Village Council - Regular Meeting

Okay. I'd like to call the November 18th, 2025 council meeting to order. Mr. Clerk with the roll.

Okay. Yes. Roll call. Mayor. Here.

Here. Yeah.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Please rise for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Our first order of business is a proclamation recognizing Veterans Day. This is the first proclamation I'm doing as mayor. So, and I know we have several staff members that served in the U.S. Armed Forces and we honor them along with all the other veterans. Whereas Veterans Days observed each year to honor the men and women of the United States Armed Forces who have served our nation with dedication, courage, and unwavering commitment. And whereas the freedoms, safety, and opportunities enjoyed by all Americans are protected through the sacrifice and service of millions of veterans who have stood in defense of the United States at home and abroad. And veterans from every branch of the military have demonstrated extraordinary valor, resilience, and patriotism, often at great personal cost to themselves and their families. And Veterans Day... offers communities across the nation opportunity to express gratitude, reflect on the contributions of our veterans, and reaffirm our continued commitment to supporting them, whereas the Val Harbor Village recognizes with deep appreciation the veterans who reside within our community and throughout the nation and honors their distinguished service and lasting contributions to our collective security and prosperity. And whereas it is fitting and proper for the Val Harbor Village to pause and recognize our veterans, remember their sacrifices, and encourage our residents to observe this day with appreciation for the principles for which they serve. Now, therefore, I, Seth E. Salver, Mayor of Bell Harbor, do hereby declare and observe Veterans Day in Bell Harbor Village and urge all residents, businesses, and visitors to join in honoring our veterans for their service, dedication, and enduring contributions to our nation. Thank you. Our next recognition is for former Mayor Jeffrey Freemark, who we still have the pleasure of having on our council. George, please begin.

Mr. Mayor, thank you. Yes, let me intro and then I'll hand it off and allow you all. But this is an opportunity unique in Bal Harbor in quite some time where we kind of say farewell to Mayor Freemark and hello to Councilman Freemark. And I'm certainly glad he's sitting right next to me still. You know, Mayor Fremark served for three years with distinction and honor during a period in Bell Harbor where as we continued to progress through all of the different capital projects and so forth that have been undertaken, but also under this challenge with the live local application received just under two years ago. And it's been my pleasure to work with him closely as we've worked through strategizing and working through the village's position on that. We continue to hold firm and protect the village's integrity. And it's certainly been my pleasure and honor to work with him as councilman, then as mayor, and hopefully again as councilman. We have a few things for you today. So I hope you'll indulge us and you know, grant us that grace. First, of course, we want to do a little quick summary. It's kind of like, this is your life. Only for three years. So why don't you run the video, say, run a little bit.

I'm Jeff Spring-March, I'm the mayor of Balbarber, and it's my pleasure and honor to talk to you today.

We've got a very, very special show for you tonight. First of its kind in Bell Harbor.

you know we we come to work every day we do what we do what's face in front of us and we we seldom take the minute to kind of look back and see where have we been and what have we accomplished and hopefully this video is a is a synopsis of the three years is certainly a lot more that we did over those three years mr mayor but i think that we tried to capture the spirit of your tenure. And so we hope you like it and your family likes it and the community likes it. We also commissioned something unique for you as well. First of its kind as well. Last time we gave a book, this time we have a watercolour. Hang it proudly. Next, I'll let the Mayor.

Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that beautiful tribute. And like I said, we're so fortunate to have Jeff continuing with us here on the Council. I personally have benefited from these last three years in my apprenticeship, and Jeff has so much to offer. For those that don't know, Jeff is also the CEO of Miami Jewish Health System, which is an incredible organization that you've shepherded for so many years. And we're so fortunate to have that executive mindset here on our council. And I'm so happy that you'll be continuing with us. We've really done amazing things together, not just in these last three years, but since you began your tenure here on the council. And I'm so happy that you will be here alongside us, helping us do what's best for the village and for everyone here. So thank you, Jeff. Does anyone want to share any other words? Because we have some gifts to give Jeff as well as the council.

Yeah, I'll just add a couple of words as well. Jeff, you are the best mayor that I ever worked with. Did that end tonight?

Yeah.

No, seriously, I came on the council when you became mayor and I had a lot to learn and in your way, I think, in just your way of being, you lead with a strong conviction but with an open mind and listen to all the feedback and coalesce it together and then lead us in the right direction in so many challenging times we've had this year and difficult situations. And I learned a lot from you on how to be a mayor, how to be a good mayor, and how to represent the people and represent this council in really a beautiful way and a strong way. And so I thank you for your service and I thank you for everything I learned from you. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Jeff, mostly I really want to appreciate that you let us in all of our negotiations and everything with the shops. There's no one on this day that could have done it close to as well as you. And I'm very proud to have you lead us in that area and hopefully continue to spearhead that on behalf of the council. So thank you so much for that, Jeffrey. Really appreciate it.

And for me, Jeff, you have become, you went from a mayor to a friend, somebody who I trust enormously, and the village obviously trusts you enormously as well. So I just want to say thank you for everything you have done, everything you will continue doing, and for all the teaching you have given me at least in this past year. So thank you.

On behalf of my colleagues here on the council, I'd like to present to Mayor Jeffrey P. Fremark. Thank you for your leadership, commitment, and dedication to Baja River Village as mayor. And here is a gavel personalized with Jeff's name and commemorating your service to this community. They took a picture. And then... My first key to the city that I get to present as mayor, it's only fitting that you receive it, Jeff, because you've really opened up the doors to Bell Harbor. You've spearheaded our sister city relationship, among so many other things. So it's only fitting that you have a key to this village. So here you go. Let's take a picture. Okay.

