City Commission - Regular Meeting

This meeting to order. Number 2026Dash0226R.

Tonight's music selection by your city clerk was timed by Hans Zimmer. The music selection from the March 12 city commission meeting will be made by Commissioner Riedel. As we begin, we kindly ask that all mobile devices be silenced. To ensure the best possible sound quality, please speak clearly and directly into the microphone, and remember to mute your microphone when you're not speaking. Should anyone experience difficulty hearing at any time, please raise your hand, and a hearing device will be provided to you. Thank you for your cooperation.

JULIE Thank you. Commissioner Riedel is joining us tonight virtually by Communications Media Technology. Is there a motion and a second to excuse Commissioner Riedel from live attendance?

JULIE Move it.

Second. CHIEF Thank you. Moved by Vice Mayor Wasserman, seconded by Commissioner Welsh. Thank you. Commissioner Reidell is excused from live attendance and participating JUSTICE virtually for the meeting. Mr. Kavanaugh, would you please call the roll.

Commissioner Riedel.

Here. Can you hear me?

Yes, we can. Thank you.

Here. Thank you.

Commissioner Welch.

Here.

JAMES Commissioner Brody. Here. JAMES Vice Mayor Wasserman. Here. JAMES Mayor Raley.

Good evening.

JAMES Deputy City Manager Stoudenmeier. Here. JAMES City Attorney Pyburn.

Here. Would everyone please stand and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. City attorney Highburn, please. Thank you,

mayor Reilly. This meeting is being conducted live with a physical quorum present. Commissioner Rydell is joining the meeting via communications media technology. The material for today's meeting is available online at coconutcreek.gov. Anyone wishing to appeal any decision made will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose may need to ensure that a verbatim recording of the proceedings is made, including the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based.

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Thank you. First off, we have the honor of having our Broward County property appraiser, Marty Care, to provide an update on the state legislature's ongoing discussion of property tax reform.

Oh, thank you, madam mayor. I really appreciate it. Oh, thank you so much. By the way, it's good to see everybody.

It's good to have you with us.

Awesome. Just a little perfect. Well, I appreciate so much, Madame Mayor, you all giving me the opportunity to come say a few words today. I know generally when I come, I talk about the people we're putting in jail for stealing properties and all kinds of fun stuff. But tonight, you all were nice enough to ask me to come to kind of give an update as to what the legislature is currently considering when it comes to property tax relief, and just, I guess, my perspective as to where it's going, and the impacts that it may have, whatever is put on the ballot, could have both on the savings for property owner and losses of revenue to local government.

And what I was hoping to do, Madam Mayor, if it's okay, was just quickly talk for the Reddens how we got here, where we are now, where I think it may go. And I was hoping to really analyze the only things that are really out there right now, which are the House's proposals that they actually passed through recently, with regard to what they'd like to see on the ballot. And even though if there's a very good chance that what they passed through may not actually make the ballot, it could be something totally different. It may be nothing. But if there is something on the ballot, I do think the proposals that the House has put forth really kind of give a good idea and an indication as to what any type of relief and loss of revenue will look like.

And I think that's why it's very important to analyze them. And I promise I won't go on for too long. I just think this is a very, very important issue. And as you know, whatever vote our legislators take will be the most consequential vote they'll ever make. And then after it's put on the ballot, the people, when they go and vote in the November, it'll be the most consequential vote we'll all make as well. And so getting the information out there is very important, and that's why I appreciate so much Coconut Creek allowing me to do it. And just to let everybody know, here's how it started. About a year ago, you may remember, a gentleman from North Florida decided to tweet about his property tax. He was very mad about him. And he basically tweeted, property taxes are horrible, we've to get rid of them.

And it just so happened that the governor saw that tweet, and the governor retweeted it. And when the governor retweets something, it kind of brings a big conversation to a very important issue. And that kind of started the big discussion about property tax relief, and potentially changing the way that property taxes are assessed and collected throughout the state of Florida. And when that happened, the Florida Policy Institute, which is a very important nonprofit think tank, that's also a non partisan think tank, decided to do a study in Tallahassee. And what their study was, they said, okay, if you eliminate all property taxes, whether it's residential, commercial, all taxes, What does that really mean?

Well, they figured out that it would mean that local governments would lose about 55 to $60,000,000,000 of revenue that they utilize to provide very important services, whether it's police, fire, roads, bridges, schools, all the things that we know and love locally. And they said, okay, well, if you take away 55 or $60,000,000,000, how do you replace that revenue? And they said, well, you have to increase the sales tax to at least 12%, possibly 13%, and likely higher in areas of South Florida where they have a higher cost of living. And then what they decided to do, they decided to poll the people of Florida that were likely to vote in the November. Because for anything to actually change, the constitution needs to be amended, and the constitution can only be amended by the people.

So they basically asked the people that were likely to vote in a poll, do you support getting rid of property taxes, all property taxes, and increasing it with a significant sales tax increase? And overwhelmingly, the people of the state of Florida that were likely to vote said no. They said it was a very bad idea. More than 70% of the people, that are likely to vote said it's a bad idea. All political parties said it's a bad idea, and all areas of the state said it's a bad idea.

And when that happened, the conversation changed a little bit from eliminating all property taxes to focusing on homestead property taxes. And that's pretty much where the legislature and the governor are right now. And currently, as you know, the three most powerful people in Tallahassee are the governor, the senate president, and the speaker of the house. The governor hasn't yet come out with a plan, except to basically say that he would he has supported eliminating homestead property taxes. Yesterday, he did say that he'd like to see it done in a special session, not the current legislative session.

But to his defense, he doesn't have to come out with a plan. And the reason being is because the governor, even though he has a voice, doesn't have a veto pen or does not sign into law whatever's put on the ballot. It's solely within the purview of the Florida legislature. And so that brings you to the other two most powerful people, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House. The Senate President, has not come out with a plan yet either, except to basically say that whatever plan they want to put out there, he wants to have a little bit more measured.

And he explained it like this in the newspaper. He basically said something to the effect of, I understand people need property tax relief, but I also want to make sure when somebody calls an ambulance, they're going come pick them up and bring them to the hospital. And that is a very good way, I think, of looking at it. When I was up there a couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet with and to speak with a number of the people in the Senate who are actually crafting the property tax legislation. And what they basically told me was, Marty, we're kind of keeping what we're doing right now a little close to the vest.

But here's what we can tell you for certain. Just like the House, we're focusing only on homesteaded properties, and we have to hold fiscally constrained counties whole. Basically, Broward County, Miami Dade, we're not fiscally constrained counties, but there are other counties in North Florida, Escambia County, and others that if you do away with a significant amount of property taxes, they could almost cease to exist. And so, they're really focused on them as well. The Senate also appears to agree with the governor that they would like to see this done in a special session.

The only thing that's actually been out there now are House proposals. And the Speaker of the House, as you know, has set forth a number of different proposals that he would like to see put on the ballot. And as a matter of fact, the biggest one last week was actually passed through the Florida House of Representatives. There's no guarantee it's going to be picked up by the state senate. It also is no guarantee that some of this may make the ballot.

But I do think that these proposals that I'm going go through very quickly, as I said before, kind of give people an idea as to whatever is put on the ballot. It'll show them the type of relief they may get, and at the same time, the type of loss of revenue to local government. And so there's a chance I may mess this up as I'm clicking the buttons, but this is, some numbers that we wrote. And just to let you know, what we did was see, we analyzed all the House's proposals, we applied them as if they were in effect for the 2025 tax year. And all of these proposals just do a few things. The first thing, it doesn't apply to school the school portion of the tax bill. So it basically says, they only apply to the cities, the counties, taxing authorities, but not the schools. And they all hold police and fire harmless. You can't reduce them to, I believe, the fundings of last year. And that is very important to note.

