[0:08] .
[0:10] >>.
[0:13] >>commissioner bastien:
[0:15] >>commissioner bermudez:
[0:16] present.
[0:18] >>commissioner regalado:
[0:19] >>commissioner gilbert:
[0:34] >> 4 members present, we have a
[0:34] quorum.
[0:36] >>commissioner gilbert:
[0:43] [Inaudible]
[0:51] >> pledge of allegiance to the
[0:52] flag of the united states of
[0:54] america and to the republic for
[0:55] which it stands one nation
[0:57] under GOD indivisible with
[1:00] liberty and justice for all.
[1:04] >>commissioner gilbert: a
[1:06] reasonable opportunity to be
[1:10] heard is open, if you have
[1:11] business comments regarding an
[1:17] agenda item you would like to
[1:19] be heard on please approach the
[1:21] podium, give me your name
[1:22] address and I will give you two
[1:24] minutes and then we will be
[1:27] done with it.
[1:30] No one approaching, reasonable
[1:32] opportunity to be heard is now
[1:33] closed, MADAM Attorney.
[1:35] >> a motion to set the agenda
[1:37] will be in order.
[1:38] >>commissioner gilbert: moved
[1:44] by commissioner bastien, second
[1:46] by commissioner regalado, all
[1:47] those in favor say aye, all
[1:49] those opposed, so the agenda
[1:51] adopted, first order of
[1:51] business.
[1:53] >> there are no additional
[1:54] changes your agenda other than
[1:56] those on the changes agenda
[2:08] which include the adoption of
[2:09] 1g2 supplement, 1g1.
[2:11] >>chair: public hearing is
[2:11] open.
[2:13] >> MAY I read the title?
[2:15] 1g1 relates to passenger motor
[2:18] vehicles amending section 31
[2:20] 102107 of the code of miami
[2:22] florida revising vehicle age
[2:23] climates for motor carrier
[2:26] vehicles and making technical
[2:28] conforming changes providing
[2:29] severability and an effective
[2:32] date, 1g1 is a public hearing.
[2:33] >>chair: public hearing is
[2:35] open, anyone wish to be heard
[2:40] on 1g1, public hearing is
[2:40] close.
[2:42] I see you, you don't want to
[2:42] speak?
[3:02] You looked like you did.
[3:03] >>commissioner regalado: I want
[3:05] to hear from the
[3:06] administration, I voted against
[3:07] this one.
[3:09] It was presented to the board
[3:11] and one of the reasons is it
[3:12] could negatively impact the
[3:14] city of miami so I know they
[3:15] have older trolleys.
[3:17] This was my understanding from
[3:19] the sponsor was modeled after
[3:20] something past by coral gables
[3:22] but obviously there's a cost
[3:24] associated with these
[3:25] requirements so I want to hear
[3:33] from staff in terms of any
[3:35] changes that have been made to
[3:36] the item and if we've talked to
[3:38] our partners about potentially
[3:40] this costing them because the
[3:42] city of miami owns their
[3:43] trolleys, a lot of them are
[3:45] older than this and also how
[3:46] would it impact us?
[3:48] >> thank you through the chair,
[3:50] stacy miller department of
[3:52] transportation and public works
[3:53] and I've spoken with
[3:55] commissioner tran seven she is
[3:56] willing to make a friendly
[3:58] amendment to this item.
[3:59] Unfortunately she's not here
[4:01] now, she will be working with
[4:02] the attorney's office to make
[4:03] this modification.
[4:05] I don't want to speak out of
[4:06] turn.
[4:08] It hasn't been proffered yet.
[4:09] >>chair: on asking them to
[4:11] speak out of turn.
[4:13] >>commissioner regalado: is a
[4:14] sunshine meeting so we are all
[4:15] good.
[4:18] >>chair: there is no thing
[4:20] against telling me what an
[4:21] amendment is in a properly
[4:23] noticed meeting or I can make
[4:24] the amendment for her.
[4:26] >> I've not received that
[4:27] communication yet.
[4:32] >>chair: let's roll this item,
[4:33] until the end of the agenda.
[4:35] I want to talk to the
[4:36] commissioner, let's go to the
[4:44] next item.
[4:46] >> next item is 1g2 relating to
[4:48] the rapid transit system
[4:50] development zone amending
[4:51] section 33 c2 and 33 3.3 of the
[4:53] code miami-dade county
[4:55] augmenting the smart zone to a
[4:59] compass certain properties on
[5:00] west 30th avenue located within
[5:02] a quarter-mile of a public
[5:04] transit station providing
[5:05] criteria related to public
[5:07] benefits which allows for
[5:09] certain development bonuses for
[5:11] properties providing
[5:13] severability inclusion in the
[5:15] code and an effective date.
[5:16] >>chair: public hearing is
[5:19] open, public hearing is closed.
[5:20] >>commissioner regalado: move
[5:21] it.
[5:23] >>chair: it's been moved by
[5:24] commissioner regalado, second
[5:26] by commissioner bastien,
[5:28] anything the commission wants
[5:30] to add hearing nothing call the
[5:31] roll.
[5:33] >>commissioner bastien:
[5:35] >>commissioner bermudez:
[5:37] >>commissioner regalado:
[5:37] >>chair:
[5:39] >> motion passes unanimously.
[5:41] >> next item is 1g3, amendment
[5:50] to the implementation plan ptp
[5:52] directive will actively include
[5:54] the purchase of 40 foot buses
[5:55] for I-95 phase 1 and two
[5:57] project funded in part by
[5:59] charter county transportation
[6:01] surtax funds, this is a public
[6:02] hearing item.
[6:04] >>chair: public hearing on 1g3
[6:05] is open, public hearing on 1g3
[6:07] is closed.
[6:08] Administration I guess this is
[6:11] your item.
[6:13] >> commissioner we only ask for
[6:15] this to be considered to be
[6:17] waived till JULY 21 for full
[6:19] consideration of the board.
[6:20] >>chair: first you asked for us
[6:22] to pass it and then you want us
[6:23] to waive it.
[6:25] I don't have a problem but let
[6:27] me help, there's a new
[6:30] procedure for waving something.
[6:31] >>commissioner regalado: yes,
[6:41] we need to explain why.
[6:43] >>chair: I don't mind signing
[6:44] the memo but you have to
[6:46] prepare the memo so we have to
[6:48] provide an explanation and the
[6:58] explanation probably has to be
[6:59] not only why it needs to
[7:01] advance but why it's just
[7:01] coming now.
[7:03] I think that's what it has to
[7:05] be so it's not as easy as it
[7:06] was before but let's get
[7:08] through passing it first, no
[7:09] questions.
[7:10] Extended seconded.
[7:11] Call the roll.
[7:13] >>commissioner bermudez:
[7:15] >>commissioner bastien:
[7:17] >>commissioner regalado:
[7:17] >>chair:
[7:20] >> motion passes unanimously.
[7:22] >>chair: what is next.
[7:24] >>commissioner regalado: we are
[7:25] going to talk about the budget,
[7:27] it's going to be great.
[7:28] >>chair: where is stacy at?
[7:31] What's the item I added on for
[7:31] you?
[7:32] The underline, we can take
[7:34] everything together, I just
[7:35] want to be shown on that.
[7:41] Just to be nice to regalado.
[7:43] So that we will take the
[7:48] balance of that.
[7:50] >>commissioner regalado: I will
[7:51] move the balance of the agenda
[7:53] with the exception of 3k.
[7:55] >>chair: all those in favor say
[7:56] aye, those opposed.
[8:04] It's been moved and seconded by
[8:06] bermudez, all those in favor
[8:07] signify by saying aye, show me
[8:08] as a no.
[8:14] It's been passed.
[8:16] >>commissioner regalado: do you
[8:17] want to discuss the budget
[8:19] while we wait for the
[8:20] amendment?
[8:22] >>chair: is someone calling the
[8:23] commissioners office?
[8:25] Out of an abundance of
[8:26] curiosity.
[8:27] An abundance of curiosity.
[8:29] Good one.
[8:31] Let's go, budget.
[8:38] MADAM Director.
[8:44] >> I would like to provide you
[8:47] all with a brief overview of
[8:48] information that was utilized
[9:00] to develop dgp w's budget
[9:02] moving into this season.
[9:03] As you can see we have our
[9:05] vision and mission statement,
[9:06] obviously our goal is to
[9:08] provide safe and efficient
[9:09] transportation for all users.
[9:13] We are the largest transit
[9:15] agency within the state of
[9:17] florida and 10th largest in the
[9:18] country with a budget of over
[9:24] $2.2 billion.
[9:26] And a dedicated workforce of
[9:27] 4241 persons.
[9:29] Our transit operations
[9:30] obviously involve a multitude
[9:32] of different functions.
[9:34] Last year's boardings eclipsed
[9:40] 81 million with the largest
[9:42] number obviously within our bus
[9:42] services.
[9:44] Public works operations
[9:45] obviously we are the department
[9:48] of transportation which is an
[9:49] intrinsic component.
[9:51] We oversee roadways, bridges,
[9:54] traffic signals and signs,
[9:56] pavement markings, streetlights
[9:58] and of course we took over
[9:59] stormwater utility and
[10:00] maintenance of canals.
