MINUTES OF GMCA ADVISORY BOARD MEETING

DECEMBER 20, 2012

The meeting was called to order at 11:20 a.m. by President Pio Ieraci at Nick�s Italian Restaurant. A moment of silence was held for the recent Newtown, CT tragedy.

Board Members present: Ieraci, Berkowitz, Glickfield, Hamaker, McBride, Oppert, Adams, Bazerghi, Bendis, Bibace, Bloom, Casier, Cella, Freismuth, Friedman, Gabrielle, Goulding, Katkin, Katz, Kessler, Konstance, Larson, Lyons, Prickett-Zenni, Quintero, Rollo, Vanek and Vega.

Guests present: City of Fort Lauderdale District 1 Commissioner Bruce Roberts; District 4 Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca; District Director John Newstreet of Commissioner Chip LaMarca�s office; Officer Tom Gestal, Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

Approval of Minutes - Minutes of the November 15, 2012 Advisory Board meeting were approved.

Old and New Business

• Pio introduced Officer Tom Gestal of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. He reported that the crime rate statistics were good for Thanksgiving and thus far for the Holiday Season, although there was an increase in auto burglaries. When asked about the homeless situation, he stated that this issue is being addressed. Eric spoke about the adequacy of security lighting at the beach side of our buildings.

• Pio introduced Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Bruce Roberts, who shared the following:

  • Gave report on damage to the beach and A1A: metal sheets will be driven 45 feet into the beach 7 ft. east of A1A to isolate the roadway underpinnings from the beach; an emergency allotment of sand will extend beach adjacent to damaged roadway by 20 � 40 feet; a third turn lane will be added to the interim two lane road, a greenway extending north from Sunrise Blvd. will abut A1A; these improvements exemplify how a positive outcome was drawn from an emergency situation, etc.

  • Beach renourishment still on track for December 2013 start

  • Graffiti: Commission passed rule that if area is marked prior to contract being awarded, violators will be blackballed from bidding municipal jobs.

  • Turtle lighting: will be grandfathered in if lighting done according to FWC rules.

  • The fire station is going forward; outer design being worked on.

  • Announced Fort Lauderdale�s Downtown Countdown New Year�s Eve plans.

  • Spoke of event at Carter Park Athletic Field on January 4th at 1:00 p.m., sponsored by the Orange Bowl Committee.

  • The Annual Boat Parade was a huge success this year.

• Pio introduced Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca, who spoke about the following:

  • Aggressive panhandling ordinances/laws being passed/worked on.

  • Grand Prix: Could bring extensive cultural/economic activity to the area. County Commission asked Andretti Sports Marketing to rethink its $20 million investment request

  • Beach Renourishment: project will not be delayed; the money is in a reserve fund.

  • Explained time line of short and long term repair plans for beach and A1A after Superstorm Sandy and subsequent Thanksgiving Day Event flooding. FDOT proposed plans to resolve the problem � both financially and structurally.

  • Turtles and lighting: Beach renourishment comes first.

  • Budget threats to libraries and bus routes have abated.

• John Newstreet, Commissioner LaMarca�s District Director, reported on the sinkhole issue near the Fountainhead and the two blinking traffic lights on Galt Ocean Drive. What was thought to be a sinkhole is shifting sand caused by the storm which should fix itself in time. The blinking traffic lights are being handled by Commissioner Roberts� aide Robbi Uptegrove since they are the City�s responsibility.

• November 19, 2012 - Roberts: Explorers, Pill Mills, St. Marking - In his November 2012 message to constituents, District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts snapshots municipal and district issues heading into the holiday season. As affirmed in the September budget hearings, he laments a negligible tax rate increase to service City debt and applauds a revival of the FLPD Explorer program, which prepares young prospective police officers for life on the force. He explains technological advances in the City�s street resurfacing capabilities and reviews an ordinance that will diminish the adverse impacts of abandoned homes. Roberts updates an in-progress Galt Mile experiment that may resolve a statewide controversy over abuse of the One-Call utility marking system. He also briefly mentions a recent skirmish between the State and a local pill mill. This minor disruption to clinic operations brings focus to the tediously slow process of shutting down an industry that plants 14 Floridians each and every day.

