City Commission - Regular Meeting

Um, there are multiple opportunities to engage during the commission meeting, whether it be by being present as many of you are here via the phone zoom. There's opportunities to engage on a litany of different topics and we look forward to your guidance throughout the meeting. I also like to welcome the chairwoman for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Maritere Rojas, who's here with us, who we're honored and blessed to have her representing the city beautiful. Thank you for your leadership and your commitment. You go above and beyond, and we're blessed to have you serving us. Thank you. And if you haven't had a chance to meet, with the chairwoman. She meets here in the city on a daily basis with constituents and with parents. Please reach out to her. She's incredibly available and always interested in hearing your ideas and how we can continue to collaborate between the city and the school board. Thank you for being here. I'd like to, like I said before, welcome everyone here. It's a good morning. It's a blessed morning here in the city. Beautiful. And to start us off this morning, We have our senior pastor, Bill White, from Christ Journey Church. Good morning and welcome to the city, beautiful.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, esteemed commissioners and community leaders, what a privilege to be with you today for just a 60-second history moment, if I could, celebrating our city together. One hundred years ago, Mr. Merrick, was inviting us to be one of the first five churches in the city beautiful. He sold us our first plot of land for $1 and then gave us the funds on which to build a temporary tabernacle structure right across the street from the Cardboard College of UM. Then after the devastating hurricane of 26 blew it down, he let us meet in the dining room of the Biltmore Hotel and then in the country club of Coral Gables and then by the canal on the UM campus. Then we purchased another piece of his property on Ponce de Leon and built an office building to meet in, a building that we would later sell the proceeds for and then buy the place on Segovia and Riviera where we've met from 1949 until now. Now if you're wondering why am I telling you that, I believe it's because I think Mr. Merrick really wanted us to succeed in a time that was challenging. So from 78 members, we have now grown to over 5,000, and through the decades have been honored to serve the people of Coral Gables and our entire county. We learn from the Bible, Jeremiah 29, that God wants his people to seek the peace and the prosperity of the city to which he has carried us, and then to pray to the Lord for the city, because when it prospers, we will too. And I'm thinking, who knows, maybe that's why Mr. Merrick, a pastor's son himself, wanted churches in his city so we could succeed together. Whatever the case, we have been so pleased to be doing that for 10 decades now, and it is my honor and pleasure to invite God's blessing here today. Could we bow? Gracious Almighty God, we pray your peace and prosperity for this city. We thank you for the mystery and privilege of life, of sharing it with each other. We thank you for Coral Gables and that from the beginning, our lives have been woven together. We pray your blessing, your favor, your protection, your care for all of those who call Coral Gables home. All the children in our schools, the patients in our hospitals, the businesses, all the businesses in every profession that serve, that we might share community together in this place. We remember our first responders and those whose call to serve places them in harm's way. We pray for those serving here to build a brighter day for us all. And we pray for peace in our world that we might prosper together under your gracious hand. Bless us all that we might all be a blessing to others. We ask in your name.

Amen.

Amen. Reverend, we would like to extend our best wishes to you and to your congregation. It is truly an honor, like you said, 10 decades. Looking forward to the next 10. It's an honor to have you here, and we will be celebrating your incredible, incredible church. I think it's on item A5, and looking forward to it. Thank you. Now, a personal point of privilege. Commissioner Lara, please take it away.

Thank you, Mayor. Good morning. So today we have the rare privilege and honor to have an esteemed resident of the city of Coral Gables joining us here today, Dr. Hal Silberman. And he will be leading us today in the Pledge of Allegiance. But before we ask Dr. Silberman to come up and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, allow me just to give you a little bit of background on this extraordinary man. As we continue this tradition at our commission meetings, the Pledge of Allegiance, it is especially meaningful this morning to recognize a member of what Tom Brokaw famously called the greatest generation, Americans whose courage, sacrifice, and sense of duty helped preserve freedom around the world and shape the nation we know today. Today, we are deeply honored to welcome Dr. Hal Silberman, a World War II veteran, long-term Coral Gables resident, and someone who is truly part of the fabric of our city. Remarkably, Dr. Silberman recently celebrated his 101st birthday the very same age as the city of Coral Gables itself. Both were born in 1925, and both continue to represent resilience, strength, and enduring spirit. Dr. Silverman, before we continue, would you mind coming to the podium so everyone can see you? We can all celebrate you.

You'll have to excuse me, but I have impaired hearing. So would you like me to pledge allegiance?

Not yet. I'm almost done celebrating all the things that you've done in a couple of seconds. We'll ask you to read it, but I'll raise my voice because I really want you above all else to hear what I have to say. I hear you now. Very good. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Dr. Silberman served in the United States Army during World War II and was assigned to the Pacific Theater where he served in the Philippines and later occupied Japan following the war. During his service, he worked as a medical technician, helping care for wounded soldiers returning from combat. He has said that serving his country during that defining moment in history was one of the greatest honors in his life. As Memorial Day approaches, we are reminded of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the members of Dr. Silverman's generation, men and women who answer the call to defend freedom during one of the most consequential moments in world history. Their courage and selflessness secured liberties that we continue to cherish today. Even at 101 years old, Dr. Silverman continues to lead a life of service and community involvement here in Coral Gables, inspiring all of us with his patriotism, humility, and extraordinary life story. We found his story so compelling that our communications team recently produced a short video featuring and highlighting your remarkable life, sir, your military service, and enduring connection to Coral Gables. So before we get to that video, we wanted to thank you on behalf of the city of Coral Gables, on behalf of our fellow, my fellow commissioners, thank you for your service to our nation, your example to future generations, and for being here with us today. It is truly our privilege, mine in particular, to invite you to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, if you would, sir. I thank you for inviting me.

It's a pleasure to be here. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you.

So I would ask cable TV, if they would please run the video, and then afterwards we'll do a presentation of a proclamation, sir.

My name is Dr. Hal Silverman. I was born in 1925 in Brooklyn, New York, which makes me over 101. I've been living a good part of my life in the gables My office as a physician was in the Gables for about six years. When I first came down, I came down by train and I looked out and there was the beautiful blue sky. There were no high rises there. And you realize what Merrick accomplished, what a unique man he was. And I always reflect on the beauty of this city. There aren't many cities that are equivalent. Now, when I was 18, at that particular time in the history of America, I elected to join the Navy because my father had been a lifeguard at Coney Island. and he had my brothers and I introduced to swimming and exposure to the water at a very young age. So I was sent to midshipment school, and then when I completed midshipment school, I then was assigned to the Arkansas. I remember surviving. I remember we were at Iwo Jima, and the kamikaze planes were coming and hitting ships left and right. At that time, I had my first conversation with God. I said, God, you get me out of here alive. I'll never complain again. That's always stuck in my mind, because I never complain. I've had experiences. People complain about this. They complain about that. They complain about their food. I'm just happy I'm alive. I'm happy that I've been able to do the things I do. Well, I feel I did a lot for my country, and I feel good about it. And I always reflect on what Kennedy said when he said, think not of what the government can do for you, but think of what you could do for the government. And that was our attitude in those days.

Mr. Mayor, if I may take it a little bit out of order. And we're going to take care of making sure we recognize you. I owe you a corrected proclamation, sir, because I have you listed as an Army veteran. But obviously, you're a Navy veteran. So I don't want to offend anybody who is in any one of our esteemed branches. But although we made reference to Army, we'll correct it. And we'll make sure that we recognize that you were in the Pacific theater serving in the United States Naval Forces. So with no further ado, whereas Dr. Hal Silberman is a proud member of what has become known as the greatest generation, whose courage, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to freedom helped preserve democracy during one of the most defining periods in world history, and whereas Dr. Silberman recently celebrated his 101st birthday, sharing the same birth year as the city of Coral Gables itself, with both having been founded in 1925 and continuing to embody resilience, strength, and enduring spirit, And whereas during World War II, Dr. Silberman honorably served in the United States Navy as a medical technician assigned to the Pacific Theater, where he served in the Philippines and later participated in the occupation of Japan following the war, caring for wounded soldiers returning from combat. And whereas Dr. Silberman has reflected that serving his country during World War II was among the greatest honors of his life, exemplifying the patriotism selflessness, and dedication demonstrated by the men and women of his generation. And whereas at 101 years old, Dr. Silberman continues to lead a life of service and community involvement in Coral Gables, inspiring residents of all ages through his humility, patriotism, and commitment to preserving the memory and the lessons of those he served. And whereas as the nation prepares to observe Memorial Day, and continues commemorating the semi-quintessential of the United States. That's 250 years. Dr. Silberman's life stands as a powerful reminder of the sacrifice made by generations of Americans who defended the freedoms and democratic ideals we cherish today. Now, therefore, I, Vince Lago, as mayor of the city of Coral Gables, on behalf of the city commission, do hereby proclaim May 20, 2026 as Dr. Hal Silberman Day in Coral Gables.

So doctor, before we take a photo with you, I know it's a lot of us are looking forward to that. I've had the pleasure of meeting you on multiple occasions and I'm always. I have a hearing impairment. Well, I'm going to do my best to speak as loud as I can. So I've had the pleasure of meeting you on different occasions, and I've always come away impressed, not only because of your good nature and how kind you are, but of your service to our great country. And as a physician, I have a lot of respect for you. My father and my grandfather were both physicians. My father's still a physician. And your story about serving 60 years reminds me a lot of my grandfather, especially when I saw you with a double-breasted suit, reminded me of my grandfather a lot. There's been a few occasions when you're the mayor that you have the opportunity to grant the highest honor to a resident, a business owner, an employee. And I think I've done it probably around 12 times. I'm memorializing them on my website. And I thought about, as I talked to Commissioner Lara, about what can we do to honor someone who has given everything to this great country. And as a son of immigrants, first generation American, we can never pay, we can never repay the debt, your commitment, not only as a physician, but also as a veteran. Serving in World War II, the greatest generation, paved for our freedoms. You truly were a magical generation. You thought of others before yourself. And for that, we're eternally grateful. So it's our honor, on behalf of the commission, to grant you the key to the city. It's a small gesture, and it falls way short of what I think you deserve. But at the end of the day, I hope you accept this on behalf of the city of Coral Gables. We appreciate you, and we're eternally grateful. We'll bring this forward to you. You're very agile. Join us. You want me to come up?

I do.

I'm going to take advantage of this.

You should. You should. I'm just a friend.

You don't want to join us?

You should.

OK.

Hold on one minute.

As long as I have an audience like this, I've become a talker lately in that I talk to students as well as adults. And what I endeavor to impart to them is what a wonderful country we live in. And it's so important that we do what we can to maintain the type of country we have. We have to be aware that there are forces who want to change, take away our Constitution and other freedoms. And it's important we do everything we can to protect our Constitution. I'm not implying that we shouldn't alter it as needed as time goes on, but it's our responsibility to take good care of it and make sure it remains as it is. I thank you. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

That's it.

I'm a talker.

Oh, wow. We have one more thing to say about you. One more thing. One more time over here? Yeah, just have a seat.

Thank you.

Mr. Clerk, moving on just quickly to item F1. Commissioner Lara. Move it.

Commissioner Mayor, may I read it into the record? Yeah, of course. So F1 is a resolution of the City Commission recognizing Dr. Hal Silberman as an honoree during the inaugural City of Coral Gables Veterans Day event to be held in November 2026.

So if I may, Mr. Mayor. Yes. So we are honored and privileged here in the 250th anniversary of the founding of our country. to celebrate for the first time Veterans Day as an official celebrated date recognized in the city of Coral Gables. I know it's surprising for some folks, but this is the first year that we're going to be celebrating Veterans Day officially at the city of Coral Gables. And I'm very, I was very proud to have been the sponsor of that item and that we had the unanimous support of my colleagues on the commission. So with this resolution that we have just moved and we're about to take a vote, Dr. Silverman, we are hoping that you accept the honor of being our official honoree, our official honoree in the inaugural celebration of the City of Coral Gables Veterans Day event, which will be held this November, 2026. I hope I can count on you to be wearing the red, white and blue on that day. Perfect. All right, so.

May I have a motion? May I have a motion?

Second. You moved it. Yeah, I moved it.

We just need a second. Do we have any public comment?

No, Mr. Mayor. Okay. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Thank you.

Perfect. Thank you very much. Moving on now to America's semi-quintennial moment. We have with us Coral Gables Senior High student, Eli Levin. She will be reading an essay called Volunteerism in America. As part of our semi-quincentennial moment and following Dr. Hal Silverman's inspiring example of a life of service, we are proud to recognize a Coral Gables Senior High School student whose essay thoughtfully connects volunteerism with the Democrat values that have guided our nation for nearly 250 years. The strength of our democracy and the future of this nation rests with the next generation. That is why, as part of America 250 celebration, the city launched an essay contest at Ponce de Leon Middle School and Coral Gables Senior High, inviting students to reflect on our nation's history, their community, and their role as future citizens and leaders. Today, we are proud to feature the winning essay by Coral Gables Senior High student, Eli Levin, titled Volunteerism in America. Eli, good morning. If you could please share with us your incredible essay.

Good morning. I am Ellie Levin, a ninth grader at Coral Gables Senior High School. Thank you for the opportunity to read my centennial piece today. The practice of volunteering is especially important to the ideals and democratic values of America. Volunteering occurs all around us, whether it's taking place at a local animal shelter, a correctional service program, or right in your own school. My school, Coral Gables Senior High, is a place in which volunteer work is available around every corner. But first, let's take a look at the core values at the Center of Community Service. To begin, responsibility is a key part of service. When volunteering, you must be responsible for handling a task and executing it properly. This teaches responsibility. In doing service, you become a more reliable person having experienced management before. Another factor of volunteer work that makes it a way to give back is that it's for the common good. You are voluntarily giving away your time or even resources to perform a task that is helping a group of people or a cause in some way. It is the opposite of a selfish act, and you are doing something that affects and assists many individuals. Our democratic values in America involve freedom, liberty, equality, accountability, community, and service or active participation. As America has developed and changed over time, these ideals have been a firm and steady pillar despite it all. Volunteer work ties into these ideals just as a puzzle piece fits into place. For example, when it comes to active citizenship or participation, volunteering is a perfect and active role citizens can play in solving local problems. This allows people to be a part of the democratic process. Community service relates in multiple ways. Another view to look at it is the ideals of community and responsibility. Looking through our past history, coming together and performing acts of common good bring us together in a form of mutual trust and empowerment. In engaging with our community, we take part in maintaining our nation and having a say in how we are governed, another core American belief. Going back to Coral Gable Senior High School's part in volunteer work, As I mentioned earlier, service is also one of Coral Gable's key principles. Not only must we collect a certain amount of service hours by the end of our years in school, an important incentive to complete service which inevitably causes a positive impact in our community, but our clubs and other programs also promote volunteer work. One incredible illustration of this is the Key Club. They are a community service-based club that gives back to the community that has brought us up. Volunteer efforts today help maintain our democratic principles that unite us as Americans. They bond together the community in a way that breeds responsibility and ultimately leads to a positive impact on whatever issue is being worked on. It promises a strong future for the nation and Coral Gables by proving Americans of all ages, races, or backgrounds are willing to take part in our future and influence our nation by keeping one of our strongest traditions alive. Thank you.

Thank you, Ellie. That was incredibly inspiring. Thank you for being here with us. Your essay reminds us that service is one of the strongest expressions of citizenship through thoughtful reflection on community, responsibility, and civic participation. Your words honor America's tradition of service while inspiring future generations to help shape a stronger tomorrow. Thank you so much. And we have a small token of appreciation for you that I'd like to give you, a $250 gift card on behalf of the City Beautiful for winning your essay. You make us incredibly proud. Can I give this to you?

Well, wait.

What do you say?

So before we take on item A1, which I think is one of the ones that many have been waiting for, I have a personal point of privilege that I'd like to take up at this moment. This past week we lost a great individual who, was not only a friend, but was a mentor, not only to myself, but also to my father. He was a Coral Gables resident, a lawyer, and I'll read the resolution of condolences, which has all his accolades and his achievements, which are incredible. But we lost a man who always answered the door, a man who, when I would knock on his door, walking door to door, would not just answer the door, but would bring me in. We would have a two, three hour conversation about art, about Cuba, about policy, about the United States, about faith, about God, about our community. He was an incredible individual who never failed to call me and provide guidance in a subtle, classy, and dignified way. He was first class. His work at the University of Miami at the Cuban Studies program was one to be envied. He did it for years, and he led the way for many of us immigrants and first-generation Americans to really find our way here. He was a champion and an advocate for human rights. This lawyer, this father, this husband, this scholar, this man was Pedro Roy. He was part of a generation of Cubans whose love for freedom shaped their life's work and inspired so many. He never stopped fighting for the ideals that he believed in. I remember when I lived with my parents, when I was in college or grad school, or when I would come back, I'd walk into my parents' kitchen and I would see him there with my dad debating politics. How are we going to free Cuba? What are we going to do to find the necessary support to bring democracy and human rights to liberate one political prisoner to address an issue? And it was always inspiring. I took this opportunity with the help of my colleagues to bring a little bit of respect and understanding to who this man was. He was quiet. He was not one of these very vocal, outspoken individuals, even though when you got him started, you got him started. But he is a person who commanded respect, and he was a man that was beloved by this community and his family. So I'd like to bring up his family so maybe they can say a few words on behalf of this gentleman and also read this resolution of condolence on behalf of the city of Coral Gables. Please join us. Don't be shy. And by the way, like I've said before on multiple occasions when I've read these resolutions of condolences, we're celebrating. We're celebrating his life. We're celebrating his legacy. Good morning.

Well, thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Commission. This is my family, I'm proud to be a Roig. My name is Nicky Whiting, I'm a Coral Gables resident, and one of the beautiful things about being a resident of the Gables is my neighbor was my uncle. Dr. Roig lived right in front of this fountain, and whenever I would go to my parents' house here on Terradera, I would take the fountain, I would look at his third floor balcony, and I would say hi from afar. One of the biggest blessings of my life was My tío, he raised my mom when my mom's dad was a political prisoner for 20 years. And really, that was a father figure that she never had. And I think it's really fitting that as we celebrate the Cuban Independence Day tomorrow, Vente de Mayo, that we honor his legacy. So I just want to thank you. I don't know if my cousins want to speak. I'm proud of this family. I'm proud to be a part of this family. And I thank you for your recognition.

It's a privilege. You have a family of very accomplished individuals. Mr. Cooper, it's great to see you, as always, and your lovely wife and your entire family who's here. Would you like to say anything else, or would you like for Reid? Mr. Cooper, you don't have anything to say? Come on. Another resident of the city, beautiful.

Yes, good morning, Mayor, members of the Commission. We, on behalf of the family, I want to thank all of you for this recognition. You know, Pedro Roy, as you briefly said, and I'm sure you're going to say a lot more, so I'm not going to repeat. I don't want to take the thunder from you, but he was a great man. He, to the last breath in his heart, in his life, he was very much in tune with justice, with freedom, and with freeing Cuba. I mean, moments before he passed, he was talking about that to all of us because his four children were there with him to the last minute in his home because that's where he wanted to be. And they were all surrounding him. As a matter of fact, they were telling him, rest, dad, rest. And he says, how can I rest with all of you hovering all over me? So on behalf of the Roig family, I want to thank you all very much. Thank you. Thank you.

So it's interesting you said Dr. Roig was, like I said before, was an incredible, incredible, and continues to be an incredible man whose legacy will never be forgotten. Venta de Mayo is tomorrow, an incredibly important moment, obviously for us Cuban-Americans. But we're at the precipice. We're at a moment in our history that we've been waiting 67 years for. And one of the conversations that I had with my father on Sunday as we left the funeral home was that so many great Cubans would not be able to see a free Cuba. But they were a reason why we got here. And they were also a reason, like this great man, 101-year-old World War II veteran stated, they're also the reason why we protected this great country and our democracy and our Constitution. Because not only did he love Cuba, but he was, first and foremost, an American. He never shied away from saying that. So if you give me the honor, I'd like to read this resolution of condolence on the record. A resolution of condolence on behalf of the city of Coral Gables, extending its heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved family of the late Pedro Roig. Whereas, the city of Coral Gables extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Pedro V. Roig, Esquire, a longtime Coral Gables resident whose life reflected a profound commitment to freedom, the rule of law, education, and public service. And whereas Mr. Roy was an attorney, historian, educator, author, and advocate for human rights and individual liberties, a graduate of the University of Miami and St. Thomas University School of Law, he devoted his career to the legal profession and to preserving the history of Cuba's struggle for freedom. He was also a veteran of Assault Brigade 2506, the group of Cuban exiles who fought in the Bay of Pigs. And whereas Mr. Roig's distinguished public service included appointments by President H.W. Bush to the National Advisory Board of Education and by President George W. Bush as Director of Office of Cuban Broadcasting, Radio and Television Martí, he was also affiliated with the University of Miami's Institute of Cuban and Cuban American Studies. And whereas the city of Coral Gables also recognizes Mr. Roig's years of work with Herzl, Dreyfus, and Dempsey a law firm based at the historic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, where he served as counsel and continued contributing his knowledge, judgment, and life experience to the legal community. And now, therefore, be it resolved by the Commission of the City of Coral Gables, Florida, that we extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Pedro Roig, honoring his legacy of service, courage, and devotion to liberty. And we offer our heartfelt sympathy to all who mourn his passing. Thank you. One of the things that I was thinking about, and it's a shame, sometimes in life we fail to recognize people. Not that we don't recognize them as friends and we don't recognize them as colleagues, but we fail to truly recognize them. And I remember, and I'll say it again, the many times that I spent with him in his living room talking about art and politics, those were moments that I cherish more and more, especially as my father and mother get older. and you really understand somebody's humanity and you understand your own humanity and the fragility of life. I wish I would have given this hint to this in life. And I think it's the first time that I hand out a key to the city to someone who's passed away. but he was deserving, an incredibly talented, selfless individual. That's the only way I can describe him. So on behalf of the city of Coral Gables, I've only given out 13 or 14 of these. It's an honor for me to give this to your family on behalf of Dr. Roy. Thank you for this honor.

Thank you.

Okay.

Presentation and protocol documents. Item A1 is a presentation and special recognition of the Rookie and Teachers of the Year. Madam Chairwoman, would you give us the honor and the privilege as always? The floor is yours as always.

Well, good morning, Mr. Mayor, Madam Vice Mayor, our esteemed commissioners on the board, our city manager. Thank you for this amazing opportunity that you are giving us today. First and foremost, I want to say that it is a true honor for me to be able to say, not only am I a resident of the city, beautiful, but I represent district six, which are all the schools in the Coral Gables feeder pattern. And on top of that, I am so privileged to work with an amazing group of individuals such as yourselves. Teamwork is what makes the dream work. And as educators, we can never do it alone. And I want to thank you all for opening your doors and putting education at the forefront for each and every one of you because at the end of the day, the students that we have today are future leaders of tomorrow. So I wanted to say thank you and thank you for allowing me to have my meetings here to make life easier for the residents so that they do not have to go to a satellite office far from where they live. With that said, I want to just state that As a former teacher myself for many, many years, I can attest to the fact that being a teacher is truly a calling. Today, I am blessed to be able to honor those Rookie Teachers of the Year that we have at our schools, as well as our Teacher of the Years, together with all of you. And I want you to know that their passion, their compassion, their dedication, their commitment, and their love for the profession that they have chosen is not only admirable and commendable, but it truly impacts each and every student that they serve. Think for a moment, everyone, think of a teacher or possibly more than one that affected you throughout your lives in education. I know that a teacher made a difference in my life to where I am today, and I know that that's the same for every single person here. So thank you for taking the time out of your very busy commission meeting to recognize these amazing individuals, again, whose commitment and whose love for the profession that they have chosen, which is, in my opinion, the most noble and the most rewarding simultaneously. to recognize them here is truly an honor. I also want to, before having the recognition for them, I want to take a moment to thank all of those amazing principals that we have here with us. Well, every one of those principals who are the ones that are at the helm of the schools, they set the tone for others to emulate. Please stand for a moment to be recognized because you're here supporting your teachers. Thank you, and Mr. Mayor, Madam Vice Mayor, and esteemed commissioners as well as our city manager. Thank you also for having a group of individuals who serve in our school community and relations team who have truly put education first and foremost as well. Would all of the members of that group please stand to be recognized for a moment because you do make a difference and it's an honor to work very collaboratively with all of you. Thank you. And now if you'll permit me, in closing, I'd like to just read a little something about teachers. To my teacher, you are the light that shows the way, guiding young hearts each and every day. With patient words and caring hands, you help us dream to make our plans. You teach us lessons, big and small, to rise again each time that we fall. You give us courage, hope, and pride, and stand beside us as our guide, as teachers' work may never end, for you're a mentor, guide, and friend. The seeds of knowledge that you sow will stay with us and help us grow. So thank you for your endless care, for every moment you were there. No treasure in the world could measure the gift of having you as a teacher. Thank you. These are the people that are making the difference each and every day. And that is why I can proudly state as I close Miami-Dade County Public Schools, A-rated district for six years, graduation rates at 95.4, never seen before. and more choice options for parents than anywhere in the entire country. And a lot of those accolades belong to those in our school sites, our teachers, our fabulous teachers, our administrators, and everyone in our workforce, together with all of you who don't only just talk the talk, but you walk the walk. Thank you, and God bless each and every one of you. And I'm going to take the opportunity now to call the teachers that are being recognized. So from Coral Gables Preparatory Academy, our principal is Jeanette Sierra, and she's here. Would it be okay if she comes up as well, please?

