Regular City Commission Meeting - Regular Meeting

It's our regular City Commission meeting. Today is Wednesday, September 16th. The time is 7 o'clock. Please call the roll.

Commissioner Schwartz? Here. Commissioner Simone? Here. Commissioner Rosano?

Here.

Vice Mayor Caggiano?

Present.

Mayor Serrio?

Here. Please stand for a moment of silence, followed by the pledge. Go ahead, Commissioner Rosano. All right. First up, we have presentations. Employee recognition for years of service.

All right. Thank you, Mayor. Good evening, everybody. Go a little bit out of order here and recognize the employees that were not able to be with us here tonight. And so first, we have Stacey Sladek, Senior Utility Service Representative in D, celebrating 20 years of service. And Shanika King, Utility Support Specialist in D, celebrating five years of service. And for the next two, I'd like to invite up Chief Palma from our police department, who is going to recognize Laurie Hofer, our police lieutenant, celebrating 30 years of service, and Al Binette, police major, celebrating 20 years of service.

Hofer, would you like to come up? So today we have the opportunity to recognize someone who has given 30 years of her life to this department and this community, Lieutenant Lori Hofer. When you think about how much policing has changed over the last three decades, technology, expectations, challenges, and Tommy's phone, it's pretty special to have someone through all of it. And Lieutenant Hofer, she began her career actually in September of 96 as a road aid or community service aid, as you would know. In 1999, she became a police recruit. And from there, she continued to take on new challenges and responsibilities throughout her career. She has served as a bicycle officer, a school resource officer at Liberty Elementary, a detective in our criminal investigations unit, master police officer. She's also a public information officer, and she was a road patrol sergeant. She was also assigned to special projects, training, traffic, and criminal investigations. She was promoted to lieutenant in 2022. And even after reaching that rank, she continued to find ways to contribute to the department and take on additional responsibilities that are important to our people and the organization. One of those responsibilities, particularly important to me as the chief of police, is her involvement with our peer support team. Lieutenant Hofer has been part of our peer support team since 2023. Police officers deal with things that most people will never experience. They say tragedy, they see tragedy, they deal with difficult situations, and sometimes they carry those experiences with them long after their shift is over. And sometimes the person an officer needs to talk to isn't a supervisor, it's another officer, someone who understands our job, understands the culture, and understands what it means, our experience in these difficult moments. It tells our officers that they don't have to deal with everything alone. And having someone within the department that is willing to step forward, listen, and support the fellow officers and help them through difficult times is a tremendous asset. It takes a special person to take on that role. It requires compassion, trust, discretion, and the ability to simply be there for somebody when they need it. There's another example of Lieutenant Hofer's commitment to this department which is she works in professional standards. So essentially she works for me in professional standards. Professional standards is about accountability, transparency, fairness, and integrity. We have to be willing to look at ourselves, address concerns, and make sure that we are living up to the standards of our officers. That isn't always possible. It requires somebody who is objective, which Lori is, someone who has good judgment, and someone who understands both the department and the community that we serve. After 30 years, Lieutenant Hofer brings an incredible amount of experience to this position. She has been with this department from almost every perspective, from working the road to the schools, investigations, supervision, training, and now professional standards. That experience matters. And throughout those 30 years, her work has been recognized as well. She was Officer of the Month in 2002, 2010, received Superior Component Awards in 2006, 2012, and received numerous letters of recognition, appreciation, and commendation. She also received the Administrative Excellence Award in 2015. But when you look at all these accomplishments, I think the greatest recognition is the fact that 30 years later, she's still here. She's still serving, and she's still willing to take on new responsibilities. She has continued to evolve in this department. She has continued to lead. She has continued to find ways to make this organization better. Lieutenant Hofer, on behalf of the entire police department and the city, I want to say thank you. Thank you for the sacrifices that you've made over the past 30 years. Thank you for being someone our officers can turn to through peer support, when someone needs you. And thank you for taking on the responsibility of professional standards and helping to ensure that we remain accountable, transparent, and worthy of the public's trust. You've given this department a significant part of your life, and we appreciate that, and we want to recognize that commitment. Congratulations. I'm going to just have Lori's family come up. Her husband is the chief of police for Coconut Creek. Just not to put him on the spot. Major Burnett, come on up. It was hard to get 50 years of experience on a couple sheets of paper, just so you know. So today, we have the opportunity to recognize someone who has dedicated the last 20 years of his life serving the city and this community, Major Alan Bennett. Major Bennett began his career with this department September 25, 2006, as a police recruit. 20 years later, he stands before us as a major. But when you look at his career, you see that he didn't simply move through the ranks. He took on different challenges, different responsibilities, and continued to find ways to contribute to this department. Over the years, he has served a number of important roles. He worked in the Special Enforcement Team. He was a detective in our Special Operations Division. He spent time with the DEA Southeast Regional Task Force, and later became a sergeant on road patrol. He also serves as our public information officer, the traffic unit, and became a sergeant in the criminal investigations division. He eventually moved into command positions, including SRT, which is our special response team. He was our commander and still is. And criminal investigations, he was the commander as well. He was promoted to major in March of 2024. And I think that his career progression says a lot about him. When the department needed someone to take on responsibilities, he stepped up. When he was given an opportunity to lead, he took it seriously. And his responsibilities increased. So did the trust that I placed in him. The trust is reflected not only in his promotions, but also in his recognition. In 2011, he was named Officer of the Month twice. and he was Officer of the Year the same year, in 2011. He also received the Superior Component Citation and recognized in 2012 and 2022. Today, Major Burnett has a responsibility over several areas that are critical to the operation of our department. School resource officers, the traffic unit, which is near and dear to everybody in this room, accreditation, records, training, and special events. Our school resource officers require leadership and an understanding of the importance of the relationship with students, parents, teachers and our schools. Traffic requires planning, enforcement and attention to the safety of everyone who travels through our community. Accreditation and records may not always be the most visible part of police work, but they're essential in maintaining professionalism, accountability and the standards of this organization. Training is about preparing our officers for situations they will face when it matters most. And special events, I'm sure you've been to our events, they require planning, coordinating, and we want to make sure our community's safe at the same time. So when you look at Major Burnett's responsibilities today, you see something pretty impressive. 20 years of experience being put to work across almost every part of this department. but I also want to recognize something that doesn't show up on a resume. A police career is not just about titles, promotions, and assignments. It's about people you work with, the officers you help develop, the decisions that you make when nobody is watching, and the example you set for those coming behind you. After 20 years, Major Burnett has had the opportunity to make that impact on many people in this department, and I can tell you that wholeheartedly. Major, on behalf of this entire police department and the city, I want to thank you. Thank you for your sacrifices that came over the years. Thank you for taking on those difficult assignments and responsibilities. And thank you for continuing to lead this department. 20 years is a significant milestone, and it deserves to be recognized. We are fortunate to have you, and I'm proud to recognize you. And I have just one more thing to say. After 20 years of making good decisions, showing good judgment, and demonstrating leadership, sadly Major Burnett is a New York Jets fan. Sorry, had to put that in there. So apparently after 20 years, training can't teach you everything.

