City Commission - Regular Meeting

But truly the transition of leadership from Chief Manny Morales to Chief Edwin Lopez, it's a wonderful day to celebrate the ending of one career and the beginning of another with a new promise of a different type of leadership to the men and women of the city of Miami and to the community.

All good things must come to an end, that it is time for a little rebirth of the Miami Police Department.

How you doing? Well, hello everybody. Welcome to the City of Miami Commission meeting, our first meeting in July. This particular pass has been a pretty important one for the City of Miami, particularly with the efforts of City of Miami Police Department and Miami Fire Rescue. We have two amazing, I think, I don't know if milestones is the right word, but endeavors that went off extremely successfully and as residents can make all of us very, very proud. And so we have some folks we need to recognize today. and give special thanks to. And I'm going to start off with something that I guess is the fun in our life, which has been the World Cup. We successfully completed 24 days of activation at Bayfront Park. Commissioner Gabella is chair of that. We know we don't usually do 24 days, but you did that at FanFest. I'm going to let the FIFA folks come up here and tell you a little bit about their thoughts about that. But everybody that I've spoken to that has traveled across the country and seen other FanFests as ours was the best. And part of the reason it was the best, it wasn't just that it's by beautiful Biscayne Bay and that our activations were incredible and that it was family-friendly. but also that it was safe. And so today we have, I invite the chief of police and our fire chief to join me up here to recognize the folks that operated the Unified Command Center in such a professional way to make sure that everybody who entered FanFest felt safe, felt protected, and then given the heat, also managed to stay hydrated and electrolyted from time to time. So Chief Lopez and Chief Hevia, on behalf of the commission, we have proclamations of thanks to both of you. So, but in addition to that, of course, you all generally get the credit because you're the top dogs, but I'd also like to invite up 10 key individuals in the unified command. I'll let you both talk a little bit about this operation, but if Major Alexis Valdez, Captain Daniel Kerr, Lieutenant Genevieve Sadler, Sergeant Robert Robinson, Sergeant Pierre Cardone, Executive Officer Bobby Suarez, Yasmine Fernandez. We have Assistant Fire Chief Bobby Art Lozada, Lieutenant Mikel Garcia, And I don't think Assistant Fire Chief Mooster's here today, but he's in our hearts. So gentlemen, please come on up. Thank you, guys.

Hello, how are you?

All right, shall I turn it over to you, Chief and Chief and Chief? I guess it's hard to say before I turn it over to my colleagues.

Sure. Thank you, Madam Mayor. So this was an amazing achievement for us. Let me shake these hands. Yeah, of course. The planning for an event like FanFest, is very in-depth. It started in December of 2024 with our partners that are sitting up here in the front, the host committee.

Can we join?

Come on up guys. Come on up. So in December of 2024, all the partners in Miami-Dade County through emergency management, Fire agencies, police agencies, our federal partners, our state partners began to meet and throughout the entire year of 2025, we all worked with our host committee and the folks that you see represented here represent every aspect of that. Folks from emergency management put together tabletops and trainings throughout the entire year that continued into 2026. We have folks from our fire prevention bureau who look at the layout, the site plan of the park, and make sure every exit is the right size for the occupancy of the park. Every detail is looked at. And the folks in emergency management will say, we're in the what if business. What if there's lightning? What if there's rain? What if there's too many people? What if the heat index is high? Well, all that happened. And we were able to manage it very successfully. And at the end of the day, all that planning needs to go down to execution. And the folks that worked it every day, Major Valdez from police, such a huge part, and Chief Lozada from the fire department, and Chief Gonzalez, and all the folks. We couldn't bring everybody that worked up on FanFest, but it shows the key part of public safety is that when you have emergency management, you have the police department, you have the fire department, and you have your 911 center, down to the responders all working unified in planning and preparedness and in coordination and response, you get 24 days of success with nearly 600,000 folks and through partnerships as great as with Alina Hudak and her team from the host committee who have been great partners with us. It's a team event and it goes without saying that in January of this year, there was a bunch of folks that are behind this wall that from every department in the city that we're all singing to the same sheet of music. It was really incredible and we're very proud to have served the community and for it to be such a great success.

Thank you, Chief Evia. Listen, God's timing is the perfect timing and the fact that I was able to start right at the inception of FIFA and witness firsthand The amazing work and the amazing collaboration between PD and Fire, the city's leadership, all entities from Public Works to the Parks Team to Solid Waste, everybody working in conjunction to safeguard an event for me, allowed me to see the amazing work, the amazing experience, and the amazing collaboration. So I'm very, very honored to be part of this team. The folks that are in the back, the folks that are in the back are critically important to the success of these events. Like Chief Hevia said, it's a team approach, but they're the ones that were spending countless hours in extreme conditions away from their families, away from their loved ones, away from their kids who are not in school, day in, day out. I was able to walk that event, see the collaboration with our elected officials, with the city's leadership team every single day, visiting our command posts, delivering water, all the little things that truly make an event like this be a success. So I want to thank the city's leadership, the city manager, all hands on deck for a successful event and I was just grateful to see it all. So thank you.

So I had the opportunity, the good fortune to participate at FanFest on five different occasions and everything went so incredibly beautifully. There was one evening when we were at capacity as we were on many many days at 30,000 capacity people all over the world and Chief Evia took me on a tour and the level of complexity and coordination that was involved was so impressive and the reality is you all have made us proud not only on a local level but given the range of folks that were there and the kudos that we received from so many participants you made us proud on a global level so I mean hats off to each of you thank you so much

I'd like to say a big warm thank you to the host committee and to Chairman Gabela. The park was amazing. The experience was over the top. Miami had the best Fan Fest in the US, in the US, to capacity. I had so much fun and now I am forever a football fan. Forever a football fan. I started off knowing Zilch and now I know this much. But I can't imagine what went into that for 24 days. The preparation, the heat, like everyone. It was seamless. It was seamless. And I'm proud to say that the last Fan Fest experience that we will have in Miami will be in District 5 at the Little Haiti Soccer Park for the bronze match. So there's still more to come. We're going to have entertainment. We're going to have that wonderful match and food and everything that you saw at Bayfront on a smaller scale because we have so many children in Little Haiti that play football. and are now going to be able to experience that. And that's because of the thoughtfulness of the FIFA team and recognizing that viewing parties needed to be in other places within the city as well. So I want to thank you guys for that.

I also want to thank all of you very much. I think, you know, when they say it takes a village, it really does. Commissioner Gabela, fantastic, the entire host committee. fantastic as the district to commissioner it's in our district and so we hear directly from residents about all the events that happen but so many of our residents were proud of FanFest and they really got it they understood like yeah we're making some sacrifices here but wow we're making these sacrifices for great things for our city on a global level everything from sustainability climate issues to the professional management of the events and Even on the days of extreme heat when we were like, time out, we've got to shut down. We were great with the residents, and I'm just very proud to know all of you and to know all the work that you've done. I'm very, very grateful. Thank you.

I just want to say thank you, especially to our men and women in uniform, the firefighters, the police. They did a great job. For me, the most important thing is the security issue in the park. had been worked out, and I sat through meetings, and thank you for the host committee, because I know you were at it for a year or two. You know, FIFA and me, we had our ups and downs, but we finally got a result. But thank you very much for what you did, Ray and Rodney, and it turned out to be a great event, and grateful for the D2 commissioner that it turned out that he's happy that the way it turned out, because at the end of the day, it's his district. So thank you very much, all who participated and made this happen. Thank you.

Rodney Verado, thank you. Mayor, I want to commend you, the chairperson, and the commission for recognizing the police and fire department. Not often do they get recognized for their public service, and they did an amazing job. Chief, I can't tell you, but I think it was just a handful of just minor arrests throughout 23 days, which is just incredible. I want to commend that. I just want to recognize Alina, who read was our president who ran the committee from day to day and our chief operating officer, a former assistant chief of police here. And by the way, I wore the uniform for six years and Ray and I were rookies together and we were roommates. So, and this is a full circle. So we're back here at the city and it's great to be home. I consider home. My mother worked for Pan Am and worked in this building. So it's really great to be here. But Mayor, thank you. We couldn't have done it without the city and all their in-kind service and the police and fire. I want to recognize my dear friend, Raquel Regalado, Commissioner of Miami-Dade, who's here. Raquel, thank you. Because without Miami-Dade's support, we couldn't have pulled this off as well. So It was great to see the collaboration between Miami-Dade, the City of Miami, City of Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, everybody. We all worked together, and you're right. FIFA has come to us and told us that we are the number one city in America for FanFest. So it's been great. Thank you.

Good morning, everybody. Alina Hudak. And it's certainly been an honor for me to, at this particular juncture in my professional path, to be in this position. And I really want to thank our leadership, Rodney, for that phone call a year and a half ago. For us, I think so many of us, collectively, I think we have, I don't know, hundreds of millions of years in public service. And to have this moment, this legacy moment for our community, so many unsung heroes in public service, behind the scenes, making this happen for us, and being a part of us, the collective, we should be extraordinarily proud. We have two more weeks to go. We have two matches in Miami, and we have 13-plus watch parties, not only here in Miami-Dade County, but also in Broward. So we are, as a host committee, extraordinarily grateful for the support that we receive from all of our local jurisdictions. And I have to really express my most sincere gratitude to our leadership, our executive committee, represented here obviously by Rodney and David Whitaker. We have 24 members of our board that are volunteers and leaders in our community that have supported us as well. So for us, Mayor Higgins and Madam Chairwoman and to the commission, thank you so much. I can tell you sincerely, I sit on a two-week, every two weeks we have a call with fellow CEOs and host committees throughout the country, and I hear the issues that they're dealing with, and never in my two-year tenure did I have to deal with that type of issue with my partners and with our jurisdictions and our government. So thank you very much for all of your support. It's certainly been an honor, and we have two more weeks to go, so let's keep watching soccer. Thank you.

All right. Organize for a photo.

Okay, let's do a picture.

And David, do you want to, before you leave the stage, want to talk a little bit about the economic impact quickly?

Mayor, again, congratulations. Rodney, thank you for your incredible leadership. Alina, thank you. Ray, I mean, what a team that you've heard about. You know, the Convention and Visitor Bureau, we're a partner in all of this. And the big events, whether it's the college football championship, the World Baseball Classic, there's several major big events still coming to this city. We have become a big event town. And one reason we do that is because our administration and our leaders especially police and fire, pull it off miraculously. And so we know that we can host major events because we are so well organized, and it's because of the leaders on this stage, on this dais, and in this room. You know, we just look at hotel numbers as an example. Two weeks ago, our average daily rate was up 51%. That's 51% more taxes. for services to our community. Last week, with only one match, our average daily rate was up only 31%. And then, of course, this match this weekend, the buzz is about it. So we know the economic impact. We'll be working with the host committee on a full economic study. But the investments, the county and the city and the city of Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, others, Fort Lauderdale, the investments that we've made will pay off for itself. And at the end of the day, it's made Miami, as Rodney always says, on the world stage. We live, work, and play, and visit in paradise. And aren't we all so blessed? So again, thank you for all the incredible leaders.

Thank you, everyone. So now while we're changing up, if I could invite our urban search and rescue team from Florida Task Force 2 that was in Venezuela up here with us, that would be great. Well, good morning everyone. We have a second presentation of importance to our city today, and that is to thank the team from Florida Task Force Two, particularly the members from the City of Miami's Fire Rescue Department that went to Venezuela and labored there under very hot, very trying, and very dangerous situations. I'm sure many of you saw their incredible rescue of Mr. Hernan Gil. That was national news, not because of one rescue, but because of the hope that it provided and the commitment that it shows that the city of Miami shares with the residents of Venezuela as they suffer in this incredibly difficult time. You gentlemen are very, and the ladies on the team too that are around, you're very courageous. But courage without competence doesn't save lives. And so that's why I'm so very proud of all of you because I know that when we send you places and we worry about you when you're gone, we know that you've been training all year long to be safe. for yourselves and so that you can bring safety to others. And I'll tell one last story before I'll turn it over to the chief. Last night, actually, a number of us were at the launch of a new run club as part of particularly Terran King's fitness initiatives in the neighborhood of Edgewater in the Omni area. And you would think that would just be a bunch of joyous fitness nuts. And believe me, it was filled with giant fitness nuts. But two gentlemen, pretty big guys, came up to me, both of whom cried in my arms, to thank me for what the city of Miami did for the people of Venezuela by sending you there. you gave people hope and you made them feel that the country of Venezuela and the people that are suffering are loved. And for that, I will be forever grateful. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Madam Mayor and the commission of city administration for allowing us to go for saying yes. I'd like to play a little video and then I'll speak a little bit about the team if we can. I don't know if we have somebody that can press play there at the communications. It gives you a little context of what our team endured.

We are digging underneath the building collapse, reaching a live victim. Been in here for several days, and we've been working on it for over 48 hours. We've been assisted by teams from all over, from Chile to Portugal to Mexico, Venezuela, USA, international teams. We're in a very precarious position. We're in a situation that's trying to fall. It's a continuous state of falling. We're trying to keep it up as long as possible to keep our members safe and remove the trapped victim. We're reaching the end of day seven for him. And it's very important that we try to get him out as soon as possible. He has been receiving medical care. All the guys are waiting for you outside. So, be nice. You have a party outside that you're waiting for. It's okay, brother. It's okay. You've spent time. The wife is outside, brother. Hernan. Let's get out of here.

Let's get out of here.

Let's get out of here. ¶¶

Oh, wow. Beautiful.

I want to give a little context of the team and how they deploy because it's foreign to some folks. The urban search and rescue team, there are 28 federal teams in the United States. There are eight in Florida state teams. And it's a team made of Miami firefighters and participating agencies. And they deploy. We deployed with 79 folks to Venezuela. People say, well, how is it when you get there? Where do you stay? Well, those are unanswered. They leave there knowing that they have to search and rescue for the people of Venezuela that suffered this horrific catastrophe, this earthquake, and that's their mission. That's it. That's the instructions they have. And they left with 25 tons of equipment and land at an airport and have to figure it out. They built a base of operations. They slept on the floor for eight days. They worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They never took a break working rotation and shifts. And what's incredible to me is when they deploy, they deploy as Florida Task Force 2 and this because they were deployed as an international team. They were known as USA 11. And that to me is incredible because they represented not only our fire department, every elected official here, the city administration, all the department directors behind us, every resident of Miami, but they represented the United States of America. That's incredible. There's 300 million people in this country over that. A lot of emergency responders and when the Department of State said they had to send the best people in the United States, they sent Miami firefighters. I want to take out any notion that this is a team that we have hidden in a closet and they train all day. It's not the way it is. It's not the way it is. They were gonna wear these fancy long sleeve shirts that they really don't care to wear and ties because I made them wear it. They're gonna leave out of here, put on a blue shirt, and they live in the fire stations that are in your neighborhoods. They live in the fire stations in all these districts. And when you call 911, these are the same firefighters, whether it's for an accident, a heart attack, or just not feeling well, hopefully you never have to call 911. It's the same firefighters that the USA called to represent the United States of America that are gonna go to your house. I encourage you, they're all standing around here today. If you're waiting in line to speak, I encourage you to visit a fire station in your neighborhood and I encourage you to speak with them today. Ask them about their career as a firefighter and ask them what their tour in Venezuela was like. I need to call out two people, if you allow me a little bit of privilege. Jerry Rodriguez and Chris Diaz, if they'll come here. When the team deploys, they deploy in a hierarchy where there are supervisors and leaders. The two bosses on top are called task force leaders. And we're going to Venezuela. I'm sending 79 folks. I'm responsible for them. And I don't sleep until they come back. And I talk to them as much as I can. I needed the two best people I can think of to be task force leaders. And Jerry Rodriguez and Chris Diaz were the two men that led that team. What's more important is that they're both devoted husbands and they both have children that are in elementary school. This is an extremely dangerous mission. And I called them and I said, I need you to do this for me. And without hesitation, they said yes. And in three hours, they were on a plane and they were going to Venezuela and left their family behind. That's incredible. We owe you.

Ladies and gentlemen of the fire family, I want to thank you for your compassion. I want to thank you for your courage. And I think most importantly, I want to thank you for reflecting the best of the best of who we are as the city of Miami.

I prayed for these guys every night. The chief and I spoke before they were deployed. I shared my concerns. And I am just so happy that you all came back safe. The incredible work that you did, it is an honor to serve with you. It always has been. I have a special place in my heart for firefighters. Everyone knows that. And I could not be more proud to be a City of Miami resident than I am today. God bless you all.

I think my colleagues have said it very well. We're all very, very proud of you. I know I was incredibly worried, Chief. You know, we had conversations. And I can also tell you that our residents were too. And I think sometimes that goes by unperceived. But residents like you, Madam Mayor, came up to me and said, wow, it's incredible what City of Miami is doing. It's incredible. You know, it was during the July 4th celebration. So just the concept of freedom and that we're so blessed in our country that we have the type of freedom where we can do this and we can extend it throughout the world was incredible. Thank you very much. Very proud. Thank you.

Yes, thank you very much for your sacrifices and the sacrifices that your families make also. One more thank you for many thank yous that you deserve. So God bless and thank you very much again for your service and what you do every day. Thank you.

All you guys on the back, please. Not just Alex, you too. Because you guys are not gonna fit in. Can I have you step back a little bit and you guys get a little closer.

Good morning, everyone. Good morning. That was a pretty inspiring way to start the day with people who serve us every day, sometimes when it's hard and sometimes when it's dangerous. This morning, I am very grateful that Pastor David Dorisgar from Lively Stone Church of Miami is here to share a prayer with us to open our meeting. Thank you, Pastor.

Thank you. This prayer will be bilingual. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the courage of our leaders and we ask that you bless this meeting. We ask that you touch them. We ask that you touch them that they may abound in love for you are love. We ask that you give them wisdom so that that love may be administered for the benefit of this city and the country. Amen. Amen.

Commissioner Rosado, would you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? All right, good morning, everyone.

Madam Mayor? Yes, ma'am. If I may? Today, I am intentionally wearing pink in support of my colleagues. It's Commissioner Rosado's birthday. If you guys would join me. Happy birthday. And look at him in his pink.

All right, good morning. Mr. Attorney, would you please state the procedures for this meeting?

Thank you, Madam Mayor. George Wisong, City Attorney, City of Miami. Detailed information about the processes, order of business, rules of procedure, and scheduling or rescheduling of City Commission meetings can be found in Chapter 2, Article 2 of the City Code, a copy of which is available online at www.munico.com. Any person who is a lobbyist pursuant to Chapter 2, Article 6 of the City Code must register with the city clerk and comply with related city requirements for lobbyists before appearing before the city commission. A person may not lobby a city official, board member, or staff member until registering. A copy of the code section about lobbyists is available in the city clerk's office or online at www.munico.com. Any person making a presentation, formal request, or petition to the City Commission concerning real property must make the disclosures required by the City Code in writing. A copy of the City Code section is available at the Office of the City Clerk or online at www.municode.com. City of Miami requires that anyone requesting action by the City Commission must disclose, before the hearing, any consideration provided or committed to anyone for agreement to support or withhold objection to the requested action pursuant to City Code Section 2-8. Any documents offered to the City Commission that have not been provided seven days before the meeting as part of the agenda materials will be entered into the record at the City Commission's discretion. In accordance with Section 2-33F and G of the City Code, the agenda and the material for each item on the agenda is available during business hours at the City Clerk's Office and online 24 hours a day at www.miamigov.com. The meeting of the City Commission is a limited public forum. Any person may be heard by the City Commission through the chair for not more than two minutes on any proposition before the City Commission unless modified by the chair. Public comment will begin at approximately 9.55 a.m. and remain open until public comment is closed by the chairperson. Any person making offensive remarks or becomes unruly in the City Commission chambers will be barred from further attending City Commission meetings and may be subject to arrest. No clapping, applauding, heckling, or verbal outbursts in support or opposition to a speaker or his or her remarks shall be permitted. No signs or placards shall be allowed in the commission chambers. Persons exiting the city commission chambers shall do so quietly. Members of the public wishing to address the body may do so by submitting written comments via the online public comment forum. Please visit www.miamigov.com forward slash meeting instructions. for detailed instructions on how to provide public comment using the online public comment form. The comments submitted through the comment form have been and will be distributed to the elected officials, their staff, and city administration throughout the day so that the elected officials may consider the comments prior to taking any action. Additionally, the online comment form will remain open during the meeting to accept comments and distribute to the elected officials, their staff, and city administration up until the chairperson closes public comment. Public comment may also be provided live at City Hall, located at 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida, subject to any and all city rules as they may be amended. If the proposition is being continued or rescheduled, the opportunity to be heard may be at such later date before the City Commission takes action on such proposition. When addressing the City Commission, the members of the public must first state their name, their address, and what item will be spoken about. Any person with a disability requiring assistance, auxiliary aids, and services for this meeting may notify the City Clerk. The City has provided different public comment methods to indicate, among other things, a public support, opposition, or neutrality on the items and topics to be discussed at the City Commission meeting, in compliance with Section 286.01144C Florida Statutes. The public has been given the opportunity to provide public comment during the meeting and within reasonable proximity and time before the meeting. Please note, commissioners have generally been briefed by city staff and city attorney's office on items on the agenda today. Anyone wishing a verbatim record of an item considered at this meeting may request it at the Office of Communications or view it online at www.miamigov.com. For planning and zoning items, PZ items shall proceed according to Section 7.1.4, the Miami 21 Zoning Ordinance. Parties for any PZ items, including any applicant, appellant, appellee, city staff, and any person recognized by the decision-making body as a qualified intervener, as well as the applicant's representatives and any experts testifying on behalf of the applicant, appellant, or appellee may be physically present at City Hall to be sworn in by oath or affirmation by the City Clerk. The members of the City Commission shall disclose any ex parte communications to remove the presumption of prejudice pursuant to Florida Statute Section 286.0.115, And Section 7.1.4.5 of the Miami 21 Zoning Ordinance. The order of presentation shall be as set forth in Miami 21 and in the City Code. Staff will briefly present each item to be heard. The applicant will present its application or request to the City Commission. If the applicant agrees with the staff recommendation, the City Commission may proceed to its deliberation and decision. The applicant may also waive the right to an evidentiary hearing on the record. For appeals, the appellant will present its appeal to the City Commission, followed by the appellee. Staff will be allowed to make any recommendation they may have. Please silence all cell phones and other noise-making devices. This meeting can be viewed live on Miami TV, the City's Facebook page, the City's Twitter page, the City's YouTube channel, and Comcast Channel 77. The broadcast will also have closed captioning. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Mr. City Clerk, please state the swearing in procedures. Thank you.

Thank you, Sheriff. The procedures for individuals who'd be providing testimony to be sworn in for planning and zoning items and any quasi-judicial items on today's City Commission agenda will be as follows. The members of City staff or any other individuals required to be sworn in who are currently present at City Hall will be sworn in by me, the City Clerk, immediately after I've finished explaining these procedures. Those individuals who are appearing remotely may be sworn in now or at any time prior to the individual providing testimony for planning zoning items and or quasi-judicial items. Commissioners, are you comfortable with all notice provisions set forth in these uniform rules and procedures we have established for this meeting? Chair, may I administer the oath? Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. If we'd be speaking on any of today's planning and zoning items, those are the PZ items. May I please have you stand and raise your right hand? Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give at today's hearing is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? And your response is? Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Clerk. All right, Mr. Manager, are there any items you need to withdraw or be deferred or any other changes?

Thank you. Good morning, Madam Mayor, Madam Chair, Commissioners. At this time, the administration would like to defer or withdraw the following items. RE8 to be withdrawn. RE8 to be withdrawn. PZ1 to be indefinitely deferred, PZ1 to be indefinitely deferred, PZ2 to be indefinitely deferred, PZ3 to be indefinitely deferred, and lastly, PZ6 to be indefinitely deferred. So that is PZ1, 2, 3, and 6, indefinitely deferred. All right.

Colleagues, do you have any things you also would like to withdraw or defer? Does that cover everything?

I'd like to defer PZ10 to the next meeting.

All right. Anyone else?

What do we do? Defer PZ10? PZ10. Okay. All right.

I'd like to defer PZ7. Okay. My apologies, Chair. Indefinitely deferred.

PZ7? Mm-hm.

Others? Mr. Vallow.

No, what I have is that I had placed on the agenda, the last agenda which I was not here, a discussion item under security, and somebody took it off because I was not here. I'd like to reserve the right to talk about that as a pocket item later on if need be.

Absolutely, that's not a problem. All right, so with that, we'll set the agenda.

Yes. Just one moment. I need to make a couple of statements.

Sure.

Regarding sponsor and co-sponsor requests, Mayor Higgins will be sponsoring PZ4 and PZ5. Commissioner King will be co-sponsoring PZ8. Commissioner Pardo will be sponsoring PH8. Commissioner Escalona will be co-sponsoring RE11, FR1, and PZ8. Commissioner Rosado will be co-sponsoring FR1. I just need to read a brief statement regarding indefinite deferrals. Pursuant to section 62-22 of the city code, an indefinitely deferred action initiated by the city will cost the city mail noticing, advertising, and posting of properties as applicable. Thank you, Chair. And I do apologize. I missed a motion for the indefinite deferrals, withdrawal, and deferrals.

