubers and

[49:35] busses to get all this stuff.

[49:38] If I put my boat in dinner key

[49:41] in coconut grove, all of that

[49:43] infrastructure is available and

[49:46] my understanding is that there

[49:52] are unused mooring ball permits

[49:54] for dinner key you could put

[49:57] another 100 or 150 boats there

[50:00] where they already have parking

[50:04] showers, trash walking to

[50:07] stores, marine stores there is

[50:10] no need from a boating

[50:12] community point of view to put

[50:15] this thing in the marine

[50:17] stadium. I understand but I

[50:19] guess my question was way more

[50:21] basic than that. The reason why

[50:23] these boats want to go there is

[50:24] because it's calm water. Yes,

[50:26] and the reason why people row

[50:28] and paddle and all these things

[50:30] because it's very calm water is

[50:31] that not duplicate is I guess

[50:33] it's not not necessarily

[50:35] duplicated in too many places.

[50:38] No like that. There there are

[50:39] plenty there are better places

[50:41] to put a mooring field if you

[50:41] want. I'm talking.

[50:43] >> about one. I'm talking about

[50:44] just why all people whether you

[50:45] want to put a boat there,

[50:47] whether you want a paddle boat,

[50:49] whether you want a row I'm just

[50:50] saying in general the reason

[50:51] why we're having this

[50:52] discussion is because you guys

[50:54] like it to be there because

[50:55] it's calm water and it's

[50:56] attractive to what you're

[50:57] doing. Yeah, but I'm saying

[50:58] there are better places to put

[51:00] a mooring field in the county

[51:02] than the marine stadium. There

[51:04] are not a whole lot of other

[51:06] places where the water is calm

[51:09] to row, to paddle, to swim and

[51:12] to do water based activities.

[51:15] Got it. So if you put 195

[51:17] mooring in there, you

[51:19] basically kick the people out

[51:20] who are doing passive water

[51:23] sports. Mhm. Roger quick

[51:26] question. There's rowing now at

[51:28] the on indian creek at the

[51:30] indian creek rowing club. Yes

[51:32] miami beach rowing club. Miami

[51:34] beach rowing club yes. That's

[51:37] uh what is it? 70s and 70s yes

[51:41] on indian creek. What are the

[51:43] complications or benefits and

[51:45] problems with rowing and I know

[51:47] a lot of college teams come

[51:49] down to florida and train there

[51:52] during the year to prepare for

[51:54] their spring season. But are

[51:57] there problems um practicing on

[52:00] indian creek hurdles from jet

[52:02] skis and motorboats and. The

[52:05] city of miami beach has

[52:07] embraced the rowing club there

[52:11] from the beginning and provided

[52:13] space for it, provided

[52:15] enforcement provided

[52:18] facilities. Uh, that's not

[52:20] exactly the way things have

[52:22] worked in the city of miami and

[52:24] miami rowing club is here to

[52:26] talk about that. But mrc is

[52:31] operating without a lease. From

[52:35] the city. Um do do the rowers

[52:38] on indian creek have have to

[52:40] stop a practices because

[52:42] there's a bridge is down or a

[52:44] bigger boat coming towards

[52:47] them. They don't have problems

[52:51] um. They don't have jet ski

[52:53] problems they don't have

[52:54] speeding boat problems because

[52:55] number one there's enforcement

[52:59] and number two from what I

[53:02] understand of the setup there

[53:04] they're not a lot of places or

[53:06] any places nearby where you can

[53:07] drop a boat into the water.

[53:08] Okay.

[53:11] >> so you can go to you can go

[53:14] to virginia key, throw your jet

[53:15] ski in the water and you're

[53:18] off. So looking at your drawing

[53:20] that you've provided of 100 is

[53:21] this 195.

[53:24] >> that's 195. Where'd you get

[53:25] this drawing. From the that's

[53:30] the city plan. So if this was

[53:32] executed and there were close

[53:35] to 195 yachts or boats tied up,

[53:37] what would that do to people

[53:39] that wanted to row? It would be

[53:41] over there would be no room

[53:46] there. Plus in that same basin

[53:50] with the proposal for a new

[53:52] lease on the rickenbacker

[53:54] marina there would be what,

[53:58] another 600 boats that'll be

[53:59] launched into that basin from

[54:03] dry storage force force into a

[54:05] little corridor on the south

[54:07] side of the mooring field to

[54:10] get in and out. Okay. Um leah

[54:12] said you can't look at this

[54:15] proposal for mooring field

[54:17] without looking at the

[54:18] seaquarium proposal without

[54:20] looking at the marine stadium

[54:22] proposal without looking at the

[54:25] rickenbacker marina proposal.

[54:27] Um, I noticed that our esteemed

[54:30] board member steve steve

[54:33] leibner is in the room. To my

[54:35] right. Thank you so much peter.

[54:37] I apologize for my tardiness.

[54:39] Tardiness? I was actually on a

[54:41] trolley at 5:00 but the driver

[54:42] decided to take a very long

[54:45] break. Oh so so roger, I

[54:48] appreciate all the all the

[54:49] investigation and all the

[54:50] information you provided for

[54:53] us. What I'm hearing is there

[54:54] is absolutely no justification

[54:57] for this mooring field and I

[54:59] take it we don't have a quorum

[55:01] tonight but I certainly would

[55:03] support, uh, a resolution

[55:05] opposing a mooring field in the

[55:07] marine stadium basin. So I'm

[55:09] waiting to hear justification

[55:11] for mooring field of which I

[55:12] haven't heard maybe in OCTOBER

[55:17] I doubt it. Um that's my $0.02.

[55:19] Thank you very much, board

[55:21] member. Could I just add to the

[55:23] record that we do have a lease

[55:24] agreement with the miami rowing

[55:26] club? The city does have a

[55:27] lease agreement with the miami

[55:30] rowing club. It's a license

[55:33] agreement but it's yes. Peter

[55:35] if I MAY add have we have we

[55:36] passed any resolutions

[55:38] regarding the mooring field,

[55:41] the marine stadium basin? No we

[55:43] haven't discussed the item. The

[55:45] item hasn't been brought to us

[55:47] by city staff and several years

[55:51] we did get an a um some

[55:53] information when it was headed

[55:56] to the commission for 50 votes

[55:58] a 5050 ball mooring field which

[56:01] got expanded to 75. Nobody as

[56:03] far as I know nobody from the

[56:04] administration has come back to

[56:07] update us on the plans to go

[56:11] from 75 to 195, which is shown

[56:16] in this drawing. Thank you.

[56:18] Thank you thank you very much

[56:21] roger bernstein. MR. CHAIRMAN,

[56:24] I want to I wanted to address

[56:27] the question of why the mooring

[56:29] field is so important to the

[56:31] people that are in this room

[56:34] and that is because of the the

[56:36] use by human powered boats. All

[56:40] of us are human powered and the

[56:43] likelihood of tipping or

[56:45] hooting as we would say in open

[56:48] water is so much greater than

[56:51] it is in the quiet, uh the

[56:53] quiet gentle waters of the

[56:56] basin. So the basin is the

[56:59] favored place for rowers to

[57:01] learn how to row in their

[57:02] shells and for paddlers and

[57:04] we're all very specific about

[57:06] that. Some of us are paddlers

[57:08] and some of us are rowers, but

[57:11] it's a big deal for us to get

[57:13] out in the open water of

[57:15] biscayne bay. Now that's not

[57:16] the case with the outriggers

[57:19] the outrigger paddlers who are

[57:21] here tonight these are very

[57:25] strong individuals who paddle

[57:28] for miles and they use the

[57:30] basin as their launching place.