[10:03] We obviously provide regional
[10:07] conductivity for not just miami
[10:08] dade county but for south
[10:08] florida.
[10:10] As well as regulate the four
[10:14] hire industry.
[10:16] We have many customers but we
[10:35] are committed to making sure we
[10:36] are an essential function of
[10:37] our economy.
[10:39] Most people talk about the
[10:41] airport and seaport, those
[10:43] don't function without the road
[10:44] bridge and transit network to
[10:45] support them.
[10:47] We are an essential function
[10:49] within miami dade county and we
[10:50] are committed to accessibility
[10:52] and safety are all vulnerable
[10:54] road users and as noted our
[10:55] infrastructure is the
[10:57] underpinning of a successful
[10:58] delivery of vital services.
[11:00] Some key accomplishments for
[11:01] the launch of our smart
[11:03] program, first milestone
[11:05] project of south corridor which
[11:10] launched OCTOBER 27.
[11:11] This has been a major
[11:13] improvement for south county
[11:15] and we are excited about that.
[11:16] Midyear assistance we
[11:18] established a mobility sourcing
[11:19] program which allows us to go
[11:22] to original manufacturers for
[11:23] items which quickly shortens
[11:25] the timeframe for procurement.
[11:27] And we continue to work on
[11:29] transit amenities which
[11:30] recently assisted us with some
[11:31] key issues.
[11:33] Transit funding shortfalls,
[11:34] this has been an issue looming
[11:43] for over 10 years.
[11:45] We have approximately a $100
[11:47] billion shortfall moving into
[11:48] the fiscal year 27.
[11:51] The mayor has proposed a
[11:51] solution for fiscal year 27 and
[11:53] I know we all look forward to
[11:54] those solutions for next year
[11:55] and years forward.
[11:58] We have an infrastructure
[11:59] backlog of over $1 billion of
[12:00] needs.
[12:01] We have workforce vacancy
[12:03] issues approximately 20% right
[12:06] now and aging technology, we
[12:07] continue to work with you all
[12:10] to make sure we can update our
[12:12] technology and provide a better
[12:14] user experience for our
[12:15] patrons.
[12:16] >>chair: let's stop here for a
[12:18] second, you talked about the
[12:18] shortfall.
[12:24] And I appreciate, describe for
[12:25] us exactly what you mean by a
[12:27] shortfall because the way I
[12:29] understand our transit system
[12:35] right now, we don't have a
[12:35] shortfall.
[12:37] We are designed in a way that
[12:38] requires us to supplement from
[12:41] the general fund
[12:42] transportation.
[12:43] Shortfall seems to indicate
[12:45] that there's something we could
[12:48] do to make that up.
[12:50] And I don't know that there is
[12:51] something we could actually do
[12:52] to make it up.
[12:55] i think our system public
[12:56] transit generally through the
[12:58] country is not designed to pay
[12:59] for it self.
[13:00] Sometimes we use this
[13:01] nomenclature and vocabulary
[13:08] that says that it kind of
[13:10] indicates that it's running a
[13:11] deficit, it's not running a
[13:15] deficit, there's no shortfall.
[13:17] We planted in a way to allow
[13:19] the public generally to move
[13:21] korea a public generally could
[13:26] not pay the cost of the bus
[13:28] ride, the people who need to
[13:30] take the bus could not pay the
[13:31] cost of the bus ride so we plan
[13:32] our system in a way to
[13:33] supplement that.
[13:34] Hen we start
[13:36] using words like shortfall I
[13:38] would have the administration
[13:40] to look at the vocabulary we
[13:42] are using so we could properly
[13:55] inform the public about how the
[13:57] system operates and how it's
[13:58] designed to operate.
[14:00] Because if we were actually to
[14:02] do this like proprietary
[14:03] systems, it would look
[14:04] completely different.
[14:06] This is not proprietary.
[14:08] It's not meant to be.
[14:20] A proprietary, our proprietary
[14:22] systems are designed so the
[14:23] users pay for the service.
[14:25] Though users are not meant to
[14:26] pay for the full service of
[14:27] this system.
[14:29] So I know you have your whole
[14:30] nice presentation, you spent a
[14:32] lot of time on this I can tell
[14:34] so I'm not asking you to change
[14:36] it now but let's get into the
[14:38] habit of speaking about
[14:39] transportation or our transit
[14:41] system in a way that does not
[14:43] compare it to our proprietary
[14:45] systems so we aren't doing that
[14:47] and we aren't intentionally
[14:48] misleading the public but we
[14:50] are misleading the public about
[14:52] what public transit is meant to
[14:53] do.
[14:54] Regalado.
[14:55] >>commissioner regalado: I want
[14:57] to add to that it's important
[14:59] for us to consider that in the
[15:01] last two years we have not
[15:02] received as much funding from
[15:04] the state as we have in the
[15:04] past.
[15:06] Not your fault, not my fault.
[15:08] I think there were promises
[15:09] made and we were expecting a
[15:11] lot more funding from the
[15:11] state.
[15:12] That is not the case.
[15:14] This year we were even
[15:15] conservative in our ask and we
[15:17] still didn't get it so that's
[15:18] the first one.
[15:20] And also we had the transit 16s
[15:21] and the work you've done on
[15:23] that rtz has benefited the tid
[15:25] but we've been drawing down on
[15:25] the tid.
[15:30] As our needs and our
[15:32] maintenance increases we've
[15:36] been drawing down on the tid.
[15:38] We had a lot of deferred
[15:40] maintenance and I think the
[15:42] administration for working on
[15:42] that.
[15:44] For those of us that represent
[15:46] part of the metrorail these are
[15:47] 30+ year old stations.
[15:49] In the case of my district I've
[15:51] done a lot to have developers
[15:52] pay for some of that.
[15:57] But we still have dade land and
[15:59] the transfer station and things
[16:01] that are way beyond anything
[16:11] that zoning could negotiate.
[16:13] So I think it's a combination
[16:14] of things.
[16:16] We talked about how this was
[16:18] going to be a difficult year,
[16:19] four years ago and
[16:20] unfortunately while the rapid
[16:22] transit zone has aided with the
[16:24] tid, we still don't have a
[16:24] revenue source.
[16:26] We are still at a loss.
[16:28] We subsidize 80% of this and I
[16:29] agree with the CHAIRMAN.
[16:31] We need to be honest with
[16:33] people about the level of the
[16:33] subsidy.
[16:35] And our commitment to transit.
[16:52] So I'm with you.
[16:54] I think when we talk about
[16:55] transit we should be mindful of
[16:57] the terminology we use to speak
[16:59] of our commitment because our
[17:01] commitment is from the general
[17:02] fund.
[17:02] That's where we are at.
[17:04] We get a little bit from here
[17:05] and from there but all in all
[17:07] we have been taking from the
[17:09] general fund from its
[17:09] inception.
[17:15] So I think that is a necessary
[17:16] point.
[17:17] It's not anything this
[17:18] commission is doing.
[17:20] We've gone above and beyond for
[17:21] the maintenance and operation
[17:23] which I think is important to
[17:25] our users because it impacts
[17:30] the level of service.
[17:32] Class I'll finish my last
[17:33] couple of slides, thank you.
[17:35] As noted understood regarding
[17:37] the verbiage we use going
[17:38] forward.
[17:47] Discussing our priorities, our
[17:48] initiatives that we continue to
[17:50] do and have done in the past
[17:52] our marketing program for drive
[17:53] less lives more as an
[17:54] opportunity we used to
[17:57] interface with the community
[17:57] and to talk about how we run
[17:59] our business, gather our
[18:00] feedback.
[18:01] We've used it as well not just
[18:10] in the drive less, live more
[18:12] but fill in the blank more.
[18:13] we've used it for a lot of
[18:15] different opportunities.
[18:16] It's been a great marketing
[18:17] program for us.
[18:19] We are in the process of our
[18:23] asset inventory and condition
[18:25] assessment, something the
[18:26] commission approved previously.
[18:28] We are starting to gain that
[18:30] data and that will help us make
[18:31] better engineering decisions
[18:33] about our priorities, it's the
[18:35] first opportunity for
[18:36] miami-dade to have a full
[18:38] accounting of our assets as it
[18:40] relates to our infrastructure
[18:42] within the department of
[18:43] transportation and public works
[18:45] and we are winding down
[18:47] construction for the south dade
[18:48] transit operations center, the
[18:50] first new operations center in
[18:52] 40 years and this supports
[18:54] obviously the health or radar
[18:55] and other bus routes that will
[18:57] occur in the south county area.
[18:59] That should be completed in the
[18:59] fall.
[19:02] Our future outlook as was noted
[19:04] we use the word funding
[19:05] shortfalls, I won't be using
[19:07] that anymore but we have known
[19:09] about this looming funding gap
[19:13] in our budget.
[19:15] We continue to work with the
[19:17] office of management and budget
[19:19] as well as the administration
[19:21] and you all to find a means of
[19:34] modifying how we move forward
[19:36] with our operations and capital
[19:38] funding shortfalls in the
[19:38] future.
