City of Miramar Commission Regular Meeting – March 1, 2023
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City of Miramar Commission Regular Meeting – March 1, 2023
The City of Miramar Commission held its regular meeting on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at 7:00 PM in the Commission Chambers. The meeting included presentations, approvals of consent items and a gas tax renewal resolution, and a quasi-judicial public hearing for a proposed Sam's Club gas station, which was deferred to May 17, 2023. No members of the public registered to speak.
Presentations & Proclamations
- Women's History Month (March 2023) – Proclamation presented by Vice Mayor Colbourne, accepted by Dr. Abreu on behalf of FIU's Dr. Lillian Lodge Copenhaver. All women in the chambers were recognized.
- International Women's Day (March 8, 2023) – Proclamation presented by Vice Mayor Colbourne, accepted by City Attorney Bernadette Norris-Weeks, acknowledging the work of the Women of Color Empowerment Institute.
- Procurement Month (March 2023) – Proclamation presented by Mayor Messam, accepted by Procurement Director Alicia Ayum and her team.
- Miramar High School Cheer Team – Triple Crown Champions – Recognized for winning Broward County District, Regional, and State championships. Coach Tanya Jones accepted.
- Presidential Service Award – Commission Davis presented awards to Miramar students Ariana Barronwall and Arna Barronwall for volunteer service.
- Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Presentation – Board Chair Synthia Parchment-Green and members highlighted recent park improvements (restrooms, walkways, playgrounds), current projects (new playground at Monarch Lake Park, water play feature at Silver Lakes Tennis Complex, resurfacing courts with LED lights, restroom renovations at Zanu Park), and the “One Community, One Goal” motto.
- COVID-19 & Emergency Management Update – Fire-Rescue Division Chief Tim Roche reported a continued downward trend in positivity rates; Broward County remains at a low (“green”) community level. No new local policy updates. Free testing available at Broward Library in Davie and via retail pharmacies. Dominant variant: XBB 1.5. RSV and influenza declining.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes of February 15, 2023 – Postponed to the March 15, 2023 meeting.
- Fire Station 107 Driveway Expansion (R7822) – Awarded to Emerald Construction Corporation d/b/a ECC Neucor Construction in an amount not to exceed $254,100 with a $15,000 contingency (total $269,100). Unanimously approved.
- Memorandum of Understanding with Broward College for the Broward UP Program (R7817) – Authorized the City Manager to execute. Unanimously approved.
The consent agenda was approved by a single motion with no discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
No members of the public registered to speak on any agenda item. During the quasi-judicial hearing, no residents appeared to speak in favor or opposition; the applicant noted that a required community meeting in July 2022 had no attendees despite mailed notices to property owners within 1,000 feet.
Resolution
- Local Option Gas Tax Renewal (R7826) – Treasurer Ian Evans-Smith presented the 2023 renewal of the “Additional” Three-Cent and early renewal of the “Transit” One-Cent Local Option Gas Tax Interlocal Agreements with Broward County, extending through December 31, 2053. The estimated annual revenue for FY2024 is approximately $1 million. The resolution was approved unanimously (5-0).
Quasi-Judicial Public Hearing – Sam's Club Fuel Service Station (Item #5)
Applicant: Sam's Club (represented by Wes Hevia of Ackerman LLP) seeks to add an eight-pump (16 fueling positions) gas station at the existing Sam's Club/Walmart site at the southwest corner of Pembroke Road and University Drive. Required approvals: Conditional Use, Site Plan, Community Appearance Board, and three variances:
- Allow a second fuel station within ¼ mile of the same intersection (existing gas station at that corner).
- Reduce setback from 200 feet to 154 feet from residentially-zoned property to the south.
- Allow operation from 6:00 AM instead of 7:00 AM, to align with store hours.
Staff (Assistant Director Nixon Lebrun) recommended approval, noting that the 90 parking spaces consumed would come from a surplus of 120, and no net increase in vehicle trips is expected since the use is ancillary to Sam's Club.
Commission Discussion:
- Multiple commissioners expressed concerns about: lack of community outreach (the required community meeting had no attendees; no residents spoke at the hearing), parking shortages during peak seasons, queuing impacts on University Drive (state road), adequacy of the setback buffer, and the need for information on other Sam's Club gas stations in the region.
- Commissioner Chambers initially stated he could not support the project without further review. Commissioner Barnes asked the applicant to proactively meet with residents. Vice Mayor Colbourne and Mayor Messam raised concerns about queuing and the need for traffic studies addressing internal and external impacts.