[57:33] They cover a lot of territory

[57:35] and they train in the basin and

[57:37] there is no other place like

[57:39] when you ask about other places

[57:41] during covid we tried to use

[57:44] the miami yacht club uh very

[57:45] difficult. We could not get

[57:47] boats there. There's very

[57:49] limited space for sharing but

[57:52] we had to alter our schedule.

[57:56] Um it it was not ideal at all.

[57:58] Sometimes we've gone up to

[57:59] broward county and we actually

[58:02] have people who um in our team

[58:05] in the sos team we have people

[58:07] from the keys and people from

[58:10] broward county who come and so

[58:13] virginia key serves as a great

[58:16] meeting place for such a wide

[58:18] audience of paddlers. So and I

[58:20] don't want to take any more

[58:21] time because I know all these

[58:23] people are trying to burst

[58:24] their bursting their themes and

[58:25] [Laughter] Talking about why

[58:27] the basin is important. Who who

[58:29] else wants to talk? You do a

[58:32] great fantastic job. Leah chair

[58:34] I just have a question. Yes.

[58:36] >> chris norwood. Uh, the

[58:38] people here, uh, just to talk

[58:39] about the basin are some of the

[58:41] other items that we have on the

[58:42] agenda. That's a that's a good

[58:44] question is is everybody

[58:45] there's a few people in the

[58:47] room that that would like to

[58:48] talk about other items. So

[58:49] we'll we'll finish up with this

[58:51] item soon and we'll move to

[58:52] finish up the other items.

[58:54] Peter just to let you know also

[58:56] you requested that the miami

[58:58] rowing center have a

[58:59] representative to provide an

[59:00] update on their activities and

[59:02] since that is here. Wonderful

[59:04] and we'd love to hear from that

[59:07] person. Good evening. I don't

[59:08] mean to interrupt you because

[59:10] it's just a I'm just trying to

[59:12] understand how we function. Um

[59:15] we take items and have public

[59:16] comment after each item. Is

[59:18] that how this board functions?

[59:18] Yes.

[59:19] >> normally there's a

[59:20] presentation from the

[59:22] administration and then we hear

[59:23] from the public afterwards. For

[59:26] every item. So so we have a

[59:29] presentation a discussion and

[59:31] then public comment and then

[59:33] the next item presentation

[59:35] discussion and public. Yes but

[59:37] often in our meetings we only

[59:39] have 3 or 4 people in the room

[59:41] from the public. Tonight is one

[59:43] of the largest gatherings of

[59:44] the public that I've ever seen.

[59:47] Got it. I'm sorry sir. Sure.

[59:49] >> thank you. Good evening. I'm

[59:52] leonard levy. Uh, I'm a

[59:54] lifelong resident of south

[59:56] florida, having grown up in

[59:58] south beach living in key

[1:00:00] biscayne, active in all kinds

[1:00:02] of paddling and boating

[1:00:04] activities. I've been boating

[1:00:07] in these waters since I'm 14

[1:00:12] and 15 years old. I remember

[1:00:15] the miami marine stadium

[1:00:17] activities in the 60s. They

[1:00:20] were just fantastic the

[1:00:22] concerts, the activities we had

[1:00:26] on the barge it was wonderful.

[1:00:28] One thing we're not talking

[1:00:31] about here is the ecology and

[1:00:34] the effect of these mooring

[1:00:38] fields on marine life in those

[1:00:42] waters. This was addressed I

[1:00:44] think we had meetings about 7

[1:00:46] or 8 years ago in which

[1:00:50] somebody went to the extent of

[1:00:52] having a scuba diver going

[1:00:54] through the waters of the

[1:00:57] marine stadium, taking videos

[1:01:00] of the marine life and there

[1:01:02] was shown to be active marine

[1:01:07] life all kinds of fish, crabs,

[1:01:13] all kinds of fish. We enjoyed

[1:01:17] seeing the beauty of tarpon,

[1:01:23] manatees, dolphin, even

[1:01:27] crocodiles in our waters. It's

[1:01:29] fantastic. It's beautiful to

[1:01:31] see. It's wonderful to have

[1:01:34] this. How durham would ever let

[1:01:37] this happen is beyond me.

[1:01:40] Durham is there to protect

[1:01:43] marine life. You know we have

[1:01:45] so many condos going up along

[1:01:46] brickell avenue and downtown

[1:01:49] miami, edgewater everywhere all

[1:01:53] these places want a marina, a

[1:01:55] dock space for boats to make

[1:01:57] their developments more

[1:01:59] attractive to people. Durham

[1:02:02] has been tough on those people.

[1:02:03] they're not letting them have

[1:02:05] those marinas. How could they

[1:02:09] let this happen really a

[1:02:11] density that we're seeing of

[1:02:15] all these 195 mooring fields

[1:02:18] with the boats, those are

[1:02:20] casting great shadows over the

[1:02:22] bottom of the water. These are

[1:02:23] shallow waters. It would

[1:02:26] destroy the seagrass. You

[1:02:27] destroy the seagrass. You don't

[1:02:29] have the crabs. You don't have

[1:02:31] the fish to for the other fish

[1:02:34] to want to come in and feed it

[1:02:38] would be a disaster. So you

[1:02:40] know to preserve and I think

[1:02:41] that this is not just

[1:02:45] applicable this argument to the

[1:02:47] marine stadium, but I'm sure

[1:02:50] that you have the bailiwick of

[1:02:52] considering what's going on

[1:02:54] with some other projects in our

[1:02:57] waters like buy this aquarium

[1:03:00] and whatever nearby this is all

[1:03:03] going to be affected. The

[1:03:05] waters are not the same as what

[1:03:06] they used to be. Believe me,

[1:03:09] you talk to any old person who

[1:03:12] grew up in miami out in the bay

[1:03:14] catching grouper, catching you

[1:03:17] know, diving for lobster. You

[1:03:19] can't do that anymore. You know

[1:03:21] it's just too much boat

[1:03:22] traffic, cruise ships, all

[1:03:24] kinds of stuff. We have to sort

[1:03:26] of put the brakes on it at some

[1:03:29] point. Thank you. Thank you

[1:03:34] sir. We have a speaker with a

[1:03:36] colorful shirt on. Yes thank

[1:03:39] you. My name is balazs vandor

[1:03:41] uh, resident of the city of

[1:03:43] miami for about 15 years now.

[1:03:45] Uh, I've been paddling at the

[1:03:47] at mrc for about 20 years

[1:03:49] before I you know, I was coming

[1:03:51] down from broward, you know,

[1:03:53] before I moved to miami. Uh,

[1:03:55] you know, it's such an

[1:03:57] important, uh, place for

[1:03:59] paddling and rowing in south

[1:04:02] florida. Uh, just one quick

[1:04:04] comment, uh, additional answer

[1:04:06] to the question of why this is

[1:04:08] so important, you know, for

[1:04:09] paddling. Yes, it is a

[1:04:10] protected area and why a

[1:04:12] protected area is important is

[1:04:14] because these are racing teams

[1:04:15] competitive teams. So it's not

[1:04:17] like oh let's go out for a

[1:04:18] sunday evening paddle. No I

[1:04:20] mean there's a coach this

[1:04:22] practice plans that need to be

[1:04:23] followed without interruption.

