2016-0121 Regular City Commission Meeting

Home Browse Search

Summary Minutes:Regular City Commission Meeting January.21,2016 City of Sunny Isles Beach,Florida Mr. Kline said if he can elaborate to Commissioner Levin's question, when you look at the sections that we have done one level into the earth for parking and we have come up one level, and so we didn't see in terms of the quality of the educational space, having children climb up two levels. By the same token, and we did explore it, could you put the school on the ground and then put parking above. Commissioner Levin said then put the parking all the way through. Mr. Kline said but then there is no natural light, there is no ventilation, and Commissioner Levin said no, she meant all the way from Atlantic to Collins. Mr. Kline said we are doing that at the basement level but we still have to set that back and have lobby and amenities. It is a very challenging site and we are trying to squeeze every part of parking and program that we can. He said it is very harmonious with the existing Government Center but it is a challenge to put all that program there. Mayor Scholl said to Larry's point, the value of the site was the fact that it is contiguous to this building and this facility, and so we are able to leverage off above, because most of the time at night this is empty,and so the fact that the parking here is empty at night so when we do have programming in that auditorium they are going to park in the building, or park next door, or park in the street, and as Larry pointed out, hopefully we will also use our transportation system. As you know,his pet peeve is if the kids going to that school lived in the neighborhood we wouldn't have 600 cars here in the morning. He is working on that and obviously it made the State of the City Address as he is so frustrated about it but he is passionate about it at the same time. He thinks how the building is designed, that they did another great job. Commissioner Levin said the City Manager had said he was going to move all the vehicles to the other building, and City Manager Russo said yes, we have literally about 60 vehicles between all our various departments that are here seven(7)days a week. If you come in here on a Saturday afternoon or early Sunday morning and count how many vehicles are in that garage, there are a lot. If we move them out to a separate section in this sub-basement level with the convenience of the breezeway attachment to the new building, and the access to everything that is still going on in this building which is the majority of our government services. He thinks it is going to feel like we freed up parking more than anything else. Mr. Kline said the basement level parking is tandem parking, and the greatest use of that tandem are for the Police vehicles which may not be moved as often and so when you have one car parked in front of another it is not as great of an inconvenience. Commissioner Levin said before she forgets, this is Sara Giraldo, she is the Secretary of the Student Government Association over at the school, and she invited her to come tonight. Commissioner Levin said just a couple of minor questions that she was curious about when she was looking at the plans. Outside of the theater, there is a staircase, is that going to be a staircase that is going to be finished and people are going to be able to walk up and down from the first floor to the mezzanine? Mr. Kline said absolutely, we are still working on the interior finishes and we will bring that to you at the next presentation. Right now we are looking probably at something similar to what we have here,terrazzo for the main,it is great as an image, it is durable, and so the escalators will take you from ground up that first level, and then that stair will take you up an additional level into the theater. 18