City Council - Regular Meeting

1, 2, 1, 2, Tessie, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3. Good, you're good. Tessie? You ready, JC? Oh, the mics are working? The speakers aren't working. Erica, you're good?

Yes. Okay. All right. Good evening. We call this June 8th regular city council meeting to order at 7 p.m. Call the roll, please.

Mayor Fahed?

Here.

Vice Mayor Llamas? Here. Councilman Santin? Here. Councilman Dion?

Here.

Councilman Perez-Crespo? Here. There is a quorum present.

Thank you. Before we move on, I heard something about the amplifier. Should we even bother reading into the, we need to read into the, speak into the microphone.

Speaking into the microphone, it's still recording, it's still being broadcast. But I don't hear, it doesn't sound like it's being projected. When we remodeled, we kept some of the old equipment, and then that old equipment kind of went bad.

Got you. Okay, so for the sake of the people that are in the room, in person, bless you, thank you for being here, we'll try to project.

Okay, thank you.

All right, so let's please rise for the invocation led by me. We pray for the agenda set forth before us this evening and ask that we be granted the ability to work together in harmony when there's honest disagreement and dissent. We ask for the strength to speak up when given the opportunity to speak and the patience to listen receptively and empathically when it's time to listen. We ask for the wisdom to govern amid the conflicting interests and issues that we encounter. And we pray for a keen sense of the welfare needs of our residents. May we be reminded that we're not only leaders, but also servants, and that it's our responsibility to serve the common good of all the residents of Miami Springs. And please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. You may be seated. Okay, so we move on to item four, agenda and order of business. I have two suggestions for my colleagues on the dais. We have one individual signed up for open forum. I'd like to move open forum above awards and presentations, so six. above five and then during awards and presentations I'm just even though they're not here I want to recognize the yard of the month even though they're not here just to get it out of the way so that we could cozy up and get ready for our financial audit presentation that we'll all look forward to listening to that that being said if if you guys are okay with that yes okay so is there anything on the yes

I just wanted to mention Mr. Graham Penn is here on behalf of 201 Curtis if maybe we move that up in the presentations. Good thinking.

So can we move that up and make it 5E? Okay, so we will make the presentation, which is currently 13A, Other Business, Update on the Fair Havens Project by Graham Penn. We will make that 5E, and we'll move it up to Awards and Presentations. So E will be Graham Penn. Good catch there, Roger. And then is there anything on the consent agenda after you guys had all your questions answered during your briefings? Is there any item that you want to pull for discussion? Okay, so then we're okay with that. All right, that being said, I'd like to entertain a motion to approve the agenda as we just discussed with the changes moving six open forum before awards and presentations and moving a couple things around awards and presentations.

So move. Okay. Do I have a second?

Second. Okay. We'll take a voice vote. All in favor of approving the agenda as stated, say aye. Aye. All against say no. Okay. All right. So we move on then to open forum. And I'd like to call up Judge Mavelle Ruiz. Come on up.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to address you. I am a judge. I've been a judge for 11 years. I'm also your neighbor for security reasons. The addresses of judges are not published, so we'll just say that. I've been your neighbor here for about 20 years. I've been an attorney for 30 years. I don't want to bore you with statistics, 150 jury trials, hundreds of other bench trials. I know Ms. Sarah from the Cuban American Bar Association. I received, I think, more than a 74% qualified or exceptionally qualified. I am up for re-election August 18th. And I just had the honor of swearing my daughter who went to Miami Springs Elementary, Miami Springs Middle, rest in peace, and Miami Springs Senior. And I just swore her into the Florida Bar and I swore her in as a prosecutor here in Miami-Dade County. So, of course, I'm incredibly proud of that and proud to be a public servant, which I've been my whole entire career. I was an assistant public defender. Mr. Mayor, I think your wife was on one of my juries at some point. I was the defense attorney, and she convicted. It is what it is. We all did our role. So that was it. It's my pleasure. It's my honor to live the American dream and to represent you as a judge in this county. All right? So with that said, thank you so much. Thank you, Judge.

And thank you for your service. Thank you. OK, so that takes care. We don't have anybody online. OK, because somebody had mentioned to me personally that they might be online. There's just one other person. All right. OK, wonderful. Thank you. So open forum is done. We move on to awards and presentations. And we start with a presentation from Commissioner Raquel Regalado of District 7 on the Florida Neuroinclusion Toolkit. Welcome, Commissioner.

Thank you. Is this on?

It is. It is. We're just not amplifying very well today.

I project very well, so I don't need to. As long as people can hear me at home, that's wonderful. First and foremost, thank you so much for letting me be here. It really is a pleasure. I love Miami Springs, and I really wanted to provide you with an update of what we're doing in terms of neuroinclusion. This was actually emailed to all of you, and I brought some physical ones, too. We launched this in April. but I do this work year-round. And what this is, is a compilation of the work that we've done over the last 10 years, and it provides every city and county of the entire state of Florida with the tools that you need in order to replicate that work. So I just wanted to talk to you a little bit about what's in the toolkit and specifically the things that I think that you should consider. And then I'm here to take any and all of your questions. I'm helping a lot of municipalities and some counties in the state of Florida to really hone in on what they want to focus on in terms of this work. I don't want you to have to hire a consultant or spend money on that. I think this is just such wonderful work. And at the county, we've done these pilots to prove the concept. And in the toolkit, and we can provide you with more, is the data and the how to, because we really want to partner with you to do this. So first and foremost, while I am the proud parent of two autistic adults, this toolkit and the work that I do is really about neurodiversity. And I named it neuro inclusion, just to so people can understand that this encompasses a lot of human beings. A lot of people when they hear autism or ADHD or ADHD, they think that we're talking about a small group of people. When my daughter was first diagnosed, it was one in 236. Now autism is one in 33. But neurodiversity statewide is one in five. So what is included in that? There are individuals that have neurological delays, like my children. that have autism and autism and adhd but in that there's also adhd epilepsy tourette's down syndrome dyslexia at the top of that we have individuals who as a result of an injury have neurological damage so we have neurological trauma and then on the other side of that spectrum we have dementia and alzheimer's so a lot of the tools that i have brought to the county and that i'm going to show you today also work for that population specifically when we talk about dementia and alzheimer's not only does it also impact people who have neurological delays but one of the first markers for over 83 of those individuals is not memory loss or forgetting things it's actually sensory overload So a lot of the things that I talk about here are things that we can use to make everyone feel included. And that's really what this work is about. So I just wanted to define the term and then get into what we've been doing. The first thing that I focused on on the county was training and this concept of training as infrastructure. Training is so important because usually when people interact with government, it's at a conflict point. So we wanna ensure that A, when that happens, that everyone is informed, and B, that we're reaching out to those folks before we get to that conflict point. So in Miami-Dade County, the toolkit says over 2,000, but we're actually already at 4,290 first responders trained. And I did that with the assistance of UMNSU CARD. Three years ago, we also launched our special needs occupant with autism decal. This is available to everyone you put in all the information and this is available through all our 911 systems to our fire and to our police so that someone can know that there is a neurodivergent person in that home so that when they enter that home whether to help that person or someone else they're aware that they will encounter this person and the caregiver or the person themselves can put specific information if they're verbal if they're not verbal whether there's de-escalation you know preferred methods and what to expect so this is really to prevent vapor acts and arrests at those conflict points this April sheriff Rosie who's been a great partner extended this and now she has a program for your cars so initially when we rolled this out we said put this on your car but she's actually now added a second registration for vehicles that's also available In Miami-Dade County, we started with all of our libraries, all 50 of our libraries. Every single person is trained. We have sensory access for all of them, sensory kits, and we have social stories for every single one of our libraries and sensory programming. We also just finished our parks department, so every single Miami-Dade County park is also autism-friendly, and we did that with UMNSU card. And then our airport has the longest-standing program, which is our MIA Air, that's also available to every resident of Miami-Dade County. And that involves two things. Number one, we try to get everyone to use the Sunflower So this is for invisible disabilities. It includes everything that I mentioned inside neurodiversity and it's actually internationally known. So you use it nationally and internationally. We're currently training all of our transit workers and this is included in that training. But at the airport, MIA Air allows you to sign up, all the information is here, and we do a dress rehearsal of what it's like to travel. So they come in, they have their social stories, we get the ticketing, we put them through TSA, they learn about TSA Cares, they sit outside, they board the plane, they get in the plane, they sit there, they figure it out, they meet the pilot, and then we go home, we usually get them Chick-fil-A, because who doesn't love Chick-fil-A? And then we take them to the sensory room. So it's a wonderful opportunity to really have that first experience in such a complex environment without having to fly. So that when they go there to fly, it's not the first time they've been there, they're not scared, and we really want our families to be able to travel, and we want Miami-Dade County to be the most inclusive place I need to add it to the toolkit because we just did that last week, but the Loews Hotel in Miami Beach is the first hotel in Miami-Dade County to now train over 400 of their employees, and they are an autism-friendly space also. So we'll be adding the hotels and the different establishments that we're working with. So that's number one, training as infrastructure. If you're interested in that, I can help. The second one is advisory boards and task force. I've created many of them in my cities. I'm also doing now one with the chamber. And the idea is to create a space where people can go and learn what are the resources and what are the needs, because all of you get texts and emails and requests, but really like where do you house all that? And how do we really educate people on what's available? and what's available in the region. And then sensory spaces and inclusive public events. This is the easiest entry point into this work. Some of the examples are in here. For example, the Youth Fair was one of our early partners. I started working with them three years ago. We did a sensory room and they worked with UMNSU card and a social story. Then the second year we actually did a sensory map where people could go and they could, it wasn't necessarily a sensory room, but it was a sensory friendly space. And then this year we did sensory hours. So every Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 3 o'clock we turned off all the music and all the lights. And that way, you got to experience the rides without being overwhelmed. We did the same thing at Tropical Park. There's lots of different events. And I also talk about mobile sensory rooms, which I've brought to a lot of different events in Miami-Dade County. And then transit, airports, high stress places, we work with those. And then neuro inclusive government services, every third Saturday of the month. And you can also, when you ask a tax collector to come out here, you can ask him to do that too. A lot of people don't know that if you have a disability in the state of Florida, you can get a Florida ID starting at five years old. Two years ago, we changed the law so that you can voluntarily add your disability to that ID. It's a game changer, not just here, but even abroad, because now you have a government document that states your disability. And for many of our families, it's the difference between an arrest and a conversation. because you're not gonna be walking around with your IEP or your diagnosis to explain that someone has a disability. So I highly recommend it. We also need it for employment. A lot of adults with disabilities don't have IDs, and then when we go to start the employment process, it gives us more complications. So whether you're thinking about interns or employment or bringing employment as a conversation in October, IDs are so, so important. The IDs also now allow you to put in the caregiver's information and emergency contact and information about de-escalation the same way that the police decals do. And then finally, April and October. We just wrapped up April, but we're working towards October. October is Disability Employment Month. and we roll out a lot we're doing great things in our community in terms of adult programming so anything that I could do to help with that and workforce access and then I'm here to answer any and all of your questions and I'll leave I'll leave some of these with your managers he's the ones got to do this work and whatever you would like me to help with

