his new baby and his wife. >> Okay, folks. >> How we doing? >> She's so cute. >> It is 5:00 >> or 4:00, I'm sorry. Do we want to have our meeting now? >> Are we going to record
the recording in progress? Okay, >> recording stopped. >> Okay, thank you. >> Recording in progress. All right, >> we're going to wait just one moment here so that Miss Eert can come back in and we're going to I'm going to go call the meeting to order. >> She said to start without her. >> Yeah, we can start without her.
>> And we really only have one item here and it looks like both the architects have come >> and before we start that good to see you >> make it short so that we can ask questions. Okay, hit hit give us the thing. Don't make it long. We have
because we're journeying at 5:00 and so that's it. I mean it's a we have a time certain so forgive us we all know having being an architect I know this takes a lot >> okay ladies and gentlemen good afternoon I'm calling the meeting of the regularly
scheduled meeting of the city of Coral Gables historic preservation board um to order. We are residents of Coral Gables and are charged with the preservation and protection of historic or architecturally worthy buildings, structures, sites, neighborhoods, and artifacts which impart a distinct
historical heritage of the city. The board is comprised of nine members, seven of whom are appointed by the commission, one by the city manager, and the ninth is selected by the board and confirmed by the commission. Five members of the board constitute a quorum, and five affirmative votes are
necessary for the adoption of any motion. We have only one item today. So, we've called the uh uh we've called the meeting to order. So, we're going to have a roll call and we have it. The chair senses that we have 100%. And so,
all of the board members are here. >> We're missing out. >> I'd like to um >> Alex is missing. >> I'm sorry. >> Alex Silva is out. >> I'm sorry. We're missing Mr. >> He's been excused for today's meeting >> since he's not sitting here anymore. You know, I miss him. He's always a very quiet man. So, [clears throat] Mr. Silva
is not with us. Um, forgive me. All right. I'm going to call for approval of the minutes uh of uh September 18th, 2025. >> And the next one, I will approve a motion to approve September and October minutes. >> Okay. Do we have a second? >> Second.
>> Okay. Uh, voice vote. >> I >> I >> I >> All approved. Second. Historic preservation board meetings for October 16th, my birthday of 2025. Um, call for a motion. Motion to approve. >> Motion to approve. Second.
>> I >> Okay, we have Miss Ever. Okay. And all those in favor? >> I I >> Okay, thank you. Changes to the agenda. Um the agenda has previously listed agenda items that have been deferred to the December 18th, 2025 meeting. So for
all of you who are not here, your items been deferred. So we're going to move into discussion items. And I'll ask the board first if there's any board discussion items. >> Presentation first. >> Do the presentation first. >> I think
>> I have one I have one question. Um I know that um I don't know if there ended up being a commission meeting on Tuesday, but wasn't that the abyspo property coming up again? Yes, there was a commission meeting. Um they ended up starting a little late due
to the ceremony for the um the officer. Um the abyspo the owners uh requested a deferral to the December meeting. So it'll be heard at December um 9th I believe. Okay. Commission meeting. Okay. Thank you. >> Miss Miss Peris, while you're there, I'm going to shift uh and find what's the
update on 1129 Sevilla. >> Uh permits have been issued for 1129 Sevilla. So they're going to be doing structural repairs to get the building at least watertight for now while they work on redevelopment plans for the site. Um it's been a back and forth. So, we're monitoring them very closely
because we know it's been sitting for a while and we have concerns with that building and so as long as soon as we get work work started, I will let you all know. >> Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, it's been three years since we've been working on this. So, >> hopefully this building will be saved.
Are there any other uh commission discussion items before we move into the presentation? Hearing none. Gentlemen, would you like to come and make a presentation on the restoration plan for the city hall?
We would love to hear it. >> Mr. Heisenbottle, welcome. >> Hello, Mr. >> Good afternoon. Good afternoon, everyone. >> Both. >> It is indeed uh our our pleasure to be here uh today to uh to give you a briefing.