[1:04:25] You can't just stop for

[1:04:26] somebody doing it or a couple

[1:04:27] of dinghies to cross your path

[1:04:29] and you know, wait on your

[1:04:31] recipes. No, I mean these these

[1:04:32] these are serious teams as leah

[1:04:35] was saying, you know her uh,

[1:04:36] cancer survivor team that my

[1:04:38] wife is also a member of you

[1:04:39] know, they are in france right

[1:04:40] now competing. You know, my

[1:04:42] team also goes and competes. So

[1:04:44] that's why it's very important

[1:04:46] to have, you know, a large flat

[1:04:48] body of water that's available

[1:04:50] for these sports. The you know,

[1:04:52] my other comment is that you

[1:04:54] know, if you want to see what

[1:04:55] this really means, just come

[1:04:57] out to mrc on a saturday

[1:04:58] morning, you know, see the

[1:04:59] number of people you know, the

[1:05:01] number of teams and what you

[1:05:02] will see is just a fraction. I

[1:05:04] mean my team has probably about

[1:05:06] 80 members probably 30 or 40

[1:05:08] will come out for us today

[1:05:09] morning practice. But there's a

[1:05:11] lot you know it's not always

[1:05:12] the same people. It's a lot of

[1:05:14] people who are connected to

[1:05:15] this space in spite of the fact

[1:05:17] this is a very limited space. I

[1:05:19] mean there could be a lot more

[1:05:20] rowing, a lot more paddling in

[1:05:23] miami if we had the space. But

[1:05:25] you know, that is just you

[1:05:26] know, the facilities are very

[1:05:28] limited. I like to give the

[1:05:30] example you know andre is from

[1:05:33] brazil. Outrigger paddling for

[1:05:35] example started in miami in the

[1:05:37] early 2000. My team was founded

[1:05:40] around 2003 in brazil in rio

[1:05:42] started around the same time

[1:05:44] after 23 years in miami. Now

[1:05:47] there is two teams for

[1:05:52] outrigger paddling in rio about

[1:05:55] 4087 teams in rio they they

[1:05:57] organize world championships

[1:05:59] thousands of visitors coming in

[1:06:01] for that impossible in miami.

[1:06:03] So thank you thank you very

[1:06:05] much. Okay and do we have a

[1:06:06] representative here from the

[1:06:09] miami rowing club? Would you

[1:06:13] would you like to speak. We'd

[1:06:18] love to hear from you. And we

[1:06:20] notice we're we are provided

[1:06:23] with a I think a six page six

[1:06:25] page summary from the miami

[1:06:27] rowing club. Thank you very

[1:06:29] much for putting this together

[1:06:31] for for our board and we'd love

[1:06:35] to hear your comments on your

[1:06:42] activities. Hi.

[1:06:44] >> good evening. My name is

[1:06:45] cesar herrera. I am the head

[1:06:47] coach and operations director

[1:06:50] in miami rowing center. So in

[1:06:52] this moment we have a lease

[1:06:55] agreement with this regulation

[1:06:58] that uh we are running several

[1:07:00] programs under the umbrella of

[1:07:02] miami rowing club, the

[1:07:04] principal program or one of the

[1:07:05] principal program is the youth

[1:07:07] program. We have a program that

[1:07:09] we have been the in the in the

[1:07:11] same place for more than 50

[1:07:15] years. Uh, I wonder you know

[1:07:17] that in this moment the the

[1:07:18] youth program in miami rowing

[1:07:20] club is the most important

[1:07:21] program that we have in the

[1:07:24] country and they are in the top

[1:07:28] in the in the state. Uh, at the

[1:07:29] same time we have different

[1:07:31] programs that they are under

[1:07:33] the umbrella of miami rowing

[1:07:36] club. We have several programs

[1:07:39] of the dragon boat and other

[1:07:41] paddle program program that

[1:07:43] also we have in this moment

[1:07:45] also we have one small youth

[1:07:50] sailing program. Um that that's

[1:07:52] that's our principal activity

[1:07:55] in miami rowing club. I wonder

[1:07:57] you know that also during the

[1:08:00] last uh I am talking about the

[1:08:02] last 20 years that I have been

[1:08:05] working there, you know, so uh,

[1:08:08] the program has been winning

[1:08:10] more than 17 state

[1:08:11] championships, the youth

[1:08:14] program we have been that they

[1:08:16] have participated in the usa

[1:08:18] national team in different

[1:08:20] category of the 23 on the 19

[1:08:25] and also we have the master

[1:08:27] program that they we have a

[1:08:30] group of members that they

[1:08:31] have. They are training

[1:08:32] consistently all the time in

[1:08:36] the [Laughter] In mrc really

[1:08:38] the the beautiful place that we

[1:08:40] have in the basin and

[1:08:41] supporting the everything that

[1:08:44] we have been talking here. So

[1:08:48] the miami the in this moment

[1:08:49] that we have is a beautiful

[1:08:51] place and the only place in

[1:08:53] miami that we have to running

[1:08:57] our program. Um really I we

[1:09:01] have been the support I want to

[1:09:03] to say that one I have I have

[1:09:04] been receiving the support of

[1:09:06] the miami police and the marine

[1:09:08] patrol from the miami city

[1:09:12] miami and really the last year

[1:09:15] and a half they they were

[1:09:17] measured the vaccine has been

[1:09:21] safe for the first time really

[1:09:25] in the past. We have one coach

[1:09:28] that that she is a woman that

[1:09:31] she was in reach of the half a

[1:09:33] serious injury of maybe losing

[1:09:36] her life because we have five

[1:09:38] jetski running around her for

[1:09:42] more than ten minutes and in

[1:09:44] one moment also one guy he

[1:09:47] showed me one agung uh we have

[1:09:49] in this moment one coach that

[1:09:51] is still in court because for

[1:09:53] one situation that we have with

[1:09:58] the uh with one uh girls boat

[1:10:01] and he was in the front of

[1:10:03] between the the girls and the

[1:10:05] guy that was in the boat drunk

[1:10:08] and we I call the police in

[1:10:09] that moment the police arrived

[1:10:11] immediately and they stopped

[1:10:14] the situation this guy was in

[1:10:17] jail was under arrest and this

[1:10:20] coach is in still in the court.

[1:10:23] But really I wonder you know

[1:10:26] that in this moment the the

[1:10:28] most important activity that we

[1:10:32] have in the in the mrc uh are

[1:10:34] all the partners that we have

[1:10:36] we have today that we have more

[1:10:37] than 300 people at the same

[1:10:39] time on the water the day that

[1:10:42] we have more traffic is

[1:10:44] saturday and sunday that also

[1:10:46] we use our flow in the in the

[1:10:50] flexi park sometime during the

[1:10:52] week that according to the

[1:10:53] schedule that they have the

[1:10:55] different dragon boat. Uh also

[1:10:58] we have more people in traffic

[1:11:00] around the the area. MR..