Okay. So it has been an incredible honor, first of all, to have been and to be on the council for a nine-year period of time and to have been the mayor for three years, none of which I could have done without the incredible support of my life partner of 47-plus years, Alice.

Thank you.

And our daughter Samara is with us tonight as well. And I think perhaps our Winter Park contingent, our son Brandon, his wife Melissa, and our brand new grandbaby Solly. is on and watching and I love you all. And I thank you for all of the support that you give me and for allowing me to have done this and to continue to do this in addition to everything else. I'm incredibly impressed by the quality of the folks on the council on the dais that I've had and will continue to have the pleasure to work with for the next several years. I certainly wish both Mayor Salver and Vice Mayor Wolf the best of success. The village is in good hands with them. This is a transition that that. It should have occurred and is occurring, and I couldn't tell you how pleased, proud, and supportive I am and will continue to be, as well as the ability to continue to work with Councilman Squire and Councilman Levy as we move forward. So I love the village. I love what we do. I have mixed feelings about the shops right now. But, you know, that's life in terms of what we deal with. And I am incredibly proud as well of the village staff, the village administration led by George and team, the outstanding police department led by Chief Flowers, Deputy Chief Escara and the entirety of the team, we are incredibly fortunate to have both the staff and the police force that we have that looks after our village. And I look forward to the future together. It's exciting in terms of what's going on here, the new village hall, the jetty project, the shops at some point in time will get resolved in some way, shape, or form. and the future is very bright for us. So I thank you all for being here. I thank you all for your support. It's a wonderful community, and I'm happy to be here. Thank you.

Behind every great mayor is a great First Lady. And I would like to recognize Hollis Fremark for her service over the last three years, not only lending us her husband, Jeffrey, but being there representing our village also. And all that you've done to support Jeff and to support Bell Harbor, we have this token of our appreciation. So please join us here as we take a picture. Thank you.

Thank you.

Look right at me, ready, one, two, three. One more, big smiles, please, and one, two.

One, just be positive, big smiles. Okay, you guys first, okay? Anybody up here? Ready? Big smiles. One second, let me check.

50 down and a half. Can we call up our police officer right here?

to recognize them for their service.

Anyone take one step to my left?

Thank you. Can you look right at me? Thank you, sir. Ready, what? Big smiles, ready? Even bigger, last one. One more, one more. I gotta do one more, okay?

Ready? Check, checking lighting. Up it. Ready?

Chief Flowers, I believe the next recognition is going to be presented by you.

Thank you, Mayor and Council. Tonight, we're here to recognize and honor a courageous civilian, Mr. Jacob Fleshman, whose swift actions helped save the life back on September 14, 2025, at 4 o'clock in the morning, around 4 o'clock in the morning. And, you know, we're in a time where some people would rather whip out their cell phones and start recording rather than to render assistance or call for help. But not Mr. Fleshman. His willingness to step in reflects a tremendous amount of courage and true compassion for mankind. And on that night, it was around 4 o'clock in the morning, he was on his boat, driving down the inlet, just past the bridge, and he's fishing. I don't know what kind of fish you catch at 4 o'clock in the morning, but... Anyway, he's fishing and he hears a splatter or a splash in the water, which is kind of awkward at that time of morning. So he turns around and he notices a guy struggling in the water. Turns out that this guy was trying to kill himself. He was having a mental crisis and he didn't want to live. And as Jacob was trying to get him, as he turned his boat around, maneuvered his boat around to go get him, the guy's saying, leave me alone. I want to die. But Jacob didn't give up. And so for that reason, we here on behalf of the police department, I would like to call you up. Come on, Jacob. And formally recognize you for your heroic actions. So we have this nice certificate of appreciation presented to Jacob Fleshman in recognition of your courage and life-saving actions on September 14, 2025, your split-second decisions to render aid and help save someone's life, awarded this 18th day of November, 2025, in Bell Harbor Village, Florida, signed by one of the best chiefs in Dade County. Thank you. You want to say something?

I just want to say thank you so much. I appreciate Mr. Flowers, Officer Flowers, Chief Flowers, sorry, and my friend Barry Shevlin and my girlfriend Nina here supporting me. And I just want to say I'm happy to be here and to see all your faces, and hopefully we get to meet soon. And, yeah, have a good night. Thank you.

No problem.

Yeah, they actually rocked it at night. I had friends from CERN on it, and I never considered it. It's addictive, so. Three.

Two, testing light for one second. Big smiles, big smiles. One more.

Before we go on to the next item, I do want to just recognize Jacob Fleischman because this is an incredible story that, frankly, a lot of us just found out about. And, you know, it says in the Talmud that saving one life is like saving an entire world. So thank you for that. Next recognition is to Christina Brown, Manager Gonzalez.

Mr. Mayor, yes. I'd like Christina and Maddie to come on up. I'm not sure how many of you have met or know Christina, but she toils in the background. She has an item on the agenda in consent, and so it's not appropriate for us to take this opportunity. She is our grant consultant, but she's more than just grants, and grants have a full lifecycle cost. She also supports our CIP program in many, many ways and is passionate about the Harborfront Park project. and Jetty Project. She probably knows more about that project than any of us put together at this point with all the research she has conducted. Since 2021 alone, we've secured more than $35 million worth of grants, many of which are through her hard work and her dedication in not only writing them but identifying them and telling us there's opportunities. And so I thought it fitting to recognize that, you know, oftentimes we see all the things that happen here, but sometimes you don't see the people out there doing that kind of work. And she is a grant consultant, but she is extended staff and works closely with Maddie. And I'm sure she can share words as well. But Christina, thank you for your work. And on behalf of the council, we certainly are appreciative for all the hard work you do.

certificate of appreciation be it known to all who bear witness that this highest honor which may be bestowed by the mayor of bow harbor village is awarded to christina brown of in alignment consulting llc and that the gratitude and esteem of the citizens of bow harbor village thus be publicly expressed for her invaluable partnership and exceptional support in helping secure major grant funding strengthening critical capital projects and advance the long-term resiliency and infrastructure goals of our community so thank you christina Your impact is truly felt, especially when you go through the budget. So I appreciate all your work.

