City Commission - Regular Meeting

Twenty one, twenty twenty six. Hey, how about those Miami Hurricanes? Did they play their hearts out or what?

They sure

did. And every single playoff game that they played was fantastic. They had a great season. And they came up a little bit short in the end, but we're very proud of them. And also very proud of University of Indiana for their undefeated season. Indiana University. It's not university? Oh, it's IU. IU too. And we congratulate Indiana.

And what a great year for college sports it was and continues to be. And in my view, everyone's a winner because they played well. They showed grit. And that's what it takes to be a winner. So congratulations to all of them. Let's begin with a roll call. Mr. Clerk, please.

Commissioner Good.

I'm here.

Vice mayor Hernandez. I'm here. Commissioner Rodriguez.

Here.

Commissioner Schwartz. Here. Mayor Castillo. Here. City manager Dodge. Here. City attorney Gordon. I'm here. We have a quorum.

Thank you very much. Leading us tonight in the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem is Eva Mersindette. She is a seventh grader from Pines Charter Middle. Will you all please rise and stay rising whenever you're ready.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. So proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight. O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming.

Wow. Eva Mersindet from Pines Charter Mill, you make us very proud. Thank you very, very much.

Mayor, if I just have a point of personal privilege. The city of Pembroke Pines had a historic night on Monday night. The president of The United States landed in Pembroke Pines on Marine 1 at North Perry Airport. For the last week and a half or so, everything was being prepared. Everything went well. It was a first for us. And the Broward County Aviation Department, everyone on the field did a fantastic job. I want to thank the Pembroke Ponds Police Department for doing its part and all those involved in having a very safe event. Thank you, mayor.

Thank you. The fire department in particular coordinated the arrival. And I want to thank the chief and his staff, as well as the police department and all others for allowing it to go so well. Thank you very much. On Monday, we had the city's first ever Martin Luther King Day parade here in Pembroke Pines.

And here in the plaza, we had a beautiful commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And all five of us were there. And it was a very, very touching and very, very well organized event. And I want to thank everyone in the Parks Department and elsewhere who participated and who helped to bring it to fruition.

Seeing a parade happen on that day in Pembroke Pines has been something I've wanted to see happen for a very long time. Couldn't get it done last year. There wasn't enough time. However, we hope to see this parade happen each and every year. And I thank everyone for their participation. It was a great day. A little cold, but we had a wonderful time. Thank you so much, all of you. Announcement of items to be pulled from the agenda.

Item number four has been pulled by administration.

Item four. Thank you. Okay. Presentations. I have several items.

Our outstanding Perma Pines Fire Rescue operation has been awarded Florida's Ped Ready Gold Tier recognition. And to talk to us about this and to explain the award, we have our fire chief, Marcelino Rodriguez, and his command staff. You can applaud for the fire chief. I see a bunch of cops here. You can applaud for fighting. Welcome.

Whenever you can get the police department to come out to support your accomplishments, you know you've done a good thing, right? Thank you, everyone. So tonight, we're here and proudly to announce that the fire department, your fire department, has been awarded the Pediatric Ready Gold Tier recognition by the state of Florida. This is the highest level of recognition for pediatric emergency preparedness that we're incredibly proud of. State representatives completed a very thorough evaluation of our department's ability to respond to pediatric emergencies.

They took a look at our training program, our equipment, policies, our CQI program, as well as our prevention programs. They concluded that our agency met the highest standards for pediatric care. So a couple things to note during their evaluation, during their assessment. They found zero deficiencies in our programs. They even asked for permission to utilize our program documents as well as our programs as best practices for other agencies in the state.

So obviously, we're incredibly proud of this recognition, as you know, mayor and commission. Pembroke Pines is a city where families come to raise their children. We're home to approximately 30 schools and more than 50 daycares and preschools. So being prepared to respond to pediatric emergencies is incredibly important to us. This is a testament to the hard work of our firefighters, so credit goes to them and the professional staff, the city, the commission for their support, and my staff as well for putting in the work.

This recognition could not be possible without the commission. So as a small token of appreciation, I'd like to present to you a plaque that I hope you would display in your office proudly representing this accomplishment. Could you show

what it looks like?

So that's it, mayor. Thank you very much for your continued support. And we'll continue to do the good work of the citizens.

Thank you, chief. And thank you all. You make us very proud. Congratulations. Well earned.

Can I have Lori Tolson and Jennifer Sanchez, please? This is a proclamation of the city of Pembroke Pines declaring National Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesis Week, Whereas certified registered nurse anesthetists are advanced practice registered nurses who have provided safe, high quality anesthesia care to patients in The United States for more than one hundred and fifty years, are consistently ranked among the nation's most trusted professionals, and became the first nursing specialty to receive direct reimbursement rights for Medicare through legislation passed by Congress in 1986. And whereas CRNAs practice in every setting where anesthesia is delivered, including hospital surgical suites, obstetric units, critical access hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and the offices of dentists, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, pain management specialists, and others, and serve as the primary anesthesia providers in rural communities and for The US military personnel, whereas CRNAs are qualified by education, training, and licensure, and experience to make independent judgments regarding all aspects of anesthesia care, delivering safe, compassionate, specialized, and cost effective care to patients of all ages, from newborns to seniors for every type of procedure in every type of facility. And whereas CRNA's background in critical care nursing combined with their expertise in anesthesia care uniquely equips them to meet complex health care needs and care for some of the nation's sickest patients, including veterans.

Now therefore, I am Angelo Castillo, mayor of the city of Pembroke Pines, and on behalf of the city commission, hereby proclaim the week of 01/18/2026 as National Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist's Week in the City Of Pembroke Pines. Congratulations and thank you for everything that you do.

Thank you everyone. On behalf of Barry University located here in your neighborhood in Hollywood, Florida where we train over 200 CRNAs to be our future providers of health care in critical access hospitals, such as your Memorial Regional Hospital as well as Memorial Miramar. We are very proud of this week that we have here celebrating thousands of CRNAs that are providing care for you, whether you know it or not, because we will be there in your perioperative area preoperatively during and after your procedure. We are there caring for you and advocating for you. So we appreciate all of your support.

And thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, commission, for this proclamation.

Thank you so very, very much for all you do. Thank you. Thank you so Is Rabbi Kalman here?

He's on his way, mayor.

He's on his way? Then I'm going to hold on to this until then. Commissioner, will you arrive to the living room?

Yes, sir.

Okay. Let's have the auditor's report, please.

Good evening. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Commission. Thank you.

Your name and title for the record.

Christie Clements from Forvis Mazars. And I'm joined by Eddie Castaneda as well.

Thank you.

Thank you. So tonight, we are providing an updated internal audit plan. As you recall, you approved it in October with a change to the utility billing audit, which now includes in its scope the billing process for waste disposal. So that has been updated. That is the update to the audit plan. We have started two of the audits, and the other audits have all been tentatively scheduled as well. So we're on track.

Okay. Mr. Dodge, city attorney, do we have a vote to make on this item tonight? Or No, I don't believe so.

It's their presentation. They'll begin it.

Okay. Any questions, commissioners? Hearing none, I want to thank you for everything that you do. And congratulations again on being named our commission auditor.

Thank you.

It's an honor. Look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with you personally and with your company.

Thank you all. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I have a request, Commissioner Rodriguez, to take number 17 out of order, if you're ready.

Yes, we can go ahead and do that.

Okay. If you would please read it into the record.

Discussion and possible action to delegate the vice mayor to represent the city of Pembroke Pines at the Rotary Club meeting and the Mayor Marching, Pembroke Pines Chamber of Commerce, the designation shall rotate annually upon the appointment of a new vice mayor. I wanted to make I know that there was a question regarding attendance on the night memo. This was part of the conversation that we previously had regarding the Rotary Club. I think it's really important for all of these entities that we help represent in some way and participate in the city of Pembroke Pines to have a point of contact, to have what we're calling here a delegate. It doesn't necessarily mean everybody else is not allowed to attend these events.

I know that I attend a lot of the Chamber of Commerce events. I will start attending the Rotary Club as well as the Kiwanis Club, all these other entities. So just because one person is designated delegate, it's more of a point of contact. It doesn't mean any of us are obviously barred from attending these events as well. And I encourage all of us to continue to participate in these events.

Okay. Before we have additional discussion, I will take your presentation as a motion.

Yes.

Is there a second to the motion? I'll second it. Seconded by the vice mayor. Discussion?

Yes, Mr. Mayor, please. So I thank you for bringing this item forward and things of this nature. Certainly, all of us are to support all of our community groups. I'm just a little cautious about adding on additional responsibilities to the vice mayor role, because this is what we're doing, right? We're basically saying that the vice mayor has a responsibility to attend these meetings. Is that correct? And so

No, the vice mayor is the name delegate.

Meaning?

Like I mentioned, a point

of contact. It's more ceremonial than it is. It's not like your role at the MPO where you're a voting delegate on behalf of the city or Commissioner Rodriguez's role at the state and at the local league, where she is our delegate for voting purposes. It's really more of a point of contact, which is a designation. But it really is more ceremonial and more in the sense of recognition of the group than anything

else. All of

us will be attending as many meetings as we can. And we're all equally contactable by the groups. So it's really sort of different. Whereas your role on our behalf at the MPO and Commissioner Rodriguez's role is substantive because you are voting delegates and you have to vote on behalf of the city. In some cases, there's weighted voting that's involved. This is not like that. This is a very different sort of a thing.

Okay. So I approach this then from an angle of perception. Because as a delegate and Mr. Mayor, thank you for that explanation. I am, however, concerned that there's a potential that if a vice mayor designate because it will change has commitments that prevent irregularity in attendance, of which we all have commitments.

And the inability to make a meeting or two or three or four or more because of those commitments, because that's how they work, that it could be deemed as failing to deliver on a responsibility. And I don't want that perception to exist for any of us.

It doesn't.

Would you accept that we do something similar to how we do the League of Cities directors appointment in which there's one main person that attends. But in the case of failure to attend for that specific date or something like that, we can simply ask and let somebody else know that they could be in attendance.

So that led us to difficulties here on this day or so before. We've already experienced that. And I really appreciate it, but I can't accept that either. I am asking my colleagues I don't know if there's a way to better define this, I think I understand what the intentions are. If you're the vice mayor, then you have the opportunity to be the first say, so to say, on some of these things.

I mean, currently, for instance, we have staff that represents the city, for instance, at the chamber, but not at any of these other organizations. And I see that you're trying to get that extension of involvement, which I agree, too. I just am very I'm asking that we think about the position that we may be putting ourselves in in the event that we just, for some reason, can't make it on a regular basis. I

say that I think it's a point well taken. I would say, commissioner, that we just do what we've always done, which is when someone can't be at a meeting, you just ask someone to cover for you. I've gotten calls from Vice Mayor Hernandez saying I can't be at a particular meeting and would you cover for me. I've called you on occasion. I've called Commissioner Rodriguez on it. I've called everyone on occasion saying, I can't be at a particular place. Can you cover? If there's a conflict and you can't cover, someone will be there. Because you'll take the step of calling a colleague so that it can be covered. And sometimes you don't have to always be there.