I just have to say, God bless you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for using your platform to be able to help the entire county, not just your district, to make our community more inclusive for neurodivergent residents. So you're doing God's work. Thank you for that. And you guys, I'd like to go up there and take a picture if you guys don't mind, because then we have some presentations after.

But do you guys want to say a few words before?

uh we move go up for a picture i'd like to say thank you as well thank you for everything that you've done and using your platform to uh move this forward and make our community more inclusive when can we start what do you want to start with so for example the city of homestead asked me to look at their parks plan so i'm helping them you know look at their parks master plan and give them some ideas so i'm happy to do that if you want to do events we could do that if you want to do some training i can help with that um so that that's what the toolkit is really about there's no good or bad place to start it just depends on what you feel comfortable with uh and if there's somebody in particular that you want me to work with you know i'm happy to i'm happy to do it the toolkit has all the legislation so you don't have to draft you just click on it and that's why we sent you the digital versions of it and i'm constantly updating it so i'll be updating it this month with the different things that we've added over the last two months and then I'm here to help on its way.

I wanted to say I've known Commissioner Regalado's family for many years, and I want to thank you for everything you've done as a public servant, plus you're an incredible mom. So thank you for all that.

They're two wonderful humans. They really are the best. I wouldn't change a thing about them. When I got the diagnosis 18 years ago, that's not how I felt. But I can tell you after being through the process, they're now 21 and 22. They're wonderful, wonderful people, and they have changed me more than I have changed them. And I believe that they make the world a better place. So it's all about providing them the opportunities and really a seat at the table. And I'll leave you with this. I always tell parents when they get the diagnosis, everyone gets so overwhelmed. Once upon a time, there was a world 50 years ago where people thought that women couldn't work. that women shouldn't be educated, that there were limitations to what they could do. We're in the same type of space when it comes to neurodivergent people. And I think that together with technology and with the access that we have, in 10 years we can really turn the corner and neurodiversity can just be one of the boxes that you check off and not an obstacle to employment or to living a successful life.

Awesome. Thank you. Guys, let's take a picture since we've got some more presentations.

That's not fair.

It's interesting.

Has he been out here for like an outreach?

Yeah, he has. Yeah, he's like the Cuban Elvis. It's amazing.

Test one, two.

I think it's on, right?

It's working. Okay. All right. So we have got a special presentation. Can we please have Ms. Theresa Sieg come on up? I'll tell you what, yeah, come on up. And I'd like to ask our assistant principal, Ms. Liliana Suarez, come on up. So first I'm gonna have you speak and then we'll have Ms. Sieg speak.

Of course. So it's an honor. It's an honor to be here with Ms. Sieg. She has a remarkable 40 years of servicing Miami-Dade County Public Schools all at Miami Springs Senior High School. She has touched countless lives throughout her career, and it's her passion for literature and the way she teaches that she was able to touch those lives and change the students' perspectives in terms of literature and learning all about it. They learned to love it. to appreciate it and actually understand it. And we do owe her a lot. We are very proud to have her as part of our Golden Hawk family. She has definitely left a legacy with our family, so we're very honored.

Before I turn it over to you, so have you ever done an IPEGS performance evaluation as a teacher?

Me doing the observation?

Have you ever done IPEGs, though? Have you ever done IPEGs?

Oh, yeah. Yes.

Well, you know, I received it. Okay. Well, of course, of course. But you're right, right. So did you ever do PACES? Do you remember the one before IPEGs, PACES? I don't know. I remember TADS. I was going to say, do you remember TADS, which was before PACES? That was it. I don't, that is before time, before tats, who knows, but, so, I did tats, you've done tats.

Yeah, I remember, I remember you there.

were you around for that okay all right so awesome so that means that you've been impacting students for a long time and we are so so proud of your 40-year career and everything that you've invested into the kids in this community do you want to just say a few words and just tell us what it's a very briefly yes but

First, I'd like to extend a thank you to all of you for doing this. And it humbles me, and at the same time, of course, makes me proud. I can tell you that I have enjoyed the career. Being a teacher for 40 years is truly an honor. to have the trust of my students, their parents, and so forth, and being able to inspire them. My whole idea always when I taught was that I wanted them to feel the passion that I feel when I'm teaching literature, the passion that I feel for language. Language is such an incredible tool. It's power. It's everything. It's emotion. And so that's what I try to do through my lessons and keep them entertained, but also for them to learn, you know, language and to appreciate it. So thank you.

