By Ben Torter

Michael Gongora plans to keep his job as a city commissioner. But his future at Becker & Poliakoff is undetermined.

By Ben Torter

Aiming at club cards strewn across the streets of South Beach, the Miami Beach City Commission voted into law a controversial ordinance that will impose large fines on establishments when their advertising fliers are found to be litter.

Since the ordinance’s first reading before the commission on May 16, an amendment was added that gives the city leeway to reduce per-flier fines for first offenses.

Under the new ordinance, a first offense for littering is punishable by a fine of $100 plus $50 per handbill. The second offense within the following 12 months will be $500 plus $50 per handbill. Third and subsequent offenses will cost $1,500 plus $50 per handbill.

“If there is a first offense there will be a $100 fine, but the $50 per handbill can be mitigated,” said Assistant City Manager Hilda Fernandez. What that means, Fernandez clarified, is the city could fine anywhere from zero to $50 per handbill, on a case-by-case basis for first offenses.

According to city code: “Litter means any paper, handbill, garbage, or other waste that has been placed or deposited and left on a public sidewalk, street, road, avenue, beach, swale, median, building, fence, wall, boardwalk, park, or any other public area, or on any object located on public property, or on the knee-wall, window ledge or sill of any public or private building, or on a motor vehicle or private property as prohibited by sections 46-117 and 46-118. Handbills attached to a trash receptacle, but not within the trash receptacle in the usual manner, shall also be considered litter.”

The public hearing on the subject brought out mixed feelings as to the constitutionality, enforceability and strength of the ordinance.

“We’ve arrived at what I feel is a fair balance,” said Steve Polisar, chairman of the city’s nightlife task force. Still, he said he gets a “shiver” up his spine whenever he sees government imposing huge fines that can hurt someone’s ability to do business.

David Kelsey, president of the South Beach Hotel and Restaurant Association, has been a vocal opponent of fining business owners if their handbills are found in the street, and says the new ordinance is unnecessary.

“We have a problem because there’s not enforcement,” Kelsey said. He said littered handbills are only the tip of the iceberg. He said one need simply walk Washington Avenue and observe urine-stained vagrants, crack dealers and gang-bangers etching tags into storefronts with acid, to realize beat cops — not more laws — are what is needed.

Henry Stolar, who lives at 1500 Ocean Drive, complained that the ordinance had been watered down since discussions began last year. Saying he’s been a card-carrying member of the ACLU for more than 30 years, Stolar disagreed with those who argue the ordinance goes against the First Amendment.

“It is directed at a handful of clubs who regularly throw handbills on the sidewalk with no effort to hand them to anyone,” Stolar said. He claimed that on more than one occasion he encountered club workers purposefully dropping handbills on the sidewalk. When he asked what they were doing, they allegedly answered that their bosses had told them to scatter the cards on the ground.

Immediately before the ordinance passed 6-0 (Commissioner Jerry Libbin was absent), Commissioner Saul Gross read from a May 3rd SunPost letter to the editor on the subject.

“My wife and I came down from Chicago for the weekend and the litter caused by the excessive amount of fliers strewn all over the street makes Miami Beach’s Art Deco district look like a cheap, low-class spring break destination,” Gross read. “I applaud [the city’s] efforts to reasonably curb this excess because I do not have a favorable impression of Miami Beach and will undoubtedly repeat this to friends and colleagues in Chicago, who in turn will think twice about spending their own time and money here. I was here a few years ago and the problem was not nearly as bad as it is now.”

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OK Mondrian

Some West Avenue residents feared Mondrian South Beach would become a noisy nightspot in condo-hotel clothing. In a new deal, much of that activity will be heading south, of the property.

The developers for Mondrian South Beach, a new hotel-condo development on West Avenue, went before the Miami Beach Design Review Board for the third time seeking approval for a new landscape plan for the property, Tuesday.

Representatives for the project told the board they had reached a settlement with the Mirador 1200 condominium association, located on the north side of the building and one of the resident groups that had previously objected to the Mondrian’s site plans.

As part of the settlement, both the condo association and the Mirador residents agreed to dismiss a rehearing petition on previous DRB approval of the site plan, and not to contest or oppose any applications submitted by the owner of the Mondrian relating to the project.

In return, the Mondrian owner, 1100 West Properties, L.L.C., agreed to concessions including limiting the number of tables and chairs at the pool area, and the hours of food and drink service; relocating the outdoor bar counter away from the Mirador to the south of the property, and not impeding access to a baywalk corridor during the day.

The settlement agreement did not sit well with DRB member Gabrielle Redfern, who said the DRB had gone through the project in bits and pieces, “and now we have a settlement agreement with one of the affected neighbors, but the fact that we have not heard from the other affected neighbors concerns me,” said Redfern.

“We have three entities, two in agreement to push everything to the third,” added Redfern, referring to the building south of the project where the outdoor bar would be closest, per the settlement agreement.