Yep. Can I have a motion for all of the deferrals and withdrawals? Second. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

So the agenda is set. Thank you. All right, we should open for reasonable opportunity to be heard in public hearing items. If folks could line up at both podiums. Not too many, but maybe five in a row. Get this underway, thank you.

Mr. Cruz, you may begin.

I'm sorry?

You may begin, sir.

Elvis Cruz, 631 Northeast 57th Street. Good morning. RE5, the bond ballot reads like a sales pitch, as they usually do. It's asking us to charge $450 million on our credit card, but it leaves out an important piece of information. How much do we already owe on our credit card? That's about $1.2 billion. I hope you vote down this item, but if you do decide to go ahead, you should change the ballot language to include that pre-existing $1.2 billion debt in the interest of transparency and fairness and fiduciary responsibility so the voters can make a better informed decision. Item PZ8 would increase the buildable footprint on lot coverage without counting it as lot coverage in T3 neighborhoods by allowing front porches to take up half of the front setback, which could become only 10 feet instead of the standard 20 foot front setback. That creates an incentive to build wide porches which would decrease tree planting area, green space, permeable ground area, and increase urban heat effect. The city talks about the importance of tree canopy, but this item threatens one of the best places in the city to plant trees, which is a single family home's front yard. Please vote no. RE12 and 13, wow. Commissioner Rosado, I almost had a heart attack when I saw the city of Miami might actually start getting serious about maintaining facilities. Yes, it's much smarter and cheaper to maintain as you go instead of asking for a $450 million charge on our credit card. Thank you. FR1 is good. Keep our sidewalks open during construction. PZ9, Coconut Grove Playhouse, it's a shame that the new design uses an ultra-modern boxy texture style, which is an insult to the historic 1927 facade. Lastly, please heed the West Grove neighbor's request to be shielded from traffic impacts. Thank you, Mr. Cruz. You're very welcome. Thank you, ma'am.

Folks, when you hear the buzzer, it's two minutes, so thank you means thank you. All right, please, go ahead.

Good evening. Jose Alzi, 788 Southeast Park Drive. I'm here on behalf of all the residents of Miami-Dade County. Even though we don't live within the city of Hialeah, the service you provide us is unbelievable, something that we couldn't afford in Hialeah, like your Fan Fest, and also your Cultural Affairs Council, how they benefit your city. There's a proposal about the Hogan Grove Playhouse, I'm sure your planning is only didn't understand the return on investment in this. Yeah, you provide the facility, but they provide, you're going to get millions of dollars in grants. I'm a retired employee from City of Hialeah Parks, Recreation and Leisure. I was the director of Mylander Cultural Affairs for seven years. And the, what the job that the Cultural Affairs Council does by you just providing a space is like unbelievable. And to be a great city like Miami is, you need a good cultural affairs organization. presentations and facilities that are world-renowned. If you want to be, like, the return on investment on tourism and what you do to Miami-Dade County residents is, like, without feedback. And I also want to congratulate the new director, Ashley Thomas, because she's been able to provide, like, Liberty City, Overtown, the marginalized communities that in the past were not eligible, she's made an extra effort to reach those. So sometimes we think cultural affairs was only reaching those that could afford the ticket and the dinner in Coconut Grove, but they are also reaching big time in cities like Liberty City and Overtown and Little Haiti. So I just want you to recognize the job that they do. Thank you.

Hi, good morning. Elena Kasparis, 1155 Brickle Bay Drive. In my area, we're seeing an unprecedented amount of construction development that has caused disruption in numerous ways. So I'm very happy to see FR1 brought to the Commission today, and I ask for support of it. I have personally almost been struck by a vehicle on more than one occasion because there's significant sidewalk closures on both sides, in many cases, of the same street. essentially forcing pedestrians into the street. There's no reason that we should not require developers to have safe and a standardized requirement for pedestrian passageways. We have seen a very inconsistent application and usage of that, so I hope that FR1 will create that in a standardized and quality way. Even just across, you know, the bridge from Brickell where I live, we see a lot more under, you know, protected areas where you can pass through in downtown, but still very inconsistent. So I hope that that will be provided today, that that will be passed today. There's many cities that can do that. If we want to be a world class city, we need to prioritize pedestrian safety, especially in areas that are very walkable, where we have significant amount of pedestrians on the sidewalks. So thank you.

Good morning. Reynolds Martin, Coconut Grove, 3325 Percival Avenue, here representing Homeowners and Tenants Association and Grace. Now, a couple of weeks ago, we had a discussion with the county regarding the playhouse, and there were so many deficiencies such that the PZAP said, let's go back and let's see if we can work on this. You know, we were very satisfied with the engagement between the city and the county, trying to create a win-win situation in our community. And I'm happy with what was proposed. However, I'm dissatisfied that we are obliterating the concept of civic and institutional. And also, disturbed that we may lose our historical significance. But I think going forward, these things ought to be considered. And if we can accomplish these things that are proposed without obliterating the concept of civic and institutional and maintain our historical significance, then we ought to go forward. Thank you.

Good morning, commissioners. Alejandro Martinez at 2525 Southwest 3rd Avenue. I support Agenda Item FR1 because pedestrians deserve to have safe and accessible pathways, even while construction is taking place. Too often, sidewalks are closed with little consideration for the people who rely on them every day, forcing residents, families, seniors, and visitors into unsafe situations. Requiring temporary pedestrian protection structures is a practical, common sense solution that balances development with public safety. I encourage the Commission to approve this ordinance and make pedestrian access a priority. Thank you.

Good morning, Renee Pesci, 5517 Sardinia, Coral Gables, 33146. I'm here today in strong support for the appeal to restore and reopen the Coconut Grove Playhouse. The Playhouse is an irreplaceable cultural landmark and a public asset that belongs to all of us. Restoring it's about preserving our history while creating opportunities for future generations to experience theater, arts, education, and community programming. The arts are also a powerful economic engine. The Playhouse will create jobs, support local businesses, attract visitors, and strengthen our neighborhoods. Investing in the Playhouse is investing in Miami's economy, quality of life, and international cultural reputation. I ask you to reverse the decision and improve this appeal. By doing so, you will preserve the treasured institution as a public cultural asset. If we fail to move forward with this project, we risk losing that vision and the opportunity to keep the playhouse in service to our community for generations to come. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Thomas Kennedy. I live in 6601 Northwest First Place, Miami, Florida, 33150. I'm here to speak about the bond, which I oppose. I find it to be fiscally irresponsible, but I'd be remiss since it involves police-related matters to not bring up the city's 287G agreement that deputizes law enforcement to conduct immigration enforcement. There was about I think 70, 80 people here that spoke for about three, four hours, calling on commissioners and the mayor to rescind this agreement. I just want to reiterate, under Florida statute 908.11, the city did not have to sign this agreement. It did so voluntarily, and it can voluntarily exit it. And to finish, I just want to clarify a point of misinformation that was stated during the meeting by the city attorney, with all due respect. You said that 33 out of 34 municipalities in Miami-Dade County signed 287 agreements. That's wrong. Only 10 cities signed 287 agreements. 21 police departments have not signed, including the Miccosukee Police. And it would be accurate to say that less than a third of Miami-Dade cities have signed on to 287G agreements. So again, I just call on you guys to do the right thing, exit disagreement. You have the legal cover to do so. You have the political context to do so. And it would be the moral and right thing to do. Thank you.

Thank you. Good morning, commissioners, chairwoman, staff. We thank you for serving our community. And I just want, my name is Chaplain Stanley Young, 500 Northwest 2nd Avenue. I have been approaching the county for a couple of years about the mental health facility that needs to be opened. You had three of your commissioners came down to help push this agenda across the finish line. Mr. Rosado, Cabela, and Porto came down, and I was so pleased to see them there actually showing their faces, showing their support. But I'm here to talk about PH1. I mean, PH1 through PH7 is about housing. My name is Chaplain Young. I walk the streets of Miami, try to talk to all the homeless and those that are living on the streets to try to get them into a better situation. We need your help. Please don't cut any more from those CBOs, those people who are those unsung heroes who go out onto the streets of Miami to try to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves. Somebody didn't have a bed to sleep in. Somebody don't have a shower to wash up in. Somebody don't have a table to sit at to eat their food. That's where we come in to try to help, try to support and try to aid those people. I have been doing this work for 36 years. I love it. I don't get a paycheck. I wouldn't even want one at this point. I just want to spend the rest of my life serving those who really do need help in our community. And I thank you for any kind of support, any kind of prayer, anything you could do to try to help me help them do what they really need to do in this community. Thank you. God bless.

Good morning, Commissioners, Madam Mayor. I'm here on the never-ending playhouse. I was the chair in 2005 when it was declared historic. What we all want is the end to the litigation, you probably more than anybody. The county today is going to be asking you to overturn the decision of your planning board. But I have to tell you, that's not going to end the litigation in my opinion. But what will end the litigation is something you can do today. S, defer this item. Specifically, and ask the county to go back before the historic board who's asked for it to come back. The county will say they've already been before the HEP board and has gotten a COA. It was a conditional COA, conditioned on the county returning before the planning board with their final plans. So I'll request them to go back. They can present the same exact presentation they're going to give to you today. And what will happen at the HEP board? If the HEP Board approves, they'll give them a COA, the building will stay on the National Historic Register and the litigation. If the HEP Board denies the county and says we don't like your plan, well they can always come back before this board and then you can overturn both the HEP Board and your own planning board. So I think it's a solution because if it goes before the HEP Board, we'll preserve our historic playhouse even though 80% of it's gone. And I think that will end the litigation. You're going to have the attorney for the Playhouse Preservation Group here today. You can ask him if that will end the litigation, and he will say it will. So ask the county to go back before the HEP Board. They can put it immediately on their agenda, make their same presentation, get it approved, and all done. End of litigation. Thank you very much for listening to me. I appreciate it.

Greetings and good morning everybody. My name is Jasmine Doyle. I live on 3326 Charles Avenue. Let me say that again. 3326 Charles Avenue. My family has lived in the Grove for generations, and I'm here to oppose PZ9 concerning the Coconut Grove Playhouse. I won't be up here too long, but... I believe with such a huge commercial development like this, there needs to be protections and agreements with the community. I strongly urge for there to be a community benefits agreement where all community within 500 feet, possibly beyond, will have a say in what goes on with this development and how it affects us. Yeah, Charles Avenue is very historic, as you guys know, and we need protections. The black community of Coconut Grove has been here for centuries, and it's very important that we keep it that way. And I hear a lot of comments concerning bringing back theater, preserving the theater, protecting the theater, but we need to protect the residents as well. I also hear a lot of changes going on with the community. There's gonna be changes. There's been changes for the past 20, 30 years in Coconut Grove, specifically West Coconut Grove. But although there is changes, we need to avoid erasure. And that's what I'm standing here to present today. Thank you. Community benefits agreement, please.

Good morning. Elisa Margulies, Rice Street Center Grove, in support of FR1 for Safe Sidewalks. Now about that bond. Mayor, we love our first responders, but the strategy of warning us about slow emergency response times while tugging at our heartstrings isn't working. Why? Because we actually live here. We sit in traffic for hours. We navigate endless sidewalk closures. We crawl past construction sites. We watch our parks and trees disappear to make way for more development. You didn't create these problems, but you did ask voters for the opportunity to solve them. We're told this bond will only cost the average taxpayer about $131 a year. A couple of restaurant dinners isn't what's standing in the way of our support. But a good business person doesn't keep repeating the same sales pitch after the customer says no. They find out what the customer actually wants. So even if this is on the ballot, don't be surprised if the voters still say no. You're selling the wrong thing. The city has helped create tremendous private wealth. It's time for those who've benefited the most to help shoulder the cost. Look to them first before looking to taxpayers. We've already told you what's important to us, no need to ask. Just check your emails or your Instagram comments. Protect and expand our tree canopy, create more parks. Acknowledge the consequences of unchecked overdevelopment. Stop treating every vacant piece of land as another development opportunity. Shade isn't a luxury in Miami, it's essential infrastructure. Oh, and one more thing. Start protecting our money as if it were your own. Write ironclad contracts. Hold contractors accountable with measurable benchmarks, strict deadlines, and serious financial consequences. And respectfully, don't give us more dashboards and reports. Give us independent oversight with real enforcement. We don't need another sales pitch. We just need a better offer. Ball's in your court.

Good morning, Chairwoman. James Torres, President of Downtown Neighbors Alliance on RE5. Much of this bond is about repairing aging facilities, modernizing stations, upgrading equipment, investing in infrastructure for our first responders who rely on this information and job safety effectively. And while the city debates how to fund these critical items, there's another pot of gold in front of you. It's called the Downtown Development Authority in which Commissioner Ralph Rosado is the chairman that controls over $20 million. Millions of dollars have been spent on corporate giveaways, bloated PRs, contracts, sponsorships, branding, campaigns, influence style marketing, food festival, burger videos, consulting, political vanity projects, all funded through this tax burden. If you look at this at a very easy scope and take $450 million, reduce that by 20, you are now working with $430 million. But here's a caveat for you. We're also being told that the bond question must be placed under the general election. That is not the case. The city has the authority to place the question before voters in a special election. So why don't we do that because there has not been any outreach that was promised to the communities of the city of Miami. And before asking taxpayers to borrow the money, we deserve to have a better understanding of what is going to be using here. The Downtown Neighbors Alliance earlier this month put out a survey in which came back where all of the residents indicated that there has not been a single level of outreach. Two days ago, there was a website that was created to share information. So what we're asking here is to delay and or go to a different route in terms of addressing this bond. We are supportive of it, but however, there's not enough information. And after that's being done and taking $20 million from the DDA, now you're working with something else that you're going to be able to do away with that agency. Thank you.

Miami Gardens Councilwoman Linda Julian, 18605 Northwest 27th Avenue. Good morning, Madam Mayor, Madam Chairwoman, Commissioners, and Charter Officers. As a board member of the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Council, I am here to speak in support of item PZ9. the Coconut Grove Playhouse Project. This long-awaited project will bring highly anticipated theater and arts education back to the Grove and to the county at large, which is extremely important. As a former pianist, I'm an advocate for the arts education, and I know firsthand what this will do for the community. This project will not only bring great theater, but more opportunities for our young people to have access to the arts. So I urge you to please consider voting in favor of this project. And as I conclude my remarks, I'd like to wish Commissioner Ralph Rosado a very happy birthday.

Good morning, Scott Silver, 2980 McFarland Road. We have two minutes to tell a one-hour story. The playhouse is fine, but the garage fails to pass a basic smell test. You can send this back with a condition. For almost 20 years, store owners have been paying into a parking trust fund that now accrues $7 million. Now, listen to the words, a parking trust fund. Don't break a promise to the people who have been paying a tax for over 20 years to use that money to increase the garage. The Grove bid was formed in 2008. I handled the formation of that. I was the lawyer who did that. We became the guardian of those funds. The intent was always to use that money to fix a well-acknowledged parking problem. The bid tried to amend this, actually amended the state statute that allowed the Playhouse to come back to the county. The whole intent of that fund was to use the one site that was available, which was the Playhouse. We designed a 435 car garage that was done, the design was done almost 10 years ago. Somehow during the process of presenting this, the county reduced that to 300 spaces. In the interim, Miami 21 and other portions of the zoning code have been amended to allow structures over 80 feet. Commodore Plaza is about to have at least two projects that will exceed 80 feet. If the concern was the height of the garage, we went back and looked. I asked the city attorney, why did it change? Nobody had an answer. We finally went back to the HEP board resolution, and we found that the only language in there was that the garage should be compatible with the with the Playhouse. Compatibility is not just simply lopping off 135 spaces. There is no other place to build this parking garage in the entire Grove. The money is there. The bid was contributing somewhere in the range of $3 million. They have that money there. They have $7 million. I would urge you. I know this is not going to come up for discussion for about three more hours, but I would urge you to remember that. This is the only place where we can spend those monies. Use them wisely. Otherwise, there is no place to build a garage. We need this on Commodore Plaza. There's 150,000 square feet of new space being built. Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Annie Lord. I'm the Executive Director at Miami Homes for All, address 3250 Southwest 3rd Avenue, Miami, Florida. Commissioner Rosado, very happy birthday to you. Chairwoman, Madam Mayor, thank you so much. I'm here to speak on RE7 regarding the GSA site, the General Service Administration site. I first just want to say thank you to Commissioner Cabela and to the administration for moving forward in RFP. Of course, we all know we have a terrible affordable housing shortage in Miami, and Miami Homes for All's mission is to ensure that all Miamians do have a safe, affordable place to call home. And we care about the GSA site because it might be the last great opportunity in the city of Miami to create thousands of new units of housing. And because of the importance of, first of all, the city of Miami, but also the neighborhood of Alapata to this city, in terms of proximity to transit, to Jackson, to tons of jobs. There's really a unique opportunity to create affordable housing that is affordable to the neighborhood of Allapattah. The average median income in Allapattah is somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000 a year. That's like 50% of the area median income. So we just urge everybody to ensure that the affordability that could come along with this through the RFP process is really deeply affordable, right? And we're not saying all of it, but a good percentage would do a lot for this city, for the neighborhood. And I mean, honestly, you all would be heroes in my eyes. This is such an enormous opportunity. We've been paying attention to this for seven years. It's a really difficult parcel, so we have a lot of respect for the administration and for the commission to put this together well. It's going to be hard, but we support you, we appreciate it, and thank you so much for prioritizing affordability, especially in that scoring criteria.

Good morning.

My name is Lorena Centeno. I'm a resident of the city of Miami, and I am speaking today on behalf of the Advocacy Network on Disabilities, a nonprofit who support the respect and right of people with disability living in Miami. Here we are in opposition to FR2. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. First, we are aware of the efforts of Commissioner Escalona to restore the shelter bed verifications requirement and the verbal warning with reasonable time to gather personal belongings for the homeless. Those are meaningful improvements. However, in our opinion, this ordinance still moves in the wrong direction. It continues to prioritize arrest over support and removes the discretion officers need to respond appropriately to people experiencing homelessness, including many people with disabilities. People with disabilities are significantly overrepresented among individuals experiencing homelessness. Many live with physical disabilities, intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health conditions, traumatic brain injuries, or chronic illness. Arresting them does not address their need. It creates additional barriers. Criminalization of homeless disproportionately harms people with disabilities. When people are arrested, they can lose medications, medical equipment, mobility device, important documents, and connection to health care providers and case managers. This disruption can have serious consequences for their health and safety, and also we think that it may be not aligned with the American Disability Act. This ordinance does not create a single unit of housing or expand disability service. Instead, it's increased reliance on law enforcement to address what is fundamentally a housing and public health issue. Housing and support service, not arrest, are the proven solution. Investing in permanent supportive housing, behavioral health service, disability support, and accessible housing is more effective and more human than expanded pathways to incarceration. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Good morning, Steve Wright, 2330 Southwest 13th Street for the past 24 years, long time proud Miami resident and veteran of public service in this very building for about a decade. I'm here in support of FR1. My heartfelt gratitude to the sponsor and everyone that's co-sponsored this. I travel the world speaking about accessibility for people with disabilities and pedestrian mobility. I'll start on a slight negative. It's sad when I do my slide deck and I show, right now I believe it's Sixth Street between the World Center and the Bright Line, so we have a billion dollars of private investment, one of the largest private sector mobility transit trains. And yet both sides are blocked for construction for two or three years. So that forces not just us, it forces our children, our disabled veterans, our wheelchair users, everyone into the sidewalk, even delivery bots. I'm also having worked in this building mindful that perhaps our partners in the development industry might say this is an added cost. It is a fractional one. I don't think any one of us would put basic human civil rights with the American Disabilities Act guarantees, just basic dignity and mobility to a cost benefit analysis. Now, when that comes up an hour and a half from now or what have you, I guess I'll pour a little water on that. And last, on the high note, all these wonderful mom and pop businesses downtown. When I moved here, downtown was that typical you're in for your life after 5 p.m. A little bit of Arts of the Gustman, the rest. Now we have, but unfortunately, a lot of restaurants and mom and pops flame out within a few years. We have commissioners up here that very well understand the demands of restaurant and how hard it is to keep afloat. Well, guess what? When it's walkable, when people don't give up and say, I'll just go drive to the mall in the burbs, all those mom and pop businesses make their nut. They make their rent. They expand. They don't have frustrated customers. So what you're doing is fabulous. Please let it be a first step on our journey to total inclusion for all. Thank you.

Good morning. Samuel Crowe, 14636 Southwest 132nd Court. PZ9, I'm here to speak on the partnership between FIU Department of Theater, which I'm a proud alumni of, and Gable Stage Theater Company, where I've worked at for the last four years since graduating. I've seen firsthand the benefits of this partnership for our community. Our educational programs have grown exponentially Especially our Shakespeare in the schools program which I have been a part of for the last four years and our new theater in hospitals program a dose of fun I've seen the impact that these programs have on our community our children our high school students and I'm excited for future projects between the two, like the Coconut Grove Playhouse. When my father immigrated to this country from Trinidad and Tobago in 1988, his first week in this city included seeing his first musical at the beautiful Coconut Grove Playhouse. Hearing my father talk about the wonder he experienced watching fame back in 88 has made it a dream of mine to see this hundred-year-old piece of history come back to life. Thank you.

Good morning. Good morning, Mayor Higgins, Commissioner Pardo, Commissioners, my name is Courtney Berrien. I live at 3325 Charles Avenue in West Coconut Grove. I'm here this morning to ask you to not approve the county's request to overturn planning and zoning's decision to not approve their waivers. In other words, I ask you to please listen to members of our organization. Our organization is called Preserve the West Grove. I'm a board member. We represent over 35 families that live within 500 feet of the playhouse. We are united in our concern about the commercial aspects of the Playhouse project. We also want theater to return to Coconut Grove. We have no problem with Gable Stage or any of the planned community programming, but we have grave concerns about the commercial nature of this project, particularly how traffic and the overflow of commercial activity will hurt our quality of life as neighbors. We appreciate that the county has recently talked with us. Commissioner Pardo has convened conversations and that the county has started to listen to our concerns. But we remain very concerned that what is promised by the county isn't binding. We are asking that the waivers only be granted if there is a binding traffic plan in place that will protect residents rather than just promises that are made about some traffic will maybe be addressed someday. That's the same standard that would be applied to a private development project. So I want to clarify, people have said that we're people that have moved to the community recently, and it's just because the neighborhood has changed. More than 50% of our residents are historic community members. We've lived in our house for more than 20 years, and we have been involved in the beginning of the Playhouse discussions, and we've been asking for the same things all along. So we think all things can be achieved. Great Theater can return to the Grove with appropriate protections for the community. Thank you. Thank you.

Good morning. Mike Santangelo, 123 Menores Avenue in Coral Gables. I'm here to speak against the ordinance that will take away police discretion whether to arrest homeless people on public property. I'm a graduate of UM. I worked as a shelter case manager, housing advocate, and outreach team leader in the streets with homeless people in New York City for years. I care about this issue, and I oppose it on two grounds. Number one, This is a country where there's not one place where a person working full time at minimum wage can afford a one bedroom apartment. And the stated goal of the police is to protect public safety. People are not a threat to public safety simply by being homeless. This is the criminalization of poverty and homelessness. Secondly, it doesn't make financial sense. It costs more money to use our jails, prisons, and hospitals as homeless shelters than it does to just provide subsidized housing for homeless people. Thank you.

