Recreation, Tourism, and Resiliency Committee - Regular Meeting

Madam Chair, if I could co-sponsor 2B. Yes, of course. Thank you. I think it's a great idea.

Madam Chair, excuse me. May I ask a question while before you answer? Maybe you will be considering what I'm asking. So I'd like to thank everyone who came and spoke. If you could clarify, because there seems to be a misunderstanding. So we are being preempted, right?

Thank you. So first and foremost, thank you to my Coconut Grove residents for coming out. I appreciate the sponsor, but I was a no on this on first reading and I'm still a no. And I respectfully disagree with a lot of the representations you've made. First of all, the way that state law and preemption works, our municipalities are not enforcing this. The city of Miami is not enforcing this. As the representative for Coconut Grove, I would respectfully ask for my district to be carved out. My district doesn't want this. They don't agree with it. And Miami-Dade County should not be bearing the e

Yeah, thank you so much, Madam Chair. So this is not an issue that I'm an expert in. That's why when I heard about people actually living in the boats, so that really worries me. And in that sense, I share some of Regalado's concerns. So how many of these people, how many of these residents actually live in the boats? So if we pass this, what's going to happen to them? How many of them are there? Because it seems to me from what I heard, from the presentations that I heard, there are some people who have been living in their boats for years and years and years. So does this, the decision that

Madam Chair, I'm happy to take it up with Durham. But also, I said the City of Miami is not enforcing. The City of Miami is not enforcing. I'm not saying that they asked us to enforce. I'm saying that the City of Miami is not enforcing. And if it is a state law, why do we need to do this? So that's the issue.

And thank you. My questions through the chair were, for the pictures that were shown here of sewage spilling out, of oil spilling out, that is all currently illegal, correct?

I know. And one of the things that we've talked about is requiring people to provide a service, documenting that service permits for that. You know, when commissioner Cabrera was here, we had a whole discussion about different ways that we could regulate that so that people would comply. So that's one of the things that I know we discussed with Durham.

So how are they disposing of their, but we could require them to move. Without prohibiting them, right? Because this is a full on prohibition. We could, you know, again, we have, we could, we could require them to come in. Right.

And I don't have a problem with an item that deals with the derelict vessel. We've been working on the derelict vessels for a long time, but that's not what this does. This is a full on prohibition that also excludes residents. And I think that having that conversation without even knowing how many human beings we are displacing from their homes is irresponsible. I think that if we're going to do this, if we're going to have a full on prohibition, and look, I support Durham 100%. You guys know that I do, and I'm happy to find a solution. And I think that we can find a solution. But I don't thi

Happy to have that conversation with you. But I also think we need to have a conversation about moorings and about marinas and about other options. Because the issue here is we're not talking about how many humans are impacted by this, and we're also not giving them alternatives. We're happy to meet with you on that, Commissioner.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the sponsor of the item. My questions are to the county attorney's office. Help me understand this, because I do have some reservations about what I've heard, and I don't want to create a burden on the folk who are Miami-Dade County residents, but who chooses to live on board, right? So help me understand. The state preempted the municipalities and local government from passing ordinances, laws that would impact those who made that choice, right? But the state also did a carve out that would allow for an exception to the rule. Are we today discussing th

Thank you. My next question is to the county attorney's office. We've heard that the municipalities, Actually, I'm looking at here, the municipalities actually have the authority to pass its own legislation to deal with it. How many municipalities have enforced that particular exception?

Is it possible that the administration may have an answer?

Okay. And I guess my final question is if, And it's not so much a question, it's just so much a perception of what we're doing. I just philosophically disagree that we should turn our full force of the county's weight against individuals who are living on board of a boat because what? I still haven't gotten to that Why are we doing this with the exception of a few photos been shown of other vessels? I'm pretty sure we've found those individuals and prosecuted them for leaking gas into our waterways. But I'm talking, I cannot wrap my hands and my head around the hundreds if not thousands of peo

either one so so um commissioner lopez so i don't think anyone oh well let me speak for myself i don't think i wanna kill this item i don't think so but um my concerns are about the residents uh you know the the the risk of this decision that i'm making today may render them homeless that's my concern So my question to you is that would you consider, in light of the fact that we don't have enough information about how many of these residents, some of the people came in and spoke, how many of them actually leave? you know, on their boats. And then would you consider working, if we move this for

As the commissioner had said, the vice chair has had some pertinent questions that need it.