We'd like to have all the principals come up.

Excellent. So please come up, Ms. Sierra. and your Teacher of the Year, Ms. Arrocha-Peon, and our Rookie Teacher of the Year, Donald Sletten. From Carver, we do have our principal, Patricia Fairclough, who is with us, Fairclough, and she's together with her lead teacher who is attending today. Please come join us. David Fairchild Elementary. Our principal is Lucy Amengual, and her Teacher of the Year, Nancy Curbelo. Please come forward. From Sunset Elementary School, we have Anna Alvarez-Arimon, and with her today being recognized is her Teacher of the Year, and that's Monica. From Francis Tucker K-8, we have our principal Marisol Garrido, and she is here with Lydia Rivera, Teacher of the Year, and Candice Colebrook, Rookie Teacher of the Year. From Henry S. Westlap, we have Dr. Michelle Sanchez-Perez, our principal, and also with her, we have Ms. Alver being recognized as Teacher of the Year. From GW Carver Middle, we have our principal, Ileana Artime. And with her, we have today Teacher of the Year, Malika Baltimore. Congratulations. And from Ponce de Leon Middle School, we have Angela C. Gonzalez, our principal. And with her we have the Teacher of the Year, Marsha Fraser. Please come join us at this time. From Coral Gables Senior High School, we have Mr. Anthony Balboa, our principal, and together with him, we have Rebecca Reynoso, our Teacher of the Year, and Ms. Diaz, who is the rookie teacher. As well as from our International Studies Preparatory Academy, we have our Teacher of the Year, Ms. Echevarria. congratulations to all and thank you to mr mayor madam vice mayor steam commissioners for this amazing recognition thank you i'm gonna do this

Thank you.

Through the mayor? Just one second. So we have a speaker who's going to be speaking just for about 10 seconds. I want to make two points of personal privilege. First and foremost, I want to thank our community relations, our school and community relations board for all their hard work, their nominations, and obviously our chairwoman. She's the energizer of money. Manitere Rojas never stops. She's everywhere. She's in the city. She's in the school board. She's always advocating and, you know, If you haven't had a chance to meet her, and she's not running to another meeting, I advise that you make an appointment to meet with her. She's amazing. She's doing a great job, and we're blessed to have her here. Look at the numbers. The numbers don't lie. 95% is amazing. And look at all the A schools that we have here. When I started here 13 years ago, we were not in the position we're in today. Why are we in that position? Teachers, principals, Maria de la Rojas, and parents, and the board here in the city of Coral Gables. So I want to thank the School and Community Relations Board. I also want to make a point that I was having a conversation, and I hope in the near future, and I'd like to see how we can collaborate, is maybe in the future, and Maritere, the chairwoman, excuse me, and I were having a conversation about this was about possibly honoring teachers who are engaged in disability student services. in the near future. I think that's important because the work that you do and the work that you do to immerse these children in the public school system who parents, you know, view you as not only just a resource, they view you as a lifeline, to be honest with you. So they can go to work and you can take care of their children. One of the things that people forget to mention, and I want to be very clear, teachers spend more time potentially than you do with your own kids. Eight or nine days. Coaches. Spend more time sometimes with your kids. So at the end of the day, we can't say thank you enough. And this is a simple recognition, you know, and I understand that. But it's a sign of gratitude on behalf of the city. So I want to thank you and the partnership that we have with the school board, with the teachers, the principals, and the board here in the city of Coral Gables, and especially the parents. God bless all of you. Thank you very much. I'd like to hear from Mr. Sam Joseph, who would like to say a few words.

Good morning, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commission, and all of those in the chamber. It's a wonderful morning. Thank you for having me. I'm so sorry I couldn't be there with you this morning. I've got appointments that are backing up on one another. But I did want to call in and say congratulations to all of the teachers and Rookie Teachers of the Year. As everybody has said, these are very, very special human beings who put others before themselves and who are builders of people. And we don't expect them just to take care of our kids and keep them safe. We expect them to build them into productive members of society. And they do it with very little fanfare. very little resources um and certainly not enough of the kudos they deserve from all of us so i appreciate my the city beautiful taking this on and annually making sure that we recognize the best of the best among us and say to those teachers, we see you, we hear you, and we're here for you so that you can do your best work for our kids. Thank you for your service. And we'll see you guys hopefully next year with bigger and better things. Thanks again, man.

Thank you, sir. It's always an honor to hear from you. Thank you for your engagement, by the way. Literacy Fest this weekend was a home run. What this gentleman does on behalf of the community, again, another individual that if you don't know who he is, get to know him, and he's been building Literacy Fest and doing a great job, and it was a big success, getting bigger and bigger every year. Commissioner Fernandez.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As parents, we drop our children off at school, and it's 7.30 in the morning. Sometimes we go to breakfast. Then we go to work. Teachers start working before they even get to school. And they're not done working when children leave at 3.30 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon. If they stay for after school or clubs, 5, 6 o'clock. My parents were both teachers. And I often said to my sister, you know, we share our parents with the other kids because my parents loved their students as much as they loved us. And the passion that teachers give every day in the classroom translates to each and every one of us being here today. Chairman Rojas talked about there were teachers who got us to where we are today and who influenced us. I can name them all because they all had a part in my life and they got me to where I am today, whether it was pushing me to go further, pushing me to break out of my shell, or just giving me the tools that I needed to be successful. If you have an opportunity this week, just thank a teacher. Call a school, send an email to somebody who touched your life, because I know it goes a long way. Thank you for all you do. Thank you very much. Madam Vice Mayor.

To the mayor, yes. I just wanted to number one point out also to the teachers here and thank them for their service. I do think that our city could help a little more in providing information to real estate agents and so forth about the wonderful schools that we have. and some of the little known facts. We do have a link on our city website for the public schools. It is a very useful tool, but there are other little known facts about the public schools, such as their magnet programs. There's no listing of the magnet programs currently, so if you're searching for a school based upon which magnet you want to go to, whether it be robotics or languages and so forth, searching by subject would be helpful in sharing that information again with the real estate agents who are advertising for us. And then we have magnificent schools that few people know, serve as the feeder into Coral Gables High, an extraordinary school. Coral Gables High is, but it's very difficult to get into. And that little-known fact is Ponce Junior High. And I thoroughly enjoyed the centennial celebration in which they showcased the programs that they did. It's a magnificent school and it doesn't get the accolades that it should because people remember Ponce Junior from yesterday. And yesterday was the time my girls went there. And it was not, it's close to an A right now. It's very, very close. It's like a B plus. I'm sure you're gonna get an A. You're going to achieve an A this time, principal. And I'm very proud of how much you've lifted up this school. But it's a great school. And you won't have to fight to get into Coral Gables High and you'll be able to keep your children close and not have to truck halfway across the county to get them to a school. So thank you for all you do. And we'll see what we can do to help improve the knowledge base that realtors and the residents have regarding our great public schools.

Madam Chair, may I like to ask you a quick question? Or not a question. I'd like to ask you to do something for me. Will you provide us with data over the last 15 years how we have evolved into almost an A school? Because I think that we forget. We have it really, really good. You know, there's a lot of things that I mentioned here. When I started here, we had 52% funded in regards to our pensions. We're almost at 80% now. We only had $15 million in the coffers. We're over 60 million now. You know, these are things that we forget. I want to talk about, I want to celebrate the school board's success. I want people to understand why the school board is a real viable opportunity for people to send their children. I want people to understand the hard work of the principals, the teachers, and especially yourself and the parents. It should be celebrated. We are nowhere near where we are right now. And when I say we, it's because we're following your lead. So I believe you can, you know, a simple memo or something that we can put out there in our newsletter, the city's newsletter, talking a little bit about, you know, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, 15 years in review, 20 years in review, whatever you'd like to see. You know, we can show how the improvements, we're almost at every single school's NA. That wasn't the case. We had B and C schools. Remember? So it's very easy to enjoy the moment now because obviously after all the hard work, all the principals, the teachers, and the executives like yourself. So thank you so much. Thank you.

Through the mayor, briefly. So I want to echo what the other fellow commissioners have said today. I want to recognize you, Chairwoman Maritere-Rojas. How many hours have you and I spent talking about how to bridge the gap, maybe strengthen the relation between the city government and the jewel that we have, the jewel of them all, I believe, is Coral Gable Senior High. I have the distinct privilege and honor of being the only Coral Gable Senior High School graduate on this dais. And, you know, I'm a big fan of these tumblers. I would like one day to find a Coral Gables Senior High tumbler. Hint, hint, Anthony Balboa. You know, I don't know if I can get one of those. But the mayor is quite right that we've come a very long way. I thought we were in a great place when I went there 40 years ago. We celebrate our 40th anniversary reunion this year. You know, but it's very important for the city to recognize how important it is to have such an amazing facility educational beacon in the middle of our city, which is Coral Gables Senior High School. And you've done so much. Everybody should check out all the improvements that have occurred at the school at the risk of almost being embarrassingly prideful. We've gotten a lot of dollars from the school district directed to Coral Gables Senior High School. Beautiful brand new football field, gymnasium coming. It's really where the residents, as the vice mayor was saying, need to recognize that there's an amazing powerhouse right here and that they need to really recognize the value. And the residents, even if you don't have any kids, need to recognize when you have a very strong public education system in your city, it causes everybody, it's like a rising tide, it raises all the boats, right? The property values go up, the crime goes down, and the community involvement certainly thrives. So I want to thank all of the principals and all of the teachers who were recognized today for their exemplary work dedication and sacrifice, and I will name names because I was influenced by two singular exceptional people from Coral Gables Senior High School, my AP English teacher, Dr. Jennifer Krugman, and my journalism advisor, Brenda Feldman. You two have made the biggest impact in my life next to my parents. So thank you all very much, and thank you, Maritere, for all that you do.

Perfect. We will move on now to item A2. is a presentation of a donation from the City of Coral Gables to the Marzoni Foundation collected during the Mexican edition of Sip and Shop on Miracle Mile. I'd like to also welcome our Mexican friends from the Consulate and our Consul General, who is here and always is present. I think I see you more than I see anyone else. Siempre estas trabajando por la ciudad, trabajando por Mexico. Soledad, gracias por siempre estar con nosotros. Belkis, good morning.

Good morning. Belkis Perez with the Economic Development Department. So we are honoring the relationship that we have with Mexico. We had a Sip and Shop event. It is one of two that we have every year, and so this time we decided to partner with the Consulate of Mexico. Basically, it's an event that we have for Miracle Mile. It's a ticketed event, and the Consulate of Mexico actually donated all of the spirits that we had, and every retailer on Miracle Mile had a different type of either mezcal, tequila, or wine. And people got to not only try the different spirits, but they also entered, and this is something that we get a lot, is that they would go into a store that they typically would have never entered, and now they've experienced something new. So there is a charity component every time we do this. And so the Consulate of Mexico asked for the Marsoni Foundation to be the charitable organization. And I think we have... a PowerPoint that had some slides. So the Marconi Foundation, the Council of Mexico does something very special for its citizens. They do buses that come up to the consulate and they'll do health screenings, so mammograms and other types of x-ray displays. So I want to call up the Consulate of the Consul General, Rutilio Escandon, who really was instrumental and has really allowed us to participate and really collaborate with the Consulate of Mexico this year like never before. And we also have Ruth Martinez, who is the president of the Marzoni Foundation here, who will be receiving the check. Consul?

Good morning. It's an honor to be with you. Thank you for being with us.

Thank you very much to this honorable venue that welcomes us today. We thank our friend, President Bin Laden. Thank you very much to the commissioners, to all the authorities for this important relationship and support of the city of Coral Gables. Today we come to receive this donation that was made through cultural and commercial actions, exchange and collaboration between the Consulate General of Mexico and this beautiful city of Coral Gable. Dr. Ruth Martínez is with me, she is the representative of the Marzoni Foundation, and through her, this important event that we had with the city of Coral Gabor, not only has as a result something that economically strengthens Mexico and the city of Coral Gables, but also has a noble cause. It is for these funds to be used in support A co-national is here, hospitalized in Miami, to receive a multiorganic transplant. So thank you very much and I give the floor to Dr. Ruth Martinez-Sony, who is the representative of the Marzoni Foundation. Good morning, doctor. Thank you for being with us.

Good morning, we want to thank you for this opportunity to be here with you and for having given us that support to be able to do this event. As the consul says, the humanitarian issue that we are carrying out for this Jacobo, who has been bedridden for a year because of this attack that he had. And well, many things have been done to collect them. And within the Marzoni Foundation we have many programs, as already mentioned, in terms of health promotion and prevention, both physical and emotional. Así es que en todas las actividades que nosotros podamos estar con ustedes para apoyo a la comunidad, estamos disponibles y agradecemos este espacio y sobre todo el ayudarnos a recaudar para esta noble causa un poquito de lo que se necesita en el caso de Jacobo. Gracias.

Muchas gracias. We're going to present the check. Vamos a presentar el cheque, la donación. Perfecto. Before we step out to a five-minute break, le quiero dar gracias al consul y su equipo. Just to give you an idea, el consul, obviamente con la ayuda de México, y todo el equipo de México, hacen el Día de los Muertos, que miles de personas, thousands of people come to the city, it was an event that I was fortunate enough to start with Belkis, our city manager and the mexican consulate under your leadership and we have thousands of people that come many restaurants have been calling me in reference to our installation tejido which will be there for the next three months and that is another amazing effort by Belkis, her team, the city manager, and the Mexican consulate. So we're honored. with the city of Coral Gables. And I thank you for that. I always get to eat. I see all of you. Thank you, my friend. Thank you for everything. Thank you. We're going to take a five-minute break, bathroom break, and we will be back at 1027. Thank you very much. recording in progress all right and we're back 10 29 i missed the the mark by two minutes We're going to jump around really quickly so we can open up the Venetian pool. Item A6, presentation or a proclamation declaring May 2026 as Water Safety Month in Coral Gables. Mr. Director.

Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for having us. May is National Water Safety Month, and as you know, one of the leading causes of death for children is drowning. So water safety is something we take very, very seriously over at the Venetian Pool and also our Country Club Pool. And I would like to call up one of our supervisors at Venetian Pool, Anna. Oh, she's right behind me. Right there. And she'll tell you a little bit about what we're doing over there and also to welcome our big service organization that helps us with that water safety.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Hello, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioner, City Manager. It's a pleasure to be here today. I work at the Venetian Pool, and we are so happy to have a very exciting summer ahead of us. I'd like to thank the VAC. The president and some of the members are here. They do an amazing job in servicing the community and providing some lessons that offer both life skills and lots of safety training for kids ages five and up through adults. We have some of our lifeguards here. We are just now finished with our orientation. So we are ready to go for the summer, fully, fully stacked with staff.

Tell them about our awards.

Oh, well, we have several awards. We got recognized for one of the, I forget the specific title, but for the renovation that happened last year, we got an award for that.

Our safety awards.

The Ellis Association that provides us the lifeguard certification awards us with gold and platinum awards annually. We just got the last one a few weeks ago, and...

Platinum. It means we exceed the safety guidelines and the standards and our lifeguards do a fantastic job. So she doesn't like to brag, but I'm going to brag for her and the rest of the management team do a great job there. So do we want to call up from the Venetian Aquatic Club, the president?

She said that they would be happy to come up for a picture.

Oh, OK. I thought we were going to get a few words. But I'm going to thank them again. Venetian Aquatic Club, they do great things. They helped us this Saturday for our National Kits to Parks month, day, and water safety month. They are an integral feature of our pool. And this summer, they're going to be really busy teaching a lot of children how to swim. So we're excited for their continued support that has been with us for quite a long time. I'll let them tell you if they wanted to, how many years, but many years. So if we can take a picture and...

bring all of our staff and the venetian aquatic club up that would be great thank you what i'd like to do is just also mention this saturday you had a great event um mr director i want to commend you and your staff they're in the back they're a little shy i don't know why they're shy um again they're the ones in the bathing suits in the venetian pool so yes saving lives so they deserve all the credit yes they do that you did you had a wonderful a wonderful uh event this saturday that i attended along with the vice mayor commissioner alada and uh it was you know something interesting because you know kids to kids to park day And I also want to recognize John Bell. John Bell gave a donation to teach children how to swim. You touched upon how important that is and how it's one of the largest causes of children's deaths and that you can never be cautionary enough on that front, and it happens in a split second before you even know it. So I want to thank John Bell for that donation. And the pool, I mean, it looks like it was just... it looks brand new it looks stunning uh you know i want to congratulate the manager and his team public works for that massive investment uh the contractor you know this is something that again hopefully won't have to be renovated for the next 50 years and it was a major investment well worth it and i have a feeling i have a feeling that this summer is going to be the busiest summer because all i hear is that the venetian pool is open we want to see it we hear it's great you know it's clean it's beautiful the landscaping the parking everything has been touched But first and foremost, everybody always says the same thing over and over again. The staff is the best staff in South Florida. It's an incredible experience, but the lifeguards, the individuals managing the Venetian pool, they do a wonderful job, and they're incredibly welcoming, and they treat everybody like it's their home. So I want to congratulate all of you. Thank you. Thank you. All right, I want to take a photo. Thank you.

Thank you, guys.

All right, moving on to item A3, a presentation or a proclamation declaring May 17th through the 23rd of 2026 as Emergency Medical Services Week in Coral Gables. Commissioner Lara.

If I may, Your Honor. Whereas emergency medical professionals provide medical care to victims of sudden life-threatening injuries and illnesses, often under stressful conditions and in high-risk situations to save lives, and whereas Florida's residents and visitors benefit daily from the knowledge, skill, and judgment of paramedics, emergency medical technicians, firefighters, educators, administrators, emergency physicians, emergency nurses, and others who encompass the emergency medical services system. And whereas emergency medical personnel must rapidly assess, manage, and effectively provide care in unpredictable situations requiring life and death judgments, and whereas Florida's emergency medical services, EMS, teams unselfishly serve on the front line of healthcare when responding to manmade and natural disasters at the local, state, and national levels, And whereas it is critical that the general public be made aware of, understand, support, and effectively use its local EMS systems. And whereas recognition is due to the Emerging Medical Services System for its countless accomplishments and contributions towards the improvement of public welfare through healthcare, medical transportation, injury prevention, education, disaster response, homeland security, and other initiatives reducing healthcare costs and saving lives. Now, therefore, I, Vince Lago, as Mayor of the City of Coral Gables, and on behalf of the City Commission, do hereby proclaim the week of May 17 through 23, 2026 as Emergency Medical Services Week in Coral Gables. Chief?

Good morning, Mayor, ladies and gentlemen of the Commission. Today we do celebrate National EMS Week, and that recognizes the dedication and the impact of our paramedics on our community. We respond to thousands of medical calls every year That makes us an essential part of the healthcare system. So for example Last year we responded to 1,252 cardiac calls 70 of those were active heart attacks 124 diagnosed strokes 1,700 trauma calls, 63 cardiac arrests, and 128 overdoses, just to name some of the significant responses that we had last year. This year's theme is improving outcomes together. And together is exactly how we in the city of Coral Gables deliver exceptional EMS services. We start with our 911 communications personnel who deliver standardized call taking, identify the resources and the emergency that we need to send and deliver caller aid prior to our arrival. Our firefighter paramedics whose training and expertise enables us to deliver exceptional and compassionate medical care They have the highest level of readiness through ongoing training and continuous quality improvement and the highest of advanced equipment. Our paramedics identified our strokes and heart attacks and trauma caused within minutes of their arrival. Time is brain. Our firefighters working with our health care partners, they trust in our assessments and stroke patients go straight to the cath lab, significantly reducing mobility and long term disability. Together, our firefighters teach community CPR. Our 911 personnel deliver pre-arrival instructions of CPR, along with our police officers who are dispatched with an AED. With that, CPR has been performed prior to our arrival, 84% of those cardiac arrests. So together today, we celebrate EMS 2026. Thank you.

Chief, can we also do A4?

So A4, every year during EMS week, we recognize a crew that delivers or embodies everything that is celebrated during EMS week. To recognize and to tell us a little bit about that crew for this year, I invite Assistant Chief Jones to the dais, to the podium. Assistant Chief, good to see you.

Good morning, everybody. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It's always a great opportunity to recognize the exceptional work that is done by the men and women in the fire department. This year, we are staying with the theme, which is a national theme, we improve outcomes together. This particular crew that is being honored this year consists of Lieutenant Samantha Putz Fernandez, Firefighter Paramedic J.P. Milan, Firefighter Paramedic Joseph Lovins. This crew is being honored this year for their exceptional compassion. There's one writer that says, and I quote, people will never forgive, won't remember what you did for them, but they will remember how you made them feel. This crew goes above and beyond and ensures that compassion is extended and professionalism is extended to every single patient. So this year we'd like to highlight and celebrate this crew as crew of the year. Lieutenant Fernandez is going to speak. She has like a 20 minute speech, so.

Get ready.

Good morning.

Because it was not done by AI. Good morning. Good morning, thank you, Chief Jones. On behalf of Rescue Five, we are honored to receive this recognition, but mostly I'm honored to have these men at my side every shift doing what we love. Joe and JP have always been two of my favorite firemen, and I am blessed to call them my brothers. If you ever see us on a call, you may hear us talking a lot to you, but you won't hear us talk a lot to each other, meaning that is how well we know what each other is thinking and what the plan is. We will continue to deliver our best to our citizens. Thank you to the city of Coral Gables for your support. Thank you to Chief De La Rosa for your unwavering dedication to taking care of us. And most importantly of all, thank you to our families for understanding our love for this career and everything that comes with it.

Let's take a photo.

Thank you so much.

Yeah. Yeah.

Okay, moving on to item A5, a presentation or proclamation declaring May 24th, 2026 as Christ's Journey Church in Coral Gables. Please join us.

Thank you, Mayor. And before I read this proclamation, I just want to thank the church and the representatives here for being here today. And before I read the proclamation into the record, if you'd like to say a few words to the commission and to the public.

Very brief, but thank you so much, Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor. commissioners and city manager. On the first birthday of our church's history, which was in 1927, that was in the aftermath of the Hurricane of 26, which literally was so devastating, so many lives lost and property damage. But the then pastor of the congregation stood and said, the future beckons us to build a great church. a church of fellowship and of power, making North and South one. And this is the incredible vision that I've inherited after coming some three decades ago and having the privilege of serving here as pastor. They weren't talking about North and South in the United States, the Mason-Dixon line. They were talking about hemispheres coming together and seeing the future at the corner of this peninsula. a vision of uniting the world. And so it seems so appropriate and we are so honored to be here today in the name of a God who so loves the world to say that we would like to be part of seeing North and South America celebrating the oneness that is uniquely ours at Coral Gables, since we are the world in Coral Gables. If you love your neighbor in Coral Gables, you love a nation. And so we're privileged today to get to be a part of this. Thank you for your acknowledgement. And may I introduce our chairman of the board, Louis Cabello, longtime Coral Gables resident, and then our executive pastor, Ryan Reed, who's been serving with us now for over 10 years. And could they stand together with me as we receive the acknowledgement?

But before we receive the acknowledgement, I'd like to play a video to give the residents at home a little bit of a better idea if they're not familiar with your congregation.

My name's Bill White, and since 1993, the end of 93, I guess my first official day as pastor of the University Baptist Church of Coral Gables was January of 1994. And the way I came to Coral Gables is that the church called me to be their pastor. So I have the privilege of being the 10th pastor of the University Baptist Church of Coral Gables. The church first came into existence because there were some people at the downtown church, Central Baptist Church, who said, you know, there should be a new church by that new university down there in Coral Gables. And of course, it was UM was the new university. So 78 years. members gathered together, took their vision, started a church in Coral Gables called the University Baptist Church because it was right across the street from the Cardboard College where the University of Miami was just starting. I found out that Mr. Merrick himself had donated the land on which this church would be located, but the reason that I think he gave money so that churches could be started is because he himself was a pastor's son. And he wanted to make sure that in his city, Beautiful, that there would be many representation of faith where it could be vibrant and alive and be of support to families in his community. That first year of the church's existence, it had barely begun. Then the hurricane of 1926 hit and blew away their tabernacle building that they were meeting in. Everything was now debris. And after the hurricane, they called a pastor who captured the vision that has really signified for the church its future. The future beckons us to build a great church, a church of fellowship, so this new hope of a new day of rebuilding, not just a building, but building lives, building families, and then bouncing back after the storm. We realized along the way there was a point where our Council on Ministries, which was our governing body at the time, just asked the congregation, we're just wondering about our name and how relevant it is in doing our ministry in the city. And so we asked the people, give us the names that you think we should consider. 400 came in. Then the name that we currently have was brought to a ballot. and voted overwhelmingly to change from UBC University Baptist Church to now Christ Journey Church. We feel so inspired when we look at our own story. Even with changing our name to Christ Journey, it's still about the same mission. We are still the same church, the same vision, the same heart. Let's imagine if God could build something with us that could continue to give and give in future generations.