How about a big round of applause? God bless you. You've graded a lot of essays. As a former language arts person, we always get the hard part in terms of grading. But God bless you. That's wonderful. You've made a wonderful impact. So we have to present for you a certificate of appreciation presented to Ms. Teresa Sieg. Your commitment to education, your students, and the Miami Springs community has made a lasting impact that will live on for generations. That is absolutely the case. Thank you.

God bless you. Wonderful.

Thank you. All right. I think, so the last one, and we'll sit down right after this, is that we moved up 520 Forest Drive. The Saragossa family is the yard of the month. So please go by and take a look. I'm sure that there's, it reflects a lot of hard effort on the part of the Saragossa family, but 520 Forest Drive. And they couldn't be here today, so gentlemen, let's go back. All right. The moment we've all been waiting for. Let's call. We've got 5C, which is the ACFR financial audit presentation. So come on up. Thank you for being here.

TOUGH TO FOLLOW UP THOSE LAST COUPLE PRESENTATIONS, BUT I'LL TRY MY BEST TO KEEP IT AS ENTERTAINING AS POSSIBLE. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS. MY NAME IS BRANDON LOPEZ. I'M A PARTNER WITH C-BIZ AND WE'RE YOUR EXTERNAL AUDITORS. SO I'M HERE TODAY TO GO THROUGH THE ISSUED ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2025. THIS WAS ISSUED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH AND SUBMITTED TO THE STATE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE FLORIDA STATUTES. So it's a big document. So I'm going to highlight just some key areas and some highlights. And if there's any specific questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them. So if you have a copy in front of you, I'm going to reference the specific page numbers. But the first section and the most important section, it's printed page one. And that is the independent auditor's report. This document is put together by the city and the finance team. But us as the auditor, this is what we give, right? This is our opinion. And that first section, it reads as what's called an unmodified opinion. It's a clean opinion. It's the only opinion as a city and as a council you want to be associated with. So we're very happy to let the city know they received an unmodified, a clean opinion. And before I continue, I want to make sure I give credit where credit is due because these audits are a very intensive process because there's a lot of information that's requested, a lot of questions, and the reason the city's here today is because of the hard work of JC, Chris, and their team. Throughout the audit, there's questions, there's requests, and every time we had those, they were there to give us that information, to give us that support. the relationship that we've built it's not just one of a couple months and we'll see you next year it's truthfully they're constantly reaching out because they want to make sure are we doing it right if there's a new transaction there's something unique they reach out to us for guidance to make sure this is how we're thinking of it what are your thoughts so when it comes time for the audit things are you know more effective and which is the most important thing so if we continue along we go to the printed page four and And I always like to highlight this. It's called Management's Discussion and Analysis. It's about 100 and something pages, this whole document. MD&A is about 15 pages that gives the reader an overview of this year in comparison to last year and explains some of those fluctuations. So if there's anything you ever read in full detail, I always like to highlight this is the perfect section to read because it gives you that overview of the year. We continue along and we go to printed page 21. And this is where we get into the actual statements, the numbers. And just one of the things that I want to highlight is when we look at the year and we see a positive year, which is important because one of the procedures that we have to do and the state requires us to do is to take a look at the the city's operations, take a look at the trend analysis. How are they doing over the last five years? How are they doing in comparison to other municipalities in their same bucket that the state gives us? And if there were any issues, we would have to report that in writing. And I'll mention that in the compliance reports, but no issues were identified. And actually a positive trend that we like to see is specifically to the sanitation fund. This is our second year as the auditor. Last year was our first year. And one of the things we did notice that the sanitation fund did have a deficit. But what we like to see and what we are seeing is that trending in the right direction. And that's what's important. Like I mentioned before, it's a very detailed and intensive audit because it's not just a financial statement, but it's also a compliance audit. So what we as the auditor, especially because it's a governmental entity, we're following what's called government auditing standards. And in that, it says if there were any issues that we identify as part of our procedures, we would have to communicate that in writing. It couldn't just be something verbal communicated to management or to counsel. It would have to be in writing for transparency purposes. while we're not doing an operational audit we're not doing um a control audit if something does come up we would have to report that but if you see starting on printed page 114 no issues were identified um so it's a very positive thing another clean aspect of the audit And then the last section I always like to highlight, printed page 121, it's called the Schedule of Findings and Question Costs. It's essentially an overview of the compliance section of the report. And because the city receives federal and state funding, that's the compliance aspect that we have to take a look at. So we take a look at some of the awards and the expenditures related to those grants, making sure is the city spending that money in accordance with those terms of the agreement, spending it in compliance with the agency's requirements. And in that page, it lets the reader know we did a federal single audit, tested the ARPA funding, and then we did a state single audit. And there's two awards that we tested there as well. So this year was even more intensive because depending on the threshold, some years we might, some years we don't. But this year we had both federal and state. And again, no issues identified as part of those procedures, which is a very important thing. So when the city wants to keep applying for awards, they look at this, right? They look at, are you spending it in what we're asking you to spend it on? What do the auditors say? So again, a very positive, clean year for 2025. So I know it's a lot of information and a very quick amount of time, but if there's any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.

Well, I want to thank you. It was a thorough audit, and obviously it's good to hear when issues aren't identified, but even where there were areas that were identified for growth, that you feel like there's a positive trajectory. So I think that's what we're looking for.

Gentlemen, did you have anything that you... Yes, so if Ms. Sieg taught business administration, we'd get an A?

Yes, absolutely, an A.

All right. Awesome.

All right, okay. JC, you have anything you want to add?

At all. I appreciate working with Brandon and Chris and getting this done. All right.

OK, well, thank you very much. Thank you very much for the good news. Thank you.

Everybody's getting applause today. All right.

OK, so next, the the item that we moved up, we're going to hear from Mr. Graham Penn with an update on the Fair Havens project. So come on up, Mr. Penn.

going to pretend this mic is doing something uh just for the for the folks at home uh good evening everyone good to see everyone again graham penn 200 south biscayne boulevard as you know i'm the zoning lawyer for the fair havens development here for our update as you know we were last here the package of approvals for the renovation slash expansion was approved in February. Since that time, the Fair Havens has been in the middle of the entitlement process. Both they, because they're a nursing home, have three levels of control. They've got the state, they have the county, and they, of course, have the city. uh as of today they have now uh at the end of may obtain what aka calls phase two approval which will allow them upon the issuance of the permits from the city to begin uh the work uh on the project my i have been told as of today that we anticipate breaking not breaking ground beginning the actual active work again in july there are several sets of permits that are proceeding at the same time with the structural the demolition permit and the structural permit that is currently in front of the city we have fence and trailer permits which of those drawings have been submitted this city as well the the actual new building renovation permit is in the middle of its review by the city's reviewer arc third party reviewer we understand and hopefully we are at the point where we are at the final review of those plans. So assuming that once that all comes into shape, we can start getting back out at the property. And as I said before, we're anticipating that work commencing in July. The demo permit and the structural permit contemplates, as we discussed the last time we were here, the interior demolition of the entire Kellogg Wing and the historic building, except for the historically designated portions of that building, to allow us to create new patient rooms in both portions of the historic structure. So that's where we are today. As I promised at the last hearing, I'll come back as many times as you want me to come back to make sure that we're still moving along.

uh and i'm here for any questions i hopefully can answer some maybe not uh technical questions but i can tell you what what i know about where we are thank you and so this is uh just just to be clear for those following along this is part of the the project in the in the this the property that's being restored the the historical areas of the property

Yes, all the work we're talking about today is the work in what we call the Kellogg Wing, which is the northern portion of the building, and transitioning to the main portion of the historic structure. This is no new construction. This is nothing related to any kind of expansion. This is just replacement of those existing rooms with brand new patient rooms in that historic structure, as well as, of course, as we discussed earlier, at length the full restoration of the historic structure uh for the first time ever yeah councilman i know that you you would ask for him to give an update which which was a good call

Thank you. So we're pending all these permits is what you're telling us. Is that why we haven't started any work on the...

