Village Council - Regular Meeting

The regular council meeting for Tuesday, December 9th is called to order at 1058 p.m. Yes.

I move to extend the general council meeting for 90 minutes.

Do I have a second?

Second. I have to name a time. I have to say a time. I can't just extend the meeting indefinitely. I have to say a time. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not motioning. I have a motion. We are in the general council meeting right now, but we are at a point where we have to extend the meeting by obligation. And so I'm extending the meeting through a motion to say, I moved to extend the meeting, the general council meeting for 90 minutes.

All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Hearing none, council meeting is extended. We've already done silent meditation and we've already done the pledge of allegiance. Madam Clerk, now please have roll call.

Roll call, Mayor Nickerson.

Here.

Councilperson Erbom. Present. Councilperson Winters. Present. COUNCILPERSON LIFEWOOD WARD AND COUNCILPERSON MARTEN ARE NOT IN. JANICE JACOBY, VILLAGE CLERK AND MANAGER. JOSEPH GELLER, VILLAGE ATTORNEY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA? SO MOVED. URBAUM, DO I HAVE A SECOND FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA? I have a motion by Councilperson Winters, second by Councilperson Irvine. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Hearing none. Anyone for good and welfare for any agenda item? You also will be able to speak at every agenda item. Seeing no good and welfare. Do I have a motion to approve consent agenda? Oh, good and welfare? Okay. We have a good and welfare speech. Say her name, for the record, please.

Yes, sir. Kamitra Driver, 27364. Sorry. Homestead, Florida. So on November 10th, I had the... the pleasure of going through the interview process for village manager position and then had the honor of being voted in and as the interim village manager during that meeting And the vice mayor was instructed to then begin negotiation process with me. At the November 18th meeting, which happened to be the day that I received the draft contract, IT WAS BROUGHT BEFORE THIS COUNCIL, INFORMATION FROM MY PREVIOUS EMPLOYER THAT AND IT WAS EXPRESSED BY THE PERSON WHO BROUGHT IT FORWARD THAT THIS INFORMATION basically did not go in agreement or did not align with what I had presented as my reasons for separation from my previous employer, which was the City of Belle Glade. During that meeting, I did get up and speak and acknowledge that I was on the phone texting with the manager of City of Belle Glade, expressing my concern with the documents that the council person had received and that they were inaccurate. And I advise this council that no matter how they proceeded with their vote, that I would then ensure that you all had the correct information that accurately reflected my reasons or the conditions of my separation from the city of Belle Glade. On November 20th, the city of Belle Glade emailed the mayor and all the council persons as well as the city clerk and the city attorney. So hopefully you all received their email with the correct information. But I did want to make sure that the record and that the residents were aware of the communication that the city of Belle Glade had received. so that they would all know what the actual conditions regarding my separation from the City of Belle Glade. So I would just like to read this. It's very brief. This is from the City of Belle Glade in response to a public records request that one of the council persons had submitted to them, and in that public records request, my employee action form was actually marked terminated when it should have been marked resigned. And so this is City of Belle Glade's response. Please accept this communication as a formal redaction of the previous action form submitted concerning Ms. Driver's departure from the city's employee. Subsequent to review of Ms. Driver's personnel file and submitted resignation letter, it has been determined that the initial action form incorrectly indicated a termination of employment. Ms. Driver was a valued member of our team and her contributions during her tenure are greatly appreciated. Her departure was initiated by her voluntary resignation. THIS REDACTION SERVES TO CORRECT THE ATTACHED ACTION FORM RECORD AND ACCURATELY REFLECT THE NATURE OF HER DEPARTURE. WE REGRET ANY CONFUSION OR INCONVENIENCE THIS ERROR MAY HAVE CAUSED. PLEASE UPDATE ALL RELEVANT RECORDS TO REFLECT MS. DRIVER'S RESIGNATION. THIS IS SIGNED BY THE INTERIM HR DIRECTOR AND THEN THE CITY MANAGER. SO MR. MAYOR AND COUNCIL, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS WAS READ INTO RECORD SO THAT THIS WOULD ACCURATELY REFLECT AND WHAT TRANSPIRED AND DISPUTE WHAT WAS EXPRESSED AT THE LAST MEETING.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MS. DRIVER. APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYONE ELSE GOOD IN WELFARE FOR THIS AGENDA, THESE AGENDA ITEMS? AGAIN, YOU WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO SPEAK AT THE AGENDA ITEMS THEMSELVES.

Denise White, 173 Northwest 88th Street, since I was 12. I'm not even sure where to start. First, I'd like to say Mr. Oh, what's his name? Mr. Urbaugh, thank you very much for trying to hear us and move forward. SOMEWHAT WITH WHAT WE NEEDED OR WE FELT WOULD MAKE US FEEL A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORTABLE AS RESIDENTS OF EL PORTAL. I WISH THE REST OF THE COUNCILMEMBERS TOO WOULD FOLLOW YOUR STEAD. AND THEN COUNCILMAN WINTERS, I KNOW YOU LOOK LIKE YOU TOOK A LOT OF TIME TO create your 25 issues. It sounded like you were listening to us. You did say you were quiet the entire time. I do appreciate that. I wish you would have more patience with my residents, though, because they are very incensed about the fact that they are not listened to by the council. But I do like the fact that you did sit down and come up with 25 issues that you heard us speak about and you were trying to address them. So I appreciate you for that. Although when Councilman Herman said that he was going to negate it, nobody seconded it. Again, my counsel. As the people were leaving, my lady asked me if I would sit and talk to her. I have nothing against anybody who was here earlier. The biggest problem that I have is that, again, my counsel when my residents are upset with the people as a whole, moves me a little bit because I know it is because for months we have been asking for things and nothing we ask for or nothing we feel the room for has been moved on our behalf, which leads us to feel powerless. Some people say there aren't people coming to the meetings, but when you're not feeling heard at a meeting, or when things are passed even though we filled the room or filled the whole place, that doesn't make any sense. And then the last meeting that I went to, because I can't, I don't know, but these meetings drain me, right? That's why I brought snacks. I had to bring snacks. No, no, no. We'd be here much too long to not have snacks. So I did bring snacks this time because these meetings drain me. So sometimes when I come to a meeting and I stay in for a whole eight or what feels like eight hours, like I just left my job, and then I come in here and I have to take a break. And then I have fellow residents who ring the alarm. And they're like, hey, hey, hey, we got important stuff. They're doing crazy stuff again. And then I come. I'm only here when the stuff get too crazy, y'all. I've been here too often. I'm not going to say y'all, but I've been here too often. They calling me too often. I'm going to need y'all to fall back a little bit and listen to the people who helped elect you to your seats. I urge you, I'm begging you to listen to the people who have helped elect you to your seats. Mayor Nickerson, thank you for the, like I said before, and I was not being facetious, the turkey, the things that have to do with the holidays, and helping us feel like you're caring about the people around you. Thank you for that. I really appreciate that. But again, the big issues. She wanted to know how she could help. We're really upset because we're not heard. I know, I know, I know, I know. I'll be pushing the envelope anyway. You allowed me to push the envelope. I thank you for that too, because you let me talk. And I like to talk. Right. So, but I'm asking the council again, please listen to us. We don't all come in here just because We like each other or we want to see each other. We haven't seen each other in a long time. When we come, the rain, it was raining outside. It's almost a flood outside. And we are all here. That moves to not understand that. It's not that we want to say no to everything. But when we feel like developers are running over the little 12 by 4 that we have, we just got 12 by 4. And each of us chose El Portal for our own little personal reason. Maybe it was the trees. Maybe it was the birds. Maybe it was the peacocks. Maybe it was the fact that you saw kids that were in the street with their skates and stuff and nobody was running them over. Maybe it was that fact. I'm not sure. I know that's what my parents saw. I'm asking you all to please stop putting your own needs above your residents' needs and work with us, not against us, so that we can make it. And I know all of you have your own version of what you think El Portal should be, but together, not singular, can we move the world. I'm asking you to help me move the world and El Portal together with your residents and not by yourself. Amen?