>> Okay. Please introduce both of you. Please introduce yourself for the record and as you start. Thank you. >> And rest assured I will, Mr. Chairman. Um, for the record, my name is Richard J. Heisenbottle, president of R.J. Heisman Architects. And Ricardo, go
ahead. Ricardo Lopez, principal at R.J. Heismal Architects. >> Okay. And it is, as I was saying, indeed our pleasure to be here today for one of the most what we think is one of the most important and exciting projects uh that we have. We have we have quite a
few, but this is this is truly something special. It is our uh city hall. Um and without further ado, we're going to uh take you on a walk through uh if you would. Um so shift over to the PowerPoint,
please. There we go. Um, what we're going to what we want to do today is to walk you through for some of you that may not know the the full history of Coral Gable City Hall. We certainly do now. Uh, we're going to
talk you through that a little bit. We're going to talk to you about the garden courtyard outside because there's some major changes that are going to go on in that uh garden courtyard. Uh, we're going to talk about the exterior repairs. The exterior repairs, you've probably heard, are extremely
challenging in many areas, especially in those columns that are behind you. You'll get a little up close and personal look at what we're what we're dealing with over there and and uh and how we're going to do it. Um and then uh and of course the circular columns uh that are right behind you. And we're
also going to talk about this this room and the commission chamber and the changes that will be made in the in the commission chamber. Uh so without without further ado, let's walk uh Ricky a little bit through um through this uh brief history uh of of the city of Coral
Gables. Well, um the Corable City Hall we know is designed by Phineas Paste. It is in many ways the crescendo of architecture in the city. It's in a very prominent location. Um we all know um it's shifted
from the grid. It has a unique volume. Um, and it's really made to look like a an all stone building. There's natural stone at the at the bottom of the building. There's a lot of cast stone as you move up and then there's run stuckle moldings um all the way up at the
corners. Um, and while Phineas Pace was the supervisor of color and, you know, tinted buildings, you know, all around the city in different colors, um, this building was reserved to be white probably because of its civic character. Um
we know that it has this um you know wonderful combination of volumes on the exterior up on the on the interior. Um the the central hall um extends up to um where we see the uh the skylights coming in under the clock tower. Natural light
brackets. Um [clears throat] this is all on the same axis um that runs through um the the colonade and um the courtyard. we'll talk more about. Um but underneath where the space where we're standing now um was a you know working interior a
semic-ircular room where the geometry of the semicircle extends inward. Um some of those columns are are still there. We see there was built-in furniture around it. Um and the corridors of course as we know them are very much as they were although some things have changed such
as the um the arched opening uh that you see on the right which is actually where the city manager's office is now. Um there are opportunities to recover some of those some of those characteristics. Um the courtyard as we know it has changed actually quite a bit from its
origins. Um it was conceived of as a garden courtyard appropriate for the garden city. Um we see in some of these historic photos that there was actually um you know vegetation in the ground. Right now it's all paved in concrete but
we we know that the um those intersecting walkways are are definitely part of the original drawings. Phineas paste drawings are very clear. They have a a pattern in them in in the cast concrete that resembles the the coral stone. The alternating heights of the
stones that you see on the exterior walls are mimicked uh in the floor. We see that running around the courtyard and into the Loia. Um and and the the two walkways really reflect an intersection of of two important axes, right? That that central axis that runs
through the building, through the mayor's balcony, up through the tower, through the colonade. um intersects a kind of perpendicular line that takes you through the center of the Loia. So in some ways this is this is a a symbolic intersection of the
people the public coming from the from the sidewalk and their elected officials in the city hall. Um and that is marked especially so at the mayor's balcony that we see here. Um this is straight from the original drawings. We've just
highlighted in green the original uh four planters um framed on one side of course by the Loia and on the other side by a small auxiliary building which had uh you know um restrooms for the public all enclosed in a garden wall.
Interestingly in the same one to two proportion that the building has the courtyard has. There was a very distinct relationship between the building and the landscape formalized in this courtyard. And over the years, we found in our
research that it it was used for different uh ceremonies and even commission meetings. In this image we thought was especially good because the the the commission table that where the commissioners used to meet here uh was taken outside into the courtyard. was
probably so hot everybody um rolled up their pants, some of them in their knickers and it's made for uh fun commission meetings it looked like out in the courtyard. Um and so some of the things that we are
recommending here are to uh remove an addition to that auxiliary building uh that was it's a non-contributing building from the mid-century and by doing so we can restore the bilateral symmetry of that courtyard. We can re
reinstate the planters as green areas which will actually help temper some of the bright light sunlight that you get in there and it'll help with the drainage. There's an old septic tank in there. this is the time to get it out. Um, so, you know, we can we can be very
productive by by pulling that out. Here you see the current uh layout of the of the courtyard. Um, you know, with with new vegetation and bringing bringing the planters back. This is still looking at it with the existing building on the left and we can see it really chops the
building in half. But when you remove that and you re, you know, return it to the original condition, perhaps just enhancing the landscape in there, we really arrive at what we think was the intent of that courtyard to be a garden
