2013-0516 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes:Regular City Commission Meeting May 16.2013 City of Sunny Isles Beach.Florida Mayor Edelcup said this is a topic that is appropriate to bring up now with the development of Gateway Park and the entranceway to our City. When he called him a couple of weeks ago it jogged his memory of a conversation he had with Danny Iglesias some years back about seeing what we can do about lighting the bridges, at least as a beginning step toward doing some beautification projects in and around the City. He thanked Mr. Kaufman, and said he thinks that we should explore the feasibility of doing something like this in the City. Vice Mayor Aelion said regarding the underbelly of the causeway bridge, the last time he checked it, it needed some attention. Would that interfere with the undertaking of such a project? Danny Iglesias said that is a very good point because when you light something,you have to be careful what you want to light, if the bridge is rusty. you are going to light a rusty bridge. When you do these lights you do it at a strategic location that it doesn't undermine the routine maintenance of that structure. Generally for example the MacArthur Causeway Bridge, the Port of Miami, those are concrete structures and are tolerant to salt, and so when you are lighting it up, you are lighting up a very pretty bridge. There are certain areas of certain structures you can light and maintain its visual integrity. Jerry Kaufman said the challenge is how extensive the lighting would be as opposed to whether or not, because these bridges need to be maintained and scraped and painted periodically as does the Lehman Causeway Bridge does with its underbelly which is all made out of steel. But it can be done very easily, and the light would not necessarily affect any resident living in the neighboring area. The challenge is not going to be overwhelming and will not be a hardship. The expense to install depends upon how elaborate you want to get, and the savings on that can overlay itself. You could do two studies simultaneously.one on the bridge, and if you want to do the Park, and how it would affect lighting in the City because he thinks it will change what you are paying now dramatically,and the estimates that he has gotten from many consultants is about 400% savings. Vice Mayor Aelion said being that Sunny Isles Beach is a tourist destination for over one million tourists a year,this would be a tremendous attraction. Commissioner Scholl said that the Pier may offer something but we don't have a lot of vista with our bridges like the ones downtown. He can see doing something interesting with the bridge but he doesn't know if we want to go for broke on the bridge but as a Park feature it is interesting. Where Jerry Kaufman is going on the savings on the streetlights, he thinks we will have to figure that out with FDOT on Collins. That is an economic equation but not necessarily a tourist attraction. Jerry Kaufman said he has taken photos of the underbelly and all angles of the bridge. If you look at all the palm trees that you have installed in the median and see how those can be wrapped permanently. Also, if you look at the stretch from Haulover Park to the northern end of Sunny Isles Beach, it is a straight line. There are communities now using LEDs that go into the pavement with permission of local FDOT, these lights would then emit low emissions of light during the day and glow a bit brighter at night and literally light up the streetscape along the roadway system. There are a lot of applications, it is just a question of do you have the will and the wherewithal to create the Committee. Mayor Edelcup said to carry it further, our recommendation would be for the City Manager to look into this, create a Committee if you so desire, and report back to us. The idea seems 13