Good morning, commissioners. My name is Kayla Katz, address is 2567 Tigertail Avenue. And I've lived in this neighborhood for almost my entire life. I've heard so much frustration surrounding the Coconut Grove Playhouse. Frustration that this isn't a full restoration and that this looks a lot like big development pushing into our historic neighborhood. And I see that and I understand that. But here's where we stand. We have a historic site, half demolished, in the middle of being restored, and we have architects and a county-backed team ready to keep going and build something that fits who we are today. We can stay angry at what was lost, or we can ask the question that matters. Do we want a theater in this community or not? These architects want to work with us, not around us. There could be more traffic, but we have a cocoa walk already. We already have a bayfront getting busier by the day and developers building sky rises. What we don't have is a place for local artists to imagine the future. And if this site doesn't become a theater and a true developer gets a hold of it, what then? This won't be a Broadway house. It will be an intimate 300 seat space for us and for the future of this neighborhood. I've heard people talk about a theater coming back to this neighborhood since I was a little girl. I am an actress now. That is still my dream, except now I'm old enough to stand here and ask you to help make that dream a reality. Can we agree that this is a beautiful possibility, one we cannot pass up on, one that brings back the artistic heart of Coconut Grove and could create a space for generations of future artists? Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, commissioners. Happy birthday, Commissioner Rosado. I'm here to speak on the public safety bond. I'm Enrique Santos, a city of Miami property owner and a city reserve police officer. I understand the responsibility that comes with asking taxpayers to fund a project like this, and I also understand the importance of giving our police officers and firefighters and hundreds of civilian employees in the city of Miami the facilities and working conditions that they need and that they so desperately deserve. That's why I'm here again. in support of the public safety bond and to respectfully ask that you allow the residents of the city of Miami to decide on this issue this coming November. Questions about the financing, oversight, and structure of this proposal are all important discussions to have. But as each day passes, these structures continue to deteriorate and our first responders have to perform despite the inadequate and unsafe conditions that may eventually get someone hurt or even worse. Nobody in this room can disagree that our police officers and firefighters need better working conditions and facilities. We all know how bad, how unhealthy, and how truly embarrassing the situation is. Let's do what's right and what's desperately needed at this critical moment for our first responders, for our residents, and for the future of Miami. If voters reject the bond, they've spoken. If they approve it, they've spoken. Either way, the decision belongs to the people of Miami. I just respectfully ask that we let them vote on it. Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, Commissioners, some of you that I know. It's a pleasure to be here. Happy birthday, sir. And my name is Patty Arias. I'm the Executive Director of the Latin Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Camacol, 1401 West Flagler Street. And a former theater actress. That's how I got my... first job, so I know it well. But I'm here to express our strong support and Camacola's strong support for the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs' vision for the Coconut Grove Playhouse and its partnership with Florida International University. For over 16 years, Camacol has promoted the creative industries because we recognize them as a powerful engine for economic development, entrepreneurship, job creation, and innovation. We have long believed that investing in the creative community is investing in the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County and in Florida. I know firsthand that the members of this commission are forward-thinking and understand the many opportunities this sector brings. The Coconut Grove Playhouse project is much more than the restoration of an iconic landmark. It is a strategic investment that brings together culture, education, workforce development. The partnership with FIU transforms this project into more than a theater. It becomes a living classroom where students can learn, train, intern, and prepare for careers across the spectrum while working along professionals. Please support this project, and thank you very much.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, Commissioners, and happy birthday, Commissioner Rosado. My name is Ken Jessel, Florida International University, and I am a senior vice president at the university. For over 15 years, we have envisioned the Coconut Grove Playhouse. Sorry about that. I had a tough time this morning. For over 15 years, we have envisioned the Coconut Grove Playhouse as an amazing resources to advance our academic, educational, and community engagement goals by bringing great theater back to this community. You've already heard from several speakers that talked about the educational, the cultural, and the economic benefits of this great playhouse. I remember in 2011, touring the Playhouse with then-Commissioner Mark Sarnoff, our Dean of the College of Architecture and the Arts, about what a great resource this could be for our community. But we could not come up with a financially viable plan for the Playhouse. In 2013, as you've already heard, in partnership with Gable Stage in Miami-Dade County, we have a viable plan for the Playhouse. that will truly benefit all of the residents of our community. We are asking for your support of this great project. You've already heard from many, many speakers this morning that say this is needed, this is important. Let's make it happen today. Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, Commissioners. My name is Matthew Dorsch, and I am asking you to please vote no on FR2 as drafted. It relates to the arrest of homeless persons, which is something that the city of Miami has a long history with. We already know what vague policies that criminalize homelessness do. The city itself has seen the effects of this. when it paid out a $300,000 settlement in 2024 when workers destroyed unhoused residents' belongings, which is something that protections would be removed for under this ordinance. And it paid $45,000 for arrests under a panhandling ban that was similarly vague in its language. The city of Miami Beach serves as a warning sign for what these vague laws can do. In February 2025, after passing a similar ordinance, arrests spiked from 10 to 13 homeless persons per month to 78 in only a single month. In a county that especially has a 1% food and beverage tax to fund emergency housing that gives tens of millions of dollars to the county for this specific reason, This ordinance takes away the processes that make that money effective and find homeless people to fill those beds. So please reject FR2 as it's written and codify a proper property handling policy for homeless individuals and define a minimum notice. Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, Commissioners. My name is George Hodge, 555 Northeast 15th Street, City of Miami resident and board member of Gable Stage Theater Company, which will operate the theater at the Playhouse once it's completed. We want to be respectful of the commission's time, so we won't all speak today, but can I ask the Gable Stage team and supporters to stand or raise your hand? Thank you. Gable Stage puts on award-winning theater recognized as among the best in the region, but today I just want to talk for a minute about our impact in the community and the work that we look forward to bringing into the growth. In our 27 years, we've served more than half a million patrons and contributed more than $10 million to our economy. For more than 13 years, as you've heard, we've partnered with FIU for Shakespeare in the Schools, which takes adaptations of Shakespeare's plays to more than 20 high schools every year. This year we featured 30 performances and reached 6,500 students. We also launched a Dose of Fun, which brings theater to children receiving care at Nicholas Children's Hospital and Holtz Children's Hospital. And beyond the performances, we're dedicated to partnering with community groups, whether it's the Speaker Series at Temple Beth Am, hosting our own events at the historic Hampton House, putting on panel discussions with Mosaic Miami, or partnering with nonprofit organizations through nonprofit nights. To be clear, as a nonprofit, we exist only to serve this community and be part of the community. We look forward to not just bringing great theater back to the Grove, but to be faithful stewards of this space. Thank you. And I will leave with the city clerk, if it's okay, our impact report, which goes over everything that we do in this community. Thank you.

Good morning, my name is Michelle Swift and I have volunteered with the Miami-Dade community for seven years of my life. I was a volunteer art director with a nonprofit organization that helps the houseless and I've seen firsthand what houselessness does to people. I believe that as a great community, we should help our houseless and provide services that are supplementary and helpful and not illegalizing homelessness because anyone can become homeless. your brother, your sister, your mother, your grandma, it does not matter. You are not safe and we need to create systems that support people as young as me, 20 to 35, who have been struggling finding work to support them in their transition and to allow them to flourish and not fall. Everyone falls. Everyone needs a helping hand, and that's how I see our future. Help the houseless, help them as much as we can, and it says a lot about us as people. Thank you so much.

Good morning. My name is Matthew Bostefsky, and I'm here to oppose FR2. I am a fourth-year medical student who works with the Miami Street Medicine team. I help take care of people who are unhoused. I see what living outside does to the human body. Homelessness is not a housing issue. It is a medical condition created by social determinants of health. In Miami, this is not theoretical. During heat waves, the pavement can oftentimes heat up to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. I've seen patients' sandals melted and having third-degree burns on their feet. People die of seizures due to heat stroke. People are outside in conditions that would make any of us sick. I have seen patients who are dehydrated, confused, sleep deprived, mentally decompensating, not because of any failure on their part, but because they are trying to survive in conditions no human being should have to endure. So I ask plainly, what is the point of criminalizing them? A patient just yesterday told me he had been waiting on the homelessness hotline for 72 hours. Shelter access is already limited and services are already hard to reach. If we arrest people for being outside when they have nowhere realistic to go, we are not solving homelessness. We are making survival harder. Jail makes medical problems worse. People lose access to medications. They lose follow-up appointments. They lose documents, belongings, phones, and trust. A person does not leave jail magically housed, treated, and stabilized. They often leave sicker, more disconnected, and end up back on the street. No one chooses homelessness. No one chooses to sleep on hot pavement, to be unsafe, to be sick, to be invisible. Other cities are asking how to house people, how to provide treatment, how to respond with health care instead of handcuffs. Why aren't we? If Miami wants to be a national model, then let us be a model for dignity, housing, and public health, not for jailing poverty. Please vote no. Thank you.

Good morning, my name is Mamie Armbruster, I reside at 3260 Thomas Avenue, Miami, Florida. I am here to speak on behalf of PZ9, that is the Playhouse. And I'm also a member of Preserve the West Grove. We do not oppose the Playhouse. I'm standing here before you to ask that we do not have our resident a part of the playhouse. When we moved in our area, as a homeowner, as a resident, we have rights to expect low traffic in our area. We want that to continue. We have children in the area. This project would cause increase transportation, commercial, and foot traffic into our neighborhood. We do not want our neighborhood, Thomas Avenue, as we've seen in some plans, maybe or maybe not, a Uber drop-off and pick-up. The plan, Culture Arts, That's great, we love it. We have no objection. We just do not want our neighborhood to be invaded, to be intruded as part of the project. We have rights and we would like to be protected. Thank you.

Good morning, my name is Claire Trager. I live at 3232 Coral Way. My name is Claire Chaker. I'm here, I live at 3232 Corway. I'm here on behalf of the Coconut Grove Playhouse. I'm not a public speaker and I'm not here on behalf of a specific organization. I'm just a private member of the arts community. I've worked in the arts and entertainment for 30 plus years and I know how important the cultural arts are to a city's identity. I wasn't necessarily planning to speak today, but I noticed that we started this meeting with a huge sense of pride, celebrating the amazing way that Miami has embraced FIFA and the activations around sports and soccer and how that brought the community together. I simply wanted to point out that in this day and age where social isolation is becoming more and more of a problem and so many things divide the community, Theater and the arts have the power to start conversations, exchange ideas, and unite communities in the same way that we were just applauding how much our city enjoyed coming together to celebrate with this few short weeks of sports. I want to just remind everybody that along with the economic and the creative advantages that the Coconut Grove Playhouse will offer, it will also serve as a more permanent space for our residents to come together, and I think we need to support those institutions, and I hope that you keep the project moving forward. Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, Madam Chair, Commissioners. My name is Walter Lewis. I'm the Vice President of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, 710 Southwest 12th Avenue. Here to speak briefly and support and express my support for RE5, the Safe and Ready Miami Bond Initiative. As you guys are aware, we have facilities, fire and police, that have outlived their usefulness at this point, and we are in dire need of better infrastructure for police and fire. This bond initiative will allow us to do that, and in addition to that, it will allow us to work, you know, if we get a newer facility, public safety complex, it will allow us to work under a unified structure where we can continue to provide the world-class, you know, services that we provide, not only to visitors, but to the residents who, quite frankly, deserve it. We're just asking for your support. We know that you guys always support us. We're asking for your support to get us this initiative to the voters so that they ultimately can decide. Thank you, guys. Thank you, Madam Mayor, for championing this issue. Have a good day.

Good morning. I'm Mitch Bierman from Wiserow to Helfman, Cole, and Bierman. We are very proud to be one of the resources to cultural organizations in this community, helping them, like the Gable Stage, to work with government on public-private philanthropic projects. And the Coconut Grove Playhouse is one of those. You've heard tons of people urge you to move forward. I'm here just to say thank you. I'm here to thank you, the city commissioner and the mayor, for your strong advocacy in supporting cultural institutions in this community, because you realize that they are the life, they are what makes Miami, Miami, and not just some other city in Florida. We are so blessed to have these treasures. I want to thank Miami-Dade County's Cultural Affairs Department, as well as the County Commission, Wholeheartedly support this and I want to thank most recently Commissioner Pardo and County Commissioner Regalado who worked with the neighborhood and carefully and and With an open mind considered their concerns and considered the many ways that their concerns could be accommodated and it sounds to me today like they have largely been accommodated there will always be a quibble about the design or a concern that Somehow parking or traffic is going to exceed what people hope. But at the end of the day, you did everything you possibly could to make this work for everybody. And I think today's plan works for everybody, and I urge you to support it. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Mitch, we need your address for the record.

2800 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, 12th floor. Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name is Brooke Tabir. Address is 3591 Lone Pine Road, Delray Beach. I did come from Delray Beach today in support of the Coconut Grove Playhouse. I am a professional actress and I travel throughout all of South Florida to perform and also attend theater. where great art exists, audiences and artists follow. A restored theater in Miami wouldn't only serve Miami residents, it would draw people like me and countless others into the city to see productions, dine at local restaurants, support these mom and pop shops that we've heard about today as well. That's an appreciation of your local economy, not an antagonist. This project also creates additional jobs, not only for the actors, but stage managers, designers, technicians, electricians, carpenters, costumers, administrators, ushers, maintenance staff, and so many others whose livelihoods depend on thriving arts organizations.

On a larger scale, for an existing theater, more hands will be needed for support for Gable Stage.

I've also heard concerns about the redevelopment becoming commercialized and threatening the character of this district. I understand those concerns. But preserving a historic theater by bringing it back to life is exactly how you protect a neighborhood's identity. An abandoned building does not preserve history. It slowly erases it. Imagine if Jackie Onassis had never fought to protect Grand Central Station. And now it is one of New York's greatest landmarks. Preservation doesn't mean freezing a building in time and forgetting about it. It means giving it a purpose so future generations can experience it. This would honor the district's history instead of allowing it to fade away and eventually become commercialized by another developer who comes along. Gable Stage is also known for its educational outreach, and it allows young artists to contribute with meaningful opportunities, and this would contribute to the community, not take away, but give back to it. Thank you. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Laura Nottenkemper. I'm at 3300 Charles Avenue, and I'm here to speak with my concerns about PZ9. I'm a resident within 500 feet of the Playhouse. I want to be clear that I'm not distinctly opposed to the Playhouse being redesigned or redeveloped. In fact, I support bringing this important cultural landscape back to life, and Gable's stage sounds like they'll do very great, wonderful work. However, there's a clear distinction. My concern is not with the civic use, but with the commercial use of the space and the amount of commercial space that is proposed. I believe that before the plan moves forward, there should be binding commitments in place to address the very real impacts that will be affected for the residents within 500 feet and the surrounding area. I'm particularly concerned about the increase of traffic, noise, and commercial activity that will spill into our neighborhood streets. We see it directly with just residential buildings being built, and a building of this magnitude will far exceed what we've already seen affect our narrow street. Our street's historic, narrow, residential, and it simply wasn't designed to absorb the level of traffic and commercial activity that a project of this scale will bring. Without a traffic study and medications done in advance, we aren't able to trust the protections will be put in place for our residents. These protections should not be promises that are made after a plan is put into place, but rather they should be clear, enforceable, and in place before this plan is approved. I truly believe that we can reach a compromise that can return theater to the Grove while easing concerns of the commercial nature and encroachment to our neighborhood. But until then, I'm asking the commission to vote no on PZ9 until a binding community benefits agreement is in place. Please protect the residents of the West Grove. Thank you.

Good morning. Michael J. Langley, 40 Northwest 3rd Street, Suite 200. I serve as Executive Director of Florida Justice Institute, and I rise in staunch opposition to the proposed Ordinance FR2. First, let me just say that I cannot even believe that five days after commemorating this country's 250th anniversary, our local government is considering jailing its own residents for simply existing. Nothing quite says America like incarcerating your neighbors. Moreover, proposing this in the middle of hurricane season is beyond appalling. The commissioner stated goal in introducing this proposal is improving quality of life for the entire community. How could that possibly happen when a segment of the population will be thrown in jail under this proposal for doing something that every single one of us needs to do daily to survive in that sleep? But we all want to solve this issue, so if we take the commissioner at his word, this ain't it, as the kids would say. This is more than just a moral stance, it's an economic imperative. Unfortunately, too often your zip code plays an outsized role in your upward mobility. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, residents in the same zip code as this very building must earn over $50 an hour to afford the average two bedroom market rate unit. How many residents in your district earned that? In the zip code, citywide. Many of those without permanent housing throughout Florida are working but aren't making enough to reach that threshold, causing them to live in cars, tents, and yes, on the streets. This proposal would criminalize them for their inability to afford the basics. Sadly, this playbook isn't new. What we do know is that housing is far and away less expensive to taxpayers than arresting and jailing people without means. Listen, we know that these punitive approaches are ineffective, costly, and exacerbate homelessness, not solve it. So what does that tell you? We need to be transformational, not transactional.

Thank you, sir.

And we need evidence-based solutions. Thank you so much.

Appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, commissioners, city officials, and most importantly, the community of Coconut Grove. My name is Elliot Durant. And before I was a businessman here in Coconut Grove, I was a performer. I was a student at the High School of Performing Arts, as many just said. The school was called Fame. I've also been for 40 years in the Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA and Equity, American Equity. I played the Tin Man and the Wiz off Broadway, Antigone, and many other shows. And later I worked in a 99-seat theater in the round in West Hollywood. That's where I learned something that never left me. There is nothing more exhilarating for an actor, and moreover the audience, than being close enough to hear, see, feel, and live inside a story together. That is theater. You cannot manufacture that. You can only preserve it. And that's why I stand here this morning in favor of moving forward with the Coconut Grove Playhouse with some caveats. We hope for it not to be a teardown, but a restoration. We want it to be faithful to Kienle and Elliott's original 27 design down to the original exterior paint color. The ground floor, the ground floor, the old, the soul of the old auditorium should not be lost. Our conservatives have, conservatives have carefully preserved the double proscenium arch, some of the solomonic columns, and the decorative grills. Craftsmanship that cannot be recreated. We hope that they can live again inside the new theater. I think often of Monty Traynor, my chairman, when I served as president of the Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce, one of my closest friends that I've had since the day I arrived here in town. He has been like a father and son to me. Monty taught me that this town's character lives not just in its trees, its bays, but in the buildings like this one, the Coconut Grove Playhouse. I also served briefly in the community as a councilman of the Grove Council. And I'm proud to unveil the Eco Planet Earth at the barnyard where I just donated the building, the picnic tables and chairs for the children. This town is just where I do business. It's where I built a life. Thank you.

Thanks. I appreciate it. Good morning, Madam Mayor and Commissioners. My name is Delia Reynolds. I am a sergeant with the Miami Police Department. I am here today as a member of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police. I'm here to voice my support for the Safe and Ready Miami Public Safety Bond Initiative. Many of our police and fire facilities have aged to the point where repairs are no longer the most practical or fiscally responsible option. Investing in modern public safety facilities is an investment in the men and women who protect this city every day, as well as the residents we proudly serve. A new public safety complex will also improve coordination between police and fire by bringing both departments together under a unified command structure, That means stronger communication, greater efficiency, and a faster, more effective emergency response when our community needs us the most. I respectfully ask the commission to support agenda item RE5 and allow the residents of Miami the opportunity to decide the future of this bond initiative at the ballot box. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Good morning, Madam Mayor and county commissioners. My name is Ruzia Hayes, 1637 Southwest 8th Street Road. I am here today in strong support of I am here today in strong support of the appeal to restore and reopen the Coconut Grove Playhouse. The Coconut Grove Playhouse is a cornerstone of Miami's cultural identity and a public investment that generates value far beyond the arts themselves. We know from decades of research that where the arts thrive, so do neighborhoods. Cultural institutions like Coconut Grove Playhouse increase tourism, strengthen property values, support local businesses, attract entrepreneurs, and create jobs. The arts are not an expense or economic infrastructure. The Coconut Grove Playhouse has the potential to anchor an entire creative ecosystem in Coconut Grove for generations to come. Preserving and investing in this landmark is an investment in Miami's economy, our representation as a world-class cultural capital, our small businesses, and our workforce. I am asking that you please revise this decision and approve this appeal. Thank you for your leadership.

Good morning, Madam Mayor and Commissioners. My name is Vanessa Fernandez. I am a proud server of the Police Department. I am here as an executive officer, board member of the City of Miami Fraternal Order of Police. I'm here to express my strong support for the Safe and Ready Miami Public Safety Bond Initiative. As you all know, many of our police and fire stations are to the point where continuous repairs are no longer the cost effective or the responsible thing to do with taxpayer money. We are asking for you guys to just put this on the ballot and allow the city residents to vote and elect their choice as far as the RE5. I respectfully ask for you guys to approve it and give the residents the opportunity in the ballot box. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Good morning Madam Mayor and the Commissioners. My name is Heaven Jones and my address is 1637 Southwest 8th Street 33135. I serve as the Outreach Manager at the Arts and Business Council of Miami and I'm here today to support the appeal and restoration and reopen of the Coconut Grove Playhouse. For so many of us in the arts community, the Playhouse represents possibility. It represents what it means for a city to value culture, not as an extra, but as something essential to civic life. Spaces like this are where artists are nurtured, where audience are built, and where communities come together across generations. At a time when Miami continues to grow and define itself on a national and international stage, we should be protecting the cultural institutions that give the city depth, memory, and meaning. The Coconut Grove Playhouse is one of those institutions. Its restoration is not just about honoring the past, but it's about making a decision for the future. A future where public cultural spaces remain accessible, vibrant, and rooted in service of the community. I urge you to reserve the decision and move this project forward so that the Playhouse can once again serve as a home for creativity. Thank you for your time.

Hello, I'm Cecile Etzbach, 1025 Lisbon Street, Coral Gables, speaking on PZ9. I'm 15 years old and I'm a Miami native who recently made my professional stage debut at Gable Stage. The prospect of bringing back such a historic theater like the Coconut Grove Playhouse back into our community gives hope to a new generation of artists and performers who dream of living and working together in our hometown. Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Chair. My name is David Sipkin, Miami Beach, PO Box 403-004. Respectfully, I'd like to donate my time to Billy Corbin.

We don't generally do that, so you're welcome to speak for two minutes, and then, of course, Mr. Corbin is welcome to speak for two minutes. Thank you.

Point of order, Madam Chair. Point of order, Section 2-33C2 of the Miami Ordinances. I think it's quite clear on that issue, Mr. City Attorney. I don't believe that the chair has discretion, and the chair certainly has allowed it in the earlier meetings in just the past couple of months.

The code does provide that no more than, I guess, five minutes total. Correct. You can't combine time, but ultimately the chair does have the discretion.

That is not in the ordinance, sir. That is not in the ordinance.

Mr. Corbin, you have four minutes.

Thank you. Good morning, Billy Corbin on RE5. This $1 billion bond boondoggle is kamikaze fiscal policy. The city is on a collision course with bankruptcy. With one vote, we could apparently double the city's debt to $2 billion. And after all the great questions asked by Commissioner Gabella and King and Pardo back in May, nothing has changed over the last two months. None of the promised community outreach or town halls or public input. All you did was launch a pro-bond propaganda website at taxpayer expense, and it's all a straw man. We don't need pictures of leaky roofs and rundown fire stations. Everyone knows the city has failed our first responders, and we all agree that they deserve better. The question is, how much should it cost, and how are we going to pay for it? The administration admits it's going to be $800 million. So you know it's going to be at least a billion dollars, and almost half a billion of that will go to interest, legal fees, and expenses. That is not a community benefit. And who gets that money? We don't know, and they won't tell us. And of the $450 million proposal, only $150 actually goes to neighborhood fire stations. $300 million goes to an office building in Melrose, which is also not a community benefit. And it's way too much money for an office building. Commissioners, I urge you to do what you did last time. Defer this item. It needs more scrutiny, negotiation, and consideration. Be transparent. Hold town halls. Send it to the Finance Committee as its proper procedure. But do not pass it today. Because this is effectively a billion-dollar trust fund. And we do not trust this administration yet. On RE3, Joe Carollo owes the city of Miami taxpayers $20 million in attorney's fees. So today, you will be voting to give $770,000 to Joe Carollo? That doesn't make any sense. Hang on a second. That's not what you should be doing. What happened to Commissioner Gabella's very good plan to sue Joe Correia for that money as leverage in this litigation settlement? Commissioner Rosado, I know Joe Correia spent $500,000 to get you elected, but he's going to spend two or three times that to get you unelected when he runs Manny Morales against you. So vote no. Commissioner Escalona, you were elected to end the Correia corruption. Do it. Vote no. Commissioner, you're the only attorney on the dais. You know full well that you should have stopped paying those attorney's fees the moment that it was fully adjudicated that this was a personal capacity lawsuit. Vote no. Commissioner Gabella, you've been the leader on this. For two years, you've been asking for a straight answer from the city attorney on how much he actually owes the city. If my lawyer wouldn't give me a straight answer in over two years, I'd fire him and refer him to the Florida Bar. What are we doing? Vote no. Commissioner Pardo, you got elected in no small part because you stood outside this building months before Election Day and called for Joe Carollo's resignation over that $63.5 million corruption judgment. Speaking of which, don't listen to the city attorney. You guys know this already. He's not being straight with you. OK, he's just not. And you can't listen to his deputy city attorney either. All right. You can't get a straight answer from him. And he is colluding with Joe Carollo and his attorney. It's in the public record to protect this money in this settlement from the sixty one and a half million dollars he owes in the corruption judgment for weaponizing government against private business owners in Little Havana. And finally, Madam Mayor, if they have the gall to pass this item. You could be the hero. veto it, and tell Joe Carollo exactly what we think of him and where to go, which is exactly what you campaigned on. Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Mayor and Commissioners. My name is Doris Gomez. I'm a police officer with the City of Miami Police Department. I am here as a member of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, located at 710 Southwest 12th Avenue. I want to express my support for the Save and Ready Miami Public Safety Bond Initiative, Many of our police and fire facilities have reached such an advanced state of disrepair that renovation is no longer a practical or a cost-effective solution. Replacing these outdated facilities with a modern public safety infrastructure is an investment not only for the safety of our first responders, but for the community that we serve. A new public safety complex will strengthen coordination by allowing police and fire to operate under a unified command, improving communication and efficiency with public safety, emergency preparedness, and emergency response capabilities. I respectfully encourage the Commission to vote in favor of this agenda item and give the residents of the Miami give the residents of Miami the opportunity to decide the future of this bond initiative at the ballot box. Thank you.

Good morning, Emma Behar, 235 Catalonia Avenue. I'm here on behalf of Brian May, the chairman of the Miami-Dades Cultural Affairs Council, reading this letter for the record. As Coconut Grove resident and chairman of Miami-Dades Cultural Affairs Council, I write this letter to the City of Miami Commission urging their support of the county's appeal regarding the Coconut Grove Playhouse zoning application. This application was previously approved by the city's PZAB in 2018, but unfortunately that approval expired while naysayers filed basis lawsuits that were rejected time and time again by the courts. This coming vote is our chance to reclaim a cultural landmark that has shaped the identity of Miami and Coconut Grove for generations. Although the PZAB recorded a five to four majority on May 6th, supporting the county's application, the proposal fell short of the supermajority threshold required under Miami 21. The city's professional planning staff has consistently recommended approval, reaffirming that the plan is both neighborhood appropriate and essential to restoring the Playhouse. This plan for a revived Coconut Grove Playhouse honors the legacy preserving the historic Gateway Building while introducing a new 300-seat theater, open-air plazas, and a garage building with food, and beverage and office spaces. This plan not only gives a Playhouse a second life, but a sustainable one. It provides desperately needed parking for the public, invites community groups and local businesses to thrive, and for the Playhouse revenue to be sustained for generations to come. Thank you.