Congratulations.

All right, and for our next two employees, I want to invite Dease Director Kurt Kaiser up to the podium, who will be recognizing Francis Rodriguez, Chief Chemist, celebrating 25 years of service, and Emmanuel Jean-Baptiste, Engineer, celebrating 15 years of service. Come on, Francis.

All right. As city manager indicated, we're honoring Frances Rodriguez here tonight, who we're celebrating 25 years of service. So she was hired in September of 2001 as the chief chemist, a position that she maintains today. So I think a lot of people probably don't realize that we have a chief chemist. Frances has a bachelor's degree in microbiology and science and a minor in chemistry. She's a technical expert. If anybody has ever seen the movie Hidden Figures, which is about the women who did all the manual high-level mathematical calculations for NASA to launch the first spaceships into space. That's what Frances and her team do for us in Dease. Frances runs the lab. It's a nationally accredited laboratory, environmental lab. It does all of our compliance testing on a daily basis. Her team quietly works behind the scenes to keep us in compliance, to keep our drinking water safe and clean, and to keep us in compliance with the discharge of our wastewater. She came to us from the Department of Health in West Palm Beach, where she performed similar responsibilities for drinking water only. Today, for Margate, she monitors and analyzes the drinking water and the wastewater. As I indicated, she runs a NELAP certified lab with a staff of three other lab technicians. This work is highly regulated. It's documentation and report intensive. And it requires reliable, accurate, and legally defensible data. So it requires someone who is data driven, someone who is detail oriented, someone who is organized, and someone who can accurately document in a reliable way what our findings are. Every two years, our lab undergoes a one-week audit, intensive audit, where they just basically tear everything apart. They look at the operation. They look at the documentation. It requires about a month and a half of preparation on Frances and her team's part, and it's one week of intensive audit while we're still operating the lab with only four people. Our last audit was done just a month ago in August, and the finalists came back with zero deficiencies, which is remarkable. And this is a testament to Frances' technical competence, her organizational skills, and her leadership. She's a valued member of our team.

And we hope she's here for several more years.

I don't want to put 25 more on you, Frances, but we hope you're not going anywhere soon.

So congratulations.

Thank you. So here's a 25-year plaque and a letter from Representative Honchovsky, if I'm going to say that correctly. Did I say that right? Did I get close?

You did.

I've heard it a few times. Do you want to invite your family up and some of your colleagues for a photo? Francis' mother and sister and cousin are here, and I'm going to let her introduce them. Marta? There's some other DEE staff members out here. I didn't say it, but we rely pretty heavily on Frances. So her work and her teammates' work touch almost everybody in the utilities portion of DEE's operations. So our water plant manager's here. Our maintenance supervisor's here. One of our water operators is here. He does a lot of our sample collection and gets them to her every morning. So it's a team effort to make this happen, but Frances drives the whole thing.

You look so good among the women.

All right, Jean, it's your turn. All right. Now we get to honor Emmanuel Jean-Baptiste for 15 years of service to the department in the city. So Emmanuel hired on with us in September of 2011 as a Class C wastewater treatment plant operator. He matriculated and got his certification as a Class B operator in 2014 and then his Class A operator's license in 2015. And then he decided to go back to school in 2015 to get his bachelor's of science degree in civil engineering. He graduated from FAU in December of 2017 and he stayed in the wastewater plant for another year and a half or so until a position opened up in these admin as an engineer and he was promoted to associate engineer in 2019. He maintained that position for Five years. And was promoted to engineer, his current position, in 2023. So I guess four years. He passed his engineering intern exam in 2020. And we haven't discussed it much, but I'm certain that he is going to take his PE exam sometime in the very near future. So a little bit about him. He was our sole engineering plans examiner for about five years, the past five or six years. He does a thorough job with his plans review. He does an excellent job of communicating and coordinating with the other departments. He helps Geo out. He works with April over in building. You know, right now, we don't have an assistant director of engineering. Emmanuel's ability to coordinate and communicate with everybody has allowed me to run that side of the operation without a lot of assistance. He does a great job, and he's a valued member of the team. I'm hoping he's going to hang around for another 15 years or so. So thank you, Emmanuel. Let's bring your family up. We have his wife, his two sons, and his mother-in-law. Come on, mother.

Hold on. We need to get mom.

Thanks again to all of our employees recognized for their many years of service. Next up on their presentations, it's going to be National Diaper Need Awareness Week. Do we have someone from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Diaper Bank here today? Awesome. Awesome. So we have Taram here. She's a representative of the greater Fort Lauderdale Diaper Bank. And from someone who changes a lot of diapers late. Yeah, I'm going to wait. It's OK. I seem to be changing a lot of diapers these days, so I figured I would do this one. I have a five-year-old and a year-and-a-half-year-old. Proclamation National Diaper Need Awareness Week. Whereas diaper need, the condition of not being able to afford a sufficient supply of clean diapers to keep babies and toddlers clean, dry, and healthy, can adversely affect the health and well-being of children and their families. And whereas national surveys and research studies report that nearly one in two families struggle with diaper need, 48% of families delay changing a diaper to extend the available supply and whereas a Daily or weekly supply of diapers is generally an eligibility requirement for babies and toddlers to participate in child care programs and quality early education programs that enable children to thrive and parents to work and whereas many parents struggling with diaper need report missing an average of five days of work each month due to an insufficient supply of diapers and And whereas, without enough diapers, babies and toddlers risk infections and health problems that may require medical attention, resulting in medical costs, and parents may be prevented from assessing childcare needed to go to work or school, thereby destabilizing the family's economic prospects and well-being. And whereas, the people of Margate recognize that diaper need is a public health issue And addressing diaper need can lead to economic opportunity for the state's families and communities and improve health for children, ensuring all children and families have access to the basic necessities required to thrive and reach their full potential. And whereas Margate is proud to be home to trusted community-based organizations, including the Greater Fort Lauderdale Diaper Bank, that recognize the importance of diapers in ensuring health, and providing economic stability for families and thus distribute diapers to families through various channels. And whereas through their important work of addressing diaper need, diaper banks play a critical role in supporting families, improving infant health and well-being, and advancing our local and state economic growth. Now, therefore, I, Antonio Arcero, Mayor of the City of Margate, do hereby proclaim the week of September 14th to the 20th, 2026, as National Diaper Need Awareness Week. This is a copy of the proclamation signed by myself, Vice Mayor Caggiano, and the City Commission. We present this to your organization. They're going to take a quick photo, and if you want to say a few words. Only because I didn't know there was diaper banks. I know there's a lot of food banks. So if you want to just let everyone know where you're located and how people can access your bank if they need assistance.

