Art in Public Places Board - Regular Meeting

Monday, December 8, 2025

The Art in Public Places Board meeting lacked quorum, preventing official votes. However, the board heard presentations on two significant projects: a monument honoring Miami's black and white incorporators at Bayfront Park and a mural for the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station. Both items were deferred to the next meeting.

About this meeting

Government Body
Art in Public Places Board
Meeting Type
Art In Public Places Board
Location
Miami, FL
Meeting Date
December 8, 2025

Transcript

131 sections

0:13 – 0:24Speaker 7

If you are the victim of an attempted carjacking, choose life over the vehicle. Give them your keys, run away as fast as you can, and remember, always be safe.

0:36Speaker 20

Together, we achieve more. One Miami, one purpose, one future.

0:45 – 1:10Speaker 37

We want to hear your opinion. Help us shape the future of Choli, the city of Miami. Share your opinion in the Grand Plan Choli survey. Go up for free, follow the route, and start exploring Miami on Thursday. If you have any questions, call 311. Or call 305-416-1132. Thank you.

1:17 – 2:22Speaker 13

The City of Miami Department of Solid Waste is proud to announce the official launch of its new services alert system, a real-time communication platform designed to keep residents informed, prepared, and engaged with their solid waste services. This new initiative reflects the department's ongoing commitment to providing high quality, reliable, and environmentally responsible services to all City of Miami residents. Through the services alert system, residents will receive timely updates on essential topics such as collection schedules, service delays, hurricane preparedness, and other important updates. The launch of this platform marks a major step forward in enhancing public communication, safety, and community engagement. Residents can easily enroll in the services alert system by visiting the City of Miami's official sign up at MiamiZeroWaste.com. Stay connected and never miss an update. Sign up for services alerts today. For more information about City of Miami Solid Waste Services, visit MiamiZeroWaste.com or contact 311.

2:22Speaker 5

I love spending time with my partner as part of my routine.

2:32Speaker 19

Para mí, mis plantas son muy importantes. El momento en el que me meto en la piscina, puedo dejar todo lo que siento ahí en el agua.

2:40Speaker 5

Vamos al doctor juntos y me da apoyo emocional.

2:42 – 2:56Speaker 19

Veo que ella está creciendo. Eso me da fe para mantenerme en cuidado sobre mi VIH. Todo eso me ayuda a cuidar mi salud mental y tomar mi medicamento. Busca y mantente en cuidado médico.

2:56 – 3:16Speaker 27

Y vive bien. I'm an extra dealer, and I'll be your sub today. Two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal. A lethal dose is in here. Who gets it, I won't know.

3:16Speaker 17

It's cheap, it's potent, and it's profitable. The sad reality is fentanyl is being mixed into everything now.

3:23Olga Granda

More kitchen now.

3:31 – 4:05Speaker 10

Did you know that the dangerous excessive speeding law is now in effect? This is a criminal offense for any driver who seeks the speed limit by 50 miles per hour or operates a vehicle in 100 miles per hour or more in a manner that threatens the safety of others and is punished as follows. First conviction, up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $500. Upon the second subsequent conviction, it will be 90 days in jail and a fine of $1,000. A person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of dangerous excessive speeding within the last five years of the first conviction will have their driving privilege revoked for up to one year.

4:17 – 5:03Speaker 22

Illegal dumping is a real issue here in the city of Miami. The disposing of bulky trash and yard waste should be done following the city's once-a-week bulky trash collection schedule. Residents who do not receive City of Miami solid waste services can bring bulky trash items to our Department of Solid Waste mini dump facility located at 1290 Northwest 20th Street. It is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. through 4 p.m. and on Saturdays at 8 a.m. through 12 p.m. Please visit www.MiamiZeroWaste.com for your collection, schedule, and guidelines. By working together, we can create a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable Miami for our residents.