So, Pastor White, if I may just take a personal point of privilege to tell you about the gentleman that you have here next to you. Not that you need to know about him because I think you know him probably better than anybody else. But he comes to my office regularly, maybe once a month, once a quarter. And sometimes he'll bring the entire family. And it's mayhem. And he always asks me at the end, can I pray with you? And he is an amazing asset to this community. He's a person who loves his job. He's a person who loves to lead. And he leads by example. So I want to thank you. Thank you for finding the talent in this gentleman and allowing him to be who he is. Because, again, he comes to all our events. He's engaged in the city. He's part of the city. We have other pastors. We have other rabbis, and it's a beautiful mix of religions that engage here in the city, both with the police and with the firefighters and with the general employees. So I just want to thank you for finding this gentleman, bringing him here to a city beautiful, and letting him do his job, letting him do God's work. And he's an exceptional individual who I have a lot of respect for. I call him more than just a friend. He's a person who I believe is here for a real reason, for a calling. And I want to thank you for everything and the freedom that you give him to engage here in the city of beautiful. So thank you for that.

Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. You honor us by honoring Ryan. And we join you in that. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Can we take a photo? May we take a photo?

Oh, we have to read a proclamation first. Oh, I forgot about that. I'm sorry.

I thought you had read it already. I'm sorry about that.

I kind of reversed it.

Jump the gun, man. Jump the gun. Go ahead.

So I'm going to add to your mention of the importance of the church and what George Merrick thought, because... At the time George Merrick was forming the city of Coral Gables, it was well known that churches and religious institutions were the building blocks of cities. And it was highlighted to me when I visited Page, Arizona. There's a dam there that's before the Hoover Dam, and they literally have a street called Church Street. And synagogues, churches, everything were built there, and they built them first because people would move there. People need community. People need support of the churches. And I've seen an uptick in the regrowth of religious activity. Like everything, there's ebbs and flows. I think people are tired of... relying upon the advice of these advices and really need the community that you bring and everybody brings in this religious community for our people. So thank you for the role that you play in supporting our city because you are the foundation is what I'm trying to say. So with no further ado, I'll read the proclamation into the record. Whereas Christ Journey Church, originally founded in 1926 in Coral Gables as University Baptist Church, has faithfully served the South Florida community for 100 years, growing from a small group of committed believers into a vibrant, multi-generational, multicultural church. And whereas throughout its history, Christ Journey Church has remained steadfast in its mission to help people find and follow Christ, fostering spiritual growth, community connection, and service to both locally and globally. And whereas Christ Journey Church has demonstrated a deep commitment to the well-being of Coral Gables and Miami-Dade County through outreach initiatives that provide food for families in need, support for children and schools, disaster relief efforts, and partnerships with nonprofit organizations serving vulnerable populations. And whereas through its local and global missions, Christ's Journey Church has extended its impact beyond South Florida, serving communities across multiple nations while continuing to meet tangible needs and share hope. And whereas after more than 30 years of vision, prayer, and perseverance, Christ's Journey Church is dedicating its new South Miami campus, representing a continued investment in the future of the community and its commitment to serve generations to come. And whereas Christ Journey Church reflects the rich diversity of Coral Gables, bringing together people from many cultures and backgrounds in unity, faith, and service, whereas the 100-year anniversary of Christ Journey Church marks a significant milestone, celebrating a legacy of faith, resilience, and meaningful impact in the lives of individuals, families, and the broader community. Now, therefore, I, Vince Lago, as mayor of the city of Coral Gables, as well as the members of our city commission, do hereby proudly proclaim May 24th, 2026 as Christ Journey Church Day in Coral Gables. Thank you very much. Now we can do the picture.

You know, this Sunday is our 100th birthday, so you're all invited to the party. And, you know, parties always have gifts. So we brought just a gift of a token of our prayer and our ongoing esteem to you. Thank you for all that you do and for allowing us to be part of it today. Thank you. So let's take a photo.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Moving on to item A7. Congratulations to Officer Julio Gonzalez, recipient of the City of Coral Gables Officer of the Month for the month of March 2026. And then we're also going to do item A8. Congratulations to Detective Miguel Berserba, recipient of the City of Coral Gables Detective of the First Quarter Award for the month of March 2026. Chief, good morning. Thank you for being here. Morning, Mayor. Right on time for 11 o'clock time, sir. We're almost there.

Is it over close when we made it we made it I just keep thinking it's 3 o'clock is I don't see the clock ticking yes, I'll keep I'll keep it is really a promise. Good morning, mayor commissioners today is my honor again wants to recognize but also celebrate one of our officers for the jobs that they do every day. Our officer of the month today was not just because of one specific incident, but because of a body of work from the midnight shift that was recognized by his supervisor. And those nine arrests that he made within that month, along with training a newer officer, as we call them PPOs, he was recognized and was actually kind of a catalyst for what we do every day here. As we have spoken before, we've got 37 new officers last year. We have another 11 in the academy. And like Officer Gonzalez, what we need is to train these young officers how to do it. So this kind of work within this month for March was extraordinary of the nine arrests. There were several domestic violence arrests, criminal mischief, possession of methamphetamine, paraphernalia, knowingly driving throughout our streets with driver's licenses that are suspended, that are revoked, possession of a firearm, criminal mischief, as well as people with warrants for battery and so on and so forth. These are the people that frequent our cities, come through our cities. And it's because of Officer Julio Gonzalez's entire body of work for the month of March that he was recognized along with his peers. And that's the kind of thing that we look for for our newer officers, but also things we like to celebrate here today. So because of his actions during the month of March of 2026, I'd like to present to you Officer Julio Gonzalez for the Officer of the Month for that month.

Congratulations.

Thank you. Well deserved.

Good morning to everyone. It's an honor to receive this award today. I want to sincerely thank our chief for our leadership and support, to our mayor, our commissioners, for the award selection committee for recognizing the dedication behind our work. I want to thank all my supervisors from both the afternoon and the midnight shifts for guiding me throughout my career and helping me shape me into the officer I am today. I would also like to recognize my mentors within the department, Officer Castaneda, Officer Hernandez, Officer Vasquez, Officer Klute, Sergeant Chang, Sergeant Martes, Sergeant Andaman, and Lieutenant Lance. Thank you for always leading by example and supporting me and pushing me to become a better officer every day. Most importantly, I want to thank my family for being my rock. To my kids, my entire family, especially my girlfriend, thank you for standing by my side every step of the way and helping me raise my boys while I continue serving this profession. Your love, your support, and sacrifice mean everything to me. This award truly means a lot to me. I'm honored and grateful to receive the Officer of the Month. Thank you again.

At this point, Mayor, with your permission, I'd like to bring forward Detective Miguel Becerra. Usually see you behind your desk, so it's kind of nice to see you out. Yes, sir. Officer Baserva, who works in our economic crimes division of our investigative branch in the criminal investigation division, was recognized for his work in the second quarter and nominated, I'm sorry, over the first quarter and was nominated because of two key cases that he actually solved and made arrests on. The first one involved an identity theft and fraudulent account traveler at none other than Neiman Marcus. We understand, as we've said before, that there are a lot of people that our identities are stolen on a regular basis. In this case, the total loss was about $21,376. Because of his work and being able to track down another case that took place in a different jurisdiction two days later in March, he was able to identify the offender and also identify where he was at on different charges in Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Institute. So what we did was he went over there and dropped another few charges on him. for that case. Similarly, back in March and August, there was one of our residents that had thought they were contracting with somebody that was reputable. They upfronted $15,000, and this was in August of 25. A year later, about in June, the individual was identified because of Detective Beserve's unbelievable work and tracking down the individual, identifying the individual, gave the individual opportunity to come forward he did not he was then using his investigative skills was able to then identify the individual's location again and take him into custody for that making somewhat of our resident whole detectives but service work on these two cases reflects the highest standards of professional police work resourceful use of investigative tools interagency coordination and meticulous documentation was mentioned in the nomination by his supervisor. Just as a point, these cases, the cyber crimes cases, but more importantly, our fraud cases are extremely laborious. There's a lot of paperwork. There's a lot of back channel things to do. So taking a year to solve one of these cases is really kind of the norm. So along with the rest of the detectives that handle these, it is my honor to present to you The detective of the quarter for the first quarter, Detective Miguel Becerra.

Thank you, Chief.

Thank you, Chief. Thank you, Assistant Chief, Mayor, Commissioners. I would like to thank my teammate behind me and good friends, my major, my lieutenant, my sergeant, and my two detective partners. Also, I'd like to thank my family. They were not able to make it. They are my biggest supporters, and they're always supporting me all the time. Economic crimes division, we get a lot of cases. We get hundreds of cases a day. We married on a day, a year. We try to process all these cases as they come. In the process of trying to find the bad guys and trying to find enough evidence to put them in jail and bring justice, we make contacts with the victims, business owners, sometimes even employees that don't live here. but they work here in Corgables. During that process, we establish links with the residents, specifically residents, the elderly, because they are big victims on the fraud industry nowadays. This is a wonderful recognition. I am very honored, very humbled. Even though it was given to me, it should be given to my entire unit, because we work together. We don't work. This is not individual work. We all work together. We cannot solve any case by ourselves. So I would like to also thank my unit for being there all the time and helping me and help each other. But this is very nice for me to have this. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Moving on to approval of minutes, which are none here on the commission. Public comment, Mr. Clerk?

Yes, Mr. Mayor, thank you. First speaker this morning is Alison Curran.

Good morning.

Okay, I'm, two and a half years ago, my husband and I moved from South Gables to the downtown area. And we're directly across from Fritz and Franz and the plaza where he wants to have a watch party. The owner of Fritz and Franz, Harold Newberg, is one of the most attentive and hardworking bosses we've ever met. He has a knack of finding the right staff who share the same work ethics as he. He runs a tight shift. and always keeps a close eye on the patrons to ensure everyone is able to enjoy themselves safely. We enjoy the soccer and we enjoy watching the fans who gather here to see their favorite teams play. Rival fans sitting side by side without confrontation or malice and they're just having fun. We've seen many championship tournaments and watch parties on the plaza at different times of the day. And yes, we've heard the cheers of unbridled joy and disappointments, but the amount of times has not been an inconvenience for us. This is the World Cup. Coral Gables was thrilled and proud to have FIFA headquartered here. The entire soccer world will be watching, and for many of us who cannot afford to buy a ticket or even pay for the parking to watch a real match in person, allowing Fritz & Friends to utilize the plaza will enable more fans to enjoy the excitement and the camaraderie of watching their favorite teams play. Coral Gables has the extraordinary chance to show what a welcoming and all-inclusive city it is. and also the amount of business and PR for the entire downtown is priceless. That's it.

Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Clerk.

Maria Cruz.

Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road, 305-323-2154. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Public officials may not suppress protective political speech, nor may they retaliate against a citizen for asserting constitutional rights, criticizing government officials, challenging governmental conduct, or participating in public discourse. The city of Coral Gables violates that when they deny citizens their right to speak. This also opens the city to lawsuits and damages which the taxpayers will eventually pay for. Thank you.

Mr. Mayor? Just give me one second, sir. Do we have anybody else? Yes, sir. Okay.

Yes, sir. I just want to recognize Mrs. Maria Cruz for a very professional and very respectful and very appropriate toned public commentary today, which is appreciated for all who take the time to speak at public commentary. Today was an exemplary way of expressing your views. Thank you. Thank you.

Enrique Lopez.

Good morning, sir. I'd like to start by saying that I echo the sentiments of the woman who spoke earlier about the beer house. And on another note regarding that, what's the recent discussion regarding the beer house watch parties with increasing disappointment? I found that while reasonable concerns were raised, it was because of the tone exaggeration and would seem to be an apparent bias that they were delivered in an unprofessional manner.

Sir, if I may interrupt you, and I apologize.

Absolutely. Can you provide your name and your address for the record? Oh, sure. Enrique Lopez, 2451 Rickle Avenue, Apartment 15N, Miami, Florida, 33129. Thank you. Sure. At multiple points during the meeting, you framed a long community event as though it was an impending public disorder, a crisis. Words such as mayhem, unruliness, and references to crowds arriving in droves painted a picture that bore little resemblance to the reality many have experienced there. This is not an uncontrolled music festival. It's not a nightclub district spinning out of control. It's a series of televised soccer matches watched by residents, families, visitors, and longtime patrons of a local institution. The problem was not that you raised the concerns. The problem was that you appeared to enter the discussion with a conclusion already reached. Early in the hearing, you repeatedly announced that you were a no vote, long before meaningful deliberation had concluded. Rather than facilitating a balanced discussion as chair of the commission, your posture often resembled that of a prosecutor building a case against the applicant. You repeatedly emphasized alleged windfalls and seized upon the applicant's comment that the World Cup period is Christmas for businesses. as though the existence of profitable weeks for the hospitality establishment were somehow improper. Many survived because of a handful of major events each year that helped them sustain them through slower periods. To frame that reality as greed was unfair and dismissive of the economic realities small businesses face. Even more troubling was the selective way the area was described. Often it was residential, other times commercial. I'm going to skip through all this because there's not a lot of time. At the end of the day, a lot of the things that you were mentioning in particular were about people coming here and being dissuaded for some reason because the Fritz & Friends is having a watch party. I took the time to look at a map and will tell you that the footprint of the Fritz & Friends is 0.25% leaving a 99.75% of downtown Coral Gables available to anyone else who doesn't want to watch soccer. I felt that the attack was unwarranted and rather than embracing an event that I believe I've attended for 25 years, Tradition, multiple generations of people that I witnessed there, sons, fathers, grandfathers. It's not an animal house. It's not a roadhouse. It's a beer house. The way it seemed, if I had only heard your remarks, I would have assumed that someone was going to break a bottle over my head at some point. Excessive drinking, I haven't seen that. I don't know what the police records are, but I can tell you. Never seen a fight, never seen an arrest, just the opposite. A very wholesome tradition that we sorely lack. We seem to be bulldozing the past at the expense of the future. I've run out of time, so I thank you for yours. Mr. Clerk?

Jackson Holmes.

Greetings. I want to thank Maria Cruz. I hope that she sues the city for First Amendment rights. For the people at home, I think the truth is now being repressed by the city commission. We can't even speak the truth. And that's very scary, actually. With respect to Fritz and Franz Beer House, I think this is let's see now, we're into the First Amendment, so maybe you'll forgive me. It's a revenge tour by Mayor Lago and City Manager Iglesias. Secondly, they're jacking up the prices in what I think is a discriminatory way, making it actually impossible for the owner to make money. He's had 24 years of this. They're saying that FIFA is somehow a special event that requires doubling the police fee and instituting for the first time ever a fire fee. And I think that's absolute baloney. And I think that it should be rescinded. There is nobody else being charged this. This is a unique fee specially designed to punish wrongfully Fritz and France. And I ask that you rescind those increased fees, which don't stand up to scrutiny.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

That's it. Perfect. And we will close the public comment. We're going to take item, agenda item H18, which is a time certain. I'd like to have our Mayor, Don Slensick, who's here with us, please join us for a moment. First and foremost, thank you, Mayor, for being here. And I apologize for not recognizing you earlier.

Mayor, welcome. Thank you, Mayor. And Madam Vice Mayor and Commissioners, I appreciate the opportunity to come before you and to speak on the issue that is coming before you about the street lamp post of Coral Gables. It's an item that you've heard from me before, and this is my last opportunity probably to speak on it. And Dr. Silverman impressed me today about saying that we should not be complaining. So please, I'm not here to complain. I am not even here to ask what Coral Gables can do for me, but what I can do for Coral Gables. So I'm trying to keep that spirit alive. And a couple of my resident friends, my neighbors, and another few board members said, you know, don't waste your time. It's kind of a lost cause. But I felt like the students in Les Mis, you know, building the barricades to at least take my last stand and let you know how I feel about the issue. So this is about the replacement of our fluted silver lamppost around the city. And first about FPNL. FPNL from the beginning has not acted as I consider as a good corporate citizen. There used to be an expression that the customer is always right. Now, I think FPNL takes a position that the customer's opinion doesn't matter. We're all FPNL customers. Like you, I have been since a child, not because of choice, but because FPNL is the only provider that I can use. And many times, as I have spoken with FPNL and they know, I have taken FPNL's position publicly when others did not. And I have stood up for FPNL And I worked with FPNL when I sat in one of the seats that you now sit in during post-hurricane seasons when FPNL provided incredible service to the community by resupplying us with electricity. So I do not have a longstanding issue with FPNL. But in this particular case, I think that we have not been treated fairly. Seemingly in 2018 there was an agreement that FP&L proposed to the city to remove the fluted silver street lamp posts from their catalog. Those of us who live in Coral Gables, those of us who live on streets with the fluted silver street lamp posts were never told about this proposal, were never asked about the proposal, were never considered in the fact that they removed them from the catalog for future catalog use. Now, while these are not the original White Way lights that are sometimes talked about, which now line a small section of University and Riviera, these fluted lights that now line your streets of Alhambra Circle from Lejeune Road to Coral Way, Granada from Southwest 8th Street to Byrd Road, they ring the Granada Golf Course. The Granada Golf Course ring is not as old. And on DeSoto Boulevard, While they're not the original white way lights, they have stood in your city for over half a century. Over half a century. They have been, in fact, probably a good deal longer than that, because I know when I moved here half a century ago, they were here. And they are part of the look and the feel of Coral Gables, a look and a feel that, as you know, and you're sitting in the hot seats, and I know that what you go through every day to try to keep Coral Gables Coral Gables while seeing the advantage of progress and the bringing in of new developments, I mean, these are part of our look and our feel. And they make our city part of what we are, the city beautiful. And then as the final foray of FVNL, there was what I call the midnight removal of the lights around the golf course without notice to the neighbors, without notice to anybody. In fact, as you've heard before, I had to be told by a friend that there were new lights going in across the street from my house without my knowledge. And these are lights that we can find in Wynwood or other places. They are not Coral Gables lights. And then the refusal through long extended conversations, and I know the manager has worked on this for probably over a year, Peter, to try to talk to FPNL about putting them back in or making some accommodations in their catalog, their refusal. Of course, it takes two, and as we now know, I guess there was a 2018 agreement between the city and FPNL to remove them from the catalog. Two of your committees have unanimously recommended that the city commission and the city administration do what it can to work with F&L to try to find a solution to keep our look as our city beautiful. You know, in our commercial district, we spend a lot of time and effort putting in tree line medians to make the city look good and public art. And I know a lot of that money comes from development fee from the developers and impact fees. And I was thinking, I don't know why I didn't think about it, Mr. Mayor, when I was sitting in your seat, but we have so many new residential developments that come into the city, residential developments that are taking whole blocks like on Segovia and so forth. impact fees for those developments, which would help us support the additional cost of the appropriate streetlights. And I know how important appropriate streetlights are. Go look at Cadena's new building, the beautiful new streetlights that he has installed around his building at his expense, I'm sure. But I mean, I'm telling you, street lamps can be an incredible part of the look of a city. I got a call from the architect of the Segovia project who was outraged that the cities told her that they couldn't have the streetlights they wanted unless they paid for them. But the reason I bring it up is because street lamps were critical to her and her new development And so this is something that I think should not be overlooked as something important. And remember, we're talking about miles of streets. These lamps are on miles of streets. If you add up the mileage along the streets I named, it is something else. So for my two positive, not complaints, but suggestions are that one, I would think maybe some type of impact fee for residential developments that might help us support the additional costs, if there are additional costs. And secondly, Mr. Mayor, and I know that each of you are influential people in this community, you've each won elections, you've each seen that the presidents of Coral Gables treasure your leadership. And I would only urge that before a final decision is made that, Mr. Mayor, that maybe you could ask for a face-to-face meeting with the president of Florida Power and Light. As for now, we're dealing with local representatives of the area, and I know we've dealt with the vice president. But, you know, in your capacity as mayor, a meeting with the president of FPNL, I think, is appropriate to see if we can't get them back in the catalog. And I can tell you that I have looked at this from several different sides. I know FPNL's arguments, and I think that they are arguments that can be countered and overcome. But that's my humble opinion. I come here to offer that to you, not as a complainer, but as a person standing for the last time on his barricade in front of his house, waiting for me to be taken down. So thank you. Thank you for the time. I appreciate it. Thank you, Mayor.

It's always a pleasure to have you.

Thank you.

Good morning. Hermes Diaz-Poly was director. Billy, if we could have the presentation up, please. Thank you. Thank you. We're going to have a brief presentation regarding the city lights replacement and a little bit of the history behind it. So currently, the Cedar Cove Gables street light inventory includes approximately 3,100 street lights. Out of those, approximately 2,500 are maintained by FPL. About 600 are owned and maintained by the city. The city-owned streetlights are maintained by a single electrician and a competitive procured contractor, electrical contractor. In fiscal year 2025, the city paid approximately $927,000 for electricity and maintenance for right-of-way streetlights. and we have approximately 280 concrete black Washington poles versus a little bit over 400 of those fiberglass silver poles. These don't include lights that may be located on state, county roads, some lights that are owned and maintained through HOA, special taxes districts, et cetera. A little bit of the history behind it. The city entered into several what is called a premium lighting agreement. with FPL between 1990 and 2019 for over 400 streetlights, and those were intended to be for a term of 20 years. After those 20 years, the choice was for the city to either enter into a new game with FPL, have those lights replaced, or the city do it on our own, at our own expense. Out of that total, and these are the ones in question, there's 137 fiberglass lights. These include 86 along North and South Greenway Drive, 19 lights along Harlano and Wood Streets, and 32 lights along Santa Mara and Camposano Avenues. The silver poles are no longer available through FPA catalog, and I just want to clarify that the city, did not enter into an agreement with the SPL to remove the lights for the catalog. The city has no input in what is into the catalog. What we did enter into an agreement In June of 2022, because we were an obligation to replace those lights that had expired under the original agreement, we executed an agreement for the replacement of those existing lights with black Washington concrete plows. And currently, there's approximately 13 fiberglass of those that still remain, mostly on South Greenway Drive. And that conversion was stopped by the city commission on December 12 of 2023. On March 12, 2026, FPL denied the city's request to include the silver fiberglass or similar poles in their catalog. Now, the cost of replacement. So if we were to replace the 137 fiberglass streetlights, poles, and fixtures with city-owned lights, the cost will be approximately $2.6 million. This includes upgraded infrastructure because the Cedar Coral Gables, we work on different codes. The city works on the National Electrical Code, while public utilities, they work on the National Electric Safety Code. So we'll be required to replace the existing infrastructure. In addition to the fact that FPL will charge us for what is called the present value cost of those units already being installed, we're looking about $3.2 million worth of upfront cost. plus electricity plus maintenance, if the city were to replace those lights and take over, as opposed to the alternative, which is the path that we were previously on, which you're looking at $518,000 in payments to FPL over the following 20 years, which include electricity and maintenance costs. If we were to limit that replacement to only the 86 lights on North and South Greenway, you're looking at $1.7 million for the infrastructure and $291,000 in additional payments to FPL. You're looking at approximately $2 million of upfront cost plus electricity and maintenance, which was $325,000 in payments to FPL over the following 20 years. And what follows is a photo of basically the fiberglass and the Washington pole. Excuse me. The fiberglass silver pole is approximately 10 foot tall, mountain high. The Washington poles are a little bit taller, 15 foot mountain high. And our request is that the commission recents resolution number 2023-360 so that FPS is allowed to complete the transition into the black Washington poles, the 13 that are remaining. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Mr. Clerk, do we have any public comment?

Mr. Mayor, on the public comment issue, correct? The commission's not taking action on this issue. Okay. Through the mayor? Yes.

Okay. Mayor Don Slessing, thank you so much for your words. Your words reflect the sentiment of many other residents, not only today, but in the past year and a half. Now, Lighting, even for a simple house, lighting is so important and it makes such a drastic difference in not only a building, in our common streets and in our residential homes. So I completely share your sentiment as well. I was thinking with what you just said about the impact fees right and i don't know how feasible that is but i would love to look into it maybe put this on hold for a moment i would move to direct the city manager to look at the feasibility of maybe funding these lights with impact fees or maybe changing legislation and make it part of maybe the art fund. Let's consider maybe these slides art. See if maybe there's a different way to fund this that won't affect the general fund. Let's look into it before we make this permanent decision that I know is so important to our community. So I would move to direct the city manager to look into maybe incorporating this as part of impact fees for new development, surrounding development, obviously, or maybe begin to work in some new legislation to make this part of an art.

Through the mayor.