Hello. I just want to say a few quick words about the Greater Fort Lauderdale Diaper Bank. Currently, our warehouse is located in Davie Boulevard and stuff. I also want to say the Diaper Bank not only provides diapers for children, we also offer adult diapers. So anyone who needs them, you can go online, sign up for our website, and we can provide any diapers you need for your children and adults.

Okay, next up we have public discussion.

Good evening, Elsa Sanchez, Margate resident. I was lucky enough to go to the Coral Springs City Hall yesterday. There was a proclamation or a presentation for the Parkland and Coral Springs CERT team, which I am a member of. And I took a couple of things away from besides the honor of being there. Market is getting bigger. And I think together with what we're planning for our downtown, we should have a bigger city hall. It was really beautiful. The area where the meeting was held, there were cameras that were taking every person who was speaking and they were pictured they were TV like that, that everybody could see. It was really very nice. It was the commissioners welcomed by the door, everybody thanking for them coming over. And it was a really nice presentation. Also, they mentioned something that I don't know if we are aware of it. Margaret is aware of it. On September 21st is National Peace Day, and it is supposed to be celebrated by doing acts of kindness to other people and expressing love for everybody. And they're going to have a presentation. They're going to have a celebration about it on their grounds. And they are asking everybody to comply and to accept and make that a special day as it being known as National Peaceful Day. So I am glad I will participate in my own word, in my own way. but I am also urging everybody to recognize that day and do something kind for somebody else. Thank you.

Good evening, Theresa Booker, Margate resident. First, I wanted to say I'm looking forward to the uh, winter festivities for Margie, the winter festival. And I remember two, two meetings ago when we were talking about the Carolina club property, uh, commissioner short, you brought up a, for them to have one, uh, square acre for a possible fire department. I was thinking that if we can make it a substation for police and fire, instead of one whole, just the fire department, because I know the city has done that before in the past and it might make more sense.

And that's it.

Thank you.

Hi, Donna Fellows, Margit Rezene. I just wanted to say that I watched the CRA meeting and to even think that we have such incompetent people sitting up there. even thinking of bringing back that fair. You all really need to see doctors, I mean psychiatrists, because as a taxpayer, I don't think that you all should be having this fair. We are the ones that pay for it. Why are we going to have people, hoodlums, come to Margate again? Are you all not learning your lesson from day one when it happened and things were happening, gunshots, guns being there, riots? You know, and it's really bad. And I want to thank the police officers and everything for what they do. But it's really bad when you have police officers sitting there saying, well, You know, it's been quiet for now, but come Thanksgiving, that's when the trouble starts. Well, last year, Thanksgiving Day, you had to shut it down because of trouble. Then, not two days later on Saturday, you had to shut it down again for trouble. So instead of Margate, we will make it great, we'll just say Margate will make it trouble. Because that's all you want to do is bring in the trouble. Why do we have to have on the news Margate did this and Margate this happened and Margate that happened, but it's never good stuff. Never. Because we have people like you and a mayor like you bringing in the fare. I say, don't bring it. Now that you don't have that big church there and you have an open field, guess where the riots can start now? Right there. And it's bad when it gets put through Broward County schools saying, meet here. This is where we're going to fight. This is where it's going down. And we still allow it. You still allow it. The residents are your bosses. We have been telling you we don't want it. Now, as your boss, I stand here today and for my neighbors, that's fine, for my neighbors and say, we don't want it. You can be voted out, which I hope it happens this year.

Good evening. My name's Dave Siddowitz. I'm a long-time Moorgate resident. I bought my starter home in 1974. In that time, I've seen a lot of changes. I've seen a lot of growth. And the one thing that I was most happy that was being done was when they built the Carolina Club and they built McDivitt's. That was somewhere where we could take people that would come to visit Margate or come to visit our family, and we could take them there and not have to go to Coral Springs or Coconut Creek. Well, back then, there really wasn't much, but there was Coral Springs. I'm just wondering, I know that the golf course is a lost issue, but is there any chance that we could do anything with retaining some leverage with the mansion? No? It's too bad because that's probably the nicest venue. I've been to a lot of weddings there. I've been to receptions. And the restaurant was good. But we don't have that in Margate right now. If we want to go for a good steak dinner and not pay by the ounce, we have to go to Coral Springs or we have to go to Coconut Creek. And I was hoping that we would do something in Margate to You know, to keep people, instead of Marne Gate being a town that people just drive through, give them a reason to stop and maybe get gas at a gas station or, you know, just give them a reason to want to be here. That's all I have to say. Thank you.

Hi, good evening, everybody. My name is Lizzy Wack, and I was born and raised in this city. I am here to simply continue the conversation regarding public safety on all ALPRs such as flock and axon cameras. At the last meeting, another resident brought this up and I noticed some disagreements from the commission. Firstly, I want to be clear. I'm in full support of our law enforcement and giving them proper tools to assist them in finding criminals. I respect our authorities and appreciate all of the work that's been done and understand that flock has helped officers solve crimes in certain situations. However, when it comes to these 24 seven surveillance cameras, We cannot speak in totality or brush off the conversation in the slightest. We can recognize while it has done good, it also continues to cause some harm. This is something that affects all of us daily. When we have these open conversations, we must be reasonable and understanding with both sides. The argument comparing our phones to flock was brought up last time, but may I remind everyone when you check the box to the terms and agreements on your phone, whenever you are setting it up or downloading an app, you are giving that company consent to track your data. This is different to that. Having someone take your photo while you're out in public is one thing, but if you were out with your children and had someone continue to follow you around all day against your wishes, then it would be considered stalking, which is a crime. As we have seen countless times, flock data has been misused to do that exact thing on innocent civilians. We have seen multiple cases. Several of those are in Florida. Also this exact time last year, ALPRs in LA alone misread 161 innocent drivers plates and marked them all as stolen vehicles. So we need to recognize that these are very real issues. And I would just like to have the conversation to be open. And I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous. This is my first time doing public speaking. I respect all of you, and I just would like maybe a little consideration that we can just, you know, think about this conversation instead of adding more. We can just notice that maybe we can regulate or have a middle ground on this. But thank you so much, and I appreciate it. Yes.

Okay, public discussion is closed. Commission comments. Commissioner Schwartz.

Mr. Sinowitz.

The hope is that when the city center is built, we will stop having people drive through. Because while I haven't lived here as long as you, only from 82, I have been saying that forever, that we are a pass-through city to somewhere else. So the hope is that when that gets developed, instead of us taking our money to Coral Springs, we will keep our money in Margate. So that is my wish and to everyone who celebrates the Jewish New Year I wish you all Happy New Year from my family to yours nothing else. Thank you Commissioner Simone Thank you I've got quite a few things this evening first.