None of the residents from properties located on the south side of the Mondrian showed up to oppose the landscaping modifications presented to the DRB.

Board member Peter Chevalier reminded Redfern there were five public hearings on the project and notices were mailed to residents, who had the opportunity to appear before the board to voice their objections. “There’s nothing more we can do,” he said.

On hand to lend support for the project was Wendy Kallergis, president and CEO of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, who told the DRB that proprietors of the Mondrian had devoted “an enormous amount of time, dedication and contribution to the Chamber of Commerce to improve the quality of the city.”

The DRB unanimously approved the plans for the site on the condition that the owner change the acoustic plans for the property relating to the location, number and size of the speakers that would be used for outdoor entertainment.

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Not a ‘Kosher Election’

Losing Candidate Files Complaint

By Evan Berkowitz

Denis Neuhut

An unsuccessful candidate in the recent Bay Harbor Islands Town Council election has been contacting state and local election regulatory agencies because he believes confusion caused by voting machine computer software adversely affected the April 17 election.

“It just wasn’t a kosher election,” said Frances Neuhut, the wife of Dr. Denis Neuhut, who ran for an open seat.

In the recent race, two open BHI Town Council seats were sought by three candidates. They included Neuhut and incumbents Isaac Salver and Robert Yaffe, who have served on the council for eight years and 12 years respectively. Each will now serve another four-year term on the seven-member body.

According to the Neuhuts, the problems stemmed from the iVotronic computer screens prompting voters to vote for more than one candidate, when some of them wanted to vote for just one. In a system where the two candidates who receive the most votes win the seats, a vote for more than one person can be a vote against another, Frances Neuhut insisted.

The results of the election were Salver 357 votes, Yaffe 358 votes and Neuhut 259 votes. There were 197 votes cast as “undervotes.” Bay Harbor Islands has approximately 5,100 residents, approximately half of whom are registered voters. Just over 24 percent, 586 voters, turned out on April 17.

After consulting a lawyer, the Neuhuts mailed letters to both Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and Gov. Charlie Crist on May 5. In a May 11 reply, McCollum’s office recommended they contact another state agency, the Department of State’s Division of Elections, and the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections.

In the letter to Lester Sola, county Supervisor of Elections, Frances Neuhut described what she found on Election Day morning at Town Hall, 9665 Bay Harbor Terrace. “I arrived to cast my vote promptly at 7 a.m. Although I had voted in previous elections, this particular voting ballot appeared confusing. Therefore, I reported this to our Town Clerk, Marlene Marante, who then contacted Mr. Rodney J. Moore, Technical Training Specialist. Although we all had spoken about the confusion of the ballot, no action was taken,” she wrote.

In response to the Neuhuts’ complaints, Penelope “Penny” Townsley, Miami-Dade’s chief deputy supervisor of elections, explained that “the confusion you and other voters experienced during Bay Harbor’s April 17th election is due to the messages received when more than one candidate may be selected in a race and/or a voter selects fewer than the maximum number of votes allowed. You may be assured that Mr. Sola, the Supervisor of Elections, is concerned by this issue and has brought it to the attention of the State of Florida Division of Elections and the voting machine vendor. As a result, steps have been taken to ensure that message displays for future elections are clearer and “voter friendly.”

Frances Neuhut said nine people, including two former Town Council persons, whose names she would not reveal, complained to her about the computer forcing them to continue the voting process when they were done. Marante told the SunPost that Frances Neuhut was the only person who filed an official complaint. The town does not own any of the voting machines, Marante insisted, and there was nothing irregular about the undervote count.

Aurora Contreras, a 10-year resident of Bay Harbor Islands and a licensed architect in her native Venezuela, is involved in an effort to get the local Venezuelan expatriate community to vote and have their voices heard. Contreras said she heard that between 14 and 20 people, many of them elderly, complained about the machine “insisting” they vote for two candidates. In her opinion, the vote result, numbers, percentages, etc. do not make sense.

Denis Neuhut said he has no “high hopes” for the regulatory agencies to take much action on the matter. He said that if he runs for office again he would start campaigning earlier and probably hire a professional manager. “It’s very difficult running against incumbents,” he said.

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Aventura

 Curtain Call

Plans for Full-Fledged Performing Arts Center Shelved

Aventura officials reviewed a five-year capital improvement plan that does not include a proposed $10 million performing arts center, during a workshop meeting held last Thursday.

As expected since state legislators began discussing property tax reform proposals, the Aventura City Commission is considering lower-cost alternatives to building a performing arts center next to the Northeast Regional public library branch, which sustained severe hurricane damage in 2005.

Last year Mayor Susan Gottlieb proposed, and city officials approved, a plan to develop a performing arts center in conjunction with the library rebuilding project, partly funded with $4.7 million in proceeds of the county’s 2004 general obligation bond. But recent property tax proposals threaten to reduce revenue to Florida cities by as much as 20 percent, forcing Aventura officials to set their sights lower. So they decided to ask an architect to draw up plans for an auditorium or multipurpose center that could be built for a total of $5 million.

