Directors/Alternates Present

Paul Lewin/Brickell Bay Club

Mac Seligman/Brickell Townhouse

Keith A. Reynolds/Brickell Key One

Yvonne Oppenheim/25 Bay Tower

Berdie Archer/Brickell Harbour

Ronald K. Smith, Esq./Villa Regina

Veena Panjabi, Janice Jones/The Palace

Harry Thal/Bristol Tower

Bruce Cotten/2000 Brickell

Joe Guerra, Carolee McIntire/Brickell Mar

T. Sinclair (Tory) Jacobs/Brickell 25

Public Officials Present

Commissioner J.L. Plummer Jr./City of Miami Commisssioner

Joe Sanchez/City of Miami

Lt. Hector Mirabile, Officer Jeffrey Giordano/MPD

James J. Kay/Director of Public Works City of Miami

Ann Sterling, Annie Quintana/Commission Plummer's staff

Christina Bahamonde/Mayor Carollo's staff

Alex Diaz/Commissioner Jimmy Morales' staff

Tony Wagner/Coral Way NET

Pat Quintana/City of Miami Parks Dept.

Also Present

John A. Holzberg/President, Brickell Area Association

Ralph Slonim, MD/Villa Regina

Mike Glogower/The Palace

Julio Estay, Pedro Rangel/Brickell Bay Club

Melvin Frankel, Esq./Brickell Neighborhood PAC

Natalie Brown/Communications Plus

The meeting was called to order at 6:15 p.m.

Ron Smith moved and Mac Seligman seconded that the reading of the September Board Meeting and October Special Board Meeting minutes be waived and the minutes accepted as published. The motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner JL Plummer Report

Brickell Medians - These fall under the direction of Jim Kay of Public Works. In the short term, they need to be cleaned up from Hurricane Irene. The long range plan to is to apply for a State beautifica

tion grant in early February, for which nearly final plans are needed. A national firm was chosen to help with the plan. Plummer suggests workshop kind of meeting with BHA residents and concerned parties.

Hurricane Irene - congrats to city departments for speedy clearing of roadways and debris.

1900 Brickell Ave. - the owners got a lot of special considerations when they applied for zoning changes and permits to make the residence into a plastic surgeon's office, and "they have breached everything we have asked them to do." The matter has been turned over to code enforcement.

Airplane Noise - there are 13 monitors around the area. There is no problem with the airlines, but the "reluctance we're finding is still with the FAA." The test program, when approved, will still only be in effect from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. representing only 6% of flights; need full 24-hour test.

Decoy Police Cars - in the Brickell area to help deter crime.

President's Report

Hampton Inn addition - BHA asked Hampton Inn to add covenants in its special zoning permit that it would never go above 5 stories, which they agreed to. BHA is watchful that the Hampton Inn expansion doesn't lead to reclassification along the entire west side of Brickell.

Trees Removed from The Metropolitan property - Three large trees on a SE 25th Road median were removed without notice to the neighbors. The company got mitigation to replace the hardwoods with royal plams, but this may not be in keeping with the canopy nature of the neighborhood.

Security Seminar - possibly in January.

Hurricane Safety - questions about furniture on terraces. Each condo has the right to go into a unit to remove it in order to protect the building.

NET Report - Tony Wagner

Brickell area construction signs that don't meet code requirements are coming down.

Metropolitan Trees Removed - What went wrong that neighbors weren't notified? The NET office should have heard from the City Department about it in order to facilitate notice to neighbors. Some step along the way was missed and the NET didn't know about it.

Report on the Brickell Neighborhood PAC from Mel Frankel

The BHA allocated $5,000 to the NO! PAC efforts and up to an additional $5,000 if needed, to the Brickell Neighborhood PAC and/or the NO! PAC. Most believe the question lies in the hands of Spanish-language voters, so money is being spent by both sides on Spanish radio. The lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of Amendment #1 is being pursued. All representatives asked to participate in the Get Out the Vote drive, ask people to pass literature out, support the firefighters' efforts to distribute door hangers.

Brickell Neighborhood PAC Fundraising Drive - To date more than $5,000 has been raised in the direct mail campaign that went to BHA residents and registered voters in BHA precincts.

Point View Gate Meeting

Tory Jacobs and John Holzberg of the BAA attended. Mr. Holzberg voiced a shared concern that no overall traffic study has been conducted about the impact of all the new development in the area.

Questions also remain about traffic possibly backing up and blocking Brickell Harbour access. Matters still to be resolved.

Police Report by Lt. Mirabile

Hurricane Irene took everyone by surprise and District 2 was the hardest hit.

Crime is down overall in Miami, although August saw an increase in auto thefts in the Brickell area.

Noise Complaints - Police are receiving consistent complaints coming in about construction noise before 8 a.m. There shouldn't be construction noise before 8 a.m.; the only waivers are for concrete pouring which begins at 7 a.m. Complaint calls should go to the non-emergency police department.

A radar gun obtained by Miami Police will be used in the Brickell area to clock and ticket speeders, especially around Rickenbacker Causeway.

"Zero Tolerance" areas were described as zones in which the police have decided that if a person does anything wrong, they must be cited/arrested...with no room for police discretion. There are some such areas around Coral Way and in nearby parks. The police also have a prostitution sting going around the SW 8th Street area that includes vehicle impoundment, a $1,000 fine to get one's car back and publicity on cable channel 9.

Miami Police Officer Jeff Giordano

A Halloween party is planned for Oct. 30th at Shenandoah Park. Auto engraving for identification will be offered during the morning.

Park Manager Patricia Quintana

Ms. Quintana spoke of the sponsorship BHA has provided in the past for the families of Southside students during the holidays and asked for continued support.

Ron Smith moved and Harry Thal seconded:

"BHA appropriate up to $300 for Southside Elementary holiday parties for underserved children and their families."

The motion passed unanimously.

Alex Diaz, Aide to Commissioner Morales

Airplane Noise Abatement - Jeff Bunting of MIA will be at the next BHA meeting, Mr. Diaz said, to give a report on airplane noise abatement efforts.

14th Street and Brickell Intersection - The County will study the feasibility of a traffic light at this intersection.

JL Plummer, Candidate for District 2

Commissioner Plummer gave a presentation on his campaign for reelection as Miami Commissioner.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m.

The next meeting is Nov. 17 at Perricone's Marketplace & Cafe.