So if I may, we're not taking action on this item, number one, first and foremost. What the commissioner is talking about is what we did with the White Way lights in regards to taking art in public places, monies, and using it for the White Way lights. I wrote that legislation. The reason why that was possible because those were historic. These are not historic. You can't do that. And the city attorney will give you the guidance on that. I don't want to waste people's time. We have a long agenda today. And he can explain that. I don't want to give people false hopes and go down a rabbit hole. It doesn't work. You want to go down impact fees and figure that out, that's perfectly fine. You can work with staff. This is not an action item. What we're doing is updating the commission that we have to bring this item forward eventually and address it. We have lighting that is not complete, especially in certain areas around the golf course that need to be addressed. Mayor Slessing asked me if I would meet with the president of P&L. It wouldn't be the first time I met with the president of P&L. That's how I was able 10 years ago to accomplish the undergrounding that is currently underway here in the city of Coral Gables. It was a long, drawn-out process. It took years to get that done, and I worked on it, and I was a sponsor of that legislation. Now, I have met with... the leadership team of FPNL multiple times. They've been very clear since the beginning, since Commissioner Fernandez brought this out in 2023, and the project stalled. They are not moving. This is the way it's gonna be. They have four items, four light poles for the entire state. They're not making exceptions. If you go back on the public record, and I have it here, I was very clear to Commissioner Fernandez that I don't wanna do political grandstanding. Trust me, I wanna give the residents that view this as an issue what they want. There's no skin on my back, whether they're silver or they're black. I have no issues with it. many occasions they were said that these are historic they're not historic poles they're fiberglass poles i have these in my neighborhood right now okay so something needs to happen what we're having today here is an update i have no issues meeting with asking and requesting to meet with the president of pnl we have sent them letters my understanding i can't even fully remember we've been in contact with them we've met with staff They have said no repeatedly on this matter. Eventually, we have to move forward or, which I'm not willing to, enter into a lawsuit. And I'm not willing to enter into a lawsuit with a P&L once again. I've been there, and I inherited a lawsuit, which was the Transformer, excuse me, the... THE TRANSMISSION LINES. THANK YOU, MADAM CITY ATTORNEY. AND THAT WAS A DISASTER OF EPIC PROPORTION, COSTING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. SO WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD ON THIS ITEM, NOT SAYING WE'RE MOVING FORWARD TODAY, BUT WE NEED TO FINALIZE IT, BRING IT IN FOR A LANDING. NO ONE WANTS TO ACCEPT THE REALITY, BUT FP&L HAS BEEN unequivocal and clear since 2023. They are not going to give us what we want. And we have to make a decision. If I may, we're gonna go down, we're gonna everyone's gonna get a chance to speak, Madam Vice Mayor.

so it was roughly a year ago or more that we started this journey and at that time i asked the question of the city attorney and i received the answer that no we cannot use art and public places fees or replacement of these lights In addition, the thoughts of doing additional impact fees are one of those things that resonate through Tallahassee where impact fees are not an invited term and will instead invite further preemption upon our city if we do additional impact fees. So I'm gonna come full circle for just a moment because the project that was spoken of on Segovia regarding lighting, I'd wanted to put in some red. artistic polls and because of the streetscape that we have on segovia those would have clashed drastically with what we currently have so i was no vote on those because it lacks the thematic consistency that we need throughout our city it's unfortunate that fp now We'll not add these poles back into their catalog. But I do think we need to move forward because lighting is important. And if the lights aren't working and we're not able to maintain them and they get hit by cars and they get damaged, which we've had many instances of that happening, we need to move forward.

Through the mayor.

Everyone will have a chance to speak. Anyone else like to speak on this issue? I would actually.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So, Mayor Slesnick, you never turned down an opportunity to serve your city, and we appreciate that. I know the amount of hours that you and Michael Maxwell have put into this effort doing research. Mr. Maxwell has incredible experience in this area from his time in other states on similar projects. And the reason that I passed that, that I moved that resolution THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES. THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES. THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES. THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES. THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES. THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY OF CORAL GABLES THE CITY It's unfortunate, it really is, because if there has been a city that has been a good partner to FPL, every opportunity it's been Coral Gables. And we're just getting the door slammed in our face because it's going to save them a few bucks. The Vice Mayor is 100% correct. We're going to have to make a decision as far as lighting at some point. Unfortunately, we're not in a financial position based on what we don't know still from Tallahassee to make a decision to put in lights ourselves. The manager has made the argument many times. We're not in the business of putting up lighting. I understand both sides of the argument, but I'm not there today to give up the fight. I would like to get some clarity from the city attorney. I know the vice mayor said that Commissioner Castro's motion would not be possible would you be able to would the vice the uh city attorney be able to provide us some clarity on um the question posed by commissioner castro regarding the possibility of either the impact fees or the art in public places just so that we have it on the record

Yeah, so the zoning code provides a definition in the Art in Public Places section of the zoning code and for what those monies can be used for, what the fund, the Art Acquisition Fund can be used for. You know, street lighting, general street lighting would not fall within the definition of that. And in terms of impact fees, we do not currently have an impact fee for street lighting. There is a process for developing and imposing additional impact fees in our city or under the state of Florida's rules. And it would have to fit into the criteria for imposing an impact fee, which is that it has to be directly related to the development and has to have a rational nexus to the development. And so that's a process and i don't know that it would fit squarely within that process and i think you just hit the nail on the head i think the the biggest uh issue mayor schnitzel is

it has to be in close proximity to a development project. And I think when we're talking about an area like North and South Greenway, we have very few development projects that are currently being either considered or underway in that area that would be, I think, close enough to have an impact fee that would apply to it. We can definitely put it out there to developers who are willing to work in this city. They've been very creative about projects that they've been taking on, and maybe this is a project that they'd be interested in taking on when they're doing proffers for their development projects. I mean, it's a very tough decision because we really have absolutely no control of it, and those who do, they just want to save their money.

Mr. Mayor?

Yes, sir.

Thank you, Mayor. Just to clarify everything that has been said, we do have impact fees for parks, mobility, police, and fire. Maybe mobility can be used for lighting because it's in the right of way. That would be, if it's not, it would be a fifth impact fee. what the reason FPNL is not providing these lights under catalog. And by the way, we're using the premium catalog for core variables. We're using the most premium lights that they have is because they deal with so many cities that the inventory they would have to carry would be tremendous. And that is a financial issue. uh the problem that we have with with lighting is as i've mentioned before and you know we're not in the poll business uh when when we when we took over as the whiteway lights as we as when we took over the the whiteway lights from fp l is that we have to redo everything infrastructure the whole thing because we're under a different code They're under a national safety code. We're under a national electrical code, which means that we only have to take up the lights, but we'll do the whole electrical system new again. In addition to that, we're dealing with millions of dollars for the maintenance of our current system and for the replacement of our current system. versus a 20 year payment, which is a brand new tariff that occurred a few years ago under the Public Service Commission, which is very favorable to the city. So instead of paying millions of dollars upfront, we may be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars over a 20 year period. So it's a substantial difference from a monetary perspective. In addition to that, if we have a major storm, if we have something that damages these poles, then it would be under FP&L. If we have a hurricane, for instance, a coastal zone, you have a storm surge, wipes out all those poles. We have millions of dollars in pole replacement. We have a major hurricane. We would have millions of dollars, especially as some of these older poles deteriorate. We would have millions of dollars of liability in that. Now under this new tariff, Not only do we pay a small percentage of the cost, but also FPNL incurs maintenance and liability for those poles. We are not in the pole business. For us to do pole work is very expensive. And that's why we would like to proceed with it. It's something that is just extremely expensive. And with the uncertainties in the state legislature now, and with our budget, I'm not sure if we can afford millions of dollars and the additional liability that that would cause.

Thank you, Mr. Manager.

Commissioner, do you have anything you'd like to add, or do you want me to wrap it up? Well, yeah, I think that's probably the best way to put it. You know, there's not much more to add. Everyone has already expressed, you know, robustly all the issues that need to be considered. I'm a big fan, obviously, Mayor Selesnick, of your championing all the causes, especially those that are near and dear to us who believe in historic preservation. On this one, the scales tip, in my view, pretty heavily, you know, in a decision that is really not within our grasp. I personally think that the silver ones look better than the black ones, but I don't think the distinction could possibly justify, in all fairness, an expense that we just can't incur at this time in good conscience, given that the exorbitant amount of the cost associated with the maintenance and the repair and the service of them would be borne by FPL as opposed to Coral Gables at a time But I do appreciate all of your words and your sentiments and your views. But like everyone has already said, it seems to me like it's a decision that's frankly outside of our hands, given everything that's on the scales. Thank you.

I'm going to just make a few points in regards to the mayor and... Commissioner Castro. First and foremost, in regards to the mayor, Madam City Attorney, through the manager together, let's try to schedule a meeting with that P&L, with the president, and let's document that effort with the president and make sure that that individual's in town, or I'll even fly to Tallahassee on my own dime if I have to fly to Tallahassee to meet with this individual. But we already have met with multiple higher-ups, and Addis has been front and center on this front. That's number one. We'll make the effort before we bring it back to make a decision at the next commission meeting. That's number one. Two, it's a lot of uncertainty right now in Tallahassee in regards to property tax reform. There isn't one person in this room that can tell you that they have a crystal ball where this is going to land. Nobody can tell you. How severe, how minimal is it going to be? We don't know. But we do know that you can't touch police and fire, which when you look at the budget, it's the largest part of the budget. Just think about it, how we're being handcuffed. By the way, I just want to be very clear, I am in favor of property tax reform, but not at the expense of services. When you talk about maintenance, the manager hit the nail on the head. We're not in the pole business. This is not about just replacing poles if there's a hurricane. You have to now buy trucks, boom trucks. You have to have personnel that understand this type of work. It's not like you can just use our incredibly dedicated and brilliant staff. It's a whole set of new individuals that need to be hired, that are on the pension, that need to be paid for, that need to be on the ready if a hurricane comes. We have hundreds of poles. That's why El Piano has the infrastructure to be able to do this. We don't have the infrastructure. So it's not just the millions of dollars in polls. It's the millions of dollars in the backup that needs to be at the ready if a hurricane happens. The cost is exorbitant. When we make comments like, let's use art and public places monies, we all know the answer to that already. I don't like to give people false hope knowing that the answer is already there, that we can't use it. It's not right, because then we get emails and we have to respond and explain or get clips from the clerk where the city attorney says it once again, that that money cannot be used for this type of infrastructure. Trust me, I wrote the law to use it for the whiteway lights. Taking it from art and public places. Two and a half, I think it was two and a half million dollars or something to that effect or so. And I'm a fan and an advocate of the arts, but I understand the importance and the historic significance of the white wheel lights.

We got it done.

You can't use that money here. So at P&L, I don't want to get into whether they're the good guys and we're the good guys and they're the bad guys. At the end of the day, we have to work hand in hand with them. And I want to move forward. We're not taking action today. There's no action item today. I will meet with the president. I've made that request. Addis is shaking her head. I will meet with the president, with Addis, our city manager, and our city attorney. I was able to address multiple, through multiple negotiations, things like the mark, to bring the mark back into the city. To address issues like Henry Torres' project years ago when we had issues with the trolley, I also negotiated that issue. and got us out of a multi-million dollar legal battle that we were in. So I'm more than willing, but I've already gone down this rabbit hole multiple times, and they're entrenched in their opinion that they want to simplify THE PROCESS BECAUSE OF HOW MANY MUNICIPALITIES ARE DEALING WITH. BUT I WANT TO PUT IT AGAIN, WE ARE RECEIVING THE HIGHEST QUALITY PREMIER POLLS, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, LIKE COMMISSIONER ANALADA SAID, I'M A FAN OF THE SILVER, NOT OF THE FIBER GLASS. I WOULD RATHER HAVE A SILVER POLE THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE DURABLE, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. BUT I DO LIKE THE SILVER MORE THAN THE BLACK. This gorilla I like to look at some of the polls in my neighborhood because I'm seeing them have some staining issues and I want to see if maybe that's. Coming to do the sprinklers or has to do with the black that staining as a result of the sun, but we can look at those things when we have a little bit more time so moving forward, we have in front of us the answers that we had in 2023 nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. I want to make sure everybody's aware we have to move forward. We cannot make massive investments on poles where, let's say we do buy them for millions and millions and millions of dollars. I cannot sleep at night knowing that I'm responsible for all of the lighting in the city of Coral Gables if it goes out. That to me is a possible catastrophic situation when you talk about during a hurricane or a maintenance issue. So I think what we should do is work in conjunction with our P&L. I'll meet with the president. I'll work hand in hand with Mayor Slesding on this issue. The manager and I have been to Mayor Slesding's house, have been there in front of those polls, and have looked at the issue. We understand what the residents want. It's clear as day. Let me see what we can do with the president. Give it one final stab. I will always be willing to meet with anybody and see how we can advocate. I do not want to go the legal route. And I do not want to spend millions and millions and millions of dollars because it's not the investment in the polls. It's the investment in the lifelong maintenance of those polls. It will be potentially catastrophic for us. I don't want to make this a political issue. I think we need to move forward. We have a long agenda today, and I really appreciate Mayor Schlesing being here along with FPNL. We have to take action in the next commission meeting, okay? Mr. Clerk, Mr. Manager, I'd like to see this item back on the agenda, and I would like to have a meeting with the president of FPNL. I will go to Palm Beach. I will go wherever is needed with you, and we'll have that meeting in an effort to see if we can negotiate something further. Yes.

So if this item is going to be back on the agenda for the next commission meeting, this is not an action item, but you can definitely move and it could become an action item. I'm going to ask the city manager to please look into any other type of funding source to bring up with this item as well. That's my motion. If I have a second, that would be amazing.

Excuse me one second. Mr. Manager, have we already looked at every possible funding source in regards to paying for these polls?

That is correct, Mayor.

We can do it again. For politics, we can do it again. Who would like to second that? Through the Mayor? Yes. Can I, before we make it, do you want to second this?

Well, I would because the manager did say we could consider mobility impact fees when he was speaking earlier. So I just- Through the mayor. So I just wanted clarity. Have we considered mobility already or have we not?

Through the mayor? Yes. Mobility fees are not, we don't get millions of dollars in mobility fees. We use those for roadway improvements. We use those for resurfacing. We use those for that. So we would have to cut out resurfacing and some other major things on roads. to pay for a huge differential in lighting with FPNL. So that would cause a lot of maintenance, from what we get in the mobility fee. It's a much lower fee than the parks impact fee.

And if I may, Madam Vice Mayor, we've gone through all of this already. We're robbing Peter to pay Paul. So whatever you do is going to hurt something else here in the city. Just like the gas fee. The gas fee that we get from the county is continuing to drop as a result of people using more and more electric cars. We're losing these fees. And the Vice Mayor made a very good point. We have to be very thoughtful and be very careful in regards to preemption. very careful so i'm more than willing to have a meeting and sit down and see what we can do we've done this before on multiple occasions we've been trying since 2023 the only thing that is suffering right now is the neighborhoods due to a lack of lighting in the neighborhoods those lights have not been installed AND IT'S AN ISSUE. THE CONDUITS ARE THERE IN MANY PLACES, FOR EXAMPLE, IN MAYOR SELESNICK'S HOME. I WAS ON SITE WITH THE MAYOR AND THE CITY MANAGER LOOKING AT THE ISSUE WHEN THESE LIGHTS WERE REMOVED IN 2023.

YES, SIR. THROUGH THE MAYOR. COMMISSIONER, THE REASON I MENTIONED THE MOBILITY FEE IS BECAUSE THAT'S A RIGHT-OF-WAY FEE. IT DEALS WITH MOBILITY. all kinds of mobility. So to add more impact fees to that, we would have to justify that. It would have to be through an impact fee study, and we would have to justify an additional increase in the mobility fee, which is quite difficult to do and requires a complete study to do so.

Mr. Mayor, so before we have a second and you regret it, I'm going to highlight for you the decades that individuals in the Biltmore Way area have been waiting for additional traffic calming. There was a resolution that I placed that was voted in by this commission to prioritize funding from mobility impact fees in that area for traffic calming. A similar resolution was also done for the Flagler District to prioritize mobility impact fees to deal with the traffic calming and streetscape improvements in that area. These have been decades. Residents have been waiting for these things. It's very difficult to justify spending millions of dollars on light poles when we still haven't taken care of these other matters first. And then we can get into the discussion of sidewalks and many other things that we need to prioritize.

We also need to be very, very thoughtful and careful when we talk about, for example, the MARC, where if they go down the route of the county, we would have lost $7 million in impact fees?

A million.

$7 million in impact fees that would have gone to the county. Just like if a project, for example, the one on H Street goes live local, we lose a lot of those impact fees also. So we are being attacked on all corners, and we're trying to have those fees stay here in the city so that we can service the community. So I think we've been belabored this for three years. Let's bring this in for a landing. I'm going to try it. You made a request that you want me to have a meeting with the president. I have no issues meeting with that. I know that Addis and I are in constant communication. We talk weekly and she's made multiple meetings for me and the manager. And I'm more than willing to make that meeting happen, even if I have to go and drive up there.

Through the mayor? Yes. Full trust in your ability to negotiate with FPL. You've done it before. You know how it works. I just want to make sure we don't leave any option on the table prior to us making a decision. So what I ask is that staff tries to figure out if there's any other way that we can make this happen prior to us making a decision.

If I may, there is no other way of making this happen. I'VE ALREADY TRIED EVERYTHING. THE MANAGER HAS TRIED EVERYTHING. WE'VE TRIED EVERYTHING NEGOTIATING WITH FP&L. I'M GOING TO ASK ONE MORE TIME JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MAKE EVERYONE FEEL RESTFUL SO WHEN THEY SPEAK TO THE CONSTITUENTS THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE Frost every T and dotted every single I. Mr. Manager, have we exhausted every opportunity to get these polls in silver through FPNL? Yes or no?

Yes, we have, Mayor.

Everything has been exhausted. We have a very long agenda. I'd like to move on. Mr. Director, do you have anything else? Mayor, I would like to thank you for being here, and I will keep you abreast of the meeting. I will meet with you before I meet with the president, if I'm honored to, to get your guidance and your input, okay? Thank you very much. I appreciate your consideration.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And your kind words.

So thank you.

Thank you. I also want to say that I think it's a very important road that we travel one more time, if need be, to meet with the president of FPL. I think that that suggestion makes the most sense to me. So, Mr. Mayor, if you're going to be taking that on, to negotiate a meet with the president. I'd like to offer all of my services as well in connection with that, because I think that's probably our best shot to get these polls back onto the catalog.

But I also think we need to come. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I think we also need to come to terms after this meeting that we got to bring this in for a landing. We got lighting in neighborhoods. If we're worried about safety, if we say that we're number one priority is safety and lighting, then we got to install the poles. They've been missing since three years in certain neighborhoods because I hear it, especially around the golf course. People are running around the golf course. There's cars coming around every angle and every corner and there's lighting that's missing. Yes, sir.

on that point because of the height of the pole that doesn't provide any more light on the running surface than the old poles did at the lower light. And that may be something to look at, too. Maybe there's a different height to look at. I mean about safety. I'm jumping now to your agenda, safety.

We'll take that into account, Mr. Manager. Let's discuss that later.

YES, MAYOR, WE LOOK AT PHOTOMETRICS AND IT'S DONE THROUGH PROPER PHOTOMETRICS THROUGHOUT THE SITE SO WE DO TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT.

PLEASE MAKE THOSE PHOTOMETRICS PUBLIC AND GIVE THEM TO THE MAYOR AND ANYONE WHO HAS ANY QUESTIONS IN REGARDS TO THOSE PHOTOMETRICS SO THEY REST EASY.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. OKAY. NEXT ITEM THAT WE HAVE IS TIME CERTAIN ITEM F2.

F2 is a resolution of the City Commission authorizing the temporary installation of two painted Jaguar Parade sculptures as part of the original 11 piece collection on Miracle Mile in collaboration with Jaguar Parade and are to be authorizing the City Manager or Designee to execute any necessary agreements, permits, and related documents for the installation, maintenance, and removal, authorizing a temporary encroachment into the public right-of-way, and providing for an effective date.

I'm the sponsor of this item. Thank you very much, Belkis. You've done a great job. Your team has done a great job. This is going to be, again, something special. Thank you to the ACM, the DCM, and the manager. I'm looking forward to, again, bringing more activation to the downtown.

Yep. So if I can have the PowerPoint up. So as you said, the mayor, you sponsored this item. It was brought to us by your office. This is the Jaguar Parade project. Jaguar Parade is an open air art exhibit. Decorated jaguar sculptures, wood line, the public right of way in some areas. This is a project that has had international appeal. And so at the end of the exhibit, all proceeds from the auction of the statues would be, or the sculptures would be donated to the Jaguar conservation efforts. And so in this case, we're saying that we, by the way, we're collaborating with a company called Artsy. Giovanni Passa, which is the CEO of Artery, it's called, is trying to join by Zoom, but is unable to because he's in Brazil right now. So we're having him create a statement, and hopefully he will be able to do that before we end this presentation.

The thing about this, and again, these are temporary. It is temporary. All right, very clear. This is not permanent. This is just fun sculpture to bring people another opportunity to take a picture, you know, have a good time in the gables, brand the gables, kind of like what you did. Again, amazing, amazing with what's on Giralda right now. You can see it in the back. So it's just an opportunity just to, you know, get people out, get people to have lunch, to have a drink, to shop on Miracle Mountain or downtown.

There are different artists involved. We're not saying that these are the two sculptures that would be lining the street. We're looking at the 100 block of Miracle Mile on the crosswalk right in front of McBride Plaza where you would have those two jaguars facing each other on the crosswalk, but we're open to other possibilities. This would not block the sidewalk and would comply with accessibility as well. And I think it's a win-win for everyone. The sculptures are, all the costs related to the installation and insurance and de-installation, everything is covered by the company. It is meant to be outside, so it's perfectly fine with our weather. It is going to attract people, like the mayor said. It's going to bring people, and people will want to take pictures. It will raise awareness for the campaign. And it helps us be a part of something that's already an international, that has international appeal. It's again a temporary exhibit. It would be from June 10th to July 20th, so six weeks. And they would coordinate the whole load in and load out, and they will provide insurance.

When you look at this again, no cost. That's one of the reasons why when Bucky's and I had this discussion, I thought it was a great idea. Economic engagement, activation, it's temporary. You know how I am in regards to art, and I believe there should be certain level. I think this is fun. You know, the kids are going to love it. And at the end of the day, I'm a big fan of big cats. and preservation. I think that this is something that again brings awareness. I mean, again, we don't have jaguars here. We have a Florida panther and any way that we can educate on conservation here in the Everglades and in South Florida. Again, I think it's a win-win.

Mayor, I do want a point of privilege. We have the Deputy Consul Veloso of Brazil here, if he would like to say a few words. Is that okay?

Yes, it would be an honor. Please. If you're going to everybody, my name is Klaus. You've illogical. I'm the deputy consul general of Brazil in charge of trade promotion and cultural affairs. It's an honor to be here. I just wanted to highlight that the upcoming World Cup will be a very special moment for Miami. and Coral Gables in all of the cities within Miami-Dade. And we believe the motto behind this Jaguar parade is very inspirational. This exhibit has been presented at the UN, in New York and Paris during COP 30 in Brazil. So the idea behind the exhibition is to promote and to raise the awareness about the need for preservation of jaguars within the Americas. Some areas of the Americans of the Americans have already. had reached the point of extinction of the jaguars so we believe this is very important and the consulate of Brazil supports. this project, and Coral Gables is a very important part of this area. This exhibition will be in downtown Brickell, the design district, Miami Beach, and we believe Coral Gables is very important. We have FIFA here, we have the Brazilian Football Confederation here, their headquarters are here, so we believe Coral Gables is a very important part of this project. We thank you for considering this and we hope Coral Gables will be part of this great project.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much. And a great mention of the World Cup. Mr. Clerk, do you have any public comment?

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Jackson Holmes.

OK. First of all, I want to ask your forgiveness if I went overboard in my public comment because, secondly, I support what you're doing here on this item. A property on American Mile, I support it. Now, thirdly, I'm trying to avoid being punished, but I have to at least try. with a positive and constructive solution. And you can remember how many emails I've sent you. I have proof. Now, first of all, I'm putting myself under penalties for perjury with this. So you don't think this is a frivolous thing that I'm saying. I have proof that we prevented landfall, or that the authorities prevented landfall of Hurricane Erin in 2001. Hurricane landfall can be prevented and if we go if we think back to this item here We're we're talking about the the light. You know this all those polls if if we can If I were city commissioner, we would get slamming on this thing and we stopped the hurricanes from making landfall Then FPL doesn't have any problems. Maybe they could give us our poll. Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir All right, may I entertain a motion?

I move it.

We have a second. Any further discussion?

Just one point, Mr. Mayor. The question I have is, it is during hurricane season. Do we need to remove these if there is a storm? Do they need to be covered? Just want to make sure we get that on the record.

As part of the resolution language and the encroachment, they're responsible for removal and returning it on the site.

And they're made of fiberglass at the end of the day, correct? So they don't weigh much. Perfect. All right. We have a motion, a second.

Yes, sir. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Castro?

Yes.

Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara?

So I love these activations, Belkis. I think that when you had the one before where it was like coral gables, right, and now with these jaguars, and like the mayor said, the ability to create more interest in visitors to come and have fun in our city and create these moments where people can take some photos, upload them on social media. They become sort of agents of marketing for our city beautiful. So I think this is whimsical. It's doing something good by raising awareness. Thank you very much for your comments, you know, regarding Brazil and the importance of raising awareness for the preservation of these beautiful animals. So, and thank you, Mayor, for bringing this before us. So my vote's yes.

Mayor Lago.

