Village Council - Regular Meeting

GOOD EVENING.

AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME, I'D LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER. MY MIC IS ON. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT OUT THERE. VICE MAYOR CANTER, CAN YOU LEAD US? IF WE COULD PLEASE BOW OUR HEADS IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE.

EVERYONE COULD PLEASE RISE FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.

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

Madam Clerk, roll call.

Councilmember Burch?

Present.

Councilmember Devaney?

Present.

Councilmember Berlinski will be with us shortly. Vice Mayor Cantor? Present. Mayor Charles? Here. We have quorum.

Are there any additions, deletions, or deferrals for the order of business tonight?

Yes. Yes, Mr. Mayor. I'd like to defer the presentation on swales to another time.

Okay.

It will be coming to a meeting soon and fast. Thank you. Any other additions, deletions, or changes? Hearing as there's none, Madam Clerk.

Item 5A, presentation on the next steps for the Parks Master Plan. This item is brought forth by the Parks and Recreation Director through the Village Manager.

Hi, I'm Angela Dorney. I am here to have Ryan from Framework Design Group to discuss the next steps in the Parks Master Plan.

Okay. Thank you. Can you all hear me okay? Yes. Okay, great. All right. Look, it's already up there. So, you know, we've had a couple of conversations since the last time we got together presenting sort of the final plan and then ultimately presenting it for adoption about what do we do next? You know, what is the next step towards having this do what we all hope it does, which is not stay just a plan. So what I wanted to do is sort of talk through tonight, you know, in five or 10 minutes or so, being respectful of your time and then leaving a lot of opportunity for questions. What a roadmap kind of looks like between here and a referendum. And the reason I say that is because when you look at the implementation strategy that was presented, some of your most important and largest projects also happen to be some of the more expensive ones that are difficult to phase. So when we looked at implementation strategies, there are some things that you can begin to do and Angie and her team can begin to do and in fact already are doing sort of immediately within their current operating reality. But bringing a new rec center online and rebuilding a park around it, as well as some substantial improvements to the parks in your system, which are in need of it, are projects that are difficult to phase without a large capital injection. In the context of a referendum, there is sort of a, I don't want to say proven in the sense that every community is different, but a good roadmap. Can we go back a couple slides? I feel like we're moving a little quick here. a path that gets you from a master plan to a referendum while keeping good momentum. The first phase, and I've got this broken out into three key phases, each with a couple of tasks that take us from where we are today. Again, this is just a proposed, this is how we would recommend you go about it. Obviously, all the details of this, who does what and how long it takes, things of that nature would all need to be figured out. But one of the first things you need to do, and it's already in discussion right now is, Well, you know, what makes it into this bond, you know, in the referendum? What projects are included? What is the amount we'd be asking for? What amount will be sufficient to fund the high priority improvements, but also politically viable in the eyes of your residents? so there's a couple key things we'd recommend doing here and this would be sort of something that would start as immediately as you could start it and the first of those would be doing a second round of more targeted and referendum specific polling so honing in on feedback on the master plan sentiments around funding asking detailed you know sort of testing questions around funding amounts uh you know of what people would be accepting of and then also reasons that folks may or may not vote yes or no and this is one of the most important things we can do for all the tasks which come after this because what it allows us to do again if we go through a similar process on the surveying side that we did for the master plan we end up with statistically defensible data that actually represents your full resident population, not just park users. So when we're looking at a voting base, we need to understand the needs, perspectives, and opinions of the entire community. And when we go through this and ask some of these really specific and detailed questions around implementation funding priorities you know referendum amounts things of that nature we're able to just like we did with the master plan but cross-tabulate those so we can see within each different demographic group within each different area of the community are we hearing different things are there is there a need as there likely is for differential messaging so reaching out to different types of users or residents in different ways to communicate the same points All of that we can do with the data we get. So that to me is a very first and really critical step. The other thing that we need to do once we have that information, which takes about six weeks or so to obtain, is, you know, When we digest those findings and take a look at, you know, sort of what the public is saying around funding amounts and, you know, priorities and opinions on the master plan and the proposed projects is get our heads together as a community, as a council, and say, okay, what, you know, what are we going to put in and what's that final amount going to be? Because we can't draft ballot language, which is inarguably the most important thing you're going to do in this whole process. We can't draft that without understanding very clearly what projects are included and what dollar amount are we asking residents to approve. Once we come to consensus as a group, as a council body on that language, that amount, we then begin the process of taking that guideline or those frameworks and developing really, really targeted and tailored ballot language. We always like to say as much as we love attorneys, especially municipal attorneys, this is a process where you don't want necessarily just legal language to lead the day. We really want to clearly communicate and hit on all of the hot button topics in the 74 words that we have or 77 words that we have in the ballot. So again, I showed the example way back when we started the master plan of how we did this with Doral and we had 10 or 12 drafts. of the language all tailoring and wordsmithing and referencing back to real-time polling data so that we made sure we were clearly communicating. Again, importantly here, not advocating for our measure, but really clearly communicating what it is and why it's important. Um, so once we have that ballot language, obviously the village attorney would be hand in hand in that process, making sure that we're sort of following all of the legal guidelines. Um, that, uh, getting to final ballot language point is when you can start to, uh, assemble, um, some communication collateral and outreach collateral to make your residents aware of what that is. If you think about this process in these couple of phases, the first is really honing in on exactly what is included or will be included in the referendum, which projects, how much, are those things representative of the most important priorities? Are they viable from a political standpoint, from a voter base, from a funding impact standpoint? Once we have all of that, the next phase of the process is to develop and then roll out a communications and outreach campaign that would make residents aware of the findings and conclusions of the master plan, the implementation strategy which would obviously include a referendum for a key component of it and also on top of that bringing to light the things that the parks and rec system does for your residents that are important to each user group because at the end when you fast forward to april assuming that's sort of the target timeline right now for a special election you want every single person that steps into that ballot box or fills out a ballot to understand clearly how they personally benefit from your parks and recreation system. So that doesn't matter if they're a user, a frequent visitor, they could benefit from, you know, reductions in crime and health impacts and, you know, increased property value or property value protection. There's all these different ways that we can communicate the importance of and sort of, you know, influence of your parks and recreation system even to non-users. The reason this is so important is, and this is based on Iowa exit polling data collected by the Trust for Public Land, but when they poll folks after an election that they have had a ballot measure in, it almost doesn't matter what preparation they've done in terms of outreach, 40 percent of voters have no idea what the measure is about before they step in the ballot box. Now, I don't believe that same percentage will carry through with your community because of how one, not just how small you are in terms of size, but also how close and interconnected you are. So I think you'll have much, much, much better awareness than that, but we wanna make sure it's crystal clear what people are voting on, why it's important and that they understand and see themselves benefiting from the system.