The designation doesn't require your presence at all times. It was never intended to be that way. I see Alan Snyder here, who's the president of the rotary. He completely understands that. I committed to him that I would go separate not being the delegate, but justice mayor to give them a state of the city discussion at least once a year.

And I'm happy to do that. So it's really more of an informal sort of a role rather than what you do at the MPO, or what happens at the league, is a designated person from the city to be authorized to vote on our behalf on the items before them. This is much more or less substantive. It's more in a ceremonial way. It's really more, if anything else, it's a recognition to these two particular groups. And that might be a list that grows. But at least for now, these are the two that have been

suggested. Mayor, so commissioner, you're making some sense here. I know you and I have attended breakfast together in the last year. Commissioner Rodriguez is frequently at the chamber. When I read this, I was maybe following along the lines of Commissioner Goode of when Mayor Castillo had said, listen, I'm not going to make all the chamber breakfasts, but the vice mayor will be in my place, I presume that's the role of the vice mayor.

Former Mayor Ortiz, whenever I served in that role, whenever he would call me, I was there. That was a one year obligation that we all rotate, and we do. I think when it comes to what the organization's perceptions would be is if someone is designated as a representative, they would expect that individual to It's be

a delegate. It's a delegate. That's what the Represent language

the city designation oh, hold on. Delegate, possible delegate, Okay. As a delegate, the organization will be expecting the vice mayor of the city of Pembroke Pines to be there. That's the expectation. Now,

we I don't agree that that's the expectation. That's not an expectation at the chamber or at the rotary.

Well, mayor, we can have disagreement. When you asked us to do these things, when Commissioner Good was vice mayor, he was consistently there at the chamber. Why? Because I was in attendance with him at the city's table. So there's an expectation when the individual sitting to the mayor's right.

That's the role of the vice mayor. So Commissioner Rodriguez, I find this item to be extremely appropriate and warrants the conversation of who shall the Rotary Club expect to be there the majority of the time. It's important to the community that the elected official who appointed to be at a function like this, that they make it the majority of the time. They don't expect us to be there 100% attendance, whether it's the rotary, whether it's the chamber, or any other organization that we invest our time in. Except for,

of course, the MPO and the league, because those

are voting delegates. They can be. They always are. They can be when they have meetings. That's correct. So I'm willing to support the item in concept. For me, I just need to there's an expectation of all of us. To date, we've been together now for how many months since April '4. I have yet to receive a call or a text asking me to cover anybody.

I don't have

receive the emails, don't we?

I do not have a phone call or a text from any of my colleagues. Because we're not allowed to contact each

other, the So secretary said

allow me to rely upon, well, listen, I can't make it. Let's go. I can't subscribe to that if I don't have the confidence that someone will pick up the phone or send a text. So to Commissioner Good's point, I'm more than happy to support this. I just need to put this in the context as far as what the process is going to be.

So we can make it part of the process that if the person is not able if the vice mayor at the moment is not able to attend, to let the secretaries know. Because in an ideal situation, we aren't having contact with one another unless something of an emergency comes up might be the easiest way because it's a more direct contact. But I know that we've received multiple emails in the case that the mayor is not able to attend some of the celebrations at the schools, things like that. We've all received emails saying, hey, who can cover this?

Who can cover? Correct.

So you want to run it like that?

I think

that Well, would mean,

that's a perfect example of schools. And it's inevitable that it would happen with all the schools that we have in the city. I'm sometimes booked at the same time at three different schools to do honor roll. I can't be at three different places at once. And so I give it to the staff to see if we can't get a representative. Sometimes we can. Sometimes we cannot. Alan? You have to come forward if you want to speak.

We'd love to hear from you, but it has to be on audio.

There's a button that you press right underneath.

And thank you for doing the good work that you do, sir.

Got it. Okay.

Your name and address

for Okay. The Alan Snyder. I'm the board of directors for the Rotary Club of Miramar Pines. And I live at 730 Southwest 191st Street in Pembroke Pines. So I certainly understand what you're saying. But as an example, Yvette Coburn has represented Miramar for the last eight years. She attends maybe quarterly. But we've also done several like this year, we did two projects that they solicited our help for. And they, in turn I think I'd mentioned the first time I spoke, they gave us a stipend. But it was a mutually beneficial situation arrangement.

And Jose, our president, I think there was a sister city project. It was a house cleaning project, where they needed resources just to help. There was no commitment for timing. She could come. And it wasn't scheduled. Usually when she came, as Mayor Castillo said, she would give a little update about what was going on in the city, blah, blah, blah. And there is no commitment. And as I mentioned last time, one of the prior commissioners was a member here with our club for about seven years. And she helped us with projects like we put on a Breakfast with Santa program. And she helped coordinate it.

And the time was basically just giving us a contact, a person to go see. There is no set commitment. It doesn't mean

you have To to be there. Alan's point, Vice Mayor Seifl,

GREGORY

she was always there. She always there. That's right. She was there for seven So between her and Yvette, you had Miramar and Pines. And I know Vice Mayor Colburn has been a part of the organization for years, irrespective of whether she's vice mayor or commissioner.

Everyone is invited to go to all meetings. No one's foreclosed from going to the meetings. Is there any further comments? I have one question. Yes, Vice Mayor. Will your breakfast be as good

as the Miramar family? We

have luncheon meetings. I got to give a shout out

to Christina Golding and the Club nineteen group. That bacon and those scrambled eggs and those breakfasts.

We used to meet at Club nineteen for many years. After COVID, they couldn't handle those.

We got a long agenda. Any other comments? Mr. Mayor. I'll just make Bottom line is I'll make some final comments here. And so don't want to be misrepresenting listen, I've been the president of the Rotary Club, your Rotary Club. I've been the president of the Kiwanis Club. And I've been president of several other civic organizations. So I understand clearly all the work that you do and the efforts that it takes for membership and things of that nature. I'm just simply asking my colleagues to consider the perception of a designation that you may find difficult to defend because we chose to do this.

And the reason being is because the word delicate has serious meaning to me. It's not just a word because we use the word delicate as you have several times here, Mr. Mayor. And so I wonder if my colleague would consider a renaming of this as not maybe being a delegate, but maybe being an ambassador.

I'd love to suggest that. I seconded it, but I'll

cite whatever you guys put up. Right. Just as being an ambassador for these organizations, that has a different GREGORY

meaning. It kind of fills in a little bit about the conversation that we were having

Who has to make the

motion? Well, is it a friendly amendment? Friendly amendment. And you second the friendly I second the friendly amendment. Okay. So it's ambassador to the two organizations. Anything further? Anything from the public? Seeing none, all those in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed? Passes unanimously. Thank you very, very much. Thank you. And item 17 is resolved. You're scheduled

to attend on May 14.

I work with It's in my calendar. I promise to be there. Rabbi, will you come forward, please?

Mayor, may I join you? Mayor, may I join you?

The Holocaust is one of the blackest marks on the history of humanity. It is unbelievable. It is a terrible time. And it is a miracle that some of us, very few, survived. I was born on 05/26/1938 in Poland in the city of Lviv.

But when I was three years old, the Germans came to Lviv. They invaded our city in 1941, the day my youngest sister was born. It is very important that from generation to generation, we tell the story and it will never be forgotten. Because if we don't look into the past, it might repeat itself.

Thank you very much. There are a number of videos that we have recorded over the years from residents in the city of Pembroke Pines who were in the Holocaust. And we preserve those. We use them in schools. And we certainly put them out this time of year so that people never ever forget.

This is a proclamation of the city of Pembroke Pines, Florida on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, whereas January 27 is recognized as International Holocaust Remembrance Day by the United Nations General Assembly commemorating the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp, And 01/27/2026 marks the eighty first anniversary of that liberation, serving as a moment of solemn reflection on one of the darkest chapters in human history. And whereas we remember and honor the 6,000,000 Jews systematically murdered by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime, as well as the millions of others innocent victims, including people with disabilities, political dissidents, Roma, LGBTQ individuals, and others who were targeted for persecution and extermination. And whereas the International Holocaust Remembrance IHRA definition of antisemitism defines antisemitism as a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews, including rhetorical and physical manifestations directed toward individuals, communities, institutions, and religious facilities. An international holocaust remembrance dead stands as a solemn reminder of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, and antisemitism. And whereas the city of Pembroke Pines reaffirms its commitment to human dignity, tolerance, and mutual respect stands firmly against antisemitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination and recognizes the shared responsibility to preserve the lessons of the Holocaust as a cornerstone of our collective memory while honoring the resilience and courage of survivors who rebuilt their lives and communities.

Now therefore, I, Angelo Castillo, mayor of the city of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and on behalf of the city commission, do hereby proclaim 01/27/2026, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day in the city of Pembroke Pines. I call upon all residents to join in solemn remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust to educate themselves about the history and its lessons and to recommit to building a more just, tolerant, and compassionate society free from antisemitism and hatred of any kind. Thank

you very much. I'm truly heartened to be able to receive something like this, especially with everything that has happened over the past few years. It's very heartening to see that this city is welcoming to everybody and that Jewish people don't have to fear. And really, no one has to fear. This is a place that's great to live. We feel safe, and we greatly appreciate all the city officials that make that possible. I'd like to thank Commissioner Schwartz as well, and all the commissioners as well. Thank you for doing what you do, making us feel welcome. And we look forward to being a contributing community within the community and to keeping it safe for everyone. Thank you very much.

Rabbi, when I had the honor to be a part of the manure lighting ceremony at Walnut Creek, I didn't tell you that in spite of what happened in Australia, just a couple weeks before that, I learned that members of my family on my father's side perished in the Holocaust. I'm going to be 55 years old next month, and they hit me like a ton of bricks. The Jewish people are resilient, And you're safe here. Thank you, mayor, for doing this.

Thank you. The city of Pembroke Pines is a place where hatred and twisted hearts find no welcome. And that goes for antisemitism. It goes for racism. All of those isms that bring out the worst in us are not welcome here.

That's not who we are. We are a people of a very diverse, very proudly diverse city that celebrates the best and looks toward the best in everyone. And so, Rabbi, thank you so much for all you do in the faith community. And we will see you very, very soon at one of the prayer breakfasts. You're always invited.

Thank you. Okay, I have one speaker signed up. Troy Wilson. If you will come forward, please, your name and address for the record.

Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, commissioners, city manager, city attorney. This commission has individually and collectively always been great supporters of our police officers.