[1:11:04] >> MR. Herrera um, I don't know

[1:11:06] if you've seen this drawing

[1:11:09] with 195 mooring in the

[1:11:11] historic marine stadium basin,

[1:11:14] but what would this do to the

[1:11:16] ability of paddlers and rowers

[1:11:18] or anybody that wants to use

[1:11:20] the basin if there are 195

[1:11:23] yachts and boats. This

[1:11:24] situation with the mooring

[1:11:27] field is nothing new that is

[1:11:30] coming for a while and you have

[1:11:32] some information that I know

[1:11:35] that this is coming from 2017

[1:11:40] or before that a year the

[1:11:41] mooring field was a solution

[1:11:43] that the city was giving us to

[1:11:46] try to keep safe the the the

[1:11:48] basin and all the problem that

[1:11:50] we have really that's what the

[1:11:52] principal goal in that moment

[1:11:54] many years ago I was part of

[1:11:57] that conversation with the um

[1:11:59] in that moment with the

[1:12:01] director of the department and

[1:12:02] and other people that were

[1:12:04] involved in this, uh, in this

[1:12:08] job, uh, that was here also he

[1:12:11] was in this, uh, in this group.

[1:12:15] Um, we found in that moment

[1:12:20] like the principal solution for

[1:12:22] for the situation that we have

[1:12:25] in the basin for the for the on

[1:12:27] board and all and everything

[1:12:29] that you know that we have in

[1:12:33] the, in the past, uh, we have

[1:12:35] been several meetings. Um

[1:12:37] facundo is the board PRESIDENT.

[1:12:39] We have been several meetings

[1:12:41] with with the city, uh,

[1:12:44] including the uh, the the

[1:12:46] commissioner of the district

[1:12:48] about [Applause] This situation

[1:12:50] with the mooring field and

[1:12:52] really what we needed to

[1:12:53] continue running the program

[1:12:55] because we need to be sure that

[1:12:57] we can continue running our

[1:12:59] program because. Well, this is

[1:13:01] this is 195. That is.

[1:13:03] >> what would what would that

[1:13:05] do to your programing your

[1:13:07] ability of people to use the

[1:13:09] basin? The problem that the

[1:13:14] combination field. Yeah. So

[1:13:17] this I'm. Facundo barrera I'm a

[1:13:18] PRESIDENT Of the miami rowing

[1:13:19] club PRESIDENT Of the board. I

[1:13:22] work with cesar every day. So

[1:13:23] we've been in conversations

[1:13:27] with uh city staff in

[1:13:28] preparation for a previous

[1:13:30] version not this exact version

[1:13:32] the previous version of the

[1:13:34] mooring field. We gave some

[1:13:37] feedback to the city staff of

[1:13:39] how the mooring field would

[1:13:41] have to be adapted for us to be

[1:13:44] able to operate if a mooring

[1:13:48] field with 195 boys and 195

[1:13:49] boats is established in the

[1:13:51] basin, we will not be able to

[1:13:53] operate. That is very clear now

[1:13:55] we've also been assured that

[1:13:57] it's. Do you mind repeating

[1:13:59] that? I will repeat it but I

[1:14:03] will repeat it for 195 mooring

[1:14:05] fields with 195 yachts would

[1:14:07] not let us operate. However I

[1:14:09] need to finish the sentence the

[1:14:12] city has promised us that there

[1:14:16] will be not 195 yachts nor 195

[1:14:19] more that there will be 195

[1:14:21] anchors only. So if it's only

[1:14:24] anchors we can operate above

[1:14:28] the anchors. That's all. So and

[1:14:30] what we gave the feedback on is

[1:14:32] we need whatever the number of

[1:14:34] anchors anchors don't interfere

[1:14:37] with our rowing. What

[1:14:38] interferes with our rowing is

[1:14:40] the number of mooring boats and

[1:14:44] yachts. So please keep in mind

[1:14:48] if the plan is to put in 195

[1:14:51] anchors, there is no problem

[1:14:54] with us for operating if their

[1:14:57] plan is to putting 195 mooring

[1:15:01] and 195 yachts yes there is

[1:15:04] okay. Thank you. Anybody any

[1:15:05] board members have any

[1:15:08] questions? Steven I'd like to

[1:15:10] know what what damage 195

[1:15:11] anchors are going to do to the

[1:15:13] floor of the basin. So we might

[1:15:15] need a representative from

[1:15:19] durham to help us with that.

[1:15:22] This item will be heard again

[1:15:24] in two months. So maybe

[1:15:26] somebody from durham can

[1:15:28] request somebody from durham to

[1:15:30] show up any other any other

[1:15:32] anybody else like to speak on

[1:15:34] this item? I'd just like to.

[1:15:36] Reinforce one thing that we are

[1:15:38] going to be in circles here. I

[1:15:41] didn't participate in any of

[1:15:43] those meetings before I for my

[1:15:45] understanding, if the mooring

[1:15:47] field is to block people from

[1:15:49] coming and stopping your boats

[1:15:51] in the basin, we don't have

[1:15:53] them. We don't need one more

[1:15:54] field. We don't need zero

[1:15:56] morning field over there. We

[1:15:59] need that water clear to to be

[1:16:01] doing our sport with that

[1:16:04] safely. As soon as you put one

[1:16:06] anchor over there and you don't

[1:16:08] put law enforcement it's done.

[1:16:10] We're talking about miami. We

[1:16:12] have people here from different

[1:16:14] I'm from brazil. I'm like

[1:16:16] cubans. We have we have people

[1:16:17] from different countries here.

[1:16:19] It's difficult to control these

[1:16:21] people. You guys saw what

[1:16:24] happened on the world cup here

[1:16:25] the year before they did like

[1:16:28] thank GOD they did the world

[1:16:30] championship here and they saw

[1:16:32] what like different people from

[1:16:34] different countries they can do

[1:16:36] right when you it's difficult

[1:16:38] to follow rules. You know here

[1:16:41] in miami what I see if you put

[1:16:42] one anchor over there and you

[1:16:46] don't put law enforcement has

[1:16:48] no purpose and if you're going

[1:16:50] to put an anchor and put law

[1:16:50] enforcement. The law

[1:16:52] enforcement is doing their job.

[1:16:54] It's not it's doing their job.

[1:16:55] It's avoiding people to go

[1:16:57] crazy in the water. It's not

[1:16:59] only about the anchors. It's

[1:17:00] not only about the morning.

[1:17:01] We're talking about people

[1:17:05] coming to party crazy party in

[1:17:06] places that with people doing

[1:17:07] sports.

[1:17:09] >> all right. In conclusion in

[1:17:11] conclusion. In conclusion I'm

[1:17:13] point my point is this it's

[1:17:15] like we don't need a mooring

[1:17:17] florida we did zero morning I

[1:17:18] don't know whether it was

[1:17:20] discussed before but if the

[1:17:22] purpose was to not bring boats

[1:17:23] over there the purpose is

[1:17:25] already done for last year and

[1:17:26] a half we don't have boats over

[1:17:28] there. Thank you so much for

[1:17:32] for speaking. Do we have a

[1:17:36] young lady? Good evening. I'll

[1:17:38] make it quick. Hi, my name is

[1:17:39] julia. Good evening everyone.