And so the first one I wanted to bring up was House Joint Resolution two zero three. This actually passed through the Florida House of Representatives last week, and this is a very big proposal. This basically eliminates all homestead property taxes for everything but the school portion of the tax bill, and what it does, again, is it basically holds police and fire and first responders harmless. You can't reduce their funding levels from, I believe, of last year's funding. And, as you can see in Broward County, there are 424,899 homesteaded parcels.

If this were in effect, the average savings for property owner countywide would be about $3,387 and the median savings would be about $2,421 The median savings is a much better number to utilize than the average, because the average takes into account big outliers, the multimillion dollar properties on the ocean. It takes into account, for example, a 100,000 square foot home we have in Southwest Ranches. Those are outliers. The median's right down the middle, so that would be the median savings for a property owner countywide. As you can see, the county commission last year levied $1,800,000,000 in property taxes.

If this were in effect, they would lose about $624,000,000 which would be about 35% of what they collect in property taxes. And what's important to note again is the funding for police and fire from the county commission is about 50% of their budget. And so if you reduce it by 34%, have you to give the other 50% that was already there to police and fire. It actually doesn't leave a significant amount of money to do all the other services that they need to provide. Coconut Creek is similar to the county when it comes to the savings and loss of revenue.

Again, this would basically say that if you're a resident of Coconut Creek, you would pay no property taxes to the city, the county taxing authorities, except for the school portion of the tax bill. And as you can see, in Coconut Creek, have 13,590 homesteaded properties. The median savings per property owner is about $2,134 And as you can note, last year, Coconut Creek levied about $44,600,000 in property taxes. If this were in effect, Coconut Creek's tax revenue would go down about 35.4%. It would decrease by about almost $16,000,000.

The other thing I wanted to quickly bring up is just to show you something that I think is kind of interesting. The next page deals with almost all the cities in Broward County. And as you can see, every single city is affected differently by whatever's put on the ballot. It depends on how much commercial properties they have, how many homesteaded properties they have, how much residential they have. And the two cities that I really highlighted here, that I think are just really show you the difference and the contrast between how a city can be affected, is Parkland and Pembroke Park.

Pembroke Park, as you can see, isn't affected at all. They basically have very little residential properties. It's almost all mobile home communities. It's a lot of commercial properties. And so you can see the median savings for property was about $500 but they would only lose about 1.3% of their actual budget. Parkland is on the other side of the spectrum. They're basically a bedroom community. They are all homesteaded, all residential. They have very little commercial. And so you can see Parkland, the savings for property is pretty massive.

It's almost $7,000 a year, but at the same time, the city of Parkland will lose about 75.2 percent of what they collect in property taxes. And when they have to pay 50% of what they collect to the sheriff's office and to for police and fire, but they're losing 75%, the math doesn't really math, and that's when the legislature would have to step in to try to fix this if something like this does get on the ballot and passes in its implementing bill. The next one I want to quickly talk about is something that came up a number of times in both parties, both the House and the Senate. And this is very similar to what I just mentioned, but this deals with seniors. It basically says if you're over 65 years of age or over, you would pay no property taxes to the city, the county, taxing authorities, but you would still pay it, of course, to the schools.

And again, it can affect police and firefighter and first responder funding. As you can see in Broward County, there are 163,590 seniors that own home state of properties. If this were in effect, the median savings per senior would be at $11.28 dollars And as you can see, the county commission would lose right about $161,000,000 of their budget. It would be about a 9% decrease. That's more manageable, I would definitely say, than what I just mentioned before.

Coconut Creek has a pretty significant amount of seniors. You have Wynmore, and you have a lot of folks that have made this fantastic community their place. And that's why you can see that there are 5,442 homesteaded properties that are owned by seniors in Coconut Creek. The median savings would be right about $675 And as you can see, you would lose right about $3,000,000 of your budget, so about 7.3% decrease. The next one I wanted to quickly talk about, because this comes up a lot.

Honestly, I actually just got the renewal for my homeowner's insurance, and I was kind of mad about it, because it went up significantly. I really hope the legislature starts really focusing on homeowner's insurance, because I think a lot of us are getting killed by it. But here's what this does. This is, I think, the legislature's attempt to try to tackle both property taxes and homeowners insurance, and I did have a lot of people on both parties bring this up to me, as well. What this basically says, if you have multi peril property insurance, multi peril homeowners insurance, you would get an additional $200,000 exemption on top of your current exemption that you have.

And this was very hard to quantify. And it was very hard to quantify because out of all the people in Broward County, the only person that I know for certain that has homeowners insurance is me. I couldn't find out who else has it. So, I basically said, okay, if you just assume everybody in Broward County has homeowners insurance, this is the biggest possible impact it could possibly be. As you know, as I said before, there are 424,000 homesteaded properties.

If the median savings is about $2,217 for a property owner, and if every single person, every homeowner had it in Broward County, it would be about a $329,000,000 loss, about 18.3%. It's not going to be that high, cause there are people that are self insured and people that actually don't have it, but that's the biggest it could possibly be. I did the same thing for Coconut Creek. As you can see, the median savings for homesteaded property owners is about $2,134 And if every property owner in Coconut Creek that was homesteaded had it, it would be right about an $11,000,000 loss to the city in revenue, about 26.6%. Again, it's not going be that high, but that's the biggest it could possibly be.

The other one I want to quickly talk about is something that also I believe is very possible, may come up as a constitutional amendment when they do meet in a special session. And it deals with portability. Portability, I talk about it all the time, I love it. It gives people the opportunity to move from one home into another home and not be taxed out of that home. And here's the way it works. When you buy your home, you file for homestead. And when you did that, the Save Our Homes assessment clause of the Florida constitution kicked into effect that said that every year thereafter, the value you're taxed on cannot go up more than a maximum of 3%. So over time, your assessed value is capped, but your market value gets higher. And you have all this value between your market and your assessed value you don't pay taxes on. Right now, if you want to go anywhere else in the state of Florida and make that your new homestead, and it's of equal or greater value, you can move up to $500,000 of value to your new homestead and not pay taxes on it.

If you buy a home of lower value, take a percentage of it, and you can still save a lot of money on your property taxes. Well, this would actually amend portability somewhat, to do away with the $500,000 cap for anything but the school portion of the tax bill. So if somebody accumulated $700,000 of value, they can move that. A million dollars of value, they can move that. And the other thing it does, it basically allows you to take it downwards as well.

So you're no longer getting a percentage if you're buying down, you can actually take the entire thing with you. The only people I found that were really concerned about this, it actually wasn't the people from South Florida, because the impact to us isn't that big. It's really the people from North Florida and fiscally constrained counties, because people aren't worried about people moving here with their portability. They're worried about us moving up there with our portability, we could technically wipe out their tax roll, because a lot of us have more portability than their homes are worth. But what I did here in Broward, I was just kind of curious, last year, how many people had more than $500,000 of value when they ported?

And what we found was there were 5,465 people that utilized portability. There were about three seventeen that had more than $500,000 of value that they could have moved that they lost because they couldn't port more than 500,000. If there was no cap, the average savings would have been about $463 per property owner. And as you can see, the impact, though, to Broward County is very minimal. It's about $1,000,000 out of their $1,800,000,000 budget.

And it was pretty much the same for Coconut Creek. There was one property that had an excess of $500,000 They would have saved about $190 more a year. And as you can see, the dollar impact to Coconut Creek was right about $16,000 That's also what people brought downward as well. The last one, Madame Mayor, and to the Commission, I just want to quickly talk about, is also something that's been coming up a lot. And this one, it's technical, but it would change things significantly.

And it's actually how they do things in other states. And actually, it changes the way that we assess properties. So currently, we assess all properties in Broward County once every year on January 1 of that year. That's the day we determine the value of all properties, and it's based on the data from the year before. It can go up, it can go down, and when your tax bill comes out in November, it was what was it on January 1.