My turn.

Well, praise the Lord our Savior, the Christ who was named Jesus before his birth. My name is Williams Alfred Armbruster. I've grown up, I was born right down the street from the Playhouse, 3350 Charles Avenue. And now I'm residing on 3260 Thomas Avenue. My lovely wife and I, who you've introduced yourself earlier, we are the parents of eight wonderful children. 14 excellent grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. So amen, praise the Lord, and thank you Jesus for that. And I want to first give thanks to the fire and police department who commits themselves to running into danger every day. And then to you, the board members, commissioners and the mayor, because you have to discern what is truth and what is looking like truth. Now, the Playhouse has always been detrimental to the community west of it because of the traffic flow. Because when I was growing up, they had traffic. running into the Playhouse and traffic running out of the Playhouse. And now that I'm in my retirement years, we got a street from Main Highway that opens up to Thomas Avenue where I live now, but that's not why I'm here. Why I'm here now is to speak on this Playhouse issue. We have nothing, I am a board member of Preserve the Grove. West Grove and I'm also a husband of one and a follower of Jesus and I can only speak one language and the only language I speak is truth not my truth but the truth that is based on the facts and the facts are this development needs to be closed in within itself

Thank you, sorry, two minutes is up. Amen.

Okay, say no until you get a design that is working with the neighborhood. That's all I'm here to say.

Thank you. Say no until you get a design that is fitting for the neighborhood.

Mr. Armbruster, I'll continue your thought. Hi, Katrina Morris, I'm a resident of Coconut Grove. You know that we had a public garage. at Mary and Oak with 439 spaces. And that was sold to Terra Group for their offices. And the building next door to the new garage project that has a little theater in it because that's the lease stipulation, the building next door got variances so that they didn't have to build a parking lot because they knew a parking lot was coming. So, yeah. So now it used to be that you come down 27th, hop right into Oak Street, you're in the garage. Now we know what's going to happen. People are going to come down Douglas and go up Charles. Boom, done. So Charles is screwed. Okay. So that's the playhouse. And the historic part is completely demolished. But anyway, also, please, please do not vote for this extra allowance of lot coverage for the porticos. We already have a 77% lot coverage with impervious porticos.

So we're losing our habitat.

We're just, we're losing our habitat. And we're losing our civic structures. And we're losing civic engagement. And we're losing, we're just losing. We're always losing. Where are the impact fees for these guys? They win. They always win. The developers always, always win. Who is looking out for us? Are you guys not supposed to be our lawyers? I used to act. If my agent gave away so many things that you guys give away, I would fire them.

Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, Commissioners. My name is Mercedes Rodriguez and I reside at 1510 Northwest 19th Avenue. This is the third time I'm here in the last few months regarding supporting the safety and ready bond. As we all heard throughout the three different hearings that we've had on this issue, there's been different recommendations to defer this item. I request to please approve this item today to allow the voters of the City of Miami to make a decision as what we have known for many years the conditions that the police and the fire department have been working under. The only reason why this has come up now is because it's under a new administration regarding the new city manager and the new mayor that has taken the initiative to try to correct something that should have happened a long time ago. I myself am part of the CERT program. I have volunteered with them throughout Colbic, and I've seen them firsthand. I've seen them firsthand in the fire stations, and they never complain. When I started my career as a government employee, I started here at the city, working with the police department upstairs in the manager's office. And it's the same building that they are working under today. My experience has been helping them try to help our residents in many different aspects. I've seen it firsthand with my dad. And for me, about a month ago, I had an incident and I was taken twice to the hospital emergency room by the fire department. And so I believe that this is the time, this is our 911 call to have the residents approve something that's way overdue. Thank you.

Good morning. Marcelo Fernandez, 3637 Charles Avenue in the West Gros Bahamian District. I'm the former village council chair for two terms, and I submitted a report for you all last commission meeting about the PZA cottage housing. I'm a developer who has been dedicated to affordable housing and responsible development for the last many years. I partnered with Emma Gibson Health Initiative to bring millions of real estate asset to her efforts. And I worked with CDC in the Grove to bring 70 affordable units through Commissioner Pardo to the corner of Grant and Douglas. And I've also been spearheading this cottage housing legislation with the Planning and Zoning Department to bring a better quality of life to the neighborhood. Miami 21 is broken in many areas. It has T3 backing up to T5. There's many errors that were done that need to be corrected. Our GIS system identifies many T3R parcels that aren't T3R. They're graveyards, they're church, they're old multi-family communities. So I did a detailed study on what the planning department's going to do, and if you take each neighborhood by itself, you'll see that the potential impact for cottage housing T3R is a handful of lots. It's not going to be this massive double density that people are thinking about. It will not only bring more traditional, it will bring traditional single-family homes like the ones that built the community's, It'll also give it an option to many generational families that own property to stay in their neighborhood and reject gentrification. Cottage illustration is a great step in the right direction. It was unanimously approved by PSAB and it really is gonna be a benefit to the housing shortage. But the way it's proposed as T3O only does nothing for our housing shortage. What I'd like to request is that we do a demonstration project in a parcel I have with TGHI in the Grove that'll allow you to see exactly the positive impact this can make. The Assistant Planning Director and the planning person that spearheaded this has endorsed this project also. Please consider the demonstration project, thank you.

Good morning Madam Mayor and Commissioners. My name is Richard Perez and I serve as a sergeant with the City of Miami Police Department. I am here today on behalf of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police to voice my support for the Safe and Ready Miami Public Safety Bond. Our police and fire facilities have served this city for many years, but many have reached the point where continued repairs are no longer the best investment. Replacing outdated facilities with modern purpose-built spaces will better support the men and women to protect the community while ensuring taxpayer dollars are invested wisely. This initiative is also about improving the way we serve the public by housing fire and public in a shared public safety complex. We can strengthen communication, streamline operations, and coordinate emergency response more effectively. When seconds matter most, those improvements can make a real difference. I respectfully ask the Commission to approve agenda item RE5 and allow the voters of Miami to decide the future of this important investment at the ballot box. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your consideration.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, Madam Chair, and Commissioners. My name is Keller Gillette. I'm here representing the city of Miami as a sergeant, and also I'm here representing the Miami Fraternal Order of Police. I'm here today to voice my support for the Safe and Ready Miami Public Savings Bond. Our police and fire facilities have served this city for many years, but many have reached the point where continued repairs are no longer the best investment. And for me, right now, my personal experience is being a police officer with the city. I'm going away from the script a little bit because I've served most of my time as a detective in the police department. I've worked where we had to solve cases, but at times you come in where the roof was leaking, we didn't have a place to actually work on those cases to serve the community. Again, we come forward today to make sure that you guys take this into consideration to see if you can vote for the RE5 that would better serve not just the fire department, but also the police department so we can work jointly to serve the community a better place. Thank you again. I'm respectfully asking the Commissioner to approve the agenda and thank you for your time.

Good morning Madam Mayor and members of the Commission. My name is Roman and I'm a 13 year old resident of Coconut Grove and I'm here to voice my strong opposition for the bond referendum for the police and fire departments. Listen, not only do I understand, but I agree with the general consensus that we want the best possible facilities for police officers and firefighters. They risk their lives every day in the line of duty to protect the residents, and I understand that they want the best working conditions to give us the most efficient and safe service possible. But a new project, $1 billion, is something that the city cannot afford right now. The cost of living in Miami is at an all-time high, and there are many residents here who are already struggling to do basic things like paying rent and taxes. Having a new project after just having another one would put the city in a debt that could last possibly 30 years, meaning people like me would be paying this debt all the way into their 40s when we didn't even get to have a say or vote in the matter. If the debt stays while the cost of living keeps increasing, taxpayers won't be able to pay the entire thing, meaning there's a possibility that the city could go into bankruptcy. This will then lead to decreased public services and reduced pensions. One of the biggest benefits of being an officer or firefighter is the lifetime pension, meaning that by taking that away from the bankruptcy, we would be hurting their salaries and hurting their benefits instead of helping them. Not to mention, the headquarters would be around the Miami International Airport area, which is mostly, if not entirely, commercial. That means that if someone were to call for an emergency, that would mean that they would most likely not even be dispatching from that main headquarters area. And if they were, it would lead to longer response times. and other issues. So I think that it would be the best for the community and for the finances to oppose the new referendum and the agenda. Thank you for listening to me, and I hope that you make the right decision for the next generation of Miami residents like me.

Hello, my name is Jennifer Howard, and I live at 12101 Southwest 68 Court in Miami, Florida. I'm here to oppose the county plan, the PZ9. If there is not a bigger symbol of the nefarious nature of the county's plan than that black shroud of death that they have draped over our playhouse, then I don't know what other sign you need. They are hiding behind this. They are hiding behind their commercial advertisements trying to say that this is a playhouse project when they know full well this is 90% a commercial project. And why I am here fighting my county who has turned into a developer, I can't believe it. But year after year after year, 20 plus years, we come back and we are not going away because we love our city. We think Coconut Grove is a treasure. And the fact that FIU is supporting this venture, it cannot be their theater department. It can only be their hospitality department. So I am just ashamed who is supporting this project because if you really look into it, if you look at how the spaces are designed, it's not about a playhouse. And the fact that they need to add more space and they are requesting more land, they are just eating up our grove. And I'm sick of it. I am sick of coming here year after year, but you can bet your butt I'm going to come here. But it's enough. It's enough that they keep appealing and winning. And we keep fighting and we win. So why are they getting to appeal and do this over and over on our dollars? You know why? Because this is a free gift from the state and they're stealing it from us. And it's time to put an end to it. Thank you very much.

Good morning. My name is Duriel Smith. I'm a police sergeant for the Miami Police Department. And also a member, I'm here as a member of the Fraternal Order of Police. I'm here to voice my support for the Safe and Ready Miami Public Safety Bond Initiative. As been stated before, many of our facilities within the Miami and Fire Police Department have deteriorated and age over time to the point that the repairs are no longer practical. Investing to build new facilities will invest in the men and women who serve the public and the city of Miami. Building a new safety complex can benefit in coordination between police and fire and bringing both departments under one unified command where we can be more effective and respond to the community needs as needed. I'm respectfully asking the commission to support agenda item RE5 and allow the Miami residents the opportunity to decide the future of this bond initiative at the ballot box. Thank you.

My name is Gloriana Calhoun. I'm a South Grove resident, and I'm here to oppose the county plan for the Coconut Grove Playhouse. First and foremost, it needs to go back to the HEP board. Rules are rules, and so many have been broken. So the county is where it's at now because of so many broken rules. This project is wrong. It's wrong for the Grove. It's wrong for the neighborhood. It's wrong for Coconut Grove's future. We need a two-theater plan. We have a good one, and if FIU is smart, they should join us and come over to the other side with a two-theater program that Mike Eidson had proposed years ago. This is ruining the West Grove. It's going to be a traffic nightmare. You need to totally reopen streets and reopen traffic to have any project work there. This is hard on the neighbors. And how is a theater going to be supported by little t-shirt shops in a shopping mall? FIU, that's not going to happen. You've been fed a bunch of lies all these years. This is ruining the Grove. We have another plan. Please, the state needs to take this project back from the county. It's not right. Thank you.

Good morning, Mileika Burgos-Flores with the Alapara Collaborative CDC speaking on item PH10. Before I begin, I want to echo my colleague's request for deep affordability on the GSA lot and the importance of engaging the community at every step of the way. Alapara CDC led the initial community engagement process at the request of Mayor Suarez, hoping that it would drive the request of the RFP process based on the community's needs we have a chance to do the right thing for the people of Alapara. On behalf of the Alapara Collaborative CDC, I want to sincerely thank Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela for supporting Alapara entrepreneurs with item PH10. Today's investment is much more than funding. It's an investment in people. It's an investment in the entrepreneurs who open doors every morning, in the families who have built their lives here, and in the neighborhood whose diversity and resilience have helped shape the story of Miami. Five years ago, we launched Alapara CDC just before the pandemic with a simple mission, to ensure that as Alapara grows, the people who build this community have the opportunity to grow with it. Since then, we've supported over 600 small businesses and entrepreneurs through training and technical assistance. We've helped them access capital, reach over $7 million in capital, create festivals to drive customers into the corridor, and build partnerships that have brought national recognition to Alapata. including our selection by the Smithsonian Institution as one of the 10 communities in the country chosen to tell America's story through the eyes of people in Alapata. Our work is just beginning. Development is transforming our neighborhood every day, and the challenges before us as making that revitalization doesn't come at the expense of local businesses and residents of Alapata. That's how we're working hard to create new pathways to ownership, opportunity, and long-term stability for those businesses and residents. Commissioner Gabela has been a true partner of that vision. His support through this grant funding will allow us to continue the work. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Rachel Prestapino. I'm here representing Catalyst Miami, also speaking briefly on the GSA lot. We're glad it's being redeveloped. Thank you, Commissioner Gabela. Atlas Miami was involved in engaging community members in a previous iteration of this effort. And it's clear, people want housing that is affordable for the actual residents of Alapata. I think everybody on the board knows that the area median income in that area is more like $40,000 a year, not what workforce housing would designate at 100 to 140% of the county median income. And so I just want to echo that, that we really want to prioritize deeply affordable housing. I know the RFP is going to be reissued and could be written in a way that really incentivizes that. So please involve us in engaging the community in that effort. Also speaking on FR2, last night I was pumping gas, I was speaking with a man named Ray, recently released from incarceration after at least 15, 20 years, incarcerated, completely reformed, just celebrated his 63rd birthday. so excited to have a Big Mac, fries, and a Coke. I hope it tastes the same as he remembers. There's nothing for this man. With all respect to reentry services and the people who work so hard, this man is sleeping on the street because he has no choice. He doesn't know how to work a cell phone. He hasn't even seen the cell phones we have now. No one's going to give this man a job at 63 years old. Getting into shelters when you have a record. There are very few to no options for him. This item is not a solution, right? Just what would you do? What would you say to this man just to throw him back in jail after he just got free? That's the solution. Just because some people complain that they don't want to have to look at him in a public park. That's your policymakers. You're supposed to come up with solutions. This is not a solution. This is hiding away a problem. He is a human. There are many people like him and they deserve dignity and homes and not to be incarcerated for the crime of existing. This board already made like national news over this. Let's not do it again. Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, City Manager, Commissioners. My name is Robert Robinson and I'm a sergeant for the City of Miami Police Department. I'm here today as a member of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police. I'm here to voice my support for the Safe and Ready Miami Public Safety and Bond Initiative. Many of our police and fire facilities have aged to the point where repairs are no longer the most practical and fiscally responsible option. Investing in modern public safety facilities is an investment in the men and women who protect the city every day, as well as the residents we proudly serve. A new public safety complex will also improve coordination between fire and police by bringing both departments together under a unified command structure. That means stronger communication, greater efficiency, and faster, more effective emergency response when our community needs us most. I respectfully ask the commission to support agenda item RE5 and allow the residents of Miami the opportunity to decide the future of this bond initiative at the ballot box. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Good morning, I'm Steve Cappellini. I live at 3155 Florida Avenue and With my wife, Achana, we own Achana's homegrown Thai restaurant in the center of Coconut Grove. Also, I'm a homeowner and a resident just a block away from there, and I like to keep Coconut Grove just the way it is because it's pretty great. My wife and I met here 40 years ago, and we're still here, and we want to protect the canopy, keep traffic reasonable, and keep our neighborhood safe, but at the same time, as a business owner, We understand the need to improve the infrastructure and make some upgrades. And that's why I'm here in support of the Playhouse project moving forward. The number one complaint most people have about the Grove is parking. A lot of people don't come to the Grove because they just think of it as a place where you can't park. And I think this will help a lot with that. Although I don't think it's perfect. I have a project happening on our own street on Florida Avenue. It's going to be messy. There'll be a lot of changes. We're going to lose something of the old grove, but we'll also gain something. They did a study 20 years ago, the Coconut Grove Waterfront Master Plan, calling for some paseos and alleyways to add to the charm and walkability of the grove. And I think this Playhouse project will add an overall positive with some of those same aspects, paseos and walkability. And I've heard, I've talked to the architects, there will be a gate to block excess traffic and drop-offs for those neighbors back there. And so I think that's part of the project already. I want the Grove to remain grovy. We love it. But I also want people to be able to park so they can come support the businesses that really struggle, especially this time of year. And there's no perfect decision you can make today, I don't think, but maybe the best decision you can make is to move forward with compassion for our neighbours and our businesses. Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Mayor. Good morning, Commissioners. Packed agenda today. My name is Cathy Dos Santos, 2150 Coral Way, and I have the pleasure of serving as the Executive Director of Transit Alliance Miami. But previously in a different capacity, I also worked in the past with my fellow collaborators at the Allapattah Collaborative and at Miami Homes for All are on the GSA lot. Item RE7 brings really the opportunity to once again reemphasize that community members, many of whom I have the pleasure of sitting in front of and having many long, deep interviews, asked for deeply, deeply affordable housing on this lot. There are opportunities here to move forward. Folks have been talking all morning about traffic. The way that we address traffic, build near transit. You know what is near the GSA lot, which is 20 acres of redeveloped land? Santa Clara Station, and also the City of Miami trolley, and a few other bus lines also. This site provides a critical opportunity for not only the neighborhood, but for the City of Miami. Also, FR1, sidewalks are some of the most basic infrastructure and when we protect them as we are experiencing this growth, ideally from building deeply affordable housing in mixed income housing, We really are protecting the right of way of pedestrians, their safety, and the accessibility of the city. Lastly, on a personal capacity, I want to speak on FR2. The way we address homelessness and quality of life in the city of Miami is by ensuring access to opportunity, not criminalization that our residents who are most barred from that opportunity are honestly already facing. The way to solve that is actually through affordable housing. So many items here are connected. Thank you for your time.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, Madam Chair, Commissioners, Rob Piper, 1401 Southwest 17 Terrace. I'm here actually to thank you. Thank you for RE9 and RE10 because I think that filling vacancies with elections as opposed to appointments is a much more democratic way to fill these vacancies, so I thank you for that. Also, thank you for RE12 and RE13 because I feel that limited experience but I feel that those are two more prudent ways to fund critical facilities for fire and police than asking the county residents to shoulder another almost half a half a half a billion dollar in debt so thank you for that and finally I am here against fr2 compassion dignity and equity are very important, and this ordinance does not do that for desperate people that are faced with living on the street. I thank the commissioner that sponsored this bill for meeting with me and my associate to make the changes in this bill, in this piece of legislation. I appreciate that, but again, there are more compassionate, dignified, and equitable ways to ensure that the homeless issue, this crisis, this emergency, doesn't interfere with the quality of life of our residents. So I urge you to please either vote this down or defer it. Thank you very much.

Good morning, Madam Mayor and members of the Commission. I'm Reverend Shirlane Stevens, and I currently serve as the president of PACT, People Acting for a Community Together, and I also serve as a senior pastor of Ebenezer United Methodist Church in the Allapattah area. I'm here to speak to oppose FR2 as been shared by so many others. I wanted to say that in my faith tradition, scripture tells us that the poor will always be with us. And I believe that's for a reason. It's to keep us humble and to remind us that we are supposed to be caring for others, especially those who are the least among us. And so while I understand that oftentimes when someone is on the street and they are become offensive to others, it does impact the quality of life for other citizens, I think that we should look for solutions to help them. It's already been stated that housing and lack of affordable or deeply affordable housing is one of the issues that really causes this to be a major problem. But we also have the issue of mental health. Homelessness has a face. And I know of a name, D. Roy Carter, who is currently on the streets because he has issues with a drug addiction. And he's also schizophrenic. PAC has worked with the county and Judge Steve Leifman to come about with the reopening of the Center for Mental Health and Recovery. And that is something that we'll eventually be able to help someone like D-Roy. Not right now, and hopefully within a few months we'll be able to do that work. But I think it's important for us as stewards of the community and those of us who are charged with doing the stewardship to find ways to come up with solutions that will be helpful for those who really are vulnerable and in need of mental health. And I also have a concern. I was here a few weeks ago to speak against 287G. I'm concerned about our law enforcement. I know that they're charged to conduct the work that they're said to do, but we're turning them into predators. ICE officers and now going out and collecting homeless folks and putting them into jail is not helping them because they're going to be on the street again. It's going to be a vicious cycle. So please think wisely and carefully about the choices and make a good decision. Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, my commissioner, Damien Powell. Pardo and the rest of the commission. I'm here to regard the playhouse issue. And I used to be a merchant store on Main Highway in Florentino Plaza. And when the playhouse closed, it had a very serious negative impact on the mercantile district here. And it's something that we all want to do. And it's been such a long time. I'm at the stage of dim it, do something. I'm not going to get into the back and forth of whatever it is, but I think we can mollify the concerns of the residents by, one, completing the traffic study and presenting a plan that would mitigate the traffic. If you put that in advance, I think you would reduce the contentions and the concerns and the anxiety. I have a personal idea that we limit the westbound traffic from Maine up to a traffic circle, an eastbound traffic on Charles Avenue to Hibiscus, that would do something. If we would also get a creative way that we can mitigate the commercial intrusion on Thomas and Williams, fine. But whatever else you do, I'm with it. Because dim it, let's do something. Thank you.

Unfortunately, we also need your name and address for the record. I see Todd.

And I should know better. I thought I said you had my sheet, 3629 Grand Avenue, Coconut Grove, Florida, 33133. Thank you. Thank you.

Good morning. My name is David Perry. I'm the Executive Director of the Florida Coalition of Advanced Racial Equity. It's successor to the Miami Coalition of Advanced Racial Equity. Our headquarters are at 1611 Northwest. 65th Street, Commissioner King's District in Riverview City. I'm here today to speak out strongly against FR2, this proposal to eliminate the warning requirements in the anti-camping law. I neglected to mention that I am also the lead plaintiff in the federal consent decree and the lawsuit that was known as Pottinger versus the City of Miami. So effectively, I am Pottinger. And for the folks that know anything about homelessness here in Miami, for 20 years, Pottinger prevented the Miami police and the City of Miami from criminalizing homelessness. We had a protocol. and a carefully refined regime for the police to work with the homeless in order to get them into housing. And that's the reason why Miami has a relatively lower homeless count than other cities of its size. If you go to Washington, D.C. or Atlanta, you're going to find five times more homeless on the streets than we have here in Miami, and that's because of the success as Pottinger FR2 would completely undermine all of that. By striking this 24 hour warning requirement, you're going to eliminate the availability and the space for the police to work with the homeless. They don't just warn the homeless to get off the streets. The Miami Heat Unit actually works with the homeless in affiliation with the Miami Dade Homeless Trust to connect with housing. And housing is the only thing that eliminates homelessness, not arrests. Not jails, we cannot convert our jails into homeless shelters as the city of Miami Beach is futilely trying to do. So this commission is facing a choice. We can either pay for jails or we can pay for apartments. That is our ultimate choice. You're going to pay. And if you pay for jails, you're going to be paying 300% more and you'll be paying over and over and over again.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Thanks.

Good morning, Madam Mayor and Commissioners. My name is Travis Tabita, and I proudly serve as a sergeant with the Miami Police Department. I am here on behalf of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police in support of the Safe and Ready Miami Public Safety Bond. The residents of Miami deserve the highest level of public safety possible. Many of our police and fire facilities have served this city for decades, but they have reached the point where continued repairs are no longer the best use of taxpayer dollars. replacing outdated facilities with modern purpose-built spaces is an investment in the city's ability to serve its residents efficiently and effectively. This proposal is about more than constructing new buildings. By bringing police and fire together in a shared public safety complex, we can improve communication, strengthen coordination, and enhance our response when emergencies occur. Those improvements ultimately benefit every resident, business, and visitor in the city of Miami. I respectfully ask this commission to approve agenda item RE5 and allow the voters of Miami the opportunity to decide this important investment at the ballot box. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and consideration.