I wanted to thank you for all the help. It's been from like 2019 almost that she's been involved and was critical with the Jetty project permitting. It was a pivotal point in that project. And she continues to provide support. And so I'm very lucky to have her. And again, with the grants and the project support, she's just been invaluable to me. So thank you. Do you have the certificate? Yes. You mind advice?

Yeah. I want to say thank you to the council, George, Maddie, but also to all the other directors, Susan, Dwight. I'm looking at you guys. Just so you guys know, I say guys, council, Maddie and I work really well together, but I think it's the synergy we think alike. So it's this constant like passion fire. You know, it's like we're constantly brainstorming and that's how we come up with the ideas we come up with on how to find funding. Harborfront Park, that name came out of a strategy meeting where we were like, we're not getting enough money. What are we going to do? You know, we're going to rebrand it with a new name and look, here we go. We're going to land an $8 million grant. So it's love. You know, I have a love for this community. It's not about the contract. It's not about not even the grants. It's about the sense of family I have here. I just want you guys to know that Ball Harbor Village gives me the most peace. When I'm in this city, I feel home. It's not my home, but I feel at home the minute I cross into these boundaries. And it's because of the people that live here. And you guys should all be really proud of yourselves for having that sense of community because it doesn't exist just anywhere. So it's not just about the village staff or the village leadership, but it's also about the people that are in this room and in those houses and apartments across the street. So thank you guys.

Smile, ready, one, two. One more, one, two. Thank you.

Okay, so our next item is a presentation from FDOT regarding pedestrian crossing signalization and Mr. Ramon Sierra.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Council, Mr. Village Manager. My name is Ramon Sierra. I'm with Florida Department of Transportation. And I prepared a very short presentation to give you an update on the upgrade of the existing mid-block crosswalk on Collins Avenue, about the 9900 block. So this slide shows a picture of the existing crosswalk. And basically right now it's controlled by flashing beacons on both sides of the road, northbound and southbound. And there are detectors, which are the white poles on the sides of the street and the median, that whenever a pedestrian crosses between those two poles, the flashers activate. So the plan is to upgrade that and make it more visible, make it safer for pedestrians and also for drivers. So at first, I'm happy to report that we're going to replace the existing setup that we have right now with an overhead structure. I'll show you a picture of what we envisioned the upgrade to look like in the next slide. So we're going to start with designing the plans right away in early 2026. We are happy to report that we allocated $150,000 for the design plans. And our schedule right now is to have the bidding completed by 2027 and construction to begin also in 2027. We have budgeted a little bit over $600,000 for the upgrade. And just for if you're interested, that's the project number that FDOT assigned to the upgrade.

And the next slide is...

Just to give you, again, I cannot give you the details, but this is what a very similar type of setup nearby. This is on Collins Avenue, just south of here at 87th Avenue. And you can see there that we have flashes on both sides of the road and overhead. And also it's, you know, very visible. As a matter of fact, I drove... through the intersection when I was on my way here, and there were people crossing, and so it was very effective, and I was very pleased to see that. So that's, again, a very quick snapshot of the upgrade, and if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

Any questions from Council?

This started with a discussion item at last month's meeting where Councilman Levy had asked for it. This has been under development for quite some time, and so it's good that Ramon is here who can share with you the schedule and how things work in FDOT. I know, Councilman Sklar, you were early on as an advocate of this as well.

Thank you so much for being here. Of course. One thing I just want to make sure is that The crosswalk is on the side where the person crossing could actually see if the lights are flashing. Because right now, the way it is, which is the biggest problem, the crosswalk is behind the actual flashing lights. So the pedestrian has no idea if it's actually on or not, unless it's nighttime, where you can actually see a little bit of light. So during the design phase, we really need to make sure that it's not designed like the one we have now, that it becomes even safer for pedestrians, allowing them to actually see the lights while crossing.

Yeah, understood. And I'm happy that you brought that up. You know, we're starting the design, but we're also starting or continuing to work hand-in-hand with the village. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes. George, I see you making notes, so I hope that that's incorporated into our comments that we can share with FDOT. Yeah, yeah.

Excellent. He's who I would call.

It's at the very, very early stages. Yes. Before we move on, is there anyone here to speak on the VHS Harding realignment?

We do not have anybody here. We need to bring that to you in December. Unfortunately, they were unable to attend.

Okay. This is not really an item that we have public comment on, but there will be a public comment later. I would like to ask Mr. Sierra, though, since you are here, and I don't want to put you on the spot. Of course. I know last time you were here, we had some discussions about traffic studies on 96 and on Collins Avenue as well. I just was wondering if you had an update. I know that the season is approaching. We're in the middle of a project as well, which is further exacerbating the traffic issues. I'm just wondering if FDOT is actively monitoring the signalization on 96 and on Collins and Harding just to ensure that it's not total chaos come a month from now.

Understood. So from the last time when I was here, we had done some improvements like around February, March of last year after some challenges with traffic flow. And it seemed like it worked. So there were a number of factors that could have affected the traffic flow, you know, negatively one way or the other. So just for comparing apples to apples, we had agreed and committed and, you know, we'll deliver on that about conducting a before and after so we can compare these years or, you know, early 2026 traffic flow and comparing to last year. So, yes.

