The Miami Lakes Town Council took the following actions on ordinances, resolutions and new business proposals at its July 8 regular meeting:
• Lawmakers on first reading, approved an ordinance to create a Lien Amnesty program, an initiative of the Neighborhood Service Department, to encourage property owners to comply with the town’s code, apply for amnesty and pay a reduced amount to wipe out the lien.
On April 8, the Council discussed a new business item regarding a Code Enforcement Amnesty Day. The Council moved to establish the program parameters and criteria at a workshop. On May 15, the Council held a publicly noticed Code Workshop to discuss the implementation of a Lien Amnesty Program among other alternatives to achieve prompt compliance.
The town recognizes that the current enforcement process lacks an incentive for property owners to bring properties into compliance once a lien has been placed on their property. Properties that remain in violation often become an eye sore or nuisance to the community. Offering an amnesty period would provide property owners with an opportunity to clear their property titles at a discounted rate, while at the same time benefiting the community.
Since incorporation, the town has initiated approximately 20,000 code cases. To date, 97 percent of all cases have resulted in compliance without the need to place a lien on the property. Notwithstanding, over 500 liens totaling over $3.3 million dollars have yet to be cleared. At this time there are many property owners who have complied, but due to financial burdens or other circumstances have been unable to pay the total amount due for the liens incurred on their property.
The proposed amnesty provides for a reduction of 85 percent (15 percent payment) for non-bank-owned or non-entity-owned residential properties, and a 75 percent reduction (25 percent payment) for commercial properties, bank-owned residential properties, and for entity-owned residential properties.
The non-refundable $70 application fee covers the cost to process each application for a lien reduction under the Amnesty Program. The application date will serve as the effective date for the purpose of calculating any accruing interest on a lien, and so that the applicant can be provided with an exact payoff amount early in the process.
Amnesty will not apply to fees owed for business tax receipts, alarm registration fees and fines, special assessment liens (where the town has incurred costs to maintain, clean, mow and/or conduct any corrective measure), and will also exclude any liens which have incurred legal costs due to litigation. Permit fees, zoning fees, registrations and any other fees or costs incurred to process an amnesty application to achieve compliance are ineligible for reduction and must be paid in order for the application to be approved, and for the lien amount to be reduced and released.
The program starts October 1, 2014. Applications will be accepted by the Neighborhood Services Department during the application period beginning October 1, and ending at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 2015.
A second reading and public hearing will be held during the Council’s September meeting since the Council is in recess during August.
In other town actions:
• Lawmakers approved an ordinance on second reading to change the town’s land development code regarding the height of a fence and walls that are adjacent to a street right-of-way from six feet to nine feet.
Councilmember Ceasar Mestre, who sponsored the ordinance, said many residents brought it to his attention that they desired the maximum height of walls to be increased in efforts to enhance public safety.
• Councilmembers on first reading approved an ordinance to change the town’s land development code to allow a 30 foot approach for a circular driveway on single-family and two-family properties instead of the current 20 feet.
• Councilmembers approved a resolution to temporarily amend its purchasing procedures ordinance to allow Town Manager Alex Rey to make purchases for supplies, materials, services and equipment in excess of $25,000 but less than $100,000 during the Town Council recess from July 9 to September 8.
During this period, the town intends to award the contract of the removal of the defective work at the Youth Center and additional architectural fees related to that project, construction of the entrance feature on at N.W. 67 Avenue and 138 Street, and garbage collection for town facilities.
• Councilmembers approved a working contract with Columbia Equipment in the amount not to exceed $141,120 to install nine bus shelters throughout the town.
• The Council approved a resolution to authorize the town manager to execute an interlocal agreement with the City of Hialeah for transit bus garaging and maintenance services.
Currently, the town has a contract with Limousines of South Florida (LSF) to provide operators (drivers), garaging and maintenance services for the town's two circulator buses and the one on-demand bus. The town has been limited in its choice of vendors because of a lack of other vendors that provide both driving and maintenance. The agreement with Hialeah gives the town some flexibility to choose a vendor that provides only the driving portion in an effort to improve service delivery and reduce operating cost.
Town staff is negotiating the details of the accord with Hialeah; therefore, the resolution provides the town manager with the authority to execute the agreement, so long as it will result in cost savings to the town.
Currently, the town pays $34.34 per hour for the on-demand service, and $37 per hour for each of the circulators. The price includes drivers, maintenance and garaging. Under the proposed agreement, the town would pay a labor rate of $85.00 per hour for maintenance services, parts at 30 percent over wholesale cost, fuel at cost plus $0.20 per gallon (substantially below retail rates) and $1,000 per month for garaging all three vehicles. Staff's analysis indicates that the proposed arrangement will result in substantial cost savings, perhaps as much as 30 percent.
• Councilmembers approved a resolution to amend the town’s bus routes of the Miami Lakes Moover.
Currently, the Miami Lakes Moover circulator service runs two different routes – the East Route and the West Route. One bus runs each of these routes from 6 to 10 a.m., and 2:15 to 7 p.m. on weekdays.
Miami Lakes will replace the separate east and west routes with a single route, with both circulator buses running it simultaneously. Town staff believes that by taking advantage of the opening of N.W. 87 Avenue, reducing duplication of areas covered by the separate routes, eliminating backtracking, eliminating areas from the route that have experienced virtually no ridership and other strategies, that they can substantially decrease headways, to as little as about 25 minutes at certain times of the day. This compares to approximately 45-50 minute headways typically experienced now.
• Miami Lakes approved a resolution encouraging the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) to continue efforts to connect the Gratigny Parkway to the Homestead Extension of the Florida Turnpike, and request a feasibility study to determine if an access ramp can be added from N.W. 67 Avenue to the Gratigny Parkway.