This would actually change things for homesteaded properties, except for the school portion of the tax bill, and would say for all homesteaded properties, what we would do is we would only be able to assess each property once every three years, and a property that's homesteaded cannot go up more than 3% over that three year period. When it comes to non homesteaded properties, we would only be able to assess it also once every three years, and the value cannot go up more than 15% over a three year period. The only question I had for the folks that crafted this when I was in Tallahassee was, are you I asked them if they were saying that we could there's like a specific date, and then we do we don't do any other properties for three years, and then three years, or is it kind of like a rolling thing when property changes hands? And they said it was their intent to make it a rolling type of thing where property changes hands. If So you sold your property today, this is when day one starts for you.

Three years later is when I would assess it. This, is possible. It could make the ballot. It's more of a technical one, but that's the last one. And again, I know that, went on for a little while, but I do find this to be just a very important issue. And as I said before, as you know, property taxes, nobody likes to pay taxes. Nobody does. Just like I don't like to pay homeowners insurance and all these other things, but they're necessary. And whatever the legislators put on the ballot could feasibly change things significantly. So it's a very consequential thing for them to do.

My goal is not to take a position just yet on anything. I just want to be a wealth of information so our legislators, our elected officials, the public has a really good idea and understanding as to what all the impacts are of each one of these. With that said, thank you for having me today. I really appreciate it. As I said before, I love this city. Coconut Creek is really fantastic. It's actually don't tell any other city I said this. It's my favorite city hall. It really is. It reminds me, like I said, of the Polynesian Resort in Disney when I walk in from the outside, but it is just awesome, so welcoming, and you all do just a fantastic So, thank you, Madame Mayor.

Oh, thank you so much, Marty. We love having you, and you're, as usual, you're a wealth of information.

Thank

you. I can't believe how fast you speak.

It's

true. But, it's amazing.

You know what's kind of funny is Commissioner Sarah from Coral Springs. Yes. I was very hyper once. I had a cup of coffee before I spoke, and he has a word counter, and I was very proud. In a fifteen minute span, I've said more than 10,000 words. And he's like, look at this. He's like, Marty, this is fun and pathetic at the same time. Like, I know. Thank you, Yes.

And it's very important that our residents are educated on this subject. So I thank you very much. Yes. And we will be speaking about this a lot. Yes, we will be. Thank you so much.

And thank you. Well, you all have a wonderful day. Thank you, everybody. Take care.

Thank you so much. We have a presentation of the lifesaving commendation award for Coconut Creek Police Officers Sydney Ballesteros and Dondrell Lubaris. And presentation will be made by Chief Hoefer.

Good evening, commissioners, vice mayor, mayor, city deputy city manager, city attorney, and city clerk.

Oh, look, they're already on their way up.

Come on, come on the middle. All right, so this is going be for the lifesaving award. We've got some good news. It's not as exciting as property taxes. So on 12/14/2025, Coconut Creek Police Department officers responded to a residence in Parkwood 5.

The caller advised her mother was unconscious and had no pulse. Upon arrival, officers Sydney Balesteros and officer Dondra Lubres met with the caller at the front door. She stated her mother ingested fentanyl, was unconscious, and was not breathing for approximately ten minutes. She also advised she administered a personal dose of Narcan prior to police arrival, but her mother was still unresponsive and without a heartbeat. After entry inside residence, Officers Ballesteros and Lubbers observed the patient lying face up on the floor in the bedroom.

They moved the patient to an open space where Officer Lubbers continued CPR, and Officer Ballesteros administered two doses of naloxone, or Narcan. The patient began exhibiting agonal respirations, at which time officers were able to detect a heartbeat prior to arrival of fire rescue. Fire rescue transported the patient to the hospital where she was treated and released. If not for your expedient life saving actions, this female may not have survived, and would probably would not have. For this, it is with great pride that we present you with the department's lifesaving commendation award.

On behalf of the Coconut Creek Police Department, I would like to extend to you our thanks for an outstanding job. Any friends and family that are here that would like to take a picture with these two officers? Come on up. Guy, get a picture. Come on.

Nice picture up there. All right.

Congratulations, and thank you. So proud of you guys. Next, we have a presentation of the police department's officer of the year award for police officer Alexander A. Lukanov, detective of the year award for detective Sherry J. Stabil, and civilian of the year award for Thomas C. Marullo. Chief Hoffer, please make the presentations.

Alright. First, can I have officer Lucanoff come on up? And commissioners, I just wanted to mention, we do have the police department has an awards banca once a year. We had one last year. It was outstanding. But these three awards, they're exceptional because these awards are all of 2025. Each of these, the officer of the year, the detective of the year, and civilian of the year, these officers excelled throughout the whole year, not just for a couple weeks, not just one time, it the whole time. So, we thought it was exceptional and should come here. Okay. Officer Alexander Lukanov's performance and professional growth during 2025 were outstanding.

His exceptional dedication and increased productivity left a positive impact on both the agency and the community. Compared to his previous year, Alex achieved an impressive 300 increase in total arrests, making him the agency's top performing patrol officer. This dramatic improvement reflects Officer Lukanov's proactive enforcement style, strong situational awareness, and relentless work ethic. In the area of DUI enforcement, Officer Lukanov also demonstrated exceptional initiative. In the 2024, he recorded no DUI arrests.

Recognizing this as an area for growth, Alex took it upon himself to seek out training and education in DUI enforcement specifically. As a result, Officer Lukanov made 10 DUI arrests in the 2025. His efforts significantly contributed to enhanced roadway safety, a reduction in impaired driving incidents, and progress toward the agency's mission of protecting lives. Additionally, Officer Lucanoff improved his report writing output by 63%, consistently submitting thorough, well written, and timely reports. His documentation supported prosecution success and promoted overall departmental efficiency.

Beyond these statistics, what truly sets Officer Lukanov apart is his determination and commitment to continuous improvement. He actively pursues opportunities to expand his skill set, take initiatives during high stress and low frequency incidents, and maintains a positive attitude that motivates those around him. For all of this, it is with great pride that we present officer Alexander Lukanov with the department's officer of the year award. On behalf of the Coconut Creek Police Department, we would like to extend to you our thanks for an outstanding year. And, yeah, come on up.

One more. You good? Okay, next I'd like to call Detective Sherri Stabil to the dais. For Detective Sherri Stabil's outstanding performance as a detective for the Internet Crimes Against Children, ICAC, Task Force. In 2025 alone, Sherri wrote approximately 120 subpoenas, which led to 27 search warrants and seven arrests.

Each case required at least ten plus hours of surveillance to generate a routine of the defendant, as well as even more dedicated hours of follow-up going through the electronic devices of those arrested. Going through the graphic material, often involving the rape of children and animals, is what Officer Stabil's jobs makes Officer Stabil's jobs so difficult, often impossible for the vast majority of those who work within police departments. Her most recent arrest on September 2025 deserves special recognition. Officer Stabil received a priority level cyber tip of a five year old nonverbal female being sexually abused by her mother who resides in Coconut Creek. Within two hours of receiving the tip, members of our special enforcement team were already set up on the residence waiting to take the mother into custody.

Less than four hours later, the mother was taken in custody and her daughter was safely removed from the residence. The mother is still in custody with one of the charges being filed as no bond and the other three amounting to over $750,000 This dark underground world of child sex crimes is almost unknown to most people, even law enforcement officers. Thanks to Officer Stabil's commitment and dedication to her job, hundreds, if not thousands, of voiceless victims would not be brought to justice they deserve. For all of this, it is with great pride that we present Detective Sherri Stabil with the department's Detective of the Year Award. On behalf of the Coconut Creek Police Department, I would like to extend to you our thanks for an outstanding year, and the first person to ever get this award.

All right. Let's do all right, yeah, come on commissioners. Okay, family and friends first. I got it now. I'll I'll change it.