And the members of the FOP Pembroke Pines Lodge one hundred ninety seven are grateful for your support. Today, members of the police department, officers from other departments, residents, business owners, and friends have gathered here to show their support for Detective Scott Koushai and Sergeant Joel Charisma. A positive relationship between the city, the police leadership, and its employees is crucial to successful operations. This is not only good practice, but it is mandated by law. The public policy of this state, outlined in Florida State Statute 447.201, and the purpose of the Public Employees Relations Act, is to promote harmonious and cooperative relationships between government and its employees, both collectively and individually, and to protect the public by assuring at all times the orderly and uninterrupted operations and functions of government.

In very basic terms, we are required to work together to serve in the best interests of the citizens and taxpayers of the city. FOP Pembroke Pines Lodge one hundred ninety seven was chosen to represent the two forty five officers, detectives, and sergeants who are the very backbone of this police department. Scott Kushai is their duly elected president. It is while serving that function and capacity that we believe that Scott Kushai and Joel Charisma have been unjustly treated. But this issue goes far beyond labor representation and workers' rights into a more significant and sacred matter, their individual constitutional rights and freedoms.

As Americans, any infringement upon our constitutional rights is a serious matter. The FOP will not sit idle while any member's constitutional or state rights are being violated. The FOP is not looking for a fight. But we will always defend and support our members when necessary. The FOP feels that the actions of the chief in this matter have strained the important relationship that must exist between labor and management.

The mission statement of the FOP advocates for improving the efficiency of law enforcement profession to establish public confidence in its police agencies. We fear that the management of the Pembroke Pines Police Department may not feel the same way. We are here to respectfully remind the commission that this matter has not yet been resolved and is continuing to create internal strife within the agency. The FOP is always ready to receive and consider reasonable settlement solutions. However, nothing has been forthcoming. We respectfully urge the commission to closely monitor this matter because it's an issue that touches all of us. Thank you for your time. We look forward to many years of positive and ongoing working relationships with the city. Thank you.

Thank you very, very much. City attorney?

Mr. Mayor, if I may, and forgive the interruption, just a couple of observations for you. The public certainly under state law has a right to be heard under public comment. And you've accepted that public comment from the gentleman who's speaking before you at the podium. I have to remind you, however, for the record and for the purposes of your relationships with each other and with the folks on the other side of this dais that there are three things happening at the moment that you may be well aware of and should be made well aware of, that I'm going to ask that you not comment or provide your response this evening in connection with anything spoken to by the speaker, Not out of disrespect for him or the folks sitting in the audience, but because of the good faith bargaining that has existed and has gone on.

The problem and the challenge for you, mayor and commission, is that right now there are some pending litigation matters. There's a federal court lawsuit currently pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. That's a matter which is in the hands of a federal judge. There is also, as mentioned by the speaker, a chapter four forty seven impasse proceeding. What's impasse? You know what it is. You had it before. There's discussion going on right now before what will be an arbitrator appointed by state statute to conduct a hearing. Hearings and reviews and activities such as that are typically required to be under oath. And the person that's considering and reviewing those matters is either a judge or an arbitrator.

You are neither. You're neutral. You are advocates on behalf of the city. You're not a judge. You're not an arbitrator. The consequence of which is whatever good faith bargaining has occurred, offers that have been made or not made, those issues are now currently before another venue, one of which is in federal court, one of which is before an arbitrator to be appointed under the rules of the Public Employees Relation Commission, under the statute cited by the speaker, chapter four forty seven. You're engaged in that discussion. That's the place where these discussions must and shall occur under state law. Even though you may seek to comment, even though you would like to comment or have an interest in commenting out of your own better interest for those folks sitting on this side of the dais and those sitting in the audience and those sitting outside the building. I'd urge you not to.

And I'd be happy to answer any questions. But I'd urge you to consider my comments as being the best legal advice I can offer to you to protect the interests of all parties, not just yourselves and those affected by it, but all parties concerned. Thank you, Mayor Kamish.

Thank you very much for your testimony. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. Today's consent agenda consists of items one through 13 with the exception of item four, which was pulled, correct? So it's one through 13 with the exception of item four, which was pulled. Is there a motion?

I'd like to pull item 13 as commissioner.

Hold on one second, please. 13, Commissioner Good. Anyone else? Anyone from the public wish to pull an item from the consent agenda? Seeing none, there a motion there was a second as well? Motion. You moved it. Is there a second?

Who moved it? Who it? I moved it.

She's moved it. You're second?

And Tom pulled it.

And Tom pulled an item, right? I'll second there. Are all of the items except for the one that the commissioner pulled.

I'll second. I was just trying to get clear where we landed.

All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Carries unanimously. Commissioner Good. Item 13.

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Item 13, motion to approve the negotiated agreement with Hazen and Sawyer in the amount of $6,079,965 pursuant to the award of RFQ number PSUTDash25Dash-six, Engineering Services for Ion Exchange Addition to the Water Treatment Plant for PFAS Removal in accordance with Florida Statutes 287.055, Consultant Competitive Negotiations Act.

We'll need a second to proceed.

Second.

Seconded by Commissioner Schwartz. Commissioner Good, you're recognized. Yes.

If we may, mayor, can we have a brief presentation from staff on this and then I could begin questioning? Mr. Dodd? I'm just making

statements. Jim, would you come up?

Good evening, commission, mayor, city manager, city attorney, Tim Welch, utilities director.

If you

can pull that up just a little bit.

Thank you. Just a brief introduction of this item. You may recall last year we worked through the year and we've identified that we need to update treatment in our treatment plant to comply with the rule that EPA has released. And the compliance date is April 2031. I would have to look up the specific day, but the city is employing we're requesting authorization to contract with Hazen and Sawyer.

We've gone through the CCNA process to select them among all the firms, three firms that were proposing and submitted proposals with the city. Staff, not myself, but other staff, sat on a selection committee to evaluate all the consultants. And you'll recall prior meeting that you authorized staff to proceed with the agreement, to execute that agreement with Hazen and Sawyer. And we're bringing that agreement back to you tonight to request your authorization to award that agreement and execute that agreement with Hazen and Sawyer to begin the design services. So we have design permitting and bidding services included in this item and request your authorization for SANC.

Thank you. So why I pulled this item is because I'm not in disagreement with the item. I need an opportunity to talk to my colleagues about what other things are happening here in terms of PFAS and how the government is moving forward and how they're, interestingly enough, are actually potential litigations that exist for the city in this regard. Not so much for not being in compliance, but actually for being in compliance. So I just attended a meeting late last week and didn't get additional information until earlier this week.

But what's interesting is that there is this whole concept of getting rid of the PFAS. So when you get rid of the PFAS, what do do with the PFAS? And I don't know if there's anything in this bid or this contract that speaks to how you get rid of PFAS. It's a design for how to build a treatment process that gets rid of it. But once you get rid of the PFAS, what happens to it then next? In other words, you have it in activated carbon filters, whatever. Is that correct? Is that how it captures it?

Ion exchange vessels.

Yeah. And then when they get full and loaded up full of stuff, you eventually have to replace that material. Is that correct?

That's correct. They're not regenerable, so they'll be disposed of.

Right. So this contract doesn't speak to anything about disposing of the PFAS, does it?

Well, the consultants are here tonight. This is really just a request authorization to proceed with the design. They may be prepared to talk about that. I'm not certain if they are, but they may be prepared to talk about that aspect. Jeanine, I'm not sure. Jeanine McRiffey and Monique Duran are here this evening. We may be able to get them to address that.

Yes, Commissioner Good. Good question. Good question.

Your name and association, by

the record?

Jeanine McGriffey with Hazen and Sawyer. And I can appreciate the question from Commissioner Good. It is a question many utilities have had. There is a subtask in the if you look at subtask 2.4, we are going to look at spent ion exchange disposal and what those costs will be for the city. But what Tim Welch said is correct. It does have to be disposed of. It cannot be regenerated. The ion exchange that the city uses now is regenerated, so you get more uses out of it. But because it will be removing PFAS, it has to be disposed of. So part of the task is to look at options for disposal and obviously always looking at the lowest cost options for the city.

GREGORY Okay,

great. So having said that thank you for that so to my colleagues, the conversation now is starting to get geared around, as you heard, you collect the PFAS and then you have something now that you have to get rid of. And now it's considered a hazardous waste. And what's interesting is the federal one of the ways that people were probably thinking the easiest way to get rid of this is just throw it in an incinerator and it goes away. Problem is that the federal government has actually put a moratorium on burning PFAS in that format.

So where does it go is still an issue. Because then if it goes somewhere, it can become what we call a Superfund site. And some of us are familiar with Superfund sites. If you're a participant in that contamination of that site, you get to pay for nearly the rest of your existence to mitigate it. And so this is also a call to the attorney because this is a serious issue in terms of litigation potential.

I I know that we're focused on building a process that removes the PFAS. But I'd like for us to also put a little bit more emphasis on what are you going to do when you get rid of it. Because now this becomes we're moving from a capital cost to a potential operating cost that all of a sudden is probably a little bit more than what we may anticipate because we can't burn it. And then, of course, there are processes, I understand, that you can do a destruction of the PFAS. But it's a whole bunch of other new things that you have to build in or maybe take it to a location.

So this is more about awareness, not about what you all are doing. Think, thank you, tight timeline, as my colleagues have made it very clear in past discussions. But again, too, I don't want to lose focus on what is that end product going to cause us to have to do because it's all new, right? So Mr. Mayor, that's all I really had to say about this. So thank you all for bringing that forward.

Thank you very much, Commissioner. Great point. Is there a short list of disposal options that have been identified? We will hardly be the only ones. We will be one of many in The United States that will have to face this issue. What is the array of workable, safe options for the disposal of this material?

So presently there are landfill options and incineration options, but you'll have to truck the product to locations. So that's what we'll investigate under task 2.4 is where it would go and how much it would cost and what are all your options. You are not alone. That is correct. You are not alone. Are others who will be

facing That's the why same very situation. Moving forward. This is that much of a conversation on a national level as well. And nobody has really got an answer to it yet. So

the byproduct of the process, do we have any idea what the weight of the product is or the cubic volume of it? Because when we speak to our folks in the disposal industry, that's what they typically say. It's weight and size of the truck.

Frequency of disposal, right, Commissioner? Okay. Right. It'll make a difference. So that's part of the initial part of the task is we will complete the pilot testing so that we can better gauge what the total disposal volume will be and how frequently it'll need to be

talking disposed of. About railcars? Are we talking about

No, trucks.

Trucks, yeah.

Okay. And has the federal government provided any guidance of how long one can hold it on-site until it gets transferred off-site to a final resting place?

It's a fair question. We will investigate that.

So as of now, there's no the federal government hasn't provided any guidance.

So there's a fair amount of storage available on-site. And so we will look at how frequent it needs to be trucked versus how much can be stored on-site, yes.