Commissioner Regalado, and then we're going to bring it in. Thank you. And look, I'm happy to meet with Durham and talk about alternatives. If you want to charge people something, because at the end of the day, our biggest issue is that we don't have Marine Patrol. We don't have enough funding to have a robust Marine Patrol. And if that's the case, then why don't we talk about charging a fee so that you can fund that, so that you can make sure that people are doing the right thing. instead of just prohibiting all of it you know again my issue is the extremes my issues the extremes people have

Look, I'm, I'm going to be in favor of, of pushing it out based on your representation and your, and I trust that you will deliver the information that we've requested. And I do trust you on that one, but I just want to let you know how this looks in our history. There has been. Movement. Let me just repeat. Let me start all over on this one. I'm going to paint this picture, and I want you to look at this through these lenses. A group of people who are accused of committing crimes on the waterways. Then we pass legislation to push those people out. But we're not pushing them out on land, we're

Okay, so quick question, point of order, just quick question. I'm just concerned about the timing because we always say like, you're going to give us information before we get to the BCC. The only problem is that we have the budget and the millage and a lot of things. So I don't know if we're going to get the information in time. That's my only concern. I mean, I would feel more comfortable with a deferral. If you want to close the public hearing, you can. um and and having you guys come back to us with the information and looking at some alternatives that could provide a revenue source that c

So if that's what they're representing, then I got it.

Just procedurally, how does that work? Because if it passes out of committee today, it would go to the next BCC.

Wanted to ask the maker of the item. Um, so how would a deferral, you don't want to defer, right? Okay.

Yeah. Roll call. I think it should stay here until we fix it. I don't, I don't think we push it off.

We have a committee in September. I mean, I don't understand.

Madam Attorney, can you clear it up for me, please?

Is it a deferral? I move for deferral, but I don't have a second.

But there isn't a second on that one either.

Unanimous support from the city of Miami.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you for that presentation. It was great. Really quickly, are there any fee increases on the horizon?

Commissioner McGee, remember when we increased RER's fees last year, that included some of the Durham fees, if I'm correct, right? I think that was part of it.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's how we did it, because the ones that are under RER did increase as part of that like omnibus.

So I'll clarify that point. So remember the item that I brought last year, we had an increase for like 10 years. So we brought it up to date with the municipalities, and then we added CPI so we wouldn't have to constantly be going back. So Durham was included as part of that omnibus.

Thank you, Director Parr, and thank you so much, sir. Thank you for all the work you do.

Thank you. Commissioner Regalado. Thank you. So one of the things we talked about last year was, and one of the reasons we increased those fees were ensuring that there were departments that were not touching the general fund. Durham is one of those departments. So RER is not touching the general fund, Durham is not touching the general fund, your enterprise departments. In the last item, we were talking about the marine surveillance. So I know that the increase of that is not part of this budget. However, I think that rather than Commissioner Lopez's item, there might be an alternative path t

Yes. So thank you so much. Great presentation. Thank you. Quick question. So there was an increase. There was a fee increase. How much was it? And then until what does it cover? What period of time does it cover?

So Commissioner Besson, this was through the chair. This was last budget. We brought an item that actually eliminated fees for residents and increased developer fees. So that's how we did it. We actually increased the fees to match up with what the municipalities were charging. Because we hadn't done our fees in a very long time. And then we added CPI. But they were for the developers. And then we created a whole portfolio of items that our residents are not paying. And then there was also a state law that passed that also impacts that. So we were getting ahead of that state law, so for those

So there wasn't any direct fees to the residents. Thank you so much, Commissioner Regalado. And moving forward, I really would like, we haven't met, you know, like to invite you to my office and then to also work on outreach programs. Durham has a big impact on residents' quality of life, but I feel that there is a need for more interaction for residents to understand clearer what your role is. And moving forward, I'd like to work with you on that.

Thank you, Madam Director. Are there any questions from the members? Commissioner Regalado, you have the floor.

Thank you, thank you. Director, I know that the Chair has worked on some items and so have I. And I know Commissioner Garcia, also Senator Garcia, on digitizing this and making it easier for people to get the tags, to register their pets online. And we've been trying to change the system. And as you mentioned, the need keeps growing exponentially. The new center, and I know we approved that, but every year, obviously, it gets more expensive and we have to draw more from general fund to provide this service. This was one of the departments that we mentioned to our Tallahassee partners when they

Um, if I could follow up Mr chair, I like the lifetime tag idea. I guess you would just have to submit on the, on the vaccinations.

