2016-0121 Regular City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes:Regular City Commission Meeting January.21,2016 City of Sunny Isles Beach,Florida Commissioner Aelion said if you can scroll back between the required and the revised or adjusted to shared, for handicapped, are we talking between 189 to 153, in other words we only have 36 parking spaces to have a full capacity? What would be the full capacity parking if we had to advocate each space according to Code, what would be the big number? Mr. Rathore said if you could look at it right now, it is 217, and we are providing 163 shared parking spaces. Mr. Kline said we should add that we are providing 147 cars in the new project garage, and we are relying on 6 cars through unity of title with its property for that difference. Commissioner Aelion said then that is 64 shared parking spaces that are being compromised, and Mr. Kline said your calculation on the shared, that is a reduction. Mr. Rathore said right, we have 153 as shared, and Commissioner Aelion said then that we are short 64 spaces under the required. Ms. Hasbun said yes, that is correct. Commissioner Levin asked why was the decision made not to build more parking,why aren't we just making the building bigger and making more parking available? Mr. Kline said it came about because we decided at an additional cost to do one basement level of parking, it is more expensive to go into the ground, and we thought then how much additional parking can we put on the site to the north. We decided we would do one level of parking above grade, and so that first story is parking. The school starts essentially on the second level. When we tried to add another level of parking, then you are asking students to climb two levels into the school. We thought it detached the function and the quality of the school too much from the street. We realized it is urban and there is going to be a competition for parking but at the same time there are amenities, there are shared parking, we hope there is encouragement for shuttle buses when the theater is going and you have City Hall functions at the same time, there needs to be that accommodation. We realize it is a challenge. City Manager Russo said another way to look at this aside from all these counts,the reality is fundamentally we are running everything here now that is going to be run with this addition. When you reduce the school count by eliminating the overcrowded classroom,and you factor in the fact that the seniors are meeting here now as it is. The one significant factor left is this auditorium, and our challenge will be to schedule that auditorium for special events, and he is talking special events beyond the seniors, 100 plus of them are here for lunch once a month. When he clears out the City Hall garage to park the 60 vehicles that we have sitting there seven(7)days a week in the lower underground level,he thinks you are going to see an absolute marked improvement to the ability to conveniently park here in general. The challenge is when we schedule an event above and beyond what he just said in that auditorium. That is going to be a challenge and hopefully down the road we can achieve some other parking. Commissioner Aelion noted also that many vehicles leave the garage after 5:00 p.m. City Manager Russo said the one agreement that we do have, and this is a verbal agreement but we take their word, that it will not be leased out,that is going to be the corporate offices of the entity that is buying the three (3) floors. Mayor Scholl noted that we also have street parking along Atlantic Boulevard, and it is an urban landscape, so the bottom line is that we think we have got it covered but you can't go down another level without the expense going up,and if you take it up another level you will get kids to go up the stairs as kids don't take elevators. 17