Correct. The permitting process is never pleasant for anyone, but the additional layer of the state being involved slows these things down. But we are now at the posture where I'm being told by the development team that we anticipate all the permits being issued allowing us to work in July.

So no construction has started?

Other than there was work under the previous permit for that. Councilman, if you remember, the wall on the eastern side got demolished and replaced. That's been done. But it's my understanding that nothing active is happening on the property now while we're getting the rest of the revised permits approved.

To the manager, what's the status on the permits?

On the permits, I don't have the status right now, but I will ask the building department tomorrow morning that you know. I know that there was a number of permits, and then I think before even this ownership group, there were open permits. They're getting it all organized and sorted out. So it was a complex ordeal, but I'll get you the update tomorrow as far as what's been issued and what's pending. Thank you.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Penn. Thanks for coming. Oh, wait. Hold on. Hold on.

Sorry. Yes. Just curious now that we might have the possibility of these permits. So what's the anticipated timeline now to finish this?

I know the beginning, right? I don't know the end. I think that if we start in July, The original phasing concept was that we will finish the Kellogg wing so we can get folks back in the Kellogg wing. So once we do all the demolition, then we'll start the interior renovation of the Kellogg wing, finish the Kellogg wing, then move on to the remainder of the building. As with Mr. Jimenez, I can get you, I can send to him a detail as to when we anticipate completion. But I don't have that data now.

So can we have him back in in 90 days, another 90 days?

Absolutely. You know, I love coming back. But yeah, 100%. And we'll try, we'll keep the lines of communication open with the manager. And if there's something that comes up in the interim, absolutely.

Thank you, sir. Thank you.

It's a pleasure to see everyone again. Hold on.

Yeah, I was going to ask the same question that Councilman Santino, you know, what timeline does your client foresee an opening, operational opening again?

yeah i councilman i i will i don't want to speak off the cuff without completion until until i talk to my guys so i will supplement that um with the manager and the attorney and you guys can get that information as soon as i get some answers thank you all right okay thank you again pleasure

Okay, so that is it for awards and presentations.

We did open forum earlier.

So we move on to seven a approval of the council minutes. I'd like to entertain a motion to approve the council minutes for May 26 regular meeting.

So move.

Okay, we have a second. Okay, we have a second. Call the vote, please, Erica.

Vice Mayor Lamas. Yes. Councilman Santine. Yes. Councilman Dion. Yes. Councilman Perez-Crespo. Yes. Mayor Fahet. Yes. The motion carries.

Okay. So we have no reports from boards and commissions. So we move on to 9A, a public hearing ordinance on second reading.

In ordinance of the City Council of the City of Miami Springs, Florida, revising the employee's retirement system and police and fire pension plan, amending code of ordinance section 35-47 to permit members of the general employee's retirement system to purchase permissive service credit, amending code of ordinance section 35-61 of the police and fire pension plan to permit the purchase of prior law enforcement service or permissive service credit, providing for conflicts and providing for an effective date.

All right. Somebody want to introduce this just for the record?

Yes, this is the second reading of the that the pension ordinance that you guys approved less last month or the last meeting. I believe Adam the attorneys on is online on zoom. But again this has no of financial impact to to the city that if an employee wants to purchase time they have to purchase it. There's no freebies pretty straightforward.

and i think uh vice mayor uh uh lamas i think that you had some questions i don't know if you had those the one we when this was up for first reading and i think that uh i don't know if those were answered for you i think we've got uh the person the uh the attorney if or if anybody i'll open it up to anybody does anybody have any questions about this

i was satisfied my concern was why was it there in the first place um nobody had a real clear answer but there seems to be no negative impact to to changing it so no um this is it's something that um i guess a lot of municipalities they offer uh not only to their police but their general employees um and i figured I'm a little sensitive to losing employees to other cities, so anything I can do to help me retain, attract good talent, I'm willing to do, especially when it doesn't really cost us anything.

It wasn't the overall concept. There was a small detail about timing if you're about to go in the drop or some odd detail about it, but it doesn't seem to be a big issue.

Okay, it wouldn't be an issue.

OK. All right.

Any other discussion? We've got to open up for public comment, right? So at this time, any persons wishing to discuss the second reading of this ordinance, you may do so now. Open up for public comment. Anybody? Come on up. State your name and address for the record, Mary.

nary owens 169 cordon drive i have a problem with it being called the police and fire fund the fire department was turned over to miami-dade county in 1974 or 75 so we need to modify this ordinance to take out the name fire and fire just call it the police fund I don't know if that requires action by their committee or not, but can you please pursue it so that we can clean up this ordinance on behalf of the city? I don't want in the future for that to come back and bite us, and you never know in lawsuits. Thank you.

I'll pursue it.

Thank you, Ms. Owens.

Mary, I expected you to be more precise. Is it 74 or 75? You got to... No, no need, no need. God bless you for doing that. All right. Okay, so if there's no... We'll close public comments. If there's no...

TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, CAN JC?

SO, JC, I KNOW THAT PRIOR TO THE MEETING YOU SAW, BUT DO YOU WANT TO JUST STATE FOR THE RECORD WHAT STAFF WILL TRY TO DO WITH RESPECT TO WHAT THE COUNCILMAN IS ASKING?

WITH REGARD, YEAH, WHAT I'LL DO IS AT THE NEXT PENSION BOARD MEETING, I'LL BRING THIS UP AS FAR AS CHANGING THE NAME AND CLEANING THAT UP.

SEE HOW THAT CAN BE CLEANED UP. OKAY.

I DON'T KNOW THE PROCESS, BUT I'M GOING TO LOOK INTO IT.

THANK YOU. Okay. If there's no further discussion, I'd like to entertain a motion to approve 9A on second reading.

Make a motion to approve 9A.

Okay, I have a first.

Second.

And we have a second. Call the vote, please.

Vice Mayor Llamas. Yes. Councilman Santin. Yes. Councilman Dion. Yes. Councilman Perez-Crespo. Yes. Mayor Fahad. Yes. The motion carries.

Okay, we move on to the consent agenda. Nobody wanted to pull anything, so I'd like to entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda.

Motion to approve consent agenda.

Okay, do I have a second? Okay, we have a first and a second. Call the vote, please.

Vice Mayor Llamas? Yes. Councilman Santin? Yes. Councilman Dion? Yes. Councilman Perez-Crespo? Yes. Mayor Fahett? Yes. The motion carries.

Okay, so we have no previous or unfinished business, but we do have new business. So we move on to 12A, a resolution.

A resolution of the City Council of the City of Miami Springs, Florida, calling a special election on November 3rd, 2026, for the purpose of submitting to the electorate of the City of Miami Springs, Florida, a charter amendment providing requisite ballot language, providing for balloting and election procedures, providing for notice of election, providing for copies, providing for charter amendment election procedures and related details, providing for inclusion in the charter, providing for severability, providing for conflicts, and providing for an effective date.

Thank you. All right. Somebody want to, for the record, just recap what we're going to be voting on here?

absolutely mayor so as you know the council originally called a special election on the Charter amendment relating to the Northwest 36th Street district restriction carve-out the election date was changed last last council meeting and we're moving it from now from the August primary election to the November 3rd general election. So if you choose to adopt this, it'll be on the November election.

All right. So just to be clear, there's no, so at our last meeting, we discussed that for the purposes of being able to not be rushed and, you know, and get the word out because this is a special election that's important, that has implications, that we'd push it back to November because the dog days of the summer, I mean, it's already summer. So it's a tough time to get any messaging out. God bless people like Judge Ruiz who are running for an August election. uh but well we we agreed uh uh unanimously that that we would be okay to moving it to november but uh once again just to be clear it hasn't changed uh the the wording on the on the ballot language or just moving it back to november and i think that's correct that's the last stand guys is our terms are up in uh in april so uh I'd like to open it up for discussion. Do we have? Through the chair? Sure, go ahead.