5:12 – 5:41Speaker 2

hop on the city of miami trolley and start exploring all the amazing things our city has to offer explore miami for free on the city of miami trolley multiple routes connect neighborhoods and popular destinations air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible trolleys ensure a comfortable ride plan your trip with the trolley tracker get maps schedules live tracking and real-time updates Call 416-1132 with questions. Hop on and start exploring.

5:55 – 6:56Speaker 4

Wasting illegal garbage generates serious risks both for our community and for our environment. It creates environmental pollution, since dangerous substances and chemicals from littered waste can infiltrate the ground, polluting both the soil and water sources. This pollution harms the health of our ecosystems by damaging flora, fauna and aquatic life. In addition, illegal watering causes the proliferation of pests and organisms carrying diseases, which brings dangers to the health of residents who live in the vicinity of these sites. The unpleasant appearance of these places of watering also negatively impacts our neighborhoods, reducing the value of the properties and dissuading potential investors and visitors. When a storm is on the horizon, turn to 311 for assistance. From FEMA information to evacuation centers, 311. Stay safe and informed.

7:22 – 8:18Speaker 26

which can be used to donate money to the community and to the city of Miami. By donating money to the community and to the city, you will be able to collect money in the village once a week. Residents who receive services from Solid Ways of Miami are able to reach those who need them in the department of Solid Ways, which is located on 1290 N.W. V Street. It opens Monday to Friday, Hi, my name is Jose Alvarez. I'm the general manager here at Shell Lumber and Hardware Company, and welcome to Miami Icon.

8:46 – 12:02Speaker 32

Shell Lumber and Hardware Company has been in business for over 97 years. We were founded in 1928 and every year thereafter servicing the Miami community with everything from building materials, home improvement goods, paint, electrical, plumbing, lawn and garden, over 30 different species of lumber under one roof. Shell Lumber and Hardware opened its first location here in Miami in 1928. It's now the oldest lumberyard in Florida. We've got three locations in a combination over 1,200 customers a day we service. Shell Lumber chose to open in Miami because of the diverse community. Like we are a diverse business that caters to a lot of different customers, we also are very diverse in the product lines that we carry. So being in Miami, you have a lot of different cultures that want high quality products. They want to buy it from a place that is renowned in the community, as well as have high quality products, but yet at guaranteed low prices to compete with competitors like the other big box stores. Shell Lumber strives to be a one-stop shop. Obviously we have a lumber yard, we have a hardware store, we also have a design shop, even a Shell Lumber food truck called our Shell Shack. So there is a lot of unique stuff. The hardware store encompasses lawn and garden, paint, hardware, housewares, power tools, electrical, plumbing, like your traditional hardware store would be. In lumber, we have over 30 different species, both hardwoods, softwoods, domestics, foreign, imported from Central America, Brazil, even as far as Africa. And those are the types of things that people come here for. A lot of times we get new customers that have never visited any one of our three locations before, and they're just mesmerized when they walk in. They're like, oh my God, you guys have everything. Where have you been? And we're like, we've been here for like 97 years. Where have you been? But welcome to Shell. The reason why people choose us is because we have what others won't like to stock. And for the few things that we don't have, we have a special order department that can order just about anything and it's unmatched. We like to say that hard to find items are our niche. We carry things that others won't. Shell Lumber is special because not just of what we sell, but the team that we have that runs it. So yes, not only have we been in business for almost 100 years, but we have over 100 employees at our customer service. People love service, right? You can buy a hammer anywhere, but it's the way that we sell the hammer that keeps people coming back. You're a human. You shop here, you're going to deal with a human. You're a human. You call here, you're going to be handled on the phone by a human. There's no automated system, okay? So we're an old-fashioned lumberyard that still achieves that essence of an old lumberyard feel. Ultimately, we're a people business. Yes, we sell lumber, hardware, and building materials. But ultimately, people like doing business with people they like. And they like and love doing business with Shell Lumber because of the people that Shell Lumber employs. It's the team that really makes the difference.

12:16 – 12:36Speaker 24

We are here at the Little Haiti Cultural Arts Center welcoming the HUD Secretary, Ms. Cleveland Leggett, to take a tour of what's happening here in Little Haiti and the innovation that's happening. And I'm looking forward to creating additional community benefits here in Little Haiti.