Thank you.

We haven't started yet, but, you know, after the new year, yes.

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Sierra. Any further questions? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Mr. Sierra, just a question. Down on Collins Avenue somewhere in the 60s by the Publix, there's also the... the extension over the street that has bright yellow lights and bright red lights. What goes into the thinking as to the difference between this type of style, which I would think is harder to see, versus the lights that are in front of that Publix?

Excellent question. So that's going to be basically the number of pedestrians. So it's like demand, right? So evidently when we have a red indication, then we have a higher number of pedestrians. So the public's there at 67th on the west side of the road and condominiums on the ocean side. There's a lot more pedestrian activity. That might be the case here at the 9900 block. So one of the possibilities, again, I just showed you an assembly of an overhead, what we call an overhead, like a mast arm, at 87th Avenue, which is the similar type of device that we have currently now. But it's not out of the question that we will implement like the pedestrian hybrid beacon that you're referring to or even a full signal. So as we embark on the design, we're going to look at, we're going to measure demand. How many people cross, basically? Thank you. Of course.

Thank you. But with either signal, is there going to be a pedestrian, like, I guess, signal that tells them it's safe to cross or not?

Yeah, so in the case of the pedestrian highway beacon, for example, or the full signal, pedestrians would see a walk indication and a countdown. In the case of the flashing beacon, there is no countdown because there's just flashing. So pedestrians still have to find a gap and have to make sure that traffic stops.

Yeah, okay. Because right now there's probably not as much use as we would like there to be because it doesn't seem like a very safe way to cross Collins Avenue. So I would like that to be somehow factored in. Maybe look at how many people are crossing in front of the St. Regis. And, you know, kind of compare.

We have another one on Collins, and I forget the cross street, but in Surfside, it's one of the newer ones. So, yeah, it's not out of the question. The type of device is not out of the question. Okay.

So let's monitor that on the part of the village to make sure that we get really what's needed there.

Thank you so much for being here. I think that this is the right way forward to do something for the future. But there's anything that we can do now. to fix that now, because my concern, and I'm sure it's a concern of many people here, that somebody's gonna get hit by a car before 2027, and then FDOT will come and do something by then. So is there anything that we can do now where there is, and this is a conversation for everybody, and George, I'm sure that he thought about this as well, can we pay for this, and then you guys pay us back? Can you close it until you fix it? What can be done to avoid anybody being hit or being hurt?

Yeah, Councilman, I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you now. We've made an effort to advance the project as soon as possible. I know 2027 is still two years away, so I understand that. We have to go through the process of designing the plans, going through the process. So I take note of your comment. I don't have an answer as to what we might be able to do sooner than that.

Thank you. Did you have something?

No, just to add, Alejandro, I think it's a great point, and I think we can talk further about the council, potentially about closing it, because I agree it's a dangerous situation. And as well, just from your side, again, thanks for being here. I assume traffic flow will also be a part of the conversation and study because we know our traffic flow is not good. So if we have, like, one person push it, then the next person comes and push it, and the next person comes and push it, we can't stop traffic for, you know, 20 minutes for people walking across. it would be an important thing to make sure we factor in as well.

Actually, that's what happened at the new one on Collins and further in Surfside. I was in the traffic flow and several times it went on, so I was thinking, is it not working? It was people crossing. Yeah. Gotcha. Thank you. So it was working, but it was – so, yes, it has to be a balance, safety and traffic flow.

Thank you.

Of course. Thank you very much.

Okay. So PA6 is, I guess, tabled maybe next month.

Ramon, thank you for being here. Appreciate it.

Thank you.

My pleasure. Anytime. And I'll be happy to come back and report on that.

I appreciate that. Thank you. So requests for additions, withdrawals, and deferrals – Okay, there are none. So let's move forward with the consent agenda. Mr. Clerk, can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda? Is there a second?

I'll second.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? None. Passes unanimously. So we now skip over to R7A. Mr. Clerk.

R7A, a resolution of the Village Council of Bell Harbor Village, Florida, approving the selection of utility solutions and automation LLC for the provision of water advanced metering infrastructure system in the amount not to exceed the annual budgetary allocation, authorizing the village manager to enter into an agreement with said company providing for implementation, providing for an effective date. Thank you, Mr.

Clerk. Mr. Manager.

Mr. Mayor, thank you. This item is the result of a request for proposals that we solicited. As you know, we as the water provider for our community buy water from Miami-Dade County and then distribute it to our various customers. annually we do our readings to determine what is considered water loss. And water loss is the difference essentially, shrinkage in the business I guess, the difference between how much water you buy and how much water you sell. And there are acceptable ranges to accept that. As we've monitored, we've seen that water loss be at a level that needed further attention. And as we've looked at, and as you know, we've replaced almost the entirety of our water system now. What we're finding is that the meters that are aged at this point fail and fail at a rate that is greater than acceptable for tolerance levels. And so we solicited a bid. In that bid, we also requested all of the latest technologies. And so What we are recommending is the provider of Neptune. I'm sorry, Badger. Neptune is our current provider. Badger is the bidder that we are recommending, which is one of the two bidders that solicited and submitted their proposal. We will be installing these over the next several years, but we want to do a wholesale change of the system to that provider, which comes with a software system that will allow our residents on their app to be able to see their consumption in real time, similar to what FPL does and a lot of other utilities do. And so what we're asking you to do is approve the award of the contract to allow us to purchase the amount for this current fiscal year, which will be replacing all of our major users, which are the buildings on the east side of Collins, which is where the water is greatest consumed. And then having selected that system, progress through a replacement cycle over the next few years as we budget the number of meters. We're also buying an inventory of meters, so as any of the existing meters break and fail, we go ahead and just replace them with the selected brand at this point.

