City Council - Regular Meeting

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us. Welcome to our April council meeting. Today is Wednesday, April 8th. The time is now 10.13 a.m. I hereby call this meeting to order. Reminder to please silence your phones. And if you have to have a conversation, we kindly ask you to step outside so that we maintain a respectful atmosphere. Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilwoman Reynoso.

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.

If you please remain standing, please remain standing. We're going to ask for a moment of silence as we remember two young members of our Doral community, Mateo Davila and Alessia Tucci. Their lives were taken far too soon yesterday. Our hearts are with their families, friends, and classmates, teachers today, and all those who are grieving this unimaginable loss. Let us pause together in their honor. Thank you. We'll now have our moment of prayer led by Pastora Marian Delgado from Alpha and Omega.

Amen. Thank you, Pastora. Thank you for being here today. God bless you. All right. We'll now move into agenda order of business, starting with our city manager's office.

Mayor, I don't have anything. Thank you.

Mayor, I don't have anything. Thank you.

Yes, I have a couple both are in the evening 6. Sorry, 20 B, which is my item deferred to me. Both of them know 20 a if we could if everyone's okay, we could hear it this morning. The organizers are here and can answer any questions. It's just a request for a logo. Okay. Okay, so just to move that to the morning? Yep. And again, 20B to May.

All right, so we will hear item... 6M and 6P after 9F. And then we'll hear item 28, just so that we do it in the order they were moved.

All right. The public comments portion of this meeting is now open. Each speaker will have three minutes to address any item on today's agenda or any other matters that are germane to the city of Doral. Please begin by stating your name and address for the record. We will start with pre-registered speakers. If you do not pre-register, you can still speak. I will give opportunity at the end. Just make sure you see the clerk to register after you speak. As a reminder, in accordance with the City of Doral's Code of Conduct, we ask that all remarks be made in a respectful, courteous, and orderly m

Thank you, Janely. Annelies? All right. Maria Herrera? Maria Herrera, yes.

Okay, no, so if you wanted to speak, you needed to register. Maybe you registered to come into the meeting and didn't want to speak. Okay, it's okay. If I call your name and you don't want to speak, you don't have to come up. Thank you. We're trying a new system. We used to do, you used to handwrite if you wanted to speak, so we're trying to do it electronically. Okay. So we apologize if you didn't want to speak and just registered that you were in the meeting. Thank you so much. Thank you for being here. OK, Daniel, I think it's Zuluga, because there is no last name here. Daniel? I think this

Gracias. David, just wrap up the translation, please.

Thank you, gracias, thank you. Okay, that is the conclusion of our registered speakers. Would anyone else like to speak at this time if you did not sign up? This is the last call for reasonable opportunity. Being none, public comments is now closed and we'll move into the consent agenda vote. Madam Clerk, please. Riterate the items that were.

I need a motion. Motion. Motion to approve by Councilwoman Reynoso. Second. Second by Councilman Pinedo. All in favor say aye. Aye. Let the record reflect the consent agenda has passed unanimously. We'll now move into the minutes. I need a motion on the minutes. Motion. Motion to approve by Councilwoman Reynoso. Second by Councilman Pinedo. All in favor say aye. Aye. I let them let the record reflect the minutes have been approved unanimously and now we'll go into our Presentations item a day presentation keep our beautiful business award Good morning honorable mayor vice mayor members of the

Would you like to say a couple words and then we'll come up for a picture?

Okay, we'll move on now into our discussion items.

Okay, this is Councilman Pinedo's item. Councilman?

Thank you, Mayor. Good morning. Today I rise to present a resolution that is simple in form but powerful in meaning. By recognizing April 2026 as we have done before as Autism Awareness Month in the City of Doral, but now by raising the autism awareness flag at City Hall, we're doing more than making a statement. We're actually taking a stand. A stand for inclusion, a stand for dignity, and stand for every child and every family that deserve to feel seen, supported, and valued in our city. Autism Touch, more families than many realize. Behind every diagnose, there is a story of love, of resili

Thank you. I think it's very important as leaders in this community that we highlight this section of the community that we represent. And I think the new generation, our children's generation, is a more inclusive generation, more accepting. They understand that their actions have a reaction. And to be able to support this from a leadership role is amazing because it does trickle down to the community. And to be able symbolically to raise a flag shows more than just a flag being raised, right? It's showing that the leaders of this community are connected with our residents, that we see them, w

I think it's very important. I do have family members on the spectrum, and we are very much a family that supports anything that has inclusion from workforce to providing opportunities within the city. I wear my Autism Awareness pin the whole month of April as a sign of solidarity and that we will continue to push for our communities to be more inclusive, that they have more opportunities. And I think in the city, we've done a great job to do that. So this is just another checkbox that we get to have to show our support for our community. So absolutely, we're looking forward to supporting this