courtyard, a formal space, a ceremonial space, a public space um that the people can enjoy um have space for events, have some additional shade. We all know that that will help um and really you know celebrate the character and the identity
of the city. So that's uh a a a comparison of uh of what the two would have looked like and the commission has voted to go forward with the removal of the 1960s building and to reestablish the Phineas Pacu
plan. Uh so um with that, let's shift over for a moment and and talk about uh exterior repairs. Exterior repairs are one of the biggest uh challenges on on the on the on the building because there are just uh so many of them. Um by now
you probably know that that we have conducted um extremely thorough uh building assessment of just about everything that could that we could possibly assess in in in this building. uh the structure being the most important thing and the building
enveloping being also critical there. So we've documented the failures of limestone and stucco and and and and the cast stone and and literally documented that to a set of detailed uh drawings that then begin to address how we're
going to ultimately repair all that. So, if you look closely on uh any of these, you're going to see some of some of the problems that that we walk by every day. And we never realize their problems until that cornice falls on someone's head. Um so, we've got areas of the
building right now blocked off on the north side where we have exactly that sort of falling uh stone stone problem. So um we have we have done a ve a a a very detailed existing conditions set of drawings that covers this building
inside outside and every in between side we think we know it better than Phineas Pace knows it knew it himself. Um and we've documented on here I know it's very small to see not too bad up there. Um but these are the exterior repairs
that we have documented to uh to the each uh individual elevation and and then they're also each one of those is is coordinated back to a keynote that is keyed to a
photograph. So, so by clicking on if this were on your desktop there, Caesar, you you would be able to just click on that particular uh ellipse that's that's over there, you go right to the photograph. You'd see the problem up close and personal. Uh and and you'd be
able to address on the schedule that we have to the right. uh and in the keynotes that are next to that schedule, exactly how we're proposing to repair it, whether it's a cast stone repair, whether it's a concrete repair, whether it's a stuckco repair, or or or a
natural stone uh repair. And some of the some of the areas that you see highlighted in red here have much more serious problems. Mhm. >> Everything that you're seeing at that third floor cornness above above us all over here on the outside of the
building, there are some extremely serious cracks going across there that we probably would have not noticed unless you did this sort of a an assessment. Uh, and so you you can see around the windows, for example, some of the the cracking that's going on, some
of the sheer cracks that go vertical. But this is the one in the middle here is is pretty indicative of what we see along that whole third floor um rooftop. And uh and literally uh each one of of
those those elements and and some of the ballards themselves are sheared right in half. So, we've got we've got some uh challenging work uh to to deal with there. Uh and and uh and that those challenges exist all
the way up to the Koopa and to and to elements of the roof. Um and and anyway, each one of those has been documented and and will be part and parcel of uh of our work as we as we move it as we move it all forward. Um
the we're also uh going to be making changes to uh the ADA accessibility. I just noticed on the front of the building over here on the left hand side, you see where it's shaded over there? That's a um Rick didn't point it out on the site plan, but if we went
back to that site plan, you would see that the ADA ramp that is there doesn't meet any ADA code. It's just it's a it's a ramp, but that's as close as we get. Yes, Miss >> I'm sorry. I don't mean to interrupt, but that's why the other ramp on that
side of the building was put in >> on Yes. >> on in the courtyard. >> Y >> uh and the the original stairs are underneath those stairs that were built over them. >> Um and the city was audited by the federal government for ADA issues and
this building was part of that audit. I'm sure Peter remembers that. It was lovely. Uh [clears throat] and this room was part of that audit and uh they uh actually allowed the Loia on the city
hall because that is not accessible in any way. >> Uh they allowed that to remain as is because it's on the national register. But we went through a detailed >> quite a process I suppose. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. All the city-owned properties were audited for ADA. Uh thanks for letting
us know that because quite frankly we didn't know that. Um the the the good news to what to what we're saying about all of this uh is that we will have easy accessibility going forward as we as we uh restripe the parking lot, add some additional handicap spaces on the north
side and and connect build more way uh to the courtyard so you can get in the courtyard and use and use this uh ramp. So, uh, long and short is we'll have a very good legal, uh, method of getting, uh, in the building and meeting all of
the ADA requirements as we go forward. Um, just again just a a few of the kind of issues that we have here from from just plain cleaning of stone to patching and repairing of of of stone materials
and uh, and the like. And those recommended interventions uh include limestone patches and repairs, replacement uh of severely damaged limestone with with matching new stone. Um sounding and repairing the stucco to
make sure the original um color and texture and finish are are maintained as we go forward. Repairing this um sounding and repairing the stucco to match the original color. uh stabilizing the cast stone with crack
injection and patching and replacing selective cast stone where we absolutely have to uh cleaning masonary masonry gently removing uh vegetation that's on the building and and applying uh new coatings to the building as as we go
forward. Um, so, um, we we expect to be able to certainly, uh, save all of the character-defining features here and and affect the repairs in a in a very very professional way. We're um, now the the biggest of all of those repairs uh, is