Yes. Thank you for giving me the credit where the credit deserves. It all goes to Belkis and her team.

Thank you. I just wanted to say the CEO just emailed us because he couldn't join, and he says that he's very happy and thankful, and that he's happy that Coral Gables is now part of this international program.

Thank you. To our Brazilian friends, Mr. Consul, thank you so much. It's a privilege and an honor to have you here. Thank you, sir. Looking forward to doing many other things with you. Time, sir, and agenda item 817.

Mr mayor, uh, if since it's a septic issue, can we take a septic break before 5 minutes?

I'm in a break. We'll be back at 1213. All right, we're ready. All right, let's get started. Item H17. Mr. Director, how long are we looking at in regards to this presentation?

Fifteen minutes tops. Okay, we'll try to make it a little faster.

We'll do it in ten.

All right.

Thank you.

No pressure.

How are you? Yes.

Mr.

Manager. Thank you very much. Thank you, Commissioner. I just want to be very, very clear that we're not proposing septic to sewer. This is a study that was funded by the state that really is going to help us with our knowledge of our system and actually help us if there's any state or federal monies later on that we can use. So I just want to make very clear that this is not a proposal for septic to sewer. This is a study of our city. that will help us in case those monies become available.

Okay. Thank you very much.

All right. Well, we'll do our best to be brief. So before we start, I'd like to, as a matter of introduction, Paula Davalos on behalf of the ARDURA and the 300 Group, who prepared this master plan. It's a planning level data-driven roadmap so that we can proactively plan for the future and pursue funding opportunities when they become available. Billy, if you could please put up the presentation.

Okay. Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor and commissioners. We're very happy to be here to present the citywide septic to sewer master plan. The objectives of today are to present our key findings are over overall technical analysis that we did and how this will be prioritized for the future and discuss results of public outreach efforts as well as receive any feedback from the city commission. So currently, about 50% of the city is serviced by septic tanks. That's approximately 7,655 properties. Many of these do not meet the current standards. The purpose of the citywide septic and sewer plan is threefold. One is protecting water quality, protecting Biscayne Bay and local waterways, as these are major tourism industry for Miami-Dade County. And we are looking forward to reduce pollution and degradation of the waterways. In addition to address aging and failing septic systems and provide a more resilient and robust centralized sewer system and provide a phased roadmap or implementation for the future once you know funding becomes available or for the next steps of this program. On the legislative side both on the state level and on the county level there are certain regulations that are promotes addressing septic septic areas and providing centralized source system, we have House bill 1379 which requires that any. This one requires the conversion of septic to sewer for environmentally sensitive areas, including. Indian River and other counties as indicated on the slide. So it really focuses on any vulnerable regions within the state. Additionally, there's another House bill which became effective July 1, 2025, that allows utilities to use uh... existing sewer revenues for system expansion such as septic to sewer on the county level one important thing to note is that conventional septic systems or type one uh... systems are no longer permitted for new installations or full replacements in other words If a septic tank reaches the end of its useful life, that one would have to be replaced with an advanced nutrient removal system, which is a lot more expensive. It can cost upwards of $65,000 or more per property. Currently within the city, we have on the left shown little dots that you might not be able to see on the slide, but that represents where the septic tank locations are. Additionally, the city's sewer system is composed of 35 sewer basins and pump stations. many miles of gravity mains, enforcement, and a robust infrastructure to convey all the wastewater from these areas to a point of connection with Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department for ultimate disposal and treatment, as Coral Gables is a volume sewer customer of Miami-Dade County. For the public, some of the main benefits of this program are that there will be no future maintenance costs for their septic tanks. And the property owners wouldn't have to bear the cost to repair or replace their septic systems. And additionally, it allows everybody to pitch in their grain of sand and better protect the environment and human health. There are some key reasons why septic tanks are not the best for Florida, and they were originally installed throughout South Florida because of rapid growth of our areas. However, the main issues are that we have a limestone bedrock that is porous and does not facilitate the natural degradation of contaminants. We have a high groundwater table so that doesn't give enough space within the soil for those contaminants to break down. And we have issues with flooding, which can cause septic tanks to overflow. And then we have, you know, risks to the environment and public health. The distance between the ground elevation and where the septic tank is located is a very key aspect and There is a minimum of 42 inches of separation that is needed for effective treatment however when When that amount of space is not available, that leads to system failure and reduced treatment efficiency. Additionally, sea level rise further reduces the separation over time, which increases the vulnerability. So part of our study was looking at many years' worth of data as far as certain contaminants and parameters that are linked to septic tanks. We found that nitrogen and phosphorus was found in levels that are above the parameter limit threshold. Additionally, something that we found very interesting was we found the presence of sucralose in the Coral Gables waterways. And what's interesting about that is in the case of phosphorus and nitrogen, you could attribute that to runoff or to fertilizers or to other things. But in the case of sucralose, the only way that that could be present in the waterways is through human consumption and human waste, as it does not occur naturally in the environment. So this shows us that there is an impact of septic tanks Coral gables and it's not just a localized impact. We also did a travel time study that indicates that these nutrients these contaminants can travel up to 1900 feet in one year so that shows that there is a broad impact of what these septic tank failures could cause. So as part of our study, we have preliminarily developed 19 new sewer basin areas. And what a sewer basin is, is pretty much just an area that you're going to collect all of the sewer to a central pump station, and then that's going to pump the wastewater to AFORCE main system. So as I mentioned, half of the city currently has 35 pump stations. What we're proposing for the other half is 16 new basins, as well as six expansions of the 35 existing basins. So it's really an optimal way to treat and to collect this wastewater. and you see that all the areas are different shapes and sizes. It all has to do with very specific considerations of the topography and the best way to collect that wastewater. So furthermore, we have a full detailed prioritization plan and ranking system that's where each of these new basins and basin expansions were evaluated based on specific environmental vulnerability criteria, including the proximity of each septic tank to surface water, the vulnerability to failure, flood risk, soil drainage, nutrient loading. And then that, along with some weighing factors specific to the impact of each of these, were implemented to see what is the ranking of which areas should maybe need attention first. if that's the case. Now, this is not necessarily the way that things need to be done. It's just based on vulnerability and environmental criteria. Here we have an example of our conceptual layout for one of the basins, one of the 16 basins, but since you want to keep it to 10 minutes. I won't show you all 16 But basically these conceptual layouts are in a very detailed engineering planning level analysis they have information as far as the recommended pipe sizes the hydraulic slopes the confirmation of minimum cover of pipes and laterals so there is a detailed analysis that went into this and For each basin, we also have a planning level cost estimate and a distribution of the infrastructure that would be needed within the right of way. This is an example of a basin expansion. The existing basin includes the area, the properties that are highlighted in yellow. So by extending the pipe system, we can cover a larger area. and be able to service many more properties at a lesser cost than it would be to develop a new basin as, you know, a pump station itself typically increases the cost quite a bit of one of these sewer projects. Here we have just an example of what a sewer pump station could look like. This is an example within the Cocoa Plum area. Where we have specific hedging and aesthetic requirements that we're coordinating with coordinated with the with the community and that's you know the way that typically the city does these projects is coordinating beforehand to lessen the visual impact of the location of the pump stations. And each of the proposed pump stations would have, would be submersible with odor control systems. They're not loud. They won't be a nuisance to the community. As I mentioned, the city is a volume sewer customer in Miami-Dade County. Currently there's a single point of connection where all of the city's wastewater flows then go through a flow meter to connect to Miami-Dade County for treatment and disposal. Currently, all the city's flows are being treated and disposed in the central district wastewater treatment plant. One big component of this master plan is the recommendation of a redundant force main point of connection to the county. This is being coordinated currently with water and sewer department, but it is a very critical recommendation. as it provides critical backup and reduces the risk of service disruptions during emergency conditions. We also have here, what it would cost for property owners more or less. This is county averages. So we have all of the improvements that are within the right-of-way. And then these improvements that we're showing here are what typically is involved into abandoning a septic tank and making a connection to the new sewer system within the private property. So on county average, it's about $16,600, however, This may vary based on the specific property condition size and how the plumbing is laid out. So overall, including all the 16 new pump station basins and the basin expansions, we're looking at about $409 million as a planning level estimate for what this would take.

And Paul, if I may add, that does not include the cost of that secondary connection, which is something that we're still evaluating and working with Miami Dade County to confirm the proper location and expense.

Yeah. So, you know, we understand it's a big number, definitely. It's very much in line with other, you know, local municipalities within South Florida and what their estimates are. Um, so again, this is the point of this is to have a roadmap, to have a very good idea of what it would take. And then based on that, you know, um, being able to pursue additional funding opportunities to reduce some of that cost. Um, additionally, we have two examples of in the case, uh, just, just general information of how the specific cost per parcel could be distributed over time. And we have two examples, one of them in a basin where there's, it's a low end, it's on the low end where the cost impact would be about $29,000 per parcel. And then we have another example where it could be up to $100,000 per parcel. Again, it just has to do with the infrastructure and how it's laid out. Just to give you an idea of what I mean, if there's a basin where the properties are very large, so you need to install all this infrastructure for less amount of properties, the cost per property is going to be higher when you look at it like that, rather than if there are many more properties within an area, then the distribution of the cost per parcel comes out to be lower. So another thing, which is one of the last things that we wanted to bring up, is that we did a very comprehensive public outreach campaign as part of this septic to sewer plan. We've had 11 public meetings. Many of them were held in this same room here. And we've listened to the community, listened to the feedback, to the shock, to the support, to all the different opinions from the residents. The outreach was composed of issuing resident notification flyers to each property owner prior to the public meetings. We have a Septic to Sewer website with links to all the meetings and information, basin lookup where any property owner could type the name, type their address, and they could see what proposed basin they fall in, when the community meeting is for that area, et cetera. And we also did a survey, a survey that was available online, and we also brought physically printed copies to each of the meetings to get resident feedback. So in a nutshell, the general takeaways is that more or less the community is pretty knowledgeable on the issue with septic tanks and what a centralized sewer system is, et cetera. But the main concern is funding. So that's the main barrier and the main concern, which is why it's so critical that we're doing this master plan is so that we can address that. and have a clear understanding of what needs to be done to appease that concern. To summarize, the main aspect of this master plan is to establish a long-term roadmap for subject to sewer transition, to be proactive and aware of of the legislation changes so that the city can be positioned to have this ready to go when and if the need comes to you know position the city ahead of these regulatory trends and enable the city to have projects that are ready to go to pursue grants and financing opportunities. So adopting the master plan at this time is not a commitment to implementation. It's a commitment to preparedness, responsible planning, and maintaining your own control over future decisions rather than being reactive when there is a need on an emergency or a future regulatory mandate. Now with that, thank you so much for your time, and we'll open it up if you have any questions.

Thank you very much. I just have one question due to the time constraints that we have. Not a question, more of a request. Mr. Manager, can you put this on our website? I'd like to see a tab, septic to sewer discussion, our tab, so that people, when they have questions about that, I'd like them to see this presentation See what we've done the efforts of staff how much we've done here that we are looking for alternatives. We're not looking to pass the buck onto the residents. We want to find options for the future and we are prepared for the future. We're not going to do this. We want to be the first of the table when there's financing options. So I want to show people that that this already that we've done a lot of work. Our team has done a lot of work and that again. leave it out there for outside consultants. Maybe, you know, people come up with new ideas. You never know. They can use all our information to work collaboratively in an effort to find a solution for this major, major infrastructure issue.

Certainly, Mayor, we can put it. I'd like to see it on our website. And what you said is absolutely correct. This is for informational purpose only. It's a preparation item that we've done planning so that allows us to be ready in case there is any financing available. Yes. Through the Mayor. Yes.

i just wanted to give you a little bit of an update you know i did send out a letter to the residents one of the things that i invited people to do is reach out to me if they were interested in pursuing uh septic to sewer conversion and they did look on our website at their particular basins because i asked them to do that first before we move to the next step. And there are discussions about having additional submeetings within the residential community to determine how many people are interested in actually doing it. So the biggest concerns that I encountered for folks are mostly for the elderly. This is a big expense, and I think it's one of the things that we have to highlight in our legislative priorities to be able to provide a funding source for those folks. And there are other things I think that we need to discuss with our lobbyists as far as funding sources and whether they're I know the county has a program as well to help out folks do the septic to sewer conversion. But the reality is we have two mandates. One is the life of the septic tank. When it fails, you're going to end up spending more money on replacing that septic tank than you would on converting a sewer. And there are no grant funds available for replacing that septic tank to help people out. Just not. But there are grant funds available to do the septic sewer conversion and if I had my wish come through, there would be also additional funding for folks that are of limited income who are elderly and cannot afford to handle this themselves. It is a huge problem in addition to sucralose throughout our waterway starting at Red Road Comes the appearance of human fecal count. It's in the water testing One of the reasons I started the no dog waste in the trash pits thing is because there was also dog waste indicated. People don't realize our pipes all connect to the waterway. So those are some of the points. I hope we can get these community meetings done. And the Riviera Basins was one consistent area where I had more than one person contact me. There are other basins that contacted me, an individual. But that's the most vulnerable that has contacted me thus far because it's touching the waterway.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Great work by our team. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

All right, I have, before we go to our break, I'm going to take consent because we missed that.

Before the vote adopting the consent agenda is taken, is there anyone who wishes additional discussion or review of any item on the consent agenda?

Yes, I'd like to. I'D LIKE TO PULL ITEM D1.

I'D LIKE TO PULL D1 JUST AS TO ONE MEMBER OF THE PROPOSED BOARD, MS. MARIA CRUZ.

BEFORE PULLING THE ITEM, CAN I GET A VOTE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA WITHOUT ITEM D1?

I'LL MOVE IT. I'LL SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR?

AYE.

All right, in reference to item D1, I'm pulling, just in reference to one individual that I do not feel comfortable supporting and not having been nominated is Maria Cruz for that position. I have a presentation that I'd like to show, if possible, that I've worked on. So I think that we, you know, there's a lot of words that are used here for members of the community, retaliation or reprisal or, What I think that we need to look at things is qualifications and whether a person is fit to serve on a city board that is quasi-judicial and at the end of the day has massive powers in regards to the residents of this community. So I put this presentation, I think it's important that everyone take a look at it so you can get an understanding of what I think are issues that we're facing here now. When you look at her appointment, I think she's unfit to serve on the Code Enforcement Board, a board that requires fairness and impartial judgment. The role is quasi-judicial and requires individuals who can separate personal grievances from what is best for the greater good. Mrs. Cruz has repeatedly demonstrated that she cannot do so. She lacks the temperament, credibility, and character necessary to serve. Rather than approaching code enforcement matters with fairness and professionalism, she has shown a pattern of vindictive and targeted behavior towards residents she disagrees with personally or politically. Case in point, an individual who has worked with me in the past. Her conduct towards the residents The residence of 722 Aledo is a prime example. After the residence attached an orchid to a street tree with pins, court enforcement reviewed and issued what they determined to be an appropriate notice of violation. That should have been the end of it. Instead, Mrs. Cruz relentlessly contacted and pressured Deputy Director Doug Ramirez over a period of weeks demanding harsher penalties beyond what staff deemed appropriate, as you can see here in the emails that were before. This was not the conduct of a concerned resident seeking compliance. It was the conduct of someone weaponizing the code enforcement process against individuals she targeted. The fact that these residents worked on my reelection campaign only makes the matter more disturbing. Maria Cruz went to this person's house, looked at the orchids, and then turned them in subsequently and wrote emails. to try to make sure this person was fined and held to the highest standard. What they were trying to do was just beautify the neighborhood with some orchids. The Code Enforcement Board cannot become a platform for personal vendettas, political retaliation, or harassment. Yet Mrs. Cruz's actions demonstrate exactly that. Someone who repeatedly pressures staff because they are dissatisfied with professional determinations has no business serving in a quasi-judicial capacity. Her history also has raised serious concerns about honesty and integrity. Mrs. Cruz is at the center of an investigation involving fraudulent signatures from last year's failed recall campaign against me. Even more troubling is her prior involvement in misappropriation of approximately $69,000 from student club accounts while employed at Miami Beach Senior High School. According to reports, the incident resulted in her transfer from the school, a formal letter of reprimand, restitution payments, and probation. Board members are expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and fairness. Mrs. Crew's record demonstrates the opposite. Residents of the city deserve board members who are capable of exercising sound judgment, not individuals who appear motivated by personal grudges and political animosity. For all of those reasons, I strongly oppose the appointment of Mrs. Cruz for the Code Enforcement Board. Before we leave this, I also like to go to the second phase of this presentation. These are three individuals that were brought forth here to this commission. that are more than competent individuals who have a long history of service, some of them even elected officials, past elected officials, some of them family members of past elected officials. One of them at the point was not the board, was not the president of the chamber, but is now the president of the chamber. And both Commissioner Castro and Commissioner Fernandez voted against them. Let me read them to you. Nicholas Cabrera, who I nominated to the Board of Adjustment, Commissioner Castro voted against. Former Commissioner Chip Withers, nominated by Vice Mayor Anderson for the Planning and Zoning Board. Commissioner Castro and Fernandez both voted against this individual. An individual who has given hundreds of thousands of dollars in philanthropy to this community, has served this community with distinction, and has been a pillar of this community. George Arizueta, whom I nominated for the Board of Adjustment. Commissioner Castro and Fernandez both voted against this individual. This is a gentleman who lived in the city for many, many years and during moments that he was facing, moved out of the city and now has become the chamber chair, president, excuse me. He was voted against. A person who has served on many different boards, has had major employment with Fortune 500 companies, a person who's more than capable and competent competent to board to serve on the board of adjustments my point is this this is not a personal issue this is an issue about putting people on boards who are competent and can serve i don't want to hear that you know as a vendetta when i can show you clear examples of people that are incredibly competent who people who have served here who are not afforded the same privileges so that's uh my reasoning why i'll be opposing that appointment through the mayor yes

I passed out a copy of an email that I sent to Mrs. Maria Cruz on February 18, 2025, as further evidence as to the unfitness to be appointed to this very important board. This was in 2025. The email was sent to Mrs. Maria Cruz. Copied was the police chief and the fire chief. Good evening, Ms. Cruz. It has come to my attention that an individual observed you and the President of the Fire Union near your car with approximately half a dozen campaign signs from my reelection campaign and that of another candidate. The individual then approached you and inquired whether you were distributing campaign signs for my campaign and that of the other candidate. You responded that you had picked them up from lawns of property owners that you claimed you spoke to that had contacted you rather than my campaign. You asserted that the owners stated that they never requested the signs. Your activities removing signs also coincides with reports from residents of theft of my campaign signs and requests for me to drop off replacement signs. I have since personally redelivered signs to individuals that requested them again. Accordingly, demand is hereby made for return of all yard signs to my campaign that are in your possession, custody, or control or in the possession, custody, or control of others pursuant to your direction. Demand is further made that you cease and desist from removing any further yard signs from any property or instructing others to remove said signs. Residents who believe that signs were provided to them in error can easily report the inaccurate delivery themselves. My campaign website provides a means for residents to contact me directly. Lastly, please be advised that Florida Statute 812.014 provides that removal of property valued under $20 from private property is theft and is punishable as provided in Florida Statute Section 775.082 or Section 775.083. Please govern yourself accordingly. What I didn't include in there for you was the fact that I delivered all my signs myself, pursuant to messages that I received from residents. I never received a response from you. I did get a call from each of the chiefs. I declined to press charges. against you or the president of the fire union because although because this is a petty theft but when it comes to being reappointed to a very powerful board to our city this is not the conduct that we should be endorsing to the mayor yes yeah i mean i sit here in complete disbelief

And the things that we are bringing up, number one, I don't even know if they're true or not at this point in the day because it's sad how this body behaves. This is a resident, a resident that's been serving that comes to every Commission meeting. Whether you like her or not, she's been very present. And if I don't maybe if you don't remember, she stood in your living room for a grand portion of your election and agenda reviews. And you called her mayor yourself. So it comes to surprise that this is coming right after violating her First Amendment right. So if this doesn't seem like retaliation, I don't know what does. I'm going to go ahead and note again, this raises serious questions about what happened during last commission meeting. And I really hope this is not going to incur even bigger legal implications. This also creates an appearance of viewpoint discrimination, despite all the evidence you guys tried to bring. from 2025 and things I never even heard of. And lastly, residents should not fear retaliation for speaking publicly. And as we can also see, this carries on. This is not only Maria Cruz. This is other residents. Mr. Rapones was up here fearing the words that would come out of his mouth because of retaliation or We're not letting him talk. So this is my appointee. It's a shame that we have to, this is an embarrassment to the city, honestly, a big one, that we have to bring this upon. This is just ridiculous. I think it's beneath the office of all of us.

Anything else?

Through the mayor?

Yes. So I think there's some interesting things that were said, and I thought you were talking about yourself. weaponizing code enforcement against political adversaries. During my campaign, numerous people reached out to me because after they put up my yard signs, code enforcement was on them. You talked about not putting personal grievances before the public good. You do that every single commission meeting. You mentioned three votes that were taken against your appointees. I can speak to the two that I voted against. I did vote against Chip Withers getting reappointed or appointed because of the premise where somebody was being retaliated against because they had supported Commissioner Castro and myself. On Mr. Arizurieta, he is the president of the chamber today, but at the time I voted against him because he was not a resident of the city. And that is a stance that I have taken up here time and again. I have voted in favor of the vice mayor's appointee to the Disability Advisory Board because she is the most qualified and we did not have somebody in the city who could serve that role. That's the exception that I have made when it comes to appointing non-residents to the city because that was a commitment I made to residents. Because I believe that if we have an advisory board on City of Coral Gables Affairs, they should be Coral Gables residents who sit on those boards. And we had plenty of qualified people to serve on the Board of Adjustment as we have found numerous others who have been appointed since. including your current appointee. I may not agree with him politically on some of the things that he does. He's constantly bashing me out there with false information that he's trying to spread about me, and I still support it because he was your appointee. Now, you don't like when people say this is retaliation, but this is exactly what it is. This is exactly what it is. You violated her First Amendment right last commission meeting. I said it last commission meeting. That was a decision three of you made, even against the advice of the city attorney. Today, you're gonna then retaliate against her a second time. It is sad when the government of Coral Gables is worse than the government of Nicolás Maduro and Raul Castro. And that's what we're living today. We're living under political oppression. where every chance you get, Mr. Mayor, you call people to make threats against me, against my wife, against members of our family. And I'm quite honestly fed up with it. Man up. You're not two years old anymore. This is not kindergarten. This is not your little playground where you can say, oh, I don't want you to play in this playground. Commissioner Melissa Castro and Commissioner Ariel Fernandez were elected by the residents of the city of Coral Gables. And you have not a duty, a responsibility to work with us when we're here. And just because you disagree with the resident, you do not have the right to silence them or to persecute them or to retaliate against them. But you do it on a daily basis. When I'm getting calls from people, who tell me that you are getting more aggressive every day, that I should be concerned about my safety and my wife's safety, we have a problem in Coral Gables. This city, before you became mayor, was the model for everybody to follow. Where are we today? You like to point the fingers at everybody else. Everybody else is to blame for all your problems. I have heard from numerous mutual friends that you blame me for every single problem in your life. Well, look in a mirror. I don't blame you for problems in my life. My problems are my own problems. Your problems are your own. You have caused your own problems. Retaliation under my watch is not going to happen. I will support reappointing Maria Cruz to this board. Because to this point, as far as I know, she has done her job in that board. I have yet to hear from a single member of that board who has raised a concern about her behavior in that board. And you like to bring up a lot of historic information, which is inaccurate too, because the vice mayor has corrected Maria Cruz's issue in the school board. She read the letter that the school board provided her, which corrected that record. and you like to bring up the issue of your friend who, according to you, is just trying to beautify the city, but you've persecuted other people for similar things. So if somebody else does it, it is a problem and you submit the complaint to court enforcement. Yet if your friend does it, they're just trying to beautify the city. That's the way you look at it. There was, no, I'm not done. I just want to respect your time. You made several comments. You mentioned that everybody you have appointed is a more than competent individual. Some of the accusations that you have made against Maria Cruz can qualify under other people who are under investigation, who have been investigated, who have been prosecuted. They're your appointees. And you know what I have done with those appointees? I have voted to support them because you, as a member of this dais, have the right to appoint whoever you'd like to these boards. That is your decision. That is Commissioner Castro's decision. Now, if we're only going to hold a standard to the people that Commissioner Castro or Commissioner Fernandez nominate, then we really need to review this process because there's definitely a problem. Because just the fact that you're the mayor and you have a majority does not mean you get to dictate what everybody else does. You don't get to make those decisions for everybody else. And residents stood clear on that when they voted on the item on removing members of boards. It was an overwhelming vote against your proposition. You can grandstand all you want about, you know, this person has done this to me and we can't reappoint them because they're just not qualified. But let's talk facts. You violated her First Amendment right last time. Now you are retaliating against her this time just because she has spoken out against some of your proposals and you don't like anybody differing opinions with you. don't like anybody going out there and speaking against what vince lago believes is the right way to move for the city of coral gables just like you don't like the fact that you have two differing voices up here who sometimes disagree because let's face it 95 of the time we vote unanimously we disagree on a minuscule number of the things in this city yet for that five percent commissioner castro and myself, along with our families, are retaliated against and persecuted in Coral Gables because we have the audacity not to support Vince Lago 100% of the time. And that's disappointing because that's not Coral Gables. That's not the Coral Gables that George Merrick founded. Today we had a veteran here who's 101 years old, has lived in Coral Gables 78 years, and the one thing he told us The Constitution is the one thing that we have to stand for. And last commission meeting, this commission voted 3-2 against the US Constitution. America has stood 250 years because of the great doctor and because of the people like him. But it definitely has not stood because of people who have stood up and started retaliating and violating the constitutional rights of other members of this community. That's unacceptable. And you have an opportunity to reset today and now. As I've told you numerous times, I am here to work for the residents of Coral Gables. When the Miami Herald asked me about the upcoming election, my response was, my job is to be a commissioner, not a candidate. And that's what I'm here doing. And we have five people on this dais, and I believe at least four of us are interested in working on the benefits of this city not personal interest and i think that we can all set our differences aside or our personal grievances and focus on the public good as you just said should be the bar that we set for the people that we appoint to boards that needs to be applied to ourselves on this day as well those are my thoughts

Commissioner, would you like to respond before I respond?