Thank you, Mr. Manager. Before we open up discussion, is there a motion and a second? We're going to be doing things a little differently.

Can we discuss it first?

No, I'd like to try doing the Roberts rules where you have to move and second an item before it's discussed. Is there a motion? I'll move it. Is there a second?

Second. Okay, I'll second it.

Okay, now we can have discussion.

Any discussion? No reason to discuss it. It's already done.

No, it's not.

It hasn't been voted on. I just want to know, Mr. Manager, is this in the budget now?

Green budget maintenance for the failures, the amount for the meters on the east, we're requesting as part of the resolution, I forgot to mention, an amendment to our water and sewer budget to fund this. out of revenues.

Okay. So it's an amendment because it says here not to exceed the annual budgetary allocation.

In the future years. In the future years. But in the current year, we're recommending as part of this is to amend the budget for the 25-26 fiscal year. All right. In 182.

It's written because if it's for future years, then it should be put in. And if it's already budgeted for this year, then the budget amount should be put into the subject, in my opinion.

Okay. The budget for this year is $182,000. It's in your resolution, Section 3. Okay. Thank you. Any further comments?

Yeah, I just have a comment. Mr. Manager, you said we're losing, it says in here, about 9%. What's the cost of that loss for us? You said revenue versus expense.

Julio, how much do we pay per 1,000 gallons?

Ms. Julio Magriso. Right now we're estimating that the difference between what we expect, which is hopefully 5%, maybe 6% loss, to the 9% loss amounts to somewhere around $20,000 to $30,000, $40,000 per year.

So we have a long ROI on this replacement, correct? Correct.

It's sort of because these are failing in the 15 to 20 per month at this point.

Yeah, right now the actual labor cost to replace it is really greater than the actual loss of water. We're replacing anywhere between 10 to 12 of these on a monthly basis, so the labor cost to replace them is substantial. Once we replace all of them, we anticipate, and this is after speaking with Dania Beach, the people in Miami Beach, Surfside. Once these are replaced, we don't anticipate labor costs to replace them. The labor cost is greater than the water loss. How many meters do we have total? About 593, about 600. Yeah. Sorry, what is the cost to replace a meter? Any idea? The cost to replace? Well, it depends on the size of the meter. Some meters could be $300, $400. The larger the meters could, you know, be $2,000, $3,000 per meter.

You said the labor is more than that.

Oh, the labor itself. Yeah, right now we have our staff doing the replacements. I have not calculated the actual cost to replace the meter, but it's two people going out spending, you know, three or four hours per meter to replace it.

Councilman, the two bidders that bid, one bid just the product and one bid the product and service. So if you look on page 70 of your agenda, if you just do the math, it's $490,000 for the product and $770,000 is what they were proposing to install. So the difference is to actually install the meters. We're not buying that. We're just going with the product only.

So we're going to continue to replace them ourselves?

Yeah, our staff. And avoid the $280,000 of expense?

And how long is it going to take us to install that?

Like I said, we're going to install the first tranche, which is the east side, which is where most of the water goes. And then either through failure or through what we budget, through the budget process, there's 500 of them just in the gated community, 400 in the gated community. So we'll do that over a three- or four-year period. But you're buying them already. No, no, no. We're only buying the first year. Gotcha. Okay. And then that's where Councilman Scar was asking, next year when we go through the budget process, if you approve buying another 50, then that's what we'll buy.

Perfect.

Thank you. Or 100, whatever the number is. Thank you very much.

So I think it's fair to say that the residents that will be first impacted would be the condominiums. As they're replaced, I'm assuming we're not doing this just the accuracy is going to be better, which means the bills are going to be higher, right?

What we hope is that there's no water loss. And so it's not that they're being charged for water that they didn't consume. They'll only be charged for water they consumed. The other thing is, notwithstanding our acceptance levels, that county requires us to keep our water loss below a certain amount for resiliencies. And so if we inch too far into the double digits, then we're into a different issue.

Thank you. Is there any public comment on this item? Mr. Rahid.

Rahid, 128 Balfour Drive. This $499,000 is for how many meters? This particular one? They didn't explain that. I wanted to know how much it costs per meter. This wasn't said because I know it's $499,000. for meters and $770,000 to replace them, but we just want to buy the meters. But these meters, how many are they replacing now? Because for me to say I support this decision, not this decision, I want to know how much it costs per meter.

Okay, thank you. Is there any further public comment? Seeing none, Mr. Manager, would you want to address that question?

I'll see if we can give you more details, but what I want to make sure is clear is we're not spending $490,000 nor $770,000. What we're asking for is $182,000 for this fiscal year, $90,000 of which is what is the cost of meters on Collins. And then another $60,000 to have an inventory of meters for any failures that may happen on the west or inside the gate. I can't break it down to a per meter space.

Thank you. It's been moved and seconded. If there's no other comment, Mr. Clerk, please. Oh, it's a voice vote. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, none. Passes unanimously. R7B.

Mr. Clerk. Ms. R7B, a resolution of the Village Council of Bell Harbor Village, Florida, authorizing disbursement of Village General Employee and Village Manager performance bonuses providing for implementation, providing for an effective date.

Thank you. Mr. Manager. Mr. Manager.