[1:17:41] I'm the executive coordinator

[1:17:43] for the friends of biscayne

[1:17:44] bay. We've actually been

[1:17:46] holding a citizen meeting every

[1:17:49] friday at 11 A.M.. We'd love to

[1:17:50] have you so that you can

[1:17:52] continue to gather information

[1:17:54] on everything that we've been

[1:17:55] researching not only for the

[1:17:56] mooring field but everything

[1:17:58] that's going on on key

[1:17:59] biscayne. I think everybody

[1:18:00] already expressed everything

[1:18:03] that I was going to comment on,

[1:18:04] so I'm not going to repeat

[1:18:06] myself, but I think it's clear

[1:18:09] the community is very opposed

[1:18:12] to the mooring field for

[1:18:15] reasons of the rowers, the

[1:18:17] businesses, the ecological life

[1:18:19] and everything that's affected

[1:18:21] around it. And um I'm just

[1:18:22] going to keep it short. Thank

[1:18:23] you so much for listening to

[1:18:25] me. Thank you for attending the

[1:18:26] meeting. Anybody else have any

[1:18:27] questions before we go to

[1:18:30] another item? And for the

[1:18:31] members of the public that have

[1:18:33] sat through this meeting since

[1:18:36] 5155 30 thank you very much. We

[1:18:38] appreciate your presence. And

[1:18:40] MR. Chair, I do have a

[1:18:41] question. I guess it MAY be

[1:18:43] pertaining to this. I'm just

[1:18:45] trying to understand something

[1:18:46] conceptually. Uh, I've heard

[1:18:48] several times about jet skis in

[1:18:50] the basin. Is it lawful for jet

[1:18:53] skis to be in the basin? Uh, I

[1:18:55] believe it's lawful, but

[1:18:57] there's a speed limit. Would

[1:18:58] anybody else like to answer. So

[1:19:00] I can add a little bit? Um you

[1:19:02] know, as everyone expressed

[1:19:03] already the basin in the past

[1:19:06] was very unsafe. Uh, then one

[1:19:07] of the first things the city

[1:19:09] was able to accomplish was to

[1:19:11] put channel markers and these

[1:19:13] markers, uh, they were actually

[1:19:15] no wake zone markers. So that

[1:19:18] was will give the police

[1:19:20] department and marine patrol

[1:19:22] and you know, and and fwc and

[1:19:25] any other marine patrol within

[1:19:28] the area to enforce the low

[1:19:30] speeds. So there is so when you

[1:19:31] come into base you have to

[1:19:32] lower your speed. Yes to what?

[1:19:34] To no wake zone. It's just a no

[1:19:36] wake zone. So that means that

[1:19:38] as you're moving you cannot

[1:19:39] create a wake. Five miles. It

[1:19:41] needs to be as flat as right.

[1:19:43] And there's a law that you know

[1:19:44] you you are responsible for

[1:19:46] your own wake. So whatever your

[1:19:48] wake does and if it damages

[1:19:49] something that's your

[1:19:51] responsibility. Um do people

[1:19:54] follow that. MR. Norwood um a

[1:19:56] year a year, a year and a half

[1:19:59] ago three people were killed in

[1:20:01] the marine stadium basin from

[1:20:03] accidents with jet skis. I

[1:20:05] believe they involved um

[1:20:06] drivers that were drunk or

[1:20:08] drugged, but three people were

[1:20:11] killed within a six month

[1:20:14] period. It was the problem was

[1:20:16] terrible before, uh,

[1:20:21] enforcement was improved. Okay

[1:20:22] so I understand so there is a

[1:20:23] speed limit. It's supposed to

[1:20:25] be like very very low. Yes.

[1:20:27] >> and the people who are

[1:20:29] forced that are. Marine patrol.

[1:20:31] the marine patrol which would

[1:20:33] be the city the. City's the

[1:20:34] city's marine patrol. The

[1:20:36] county marine patrol also has

[1:20:38] the jurisdiction and fwc

[1:20:39] florida fish and wildlife. Got

[1:20:40] it.

[1:20:44] >> okay. Thank you.

[1:20:46] >> we're going to move on to

[1:20:48] another item if you if those of

[1:20:50] you in the room that were here

[1:20:51] for the marine basin item,

[1:20:53] you're welcome to leave you

[1:20:55] don't you certainly don't have

[1:20:57] to stick around but please come

[1:20:59] back in two months OCTOBER 27th

[1:21:01] and this item will be back on

[1:21:03] the agenda. Thank you. Thank

[1:21:05] you so much for your comments

[1:21:11] and for participating. Roger.

[1:21:18] Thank you very much. And leah.

[1:21:19] Excuse me.

[1:21:23] >> oh left on the agenda. Oh

[1:21:26] it's a great question. We we

[1:21:27] have an item on the

[1:21:30] rickenbacker marina site and a

[1:21:33] referendum question and also

[1:21:35] there's litigation involved in

[1:21:38] that site. We're not going to

[1:21:39] be talking about that for very

[1:21:41] long, but it's very important

[1:21:44] to the city of miami and the

[1:21:46] rickenbacker um the marine

[1:21:49] stadium basin uh, depending on

[1:21:51] who who's the who takes over

[1:21:54] that site is important to the

[1:21:57] rowing on the on the on the

[1:22:01] basin and the other item yes,

[1:22:02] that is that's another item on

[1:22:05] the agenda my miami seaquarium

[1:22:07] site that will be on the agenda

[1:22:10] in two months again we and if

[1:22:12] there's anybody in the room who

[1:22:14] has information on that site.

[1:22:16] Thank you very much. We will

[1:22:17] hear from anybody who would

[1:22:19] like to be heard but it will be

[1:22:21] heard in more detail with I

[1:22:23] believe the. We hope to have

[1:22:26] the principal um from terror

[1:22:28] group who will be at our

[1:22:30] meeting on OCTOBER 27th for

[1:22:32] that item to be heard in more

[1:22:35] detail and then um so those are

[1:22:37] the only two items left to be

[1:22:40] heard the miami seaquarium site

[1:22:41] and the discussion on the

[1:22:45] rickenbacker marina site. Um

[1:22:47] well sir. Uh yes. So for the

[1:22:50] for the item. I hate to keep

[1:22:52] doing this but I need to

[1:22:54] understand when we do an item

[1:22:56] that I expect somebody from the

[1:22:58] administration to tee it up. Um

[1:23:00] and that's good for I don't

[1:23:01] know if this is being recorded

[1:23:03] for the public. It's good for

[1:23:04] the people here that MAY not be

[1:23:06] aware of why the item is on the

[1:23:09] agenda. So are you are we going

[1:23:12] to the item or the miami

[1:23:13] seaquarium site? Well first

[1:23:15] we're going to hear from this

[1:23:17] uh from the public on an item

[1:23:19] that they're here to speak

[1:23:22] about and then we will go on to

[1:23:25] the discuss that that item and

[1:23:26] then the last item that we

[1:23:28] haven't hadn't discussed yet.

[1:23:30] Um but I'm confused MR. Chair.