I would like to extend my condolences to Andrew Valentino's family. He was our chief structural inspector who suddenly passed away last weekend. He was an awesome individual and a very dedicated employee and he is certainly going to be missed by this city. I know I was just speaking with him not even a month ago about different types of bicycles and the trips that he's taken in the good bike paths and good bike trails all over the state that he had visited and ones that I should possibly think about going and doing myself. So he's deeply going to be missed. Next, the household hazardous waste is coming this Saturday from 9 to 2. So if you have paint and Oil, you have documents that need to be shredded. Please take advantage of that. It's free to the residents. I know I've already got my stuff all put out, ready to go on Saturday. I had the privilege of going to the water treatment plant this past week. It's been a while since the bathrooms and the break area have been remodeled. It was a much needed improvement for our employees. And I have to tell you that we are in exceptional hands with our Ds and our water and wastewater treatment plant. I can't begin to tell you how impressed I was with the employees and with Curt and Marta, they are by far just the best and our employees and these are our unsung heroes. I know it's not a pleasant conversation we don't always see. It's not like our parks where, you know, residents go and see the beautification. But I wish every resident could go and visit our plant and see what these men and women are doing for our residents. They showed me the water sample that was just taken. A consultant had come and had made a recommendation of a procedure to do, and Marta and Kurt felt like they had a better alternative. So they tried it and so far it has produced very successful results. I know the clarity of our water and it's acceptable to be in double digits. It's now in single digits. which is absolutely phenomenal. So when you turn on your faucet and you drink our water, you know that is 100% safe. And I can't thank Kurt, Marta, and the men and women of Dees for the extraordinary steps and measures they take for our residents. Um, one of the things that I witnessed was them cleaning out some of the, I don't know what they're called. I'm gonna call them ponds. I don't know what they are. The where the wastewater is held. They were cleaning those out. And one way to do that is to bring in a large pump and pump it out. That's not good enough for us in Margate. Those men and women were down in that hole in 95 degree weather, shoveling the sand and the dirt out. I mean, they are just, I just can't sing their praises enough. And we should be very, very proud in Margate to have such a team working for our residents. so on behalf of myself and i'm sure all the commissioners up here and all the residents thank you for what you do for our residents on a day-to-day basis because we know we are in exceptional hands and our drinking water is is perfectly safe crystal clear When we turn on the faucet, we don't have to worry of what we're drinking. When we flush the toilet, we don't have to worry that it's going to an improper place. We are in excellent hands. So thank you again, Curt, Marta, and the entire men and women of Dees. And I hope to go back and see the other area that's being modified for the women to give them nice facilities to use. and a nice break room as the gentlemen have it. So again, we are in exceptional hands and we can't be more grateful to Curt and Marta for their professionalism and for what they bring to this city. I know even the employees were singing their praises and saying that the times that they've been here, that they have seen massive improvements in the wastewater and water treatment plant and their welcome changes. It is also National Hispanic Heritage Month. So the theme for this year is Together We Are More. So thank you for sharing your rich heritage, your traditions, your vibrant culture, with our community, you're greatly appreciated and Margate. And lastly, I think the last commission meeting on the budget that we had, I know I had my light lit, but was unable to speak. The meeting was, ended and my light was never recognized. But what I wanted to say at that meeting is I caution the commissioners that when a vote is taken, that it's only supposed to be a yes or a no. It's not supposed to be a discussion before you vote. So I just want to make a point of that. I know when I was first elected, um, Joseph had called me in because I had made a comment before I voted. And he had called me in and said, no, no, no, you're not supposed to do that. So I noticed that it was pretty dramatic on our budget meeting. So I just cautioned the commissioner, please don't do that. When the vote is called, just make your vote and any comments should be before the vote is called. And I think that's all I have on my notes for this evening. Oh, one more, one more thing. Don't forget the sneaker box is outside. So if you have used sneakers with shoelaces and you don't want to throw them out and put them in the landfill, please donate them in that box. It goes to the Good Karma Pet Rescue to help our dogs and cats. So collect your sneakers that you no longer want and bring them to City Hall. And that's all I have. Thank you.

Thank you. Just a couple things here. To the two speakers that came up, the gentleman from, you've been here since 1974, thank you. Originally, I was against the building out there, and actually, when we got into a developer's agreement, I saw that I was on the losing side, so I asked that we try to get the building. Time went on, and then the state actually had us handcuffed, and we can't really do nothing at this point. So we tried, all of us up here tried, and I'll talk to you after the meeting. But no, they're in control of all that property. We tried to get a portion of it, and the developer wouldn't even give us a piece of it. Where months ago, they were into negotiations with us. But once the state voted for something in their favor, we kind of lost it all. So you got it. And to the young lady who came up, thanks for coming. You guys are two new faces. Don't be shy up there. There was a woman by the name of Donna. Graham Fellows used to come up here. She was shy, but look at her now. She's a pro. Good job, Donna. So the flock cameras, you know, we're probably going to talk about that more. I know the governor's put some sort of a thing into effect right now. But speaking to the police department, they use them as a tool. You know, I hear different stories on how they're being used, but I'll definitely be listening to what people have to say because I'm definitely interested to see what's going on with them as well. I was just told that they read license plates. Our city has tried to implement some sort of a policy on who could look at them. in our police department. So we're trying to do the best we can with them. What else do I have here? Oh, for those of you Jets and Giants fans, savor this memory because they're both undefeated. You'll probably never hear that again.

Ain't that right, Ant?

And I know Ant and I have a lot of Jets fans, but the Jets and Giants are undefeated. So we're going to cherish this for another five days or six days or whatever. Guys, online there was a thing about Ascend Academy, the school, the power went out a couple weeks ago and people were trying to blame the city, blah, blah, blah, this and that. I could tell you from what I had been told that a power went out, got hit by lightning. They applied for a permit to get the power restored. The permit was approved that day by the city. There was no hold up by the city. I went out there that evening. They worked with FP&L to get it up and running. So I got to say a big kudos going out to the city. There was no implication that the city tried to drag it along or whatever. The permit was approved that day. And the best thing was, and Arlene, I saw your emails. We were responding back to FP&L. The FP&L rep called us, spoke to us. They said they would be out there. So all in all, everything worked out kind of well. But I can tell you, I don't think any of us knew about it until this week.

The city issued the permit on the 10th. That's when they were asked to. They'd already been out of power for a week and a half or something, told no one. And suddenly it became a city problem. The city doesn't connect or disconnect power from FP&L.

FP&L does that.

However, the school had resources to call the school board of Broward County and speak to the group that oversees charter schools. But in the end, they were waiting for a part from their private contractor. And if you talk to our rep from FP&L, they didn't know either. did not inform them. So when the FPNL found out that night, they stood there, cut the power, the private contractor apparently did what he needed to do, and then they put the power back on. Unfortunate when people go and say the city did this and the city did that, when they find out the city not only helped that power get back on, the one email we never got was a thank you.