“It will be reduced and not quite as elaborate; it won’t be the theater we anticipated,” Gottlieb said. “It’s all predicated on the property tax cut. We’re trying to be prudent with the prospect of possibly deep property tax cuts.” Gottlieb also noted that the county has already committed to funding the library reconstruction project.

City Manager Eric Soroka agreed that proposed property tax cuts forced the decision. “The original concept of a performing arts center can’t go forward. If our revenues are cut back it will affect our ability to develop a PAC and cover operating costs. We have to focus on public safety and our existing responsibilities,” he said.

Soroka noted that a multipurpose building would cost much less to design and operate as specialized staff would not be needed between events.

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Everything’s Copacetic — Mostly

Point East Ends Spat With City Over Hurricane Repair Responsibility

Point East’s damaged seawall, as seen in 2005 after Hurricane Wilma struck South Florida.

By Randy Abraham

An expected showdown between Point East condo leaders and Aventura officials never materialized after an attorney representing the condo complex agreed in a May 19 City Commission workshop meeting that the city could not be held responsible for repairs to a Point East seawall damaged by Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

The agreement puts to rest a dispute that has been simmering since late 2005, and condo representatives said they want to put the disagreement behind them as they tackle the almost-$2 million repair project.

Point East, a community of 19 condominium buildings in the southern tip of Aventura, suffered major damage from Hurricane Wilma when a portion of the seawall that rings the sprawling complex of buildings collapsed.

Soon after the storm Abraham Moses Genen, a Point East resident and board member of Corporation 3, one of four governing boards for the 67-acre condo complex, claimed the city and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were responsible for helping the condo association pay for repairs, arguing that the seawall provided public safety.

The city disagreed, arguing that taxpayer funds shouldn’t be used to fix private property. FEMA also denied a request Genen filed for financial assistance.

The three other Point East condo association governing boards did not join Corporation 3 in its dispute with the city and FEMA. Earlier this year, the city notified property owners who had fallen behind on their repairs that they needed to complete such projects in a timely manner.

City Manager Eric Soroka said most building repairs have been completed or are under way throughout the city, and noted that Point East has applied to the county’s Department of Environmental Resources Management for permits to begin repairs on the seawall.

City officials and Genen had been exchanging letters for more than a year. Soroka said he was surprised, after Genen’s confrontational approach — most recently in the form of a letter to the editor published in the May 31 edition of the SunPost — when attorney Michael Rodriguez, representing Point East Corporation 3, on May 19 told city officials that he agreed with their interpretation of case law and agreed to resolve the dispute. “There was hardly any discussion,” said Soroka. “They requested sufficient time to make the repairs, and said they would make every effort.”

Mayor Susan Gottlieb said she welcomed the conciliatory approach. “Our contention was always what was best for the health, safety and welfare of the Point East residents. We’re not interested in carrying this (dispute) out, but want to see them repair their seawall. We don’t want to be punitive,” said Gottlieb.

Rodriguez said he was brought in a week before the meeting to review case law and examine the city’s position. “There’s no claim for the city to be responsible for the repairs; we concur with the city attorney’s position. There is no basis for responsibility on the part of the city for maintenance and repair of the seawall,” he said. “We were told there might be enforcement action by the city, and we want to protect the association from city enforcement actions,” added Rodriguez.

Luis Nunes, president of the Point East 3 Corporation, said the recent letter Genen wrote to the SunPost was based on Genen’s own opinions and did not reflect those of the entire governing board. “He was writing in his own name. You don’t see my signature on it; it was his own opinion. He [Genen] is a board member and he has advised us on some matters, and sometimes we followed his advice. But on this point we decided to find an expert,” said Nunes.

Genen noted that the city has only agreed to work with the condo association on the permitting issue and added that the matter of the city’s responsibility to help pay for the seawall repair, which he still maintains, has not yet been addressed.

“The City of Aventura is not off the hook in terms of law, ethics and the extent of their general liability,” Genen asserted in an e-mail. “Correctly, Point East has e[i]ther commenced litigation or is preparing to litigate several causes of action against several corporate or political entities. This will not happen overnight.” 

Nunes said repairs to the damaged stretch of the 1,100-foot seawall will cost an estimated $1.6 million and are the responsibility of Corporations 3 and 4. The portion of the seawall abutting Corporations 1 and 2 was not damaged, he said. Nunes said estimates project that Corporation 3 repairs will total $750,000, not including some sidewalk lighting also damaged by Hurricane Wilma. Nunes said DERM officials recently inspected the seawall; once they approve the repair application it will be forwarded to the city. He expects work to begin shortly and take five or six months to complete. “But one thing is certain: The city is not responsible for this,” Nunes said. “We are going to pay for it.”

Comments? E-mail letters@miamisunpost.com.

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