[19:40] I won't use that word, sorry I
[19:41] used it, we apologize.
[19:44] We continue to find wise 305
[19:45] opportunities as we move
[19:46] forward and we believe there
[19:47] are more to come.
[20:01] We believe we will have the
[20:03] opportunity to provide better
[20:05] scheduling and reduce our costs
[20:06] in the future.
[20:07] We have just started to use
[20:08] that.
[20:09] We are using planning
[20:11] frameworks, our new county
[20:12] master plan which we are using
[20:14] to help us make better
[20:14] decisions.
[20:16] We also have master plans for
[20:17] our escalator elevator and
[20:20] other facilities as we move
[20:20] forward.
[20:23] Happy to answer any questions.
[20:25] >>chair: commissioner bermudez.
[20:27] >>commissioner bermudez: I
[20:29] agree with you that obviously
[20:30] no public transportation in
[20:32] this country that I know of of
[20:34] major size can operate without,
[20:36] it can operate, or breakeven
[20:38] that's just a reality but I
[20:39] want to talk about something,
[20:41] the difference between transit
[20:43] and traffic and your department
[20:44] has to do both.
[20:45] We can argue until the end of
[20:48] the day about whether it should
[20:49] or shouldn't but the reality is
[20:51] a large part of this county
[20:52] deals with traffic, the other
[20:54] part deals with transit.
[20:55] Issues to the east have been
[20:57] more referenced transit but to
[20:59] the west it's been traffic.
[21:00] Where many people live.
[21:06] So I would ask you and I think
[21:07] that's important because as you
[21:09] move forward you have to keep
[21:10] that in mind.
[21:12] That doesn't make your job any
[21:13] easier, it probably makes it
[21:15] more complicated but the
[21:17] reality is our system is trying
[21:19] to.
[21:20] It's not maybe what MAY happen
[21:22] in other cities traditionally
[21:24] in the northeast for example
[21:26] where there's always a traffic
[21:28] issue but more of a transit
[21:30] issue and in our case it's a
[21:31] composite of both korea for
[21:33] growth to occur where growth
[21:34] has occurred it needs to happen
[21:36] and I've been a stickler with
[21:38] the administration and
[21:39] reiterated to you that one of
[21:41] my concerns is always a lack of
[21:44] metrics, the lack of knowing
[21:44] where.
[21:46] It drives me crazy when we set
[21:48] up here and there's things that
[21:49] pop up from 2013 and 2014 and
[21:51] nobody knows where it's at.
[21:53] First of all in both instances,
[21:55] first of all do you have
[21:55] metrics?
[21:57] And some make sense like how
[22:01] long does it take to fill a
[22:02] pothole but are the metrics
[22:04] being followed, are there
[22:06] metrics, are they being looked
[22:06] at?
[22:30] That's one of my questions.
[22:31] Claps through the chair we have
[22:33] metrics associated with the
[22:35] time when we receive I want to
[22:37] say complaint but an issue till
[22:39] the time we complete it but we
[22:40] are wholly underfunded for
[22:43] sidewalk improvements, pothole
[22:44] filling and resurfacing, we are
[22:46] about $1 billion behind on
[22:48] maintenance and improvements
[22:50] associated with our existing
[22:52] road and bridge network.
[22:54] >>commissioner bermudez: that's
[22:56] a big concern because a lot of
[22:57] times we're talking about
[22:59] things like the underline and I
[23:01] support it, I have no problem
[23:03] but a vast part of this county
[23:04] and not just my district going
[23:06] south to the west is impacted
[23:08] as a combination of both, it's
[23:09] not just a matter of one.
[23:11] I think that's something we
[23:12] need to kind of focus on and
[23:14] not always make it eastern
[23:15] centric as it is.
[23:17] talking about these old things
[23:18] that have been approved and
[23:20] what happened to them, the bus
[23:22] depot on 14th and 15th street
[23:24] here by the old miami herald
[23:24] building.
[23:26] What's happening with that?
[23:28] Because way before most of us
[23:29] got hear their was money
[23:30] awarded to fix that.
[23:32] And what's going on?
[23:38] Does anybody know?
[23:40] Claps I apologize, I do not
[23:42] have that information but I
[23:46] will find out.
[23:48] >>commissioner bermudez: this
[23:50] is not a criticism of anybody
[23:51] that's been here before, I'm
[23:55] sure there watching and they
[23:57] can enjoy it but one of the big
[23:58] problems I've seen and now as
[24:00] our CHAIRMAN Goes on to bigger
[24:02] and better things, bigger, I
[24:07] don't know about better but the
[24:09] reality is a lot of times that
[24:10] headaches we inherited have
[24:12] been around for 20 to 25 years
[24:13] including the transportation
[24:15] plan because CHAIRMAN Gilbert
[24:17] remembers we were both in
[24:18] elected office when this plan
[24:19] came up a long time ago.
[24:21] And we are still talking about
[24:22] it.
[24:23] One of the problems I see and I
[24:25] point that out if you could
[24:27] look into it because we can't
[24:38] just, these things get lost in
[24:40] the netherworld of county
[24:41] politics.
[24:43] Then they pop up out of the
[24:44] blue and everybody points
[24:46] fingers in each direction but
[24:47] there has to be some sort of
[24:48] accounting.
[24:49] It's kind of like knowing
[24:51] what's under your airports not
[24:53] having a private company know
[24:55] under your airport but you
[24:57] don't know what's under your
[24:58] airport which is a problem so
[25:00] if you could check into that I
[25:01] would appreciate it.
[25:03] >>chair: that's great.
[25:06] It's interesting the memo the
[25:07] administration produced about
[25:10] the funding possibilities,
[25:12] that's something I requested as
[25:14] an interesting thing.
[25:15] It's especially interesting
[25:20] when we compare it with the
[25:21] possibility.
[25:23] We analyze it under the context
[25:24] of how much we supplement
[25:26] transit through the general
[25:26] fund.
[25:29] Then we add in the possibility
[25:31] of reducing the general fund
[25:37] with property tax reform.
[25:38] So we've been thinking about
[25:41] this from the perspective of
[25:42] rapid mass transit, the
[25:43] question isn't going to be
[25:45] rapid mass transit alone.
[25:45] He
[25:47] question will be how we operate
[25:52] this transit system at all.
[25:54] Because that's not one of the
[25:56] necessary things that we have
[25:56] to do.
[25:58] Pretty soon there is going to
[26:00] have to be a reconciling of how
[26:03] we run the system.
[26:07] And the split that has to exist
[26:21] between the service that's
[26:22] provided and how it's funded
[26:24] with regard to whether it's
[26:25] funded with a general tax
[26:27] through general taxes or
[26:28] whether it's funded through the
[26:35] people who actually use the
[26:35] system.
[26:37] That's the question that's
[26:38] actually going to be on the
[26:39] ballot in NOVEMBER.
[26:41] You might not know that your
[26:42] answering that question but
[26:44] that's the question you're
[26:46] going to answer because if you
[26:47] institute property tax reform
[26:49] in a way that does not allow
[26:50] the general fund to support
[26:52] this transit system, you will
[26:54] be raising either raising the
[26:56] bus rate and metrorail rate or
[26:58] you will be eliminating
[26:59] services, that is what you will
[27:00] be doing.
[27:01] And the administration probably
[27:03] needs to start having real
[27:04] honest and direct conversations
[27:14] about how that's going to look.
[27:16] Because everyone on this board
[27:18] and everyone in this building
[27:19] understands that we can't
[27:21] afford to take the level of it
[27:23] in transit through the general
[27:26] fund if that's contemplated.
[27:28] In that ballot initiative.
[27:30] We won't be able to run the
[27:31] system that way.
[27:33] We understand that.
[27:35] We'd probably better tell
[27:38] people that.
[27:40] Explain to them that they are
[27:46] paying, what is it, $0.11.
[27:48] Claps our return is 11 or $0.12
[27:53] on the dollar.
[27:55] >>chair: let's say 12, $0.12 of
[27:56] every dollar it takes to ride
[27:58] that bus.
[28:00] So this board and this
[28:05] administration is not
[28:07] recommending an increase in the
[28:08] rate right now.
[28:09] But in truth, we are going to
[28:26] have to, we will need to find
[28:28] what we believe to be the
[28:30] appropriate balance so we know
[28:31] it can never be 100%.
[28:32] We know that, is it $0.50 on
[28:33] every dollar?
[28:35] Is it $0.60 on every dollar?
[28:36] Is it $0.70?
[28:38] On every dollar that we are
[28:40] going to supplement so in other
[28:41] words the people or using it
[28:42] and whatever it is it is.
[28:44] But the conversation needs to
[28:45] be had and we need to
[28:47] standardize it because if we
[28:48] don't, this system cannot
[29:04] sustain itself.
[29:06] And that's not counting what we
[29:07] know we have to do.
[29:09] We know that if we don't invest
[29:10] in a rapid transit, we know in
[29:12] 40 years if we don't invest in
[29:14] rapid mass transit identifying
[29:15] these corridors, housing prices
[29:17] and congestion will cripple
[29:19] this county eventually, we know
[29:20] that's what we have to do.