All in all, it went well, Richard. You and your group over there do a great job, which is going to lead me to my next thing Joanne had already mentioned. Andrew Valentino. Guys, if you didn't know him, one of the greatest guys, man. You might not agree with him all the time, but he knew what he was talking about. And that was the best thing. And he would show me, because I work a lot with the building department, videos of him running marathons with a flag, riding his bicycle. The guy was absolutely incredible. And there's an item coming up tonight, and I'll touch on a little bit later. But last week, we had our 911 Patriot Day. And every Patriot Day, that guy is there. He is there at that at that memorial. And just the nicest guy you could ever meet. I know he's gonna be big shoes to fill. I don't know who my new inspector will be. But I love the guy, man. The guy was great. And he knew exactly what he was talking about. And he was a Margate resident. Now he loved the city. So if it If he didn't pass something or whatever, he was doing it for the safety of the people. You know, there are inspectors out there that, you know, I remember when I was a young contractor that, you know, they would try to, you know, show their badge and stuff like that. But Andrew was always one of the guys you could sit there and talk to, and he was reasonable. And he was great, and I loved the guy. And... Talk more about it maybe a little bit later on the Patriot Day thing, but he was an American patriot, guys. He loved this country, he loved our city, and I'm gonna miss him. Thank you, that's all.

Good evening? Yep, it's on. Oh, I was, because he's not sitting here, so. Go ahead, Vice Mayor.

I just want to share my total agreement with Joanne on what she said about Dees. Not only that, people still have no idea what they do first. Dees is amazing. Thank you, Kurt. Thank you, the whole department. Also, happy Hispanic month. And I agree with Tommy on what he said about Mr. Valentino. And I'll be better soon, and I'll be back. So with that, it's up to you, Antonio.

Okay, thank you. Several years ago, I went toward the water treatment and wastewater facility as well. It is pretty incredible to see the extent of the operation there. And... The only thing I didn't enjoy was the smell. It was not the most pleasant, but it's a very interesting operation. As it's been mentioned before, those are the things that people don't see on a day-to-day basis, but it's what keeps the city running. So thank you for all that they do. As far as the flock cameras, I am being open about it as well. I think the way technology is going, I don't think they're going to go away. What I do think needs to happen is that not only do cities need to put policies in place, but the legislature and also the companies themselves on what they do with the data. So I will be keeping an open mind on that. As far as the phones, I mean, no one reads the fine print on the phones. And it's not just your phones. If you have a smart TV, it's listening. The camera, if you read the fine print, watch you your Alexa it's listening to you your Apple watch can tell you where you are by the step counter that's in there you charge a credit card they're selling your data to Buxton and stuff it's incredible and scary at the same time but that's the times we live in as far going back to the flock specifically once they notice a Once really all of the awareness came about, and then recently the state requiring cities and counties to remove them from the right-of-way, we immediately followed those orders. And I know I talked to the city manager, I believe, and I mentioned at a commission meeting, I believe we have consensus, and I confirmed with the city manager we have taken those out. We're in the process of- We are in the process of taking them- We are in the process of taking those out, and we're not going to place them somewhere else. Like some cities are taking them out and then putting them on their own property. We're not doing that. And we're not adding any new ones until some things are ironed out. So I want the residents to know that we are complying with the order. And technically, we're reducing our footprint because we're not going to replace them somewhere else.

All right.

And with that being said, that's all I have for this evening. City Attorney.

Thank You mr. Mayor David told us the city attorney just wanted to wish everyone a very happy new year and an easy fast this coming weekend and It's always great to be here in the city of Margate.

Thank you Thank you mayor I too just want to Express my thoughts and prayers to Andrew Valentino his family his friends and his colleagues in the building department here in the city.

It'll be missed City clerk nothing at this time

I'm feeling generous. IT, anything?

OK, we're going to move over to the consent agenda. All right. These items are on your consent agenda this evening. Item 5A, a resolution of the City of Margate, Florida, accepting conveyance of newly constructed sanitary, forest mains, water mains, and utility easements for maintenance of water facilities located at 4733, 4763, and 4851 West Atlantic Boulevard, Coconut Creek, Florida, also known as Kokomar Industrial Park, providing for a public purpose, providing for an effective date. Item 5B, a resolution of the City Commission of the City of Margate, Florida, authorizing the conversion of two existing temporary internship positions within the Department of Environmental and Engineering Services from seasonal internships to year-round budgeted internship positions, providing for budget amendment, providing for an effective date. Item 5C, a resolution of the city of Margate, Florida, approving Vega Americas Inc. as a sole source manufacturer and supplier of specialized instrumentation for the city's water and wastewater utility systems, providing for technical review and compatibility with existing systems, providing for an effective date. And item 5D, a resolution of the city of Margate, Florida, approving Flood Lab Instruments Inc. as sole source provider for purchase of Flood Lab laboratory instruments equipment accessories and related services providing for monitoring of the city's wastewater surface water and drinking water providing for staff technical review and compatibility with existing systems providing for an effective date these items before you as part of your consent agenda this evening what is the wish of the commission so moved I'll second it Commissioner Schwartz yes Commissioner Simone yes Commissioner Rosano yes Vice Mayor Caggiano yes

Mayor Serrio. Yes.

Item 6, 6A, resolutions.

Item 6A is a resolution of the City of Murray, Florida, approving a surtax funding agreement in the standard terms and conditions for a surtax funded municipal transportation project interlocal agreements with Broward County for transportation surtax cycle 1 repair and maintenance project, providing for an effective date. This resolution is before you for your consideration this evening.

Do we have a motion? So moved. Second. Public?

All the roll. Commissioner Schwartz? Yes. Commissioner Simone? Yes. Commissioner Rosano? Yes. Vice Mayor Caggiano?

Yes.

Mayor Serrio? Yes. 6B.

Item 6B is a resolution of the City of Margate, Florida, authorizing the execution of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Margate Community Redevelopment Agency. Providing for the annual compensation rate for the services provided by the city on behalf of the market cra Pursuant to the interlocal agreement between the market syrian the city of murray for fiscal year 2026 2027 providing for an effective date this resolution is before you for your consideration this evening What is the wish of the commission so moved?

I'll second it public all the role

Commissioner Schwartz? Yes. Commissioner Simone? Yes. Commissioner Rosano?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Caggiano?

Yes.

Mayor Serrio? Yes. 6C.

Item 6C is a resolution of the City of Murray, Florida, approving the Second Amendment to the PCS Site Agreement, BUN 878263. with new STC-5 LLC for the existing telecommunications site at 1755 Banks Road, Margate Sports Complex, providing for tenant rent reduction and sub-tenant rent, providing for an effective date. This resolution is before you for your consideration.

What is the wish of the Commission? Do we have a motion?