uh, the stone columns and and you're looking at a construction photo of of those stone columns and they were actually put up uh in in pieces here. Uh we're not seeing it in this particular photograph, but we have other photographs that have have shown us that
they they went up in three in three sections each each one of the columns. Uh they were originally designed to have steel inside them. Um much to our surprise, there was no steel inside them. So [laughter]
So we've we've um we have four columns in particular that are that are perhaps more loaded, shall we say, than the rest. The good news is we have a we have a a large 54 inch deep if I remember correctly horizontal beam across that ties them all together. So the loads are
are evenly distributed. There are four columns that are in very poor condition. If you could look closely on here, you'd see that those four are labeled down below. Um anyway, it's not necessarily important to which ones, but what you want to understand is how severely these
columns uh are are damaged. This is one of the largest shear cracks I've ever seen in a piece of stone that hasn't fallen to the ground yet. Uh the one on the right hand side over there. And there are more. There are lots of them like that. So, so we have an extra
challenge with uh with these four and and um and if they go forward and if we can salvage them as we remove them first of all um then we'll be then we'll be putting them back with a core in the middle and and concrete uh and and steel
um which is the way it was frankly originally designed. Um we're just we're optimistic and concerned about will we be able to get these out? Will we be able to put them back together? Will we be able to properly core them? But that's the challenge of the job. So th those are those four are the are the
challenge. The other ones have issues. Um but they're not as severe. They have a lot of patching. Uh and and in in lit literally in all cases, we're going to be uh removing bad patches and uh and putting new patches in that that all
would ultimately match in color and texture and and uh and material. uh we expect to be able to to uh save the column capitals and um and um um anyway the uh that that too is going to be part
of the challenge. You can see some some cracks in in those uh columns along the way. uh as as we take out the four columns in particular, we'll also be taking out the four capitals in particular uh and uh trying to affect repairs to those and put the whole thing
back together again. So, this is this is clearly the biggest challenge of the job. Um and but we've got a methodology for it. We've got some specialty consultants in addition to uh to Odonaldo Nakarado, our our structural engineers. Um and and there's one other
thing that might just get your attention. It's this room. It's the commission chamber itself. Um, let's talk about the history of the commission chamber as we shift from the outside to to the inside for a moment. This is what you're looking at right now
is the proposed new layout for the commission chamber. Um, some of us have never really been in love with this commission chamber. especially any of us have had to sit on some of the folding chairs for any reasonable period of
time. But um but we went back and we looked at the history of the place and and you're looking at it at the same time uh right now. This is the desk that is in in in Peter's office right now and the manager's office right now that it has uh it has its own historic
significance at this point in in our city's history. Um we we studied uh um the Wayne scouting on the wall and understood how it was simulated stone uh and and we have a little exposure window uh back behind the flags
hiding over there right now. Um and and we looked at the mill work and how the mill work uh laid laid out when when it was used both as a courtroom uh and as a commission chamber. And we and
we decided that we would reorient the space back to what the space was originally oriented as where where where the the commission sat on this side, shall we call it, the west side and and
the residents uh and citizens sat on the east looking back at them. And it as it turns out it works. This is the way it is today. Of course, you know that. Um, as it turns out, it works out very, very logical, very, very well. We align the
aisles with the doors that we have here that have that have been covered over and nobody even knows our doors anymore. Uh, we open the windows up. You'll see this all much more clearly in just a minute. We have room off on the sides for the manager, for the city attorney, for the clerk, etc. And and uh and the
commission itself. And uh and then we had staff take pictures of the existing room just to just to give the comparison. This is how we propose the room to look going forward. Reintroducing the original uh stone or
faux stone if you will. Way scope uh maintaining the things that are historic about the space. the the uh the cornice some of the cornice moldings that we see um and and this little return air vent uh that is that is up above us uh and and and
replicating some of the things that we that we we don't have today. We have drawings of uh the original light fixtures. So, we interpreted those drawings into into a new replica, if you will, uh light fixture. Now, looking in the other direction, these the windows
behind you are all obviously going to be uh replaced. That that is something that's already underway. Um but but putting a sheer drape over those windows and and then having real drapes on the back of those windows will make this
space uh terribly elegant and and certainly much more much more pleasant to be in. Of course, uh the the seal of the city and Mr. numeric's uh framed um portrait will remain uh the same.
Michael, >> did you do paint analysis in here yet? >> We we have uh in this room, we've done some paint analysis, but in the not yet uh in terms of the ceiling and the other spaces in the this next phase that we're
just about to start, we have a very significant pain analysis everywhere. Just about everywhere. and we'll have samples just about everywhere. But we the things that we weren't really clear on in the beginning as we're doing the assessment phase, we we did exposure
windows like the one that you'll see behind the flags. Go look at it later. It's you know it's it's good. So So >> in case anyone asks about the painting because I got a lot of flak about changing that painting, the only thing we did was to clean it. [laughter] >> Okay.
because it was it was a mess, you know, but but uh some of the discoloration you see was just part of the aging of of the painting. So, I'm just want you let you know that it's not like we went in there and did any kind of touchup to George.