[29:22] But we are not prepared to do
[29:23] what we are doing right now, if
[29:25] the property tax initiative
[29:27] passes so that needs to be a
[29:28] real conversation because we
[29:30] are not some of these other
[29:32] counties that are small and
[29:33] insignificant.
[29:34] When we cripple our economy we
[29:36] actually change the state of
[29:36] florida.
[29:39] And the department that you run
[29:44] and you will oversee is what
[29:46] allows the most recovered and
[29:52] robust economy in the state to
[29:52] exist.
[29:54] If you stop rapid mass transit
[29:55] or you make it cost
[29:56] substantially more, it's not
[29:58] just dade county.
[30:16] It's florida.
[30:18] So we had probably be better
[30:19] having that conversation.
[30:21] The chamber is starting to talk
[30:23] about it because we don't
[30:24] necessarily see it but how much
[30:26] we invest in public transit
[30:28] allows our businesses to thrive
[30:30] because they have workers who
[30:31] can come to work so it's a
[30:32] challenge we have to have a
[30:35] more active conversation.
[30:36] You've been doing a lot of
[30:38] talking in the corner, I
[30:39] haven't interrupted you, do you
[30:40] have an amendment?
[30:41] Okay.
[30:42] bastien.
[30:43] >>commissioner bastien: I
[30:45] wanted to say that I agree with
[30:46] commissioner gilbert and with
[30:51] my colleagues.
[30:53] This discussion needs to be had
[30:55] sooner rather than later.
[30:59] I-4 one have so many residents
[31:04] and I know other colleagues who
[31:07] are experiencing the same
[31:07] thing.
[31:09] A lot of our residents are on
[31:10] fixed income.
[31:11] They will not be able to
[31:15] contribute much.
[31:27] So if we agree and we know
[31:29] transportation must find a way
[31:31] to fund itself and there are so
[31:33] many residents that rely on
[31:34] these services to move around
[31:36] in my district I get calls from
[31:38] residents all the time who are
[31:40] having a hard time because of
[31:47] the changes in the routes.
[31:49] They are really really having a
[31:51] hard time because some of the
[31:53] elderly unfixed income rely on
[31:54] transportation, rely on the
[31:56] routes to go buy groceries and
[31:57] I receive these calls every
[31:58] day.
[31:59] We need to be proactive.
[32:01] Because every year we have
[32:04] people moving in to miami dade
[32:04] county.
[32:06] So you have to balance the
[32:07] needs of the residents and the
[32:18] needs of those coming in for
[32:20] other places because they are
[32:22] attracted by what we have to
[32:22] offer.
[32:23] I agree we need to be
[32:24] proactive.
[32:25] We need to really have this
[32:27] hard discussion sooner rather
[32:29] than later and another thing
[32:31] I'd like us to really consider
[32:32] is to look at the contracts
[32:35] that we give when we, to fix
[32:39] these roads.
[32:41] in the past I've talked about
[32:46] some of the changes,
[32:48] infrastructure changes in my
[32:50] district and how soon after we
[32:51] repair it MAY deteriorate.
[32:56] So these are also discussions
[32:57] that we need to have.
[32:59] We have to do an overall
[33:03] assessment of how we do this
[33:03] work.
[33:07] How we award these contracts.
[33:11] How we assess the work after
[33:13] it's done so that we don't have
[33:26] to continuously invest in
[33:28] repair for all the roads to
[33:29] deteriorate again.
[33:30] I think there's a lot of work
[33:32] to do and I agree with
[33:34] commissioner gilbert, these are
[33:35] discussions we need to have.
[33:39] We need to come to the fact
[33:40] that we have to find a way
[33:42] because so many of our
[33:44] residents cannot afford it.
[33:48] And transportation cannot fund
[33:49] itself.
[33:56] >>chair: thank you, regalado.
[33:58] >>commissioner regalado: I have
[33:59] a few questions.
[34:04] Commissioner gilbert mentioned,
[34:05] the CHAIRMAN Mentioned the
[34:06] smart plan medal.
[34:08] Thank you for putting that out,
[34:10] I think it was necessary and we
[34:17] all know that it was about time
[34:19] we actually put it out there
[34:21] and started talking about our
[34:21] challenges.
[34:23] The one thing I wish that smart
[34:25] plan medal included was the
[34:28] opportunity to have enterprise
[34:29] departments do some of this
[34:30] work.
[34:31] Specifically as I've mentioned
[34:33] at the tvo and I've mentioned
[34:35] it to the administration have
[34:44] an opportunity to put a
[34:45] tri-rail station at the port
[34:47] where the airport pays half and
[34:49] the port pays half, it would be
[34:50] between 30 and 33 million and
[34:53] it would give us access to the
[34:54] railroad we spent 80 million
[34:55] on.
[34:56] This board already approved a
[34:58] station at little river.
[34:59] Then it goes to the port so why
[35:01] not do a port station and get a
[35:02] transit win without is coming
[35:04] out of the transit budget?
[35:06] Think we also need to get a
[35:07] little creative here in terms
[35:09] of places where we know that
[35:11] there is a need for transit.
[35:13] And there is enterprise funds
[35:14] that could do it.
[35:17] The idea to commissioner
[35:18] bermudez point about
[35:39] alleviating traffic, we have so
[35:40] much congestion between the
[35:42] airport and the port if we had
[35:43] a transit line.
[35:44] Hen this was
[35:45] presented it was $1 billion to
[35:47] extend metrorail, $1 billion to
[35:49] extend metro mover.
[35:50] That's madness, we don't have
[35:52] that kind of money but if we
[35:54] could do a tri-rail station for
[35:55] 30 million student that.
[35:58] We have to start changing our
[35:59] mindset because what happens to
[36:01] us a lot of times is a lobbyist
[36:03] have to come and pitch the
[36:04] thing and we react to it as
[36:06] opposed to us saying wait a
[36:07] second, there's an opportunity
[36:08] here.
[36:09] I think we can have some
[36:16] transit that is a little
[36:18] different and I give that as an
[36:18] example.
[36:20] And in little river we've got a
[36:22] tri-rail station built by the
[36:24] developer and that's because of
[36:25] the rtc which leads me to my
[36:26] second point.
[36:28] We have a dependence on the
[36:28] tid.
[36:30] now that the rtz has been in
[36:31] place for some time we need to
[36:33] look at the growth in the tid
[36:35] since we started these
[36:38] developments and start looking
[36:39] at where these developments
[36:41] have come and what our options
[36:43] are for the places in the rtc
[36:44] where we haven't seen
[36:56] development so the rtz has seen
[36:57] development in my district and
[36:59] a little bit in bastien's and
[37:01] the question is MR. Chair do we
[37:03] go back to the drawing table
[37:05] and figure out what we do for
[37:06] those other areas to
[37:07] incentivize that development
[37:09] and how do we capture that?
[37:11] Ecause the growth of the tid
[37:12] is what we need and for those
[37:14] of us that have transit, we are
[37:16] also having a tremendous amount
[37:17] of development along those
[37:19] transit lines and that money is
[37:20] going into tid.
[37:22] It's important to start having
[37:24] that baseline conversation to
[37:26] see where this is coming and
[37:28] what changes we can make
[37:30] because we have proven changes
[37:31] to zoning can benefit our
[37:34] transit system so let's keep
[37:36] having that conversation, let's
[37:40] not just leave it in a vacuum.
[37:42] The other issue is the mover.
[37:44] Will say it again, we should
[37:45] charge for the mover.
[37:49] Speaking of tri-rail we are
[37:50] going throw whole process with
[37:52] our fair collection and one of
[37:54] the things we're looking at is
[37:56] starting with digital first and
[37:57] not the fair dates and this
[37:59] board should seriously consider
[38:01] starting with a pilot for the
[38:12] mover that has a digital price
[38:13] collection.
[38:15] Those people are sophisticated
[38:17] enough over there in downtown
[38:18] to be able to do it.
[38:19] that will bring us some
[38:20] revenue.
[38:21] We MAY not capture all of it
[38:23] but we are capturing nothing.
[38:24] So whatever we capture I think
[38:26] it would be a benefit to us.
[38:28] And we need to eliminate this
[38:29] idea of free transit.
[38:32] I've said this last budget,
[38:33] I'll say it again.
[38:37] We need to kill baylink, nobody
[38:47] has money for baylink.
[38:49] Instead of the planning money
[38:51] we are spending on baylink we
[38:53] need to get a trolley and get a
[38:55] trolley that goes across the
[38:56] venetian and be done with this.
[38:58] Fdo t won't pay for it, we
[38:59] can't afford it and at some
[39:01] point we've got to cut our
[39:02] losses and move forward.
[39:04] And if a bart was good enough
[39:10] for south dade and is working
[39:11] why is a trolley not good for
[39:12] miami beach.
[39:22] Is there a different standard.
[39:24] Because last time I checked it
[39:26] was all the same, we had to
[39:28] approve ridership and interest
[39:29] to move forward.
[39:30] I think when we look at the
[39:32] smart plan we need to say okay,
[39:34] what doesn't have the ability
[39:36] to get funded and let's find a
[39:37] solution.