Motion to approve.

Second. Public?

All the role mission shorts regrettably as mission simone yes mission was on oh yes vice mayor kashyano yes your cereal yes 60 item 60 is a resolution of city of margaret florida appointing member of the city commission as municipal district one representative for the brad metropolitan planning organization for the city of margaret with the name to be filled in following the vote

So I'm currently the representative, but I want to pass the torch. If he wants to accept it, I'd like to nominate the vice mayor, Casiano. I know that he's mobile all the time and has expressed interest in those projects in the past. Is that something you'd want to do?

It all depends on when the meetings are, if they conflict with my other meetings. So I would have to find out what's what before I say yes. But I'll say yes until I say no.

That's fine. We can always... Go ahead, Commissioner Simone.

Thank you.

Unless someone else wants it.

I mean... If someone else wants it too, I just.

I thought he was still on. I think he just, oh, I think he's done.

think somebody read my mind on this because i was actually going to ask that we have a new mpo city representative because unfortunately in the past three years we have had zero and i repeat zero city representation with the mpo and before that from 2021 to 2023 attendance by our representative was very limited i don't know what projects we've missed by not having any representation for the past three years and limited before that on the mpo but i can tell you that by not participating for the last three years together and being very limited for three years prior to that that the city lost a lot of money possibly thousands on bike lanes, potholes, road repairs, sidewalks. But most importantly, what the city lost is the ranking as a participant for federal funding, which is very, very big with the MPO. So because we have had no representation for the past three years, we have no ranking anymore with the MPO for federal funding.

How much funding have we gotten from them in the last 10 years?

Can I jump in and say, Joanne, you feel passionate about this. I would be more than happy to put your name in.

She's termed out. And with all due respect, and I know she's going to accuse me of attacking her, but she was very ineffective in that role as well. That's why the commission- All right, let's move on.

Let's move on. Oh, wait, wait, wait.

Let's move on. What's fair is fair.

Let's move on. Let's move on. Let's move on.

I'm just pointing that out. What's fair is fair.

Joanne, would you like the position?

I'm termed out in one month. That's true.

I apologize. You're right. You're right.

No, I think you'll be very good on it. I know you're progressive, and I know that you have an interest in bike pass. Safety. So I think that you would be good as our representative on the MPO.

Thank you.

But as far as me not doing anything with the MPO, that is totally false. I was working with Andrew. with the MPO constantly and the MPO.

I was also... What projects here did you get? Excuse me. Please, please, let's move on. Which projects here? See, they're a rubber stamp board and they all kumbaya there, so you may have kumbaya with them. What project... No, no, Vice Mayor, hold on a second. What projects here in Margate?

I also had the MPO come to commission meetings and speak about various things. I was involved in the Southgate intersection with the MPO and the North Lauderdale one. So I was very involved. As a matter of fact, when I was on the MPO, I let all the commissioners know every month what was going on on the MPO because I sent out the minutes of our meeting to every commissioner every month again so there was no excuse for not knowing what the mpo was doing for the city of margate or what the mpo was doing because i sent out those minutes so the commissioners could read those minutes to keep informed of the projects of the mpo

So I heard north Lauderdale and they came to talk about bike lanes. I don't hear about what they brought to Margate while you were here either. So now we can move on.

Mr Mayor and for the vice mayor's benefit.

So there and also we had projects come through since I've been on as well with bike lanes and stuff. We just finished on copens there for my benefit. We'll move on again. So people like to sell half truths. No, no, no, no. Just like the cell phone, how she was coming after us years ago for getting city cell phones, but the city bought her cell phone and everything. She likes to tell these half, excuse me, I'm going to ask you to leave if you call out again. Any, both of you. Please, please leave. Please leave the meeting. Please leave. I'm asking both of you to leave. I'm asking both of you to leave. You've been warned several meetings. You've been removed in the past.

Please leave. Thank you.

So for the benefit of the Vice Mayor, the meetings are held on the second Thursday of the month at 9.30 a.m. Can you ask her to leave the building, please?

She's causing a disturbance to a public meeting.

So for the benefit of the City Commission, the MPO meetings are on the second Thursday of the month at 9.30 AM.

Vice Mayor, did you hear those dates? Did you hear those dates, Vice Mayor?

Vice Mayor, are you there?

You are muted, Vice Mayor. I don't know if you know that or not.

I apologize. Yes, I am here. Yes, I was checking my calendar. It looks good. If there's a problem, I'll let you know, and I'll ask someone to sub for me.

That's all.

Sure, thanks.

Someone can sub for me once in a while.

You need a motion and a second.

Well, I'll make the motion. Well, I can't make the motion, but if someone wants to make the motion...

I'll make a motion to insert the name Anthony Casiano as our MPO representative for the city. I'll second it.

Commissioner Rosano. Yes, thank you.

Do you know of any projects that we have on the horizon that we've talked about with the MPO? I know that we talked about a year, and this is probably going back when Joanne and I first got here. We talked about Winfield Boulevard. We talked about 441. 31st Street, is there anything in there that you know of that the city is pushing?

I'll get us a list of projects that are on the MPO's priority list.

We were on some, and then they took us off.

Over the years, we've had different philosophies on sharing of the road with bikes and whatnot. There were projects that were brought before us that had bike lanes included in it. that the commission at the time was not very favorable of. The way the MPO operates, it is a multimodal type of transportation, complete street type projects. And so if they don't have support from a commissioner board for those type of projects, they essentially move on with their funding to the next list because it requires counterparts. They're the cities that have those roadways to issue letters of and resolutions of support for those projects. I don't know what they are off the top of my head. I do know that there are funding projects that do include Margate, Royal Palm. They cross borders with Coral Springs and Coconut Creek. I think that's one of them. But I can certainly get you an updated list of what those are.

Yeah, if you can. I'm probably sure you're going to get this vote. So if you can go to the first meeting, come back and let us know. Because the MPO guys, they figure out ways to move people throughout the city conveniently and smartly. Um, but they flat years ago, they were pushing bicycles on main roads, which I wasn't a big fan of. Um, but and if you could talk to them, possibly maybe utilizing our waterways to, uh, to move people around, you know, clearing out our waterways are doing something. Um, but just anything you just let us know and just keep us informed. That's all. So good luck and hope you enjoy it.

Public call the role commissioner shorts. Yes. Commissioner simone yes commissioners on oh yes vice mayor kajiyama.

Yes.

Yes.

All right i'm sixty is a resolution city market for approving the commercial lease warehouse space located in nineteen twenty seven banks road provided for lease term and rent schedule providing for storage of fire department vehicles a specialized equipment provided for an effective date this resolution is before your consideration this evening.