Thank you, Mayor. And just one last comment. I know because the next question is going to be when this is going to take place. So I'll be working with the city manager. The intention is to do it this month, obviously. So we will be letting the residents know when this is going to take place so you can be part of the ceremony as well. Awesome. Thank you. Wonderful. Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor. So this is hopefully going to be a pilot program that we're going to implement within our city. There has been a lot of interest from high schoolers that want to know the city functions, what we do here, how our actions... in influence and impact our community. So I think it's great to have a program that we know that students can come here. We're going to try it out for a week or so, and they're going to learn particularly through this pilot program. It's going to be in our finance department. I hope that in the following summers we can extend that program to cover other dep

Thank you, through the mayor. So this item is aimed at hotels that we have within our city The hourly rates is already something that is not supposed to be done So it's basically asking for our hotels to be more vigilant to those that are renting out the hotel rooms and this The main point in this is obviously safety which goes into human trafficking prostitution drug trafficking So we want to prevent that as much as possible so the onus is now being transferred on those business licenses that we give to hotels and If there is these type of activities in the hotel, then their business license

I believe that this is going to be taken by the administration city manager and capital improvements division

Chief, if you could join us, we have a presentation.

Just to put on the record, the presentations will be done for both 9D and 9E. We'll have to take individual votes, but the presentation and the discussion will cover both items.

I have two quick questions. Yes. That's a woman for us. What would be the capacity for this new facility? or like an estimated, I know you guys had numbers for the old facility and the number of personnel is way higher than what the building can absorb, right? So what's like the new capacity? Is it enough, big enough for our current force, for a growing force? Chief?

And that's my question. Is it going to be big enough to support the current staff and anticipate growth?

Yeah. And that's what I wanted to confirm. And then my other question is, is the old police department building large enough for public works? Yes. More than large enough.

Yeah, I mean, I like that our largest departments have or will have their own departments like the parks, public works, and police, which are the largest departments. So, okay, that was all the questions I had.

It's just a quick comment. First of all, I just want to thank the staff, the administration, because what we've seen is pretty much what Doral represents. You know, when we speak about the future, the growth that we're having. Thank you, Chief, for all the, everything that you have been doing in the last two years already? Three years? Three. We have to celebrate that. So, because when we speak about our police department today, we have to feel proud of what we have. And when you see what we're going to have, It's actually make me feel even prouder. So for me, it's no brainer. And I just wante

I Well, I'm excited for this because I think it's it's only right for the police to have their own building, although it's a little ahead of the future. And I know time goes by very quickly. I think it's the appropriate timing to bring this up and for public works also to have their space. So thank you.

We've gone back and forth about this quite a bit. I think that this is a very appropriate move for many reasons. One, this land that we have is land that's designated for law enforcement that was designated by the state, and we were able to get a increase in the amount of years that we have it for. So after speaking with the state, they extended the lease. As many know, land is scarce in Doral, particularly for the city of Doral, and it's important that we utilize every asset we have to the best of its capabilities. And because of the limitations of what we can do on this land, due to the fact

Okay, Madam Clerk, please call the vote. I have a question for clarification before I place my vote. So the, if I may. Yes, go ahead. So the, it will be by 2028 then, the starting of the construction or for issue of the bond? No, the starting of the construction will be immediate, or the bond will be. The bond will be when?

So we should have a 28. And what is the vision? I know that you show some numbers there on how much it will be the bond issue for.

That's kind of high, but we want to be very conservative.

So that's one of my concern. Like you said, I mean, you are not sure if you're gonna get grants or not. So I really encourage that even before we start already with the construction, that I think that it's a great facility, something that it's needed. for our departments is to make sure that we encourage, not just for this project, for any other project that will come to make sure first that we have allocations, that we get those grants from the state or even federal if there's any opportunity to be there. before uh we decide okay let's do a construction let's see how this might be so because

I mean, to be able to run the city, we need the taxpayer money.

Yes. So it does come from the tax for your money at the end of the day. It's not, I mean, from all the residents and businesses from the city. So my concern is that the amount of money that is going to require, we're talking roughly, maybe depends on how things go, inflation, everything by $55 million. That is a big ticket item. I do understand that construction is expensive, especially after COVID, everything went up. That's something that I here experience. I have to make decisions for the park at that time. But my concern is that, that we should first plan ahead and try to see all the resou

The way most of these grants works that we've We've explored whether it's federal. And I've been in conversations with, as the manager said, with Congressman Díaz-Vallar's office. And with the state is you have to have ready construction documents, shovels in the ground to be able to apply. A lot of times, it's even for technology or the stuff that goes in the building. But we have been assured that there is money that can come our way and significant money, which is why we decided to proceed.