[1:23:32] Uh, what is the next item on

[1:23:35] the agenda? Which item are you

[1:23:38] here to speak on? Seaquarium

[1:23:40] seaquarium. So if that's the

[1:23:41] next item on the agenda then I

[1:23:42] think it would be wise for us

[1:23:44] to have the administration just

[1:23:46] you know, why is this on the

[1:23:47] yes just tee it up for us a

[1:23:49] little bit. We that's the item

[1:23:50] has been on the agenda for

[1:23:52] weeks. We would love to hear

[1:23:53] from somebody from the

[1:23:54] administration on this item.

[1:23:56] Rafael, is anybody from the

[1:23:57] administration here to give us

[1:23:58] a briefing on the miami

[1:24:00] seaquarium site? This is a

[1:24:02] county property. So per the

[1:24:04] request of the board I reached

[1:24:07] out to david martin and he will

[1:24:08] I'm in communication with him

[1:24:10] to see if he's going to be able

[1:24:11] to attend the meeting in

[1:24:13] OCTOBER. But this is not a city

[1:24:14] of miami item so that's why

[1:24:16] there's no city administration

[1:24:17] to provide an update

[1:24:18] specifically on it. Understood.

[1:24:21] >> so MR. CHAIRMAN, uh is this

[1:24:22] why is this on the agenda? What

[1:24:23] is the. Well because this

[1:24:26] aquarium is is incredibly

[1:24:28] important to virginia key park.

[1:24:31] It's a 32 acre park site owned

[1:24:33] by the county on the south side

[1:24:35] of the causeway. And anything

[1:24:37] that happens there is going to

[1:24:39] impact virginia key park and

[1:24:41] anybody who's in leadership

[1:24:43] position at the city of miami

[1:24:45] should be incredibly curious

[1:24:47] and interested what's going to

[1:24:49] happen with the miami

[1:24:51] seaquarium site and from what

[1:24:52] we've read in the paper and

[1:24:54] we've we've sent articles to

[1:24:55] the board members over the last

[1:24:57] week or so on that issue. But

[1:24:59] given the current proposal that

[1:25:01] we're aware of on this aquarium

[1:25:02] site, I mean, they're they

[1:25:03] would increase the traffic

[1:25:05] count in the rickenbacker

[1:25:07] causeway by 1500 vehicles a day

[1:25:09] that's meaningful to virginia

[1:25:10] key park and everything the

[1:25:13] city is trying to achieve and

[1:25:15] many leaders of the city of

[1:25:16] miami should be following that

[1:25:18] issue incredibly closely and

[1:25:20] wanting to get involved in any

[1:25:21] capacity they can even though

[1:25:23] the site is owned by the

[1:25:24] county. So this is on the this

[1:25:26] is on the agenda. How long has

[1:25:27] this been on the agenda I

[1:25:31] should ask. 3 or 4 weeks. 3 or

[1:25:33] 4 weeks you mean it was on it

[1:25:34] was put on agenda just for this

[1:25:37] meeting. I um I don't have the

[1:25:38] our previous meeting MR.

[1:25:40] Norwood if I don't think it was

[1:25:42] on our previous meeting. Okay

[1:25:43] but it's probably been on

[1:25:45] requested three weeks ago. Well

[1:25:47] can we hear from gary milano?

[1:25:47] Well.

[1:25:49] >> maybe I can help. Well no

[1:25:51] no, I think I just want to hear

[1:25:52] from the chair because the

[1:25:53] chair controls the agenda. So

[1:25:55] I'm asking the CHAIRMAN What

[1:25:57] items are on the agenda and

[1:25:58] when they were put on there for

[1:26:00] a reason. So I'm assuming that

[1:26:02] you put this on the agenda for

[1:26:04] discussion at the last meeting.

[1:26:05] Is that what happened? Yes.

[1:26:07] >> or maybe shortly thereafter

[1:26:11] the last meeting. Now the chair

[1:26:13] puts items on the agenda but

[1:26:17] with chair also um adds items

[1:26:19] that are contributed by any

[1:26:21] board member or any anybody of

[1:26:21] interest.

[1:26:22] >> that's all I want to know

[1:26:24] like how it got on the agenda.

[1:26:25] That's all that's all. Gary

[1:26:27] milano do you want to speak to

[1:26:29] that to the in the microphone

[1:26:31] gary. Um, the last meeting

[1:26:33] before we adjourned we

[1:26:35] basically work with the city as

[1:26:37] far as the coordinator to talk

[1:26:39] about what we'd like to hear

[1:26:41] about as far as projects

[1:26:43] because we hear we read in the

[1:26:44] newspaper as far as this

[1:26:47] project aquarium or marina

[1:26:49] being developed and we just

[1:26:50] like to have a representative

[1:26:52] come talk to us about it and

[1:26:54] sometimes the city is able to

[1:26:56] do that in this case for this

[1:26:57] aquarium site they're not. But

[1:26:59] I was able to work with the

[1:27:01] city to direct them to the

[1:27:02] person but they were not able

[1:27:04] to make it tonight. So that's

[1:27:06] why we moved that presentation

[1:27:08] for this aquarium site which is

[1:27:11] a county site. But this board

[1:27:14] oversees all of virginia key

[1:27:17] county sites the rosenstiel

[1:27:18] school, everything you know and

[1:27:20] that's why this board was put

[1:27:22] together to review all projects

[1:27:23] associated with virginia key.

[1:27:25] So maybe that helps you

[1:27:27] understand why it was put on as

[1:27:28] a discussion item.

[1:27:31] >> I think for me from a from a

[1:27:32] procedural perspective, when I

[1:27:36] see an agenda item, uh, when I

[1:27:38] see an agenda, I just if I

[1:27:40] expect there to be a

[1:27:41] presentation, someone should

[1:27:43] tee it up before we give it to

[1:27:45] the public. You know that

[1:27:45] that's just something I'm

[1:27:46] accustomed.

[1:27:47] >> to and that's the way it's

[1:27:48] always been. It's just that we

[1:27:50] were not able to get a

[1:27:51] representative here for

[1:27:52] tonight's meeting. But we

[1:27:54] thought since other people were

[1:27:56] here about it maybe we would

[1:27:57] discuss it a little bit.

[1:27:58] >> I have no problem. With

[1:28:00] that. What I'm saying is from a

[1:28:01] board perspective, every agenda

[1:28:05] item when it's here and it's

[1:28:07] advertised to people somebody

[1:28:08] should give a presentation

[1:28:10] about it whether it's the

[1:28:11] chairperson. If the chair asks

[1:28:13] one of the members to just tee

[1:28:15] it up and say this is an item

[1:28:17] on the agenda that we thought

[1:28:19] was important for us to discuss

[1:28:20] and then open it up [Laughter]

[1:28:22] To the public. I think you have

[1:28:22] made a difference tonight.

[1:28:24] >> and. You'll see in the

[1:28:26] future. MR. Norwood, you're

[1:28:27] 100% accurate.

[1:28:30] >> yes. Thank you very much. Um

[1:28:32] so the the miami seaquarium

[1:28:34] item we hope to hear from david

[1:28:36] martin, the principal of the

[1:28:40] terror group on OCTOBER 27th

[1:28:43] and maybe anybody from the city

[1:28:44] that has some background on

[1:28:46] that item. And we'll also hear

[1:28:48] from members of the public on

[1:28:51] OCTOBER 27th and it's crucial

[1:28:53] it's a crucial item. It's also

[1:28:55] a crucial item to the to the

[1:28:56] village of key biscayne. It's

[1:28:58] going to have a huge effect on

[1:29:00] any residents in key biscayne,

[1:29:01] and anything that's happening

[1:29:02] on that site would be

[1:29:04] incredibly important to them.