The commission. so moved i'll second okay oh go ahead second by commissioner simone vice mayor actually no he can't have his light lit the paper the paper's like slid here so okay as we need to worry about commissioner uh schwartz

Years ago, well, not years ago, when Fire Station 58 was being rebuilt, it had been my suggestion, since we didn't have enough space to store some of our fire trucks, that we build something next to it where they had, at that time, the temporary admin office. From what I understand from speaking to the city manager, that would be millions of dollars and that this is actually a better way to do this by leasing the property, which is a Cat 5 building, which we probably would not have had otherwise, and therefore being able to store all of the vehicles and have a command center that should there be a hurricane or something that people would be able to work from, because again, it's a category five building. So I would suggest that we definitely vote for this.

If I recall during our discussions as city manager, we also looked at purchasing this property, but the cost of it, And then over the years of potential maintenance, you could lease it for a good 10 years or so for the same price as buying. Certainly. Without the overhead of maintaining the property.

Right. There's a break-even point on buying versus leasing.

It's around 15 years.

The owner of it is not willing to sell it right now. I think if they do become willing to sell it, we will want to take an interest in that. And so we've negotiated a right of first refusal in our lease agreement, you know, if that opportunity does come. And how long is this current agreement? This agreement is for five years.

Public? Please call the roll.

Commissioner Schwartz? Yes. Commissioner Simone? Yes. Commissioner Rosano? Yes. Vice Mayor Caggiano?

Yes.

Mayor Serrio?

Yes. Number seven, discussion of possible action.

Item 7A is discussion of possible action and request for waiving of fees for breaking chains of violence, Foundation Inc., a local Margate 501c3 to use the Margate Sports Complex covered field on October 17th, sorry, October 17th, 2026. Requesting to waive fees except for labor fees.

Okay, to the applicant. The applicant is here. I'm going to ask that they come up, I'm assuming, so they can explain what the event is about.

Is that all right? Sure. All right. Come on up, please.

Hello and good evening, Commission Board. Thank you again for allowing me to be here to speak. My name is Crianne Pepe, Margate resident of 21 years and proud founder of Breaking Chains of Violence Foundation, Inc., which is the newest nonprofit in Margate. Breaking Chains of Violence is dedicated to breaking cycles of, I'm sorry, all forms of violence through awareness, education, prevention, and community support. We have partnered with Women in Distress of Broward, which is an amazing nonprofit that serves Broward County only. They do not discriminate. They provide housing and daily needs for women, men, children, and pets who have experienced domestic violence. Their housing facility can only accommodate 155 families currently. Their one and only thrift store is located in Margate. It is very valuable, not only because it provides for our city, I know a lot of our people shop there, but it is also the main source for the families who are being housed and taken care of. They get vouchers, they get to go shop there, so they have dignity as they're rebuilding their lives. So with the partnership, we are hosting an event on October 17th called Breaking the Chains Festival 2026. We're going to raise funds after the cost of the event. Any funds that are raised are going directly to Women in Distress Broward County. We are hosting it at the Margate Sports Complex because it is one of the best venues around. I know the other one was really great, but it's an amazing venue. I am very proud of our city. I'm proud to be a resident and I also want to bring business and publicity and coverage to our city. This is one of the first events of anti-bullying and domestic violence. There's not too many around. There's a lot of different things going on and some stuff, but this is really one of the first events to bring awareness and to unite so many different resources. Um, we currently have local businesses as vendors, food vendors, small business vendors, crafts, different clothing, um, local resources that are going to be providing education and assistance. Um, We also have six local Christian artists who are basically donating their time just for the cause. Um, so we're going to have an amazing worship concert and, um, we're partnered up with a couple of churches as well as Margaret elementary to have some performances as well as FKA martial arts. So there's a lot of local greatness that's happening. Um, Breaking the Chains Foundation is here tonight requesting the city to waive the fees of the rental of the Margate Sports Complex because this is a very expensive event. And I haven't even gotten the quote from the police department yet, which I know is going to be well over $4,500 and more. The fire department is $2,000 alone. And we want to do everything properly. We want to make sure that everything is done to the best capacity Because this is not going to be a one-time event. This is going to be a continuing thing. Breaking the chains of violence is also going to be doing a lot of different community outreaches. We want to try to do 5K runs and different things utilizing our city. We are going to have radio and media coverage. We have 99 GMs that's going to have us on for a segment. We have Way FM and K-Love, who are... promoting us as well. We are also partnered up with a lot of great local restaurants. La Pizzeria, who is always the first ones to offer any kind of assistance, as well as La Bamba today came in as a sponsor. So that is what I have to give. And I just asked that the city would help us promote this and advertise this event. I know like the Doc Reno one gets promoted and we were just kind of hoping that it even if you don't, which we really hope you do, waive these fees, that you guys will also help promote us and help build it up so that way our community, because as there's so many different social media aspects, some people don't use social media. Some people, you know, so it's very hard. So I've been hitting the streets for two months. I've been trying to get as much coverage as I can, but I need help. So, yeah, I think that's it.

thank you um for what you're trying to do here in Margate I I have no problem leaving the fees I know that I've talked in the past about somehow creating a policy or a limit through the course of the year but until that happens I'm not going to pick and choose I'm gonna say yes to every single organization that asks for the fees to be waived until we come up with some type of So with that being said, I have no problem with it. I do know in speaking to the city manager, there was something about some paperwork which is relatively easy to obtain. I don't know if it's been obtained yet. Um, if it hasn't, then I would approve it just with the contingency that they have that prior to the start of the event. Go ahead.

The paperwork has been filed. Um, we were already approved through sun biz and we have our 501 C3. The only thing I hadn't done was the Florida agriculture on consumer, which I've done. That was the form. I think that Ben had told me about, and I did it a couple of days ago. So it's just going to take a couple of days, but it's pretty much going to be approved. So.

the board can approve her tonight with the contingency that they have that documentation prior to the start of the event. So if anyone, there's still some more lights lit. Commissioner Schwartz.

I would suggest that you get a hold of Doc Reno because he owes us that kind of publicity considering that he's done three of his events here. I would also suggest that every time we have something, whether it's the autumn, you know, the, sundown everything everything that we do whether it's national night out or i would say oktoberfest or that you have a table you know because other people okay that you have a booth because there are other people who do exactly the same thing for different organizations okay but a woman who lost her son uh to drugs puts out things so we have the um

I'm trying to think.

Motorcycle group. They're going to be there as well. All right.

So I've already partnered up with them as well. And I've been to the events. I was going to go to the Dock Reno to try to meet him, but my mother-in-law came in town, so I was at the table with her.

It rained. Yeah. Well, the good thing that you didn't get wet. But I would suggest that that's another way to publicize things because he's got a bigger audience than we do. Yes. Thank you.

No, I appreciate that. Thank you.