[39:38] I think that is something miami
[39:40] beach would like to consider.
[39:42] It concerns me we keep cutting
[39:50] bus routes and I'm not going to
[39:51] get ahead of the budget but I
[39:53] want to say the constant
[39:54] cutting of the bus routes, if
[39:56] we're going to keep doing this
[39:57] we have to go back and look at
[39:58] metro connect.
[40:00] We have to look at it because
[40:01] we need to use the same
[40:03] standard that we use for the
[40:04] buses for metro connect.
[40:06] How much are we paying for that
[40:11] one writer because time and
[40:13] again we come to the buses and
[40:15] say it's low ridership, caught
[40:17] the bus route in the meanwhile
[40:18] metro connect is existing out
[40:20] there in the ether and I think
[40:21] we are getting to a point where
[40:23] we might be reverting back to
[40:34] the original letter bus that
[40:35] just had buses and arteries and
[40:37] if we are doing that we need to
[40:38] be honest about it.
[40:40] I think we need to be honest
[40:40] about it.
[40:43] Because if you start looking at
[40:44] the pattern of pattern is
[40:45] moving us towards that.
[40:47] We need to be honest with
[40:49] people about the bus routes
[40:51] that are working and the ones
[40:52] that are important and if the
[40:54] bart is working we need to
[40:56] invest because it's working and
[40:58] have a comprehensive
[40:59] conversation, not just a
[41:01] reactionary conversation to
[41:01] better bus.
[41:03] I also think we need to deal
[41:04] with some of our liabilities.
[41:07] I know our legal department was
[41:08] looking into the proterra
[41:10] issue, we are not the only ones
[41:11] that have this issue but we
[41:37] also have sp 7046.
[41:39] Sb 7046 puts a pin in some of
[41:40] our electric bus purchases and
[41:42] the question is what are we
[41:44] going to do about that because
[41:45] after proterra broward decided
[41:47] to purchase diesel so that's
[41:49] another conversation we need to
[41:49] have.
[41:51] How much are we investing, how
[41:53] much is it costing and how do
[41:55] we deal with the state
[41:56] preemption that makes us look
[41:58] at that money differently.
[42:00] I would like to see that.
[42:02] And finally in terms of the
[42:03] roadway issue, I think we need
[42:05] to have a conversation about
[42:07] the stormwater and the
[42:08] stormwater fees.
[42:09] And how we do that and how we
[42:10] collect that.
[42:12] Are we really doing that work,
[42:14] what would it actually take for
[42:16] us to be able to have a good
[42:18] stormwater plan and what does
[42:18] that cost?
[42:20] That doesn't mean we have that
[42:22] money but as we have these
[42:24] conversations we should have a
[42:25] minimum have an idea.
[42:41] When we do zoning, we need to
[42:42] take that into account.
[42:44] Because sometimes we do and
[42:45] sometimes we don't.
[42:45] Ut maybe
[42:47] there are some changes to the
[42:49] comprehensive master plan that
[42:51] could help us alleviate some of
[42:51] this.
[42:52] We also need to start looking
[42:54] at our impact fees.
[42:55] And I'm not a fan.
[42:57] This administration has been
[42:59] good to my district in that we
[43:00] are finally fixing some of the
[43:01] roads.
[43:02] And we fight for them and I
[43:03] thank you.
[43:05] But my district for 10 years
[43:07] and the impact fees taken and
[43:08] put in other districts and I
[43:10] had roads that had been built
[43:12] and resurfaced for 30, 40, 50
[43:14] years and I know that happens.
[43:16] There is a disparity here and I
[43:17] understand that.
[43:18] Some people have more
[43:20] development than others but for
[43:21] those of us who are suffering
[43:33] the development, those potholes
[43:35] are more painful because people
[43:37] drive down our streets and to
[43:39] say I don't understand, I see
[43:40] this building, once this
[43:42] pothole and meanwhile we're
[43:44] talking about building roads
[43:45] outside the you dv so what's
[43:46] going to give here?
[43:48] I think that we need to look at
[43:50] the impact fees and to be
[43:51] honest about what our road
[43:53] plans are so that we could then
[43:54] articulate to our residents
[43:56] what the needs are and how we
[43:58] are doing our best to meet
[43:59] those needs.
[44:00] Because we are put in a
[44:01] difficult position.
[44:03] So I think moving forward as we
[44:05] go into the budget we have to
[44:09] look at what are our revenue
[44:11] opportunities and what are our
[44:13] existing liabilities and match
[44:15] these up because there's a lot
[44:17] of policies that have been set
[44:18] by this board that then get
[44:20] mirrored back to us in the
[44:20] budget.
[44:22] And I think we are at a point
[44:23] where we need to reevaluate
[44:25] those and figure out is this
[44:27] really working for us or not
[44:29] and try to find some revenue
[44:30] generation.
[44:40] I think the rtz has shown us
[44:42] zoning can help transit so we
[44:43] should revisit that and have
[44:45] these conversations about
[44:47] different ways to fund transit.
[44:48] And what we can do to ensure
[44:50] where the density is coming
[44:52] that money at a minimum fixes
[44:53] the roads that are adjacent to
[45:04] it, thank you.
[45:05] >>commissioner bermudez: just
[45:07] one thing, when we look at
[45:09] impact fees municipalities look
[45:10] at the impact fees to end the
[45:12] one we are in coextensive so
[45:14] the responsibility will have to
[45:16] be we've got, it's not a
[45:17] one-way road.
[45:18] Unfortunately to the west where
[45:20] we do need roads particularly
[45:22] in areas that this county
[45:26] allowed, the city of hialeah.
[45:28] any growth there within the you
[45:30] dv and you know how I feel
[45:31] about the udb, we've got to
[45:33] stop with this 52 years we
[45:34] can't talk about it like it's a
[45:35] bad word.
[45:37] Everybody could be at the
[45:40] table.
[45:41] Environmentalists and you guys,
[45:43] us, everybody but if you look
[45:45] at impact fees I want to make
[45:46] sure we look at what
[45:48] municipalities do because they
[46:01] also charge impact fees.
[46:02] >>commissioner bastien: on the
[46:04] bus route changes moving
[46:06] forward it is important that
[46:08] district commissioners sit down
[46:10] with you before you change the
[46:10] routes.
[46:13] I-4 example have pockets of
[46:17] residents who are basically cut
[46:19] off, mainly elderly's, the
[46:21] elderly as I was referring to
[46:22] earlier cut off.
[46:24] So before these changes I
[46:26] definitely would like to sit
[46:28] down with the department to
[46:45] analyze, to see the plan for
[46:47] this bus route because we know
[46:48] our district best.
[46:50] We know where our residence
[46:50] needs are.
[46:52] So I really would like to be
[46:54] part of that conversation and I
[46:56] know other commissioners would
[46:57] like to also to make sure that
[46:59] we just don't react to the
[47:01] changes after we hear from the
[47:15] residence, it's important for
[47:16] us to sit down with you moving
[47:18] forward to find better
[47:20] solutions to keep our elderly
[47:21] is moving.
[47:23] We need them to keep moving.
[47:24] It has an impact on their
[47:26] health and on life in general
[47:27] so this is something we really
[47:29] need to work on and on free
[47:32] transit commissioner regalado i
[47:33] agree it cannot be free but
[47:35] there will always need to be
[47:36] considerations for others.
[47:38] It's not everyone and I am
[47:40] always referring to the elderly
[47:41] because I know what they are
[47:43] going through right now.
[47:44] The decisions, the hard
[47:46] decisions they have to make
[47:47] every day to make ends meet.
[47:48] To keep their homes.
[47:50] To pay insurance.
[47:51] Many are losing their homes
[48:00] because of their high cost of
[48:00] living.
[48:02] So we have to find ways to help
[48:03] them.
[48:04] Whatever plans we make we have
[48:07] to take into consideration in
[48:09] miami dade county they are the
[48:10] elderly populations that are
[48:17] hurting right now like so many
[48:17] other families.
[48:19] We have to decide whether to
[48:21] buy food or pay for medication
[48:24] or pay for taxes, insurance,
[48:26] everything is going up that
[48:28] their income remains stagnant.
[48:30] These are things we need to
[48:32] take into consideration as we
[48:34] plan forward because it's all
[48:35] linked.
[48:35] It is all linked.
[48:37] You cannot take any of this
[48:39] problems or issues and deal
[48:40] with them in silos.
[48:40] Nd in our
[48:46] best interests to find ways to
[48:48] keep the elderly population in
[48:49] miami dade county moving.
[48:57] You need to be able to walk,
[48:58] it's better for them.
[49:00] We win in the end if we find
[49:02] ways to keep them moving so
[49:03] before we change these bus
[49:05] routes I'd like to sit down.
[49:09] >>chair: okay.
[49:09] Hold on.
[49:19] It's not superquick.
[49:21] Is he going to be superquick
[49:22] what she says?
[49:23] Does anybody think it's going
[49:25] to be superquick?
[49:26] >>commissioner regalado: you
[49:52] can tie me.
[49:53] >>commissioner regalado: maybe
[49:54] I was too subtle.