12:37 – 12:52Speaker 18

I have been very impressed with the presentation. It's been a showing of innovation, showing that basically if we work together, if we provide innovation, we can get the job done. We can do and accomplish goals.

12:54 – 13:09Speaker 11

Since 2018, there's been over $4 billion worth of development in Opportunity Zones. And so one of the things with the visit from the regional administrator from HUD is that we wanted to let her know about transformative projects that are happening here in District 5 under the leadership of Chairwoman King.

13:10 – 13:38Speaker 12

What we're doing here this afternoon is acknowledging the project UNI and UNI-DOS, which between both have delivered 650 affordable and workforce housing units right here in the urban core of Miami. We value our partnership with Denise Cleveland Leggett, who is the District 4 administrator for HUD, and we value their ability to leverage our assets and be able to deliver in this community this type of product, which is innovative and provides opportunity and affordability in Miami.

13:39 – 13:51Speaker 21

We're now moving on to our second phase of the project, UDI 2, where we will have 398 fully restricted housing units. But not only that, but quality affordable housing units here in the city of Miami.

14:08 – 14:25Speaker 12

We're opening up our Little Bahamas office here in the West Grove. Super exciting. We have a lot of businesses on the street that are celebrating in different ways. We have the best key lime pie in Miami. And this is the first city of Miami office right here in the West Grove in Little Bahamas. And we're just having a good time talking to neighbors, inviting everyone to come in.

14:43 – 15:01Speaker 6

Today has been an incredible fall festival, along with Miami Kids Magazine. The turnout has been incredible, jam-packed with people, so much fun, performers, dunk tank, our fire chief, Evia, also wearing the dunk tank. Thank you so much District 4. This has been an amazing, amazing day in the city of Miami.

15:02 – 15:13Speaker 14

Going out to visit a park, to see animals, to do events, I think it's very important. When I get that slide, then we come to play basketball.

15:14Speaker 35

Basically, for our family and kids, we enjoyed the festivities for today. Apologize to you guys on Instagram. Happy Halloween!

15:35 – 16:01Speaker 36

this event is catered and structured for the local businesses within our coconut grove community to provide them with resources tools to expand their businesses our goal is to make sure that coconut grove is experiencing a renaissance period and coming back to life and they're going to do that through ai and digital marketing and so the business clinic is going to do exactly just that with the city of miami providing the human capital the human resources

16:01 – 16:22Speaker 12

I know that small business is the backbone of our communities. Our families are in small business. This is how we grow. This is how we stay connected. So it couldn't be more important than to bring people forward, give them newer applications, especially dealing with AI, so that everyone can prosper. People get better incomes, better revenues, and we're all better off as a community.

16:34 – 27:55Speaker 1

you you Thank you. . . you you Thank you. so so So, Thank you.

29:28 – 29:56Speaker 31

Any person who receives compensation, remuneration, or expenses for conducting lobbying activities is required to register as a lobbyist with the city clerk prior to engaging in lobbying activities before city staff, boards, committees, or the city commission. A copy of the applicable ordinance is available at the office of the city clerk, Miami City Hall. located at 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida, 33133. Thank you. Thank you very much.

29:56Speaker 27

Do we have a roll call? Chair Francisco Gavriles.

30:04Speaker 27

Vice Chair Olga Granda. Here. Nelson Delgado. Board Member Christina Cuevo.

30:14Speaker 27

Board Member Gary Feinberg.

30:17 – 30:32Speaker 27

Board Member Odalis Deyuri, Board Member Juan Valadez, Board Member Jacqueline Roach, Board Member Maria Napolis, we don't have quorum.

30:35 – 30:54Francisco Herretes

Thank you, Florence. You're welcome. We don't have quorum today. And since we don't have quorum, we still wanted to open the meeting because we see we have some members of the public and we wanted to hear from you. So please, could we swear in everybody?