Okay. It's interesting. This certainly needs to be a regional approach. Can you imagine every water provider having their own disposal costs versus a regional approach, getting it to one place? My god, maybe the state of Florida would step up and do something from the state of Florida's standpoint.

Yeah, this is big. I'm glad we're meeting our goals. This is one of these hurdles we're going over today. I certainly want to all of us want to provide the best water quality possible. We just really need to be all on the same page in the state of Florida when it comes to moving stuff out.

I don't know where that will go. I can't imagine that five years Mr. Dodge, if we have everything in place running, and and now we have this byproduct, we need to have some idea of where this is going to go within a certain time frame. So what would that time frame be to answer Commissioner Good's inquiry? Are we talking about twelve months from now, six months from now, two years from now? Where are we at as far as getting an idea of what we can tell our residents.

So in the first year of the project, we will complete the pilot testing and we'll complete this task. And so we'll know how much product and how frequently it needs to be disposed of.

This is an issue we'll be paying very close attention to. And Commissioner Good, I want to thank you for bringing it forward.

I have a question.

Yes.

I don't believe that we considered this question when we were looking at all three options. Do either of the other options lessen the amount of disposal that we would have to do? Because I believe in what was presented to us I don't remember, frankly, if we talked about the disposal, or would it be the same across the board in any of these other options?

We did not discuss the disposal. But it's got to come out of the water. And Commissioner Good presents an interesting conundrum that exists at present. What do you do with this stuff? You're going to take it out of the water and you're to put it into the air through incineration? Or are you going to take it in the water and then bury it and stick it back into the water? Somebody's got to figure out what to do with this stuff. I don't know if you send a rocket ship into the sun with it. I don't what they're going to do with it. I don't know if it can be encased in some sort of I have no idea. I'm not an engineer. I don't know what they're going to I was

kind of asking

you But something's solve going to have to happen with that stuff that can

I mean,

you've got radioactive rods from the nuclear industry? And then they bury them in deep underground vaults. I have no idea what they will do with this stuff. But they will figure it out. And they will come back and they will tell us.

And we will insist that it's the environmentally safe option as other cities will. And I do like the idea of beginning to reach out to the other utilities with the same question. So once we're done taking this stuff out of the water, what do we do with it? I think that's a good idea to begin that conversation quicker rather than later. So thank you very much for your presentation. Thank you, Commissioner Good for the item. Is there anything further on this? Any from the public? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Show passes unanimously. Thank you very, very much. Okay. We are on first reading ordinances. Miss City attorney.

Thank you, mayor and commission number fourteen for the records. A motion to pass proposed ordinance number twenty twenty six-one on first reading, which is an ordinance of the city commissioner the city of Pembroke Pines, Florida, amending the code of ordinances amending section 155.203 entitled definitions to add definitions for recovery residents and reasonable accommodation, creating section 155.535 referenced as reasonable accommodation application for recovery residents, renumbering sections related to nonconforming uses to allow for future uses, providing for codification, providing for severability, providing for complex and providing for an effective date. Item 14, which is twenty twenty six dash zero on the floor for consideration. Thank you, mayor and commission.

May I

have a motion, please?

Motion to approve, Mr. Mayor.

Moved by Commissioner Good. Is there a second?

Second.

Seconded by Commissioner Rodriguez. Discussion? Any from the public? Seeing none. All those in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed? The show passes unanimously.

Mayor, if I may, quickly just to put something on the record, if I may. The commission, having considered the item on first reading, in my opinion as your city attorney, is consistent with and compliant with chapter twenty twenty five-one 182, which is the statute that was adopted this past session requiring that the governing body of each county or municipality shall adopt an ordinance establishing procedures for the review and approval of certified recovery residences within its jurisdiction. The ordinance must include a number of processes, etcetera. You are consistent with chapter twenty twenty five-one 182. And the ordinance will be heard for final reading in the month of February. Thank you, mayor commissioner.

Thank you very, very much. I always love state statutes that require us to pass an ordinance.

It was a mandate, mayor. It was not an option.

GREGORY Mayor, if we could ask the planning department to compare this with the most recent affordable housing goals, objectives, and that sort of thing. I need to see this thing kind of line up to see how this is going to impact. Because I know, Commissioner Gould, we did have discussions about micro units. Remember that day? And so now the six sixty feet, I just want to make sure that our affordable housing plan goals and all that stuff is in line with state law.

Thank you very much. Mr. Dodd, you have that note? Thank you so much. Resolutions.

Thank you, mayor and commission. Ben Mayer Reid. Number 15 is a motion to adopt proposed resolution number twenty twenty six R-one, which is a resolution of the city commission of the city of Pembroke Pines, Florida authorizing and directing the signing and submission of a grant application and supporting documents and assurances to the Florida Departments of Transportation, as the FDOT, and the acceptance of a grant award from the FDOT, and the purchase of vehicles and equipment and expenditures of grant funds directing the appropriate city officials to take any and all action necessary to effectuate the intent of the resolution providing for a conflict, for preservability, and for the record providing for an effective date. This would be item number 152026R01 on the floor for consideration. Thank

you, Moved mister by commissioner Goode, seconded by the vice mayor. Any discussion on the resolution? Seeing none, any from the public? Seeing none, all those in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed? Show passes unanimously.

To the record, very much. Permit number and for the clerk is 394139401. That's the resolution number. Thank you, mayor.

Yes, sir. Regular agenda. 16, if

I may, Mr. Mayor. Item number 16 for the record is discussion and possible action regarding the professional services agreement for building department services for Calvin Giordano and Associates on the floor for consideration by the mayor and commission. Item number 1620Five-two171.

Thanks, mayor. Mr. Dodge. 16.

Yes, mayor.

What would you like to do?

My suggestion would be that we certainly would be able to, well, forbid, but we need a little bit more than the June. I would suggest, in order to prepare the proper bid specifications, we're going to need a little bit more time. So I know the agenda addressed giving it a full year. I don't know if it requires a full year, but whatever time it takes us, our staff, to prepare the bid specifications, which we'll come back to you to review. Once we receive those, then we'll place them up for bid.

It's going to take a little bit of time for bids to be returned, staff to review them, and also to make a recommendation. So right now, they have a contract through June. I would say if we could do it through the end of the year, that would be great through December.

So the manager is recommending an extension until twelvethirty onetwenty six. Is there a motion to entertain that suggestion? Is there a motion to entertain that suggestion? I'm not hearing one. No.

I'm not hearing that. So what do you all want to do? Commissioner Good. So

Mr. Murray, this is kind of a hard element for me right now. Why? We went through this three years ago, the same situation. Contract was expiring. What was presented to us was a five year no bid at the time. There was a lot of conversation. The conversation basically boiled down to and you can always look at past meetings was that they would that this that staff

Excuse me, sir. Hold on. You said five year no bid.

Three years ago, it was presented as a five year no bid. It was reduced to a three year

GREGORY Extension.

GREGORY Extension. And the gist behind that was to give staff enough time to put a bid together. We're hearing it again. And I'm a little disappointed. You know, that's almost I mean, I have a very strong word in my head for this right now, and I'll just defer it for a later time if necessary.

But I'm disappointed. But what's even more important to me is that I'm taking this opportunity to talk to my colleagues about a different model. One of the things that I think is probably very important in this process as we go forward is to start thinking about having our building official be an employee of the city of Pembroke Pines and let the building official, is an employee of the city of Pembroke Pines, then manage the contract should we continue to outsource all these services. To me, I think it's an important move because we do have I I'm going to say me. I'm not going to speak about any of my colleagues.

But it is, again, I'll just reiterate, probably the largest area of complaint that I receive from the public. And I don't mean just Mr. And Mrs. Smith who's trying to put a door in their apartment. But I'm also talking to the other extreme where we have large companies that do business in this city that express very, very similar complaints.

And I think that if we have a building official who is an employee of the city that stays connected to the city is better positioned to help resolve some of those concerns that are created because of, I don't know, a process or because of other type of constraints or challenges that exist in order for me to receive the number of complaints that I get. So as we move forward, one of the things that I would like to see is that we have, in any future bid documents, that it'd just be for the services that would be managed by a building official that is employed by the city. And then, of course, we would have to probably create that position here as well. And I present that to my colleagues and ask for your concerns to that

or support for that. Clarification. Commissioner Good, we had this discussion a few months back in workshop. Is it your vision that the chief building official is the city employee and not the contract manager? Or are you looking at the chief building official being the contract manager?

And if it is the chief building official who has constitutional sovereign immunity over any of us here on the dais, the city manager, everybody in the building. The CBO has the ultimate constitutional authority to make

Commissioner Swartz, if I may just one quick correction to the mayor, it's not sovereign immunity. It's sovereign power. Sovereign power.

Thank you. See, that's why you're there.

Well, I appreciate

that. Thank you. I appreciate you. Sovereign power.

GREGORY He may have immunities, but the

That's

law

provides him with sovereign power. GREGORY another story.

GREGORY Yes. Thank you, Mayor.

I'm just trying to see if there's sovereign power, how would the complaint chain change as opposed to any other CBO in South Florida? Are you looking at we all receive the complaints. I had an interesting one last week. The contractor had their license revoked by the state of Florida. And the building department and staff met with the applicant to figure out how to keep their business open.

That's not in the bid spec. We can't force people to do that. Clearly, they ain't have to do that. The business owner and I, we had a great conversation. As you may recall, I was the chair of the Broward County Construction Examining Board before I was elected as a consumer advocate.

And I know this industry extremely well. Contractors who take money from business owners and residents in our city need to do their job. And if they don't do it well, I am the first one to hold them accountable, whether it be with DVPR or law enforcement. You're not going to scam people in the city of Pembroke Pines. When we had that discussion a few months ago, I was trying to figure a way how the cards would fall and how we could be better if we took that path.

I'm still opening to listening. But I like to be able to see if I could be provided a model in another surrounding city in Florida that has that model so we can investigate it more and dig in and find out if what they have is better or what we currently have is meeting the goals. The one thing that's extremely frustrating since we converted over to the Tyler system, It is not user friendly. It's extremely difficult for the nontechnical person to be able to go through and find their stuff in a way that the system was a lot more straightforward, a lot easier. Now that's on the city side.

If the city is causing the consumer issue, that's not the building department regardless of who's running the building department. So see I want how we can be more efficient, be more effective, be more accountable. And I want to thank our planning department for finally getting some video on how to pull permits and what you have to do, what to expect, yada yada yada. It's helping. And the reason why I know it's helping is because the calls I'm receiving and again, I'm one speck on Petri dish.

The calls I'm getting are a lot less now that those efforts were put in place more than a year ago from a customer service standpoint. And that's because we've had the discussion with staff of what can we do to make our phones not ring with the same issue over and over and over again. So staff has resolved some of that issue from my perspective. It may not match your perspective. The biggest threat is private provider ten years from now.