By when do we have to have the question in to the Department of Elections?

July 24th is the deadline to submit.

All right.

Anything else for discussion? Roger, do we have to open this up for public comment as well?

It doesn't hurt, but you don't have to.

Okay. All right. I'll open it up. Anybody wishing to speak on this item, you may. Sure, come on up. Please state your name and address for the record.

Good afternoon, all. Ivan Garcia, 1265 Thrush Avenue. First off, never had any intention to come up and talk, but this amendment is close to my heart. My dad moved down here in 93. I then purchased here five years ago, 2021. And I think adding density is the wrong move. Personally, I talked to a lot of people around our city. I went to high school here. I played soccer here. My kids and all the sports here. I try to be as involved in our community as possible. Nobody likes this idea. I work in a private limo company. I think I've talked to a couple of you guys privately about what I do. I'm on Miami Beach. I'm everywhere. I have private clients. Maybe there's an idea to go luxury private hotel, right? Think of the one hotel that has a nice pool lounge at the top. Think of having a convention center at the bottom. We're right by the airport. Like, there's businesses that would come down here and they don't want to pay Miami Beach prices. They don't want to drive all the way to the beach and have to get all those black cars like me. Right? It's a quick little shot down here. You have a convention center. You can do ballrooms. Instead of having to have the Miami Springs homecoming at the Hilton or the Marriott or wherever it is, you do it right here in whatever luxury hotel we have. You put a restaurant in there like the Faina has. The Faina has a high end. It has to be luxury. You can zone that. Make it tall. Make it a tall hotel. You can change the zoning for that. Do a high... a luxury hotel with banquet halls with with a lounge a private lounge just think about it there's more ways than adding density to our city to try to recoup the money that we're going to lose with the property taxes I understand the problem that is coming our way don't think that I don't but there's got to be other ways to do this thank you guys for your time thank you all right okay

Please state your name and address for the record.

Michael Gavilla, 684. Oh, no, sorry, 223 North Royal Point Santa. I'm still used to putting my mom's address. I got you. I support it. Thank you.

All right. Thank you. Anybody else?

We will close public comment.

All right. And did anybody want to add anything before we vote on the date?

Yeah, through the chair. So the concern about density, right? I mean, I think hotels have people, right? What density? There's going to be people in the city. Maybe they're transient. Maybe they're, but they're here. They're using our electricity. They're using our water. But a hotel, I love the idea of a convention center. What I see is that no one's coming to us with these ideas. No one's approaching us. So we really got to think outside the box and see, okay, so is this the first step to get big ideas, different ideas like that? I would love to see a convention center. I think we'd compete with Miami Beach totally next to the airport. I mean, your limo service would be great. But I'm looking forward to that conversation on density. I mean, as a city, what is our capacity? I mean, there's a capacity in this room, in this building. what is our capacity as a city I think we can allow that and we won't really know to the next 2030 census if we've lost people or not I think that the schools if they're if our schools are an indication of we're losing people I think we're going to be less than 2020 census but we'll know when the 2030 census comes out but thank you for your for your comment and for your suggestions

I believe we already had the you could build a hotel there up to 12 stories. So that's not anything new that we're adding or that will be at it. So yeah, we're not changing. We're not disallowing it. Yeah, that's there already.

Yeah, I mean, I would ask just because this has been a lot of conversation that we've had. I'd like to remind everybody that we we have what we attract. We have. WE HAVE A DISTRICT THAT HAS CERTAIN HEIGHTS. IT'S FOUR STORIES WITHIN 150 FEET OF RESIDENTIAL AND THEN UP TO 12 STORIES. AND THAT'S ALL ALONG THE NORTHWEST 36th STREET BUSINESS DISTRICT. AND THAT COULD BE COMMERCIAL, IT COULD BE A HOTEL, IT COULD BE ANYTHING. CAN BE FOUR STORIES OR 12 STORIES DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY ARE IN THAT ZONE. But there is an arbitrary limit that was put in in 2006 that limits anything residential to three. And that, in my opinion, it was done in 2006. In 2011, the state actually outlawed doing zoning by referendum like this, but it was voted on. It was a citizen's initiative. to cap anything residential to three, which makes sense in 90% of the city. And what we are saying is that area has its own distinct character. That's why the zoning there allows for four stories and up to 12 stories, depending on how far you are from residential. And so that's allowed. And we have what we have and we've had what we've had for 20 years. And there there isn't you know, there there's something missing in that area. And what's missing, we know from the economic analysis that was done to start off this this project that the market that we are. IN SOME WAYS, LIMITING OURSELVES AND KIND OF SQUANDERING IS A MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL. OBVIOUSLY, HOTEL IS ALWAYS, BECAUSE OF OUR PROXIMITY TO THE AIRPORT, HOTEL IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE STRONG. HOTEL HAS ITS GOOD POINTS. IT HAS ITS DOWNSIDES ALSO. YOU GUYS ALL KNOW THAT WE DON'T ANY OF THE BED TAX MONEY. THAT ALL GOES TO THE GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION VISITORS BUREAU TO THE TUNE OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR. AND YOU GUYS ALSO KNOW THAT, AND RESIDENTS KNOW THAT HALF OF OUR POLICE CALLS GO TO THE HOTELS, SO THAT MAKES IT KIND OF DIFFICULT. AND I LIVE ON THE EAST SIDE. I'M THE CLOSEST ONE FROM THERE. WE'RE NOT EVEN ASKING FOR ALL OF THE NORTHWEST 36th STREET DISTRICT THAT STARTS OVER, LIKE, BY G5. WE'RE ASKING TO GET JUST ONE SECTION IN THE MOST EASTERN CORNER OF THAT DISTRICT, EAST OF EAST DRIVE, TO JUST ALLOW FOR MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL TO HAVE THE SAME HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS THAT EVERY OTHER BUILDING THAT COULD GO UP, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ATTRACTING IT, AND IT'S A REALLY STRONG MARKET. AND, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THE SENTIMENT. YOU DON'T WANT THAT. I'M THERE, GUYS. THERE'S... positives and negatives to residential density as well. Nobody here is trying to obfuscate that. We're just saying that a decision was made in 2006, prior to it being outlawed by the state, or prohibited, I should say, right? Uh, and I feel that in the last 20 years, it's hurt that area because it's an extremely strong economic, vibrant economic market that's available because we are at the heart of it all. You can get anywhere in the county in the mornings. Okay. In. 30 minutes, whereas coming back in the opposite direction, it would take you an hour and a half. You could work anywhere in Miami-Dade County and live in Miami Springs and have the least commute because you're always going against the traffic. We're centrally located. Residential would be extremely, but our position within this county and within this metropolitan area, we are a green emerald and I want to preserve that. uh but again uh we i feel it it made sense at the time in 2006 i'm sure to limit across the city residential uh to three stories but i think that it's hurt that area because it's turned into an area that when the sun goes down there's really it's not it's not an inviting area it's a it's a transient area We have a lot of layover tourism. We have some hotels that struggle with their security. We have what we have over the last 20 years because of what we allow. And we do not allow, even though you can have an office building, you can have a hotel, you can have anything go up four stories, 12 stories. we have this arbitrary kind of limit to residential and again i feel like it's righting a wrong i think that uh while it made sense at the time we've got 20 years that we've seen how that area has performed it has no sense of community there's no connect to this we're talking about a little bit of infill development to there's really not a lot of space to even do much there as a matter of fact we we have been accused of like what's the point you're not even doing it we've done the most conservative thing that we could have proposed we just wanted to default to what's already in place for all of the buildings except for we don't allow residential. Well, we do, but you can't go over three stories. And we know that the character is different in that area. So I know that we've thought about this a lot. I feel confident that we've made the right decision. I think that we need to do a good job of messaging to explain everything. I'm sorry to be so verbose, but we've been at this for a long time. AND IT WILL GO BEFORE THE RESIDENTS. I UNDERSTAND THE CONCERNS OF THE RESIDENTS. IF THEY VOTE IT DOWN, THEN ANOTHER 20 YEARS. BUT AT LEAST I'D LIKE TO HAVE THE PUBLIC DEBATE BECAUSE I GREW THROUGH THIS PROCESS UNDERSTANDING IT MORE AND MORE AND WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHICH IS WHY WE DECIDED THAT WE'D TAKE THE MOST CONSERVATIVE COURSE CORRECTION AND LET'S JUST ALLOW IT TO HAVE, LET'S ALLOW RESIDENTIAL TO HAVE THE SAME HIGHER RESTRICTIONS JUST IN THIS ONE LITTLE AREA. okay so that it matches everything else around it so uh and we even guaranteed In the language on the ballot, we even guaranteed that no future council could come and change the zoning. We are asking for a carve out, and it has to default to the current height restrictions right now. And the area that we're asking to carve out cannot change. It would have to go before the ballot yet again. So I think that we are making the right decision definitely to put it on the ballot and to have a public debate. I think we need to do a good job of helping to get the message out to allay the concerns of a very concerned resident. Those are valid concerns. I live there. Trust me. i know i'm right i'm two blocks off of the area in question uh but i do think that we're doing making the right decision and uh to definitely put it on the ballot and i hope that residents really kind of look at it you know look at the entire chessboard for what it is