[laughter] >> George's ball spot is still George's ball spot. >> That's right. Okay. >> That's right. And in addition that same audit uh that federal audit had a lot of problems with the orientation of this room and the uh whole idea of these steps uh was not accessible and they
said if if anything changes in this room it has to become ADA um accessible. So I love I love uh going back to what it was before. Um it it will be it will be ADA accessible completely including the dis
on this side which um we thought was going to be incredibly complicated and then Rick and I sat down together one evening it was late and we just started sketching something we said you know we're not so smart this is look we finished this in 15 minutes so so we think that what we have designed for it
right now uh will make the entire room accessible even if we have a commissioner for example that might require a wheelchair at some point >> that's what they said We we needed to have >> Yeah, it's the right thing to do. >> And the acoustics will be so much better. >> Uh we have an acoustical consultant on
the job as well. Um and an AV consultant that also into this picture because this room has to have the acoustics correct. We we've got a it's going to um and those draperies will help a little bit with the room and and the seating that we're using uh and the absorptiveness on
the bottom of the seating that we're using that um we're really using theater seats to to replace the folding chairs. Um >> Richard, are you going to >> Oh, that should help. >> I'm sorry. >> I mean, are you going to you're going to pull up the cork and restore the floor? >> Yes. >> You're going to pull up the cork and
restore the floor? >> Yes, Michael. Absolutely. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yep. Absolutely. So, we're excited about that. This is something we should This is a a happy project where we should, you know, it's going to be a tough project, of course. Um, it's going to
take us about two years, but but that's um that's the road road we're on. And and uh if you have any other questions or want to uh just uh talk for a minute about it, feel free to um to go right ahead. >> Well, thank you. Board members, go ahead. Anna, you got a question?
>> Oh, no. It's a very nice proposal. Thank you. I'm so glad this project is happening. >> Thank you, Anna. >> Miss Ever. >> Um, couple years ago, we had city hall on the cover of our villager directory. So,
I had to do a history of the building and um and found out that uh it it was one of the last buildings to be built during that period and that it only took what 5 months. [snorts] I think it started in November and ended in
February. Is is that [clears throat] about right? Anyway, it it was a very short time and um I have had some questions just I saw your presentation before the city, you know, before the city commission and it was great. I love the courtyard and I love the thoughts of
returning that to uh that building that I'd never been in it. Was it finance? What was out in that that building on the side in the courtyard? I don't know what department it was, but you're going to return that to be bathrooms. Yes, because we expect that outdoor space to
be used for for and it is used all the time. Listen, when the farmers market is over there, we use it. When the car shows out here, we use it. Christmas holiday celebrations, we use >> that was about the Loia being a a trolley stop um originally. And those were the bathrooms that served the stop
in the 20s. >> And you brought up returning it, you're you're going to make it uh rather than septic, you're going to return it to sewer. That made me think about this building. It is. It's already on sewer, but the septic the the old septic tank is still in the ground. So, this this is
the time to pull it out. >> And so, what will this building be? Are is this going to be septic or sewer? >> It's it's already on sewer. It's on. >> Wonderful. Great. Great. >> But you can expect just to understand the full breadth of this this
rehabilitation. This includes all new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection systems, communication systems. I mean, literally, uh, in addition to the structural repairs, >> sprinklers, >> sprinklers, um, of course. >> Are you going to fix the clock?
>> You know, I live >> so close to city hall that I can see that clock and it's never the right time. [laughter] >> Twice a day it is. >> Yes, that's true. >> It's on Miami. >> We'll link it to the atomic clock for you if you like. time. [laughter] Um, I've also been coming to the
commission meetings for years and I've never I've always wondered what it would be like with these blinds up. That'll be beautiful. It'll really be nice. Now, one thing that the villagers did do was we restored the painting years ago at the top of the on the landing of the
steps coming up the stairs from the first floor. Um, so that will be covered and taken good care of or >> that's the one that is literally right out behind us over here. Uh, it's on the land. Yes. >> It's on the landing. >> Landing. Yes. Right. [clears throat] >> And one of the faces fell off. And
that's in the the archives of the historic department >> on the ca the canvas. >> Um, that that canvas is from the the mural on the ceiling. >> She's talking about >> Yes, I know. But I'm just saying in addition, one's missing up there, but
>> we have one in our archives. Yes. >> But the other one is going to be maintained and then the canvas is going to be put back on. I think there's areas of it that were deteriorated water damage in the assessment and that will be replaced. >> Thank you. Also, in the in the
renderings you had um you had different chairs. What's going to be done with the Granada furniture? >> Some of these >> we're going to try to reuse as much of our historic furniture as we possibly can. We're also doing the interiors for this. So, we're we our our intention is
to go ahead and catalog everything that we have that belongs here. Even if it's in storage someplace in the library attic, uh you know, we're going to can we can we reuse that in city hall? >> Good.
>> You know, and that should be the way. And and then from there, we'll have to buy supplemental, you know, new furnings for for office purposes. Um but um but everything that can that I mean those are perfectly I think they're perfectly good characters. We knew
[laughter] >> anyway >> um >> thank you. >> We'll do our best. >> I have a question through the chair. I noticed that the gallery capacity was 68 I think. Was that is that what the gallery capacity was? >> That that's that's a seating capacity in
this room not including the commissioners themselves or >> Right. Yeah. And it is that seems to be less than we have now. >> No, it's not. >> I mean, >> I've been told that it's more than we have now. >> Oh, it's more. Okay. >> I mean, I'll have to trust my staff,
but >> yes, >> Miss Randa, >> I had a question about the columns. Uh, >> me too. [laughter] Uh you had mentioned that they the plan
indicated there was supposed to be steel columns there. >> Not exactly. >> Uh what what is being done for structural support that should have been there but isn't. >> Boy, did you ask the right person.