[1:29:06] I've already talked to people

[1:29:07] in key biscayne and I. I know

[1:29:09] they're very concerned and

[1:29:11] curious what's going to happen

[1:29:12] with. So we had a member of the

[1:29:14] public who who's going to speak

[1:29:17] I believe. Which would you like

[1:29:19] to [Laughter] Speak? Yeah I

[1:29:23] apologize uh. Oh good. Yeah.

[1:29:26] >> so um so my name is valeria.

[1:29:28] I'm my degree is I have a

[1:29:29] master's degree in marine

[1:29:30] chemistry and atmospheric

[1:29:32] science and I work with the

[1:29:34] friends of biscayne bay. Uh,

[1:29:35] and actually got my degree at

[1:29:37] an institution that is directly

[1:29:38] adjacent to this aquarium site,

[1:29:40] which is rosenstiel school. Um

[1:29:44] ,so there is no question that

[1:29:45] the former aquarium property,

[1:29:48] uh, is an important landmark in

[1:29:49] virginia key and its

[1:29:50] redevelopment presents an

[1:29:51] incredible opportunity for the

[1:29:52] city and the county to provide,

[1:29:54] you know, for improvement and

[1:29:55] public benefit. But the

[1:29:56] question we should be asking is

[1:29:57] not simply can this property be

[1:29:58] redeveloped? The question is

[1:30:00] what kind of redevelopment is

[1:30:02] appropriate for this publicly

[1:30:03] significant waterfront and what

[1:30:05] does it mean for the rest of

[1:30:06] virginia key and biscayne bay?

[1:30:07] The aquarium site cannot be

[1:30:08] viewed in isolation. We are

[1:30:09] simultaneously considering the

[1:30:11] marine stadium mooring field,

[1:30:12] the rickenbacker marina

[1:30:13] proposal, the marine stadium

[1:30:14] restoration. So if we add

[1:30:16] another significant marine

[1:30:17] component to this aquarium

[1:30:19] site, we need to understand the

[1:30:20] cumulative impact of vessel

[1:30:21] traffic water quality stresses,

[1:30:23] wildlife, recreation and public

[1:30:25] access. We also need to make

[1:30:26] sure that the public receives

[1:30:27] meaningful opportunities to

[1:30:29] participate. Uh friends of

[1:30:30] biscayne bay along with engaged

[1:30:31] stakeholders have identified

[1:30:33] several areas that deserve

[1:30:34] careful review including

[1:30:35] impacts to seagrasses, coral

[1:30:37] and mangrove resources,

[1:30:38] proximity to known manatee

[1:30:40] congregation areas, dredging

[1:30:41] impacts including water

[1:30:42] quality, increasing water

[1:30:44] quality, stress, noise and

[1:30:45] light pollution issues. I mean

[1:30:47] you name it. We're also asking

[1:30:48] questions about the existing

[1:30:50] lease and whether the proposed

[1:30:51] use represents a substantial

[1:30:52] change from the property's

[1:30:54] historical purpose, including

[1:30:56] whether article seven or other

[1:30:57] legal requirements could

[1:30:58] therefore apply in this case.

[1:31:00] Those are questions that

[1:31:01] deserve serious and legal

[1:31:03] public consideration. I want to

[1:31:03] emphasize that this doesn't

[1:31:05] have to be an adversarial

[1:31:06] conversation. We can support

[1:31:07] responsible redevelopment while

[1:31:08] still demanding a higher

[1:31:10] standard for our bay. The goal

[1:31:11] should be to create a project

[1:31:12] that provides genuine public

[1:31:13] benefits, protects the

[1:31:14] environment, preserves public

[1:31:16] access and most importantly we

[1:31:17] want to leave the bay in a

[1:31:18] better condition than it is

[1:31:20] today. I would encourage the

[1:31:21] advisory board to ask for a

[1:31:22] transparent, transparent public

[1:31:24] process, an independent

[1:31:25] environmental review and clear

[1:31:27] assessment of how this project

[1:31:28] fits into the larger vision for

[1:31:30] virginia key. We have an

[1:31:31] opportunity here so let's make

[1:31:33] sure that we don't simply

[1:31:34] redevelop the property but

[1:31:35] create a better future for

[1:31:36] biscayne bay and virginia key

[1:31:38] thank you. Um thank you very,

[1:31:40] very much for your summary.

[1:31:42] Your summary was excellent. You

[1:31:44] covered a lot of ground. You

[1:31:47] spoke very quickly. Um

[1:31:49] excellent and all excellent

[1:31:52] questions. And as you know this

[1:31:54] aquarium is owned by miami-dade

[1:31:56] county not the city of miami.

[1:31:57] We're all in this board.

[1:31:58] Everybody in the room is

[1:32:00] incredibly curious and

[1:32:01] interested in those questions

[1:32:03] being answered appropriately.

[1:32:05] Um but unfortunately it's owned

[1:32:07] by owned by the county. I'm

[1:32:09] sure you're reaching out to

[1:32:12] county officials to anybody

[1:32:14] anybody else. MR. Milano. I

[1:32:15] just want to point out, MR.

[1:32:18] Chair, that this board was put

[1:32:20] together to review all

[1:32:23] properties on virginia p so we

[1:32:25] can put a resolution together

[1:32:28] to the city commission whether

[1:32:30] we support the project or not.

[1:32:32] And it's important to do that.

[1:32:34] So I don't think it's a county

[1:32:36] city sort of thing. It's a

[1:32:38] community project. Thank you.

[1:32:40] >> oh hopefully maybe somebody

[1:32:42] will propose a resolution at

[1:32:44] the next meeting when there's a

[1:32:44] quorum.

[1:32:47] >> I'm sure there will be.

[1:32:50] Let's see. Chair, if I just

[1:32:52] would like to add there's an

[1:32:53] interesting dynamic with the

[1:32:55] sea aquarium lease and that the

[1:32:57] lease is in fact in bankruptcy.

[1:32:58] The previous owner is in

[1:33:00] bankruptcy. So there's a a

[1:33:03] curious dynamic, uh, in terms

[1:33:07] of the new supposed leasee

[1:33:09] having access to this lease

[1:33:11] depending on what the

[1:33:12] bankruptcy court determines.