All right.

I invite any other comments that my colleagues may have.

Through the chair. I think, you know, people confuse density with disorder. Like automatically you're going to get more crime because there's more people. In actuality, it's probably the opposite in this case. Obviously we've seen what the transient people have brought in, especially at the lower end of these hotels, because that's exactly what we keep attracting. And we're going to continue to attract. because there's no high-end hotel is gonna go to that area. It just doesn't make sense. You need a combination of an area that is well maintained, that looks like it could attract that type of clientele. So to me, it's not fair, it's just automatically argument out there is that it's gonna bring crime it's like no we're doing this a lot of times because of the opposite we think it's gonna improve it they're gonna kind of connect itself to our city and it's not gonna happen you know and look ultimately but what I tell people as well is when they make some comparisons to other cities and how they all sudden you know this catches on and it gets all over the place thanks to the folks who brought this petition to the ballot We have a huge, what do you call it, protection. Any change in the future for Moore, they got to go back and vote. No other city in this county has that in place. So when they, you know, the city of Miami, Cora Gables, every single city cannot do what we have. They can literally continue to move on from one area to the other, especially when the state continues to preempt stuff. So in this case, we have the, you know, thank God that they did put it in place. I think that's the way it should be. It should be pieces by piece and let the public understand. decide if they want to. And like you said earlier, of course, it's not what we want. It's not we're going to push this forward. But yes, of course, if the people vote and that's what they say, that's what democracy is all about. Fair representation from all of us and vote and we move on.

Through the chair? This is an exercise I did after the Memorial Day observation. My son and I, my son likes to go walking. This time around I said, where are you going? He said, I don't know, I might go Poinciana to Lejeune. I said, wait, I'm going to go with you. We spent two and a half hours, I marked it on my phone, walking. We went to Royal Pontianna, up to Lejeune. We saw a car, Miami Springs Police help someone on Lejeune on the Hialeah side. And then we took down 36th Street and we cut through the alleyways. And we walked those areas. I took photos. I invite residents. Take a walk. Don't do it at night. Do it on a Saturday, Sunday. Go for a walk. Go see what's out there. We're talking about things and we don't have a clear picture of what's there. Go see what's there. Take pictures. See for yourself. And then come back and tell us. What did you see? Because what I saw made me think there has to be a better way. We can't be happy with what's there. There has to be safe. If it's a question of we don't want more residents in the city, okay, how about a data center? Is that a possibility? Do we want There's no people in the data center. Do we want that? Do we want a corporate headquarters where people are working there and then they leave and they don't live there? I don't know. But tell us what you want because what's there cannot stand. There has to be something better.

The thing is that the Anything could go in there. That's that's allowed right residential is allowed except there's this arbitrary charter language It says hey, you can't you you're underneath the lowest allowable height restriction for that area just because you're residential and I that

No one's investing in that.

Obviously, nobody, you know, I mean, you could say, well, I'd love to have, you know, you know, anything in that in that area. But it's allowed. It's just whether or not they've come in. But what we are arbitrarily limiting is residential. And I think that that that hurts us in the long run.

And we have to provide parking. That's the other thing, too.

Yep. Yeah. Sure. Yeah, so it's apparent. The one thing that we're not missing there is crime. And we've sat in many hours of presentations and our police department has briefed us on crime on 36th Street. I've even personally have been with our police department to see what they do out there on 36th Street. And from all the presentations, all the hours, Uh, the one thing that has really, uh, stood out for us is, uh, to put residential there and then to go even further. Um, I believe that also, like there are a lot of people that, you know, they retire or they have kids that go off to college. There's nowhere for them to buy a place or to move to and live in Miami Springs. There's actually low income properties that we have in Miami Springs where retirees or parents wouldn't want to put their kids in that area. So I don't understand what it's about. At the end of the day, I do represent you. I represent the people of Miami Springs, the residents of Miami Springs. So I do appreciate the feedback. I welcome the feedback. We're going to do what's right for you guys. i appreciate you ivan coming up and telling us not only what you're thinking because you said it's what you know other residents friends of yours that you know that's what they're thinking and it's it is what it is that's what they're thinking we can't just you know uh force our will on anybody um even though we have a lot of information because we've sat here And we've gone through all these hours of presentations. But I would love to partner up with the community, with you. Hopefully, maybe we could exchange contact or if you could tell the residents, your neighbors that are raising concerns about this to reach out to me. I'm always happy. to answer the call at the end of the day we're all neighbors it's a small town you know and i moved here for that small town and i'm raising kids and i want them to live in this small town as well so thank you heaven

Sure, I think another thing is a misconception that your roof type over your head Dictates what kind of values and principles you have basically because oh they have this apartment building over there They're not gonna think the same way as we are actually they're probably a lot more connected than they are now That's for sure. So they're gonna think just a lot of things like we did just like the councilman beyond said if there's young professionals that want to move in the area, their ultimate goal is to come back to this community. So they're going to be positive residents to this community, as well as all the ones that we have on Royal Ponciana. Are we saying that the roof type over their heads is something that we don't like to see? because they've been good, positive residents to this community as well. So the Ruth type does not dictate your values and principles. And I believe between the young professionals, as well as people that are retired from this community that can't go, don't want to leave, but this makes them a different option, firemen, police officers, people that are actually professionals, I can't see how that's going to hurt us. I know that the low-budget hotels that bring the transient person, that person is definitely not connected to this community at all. So we have to look for another option. Yeah.