Now I know, I mean, for so many years, the city have kept valuing the taxpayer money, making sure that it's being spent in an efficient way for many years. So that I know that we're standing in a good position when it comes to that. But anyway, I wanted to make sure that the resident understand from where the funding is coming and what is the work that has been done behind the scenes so we don't end up then having them carry the load later on. Thank you for the explanation.

Thank you. I think the most important thing to remember here is that this is something that the community needs. We're going to need it today and tomorrow and the next day. It's the primary source of why we became a city. It's the safety and security. of our residents, so making sure that we have the facilities to house that and produce for infrastructure and public works are two very important departments. So I think these are justified needs for the community. With that, I think we're ready to call the roll.

Authorizing the city manager to expand budgeted funds and for this year off provide implementation and corporation recitals and an effective date All right We will incorporate the presentation the comments from the previous item into this item And if there's no additional questions, we need a motion to approve Motion to approve by councilman Pineda second by councilwoman Reynoso.

I saw the light, too. I have a question. Do we have multiple vendors? Only two. Oh, only two. Does the staff have a recommendation?

As far as cost, what are the two figures?

Any other questions? So I went out. I saw them. For the purposes I stated last time and what I saw from the presentations and the companies and the technology that's offered and being able to dim the lights, control the lights, see when one is off, one is not off, plus the installation and the fabrication. One company is, I think, French. The other one is American made. So my suggestion was to go with cells. I'm comfortable with moving forward with that. I like their products. I saw it, I think, for what their presentation offered as far as FDOT compliance. And I know the other company says th

Yes. Well, I was ready last time. I'm ready now as well because I think it's a need, especially in that part of the community, something that has been going on for years. So I'm happy that we're finally giving them a solution for something that, for me, it's a safety matter. So I'm also agree for me sales has the best option. I will support your recommendation in that particular matter. But more than this is that we're we're finally giving a solution to an area that for years has been asking. This administration, previous administrations, we're finally giving them a solution. And hopefully aft

I know they're going to come knocking. We will work on that one. But yes, I also support your recommendation. Motion to approve, yes. Well, to recommend sales for the project, yes. Yes.

Through the mayor. Yes. I'll place a second motion for cells as well. I actually did go out to see it, and really the difference of having light and not having light is astonishing. I think neighborhoods need to be well-lighted. It adds to the security that the neighborhood has, and both of them were very nice. But again, when you go to the technical features, you can definitely tell the difference. So that's why I will be supporting also cells.

Thank you, Councilwoman. And the vendors here?

Yes, I believe the vendors are here. Oh, okay. Yes. Yes. All right, so if there's no additional questions, Madam Clerk, call the roll.

Well, it says, oh, which includes a 10%.

You just want to have a roll call vote on it? Mm-hmm. Okay. All right, we need a motion to approve. Motion. Motion to approve by Councilman Reynoso.

Councilman Marino, so you're the mayor. Yes, ma'am So this item is a sponsorship item that I'm hoping to gather the support of my colleagues to give a thousand dollars to Breasties. This is well carries here carry Lord And I wanted to give her the opportunity to speak on the organization that she is in charge of and why it's so dear to her and why I seek the support of council.

Awesome. Well, Carrie also had an event just this month, this past month,

And just last spotlight, she also raises money for families that go through breast cancer and just are having a hard time getting back on their feet. Yes. Typically, you would do a GoFundMe, and she just wants to be one of those resources that a family can reach out to to help.

Okay, Councilman Porras. This item is to asking really for support to use the city logo for the Miami Wellness and Movement Festival that's organized by the Get Red Foundation. So we're moving from one community leader to another right now. And that foundation actually supports families facing rare blood disorders and raises awareness of the bone marrow registry and helps find matches for those that needed. The event is scheduled for Saturday, April 25th at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the amphitheater here in Doral. And the festival will feature over 30 wellness vendors, live fitness classes, educati

Through the mayor. Councilwoman Reynoso?

So I actually have been following this for quite some time. I think what makes the match difficult, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that they're looking for a specific European descent and Aladdin mix.

Yes. Well, the data has done incredible advocacy for this, so I'm glad that it's reached South Florida and Doral and that this item is being presented today. And I think it was important for you to take the opportunity as well to clarify those points so we can get the I didn't know that that was the age range of the best possible match. And that's good because then we kind of filter out a section of our community that may not fit in that age range that is the match of the donor.

Unfortunately, this is a great item. Unfortunately, that this is a great item. But I'll support.