Good morning. Madam Mayor, Commission, my name is Erica Scott. I work for Miami Homes for All, 3250 Southwest 3rd Avenue. I'm here to speak in opposition to item FR2. And I first do want to thank Commissioner Escalona. We recently learned that you've invested in new beds for homeless folks in District 3, which is great to hear. We really want to keep working with you to ensure that every Miamian has a safe place to sleep at night. But we're concerned that FR2 is not the right answer to that. We know, data shows over and over again, that criminalizing homelessness makes the problem worse. As folks have said today, it disrupts their relationships with service providers, can give them criminal records that prevent them from getting housing and jobs in the future, and it's ultimately part of a vicious cycle that keeps people trapped, especially when their only crime is not being able to afford housing. We also know that the solution to homelessness is not arresting people, it's investing in affordable housing. So that brings me to the second item I want to talk about today, which is RE7, the GSA lot RFP. Commissioners, Miami has a generational opportunity to build affordable housing in the heart of Allapattah, in a place that, as Kathy said, is very well connected to transit, and a site that you've correctly identified as underutilized. Thanks, Commissioner Cabela, for advancing the effort to redevelop this site. But as folks have also noted, most folks in Alapata are not earning up to the AMI level of workforce housing. So if we're going to make this site a meaningful opportunity for housing, we need to make it deeply affordable. And that means having at least 20% of the units at 80% AMI or below. Thank you very much.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, Madam Chair, distinguished city commissioners. My name is Max Pearl. I am a Native of Miami. I graduated from the University of Miami, double major in film and theater. And I've been volunteering basically as a cheerleader, a proponent to Save the Coconut Grove Playhouse on social media. We have 12,000 followers. And for 17 years, I've worked to preserve the Coconut Grove Playhouse out of civic pride. Not making any money doing this. No interest in it. It's just Civic Pride. And the county continually makes the comment, how many years, how many generations have missed out on a playhouse? Which I find ironic because the playhouse is gone. They will never experience a playhouse. You just cannot replace it with what they're doing. A majority of it is going to be retail. I limited in time. Let me just cut to the main points. The Planning and Zoning Appeals Board did not approve this application because the required supermajority vote was not obtained. Five votes are not six. Staff recommendations are not approvals. The question before you is whether there is a legally sufficient basis to overthrow that... to overturn the result of the PZ. The county is not above the law. The county treats the citizens who want to save the playhouse as public enemy number one. The county sees my private emails and many of the other citizens' emails to former Mayor Suarez just because we didn't support their plan and were utilizing our right to free speech to voice concerns about the playhouse. In 2004, nearly half a million Miami-Dade County citizens voted to use $20 million in taxpayer-funded bond money to, quote, restore the Coconut Grove Playhouse and add to its performance and educational capabilities. Instead of adding, they subtracted. In case you didn't notice, you could take a drone and you'll see what was subtracted. The county plan to build predominantly shops and restaurants will hurt Let me just finish this. This is important. The county plan to build predominantly shops and restaurants will hurt the all of you. Thank you very much.

We appreciate it. Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Mayor, commissioners, and city manager. My name is Ivan Miranda. I'm an officer with the Miami Police Department. I'm here to speak in support of the Safe and Ready Miami Public Safety Bond, our police and fire facilities, have served the city for decades, but many have reached the point where it makes more sense to replace them than to continue spending money on repairs. Investing in updated public safety facilities is an investment in the people who protect the city every day, and most importantly, in the residents we serve. A new public safety complex will also bring our police and fire departments together, making it easier to communicate, coordinate, and respond when emergencies happen. Working side by side will help us serve the community more efficiently and effectively. I respectfully ask the commission to approve agenda item RE5 and give the people of Miami the opportunity to vote on this important initiative. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Hi, my name is Kwame Crawford, 2157 Northwest 64th Street, Miami, Florida. I'm a new residence here in Florida. I want to start out saying that I have been homeless in the past year. I am a part of a trans community that has been targeted, and I am here to stand up for the citizens along with myself. It's not an issue because you're human, I'm human, everybody's human. Homelessness is an event. It is not a life sentence. And when you look at yourself, you're looking at that particular person. So I want to just say thank you so much for listening to us today, that you're human, that God wants us all to be free, that we have all liberties, and that this This particular Mr. Rolando, I understand that you are proposing this, but you never know when you may be the very person that you're trying to lock up. So I hope that in your heart that you find something that you see in that person that will result in a different outcome. Thank you so much for listening to us. Thank you so much for being a part of leadership. But leadership does not lock up people. Leadership puts the solution in the hands of the citizens that they serve. Remember that you serve us. Remember that you have our currency. You ask for our vote. You say you'll work for us. Work for the citizens and the homeless people in your community. I've been here four months, and I've seen bus stops filled with homeless people. I have been one that slept in my car. I've been on the street. I'm 47 right now. I'm standing before you. I'm new to this community, and I would hope that you see the God in you and the God in the people that are on the streets. Have a heart, okay? A lot of people take time right here to come out and speak to you, but you serve us. Thank you so much. I don't need to take more of your time.

Good morning, Madam Mayor and Commissioners. Fernanda Monti, resident from the South Grove on RE5. First, I want to thank Commissioners Pardo, Gabella, Commissioner Rosado, Chairwoman King for prudently deferring this item back in May and preventing this bond proposal, which still lacks the level of public financial detail appropriate for a decision of this magnitude from being put on a rushed ballot. That was absolutely the responsible decision. I applaud you all for it. Because when you're discussing a proposal that could ultimately require we the taxpayers to repay up to maybe a billion dollars over 30 years, including principal and debt service, caution is not obstruction. Caution is fiduciary responsibility. And that's the real issue before you today. Not whether our police officers and firefighters deserve safe and modern facilities. Of course they do. I agree absolutely with the mayor. I think we all do in that regard. The real question is whether the public has been given enough financial information to responsibly place this proposal before the voters. I don't believe that standard has yet been met. Before creating new debt, the city should first publish a complete accounting of the 2017 Miami Forever Bond. Residents deserve one clear public dashboard showing what has been spent, what has been remained, and what has been committed, while that borrowing authority still exists, and what debt taxpayers are already carrying. If there are truly urgent public safety needs, then address those first through phased investments while completing the financial review. And all of this comes while Florida's property tax system is under active debate, creating future uncertainty about how cities may finance long-term obligations in the future. This is simply too important to rush. I respectfully ask you to please defer this item again until the public has full financial picture through Sunshine Workshops, Finance Committee review, and a clear district-by-district capital plan. Thank you all very much.

Morning Commissioners, Madam Mayor, Mark Burns, Executive Director of the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District. Madam Mayor, I ask if I could get one extra minute to read a prepared statement by one of my business owners. Not today? No, not today. It's been a long one. All right, I'll be brief with mine then.

You can give it to the clerk and he'll pass it around.

Okay, perfect. So I'm here obviously in support of the Playhouse Project. Let's move this forward. It's been way too long. It's been back and forth for over 15 years here. Please complete the promise that this city commission made 10 or 15 years ago when they sold that Oak Avenue garage to go ahead and support a new garage over here at the Playhouse property. But I'll start this statement here. This is from Lee Kessler, owner of Barracuda's Tap House at 3035 Fuller Street. the Kessler owner of a Barracuda, Center Grove resident, and third-generation Miamian. Thank you for allowing me to be heard, even though I could not be present, as I look forward to speaking about the Playhouse property. What would be in the doghouse if I missed the short vacation with my family? Being a talker, I'm going to speak in bullet points to keep it short. The Playhouse itself, the theater brings jobs, people, foot traffic, full restaurants and bars, open retail rather than dark, closed spaces after six, and an artistic community that is part of the very fabric that makes the Grove the Grove. Development is inevitable, but this is your chance to preserve part of our identity that has been missing for way too long. A restored theater would not only improve the vitality of our neighborhood, but also the safety of having more eyes on the street. Please do the right thing and remember our roots. We wouldn't be here today without them. I'll end it a little short and I'll put the rest on the record. Thank you. Thank you.

Good morning, Mayor, commissioners, manager. My name is Felix Rosario. I'm the president for the Fraternario Police Lodge number 20. I represent all the city of Miami police officers. I would like to thank Mayor Higgins and Commissioner Scalona for sponsoring RE5. It is very important for us. By now, we all know the conditions of our police station and all the fire stations. They do not accurately serve our needs anymore. We have outgrown them. While other cities have invested in modern facilities, right, resilient emergency operations facilities and unified command centers, we work out of a 50-year-old building This negatively impacts our criminal investigations, our evidence management, and the employees who work there. This is not about a facility. This is about public safety. Again, this is not about a facility. Public safety. We've asked the commissioners to vote yes. Let the voters decide. Let the firefighters and the police officers have our residents decide what we need, that we need this facility. I'm sure in November we will get the votes that we need to have this bond passed. Thank you.

Good morning, Anthony Vinceguerra, 3325 Charles Avenue, board member of Preserve the West Grove. We've heard a lot of concern about the Playhouse today. That's because this is taking place in one of the most historic, important communities of African descent in the state of Florida. We all know that West Coconut Grove has protections that are placed by the city of Miami. We also know that these protections are supposed to protect the architecture and culture of the community have not been followed over the years there have been sugar cubes going up there's been commercial encroachment happening over the years that's the context for this playhouse project today we have been working since 2021 for the last five years to address these issues of commercial encroachment in village west The playhouse, unfortunately, is gonna increase that commercial encroachment into the community. These are the county's own drawings of the commercialization that will open onto Charles Williams and Thomas Avenue. This is T3R residential properties in one of the most historic communities in the state of Florida. This is the types of things we've been seeing already in the process. There are no protections in place for Village West Mr. Impardo knows this. We've met with him a number of times about these issues. PSAB denied this project to move ahead because it was primarily commercial. PSAB also denied it because of the protections the community has been asking for for five years that have not been put in place. There's no traffic mitigation plan. How can this move ahead without a clear traffic mitigation plan? There's no plan for employment supporting Village West. Access for Village West organizations or integration with the historic elements. These items need to be placed in a binding community protections agreement before it moves ahead. This has not happened yet. The county claims that it's going to be addressing these issues, but they need to be clearly articulated and binding before it moves ahead. So we're asking you to please vote no. Thank you.

I appreciate it. Thank you.

Good morning, Honorable Commissioners, Mr. City Attorney, Mr.

Manager, Madam Mayor.

My name is Alexander Garnas. I'm the president for the Miami Association of Firefighters Local 587, located at 2980 Northwest South River Drive. I'm here to speak on RE5, the Safe and Ready Miami Public Safety Bomb. Now, today I'm not just here on behalf of the 900 brave and highly skilled men and women of our fire department. There's no question that this bond will drastically improve the working conditions of my members. They have proven that whether they're responding to a stubbed toe, a cardiac arrest, an aggressive three-alarm fire, or even the rescue efforts in a foreign country after a devastating earthquake, our firefighters won't let adverse conditions get in the way of them doing their jobs and fulfilling their mission in Swarnall to protect this city. But more importantly, I'm here on behalf of the 1 million residents and visitors that those 900 firefighters proudly served day in and day out. For far too long, there have been four key areas within our city that have been underserved, and delayed response times are a growing concern. Your constituents, our patients, are the ones bearing the greatest risk, and there's no discounting the risk here. These are seconds and minutes that jeopardize our ability to save lives and protect property, and this bond will fix that. Now, this bond has seen its fair share of deferrals, just like the deferred maintenance our stations have endured over the years. But deferring whether or not we can arrive on time to save a drowning baby or the ability to respond in time from someone bleeding out from a major traumatic incident is not an option for a City of Miami firefighter. Commissioners, all we're asking is that you allow the voters to decide for themselves whether or not they want to enhance their own public safety benefit. We simply cannot risk allowing these subpar working conditions to persist and delayed response times to continue. As elected officials, you bear the same responsibility to keep our residents and visitors safe. Therefore, I respectfully ask you to labor with a vision and act with conviction. I strongly urge your support on RE5 for a safer and ready Miami. Our firefighters, and more importantly, our residents and visitors deserve better.

Good, I guess, afternoon officially now. Javier Avignon with the law firm of Bills and Sundberg, 1450 Brickell Avenue. I'm here on RE11. I will be brief, although the history on this item is not. I will keep it to what I think are the important highlights of what this item does and does not do. This item is for the relocation under 62618.4 of the code that allows for the relocation and reconstruction of signs in the city. This will allow for this item to conclude with a payment that catches up the payments of the typical fees that would be collected for signs of up to $150,000 and also creates a revenue stream of an additional $600,000 as well. The signs are limited to just three districts, districts one, three, and four, where the signs can be relocated to. So it cannot be relocated to districts two or five. And what the sign does not do, I think it's equally important to highlight those items. This does not open Pandora's box, does not allow for the other entities that have entered into settlement agreements with the city to start establishing new signs. This does not trigger any of those concerns. And even if it did, there is a very robust indemnification provision that has been proffered within the settlement agreement that completely holds the city harmless. and protects the city to the extent that any other company or any other entity wishes to try and enforce against the terms of the agreement. I think that's very important because there's no risk to the city in that regard. So I will leave it at that and urge for your support. Thank you very much.

Good afternoon, Madam Mayor, Honorable Commissioners, Mr. Manager, Mr. City Attorney, Albert Robert, Miami Association of Firefighters, located at 2980 Northwest South River Drive, speaking on RE5.

What is before the commission today is more than a financial decision. It is a public safety decision.

And it is a decision that will determine whether our firefighters and paramedics can reach a father suffering a heart attack, a child who has stopped breathing, or a family trapped in a house fire before it's too late. Today, our firefighters are doing everything they can, but they cannot overcome one simple reality. You cannot respond quickly when there aren't enough fire stations. Every minute lost because of distance is a minute that can mean the difference between life and death. Delayed response times don't just affect the statistics. They affect families, neighbors, loved ones, throughout our community. Supporting RE5 is an opportunity to change that. It's an opportunity to invest in the infrastructure that protects every resident, every business, and every visitor to the city of Miami. Public safety should never be compromised because we fail to keep pace with the growth of our city. Our residents deserve first-class public safety services. They deserve to know that when they dial 911, help is already on the way, not delayed because the closest station is too far away. Today you have the opportunity to make a decision that will save lives, not just tomorrow, but for decisions, I'm sorry, for generations to come. I respectfully ask each of you to support RE5 and give the people of Miami the level of public safety they deserve. Thank you for your time and consideration.

All right, I see no more speakers, so the public hearing and comment period is closed. Colleagues, what would you like to do? Would you like to power through till one o'clock and get a few items done? I'm seeing heads yes. No. I have three yes. OK. Great. We will do that. So we have the consent agenda. There's two items there. Anybody want to bifurcate any of those? I'll take a motion.

Motion. Second.

All in favor say aye. Aye. Show those passed. We have a lot of people here on, one, the bond, and two, So I think we'll take those items up early so perhaps we can get folks on their way before we break for lunch. So let's start with RE5. I think over the past couple of weeks, including the two deferrals, as you all know, I've now visited every facility in our city multiple times. sometimes even into the back of the electrical closets and the generator rooms in a way that probably had never previously been done. I know that, particularly for the three of you that have been on the commission for a long time, that you have been well aware of the dangerous situation in our police headquarters building because in 2024, you know, Commissioner Pardo, Commissioner Grabella, and Chairman King That is when the city undertook the study to look at what it would cost to, what it would need to design a new public safety building and where it could be sited, given the land that the city owns. Obviously, that continued in October of last year and December of last year, where this commission took the decision to locate the new public safety building in Melrose Park. So the status of what's been happening in the police headquarters has been known, quite frankly, for 20 years. I guess that means they're on their fourth mayor, where it's been raining in the homicide department. It is well known that we need a new public safety building. There is absolutely no way to repair the one we have. And that is the work that you have been doing for the past couple of years to rectify the neglect that had been going on for many, many years. Before that, I think what was not as well known to the public was the state of affairs of our fire rescue stations. And that's both a testament to the men and women that work there that they didn't complain too much. But when you go in there, the working conditions in some of these older stations are unsafe. 60% of our stations are over 50 years old. Two of them are over 60 years old and must be replaced. And then, of course, we have response times that are completely inadequate in many, many neighborhoods throughout the city, far above the six-minute national standard. And that's just quite frankly because we haven't built fire stations in those neighborhoods. And so this is a can that has been kicked down the road for many, many, many years. So at the last meeting, we had a pretty robust debate one of which was, I think, extremely important, was we wanted the maximum voter participation. And the idea of moving that to a November election where we're more than likely to have 80% of our voters turn out would give us a true indication of whether the voters support this bond. The other was really making sure that the projects were detailed and that this was indeed very different than from the Miami Forever Bond. The Miami Forever Bond was a pot of money that over time projects began to get to. And I can tell you, Barbie Hernandez, our assistant city mayor, is doing a great job at trying to basically do a forensic analysis on where all that money is and put it together in a public-facing dashboard. And I had agreed last time to make sure we started with a public-facing dashboard. And so that is up there explaining what is the current state and what are the projects. This is a project-based bond. It is totally different from the Miami Forever Bond. We have 20 projects, basically. One of them is larger, the public safety building, which would co-locate, as other modern cities and municipalities are doing, to have a unified command of police, fire, 911, and for us, finally, a Cat 5 ready emergency response center. We also need to replace our two most elderly fire stations. We need to build four new fire stations to provide the response times we need in the North Grove, South Grove, Allapattah, Liberty City, the far northwest corner of the city, and then the areas of East Shenandoah. Those are all the areas that have response times for emergency calls that are above six minutes and can sometimes be higher than eight minutes. Then we have 13, so that's our seven big projects. Then we have 13 stations that need renovations. Some of them are health-related. Others of them are new roofs. Some of them are flood damage. Others are older electrical systems. All of those projects and the scope of them have been detailed by station in the website, which is available to the public to look at. This is a simple choice for us. We know these problems exist. We know the further we delay these repairs, the more expensive they are going to get. We also know If we do not fix and expand our fire stations, we will not be providing life-saving care to some residents who are unfortunate enough to not live within a mile of our fire stations. This commission has the opportunity to put on the ballot in November the question to our residents. We're pretty smart. Do they want to support this or do they not want to support this? I told you last time I did a poll, and I was very truthful about them, that this is going to cost them money on a monthly basis. Most of us pay our property taxes if we're paying through a mortgage. It goes on a monthly basis. So we're very truthful. And I asked them, if you knew that in the first year it would cost you about $4 a month, are you more or less likely to vote for the bond? And almost 70% of them said they were more likely to vote for the bond when they knew that. Then I asked them a different question, which is the larger amount of money. On average, it could be more than $10 a month. Does that make you more or less likely to support the police and fire bond. And the same percentage said yes. So at the end of the day, our residents know that their lives are worth, in the first year, $4 a month, and in the out years, $10 or $11 a month. Our team has looked at these projects. Thank you to the administration, particularly to OCI and others. We have looked at the cost. We have done the analysis with finance. It ends up in the first year. that monthly payment is closer to $2.38. And the average annual payment will be under $10. So our residents are open to considering this. They want to consider it. And they have indicated that those costs, and it's not, they don't take these things lightly. We all know it's rough for a lot of families to make ends meet. But at the end of the day, when their kid is having an asthma attack, They want somebody to respond and respond quickly. And they have answered, indicatively, not at the ballot box yet, that they are supportive. The question in front of us today is do we want to allow them to choose to repair these facilities, expand the fire rescue facilities we need, get our emergency operations center up to Cat 5 standards with good backup power, and get our 911 call center out of a building that floods constantly, and we're constantly having to relocate our 911 center to a building that's over 100 years old. These are problems that we should have, our city should have solved 10, 15, 20 years ago, but it didn't. I promised when I got here I would look at what was going right in the city, and there's a lot, but I also would look at where the holes are, and I would be truthful to the residents when I saw them. And I saw this, and I wanted you to be aware of it, because it matters. It matters to you, it matters to your children, and it matters to the neighborhoods that we call home. So, colleagues, I'm looking forward to the discussion today, and I certainly hope you will consider putting this on the ballot and letting the residents of Miami choose or not choose to support this initiative. Thank you. Colleagues, anyone want to start, or? Mr. Cardo, yeah, go ahead, please.

Go ahead.

No, no, you. Okay, so we all right, so let's get get down to the degree here What happened was and she's right? Okay, prior administrations have kicked this can down the road and it landed up now and we're talking about it now Right this morning. I was threatened Okay there was a mass text going around by my former campaign manager because since I took the the press away from him I walked back and he's not making money with me anymore and You know, he's doing this kind of thing. Some of these people here know them. His name is Emiliano. But he thinks I'm going to be swayed by this. And here's the thing. They're threatening me with a Republican vote. I am a Republican at the end of the day. But here's the deal. This isn't a Republican issue, or this isn't a Democrat issue either. It's plain and simple. We need to bring this up to date. We need to take care of this. And the question is, the objective is, how are we going to do it, the financing? Now, for me... As I stated earlier, this is not the first time I say this, three things have to happen for me to push this forward. One of them is when we sell the existing police headquarters, which the estimates came in that it's worth now about $70 million, which I think it's low. I think it's worth a lot more money than that. If you compound for property value in the future, I think that site is going to be worth a lot more money, probably between $100 and $150 million. Okay, so stipulation number one for me, the language has to be in there that if and when we sell that building for whatever amount we sell it, That money will go to pay down the debt to lessen the burden on the taxpayer for taking this debt down. That's number one. That has to be in black and white for me. I have to have assurances because other than that, no go for me, no can do. Number two, also. Okay. And a lot of people didn't talk about this. When we issue one of these things, and in the past, okay, grants come in, some matching grants come in. On the 400 million that was issued, okay, 272 was actually issued. There remains 125 to 132 be issued that we never issued that. Okay. But there were a lot of loopholes in that thing, and that's why people ask, hey, you know, you guys haven't even spent the money for the 400, and now you want another 450. This is part of the problem here and the mix-up here, okay? Now, that wasn't our doing. That wasn't our doing. You weren't here, you weren't here, you weren't here, you weren't here, and I weren't here. Wasn't here. Nobody was here. Okay. Now, having said that, okay, I say that if there are any matching grants that come in, the matching grants will go to pay down the debt automatically, not to use for anything else. Okay. Not to use for anything else. That has to be in writing also. Not that we're going to say it up here, like sometimes in the past has happened. that we've said stuff up here and the wind has taken it, and then you see something else on paper that doesn't even reflect the conversation that we've had up here. So for me, and I understand my fiduciary duty with the taxpayer. Now, we also have to have a cap on what we're going to spend for the police building headquarters. What is this that I hear of a billion dollars?

Commissioner, and I'm happy to let the city manager weigh in. When the AACOM has been doing the analysis on the public safety building, right? Let's be very clear. It's not just police headquarters. We also have to have our 911 call center, and we'll be co-locating the emergency operations center and fire headquarters. Fire headquarters, as you all know, fires all over the city, so they don't have very much. It's more their office space, so that's not a huge amount of space. The current analysis, correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Manager, is coming in at about $320 million. Our new police chief, our city manager, myself, we are all in conversations to value to engineer that to the amount that we committed to in here, which is $305 million.

I do support what Gabela said. I support everything you said.

Yeah, I have. I think I could have some amendments I could propose, but I would need a motion first and a second to have it.

So then let's clear something else up. Let's clear up. So we're proposing a $450 million bond, and we're going to float that bond in tranches. We're not going to float it at the same time. When you do float that bond, that bond is my understanding that you have a three-year window to use it, right? And we're not going to do anything with it if we're not actually using it to service the debt. But here's the thing, the $130 million that you're also going to bring over from the $400 million to add to the $450 million, can we educate on what exactly we're doing with those $130 million? So there's no confusion here?

On the Miami Forever bond?

The Miami Forever bond, there was a $400 million bond. Okay, 272 was issued at the time. Actually, out of the 272, 100 and something was never actually spent. Okay, it's still there, but it is committed is what I understand. Okay, and then out of that 400, we never issued actually 125 to 130, but now you're going to bring it full circle and add it to the 450. Do I have my math right or not?

Commissioner, so I'll let our CFO speak to that, but we're not bringing the 130 over. 130, remember, just like we would do in this case, we would be drawing down on the projects that are underway. So obviously we can't defund projects that are underway. The reason why we're drawing in stages is because as those projects progress in completion, so does the cost associated with those projects.

I know that, but I want her to say it so the public can understand exactly what's going on here.

Good afternoon, Commissioner Erica Pascal-Darling, CFO. The balance of the Miami Forever Bond is $125 million. That has not been issued to date. The majority of that is 100 million in affordable housing, and the remainder is infrastructure projects, as well as 6 million for fire station number 10.

Okay, so to be clear. That money is not to be used to join the 450, and that's what I wanted to clear up. That money has already been committed for something else. I don't know why that money was never used and it took so long to use it, because that's part of the problem here, that people don't understand fully what we've done here. And moving forward with the 450, we've got to be extremely clear exactly what we're going to do with the money, and that's why I want to clear it up. Those are my points. I want to help the police station. I want to help the policemen or men and women in uniform. I toured that police station a year and a half ago when they had the big flooding. I was one of the first guys there. I was there. I saw it. I saw the conditions. I understand about the fire station. So we have a balancing act here to perform. We've got to take care of them, but we've also got to take care of the taxpayer. Okay, so at the end of the day, I'm going to be brief. At the end of the day, for me, those stipulations have to be put in black and white. My attorney put here basically in more formalized legal jargon exactly what we want to see, what my office wants to see. Madam Mayor, what my office wants to see in the language going forward, and let the taxpayer at the end of the day, if all this is met, I will be voting for it. If everything is met in black and white, and let the taxpayer decide if they want to do it or don't want to do it.

Thank you. Commissioner, I still need a motion and a second before I can make amendments, but why don't I say back to you what I think I heard? which would make an amendment and that would give you a little time to legalize it. So as I see it, there are three potential sources of revenue that could help offset the need to issue the full $450 million. One is, once the new public safety building is built, we can move folks in there and we could sell the police headquarters. So we could allocate the proceeds from the sale of that police headquarters building to pay the debt off or not issue face value debt.

We might not even need the money because if it's going to take time, that $100 million might just come in and we don't even have to use the bond. We might not even have to issue the debt.