Yeah.

Congratulations. All right. Next I'd like to call Tom Arulo up.

Okay.

Over the past twenty four months, our digital evidence administrator, Tom Arulo, spent much of his time installing a pair of crucial programs for the department, the body worn camera system and the TASER 10 conversion. Tom was an integral part in setting up, maintaining, and organizing training for 134 body cameras, along with 99 dashboard cameras in all of our vehicles. He also had to sort through as many as 200 daily accidental recordings when the body worn camera program started. Through careful attention and communication to patrol, that number is now down to an average of 50 every day. Tom also led the conversion from the TASER sevens to the TASER 10s, which included replacing all 132 TASER 10s issued to officers after he discovered a problem with the units in the original order, saving the agency both time and potential headache if a malfunction were to have occurred.

Tom oversees more than a quarter of a million pieces of digital evidence. Our agency ingests 14,500 new pieces of evidence monthly. During a recent seven month period alone, Tom had to classify more than 6,000 videos as non evidentiary. That's a lot of work. Tom also maintains certifications for all 171 vehicles in our fleet, including 25 radar units, 11 laser devices, and 31 tint meters. And for all of this and everything else that he does for everybody in this department, it is with great pride that we present Tom Marullo with the department's civilian of the year. On behalf of the Coconut Creek Police Department, I would like to extend to you our thanks for an outstanding year, Tom.

I wish they didn't run off, but I wanna say we're so proud of our our police department, all our officers, but congratulations to these exceptional officers. Thank you so much for everything you do. We are in good hands. Thank you. Okay.

All right. Next, we have a proclamation recognizing March 2026 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Vice Mayor Wasserman, you please read the proclamation into record and present it to Kasia Ozehofsky, ambassador of the Fight Colorectal Cancer Organization. And I hope I didn't butcher the name, sorry.

Whereas colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in The United States among men and women combined, And whereas colorectal cancer is increasing at an alarming rate among young people, and is now the leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women 50. And whereas colorectal cancer is one of the few cancers that can be prevented with timely screening, but one in three eligible Americans are not up to date on screening. And whereas when colon cancer is found at an early stage, the five year survival rate is ninety one percent. And whereas the goal established by the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable is to strive to increase timely colorectal cancer screening rates to eighty percent in every community for all Americans eligible for screening. And whereas Observing Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month during the month of March provides a special opportunity to increase awareness and offer education on the importance of early detection and screening of colorectal cancer.

Now therefore be it resolved that the City Commission of the City of Coconut Creek, Florida hereby recognizes March 2026 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month to raise awareness, encourage prevention, and honor those across our community who have been impacted by the disease that has been signed by the mayor, the vice mayor, the commission, and attested by our city clerk. And we're grateful to do this, and, I'll meet you up, right there.

Thank you so much. Okay.

Good evening, mayor and commissioners. My name is Kasia Johovska, and I want to sincerely thank you for this proclamation and for officially recognizing March Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. I am deeply grateful for your compassion and your willingness to stand with patients, survivors, caregivers, and families like mine. Your leadership sends a powerful message of hope, awareness, and action throughout our community. At 40 years old, I was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, meaning the cancer has already metastasized to other parts of my body.

At the time, my children were only eight and two. On that November day, just before Thanksgiving, my world was turned upside down. Because of my age, I was initially misdiagnosed with gallbladder stones. Later, I learned I didn't have any stones. I had colon cancer that has spread to my liver.

Only about sixteen percent of individuals with similar diagnosis survived five years. But by the grace of God and through the extraordinary skill of the surgeons and oncologists at the Cleveland Clinic of Florida, I was given a fighting chance. After multiple rounds of intense chemotherapy where I lost my hair, thank god it it's back, the tumors on my liver shrank enough for surgeons to remove the affected portions of my liver and part of my colon. I then continued chemotherapy to eliminate my remaining cancer cells. A year later, the cancer returned, this time on the other side of my liver, and once again I endured more chemotherapy followed by another liver resection.

Today, by God's grace and the dedication of my medical team, I have been cancer free for six years. Thank you. This is the reason for my advocacy, to bring awareness to the communities and to save lives. Colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable and treatable cancers when caught early, yet it remains the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in this country and worldwide. And just last month in January, the American Cancer Society released new data showing that colorectal cancer is now the number one cancer killer for people 50.

Too many people are being diagnosed at later stages because they don't recognize the symptoms, don't understand the risk factors, or believe they are too young to be affected. I was only 40 years old. I never imagined that that could have happened to me. This is why I advocate. This is why I speak.

This is why I share my story. Next week, my entire family, my husband right there, were traveling to DC to meet with elected officials, senators, and members of Congress to advocate for increased funding for colorectal screening and awareness. Colorectal cancer is one of the top five cancer killers that does not have its own federal funding. That and that must change. We need better access to screening.

We need more research. We need education that reaches people before it's too late. Because behind every statistic, there is a mother, there is a father, there is a child, and a family just like mine. This proclamation is more than words on paper. It is a reminder that colorectal cancer does not discriminate by age or by skin color. It is a call for awareness, for screening, and for listening to our bodies. Early detection saves lives. Education saves lives lives, and proclamations like this save lives. Thank you for standing with us and for helping me helping me spread awareness. Thank you.

Thank you, dear. And God bless you, and you will always be in our prayers. Thank you. And congratulations. Stay this way, please. Thank you. All right. Our next proclamation recognizing March 2026 as Irish American Heritage Month. Commissioner Welsh will read the proclamation into record and present it to you, Matthew Higgins, with the Broward County Ancient Ancient Order of the Hibernians.

Thank you, mayor. Whereas by seventeen seventy six, nearly 300,000 Irish nationals had immigrated to the American colonies and played a crucial role in America's independence. And whereas five signers of the Declaration of Independence were of Irish descent and three signers were Irish born, helping fashion a system of government for our young nation. And whereas in 1792, Irish born James Hoban provided the architectural plans for the White House and served as one of the supervising architects for the construction of the capital. And whereas Irish born commodore John Barry fought the last sea battle of the American Revolution off the coast of Florida and was recognized by the United States Congress as the first flag officer of the United States Navy.

And whereas three of the Spanish governors of La Florida were Irish military officers, and whereas father Richard Arthur, an Irish born priest from Limerick, who was appointed parish priest in Saint Augustine in 1597, an ecclesiastical judge of La Florida, established the first public school in America. And whereas Andrew Jackson, whose family came from County Antrim, served as Florida's military governor following its acquisition by The United States. And whereas 22 presidents have proudly proclaimed their Irish American heritage, and whereas Irish Americans, since America's inception, have provided and continued to provide leadership and service to our nation's government, business, and cultural establishments. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the city commission of the city of Coconut Creek, Florida hereby proclaims the month of March 2026 as Irish American Heritage Month in celebration of the rich cultural heritage and the many valuable contributions of Irish Americans to our state and nation. It's witnessed and attested by our city clerk and signed by our mayor and commission.

Well, March 17, we'll all be Irish. Thank you. Next, we have a proclamation recognizing March 2026 as procurement month, and 03/11/2026 as Procurement Professionals Day. I will read the proclamation into record and present it to the procurement division team.

Whereas

public procurement plays a vital role in supporting internal departments and the business community through professionalism, innovation, ethics, and transparency. And whereas the procurement division adds value to the city of Coconut Creek by securing favorable contracts, conducting market research, advancing strategic procurement practices, and fostering collaborative relationships through technology, competition, and best practices. And whereas, a first class procurement division safeguards public funds through ethical, transparent, and compliant acquisition practices, promotes fair competition, and instills public confidence and trust in the integrity of the procurement process. And whereas, the Institute for Public Procurement, NIGP, has designated the month of March as procurement month to increase awareness of the role of procurement professionals among governmental officials, businesses, corporate leaders, and the general public. And whereas in support of this initiative, we proclaim the second Wednesday in March as Procurement Professionals Day.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the city commission of the city of Coconut Creek, Florida hereby proclaims the month of March 2026 as Procurement Month and 03/11/2026 as procurement professionals day in the city of Coconut Creek and urges all community members to show their support and expand awareness of the procurement professionals role to government officials, the general public, businesses, and corporate leaders. In witness, we have hereto set our hands and cause the seal of the city of Coconut Creek to be affixed this February 2026, signed by the mayor, vice mayor, and commissioners. And I will be presenting it to our procurement team. Thank you, another amazing team of Coconut Creek staff. Thank you.