Mr. Murray, thank you. This is the annual item that we bring forward to you regarding our bonus system. As a reminder, our employees work not on a pay plan. They work in a range. They are usually granted the cost of living adjustment that we agree to for our police PBA union, but otherwise there's no merit step. Instead, we do a bonus system. And over the years, we've brought that to you as a group, together with my annual performance evaluation, which you've had an opportunity to discuss with me individually and collectively. And so this item is the approval and ratification of what you did at your workshop just an hour ago, as well as the bonus for this year for employees. There are 72 employees, in addition to me, that are eligible for the merit system. And it runs from 0% to 7% based on performance and attendance and a series of factors. It's already budgeted. We're not asking for additional monies. It's just the approval of the item.

Thank you. So I will add that the council did meet with the manager and evaluated the manager and found it fit to award him a, the numbers were, George? Pardon me? We have to fill in the blank in the reservoir. Yeah. So it was... It's 90. Yes. It was 90,000. 15,000 payable to the 457 plan and... Please, I can choose however I want to split. Right. Okay, fine. So we'll keep it at 90. 90. And is there a motion? I'll make a motion. Thank you. Is there a second? Second. It's been moved and seconded. Is there a discussion? Second. I would like to add that the council expressed its happiness with George's performance and we're very fortunate to have you as a manager and we know you bring a lot of experience and you really elevate not only the city but the staff that's around you. So we're very fortunate to have you, George, and we look forward to you continuing here in your role as manager. Is there any public comment?

Can I comment? Oh, of course.

Yeah.

I would certainly echo the Mayor's words. The thought process was pretty much to replicate a 5% increase in that consistent with what we're seeing for the others, but very clearly there is a high level of satisfaction and Being the person that spent time in Tallahassee with the manager, as well as with the shops and mediation and other negotiations and settlement discussions, the village is extremely well represented and should be supportive of the manager. And the manager has done an excellent job of surrounding himself with an outstanding team. And that is the thought process that we all spoke to in the earlier discussion.

Thank you, Councilman Fremark. We had no public comment. Anything online? So voice vote. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed, none. As amended, right? Oh. Passes unanimously. Okay. Okay. New Business and Council Discussion, R9A, Mr. Manager.

One sec, sorry. Okay, R9A, another annual item is the discussion item that we bring to you prior to an actual vote. This is your opportunity to check your calendars and see next year's horizon for as it relates to scheduling council meetings typically we meet on the third tuesday of every month as you see in your memo it generally aligns this year quite well with holidays and other activities there is one month where i would request if you're willing to do so to amend and instead of october 20th we meet on october 27th That would avoid a conflict that I would have. Otherwise, it's probably as close to perfect as we've had in quite some time.

Thank you.

Also, our retreat meetings for February are lined up as are our budget hearing meetings. Those, again, are subject to county and school and other dates. Yes.

Okay.

Do any council members have known conflicts now that they would like to throw out there? I know you're always, you never know what you're going to be tomorrow.

I always work it around the meetings, though.

Mr. May, I have to excuse myself for another engagement, but I do not have any issues with any, much to my surprise, with any of the calendar dates proposed by the manager.

Okay. Perfect. Thank you.

I do have a conflict with October 27th, but I can try to arrange for coverage that night.

Okay, perfect. I appreciate you letting us know, Susan.

And by the way, this is for discussion. If there's any, this will come back to you in December for a vote. And so if you do find anything, just kind of send it to me and we'll include it in next month's item. Can you just put the mini-retreat date in also? I don't have that one yet. It's August. I don't have that one yet. Maybe for next month we can try to nail that down.

Yeah, because I know that part of the summary. Okay, so that's been shared with the council, and we will see that back next month as a resolution. R9B, Councilman Scott.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Last council meeting, we had our water consultants here, and we had a discussion about potentially putting those delineators in the bay, which will push the traffic out further. And since it's a right-of-way anyway, it was something that they were going to look into that we'd be able to do. And I think anything that we could do to keep pushing those boats away from the shoreline

we really need to investigate so i just want to know if there's an update on that george uh yeah councilman the the action that you all instructed us to do is continue to study it take drone video and other information to see if in fact creating that channel would actually move the actual traffic away and so we're collecting those images. We want to do it during season, during off-season, kind of get a feel for it, almost like a traffic study. We don't want to just take a snapshot on Saturday and say that that's what it is. And so we're collecting that. When she feels that there's enough that we can draw conclusions from, we're planning to bring back to you and tell you this is what's working or not working or, you know, it'll affect

this many votes we think or not so that's in progress so where where are we exactly in that process what collecting imaging it's like traffic counts and do we have a a timeline where she feels she's going to have everything back to us because i don't want this to go on another six months so we're just collecting data well but you you want to get a feel for high and low season you want to kind of make sure that you get a a good

Let me draw a conclusion on just, you know, if it's winter and we're taking a lot of that in winter, you might not get the same outcome as if you would during summer.

I think it's a year-round problem right now, at least from the residents that, you know, call me pretty often. I'm sure everyone else gets a lot of calls. So, you know, I'd rather see if we could speed this up as fast as humanly possible.

I'm going to tell you that if we speed it up, the answer is probably going to be it doesn't really do a whole lot. I'd rather see more boats out there.

A better representation of it. But again, it's really our choice whether there's one boat or whether there's 100 boats out there. Of course. If we want to put these in.

Yeah, but your colleagues and everybody here said, don't do this if it's not going to solve a problem. And so we're trying to give you the data that says if there is a problem, it will solve it. And if I bring you data that doesn't do that, then you're not going to have the outcome you desire. Yeah.

So I would just suggest maybe in compromise, because I agree, maybe she can bring the data that she has now just to see what we've gotten, so whether we don't have to make a decision on it or not. Because otherwise we're going to wait until the summer to get summer data. And so, let's give it a call.

I mean, first of the new year, you know, after January, we can bring you what we can get you, and that will give you enough. You know, you want enough data you can draw conclusions from.