[49:56] I want you guys to consider
[49:58] metro connect should not be a
[50:00] say great cow because she needs
[50:01] to find money and if metro
[50:03] connect we are paying for it
[50:04] because we canceled bus routes
[50:06] and in order to continue we
[50:07] need to cancel bus routes.
[50:09] At some point we need to decide
[50:11] what is more important, the bus
[50:13] routes or the metro connect
[50:14] because the tail is wagging the
[50:16] dog again so we can increase
[50:18] the price, cut it,
[50:20] geographically limit it.
[50:21] >>commissioner bastien: we need
[50:24] to have these conversations.
[50:25] >>chair: my turn.
[50:27] I agree that we need to I think
[50:28] they called it the golden
[50:29] passport for the seniors.
[50:31] We need to keep it free.
[50:32] I know.
[50:33] >> 40% of our patrons pay
[50:35] nothing or half-price affairs.
[50:36] >> thank you.
[50:38] I think we need to keep that in
[50:40] place but then you probably
[50:41] need to look at raising the
[50:43] rates on other people.
[50:55] So you probably need to look at
[50:55] 50%.
[50:57] It is not a free ride.
[50:59] The ride is going to be paid
[50:59] for or subsidized.
[51:01] So the question is where you
[51:03] are going to get that subsidy
[51:03] from.
[51:05] What you're saying with metro
[51:06] connect is the same thing.
[51:08] If you provide a free ride on
[51:10] one else has to pay a little
[51:10] more.
[51:14] so I took rapid mass transit
[51:16] and transit to go to law
[51:16] school.
[51:18] I remember when it used to go
[51:19] up $0.10 and $0.15 and if you
[51:21] have years where it went up
[51:23] every year then you would never
[51:24] face a system that was so far
[51:25] out of balance.
[51:28] So what happens is for folks
[51:29] watching its basic stuff.
[51:32] The price of gas goes up.
[51:35] And we use gas in the buses.
[51:39] But the bus ride doesn't go up.
[51:44] So it's basically that simple.
[51:46] For people who want to take it
[51:52] a little further.
[51:54] Every year we will give a
[51:55] cost-of-living increase which
[51:57] we should do our people who
[51:58] operate transit.
[52:01] But the price, and we will give
[52:03] that because we should because
[52:04] the cost of living has gone up
[52:06] so to live here then they have
[52:07] to actually make more.
[52:09] Not unlike everyone else.
[52:13] But the price of the ride does
[52:16] not go up.
[52:19] In a cummins way.
[52:27] That's not fiscal
[52:28] responsibility.
[52:29] That's dishonesty.
[52:36] So the system is fundamentally
[52:38] not supporting itself.
[52:39] That aside, you're right.
[52:47] Rapid transit zones have
[52:48] increased.
[52:49] The tid, we know the pay
[52:50] increase on it.
[52:51] E allow
[52:52] people to do different sars and
[52:55] high density along the
[52:56] corridors, we can increase the
[52:58] taxable value, increase goes
[52:59] into the system.
[53:00] We understand that.
[53:02] You all last year came to me
[53:05] when you raided the tid and
[53:07] said we need to do it for this
[53:08] year and I thought you were
[53:10] being optimistic when you said
[53:10] that.
[53:12] We've got a plan, we're doing
[53:14] it this year but that was last
[53:28] year and this year you are
[53:30] raiding the tid again and I
[53:32] don't know that I'm going to be
[53:33] supportive because it places me
[53:35] in the position of doing what
[53:37] prior commissions have done
[53:38] when they make difficult
[53:39] decisions when they took the
[53:41] half-penny honest for rapid
[53:43] mass transit and used it to
[53:44] support a system.
[53:45] I don't begrudge them their
[53:47] situation, they were facing a
[53:49] situation where the county was
[53:50] broke, housing was in a
[53:51] freefall.
[54:01] They did the hard thing.
[54:03] But now we are faced with
[54:04] essentially the broken promises
[54:06] of the half-penny. So we have
[54:08] to live with the legacy of a
[54:10] broken promise at the
[54:11] half-penny. People do not
[54:12] understand the buses that they
[54:14] are able to ride on those buses
[54:16] they will do things because
[54:18] those commissioners made a very
[54:19] difficult decision.
[54:21] I understand that, I do not
[54:23] begrudge them their decision.
[54:24] It was difficult.
[54:26] It is difficult because you get
[54:28] to choose to do some hard
[54:29] things, it's a rock and a hard
[54:30] place.
[54:32] The question is what we are
[54:32] going to do.
[54:34] So we know at some point
[54:35] whether it's a dedicated
[54:49] millage, another halfpenny, a
[54:50] general obligation bond
[54:51] something has to fix the
[54:52] system.
[54:54] Not just operate the system,
[54:55] somebody has to fix the system.
[54:57] the money we have in
[54:58] maintenance that's behind,
[55:00] something has to fix the
[55:01] system.
[55:02] That's what I'm looking for
[55:04] from the administration and my
[55:06] colleagues before I leave.
[55:07] And if I end up going to
[55:09] congress you know I will fight
[55:09] for it.
[55:12] It means that much to be, this
[55:14] is the system that got me my
[55:15] law degree, took my system to
[55:16] our future.
[55:18] I want that opportunity to
[55:20] exist for young people going
[55:20] forward.
[55:22] But we have to come up with a
[55:22] plan.
[55:24] When I tell you this is not a
[55:26] sustainable orbit, it's not a
[55:32] sustainable orbit and there is
[55:33] a crash coming quickly for us.
[55:35] We are we are going to make
[55:37] some hard decisions about
[55:41] villages or cuts in services or
[55:43] terminations, there's some hard
[55:57] decisions coming our way.
[55:59] We can look at the budget that
[56:00] administration proposes and
[56:02] tread water but there's a point
[56:03] where you're treading water,
[56:05] you know you're not going
[56:07] forward but most people can
[56:09] tread water and they can tread
[56:10] water for an hour or two hours
[56:12] but this isn't the movie
[56:14] titanic, you eventually just
[56:14] drown.
[56:15] That's coming our way.
[56:17] So we know it's coming our way.
[56:19] It's undesirable it is not
[56:19] unforeseen.
[56:21] So when regalado talks about we
[56:23] have to have a plan, there's
[56:25] going to be a plan but
[56:26] everything has to be on the
[56:28] table, everything has to be on
[56:29] the table.
[56:38] So I don't know where we end up
[56:40] on the tid this year.
[56:41] What is likely that will happen
[56:43] from my perspective as I want
[56:45] that plan because if you're
[56:46] telling me I spent 18 months
[56:48] traveling up and down this
[56:49] county fighting with our
[56:51] residents about the rtz so that
[56:53] I could find funding that would
[56:55] eventually accumulate enough
[56:56] money to fund rapid mass
[56:58] transit but I did all that
[56:59] fighting so you all could take
[57:04] the money every year to support
[57:06] the system, that's problematic.
[57:08] Because now you're putting me
[57:10] in a situation where I've gone
[57:11] to those people, I've made
[57:13] those arguments you all are
[57:14] essentially making me into a
[57:15] liar.
[57:16] You all have been on the board
[57:18] with me when I started using
[57:19] the word liar, I can't do that.
[57:30] So that's my problem with
[57:31] raiding the tid, because we
[57:33] said something else.
[57:35] We said something else and when
[57:36] I said it it was true, this is
[57:41] what it was meant to do.
[57:42] So it was an emergency last
[57:44] year but every year can't be
[57:45] the same emergency.
[57:47] Every year can't be the same
[57:49] emergency so that my problem
[57:59] with it and that's a
[58:01] conversation.
[58:02] I'm going to need a plan so
[58:03] this is my notice to all of
[58:04] you.
[58:05] I'm going to need a plan.
[58:07] Last year I took your word you
[58:09] wouldn't do it again this year.
[58:11] All this stuff popped off, we
[58:12] lost more money in the
[58:13] legislature this year.
[58:15] We could stop asking, we know
[58:16] we are not getting it at this
[58:17] point.
[58:18] They are not going to help.
[58:20] we have to do it ourselves so
[58:22] let's figure out a plan to do
[58:22] it ourselves.
[58:26] >>commissioner regalado: with
[58:27] you 100%.
[58:29] That's why I started saying I
[58:30] appreciate the memo but I also
[58:49] think there is opportunity in
[58:50] other revenue sources.
[58:51] So I get it.
[58:52] You get a bond, increase the
[58:54] half-penny, we all know these
[58:55] things.
[58:56] But can you charge for the
[58:58] mover, can you put a trolley
[58:59] and get rid of baylink?
[59:01] Can you find other
[59:01] alternatives?
[59:18] Can we go back to the rtz and
[59:20] figure something out?
[59:21] I don't think there's one
[59:23] solution to all these problems.
[59:24] I think it has to be a
[59:25] collection of things.
[59:27] And we can start with those
[59:28] things.
[59:30] The problem is last year when I
[59:31] said let's charge for metro
[59:33] mover, it's going to take two
[59:34] years, somebody has an
[59:36] election, here we are again,
[59:37] it's an election year and by
[59:39] the time we have the
[59:41] conversation it will be another
[59:42] election year.