Okay. Now we will have input from the public. We will now have input from the public on non agenda or consent agenda items. I remind everyone wishing to speak that all comments must pertain to city business. Respect and proper decorum will be maintained. Behavior that disrupts the orderly conduct of this meeting, such as clapping, shouting, booing, and cheering, is not permitted. Any person who violates the decorum rules will be subject to removal from the commission chambers. As a reminder, all comments must pertain to city business. City Clerk Kavanaugh, is there anyone who has signed up to speak on non agenda or consent agenda items?

Yes, Mayor. We have two individuals signed up to speak this evening.

The first is Beth Acker. Okay.

Thank you.

I'll bring this on

here. Gonna make you work.

There. Oh, man.

My name is Beth Acker, and this is Kathy Green. We're both proud members of the Coral Springs Quilt Guild. As a guild, we share a love of quilting, creativity, and community. But one of the most meaningful things we do is create quilts to give to veterans. Each quilt is made with care and gratitude as a small way to honor their service and sacrifice.

I'm grateful to be part of a group that uses our skills not just to create something beautiful, but to give back in such a heartfelt way. The quilts we gift are added to the National Registry through the mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation. We present more than a quilt. We present a tangible symbol of gratitude, stitched with love, respect, and heartfelt appreciation. Each quilt represents comfort, healing, and recognition.

It is a reminder that service does not go unnoticed and sacrifice is never forgotten. For many of our veterans, especially those who served in difficult and divided times, there was no parade, no celebration, and no proper welcome home. Earlier this month, recipients have shared what those words truly mean. They describe the relief of stepping into a space where you are seen not for what you've achieved or endured, but for who you are. They've spoken excuse me of Welcome Home as the moment when a long, challenging, transformative journey meets acceptance.

It signals safety. It signals community. It signals that you are no longer alone. Today, we have the privilege of saying the words that should have always been said, Welcome home. Today, we gather to honor an extraordinary individual whose courage and sacrifice have safeguarded the freedoms we hold dear.

We're proud to recognize Commissioner John Brody. John began his service in the United States Army on 03/01/1989, serving honorably until 03/14/1997, achieving the rank of corporal E-four. A combat disabled veteran, he demonstrated courage and dedication through multiple military specialties, first in the signal courts corps and later in aviation. His assignments reflect both responsibility and trust. He served with the first and eleventh field artillery and the five thirty eighth United States Artillery Group for nuclear weapons in Istanbul, Turkey.

He went on to serve with NATO land southeast in Southern Turkey and concluded his military career with four years in the highly respected one hundred and first Screaming Eagle Air Assault Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. But John's service did not end when he hung up his uniform. Today, he continues to serve veterans as a veteran service officer for the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, helping fellow service members navigate the claims process and receive support for service connected disabilities. He has led Veterans Park with new monuments, ensuring that the legacy of his service in our community is honored and preserved. His commitment excuse me extends even further.

He supports the Foundation for Independent Living, serving adults with special needs. He sits on the board of directors for Tomorrow's Rainbow, a nonprofit that helps children coping with the loss of a parent or a loved one. He is an honorary member of the Coconut Creek Women's Club for his dedication to uplifting women in the community. As a member of the nine seventeen Society, he delivers pocket constitutions to eighth grade students and teaches them about the rights and responsibilities we cherish as Americans. Since April 2022, John has also served as a commissioner for the city of Coconut Creek, continuing his lifelong commitment to leadership and public service.

I can personally attest to John's character, integrity, and unwavering dedication to this city, to our veterans, and to the community at large. He leads not only with his voice, but with his actions. Today, the Quilts of Valor Foundation, we honor not just a soldier, but a servant leader. Not just a veteran, but a man whose life reflects duty, compassion, and commitment. Commissioner John Brody, on behalf of a grateful community and a grateful nation, thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your continued leadership.

And today, sounded by those who respect and appreciate you, we say what every veteran deserves to hear, welcome home.

Okay.

Congratulations. That's really very beautiful. And Yes. Yes. Yes. Very beautiful. Thank you. Yes. And congratulations. And thank you, John. And thank you to all our vets out there for your service. Mr. Kavanaugh, is there anyone else who wishes to speak?

MR. Yes, mayor. The next speaker that signed up to

speak this evening is Adam Mammen.

Okay. Good evening. Yes, please.

Evening, and thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name's Adam Mammen. I'm in The U. S. On an O1A visa as a specialist in the metals industry.

I studied law at the University of Leeds in England, and I was going to be a barrister until a friend of mine at Oxford University introduced me to a company called Stemcorp which is a global steel trading company. I went to an interview on a Friday afternoon, loved everything I heard and started work on Monday. I've worked in the industry for twenty three years and it's my job to identify buyers and sellers of various metal underlyings and I've been in The U. S. Since 2011 when I came over here with Credit Suisse to develop their corporate hedging policy and sales desk.

And they closed their business in 2014 when I was working out of their Park Avenue office in New York, living up in Greenwich, Connecticut. And then I got into the broking world. So when you move from banking into broking, it's all about your address book and relationships that you've sustained so that you're able to then put buyers and sellers of various backgrounds traders, banks, hedge funds, corporates with large exposure to a very volatile metals market. I'm sure you're all seeing the headlines of the new highs out there across the barometer of the range of metals. So why am I here today speaking to you?

There are eight to 10,000,000 Floridians that don't have curbside collection for their recycling. And for me to be the best at my job so that my phones ring off the hook and I don't have to canvas people for business and calling them up, whether they're on banking desks or hedge funds or businesses with lots of meetings back to back all the time, I've developed what I believe is going to be a really efficient recycling model. I understand that this municipality doesn't have curbside, that there's pressure and maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I've been told by some residents. So is that correct still? Yeah, okay.

So there's 60,000 residents in this municipality. Just use beverage cans, to use an example. It's approximately $10 per person per year. That's $600,000 In my model, we've got corporates out there that want to see social programs work. So, we can probably turn the 600,000 into 1,200,000.0 by using corporate matching policies from all those big shiny companies like Target that you go to who have promises about increasing community engagement, reducing carbon footprint, and also the one philanthropy.

Absolutely. So, that's just used beverage cans. Of course, people are putting all sorts of heavy things made out of metal outside. So I'd like to make an offer and I've put in five years of work on planning on this, to bring together some of the world's best traders that are willing to get behind this and we will finance the whole program, do it for free and put the full value of metal back to you to put towards social programs. I'm sorry, I don't know what the time limit is here but if you don't mind, I've got a few more things to say.

Is that okay? Okay, So the way this is going to work is to look at a cross section of nonprofits, all of them with social programs that hopefully would align. And if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you if budget wasn't an issue, do you have any idea or would you like to take time between now and whenever the next meeting is to think about what programs you'd like to see addressed that you don't have the budget for right now? And I'll make it my business to make sure that we align certain nonprofits and foundations out there to make sure that they pay for these various things that you're trying to do.

I might ask just and I'm sorry to interrupt, but this is a section

of

the meeting where it is on a time limitation. Our public works director, Harry, is sitting right back there. And I think he was probably already pulling out his business card, because I think the first step would be to sit with Harry and Mike Heimbeck on his team who handles our solid waste and our recycling And let's start there.