Thank you very much. Anyone else good in welfare for this particular meeting?

You also have the... Noel Pace, 206 Northwest 91st Street. Hey, I just want to thank the council for having some common sense here and the fact that It's the holidays. This was a special meeting night. Two council people are not even here tonight. And that, hey, that the cure to indigestion is digestion. And so it's going to take a lot to digest All, I mean, the proposal is massive, okay? This is a massive thing. It's the largest property other than the little farm in El Portal. So, you know, you heard from the residents tonight that you got to crawl on this one, all right? Then walk, maybe then run sometime. But it appears they started out with a sprint. and thought they could hurdle over the holidays here into construction here starting in the springtime. And there's no effing way that's going to happen with what the residents want here right now. But I think everyone is willing to listen. I mean, people here sat here for four hours, five hours are still here listening. So I think reason, common sense, and I think you guys did a good job in trying to turn through all the issues, trying to talk through. I mean, everybody had their own prerogative on this, but I think you had a good outcome here, considering that it's tabled, that people can now read the 435 pages, that you guys can hear from them again. You know, I mean, I think there's a lot of alternatives that can be proposed. I'm not for, I'm not against. What I am for is I am for Alpert Hall, though. I am for Alpert Hall and the residents of Alpert Hall. So however that works out is how it works out. Okay, thanks.

Thank you very much. Anyone else good in welfare?

Daniel Rojas, 16 Northeast 86th Street. I wanna thank our fellow villagers and the mayor and the council people for everything that you guys do for us, for the patience, for being here. I'm gonna bring something up I think almost every time and the mayor knows I care a lot about it, the trees. we're going into this meeting to approve some tree removals so it's just basically I don't know at any point maybe like stricter rules and tree removals specifically like I was looking through some applications they don't even specify what kind of palm trees they're removing as it seems to be very generic and I guess I get a little fired up, especially when I drove by today and saw what happened to that lot across the street with all the oaks, where they moved, they transplanted, but the four of them look like they're dying. And it looks also like not all the effort necessary was made if they transplanted. They need to make sure they take care of the trees so they don't go into shock and die. And it doesn't seem like all efforts were made. And it seems like developers are in a habit of basically either killing trees or letting them die so you can get what they want without having to pay for any consequences. And considering we're a tree city, we're a bird sanctuary, every single tree counts, and I would like to see if the village can do something about that.

Thank you very much.

Hi, Velvet Connelly. Excuse me. 355 Northeast 87th Street. So I had an eventful night. This is crazy. I just wanted to say just two things. One, in general, Let me just make a point of housekeeping. So as far as the information, I know that we're super understaffed. I know everybody is working to the best of their capacity. But it has happened now a few times where there's information that just hasn't gotten to the public. And I'm not finger pointing about that. I don't even know who's responsible. But it just seems like there's this pattern of there being this really important information that the public gets really late. I know I only got wind of the 455-page document yesterday. And so I don't know when that was made available. I don't know how I was supposed to find out about it if it was on me. But that for me, I just was astounded by that. How could that happen? And I think that creates a lot of unnecessary tension, confusion, misunderstanding when we get into these forums. Because a lot of things that we could have worked out, we could have found out about, we're finding out as the public here, right? And I think that wastes a lot of time. I think it creates a lot of confusion in the back and forth. And so I'm just wondering how do we solve that? I'm just bringing that just as a point. Again, I'm not blaming anyone. I'm just trying to figure out how do we get a funnel of information to the public in enough time and attention that people can ask questions even ahead of time, where everything doesn't have to be discussed in these long meetings. Aside from that, just after the meeting that we just had, I would also just like to say to the community, and of course, fully acknowledge the council. I think their job is more challenging than what I would say I recognized, just with so many things that are coming at them. And so I just fully acknowledge the job that they're doing, but I would just like to see in general that the mentality toward this village Like, El Portal is the gem. And we have people that come here a lot and talk about how they are bringing something to us like they're the jewel in our crown or they're doing us some big favor. El Portal is the gem. We are the opportunity. And I would just really love to see not only that mentality from the residents, but that be an enforcement from our council, from everybody that has any authority in this village, that when people come to us with something, we demand that they step right. That it's not like we're some charity case and we got to accept whatever they bring to us because they're doing us a favor. We are the prize, and that's how I see El Portal, and I would like us to stand up for the collective vision of making other people see El Portal that way in the way we enforce that they come, in the way that they enforce, that we enforce, that they come to us with their best offer, not some thrown together thing that tells us everything they're gonna receive at our expense.

Mayor, I'd like to answer her question regarding the documentation.

No, no, you don't need to go back. I'm just gonna answer it for you.

So as of the last meeting, I received the stuff on Tuesday, and I sent it to you guys on Thursday. As I received the information, then I put it out. It solely doesn't depend on me. Right now I'm doing two jobs, as everybody knows. And even within, I've stayed till very late nights to get the stuff done. Trust me, my position is to get it to the public as soon as I can, but as completed as I can. Everybody here knows, and we had a meeting on Monday, that I was very firm about giving it to the public if it wasn't ready. Why? Because first of all, you need to be educated. So they need to be educated as well because they're the ones voting and you guys as residents deserve that, deserve to have that. I am not sitting in that position. If I was, I probably would have asked for a town hall so you guys can have these discussions and all that stuff and all that time. But I'm not in that position. I am talking to you from my position. And my position is that right now I'm doing the two top jobs that the city has. And I stayed long hours, which those hours, I'm not even getting paid for, but that's fine as long as I can get the stuff done and the stuff get out to everybody. I'm not asking for any specific consideration or anything like that. I'm just telling you that I'm trying to get the information as fast as I get it out. So for me to receive it on Tuesday, to me, was unacceptable. I said Monday, but I still gave it the opportunity. Like I said, the mayor called for a meeting because he was also not happy not having the full packet. Without having the full packet, there's no way that I was gonna be able to send it out. And I said it, we can move it to another time. I'm not gonna send it out unless the residents have anything in their hands for them to look at it. So if you receive that at a later time, I'm sorry, but I send it out on Thursday, I received it on Tuesday, which for me still was not acceptable. But it so happens that it just does not depend on me. Trust me, if it depended on me, you guys would have had it way before.

Alexandra Baza, 120 Northwest 36th Street. One thing that I wanted to point out is, like Ben Fernandez clearly stated several times, as well as the proponent, how they have met their requirements, and sometimes they have gone above the minimum requirements. The problem here is that the requirements are very low, extremely low. Our bar could not be lower. So anything that they want to throw at us, is doing us a favor. So I just wanted to point that out. Thank you.

Thank you.

You know, probably for an initiative, probably from an initiative perspective, I think they took a lot of initiative trying to get in here, get information to you guys, whatever. But from a style and an advisement perspective, I don't know. And I'm not sure that they got the best advisement here on how to approach this. But, yes, there needed to be some town halls in this. There needed to be some coffees. There needs to be some socialization. Like, I personally was under the impression, like, hey, that they were just, you know, going, hey, diddle diddle, up the middle. We can punch this through here on a special meeting right before the holidays. There won't be that much resistance. There won't be that many people attending. and that they'll just get this thing done. And again, you heard from their council, yeah, well, you know, we did more than the minimum, so we should get an attaboy for that. And that is totally, you know, the wrong answer. I mean, this is the second largest property in the village, and it is, as Velvet said, like, this is the gem. That is the center of gravity, okay? That is our main street. You know, yes, it's true, the little farm exists, but it is... on the other side over there, right? And it's pretty, it's got a natural wall of foliage and everything else that's there. But this is right in our main area, and so it's got to be respected, and it's got to be protected. And if we've waited 15 years to develop something there, what's an extra 15 days, 15 weeks? What the hell's the difference, okay, at this point? All right, let's make sure we get it right, whatever it is. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else good in welfare? Hearing, seeing none. Do I have a motion to approve consent agenda? So moved. Moved by Councilperson Winters. Do I have a second? I'll second. Second by Councilperson Erbaum. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. Hearing none. You guys, let's go to the resolutions. Let's go to the H1. Attorney Geller? Yes, Mike Geller. I don't know, do you have the agenda in front of you?