[laughter] >> I I don't need an hour, just a few minutes. [laughter] Uh, Peter, city manager. It's good evening to thank. It's good to be here. Uh, those those columns show they the plan showed that they were reinforced
and not reinforced. They are they're they're limestone columns. Uh, there's not a lot of load on those columns. It's just a roof uh here. And uh and there's a 52x4in beam that goes all the way around. And there's some there's some
steel beams that that that are supported are supported in this direction. And uh it's uh there are some issues with it. Uh the shoring was not was not the best. We will what we're planning to do is is shore it correctly.
As a matter of fact, we were going to put load cells so it's perfectly shored. We're going to take some of those sections out, try to save them and put and and put steel columns and and hollow them and put them back on. uh that that there's enough that that beam is so
large that it spans across comp column to column. Uh what what we what the problem is is if you show you have to be very careful when you shore something like that because the the it's such a large beam. It's 14x 52 that those little shift around quite a bit
depending on on how you shore it. You can't short it on grass. You can't do a number of these things. So we're going to short it correctly. Make sure that perfectly level. take those four four uh columns out and try we're going to try to restore them and [clears throat] if
we can't I Mr. Mr. Heisenbal has done a great job in finding uh another quarry to see if we can if we can put them back in. They they'll have a steel column uh uh inside and then and then we we'll [clears throat] with a uh with a crawl stone around them.
>> And then what's happening to the existing columns? Is there any additional >> those four the other columns? I think we we uh we can probably save the footings actually loads don't change that much. The foot the the the footings at the four beams are 36 3 3 foot six. The
other the other the other footings are three are 3 foot 0. So 3x3 3'6 by 3 foot6. But we want what we want to do is stabilize the actual system. Uh the shoring has to be very carefully done. When you shore structure, you have to be
incredibly careful because you're changing the loads and what you can do is you can actually fail a structure. We've had more we've had an increase in failures because of the of the shoring. So sometimes in old things you either shore them cor completely incorrectly or you leave them alone. >> And in this case we we we have had some
additional damage because of that. But we're going to try and correct that as best as possible. I've been involved uh uh with the with the design team uh on it. We have a Douglas Wood, the old Douglas Wood firm which has done a lot of uh historical work and I've been
involved heavily with them on uh on that. And I think we're we're we're going to do our best to save uh the the actual um stone sections if we can. We would prefer obviously for for aesthetic reasons not to have to change out
>> and put these new columns there, but that's it's it's total challenge just to keep those together, let alone >> Yeah, there there's been a there's been a significant amount of additional damage unfortunately the last year and a half, but I think we we can work with that and and try to take care of it. And
but we are shoring we we we've got um a a we we we plan on on shoring the entire you have to short the entire semicircle. >> Okay. >> We're going to use even load cells to make sure that the loads are perfect. We're going to survey everything in. >> That's engineer speak for that. We're
going to keep the loads even all across the entire platform itself >> there. Now what are the plans going forward when it's completed? when the renovations are completed so we don't end up back in this position in 20
or 30 years. >> Well, we're going to have to make we're going have to do a better job on maintenance because not much has been done for the first 100 years, 98 years. Um what our plan our our plan is to leave city hall. We are we are we have
the the commission is moving to uh some uh to the bottom of the minora garage. We are moving to uh to a building on on uh on Ponel right right across from the Minorca garage. We plan on on making the move probably sometime at the beginning
of February so that uh we can do whatever exploratory demolition we need to do here to to uh move forward with the project. We plan on starting the project sometime in the third quarter of of next year. And so we'll be and so we'll be out for about for about two
years. boards and so forth will be meeting in the CMR. Those that that that was designed this has been a systematic move. Uh uh what what we what we were doing is is one is first move was was getting development services out. Second
move is getting was was getting um uh finance out and then we get ourselves out and and then turn this into a into a restoration site. So it should be in about the third quarter. We we are trying to speed up things as much as possible and uh and then and then but we
really need to turn this into we need need to get out get out and and u >> yes we we have already selected a we're not doing this through a bidding process. It really doesn't gear itself well towards a bidding process. We're doing it to a construction manager at risk.
>> Uh Thornton Construction has already been selected and uh and I think it should it should work out well. We did the we've done various projects including the the uh old police station that way. So this is not really a good project to bid. It's it's it's very very
difficult. I I think Mr. Heisenball and his team has done a phenomenal job uh uh on on this project and we hope to have it ready probably two years >> two years after that. >> But my question is what about an ongoing maintenance program? Um is is that part
of your scope of work, Rich? So that we have preventive maintenance. >> Yes. People people think that because you do a concrete building, you don't you have to maintain it since since the beginning. So when you first build it, you have to have a maintenance plan. So yes, we'll be working with with Mr.