So we could either pay off the, you know, you and the finance people, we either pay down the debt or we do not have to issue the debt. So I would say the police headquarters Also, grants, I think, obviously, that is very important as they come in. It's easier to get, generally, capital grants for fire than for lease, but we probably will get some almost every year, so we should have any capital grants that, or for the projects that are in this bond, should have the same conditions. They would pay off the debt, or... or avoid the issuance of debt.

Well, I'm sorry, Madam Mayor. I would see a key word. You said capital, you know, grant. No, any grant that comes in pertaining that has to do with this issue here and the fire stations and the police stations, any grant at all will be used to pay down the debt, the principal. It will be used to pay down the principal on the bond.

If it's a capital grant, meaning if we get the grant from the state or the federal government, it's allowed for construction, we can do that. If we get a grant, for example, for police cars, That's not capital. So we do have to use the word, I think, capital improvements or physical improvements or something like that.

Thank you very much, because that was the last one I was going to put. The monies cannot be used to buy police cars, equipment, fire equipment, none of that stuff. This is purely for what we said it's going to be.

We're not allowed to bond those things out anyway, but this is a project-based bond. If it's not listed in the projects on the website, we're not doing it. But I also have a third suggestion, which I think is in line with your thinking. Over the next three or four years, we may have developers that might want to proffer some community benefits that would be contributions to police and fire capital. And so we could perhaps, Javi, you could help with this. Any future community benefit agreements that are negotiated that are directed to these projects would also offset the debt. Because I think what you're getting at is we need $450 million of what we need to do all this. That is the cost of these projects. But at the end of the day, we're asking folks for the opportunity to issue debt. But in the meantime, we're going to be looking around for other ways to not have to issue all of that debt. And that's through grants, through the sale of the headquarter building. But quite frankly, it also might be through community benefits. For example, the Watson Island fire station, we already have a commitment of $5 million, which, by the way, is not enough to build the whole thing. But there's an opportunity to get more. That's just not yet in writing. So we've already taken that $5 million into account in the bond, right? We're not issuing that. But should we, on any of these fire stations, get additional community benefit, we would be able to use that. So those would be the three things that I think encompass what you're saying, are you able to make that on the fly into a real amendment?

Yes, we can work on that. It would be a pledge of the proceeds of the sale of the current police headquarters for the repayment of the bond or to help offset the issuance of the bond. The second one is any matching grants subject to the terms of the grants and applicable laws that apply to the grants would be used to either pay down the debt or be used in lieu of issuing debt. And then the final one would be that to see if there, this is the one that's a little more nebulous, but it would be to see if any future community benefit funds to best efforts to direct any future community benefits towards offsetting the debt or assisting with the construction of these projects to avoid that.

Maybe I want to clarify that. I don't think we want all community benefit agreements to go to this, right? Because sometimes we're going to want affordable housing or sometimes we're going to want neighborhood participation. But should there be in a community benefits agreement agreement, which are generally negotiated by and with the commissioner of the district, that is most effective, should there be the choice made that part of that community benefits agreement be for police and fire capital for one of the projects in this bond, that that also would be used. So you're right, that's the most nebulous because different neighborhoods need different things and different community benefits benefit neighborhoods in different ways. Some are poverty alleviation, some are affordable housing, some are green space and parks. But we know we have had contributions, particularly in the Watson Island case, for police and fire. Does that cover your thoughts? Okay, great, okay.

Ready? All right. So the first thing is, I know that there's $10 million listed as repairs and modernization projects, and that includes about 12 fire stations or so, maybe more. And it seems like that's the really, really critical piece with fire. And why don't we just take that right from reserves? I mean, I don't even think we should wait for a bond or include in the bond if we have it in reserves and we can deal with them immediately. The other piece is the building of fire stations. And that's where I think we could successfully find public private partnerships that use a design build finance and maintenance model so that we don't commission result or to your point about worried about maintenance it's done it's part of that package the finance is part of that package but taxpayers don't pay for that so the issue I have with the ballot question is that it makes people feel like if I want to be safe if I want to feel like my medical emergency will be tended to I need to increase my taxes. And Commissioner Gabella, when you and I first started, I think one of our first votes was cut taxes. So, you know, we're in an affordability crisis. We're in a situation where we really haven't explored good models that work, that don't increase taxes for taxpayers. And then we have $305 million, which is slated for the safety administrative building. But that $305 million is very nebulous. It's not really... Okay, it's 305, but we have a new police chief. We have an eastern district. We're decentralizing services. Do we need as much space? Do we need different space? So I commend the effort and the fact that this is being highlighted because like everybody up here, and as you know, police and fire, we support you 100%. But the question is, it shouldn't be this choice of police, fire, increased taxes. There are other options, and we just haven't explored them. That's why I won't be supporting this today.

I'll go next. I have several issues with this. One, again, as my colleagues have stated, this is not a question of whether we support police and fire. And it's unfair to make it so, because we all support police and fire. Full stop. There's no question about that. Here are my concerns. The misinformation that has been given, let's just start with just what just happened. We're trying to bake a cake here on the dais. We're trying to negotiate what this should look like on the dais. Madam Mayor has said that she did polling. Polls cannot replace going to our communities having town hall meetings of which we've had none, of which we've had none. I cannot support an item where we have not taken this information to our communities. It has never been done such. I have worked on bonds for the Southeast Overtown Park West CRA. It took multiple community meetings to get their feedback and input. Public-private partnerships do work. Community engagement is not a poll. You cannot say, I didn't get the poll. I want this to work. But we also have to address the fact that we have debt service coming up, the Marlin Stadium, the Miami Forever Bond. So what is touted as $2, $4, $10 doesn't contemplate the other debt service we must now put upon our residents. Misinformation number two. We can't propose this bond referendum in a special election. That's just not true. We absolutely can. There is no reason for us to rush. It's $450 million that we're talking about. We have someone in the audience right now whose whole job is to build fire stations. The organization is called CORE and they can do it within 12 to 15, 18 months. What if the bond doesn't pass? Then what do we do? We would be where we are right now. I think it is fiscally responsible for us to stop, take a breath, and work this through. Not in from May until July. you don't contemplate $450 million in two months. You just don't do that. That's not fiscally responsible. That's not fiscally sound. And it's not fair to our community. And it's not fair to the police or fire department if this item fails, because when I have spoken to my community and outside of my community, I have a resounding, no, I'm not ready. I don't understand this. Putting up a website does not, does not take the place of community engagement. It just doesn't. Harvey, you just said that you're going to do an amendment to contemplate grants and this and that. Grants are very specific. When we apply for grants, when we get grants, you have to use that grant for the purpose that it was given. You can't say, as Commissioner Gabella would like, any grant money we get will be pledged for this. You can't do that. And you should have said that.

If I may clarify, what I had said was that any grants subject to the terms of the grant agreement and any applicable laws that apply to the grant would be used to help either pay off debt or use for that project. So that's what I had mentioned.

So as long as when we apply for grants, we apply for grants for a specific purpose, and then it's to match funds for a specific purpose. Now, The grants that we get in, all of them cannot be applied to that. So it would be for a specific purpose. And you can't... We can't promise that you'll get a grant for a new fire station, and if it is, it's to match what's happening with the fire station. You can't then put a stipulation that that grant will be used to pay down the debt service. That's why residents don't trust us, because you say stuff like that, and then in its application, that's not what happens. That's not what happens. And also, Is anyone concerned about the prospect of losing a significant amount of revenue with the proposal of eliminating property taxes? That is going to have a significant impact on our community. And how are we going to make that up? We're borrowing money and we're losing money at the same time. It is fiscally responsible for us to first find out what happens with our property taxes and then move forward. Because you're asking us to take on additional debt when we very well may be losing our property taxes, that revenue. There is nothing wrong with waiting until November and then saying, hey, this is what we have. We've had an opportunity to go to our communities. We've had an opportunity to share with the community what's happening with this debt service that we have to pay. How much is that? Because I can tell you in my community, there are some people that cannot afford an additional $2 a month. They can't afford additional $4 a month. Also, while fire and police are high up on what we need, What about areas where we don't have resources? Let's take, for example, the Reverend Edward T. Graham Heritage Trail. We applied for a grant, I build grant, federal government to get that. The city thought it was appropriate to put in a competing grant for the new stadium, the inner Miami stadium, of which they were awarded the grant. Commissioner Pardo and I are advocating for the Reverend Edward T. Graham, which will address decades of life, quality of life. So instead of us being awarded a grant to address decades of quality of life issues in the Overtown community, we are now going to get a walkway to make it more convenient for folks to attend sporting events. But a bond, because we cannot get that space wrong, a portion of the bond could go to the Reverend Edward T. Grant Heritage Trail so that we get this space right and the residents of Overtown finally get what they deserve. It's not, and it doesn't have to be one or the other. We can find a path forward for everything. Without knowing what's happening in November with our property taxes, I can't support this. Without sitting down, and I would want to go with our mayor, have town hall meetings. Have you had a town hall meeting in your district to see how your constituents feel about this?

So here's the deal. That's a rhetorical question. It's a rhetorical question. Again.

All right. Commissioner King, you still have the floor.

So I haven't been able to do that, save for Constituent Tuesday. And in Constituent Tuesday, I am not getting 60%, 70% overwhelmingly supporting this bond. I'm not. We had several persons come and speak today that is not in favor of the bond. The last time we had this on, all but one person was against the bond in its format today. I will support, and let me say this clearly, I will and I do support some form of this for our fire and police department. But be clear, there are too many unknowns, debt service, the property taxes, also being able to utilize public private partnerships, which by the way, do work. And if any of you want to get more education on that, please check out my textbook, Live Local. I teach Miami politics at FIU University There were three cities in crisis. They didn't have the benefit of being able to bond to address their crises. They addressed the crises with public-private partnerships. I am sure, I am confident that we could, if we put our minds together identify public-private partnerships that would lower the amount of money that we need to ask our residents to go into debt for. So with all of those reasons that I've just submitted to you, I cannot in good conscience for my community support this, but I will support us taking time to do our due diligence, to meet with our community, and put this on a special election so that we really will have the support of the entirety of the community. Because what will break my heart is if we just move forward and rush this through, that our community rejects it. And it has been done. In Florida, there were the last two bonds that came up in different cities. The community rejected it. And I don't want to see that happen because we do need the police station, the fire stations. We do need that. I know better than anybody. I've toured these spaces. I am in the process of negotiating a public-private partnership for the substation on Northwest 6th, 2nd, and 10th Avenue to build that. You're preaching to the converted. I visited these spaces. I know what they need. I've had best friends, childhood friends that are firefighters, that are police officers. There is no universe that I do not support the efforts of police and fire, but I cannot today support this by agreeing to put it on the ballot without us doing some real work with the people who are going to take on this debt. We have to do community engagement. We have to go to our community And listen to them and answer the tough questions because that's why we were elected.

City Attorney, is there a way to add to this resolution P3, consideration of P3?

Yes, if it's the will of this body, we can definitely add into the recitals that consideration of public-private partnerships would be something that we'll take into account for the construction of these projects.

Okay, I would like to make a motion with that and with Commissioner Gabela's amendments.

Okay.

And I have one quick question. Is there a way to just move those $10 million and get that going? The 10 million that's being included here, can we just take that 10 from reserve and address repairs and modernization?

Our reserves are complicated in the city.

It's detailed in the ordinance, so I would look at our assistant city attorney to explain to you how it's limited in the use of the reserve fund, not to mention that there's a quick turnaround also required to repay back into the reserve those funds. Okay, so let me rephrase it.

Not necessarily reserves, but if there's available funding The range of 10 million that can be used and prioritized For this so that it doesn't have to wait for a bond issuance or some later date when we know that these repairs are really necessary and critical Absolutely Commissioner, but if we had the 10 million available we would be using it for exactly that so we can take that out of the bond Perfect.

Yes.

No, I don't believe that I'm sorry to Right now, we do not have $10 million allocated anywhere in the budget to do these repairs, right? And this budget has been voted on for years and years and years. So unless you all, I guess, will roll out the budget, but my preference is we put in front of the voters what we need to deal with the situation that's been growing. And this is another one. you as a commission decide to take money out of the general fund to pay for these items, again, we would not have to issue the full amount of debt. And I think that is at the core of this discussion today, is in order to deal with the problem, we cannot do what we did in Miami Forever Bond, right? Miami Forever Bond, we would say, we're going to hear 100 projects. And this project cost $45 million. And in Miami Forever Bond, we put $7 million in there. And we're just going to get grants over time to do it. No one can figure out why the flooding project hasn't been worked or why the community center in their park hasn't been finished. It's because we didn't say this is what it costs. And so what we need to do with this is say what it costs. And then we find all kinds of other ways to fill it in so we don't have to get to that $450 million. million dollar cap. Could be P3s, could be grants, could be the sale of the police headquarters. Could be that you all in the upcoming budget year find the $10 million, or in this case $13 million, to repair those items. But my preference is to go forward and be truthful with what we actually need.

At the end of the day, we're getting off subject here. At the end of the day, the voter will decide. And if the voter doesn't want to do it, then let them do it. Billy, you don't want to vote no, you vote no. I want to vote no, I vote no. Whatever, but put it up to the voter. And then meanwhile, while we're putting it up to the voter, let's work on making it better. If we can make it better, is what I'm saying, because we've been at this, we've been beating this horse now for three months.

Commissioner Pardo, you still have the floor, and then we'll go way over there.

So my question really is to the city manager. I mean, we reallocate all the time. We have mid-year budgets all the time. $10 million is a very small percent of our overall budgets. We can find this money and take care of this and not have to wait while this process goes on.

Commissioner, I'll be more than glad to work with each and every one of your offices to identify what dollars we can repurpose. Thank you.

Okay, we'll go over to you since it's your birthday first.

Thank you. I have two images that I wanted to show. So I've gotten a lot of questions about how we got to this place. And essentially, there are three different reasons why we are in the state that we're in. So the first one is, you know, equipment changes over time. And so buildings become obsolete. That's nobody's fault. if a fire station was built in the right capacity 60 or 70 years ago, but now it doesn't make sense. There you go. But now it doesn't make sense. That's something that we just have to deal with. The second item is population growth. I think we all understand what that means. And the third one is maintenance. So I do want to assure those of you that are particularly concerned about maintenance and what we can do going forward, we've got two related items in here, which are RE12 and RE13. My team and I, and this is Yosvany from my office, we did a lot of national research how do they address these kinds of issues in other places and so re12 is a what we're calling a facility condition index which is by the end of the year the manager will provide to the full commission an assessment of every single building that is related to police or fire and we should do it for all city facilities in fact um so that we don't continue to butt up against this issue in the in the future right so if folks are saying we need more guardrails this is guardrail number one and RE13 is guardrail number two, which is a police and fire facilities maintenance reserve fund, which gets at what Commissioner Pardo is suggesting essentially, which is we should be setting aside more money every single year to make sure our buildings don't get into this shape. So I hope my colleagues will support these items regardless of how they feel about the bond at this time, because these are good things to protect us into the future so we don't have to deal with these things. This is our current police parking garage. in downtown that's been demolished in the last few weeks. So that's a lack of leadership, but we are where we are, and we're going to need a new headquarters regardless. If we can go to the second image, and this one's a lot more personal. So some of you know I lost my dad not too long ago. This picture is 10 years old. Those are my kids when they were much younger. They're essentially now adults. My parents lived, my mom continues to live, just outside District 4, just outside the city of Miami, in unincorporated Miami-Dade. Right around the time that this picture was taken, my dad had a heart attack, and fire rescue from unincorporated Miami-Dade off of 62nd Avenue, just south of 8th Street, so just south of District 4, just south of the city of Miami, saved his life within five minutes. Our response time, had he lived the same distance away, north of 8th Street, would have been about eight minutes, and I have been assured that he wouldn't have made it. So I cannot in good conscience say that I can't support giving voters the right to choose what they want the response times for their families to be.

Are we discussing this item? All right, so are we calling the question? I motion to call the question. Second.

All right, so I need a motion then. I got a motion. Motion on the table, second the motion. Have we finished with discussion? I don't know. I mean, I'm confused. We haven't. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, through the chair. That would be me today. Okay, so Commissioner Gabella, you have a motion on the table.

Yes, ma'am.

Seconded by Commissioner Gabella. I'm sorry, I've got you. We will include, as Javi said, the sale of the police headquarters. Any grants? that are specifically applied for to offset this, as the words use, comply with the law and the conditions, and should any commissioner negotiate any future community benefit contributions. And we will put in the recitals that when possible or practical, P3s can be considered. And so those, I think, are the four amendments. Do you accept all those, Commissioner Gabella?

I accept all those in the order that it came. And at the end of the day, if this money is not used for a police department headquarters, or for the repairing or betterment of fire stations, it will not be used and we will return it to the taxpayer. Is that clear? Am I clear on that? Yep. I mean, I can't be any more clear than that.

And Todd, Todd, you have something?

Briefly, thank you, Chair. So a motion was made by Commissioner Gabella to pass RE5, seconded by Commissioner Escalona. Right now, there are four amendments that were proffered. And if... And except... Just one second.

Sorry, one more thing. And if for any reason, okay, if for any reason the project does not go through because things change here... Okay, then that money will be given back to the taxpayer in the city of Miami. Period. End of story. That money will not be, will not use that money for anything other than that stated purpose. This will not be like the $400 million.

This has no correlation to a bond for all money. This is a project-based bond. If it's not these projects, we can't.

Only for that.

Yep. Todd.

So, my apologies, but briefly, Commissioner Gabela made a motion to pass RE5, which was seconded by Commissioner Escalona, that accepts the four proffered amendments. And there's just two administrative amendments that I need to read into the record. RE5 will be amended pursuant to a substitution moment dated June 30th, 2026, in addition to adding a city commission resolution number to the body of the legislation. Does the mover and seconder accept those two amendments? Thank you, Chair.

Okay, it sounds like we're ready for a vote. I'm sorry.

Madam Chair, today, I think Commissioner Gabella and Commissioner Pardo and I have.

You may have one more bite at the apple.

Well, I'm just trying to figure out what does that ballot language look like?

The ballot language is in the item.

So the ballot language stays that way.

The ballot language has to be 75 words, as you well know.

Right.

These will all be recitals.

So how does the voter know that they have other options or that they could?

This will be added to the resume. Just one second. Let's finish with, let's go back for it, then we'll come back.

Okay, there is a controlling document. Correct. The controlling document is what this gentleman, the good lawyer, is now doing, right? And granted, you're not going to be able to get all your legal jargon in there, right, because it's 75 words, but that is the controlling document.

Document what's stipulated what we're saying so so if I make No, no I just want to so the ballot language of the 75 words would still lead the voter to believe that They have this choice either between safety police and fire or increasing their taxes There's no nothing outside of that that doesn't change regardless of the amendments that we're adding right now That's correct, right now it's not. And there's no discussion with the community, and there's no outreach, and there's no engagement, and there's no, we're just putting this on for 450 million. That's what we're voting on? We're just going to put this on? and have people go to the ballot box and be forced to make that choice.

Why are they forced? Wait, wait, wait. I'm an adult. I'm an adult. And when I go vote, you know, I read what's going on. And if you don't read well, and by the way, put on the 75 words that, by the way, this is going to cost you this. Because that's why I never wanted an election. That's not there. Wait a minute. Let me finish. I never wanted an election in August because it wasn't a true reading because everybody wasn't coming. Come on. I didn't want to jam this through. I always said that I wanted the election in November because I want, when everybody comes out, I want a true reading of what the taxpayer does. If we have an election like what you're talking about, you're not going to have a true election. You're not going to have a true reading. And here's the thing. We've beaten this horse again for two or three months. I've asked the questions, I've gotten educated, and I think we made it very clear what the deal is. I mean, how much clearer can we make it?

Okay, Commissioner Gabella, we're going to give Commissioner King one more set of comments, and then we'll move to vote.

I have a question for the city attorney. When you bond money, you can give it back? So, because that's, I believe that's what has been said here. Bond the money, but if we don't use it, we give it back.

But we can give it back in another way that you then have, if you have $450 million that you didn't have before, then you got a plus against your liabilities. So if you want to give it back in that way, you can give it back in that way. I don't know the rules, but.

Madam Chair, if I may. So we do not draw.

I wanted to ask the city attorney.

So I think I understand what your question is. If we do issue bonds, right, and we actually issue them and we have the funds on hand, from a returning standpoint, it will all be dependent on what the bond documents say, how long we have to do it. Defeasance. Defeasance, yeah, and whether we can pay it back, you know, in that manner, right? That would be determined on that. and also kind of other requirements such as arbitrage and things of that nature.

But you would have the money, you would have the money because we just stated that the money cannot be used for anything other than fire stations or a police. So if it's not used that, you are going to have the money. If it's not used on that, you know, it defeats...

So what this item, if approved by the voters, what it would do is it would authorize the city to issue bonds in one or more series. So it's not that we are automatically going to get the money. We have to issue that and depending on how many series or the number of series, as it says I believe in section 14 of the resolution, it would still have to come back to the City Commission to authorize the terms of those issuances.

It's going to be done in crunches, is what I understand. It's going to be done in crunches, because we don't want money that we're not using yet and service the debt on that money that we're not actually using.

So if we don't issue, then we just do not issue, and there will be no debt to pay back. So that's how it works. And you can change projects, right?

Just one second. We've got three people going in... Commissioner King has the floor, folks. One more question. Go ahead.

I don't have another question. I might have another comment after you. Because here's the thing, what you just said. We haven't gone through the bond process. We don't know how it's going to be issued. What's our rating? How much money do we owe? I asked it. How much money do we owe on the other bonds? When is that money due? Miami, the Marlins Stadium, the Miami Forever Bond. When is that debt service due? I understand that it's due now. How much is that? How much on top of what that is, is this going to be?

Can I ask you guys a question, both of you? Let me ask you guys a question. You have Southeast Overtown Park West. Oh, sure. And he has the Amiciuri. You just issued a bond for $150 million. Tell me, before you issued the bond, did you take a poll out there? Did you go out? Absolutely. We totally did. Absolutely. Because I was part of the community.

We have several communities. Colleagues. We have three people talking at once. And this is a professional meeting.

We answer professionally. I'm not sure. Commissioner. Listen.

Commissioner King. One, don't point your finger at me. I'm not pointing.

Because I'm not your child. Don't point your finger at me. Two, he asked us a question and Commissioner Pardo and I answered because we absolutely did take our bond. It took us over a year.

It took you over a year because the county held it up and other things happened. It didn't take over a year because you guys were doing county meetings, guys.

Folks. Commissioner Gabela.

Yes, ma'am.

We're having a good discussion.

And I want to answer his question. It took us that long because we had to take the information to our community. We have a community meeting. We get feedback. We have to go back, take in their feedback, go back. We met with bond council. We went over. This is not a process.

I got an idea. Let's do that. Let's do that. What are we now, in July? We're now in July. How many months? June, July, August, September, October, and then we get to November. We got three months to do it, ladies and gentlemen. Three months to do it. How about that?

Okay.

Can we call the question, please? Call the question.

All right, the question has been called. All right. No, no, no.

So, please.

Yes, no, go ahead. Todd, if you need to clarify anything, please, Mr. Clerk.

So, I believe we've had all amendments stated on the floor. We have a mover and second. And so, Chair.

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

All opposed? No. Passes three to two. Thank you very much.

Three to two as amended.

As amended. Thank you. Okay, colleagues, it's a little after 1. Do we want to do another item or two or take a break?

Let's take lunch.

Okay, so let's take lunch. It's just after 1. How long would you like, an hour and a half, hour and 15? What are your thoughts?

I'm okay with one hour.

One hour. Okay, well, it's 5 after 1, so why don't we come back at 2.15.

you

to those families in the long run. And so we were able to introduce a program called SAVE. So storm proof assistance and value enhancements. And thankfully it was approved by the commission unanimously as well. And the idea is that if you come in in the year 2026 and you are making potential home renovations that either increase your home's ability to stand up to a hurricane or make your home more energy efficient, you will get half off on your permit fees throughout the entire 2026. So if you go to the building department and you say, I'm going to replace my roof, I'm going to put impact windows. I'm going to put a generator, energy efficient appliances, things like that. Your permit fees should be sliced in half. And so it's something that I had done previously as a manager. And what we saw is that more people come in to pull those permits, right? So you may make a little bit less money on each of them, but more people are taking advantage. It's good for the home, good for the family, good for the neighborhood, and it's good for the city overall. So we encourage everybody to do that.

Great. Well, the next pillar is safety. Very important to the city of Miami. Tell me how you're working on that.

We've been very supportive of increasing the number of police officers. So as our city's population grows, the number of police officers should keep up with that. And it's not so easy to ensure that that happens because police officers retire in large groups. And so we've got to make sure we're getting more young police officers into the police academy. But in terms of District 4 very specifically, that's a citywide initiative that we are very supportive of and help to lead the way on that. But in terms of District 4 specifically, we also have created a program called HUGS, which stands for, we love our acronyms in District 4, as you can tell. So it's Housing Underserved Groups Safely. And so what we've done is that working very closely with the police department, we've actually tracked crime data. And we've realized in District 4 in particular, and this is not necessarily the case in the other districts, but our crime activity is often focused on motels. These are motels that have existed for a long time. But over time, they've not been the best places. And sometimes there's quite a bit of turnover. And so we are very actively negotiating deals with motel owners to turn those into longer term apartments. And we have the support of the commission to spend some money to do that. And what we should see is we'll know that a number of folks are getting helped by providing additional housing opportunities. We should also see crime statistics drop across District 4.

