Minutes of 2/13/07 Meeting

MINUTES of
BELLE ISLE RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION (BIRA)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
February 13, 2007
Community Room at 3 Island Avenue

Board Members Present

Scott Diffenderfer
Josh Fisher
Howard Farber
Barbara Frank
Herb Frank
Barbara Gillman
Keith Hark
Sandra Money
Irene Sperber

Guests Present
Fererika Leser - 3 Island
Kay Maunsbach - 9 Island
Pat Farber - 16 Island

Herb called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.

Approval of Minutes of the December 19, 2006 Board Meeting
Irene made a motion to approve the Minutes of the December 19, 2006 Board meeting as distributed. Howard seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

New Business
Election of Officers
Sandy made a motion that the following be elected as officers of BIRA:
Herb Frank - President
Josh Fisher - Vice President
Keith Hark - Treasurer
Irene made a motion that Sandy Money be elected Secretary.
Hearing no other nominations, Barbara Frank made a motion to elect those nominated. Howard seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Process to Become a Board Member
Discussion of the propose Board Member Selection Process included a notation that two announcements would be posted every year for residents and also posted on the website continuously. Applications must be submitted to the Nominating Committee two weeks before the January Membership Meeting. Scott agreed to draft an announcement for the City Public Information Officer and Josh agreed to draft a paragraph for the By-Laws indicating that the BIRA Board is an Internet- and e-mail-based organization. Sandy made a motion that the document, as revised be approved. Howard seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

The Board then discussed the Criteria For the Selection of Board Members. Sandy made a motion that the document be approved. Irene seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

The Board then reviewed the Application for Candidates to the Board of Directors of BIRA. Herb was complimented on the draft and Irene made a motion for its approval Howard seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Irene agreed to Chair the Nominating Committee and it was agreed that only those individuals approved by the Nominating Committee would come before the Board for approval.

Other
There was no other New Business.

On Going Business
Park/Street Renovations
Herb reported that he is waiting for a meeting with Jeff Cohen to discuss getting the 5 feet walkway area back. Howard noted that there were a number of dead trees and agreed to contact Carla Dixon at the CIP office to be certain that the number of trees and heights on the current plan will be maintained.
Herb reported that, at a meeting with representatives of the Public Works Departments of both Miami-Dade and Miami Beach, it was stated that they will build up the wall along the Collins Canal from Purdy Avenue toward Alton, starting on March 7. The wall will be 3 to 4 feet higher, reaching the same level as the street. The area between the two will be filled with dirt and plantings.

Traffic Light and Crosswalk at Purdy
Barbara Gillman reported that the lights still need to be synchronized. Herb was not sure that this is possible as the light has pedestrian control and that might eliminate synchronization. There are problems with the stripes painted in the street and this will be looked into,. Since that is the responsibility of Jeff Cohen’s office, it is hoped that it can be discussed at the upcoming meeting with him.

Bridges on Venetian Causeway
Herb reported that the date of switching to hourly and half hourly bridge openings has still not been determined (Nancy Liebman was to contact Barbara Bisnos about the date, but she was not in attendance at this meeting). It was noted that the Causeway from Purdy over the bridge had been re-surfaced, but now is full of holes. Herb was urged to report this to the appropriate agencies.

Beautification of Venetian Causeway
Irene reported on the February 1, 2007 public meeting with the Miami-Dade County Public Works Department, at which most of their suggestions for traffic control and other items were met with opposition from the attendees. Irene agreed to prepare a summary of the meeting for the BIRA website. It is attached to these Minutes.

Renovation along Dade Blvd./Canal
Herb noted that this was discussed under the Park/Street Renovations item.

Other
It was noted that there are an increasing number of hits on the website. In order to have the site appear current, it was suggested that the current date appear at the top of the page every day. It was also noted that items on the site are dated and appear in chronological order, with the most recent item first

Set Time and Day for the Next BIRA Board Meeting
It was agreed that the next Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 in the 3 Island Avenue Community Room at 6 p.m.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:12 p.m.

Prepared by:

Sandra K. Money, Secretary