Yes, sir. Have it right here. You ready for the first item?

Yes, go to the H1. Yes, sir. Ms. Hammonds, if you can please come to one of the microphones.

Okay, item H1, resolution. I'm sorry, ma'am? No, no, I'm standing on my hands. Oh, okay. Item H1.

What?

Okay, everyone who's going to provide testimony, thank you. On any item tonight, please raise your right hand. And repeat after me. Anybody on any of these items, please stand, raise your right hand, and repeat after me. I, and state your name. I. Do hereby solemnly swear that the testimony I will give tonight will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me, God, or you may take an affirmation. Okay, thank you. I said tonight, I almost said this morning, Mayor, but let it go.

Thank you very much.

You can read H1. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Item H1, I'll read it, and then we can get the staff report. Item H1, resolution. Resolution of the Village Council of El Portal, Florida authorizing the approval of a variance for a garage enclosure conversion which does not comply with Section 5-66 garage enclosure of the Code of Ordinances at 24 Northwest 86th Street as requested by BVR Enterprises LLC providing for incorporation of recitals, providing for an effective date.

Thank you very much. Have there been any condition changes? Were there any conditions or anything they had to meet?

Nothing has changed since the planning and zoning board committee meeting.

I appreciate that. Any questions or comments from the council? Hearing, seeing none. Any questions or comments from the audience about this particular project? Hearing, seeing none. Back to the council. Do I have a motion to approve? Motion to approve. Approved. Motion moved by Councilperson Winters. Do I have a second? I'll second. Second by Councilperson Erbaum. Madam Clerk? With the kids, okay. May I please have roll call please? Who motioned, I'm sorry. It was motioned by Councilperson Winters, I believe, and seconded by Councilperson Irvine.

Roll call. Councilperson Winters?

Yes.

Councilperson Erbaum? Yes. Mayor Nickerson?

Yes.

Motion passes 3-0.

Item H-2, Resolution of the Village Council of El Portal, Florida, authorizing the approval of a variance for a garage enclosure conversion, which does not comply with Section 5-66, Garage Enclosure of the Code of Ordinances at 9010 Northwest 3rd Avenue, as requested by Martha Grimaldo, providing for incorporation of recitals, providing for an effective date.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, APPRECIATE THAT. MS. HAMMONDS, WERE THERE ANY CONDITIONS, ANYTHING CHANGED, ANY ADJUSTMENTS?

NO CHANGES SINCE THE PRESENTATION AT THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMITTEE MEETING.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE COUNCIL? I'M HEARING NONE. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR? Hearing, seeing none, back to the council. Do I have a motion to approve? Motion to approve. Motion to approve by Councilperson Winters. Do I have a second? I'll second. Second by Councilperson Erbom. Madam Clerk for H2, may I please have a roll call, please?

Roll call. Councilperson Winters.

Yes.

Councilperson Erbom.

Yes.

Mayor Nickerson.

Yes.

Motion passes three to none.

Item H3, resolution of the Village Council of El Patel, Florida, granting site plan approval for an addition to residents at 8900 Northeast 4th Avenue and Zone 3 suburban residents in the Village of El Patel, an application by John Ubarti, providing for findings, providing for conditions, providing for appeal, providing for an effective date. I hope I pronounced his Mr. Ubarti here. Well, he doesn't have to be. That's the item, Mayor.

Thank you very much. Appreciate that.

It's okay.

Do I have a, do I have any questions? Oh, what's the, any adjustments or conditions?

No changes since the planning and zoning approval.

Thank you very much. Any questions or comments from the council?

Yeah, my only question is just to be double sure on this addition that setbacks are correct on all perimeters. And then with the it looks like they're just going to repave the existing driveway, but there will be a walkway with another connecting walkway that adds a fair amount of concrete coverage in the front. I just want to be very positive that we are within parameters and there is no we're not we're not missing something or going beyond what is allowed no specifically with the driveway and walkway concrete coverage in the front we count all of that absolutely and your questions counselor everyone okay um moving out to the audience any questions or comments from the audience

Hearing seeing none. Back to the council. Oh, yeah. Say your name, Andrew, for the record.

Daniel Rojas, 16 Northeast 86th Street. So this is one where there's a tree removal permit from the Miami-Dade County where they state they're removing palms. However, there's no mention of what type of palm, whether it was a sable palm, whether it was a royal palm, or anything that's actually protected, or actually native, not easily removable stuff. Does the city have anything to do with that, or can the city do anything about, like, maybe provide a clarification on that?

usually tree removal um is strictly through them until i put the ordinance that i'm working on in place um it's strictly through durham in the county yeah usually for a tree removal that's what they apply and they get the permit from from durham um unfortunately that's why i'm trying to put that ordinance in place yeah we gotta we gotta speed it up i appreciate you thank you very much um any other questions comments from the audience All right, hearing, seeing none, back to the council. Do you have a motion to approve?

Motion to approve.

Motion to approve by Councilperson Winters. Do I have a second? I'll second. Second by Councilperson Erbom. Madam Clerk, I'll give you a roll call, please.

Roll call. Councilperson Winters? Yes. Councilperson Erbom?

Yes.

Mayor Nickerson? Yes. Motion passes three to none.

Item H4. RESOLUTION OF VILLAGE COUNCIL OF EL PERTAL, FLORIDA GRANTING SITE PLAN APPROVAL FOR AN ADDITION TO RESIDENTS AT 124 NORTHEAST 89th STREET AND ZONE 3 SUBURBAN RESIDENTS IN THE VILLAGE OF EL PERTAL AND APPLICATION BY LMH DEVELOPMENT LLC PROVIDING FOR FINDINGS, PROVIDING CONDITIONS, PROVIDING FOR APPEAL, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. MS. HAMMONDS, ANY CHANGES, ADJUSTMENTS, CONDITIONS?

NO, NO CHANGES SINCE PLANNING AND ZONING APPROVAL.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE THAT. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE COUNCIL? SEEING NONE ANY QUESTION COMES FROM THE AUDIENCE ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR ITEM. HEARING SEEING NONE. BACK TO THE COUNCIL DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? MOTION APPROVED. MOTION TO APPROVE BY COUNCILPERSON WINTERS DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. SECOND BY COUNCILPERSON URBAN. MADAM CLERKMAN PLEASE HAVE A ROLL CALL H4 PLEASE.

ROLL CALL. COUNCILPERSON WINTERS. YES. COUNCILPERSON URBAN.

Yes.

Mayor Nickerson. Yes. Motion passes three to zero. Thank you very much.

Item H5, resolution of the Village Council of El Portal, Florida, granting site plan approval for an addition to residence at 151 Northeast 88th Street in Zone 3 Suburban Residence in the Village of El Portal. An application by James and Robert Cruz, providing for findings, providing for conditions, providing for appeal, providing for an effective date.

Thank you very much. Ms. Hammonds, any adjustments, conditions, changes?

No, no changes since planning and zoning approval.

Okay, thank you very much. To the council, any questions or comments? Hearing, seeing none. To the audience, any questions or comments about this particular item? Hearing, seeing none. Back to the council, do I have a motion to approve? Motion to approve. Motion to approve by Councilperson Winters. Do I have a second?

I will second.

Second by Councilperson Erbom. Madam Clerk, may I please have a roll call, please?

Roll call. Councilperson Winters.

Yes.

Councilperson Erbaum. Yes. Mayor Nickerson. Yes. Motion passes three to none.

I appreciate that. Item H6, a resolution of the Village Council of El Portal, Florida, authorizing the approval of a variance for a garage enclosure conversion, which does not comply with Section 5-66, garage enclosure, or the code of ordinances at 311 Northeast 90th Street. As requested by SPS Miami 5 LLC, providing for incorporation of recitals, providing for an effective date.