Commissioner Rosano.

video in korean you know it's uh you mentioned doc marino call him doc reyno i mean every time but it's uh you know every month the city has an event under the cover sports field which i think is awesome and moving forward you know i hope to continue that but who knows what's going to happen with the taxes so if you're going to have an event i i would support it i have no problem with it i like having different events in our city and people can come check it out um And, Tony, you said policy. We do have the forms you can fill out. So I think it's great. And I think the more people that we can get to do events under there, the better, you know, just to show everybody what's going on in the city of Morrigate. So, yeah, I support you 100%. If I can do anything, let me know. All right? Thank you. Thanks.

Commissioner Simone. Thank you.

I think it is a good cause. I've always had a problem with giving waivers for our covered programs. sports plex. Um, regardless of what the organization is, I just don't think that, um, we should taxpayers should be paying for something like this. I don't think it's the city's responsibility to give waivers. Um, I wish you a lot of luck, but that's been my position since day one. I've sat on here, so please don't take it personally. It's just the position that I have that I don't think it's the city's responsibility, and I don't think the city should be giving waivers for our covered sports field. I think it's a good cause, and I wish you the best of luck.

We need a motion before we can move forward. If someone could make a motion with the contingency for the paperwork.

I'll make that motion.

With the contingency? Yeah. Okay. Is there a second?

I'll second it.

Okay. You can sit down. Thank you. Thank you.

Any member of the public wish to speak on this item?

Please call the roll.

Commissioner Schwartz? Yes. Commissioner Simone? No. Commissioner Rosano? Yes. Vice Mayor Caggiano?

Yes.

Mayor Serio.

Yes. Congratulations.

And now we have item 7B, which is a resolution of the city of Margate approving the addition of Patriot Day as a recognized holiday for all non-bargain personnel and authorizing the city manager to negotiate with the bargain for units, providing for authority, providing for an effective date. This resolution is before you for your consideration this evening.

I know that Commissioner Rosano, you asked for this to be on the agenda, so the floor is yours.

Thank you.

So in case you guys didn't know, every year we do the 9-1-1 memorial at Firefighters Park. And this year, Maggie did a great speech, too. You know, this year, like every year, I was sitting there talking to Cal about our city manager, and I said, you know, why don't we have off on this day? You know, it's a day in history where Almost 3,000 people were killed, and there's still people being killed. And the motto is for that day is never forget. So it made me wonder. It would be pretty cool if we can get the city off on that day so people can never forget. Come to find out when I made the post that I found out Tamarack has already done it and also does Southwest Ranches. So I thought it was cool that we'd be the first, but we're not the first. So anyway... Going back to that day that I was there, I remember the last person I spoke to besides Cal was Andrew Valentino. And I don't know if he was working or not, and I don't want to use this in any sort of a way where people could think, oh, I'm tugging at your strings, but I'll tug a little bit. He passed away on Saturday or Sunday, over the weekend, I could say. And I don't know what his physical condition was, but when I found out Monday that he had passed away, First thing I thought it was Andrew. And it was like, you know what, Patriot Day. The guy was a patriot. And I don't know, maybe if he was off on Friday. And I don't even know if he was working. I don't know. But maybe he could have went to the doctor or something. I don't know. I get these things in my head, and people might say, you know, it's last minute, you thought of this. Well, it wasn't last minute. It was actually Monday morning when I received the phone call. But I had talked about it on Friday, and I thought it would be cool. So I don't know how this is going to go, but I think it would be a great little thing for the residents to acknowledge. The employees, I'm sure, would love it. And it's just something for you to say, hey, the city of Margate, patriotic. You know, we thrive on being the most patriotic city in the county. We do a lot with our police, our police cars, our cops, our firefighters. This would be just another way to show how Margate is the most patriotic city, if not South Florida and Florida in general. I know that some other states recognize it, so I thought it would be great. So I just hope this passes. I hope there's not a lot of talk going back and forth, but it's either yes or no. Should be a federal holiday. Is it a federal holiday?

No.

It's not, right?

It's announced. There's a resolution declaring it Pager's Day, but it's not a federal holiday.

It's not a state holiday either.

Yeah, so I thought it would be really great. You know, again, it's something that affected every American out there. 3,000 lives were lost that day, and lives continue to be lost, and families, you know, you never forget it. And that's what it is. It's just all about never forgetting, and hopefully we can have a day where We could sit and remember this day. That's it. So the cost of it, I think, would be the same, city manager, correct me if I'm wrong, approximately the same cost at the last holiday we approved, last meeting. Correct, yeah. Which was $60,000. $70,000. About $70,000. So that's it. I hope it passes. It'd be nice. But that's all I got. Thank you.

All 15 people It is

My suggestion would be, number one, because it says non-bargain for you, realize that it will now be part of every union contract. So you forgot to add what eventually that will cost. But as someone whose son worked in one of the towers prior to, and new people who did not come home, I would make a suggestion that you wait until after Amendment 3 before you continue to give away holidays to people, not that I'm saying they don't deserve it, but you have to look and see whether or not Amendment 3 passes, because you're going to have to suddenly take back some of the things you're doing. So before you do this now, since it's already come and gone and the amendment is on for November, I think we could wait with this one. That's my suggestion.

Just for the record, ma'am, the estimated cost of $70,000 assumes the bargaining unit members.

Because it says non-bargaining here.

So the way this works is you would authorize the holiday for non-bargaining and then direct me to negotiate with the bargaining units to add this holiday. The way bargaining units work, even if we want to give the units a benefit, it has to be bargained for.

I would still suggest that since the September 11th has come and the next one is a year away and the amendment is to come up in November that we wait until after that before some of the things that we look to do at this point. Just my suggestion.

Commissioner Simone. I agree. I think that we should wait because we don't know what's going to happen with Amendment 3. and also it is not a federal holiday. So for those reasons, I am not in favor of this at this time.

Vice Mayor, anything?

My vote will be my answer.

Okay.

If I can make a motion then. I'm going to make a motion that we... David, what's the best way to word this? A motion to approve the resolution. A motion to approve the resolution and still continue to show everybody that Margate is the most patriotic city out there.

Thank you. I'll second it. Any member of the public wish to speak?

Five months ago, five months ago.

Nina Culver. Just one second. Someone has a speaker on it. We can hear it. Oh, Anthony. Okay. Vice mayor. Can you mute? Oh, I'm so sorry. It's okay. We were getting feedback. I just couldn't tell where it's coming from.

Go ahead.

Nina Culver market resident. So I think everybody remembers where they were on September 11th. Yeah. I remember running to the schools to get my kids. Um, It's a day that most of us are never going to forget. That being said, I think it's a great idea, but I definitely think we should wait and see what Amendment 3 does. Thank you.

Any other members of the public? Seeing none, let's call the roll.

Commissioner Schwartz? No. Commissioner Simone? No. Commissioner Rosano?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Caggiano?

No.

Mayor Asario? I'll go with yes.

Motion fails 3 to 2.

OK. We are on. Done. That's it. That's it. This meeting is adjourned.