- Commissioner Davis requested data on similar stations and locations without gas stations.
- The applicant acknowledged the questions and requested a 60-day deferral to conduct community outreach and supplement the presentation.
Outcome: The Commission unanimously (5-0) voted to defer the item to the May 17, 2023 meeting to allow the applicant time to engage residents and provide additional analysis.
Commission Reports
- Commissioner Barnes: No report.
- Commissioner Davis: Thanked staff for organizing the Reggae Icon Awards, Selector Showdown, and Afro-Caribbean Festival. Announced Women's History Month display featuring female directors.
- Commissioner Chambers: Congratulated Commissioner Davis on events; acknowledged Vice Mayor Colbourne's return from Africa; recognized Celia Cruz being placed on U.S. currency; thanked staff and praised police and fire for their service.
- Vice Mayor Colbourne: Shared a resident's commendation of Officer Hilton for professionalism despite a citation; announced the annual Women's Luncheon on March 16th with guest speaker Ana Navarro; promoted Gloria Estefan's “On Your Feet” play at Miramar on March 10-11; highlighted the 10th Anniversary of Rhythms of Africa featuring Julian Marley with student performers from Everglades High School.
- City Manager Dr. Virgin: Thanked Parks and Recreation and Cultural Center staff for their work during Black History Month.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda approved unanimously.
- Resolution R7826 (Gas Tax Renewal) approved unanimously (5-0).
- Item #5 (Sam's Club Gas Station) deferred to May 17, 2023, by unanimous vote (5-0) to allow community outreach and additional analysis.
- Meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
By the Jamaica Tourist Board and is under the distinguished patronage of the Council General of Jamaica, Oliver Mayor. A special message will be shared by Jamaican Minister of Culture, Gender. I have never heard of that. I thought that this reservoir here just collected water magically from the rain. Good man, good, good, good, good. The meeting of the Myanmar City Commission is now called to order. An opportunity was given to the public to register to participate or email the city clerk 24 hours prior to the commission meeting with any questions, comments, concerns on items we will hear on this evening's agenda. Any person may be heard by the City Commission through the chair and upon registering, pursuant to the published notice for not more than three minutes on any proposition before the city commission, unless modified by the chair. This meeting is being streamed live at Miramar.gov backslash commission meeting and televise on Comcast Channel 78 and ATTU versus Channel 99 for all City of Miramar subscribers. As of March 1st, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. No members from the public have registered to participate virtually in this meeting. If someone has registered later than this time and would like to speak, they can raise their hand and at the appropriate time our IT staff will unmute their mic to allow them to speak. Please be sure to mention your name and address for the record prior to addressing the commission. All comments submitted will be included as part of the record for this meeting and will be considered by the city commission prior to any action taken. At this time, Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Mayor Masson. Here. Commissioner Barnes. Here. Commissioner Chambers. Vice Mayor Colburn. Yeah. Commissioner Davis. Here. City Manager Dr. Virgin. Here. City Attorney Norris Weeks. Here. City Attorney Powell. Here. Let us all rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. We don't have a commemoration list for city staff, which is good, but we will at this time observe a moment of silence for any condolences we are experiencing in the community. Thank you. Before we move on to presentations, it is my pleasure to welcome our Broward County Mayor and former mayor of City of Pompano Beach and friend Lamar Fisher. If you could come and give us a mayoral, a county mayoral address to the city of Miramar. We welcome you here down to Southwest Broward, and it's always great to see you. Welcome, Mayor. Yes, yes. Thank you so much, Mayor and Vice Mayor and Commissioners. I'm so honored to be here tonight on behalf of Brower County. I also have to say from two of my colleagues who represent you at Miramar, and of course, that's Commissioner Tim Ryan and also Senator Nan Rich. So we all um come here tonight, but I just wanted to come, Mayor, and just um let you know as I move through my mayorship this year at Brower County. My goal is to visit each and every one of our 31 municipalities. And so I'm here in Miramar, and I'm gonna tell you your chambers are impressive. Uh I'm so uh it's just beautiful. Um but I wanted to kind of spread the message that uh our theme this year is communication, collaboration, and community. Had the privilege a few weeks ago to sit with Commissioner Davis and we share some some stories together. But I want to make sure that the communication is truly open. Uh maybe in the past there might have been some little bit of a maybe friction in the past with Brower County.
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