Thank you very much. Ms. Hammonds, adjustments, conditions?

No changes were made since planning and zoning board approval.

Appreciate that. Any questions or comments from the council? Any questions or comments from the audience? Back to the council. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Moved by Councilperson Erbom. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second by Councilperson Winters. Who's that roll call?

Roll call. Councilperson Winters. Yes. Councilperson Erbom. Yes. Mayor Nickerson. Yes. Motion passes 3 to none.

I am H7, a resolution of the Village Council of El Portal, Florida, granting site plan approval for new construction of a one-story residence at 194 Northwest 91st Street in Zone 3, suburban residence in the Village of El Portal. An application by Raquel Cismero and Nathan Wigglesworth, providing for findings, providing for conditions, providing for appeal, providing for violation of conditions, providing for an effective date.

Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Any conditions or adjustments, changes?

Yes. On this one, the applicant had made some revisions to address comments that they did receive at the Planning and Zoning Board approval. If you want me to, I have a couple notes, but the applicant is here. Maybe she could explain it a little better.

Hi. Hi.

Yeah, we wanted to reflect more accurate the foliage, the trees, everything that was around it. So we wanted to also show that. We also wanted to have more hearing what everyone was saying, have more transparency, more open if we could. So we opened the shed even more so we could see how the trees are behind as well. We can see the garden. And also we were able, there was a note about being a little bit of maybe like commercial. And so we took that note as well into consideration and we were able to open the windows a little bit more. So it was more welcoming even and more transparent. So yeah.

Thank you very much. We appreciate that. Any questions or comments from the council?

This is the property that has hedges on the street line currently, right? Yeah. Okay. And there is still currently no plan to remove those, right?

No. Yeah. Okay. That's my only question.

Okay. Any other questions from the council? Okay.

Any questions from the audience? Yeah. I think we need to hear from these two young men before we can approve. They waited this long. I think we should give them a chance to talk.

He's like, about what? Speaking to the mic, my brother.

We love the neighborhood, and I love the nature. Our neighbor next door, her name is Sarah. They have dogs, and we can walk them around the neighborhood, and it's fun, yeah.

We appreciate it. Any other questions or comments from the audience? Hearing, seeing none, do I have a motion to approve by the council? So moved. Second. Moved by Councilperson Erbom, second by Councilperson Winters. Roll call.

Roll call, Councilperson Winters. Yes. Councilperson Erbom. Yes. Mayor Nickerson.

You know, the first time I voted no, My vote really doesn't matter at this point, really, to tell you the truth. Like, it's already passed with the two yes votes. But I do want to say, right before I vote, that, you know, this is something that we just have to be careful of, you all, with, like, the older houses. You know, the house that they originally had is the Key West style house. And these type of houses that we have in Alpertown, we got to be careful with, like, you know, knocking them down and building newer, more modern houses. I love you guys. You guys are wonderful, and you guys have already passed, so don't take it personally, but I really feel adamant about that, so I want to vote no, but you guys are good.

You guys have passed anyway, okay? All right, thank you very much. Mayor, we go back now to item G1, interim village manager.

Congratulations. You guys are good. All right, take care. See.

Interim slash village manager position.

Congratulations. Good job. Nice job, too. Thank you.

Madam Clerk, Madam Manager, Interim Manager.

Yes. For the Village Manager position, we brought back some of the applicants from before. Correct. And we have shaved down the amount of questions that we're going to be asking them. Correct. Who is it that has returned tonight for the position?

Mr. Roos and Mr. David Roseman. Mr. Hector Roos and David Roseman.

All right, we can have those two individuals come up here for us, Mr. Roseman and Mr. Roos. Just come sit up toward the front.

I also like to add into the record that Vice Mayor Martin was not able to make it, and she wanted really to be a part of it. She had asked me to ask you to defer. That's something that you have to take up on you guys, but I'm just giving you what she had relayed to me.

Okay. All right. Thank you.

There was also you guys had to provide questions. I guess you guys have those questions with you.

Yeah. How are you doing, Mr. Ritz? You can just sit up in the first or second row. Thank you guys very much. As far as what Vice Mayor Martin suggested, what do you guys feel about that? Are you ready to move forward? Only three of us are here tonight. What do you guys want to do? Council? I can't hear over all the chatter.

I would say we need to move forward in some capacity if possible. We definitely need to be having this discussion and talk to both these candidates tonight, even if the result isn't tabling it. I think the ultimate, I think we need to have this discussion. I think we need to move forward if possible. Okay, let's see if we could possibly move forward.

um let's go with uh we had the order that we had uh originally uh madam clerk uh mr roseman can we put mr roseman in the back room and we'll have mr roose we'll have you come to the podium All right, thank you very much. So we're going to go through, Madam Clerk, how many questions a piece we had?

So nobody else provided, I guess you guys have your own questions. So what we'll do is we'll- What did we decide, last meeting was three or- No, no, no, it was one question per member. So I guess what we'll do is we can start with the mayor and from there on, from senior and down.

How you doing, Mr. Rue? Good evening, Mr. Mayor. How you doing, my brother? Good to see you here. We appreciate you coming back. As manager, what would be some of the priorities that you feel should be addressed within our community? You can give me like three to five priorities that you feel that should be tackled and addressed within our community.

Well, the first one is listening. And what I mean by that is that I don't know which is the best priority or which should take priority order. But certainly there are ideas that both yourself and the members of the council have. And let me just say thank you for having me here, Mayor Nickerson, Council Members Erbaum and Winters. And I'm here because I just wanted to relate that you have a fantastic village here. I would love to be a part of it. And I think the reason why I'm here is because I feel like I can play a role in that listening to restore trust. From what I hear from the big turnout that was here earlier, there's people who feel that there just needs to be more communication. And that's not anything nefarious. It's literally because for 29 days, Clerk Jacoby has been the interim manager and pulling double or triple duty. And so that will be my first priority is to step into that space.

As far as priorities, like tangible priorities in the community, is there one or two priorities that pop up in your mind that you would have as far as what needs to be addressed, like in Alpertown?

That's kind of what I was asking. In terms of, for example, the adjustments to the budget that have been talked about?

In terms of that or any infrastructure, any type of, like, anything that you see or that you feel or that you've learned, you know, as far as what needs to be taken care of in El Portal, what needs to be, you know, one or two priorities in El Portal that needs to be, you know.

Sure. I mean, the floor manager left a number of items that were in the middle and needed just to be finished. So, for example, the arborist report, the tree inventory. There should be an inventory about historic properties in the village, for instance, and recognize that there is money out there to help restore them. And the best house, they say that the the best house you have is the one already built, right? So that, for me, those are some of the easy, low-hanging fruit that should be taken care of, as well as just sitting down with Department Ed and saying, well, where are we here with the priorities that were left by the former manager? And she's left very detailed reports, I have to say.

Perfect. Thank you very much, Councilperson Irvine. We'll go by seniority, you guys.

Good evening. Thanks for being here. My question is to know, when was when was the last time that you were part of the executive team or management team of a department in which department was that? Like public works, building, code enforcement, et cetera?

Right. So I've worked on the outside in terms of not in that government space, but working with whether it's a code enforcement issue or whether it's a quality of life issue. My experience comes from property management. So when I am talking to, so which is basically duplicating the services of local government in terms of garbage collection, management of property, of the common areas, and of course budgeting, which is a really important part of our conversation here. And so when I'm advising, so to answer your question, I have that experience, it's just in a different facet of it, but it's, and it's a different, I'm held to an even higher standard because The contracts there are not contracts. So I'm asked to do these things on a case-by-case basis, either advising a board who may switch me out for somebody else or asking me to play a different role at any given time. So I hope that answers your question. Fair enough.

Councilperson Winters.

Mr. Roos, our village currently suffers from significant budget constraints. Would you be willing to take less salary upfront in exchange for performance-based incentives on the back end according to your ability to bring in tangible solutions to issues in our community?