All right. I did try calling up your solid waste team and explained what I was trying to do and I had a phone put down on me, so that's why I'm here today. Also, wanted to just put to you that you have the Florida League of Mayors that I read about and they have a deadline of April 30 for any initiatives which could be rolled out across the state to make a measurable change. I think if we make a quick decision to do this, you've got nothing to lose right now because you've got people throwing money in the trash or people paying people to take away things that we're going to do for free. I'm asking you that if I get the backing, I can give you eight weeks of performance and all the money back for that And quite honestly, I want a license to be able to do this for the next thirty years because I've got pension funds that want long dated risk and we're going to issue green municipal bonds which will be backed by repayments on a monthly basis from the value of the metal that you haven't managed to get people to take away because you don't have the budget.

Thank you. Harry, do you have that business card?

Okay. Thank you. Mr. Kavanaugh, is there anyone else?

None at this time, ma'am.

Thank you. Is there anyone present that would like to speak? Seeing none, this portion is closed. Thank you. Now on to the regular agenda, Resolution twenty twenty six-twenty six, a resolution authorizing the city manager or designee to execute an agreement with Sunshine Cleaning Systems, LLC. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I skipped over to the regular agenda, and I should be. At the consent agenda, items seven through nine. I will read each title into the record.

If anyone wishes to pull, please let me know. A motion approving the minutes from previous sitting commission meetings, twenty zero one two one WS, twenty twenty six dash zero one two two WS, and twenty twenty six dash zero one two two R. Number eight, resolution 2026Dash025, a resolution authorizing the city manager or designee to execute the Sixth Amendment to the interlocal agreement with Broward County for community shuttle service. Number

nine,

resolution twenty twenty six dash 27, a resolution authorizing the mayor and the city manager or their designee to execute a tri party revocable license agreement between Broward County CocoMart Property Owner LLC and the city of Coconut Creek for the purpose of maintaining sidewalks, landscaping, and other improvements within the right of way of Lyons Road, north of Atlantic Boulevard related to the Grey Star Coco Mar development project. Are there any items the commission wishes to pull from the consent agenda? No? Great. Okay. Is there a motion and second to approve the consent agenda items seven through nine? Move it.

Second.

Thank you. Motion made by Commissioner Welch, seconded by Vice Mayor Wasserman. Okay. Now, to the regular agenda. Oh, we vote. I'm sorry. I'm off tonight. Okay. Mr. Kavanaugh, please call the roll.

Commissioner Riedel.

We put him to sleep.

Yes.

Thank you. Commissioner Welch?

Yes.

Commissioner Brody? Yes. Vice Mayor Washington? Yes.

Mayor Rowley?

Yes. On to the regular agenda. Resolution number 10, Resolution twenty twenty six dash 26, a resolution authorizing the city manager or designee to execute an agreement with Sunshine Cleaning Systems, LLC, doing business as Pritchard Industries to provide janitorial services for city facilities pursuant to RFP number One-fifteen-twentySix-nine. Is there a motion and a second?

Move it.

Second. Moved by Vice Mayor Wasserman, seconded by Commissioner Brody. Public Works Staff S. Harry Maut, please make the report.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Commissioners. On 12/14/2025, the city issued RFP number 01152609, a comprehend for a comprehensive janitorial service for various city facilities. The scope of work include furnishing all labor supervision, supplies, equipment, tools related to the services necessary to maintain the facilities in clean, neat, and orderly condition. This also included the recycling taking the recycling container contents to the drop off center. The city's current general services agreement is nearing expiration, and there are no new renewals.

An invitation was electronically issued to over 200 to 231 prospective vendors. The selection committee comprised of John Tederus, Public Works Superintendent John Yancey, Public Works Facilities Maintenance Supervisor and Enrique Castro, Parks and Recreation Superintendent evaluated and ranked the proposal in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in the RFP, which included the operational plan for the city, the qualifications and experience, resources and availability, and past performance, and price. Following a comprehensive review and discussion of the proposals, the selection committee recommends awarding the contract to Sunshine Cleaning Services. The initial contract period will be for four years, with the option with the option renewed for two renewal periods, one year at a time. Sunshine Cleaning Service also is also the current vendor.

And there's also a question there was a prior question about the wages that they currently pay, and they range from $14.5 to $16 depending on the position. And, the increases are tied to the Florida minimum wage law. This October, minimum wage will increase by a dollar. And, after 2026, increases are tied to the CPI. Sunshine increases their employee wages at the same rate. Minimum wages increase. For example, if you make $16 an hour and it goes up a dollar, then you're up to 17. Mr. Bruce Walker is here representing Sunshine Cleaning Services tonight, if you have any questions. And, thank you for your time.

Thank you. Vice Mayor Wasserman. Thank

you, mayor. I'm sorry. No, I I always see I always see sunshine I always see the trucks. So, you know, you guys are out and about. They're just res what what exactly is the are they responsible for cleaning? Just like the facility, like, all, like, the Restrooms. City hall parks and rec restrooms, all those?

Correct.

Is there anything I was missing in what I just said?

Nope. That's pretty much it. The the only facilities that don't clean some of the fire station areas, the fire station members clean themselves. But they do have a periodic deep cleaning that they perform at the fire stations.

And they clean the police department?

Yes.

Okay. Thank you so much, and thank you for being here.

Okay. Yes. Just a comment. In reading the list of services that are provided, I mean, it's enormous, the breadth of the entire city. So, you know, kudos. And the ones that only ones that I really interact with are the ones that I see here in city hall, but you're everywhere. Even the bus stops, right?

Correct.

So thank you for that, because the last thing we want to see is litter in and around the bus stops on the main road. So just doing a good job. Thank you very much. And thanks for being here tonight.

Okay. Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, you do do a good job. All right. Any further questions? Okay. Mr. Kavanaugh, would you please call the roll.

Commissioner Riedel? Yes.

Commissioner Welch? Yes.

Commissioner Brody? Yes. Vice Mayor Wasserman? Yes. Mayor Raley?

Yes. Okay. Number 11, Resolution twenty twenty six-twenty four, a resolution approving the city of Coconut Creek's twenty twenty six federal legislative agenda. Is there a motion and a second?

CHRISTIAN Move it. JULIE Second.

Thank you. Moved by Commissioner Welch, seconded by Commissioner Brody. Okay. Thank you. Bernadette Hughes will now present.

Good evening, mayor and commission. Good evening. The agenda item before you tonight is a resolution approving the city's proposed 2026 federal legislative agenda. This agenda was developed in coordination with our federal lobbyists, one of whom traveled from Washington DC to be here with us tonight, Jim Crum, and city staff, and it reflects the city's key operational, infrastructure, environmental, and public safety priorities throughout the year. I'd like to briefly highlight two of our successes over the past year that came from our federal legislative agenda.

First, our federal team has been helping us navigate significant policy transitions at the federal level under the current administration, things that they're looking at favorably or not favorably for funding. And their insight led actually to tangible updates in our Vision 2030 strategic plan. We refreshed it over the past year, and that ensures our priorities remain aligned with the evolving federal funding and policy landscape. Second, they assisted us with our federal appropriations requests. And I say requests, plural, because we did put in two last year for the cities.

One of them was for our redundant fiber optic program, and the other one was for the AMI program. You know, even putting together those applications is a ton of work, getting letters of support, and they coordinate that process beautifully. At the end of the day, Moskowitz's office determines which ones he wants to move forward and support. He chose one of them. And so that was a huge success.

We have received $1,030,000 for that project, and actually just got the email yesterday from the agency moving that process forward. So we're thrilled with that. Now, looking ahead to the 2026, this proposed federal agenda focuses on a couple of things. Number one, protecting local control two, supporting continued investment in public safety, infrastructure, and economic development programs three, monitoring environmental and regulatory changes that may impact city operations And four, again, positioning priority infrastructure projects for federal funding. The appropriations deadline this year, we just found out yesterday, is March 9.