30:56 – 31:11Speaker 27

For all those who will be testifying, please rise and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly affirm the testimony you will be giving is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Thank you. When you get to the podium, you will state your name, your address for the record. Thank you.

31:11 – 31:39Francisco Herretes

Thank you. OK. Let me see. We can't approve minutes or absence waivers. So why don't we open it up to public comment first, and then we can talk about any items on the agenda that you want to make any comments on or anything for the next meeting. OK?

31:43Francisco Herretes

I don't know in what order, if you wish.

31:53Speaker 23

I believe there are members of the public present for items number three and four for the Miami Incorporators monument at Bayfront Park.

32:21Speaker 31

Excuse me, sir. If you could please speak.

32:24 – 33:35Speaker 3

Hello. Okay. My address is 27820 Southwest 128th Place at Homestead. We're here today for Profiles in Black Miami just to be here and see the progress that's going in the monument, for the monument for the senior cooperators. We have been doing research throughout the last few years about black history in Miami, and we found out that there was a correlation between the black men and the white men to incorporate the city of Miami in 1896. We also found that there's no recognition for them at all, especially at Monument Park here, at Bayfront Park. So we took on the effort with the Curtis Foundation, with the help of Commissioner Barbara Jordan, put in place recognition of these people. I earlier provided some information that could be very helpful in making this decision, this decision made, and to do the artwork necessary for this recognition.

33:38Francisco Herretes

Wait just a second. Indira, could you please give us a little bit of background on the item? Maybe give it a little bit of context and maybe we can ask them some questions.

33:48 – 35:36Speaker 23

Yes. So the project was presented to city staff via the organization, the Profiles in Black Miami. in collaboration with the Parks Department about two years ago, I want to say. And the idea was to create a monument to honor the black and the white founders and their collaboration in incorporating the city of Miami. At the inception, City Hall, the Rotunda City Hall was the initial location being contemplated for the monument. We then had a visit to Bayfront Park with the parks director at the time, the organization Profiles in Black Miami, and the district two staff, previous district two staff. And that's when Bayfront Park was then chosen as the site for the monument. There are other monuments on site at Bayfront Park. So we, the city, moved forward with releasing an open call this year for the Incorporators Monument. And in the open call, we used the information provided by the group, and we opened it to local and national artists, as all open calls are, and it was concluded, and the PAC reviewed the submittals in November 24th. So there were two items being brought today at this meeting regarding that project. The shortlisted artist and the... Material on the presentation?

35:36Francisco Herretes

Yeah, let's see, of course. Let's see what we're talking about on this project.

35:56 – 38:34Speaker 23

So here's the background on the project. This is the location. The diagram is highlighting the fountain at Bayfront Park and the main axis where other monuments are located. The next diagram will show you a better So originally during the early 1920s, the real estate boom, Bayfront Park opened in 1925 as Miami's front yard. So it's a significant park in the 80s. Then a master plan was designed by Isamu Noguchi, where the where the park was redesigned, and there are several monuments designed by Noguchi on site, including the Claude Pepper Fountain, a monument to the Challenger Space Shuttle, and the Slide Mantra. So in relation to those monuments, the site chosen for the Miami Incorporated's monument, it's the red on the diagram. So it would be parallel to the World War II monument. Here are some more images, diagrams of the location and scale reference. And this is an excerpt from the open call to artists that was released earlier this year. The criteria for design, materials, and site-specific conditions. For historical context, this was also included in the call to artists, an image provided to us by the profiles of Black Miami as a courtesy for reference on where the incorporation of the city happened. And this graphic, I believe Mr. Keith can tell you more about, this was also included in an open call.

38:34 – 39:10Speaker 3

This is just a rendition, one of my associates had, Christine Malcolm. She had a vision of having the face of a black man and a white man on it, with the names on it, with the names as it is on the incorporator's list, the names and the race of each man that was an incorporator. The tracks represent those people coming to Fort Dallas at the time with Henry Flagler to create the city of Miami. That's what that's significant of, that rendition.