And actually, the next thing we're going to talk about in other business is a plan to plant trees in green spaces, right? Like, I would love... I GREW UP IN THE SPRINGS. YOU'RE ON THRUSH. I GREW UP ON 1110 THRUSH. I GET IT. I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO PRESERVE GREEN SPACES. THAT'S NOT WHAT WE HAVE IN THIS ONE AREA. IT'S NOT A GREEN SPACE. IT'S AN AREA THAT HAS ITS OWN CHARACTER, BUT THERE'S LIKE A LEG MISSING IN THAT STOOL, RIGHT? AND THAT WAS DONE IN AN ARBITRARY WAY. I am of the opinion that that's hampering that that area and the people, you know, when I lived in the bird section, I mean, like that's there are different. The bird section is different from, you know, the where the Office Depot property is. Right. Like there's there's a different character. All the central business district has its own character. The bird section has its character of everything. East of South Drive, that's where I live, and we've got a bunch of historic 100-year homes, right? But, like, along 36th Street, everything has its own different character. That's why you have zoning districts, because they have different, you know, needs. Obviously, along 36th Street, that's a different character in that zoning district. So, by virtue of the fact that buildings can go up 12 stories, that's why the EB Hotella and Miami Regional University. We've got some buildings there, but we have no residential because it's kind of being arbitrary limited. All right. I think it was cathartic for us to talk about it again as we vote on this, and then we've got our work cut out for us to try to get the word out. Because I think that some people aren't aware of the fact that we worded it in a way to kind of lock it in and i mean we're we're still giving a lot of agency to to the the voters that that put it in in the first place uh so we we got our work cut out for us to to get the word out any other uh discussion okay i'd like to entertain a motion to uh approve 12a so move okay i've got a motion and a second call the vote please

Vice Mayor Llamas? Yes. Councilman Santin? Yes. Councilman Dion? Yes. Councilman Perez-Crespo? Yes. Mayor Fahad? Yes.

The motion carries. Okay, we move on. Thank you. So we move on to 13B, which is a request from me to discuss a proposed plan to plant trees in the green spaces between Dove and Quail Avenues just west of the clay pits. AS MANY PEOPLE KNOW, THOSE FIELDS HAVE BEEN THERE FOR QUITE SOME TIME, JUST WEST OF THE CLAY PITS SINCE I WAS A KID. THEY'VE BEEN THERE. THOSE FIELDS ARE OPEN BECAUSE THEY BELONG TO THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SEWER. Wells there there are well springs that tap into the Biscayne aquifer Which is just below and so it's heavily restricted by EPA regulations and there's all kinds of restrictions in terms of what can be done there and we had a Couple of residents that really took the lead. They've been working on this for a couple of years they were actually working on this with our previous County Commissioner to try to plant trees and Obviously, it takes like 20 years before you could really start to enjoy them, but they wanted to plant trees to create eventually, as those trees matured and with time, I hope to still be around to enjoy it, to create kind of like a passive tree park, right? With maybe in the future, like a little meandering walkway underneath the trees and a couple benches. Not the intention to make it like, you know, a huge amenity with parking or anything like that. We're just talking about planting trees. I know from talking to them, now they hadn't met with our current county commissioner. They had met with the previous one, but they had talked to FPNL because there's power lines that go down there. They had talked to the Department of Water and Sewer to see where where is it that trees can be planted, where can't they, because there's all kinds of regulations in terms of like easements, because again, it's part of our water system. They need to be able to access the well springs to be able to tap into the Biscayne Aquifer. And so they approached me about meeting with the new commissioner, and we actually got representatives from Water and Sewer. We had representatives from FPNL. We had representatives from our new county commissioner, Natalie Millian-Orbus. And the good news is that we were given the green light to plant so long as we comply with the easements and rights of way and all the access regulations and also underneath the power lines, the other regulations that FPNL has. about the types of trees and the heights of trees and what can be planted. But basically we were given the light, the green light to plant some trees. So I think it's a great thing and we'd like to eventually have that become like a passive tree park. And the city has committed to helping these two residents. Maybe I can convince them to come and do a little presentation. But they're trying to tap into some resources to see if we can get some trees for the city. As far as I'm concerned, gentlemen, every time we plant a tree, I feel like we're staking a claim that we want to preserve green space. I'M WITH YOU, IVAN, IN TERMS OF WANTING TO PRESERVE AREAS LIKE THAT AND ALL THE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE OUR BEAUTIFUL BEDROOM COMMUNITY AND OUR SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL AND THE ENTIRE CITY. I THINK THAT WE'RE ALL OPERATING THAT. BUT IT'S NOT I KNOW THAT THERE WERE SOME RUMORS GOING AROUND BECAUSE THEY SAW THE MEETING AND THEY THOUGHT MAYBE WE WANT TO PLANT TREES, GUYS, WHICH I THINK IS A GOOD THING WE'VE BEEN GIVEN THE GREEN LIGHT TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. So thank you to those two residents, but I did want to update you guys since we did have a meeting and I know that you guys received phone calls from residents that are asking what it was about. Any comments? All right. Okay. So thank you. Happy to update you guys on that. So we move on to reports and recommendations and we will begin with our esteemed city attorney, Roger.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the council. I usually give you a pretty brief report, but today I actually do have a report that I'd like to read for you guys. Essentially, there's a case that was very time sensitive that we had to actually file in court to assist the police department. To just give a brief summary, on May 27, 2026, the Miami Springs Police Department's license plate reader caught an alert of a stolen car, a 2019 Lamborghini Urus. um after speaking with mr salator furia of fort lauderdale he claims that he actually owned and purchased the vehicle the vehicle however was also being claimed by a canadian corporation navigation touring llc which is a dealership the vehicle has never been registered in the united states and they're seeking to repossess the vehicle Mr. Furia and the dealership are both showing contested ownership claims. So we filed, in the interest of time, a petition for declaratory relief with the court to help determine who actually has proper ownership of the vehicle. There's currently a hearing that's scheduled for June 23rd, 2026. But my office is just looking for one, obviously ratification of our filing of that claim to assist the police department and authorization to continue forward with that case.

mayor um first before i get well first of all i want to thank kevin i know you're going to mention the the golf the golf tournament but i do want to thank kevin and and every and the staff in particular it was a great event i won't take away from that but i do want to recognize kevin and his staff they did a great job for the curtis cup um and second

apologize to see them that Mister manager I am actually looking for ratification of our filing of that that petition and for authorization to continue from the Council.

OK so it would be authorizing Council to continue.

Helping the police department with the case involving a Mister food yet and the navigation touring all say.

OK. All right. So do you want to do it with a motion and vote? OK. So I'd like to entertain a motion to allow our city attorneys to work with police to help us with this and represent the city in terms of this situation. I'd like to entertain that motion. So move. OK. We have a motion. Second, anyone? Second, we have a motion. We have a second. Call the vote, please.

Vice Mayor Lamas? Yes. Councilman Santine? Yes. Councilman Dionne? Yes. Councilman Perez-Crespo? Yes. Mayor Fahet? Yes. The motion carries.

Did you have anything else, Roger, besides that? No, thank you very much, and I apologize for interrupting. Sorry to make you stop. So we go back to reports from our city manager.

And lastly today I send you earlier you guys a memo I have Well, let me back this up a little bit one of the things one of the many things that I love about this city is And being the manager here is the the amount of homegrown talent that we have working for us and are I'm very I'm very proud to say that our next chief of police after Matt was poached and taken away. One of our homegrown talent, speaking of, is the fact that we have another homegrown talent that I'm promoting to the Chief of Police, and that's Albert Sandoval. I provided you guys with a brief bio, the information about his career here. Started as a PSA and has worked his way up. Went through school, got his degree, went to the academy, the Southern Command Institute. So I look forward to working with him.

awesome all right thank you assistant city manager omar luna uh nothing to report okay all right get over to report some recommendations from our city clerk no nothing to report okay all right so then it leaves just the city council i'll start with councilman george centine

Well, definitely want to start off with congratulating our former deputy and now our chief. You know, well-earned promotion. We appreciate you and all the things that you've been doing for our community and keeping us safe, so thank you. And the best thing about it is you live only a block away from our house, so it's nice to have that. The other chief was also close, but this guy's really close. So thank you very much, and we're proud to have you with us. As the city manager said, the Centennial Golf Tournament was a big hit. So it looks like it has the legs to continue. The Curtis Cup will start again in February of 2027. It helped to be an annual tradition here in Miami Springs. So it was definitely one of those that took a lot of work. And Kevin, the staff, and a couple other volunteers, John, and a couple Johns actually that helped out. So we're very proud of the results of that. And I think for now, we're all set with centennial stuff for now. We've got August 22nd, we will have the celebration of our town. So then we'll start now working on that and you'll get more details from the city soon exactly what that entails. But August 22nd before you know it will be there and of course we're going to unveil the statue and the monument of Glenn Curtis and the Junebug. And then lastly, just be safe out there in the summer. The kids are out there and they're excited. I already see them all over the place biking around. So keep safe. Enjoy your little vacations whenever you get a chance to take off. And we'll see everybody back, I think, back in August, hopefully August 22nd.