I see. And the last one would be affordability, which I know a lot has been talked about affordability and living in the city of Miami. How are you tackling that issue in your district?

Living in Miami anywhere, whether it's our district or anywhere at all, is expensive. I mean, people do want to be here. And so what we're seeing is the cost of living going up. And we know that many folks work at relatively modest income jobs that have salaries that aren't going to be shooting up from today to tomorrow. right so we've got to figure out ways to make the living in the city more affordable for those folks so i've been very supportive of helping to get affordable and workforce housing projects underway across miami-dade county for many years with regard to my district specifically i'm proposing a large teacher focused housing project in flagami the west end of the district in partnership with the school board and the county and others to really get some teacher housing created Additionally, with the support of the commission last year, we got something passed to be able to give lower income senior citizens a rebate on their city taxes. So if you met certain income thresholds and you were over 65 and you lived in a homestead property, we actually sent you back a check returning your city property taxes. So we want to make sure that we serve really people of just about all income strata that we're able to keep them here in the city and help them live more affordably.

That's very important, especially for seniors that have been here for so long and are now down to a monthly income. Living on fixed incomes. Fixed incomes. So that's very important. And I want to point out for anybody that has benefited from that program is that it's automatic. And it's only for the city portion of the town. That's right. That's important to note because we don't control the other parts of it. Unfortunately. So, Commissioner, as we come up on your first year, what are some of the programs you're most proud of? And maybe what are we looking at in the future?

Absolutely. So we've got a couple of things on the horizon that I'm particularly excited about. So we had a press conference recently and we announced the creation, the upcoming groundbreaking for Superhero Park. And it is the city's, well, the district's, the city's and even the county's first 100 percent ADA accessible park program. I had a niece who passed away a few years back and she lived her life in a wheelchair. And so I got to see firsthand what it was like to have to try to navigate Miami and South Florida within a wheelchair. And the reality is a lot of our recreational amenities just don't cater to those kids. And so this is a park where if you are in a wheelchair, you'll be able to use every single piece of playground equipment. And if you are on the autism spectrum, the park will very much feel like home to you. The colors, the textures, the placement of the equipment, the lights, everything is going to work really well for kids on the autism spectrum, which is also an underserved population. In addition, a few months ago, we had a contest called Arte D4, and it was a call for ideas. and what we asked folks is to give us suggestions for locations where we could install public art you know tell us about locations tell us about artists that you think are great tell us about like how we could make the district you know look even more alive more vibrant more colorful more inviting and so we took dozens of suggestions and now we're going to start to implement a series of public art projects Approximately one a month, which is very exciting. And I think perhaps the other thing I should mention is I also chair the Downtown Development Authority, which includes a large portion of Brickell, the Central Business District, which is where you find the county government building, the courthouses, that area, and also the Arts and Entertainment District, which includes Miami World Center and the Arsht area. and we've got a number of things going on there but i think the things i'm most proud of are that we have established resident committees and we've increased the number of board seats to have more resident voices right so the agency was created about 60 years ago it's been very business focused trying to attract economic development to downtown but now we want to make sure that as we have more and more residents moving in that we're catering to their needs as well making sure that they feel safe making sure their streets are clean making sure they have fun places to go And so we've added those resident voices in and we're already starting to see a change. In fact, to support that, we've started biweekly block walks where we walk a few blocks within each of those areas. We invite the public to join us. So far, we've had dozens of people show up each time and we make a note of the kinds of suggestions that they have. We want to be very resident focused.

Yeah, downtown Miami has changed so much. People that maybe don't remember going from business to thousands of residents. That's right. That's quite a transition.

It's a phenomenal place to hang out for sure. Come to downtown and come to District 4.

Absolutely. And if your residents want to reach you or your office to find out more about all of the things we talked about in this podcast, where do they call or where do they go?

Absolutely. They should call us at 305-250-5420. 305-250-5420. We'd love to hear from you.

Great. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Commissioner Rosado, with District 4. Yes. And make sure that you write down his number, 305-250-5420, if you have any questions or any comments about anything that we talked about today. And this brings us to the end of our podcast of Empower 305. And don't forget to like, share and subscribe.

You got it.

Thank you.

Social Wellness Month is an annual health observance dedicated to highlighting the importance of positive connections, healthy relationships, and community engagement. It emphasizes the vital role that human interaction and robust... Back.

Switch attorney. Yes.

Flip the tape.

I'm sorry?

Flip the tape.

Lightful. All right. So we have another item that we still continue to have a lot of people in the audience interested in, and that's PZ9. Commissioner Pardo, if you prefer, we could skip and take that one up, and then we could get our friends from around the county and the city on their way. So let's take up PZ9. Mr. Attorney, do we need to read anything on that?

No, it's a resolution, but I believe the county is here to address their appeal.

And hello, Commissioner Regalado. Hello, how are you? Mr. Winkler, just stay seated for a second. Thanks.

Thank you all very much. Good afternoon. I'll be starting the county's presentation. As many of you know, we specifically requested, we've been here since the public hearing, but we asked to present all at one time. First of all, I'm Commissioner Raquel Regalado, and I'm here to present on the Playhouse. The Coconugra Playhouse was closed in 2006 as a result of a bankruptcy. In 2008, Miami-Dade County started a series of charrettes that you will hear about when we present, and those charrettes actually led us to the plan that is before you today. In 2010, I was elected as a school board member and became a board of the Coconut Grove Playhouse and worked with the city and with the county on this project and on many of the educational programs that are now embedded in the county's project. In 2018, Miami-Dade County came before the city of Miami and received approvals for everything that you are going to see today. After that, we entered into an extensive litigation regarding the size of the properties with several individuals, including the city of Miami. And as a result of that, one of the things that was at issue was the $10 million that the city of Miami has said that they were going to contribute to the Coconut Grove Playhouse. In 2020, when I was elected to the commission, I started working on this again, and in 2021, I asked the Board of County Commissioners to appoint me to settle the litigation with the City of Miami. That litigation was settled, and we are before you today because we did not want to litigate any further, and we decided, even though we had won all the cases against the City of Miami, to voluntarily subject ourselves to this process again. Commissioner Pardo and I have had several meetings on this, and we've had the opportunity to meet with the community. The community has changed. When the county first had these conversations, there were a series of things that the community wanted, and now the community is saying that they want something different, and we have been responsive to that. We have also not asked the city of Miami to contribute in any form to this project. This is a project that is fully funded by Miami-Dade County, even though the costs have gone up as a result of the delay. A lot of the issues that you heard here today are issues that are confusing because they are different aspects of this project. There was a group of people who wanted 1,000 seats. There are people who support the current program, which has 300 seats, and then there are people who want nothing there at all. I will say that of the input that you heard today, you actually had 22 people in favor, 10 standing in favor, and 12 against. And the ones that were against were divided 50-50 for different reasons. Some want more seats, some want less seats, some want nothing. But that being said, the county is open to the following concessions that we've discussed with Commissioner Prado at the Sunshine meeting that we had. The first off that was requested by the groups is, and you'll see in the presentation, there is no commercial frontage into Little Bahamas West Grove in the single-family neighborhood. That was never an aspect of this, and this has never been an aspect. We were asked by the residents originally in 2008 to eliminate the barriers because this neighborhood was initially segregated from Main Highway. Now the current neighbors have asked us to put up a buffer. We are willing to put up that buffer and we have agreed to do that as part of this process. And this is on the back side. Everything to do with the theater, as you will see in the presentation, comes in through Main Highway. Regarding the traffic study, of course, we will have a traffic study as any project would, but a lot of the issues that are being raised by the neighbors are outside the scope of our property. They want us to vacate an alley that doesn't belong to us. They want us to close streets that belong to the city, not to the county. They want us to build walls. There's a series of things that are within your purview as a city commission, and we have explained to them on several occasions that they would have to bring that request to you all. We have been working with our MPA partners, and one of the things that is frustrating about this project is that we are accused of being developers. We are not. This entire project is a community benefit. The MPA is our partner. One of the things that we were told early on is that this project had to be completely self-sustaining. That was the same thing that the city of Miami also told the MPA. All commercial activity on these sites are to ensure that they are self-sustaining because the county will not pay for the operation and maintenance of this site, and the city has also refused to pay for the operation and maintenance of this site. We have been asked to provide first source hiring and living wage. We're happy to agree to what is permissible under existing law. As many of you know, the state of Florida has preempted us from doing a lot of different things, and the county already has a commitment for that. Madam Mayor spearheaded that when she was a commissioner at the county. We are very thoughtful as to that, and part of our plan really, as was mentioned during the public comment, is to use this site not just for education, but also for employment and training. However, we cannot agree to more than what the state or the county or the city allows. We were also asked to provide access to the churches and community organizations. We discussed this at our Sunshine meeting. The county cannot pay for anything else. If the city of Miami wants to provide us with some funding to provide that access, we're happy to do that as part of an MOU. We have an existing MOU with the city, and we're happy to amend that. That has nothing to do with the current zoning situation. And then finally, the investment in the Little Bahamas history and the landmarks. We're committed to that within reason and with the city of Miami support. We've already preserved the historic elements, the sign, and we'll be putting that all back into the playhouse. I will say this. I grew up going to the Coconut Grove Playhouse, as many of you did. Unfortunately, my children, who are 21 and 22, have never been inside. We've deprived an entire generation access to this amazing establishment, and today we would like to ask you for your support to bring theatre back to Coconut Grove. And with that, I will introduce our amazing attorney, Eddie Kirkley.

Good afternoon, commissioners, Madam Mayor. Good to be here. I won't prolong this. I just want to thank you for your time and consideration. I'm here to answer any legal questions. I just want to say, as Commissioner Regalado had indicated, we did obtain an approval in 2018, unfortunately, due to the extensive litigation that this project has undergone over the years. That expired, and we thought that that should have been recognized through all of that, and we continue to believe that. But we're happy to be here. We hope we can have your support today. If you have legal questions, I'm here to answer them. make any objections, of course, if I need to, and I appreciate your indulgence. Our Cultural Affairs Director also has a full presentation at the will of this body if you'd like to see in more detail the project and also some of the modifications that have been made in response to the community.

Thank you. That's at your discretion, Commissioner Pardo, if you feel like you need, I think you saw it.

I think the summary of the concessions would be the best thing, kind of like where we heard the community and what changed.

Thank you so much. My name is Ashley Thomas. I am the interim director for the Department of Cultural Affairs. I'm going to pass it here and we'll go to those slides. We'll speed through all the stuff that we've done. So this is where those items are taking place. So as you'll see from the map and we've discussed at the meetings, everything comes in and out through Main Highway. There's actually a small road that we've created in order to have drop off and pick up so that everything happens on Main Highway. We are providing a buffer on the back. There is no commercial activity on the back. Everything on the back side that abuts the neighborhood is the back of house for the Playhouse. Everyone will be entering through the front. There is a paseo, which we originally created to connect the back to the front. The neighbors have asked us to put a gate there. We're happy to put a gate there so that when there are events, people are not spilling into their neighborhood. And a door, yeah. I would prefer not a permanent closure. I would prefer a gate. But if you all want a permanent closure, I'm happy to do that. I just don't want you to come back 10 years from now and ask me to open it again. Some people may want to get to main highway on foot, just putting it out there. But that was one of the requests that we got early on was to allow accessibility of main highway. But we're happy to make it permanent if you don't want a temporary closure. THE TRAFFIC STUDY IS IN PROGRESS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT COMMISSIONER PARDUE AND I TALKED ABOUT IS TO START DEALING WITH THE ISSUES CURRENTLY WHILE WE BUILD WHAT REMAINS OF THE SECOND PHASE OF THE PROJECT. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WILL MENTION AS A COUNTY COMMISSIONER THAT I HAVE PROVIDED MORE TRAFFIC CALMING SUPPORT IN COCONUT GROVE than any other area in Miami-Dade County. So I'm happy to show you all the counts. Coconut Grove is the winner by more than double. So we work on this all the time, and that's not gonna end here. The cultural resources and the management plan, that's all part of it. The educational programming, we've agreed to all of that, like I said, the only thing that concerns us in the last three is A, what's available to us under existing law, and then the last two is really an ongoing issue as we open the playhouse that we're happy to work with your office on and put into our MOU with the City of Miami.

Thank you.

Is the county resting its argument?

Save for rebuttal if needed.

I believe Mr. Winker sent a letter sometime this afternoon indicating he would like to request intervener status. Well, while he gets ready, let me just sort of advise the board. An intervener pursuant to Miami 21 is a person whose interest in the proceedings are adversely affected in a manner greater than those of the general public. A qualified intervener, if you allow him, will be able to present, cross-examine, and make closing arguments in the order decided by the chair. The seminal case on intervener status is the Renard v. Miami-Dade County case, standing, which says, standing requires a definite interest beyond the general public. Relevant factors include, among other things, proximity to the subject property, neighborhood character and nature of the proposed change. And entitlement to notice is a factor. So it'll be Mr. Winker's burden to prove to you that the folks he represent have suffered or have an interest that is greater than just, say, any other person in the city.

While we wait, Mr. City Attorney, I know that this request had also happened at PSAB.

Yes, I should mention that.

And they were denied intervener status. A request for intervener status. And I know they have the option to request it again.

Right. This is what they call a de novo hearing, so it's a whole new hearing.

So has anything changed from the legal aspect that was given in that PSAB hearing to now?

As far as I know, no. There's no change from that. But that's for Mr. Winker to inform you.

Good afternoon, everybody. David Winker, Law Offices at 4720 South Lejeune Road. I'd like to begin. I have a presentation.

But before you go into the presentation, could we go through the- No, no, I'm going to do the intervener.

I'd like to, I'm going to focus on the intervener status because I believe that my clients meet the definition of intervener. I'm asking that- four residents be granted status. They live within 500 feet. I'm gonna read the names into the record. William and Mamie Armbruster, Paul Jackson, Jasmine Doyle, and Anthony Vinceguerra. And as you can see, under Miami 21, Intervener is defined as a person whose interests in the proceedings are adversely affected in a manner greater than the general public. The City of Miami itself has previously opined that an aggrieved party for standing in zoning matters is a resident that lives within 500 feet of the property. I'd like to go over some of the adverse effects that are unique to my clients that live within the 500 feet. Traffic and transportation. The more than 35,000 square feet of commercial restaurants, retail, and business office space will increase vehicle traffic on residential streets during the related expanded hours of commercial activity leading to Rideshare drop-off pickup near residences behind the Playhouse, next to the commercial passeos that empty into William Avenue and Avatar Way to avoid congestion on Main Highway. Rideshare vehicles idling on Charles Avenue. Valet parking drivers speeding down Charles Avenue to retrieve vehicles quickly. Spillover parking in residential areas. competition for resident parking. Aggressive cut through drivers using residential streets as shortcuts to commercial destinations. Employees of private commercial entities using neighborhood streets for parking and traffic cut through to get to and from work. Greater risk of accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists. Reduced walkability and safety for children and pets. blocked driveways or restricted access, increased wear and tear on local roads, delivery and garbage trucks using the neighborhood streets. You saw some of those slides earlier from one of the potential interveners. Increased noise and pollution from idling vehicles.

And actually, if I could have the interveners come in so I can see who it is as I go through this.

Noise and disturbance. Ongoing commercial activity noise, HVAC systems machinery, increased ambient noise from customers and employees. Noise from delivery and service vehicles, late night activity disrupting quiet hours, and event related noise. Environmental impacts, loss of green space. One of the things that was rejected by the PSAB was the reduction in green space, increased pollution from traffic and operations, light pollution from signage and parking lots, stormwater runoff and potential flooding issues, urban heat island effect from paved services. Again, what they're asking you for is permission to pave more than they're otherwise allowed to do. strain on local water and sewer systems, visual impact of this large building. For those of you that reviewed the transcript, there was shock at the PZAP at the height of the parking garage, backing up on single family homes, something that we're all concerned about throughout the city. Commercial activity, increased foot traffic from non-residents, Potential rise in petty crime and nuisance activity, concerns about loitering and after-hour activities, reduced sense of privacy for residents. Property and economic effects that are unique to this group. Change in property values of homes immediately adjacent to the 35,000 square foot of new commercial activity. Increased property taxes driven by overall commercialization of the neighborhood. Pressure to sell or relocate. Change in insurance rates and potential additional changes in zoning or land use regulations invited by encroaching commercial space. In sum, these individuals have an interest greater than the general public. They live next door to the subject property, and the negative effects are specific to these interveners and are greater than the general interest of the community. So with that, I would welcome them to answer any specific questions you have, but I don't think there's any doubt that they meet the legal standard for intervening in this matter.

Madam Mayor, I would suggest giving the county an opportunity to rebut the...

Please, Mr. Cartley.

Thank you very much. I won't prolong this other than to say that we respectfully disagree. We do not believe that the standard has been met. Certainly, the case law is clear that attorney argument, much of what Mr. Winker has alluded to is speculation about effects of this project, which are not based in any facts or evidence. And that attorney argument is not itself evidence. So we don't believe he's made the showing required to obtain intervener status. That said, we have no objection, as we did at the PSAB, to him presenting, if he wishes, on behalf of his clients. I would note he would have had the opportunity to do that during public comment on their behalf. You know, we're not here to shut anyone down from participating in this proceeding, but we also recognize that intervener status is a legal category of designation for someone, and we just don't think he meets it. So thank you very much.

Mr. City Attorney, there seems to be a difference of opinion. Commissioner Cabela, do you have any problem if we give Mr. Winker four minutes or so to present? no matter whether he's an intervener or not. Okay, great.

I'd recommend the finding that he was not a, they did not show evidence to show that they were, had achieved intervener status. However, the city commission will allow them time.

And I'd like to address it because I can definitely, I just was trying to make it quick. They can, they can each testify. to what I just talked about, if you'd want to take some testimony.

Mr. Winker, just please make your presentation. I presume it wasn't any longer than four minutes to begin with, so we're happy to hear you. Thank you.

But the decision is they did not meet the interviewer status. Correct. And you're not going to allow them to testify.

Correct. But you will have the opportunity to make your presentation. Okay. Thank you, guys.

They denied your interviewer status.

George, don't we have to determine if they meet the intervener status? I don't know. Does the body have to or do you?

If you disagree with the ruling of the chair, you can make a motion to, like as a point of order, and overrule the chair's decision of intervener status.

Wait, the chair said that they didn't meet intervener status?

The chair indicated that they did not qualify as interveners.

You advised us that they did not meet the standard of intervener. I think Mr. Winkler should be able to provide his presentation because it's always good to have alternative points of view and sometimes you get new ideas from them.

I agree. I just didn't, I wasn't aware that we decided that they didn't mean an intervener status or I didn't know if you said it. I'm just trying to put it on the record to preserve the record that the body, because they're presenting to us, correct? Did the body... say that they met it or they didn't meet it. Is that, that's how it's, I don't, George?

Well, typically the chairperson of the meeting makes those type of determinations. Okay. And I think Mr. Winker needs a determination. That could be an issue for the appellate courts. Right.

I just didn't hear it is why I'm asking. Okay.

So I'm going to, you guys are going to have a seat. So I'm going to proceed. I object to them not being able to provide the testimony, but I know you guys want to move it along. So with that, I'd like to start. We're here today on a very specific issue. This is an appeal of a denial of the waivers requested by the Playhouse. That is the determination that you have to make. Was the decision correct? Is the evidence there to allow them to have this waiver? Commissioner Regalado said that the county objects to being called a developer. One of the things that's made this a very unique situation is I do a lot of work working with developers. And we are here with the city, we go at the city, pushing back against the county, Who is the developer here? And so I want to be very clear as I go into this, a lot of things that are happening here are the county's own doing that leads to these problems. And I believe the evidence is going to show that the correct decision was made and the correct decision is to deny these waivers at this point. I think we have to look at this a little bit globally. This is a civic use space. This is public space. When it stopped operating as of today, it's 100% civic space. By my calculations, it's being turned into approximately 90% commercial space. You can do that. There's nothing that stops a developer from buying up a property and changing its use. I was involved with the Colusa Golf Course, a golf course which was parks and rec. At the county level, they changed that. But to change that, you have to go through the processes to make that change. Here, the county is trying to avoid that. And what they're using is these waivers and exceptions to come in and turn a property, really change the essential use of the property. Your appointees at the PSAB balked at that. They were very quick to point out like, this is not how this is supposed to work. These exceptions are designed to allow, I'll use the Arsh Center as an example, There's two restaurants, there's an event space, there's little bars. That's what this is designed for, not to turn a playhouse into 35,000 feet of commercial activity. They can do that, but they need to go through a change of zoning. And I'm gonna go into the issues with that, but I just wanted to set the stage for what we're here about. That's what you're deciding on. As an initial matter, I believe the commission can reject this waiver. The county is not the owner of this property, just to refresh everyone's memory. The state of Florida is the owner. And in the City of Miami code, If you're not the owner of a property, you have to file what's called an authorization to act. It's a notarized form signed by the owner or owner's representative. They don't have it. There's no argument they have it. It became an issue at the last hearing where they said they insisted that the state of Florida knows about What's happening?

Mr. Winker?

Yes.

So we're at four minutes. I think we could go a little longer. Do you agree, Mr. Pardo?

Okay.

Yeah, that would be wonderful. Thank you.

And so in that case, as an initial matter, as a fundamental legal matter, they have not properly applied for this permit. And there is nothing on the record that shows that they have any permission from the property owner to make this application. I put on the thing, actually it's very interesting, the owner is listed as Jimmy Morales. as the applicant and the primary owner is also listed as that. Again, just improper. If any normal property owner had applied that, it would have been kicked out. Bring us back the signature of the owner, do this property properly. The county is asking for waivers to increase the lot coverage from 50% to 60% to pour, reduce green space from 30% to 14.9%, increase driveway width, and allow pavement and front setbacks to increase from 30% to 100%. You hear residents complain about this all the time. This is not acceptable. This is not necessary for this project. It should be disallowed. One big issue, the lack of a traffic study. In the analysis, your planning director said, after reviewing the facts of the application, it was determined that a traffic study shall not be required. Again, non-starter. You should just, right now, just say, do the traffic study, come back when you have a traffic study. Just completely unfair to these residents and taxpayers to not have that done. This is based on a hardship. They have to show that they cannot build the project that they want to build because of a hardship, and that reasonable development is not permitted. It's not the case here. Financial gain is not hardship. They have not shown hardship. It's self-induced. And finally, I bring it to the issue of incompatibility. This is out of scale, and the testimony you heard undermines the neighborhood character. I went through the adverse impacts, and again, I go back to what a waiver is for. Permits minor deviations. Waivers are not intended to relieve specific cases of financial hardship, nor to allow circumventing the intent of the code. That's the bottom line. They're trying to circumvent the code. And I leave you with that. Please vote no on all four waivers. Make them go back to the drawing board. Bring back a project that is good for the neighborhood and works for these neighbors.

Mr. Kirtley?

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just very briefly, we clearly disagree with Mr. Winker's characterization of the project and of the facts. We do have authority to pursue this project. We do have the professional recommendation of your staff, which has gone through all of the requests and applied their professional expertise. If there are particular questions or areas of concern that the Commission has, Again, we have the presentation. The commissioner is here. We have our very talented director that can address any specifics.

Thank you. And Madam Mayor, I will add one thing. As I mentioned in my presentation, a lot of the issues are being confounded. We're happy to show you the square footage for what we're building. We are partnered with the Miami Parking Authority, who is building a parking garage, and that parking garage has commercial space. We have nothing to do with that. That was a determination that was made by the city of Miami that asked everyone involved to ensure that these projects were self-sustaining. We are bringing back a historical building and the uses that we have are civic and educational. There are some commercial, but it is commercial that existed when the building was open, and it is part of our restoration of that building. So there's a lot of misrepresentations made. We're happy to answer them one by one. Currently, this is an asphalt jungle. There are no trees. We are planting trees. We are asking for a waiver because we were asked by the residents to provide a sidewalk. We can take out the sidewalk and plant more trees, but the residents don't want that. They want a sidewalk, and there currently isn't a sidewalk. So every single variance that is being requested is a variance that exists because the city of Miami asked us to do these things. And we're happy to go through them one by one, if that is your preference. But we have been litigating with Mr. Winker for over a decade in what is the world's longest bid protest. And we're here to answer your questions.

Commissioner Pardo, I'll let you take the lead on this one.

Yeah, I do have some comments. I have a quick question for the city attorney. When it failed at PZAB, it failed because it was a supermajority, correct?

Correct. I believe the vote was five to four. Five to four.