So you already are working with Loud and Live and the location's already secured? Because this is just to use the logo.

Okay. So I see your flyer here. Is this the final flyer? Let me see which one you have. Yes. This is the flyer for promotion. So you're looking to put the city's logo on this?

OK, I also just want to confirm there will not be any other logos on there, any political logos or anything like that. It would just be the city's logo. No personal name logos to be associated with anybody. It's just the city of Doral's logo with the flyer and then on promotional items.

This one doesn't have the Gift of Life one. Ah, okay. But, okay, that's why I was asking. What I don't want to see is a flyer out there later with several logos that we didn't get to see who was participating there. Because it's not our event, we don't have control of the protocol. We want to help you and support as best as possible. And I'm sure all of us will go out and support you and help promote it on our social medias, our personal social medias. But what sometimes happens is they'll come here and ask for the use of our logo. And then we'll see a flyer that looks very, very different fro

Okay, so the mayor's report. First, I want to congratulate our councilwoman, Nicole Reynoso. She was sworn into the Florida Bar yesterday. Waited two years, but she finally did it. So our newest councilwoman and attorney. All right. And also, this month is Autism Awareness Month, as we've talked about all day today. So just a reminder to be a little extra kind, to make sure that you're promoting. If you have a business, think about hiring someone with autism. And we're going to be doing a campaign about that as well. In light of National Donate Life Month, and on behalf of Legacy Donor Service

Thank you bill so I actually met with bill last week to discuss these items. The first item which is the Memorial Day. Small but ceremony that they do with the reef. I don't think is a problem we've been doing it now for a couple of years. so I don't have an issue with that. I told them that I would do the letter, and I would do it the way we've done some of ours with all your names on it, and I'd be happy to go and take it with the Military Affairs Advisory Committee. The one we talked about was the renaming of Veterans Park, which I understand why you all feel that it should be called Vetera

Yeah, so I think we can look at that as we look at, you know, the sign needing to be updated and things like that. It could be something that we can explore if everybody's okay with that.

So I also met or spoke with, we didn't get to meet in person, but I spoke with Nando and I spoke to, met all the members of the faith advisory committee that I could get ahold of. I think I missed one person, but, and explained to them that this is a heavy lift and we have a lot of events and that Doral Pro Health, which is still very, very active, has a big health fair in May right here at West Coast University with all the facilities available. I reached out to their organizer, and they are more than willing to take our faith-based advisory board in as a partner so that they can have a secti

Also, I forgot, it's also Alex Migroso's birthday, Mariso's birthday, sorry, our new director. Oh, happy birthday. It was written on my thing and I forgot to mention.

Look at the reaction you got in the room.

She speaks other than reads. All right, that concludes our morning agenda. We need a motion to recess and we'll be back at six o'clock. Motion. Motion to recess by our Councilwoman Nicole Reynoso-Esquire. Second. Second by Councilman Pinedo. All in favor say aye.

This meeting is adjourned. Thank you. All right. Good evening, everyone, and welcome back to our evening regular council meeting session. Today is Wednesday, April 8. The time is now 6.02 PM, and I hereby call this meeting to order. A quick reminder to please keep your phones on silent. If you need to have a conversation, please step out so we maintain a respectful atmosphere.

Pledge of 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.

Okay, I don't believe there's any changes to the agenda order of business other than what was changed this morning from the afternoon session. All right. We will now go into the public comments. We are now opening up the public comments section of this meeting. If anyone would like to speak, we do not have any preregistered speakers, but this is your reasonable opportunity if anyone would like to come up and speak to anything on this agenda. Being none, public comments is now closed. Madam Clerk, no one chose to speak at this time. And we'll go right into the public hearing items.

Anyone who would like to speak, please approach the podium.

We went to, I went to both workshops, but particularly participated most in the one at the farmer's market, and it was very helpful, and there were some residents in there, and so I know we didn't get as much participation as we like. It's always hard at times to get participation, but I think it's important to get the feedback and the notes, and I think it was... It was a great opportunity to provide future planned growth for our city. So I think that this is obviously something we have to do, but something very necessary for a community like ours. So thank you. Madam Clerk, please call.

Public comments now open for 21B, also known as 26-6552. Anyone who would like to speak on this item, please approach the podium. Being none, public comments is now closed. Madam Clerk, I'd like to speak at this time, and we will hear from the administration or finance.

It is open to the public if anyone would like to participate or join or hear the conversation. Other than that, we will see you all at our next council meeting on May 13th. I need a motion to adjourn. Motion. Motion to adjourn by Councilwoman Reynoso, second by Councilman Pinero. On favor say aye. Aye. This meeting is adjourned. God bless you all. Have a good evening.