Yes, I've always communicated that I'm certainly willing to take the pay at the lowest end of the pay scale. I think I said at the first meeting that a salary commensurate with the median income of residents here in El Portal is important. Sorry, the double elite. No more than double that is what a manager of a municipality organization like this should be, somewhere between 90 and 95.

Thank you very much. Yeah, bring in . We were doing the same thing we did last time. You guys, write them down and give them to me. Write them down and give them to me like last time. Sergeant Gutierrez, can you get some printer paper, please, and a pen? Can you get some printer paper out of the printer for me? How you doing, Mr. Rose? doing very well thank you okay i'm good i'm good each one of us is going to ask you a question um and then you possibly may get questions from the um the residents but that will be afterwards okay okay all right so my first question is no no i need i need paper for the residents to write down a question or two Oh, absolutely. All right. So my first question is, what do you see is, you know, a few priorities that you would tackle as manager? What are a couple of things you look around El Pertal? What are a couple of things that you see or a few things, three to five maybe or whatever, three things, a few things that you see that is a priority in El Pertal that you think needs to be tackled right away?

Well, I have been sitting here with you and the residents for four hours, and it was pretty apparent to me that there was a lot of distrust, lack of communication, lots of differences of opinion as to how to handle things. I remember that when I first came the first time, I noticed some of these things. qualities, but it was not as intense as it is now. And one of the first things that I did was make sure that I got to know the community. I walked around. I got to know a lot of the people, a lot of the community activists. I wanted to make sure that I got not only in this kind of a setting, but that I could speak to them individually about some of the things that they were concerned about. The first two or three meetings, I was surprised at the level of candor, honesty that the residents had. And I enjoyed that because when you have the level of energy, you have stuff to work with. And I made sure that I got to know those individuals who spoke and spoke repeatedly. And I made sure that I took notes. And then I made sure that I went and visited them. AND TO FIND OUT EXACTLY HOW LONG THEY HAVE BEEN IN THIS COMMUNITY, ET CETERA. AND WE WERE ABLE TO DO SOME AMAZING THINGS. TO MANY OF YOU REMEMBER, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REVIVE THE PROJECT OF septic tank to sewer. And within six months we were able to get things moving to be considered for funding from the state. And we had this room filled with people at that time, all of which wanted to participate in that project. So I think that one of the things that I'm always amazed at how In a democracy, when people are free to speak their mind and there's no fear of having any kind of repercussions against them, people will speak their mind. And I enjoyed that because even when they did not know me, I was able to convey, I guess, a sense of I am here for you. I'm not here to dictate. what it is that you want me to do, you're here to tell me what it is that you want me to do, and I proceeded accordingly. So it was unfortunate that my tenure here was not as long as I would have wanted, but in this seven, eight years since then, I have gained much wisdom, much experience, and I think that you have your right person in Ms. Driver, but I cannot help but to feel a little sense of, gee, this is, you know, second bite of the apple, and I was not able to gain your trust or your confidence in that I could be the right person to deliver you. to the promised land. So I wish you all best of luck. I will not be interested in an interim position. I am doing very well at the city of Miami. And as I've spoken with some of you, the salary that I'm making now is $30,000 more than what you could offer. It would have been a great opportunity for me to kind of like finish my professional career here, but I still have friends here, and I wish you best of luck. I hope that you can get together, bring, there's a tremendous amount of good energy in this room. I saw that in spite of the rain and the kind of weather condition that people came out, And so there is a lot of energy in this room that should be able to be turned into positive outcomes. And so I thank you. I thank all of your staff, Mr. Geller, Mr. Jacobi, Mr. Mayor, two of you who I just met. But the three, I had worked with them before, and I had hoped to be able to have some of those opportunities, like about this time of night, to talk about some of the things that had happened during the council meeting. So do you, residents, I wish that you continue to express yourself in a honest and intelligent way, as you have. Those of you who have repeated, who came together, I applaud you for your commitment to the cause.

Thank you very much. I appreciate that, Mr. Roseman. And thank you very much for coming back, and thank you very much for sitting through the meeting. I wouldn't have missed this for the world. We appreciate it. Thank you very, very much, and take care.

Can I just ask?

I was talking to a resident. What was your statement about your availability, sir? I didn't catch it.

Well, what I was saying is that I was not available for the interim position. If I were to take, to move from where I'm doing now, this is a very critical point. We just got elected a new mayor and she's someone that I have worked with in the downtown area. So I look forward to renewing that relationship. I already have some ideas of the things that I want to present to her and her staff with regards to the issue of homelessness in downtown Miami, particularly. So I have lots of exciting things that I'm going to be able to do.

So you would be available if the council were to choose you as permanent at this point? Oh, yeah. Definitely. Thank you.

Actually mayor that's why I put in room slash village manager because I did advertise as a village manager position I did not advertise in room in room was to push you out of that hurry, which I have been stepping into that was what the in room was. Again you guys know that even if he was to have the capacity of village manager or in room just for the technology of the word you guys it we all work at the pleasure of the Council.

Madam Clerk, he also mentioned that he'd be making $30,000 more than we can offer him in his current position. I'm glad you're paying for it.

So a couple of things. First of all, as I stated in the last meeting, the manager, the clerk, the attorney, they exist to the pleasure of the council. So at any given time, with three votes, with majority votes, we can vote them out at any time. So the difference between an interim and a permanent, there's really no difference.

It's been said, Mayor, that every manager, attorney, and clerk is an interim all the time.

All the time. Because there really is no difference because of the way it's just set up in government. It just takes majority votes, doesn't matter when. at any time so you can hire somebody on a wednesday and by majority voter you vote them out the next tuesday you vote them out by majority vote you can do that at any time um that's kind of how that goes uh if you would put oh you got two more questions um and then i'm going to ask you to go back to the room but just in case let me get the last two next two questions uh council person urban

Good evening, thank you sincerely for being here. My question is to understand, most recently, in what capacity, in what department have you been part of, either the executive team, management team, et cetera, et cetera, but what is the most recent, I understand it's probably your current position, but what is your most recent role in helping to run a department, and which department is it?

THE DEPARTMENT IS THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES. AND I AM THE ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR. MY ROLE NOW IS Basically serve as a strategic coordinator for the services that our... What's the official name of the... Assistant to the director.

No, I mean of the department.

Oh, the Department of Human Services.

Department of Human Services. For Miami-Dade County?

Miami. The city of Miami.

The city of Miami. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you. I GET PULLED IN TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY HOW TO PROVIDE SERVICES MOST EFFICIENTLY AND MOST EFFECTIVELY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR CONTINUUM OF CARE, THOSE ARE THE AGENCIES THAT PROVIDE SERVICES TO THE HOMELESS POPULATION AND PEOPLE WHO ARE UNEMPLOYED. OUR DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES BASICALLY HAS TWO service populations, homeless individuals and folks who are unemployed. Sometimes they are the same, but basically because there's such a close relationship between those two, I serve as being able to identify those individuals who can benefit from what we do.

Very good. And for the benefit of the residents, that is the role you currently hold, is that right? That is the role that I currently hold. And so you have a team underneath you as well as a need to interact with the public.

Yes, basically I work with a team of officers and I also work with a team of outreach workers and a team of solid waste collectors and we go out into the streets and we tackle each of those individuals who find themselves unemployed. unhoused, and we try to figure out the best way to provide assistance to them. I also get on the phone and work with the agencies, identify resources, what are the opportunities for specific individuals. As such, I also work with the private sector. Many times people who have businesses get affected because homeless individuals are in front of their shop, etc. So we talk about ways for them to deal with that problem. We provide police assistance. I train the officers in terms of how to deal with homeless population, how to identify people who are suffering from mental illness and or drug abuse. So it's It's very exciting. I have been doing this for five years now. I have been back with the city for eight. So, excuse me. WHEN I FIRST WENT BACK TO THE CITY, I WAS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD ENHANCEMENT TEAM, AND BASICALLY THAT WAS MORE FOCUSING ON NEIGHBORHOODS AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT WERE THE NEEDS, ET CETERA, WHICH HELPED ME, BECAUSE I HAD DONE A LOT OF THAT HERE, PEOPLE WITH, I NEED TO GET MY TREE, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY OR IT'S IN MY PROPERTY, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. DEALING WITH NEIGHBORHOODS. IN MY CURRENT ROLE, IT'S DEALING WITH A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT POPULATION. SO, SURELY.