• November 26, 2012 - Long & Short: A1A & Beach Fix Plans - Galt Mile residents have been living in Beach Renourishment hell for decades. In the 47 years since the Broward County Shore Protection Project was authorized by Section 301 of Public Law 89-298 (October 27, 1965), the initial $1,093,000 cost to rehabilitate the entire County coastline has exploded exponentially. If compared to the inflation-adjusted 1965 estimate of nearly $8 million, the current price tag of $90 million for Segments II and III suggests an $82 million �dawdling� penalty. In his November 2012 Newsletter, Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca outlines the undermining factors that have long plagued this project and explains how they have since been mollified. Mined from upland sources and trucked to staging sites in Pompano, LBTS, the Galt Mile and Fort Lauderdale, beach fill matched in size and color will fatten skeletal north county beaches while minimizing environmental, regulatory and political obstacles.

• December 8, 2012 - City and GMCA to Settle Turtle Woes - On October 30, as Hurricane Sandy was stripping beaches along the eastern Seaboard, City Manager Lee Feldman convened a round table meeting to examine a State (FWC) Sea Turtle nest marking policy that has soured neighborhoods, blistered tourism and turned the City�s signature resource into a battlefield. Additionally, the City�s poorly drafted 2003 Turtle-Safe Lighting Ordinance that forces the entire beach area into darkness for 75% of the year was fatally crippling the beach neighborhood�s viability as an economic engine, endangering drivers and pedestrians along A1A and opening serious security and safety breaches in beachfront residential communities. If unable to stem the growing problems, officials would have to reshape the ordinance to promote Sea Turtle survival without crippling the City or sacrificing its residents. Weeks later, City Code Enforcement officials met with Galt Mile representatives to revive an enforcement formula that elicited compliance by balancing the needs of Sea Turtles with those of local residents and their associations.

• December 17, 2012 - Presidents Council: Sea Turtles & Sandy - On December 3, 2012, the Galt Mile Community Association convened a 7:30 PM Presidents Council Meeting at Plaza East Condominium. After thanking Plaza East President Glenn Rollo for hosting the final meeting in 2012, Presidents Council Chair Pio Ieraci announced that the agenda was predominated by two issues that are critically important to Galt Mile residents and their associations. To address a growing community anger stemming from abusive and enigmatic Sea Turtle policies, an authoritative forum was configured to explain how these concerns will be resolved going forward. Since our future, both individually and as a community, is inextricably tied to the fate of our beach, we needed to know what remedies were being considered to restore Fort Lauderdale�s collapsed coast, 4 soggy blocks of A1A and what�s left of our Galt Mile beach.

Other Business

• Air & Sea Show will take place last week of April 2013 (April 20 � 21).

• Pio responded to a letter criticizing the 12/3/12 Galt Mile Association meeting for not addressing the Galt Mile�s damaged beach. He pointed out that it was addressed by Eric Myers and Lee Feldman as per the meeting agenda. He said that if the person who wrote the letter stayed for the entire meeting, that person would have known this.

• Pio also addressed the attempt by Ocean Summit resident (Dr. Stassis) to interfere with neighborhood�s beach maintenance service. The Beach Raker has resumed service.

• The Kim Bokamper building has received final approval. They will break ground by February 1, 2013 and expect to open in September 2013.

• Contract for Food & Wine Festival is being reviewed.

• Patricia Quintero thanked Pio for all he does that people are not aware of.

• Discussed ownership, operations, etc. of bankrupt Shooters/Bootlegger; The same management will continue operating the enterprise.

• Donna Oppert made a motion that we send a gift card to Robbi Uptegrove, Commissioner Roberts� Commission Aide. Ralph Hamaker seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved

Treasurer�s Report - Leah Glickfield

The treasurer�s report showed a balance of $13,248.20.

Next Advisory Board Meeting - The next regular Advisory Board Meeting will be held on Thursday, January 17, 2013 at Nick�s Italian Restaurant.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

Fern McBride
Fern McBride, Secretary

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