Now, if you can go to the next slide.

This is just an example of some collateral that we have assisted in developing for the City of Henderson Parks and Recreation Department. We just wrapped up a almost two-year master planning process with them a couple months ago, and since then have been running a campaign very similar to this of reaching out to and educating their residents, not just on the outcome of the master plan, which is something that folks, they participate a lot upfront in the production of it. And then a lot of times at the end, when it's all said and done, folks kind of come back and say, well, whatever happened with that? Where's it going? Why hasn't it gone anywhere? Even if it has in reality, they're not aware of it. So these are just some examples of some targeted communication that we've done or that we did to key user groups beyond just the general public. So in this instance, we knew that the key voting groups that were going to be the most important to reach with regard to this, which was a property tax referendum with the senior population, which is statistically one of the largest groups in Henderson, and then also the business community. We developed tailored messaging, all factual, all fact-based, all rooted in master plan findings and data, but also tailored to what is important to those user groups. Go to the next slide, please. So this is actually the phase of the process where we would develop content like that. So once we have final ballot language that we all agree upon, that's when we start developing these different tools for communicating to the public, not just about the ballot. And again, remembering that it's essential and legally required that you don't advocate for your measure, but you can educate voters about voting. what is included, why it's important, how we came to those conclusions, what happens if it doesn't pass, for example. We will develop an overall outreach and education strategy. In that case, we would identify these key user groups. We're all tailoring this back to the data that we've learned through the public polling process. We would develop some supporting graphics and collateral, so not just things like you saw that might be flyers or handouts, but we would also expand the website or recommend expanding the website so that you would load as much of the master plan content on there in interactive ways as possible so that when folks learn about or hear about from their neighbors or at a meeting about an upcoming referendum or about the master plan, they may not have participated in the same way that the other resident had and they can go to the site and learn and really get excited about seeing themselves benefiting in different ways from the information on the website. That's again a low-hanging fruit. We already have a good website framework built out. This would be just adding additional content to it, both specific to the master plan's implementation strategy and vision, and then also as you would get closer to the election, this is the same site you would send folks back to learn more about, for example, where they vote, when they vote, how to vote, when they need to register, doing anything and everything you can to reduce voting friction, so it's as easy as possible for people to vote. Again, not advocating for a yes vote or no vote, but making it clear and easy for people to learn how to vote. And then the benefit of continuing to use the website you already have is it's something that folks are already familiar with. And you're just sending folks back to a single location for this information that we're able to update and respond to in real time. I also mentioned the flyers were just an example of some support collateral. Other things that we would recommend doing are developing sort of meeting in a box toolkits. So you'll hear in the next section here about doing some actual community public outreach through some town halls and things like that. We would develop all the content and sort of tools, handouts, flyers, presentation, slide decks, etc. So that Angie and her team can use that information when we aren't there or any other consultant isn't there helping you. to have those same conversations or workshops really over a period of months so that you're staying in front of the community and getting in front of key user groups that may or may not be present at a single one, two, or three public open houses, for example. In addition to that, we're going to develop key talking points for each target audience. The polling information will help us understand who we need to communicate to in what ways and with what information. We'll take all of that and develop key talking points by topic for each of those specific groups. Examples for Henderson were the senior group, the business community, and they had a youth and young adult messaging as well. All of that messaging then gets folded into different delivery methods. Social media content, obviously being a key one, but also digital communications that you would use through your newsletters, flyers, mailing lists, things of that nature. We're trying to make that toolbox of pieces and parts as interchangeable as possible so that you can distribute them in as many different ways as possible. We'll also work with Angie and her team to develop a really great and compelling graphics and photo database that can be used along with any of this. So that's always a struggle for most communities. You happen to have a lot of really great social media content already, so we can pull from that. But we develop a photo and graphics