COUNCIL PRESIDENT WINTERS.

YES. SO, THANK YOU, MR. ROSEMAN, FOR TALKING WITH ME ON THE PHONE TODAY. IT WAS WONDERFUL. I MEAN, IT WAS, WE TALKED BEFORE LAST MONTH, AND YOU WERE ONE OF MY TOP FINALISTS, AND WE SPOKE IN DEPTH, AND YOU HAD SO MUCH TO OFFER THE CITY. And I understand that there are bigger and better things for you. And in our budget constraints, there's no way we could spend $30,000 over budget, and you deserve it because you are very well qualified. My question actually, you answered it when you talked. I was going to ask if you'd be able to work within our budget, but obviously it's not going to be able to happen. But I want to thank you for showing up today and giving your time. You stood through the entire four-hour meeting. I saw you in the back. I sent you a text. And I was like, that's a trooper. That shows a lot to your character.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I enjoy you being the only other person with a hat on. I appreciate that as well. Actually, I bumped my head You look great. I'm all for hats. Thank you very much, you all.

How are we looking with? Okay, no problem. No problem. No problem. You're good. Take your time. We don't want to rush you, man. We don't want to rush you. I was just going to.

All right.

Do me a favor, Mr. Rosen. Go to the back. Sure. Okay. Yeah. Step into the room. Yeah, go into the room. Okay. Go into the room. Thank you. I was going to try to get his questions out of the way while he was already out here. I think so. Do your report real quick. Okay. Let me get, hold on, Roos, Roos. Roos, Roos. I don't think there's any questions for, oh, one's to the council. One's to the council. Let me get Roos, you guys. Well, we can discuss that also before we, we can discuss that. Maybe start with that. No, no, it's okay. I'm just going to find a way to word it kind of different. How you doing, Mr. Rose? These are questions from the audience. It says, you mentioned that you participated in the campaign of . Representative, you participated in a campaign of a representative?

I mean, congressional, probably, yeah. What was the question?

In what capacity and how would you address alleged third or illegal behavior in a workplace if you were to become aware of it?

Well, in the workplace, there's an HR person that you can report things to using confidence, and then get advice on how to proceed. Was that the question?

I believe that's the question. The next question is, have you ever run a city or municipality or a government department at any level, city, state, or federal?

The only time when I worked in county, I just was in the office, I didn't operate the office. So in terms of organizations that I work with, yeah, I managed a $4 million budget in one of the organizations. And budgets for associations, for homeowner associations, that was typically $10 million a year.

Okay.

The next one is, are you the roost that ran for governor of Florida?

Yes, somebody asked me that last time, and yeah, I did.

And then the next one is, you have a couple more here. Sure. What is your relationship with Councilperson Winters?

Winters, I know Councilman Winters. I guess in the time that we've spoken about this position, before when I became aware of it, we struck up a friendship.

Okay, thank you. And what were the last three jobs that you had, and how did they qualify you for an executive position?

Sure. So in terms of the last three jobs, you're asking me the association of... Malibu Bay down in Homestead was a 4,000 unit homeowner association. So I was working with one of the subdivisions for that. And that prepared me in regards to establishing budgets, talking to stakeholders and property owners, and dealing with the county that also controlled the roadways and public facilities for the association.

Thank you very much. And I think that is it for you. Let's have Mr. Roseman come out, please.

Mayor, the CFO, go ahead. The CFO brought something to my attention regarding the salary. What we have advertised was from 90 to 150 based on experience. Okay. Just for clarification, because I don't want no misunderstanding. So it was based on experience. It was from 90 to 150. Okay.

Thank you very much. Appreciate that. If we can get Mr. Rosen, I have one question for him. How you doing, Mr. Roseman? We have one question for you, and then we'll send you back. Do you have a relationship with or do you know any council member?

Not a relationship, but I consider us to have been colleagues during my tenure here seven, eight years ago.

Okay. Anyone else? No. Anyone on the council? Okay. All right. Thank you very much. Surely. Oh, yeah.

Mr. Colbrick had another question. He wanted to know what was the interpretation. He didn't have time to come here. What was the interpretation of Mr. Roseman of what the salary would be? Which I think I kind of answered without knowing it. But Mr. Roseman, huh?

Oh, like what do you require? What would you require as a salary if you were a full-time manager here?

That's a tough question to ask, because I was shooting for the maximum of 150, which is what was advertised. But I would say that I could absorb, I could take 130, 125, 130.

Thank you very much. Can you go back to the room for us, please? All right, y'all, so, oh, there's one more? For both? Yeah, bring them down, please. All right, Mr. Ruse, one more question for you. How does your job experience qualify you to negotiate with developers of large projects?

That's a great question. So I'm also a licensed realtor. I have represented property owners that were potential development projects in Miami Beach. I've worked in the city of Miami with neighborhood groups in regards to their zoning code and modifying their zoning code. And ultimately, I've worked with other, in the city of Miami, I've worked with other groups in terms of developing their community benefits packages, which is something you may have seen earlier. The council was talking about What benefits, when you don't have them fixed in the code, can you request of a developer in lieu of an agreement that goes above and beyond the requirements of code? So it could be as basic as as a signage for neighborhoods, neighborhood signage as well, or a contribution to public art or some other type of a place making like upgrading sidewalks, you know. But these, they can be sizable depending on the development agreement.

Thank you very much. Appreciate that. Go back to the room. Thank you very much, Mr. Rooks. No, no, no, no, we're good. Thank you. All right, so these are our options, you all. Vice Mayor Martin called in and said she couldn't make it. She asked us to table it. We have a motion that we could make. We understand that for Mr. Roseman, the motion would have to be for just village manager without the interim attached to the front of it. And then we also have Mr. Roos, who I believe would be either village manager or interim village manager. So those are options. So we have a tabling option. We have an option for a motion for Mr. Roseman for village manager. And we have at this point an option for Mr. Roos for village manager, might as well say. So I have a question.

Because I'm going to look at the agenda. And the agenda, even though it was listed indeed as both, it says interim village manager on the agenda.

Yes, but when I advertised it, I advertised it as a village manager. So the intention thereof was to be applied as to be a village manager. It's either interim or village.

Those are our options, you guys. You know, the mayor can't make a motion or a second. I make a motion to ask for Hector Roos as the village manager. All right. So we have a motion on the table for Hector Roos to be the village manager. Do I have a second? Do I have a second? Going once. Do I have a second going twice? Do I have a second for the third time? Okay, the motion fails for lack of a second. Do I have another motion?

I would move to select Mr. Roseman as a permanent attorney.

All right, so I have a motion on the table for Mr. Roseman. Do I have a second? Yeah, I understood what you were saying.

What did I say?

You said attorney.

Oh, my God.

All right, I've only been up for 17 hours, so. Geller's like, I don't wanna lose my job right now.

I will, okay, I'll amend my motion.

I move to select Mr. Roseman as permanent manager. All right, we have a motion on the table for Mr. Roseman. Do I have a second? Do I have a second? Going once. Do I have a second going twice? For the third time, do I have a second?

Mayor, you guys need to make a decision tonight, whether it's one or the other, and I'm going to tell you why. I said in the last meeting, I've been holding two jobs at the same time. That is not the best practice. The attorney has spoken to me several times. I've pushed it as much as I could. I could be covering, but it's not the best practices. I cannot be doing both jobs. That's dual responsibility.

We'll try it again.

I've heard from the audience today that we have a $500,000 deficit apparently, and I can't see us spending more money than we have to.