So five in favor, four against. So it's the supermajority. But the Miami 21 code requires a supermajority. Requires a supermajority. That's why it failed. So this obviously has been an incredibly contentious and emotional issue in Coconut Grove, decades long contentious emotional issue. And from the days when I first started knocking on doors and listening to residents, it became very clear that people just wanted something positive done. People wanted to stop the arguing, the bickering, the fighting. And how do we get to a place where we reach an understanding and we do something that is respected and wanted? I think the county has done a good job of designing and trying to preserve as much as could be preserved. including some of the business square footage that was originally in front of the Coconuro Playhouse. Obviously, we're building a parking garage. There was a gentleman here earlier criticizing us because it wasn't tall enough, because it doesn't have enough parking spaces. But no, they respected the character of the neighborhood in the backside. And I think we, in our office, myself, have been very intentional about preserving everything that has to do with identity, culture, the West Grove Little Bahamas. We think about it every single day. So we're very committed to this. We have a series of conditions that we want to read into the record. But when you hear that this is a big commercial thing, it's just not. The biggest commercial piece is parking. And then you have a theater, which is being restored, which the community wants to see happen again in Coconut Grove. It's not going to be a 1,200-person theater. It's a, what, 350? Okay, so much less traffic, much less congestion. All of the traffic is geared to main highway, not the backside. We've made some conditions that also help protect the backside and the neighborhood in the back. Another thing I want to say, it doesn't end here. The commitment here is to continue the conversation. We held a community meeting right here in City Hall. It was packed house. We heard from everyone. After that, we received an email from Grace, Hoda, Ministerial Alliance, telling us we're good. If we stick to these conditions and we have a commitment to keep working on this, we're good. As the county commissioner mentioned, there are some things that are within the purview of the city. I just want to go ahead and read these conditions into the record so that the residents know exactly what we're agreeing to. No commercial frontage into Little Bahamas single family neighborhood. Include a buffer wall enclosure in the rear of the theater and parking garage. Traffic study, which I believe it's already, okay, so traffic study and traffic mitigation plan for construction of the playhouse and ultimate operations developed with residents. So this is something that we will be very committed to and we will play, our office will play a very big role in First source for hiring and living wages. As the commissioner mentioned, there's some state preemptions, but guess what? We can go out to the community and we can do our best effort to make sure that we're trying to meet that. And we do that with other things. So I feel pretty good about that. Meaningful access for historical churches and community organizations. Absolutely. Even if we take an allocation from our office and we try to make that happen, we are happy to make sure that there is that kind of access. And consideration for investment in Little Bahamas history and landmarks. I'm extremely passionate about investing in Little Bahamas history and preservation. Our office just did $200,000 for the Ace Theater. We're working closely on Mariah Brown House. We have other designs and plans of things we want to do. So I want the residents... to really feel good about the fact that this is something, it doesn't begin or end today. We've been doing this since we've been in office. This is a commitment that we extend to you that we will continue doing this. The markers that had been removed and people thought that it was disrespectful to have removed those markers, those markers were removed to have them preserved so that they weren't scratched, dented, damaged. They're all going to be replaced. So, and we're looking at designing more markers and even more design elements around the entire idea of history, heritage, identity, and preservation. So those are, I just wanted my colleagues to have that background because, you know, we've never really talked about it.

Any other questions or comments?

I just want to thank Commissioner Pardo for his advocacy around this project and around Miami Marine Stadium, both of which are historical, architectural, cultural assets that the city has had closed, or city and or county has had closed for half of my lifetime. And I know you've been working really hard to get this reopened, restored, and renovated for the public. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner.

Go ahead, Commissioner Gravella. I want to disclose real quick that I do know the gentleman that's representing The residents, I asked George if I have a conflict, and he says as long as I don't have a bias against which I do that, I can vote. So I just wanted to put that on the record.

Okay, and Commissioner Pardo, I just want to compliment you on having another community meeting with Commissioner Regalado, and from what I heard, a lot of people understood the project as it exists today, kind of post-lawsuits, and were able to come to terms with it. And I just kind of want to put on, you know, they're They're asking for exceptions, but the exceptions are still so much better than what we have today. Right now, we have about 2,000 square feet of green space. So we are literally going to have eight times the amount of green space when we're done, and we will have more than double the number of trees. And the fact that the driveway is a little wider is because we're trying to make sure that there's no traffic backups. I realize it's push and pull on this, but I think the two of you have negotiated well. And as long as we make sure we have community access to the theater in the future. So please work with Commissioner Pardo on that. So with that, I'll entertain a motion if we're ready.

Go ahead and make that motion.

Second. Second.

Do you need to say something?

Yeah, so the motion is to grant the appeal, which would... Correct.

Grant the appeal.

We have a motion to grant the appeal. We have a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Carries unanimously.

As amended.

As amended. Thank you. Thank you very much for your patience with us all day.

Thank you, Commissioner Regalado. Thank you, Ashley Thomas. Appreciate all your hard work.

Okay. Well, let's see. How about we march through?

Mayor Higgins, my apologies. Would it be possible to take FR2 out of order? I do apologize. We have a publishing deadline with the Miami Herald, and if we could hear FR2 now, that would help us tremendously.

Commissioner Escalona, are you okay with that? Yep. I believe it's your item.

All right, let me read the title, FR2. FR2, first reading ordinance, an ordinance of the Miami City Commission amending Chapter 37 of the Code of the City of Miami, Florida as amended City Code titled Offenses Miscellaneous, more particularly by amending Section 37-16 of the City Code titled Encampments on Public Property Prohibited, providing for revised procedures of enforcement of violations containing a severability clause and providing an effective date.

Okay, Commissioner Escalon, I'll turn it over to you as here's your item.

Yes. So I hear our residents today and obviously I understand how they feel, how passionate they are about this issue. The goal is not to arrest anybody. So because of the concerns they may have, I have two amendments. City Attorney, can you read those amendments?

Okay, you've requested- Sorry.

Can you read those amendments into the record, please?

Yes, sir. You've requested an amendment to the amendment, which is it would be subsection three. Prior to the enforcement of the provisions in subsection C1A and C, a police officer shall issue a verbal warning to a person maintaining an encampment in violation of this section to inform that a failure to comply with the city's prohibition against encampments may result in the person's arrest and provide a reasonable amount of time for the person to abate his or her encampment.

So if I understand this right, how it's going to work is, let's say you have somebody sleeping on the sidewalk. The police officer would approach. And James, I don't know if you want the police chief to explain how the process will work in the future, or do you want to do it yourself?

Thank you, Commissioner. Not only do we have the police chief present, but we also have the lieutenant that oversees the homeless task force for the agency. We also have the legal counsel for our police department that actually worked in drafting this document available. So maybe if we could have both of them come up, I'd appreciate it.

And I just wanted to correct you to a certain degree in that it wouldn't be necessarily sleeping, it would be an encampment. An encampment under the ordinance as it presently exists is the unauthorized use of fabric, metal, cardboard, and other materials as a tent or other temporary structure, the unauthorized use of a bed mattress or bedroll in a public place, the unauthorized use of a heating device in an area, or the unauthorized accumulation of personal property other than durable medical equipment that would not fit in a container three feet high, three feet wide, and three feet deep. So they'd have to meet those elements.

So question number one, if there are no beds, if you offer a bed to an individual doing any of these activities, you offer a bed. They refuse. They either have to move or they go to jail. Is that right?

Well, yeah. The first critical component here is that there's bed space available for these individuals.

So if you don't have any beds, you cannot make the arrest. Is that accurate? Correct. Okay. That's what I wanted to get out there because it looked like we just wanted to arrest everybody. And that's not the goal. That's not what we want to do. So I just wanted to get that clear. Yes, sir.

I have some questions about that.

Commissioner Pardo.

Thank you. My concern would be, for example, there's someone near my home that is outside a lot with an umbrella, cardboard box, sitting in a chair with their stuff. You know, if somebody complains about that situation... what would the police do in that sense? Is that an encampment, having an umbrella and creating a small area?

So what I want to harp on, Commissioner, here and to the entire team is that we're allowed to utilize our discretion. And we're human beings. We're trained in this field and we have a dedicated team of folks that deal with these type of issues on a daily basis that know our unhoused population, many of them on a personal level. Lieutenant Valadares and his team do an amazing job building that rapport and getting resources. So arrest for us or any type of enforcement is a last resort. The critical point, it just gives us a tool to be able to enforce certain actions situations which actually occur very rarely right we've only had two arrests dealing with encampment issues year to date this entire year so this is a tool that's not used often however it gives us an opportunity for those cases that are very rare to seek other alternative actions but we our team is dedicated to to assisting and providing resources for these individuals and absolutely officers have discretion at the end of the day so when we encounter a situation like that we're able to use alternative measures to deal with it.

I think I definitely am concerned about us being perceived in any manner or opening a door for criminalization of homeless people.

I agree.

I think that's what we're all trying to prevent. And from a policy perspective, when I hear something like a reasonable time, a warning and a reasonable... What's a reasonable time? I mean... Yeah, the last thing... So, in a way, I'm also trying to protect our force, our police force, so that somebody doesn't make a an error in judgment and it ends up being just a really bad situation, a human situation.

Commissioner Scalona was very transparent in our meetings and our conversations with the entire team and he's fully aware and he's very sympathetic to those same concerns. Reasonable time allows us to utilize that discretion. What we don't want to do is anchor on certain time frames and it was five minutes over, ten minutes over, and then we are in a situation where we need to enforce something that really should use other tactics.

Thank you. Yes, ma'am.

Can I, Madam Chair, can I, okay, because I've had some problems that apparently you're having and I guess all of us are having. I think we all, yes. Yeah, when I came in, I asked this question and I had an idea, right? My idea was since Miami Beach was exporting part of their problem to us, I don't know if you're aware of that, and because TGK, everybody lands up and they give them a ride over here, And then they land up in the Seventh Avenue Quarter, my district, and come in this house. My idea was, why don't we do like an ID system of the guys that are ours, per se, that are not shuffled from others, to see if we can cut down on the amount of, you know, problems that we have with this situation because it's not only the ones technically that are in our city that belongs to us, okay, per se. How do you judge it? That's hard, right? But there's definitely other cities sending their problem to us, and we've never dealt with that problem. Nobody wanted to maybe send a letter over there to Miami Beach and say, hey, you guys got to take care of your problem. You can't just keep on sending it over here, you know what I mean? And then the other part that I just wanted to add on, you know, the key, I think, is having beds. Because if you don't have beds, then you hamper him because he can't do anything, right? If we don't have beds, you can't arrest him, can you? Right? You can arrest him, but you say, well, we can take you to a place, we got a bed, we'll take you. And then if he doesn't want to do it, right, then you have the option to arrest him. Is that correct? But if we don't have the beds, you don't have that option.

Exactly.

You're right. Absolutely. Yeah, we can definitely explore different options, sir, to see how we can continue addressing... Well, what I'm saying is that we need to get money to have these Camilo's houses and others have beds, so then you can do your job, because if we don't have that, you can't do your job, kind of what you want to do, right?

Sure. Madam Mayor, Chair?

Yes, ma'am. Go ahead.

I'd like to ask our director of the heat team, because in Overtown, when I got elected... There were a lot of encampments. I'd like to know what the difference is. I'm concerned about the term reasonable. What is reasonable notice for someone that is houseless? Is that 24 hours? Is that 72 hours? Is that a week? In Overtown, when I got elected, we had a huge problem with encampment right underneath the expressway. We don't have that anymore, do we, David? Could you step up and share what we have done? Because I agree with you. I'm completely sympathetic to our houseless situation. I do not want them to be criminalized, nor do I believe it's fair to have criminal activity. In Overtown, I was very sensitive to these encampments because it took up a block, two blocks, where children had to go to school. They would have to walk in the street, which was dangerous. And having them come home, possibly being snatched into one of these tents, it was really bad. We don't have that anymore. What did we do in Overtown, because I didn't create any additional legislation, what did we do in Overtown that has eliminated, for the most part, this issue?

Well, there was two things. Well, David Gilbert, human service director. We went to a model for moving people directly from the streets into permanent supportive housing. That was the shift that happened in District 5, and it's happening actually across the city of Miami. So as opposed to just offering shelter beds, we are getting individuals ready for permanent supportive housing while they're on the streets. So that eliminated the majority of the encampments, and we have worked with the Homeless Trust to be working up different facilities that are outside of the city, as the commissioner mentioned, so we don't have the centralized population of homelessness within the city of Miami.

Let me ask you, David, what resources do we offer right now homeless?

We offer substance abuse treatment, we offer family reunification plans, we offer individuals to go to ALFs, we offer shelter beds, just a plethora of things, depending on the needs of that actual homeless individual. We have the hotel-motel program, which offers individuals that are family and they have minor kids, we have roughly 60 people on a daily basis in the hotel-motel program, but within the shelter system is roughly 1,600 people on a daily basis within the shelter system.

We also bought beds, right? Yes. By the way, how is that bed buying business that we seem to have had a problem last year with Camila's house? Remember that when they changed the contract on us? Whatever did happen with that? Because I call you guys, we used to call you guys quite often, remember that? I mean, whatever did happen with it? Did we acquire the same amount of beds? Did we not?

Those actual beds went away, but they were an expansion to other facilities. So you had Chapman that increased beds throughout the south location and the up north location. He was able to purchase beds at the Miami Rescue Mission, which created those additional spaces. So just to say that, we have additional 80 beds that are coming online at the end of this month, which is a low barrier facility, which is an unincorporated day, along with the 148 beds that the Judge Leifman Center as well.

So let me ask you this. Are we up to the same capacity that we were? Prior to the little crisis that we had with Camilla's house? We will be by the end of the month. Did we have a net gain of more beds or less?

It will be by the end of the year.

It will be equaled out by the end of the year. It will be what? A net gain? The same? The same. The same.

but it's not right now not right now and we also are looking at extra beds in d5 right that is correct and that's going to be like approximately 120 beds yes yes 120 beds we identified another space and the point i'm trying to make is i don't know that we need to create additional legislation and it will result in arrest i believe i i think i think what we have now is sufficient particularly because I've seen it in Overtown. It was bad, bad and scary. And our former mayor, one, two, three times back, Mayor Suarez, but dad Suarez, not son Suarez, he called me and said, what are you doing? Because I just drove through Overtown and I've never seen it like that. and it was really bad. So I don't know that anything different is happening or it's any worse. We also had an aggressive street cleaning initiative and sidewalk cleaning initiative, correct? That is correct. We would post notice that on Tuesday at 12 o'clock, a street cleaning was going to happen and clean the street, clean the sidewalk, And eventually we got all of those tents, mattresses, nightstands. Because what happens is people come into our community and they drop off their unwanted furniture. And then they use this furniture. But all of that furniture, all of those things have to go away once you put the notice that the streets are going to be cleaned. So they have noticed that if to get your stuff, because this is their belongings. like part of the resolution, part of your item says that they can take what they can. I mean, sometimes their home is literally packed into a shopping cart, and that might not fit the criteria of that's acceptable. So I would want us to tread lightly, and I really don't think that, this item is needed. The vigilance is needed. And even with this item, you still have to remain vigilant. You have to remain vigilant because if you don't, they will come back and they will come back. But we remained vigilant. Every week or so, we had the street cleaning, the sidewalk cleaning, correct?

That is correct. I was going to say right now, just so you guys know, right now, the Bayfront Trust, we're going to vote on giving the The Hermanos de la Calle, you know, I think I said $300,000 is what I said. I might give a little bit more, but I also want to take care of your situation. We did something with the Salvation Army last year for my office, and we gave them money. Now, I haven't kept track of that all the time because I got a lot of stuff on my plate, but do you know where we're at on that?

I think they're still in the process of doing an expansion. They're closing down offices and creating more dormitories on the second floor. I think it hasn't been completed yet.

Commissioner Pardo, you've been waiting patiently.

Thank you. Thank you. I have a quick question. So when a person doesn't accept housing, what happens to them? I mean, if you're offering them a bed and they say, I'm not interested in that. I want to just stay with the shopping cart, my umbrella.

We continue to be able to report and try to provide them permanent supportive housing. Shelter is not an option.

So they're not going to jail? No. Because my understanding of this whole thing is that it eliminates a bureaucratic need to issue a written warning, which is cumbersome and actually delays being able to get them into assistance. Is that your read on this?

But it also allows for other services to be provided, not just shelter beds.

So you're fully supportive.

Okay. Okay.

Mr. Manager, you've been waiting patiently to say something as well.

I just wanted to add to a comment from Commissioner Gabela about the IDs and keeping track of where they're at. I do want to inform you that under our director's leadership, we do maintain a database, an index of our homeless population, and we do a census regularly to be able to identify where they tend to try to live while they're in our community. So we're not issuing IDs at the time, but we do have a database that tells us their identification, who they are, and where they reside in our city.

David, I have one question for you. In the county, do you know which city does the most for homeless? offer more resources, et cetera. Do you happen to have an idea?

I can't speak for other cities, but I can tell you that the city of Miami has a substantial investment in the homeless. Just last year alone, without reporting some of the other departments, it was over the $20 million investment, $8 million to the Hathaway Bay for permanent supportive housing solutions. We have $6 million invested in our department. We gave $200,000 to Lotus. We gave another $600,000 to Chapman. So it's just a significant investment to all of the community partners, along with the homeless trust, to provide the necessary resources to support unsheltered individuals.

Are you working with Manos de la Calle? Yes, we are. Madam Chair, can you call the question, please?

All right. I presume you'd like to make a motion as amended. Is there a second?

Second. Actually, I didn't get the opportunity to speak. I wanted to... No, it's okay, it's okay.

Is that okay with you, Commissioner Escalona? Yeah, yeah. Okay.

I wanted to thank Chairwoman King. I had not heard about that before, about the notices when you're doing sidewalk pressure cleaning. That is really a very smart tactic. At the DDA, we started about a week ago pressure cleaning sidewalks, but I don't think that's part of the process that we undertake. So my guess is that we're just avoiding certain spots. So I'm going to make sure to talk to the staff about that because I think that could be helpful. On this one, I want to support What I know is Commissioner Escalona's goal. This is one where I need a little more time to kind of wrap my brain around it in terms of the different possibilities. I know that Mr. Gilbert is doing a wonderful job, and I've now gotten a chance to kind of do a deep dive on the various agencies that help out and their different roles. But on this one, I need a little more time to kind of do my own research. I just want to explain my position for right now.

Would you be open to deferring it?

You can vote against it, that's okay. I don't want to vote against it. This is one where I just like a little more time for it, if that's okay.

Motion on the floor?

There's a motion on the floor, so the only way to do that is to make a motion to defer, so that's... Yeah, but there's already a motion to approve it.

He's a motion on the second. Yeah. So we have a motion and a second.

Yep, and Commissioner Gabella, you accept the amendment, correct?

Yeah, I simply .

Commissioner Scalona, you wouldn't consider a little more time on this one just to bring it back to September?

This is very clear. We also, I understand what it is being homeless. I get that. But we also need to be honest and we also need to understand that we have residents. I invite you all to stop by Flagrant 12 and see Flagrant 12. It's a disaster. I am not going to have a district like that. With all due respect, I understand that people go through situations in life, but we are providing the resources that are needed for them to go to shelter. Nobody here is saying, we're going to go and arrest you. No. We're providing resources, not only beds. We're providing way more than that. So I genuinely don't understand what the issue with this is, but that's just my opinion.

Mr. Gilbert, are you comfortable with the revised version of this? I mean, you're much more of an expert on this matter than I am and and and chief Lopez What are your thoughts?

I'm your recommendation. I'm comfortable with it, but I will attend to PD to form an enforcement You're comfortable with it chief Lopez.

What are your thoughts on this then on the revised version?

Yes, sir Support of it as well. I lean on the directors opinion as well, and those are conversations that we've had. And most importantly, Lieutenant Valadares, who's out in the community every single day. We hear about it, we read about it, we experience it occasionally. These officers do this every single day. He leads a core group of Miami PD folks who are out and about engaging, and those are the folks that I've spoken with in detail about it, and they're supportive as well, sir.

Commissioner, you'll have my support.

Thank you. Okay.

Thank you.

We have a motion. We have a second. As amended, Mr. Clerk, all in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? I'm a no vote. One no vote. Show Commissioner King as a no vote. All right. Thank you very much. I guess we'll go back to our regular order. So public hearing items. Does anyone want to bifurcate any of the public hearing items?

No.

Okay, none. Mr. Clerk, I know you have to amend them to add some resolution numbers. Do you want to read that?

Yes, thank you, Chair. PH3 will be amended to add a City Commission resolution number to the body of the legislation. PH4 will be amended to add a City Commission resolution number to the body of the legislation. PH6 is going to be amended to add a City Commission resolution number to the body of the legislation. And PH7 will be amended to add a City Commission resolution number to the body of the legislation. Thank you, Chair.

All right, so I will take a motion on all the public hearing items as amended. So moved.

Second.

All right, second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay, so show all of those passed. All right, now on the remaining resolutions, does anyone want to bifurcate anything? We've already passed RE5. Anybody want to separate anything from RE1 to RE14?

I'd like to pull RE11 and RE10. I guess RE9 and 10 go together.

Yeah, they do.

9, 10, and 11.

9, 10, and 11. Anybody have anything else?

Give me a minute, please.

I'm sorry, say that again?

One minute. One minute, please.

OK, no rush.

City Attorney, for RE3, we cannot discuss publicly what we were told. I was told, right?

Let me have, yeah, my, could you just go up to that? We're represented by outside counsel on this issue, and I'll introduce Mr. Fabian Ruiz.

I just want to know for the public to understand what can be discussed. Yes. of the conversation that we had with you.

So the conversations that you have with me as a lawyer are privileged conversations. We shouldn't be having those publicly. I think you can ask certain questions, and we can kind of try to navigate what the response would be. Can you explain how we go here with RE3?

Please, Mr. Attorney.

Through the chair. So this is a pension lawsuit. This was filed in 2006. It is...

So you're talking 20 years ago?

This is a 20-year case. And, you know, I jumped into this case in December of 2025 because there was a period of time where there was not much happening in the case. Since December, roughly, of 2025, there has been activity in the case. And now we're, you know, effectively set for trial in a couple of weeks. This is a settlement that has been agreed to in terms of the number and the terms of the settlement. And it's now being presented...

approval by the City Commission I mean there are a lot of things that we can say but look at the Commission I remember when I was running the fight I'm sorry sorry Gabriela the fights in Gabriela we have we cut all you and the disagreements are part of a week at all you as well I don't believe So you have to see all the facts to understand why we're moving forward the way we are. And they can see that later on, right? Because this becomes public after, what, three months or something like that? Senator?

Upon the conclusion of the litigation.

The shade sessions that were had will become public. Exactly.

So when you see the facts, you're going to understand a lot of things. That's all.

Okay, so before we go there, what I'm going to say.

All right, folks.

Yeah.

It seems like we're bifurcating RE3. All right, so let's go back to where we were. Stay there. I think they're going to ask you another question, unless you need the steps. All right, so we have bifurcated RE3, RE9, RE10, RE11. Anything else? All right, I'll entertain a motion on RE1, RE2, RE4, RE6, 7, 8, 12, 13, and 14. Mr. Clerk? RE8 was withdrawn. Oh, RE8 was withdrawn. Yes. Sorry about that.

And additionally, my apologies, RE12 and RE13 will be as amended.

Yes. Okay. I have a motion on all of that.

Motion.

Second. Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. All right, now we will return to RE3. Commissioner Gabella, I think you were the one with the next question. Is that correct?

Yeah, I'm going to watch my words here so I don't get... Let's be careful. So I don't get... Okay, so the only thing that... And I'm going to go along because at the same meetings you guys decided to go, you know, the consensus was we do this. But, you know, what bothers me about this, you know... Since I've gotten here, I've been dealing, you have too, and Madam Chair, you guys haven't because you just got here a long while back. But anyway, since we've been here, we've been dealing with the Carollo matter, okay? And when I went into those meetings, every single time, it's been like 10 meetings or 12, okay, I've been told, but when I would ask the question, shouldn't we settle with the Fullers and this and this? You know, no, no, no, let's keep going, let's keep going.

So, I just, I want to make sure that we're not getting somewhere, or they're attorney-client conversations, and I don't think that you're having, I don't think you're mentioning anything that relates.

No, no, no, don't, this is an opinion. This is not anything that's going to have an effect on your case one way or the other.

No, I'm just saying, and I don't think this goes into the case that I'm working on. I think it relates to other matters.

Well, then if it doesn't go into the case, you don't have to worry about anything. I'm just talking to talk, right?

Will we do that? That's probably something that's shade me.

No, but this needs to be said so the public can understand part of what he's talking about, okay? So my natural thing to this would be to vote against it. I've stated that on the record, okay? I'm not going to say anything else to that. However, what upsets me is that in the past, regarding the other cases with Carolla, where Carolla was the defendant, let's say that, and the owners of the plane, we were told that continue to the end, continue to the end, and no matter what money it causes, don't ever settle, and let's go to court. But then all of a sudden, Carollo comes over here, he's asking for, you know, now $760,000, and all of a sudden, we're being told, oh, don't go to court, pay now, pay now, pay now. That's what bothers me. That's what bothers me, okay? I'll leave it there.

Thank you.

I agree with him.

All right, so despite our total dismay about this item, no offense to your legal services, do I have a motion?

Move.

Thank you. Do I have a second?

No, I'm not going to be the second.

I know, I would never, I'm not looking at anyone except you. And it's Commissioner Rosado's birthday, so we can't ask him.

I'm going to go along kicking and screaming.

Maybe because it's your birthday, you could just do a favor. We can all hold our noses while we vote on this if we need to.

Look at me. He dies for lack of a second.

This will die for lack of a second and we would go to court.