Yeah, agreed.

You know, otherwise it's not. It's similar to what we're doing with the KPIs, you know, in our tourism. If we're only counting six people. Don't get me started on that, George. Okay.

So we have, I guess, an understanding of where we stand with this, and we'll see it come back in February, around February. Okay. Next item is R9C. Vice Mayor Wolf.

Yes. So, George, I'm not sure what the process is for this.

But, again, we have a request.

I can do it. Okay. Perfect.

Thank you. There's a request, but I can do it. So... We have a discussion on so you can give us direction on whether you'd like us to proceed or not. We received an inquiry from a resident inside the gated community that owns two lots that have been historically combined as a one residence. The gentleman has indicated an interest in splitting that lot, but not necessarily splitting it into two separate lots as was originally plotted, but instead divided into three lots. large size lots still, but not quite as far as the furniture on the road as large as you typically see there. But the house is located here close to the park. It's like maybe the third or fourth. I think it's the first house after the the apartments finish and so that would require a replat and a replat goes to Miami-Dade County for their approval and they will invariably require us to say you want it or not want it as part of their process and so rather than Susan and Mike who's here as well and others spending a lot of energy on that process um the the thinking was bring it here give you you guys give us direction if the direction is it's fine go ahead we will you know do the paperwork that we need to do and the applicant can apply to the county um i did advise the applicant to reach out to the civic association and get their input as well and i've received confirmation from the civic association that they've in fact endorsed it and support uh the request uh i i think he's here right here yeah so he's here he can certainly speak uh to his his comments um mike miller our planning uh person a consultant is here as well um he has expressed reservations on that uh you can hear from that as well just more about the the look and feel of what that does to that stretch of road um but it's not a definite he the the plaque committee at the county will determine the plats so

Yeah, I mean, so again, so I'll just add, I don't know that the council really has any significant, you know, thoughts either way. That's why I went to the civic association and the board of civic association approved it. So we just need to bring it to the council to get approval, like George said, because the county will come back to us. So. Are we voting on this?

It's not really a vote. If the sentiment of the council is to proceed, then we will proceed. And it may require us, this is the first time it's kind of dealt with, so it may require us to bring back a reso at some point, kind of like how we do the liquor licenses where the building official has approved and you ratify it. It may require that. We're not quite certain yet. But if it does, we don't want to surprise you either.

Okay. I do have some thoughts on this. Does anyone else have? I do. Okay. Alejandro, you can go first.

Thank you. I just wanted to hear, George, I think you said that one of our staff members has some issues with this. Am I right?

Our planning consultant has, his job is to review all submissions and express a zoning concern. And so he has expressed the concern. He's here if you want to hear from him. Is that okay, Mr. Mayor?

Yeah, that's fine. That's why we brought him here for this meeting. Thank you.

Good evening, all. Michael Miller, Michael Miller Planning Associates, for the record. Nice to see you all again. Congratulations. Thank you. Sir? Yes, my job is to assist your community, as I do with other communities that we work for, in planning and zoning matters. You have a unique situation here. The community was designed and platted in 1946. The developer chose the lot size. The waterfront lots are a little bit bigger. The dry lots are a little bit smaller. You also have... a very romantic design with curvilinear streets. So the lots are not exactly square, rectangular, if you will. So as you go around a curve, the lot may be a little bit narrower on the front or the back, depending on where you're at. So your zoning code was written in 1974, many, many years after the property was platted and most of the village was built. So when you write a zoning code, and I've written lots of them, and I enforce them in mostly suburban areas, so you look in the zoning code and it says the minimum lot width is X, the minimum lot square footage is X. So we don't have that. It says the lot sizes are as they were planted. So it doesn't give us a whole lot of direction, but quite frankly over the years since the community has been built out, you know, most everybody builds on one lot, but some build on two lots like this. and there have been occasions where there were three lots next to each other, and they took the middle lot, split it in half, and they gave half to this guy and half to this guy, so they're on a one-and-a-half lot. So the waterfront lots are generally about 100 feet wide and about 20,000 plus or minus square feet, about a half an acre. The dry lots are about 80 feet wide and about, 11,000, 12,000 square feet right around there, you know, in that ballpark. So this came before us for advice, and we noticed that the two lots are roughly 100 feet wide. So the combined lot size here is about 20,000 square feet, you know, for the two.

No, I'm sorry, double that.

45. Yeah, I'm sorry, double that, right. So if you wanted to split it back to the two lots, No brainer, you know. But if you want to split it to three, 200 divided by three is about 65, 66 feet wide. That's pretty skinny for a elegant community like yours. So I talked to George and the staff and I said, this is what I see. I don't know if that's what the council wants or the community wants if they want to start moving away from these, you know, traditionally the bigger lots on the water to something skinnier. Now, the square footage may be, you know, fairly substantial, but the lot width. And, you know, you drive down the street on a wider lot, you get kind of the Bell Harbor, Palm Beach kind of look with the big estate look. With a skinny lot, you get more of a, I don't want to say zero lot line, but, you know, you're going to get a very thin house. So. So that was my comment to the community. I appreciate that.

And I think they're respecting the will of the homeowner. I think there are some guardrails, because right now there are none. And what I want, what I personally want to avoid is like the surf-cidization of Bell Harbor. So I think that if we put, if we have Susan study this and put some guardrails, because right now our code has no guardrails, and just allow for a minimum number lot square footage. I don't know how detailed you want to get into regarding the dimensions, because I would be comfortable at least with saying 15,000 square feet as the minimum lot size, which would basically avoid a situation where you have dry lots trying to do this and saying, oh, well, on surf side you can have a 5,600 square foot lot, so I want to build... I want to take my 12,000 square foot lot and make two lots on the dry side. So I think I'd be comfortable supporting this if we say the minimum lot size is 15,000. I did click through all the waterfront lots. There are lots further down. I mean, I know that the shape was something you brought up, but that I think the homeowner is not asking for variances, at least at this point. I mean, they will still be subjected to the setback requirements regardless of how thin their lot is. So that's going to really be more of a problem for them.