It's coming up very quick. We've got a conference call already set for, congressman Moskowitz's office next Thursday. And I don't want to steal his thunder. You know, I was going to tell you that we're here for any questions, but we had a really productive day today going through our future appropriations asks. And since he traveled from DC, I wanted to offer Jim Crum a couple of moments to speak.

Thank you, Bernadette. Mayor, Vice Mayor, fellow commissioners, it's good to see you again. Thank you again for inviting me down again this year. You know, I represent Harry and the rest of our team back at VSA, and Bernadette highlighted some very dynamic environment that we had at the start of this new administration this past year. And the ability of our longstanding relationship with you, setting the policy guidelines and working with the city team, It's just this tight synergy that keeps us very, very agile.

And we adjusted very well to the very changing dynamic environment that the new administration brought in and changing the agency's priorities and changing the decisions about how they make funding moves and funding allocations to local communities like yourself, and I thought we had a very, very productive year. So, we turn the page and look at 2026, and I just want to set the tone that, in terms of expectations, Congress has geared up and launched the 2026 preparation season, a legislative year that will go for the entire year. And we are in lockstep and very prepared for those for the ramping up and and the the flag going up, so to speak, that happened just over the last couple of weeks. We actually talked about and we do this every year now we talk about the potential projects and the needs and programs that you have back in November and October to get ready for the year. And that's what keeps us ahead of the bow wave, as I often say, and be ready to be make the submissions on time, meet those deadlines, meet with your representatives so that we're at the head of the line, so to speak, instead of playing catch up.

And I owe all that to Bernadette and the Citi team and your guidance there on on the commission. So thank you very much for having me down here. We're ready for 2026. We're looking for a very productive year for 2026, and we'll always have your back and be in your corner. Thank you.

Thank you. And thank you for being here. Okay. Thank you, Bernadette. Do we have any questions? Yes. I Commissioner

just want to call out you couldn't have a better city partner than Bernadette Hughes. And thank you for the metrics, because we know that's important to see the value of the money that we spend.

And I will just say that if and when you approve this tonight, it goes in tab number three in your legislative binder. Okay.

Okay, then. Good. Anyone else? No? Good? All right. Thank you. Thanks so much. Now we're in good hands again. Mr. Kavanaugh, would you please call the roll?

Commissioner Rydell?

No.

Commissioner Welch?

Yes.

Commissioner Brody. Yes. Vice Mayor Wasserman. Yes. Mayor Raley.

Yes. Okay, thank you. All right. City manager's report. Deputy city manager's report. Report.

Very brief this evening, only that obviously we'll be in constant communication with the commission as we approach Saturday with any impact the weather may have. Hopefully, you don't hear from any of us related to the weather. And let's keep our fingers crossed. Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes. And, of course, we're referring to the Butterfly Festival. Okay. City attorney Pyburn, please. Thank you, mayor.

I just wanted to let you all know that we sent a notice of default in early February to Dish Wireless for their failure to pay rent to us for three months. They had previously sent a letter to our consultant, Cityscape, explaining that based on recent FCC actions, they were notified they basically notified them that they would be shutting down, and therefore, we don't expect that they will cure their default within forty five days. This pertains to their lease of the tower at Winston Park. And so at this time, I would like to request they still have some time left to cure the default. But if they do not, we'd like to start working on and this is something we'd handle internally but I'd like to request authority to start to prepare an eviction proceeding to be able to file that in court.

So that way, we can possibly evict them and get the equipment off of the tower. It's my understanding that there may be other carriers that are interested in this space, and this is something they're doing nationwide. So we really don't expect that it's likely that they will cure. So I'm just asking for consensus to start the process.

May I say something? I wanted to let you know that there's no turning back. They did this through the entire system of Crown Castle, American Tower, and Vertical Bridge. They're defaulting on every loan across the nation.

That's what I've So

it's a done deal. Bankrupt. They're not bankrupt. They're letting that division go under.

Right.

So I actually worked for that division at one point. So my sources are coming in hard, saying that this is something that we probably need to pursue as soon as possible.

Okay. Thank you. Thanks for that additional information.

I'll give consensus.

Yeah.

Thank you. Good.

All right. Thank you. Commissioner Walsh? Oh, commissioner Rydell, would you like to update us?

Yeah. Thank you, mayor. I appreciate the the virtual courtesy.

Thank you.

I am currently in Tallahassee. I appreciate the you guys excusing me for in person attendance. Just wanna update you. I know I wanna thank commissioner Welsh Welsh for attending the the Solid Waste Authority in person for me. I'm curious to hear an update from her. I haven't spoke to her since. But just to update everybody on that, the new executive director temporarily of the Solid Waste Authority is gonna be Sam May. I know some of you know Sam. I know some of you don't. It's a very good choice.

I'm happy to to download everybody more, but I'll just be very brief in my comments at Tallahassee. I've met with appropriations from their utilities department and as well as their environmental department with, Lauren Jackson and Candace Ericks. Very productive meetings. They have butterfly lapel pins in memory of the meeting. I think Lauren and Candice will update you. It was very, very productive, and I'm really hopeful that based on some of these meetings, we're gonna have those two projects that we have currently in appropriations, ultimately be signed into the budget. So I will update everybody more as it comes through, but it's been actually a pretty good meetings up here, and I'll leave it at that. Thank you, everybody. Look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

Okay. Thank you, Josh. Safe travels. Commissioner Welch.

Okay. Thank you. Along the line of the person that came and gave public input tonight, I had asked our city attorney earlier if we were able to have an executive session amongst all of us to talk about the upcoming waste and recycling contract. As I know we've been updated one on one, but we have not had an opportunity really to speak in-depth about our desires and what we think we would like for the next services that we are providing to our residents look like. So, in lieu of an executive session, I would like to see if we can have a workshop, if even only a one hour workshop, discuss freely amongst ourselves so that we don't wait until it comes before us for one or any one of us to say, you know, that really isn't the direction that we were wanting.

Seem to have taken that tone in other matters to not wait until things finalized come before us, but to have good, in-depth conversations prior to. So I'm asking if we can do the same for our waste and recycle direction.

Sounds good. Sounds good to I think that's a very good idea. Think we should could we set something up, please?

I really appreciate that.

Yep. Before I I just I don't want to interrupt, but before I give consensus to something, I'm unclear of the direction Commissioner Welch wants us to like, can you be a little more clear and descriptive Commissioner Welch in regarding me giving consensus?

The clarity that I'm looking for is for us to be able to, you know, because things are moving along, and I don't know that everyone is aware or has been educated about the depth of the details and how they may or may not be implemented. And I just think it would be prudent of us to not wait until the product is finalized, but to, if we have any reservations, now would be the time. Or if we have any encouragement about the direction that it is going, now would be the time.

Sorry, are you speaking

to the Proactive same rather than reactive. And I think

Could you just clarify when you say direction it's going, what are we talking about in terms of, just so it's clear?

Well, we're talking about our waste, particularly, we're talking about our waste and recycle contract.

Okay. That's what I thought. I just wanted to confirm.

Yes. No. I'm sorry if I didn't

Yes.

Say that clearly.

So I don't I don't wanna interrupt. I just wanna inquire. Commissioner Welsh, are you saying that we're not you're not talking solid waste authority. You're talking about the future of the city's hauling and recycling objectives?

Yes. Our city in particular Yes. Commissioner Rydell.

Okay. So am I clear in understanding you want to workshop on our contract for future hauling and recycling?

Yes. Yes.

Okay. That's I just I I wasn't clear because it was apples and oranges because I know you've been sitting in the solid way, so I wasn't I wasn't sure. Okay. I got it. I'm clear. Thank you.

Okay. Okay. So do you are you good or not?

Are you asking the the the voice of Oz right now?