Sure. Take a second. First thing I'd like to say is we all need to try the decaf, right? Everybody should take a sip of decaf going forward. I believe that we should all emphasize being statesmen, not a lot less being, well, what we've been seeing for quite some time on the dais. This is not a rubber-stamping enterprise when somebody's nominated to be on a board. It's been evidenced before. Any one of us here has, during a previous vote, either said yes or said no for particular reasons. I disagree, however, that anyone has violated First Amendment rights, as you referred to in the last meeting. In fact, I took a moment to comment and the first time I've ever done that, really, at a public comment from a speaker, I commented that Mrs. Maria Cruz spoke professionally, ethically, calmly, and got across her points without being provocative or inciting or trying to escalate or take actions that could lead to people saying things they may regret or that's not becoming of the serious work that we do here in these chambers. I would not say that's what I thought the last commission meeting in her expression embodied, but certainly this time. And I thought it was worth making that point and noting it. So in the end, I believe that before we go around hurling accusations that people are retaliating because, you know, that's a very serious term, it's a very serious accusation that's being made. Commissioner Fernandez, I did mention at the last meeting, that as you're saying that there was retaliation by this commission from comments being made during the public comment section, I reminded you that it wasn't even a year ago that when Gonzalo Sanabria made comments from the public comment section towards you, expressing his profound displeasure of the hiring of former city manager Amos Rojas, that you immediately stated, from what I would characterize the bully pulpit, that your lawyers would be contacting him shortly for having made those statements. And you could have chosen to do this 100 different ways. You could have had your lawyers just contact him. You didn't need to broadcast that to the city with the finger basically pointed at him saying, how dare you say anything to me that's displeasing. I'm not saying that that's a behavior that I would be supportive of but i i feel the need that if you're saying that that's what's been going on here you need to take a look at yourself in the mirror mayor i mean i just want once the commission is done are you done sir i want to make sure i respect the i just think it's worth repeating one more time we all need to remind ourselves and act as the collegial body that we are here at this dais i try and lead by example i'm only human as we all are But this is not the time. And the residents are more than tired, I am, of political grandstanding. Let's just get to the business of the people and move on.

Thank you very much. I think one of the big issues here, obviously, is the effort to force you over the edge. Tomorrow you can make headlines in the paper, in the blogs. We're very well aware of what we have here. What I find very interesting from Ariel, and I've known him for a long time, is the ridiculousness with the grandstanding comment. There hasn't been one piece of consequential legislation that you've written in three years of collecting a paycheck here. And the funny thing you said the other day is that I'm a Republican, and Republicans try to limit their government. Remember, in government, you need legislation to move government forward. That statement of less government is the most absurd statement I've ever heard in my life in regards to actually delivering on your privilege of service. The vague accusations that have been hurled here for years about problems and temperament and threats, the people vote. They voted in the referendums. They were clear what they wanted. They wanted November elections. They wanted to overturn and ensure that they had controls over salary increases. They wanted to make sure there was an IG when you voted against an IG. Both of you did. But what I'm trying to explain to you, and I know you want to cover it up and you don't want to face it, the reason why this is a major issue and the reason why I bring up the issue with Aledo is very simple. Let's refocus and recalibrate. You have a member of this board who went out of her way, drove to an individual's house who works for me, and turned them into the city via public record and email, and in probably half a dozen emails, requested that that person be fined, not warned. You don't see me engaging in an email with that individual trying to get him off that warning. No, but she wanted to make sure she nailed him to the cross and made him pay over and over and over again as a city member on that board, as the person who turned that individual in, made sure that they were held to the highest standard and that they were fined. If you think that's appropriate, if one of my members did that on a board, I would remove them immediately. because that doesn't show, in my opinion, prudent judgment. And when you talk about majorities, let me not have to remind you the over one year of Amos Rojas and the stunt that you pulled here when you brought Amos Rojas here into the middle of a commission meeting and basically allowed for a person to take over the city who would leave by one o'clock and receive the $365,000 payment And you didn't care about my input. You rammed it down everybody's throat. I asked for a search. You didn't want to do it. So at the end of the day, you had over two years of complete and control here in the city. And not one piece of consequential legislation was passed. Neither City Hall, neither Mobility Hub. Nothing was done. The city was frozen in place. So if you think it's appropriate that a member of the code enforcement board goes out of their way, drives to a person's house, turns that person in, and then repeatedly deals with code enforcement in an effort to get that person fined, I don't think that's appropriate, and I can't stand with that. And if you tell me that Chip Withers is not... person who I believe should be on any boards in the city, whether I disagree with him or not, that guy has paid his dues and you have to respect him. That guy did a great job in the city, even though I may not have agreed with everything he did, he gave up over a dozen years of his life to serve this community. At the end of the day, if he wants to serve on a board and give it his time, I don't know how you vote against that individual. So at the end of the day, you know, we can talk about vague accusations and all that kind of ridiculous things. You've been throwing those out for I don't know how long already. And at the end of the day, the residents see through it. You're not going to get me to go absolutely nuts here on the commission floor. I'm not supporting, just like you have not supported previous individuals in the past. It's within my right not to support that person. I have actual proof of why that person shouldn't be on a board. I provided it here. It won't make the Gazette tomorrow. or the whatever they call cafe con leche, but at the end of the day, it's there. You have a board member, a sitting board member who goes and turns that person in and intentionally tries to hurt a resident. If you think that's okay and you want your board member to do that, then you're well within your right. But please don't tell me that I'm the one doing retaliation when I get calls from FDLE, the IG, and the COE that before the laws were changed, you were the biggest proponent of turning people in using, again, false and ambiguous statements. And, you know, it's clear as day how many people you turned in to the COE when they used to allow you to do anonymous recommendations. Everybody in this county knows that you've done it to multiple elected officials. You've done it to people in the city. You've done it all over. So at the end of the day, this is simple. No one here is having an argument. You have an opinion. I have my own opinion. I cannot support that individual. And at the end of the day, we move forward. We move forward. Don't take it personal. I didn't take it personal when you didn't vote for Chip Withers or for Nick or for George Arizuela. Very competent people. It's okay. You didn't vote for them. You're taking this way too personal. Don't worry about it. Go through the mayor. One second. The vice mayor was next.

So I need to finish up on some of the incorrect statements that were made. Ms. Cruz was my appointee to the code enforcement board. long before the yard signs were stolen and i chose not to press charges i received numerous calls from individuals not only who served on the board but people to have in any audience asking me to remove her the code enforcement board is much different criteria than any other board in our city because it's subject to a florida statute that prohibits the removal of a board member except for cause. Had I chosen to press charges, I would have had the cause. I chose not to. But that doesn't mean reappointment to the same board is appropriate. As far as decorum, whether on that board or other boards that has been lacking, I can tell you that after The meeting we had the last time and the lack of decorum that was displayed by Mrs. Cruz, there were some people that had been thinking about running for office. It said no way. We need to get this commission back to a status of ethical behavior and decorum, both by not only the commission, but the residents that choose to come up here and speak. The type of behavior that was displayed is discouraging good people from running, because they don't want to have to go through this. Because no matter what you do, you're not ever going to keep everybody happy. And to have to be facing that when you're trying, when you're giving up so much of your time, so much of your personal time, so much of your professional time, to have to be badgered with comments while you're serving, is just unseemly in this little city that should rise to a much higher standard. So the reasons are clear. They weren't invented yesterday. It was February 18, 2025. As reported by a resident, the yard signs that were requested from me that I personally delivered, there was no mistake on where they were placed. The excuse that Mrs. Cruz gave that they would deliver to where people didn't request them was just a false statement. Not only was it a false statement, but when I hand delivered them from people that I had gotten information from that wanted them, I also left a handwritten note with the signs thanking people for supporting me and providing my personal number. If it was misdelivered by mistake, and I do make mistakes, they could simply call me or text me. I have nothing further to state.

Yeah, go ahead. So you like to talk about Amos Rojas. Amos Rojas was the first at City Hall every morning, and usually the last to leave. I don't know where you've gotten this premise that he would leave at 1 o'clock. Amos Rojas served under two US presidents as US Marshal. I guess in your book, that makes him unqualified. You kept talking about, oh, we can't trust Amos Rojas. Amos Rojas, I believe to this day, still has a top-secret security clearance given by the U.S. government. Getting that is a lengthy process and not easy to get, and you must be a person of full integrity to get it. You said a lot of things in your little monologue, but I'll tell you this. You have to go and sleep at night. I really don't know how you sleep with yourself at night because of the amount of things that you said that are just completely false. And you forget, of the people up here, there's only two people in this room who know you better than anybody else. And that's Maria Cruz and Ariel Fernandez. For 10 years, we sat in your living room going over every single piece of legislation. And what you wanted, and you always said it, I have to be the one that passes the most legislation so that I can seem like the most successful. I stand by my statement. I don't understand this whole thing that you said about it's absurd to you. A government that over-regulates its people is not a Republican principle. It may be in your book, but it's not a Republican principle. And we have passed many great things in this city since I've been up here. We created... the Senior Relief Grant Program, first of its kind in the city, where we're actually giving a check to the most needy seniors in our community. We passed the Disabled Veterans Relief Grant Program to all the disabled veterans who live in this city. We finally delivered on reducing the garbage fee, something that you and I, even before I was on here, had hoped to accomplish someday, We got it done. We delivered for the people. It was the only time it's been done in the history of the city. I could go on, but you're just gonna make up that all this is false.

Why don't you go on? I'd like to hear what other things you've accomplished.

Sidewalk repairs, under your watch as mayor, we had a list that was seven years long. And Mr. Manager, we've tackled that list. We have more than tripled the funding for sidewalks. And that list is getting shorter every single day to the point that in our capital review projects meeting, we're now projecting only needing to put a million dollars a year going forward to continue to tackle the sidewalk repairs that we've had. Our traffic calming. You voted against funding traffic calming. We got it done. What about historic preservation? Delivering on pickleball courts? All these things, you had been kicking the can down the road because that's how a successful politician remains in office for 13 years. Because what do they do? They create a problem and keep it as long as they can so they can tell you it's going to take us another two years. Because I've seen that many times. I've been in government long enough to tell you that's what politicians do. It's always about the next re-election. That's not what I came here to do. If you look at my campaign promises, I delivered on all of them in my first year in office, because that was my mission. But they weren't your goals, because your goal was to keep those problems going. That way you can tell people, we don't have the money this year, maybe next year. So they got to vote for you next year to keep you in office to make sure that that gets accomplished. That's the reality. but here we are continuing to talk about Maria Cruz. And you talk about Chip Withers. I did not pull item D1 and Chip Withers is on this list to a point. I intended to vote for Chip Withers to be on this board. So I don't understand why you're saying, oh, you have an issue with Chip Withers. I do not. I voted against Chip Withers two years ago because of the way that he was being appointed. And I made that very clear on the record. The good thing is, there's a record. You go back and watch the meetings and you can see what the reality is. Because you love to go out there and give credit to other people, but you never acknowledge what Commissioner Castro and I have accomplished. Because you prefer to give that credit to somebody else. Because for you, you have to play politics all the time. Through your Coral Gables First, through your Aesop Gables. You use every little tool that you have. Your little mastermind team trying to create all sorts of lies in the community to disparage your colleagues in order for you to look good. And that's what you tried with us at Gables Insider. And you failed. And that's why today you consider me an enemy. Because I would not stand with you on some of the things that you were doing. Mainly the Mobility Hub. Which, yes. We stopped the mobility hub. And guess what? The manager just told me this week we've saved $10 million thanks to the fact that that project was stopped two years ago. Because the cost today is less than it was two years ago. Was it not, Mr. Manager? That was the conversation. The numbers that you showed me. Yes, sir. Microphone.

The costs are lower.

Thank you. They appear to be lower. So, you know, it's very easy to get on that high tower and say, oh, my God, nobody accomplishes anything except for me. But we're a team up here. And we're supposed to be a team. Whether you like me or not, whether you like Commissioner Castro or not, we were elected by the people of the city of Coral Gables to serve with you. And that's what we're here to do.

Through the mayor?

If I may, I'd like to respond. And then we're going to take a break. I actually want to vote on this issue. So if you look up delusional, that is what is the definition in the dictionary. To take credit for those items is absolutely ridiculous. The proof is in the pudding. I run every two years. People make a decision. To say that Amos Rojas was the most hardworking guy, I'm here every day along with the Vice Mayor. You stopped having office hours well over a year ago. You're never here. You don't engage. You don't have anything on the agenda. So you may say, I don't know, some Republican over-regulation effort that you're doing. Just the proof is in the agenda. You can't hide it. It's here. You have to legislate. The fact that you will take credit for sidewalks, I'll prove it to you, is very simple. Mr. Manager, what was the budget for sidewalks four years ago? What do we have? Around $2 million, right?

$2 million.

What do we have today for sidewalks?

About $2 million.

You see, this is the insanity. He says here it was triple the sidewalk budget. Okay? He'll say anything. So let me also give you an example. He says I voted against sidewalks. No, I'm the one that brought the temporary traffic calming effort here. when we went to see and meet with residents in the neighborhood. And we spent close, I think it was like four or $500, or $500,000 to have the temporary traffic calming so that we can meet the needs of people that have to wait three or four years.

Yes, ma'am, it's temporary traffic.

So you can say anything you want up here, but the proof is in the votes. The proof is in the work that's been accomplished. Now, the facts are, as I said, they're very clearly. The votes are there. I have every right to vote in favor or against somebody that I think is capable. I will not support Maria Cruz. And I think it's great that Commissioner Lara has brought it up twice in the last two meetings. Commissioner Fernandez says that, you know, again, retaliation. I was here. It's on the record. It's on the video. Gonzalo Sanabria, him publicly threatening him that he's going to have His attorneys call him, which he did. That's done on the record. So we can gloss over that at the end of the day, but I've never called or sent somebody here, a resident, the lawyers after. I think that's absolutely insane. Why would you do that? And by the way, there was a great op-ed today, since you mentioned Aesop's Gables, I'll bring it up. There was a great op-ed today about Ariel Fernandez's efforts to do a public records request on over 150 members of the city of Coral Gables chat. And he was requesting all that information. So now you have a sitting commissioner making public records requests of residents. That reminds me of Cuba, Nicaragua, and type of behavior like that. So, you know, one thing I do give credit to, and I will always give credit to, Ariel is probably one of the most talented theater directors I've ever seen in my life. I don't know where he thinks I have problems in my life and my family and stuff like that. The only one that's made issues about it and has taken pleasure in poking fun and saying things about me is this individual to my left. And yes, we had a relationship, but I could not support him when he asked me to support him to run for public office. He neither has the demeanor, the temperament, or the work ethic to be an elected official. The residents deserve better. We're judged here by what we accomplish and what we do. And the bottom line is, your record is bringing Amos Rojas, raising your salary by 101%, giving yourself a personal expense account, a car allowance, voting against an inspector general, opposing moving elections to November, eventually voting for it because you knew it was right, and getting rid of an incredibly competent city manager who's here. Thank God he's back. So I think it's very clear where we stand. We do have personal issues against each other. It's perfectly fine. It's clear as day. But my record seeks for itself. I put everything I do on a website, and I think it's clear, and you should do the same thing. You should have the pride to put on VoteVinceLago.com, VoteArielFernandez.com, everything you've accomplished, everything that you've done, so people can judge you, and so people can see what you've done. I'd be the first to want to take a look at that website. Because when you stand up and you make comments that we've tripled the sidewalk budget, that is a lie. And you said I oppose traffic calming. Mr. Manager, were we doing traffic calming before Commissioner Fernandez and Commissioner Castro were elected? Yes or no?

Yes, we were, ma'am.

Okay. I don't know what you're talking about. That's just insanity and misleading tactics in an effort to... You've never been effective, and it won't be effective in this campaign either. People want change just like they want to change in the referendums. That's why they overwhelmingly want...

move on we have a long agenda through the mayor go ahead commissioner okay um vice mayor anderson um you spoke about the quorum briefly about civility and and i'm mentioning respect this this um this past week my father passed away and i had commitments with the city i was going to read a book we were going to do the literacy festival i had to show up to the actors playhouse But when we talk about respect, decorum, and civility, those are very important, especially here, especially the head of this commission, our mayor. When I'm making the best of my efforts to go ahead and stand in one piece in the front of the Literacy Festival, and when you have a sitting mayor, Look at you from your legs all the way up and then mock you. Stand up and laugh about your pose and try to pose like you, looking at you up and down. Try to intimidate me. I think more than intimidation, that's more like sexual harassment, okay? So talking about respect, I think that's the first thing you should think about, especially having two daughters, respect, especially for a woman. I really hope you can support my appointee. I don't think you are, but you're just digging a bigger grave for yourself.

So in response to that, This is the level of insanity that we've dealt with over the last three years. It's a fact, both to the left and to the right. It'll never end. They'll make insane accusations. They'll say crazy things. They'll put it on the blogs, pump it out. At the end of the day, people see through it. You want to know why? And I'll leave you with this. Because you talk, Fernandez talks about intimidation, but he forgets that he intimidated Gonzalo Salabria here right in front of us. Oh, but let's forget about that. I don't want to talk about that. It's a very short, very short memory. But what you don't realize, and you do, but you just don't want to acknowledge it. There was civility here for over 10 years. Before you were ever here, there was never issues. There was Serious discourse on whether Miracle Mile should be upzoned. It was serious discourse whether we should build a public garage through a partnership with Alan Morris and Related Group. I disagreed. But it never deteriorated to where we are today. It only deteriorated when the bookends to my left and to the right showed up in one of the most low voter turnout in the city's history. At the end of the day, the residents in 2025 corrected that, and in 2026 corrected that by their votes. People are tired of this behavior, the constant attacks, the blogs, and it will happen again in 2026 when there's elections in November. So my point is that you can live in this false reality and say that you're not the problem. But if you look at over the 10 years when I was a commissioner and mayor and I ran this commission with the help of my colleagues in the commission, we never had to have these issues where there was talking over each other or we had to abide with strict Robert's rules. Nobody was sanctioned. Nobody was told they can't speak. Why does that happen all during the time that we've been here? Why? And it all goes back to the fact that you and I do not agree, but you use tactics that, in my opinion, are distasteful. They attack families. You've done it on many occasions. You use the IG. You use the COE. You use the FDLE. And thank God the COE can no longer allow anonymous because you, you, and I know this for a fact, are the biggest contributor to this, was the biggest contributor to the COE. You've done it to so many elected officials and people who don't see eye to eye with you. You've done it to even family members of you who now hold public office. So at the end of the day, at the end of the day, we move on. We move on and we continue to work on behalf of the residents. I continue to do office hours which you abandoned. I continue to be here and pass an agenda full of legislation. I continue to negotiate like I did this week in an effort to bring more parks to the city and do great things here in the city. And you hold on to the fact that you don't want to overregulate. All I hear is excuses, Commissioner. And it's time for you to man up and handle what you have to handle. Stop looking for reasons to feel good about the fact that you've wasted a God-given opportunity to be an elected official in this community. And you say things like we tripled the sidewalk budget. Insanity, I wish we have tripled the sidewalk budget. You know we haven't tripled the sidewalk budget because you've been here. We haven't. And you say that I didn't support traffic calming. Of course I supported traffic calming. We started that program before you ever got here. Both the temporary one and the permanent one. So let's be honest with the residents. Let's be honest with what we've done here. You don't have to attack me because of your lack of legislative support. accomplishments. You have time. Put some things together. Look, I gave you a task, and that was to address the issue of the garbage. You abandoned that. You didn't even address it. I've been having to deal with it with the ACM, the DCM, and the city manager. Let's handle the recycling issue. You never took the bull by the horns and never did anything. I told you, people have asked you, hey, do the issue with the golf carts. You own a golf cart. You never did it. I took care of that. So there's issues here that I don't have a problem collaborating with you, but bring something to the table. Don't try to take credit for other people's work. That's what your reputation has always been. And you always blame people for the fact of your shortcomings. At the end of the day, you're not going to get me here on a gotcha moment. You'll probably print something on the Gazette as the owner of the Gazette. And at the end of the day, you know, we can go back and forth all day. The proof is in the pudding. The proof is in what the accomplishments are. Through the mayor. So finish up. I'll give you the last word. Go ahead. So you can feel good about yourself.

You know, this is the third time that I hear about complaints with FDLE, with the Ethics Commission. So when you made those false allegations, I called the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission and spoke to the director and the Florida Department of Ethics. And you know what both of them said? They sent me a document which proves that you are making false statements about me. And they are looking into who it was that you spoke to who, according to you, told them that I am this person because that's affecting the integrity of their offices. Because no complaints have been filed. I also have no relatives in elected office, so I'm not sure who you're referring to. I mean, now we're even making up that I have relatives in elected office. I'm at a loss. You obviously have a situation you need to address, and I'm really concerned about you. I'm really concerned about you. I should ask the city attorney, do I have to pay rent for living free in his brain? Because obviously, I am. You call people all the time to talk about me. Talk about you. If you're so proud of what you've done, don't waste people's time. And no, I do not answer to you. You notice what you're trying to do is get me to do what you want me to do. I answer to the people, not to you. And that's the problem. That's your problem with me, that I don't answer to you. And you know what? Let's put it on the record. You know why this commission worked 100% of the time 5-0? Do you want me to say it? Do you really want me to go there? Do you want me to talk about how we were in your house, Maria Cruz, JC Diaz-Perdona and I, and you would call your colleagues to make sure they were supporting your legislation and to answer any questions and you would put them on speakerphone and put the phone on the table and tell us don't talk so they don't know you're on the phone.

And you would text. Ariel, you have lost your mind. Okay.

Yeah, because it's not convenient to you right now.

It is not convenient to you.

But Maria Cruz is nodding in the back because we were in your house and this happened repeatedly. Ariel, you have lost your mind.

No. Yeah. No. You have.

You have. Ariel. Again, the people who know you best are the people you're picking a fight with.

I'm not picking a fight with anybody.

You are picking a fight.

The residents see through your game. You know what?

If residents see through a game, they're seeing through a veil of mirrors that you're putting to show you. You know, this is the classic case. You hear about the boy that cried wolf. This is the wolf gnawing at your leg and pointing at the boy and saying it's his fault.

That's exactly what we're doing here. Point taken. Point taken, Ariel. Yeah, so let's vote. Let's vote. Let's move on. Let's vote. Okay, let's vote. All right, so we have a motion for 31, outside of obviously accepting Ms. Maria Cruz for her appointment.

I will move to appoint, confirm the appointment of the following nominees, Andres Moray, Amanda Bocello, Wayne Chip Withers, Andres Correa, Jeffrey Flanagan. That's the complete list. For a three-year term that begins June 1st, 2026 and continues through May 31st, 2029 to the Code Enforcement Board.

Second. Do we have a second on the motion? Mr. Clerk?

Mr. Mayor, I have a member of the public to speak on this item, Jackson Holmes.

Greetings. Jackson River Poems, 35 Sidonia Avenue. I want to go directly to a point. You all mentioned the Gables Insider. And it was Ariel Fernandez who blew the whistle on your dishonesty mayor Lago in relation to the Rewriting or whatever of the city zoning code this was something like a four-year project that was basically government in secret and You were at the same time telling people that you are transparent Indeed you told me that Miracle Mile would not go up an inch. But during that period of time, you had a sunshine meeting about taking Miracle Mile up to six stories. So you were lying, OK? And you are a compulsive liar. And I think you tell more public statements that are false than that are true. And yet you want to censure people or silence Maria Cruz just for telling the truth that you're acting like a king. He was the one, Ariel Fernandez, who exposed that you were having this whole private government and secret rewrite of the zoning code. that you held, I did a public records myself, did you ever disclose that in your notifications to residents? Did you ever disclose it anywhere? And you didn't. And it's a total change of the government. We have, what is the reality? You were financed by developers, okay? Ms. Anderson, you switch sides, you get financed by developers, so you're consistent in your votes for whatever the developers want is what you'll deliver on, including the crucifixion of any of the opponents of runaway development. And that's what's going on today. I ask you to think about the Everglades. There are people who want to develop the Everglades. They want to move the urban development boundary. And once that's done, you can never undo it. And that's what you're doing to the city of Coral Gables. And that's what this is all about. Maria Cruz had the intestinal fortitude to oppose that. The citizens of Coral Gables oppose it. And you get votes because you lie to the residents of Coral Gables.