I was chastised years ago when I said that brick and mortar was going to go away. Amazon's here, brick and mortar's going away. Private provider is going to change the industry forever. Why am I saying that? Because as an individual who is in industry, my colleagues in industry not me per se, but my colleagues in industry are being asked to become private providers.

And that frightens me a bit when it comes to take a picture, take a video, and sign off a construction project. Because you're only as good as the lens, not what's behind the camera that you can't see. Private provider in this city is currently being managed by CGA. And they've done other building vendors throughout the county are doing the same because it's an existential threat to their existence. They are documenting what private provider is doing and what it's not doing.

We have directly across the street a business trying to open, but the contractor installed everything basically backwards. And they used private provider. That never would have happened had it gone through the normal chain in Pembroke Pines or anywhere else in South Florida that's providing four sixty eight services. So the state of Florida is doing its best to make it easier to get stuff signed off. If you recall, if you were here for hurricane Andrew, those standards down in South Dade changed the industry because things just fell over.

Why? Because they were basically doing drive bys back then. If you saw one house and it looked the same, you could sign off the next five. You can't do that anymore. This private fire stuff concerns me.

So the same manager has and his staff needs to bring forward a robust but laser focused bid spec so we can address the issues not ten weeks from now, but ten years from now. We have to protect the public. We have to make sure that whoever is going to be doing the services on behalf of the public are capable and can prepare for the future. So I want to let this I don't want to let this thing marinate too long, Mr. Dodge.

If this thing is ready, please bring it forward as soon as you can. And remember the discussion, Commissioner Gooden, and I concur. It should have been here, not this. I agree with you. But it's not.

So now we have to encourage the administration to bring this forward as soon as they possibly can so we can deliberate it. Mr. Dodge, if it requires a workshop, I'm open to it. I think it would be unfair at this point. Commissioner Goode and colleagues, please, I'm looking for your thoughts on this.

But I don't want to have a bid spec dropped on a commission agenda with us not having the opportunity to discuss it in advance of an actual commission meeting. I don't want to see a one hour workshop before a meeting. I want to have this thing out there. I want to have data from other municipalities and townships or whatever all over the state and see what they're doing differently. Because if we haven't changed and we can learn from someone else's paper, I'd love to do that too.

So I'd like to move forward in the most efficient way possible. But the commission needs to be involved in the thought process of administration so that we can move the city forward so we can put this in its proper place as soon as possible. Thank you.

Mr. Mayor?

Yes. We

were prepared to have something brought before the commission earlier than this. However, our recommendation was to extend the contract for three years. But having had conversations with individual commissioners, I heard that the desire was to bid this project more than give another extension. Our concern was if we divulged what we thought was a good plan and the commission decided that they wanted to bid it, it would be unfair to the company because we would have divulged what was being presented. So therefore, we changed that to say that we're going to bring back new specifications.

And what Commissioner Goode mentioned, there's a lot of things that we can bring forward as alternatives. And to have a workshop prior, certainly we can, to develop and finalize the final bid specs. But we are going to need a little bit more time to do that because we're going slightly in a different direction than we have in the past. So my recommendation stands that if we could have to the end of the year to put this together, it may be sooner, it might be August, I don't know. But I just need enough time to prepare the bid specs that everyone sees.

And it's not one-sided against anyone or for anyone.

Thank you. Vice mayor? I want

to thank the city manager. I'm one of the ones he had a conversation with on extension versus procurement. I've only been an elected official for roughly twenty months. But I think it's safe to say I've been pretty vocal on my belief that competitive bidding is better for not the administration, not for the elected officials, but for the taxpayers. I believe it's critical to routinely go out to bid, or as they say, the appropriate jargon is, I think, to the street, to determine if there is anyone anywhere who is willing to bid and willing to provide a service at a lower cost to taxpayers, because we don't fund the government.

Taxpayers fund the government. Perhaps improve service. My concern has been that no matter which government I've worked in I've worked in a few, whether it was Miami Dade County with contracts in the hundreds of millions of dollars at their airport, at their seaport I believe that if you don't go out to bid routinely, vendors get comfortable. They get comfortable. And they cut corners on customer service.

Commissioner Good, I too and I'm sure Commissioner Swartz was alluding to it I too have received complaints. Oftentimes, yes, with a YouTube video, to your point, Commissioner Schwartz. And by the way, I agree with both of you on what you said. I should have started off by saying that. My apologies.

I believe there could be better communication with residents. So I want to be very clear. I don't know how many vendors would apply for this. I don't care. I just feel it's a precedent to set for the second most populous city in the second most populous county that we are open to the potential for better deals and improvement in customer service. Mr. Attorney or Mr. Manager, my understanding is that this particular vendor has been in place since the year 2009. Am I correct on that?

I'm sorry?

That the vendor has been in place providing this service since the year 2009.

Thousand and Yeah. Okay.

I'm 43. I was still three years shy of my thirtieth birthday. I still had a flip phone. That is a long time. And while I appreciate that they do provide a service to the city, and potentially at a cost savings, and I appreciate very much I want to call him out personally.

I appreciate very much that assistant city manager Mike Stam is always available. And he hears my complaints, but he also works because you're a true professional, Mike. You work to resolve them, and I appreciate you. I have my philosophy that I believe, and I've been vocal. It's gotten a little hairy here when I've been very vocal on other procurement matters, that we should be going out to bid more often.

I think it is a best practice in government. To the point here, I am not completely opposed to a, in the event there needs to be a thirty day extension, Perhaps. I'm looking at you all. Nod your heads. Shake your heads. I don't know if that's something we need to do right now. Let me put my glasses on. I can't even see Maria's face. Sorry. I don't know if that is something we need to do right now.

I'm not opposed to a small extension in the case that we need it. Twelve months, dead on arrival with me. Six months, no. That's just my opinion. But I do thank you, Mr. Dodge, Mr. Stam, and your team. I do believe this is an excellent municipal government. I really, really do. I know Mr. Stam might not believe that I do. I do. And I appreciate what you do. I just want to see if there is an opportunity to establish a precedent to go out to bid more often and to determine if there is a better deal for Pembroke Pines taxpayers. Thank you.

Commissioner Rodriguez. So on the commentary from my colleagues, I agree. And I agree with Commissioner Hernandez that a year is too much. Six months is too much. If we have to, and maybe we don't need to decide that this evening, that thirty or sixty days would be appropriate because a bit of this size for us to workshop, for us to develop and do the right things by everyone, including obviously the taxpayers, may take more than what is it, five months that we have for the June 30 deadline, a little over five months.

So I understand that. Two concerns that I'm sure you all saw or might agree with me on is twofold. In the justification for this one year extension, there was mention of HB405. My opinion is that although, obviously, we would see that come in on July 1, as most bills do from the state legislature, It may or may not come in. We honestly couldn't even bet on what the state is planning to do.

But I don't believe it's a justification for us to extend a contract with a vendor based on what happens in state law. Because any vendor in any department in any area of what we should be doing should be flexible enough to meet the requirements of the law put on by the state. So that to me is not a justification. I looked into it. I told Mr.

Dodge that I would see a little bit more. From my understanding, yes, it impacts our vendor. But to the ability of the city, it actually impacts it more because we end up deciding what that pricing is for our fees. So the vendor may have to do some procedural changes. But in the end, the biggest burden of that does fall on us to decide what ends up happening with those fees, whether we increase them because there are so many private providers that then we can't keep the whole department afloat.

Whatever that might be, that needs to be a quick reaction on our part for us to meet whatever deadline that the state imposes for us to meet these things. I don't believe that that is justification in any realm of whatever we decide to talk about because any vendor should be able to respond in a timely manner to these things. The second one is this one really stood out to me. As part of a one year extension, administration is proposing to include language in the extension agreement with a detailed transition plan should a new vendor be selected following future procurement. A transition plan would include requirements on how the current vendor, a future vendor, and the city would address active permits in terms of plan review, inspection, and associated fees.

This is a huge red flag that it is not already in the contract. If something of a transition plan is not in the contract with a current vendor in this department or in any other department, the assumption is that that vendor would be there forever. Because we need to be prepared, as being in good governance, that any vendor will be cycled out because someone else brings us better service or better pricing, whatever it be. And it doesn't mean that we're not happy with some of our vendors, but it means that we always need to be prepared for a transition. Because you don't know what comes up.

You don't know what changes after what the typical cycle of our contracts are five years, three years. A lot can change. And if we don't have transition periods or transition language within each and every one of our contracts, then the assumption can be made that we're not looking to change anything. And it is a safeguard that we place. A lot of our contracts do get extended or get given back to that same vendor.

But it isn't fair not to include that and not be prepared for any kind of change. You never know whether in this department or any other department let's say a business goes out of business. That needs to be a part of it. And it needs to be a part of this. And I think a broader conversation needs to be had with our attorneys, with everybody who prepare with procurement, anybody who prepares these contracts that a transition language needs to be part of every single one of our contracts. And those are my points.

Thank you, Commissioner. I'm going to chime in with a couple of things. I feel that this conversation is very, very important, not just because of the item that's on the agenda, but because this is how we begin to forge our own sort of policy view, our own sort of fingerprint, if you will, as a commission on where it is that we're heading as a group. And that's very, very important because we're not ambassadors. We're decision makers.

We're policymakers. And so understanding this stuff and having a sense of policy to help direct the staff is really, really very important. A couple of things come to mind. This city, which is now 66 years old, has always sort of followed the same kind of tradition when it came to using vendors. And parenthetically, let me tell you that I recall this department when it was run directly by staff.

We had complaints then too. And when I look into these complaints, as I'm sure many of you have, here are the top number of answers that I most frequently get. Angelo, why does it take six months to get a roof replaced? Well, did you submit a permit? Yes, we submitted the permit six months ago. And we need to get this thing done. What are you guys up to? And then I called Pizzillo and I say, hey, Steve, what gives with this house? He says, what are you talking about? We don't have a permit from them.

But the contractor told the homeowner that the permit was submitted. But what the contractor needed was the down payment because that's helping to finance other work. And they will get to that work, we hope. But it hasn't been submitted. Angelo, how come it takes four weeks to get a fence permit?

I want to get this fence up. Hey, Steve. What's going on with this house and the fence permit? Well, it would help if they submitted a survey. We've been telling them like eight times on the email, please send us a survey because that's kind of important that they put the fence in the right yard.

Hey, Angelo, how come I can't get an answer on the phone to this or that or the other thing? And I call and I get the answer. And I share the answer. Nine times out of 10 it makes sense. And then occasionally, there's information that we dropped that one. We're sorry about it. We'll get it done right away. It fell through the cracks. It doesn't happen often. Nine times out of 10, when I get a complaint and you tell me if your experience is different because I want to hear that.