4th of July. Oh, that's right. I apologize. 4th of July.

That's big for us. Actually, that is a big deal. That's how focused I am on August 22nd. But, yes, that is a proud moment for all of us as a country, obviously, 250 years. Well, the pressure after seeing something they put on the Nestor and these guys put on the AI version of what we're going to have July 4th, the pressure's on you guys. How are you going to figure out that long stage and everything that comes with the celebration? But, yeah. HOPEFULLY EVERYBODY CAN ENJOY JULY 4th AS WELL. ALL RIGHT.

AWESOME.

COUNCILMAN? I'D LIKE TO ALSO CONGRATULATE CHIEF SANDOVAL. PUT A LITTLE SOMETHING TOGETHER HERE. SO WHEN I DECIDED TO RUN FOR OFFICE, MY PRIORITIES WERE CLEAR AND PUBLIC SAFETY WAS AT THE VERY TOP OF THE LIST. EARLY ON, I MADE IT A POINT TO MEET WITH CHIEF CASTILLO. AND DURING THAT MEETING, CHIEF CASTILLO INVITED DEPUTY CHIEF AT THE TIME SANDOVAL TO JOIN US. It didn't take long for me to realize that public safety in Miami Springs was in excellent hands. My focus quickly shifted from making public safety just a priority, but to finding ways to support our law enforcement officers and help them continue the outstanding work they were already doing. What became even more apparent was the exceptional leadership within the Miami Springs Police Department. Chief Castillo and Deputy Chief Sandoval have consistently demonstrated professionalism, integrity, teamwork, and an unwavering commitment to keeping our residents safe. They embody what true leadership looks like. It has been a tremendous honor to serve our community alongside both of these outstanding men and congratulations to Chief Castillo on his new role at the Doral Police Department. your leadership and dedication have left and a lasting impact on Miami Springs and congratulations to chief Albert Sandoval on being named chief of Miami Springs Police Department I have no doubt that the proud legacy and leadership safety and teamwork will continue to thrive under your command Miami Springs is fortunate to have leaders like you serving our community congratulations chief

Okay, thank you, Councilman. Vice Mayor.

That's a tough one to follow. Congratulations. It really is comforting knowing that we continue being great and take us in the right direction. So thank you for everything you've done and looking forward to everything you're going to do. And just to Centene and the rest of the staff, thank you for the Centennial Golf Tournament. It was great, great turnout. I was really impressed for a first-year event. It was packed. We had a lot of fun, beautiful golf course, and it's just one of the privileges of living here. Thank you.

Awesome. Thank you. Councilman?

I want to thank Kevin Morris for putting together the Curtis Cup tournament. Hopefully, I hope to see it next year as an annual event. I really do. To your point, it was just amazing, the turnout and the service and the attention that they gave. I want to acknowledge Councilman Dion, Vice Mayor Lamas, our City Manager JC, and Assistant City Manager Omar Luna for joining me on my first round of golf. where I played absolutely terrible. It was never in me to hit a little white ball across fields of grass, but I see the appeal for it. So thank you guys for joining me out there. I want to congratulate George Kalia who succeeds San Chester as the artistic director of the Pelican Playhouse. And the word on the street is they are preparing a centennial performance. in honor of our 100th celebration. So I can't wait to see that. And that hopefully will be recorded and stored in the time capsule. So it'd be awesome to see that in 50 years. I want to wish Officer Janice Simon, if you came in through those front doors downstairs, you saw her on the best on her retirement. So thank you Officer Simon for everything you've done for our city. I want to wish great success to Angie Aguila, who went to work for the Hialeah Fire Department's administration. I'm sure that the seniors, the adult community center, are going to miss her. And congratulations to Chief Matthew Castillo on his appointment as police chief for the city of Doral. He's got a lot going on, and I want to welcome Chief Albert Sandoval. who will have his own leadership skills and style, and we can't wait to hear how you're going to continue keeping Miami Springs safe and secure. I know you will. I know you will. And so, finally, in case I don't see you gentlemen before the next meeting, I want to wish you all a happy Father's Day. You're all excellent examples to your children from Jaycees. you know, Partridge family, Brady Bunch thing going on over there, to Omar's little girl, Roger with your little baby, Santine with his daughters, Dion with Issa, the mayor, who's an example to Nick, vice mayor here with his two boys, who I've seen him hang out, and he's such a cool dad, and to all the dads out there, I wish you all the best. Thank you.

Do your kids think you're a cool dad? I don't know. I don't buy that. I don't buy that. All right, so thank you. So you know what? I was talking to George Khalil and Matt Castillo. So if you grew up like you did here in the Springs, if you grew up, I mean, you saw Matt grow up. He was younger than me, but obviously you see him and you congratulate him. He was getting his flowers. He made his announcement. We were congratulating him. And George, George Khalil was congratulating him. And he kept saying, like, you're going to be fine, like, you've got a good team. And I was like, you know, it's not the same to be congratulations. And like, you're gonna be fine. It was kind of like, it was a conscious. So it feels good to be able to say congratulations. We've got somebody to congratulate. More homegrown talent that can step right up. And I think that Matt did a great job of setting us in a great direction. And I'm super happy. Happy to see how the new chief, Deputy Sandoval, deputy chief now, soon to be chief. And I know we're going to have a proper swearing-in ceremony to give you your flowers and congratulate you. But we're happy for Matt. I don't know how long he'll be there. I think he's got, like, stratospheric goals that he's going to be hitting. But they got a good one from us, and we got a pipeline goal. We got some good ones in the chamber, no pun intended. The Curtis Cup was great. Thank you to Kevin Morris. I've been to quite a few golf tournaments. The Omelette Bar, the Prime Rib, the Goody Bags. Like, I had several people tell me, like, we're definitely coming back next year. So it was a hit. It was a hit. It was a great time for the Curtis Cup. And I want to, so this morning, I hosted a high school student to be mayor for the day. So a young lady by the name of Valerie Astorga. She was a rising sophomore at Hialeah Gardens Senior High. She was a Goldman her freshman year. She wants to be a criminal defense attorney and she was interested in municipal government. Is it that I thought it was only us in here that are interested in that kind of thing. But you know what? I learned more. This is our second year doing the mayor for the day. They get assigned to us by this organization called Virtuum Populo and they apply. They want to be interested. They get to be mayor for the day. And I take her around. We started here in the council chambers. took pictures with her she pounded the gavel but then she gets to meet the city manager and understand how kind of our form of government works and from the city manager down and she met with Omar and then she she went and met with police and just in each department talking about their budgets and what they do and what are the things and I kind of prompt the questions and like what are you working on and what are they just hearing I just me being with her right as as we go to uh the golf course and talk to kevin or we go see james dean at the aquatic center and caitlyn gave us a tour of the rec center and tammy key at the senior center and seeing all of these different departments and talk about their budget and what they're doing and all the services that they're giving like it makes me proud because you realize like Well, maybe I should be mayor more often than I realize what great work our city staff does. So kudos to that young lady. She got to see a lot about the inner workings of how our municipal government takes care of our residents in this town and was super proud to see what she saw through her eyes as a lens. So, okay. So we'll have one. Yes, go ahead. Happy birthday to my dear wife today.

Wow. Even though we celebrated for the last couple days, and it seems like it might continue on.

Yeah, yeah, good save, good save.

Good save.

All right, so at 8.30, this meeting is adjourned at 8.30 p.m. Thank you.

Yes. Nope. I can't say that.