I CAN'T EVEN TAKE THAT. I REFUSE TO TAKE THAT COMMENT SERIOUSLY. I REFUSE TO TAKE THAT COMMENT SERIOUSLY. THIS IS FROM THE PERSON WHO RECOMMENDED $350,000 BE PAID TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS JUST SO HE COULD GET HIS 67. THERE IS NO WAY THAT THAT COMMENT CAN BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY A MANAGER THAT WE DESPERATELY NEED.

AD HOMINEM ATTACKS ARE NOT CONSIDERED REAL WAYS TO SPEAK TO YOUR COUNCILMEN.

So we had two motions and two fails for lack of a second. Do you have any other motions? I mean, you guys can do the motion again, I suppose. But do I have another motion on the table?

Make a motion that we offer the job to Mr. Roseman at $75,000 and ask for Mr. Hector Roos at $70,000 to be deputy manager. And both of them will be under budget and both be able to work

That would not work because I didn't advertise for any of that. Other than that, the negotiations were for 90 to 150. That needs to be negotiated anyway. Regardless, it has to be negotiated. So I did not advertise for a deputy manager. I advertised for a village manager. This is the peculiar situation the village is in right now. As if I had not stepped in, you guys would have been rolling without a village manager, and that is not attainable. That is not sustainable, and that's why I said at the last meeting, you guys need to decide by the next meeting what are you guys going to do with the position.

And is the chair unable to second?

No, he can second.

Okay. All right.

The only other thing you could do, typically I don't recommend it, but in this circumstance you could try to get Vice Mayor Martin on the phone. She said she was amenable.

We also received an email from Bob Cook that asked to do it on the phone, and he was denied.

I'm sorry, I'm not understanding you, sir. It's late. Please repeat what you're saying.

One of the applicants replied. He said he'd like to make it, but the flooding did not allow him, and he wanted to do it by phone. He was denied. I do not think we should do anything by phone if we denied it to one of the applicants tonight.

Merely a comment. It's an available course of action. She said she was available. There's a difference between a council member and an applicant.

So we're awaiting a new motion right now, is that right? Yeah. Is there a motion?

So are we going to create a precedent where we contact every council member when they're not here? My predecessor was unqualified, and that's why I'm on this position. So let's try and figure out a way to make this work.

Do I have a motion on the table?

You guys, we either have a table. We can either table. Can you motion it, and I will second whatever you feel, just so I can work through this, Mr. Mayor?

Excuse me? I'm just going to move again to select Rosemond as a permanent manager.

Do we have a motion on the table? Do we have a second? Second going once.

I will only second for interim manager, not for regular manager. For Rosemond.

AND I'LL TABLE EVERY FREAKING AGENDA WE HAVE COMING IN FRONT OF US UNTIL WE HAVE A MANAGER.

SO WE HAVE A MOTION. BUT THE MOTION IS FOR YOUR MOTION, COUNCIL PRESIDENT URBAN.

MOTION IS FOR ROSEMOND AS PERMANENT MANAGER.

SO THEN DO I HAVE A SECOND GOING ONCE? SECOND GOING TWICE? Second for the third time.

Mayor, I think you need to put up for vote calling a third party, calling Martin. Put it up for vote between you guys. You guys need to decide. This is, you know, the village.

I'd like to make a motion for David Roseman as interim manager.

I have a motion for David Roseman as interim manager. Do I have a second? Second going once. Second going twice. Third time, David Roseman, interim manager. No second fails, for lack of a second. You guys, we either can get on the same page, or there's a table option. Or do I have a motion to call a council person, I mean like, vice mayor Martin. Vice mayor Martin. Do I have a motion for that?

I'll make a motion to table the issue. Till next meeting. That's right.

Who's going to be the manager? Because I'm going back to my clerk position. I said it at the last one. So you guys can't function without a manager.

I agree.

And you guys can't force me to stay as a manager either.

Our charter allows for any chartered officer to be manager. So those are the two charter officers that are there. Those are our only choices for me.

Yes, but I already did it for the time I did. Tonight's the night you guys picked it, you guys kept moving it around. I don't think you'll be doing me any justice.

So it seems like there's no way that, You guys can get on the same page. I don't even have a motion to even call Vice Mayor Martin.

I voted for both of them, and I also voted to table it. I mean, I did all three.

I refuse to select an unqualified candidate, and I'm looking for leadership here from the chair.

Only thing I could do is give you guys the options. If you guys are a part on this, then the only thing that I would say is... Table it till she comes. No, that's what I was going to say.

That's what I'm talking about.

What I understood was that you guys, no.

No, no, no, no. I'm talking about tabling it until we get our other council members here and we do like a special meeting for the village manager. Like whenever we can, like as soon as possible. That's what I'm talking about. That would be the tabling aspect of it. that we table and we come back with a special meeting for the village manager. I mean, you could do that Monday if we, what's wrong? What other candidates? Well, yeah, that's no problem. Whoever was in, because our motion was whoever was in the original six that came. I understand. It depends on what the motion is.

Can we make a motion?

It depends on, no, I don't second.

Can we make a motion? I never have.

I never have. And usually the chair doesn't second. It's usually up to the members of the committee.

So my patience is up. I'm at a point now where the two council people I sit on the council with presently tonight, okay, the two people that are here other than myself tonight sitting on the dais, all right, SO I'VE BEEN IN THIS SITUATION BEFORE. THIS IS LIKE DEJA VU TIMES THREE FOR ME RIGHT NOW. SO ONE WAS A MOTION FOR $67,000 EACH TO THE COUNCIL FOR A PART-TIME POSITION. FOR THE RECORD, I'VE NEVER GROSSED MORE THAN $55,000 IN A YEAR.

IT'S OBVIOUS IN YOUR INTELLECT.

Yeah, yeah, no problem. So, so, because the billionaires are geniuses, right? They got, that's such an insane comment. Such an insane comment. So, so, if the residents support $350,000 a year to the council, well then there's your answer right there, okay? Now time number two. We selected a manager, an interim manager even. An interim manager even. And what happened with that? Present company, I'm sitting here, but then my colleagues say, no, back to square one. Because it seems very obvious, and I'm tired of beating around this bush. He's got somebody he wants to be manager for him. He's got somebody he wants to be manager for him, but he's not saying anything about it. We don't know who that is yet. I don't know any of these candidates. I don't know any of them. Because you didn't call him. I talked to five. I talked to five.

Did you call Hector once?

Hector Ruiz is not someone I consider to be qualified for this position.

I called people that I didn't think were qualified. I called 23 candidates, even if I didn't want them. So that's where I stand. Okay, guys. You got to put in the time.

Okay, guys, guys, this is, this is, let's bring it back to business. Let me, let me. We're drifting farther and farther away from business. Let me just interject real quick. We had business sorted two weeks ago. I was a little confused. I thought you guys were talking about starting all over. We're gonna be closed for a whole week due to tenting and that can buy you a little time due to the holidays. I mean, I can still hold the fort. I thought you guys were looking at a longer, longer time. Honestly, because the holidays are in the way, I can go ahead if you guys wanna have your full council here, because this is a big decision. This is not a small decision. This is a big decision. This will impact residents and projects.

I'm the only one trying to make a decision. The other two people on this dais right now are not trying to make a decision. They're trying to force in somebody that they want. His isn't here. His is. That's the only reason we're sitting here right now. But the mines are not in a crime. He's hoping to shove his through tonight.

but the minds are not in agreement, but if you guys do agree to table it until your other two members are here, because obviously we're going nowhere. We're like not going, we're going full circles and circles and circles. So I understood, i thought it was that it was for me to stay a longer period that's not attainable that's not that's that's not even correct but if it is with the week that we're gonna be closed i think that'll buy you guys time it's the holidays we can come back when your other members are here because you three right now are not in agreement is it possible to talk to david rosen one more time You wanted to talk to David Roseman? One more time. That's up to him.

Because I have, you know, he conflictingly told us that he didn't want the job he was going to make more, then afterwards he changed his mind. I think there was a confusion and I did the clarity. If I'm going to go with the motion with him, I need... With all deference, sir, what he said was...