But I deal with the citywide now. Nine times out of 10, it's because the contractor wasn't straightforward with the submission of the permit application, didn't have all the pieces in place, or didn't submit one at all. Now, I wish to heck there was a way for there to be a check in this age of technology. And I'm looking at our good friend Kefert, the wizard. I wish there was a way that when determinations were made on the permit, that those determinations were immediately emailed to the homeowner so that there would be a check and balance on this business with the contractor.

And maybe the buildings people could think of 100 different reasons why that would be difficult or complicated. But as a homeowner, I want to know when I'm not being given the complete right answer from people. So here's that situation laid out. So a lot of these I'm getting complaints from people. When I look into them and this is just my experience as an individual elected official nine times out of 10, there's something having to do with the permit not being complete, the permit not being submitted at all.

The fees didn't come in. Something happened with the permit, which should have and could have been avoided in the first place. And then on that tenth occasion, it's something that we did or could have done to move it along faster. That's my experience with that.

Mayor, in that nine out of 10, we have contractors who contractors, state licensed contractors who don't want to pay insurance. We have side hustles that want to do stuff on Saturdays and Sundays because they wear their company's uniform, but they only work Monday through Friday. So they'll hustle a resident to fill out a homeowner builder permit, which you can do under the state of Florida under the constitution. But they don't advise the Jones's family that when the contractor falls off the roof, that their insurance is going to pay for it, their homeowner's insurance is going to pay for it. They're not informing the Joneses that they are responsible for knowing the building code.

That happens, too. And I I mean, think that is the biggest thing. I've

gone in Hold on a second. I've gone in

and I've at some of the call logs, some of the notes, and the amount of time that our administration is spending on trying to educate a homeowner who was convinced to go ahead and do their own permit but doesn't understand the state building code, how much time and effort is spent on trying to educate that family? Very difficult.

Very, very

difficult. To the point now where the majority of those folks have been a part of the code enforcement process where the work was done without the permit to begin with.

I appreciate the interjection. Getting back to what and I agree with everything you just said. We're getting back to what I was saying. So that's how I hear the complaints. I remember those complaints coming in when staff ran it. And I remember those complaints coming in when a vendor ran it for us. Now going back to how we ended up with a vendor. Once upon a time, we had a recession. And permits dried up. And we were in financial distress.

And we went to every single city employee, including commissioners, and asked them to take a cut in pay because we had to do it. Long story short, the staff in the buildings department voted not to do it through their union. We had to let them go. But we brought in a vendor. It rightsized the situation financially. That's always been my favorite song. And it rightsized the finances right away. And they even started paying us rent. Remember, Ms. Dodge?

They started paying us rent for the space that they occupied. So there was money on top of it. So there were savings as well. Now Mr. Dodge, if we went because is the thing I asked for as a commissioner many years ago, and it's been a useful exercise. If we were to go back to doing this with all city employees, how much more would this cost the taxpayers of the city?

We have done that analysis, mayor, on just about every program that we've outsourced. And it has really saved the city millions. It's a significant amount.

Okay.

So when you're dealing with a delegable service and this is a delegable service because you couldn't delegate what the police do. You couldn't delegate what Lisa Cheung does. You couldn't delegate certain things that we have to have control over. You couldn't delegate what Mark Gomes does. You couldn't delegate what Jonathan Bonilla does.

But you can delegate certain services. And it doesn't mean that they are lesser people. It just means that the private sector can be involved in that activity. I do not believe that there is any within the gambit of delegable services, I have never seen though I have heard I have never seen any less trust for a public employee play out better than a private employee. It tends to be about equal.

And the services, so long as the service is comparable and they can do it just as well for less money, the taxpayer ends up winning. Now Pembroke Pines has had a reputation as a very stable community because we don't look at contracting out and bidding and so forth as a religion or as a dogma. We look at it as an opportunity or as a burden as it relates to it either makes sense from a business perspective or it doesn't make sense. I have seen with my eyes us go to renewals versus going out to bid because the people of the city would save a ton of money that way. Sometimes you just say, Okay, we've got to go out to bid.

And then you end up lamenting that you did that once you get the paycheck. And here's the thing. Mr. Dodge hasn't said it yet, but I've seen it in the newspapers written already. We are getting ready for another era of austerity. Property values are going down everywhere in Broward. We're going to get hit. It's not that the bubble is bursting. There's simply a hole in it. And pressure is being let out.

And property values are going to come down. With that, our revenue is going to come down. Now let's add the coup de grace in Tallahassee. And who the hell knows what's going to come out of that? Though it's certainly pretty popular.

Forget about that it doesn't make sense. We live in an era right now where things that don't make sense are popular. I want to be able to figure out a way to preserve as much stability as we can while also not exposing ourselves to greater cost. If this commission decides we're going to go out to bid on a matter of that's just how we do business and that's all there is to it, even when an extension is existing and has been earned by the performance, as in my view this contract has, I believe ultimately you open yourself up to greater cost and lesser stability. However, if that is the policy of this commission, I'll be damned if I don't join you.

Just beware because that is going to be the price. You're going to feel it on stability and you're going to feel it on cost. And it's just like my dad used to say, never let better become the enemy of good. If you've got something that's good and that's working and you're heading in the right direction, stay with it because that's the smarter business approach. That's where the value proposition exists, in my view. Could I have one more moment? Are we to do what the manager says and give him time? Because Commissioner Schwartz is right. Maybe there should have been an RFP by now. There isn't.

He needs time to put it together. So are we going to agree with him? Or are we going to give him a lesser time frame? Or what are we going to do? Vice mayor.

I would not be motioning for a lesser time frame than what under our city charter the manager has the authority to do, which is June 30. So I'm going to start there. Number two, although I to the mayor's point, although I Let me interrupt you.

Yeah. Mr. Dodge, June 30? I

believe that's what it was.

It was June 30, mayor. But I don't know if we can get it accomplished by then based upon what I'm What

I meant was under the charter Mr. Goran, you have to correct me if I'm wrong under the charter, you have the authority DELL: to extend them six months as city manager, which you have done. I

the code for the reference, Mr.

The code, excuse me. Mr. Vice Mayor.

That's why you sit there, Sam. Thank you.

Is that an extension without our having to vote for it? That's something Yes, he's entitled to

terms. I can extend 180. I don't know if I can do a second or not.

Well, that's certainly an option. And if June 30 isn't enough time, you can bring another item.

That's what I was trying to get at. You can bring another item for Can I offer a suggestion?

That's a pretty good strategy there, Hernandez. Commissioner Good, Do for the moment

you have more to say? Otherwise, I'll yield.

Just wanted to say that on procurement matters, in particular, as I mentioned, I care about good government. And I appreciate everything that the mayor has said. It may surprise you. I sometimes disagree with the mayor, even though he is someone that I truly admire and look up to.

On this

one, I'm just not there. Because frankly, I do believe and I've lost votes on this I just believe that, number one, if you have a culture of competition, not every year that's impossible. You can't do that. But every so often, sometimes the incumbent wins. In fact, I'm willing to bet most of the time they do.

And sometimes they don't. But I firmly believe, although I consider myself a Christian, I know you mentioned religion or dogma, I am a member of the procurement religion or dogma. And that is just it's nothing I want to be very clear. There's nothing personal here against the vendor Calvin Giordano and Associates. There's nothing personal from my perspective against the administration. I have praised the administration, especially when you're looking to lower costs and provide service efficiently. But I believe in procurement. Thank you.

I think, if I may, I know that we haven't always gone out to, but obviously we extended the contract with Jacobs. There was also in that justification a 50,000,000 to $80,000,000 project. The golf course thing was also an extension. There have obviously been some exceptions that we consider. This and the justifications given here do not merit that kind of exemption, in my opinion.

So Mr. Mayor, if I may.

Yes, sir.

So a lot of things were commented. Like three years ago, the whole point was to put a bid together. It didn't come. It waited until it needed an extension by the city manager even before it even reached us for any kind of conversation. That didn't happen.

You know, these proposed bills, I agree, commissioner Rodriguez, insignificant in in the scheme of what what all we're looking at. And, you know, going out to bid is a very important thing. So we need to get to a point of of agreement. So I I'm recommending, mister mayor, that what we do now is we there's no action that needs to be taken today because, obviously, the city manager has already executed on his ninety day and ninety day. He's already given him. Yeah. It's a ninety day and a ninety day, if I'm not mistaken. Is that correct?

One hundred

eighty. One hundred One eighty.

Okay. But

again, leaving a blank, yeah, get back to us when it can be done, is not something that I'm very comfortable with because we've already had a promise broken to us. And now we're bearing the responsibility that is unfair to us. So the next meeting, what I would recommend is that the city manager brings back to us a timeline with milestones of what it would take for him to get this to that bid process, to an award process. And we would have to agree to that schedule. We would have to agree to the timelines because the timelines become the measure of performance, of making sure that we stay on track.

Because in the absence of having milestones, we're going to be six months from now having a conversation like this again where we have no other choice but to do an extension or else not have the service provider.

Can we add a cap to that timeline? Because if the Well, timeline comes

can back I say this?

Let the city manager bring the timeline to us, and we have to agree to it. And so if the timeline's too long, then let's have discussions about how it can be shortened. Putting a cap on it is I think that's the time we have a talk we have a conversation about it, is once we see what the city manager, what the milestones are, and what he believes he needs time to get done. So I'm just making that as a suggestion, Mr. Mayor. I think it would kind of help us in the next meeting. We can have this conversation a little bit more in detail on what's going to be done. But again, I think the milestones are the performance measures to ensure that we get this to closure.

Okay. Mayor? We have the public that wants to speak. So some final brief thoughts, Yeah. Mayor, there's a

lot of experience up here on this dais. We know how long procurement's supposed to take. So if there were bid specs today and we put it out on the street, we're a solid sixty days out. And those are Maybe. Those are like the absolute minimums.

The manager needs more than June 30. That's tomorrow's motion. Well, I'm just saying that realistically, we're going to be returning here on February 4. The manager is going to have a timeline that doesn't change procurement, which is at minimum sixty days. So just keep that in mind.

We don't meet in July, and we don't have a transition plan. So there is absolutely no legal obligation for a vendor to continue. And we certainly experience this with towing and garbage. That's right. Remember? Oh, very clearly.

I know you. Many times we went out to bid. This, we haven't gone out

to bid. Here's the thing, though. When the manager went out on both of those items, things got better. We wound up with two towing vendors. And our bulk has been amazingly better.

We got better because the adults in the room here work like adults. And we challenge folks to bring back better. I'm not opposed to the city manager putting together bid specs in the way that he feels is appropriate. Timeline wise, I don't want to be in that position that we were in with those other two services having to make a decision. So the city manager do we have a consensus, Mayor, that the manager will bring something back in the first or second meeting?

We don't have

a motion before us, so there could be nothing other than a consensus. And mister Dodge is very good about taking notes about what all of us say. And Commissioner Good's comments are in there along with the rest of ours. And he knows what his flexibility is. So are there any other additional comments? I have to go to public comment. I start with Mr. Giordano or Mr. Pizzillo. If either one of you wishes to speak, you're invited to do that now. You don't have to. You're not required. But if you'd like to come forward you Okay?