39:15 – 39:50Speaker 23

So this was provided to the artist as a point of reference. Of course, the artist will reinterpret this image with their artistic concepts and develop a concept to present to the pack and the board from this. But it was important to include this image with the names of all the incorporators as well as their races to give the artist an idea of how comprehensive the monument should be. And I believe Mrs. Anne-Marie may want to add something.

39:50 – 40:48Speaker 25

Anne-Marie Henry, 720 Northeast, 162nd Street. I'm two-thirds a member of Profiles in Black Miami. So the monument itself that we came up with is going to be opposite the war memorial at Bayfront Park. And we kind of want something of the same scale to kind of like balance out. the area in the park. So 344 names of the incorporators with one black, one white image or bust or however way they choose to show that with the railroad front because that is how Miami came to be, from a railroad that came down to Miami. That is how Miami was born. So that's what we came up with.

40:54Francisco Herretes

Thank you. You had additional comments?

41:00Francisco Herretes

Do you have additional comments? No.

41:02Speaker 3

I think we pretty much covered everything we need to at this juncture.

41:07Gary Feinberg

This is just an early rendering.

41:09 – 41:43Speaker 3

This, the rendition that you saw, it was a concept of what we wanted to see. We have seen some preliminary concepts from artists, and it was one that we thought was really well. It was the one that had like a replica of architecture in Miami at that time, with the names on the back. That's the one we kind of agreed on as a group. I guess we'll see how it comes out in the future.

41:43Gary Feinberg

And it would be bronze plaques with the names?

41:47 – 41:58Speaker 25

Or the same material that the war memorial is made out of, which is, I don't know, is that some kind of stone? Something that's going to last in that area.

41:58Olga Granda

Is that something that the artist then proposes?

42:00 – 42:16Speaker 23

I did want to add that the formal proposals from the artists have not yet been developed. Some artists, as part of their response to their open call, included preliminary ideas for what they would submit. But the shortlisted artists have not yet developed those proposals.

42:16Olga Granda

So we're in the process of... Do you have any of that as part of the presentation today?

42:20Speaker 23

No, because those formal proposals have not been submitted to us yet.

42:25Gary Feinberg

So the silhouettes are just an early...

42:27Speaker 23

The silhouettes were just a concept image to kind of capture what the artists should take into account for the monument.

42:34 – 43:04Speaker 25

In 1896, when Miami was being incorporated, the... people who recorded the names thought that it was important to put if they were black or white. Put the names and if they were black or white. So we want that to remain somewhere in the monument because they thought it was important in 1896. So it's important that 40% of the men who gave birth to the city of Miami were black.

43:05 – 43:46Speaker 3

Those papers, I also gave her the papers, the incorporation papers that we had a copy of had been buried. in the files of the city clerk for almost 70 years or something to that nature. And when it was discovered, it was discovered that each name had a representation of the race of the man that signed it. We kind of like feeling like we would like to see it. The names print out with the race completely not like with... the name in a B in parenthesis, but the name in the full spelling of the race of the person that name is said by.

43:49 – 44:09Speaker 25

And as a side note, we want to say that we have a descendant of one of the incorporators. Former Commissioner Barbara Jordan is a descendant of Alexander C. Lightbourne, who was one of the of the City of Miami. He was noted at the time as being the person who gave the best speech at that meeting.

44:09 – 44:45Speaker 3

Not only is Commissioner a descendant, but in South Dade she got a lot of relatives that didn't know they were relatives until we did the research and brought them together. And we also have one of the descendant's great great granddaughter who moved to Miami, had no idea that she was a descendant. But did meticulous work in researching and going through the ancestry of these people. And we pulled up a lot of people. And then there's more coming.

44:46Speaker 28

We're continuously working. It's amazing work, and I commend you for all of this work. Thank you for doing it.

44:52Gary Feinberg

What was the name again?

44:54Speaker 25

Alexander C. Lightbourne. He's buried in the City of Miami Cemetery.