[59:43] I think we need to start on
[59:44] these things.
[59:46] And whatever it is at least
[59:47] it's a start.
[59:48] Nd look, I
[59:49] think we also I don't think we
[59:51] should have, putting aside the
[59:53] golden passport which we have.
[59:55] This concept of free transit,
[59:57] unless there's a hurricane or
[59:58] national emergency I don't
[1:00:00] think we should dispense with
[1:00:02] fairs and we've gotten into
[1:00:04] these arguments about fair
[1:00:05] suspension.
[1:00:06] i don't think we should.
[1:00:09] If there's an emergency, we
[1:00:10] suspend the fairs and if not we
[1:00:11] have to charge because we lose
[1:00:12] so much money.
[1:00:15] It's already so subsidized.
[1:00:16] We lose so much money so
[1:00:18] there's policy changes that
[1:00:19] need to be made so we can give
[1:00:22] you the flexibility to come
[1:00:23] back to us and say look, these
[1:00:24] are the different options but
[1:00:26] we also have to be honest that
[1:00:27] the politics of this thing and
[1:00:29] MR. CHAIRMAN I was with you.
[1:00:31] You and I took the blows for
[1:00:33] the rtz and I have to hear my
[1:00:35] residence say here's this
[1:00:37] density, where is the transit
[1:00:38] beyond what we already have?
[1:00:40] When projects come to my
[1:00:45] district I go above and beyond
[1:00:47] to try to get money for the
[1:00:48] stations, to get money to
[1:00:50] offset it so I'm not taking
[1:00:51] from the half-penny but not
[1:00:54] everybody does that.
[1:00:56] Some people are just like I
[1:00:58] will fix my station from the
[1:00:59] half-penny. We have to figure
[1:01:11] out a way to do it so there's
[1:01:13] some equity as we all try to
[1:01:15] make this work because it is to
[1:01:16] all our benefits to stretch the
[1:01:18] money we have as much as
[1:01:19] possible to oliver's point to
[1:01:21] get us as far into the smart
[1:01:22] plan as we can.
[1:01:24] But that's going to take a
[1:01:25] little bit of sacrifice.
[1:01:27] And I don't, I don't think
[1:01:28] there's one thing but this
[1:01:30] budget, we should at least have
[1:01:32] in the horizon one or two or
[1:01:33] three things.
[1:01:34] That's are going to start
[1:01:36] changing the conversation
[1:01:43] because if we read the tid this
[1:01:44] time what happens next year and
[1:01:46] we have an election year end
[1:01:47] the same thing and if we are
[1:01:49] going to do something I think
[1:01:51] we need to be honest about it.
[1:01:52] I don't think it's death by
[1:01:54] 1000 paper cuts which is what
[1:01:56] we're doing now that it's very
[1:01:57] reactive.
[1:01:58] >>commissioner bermudez: I
[1:02:00] agree, we have to have the
[1:02:01] discussion.
[1:02:08] The half penny went the wrong
[1:02:09] way from the beginning.
[1:02:11] None of us had anything to do
[1:02:13] with that but sadly it went the
[1:02:17] wrong way from the beginning.
[1:02:19] But I think when those
[1:02:20] decisions were made during the
[1:02:22] crisis of 2008 obviously people
[1:02:24] lost confidence because when
[1:02:27] you move use money you promise
[1:02:28] for something else the voters
[1:02:29] as you fool me once, you're not
[1:02:31] going to fool me again this is
[1:02:33] what we talk about when we talk
[1:02:34] about these tid dollars is we
[1:02:36] don't want to repeat that.
[1:02:38] The reason this county has been
[1:02:39] in a position with transit
[1:02:41] that's so difficult is because
[1:03:05] elected officials, transit
[1:03:06] takes 10 or 12 or 10 years
[1:03:08] before you see the results and
[1:03:09] that means you're not in office
[1:03:11] to benefit from the fruits of
[1:03:13] what happens but put that aside
[1:03:16] and make a difficult decision.
[1:03:17] I agree we need to have a plan.
[1:03:19] I will say I'm going to quote
[1:03:20] eisenhower, plans are useless
[1:03:23] but planning is essential.
[1:03:24] Everybody knows the plan MAY
[1:03:26] not be perfect but if you don't
[1:03:28] even start thinking about it
[1:03:30] and what I've seen here and I'm
[1:03:31] speaking for myself is a lot of
[1:03:33] plans that just sat there and
[1:03:34] then we talk about it and
[1:03:36] that's it, we don't even know
[1:03:38] and another plan comes along
[1:03:39] five years later on the same
[1:03:41] thing and that's not what
[1:03:42] eisenhower meant.
[1:03:44] Things change within that plan
[1:03:45] but you've got to be planning
[1:03:47] because if not there's going to
[1:03:48] be a problem.
[1:03:50] The CHAIRMAN You'll have me on
[1:03:52] your side if we tried to get
[1:03:54] this transparency and before
[1:03:56] you go I'll be happy to back
[1:03:57] you up because that's what I
[1:03:59] felt from the beginning and as
[1:04:01] far as commissioner regalado
[1:04:03] before I forget she starts to
[1:04:04] like me again and I want to
[1:04:06] wish her happy birthday so I
[1:04:08] won't be able to be here when
[1:04:09] she's here, early birthday to
[1:04:10] her.
[1:04:11] >>commissioner regalado: I
[1:04:13] don't get to share it with you,
[1:04:15] usually I met a bcc meeting
[1:04:16] with a cake.
[1:04:17] >>chair: darn.
[1:04:19] >>commissioner regalado: that's
[1:04:20] what happens when your birthday
[1:04:22] is so close to the budget
[1:04:22] break.
[1:04:24] >>chair: on the tid, when you
[1:04:32] are raiding the tid, why
[1:04:33] wouldn't it be a son?
[1:04:35] >> we had a similar
[1:04:36] conversation and mayor, asked
[1:04:38] the board to consider the gas
[1:04:40] tax and she was rejected.
[1:04:42] She asked the board to consider
[1:04:43] fairs to consider solving some
[1:04:46] of this in balance.
[1:04:56] That's why it was rated then
[1:04:58] and she's going to put out a
[1:04:59] budget that is not going to
[1:05:01] propose any tax increases or
[1:05:02] fare increases and the only way
[1:05:09] to make the imbalance is the
[1:05:09] tid.
[1:05:11] >>chair: you didn't actually
[1:05:13] answer the question, former
[1:05:14] trial attorney I'd like you to
[1:05:16] answer the question then you
[1:05:17] can go into the soliloquy.
[1:05:30] why is the raiding the tid not
[1:05:31] a loan from the tid to the
[1:05:32] general fund?
[1:05:34] Like last year you took the
[1:05:35] money, it's like strong arm
[1:05:37] robbery but the loan is you
[1:05:39] borrow the money.
[1:05:39] You can over time pay it back.
[1:05:41] I know when I was in miami
[1:05:43] gardens at one point before I
[1:05:45] got all the development getting
[1:05:47] the general fund had the I
[1:05:49] guess our version of our er, we
[1:05:51] had to loan them money but when
[1:05:53] I got development kicking they
[1:05:54] paid it back.
[1:05:56] Why are you taking it instead
[1:06:10] of borrowing it?
[1:06:12] >> we have not considered that,
[1:06:14] I've not had that discussion.
[1:06:15] I'm happy to have the
[1:06:15] discussion.
[1:06:17] I would point out the obvious
[1:06:19] challenge is we are so
[1:06:20] imbalanced now we don't have a
[1:06:22] path to breakeven much less pay
[1:06:24] something back but I didn't
[1:06:25] wouldn't be opposed to
[1:06:27] attempting a plan but the plan
[1:06:29] MAY include fare increases or
[1:06:31] implementing charges that
[1:06:33] historically we've not been
[1:06:33] allowed.
[1:06:35] >chair: but then you also
[1:06:36] don't know what happens.
[1:06:38] The challenge with the rtz when
[1:06:40] she talks about we need to look
[1:06:42] at what we can do with it we
[1:06:44] understand the challenge, that
[1:06:45] people in the corridor don't
[1:06:47] want to build density.
[1:06:48] So we've left the option for us
[1:06:50] to come back and oppose it if
[1:06:52] we want to so future boards
[1:06:53] can't impose that.
[1:06:55] But we haven't gone that route.
[1:06:57] Things will happen and there
[1:06:58] will be more money that comes
[1:07:00] in but the question just being
[1:07:02] even if we adjust the
[1:07:03] percentages of what comes from
[1:07:05] the tid there are things you
[1:07:07] can do in the future to reclaim
[1:07:09] some of that money if it's a
[1:07:09] loan.
[1:07:10] But if we're just giving it to
[1:07:11] you.
[1:07:12] And also it being a loan helps
[1:07:30] from my perspective because
[1:07:31] it's very difficult for me to
[1:07:33] reconcile the fact that I told
[1:07:35] people this would go into the
[1:07:36] fund that would help with rapid
[1:07:38] mass transit and I let you read
[1:07:38] it.
