2008 0208 Special City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting February 8, 2008 the $7 Million Do liars or the $12 Million Dollars, he is not in this fight Over money necessary, so even if we were to win the case, Mr. Katz would probably appeal the case if he felt the judge made an error that affected the outcome of the trial that suggested that we won, and so the issue of the appeal is not an unlikely scenario that he believes that underscores the reasonableness of the settlement and the costs associated to that relati ve to additional fees that they would have to be paid. He said that he feels that this would be a good settlement on behalf of the City. City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida Mayor Edelcup thanked Mr. Calloway for the sununation that he made of this and made a complicated issue a lot clearer for our Commissioners. Mayor Edelcup recognized that Mr. Ranaan Katz came into the room and is now attending this hearing. Commissioner Scholl asked City Attorney what he would estimate OUr legal fees to date are, and City Attorney Ottinot said he would estimate in just legal fees, between $150,000 to $200,000. Commissioner Scholl said that we are prepared for trial now which is scheduled on Monday which will be ano ther 7 days of trial and the possibili ty of an appeal according to Mr. Calloway, and City Attorney Ottinot said that is correct, if we went to trial on Monday, the legal fees will increase, and Mr. Calloway is prepared for trial, and he noted that his time and efforts which is part of the trial is not eVen part of this equation. Commissioner Scholl asked what percentage of Code violations do we typically waive, and City Attorney Ottinot said generally you have a settlement around 5% or 10% of the total amount of fines, and with respect to this case, at one time there was a settlement for $30,000 that settled all the existing Code violations on Mr. Katz' property. Commissioner Scholl asked if we are opening oursel ves up to selecti ve enforcement claims by other property owners when we give Mr. Katz a card out against the one side rule. City Attorney Ottinot said no, that we have a unique situation in this case, in fact, Mr. Katz has given more away than the settlement that we have done in the past, Mr. Katz settlement was through mediation, in fact Mr. Katz wanted more than $7 Million Dollars, so we were able to use the Code Enforcement fine as a leverage to get to the number that was acceptable to the City. Commissioner Scho II asked when will we get possession of the property, based on the tenant, and City Attorney Ottinot said that we have a lease agreement with Vanguard/Alamo, and in 2009 we have a right to teminate that lease agreement however, we would have to compensate them as part of the settlement in this eminent domain case, we had settled the lease-hold interest for that property for around $450,000.00, and we have paid between $ 150- 180, nevertheless, Vanguard is paying rent to the City which is around $6,000 _ $7,000 a month for using 50% ofthe property. There is a payment formula within the lease contract and we will also have to provide them with relocation costs under Florida law. Commissioner Scholl said the law is written in such a way that for the property owner it really doesn't pay not to fight, and it should be that way simply because we don't want the government indiscriminately going out and taking people's property, it is an onerous process for the government to take property, at the Same time there is a process in place, and the property owner has the right to take the government to the max, and because ultimately he is getting his fees paid, so with that in mind, he is in favor of the settlement. Commissioner Brezin said when she put the facts together as to what our overall costs would be, and there is a certain amount of gam ble involved when you go before a jury, and she came to the conclusion that she would favor the settlement, and she thanked Mr. Calloway for 4