45:00Speaker 3

Many of the Incorporators are buried in the City of Miami, both black and white.

45:05Speaker 23

Is this presentation in our... No, this was provided to us today by... We thought if you could share this with us.

45:14Speaker 25

Yeah, we presented that to Bayfront Trust Park.

45:16 – 45:38Christina Cuervo

This is so impressive, and the Sea Commissioner Jordan, and just this linkage, it's like really, it's very important to our community, and we, I think, are celebrating the city of Miami. I think that we're upcoming with our bicentennial or something. I don't know, there's some milestone we're reaching now, so... This is really important. Thank you. Thank you.

45:39Francisco Herretes

Thank you. Thank you very much.

45:41 – 46:00Speaker 23

Thank you. And just as a note, I did want to thank the group and Commissioner Jordan for being very active and very supportive in the project. They came to the PAC meeting. They went through the artist submittals, applications with us. So thank you for bringing the project to us. Thank you very much.

46:01Gary Feinberg

Who are the artists that are working on this?

46:04Speaker 23

The shortlisted artists are, one second.

46:09Gary Feinberg

And how were they selected?

46:11Speaker 23

The pack. It was Cesar Henao, George Sanchez Calderon, and Jorge Rodriguez Herada.

46:21Gary Feinberg

Are they all Miami artists?

46:23 – 46:41Speaker 23

Some are local, yes. And then the other item we have members of the public present for is item number five, the Pelican Harbor.

46:41Olga Granda

So can I just ask, so the two items were to approve the short list?

46:46Speaker 23

And the expenditures, the items traveled together. Okay, so that will be deferred. Okay, thank you.

46:54 – 50:58Speaker 15

Good evening. My name is Melissa Tapinez, and I have the pleasure of representing Pelican Harbor Seabird Station. The property is located at 399 Northeast 2nd Avenue. They're in the Oakland Grove neighborhood of Little River. So for those who are not familiar with Pelican Harbor, it is Miami's premier native wildlife hospital and education center. We're here because a couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of representing the Pelican Harbor through land use and zoning applications, and most recently a warrant final decision to allow for a community facility use which includes a art mural along the FEC right-of-way. I hope you have the full package, and I can see it on the board. I had a presentation prepared, but RIT is not... cooperating with me today. So as part of that warrant final decision, we had conditions to provide for an exterior art mural to be reviewed by this board and for the art mural to be finalized prior to TCO. So we're here requesting your favorable recommendation We did earn a favourable staff recommendation. And regarding our proposed mural, the artist Ivan Roque is here today. It features bright, colourful imagery that reflects Pelican Harbour's mission. The artist plans to paint with durable materials. The elevation design is before you, along with the background for Mr Roque. And you can see that the proposed mural is visible from both 82nd Street as well as the adjacent FEC Railway. It's the entire eastern elevation of the building, which is adjacent to Little River. There are some impressive before and after renderings as part of our package. and we're very hopeful to move forward quickly with our mural. We anticipate that it'll take about two weeks to complete. The goal is to begin in late December. If we can have your recommendation for approval, we are looking for a TCO in March, April. Our budget is $22,000, and the mural will be resealed every two to three years to best protect the artwork. Mr. Roque is here if you have any questions, but I think it's important to note that we worked with the District 5 office on an open call for artists. This art mural and the artists were selected by our board and executive director who has quite a background in arts. And Mr. Roque is a Cuban-American artist and award-winning muralist local from Miami. He's been commissioned by various cities across the United States for this type of mural. And the artist statement is as well part of the record. And of course, the work is inspired by Florida's diverse ecosystem and the important work done at Pelican Harbor every day. The goal is to bridge a nature community and storytelling to create a beautiful piece that inspires its viewers on our mission. And for someone like myself, I've been totally inspired by Pelican Harbor. I've been representing them pro bono, and I'm quite obsessed with Mowgli, the eastern screech owl, who is my cutest client ever.

51:00Francisco Herretes

Corner there? Is that the owl in the corner there?