[1:07:40] Last year was an emergency, I
[1:07:42] explained but I can't explain
[1:07:44] an emergency two years in a
[1:07:45] row, that's a challenge so I
[1:07:47] don't like doing that.
[1:07:48] That is the challenge.
[1:07:50] Everyone here and everyone
[1:07:52] watching these are the candid
[1:07:54] conversations.
[1:08:10] That I have with the
[1:08:12] administration behind closed
[1:08:12] doors.
[1:08:14] We don't have an opportunity to
[1:08:16] speak behind closed doors but
[1:08:16] this is it.
[1:08:18] So I understand their need is
[1:08:19] actually pressing.
[1:08:22] It is not an insignificant or
[1:08:23] trifling need.
[1:08:24] There is an actual problem.
[1:08:26] They are solving a problem,
[1:08:27] this is the only way they think
[1:08:29] they can solve it because the
[1:08:33] board to your acknowledgment is
[1:08:34] not allowed you to raise fairs,
[1:08:36] I understand that.
[1:08:37] But two things can be true at
[1:08:38] the same time.
[1:08:40] That can be true and also one
[1:08:41] can be true as I told the
[1:08:43] resident if they pull this out
[1:08:45] and it goes into the tid you
[1:08:46] can bank money for rapid mass
[1:08:48] transit, that's true to.
[1:08:50] >>commissioner regalado: to
[1:08:52] follow-up, my cities it's been
[1:08:53] paid in full but they've
[1:08:55] managed our zoning permit coral
[1:08:57] gables created their own rtz
[1:08:58] overlay which we helped them
[1:09:00] create in their doing that.
[1:09:02] South miami meant our zoning so
[1:09:03] along the corridor I've asked
[1:09:05] our partners to suffer this
[1:09:07] density in the name of a
[1:09:08] comprehensive transit plan.
[1:09:10] So I agree with you, the
[1:09:11] question is what are our
[1:09:19] revenue sources in the future?
[1:09:20] Like what can we do?
[1:09:22] It's very difficult for me to
[1:09:24] go back to my residence and say
[1:09:26] you are suffering density along
[1:09:30] this corridor, you're building
[1:09:31] the tid and we are paying for
[1:09:33] people to have subsidized metro
[1:09:33] connect.
[1:09:35] The fact that we've spent 32
[1:09:37] million on that over the last
[1:09:38] four years, now they are paying
[1:09:40] something but it's still a huge
[1:09:41] subsidy.
[1:09:42] For someone in my corridor they
[1:09:46] are like, we would like to have
[1:09:48] transit that goes countywide,
[1:09:50] we are suffering the density
[1:09:52] but somewhere in that either
[1:09:56] someone is doing something
[1:09:56] else.
[1:09:57] I'll give you an example.
[1:09:59] At tri-rail we got fdot money
[1:10:01] to do first and last mile and
[1:10:08] contracted with uber and my
[1:10:09] board wanted to do something
[1:10:11] similar and I was against it.
[1:10:13] Instead of subsidizing the full
[1:10:15] ride we gave people a five
[1:10:16] dollar credit if they were
[1:10:25] going to go beyond five dollars
[1:10:26] that was on them, not me.
[1:10:27] It's insane that we do it the
[1:10:29] other way around so we are
[1:10:30] having the user pay 350
[1:10:31] subsidized what the difference
[1:10:33] is irrespective of what the
[1:10:35] difference is even at tri-rail
[1:10:37] we did this for a year.
[1:10:38] We follow the mystics, and when
[1:10:40] it came back and we looked at
[1:10:42] what we were investing versus
[1:10:44] what we were getting we decided
[1:10:46] to give the money back to fdot
[1:10:48] and canceled it and only kept
[1:10:50] ourselves at the airport which
[1:10:52] was not an easy thing to do.
[1:10:53] You can invert metro connect
[1:10:55] and say this is the line item,
[1:10:57] this is what we are doing.
[1:11:21] We will give you a credit and
[1:11:22] you deal with the rest.
[1:11:24] Or you can shrink the geography
[1:11:26] of it so that is meeting its
[1:11:26] needs.
[1:11:28] But the reason we are in this
[1:11:30] conversation is because we
[1:11:31] canceled bus routes and now
[1:11:33] we're going to subsidized metro
[1:11:34] connect so we can cancel more
[1:11:35] bus routes?
[1:11:37] Then what do we do, come back
[1:11:38] and say we need more metro
[1:11:40] connect to deal with the
[1:11:41] canceled bus routes?
[1:11:42] It's madness.
[1:11:44] So I think we should look into
[1:11:46] some sort of mechanism that
[1:11:47] brings the money back in order
[1:11:49] to do that we need to have a
[1:11:51] conversation about revenue
[1:11:52] generation and that means
[1:11:54] putting a pin in some of these
[1:11:54] things.
[1:11:56] We've got a tourniquet here and
[1:11:57] we're bleeding out.
[1:11:59] And we need to be honest about
[1:12:01] our priorities are and those
[1:12:02] priorities should be buses, we
[1:12:05] should prioritize buses over
[1:12:05] alternatives to buses.
[1:12:07] Then we need to figure out what
[1:12:09] we are actually building and
[1:12:10] what we are doing.
[1:12:12] And how we can get some easy
[1:12:13] wins in terms of transit and I
[1:12:15] think we can do some of that in
[1:12:17] the next few months as we look
[1:12:19] into this budget and create
[1:12:21] some revenue generation.
[1:12:23] >>chair: to the attorney, do we
[1:12:25] have language, you can read to
[1:12:33] us and see if we can bring the
[1:12:33] item.
[1:12:35] >> the motion would be too
[1:12:41] amend item 1g1 to provide
[1:12:52] municipal circulator service be
[1:12:53] operated until such vehicles
[1:12:55] reach 20 model years of age.
[1:12:57] He change would only apply to
[1:12:59] municipal circulator vehicles
[1:13:01] and not fixed road vehicles in
[1:13:03] reference to 350,000 miles will
[1:13:13] be stricken from the ordinance.
[1:13:15] >>commissioner regalado: the
[1:13:16] city of miami's issue is
[1:13:18] because remember this was from
[1:13:20] coral gables, coral gables has
[1:13:21] short routes so their mileage
[1:13:23] is low.
[1:13:24] City of miami travels a lot
[1:13:25] more, their mileage is high
[1:13:27] they are less than 20 years old
[1:13:29] so if we take out the 350,000
[1:13:30] mileage issue it's good with
[1:13:31] the city of miami.
[1:13:34] I want to make sure it doesn't
[1:13:35] impact us so if it's
[1:13:36] municipalities.
[1:13:38] >> with this change it would
[1:13:40] apply to municipal circulators.
[1:13:42] >>chair: show the item amended
[1:13:43] and I will need a motion.
[1:13:43] S
[1:13:46] amended, seconded by bermudez,
[1:13:48] ordinance or right resolution?
[1:13:49] Call the roll.
[1:13:51] >>commissioner bastien:
[1:13:54] >>commissioner bermudez: yes.
[1:13:55] >>commissioner regalado: yes as
[1:13:56] amended.
[1:13:57] >>chair:
[1:13:59] >> motion passes unanimously.
[1:14:01] >>commissioner regalado: I need
[1:14:08] to move 2a to our next bcc
[1:14:09] because of the gap.
[1:14:09] 'm happy
[1:14:15] to draft the memo.
[1:14:17] 2a is a interlocal agreement
[1:14:19] between miami dade county and
[1:14:21] the village of key biscayne for
[1:14:22] the e bikes.
[1:14:25] Perfect, thank you.
[1:14:33] >> I'd like to add request 3k
[1:14:35] to advance and we will draft a
[1:14:38] memo for your consideration.
[1:14:39] >>commissioner regalado:
[1:14:44] please, pretty please.
[1:14:45] JULY.
[1:14:46] And I'm committed to helping
[1:14:50] transit while you are gone,
[1:14:51] committed.
[1:14:53] >>commissioner bermudez: the
[1:14:55] letters say she has committed
[1:14:56] to helping transit because all
[1:14:58] of us are committed to helping
[1:15:00] transit while you are gone,
[1:15:03] she's trying to butter you up.
[1:15:05] >>chair: I credit stacy with
[1:15:06] this, she called at 7:41 in the
[1:15:13] morning pleading this case.
[1:15:15] >> you don't answer my calls at
[1:15:30] 7:41 but you answer hers?
[1:15:32] >>chair: is called caller id,
[1:15:34] she calls a lot less frequently
[1:15:35] than you do so you can wait
[1:15:37] until 10, she's calling at 7:41
[1:15:39] it is a pressing issue, I might
[1:15:41] have a bus on fire if she calls
[1:15:41] at 7:41.
[1:15:43] I guess we will move it ahead.
[1:15:45] You've got to draft a memo.
[1:15:46] Happy birthday but let's
[1:15:48] remember that CHAIRMAN's office
[1:15:49] has to approve this.
[1:15:51] I'm just recommending it, thank
[1:15:52] you all.
[1:15:54] So anything additional?
[1:15:56] Need a motion to adjourn.
[1:16:27] Show us adjourned, thank you.