Thank you. Mr. Manager, do you know what the height is on Miracle Mile? Just to make sure there's been enough confusion here today.

Mayor, it's 50 feet.

Okay. How many stories is that?

It's about four, three to four stories. Okay.

I just want to make sure, because I just said I rezoned it to six stories, but I wasn't here for that meeting, so I can't. It didn't happen.

You had a sunshine meeting discussing doing that, and you said it.

That's it, Mr. Mayor. Okay, perfect. We have a motion and a second. Yes, sir.

Commissioner Castro.

Mayor, for you to sit here and go like this and say I'm delusional and making up stuff, number one, the one thing I pride myself on, I don't lie. I don't lie. That's number one, okay? And as a man, can you look at me in the face and say that did not happen? Because before you even think of responding, just keep in mind that that was photographed, that there's videos, and that the people that surrounded you were laughing and were part of that as well, okay? So can you as a man look at me in the face and say that didn't happen?

Commissioner, please vote.

Can you? Yes or no? Yes or no? Can you? Because this really needs to stop. You've had me thrown out. You've had me thrown out of ribbon cuttings when I've been invited. Okay? You've had public discussions with me that were embarrassing in front of my son. I'm a woman that deserves respect. And it needs to stop now. Can you look at me in the face and say that didn't happen? You can admit to it?

Commissioner, please vote.

I'm not going to go after you legally. I want you to admit it and at least apologize.

Commissioner, please vote.

You can't do it, huh? Commissioner, please vote. That's embarrassing. That is embarrassing. Enough with the grandstanding. No.

Let's go. Move on. Come on. I know this is what you want for the blogs.

My vote was no, and you're an embarrassment to this city.

Commissioner Fernandez?

I will vote yes because I do not believe that any of the other appointees should suffer because of the retaliation by this commission. It's disappointing that this is Coral Gables. It's disappointing.

Commissioner Lara.

I'll join in Commissioner Castro's vote, no.

Vice Mayor Anderson.

And before I vote, Mr. Holmes, the statements you made about me are false.

Okay. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. It's enough. We're not going to have that here. Enough.

No, I'm just putting you on notice. They're false statements. Excuse me? Excuse me, please.

I'm asking you please enough with enough, please please I'm gonna have you removed these I know that you want a circus, but they can be published and everything I get it I understand enough enough, okay, please I Think there's a there's a clarification request by Commissioner Lana.

Yes, so the vote is an exclusion of one individual but the affirmation of everyone else yes sir okay so in that respect my vote is yes not a no okay and my vote is yes mayor lago my vote is yes moving on to the next item item f3 uh through the mayor yes i'll make a motion to appoint maria cruz as commissioner cashier's appointee i'll second excuse me

City Attorney, for the record, because we've had this issue the last time, can we have a conversation? We're on item F3. You have another commission that goes out of turn and basically makes a motion. Where do we? It doesn't matter. We're on another separate item. There's nothing to do with it.

So I understood that there was, it was an amended motion on F, I'm sorry, on D1 is the way I understood it, Mayor.

Yes.

And that was the one that was approved. We just voted. Right. That motion passed, and I understood it as an amended motion.

Right, and F3 was called.

And I called F3. So now do we move forward on F3, or do we now hear this motion that comes out of left field? What do you want to do?

I think you've moved on to F3. I think you've called F3 now.

Thank you. This is, by the way, I want to put on the record. This is the second meeting where Commissioner Fernandez does this. Robert's Rules is not a strong suit, even though he claims it is, and does not have to call on the city attorney to correct the record and do this again. We have to be better than this. I know you want to get your way, but at the end of the day, we can do much better. Moving on to item F3. I apologize for the wait. I know you had a time certain. That's why we're not going to lunch. We're going to hear your item. We're almost at 44 minutes late. So, staff, thank you very much. I apologize for that. Go ahead.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Commissioners, Vice Mayor, City Manager. Before we get started, we'd like to invite the FIFA host committee up with us before we start. And we do have a presentation. We'll keep it very brief.

Mayor, can I read the resolution into the record? Yes, of course, please. So F3 is a resolution of the City Commission authorizing the temporary installation of the FIFA World Cup 26 Triune Giant Match Ball installation at Girardeau Plaza in collaboration with FIFA World Cup 26 Miami Host Committee, FIFA, and Adidas, recognizing the City of Coral Gables as the official headquarters location for both the FIFA World Cup 26 Miami Host Committee and FIFA Miami operations, authorizing city manager or his or her designee to execute any necessary agreements, permits, and related documents for the installation, maintenance, and removal of the temporary installation, authorizing temporary encroachment into the public right away and providing for an effective date.

Yes, ma'am.

All right. Good morning. Good afternoon. Belkis Perez with the Economic Development Department. If you could pull up the PowerPoint. Okay, so this is a sculpture. This is the donation of a sculpture for Doralda Plaza in celebration of the World Cup. So the Trianda Match Ball, it's the ball that you see there. This is a rendering, though, is a giant match ball. It's inspired by the iconic Ola wave representing the unity and excitement of the tournament. This is the ball that is being used for the World Cup. So FIFA and Adidas gifted a giant Trianda Ball match ball to the Miami host committee, and the Miami host committee has decided to offer it to the city of Coral Gables. Obviously, the FIFA headquarters is located here in Coral Gables, and the host committee is also here, so it's really excited that we have this ability to have this ball here on Geraldo Plaza. we believe geralda plaza is the perfect place for it we currently have an installation there and it really drives traffic and we think that this ball would be even better with all the traffic that we anticipate fifa's world cup will have our hotels are are busy they're booked already for the world cup and so we think this is going to get a lot of traction and a lot of excitement So there is a global positioning. Obviously the World Cup, having that host committee again here in Coral Gables is a big factor. There's a tourism engine behind it. There will be a lot of social media interaction with this ball as well. It allows the city to incorporate this type of sculpture into the community events and promotions. So there's things that we can do once it's installed. And we've talked to actually one of the sponsors that we have for Cielo Tejido. that is very interested in once this ball is in place to having an activation with children and having a soccer net and having an activation on Geraldo Plaza. This has minimal impact for the city. The production, shipping, storage, installation, and removal costs are all covered. The city's responsibility is very limited. It's limited to permitting and insurance and any security that would be needed. And obviously, Geraldo Plaza is just a wonderful place to have this activation. And again, we're calling more into this sense of community pride and experiencing something aside from having FIFA here, but to have a beautiful sculpture here on Geraldo Plaza. This is just an overview of the installation. It is a significant ball. It sits on a base. It's about eight feet tall. And so it's going to be a really nice sculpture to be able to take a picture with. And I think that's it. And I want to turn it over to Alina.

How are you? Thank you for being here with us.

Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor. I apologize once again for being so late. No, no worries. And it's an honor to be here today before you. Alina Hudak, for the record, President and CEO of the Miami Host Committee. And I'm here with nothing but good news and in the spirit of appreciation to the manager and to the assistant city manager and Velkas for the level of collaboration that we've received. It's important that you understand the role of the host committee, very different than FIFA. And I think as a community and as a city, you should be very proud to be the world headquarters for FIFA. In fact, the entire, the most significant global sporting event in the world is being run from the city of Coral Gables, two to three blocks away from this destination. So that's an incredible legacy moment for our community, for the city. And as a host committee, we're responsible for the implementation of the bid. And what that means is that we've been charged over the last two years in preparation for the World Cup to raise funding for the purposes of providing for the public safety, transportation, mobility, all the event activations related to the World Cup locally here in Miami as we prepare to host the seven matches. I'm led by a volunteer board chaired by Rodney Barreto, also a resident of Coral Gables and his business is headquartered in Coral Gables, and Beau Ferrari who is his co-chair. So again, an incredible effort over the last two years to prepare for what is now 23 days away. We thank you very much for the opportunity to have this collaboration. I'm here today in support of F3. I'm also here to share with you the passion that we feel. Again, we operate under an umbrella that has restrictions in terms of our ability to use the intellectual property that FIFA provides us, but we have created for the community and for your businesses to share a campaign we have fallen in love with because, again, it brings the passion of the sport to our community. It's called One Game, One Passion, and we've made that toolkit available to the city and to your businesses for purposes of being able to use the collateral digital assets and be able to replicate that in our business areas. And I'd like to just close by leaving you with the message of One Game, One Passion and a very short reel that we'd like to share with you and hopefully leave you with the spirit of unity that we believe that World Cup soccer brings to a community. We should be extremely proud to know that of the seven matches that we're hosting here in Miami, one of the matches is the single most popular ticket in the world. the Columbia Portugal Match, which will take place in our community on June 27th. So if we could roll that video, and again, thank you very much for the opportunity to be here. Happy to answer any questions about the work that we're doing in the community.

Do you feel it?

before everything begins. Before the first whistle, time slows down. Because in that moment, everything else fades away. In Miami, football's not just played, it's carried. From homes we left, from families we miss, and from dreams that brought us here. Every match is a way back. Every goal is a memory. And every whistle makes us one. It's not just a game.

it's to remember who we are and who we become when we stand together the truth is the world can feel divided but this game reminds us that we are one one game one passion amazing well done

Thank you. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention a few of our activations. We have a Bayfront Park Fan Festival that will run June 13th through July 5th, 23 days, contiguous activation, matches being shown for our residents to enjoy for free. We have an activation happening on Miami Beach, a kickoff concert on the opening match of the World Cup, which is happening in Mexico. That will be Thursday, June 11th. All of you will be invited to attend. We have an artist that we will reveal on May 24th. We are conflicted at this point from being able to reveal who the artist is, but you will enjoy a beautiful night on Miami Beach and that opening concert. We have a variety of watch parties that are happening geographically throughout Miami-Dade County as a region, always supported by, again, a tremendous partnership from Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami Beach, and the City of Miami. They are our funding partners. We have activations for youth to be able to participate in soccer clinics. We've rolled out about 12 clinics in neighborhood parks, and we're about to roll out another six. We have just received support from Broward County and we will be doing a similar clinic type of activation in Broward County. And in addition to that, we have a variety of smaller activations that are happening throughout the community. Again, the goal being to share the experience of the World Cup for free with as many of our residents, our public, and our visiting tourists as possible. Coral Gables will be the home of multiple FIFA delegations, and your hotels, multiple hotels, are very much a part of that formula. So again, thank you very much. We hope to see you at Fan Festival, at the opening night of our concert, and at all of our activations when possible. Thank you.

I wanted to congratulate you once again. You've done an amazing job, very high profile. You've really shined a positive light on the community. Well done, well done. But we have to compliment, you know, something that you have in common in the video was you actually had the F.P. Jorn clock on the video that, you know, We were so celebrated for that clock, and we got so much support from my colleagues on the commission that it's funny to see it on your World Cup video. So that's something very interesting. World-class. As a father of two young girls who love soccer, who play soccer competitively, that's all they talk about. World Cup, World Cup, World Cup, and they're excited about it, and we're looking forward to the events here in the city of Coral Gables. We can't thank you enough for coming here. Thank you.

as a sponsor of the item, you know, I hope my colleagues will support me on that.

I just want to say, Alina, that I think you're doing such an amazing job, you, in collaboration with the Coral Gables team. What a year. What a year. So Coral Gables is featured with the national championship game for the National College football. And we were front and center. We didn't win the game. University of Miami didn't, but Coral Gables won, for sure. And now to have FIFA, and the way you put it was so profound, right, that the world headquarters of FIFA is located here in our city, and that from this couple blocks away, it's all being coordinated. The biggest game on planet Earth. It's just an amazing, amazing thing. And you've done such an incredible job.

Thank you.

And by the way, when I saw that photo of this activation and I was curious what this was going to look like, it just came out of me. I said, wow, because I really think it looks incredible. So, yes.

I'm thrilled to be able to bring the Trinidad here. And I will tell you, 16 host cities, the largest World Cup in the history of FIFA. 104 matches, 48 countries participating.

Vice Mayor Anderson?

Yes, and I'd just like to say, you know, Geraldo Plaza is the perfect place to put it with all the activations we have coming in. This is a great thing. Thank you for bringing it to us. Yes.

Commissioner Castro?

think this will go this will go perfect the difference in france type of item that's coming up in the city manager items wonderful thank you yes mayor lago yes thank you very much we're going to take one last item um could i ask the members of the commission to humor me to do a quick photo op to show our support for fifa and the world cup if you want to wear your scarves even better okay that's great change scarves

One more.

I will take one more item before we go to lunch.

Item 2.1, that we can finish off with consent and every other pending item.

Mayor item to one is related to item. G3 yes to one is a resolution of the T. A. B. requesting that the commission approve the appointment of the board as a whole member and then G3 is is that appointment and I will just quickly read it G3 is a resolution of the city commission confirming the appointment of Carlos Musso to serve as a member of the transportation advisory board for a 2 year term, which began on June 1st, 2025. it continues through May 31st, 2027.

Good afternoon, sir. Thank you for being here with us.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Commission. Just make it quick. Hopefully it's a quick, straightforward appointment. I'm the chairman of the Transportation Advisory Board. We're a seven-member board. We started with five members only. Had trouble reaching quorum. And then Commissioner Castro appointed her appointment as well. So now we're up to six. We're missing the board as a whole. And even with that, we've been a little bit ineffective. We've had 50% no forms. So trying to be effective, it's a difficult zone that we have left to pick. We've gone out there. We've gotten some applications. Most of them, if not all of them, are in other zones. So Zone 6, again, is south of Old Cutler. We did find one candidate, Carlos Musso, who lives approximately like two blocks from that zone. So I think it's a good representation of the zone, and that'll fulfill a full board for us and able to be effective as a board and help out the community.

I'll move it.

I'll second it. Mr. Clerk, do we have any public comment?

No, Mr. Mayor.

Okay, we'll close the public comment. We have a motion and a second. Yes, sir.

Commissioner Lara?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Castro? Yes. Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Mayor Lago?

Yes. We'll take it. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you for waiting here patiently. I appreciate you, and I apologize for the delay. We're going to take a 20-minute recess for lunch. We'll be back at 2.20. Thank you.

Recording stopped.

Are you ready to go? He said Mr. Clerk, we're ready.

Recording in progress.

Let's move on to time certain item F8. On the agenda.

One second.

Hi, this is a discussion regarding Pelican Harbor Seabird Station. Thank you for being here with us. I put this on the agenda because I'd like to just have a quick presentation in regards to the great work that's being done in Pelican Harbor so we can potentially consider whether we can budget some money, if not, or somehow some way offer them assistance in their efforts to protect our wildlife here in the community. So the floor is yours. Take it away.

Thank you. Coral Gables, 40 plus years and counting as a Tree City USA. With all this wonderful canopy, we are a bird sanctuary. And as such, we have a responsibility to sustain and support the bird populations that migrate through or call Coral Gables home. Now, you typically see me in my food pantry shirt here on Tuesdays or representing the Merrick House or the Miami Villagers or the Garden Club. But today, I have my Pelican Harbor Seabird Station swag on, my shirt, my bandana, and of course, my possum earrings. I have been working in the outdoor rehab area for 10 years or so. And I'm continually amazed by the Herculean efforts of the staff and interns at this nonprofit rehab facility. And as they perform this good work on a minuscule budget, it is funded by donations from people like us. So Executive Director Chloe Chels, Assistant Director Julie Derrico, and our very special guest here are here to tell you about how we can partner with Pelican Harbor Seabird Station to rescue, rehab, and release native birds, mammals, and even tortoises and turtles.

Thank you, Joanne. Joanne's one of our star volunteers. My name is Chloe Chels. I'm executive director at Pelican Harbor. And Joanne was one of the first people I met about four years ago when I started. So we brought Mowgli today. I have a presentation. I don't know if it's coming up or I can advance the slides. So there we are. So do I press this to advance? Oh, here. So meet Mowgli. Mowgli is our ambassador Eastern screech owl. She's about eight years old and she's one of a number of ambassadors. We have the code to schools, commission meetings, et cetera, to sort of teach people about what we do. She's about, um, I said eight years old. She came as a baby and she signifies what we do, our mission, which is to rescue, rehabilitate and release sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife with the goal of releasing those animals back into our ecosystem. So many of you may have heard of us maybe for the first time recently when we were featured on a Nextdoor post about a barn owl that was actually caught in a palm tree. This was in February on Nextdoor. There's only five native owls in Florida, and we've only treated about 46. You can see that circle at the bottom. 210 people reacted to try to see what was going on and help that owl. And everything at Pelican Harbor starts with an act of compassion, right? We're caring about our native wildlife that we coexist with. So that was a very recent occurrence and very dramatic. When somebody finds an animal that needs help, of course there's emotion involved, they panic, you go to our website and right away on the upper right you can see get help. So we treat only native species, but people call us for all types of animals. We're open every single day of the year and we'll help identify an animal that's found, offer guidance. If you feel comfortable containing it, you can bring it to us. And we offer resources and referrals for both native and non-native animals alike. So one of our main questions is if the city of Coral Gables would consider putting our website as a link on theirs to sort of help people, to help guide them to us as a resource. So we've been around since 1980, and until 1996, we only treated brown pelicans, but some might be interested to hear we now treat over... If it doesn't suit you, it felt icky during filming, four weeks into filming that season.

I don't know where that's going.

Keep going? We treat over 25 animals a year of about 100 different, I'm sorry, 150 different species, birds, mammals, reptiles. And you can see our numbers grow every year across those different classes. That's Mowgli. She actually sometimes is a working girl. That's her teaching a baby owlet how to be an owl, how to hunt. And every animal that comes to us comes from something human related. So we get a lot of hook and line injuries. We do education around properly disposing of hook and line. We get a lot of animals also from poisoning, and that could be from birds eating fish from the bay and having botulism, or many times you see these rodent poison boxes. The hawks will eat a rodent from one of those and get sick. We are also on the Atlantic Flyway, and we get many birds that are victims of window collisions. And there is an easy way, I would like to do a big, at some point, public campaign about bird safe glass. There is glass on the market that's etched, coated, has enamel baked into it, or surface decals that really deter these birds from flying into windows that they mistake for a sky. We have a growing patient need. Every year we see an increase of about 10%, but this quarter we actually had a 30% increase in patients. We're well over last year and treated last year 2,700 patients, so we're continuing to see a huge need for our services. In addition to the clinic, we also are big into conservation education and community engagement. Just a snapshot of pictures, last year we did 51 public releases, 45 community events, we do tours every weekend, we do monthly seabird cruises in partnership with Miami-Dade County, and we do a lot of volunteer work, which Joanne can tell you more about. And again, a snapshot last year, we reached over 6 million people with all these avenues that we advocate for. Our operating expenses since 2000 have grown from $829,000 to now almost $2 million a year. And as Joanne said, we're fully dependent on donations, grants, and we get some state money as well. Our two big fundraisers are Give Miami Day, which we didn't hit our financial goal, but we were number one in our size for number of donors. So it really speaks to the community support. And in our recent Pelican Party Gala, we had both the city and county mayors come and reached a record of 630,000 that evening. You may know that we've been working on an expansion project. We're currently on the 79th Street Causeway. In 2019, purchased a 2.6 acre parcel of land on the Little River just south of El Portal. We've been hard at work on our new building, which is about to open. We're just waiting for a few more inspections for TCO. So these are a few slides showing our current facility and the new building, which should open very soon. Old and new. Our intake desk, we get over 50 calls every day for animals in need. Clinic staff right now. We have one room basically the new hospital have nine The laundry room and just this is really going to allow us to deliver on our mission to a much greater degree our staff So this is that owl that I showed you at the beginning that was found in Coral Gables We had over 90 people come to see its release and it was incredible And that's why we do the work that we do So there are a million ways to help. Of course, you can donate, volunteer, attend a cruise. We had Wayne from Duffy's sponsor an owl box. You can donate and we'll come to your property with a box and put it in one of our eastern screech owls like Mowgli. And just a snapshot for Coral Gables. We have had about a 10% increase every year for our patients from Coral Gables. Last year, 100 patients. We have approximately 500 donors who call Coral Gables home. And our average patient cost is around $548. So the ask today is, would the city of Coral Gables consider an annual gift of $5,000 to Pelican Harbor to offset those costs? And just a snapshot of what some of the other municipalities give, usually between one and 5,000. Thank you very much. Thank you. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. So as a sponsor of this item, I wanted to bring this forward to the Commission for two purposes. Number one, to educate my colleagues on the importance of the work you're doing. And number two, to give you a platform here before all the residents and the business community. What I'd like to do is for my colleagues to get a copy of this presentation, to review it, and to think about it over the next month or two and see if this is an interest that you have. I don't ask anybody to make a decision today. And I'd also like to see if we can potentially i'm going to offer this on my on my uh my newsletter to the residents i'd like to see the city just put together a little bit of information in regards to what this great not-for-profit does and giving people the opportunity to engage learn a little bit more about it and potentially hopefully donate okay

Thank you very much.

That is a beautiful, beautiful owl.

Isn't she incredible? She's a showstopper.

Most people think that that is a baby owl, correct?

Correct. She's full grown, and they're pretty common here, but they're nocturnal, so you don't see them very often.

They're a beautiful, beautiful creature. Absolutely stunning.

Thank you for your time.

No, no, thank you for being here. I think it's important. And we're going to share this with as many people, and then we'll get back to you. Yes, Madam Vice Mayor.

So I met Mowgli about five years ago. She was still a little bit younger. Incredible, incredible little bird. I see them up in my oaks at night. If you recognize their sound, their little cooing sound, you'll get to see. Yeah, yeah, they are quite impressive. And they can get to know you, too. and get used to you. The Mowgli, it's been a while. So to the manager, I would like you to look into, and I gotta get a picture of Mowgli. He is a star, hi there. Got both eyes blinking this time. Before it was just one. I'm impressed.

The bird safe glass.

Yes. which is something I think our board of architects needs to carefully look at because I did the appliques, and sometimes those get to be a difficult thing when it comes around to cleaning your glass. It doesn't matter whether you have a one-story home or a two-story home. Birds fly at many different levels, and they can't see the glass. What they see is they see the light inside your house, And they think that that's a through way and a safe environment to go to. So I'd like our Board of Architects to look at this, embrace it, and understand that this is something that should be done, may help reduce the costs at Pelican Harbor Seabird Station. relieve you all to deal with unfortunately some of the other things when you know people put the rat poison out um there's other ways to control rats and in fact if we have more of the Raptors around we'll be having more rat control yeah so we need to help control their numbers as well

I think an owl like that can eat about 1,000 rats a year, so it's a natural predator.

Plus we now have some gray foxes added to the red foxes and they're very effective little hunters for things with four legs that climb up trees and on electrical wires. The web link should be an easy thing for staff to do. It's something too that I think we can send out to our yard folks, landscapers, tree trimmers, other licensed individuals. I've done it on an individual basis because people don't understand. Not only do you offer the service, but you can answer this question, do you still offer the free Uber ride? Yes.

Yes, we got a grant from Uber and right now it's no cost to us to Uber a bird.

Yeah, so when people are busy doing their job, it's very hard to stop in the middle of your job and say, oh, my God, I've got to save this bird. Or they fail to look out for the nest of squirrels or any other of the native species that are up there in the trees. So it's complicated, but they can get an Uber ride to Pelican Harbor Seabird Station, and then the manager can look at the budget and see what we can allocate because there are many needs. And if you've been around here for more than a few minutes today, you've probably heard about some of those needs. But thank you for taking the time and sharing some time with everybody here with Mowgli, because she's a rock star.

Thank you. We're open every day of the year and to the public, so come visit any time. All right.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you for having us.

Thank you. We have a time starting at 3. We're not yet to 3 p.m., so let me see where we move forward. Mr. Fernandez, are you ready? Can we hear your item? Which is your item?

This is the 3 o'clock, Mayor.

Oh, yours is the 3 o'clock? Is there anything that we can hear quickly? How about the items on second reading? Those should be pretty simple, right? We'll hear E1.

E1 is an ordinance of the City Commission amending Chapter 2, Administration Article 1 in general to create Section 2-6, Registrate Agent, in order to codify the Mayor's designation of the City Attorney as the City's registered agent for service of process for purposes of Chapter 48, Florida Statutes, providing for a severability clause, repeater provision, codification, and providing for an effective date.

Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners, Stephanie Throckmorton, Deputy City Attorney. There have been no changes since first reading. As explained, this just codifies the Mayor's designation of our office for service.

Okay. May I have a motion? I'll move it. Second. Any public comment?

No, Mr. Mayor.

All right, perfect.

Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara? Yes. Mayor Lago?

Yes.

Thank you.

Moving on to item E2.