The voice of Oz. I was waiting. Okay.

Yes. Odds gives consensus.

Yes. Thank you. Yes.

Appreciate that. Thank you so much. But along the solid waste authority line, commissioner Rydell, I couldn't have been happier to hear that the the selection was made for Sam May rather than some of the other applicants. I'm sorry, I just had to put that out there. And so stay tuned, as they say, right? I did attend the Safe Street Summit. I have to be honest, I didn't go today. I, did go yesterday. And one of the the keynote speaker at noon was, I thought he was the director, but he was the deputy director of the United States Department of Transportation. And he fielded a lot of questions.

And one of them, I think I shared it with the mayor earlier, did raise a few eyebrows in the room. It was directed to the gas tax, The U. S. Gas tax that goes towards the Highway Trust Fund. And how were the shortfalls between those with electrical vehicles to support that fund?

Were there any plans for that? He didn't really address it. And then the next question was about electric vehicles and The The US making any accommodations for infrastructure for chargers, etcetera. And he said, let me be clear, the government, the US government is not in the bill business of building gas stations, nor is it in the business of manufacturing car chargers. So he put that that conversation to rest.

And I know the state has funded, particularly, I was thinking about our evacuation preparations if we ever have to go out in emergency, that I hope the state never stops making those accommodations. But, anyway, it was really good. And the last one was an exercise, electives with planners working on one mile stretch of 17th Street and all of the things, the fatalities that have occurred there, where they occurred, and then the very severe injury locations, and what we could do to make them, the situation better, both short term within five years, and then within the ten year plan. And then, of course, the ten year plan would accommodate the light rail that would go down that street. So it was interesting dynamics between electeds and civil engineers and deputy city managers.

So one of the facilitators had to remind the planners in the in the table that the policymakers were on this side. We probably needed to come to some sort of consensus so we could actually get something done. But it was great. I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend the second one, but the first one was a really good exercise. And a lot of conversations about e bikes, e scooters, and how to deal with them one way or the other.

So, I got some good contacts, and I hope to get some more information about how, excuse me, we as in the city can maybe go forward if we need to do so. And I'm going to leave it at that and see everybody Saturday with our new Butterflesh Festival shirts.

Thank you. Commissioner Brody.

Well, first, I want to thank the Quilt Society for doing that. It was pretty cool. By the way, didn't write that. And it is very strange hearing somebody talk that way about yourself. It's kind of like, they're talking about me. So that was kind of cool. Do appreciate that. And it's hard to get recognition sometimes when you put this stuff behind you, especially since I got out in 1997. That's a long time. So I got a little emotional.

Second thing is I'm going to be going out to San Diego in April for my mom's funeral. And while I'm there and this kind of follows with what we were talking about. I'm trying to make appointments with the Chula Vista city commission and mayor to go and look at their composting program, because they have a massive, massive program in place of about 280,000 residents involved. And people are bringing five gallon buckets and picking up compost to bring home. And I think that's phenomenal.

But if we can get a little taste of what they're doing and seeing how they're organizing it, I think it will help us understand how we need to budget our composting program. Because they're using all the same players. They use Republic. Republic runs it. So they have a footprint of how to do this. So instead of recreating a wheel, we can just go to the people that are already doing it on a mass scale and figure out how we can apply it here. So I'm kind of sending my emails out to all the people involved. Of course, I grew up there, so hopefully they respond quickly and we can get that kind of set up. And I'm looking forward to Saturday. You know, the Butterfly Festival's always been a fun thing.

I've gone every year since I've lived in the city, we've done it. And so I'm excited. My daughter and I were just swapping stories about we had nine days with no TV, So we swapped stories, and a lot of it was about Butterfly Festival and all the fun stuff that happened and things that we did. And so I'm kind of looking forward to it. It's the one time that we can relax residents and have some fun with them. And I think it's a great event. I know everybody's been really busting their butt to get this thing up and ready. And I certainly appreciate everybody involved doing this. It's not easy. It's a lot of multiple pieces moving.

And we have a great city, and it's a great thing that we do here for the Butterfly Festival. I'm just proud to be part of it. So thank you, city, for doing it, staff and everybody involved. Thank you, my colleagues sitting next to me, for making this an easy last few months.

Vice Mayor Wasserman.

Thank you, mayor. Just a couple things. Deputy city manager Scott and I Stottemeyer and I did a drive through Greystar about a couple weeks ago. We checked out the construction zone. Things are going well. We haven't heard anything from neighbors, which is good. And hopefully some good things to come from what's going on there. But I just wanted to give the, you know, we did go on-site and we did do some learning about what's going on there. So I wanted to bring that up. If there's any, we find out what's, when the Lorenzo's is going to be demoed?

I know that was approved a while ago, and I don't think there's been any movement. Just to get, like, a little update on when it's going to be knocked down, I'd appreciate that. I'll give a shout out to the women's club for for what they did with the the lunch the lunch debt. I think it's really cool. I think it was something neat that I I think Nancy Fry came up, saw from a North Advisory Council meeting or something she brought to the club.

I think it's a really neat thing that they did to pay off over $500 of students' lunch debt because, you know, breakfast and lunch was free for some time or different things during different times, and some people weren't expecting to pay for it. So, I think it's really cool. So, big shout out to the Women's Club for doing that for our students who had that debt. And, also, super excited about Saturday, the Creek Eats Set De Mezzo food demonstration. We're very excited.

This is going to be really neat. It's something different that the city's trying. I want to give a lot of a lot of credit to the Parks and Rec, to our director, Wayne, and everybody in Leo for for working with Sethe Mezzo to get that done. We're very excited. I know it's at 02:30 and four. I think those are the two times. I'll be at both. And, which is just super cool. So, I think it's something new, something different for our Butterfly Festival. Very excited for Saturday. I'll leave it at that. And thank you so much.

Thank you. All right. Today was the Broward County Planning Council, so I was downtown. So I had the opportunity to stop at our tax appraiser's office and picked up some brochures because of I don't know if our seniors realize just how many exemptions there are for them now in place. So I picked up brochures.

I plan to hand them out to the different HOAs and condo associations and anyone I can, and send out emails just to let them be aware of just how many exemptions are available to them. And I'm not talking about the new tax exemptions that are in legislature. I'm talking about that actually exists now. Also, I was at the hometown market last weekend and, heard from a lot of people, a lot of our vendors, and it was very quiet. It was and they said it's been that way for the last couple of events.

So I was just wondering if there's anything we can do to possibly if we have to advertise it more, put out more flags, let people that are passing by know that it's actually there to draw people in, some kind of incentives. I thought maybe the existing businesses that are there in the plaza could maybe come out, meet the people, maybe do like a sidewalk thing as well in coordination with the hometown market, but just something to breathe a little life in there. I mean, in the beginning, it seemed really busy and vibrant, and the last couple of times, it's been very slow. So And they lost There were quite a few vendors that didn't even show, I think, the last time.

Mayor, I'll commit to you that we will revisit this at our Tuesday morning staff meeting.

That'd be great. Thank you. I appreciate that.

Yes,

Josh?

I apologize. I was just hitting the wrong button. I'm sorry.

JESSICA Oh, okay. No worries. All right. Also went to FAU. Boca had the Freedom Truck there. And I know our Butterfly Festival, the theme is the two hundred and fiftieth birthday of America. So red, white, and blue, and Americana. So they had the Americana Freedom Truck there, which is a mobile museum. Scott Singer had invited several mayors there. And we were about a dozen or to 15 mayors there.

And it was a very cool event. So maybe we could look into that, the Freedom Truck. We could get that maybe at one of our events. That might be great. What else? Okay. I think that's all I've got. So I want to say I look forward to Saturday. Spending some fun time with my my comrades. It.

Move to adjourn.

Meeting adjourned.

Move to adjourn. Yeah.