Heisenbottle on on a maintenance plan, but we already have a maintenance plan for all all our new buildings and and this will be one and and we will also do the same thing here. It be a little bit different because actually there's a lot of historical aspects and the building's over 100. It's going to be 98. It's going to be close to 100 years old. We
we have various issues. The building from what we've seen is is not as bad as we think it is. So there's some damage on the outside because of leakage of the windows, the interior structure looks uh relatively >> relatively good. >> Relatively good considering that the
concrete's 98 years old. It's completely carbonated and the and and and the um protection is not what what new concrete would be with with a much lower alkalinity. So, we will have a maintenance plan going forward.
>> Yes, the answer is yes. >> And so, um I guess as the city manager, what is the plan to make sure that the funding's there to actually perform the >> What we are going to do is we do not have the money to do it. So, we're going
to go for a bond, probably a short-term bond. >> Okay. But that's for construction. Is that also for long-term maintenance? Well, we have set up in the last uh since I've been here, we've set up a a a a matrix because we have to look at not only repair of air conditioning,
vehicles and so forth. So, we've set up uh a matrix for all these items so that so that repair of of the buildings uh are part are part of that matrix and this building will be included as part of that of that ongoing matrix. We we
we're doing it city we've done it citywide. >> Okay. and and this building will be has been included. We just have a lot of work to do because of the condition of of of the building where we really have not done a major uh upgrade or restoration like like what we're
planning to do now. But but that will be included in in our we have that for automotive, we have that for air conditioning, we have that for roofs. So the overall that overall matrix this building will be included as part of that. And uh we we it's it's not easy to do because we have to uh work it through
through the budget, but we've been effectively uh doing that and and and it'll this building uh for sure will be part of that. >> Okay. >> Are you bring are you going to uh bring back the um building department to the third floor of this building?
>> No, no, no. We just don't we just do not have the room. uh we we we had two options and one is to turn this into an office space or to restore it and our option was always to restore it. So this bill we've outgrown the building. So what we're going to have here is the the
city city attorney, city clerk, city manager commission and that's about it. We just don't fit. That's good. We just >> I think the biggest issue was on the maintenance was the traffic. >> We're not bringing back that kind of traffic and and it just it it just it's
too much. And so we we're we're working on a different plan now >> to take care of of those old departments. I have I have a plan. I'm not I'm not ready to say it right now. >> So we're Peter, we're res we're restoring the third floor just for
office space or >> the third floor will be the city attorney. >> Will be the city attorney. [clears throat] >> Correct. We with some additional space. We are restoring as you saw the bottom beautiful conference room at at the bottom. city clerk will be will be where I am now. They they're the ones that get
the uh they and and I'll be on the on the finance side. We are the ones that get probably the most people. The commission of course will will remain in the second floor. We got a the beautiful conference room in the first floor, large and conference room in the second and third floors. And then we have some
additional space that we that we're allocating now uh because the entire third floor is not used by the uh city attorney. They do, >> but we just don't have the space to put finance and everybody. We were on top of each other. A lot of stress on this building >> and uh and we're trying to uh really get
away from that and >> [clears throat] >> uh and and and restore the building. >> So, I'd love to um thank the administration for putting this really incredibly comprehensive analysis and I u have to say something about the team that you hired. I don't
think there's anybody better than Richard and Ricardo to do this. So, I'm glad that that they're here to to do this work and it was really great to see the potential renderings and um that it doesn't look any worse than what we thought it was by eye, which is great to see. So, I appreciate it. I did have a
question for Richard um and Ricardo that um the manager mentioned that you had sourced a quarry and my question has to do with matching existing limestone and matching the cast and the colors. I know you can do it, but I'm just curious.
you're welcome to join us. [laughter] Um, [clears throat] no, we we have sourced a quarry. We've been in touch with that with that quarry. They have methods of trying to help us match their stone, which we were impressed as heck with. Uh, they have methods of machining
their stone. Of course, it's got to be down there to be machined. Um, so so we're going to go through this process. you know, uh we don't often have to we replace cast stone all the time. Freedom Tower had hundreds of ballisters removed
and replaced, but but the caststone is a different ball game and especially these these columns the the four columns that are outside here. Um we all know that that's very very visible as you just just walk a miracle mile and look back and what do we see? we see that
wonderful colonade of of of columns and and and then I have nightmares about those looking different than the rest of the columns. >> So, [laughter] um we'll we'll we'll figure it out, Caesar. We're we're on it and we're and
we're paying very close attention to a lot of good >> best of luck. >> We had a major discussion just on that. How do we get to match? And we we've had major discussions that and that's a real issue that we that uh we'll we'll be addressing. And by the way, I'm very happy with our design team.