I am. Thank

you. There's a button there. Vice mayor, if you would.

Good evening. Thank you very much. Chris Giordano, Calvin Giordano, Associates. Just want to thank the commission, mayor I'm sorry.

Your address. I'm sorry.

1800 Eller Drive, Suite 600, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33316. Just want to take this opportunity to thank the mayor, the vice mayor, the commission, mister manager, mister attorney, mister clerk, for being able to continue to serve the city and the residents of the city of Pembroke Pines. We take great pride in what we do and the team behind me as well. I think there were some great comments made this evening. We are an enforcement agency. Unfortunately, there will always be some bad actors, like we talked about the contractors and things like that. But we're very proud of the data backed turnaround times that we have here. We now issue a report card to the staff each month. Happy to say that the average turnaround for all structural plan reviews is just over three days. Electrical, three days.

Mechanical, under three days at 2.8. Plumbing at two days. Average turnaround for all plans that ran through the city, thousands and thousands of permits under three days. That is data backed from the city's system. Commercial reroofs, one point six days. Water heaters, two days. Reroofs, two point two days. Fences, one and a half days. Windows and doors, two point two days. We just ask that in the RFP process that there is requests and scores given for data backed results, not open ended promises.

And we ask that you speak with other vendors that have worked with the folks that are submitting those. I think that is the litmus test for a sales pitch versus a multi decade relationship with a client. We are in the fabric of the community here and happy to do so and will continue doing so. So thank you very much.

Have a great evening.

Mr. Vice Mayor, may I ask

you a question?

Oh, go ahead. Sorry.

Could you

just please thank you,

by the way.

I'm sorry? Thank you for coming up and speaking. Absolutely. Just for me, for clarity purposes, when you speak around turnaround time, good, because you rolled off a bunch of numbers is that the amount of time that it takes to get a comment back to an applicant, or is that an approval?

GREGORY So we don't get to dictate whether it's an approval or not. If we do not receive approvable plans, we are bound by our licenses and our duty to protect life and property. So that is the time from receiving a plan to responding to that plan. And that response is an official response. It can be a rejection or it can be an approval. We can't dictate what is submitted. Thank you.

So it's just a comment in return? Correct. That is a turnaround. Thank

It's not just a comment in return. It's an interaction with an applicant. In the building world, they can't grade the paper until they receive it. So if we have contractors who have their license revoked, if don't file, have their insurance if there's not a survey. I don't care what vendor it is.

You can't hold those folks accountable for someone else's problem. It's a matter of the response. When we get emails, trust me, if we don't respond in two point two days, we're going to get another email. And that's not us. So our interaction with the public, that's what we measure, is how many days or how many hours, how many minutes it takes us as elected to respond. And so that's just how the building department works. And again, this Tyler system oh.

Thank you for your answer.

Can I clarify just one item? That is an

only asked a simple question. I didn't ask for a dialogue on all this stuff. It was a simple question. What does a turnaround mean? You answered it. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Do you have something to add, Mr. Bezil? My security guard's here.

Steve Yeah. Bizzill, 1800 Eller Drive. And I am your building official. I just wanted you all talked about us and interactions. Taking the last report card I just did for you, which was for the first quarter, if you extrapolate out the numbers, we will have 160,000 interactions with our customers over fiscal year.

It's a huge number. It comes out to about $800 a working day, dollars 800 per working day. So it's a large number, and we're doing our best. And for example, talked about Commissioner Schwartz, you talked about insurances. When I got here, those permits were immediately rejected and sent back just for stuff like that. We've changed the pattern where we notify the contractor that their insurances need to be updated, but we still allow it to go through the process. And if it's good, then they can get it out on the end room, not wait for a whole another submission. Thank you very much.

And Mr. Mayor, I may want to just Steve, for just a moment. I just want to say my comments about a billing official being employed by the city is no reflection on you. I thank you. Any time I've called you, you've been very, very responsive. I do appreciate that. Thank you.

Mr. Lerner.

Good evening, Commissioner. Mr. Mayor. Your

name and your address for the record, please.

My name is Gil Lerner, 1958 Northwest 74th Avenue, Pembroke Pines, Florida 33024. I just wanted to make some comments back that you were saying that contractors are complaining and asking, Mr. Mayor, why is it taking this long to do this? Why does it take sometimes it's not the contractor that's deficient in either paperwork or procedure. But sometimes it's the actual and I don't know what the problem that or if there is a problem at all with CGA, if you're trying to get rid of them or you're trying to just bring more people into this ability to GREGORY Am I trying your route?

No, for the benefit of the cities, to give other people opportunities. I don't know what the problem is. I don't care. It's none of my business. My care is that when I came here, when you mentioned homeowner building permits, I was turned away. So that is a direct reflection of a deficiency in the knowledge and professionalism and the services that get rendered when a mistake is done. And then who pays for it? The taxpayer. So, I mean, I'd love to hear some comment regarding that because I've had experiences where the stat has been severely wrong. And I'm not here to punish anybody.

I'm a lover. I'm not a fighter. But unfortunately, sometimes you have to put yourself in a position to be a fighter because for people, you've got to treat everything accordingly. So with all due respect, I've had an issue with that. And I just would like to hear how like, what's the flip side?

Where's the responsibility? Where's the accountability when it's on the other side of things? Because you make it sound like and don't take this the wrong way that everything and everyone is always right behind the dais and the opinion. And having gone through that, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about that. And with having an employee in the city, I think that threatens the integrity of the building department because it's going to create grounds for collusion.

And you need a third party like Calvin Giordano but that is separate that is watching over all that and does have their own immunities as a company to call out who they need to as they need to without any hold back. Thank you very much. This is a commission of five

differently organized thinkers with one mission to try and do the right thing. And we come at issues in our own way. I have seen every member of this commission come at an issue because it was the right thing to do, but not their preference. I have seen any number of combinations. But the combination that I've never seen is us thinking that we're infallible.

That's not what I was suggesting. It probably came out wrong. But the way it came out, at least to me, it was interpreted as if it's always the contractor, not building department. Well,

think we have said, at least I have said, that in my experience and that's twenty two years dealing with this issue nine times out of 10, there's a deficiency in the application, assuming there is one. And about one in 10 times, and they're very good whether it's the buildings department or the water department or the parks department or the police or the fire department, they're very good at saying, I dropped this one. Because they know that this commission is not the spiteful, vindictive type that is going to hold it against them. I wish that we were right nine out of 10 times.

Why not 10 out of 10, you know?

But I think that when get past that mini hurdle and you look at the bigger picture, it's a hell of a city here in Pembroke Pines. And one of the things that I'm most proud of is how few fires we have. The fire department is hardly ever mentioned in connection with the buildings department. They are joined at the hip. More than any other reason, it's protection against fire and property destruction.

That's the only reason we have permits. Otherwise, think we do permits in order to make money. We don't do that. It's a fee. The fee that is paid for the permit pays for the assurance that what the contractor is going to give you is in accordance with the law, which is built around keeping us all safe. That's what this whole thing is about.

And in response to that, a lot of people don't pull permits because of the issues that they deal with because they get to a blockade where they're I stuck.

Totally understand. You'll notice I did not press the button on time because I know that you

have I'm sorry. A particular

No? I know that you have a particular issue. And so to give you some extra time out of And I really appreciate your comments. Does anyone else have any other comment that they want to make? Seeing none, I think the discussion was a good one, a healthy one. And Mr. Dodge, you have all the notes. Yes, I do, mayor. And I want to thank all of us here and the public for your comments on that. The next item is

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Lerner. Thank you, commissioner. The next item is reports of the league and the MPO representatives. Commissioner Good, what's new with the MPO? We didn't have a meeting yet. Oh, yeah. That's right. You had said that at the last meeting. Well, we thank you for your representation there.

Thank

you. Commissioner Rodriguez, what's going on with the league?

So we had our directors meeting. And a large part was actually presented by our own city attorney regarding the ethics changes at the county level. I believe we also received a memo on this. That is a good summary of what that was. They also mentioned some activities that they would be taking on during Broward Days. But the majority of the conversation was on what Sam has already, if I'm not mistaken, spoken to each of us about regarding the ethics changes from Broward County.

Thank you very much. I know that you weren't able to make the dinner, you called me, and I attended on your behalf. Shane Strum was the featured speaker. He is the CEO of both Memorial and Broward Health. And he was there to talk about his initiative, Better Together.

And there is a bill that is in Tallahassee now. It is not a merger bill. He was very clear about that. But it is a coordination bill between the two hospital districts in Broward. His attorneys feel that there's a need for some additional information or rather some additional legislative authority in order to be able to pool certain resources, collaborate in certain ways, reduce costs in some others, improve services in some others.

He was very, very good about laying out what Better Together was about. And I appreciated that. I know Mary Jo will have notes for you that you can review. And it was my pleasure to cover for you at your request. So thank you very much for that.

I will be going to the US Conference of Mayors meeting before we meet again in February. And that will happen toward the end of this month. And I will be taking up there with me Commissioner Good's discussion because I'm on the water committee there. And I'm going to be asking folks, and I'm going to be asking the professionals there, what do you do with this stuff? It's a great question, among others. And when I get back, I'll be providing you with that update. Mr. Manager, do you have anything?

No, mayor. I'm fine.

Mr. City Attorney,

do you No, But thank you for the opportunity.

Could I just jump in for one second? It's not an item. Yes, sir. I wanted to recognize Pines Charter Junior who reached out to me because she would like to learn more about our government. She took the initiative. And I met her in person at the Pines Charter boys varsity basketball game, Emily who's here.

Oh, yes, I remember you.

Yeah. We were all yelling that night. Sorry. We were watching a basketball game.

Yeah. I was there too.

I wanted to thank you and also Principal Bayer for I let him know that you had reached out to me. So I want more students like you reaching out to our elected officials and wanting to learn about their government. So thank you so much. I wanted to introduce her.

That's terrific. All right. Commissioner Rodriguez, you have an item, 18.

Yes. Thank you. So I'll read it into the record. Discussion and possible action regarding the 2023 economic development strategic plan, the 2023 economic development strategic plan update, the plan, has not been yet formally and publicly adopted by the city commission. Commissioner Rodriguez, in partnership with the due diligence and efforts of Imani Sanchez, a Harvard Kennedy School Masters in Public Policy candidate and an intern with the Office of the City Commissioner Maria Rodriguez, has reviewed and analyzed the plan.

Ms. Sanchez will be prepared to present her analysis, findings, and policy recommendations related to the plan, including opportunities to strengthen the city's economic development framework, align strategies with current demographic and regional trends, and identify priorities for implementation. It is the commissioner's request and intention for the city commission possibly to direct the city administration regarding the plan, include next steps, and the prioritization of economic development initiatives for the upcoming year. So Imani, please come forward. And while she does that, very proud to be able to open my office and the access to city government to bright students, not only Imani for just winter break, but Camilla Leon, who has been with my office for about a year now.