[1:33:14] Well, there's been some

[1:33:17] articles that um, rafael sent

[1:33:20] along to us in our emails, but

[1:33:23] I believe I read that the you

[1:33:25] know, the current proposed

[1:33:27] tenant bought out the assets

[1:33:30] from the bankrupt former tenant

[1:33:32] and then subsequently got

[1:33:34] approval from miami-dade

[1:33:37] county, miami-dade county to to

[1:33:40] approve them as to be the new

[1:33:43] tenant with a 99 year lease. Is

[1:33:46] that if I could defer to the

[1:33:48] audience member is that in fact

[1:33:49] the the lease is out of

[1:33:57] bankruptcy. You can speak on

[1:34:00] the microphone. I think even we

[1:34:02] are in some in some confusion

[1:34:02] there because we have

[1:34:04] conversations with dave martin

[1:34:06] and there is something going on

[1:34:07] with the permitting and the

[1:34:08] lease and it's not exactly

[1:34:10] explained to us. The details

[1:34:11] are not being revealed

[1:34:13] basically. So I'm not entirely

[1:34:14] sure because now there is a

[1:34:15] conversation about apparently

[1:34:16] permitting potentially being

[1:34:19] put on pause. But before we

[1:34:20] were informed that the

[1:34:21] permitting cannot be put on

[1:34:23] pause because they are in the

[1:34:25] bankruptcy court, we cannot get

[1:34:26] a clear idea on that either. I

[1:34:27] asked that exact question last

[1:34:30] last friday on the call and we

[1:34:31] are kind of at a loss right

[1:34:33] now. Those are all good

[1:34:34] questions, steve, and hopefully

[1:34:36] we'll have more answers and

[1:34:37] some of the articles that have

[1:34:38] been in the media have been

[1:34:41] have been fairly complete. Um

[1:34:43] they're in 3 or 4 different

[1:34:44] publications. Journalists have

[1:34:46] done a good job tracking down

[1:34:49] the history and even the

[1:34:51] history of the previous tenant

[1:34:52] and previous tenants

[1:34:56] bankruptcy. Any other any other

[1:34:57] questions for anybody at the

[1:34:59] board? MR. Norwood your

[1:35:02] questions have been excellent.

[1:35:05] Alejandro um so there's only

[1:35:07] one other item that's left on

[1:35:09] the agenda which we're not

[1:35:11] going to go into too much

[1:35:12] detail but this the

[1:35:15] rickenbacker marina um, that

[1:35:19] issue is going to city

[1:35:21] referendum this year for voters

[1:35:23] to decide on a new tenant.

[1:35:25] There's also litigation

[1:35:29] involved. Um and we MAY get a

[1:35:32] fuller summary in on the

[1:35:34] OCTOBER 27th meeting with with

[1:35:36] the city attorney. Do you have

[1:35:38] any any update on us on the

[1:35:40] situation with the rickenbacker

[1:35:45] marina referendum question? So

[1:35:48] that, um, there's still an

[1:35:49] active litigation relating to

[1:35:51] that. So I I'd prefer not to

[1:35:53] publicly comment on what's

[1:35:55] going on with litigation. Um

[1:35:57] but the ballot question is

[1:35:59] going to the voters in

[1:36:00] NOVEMBER. Okay.

[1:36:01] >> and if if you if you all

[1:36:04] want I can have um rafael

[1:36:06] circulate a copy of the

[1:36:07] resolution establishing the

[1:36:08] ballot question so you can all

[1:36:09] see what it says.

[1:36:10] >> that would be that would be

[1:36:12] great. That'd be that'd be very

[1:36:14] nice and I think it should that

[1:36:16] item will be on the OCTOBER

[1:36:18] 27th agenda even though early

[1:36:19] voting would have started a few

[1:36:21] weeks before OCTOBER 27th. But

[1:36:23] I think this board should hear

[1:36:25] that item in some degree and

[1:36:27] the seeing the legislation in

[1:36:28] the ballot language would be

[1:36:31] helpful. Gary milano. MR.

[1:36:34] Chair, I I saw a permit drawing

[1:36:36] for an expansion of the marina,

[1:36:37] the rickenbacker marina. Does

[1:36:39] this tie in to what you're

[1:36:41] talking about? I honestly

[1:36:43] haven't seen a lot of details

[1:36:45] on the proposal. Major

[1:36:47] expansion marina out into the

[1:36:50] bay um going west northwest.

[1:36:53] That should certainly be just

[1:36:54] shown and discussed by this

[1:36:56] board. This is a perfect

[1:36:59] example where I'm going to

[1:37:00] request that the next meeting

[1:37:02] that we have somebody from the

[1:37:04] city come talk to us about the

[1:37:06] marina expansion that is being

[1:37:08] permitted. It's being applied

[1:37:10] for right now and that's not

[1:37:11] something that's been brought

[1:37:13] to us before they go to

[1:37:14] affirmative. Gary can you speak

[1:37:16] into the mic? Sure. [Laughter]

[1:37:18] Thank you. I said everything

[1:37:21] already so I'm done. No I'm

[1:37:23] requesting that we have someone

[1:37:25] from the city talk to us about

[1:37:27] the marina rickenbacker marina

[1:37:29] expansion project where they're

[1:37:31] expanding the number of piers

[1:37:34] out into the bay. So I just

[1:37:37] wanted to give MR. Norwood an

[1:37:38] example of where how these

[1:37:40] discussion items come about and

[1:37:42] sometimes we don't get a

[1:37:43] representative to talk about it

[1:37:44] because the person can't be

[1:37:46] there or for whatever reason

[1:37:46] I'll let the.

[1:37:48] >> court raphael, can you have

[1:37:49] somebody can you put that item

[1:37:51] again on the agenda for the

[1:37:52] 27th and have somebody from the

[1:37:53] city able to talk to us?

[1:37:55] >> is that is that MR. Chair?

[1:37:59] MR. Chair, is that from from

[1:38:01] when you say that there's a

[1:38:03] permit for more piers.

[1:38:04] [Laughter] Yes.

[1:38:05] >> is that because of the sea

[1:38:08] aquarium site? No no. No no. No

[1:38:10] I'm sorry we were talking about

[1:38:12] the the rickenbacker wickham.

[1:38:14] Rickenbacker marina site. So

[1:38:16] you're saying that that that

[1:38:19] permit is for that site right.

[1:38:20] >> there's two different

[1:38:21] projects sea aquarium is over

[1:38:23] there and then the rickenbacker

[1:38:24] marina is just as you're coming

[1:38:26] down on the big high bridge

[1:38:26] it's the.

[1:38:28] >> one on what's the difference

[1:38:30] between the the the marina site

[1:38:32] that you're referring to and

[1:38:37] the one that the referendum is

[1:38:38] is is referring to? Is it the

[1:38:40] same site? I believe it. Is the

[1:38:42] rickenbacker marina. There's a

[1:38:44] voter referendum pertaining to

[1:38:46] that exact site. I was unaware

[1:38:49] of any proposed enlargement or

[1:38:51] expansion or expansion of that

[1:38:54] site. Um and that kind of is

[1:38:55] the kind of thing that should

[1:38:56] be brought to this board before

[1:38:58] anybody's applying for permits.

[1:39:00] But this aquarium site I know

[1:39:02] it's different but isn't that

[1:39:04] like a huge development. 30

[1:39:06] it's 32 acres I think. Yes

[1:39:08] that's huge and that's

[1:39:09] specifically controlled by the

[1:39:11] county but we should be

[1:39:13] informed about it and updated

[1:39:18] on it. Got it. Okay. Any any

[1:39:21] other questions? Thank you guys

[1:39:22] are wonderful to be here

[1:39:23] tonight even though we didn't

[1:39:26] have a quorum 20 after seven we

[1:39:27] covered a lot of ground and

[1:39:28] that should be a good meeting

[1:39:31] on OCTOBER 27th. Hopefully

[1:39:32] we'll have some great

[1:39:36] informative speakers. I, I

[1:39:38] raphaela thank you very much

[1:39:41] for everything tonight. Is

Virginia Key Beach Advisory Board - Aug 25th, 2026

Agenda

Transcript