E2 is an ordinance of the City Commission of Coral Gables, Florida, providing for text amendments to the City of Coral Gables Official Zoning Code by amending Article 5, Architecture Section 5-500, Roofs, to clarify roof design standards by incorporating a combination of pitched and flat roof forms and to establish that roof designs proposed as entirely flat require review and approval by the full Board of Architects. to amend Section 5-502, Flat Roofs, to clarify the review and approval of trailer structures on roof decks, to remove Sections 5-503 and 5-504 and renumber subsequent sections, to delete outdated parapet height provisions in flood hazard districts, and providing for repeated provisions that are ability clause codification and providing for an effective date.

Okay. Has there been any changes since the first reading?

No changes, Mayor. I'll move it.

I have a motion. I'll move it.

Second. Any public comment?

No, Mr. Mayor.

All right.

Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara?

Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Mayor Lago? Yes. Thank you. We have two minutes before. I know the city attorney gets upset if we take items before they're uncertain. Trying to find something here that...

Some of the discussion items are quick.

You think?

Some of them are more like updates.

Mr. Mayor? Yes, sir. E5 through E8. Those should not need a lot of discussion. Sorry? E5 through E8 should be quicker. E5 through E8. Let's go.

So I'll start with E5, Mayor?

Yes.

So E5 is an ordinance of the City Commission amending Chapter 18 elections to amend the code consistent with the recently adopted charter amendments to change the date of the city election runoff and qualifying dates to amend the sections regarding the canvassing board and adjusting other associated dates for vacancies and qualifying, providing for severability clause, repeated provision, codification, and providing for an effective date.

Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners. As we discussed at the last Commission meeting, we have updated our city charter to reflect those changes approved by the voters in the April 21 referendum. This ordinance right here before you changes our election code to comply with the change to November elections. And as you'll note in the attachment, it also alters the dates, the associated dates like qualifying and the runoff, as well as dates related to vacancies and qualifications. We have worked on these closely with the city clerk and the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office, and so those are before you today.

Thank you. As a sponsor of the item, I want to thank the residents for their hard work in supporting this item overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly. So thank you to my colleagues who supported it, and it's a breath of fresh air to move forward. Do you have a motion?

I'll move it.

Do you have a second? Second. Mr. Craig, any public comment?

No, Mr. Mayor.

All right.

Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara? Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Mayor Lago? Yes. E6?

E6 is an ordinance of the City Commission amending Chapter 2, Administration Article 2, City Commission to amend Section 2-29, Compensation of Mayor-Commissioner's Travel Allowance Office Expense to require a vote of the electors prior to certain changes in compensation consistent with the recently approved charter amendment providing for severability clause, repeated provision, codification, and providing for an effective date.

Hello again. As noted, this ordinance amends the city code consistent with that charter amendment that was approved by the voters in April to require a vote of the electors for any change to the compensation of the commission beyond the annual increases for CPIW contemplated in the city code.

Are there any changes since first reading? This is first reading. First reading, excuse me. There is no, there's, perfect. Do we have a motion?

I'll move it.

Second? Second. Any public comment?

No, Mr. Mayor. Okay. Commissioner Lara?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Mayor Lager?

Yes. I thank you as a sponsor. I appreciate your support on that. E7?

E7 is an Ordinance of the City Commission amending Chapter 2, Administration, Article 3, Boards, Commissions, Committees to create Division 12 Charter Review Committee to amend the code to codify the Charter Review Committee membership qualifications and requiring the convening of the committee every 10 years beginning in 2035 consistent with the recently adopted charter amendment providing for severability clause repeal your provision codification and providing for an effective date.

Thank you, Mayor. As you all know, our City Code requires that any new permanent committees be added to the City Code. So that's what this does. This adds the Charter Review Committee that will convene every 10 years beginning in 2035 with the composition that was voted on by the electors of seven members. The city commission may add additional qualifications for its appointees by resolution as each charter review is convened and the mayor's appointees shall serve as the chairperson of the charter review committee as he currently does. The city attorney's office will provide staff support to the charter review committee as we have done historically.

So as a sponsor of this item, again, this is just cleanup. This should have never gone to the charter review because for the previous 30 years, this was something that we did normally until this past election. The previous election where we did it in eight years, we removed two individuals, which was representative for the manager and the city attorney. and to me i think it was again politically motivated but now that won't be the case this will be hap this will happen every 10 years there will be seven members and the mayor the mayor's appointee will be the chair of the board which is the way it's been handled for three decades not until it was changed so i want to congratulate the residents for approving this common sense regulations you know not not overreaching and i think it's in benefit of the city And I'm proud that I was able to sponsor this item and get it approved by the voters. May I have a motion?

I'll move it.

A second. Mr. Clerk, do you have any public comment?

No, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you.

Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes. Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara? Yes. Mayor Lago? Yes. E8.

E8 is an ordinance of the City Commission amending Chapter 2, Administration, Article 7, Finance, Division 1, generally to amend Section 2-352, Fund Balance and Reserve Policy to require a vote of the electors prior to certain changes to the Fund Balance Reserve Policy consistent with the recently approved charter amendment providing for severability clause repealer, codification, and providing for an effective date.

Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners. As you know, this item that went to the charter referendum that was approved by the voters adds certain language to our charter, but it also required us to amend the code. To add that any amendment to the 25% reserve requirement that's expanded upon in the code shall require approval of the electors prior to changing. The four-fifths requirement to otherwise change the policy remains in the code.

Yes.

Okay, so as the sponsor of this item, I'm also very grateful for the residents who approved this. The reason why I had to put this on the agenda, never having to do it, you know, 10 years before was because there was threats that we were going to be spending money that we had in reserves. When I got here, we had about $15 million in the coffers. Now we have over $60 million. And at the end of the day, that money doesn't belong to the commission. That money belongs to the residents. And that's the reason why when I started here, we had a AA rated city. Now we're a triple, triple rated city. We're one of three cities in the state of Florida that have that financial distinction, which allows us to borrow money at an incredibly cheap level amount. And it's also a point of pride for Coral Gables to be able to have that money. It's a rainy day fund that we used when we had a hurricane that we were able to clean up the city without having to go into bond debt or have to get a credit line, which could take years and years to pay back. So I want to congratulate the residents for making the right decision here. This reaffirms our financial stability, and it was brought to the table unlike I thought it would ever have to be, was as a result of threats about potentially spending money from the reserves in regards to sidewalks and other projects that should be budgeted, like we've always done over the last 13 years, not taken from the reserves. I want to congratulate everyone who voted overwhelmingly in support of this. It was a double-digit win on all of these.

I'll move it. I'll second.

Mr. Clerk, do you have any public comment?

No, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you.

Commissioner Castro?

Yes.

Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara? Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson? Yes.

Mayor Largo? Yes. Thank you very much. Now we move on to time to start on item F5. Thank you for your patience. Five minutes later.

Mayor, F5 is a resolution of the City Commission approving the preliminary design for improvements to Fred B. Hartnett Pond Circle Park.

So I put this item on the agenda. I'm the sponsor of this item because again, this is a project that we've been trying to work on for some time. And I think that we are right there. We're almost there. And I'd like to have a brief recap and hopefully get a preliminary approval from the commission so that we can move forward and start speaking with the neighborhood and the residents to really get this project started because this is gonna be a game changer for our downtown. Mr. Mayor.

Mr. Mayor, good afternoon. For the record, Javier Fernandez, Law Offices 201, Alhambra Circle, Suite 1205. Thank you.

Oh, that's a very nice pin.

Thank you. No, I'm... Congratulations. Fantastic gift. Thank you. I appreciate it. Do you have to give a... I'm going to have to report it. Do you have to report that or no? It's a gift. We've already disclosed it to the Herald, so I think we're good. Again, thank you for allowing us this opportunity to provide you an update on the progress we've made over the last few months on the reconceptualization of Ponce Park. As you all recall, during your approval of the Ponce Park Residences Project, one of the public benefits that was proffered was the contribution and assistance in Accelerating hopefully the transformation of this long desired public improvement over the last six months We've worked closely with all the city's internal stakeholders a manager his team planning parks, etc To arrive at this design concept, which mr. LaGuardia will shortly present for you and we today's goal is basically to get your feedback and sign off on this concept before we proceed to start with our first public meeting which is currently scheduled to take place in in this room here on June 1st. So without further ado, I will turn it over to Mr. LaGuardia and then sum up at the end with quick next steps.

Thank you, Javier. Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor and Commissioners. And first, I want to thank the city and the staff who have helped and guided us through this program, as well as thank Alan and Spencer Morris for the opportunity and the city for the opportunity to work on this project. If we can get started. So that's our cover, next sheet. We started the design by studying Phineas Pace and George Merrick's 1924 ideas for Kraft's for although the context and the program today is different, we found that the formal response to the site was compelling and valid. And so what we found was that they anchored the Oblong site with two anchor buildings, one at each end. In their case, it was two exposition buildings. And so that created sort of a park, a garden inside. And then they enclosed that park with arcades. And so we found this response to the site as sort of still being The other important thing to note about their project was that these exposition buildings faced both north and south ponds. So not just what was happening within the park, but actually giving a front face to north and south ponds. Each parking crow gables has a different personality, because of the all they own as as a program we consider that perhaps this part would be the cultural part of the city beautiful. We have depicted here some of the activities that we considered might take place in the park. So we might have picnics. There might be sort of an informal musical gathering in the alleys. There could be seating. lounging, picnic tables, strolling, art in the park, obviously concerts at the Odeon, as well as perhaps some informal yoga classes or similar activities.

OK.

In Ponce Circle Park, we have one end anchored by the Odeon and the other end anchored by the Frank Stella inverted puffed star sculpture sitting in an elevated shallow fountain. The green or event lawn in the center is enclosed on the sides by pavilions and arcades, and a tree-lined alley forms a shade bosque for visitors. So similar approach to what Pace was proposing, which was to have two anchors at the end, creating a large lawn in the middle, and then enclosing that lawn to buffer it from the street with arcades on the side. The entry pavilions are located at the important crosswalks, providing a threshold and welcoming the visitors into the park. The Odeon presents a sculptural loggia to south ponds, while the low wall around Frank Stella's star opens the park towards Miracle Mile, and in this way, inviting the connection. We have named the area around the fountain the Sculpture Garden, as it could host other sculptures besides the star. And just as an idea, we propose perhaps a series of six bronze musicians visible from the promenade echoing the live musicians on the other side at the Odeon. So if you can point out where additional sculptures could go. Okay. A series of renderings are going to take us around the park, around the outside of the park, and then we're going to enter through the star sculpture and then meander across the green and end up in a concert at the Odeon. So this is a view from the street of the pavilion and arcades and the alley bordering Ponce. Next. As we turn the corner around Ponce, this would be a view of the alley on the left and the pavilion and arcade on the right. As we approach the sculpture garden, this is what we would see as we focus in on Frank Stella's star. This is a view from one pavilion. So these pavilions are at the crosswalk. So we're coming in through this pavilion. And this pavilion and its arch faces the pavilion on the other side. And so you step into this pavilion, and you get a frame of the pavilion across from you. And these pavilions act almost as thresholds into the park. Next. OK, a close-up of the star. And so this would be the sculpture garden. And now we'll start to meander into, well, here we are already in the green looking back at the sculpture being framed with a pavilion on each side. This is a view from the inside. So these arcades are a little bit more solid towards the street and more open towards the green. And we've come up with this detail in the show rafters so we can actually have vines growing on the inside, thus making it even more green. Next. Okay, this is as we're starting to look and meander through the green. Next. And this is, it's standing at one of the pavilions and looking down the alley, which is basically, you know, trees sort of marching down, creating shade, where many of the, I guess, office workers that work in that vicinity could go down for and have lunch. We're envisioning sort of green trees tables and chairs like what you might find at the Tuileries in Paris. And these are loose furniture that might move locations as the users decide. Next. And so we arrived at the concert. So this would be a small concert with people meandering through the green and sitting on some stone benches in the proximity of the concert. And so there you see the odeon. Odeon is Greek for a small space for music. We thought it was a very appropriate name for the structure. And so that's the Odeon, and now we're back at the star. So I would like to end the presentation with a parting thought. Night settles over Kraft's Plaza, where sage-colored chairs lean close in gossip around the green, and bronze musicians, hushed and waiting, tune their silent instruments. Then a star falls, drifting slowly downward to kiss its simmering reflection in the fountain. That concludes my presentation.

Thank you, Maria. Mr. Mayor, just to quickly wrap up and turn to the next steps. So as I mentioned at the outset, our intention is to have our first public meeting in this room on June 1st to engage residents around this concept and get their feedback. Thereafter, it's our intent to return here on June 9th. As you'll recall, when we approved the development management agreement, it had a budget of $8.9 million. In working with your staff and pricing out this concept, this concept before you, we estimate will cost about $11.2 million. We've been working with staff on putting together a financial package, which we'll present to you on the 9th with the details as to how we will fill that gap. And then assuming the feedback is positive, which we hope it will be, our goal would then be to commence design, development, and construction documents and the permitting associated with improvements so we could advance the project. And with that, happy to take your comments. We also are joined by Andres Arcila, the landscape architect on this project, should you have any questions for him or Maria. Thank you.

Just to be very brief, first and foremost, congratulations. It's an amazing project. I know it's just the first iteration of it. We've been working through a few different design options. I like the way things, they look a lot cleaner now where you don't have the wall on both sides. And I remember working over the last four years with our team, with our arts team in the back, historic preservation, um in regards to the stellar sculpture it looks like you know it looks like nothing else could ever belong there it looks perfect in my opinion um and it's it's an exceptional design and perfectly fitting for the city beautiful and i couldn't have asked for a better architect a better team i thank the developer for all the hard work um i've sat down with the manager and we went over a little bit of the funding opportunities to make that gap i think we'll be able to make that gap I also understand there's a contingency in regards to the construction. I know that once the CDs are finalized, hopefully we'll be able to grind the numbers down even further and make that gap easily. So I think it's a great opportunity to get to the residents, get their feedback, get their input, but I think that they're going to like it a lot. i like it a lot i like the fact that we incorporated some of my ideas about potentially having you know additional sculpture opportunities i think it could be something where it could be permanent or it could be maybe a loan which is something that i'm working on with a big collector right now to potentially lend us some major international sculptures for a four or five year period and those can be housed you know in this park and it could be something just amazing the only problem with that will be when we have to give those sculptures back yes so Not a happy day. Maybe for a tax break, they won't take them back. Madam Vice Mayor.

Sorry I interrupted.

No worries.

I had a question. Looking at the park from the north and the south, I see that there's a beautiful viewing area where you can see the Stella sculpture. But my question, because we have a slip lane there, how do we address the pedestrian safety issue where someone might, you know, we have children, et cetera, step into that slip lane? Is there anything to prevent a pedestrian from taking that course?

So the southern edge, if I'm, Maria, you can address this better than I can, I'm sure.

The north side is on the stubble sculpture. I haven't taken a real close look at the north end because we have the, the Odie in there, but particularly when you're looking at the Stella sculpture from the north end, I didn't see anything in a way of prevention of someone stepping into that silt lane. Is there a sidewalk there?

Yeah, but we have a, I believe there's a low rise wall, correct, that rings the southern part of the property, and so access is from... That's the northern side. Yeah, on the north end, so the access is from the laterals on Ponce.

Correct, but there's also a viewing area from the north.

Correct.

From the slip lane.

Yeah, but that is not open at the pedestrian level. So there is a wall.

There is a wall.

It just brings the southern part of the property to, again, create an edge. But it does provide sight lines to folks to see through it. The idea being that we wanted to make sure that we highlighted the statute.

Perfect, perfect. I just don't want people thinking they can cross there.

Yes, and the main reason for those site accesses, both north and south, is for service. And they were given to us as phase one part of the project had already been approved. So we sort of inherited that, those two accesses.

Well, then let's go back and talk about discouraging people from trying to cross through the slip lane.

Hi, good afternoon. So the first phase of this project before the developer became involved was going to be the roadway on the park. And we went through several iterations of that. It has actually been designed and approved by the county. And it actually includes race intersections and all the crossing points to facilitate crossing into the park. And then there's also several features, including the use of pavers as kind of like a different texture to slow down cars. But that's already built into the roadway that the perimeter of the park, which is something that's already been designed and done. There are some features to facilitate crossing in a more safe manner.

Well, I understand those are on the east and west side. I think we need to look at the slip lane and deterring people from stepping off and into the slip lane.

OK. May I? So the vice mayor is asking just to take a look at it. Can we look at it? Yes. We have a long agenda today. We do, yes. Is this like preliminary? I want to get input from the residents and then I want to make her happy with the slip lane. She's pretty adamant about it and I agree with her.

We could have a low wall with some kind of a fence or something that discourages people from going in that direction because they really can't go anywhere.

We can look at it. We know how little ones are, and we had one here today.

Through the Mayor? Yes, sir. Mayor, we will take a look at that issue for the Vice Mayor. Okay. Happy to, Vice Mayor.

May I have a motion? I'll move it. I'll second. Any public comment?

Yes, Mr. Mayor. First speaker, Maria Cruz.

Mrs. Maria Cruz, 1447 Miller Road, 305-323-2154. I only have one concern. I hear this being called Crafts Plaza. This park was named after Fred Hartnett. Are we changing the name? That's the question. I mean, Fred Hartnett, the Hartnett family were very, very involved in this city. I hope we're not trying to rewrite history or changing the name of somebody who deserves to be remembered.

Mr. Clerk.

Jackson Holmes.

Thank you, Mayor and Commission. I'm against this thing. Too many buildings. Why would we turn a beautiful, sacred green space? Into something that has yet more buildings. I can imagine that from a safety concern, you know, when you have children playing in this park, right, that a security wall. That's hard to argue with. because the nightmare of some drunk driver plowing into a bunch of people in Ponce Park is one that we don't want to leave ourselves. That justifies a wall. But doing buildings, I mean, we've already got. Look, when we look at the plaza, right, plaza. That's actually it's a weird trade-off right because it's a beautiful building. It's got great businesses I didn't oppose it when it was being put forward because I I like having a Greater retail downtown, but it is still a monstrosity, right? And now we want to ruin it with it with more buildings right in front and the only green space I'm against it But the wall, okay, that's it for me for me Thank you

That's it, Mr. Mayor. All right, we have a motion and a second. Yes, sir, we do.

Commissioner Fernandez?

Yes.

Commissioner Lara? Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson?

Yes.

Commissioner Castro?

Yes.

Mayor Lagarde?

Yes, thank you very much. Looking forward to seeing you again. Thank you. Thank you, have a wonderful day. Moving on to item E3, board's first reading.

E3 is an ordinance of the City Commission of Coral Gables amending the City Code, Chapter 2, entitled Administration, Article 8, entitled Procurement Code, Sections 2-1, 60724, Exemption Section 2-685, Competitive Sealed Bidding. Section 2-688, Small Purchases. Section 2-689, Sole Sources Procurement. Section 2-690, Sole Source Procurement. Section 2-691, Special Procurement Bid Waiver. Section 2-763, Contract Award. Section 2-764, Approval of Change Order. and contract modifications in Section 2-910, resolution of protest solicitations and awards, formal and providing for a repealer provision severability clause for codification and providing for an effective date.

Madam Director.

Good afternoon. The purpose of this ordinance is to update the current approval threshold limits of the procurement code regarding authorities. The current limits in place have not been updated in over 20 years and don't accurately reflect the spending power of the current economy And it limits the city's abilities to facilitate necessary purchases. So the request in this item is to make additional changes to the to the code in order to bring the current level the levels up to current spending practices, as well as in line with other local municipalities.

Anything else? Here to answer any questions you may have about it. Do we have any public comment?

No, Mr. Mayor.

I'll move it. I'll second. Mr. Clerk?

Commissioner Lara? Yes. Vice Mayor Anderson?

Yes.

Commissioner Castro?

Yes.

Commissioner Fernandez?

Yes. Mayor Lago? Yes. Thank you very much. Item E4.

E4 is an ordinance of the City Commission amending Chapter 58, Special Assessments, Article 3, Repair or Construction of Streets and Sidewalks, to amend Section 58-48, Duty of Abutting Property Owners to Repair, in order to amend the code to clarify that abutting property owners are not responsible for defective sidewalks where such defects are a result of city trees, and the City has been notified of those defects, providing for a severability clause, repealer provision, codification, and providing for an effective date.

This is an item I brought to align our current practices with the code. The code itself was conflicting. For some code enforcement officers, they were enforcing the current code, and that's clearly unfair to the homeowner or the business owner. So I brought this simple amendment to the code to bring us to date.

I see no issues with it. Do we have any public comment? Yes, Mr. Mayor, we do.

First speaker, Maria Cruz.

OK. Jackson Holmes. Can I make a request? Instead of screaming from the grandstands, if you have a message for the clerk or for anyone here, please feel free to come up and speak to the clerk or speak to staff instead of screaming from across the room. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. So I spoke with Commissioner Anderson on this item and I don't think that we have any real disagreement on this item. She's a sponsor. But. I am. I was out knocking on doors for the referendum at the time. I think that this must have been brought up previously. And I do have reservations about what this is amending. I know I'm with the city on. I mean, I'm a selfish person. I don't speak for anyone but myself, but I don't like what the legislature is trying to do and cut off our funds to give homeowners whatever they're trying to give on property tax relief. I'm in step with the mayor on on that subject and you all have to look over your shoulders and Wonder what's next in, Tallahassee? But I just think that you're laying too much responsibility on Property owners like we're supposed to be more rich than the city. I don't think that's a correct assumption Thank you Thank You Nestor Menendez

Good afternoon, Nestor Menendez, 6611 Revere Drive. Just one quick question on the item. As far as the duty of owners to repair, liability concerns. If somebody happens to injure themselves, some type of negligence, who is liable? Is the owner liable if they're footing the bill or has to find somebody to fix the sidewalk, or is that the city's responsibility?

I don't know, Vice Mayor.

Well, I think one I have to defer to the city attorney and this is limited to where is a tree causing the damage and the homeowner or the business owner informs the city of the issue.

Right, so the only change this ordinance is making is adding one line to clarify. Currently, the obligation is on property owners for the abutting property, I'm sorry, the abutting sidewalk in front of their property or adjacent to their property. So this change only clarifies what has been the city practice that if the damage is caused by a city tree, the city is responsible for that sidewalk.

And just to follow up, how is the, who...

Generally, the city, in that kind of litigation, would assert that the responsibility of the sidewalk is on the abutting property owner, as a general matter. If it's caused by a city tree, we're hearing that the city is taking on the responsibility for correcting that, provided the city's been given notice.

All right.

Thank you. Thank you. Anything else, Mr. Clerk? No, Mr. Mayor. I will close the public comment. Can I have a motion?

I move it.

Can I have a second? I'll second.

Clerk?

Vice Mayor Anderson?

Yes.

Commissioner Castro?

Yes.

Commissioner Fernandez? Yes. Commissioner Lara? Yes.

Mayor Lago? Yes. Moving on to item F4.

F4 is a resolution. Mayor, this is the one that you asked us to provide an updated version. So if you'd like, I can read the updated title. Yes. This is a resolution of the City Commission of the City of Coral Gables, Florida, directing the city manager and city clerk to ensure that all regular meetings of the city boards and committees are recorded. And I have updated versions, Mayor, that I can provide.

Yes, the only item here that I wanted to make sure that we kept as a little kind of a window of opportunity for the manager to address is certain potentially, you know, we have to be very thoughtful and careful in regards to people's private information. Like, for example, if you may have a judge or you may have an elected official, or you may have a police officer or somebody who works for one of the large departments at the federal level where they're remodeling their home and you're potentially putting out their information. So we have to look at, for example, the BOA, code enforcement, maybe planning and zoning. Not really planning and zoning because they don't go through the plans, but I want to make sure that we're very careful and thoughtful on that front end that the manager has He has the standing to be able to make a decision on what is actually shown on TV. What I'm really looking forward to is having boards that don't have the videos up right now where people can see those videos transparently. But I want to avoid exposing somebody's personal life or putting somebody in harm. I don't know if anybody has any other concerns. This is just a pretty simple piece of legislation, more cleanup than anything else.

Mayor?

Yes.

I'm just going to ask you some questions, whether or not you had thought about it. When we have, for instance, drawings of buildings and so forth, you have utility services, you have other types of services that run to those buildings, ingress, egress. Some of these things can impact the ability of an individual to be a burglar. These are some of my concerns because these drawings are put up at the Board of Architects. So Is there a way to effectively carve out items like this where we're going to hand out on the public airwaves as opposed to having to make a public records request where you have to put up your name as opposed to just click on a video and be able to examine the buildings?

Yeah, that's what I discussed with the city attorney yesterday, that at least you have the one layer, which is that individual or entity has to provide for a public records request and has to provide their information.

So the revised version requires that all meetings be recorded, but not that all of them be posted. Of course, they would be subject to public records requests, but they would not all be posted.

OK. As long as they're not posted for the public. There's very little written here, so it wasn't self-evident. That was the change.

We previously had said that, and so now it just says recorded.

Your change is noted, and it's something that we talked about, and staff brought that up, and it was a very good point, and I completely agree with what you're saying, Vice Mayor.

Okay, without change, I'll move it.

I'll second. Through the Mayor? Yes. I think it's a great idea. I think a lot of times, We have questions that come up before us where there wasn't a recording of a specific meeting and it would facilitate our ability to make a decision. So my concern was also the public records, but it's been addressed. So I think this is a great idea.