>> And I I support um Miss Rolando's question about uh Peter, the budget and the maintenance plan going forward. As you know, this board for many or for many applications has to take a look at how is the private sector applicant going to maintain their projects going
forward. And I'm sure the city is going to do their best. Um, but we all know how important it is to pre-plan for the eventual maintenance that happens. And historic buildings, as you know, is not just the things that every other
building has. There's going to be different types of reviews and different types of repairs that should be inspected. And I know that Miss Spain has mentioned that many, many times is to make sure that we're looking at the right things going forward. So, I appreciate it. And we we'll be addressing that through our through our
maintenance matrix and uh and we will include this this building. We are doing that in every building. Our new public safety building we've had we have a maintenance plan initially for it. You have to maintain the buildings as soon as you occupy them.
>> Other questions for me? >> I just wanted to say that I well I just find the whole process so interesting. So if it doesn't create too much work on any party, if you're if you're open to bringing progress work, we're happy I'd be happy to see it.
>> Certainly, always a pleasure. >> Uh what's the story on the bond issue? When will that be done or has it already been done? >> Uh it takes about 3 months. >> Yeah. >> And what we're doing is we have our our CMR, our construction manager at risk
already selected. we we want to work uh with with them and the the good thing about that is that we are when you have construction manager manager at risk it's not a bid process we are we are part of that of that bidding process so uh once we once we set up and there's
been some budgets uh done already uh let's see where we are it's it's very difficult it's a very difficult project so once we set once we uh get get that construction manager at risk and get those initial budgets and we'll know how much we have to go for and it should
take about it's about a 3-month period to to get it'll be either 6 to 8 year uh bond and uh and and at that time uh so so we will be able to >> what's the maturity on on the bonds how >> it'll be 6 to 8 years >> oh that's not that
>> right because we we have a parking garage and that that will probably be 25 to 30 this will be six 6 to8 years and we're trying to keep uh the the city the city um without without committing to to too much long-term debt. And and so once
we get that once we know what what that number is, then then we will go out. It takes about I've already worked it out with the finance department, by the way, and it takes about 3 months. So, we're working with with our schedule based on that bond schedule also to to move forward from uh from from a CMR, which
which are doing pre-construction services to full construction. >> Okay. Other questions? Anything else? Anybody want other discussion items? Anybody want to know about anything else?
We have a public >> Yes, Mr. Chair. We have our um historic preservation board workshop um over at the 427 building on the second floor. We're scheduled to start at 5:00. Um and after we're done here, we'll adjourn and go into that workshop, which of course is a public meeting, but it will not be
on Zoom or we won't have the court reporter, but we're going to just do a brief training over there. Okay. Is there anyone here from the uh the public that wishes to to speak or address the board? Anything with this? Anybody online? Nope. Hearing none. I'm going to call
for a vote for adjournment. >> No, no. I have um >> and and Oh, you you're up more. Okay. >> Keep going. >> Um sort of an announcement. There was a for my fellow alumnist alumni from the
University recently. There was a celebration where the school of architecture had distributed a series of centennial medals to I'm going to say about a hundred graduates.
And it was it was great to see some of my fellow board members and preservation staff here receive that. And I was going to ask Alex to who who's also an alumnest to make this presentation. But I would like to sort of acknowledge um
Anna Alvarez received a Centennial Medal. Um Donna Spain received a Centennial Medal. Cara Couch received a Centennial Medal. And I was going to ask Alice to do it because I also received a Centennial Medal and it wasn't really about me getting it and Donna asked me to say this, but I didn't even tell her.
But uh it was actually a great honor for us and as we both celebrate 100 years, I just thought it was great that um four of us uh here um received that particular honor and it was great. And um I don't know if Ricky got one, but he should get one. [clears throat] And
with that, I'd like to make a motion to adjurnn. Very cool. >> Well, you know, to be a city that's 100 years old is is really not a very old city. >> But to have this city is 100 years old is really remarkable because of not only
when this city came about, but what the city has evolved into. You know, one of the key things that we sell as Coral [clears throat] Gables is our history. And one of the things that, you know, we we this board does is try to preserve that history because it's our brand.
It's what we sell. Look at our website. Look at everything that comes out of the Chamber of Commerce. Not just at Rich from Richard Heisenbottle's office, but from the Chamber of Commerce. We sell our history, okay? For everything that we do. And so, it's absolutely essential
that we maintain that brand in all ways, shapes, and forms. So, we can always tell people that our history is really important. It's rooted in our in our DNA and our city defends it vigorously in
all respects whether you know because the design of this place is what's brought everybody here. It's what made the prosperity of this city. It's what continues to make it grow and what brings the world here. So as we look at this, it's something that we have to
continue to do and be vigilant about. So Richard and you know Rick this is great you know I mean we're we're on the way. We're on the way. So thank you both very much and thank you all board for the meeting today. We'll adjourn. I hope that you
have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we'll go to our regular meeting. So hearing no objection meeting adjourned.