So we are definitely been in the work of internships and making sure that the work that they do in my office is presented here as well. This is of a timely manner because Imani has to go back to school, actually. But she is going to present some of her findings here. I want to acknowledge that, obviously, there is nothing necessarily wrong with the plan, the economic development plan. A lot of things happened in the time where that was finalized.

And even I wasn't here for that. So it was never formally adopted. This is simply opening the conversation for that adoption, hopefully possibly, to take place. But because it has been two years, I think we need to kind of go back in and maybe not adopt it right away. But consider some of the changes that have happened in the last two years, really bring forth our expertise and our knowledge on this, and tie it into some of the discussions we had regarding communications previously.

This and Emoni will speak on it more in-depth. But the one part that stood out to me was the branding portion and the city's image as a whole. And we've had conversations regarding our website in the future. And so I think these all come in a very timely manner. And I'll let Emanue present. There is the blue sheet. I request administration to print that for you. She will be going over that. And it was part of the exhibit as well. So Emanue, take the floor. Thank you.

So Amani wrote me an email and told me about her work, her studies at the Harvard Kennedy School. And it took me back to my own experience there not quite thirty years ago. And I knew exactly where to send her commissioner. I sent her to you because I knew that in your capable hands, she would come up with a terrific assignment. And if you would just state your name for the record, please, and then proceed with your presentation. Thank you.

Yes. So hi, city commission. I know it's been a long meeting, so please bear with Actually,

this is a pretty short one.

My name is Imani Sanchez. I'm a first year master's student in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. I was raised in Pembroke Pines, specifically West Pines where my family has lived for the past twenty years. I decided to reach out to Mayor Castillo and Commissioner Rodriguez to conduct policy work for the city over winter break because it was important to me to take what I was learning in school to my own community. Over the past month, I've been working with Commissioner Rodriguez to review economic development policies, which is my focus at school.

So this presentation outlines the most accessible and impactful first steps Pembroke Pines can take to strengthen the economic development sector. While the city already has a strong foundation, additional investment in the area will help further grow and enhance it. The policy suggestions in this document build upon the proposed 2023 economic development strategic plan, which I reviewed through both the policy lens and my perspective as a resident of Pembroke Pines. These suggestions are meant to start conversations surrounding economic development and how Pembroke Pines can create a stronger sense of community as the city continues to grow. So the first suggestion is to establish a strong and recognizable Pembroke Pines city brand.

So Pembroke Pines should develop a clear and recognizable city image to guide sustainable growth and future development. A defined identity allows the city to be more intentional about how it grows and how it positions itself within Broward County and South Florida. People move to Pembroke Pines for its schools, services, retail options, and easy access to major metropolitan areas. Formalizing these strengths into an official city brand can strengthen community identity, improve quality of life, and attract more visitors and businesses. This can be achieved through expanded community events, such as the recent MLK Day Parade, resident surveys to better understand community needs, the creation of a city slogan, and increased investment in citywide marketing and advertising.

The second policy suggestion is to strengthen economic development collaboration with Broward County. As Broward's second most populous city, Pembroke Pines should more fully leverage its role in the county level economic development. The city serves residents from across Broward County and South Florida and should position itself as a key driver of investment in South Broward by maintaining a stronger presence in county level conversations and partnerships. As noted in the document, South Broward and Pembroke Pines have been overlooked in key development discussions. To avoid this, the city must increase its visibility and advocacy at the county level.

Given Pembroke Pines' significant population growth and rising demand for services, the city should consider hiring a full time economic development or intergovernmental director. This role can increase county engagement and oversee cross sector economic development initiatives that better aligned with the city's needs. These are stats Pembroke Pines can take to strengthen its economic development efforts and approach growth more sustainably. By enhancing the city's identity and fully utilizing county level resources, Pembroke Pines can support stronger business attraction, retention, and long term economic growth. Thank you for your time and consideration. And I'm happy to answer any questions.

I just wanted to thank you, not only for working with Commissioner Rodriguez, but because you talked about the city's brand. My day job is communications. That's what I do for a non for profit in Miami. So I appreciate it. I did read it. I can't email you with her on it because of Sunshine Law. I'd like to just pick your brain and email you directly. But thank you so much for taking the time. I know this isn't easy to do. And you dove in. And Harvard, congrats.

That's If

I may, Imani, just add to what she went over was a bit of a synopsis of what's in the document. It does propose some edits to the plan as well, I think, in regards to branding. And Imani pointed this out to me, that the plan suggests something about wellness and health, in which we kind of both agree that that might not be the best avenue. But that family friendliness, due to our schools, the safety, and all of that might be a better avenue. So there are definitely spots in which we can improve, maybe strike out some suggestions, maybe because it's been two years ago, do our own surveys regarding what is produced in the documents and improve on that.

And she very adequately provided some discussion questions that we can improve upon and opine on in the future during a workshop for both of those suggestions that she put forth.

I really appreciate the presentation. It's fresh. It's different. I love hearing new views on old topics because it keeps them new. I know Mr.

Dodge is working on the communication strategy and the implementation of the communication strategy of our strategic plan. I'm sure you'll have information for us on that soon. I think Mr. Stam should take a good look at this work, particularly since it came to him at his favorite price. And these are great ideas.

And we should double back at an appropriate time to take a look at it. I can't thank you enough for your work. And thank you, Commissioner Rodriguez, for I knew you would find a way to take this talent and put it to work. Commissioner Schwartz.

Amani, thank you. Omani and I had a brief conversation on Monday. And I must tell you, the workload that you took in such a short period of time speaks volumes of what the future holds and the talent that you have. I mentioned to Omani that prior to being elected, was the city's economic development board chair. And the first plan we ever produced out of the economic development, I had the honor of actually voting for it here at the commission level.

One of the things I would maybe you can coordinate it with Commissioner Rodriguez is I would like to see the economic development board dive into some of your work product, perhaps even Broward County, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance take a look at that. I believe Mr. Stam serves on that board there. So in order for us to kind of move the needle forward see, what I love about Pembroke Pines is there are some things we do great first. We don't copy anybody.

They follow us. And certainly, there's a competition for economic dollars and having a brand and having a focus. When you if we were to go anywhere in the county and interview anyone on the street and go, what's Pembroke Pines known for? What's the response going to be? We know that there are other cities. You mentioned their city. You know what they're good at. I tell people, we love to eat here. And if you want a good place to eat, come to the Pembroke Pines. I think we might be the capital, self proclaimed capital for restaurants in Pembroke Pines, good restaurants, right?

And of course, our chamber of commerce. I would want to open up Amani to be able to have that interaction because your future is bright. And however we could be supportive to that journey, I'd love to be able to be a part of it. Thank you so much for your presentation.

Thank you.

Commissioner Good. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Imani, I got impressive.

And, you know, what's even more impressive is that, you know, you took your time that was for you to do something for others. That's a true sign of leadership. And so thank you for that. What's interesting is I believe that we had our economic development board meet just this week, which it would have been a great opportunity because I heard you say you're going to go back to college and pursue your dreams, right? So it would have been had they got an opportunity to see that, I think that they would have probably valued out of this really immensely because they are our working group in order to put these economic development suggestions into our policies and things of that nature.

And so I don't know if maybe you can work with Commissioner Rodriguez and find a way to maybe make that presentation to our economic development board. I mean, know I have a member on that that represents District 1. It's very serious about what they do in the economic development world. And I'm certain we'd love to have an opportunity to review this and to be able to maybe even carry it further than what you may have even anticipated. And so maybe there's a way to do it through a Zoom meeting or some sort where you can make that presentation and get some you lay your information onto the folks, and they lay their information back to you.

And maybe I don't know. Maybe this could be something where it could be a working relationship between you being at college and working with our economic development board and being able to take this to another level, you're willing to do that. But thank you so very much for what you provided. And I only hope that you share that with our economic development board, too.

Thank you.

Well done. Thank you so very, very much.

If I could say just a couple more words. So this has been a really good experience. Really liked working with Commissioner Rodriguez. We had a lot of conversations about this and just other policy stuff. So it's been really cool. And spending time coming back from school and being able to work in winter break was really it was a lot of fun, actually. And I think my biggest takeaway from this I would love to work with the Economic Development Board. But when we think about economic development in Pembroke Pines, I think the biggest thing we should be thinking about is community engagement and really getting our residents and citizens involved in that as well. I think we have great foundations here as a city. I've lived here most of my life.

But really honing in on engaging people and increasing feelings of community here, I think, will take Pembroke Pines to

the next level.

And one other thing, Mr. Mayor, if I may?

Absolutely. Yes. And I just want to ask, if you don't mind actually, Aaron Lee is here. He's a representative of the Economic Development Board. And maybe before you leave, you can introduce yourself to him. He's over here. Aaron, hi. Thank you for coming tonight. But now you've got a face along with the virtual meeting, right? So thank you very much.

And last but not least thank you so much. And last but not least, yesterday, I had the privilege of being with our tax collector, the Broward County tax collector, Abia Jai, at the Sedanos on 172nd Avenue. And Tewa was there. She's developed kiosks that she's in the process of dropping throughout the county. And the first one in Pembroke Pines was placed at the Sedanos.

And I'll tell you what this kiosk does. So you can go directly to this kiosk and renew your registration. You enter the information. There's a state fee for all registrations of vehicles. But there's also a convenience fee, which you would pay if you did it online. The difference is you get your registration straight printed out of the kiosk together with the little yellow sticker that you put on your I'm sure there's a name for the little yellow sticker. Decal. Is that a decal?

No, it's a delegate.

It's a delegate. Well,

I'm going to call it a little yellow sticker. But it'll print the decal for you. And you walk out of there and you're done. But before you walk out, you can buy some pastelitos or you can have a cafe con leche or you can shop at Sedanos. I just think it's fabulous.

And Sedanos likes it also because all it does is invite people to come into their store. So everybody wins. And so if you need to register your car, you're concerned, you don't want to wait for this stuff to come to you in the mail. Just go to Sedanos on one hundred seventy second and this kiosk will re register your car. Now in time, she hopes that you can renew your driver's license there.

Of course, the times that we live in right now, there's all kinds of stuff of, oh, well, who are you and where are you from? But once they figure out all that red tape, can do this work on your own in terms of renewing your driver's license there as well, which I think would be a great thing. I look forward to that as well. So good things are happening around us even when we don't notice. And that's a big step forward.

I want to thank the property the tax collector for her work in that way. That's a kiosk that not everyone will use. But to the extent that it's in our city, we're just a little bit better. So thank you, tax collector Abhi Ajai. And if there is no further business We are adjourned. Yes. Thank you.