He said what he was making, and then when he was asked the question, he said he could do it for like $130,000, $135,000. Actually, you were on the phone when he said it the first time. I think he said $130,000, $135,000.

Those are negotiations to be had. We don't even know if he's going to have the job.

But he did say it had to be permanent for him to quit his job. That is what he said.

So I'd like to just talk with him one more time if that's okay.

Hold on. Hold on. Everybody wait.

I MOVE TO EXTEND THE MEETING 15 MINUTES.

I HAVE A MOTION.

WE'RE AT 90 MINUTES, IT'S 1230. I MOVE TO EXTEND THE MEETING 15 MINUTES.

SECOND. SO I HAVE A MOTION, I HAVE A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. SO THE MOTION IS EXTENDED. LISTEN YOU ALL. If you guys feel like we don't have, and I won't even address you, Council President Irvine, I love you to death, but I don't know where that came from. When I think about who the secret member is, who I'm waiting for, I'm thinking about who our candidates were who first came. It was those two, it was Driver, who doesn't wanna be it anymore. if she's my secret candidate she's not ever coming back so i don't know why i'm holding out for that um it was the the the young woman said that she withdrew her application yes after the last events she says she okay so i'm not waiting for her so i don't know what council person urban i'm saying i'm waiting for a secret person um but

And Mr. Cook said he had prior commitment.

I'd like to ask Mr. Geller a question. Mr. Geller, now that Mrs. Driver is no longer part of this application, can you share what we offered her last time?

It's pointless because it was based on her experience.

I'm reluctant. because it was not my offer. It was from the vice mayor. If she was here to authorize it, I would not have any objection, but it's not, Mine to say it was the vice mayor's offer, and I'm reluctant to reveal that without her permission.

The vice mayor obviously is the one that came with the contract.

My question would be that if— No, sir, I drafted the contract.

She worked with you on it?

She made the number offer, and I'm reluctant to speak for her in her absence.

I would be curious as to what she offers someone who my constituents here thinks was more worthy of being the manager than Mr. Roseman, what they offered him. And that would make a big difference in what we would be able to offer him in the future and if we're able to do the same thing again. Because he has a specific number he's thinking of and

his number from the podium. If you want to bring him back, I assume the mayor doesn't object to bringing the man back in. You just extended 15 minutes. Mayor, can he come back and maybe he can satisfy the councilman?

But that was, again, for her number.

sir i don't feel authorized to do that the council the vice mayor made that decision i'm sorry i would like to accommodate you and if i could you know if she was here and i could ask her she could just say so the question is not up to me if she offers the same amount and it's less than he's asking right now and she's going to do that again he's not going to accept it then we will be stuck in the same position we are right now no sir and that that was for interim If Mr. Roseman has said he can't quit his job unless it's to be permanent, so it's different. It's not the same circumstance.

All right, you all.

So Mr. Mayor, for my first choice was commuter. It's not it's off the table now, but I was at 150 for her. My second choice, a woman named Peggy Castrano, which did not interview in person, so she was not considered. I would be at 150 for her. My third choice is Mr. Roseman based on experience, and I'm at 150 for him based on experience. There are no other candidates beyond those three who have the experience that we are looking for in this village. And so if we want a discount manager, interim or otherwise, we have three other options for that, I believe.

All right, you guys. So this is how this goes. One more time, one last time, I'm going to ask for a motion.

Can we have David come out first? Okay. You need to speak to him again, Mr. Rhodes? Just quickly. Okay.

Can somebody please get Mr. Roseman?

That is our CFO, by the way, hanging out with us till 1230.

Mr. Roseman, Councilperson Winters has a question for you.

I appreciate you giving this time. I'm exhausted. I'm sure you probably feel the same way. So right now, a little conflicted, right? We had a wonderful phone conversation today. And at the beginning of your speech, you bowed out. But then you came back later and you said you'd be willing to work with us again and take a lower number. I just would like to know if you can clarify why we went in two different directions and what you really want for yourself. As you mentioned on the phone, you're close to retirement. You want to get all that together, so you have a short tenure left. Let me know what you're thinking of and why everything changed.

Well, when I saw the the specifics of the position that was, you know, like as low as 95, the salary. I knew that regardless of how much I would get in my pension, I would not be able to make, you know, what I'm making now. So I said, well, I'll just keep, you know, hoping for another opportunity. whether here, elsewhere, but I definitely don't want to. And seeing the amount of work that needs to be put into this village, I said there's no way, because I thought we could negotiate a four-day week, shorter schedule, et cetera. But this is going to be a position that at least for the first six, nine months, It's going to require me doing a lot of these late evenings, early mornings, you know. So this is my concern. As it is right now, many times my girlfriend thinks that I have a chick on the side because, you know, I am here at 1235. And it's like, you know, I've never seen a council meeting that goes past midnight. So exactly. So I didn't want you on the phone.

It would go to one o'clock, didn't I?

So I said, you know, it will be I'm committed to doing public works. I'm a true public servant, but not at my expense. Not at 71 years old. I want to be able to enjoy. I want to be able to go on vacations. You know, I'll spend time with my family. So And I've seen the level of energy that this room generated. I said, there's no way that I can do this job the way that needs to be done, that I would like to do it, and make the kind of sacrifices in time and energy that it would require. And I'm sorry if there was some confusion, but when I heard 95, 85, I was like, OK, this is definitely I can go low, but not that low.

What was the number, you said it had to be permanent, and what number did you say you were willing to do it at?

125, 130. 125, 130.

Now, this would be, can I share what you told me earlier today? So this would be far below the 163 that you're making plus full benefits. Right. So, I mean, it would be a big sacrifice for you. And if you were to make that sacrifice, I think it's very important that we also have you long term. How long can you give us until retirement?

I'm planning to work until I'm past 75.

So four more years?

Four more years. Okay. Past 75. I feel energetic enough to go easily four or five years more.

All right. Is that it, Council President Winters?

Those of us who've interviewed people like in the hundreds over decades know that that was an outrageously inappropriate line of questioning, right? To the borderline of like beyond ethical violation, but we're talking like freaking legal violation here, the question that was just posed. So I might not have the intellectual capacity to grift my way into a higher salary in life. However, I have interviewed hundreds of people and engaged in hours and hours and hours of training of what you do and don't ask in an interview for legal reasons. And that line of questioning was insane.

You might try your motion again, though, Councilman. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mr. Roseman. You can go back. Please go back one more time. We're almost done. Thank you.

Might have a different outcome, Councilman.

All right, you guys, we're back to the same three options.

I make a motion for Mr. David Roosman to be the manager of El Portal.

All right, we have a motion for David Roosman to be the manager of El Portal. Do we have a second? Second. We have a motion. We have a second. Madam Clerk, may I please have a roll call, please?

Roll call. Councilperson Winters.

Yes.

Councilperson Ervam. Yes. Mayor Nickerson. Yes. Motion passes three to none.

Thank you very much. One second.

I will move to adjourn.

Do you want to say anything about your report? Oh, yeah, yeah.

You just need to appoint.

Whether it's vice mayor again, you need to appoint.

Yeah, we'll continue to stick with the vice mayor. Okay. For negotiation purposes.

Yeah, we're going to be closed for tenting and also the holidays. So I had them place a sign. I will be emailing everybody and I would put also on the website for the week of the 22nd to the 26th. Those first three days need for tenting and then the other days is the holidays. That's about it. I think I put also that I've been trying to restructure and raise the morale with the employees. We have a new hire, which is a new police officer. I did put it there so everybody's aware. It's a female officer. You will be seeing her. She's right now training. That's it.

Thank you very much. You guys see my report there. If you have any questions, let me know. Do I have a motion to adjourn? Oh, Attorney Geller, do you have a report? Were you good?

Yes. All right. My report is I want to go home.

All right. Good report. Do I have a motion to adjourn? Motion to adjourn. Motion moved by Councilperson Winters. Do I have a second? Second. Second by Councilperson Erbom. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Hearing none. The council meeting for Tuesday, December 9th is adjourned at 1240 a.m. December 10th.