Correct.

But I think as far as protecting, you know, Bell Harbor and the nature and character of the gated community, I'd be comfortable proceeding with this with a 15,000-square-foot minimum.

For the water lots?

No, a 15,000-square-foot minimum.

I can't say that because all the other lots that are small.

So they can't split them. You mean for the R1 water lots, right?

No, I would say we should say anyone who wants to differ from the plat. Okay. would have to have a minimum lot of 15,000. I don't know. I'm not an attorney, so I don't know how Susan, do you have thoughts on this?

So as you say, we would study it if it's the desire of the council to go this way, but you had identified that there were already some lots back there that are 15,000 square feet, so that suggests that it's not at all unreasonable.

Again, I think the concern is on the dry side.

15,000 square feet.

Do we have dry sides that are less than 15? You don't want to create an illegal non-conforming condition sweeping. Let Susan work through it to see what your goal is.

Most of the dry lots are much smaller than that. They're traditionally about 11,000, 12,000 square feet. There are some that are eight. There are some smaller.

What I don't want to happen is someone that has a 20,000 square foot dry lot saying, I want to build to, you know, an 8,000 and, you know, I don't want to start. Like I said, I want to avoid the surfacetization.

It sounds like what you want to do is maybe is any replat must result in a lot.

You have to have at least a 15,000 square foot lot that results.

Right. Any replat. And so it's only through the procedural. You're not addressing the existing. Maybe that's a...

I mean, you live there, David.

Yeah, I mean, I don't see the challenge, but there's nothing wrong with putting that in place. I mean, most people are buying up more lots and making bigger houses. It's not going to divide a lot in Bell Harbor and make a 5,000-square-foot lot. It's just the land is too expensive to do that.

But anyway, it's not a lot. You can work that in your favor. You can build two townhomes on each thing.

Yeah, you can't build townhomes, but yeah. You can?

Sure you can.

You go up two stories and then you've got a rooftop. Okay, so I have no problem with that. I think that's not a bad idea.

Okay, perfect. I don't know if we need to, you know, if we want any comment from the Civic Association. If they're here.

We have public comment, but Civic Association, yeah, I don't think anybody from the board is here.

Okay.

Okay, so I think we have direction, and now I'm going to open up public comment on anything.

Yeah, again, I don't know what the number is. I guess that's where we just have to figure out what the exact number is. Whether it's 15 or 14.5 or 4, just whatever. But I agree, Scott. Okay.

Okay. So now public comment on anything. Mr. Rudolph.

This item is done. Okay.

Firstly, congratulations to both of you. Nina Rudolph, 212 Val Bay Drive. So we'll start with this. On the replanting, I understand the thought process. I have a double lot as well on the water, and I was driving down tonight to come over, and I'm not familiar, but maybe one house I know that may be 15,000 square feet, but all the others are much larger. More of my concern with this, and again I'm not saying no or opposing it, but you're right against the gate. The problem we are having now in Bell Harbor is that everybody, because of a change of architectural approval, garages are supposed to not face the street because a long time ago one of the mayors didn't like that and they changed it. And so what happens is it's made it very difficult for people to park their cars, so they all park on the street. So now if you're going to have three families on a smaller lot that's not going to be able to park, we're going to have more density on those streets, and that's right now. At the back gate. So I'm concerned about that. That's all I don't want to be. So it's something to think about. And hopefully I missed the meeting. I wasn't here when the Civic Association talked about it. But it's something that we really have to consider because it's an everyday thing. That's being said. Buzzy, thank you so much. I know you're spearheading this. wonderful Bell Harbor sandbar that I'm constantly sending him pictures and videos and everything else. My wife's starting to worry. So on the one side, there is a difference between in the season and The amazing thing is the summer season is so much worse than the winter season. One, you have a lot more boats, a different caliber of boats. I don't know why. And the second part is also the sun doesn't set until 8 o'clock, so we have them there. So when we have that line will personally help me a little more because literally they're swimming in the channels now, these boats, and they take their floaters, and they're so dangerous. Yeah. If we could work on getting this restaurant nightclub out of there, it's one of the things that's really causing so much of the problems. And I've spoken to all of the police officers. They've been so wonderful. But we've lost a couple of the guys that have been patrolling. reinforce that to get them back out there. They do a great job. They're really out there trying to push the people back and getting the noise under control. So it's a little bit of everything. But I have as many pictures and videos as you want, you know, because you will see a difference now. So I'll send them over to you. Otherwise, thank you guys very much.

Thank you. The nightclub restaurant thing? Sure. Yeah, go ahead. So I've been in touch with the DBPR about the restaurant boat out there, which really brings a lot of people in. And I literally went right to the head of the DBPR. And they have no idea how this thing has gotten licensed because they are serving food. They're not licensed by a hotel and restaurant like every other food truck. or restaurant might be. So they're putting a full investigation into it now to see how these boat restaurants are actually being licensed. And so it is being investigated, just so you know.

Thank you for that update. Any other public comment? Seeing none, we will close public comment. Village Manager's report? I have none. None, sir. Village Clerk's report? New package. The legit attorney's report.

And your package.

Thank you. Well, motion to adjourn.

First meeting in the books.

Thank you.

Recording stopped.