2015-0319 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes:Regular City Commission Meeting March 19.2015 City of Sunny Isles Beach.Florida Street paved from curb, as much as we have there, and certainly we can make it wider than what it is right now but he does not know if it is enough. Public Works Director Bill Evans said the grass strip is a foot wide but the ADA and the County allows us to use the 6-inch header on top of the curb, and so if you factor that in, that gives us another 18 inches which will make us at 6.5 feet, we will still need to come up with another foot and a half. City Manager Russo asked how wide it is where they plan the trail,and Mr. Evans said 8-foot and they are called "Hike and Bike Trails". City Manager Russo said the other thing to keep in mind is, regardless of what we do bicycles are allowed anywhere,and so they are going to be on any street. Vice Mayor Gatto asked the City Manager if he is proposing to put bike lanes on the sidewalk in lieu of the grass? City Manager Russo said he is suggesting we pave the sidewalk to the maximum width that we can at \Vinston Towers, meaning that strip,and do it right from the curb over, and the other thing going from North Bay Road east to Collins Avenue on 174th Street is temporary, granted it could be there for five(5)years. We already have a couple of other issues, and this is an issue for another time but we are going to be opening bids on the Emergency/Pedestrian Bridge next month. Commissioner Aelion said he wants to mention a situation on I74th Street, if we intend to widen the sidewalk then you have an issue, the grass is property line of condo, and the trees, specifically on the 100-foot stretch from the 400 Building up to Collins Avenue belongs to the Association and it would be very hard to come and ask for an easement on that without having issues. Vice Mayor Gatto asked him if he was talking about the north side because the north side does not come into play here,and Commissioner Aelion said yes,he was. City Manager Russo said the reason we are talking about only the south side is because the south side ties in nicely with one less intersection for people on bicycles to cross. Mr. Evans said it is easier to take that one-foot grass strip which is hard to maintain anyway, and widen it and utilize that area on the south side than it would be on the north side. Commissioner Levin asked if we are allowed to make people walk their bicycles in certain areas rather than ride them? City Manager Russo did not think we could, and he knows we can't do it on a State Road because the State allows bicycles, and we cannot supersede the State, and City Attorney Ottinot said that is correct. Mayor Scholl said he agrees with Vice Mayor Gatto that it is not a good situation but as Commissioner Aelion said he thinks we are doing the lesser of two evils here because ultimately leaving folks on Collins Avenue because of 174th Street,he questions the sanity of that too. Unfortunately again, we are trying to create a condition in a City that has natural constraints because of the narrowness of the City and the limited interior roadways,and so he thinks it is commendable that we are trying to come up with a bike route in the first place. He asked what we are looking for today, and City Manager Russo said we can come back to the Commission and look at final plans, and probably with a budget number and we may need to move some money around. Mayor Scholl said he thinks you hear where the pockets of concerns are from and he thinks you can go back to those individuals and talk about those concerns and maybe work it out. City Manager Russo said would compromise be something like knowing full well and not suggesting we change anything with what we do for all the buildings especially \Vinston Towers that when there is construction that requires them to close their garages,etc.,and we 16