51:06 – 51:41Speaker 15

No, no, just a depiction. Mowgli is very special about her imagery being profited, so we'll have to take contributions. I'm joking, of course. But she has been on the cover of the Atlantic magazine and is quite a wonderful storyteller in her own right. When we had a hard time getting on commission agendas, she came here to lobby for herself, let me just say. So we're available for any questions that you may have.

51:41 – 51:52Francisco Herretes

I have a question for the artist. Hi, how are you? Could you state your name and address there?

51:53Speaker 8

Yes, my name is Ivan Roque, and I'm currently living at 519 Northeast 72nd Street.

51:58Francisco Herretes

Excellent. This is beautiful. How did you select these birds in particular?

52:04 – 53:13Speaker 8

So I had the pleasure to be able to go visit Pelican Harbor, where it's currently at. And I saw the facilities of what they were doing and how they were nurturing back all these animals back to health. And it was such a beautiful place and very inspiring what they were doing. And I saw like this whole community. team so you know they had told we i saw many of these animals that you see here uh were all around um especially like the the mangrove diamondback terrapin that you see all the way in the corner uh it's a little covered but if you're going back to the previous uh rendition you can see You can see it more, and it's full, and I came to actually learn about this animal at the facility, and so I wanted to definitely incorporate that, and it just goes to show you the extent, right? They go basically from reptiles to birds, obviously, and then, you know, mammals as well, so it just... bringing back all of our natural flora and fauna. So, you know, I wanted to create something just iconic, something very dynamic, you know, because at the end of the day, nature is so full, and it is life in itself. So, you know, I wanted to create something that's just living and breathing, and like from far away, it creates that illusion as well.

53:17Francisco Herretes

Does this project have any educational component? Have you thought of giving it an educational component maybe with some students in the area, District 5?

53:26 – 54:39Speaker 15

Absolutely, Pelican Harbor has a very large educational component, welcoming students from across Miami-Dade County, as well as specifically we're hoping to continue our relationship with District 5. Currently, Pelican Harbor is at the Kennedy Causeway at the Pelican Harbor Marina. So yes, in fact, the new facility does have incredible space for educational workshops. The conditions two and three of the warrant final decision are asking for a recommendation from this board. So you can tell that it was a blank facade that we had hoped to include for murals. It's in an interesting part of Miami-Dade County and the city where it has a site of archaeological significance along the Little River. And so it's intended to be one that catches people's attention on the mission as they utilize the Bright Line or vehicular traffic.

54:39Gary Feinberg

And it's the whole eastern facade, right? Absolutely, yes.

54:44 – 54:57Speaker 15

Of course, this is a construction site now, but there's an incredible landscape master plan associated with this facility, and there will also be outdoor areas for the animals and pens, et cetera.

54:59Gary Feinberg

When's it projected to open?

55:02 – 55:19Speaker 15

Hopefully, spring of 2026. You can see it, that it's under construction. The site has, the building has carpet. It's very, very exciting. And if you check out Pelican Harbor's Instagram, you'll see Mowgli herself giving a tour of the facility.

55:22Gary Feinberg

What happens to your current space?

55:25Speaker 15

What happens to our current space?

55:30 – 56:42Speaker 33

Chloe Chels, I'm the executive director at Pelican Harbor Seabird Station and my address is 5701 Biscayne. Currently we're in a county building on the 79th Street Causeway. So we've been there for 45, in that spot for 45 years. And so yes, this project's been going on for a couple of years. Our mission is dual. It's both treating native wildlife and education. Currently we don't have the space to bring a lot of kids on site, but this will dramatically change when we're at the new building. So sorry, I didn't answer your question. The existing building belongs to the county, so we'll just go back. It's 950 square feet, and this building's almost 8,000. So it's gonna be a huge change for us. Yeah, and we actually had over 40 applicants for this mural. and just Ivan has done a lot of this type of work, so I'm very confident in his ability to carry it to completion, and he really took the time. Those are all animals that we treat at the station, so it'll be open to the public every single day of the year, and yeah, everyone from the Bright Line will be able to see it as well.