Okay. Um, do you need, um, the BCC to approve that? Or can you do that on your own?

Right. Right. But then you're not mailing anything. You're not making anything. Right. So we're saving on all the back and forth of that. Correct. Well, I guess we'll see if that saving is in this budget. But I think that's a good idea. And I think we need to get as proactive as possible on this. I know that whenever we see any changes in the economy, we have a lot of folks turning in their pets. We have a lot of folks making requests for assistance with their pets. What are you seeing currently? Because I know we follow the posting as we get the information, but just so that the general publi

Thank you, Commissioner Regalado. Commissioner Bastien, please, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for your presentation. Thank you, Commissioner. Yeah. So as you know, the advocates, animal advocates are the most active, I think, in the county. Yes. I've received a lot of letters about the conditions of the shelters. I can say truthfully that they're coming less and less. So can you please give us a status of these conditions? That's number one. Number two, we know that residents are going through tough times economically, right? And then residents have called about a steep increase in the number of pets roaming the streets. without anyone looking after them

How much time would you like, Madam Chair?

Okay, I move to extend this committee meeting for half an hour.

try to keep it brief thank you does anybody have any questions or comments great job and it's library month so make sure people are out there reading thank you yes i have a question yes thank you representation by the way how do you compete i mean um uh reading plays such an important role you know in our children's developments and then There are a lot of competitions out there with social media and all. What is your strategic plan for the future to keep the children interested in reading?

In your plan to reorganize, I see that when you were presenting, do you consider some modern things like family days, library cafes where the families can come and then be there and then have access to the books? Sure. It seems to me that you have to think outside of the box to keep the children love for books, because this is so important moving forward.

Yeah, I'd love to sit down on that. Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation. So during last year's budget, there were cuts, right, to the park systems. And then we've had conversations with you about District 2. My question pertains to security. What efforts are being made so that security will not be impacted by the budget cuts this year?

So I have Article 7 questions. I know that one of the things that's going to come before us is potentially putting a question on the ballot for Article 7. I just feel like we need some clarity on it because every time we talk about something, it's like, yes, you can, no, you can't, yes, you can, no, you can't. So it gets very confusing. So for example, the, the advertising issue that was discussed yesterday, I think at policy council, uh, I'm not necessarily against advertising in parks, but as a former school board member, I will tell you that we get a lot of complaints about the ads that the

But just to give you an idea, we had libraries on here a few minutes ago. And one of the things that we do through the Friends of the Libraries, because I'm doing a new library in Key Biscayne, is we're selling bricks. So we're selling bricks, right? Um, you know, we're doing that and keep us getting we're selling bricks so that I can we sell bricks at a park, you know, and and can that. Go to either the parks foundation to do some of this programming or it cannot go to the department. You know, is is that something that we can do? Like, I don't know the answer to that. I watch other departmen

Right. So could we come up with some, like, list? Can we come up with a list of saying like, hey, like, for example, now we know we can do bricks. So we know we can do Wi-Fi. We know we can do bricks. We know we have benches. I mean, we don't want to brick over grassy areas. No, no, but I'm saying... But I know what you mean. I know what you mean. Right. If we're already doing... like a paved area right like could could we do this and what could the department do it or do they have to do it through the parks foundation like the libraries those are kind of the questions right where where would

Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Really quickly, are there going to be any common recreational and or facility cost increases?

Yeah, so you just brought something that I was going to ask since I was going to leave it for an individual meeting with you. But since you raised it, in terms of the residents' rates, how is it determined? Because there have been a lot of complaints in my district that elderlies are being overcharged for using the facilities.

So I hope that you'll be – we can sit down.

You will be looking at that moving forward?

Thank you. Yep. Just really quick on that. How would we know, like, that they're a visitor?

No, no, but if we were, like let's say we were to do that.

The city of Miami does that at the Children's Museum. My only concern is when you rent a shelter, you could just rent it in the name of your Miami-Dade friend. How would we police that? Do we know how many visitors? Right now, if we were saying, okay, moving forward, we think that there's an opportunity here. Do we have data on visitors? I guess we take their information. I don't know how many people are coming out of town to rent a shelter.