56:43Gary Feinberg

Was the design always meant to have a mural, or was it something that was an afterthought? Always intended.

56:54 – 57:05Speaker 15

I should also mention that as part of the warrant process, there was a lot of community outreach, so they were aware of our proposed plans.

57:07 – 57:20Francisco Herretes

Well, unfortunately, we need quorum to approve this, but we should get around to it in our next meeting. I believe this will be just continued, right?

57:21Speaker 15

That's correct. Thank you for allowing us to speak because I'm not sure if Mr. Roque will be able to come to the next meeting.

57:30 – 57:43Francisco Herretes

We apologize that we don't have quorum. We appreciate that you came in. Definitely wanted to hear from you. It's beautiful. Both projects are beautiful and very worthwhile. Looking forward to them.

57:44 – 58:04Speaker 15

About the educational component, one thing when we were working on the warrant, we made sure that There's space for buses to park, so it's very intentional about the education, which today we're not able to do because of the limited facility. So as part of this project, that was all part of the discussions with the Oakland Grove neighborhood as well. And everyone's very supportive. Excellent.

58:04Francisco Herretes

Thank you. Thank you. Regarding the Bayfront Park... What is the budget for that project, and where is it coming from?

58:15 – 58:40Speaker 23

The budget is $300,000 for the entire project. $100,000 was allocated by the Bayfront Trust, and $200,000 was allocated by the Parks Department. So it's not coming from our trust explicitly, but there is a resolution for the expenditures as those funds will ultimately be transferred into our project. And then we would handle them.

58:40 – 59:05Francisco Herretes

Okay. Understood. Just wanted to know where they were coming from. Typically, Bayfront Park has its trust and it has its own sort of rules and carve-outs. Yeah. But in this case, we understand. And so we're just coordinating everything through the board and everything's already set up. So that's very good.

59:08Francisco Herretes

Are there any other questions or anything? Indra, do you want to make any other announcements or questions or comments for today?

59:16 – 59:44Speaker 23

No, I think we are good. Thank you all for coming. The next meeting is January... Give me one second. January... The 12th, January 12th, Monday. At 6.30, yes, here at City Hall.

59:44Francisco Herretes

Bayfront Park, who is chair of the Bayfront Park Trust right now?

59:49Speaker 23

I believe it's Mr. Raul Miro.

59:54Speaker 31

Excuse me, Chair. Mr. Raul Miro.

59:57 – 1:00:11Francisco Herretes

Okay. Is any commissioner's office supervising the Bayfront Trust directly, or is it separate? Because it used to be...

1:00:12Speaker 31

I believe it's District 1 now.

1:00:14Francisco Herretes

It may be District 1?

1:00:16 – 1:00:35Francisco Herretes

Okay. You know, everything is set up very well, but we should coordinate with the commissioner that's supervising Bayfront Park, see that everybody's on the same page, and That way, in January, we can roll with it, okay?

1:00:37 – 1:00:55Francisco Herretes

But let's advise the commissioner, because I don't want to... With all of these public art projects, we always want to get whoever the commissioner is, either for the area, or in this case, it rotates, or... Right now, it's District 1, correct? Correct, correct. All right, let's...

1:00:55Speaker 31

Perfect. We'll make sure that it's all taken care of. Thank you. We can coordinate with them. Excellent. Thank you.

1:01:02Francisco Herretes

All right. I don't have any other comments. Our next meeting is on January, what, 12th?

1:01:11 – 1:01:23Francisco Herretes

I'll be here. I hope our fellow board members are here. I'm sure the ones that are here will be. And so we'll have quorum next time for your items. Thank you very much.

1:01:24Speaker 23

Thank you, everyone.

1:01:26Francisco Herretes

Adjourned. We don't even have to vote on that.

This transcript was automatically generated from the official public meeting video and is presented unedited. It reflects remarks made on the public record by elected officials, staff, and public commenters. Transcript accuracy may vary; view the original recording for reference.