database that is organized by key user groups so that when you're communicating with them, and developing content, presentations, social, whatever it may be, you're using imagery that is representative of what we know their priorities or concerns might be. And alongside of all that process, we're going to collect additional data and statistics on the impact of your park system as it relates to your community. So how it affects things like property values and stormwater infrastructure value and all these different metrics of impact that a park system has that are beyond play that people don't really know about. And again, we want people to understand, even if they don't use your system in the way a traditional park user does, they do benefit from having a high quality parks and recreation system. Once we have all this information, we usually recommend conducting a couple in-person staff training sessions. And that's not just with Angie and her team, that's really with as many different entities and leaders of the various departments within the village as we can to bring them up to speed on the process, what the ballot looks like, things to do, not do, how to communicate, what resources are available, where to go when residents have questions, how to answer those. This is a mantra that Doral adopted when we went through this process with them that I really like, but they said that after they did all their staff training, something they really communicated was that every conversation you have with a resident is an opportunity to have a conversation about the upcoming ballot. Again, not advocating, but just making people aware of when it is, what it is, and why it's important. Next slide, please. Phase three here actually represents the rollout of all these different items. So if you think about phase one, we're trying to determine what. Phase two, we're talking about how we communicate that and what things we need to communicate it. Phase three, we're actually doing those things. So this is really in the last four or so months leading up to whenever the election is selected, that we would be conducting those public forums, the town halls where we're not just rolling out and sort of celebrating the findings and the conclusion of the master plan, as well as the implementation strategy, but talking about sort of what's next and how we get there. Now, the benefit in this process in the context of going straight from a master plan and implementation into a referendum is that you're able to talk about the implementation strategy for the plan without advocating for a vote yes measure. So in the instance of this plan, really, you know, you really don't have a viable strategy for funding, you know, a large scale improvement like an indoor community center without a public funding mechanism. So we do have this sort of ability to talk about that, which is a positive thing. We would recommend conducting a series of focus groups. So these are sort of more targeted discussions with community organizations and entities that you know you need support of or that are influential in sort of communicating on your behalf within the public. And again, this is really just to make them aware and get ahead of any misinformation that can come out as it relates to, you know, not just the master plan, but also sort of the election or the referendum process. We mentioned the social media content leading up to, I would say in the two plus months leading up to the actual election, we really recommend making yourself as visible as possible in as many different ways as possible. And in a lot of cases, that doesn't even mean talking about the referendum, that means celebrating your successes and your impacts. So for example, with City of Henderson, we had a four and a half, five month campaign where it was called Parks and Rec Make It Possible. The it, and the reason I really love this sort of branding, the it was different. So we had all these different metrics about, you know, for example, Parks and Rec Make Play Possible, all the things that they do uh you know to sort of facilitate play but we also had an it for economic development and it for public health and it for public safety uh you know for all these different things that people really resonate with even if they don't use your park system so we're communicating about the master plan and the value of the vision as it relates to the long-term quality of life of your community Alongside that, there is still room and especially in a community of your size for the use of more traditional hard copy mailers and flyers and signage. This is at every community event, anytime you have a meeting, this is information that you have on hand just to get it out there in as many different ways as possible. Again, here we're recycling and reusing content that has already been developed in the process and repurposed for this delivery type. Then another key one that is really more centric on Making voters aware of the election is what we'd recommend doing is the SMS text message campaign. So in the week or two leading up to the election, you could do a series of targeted text messages where we typically contract with the third party provider. We're doing this in Henderson right now. We actually have a quarter of a million texts that are getting ready to go out over the next three days. to registered voters and key user groups, communicating to them about why the ballot measure is important and why the park system is important, and also how and when to vote and reminders of how and when to vote. For example, when early voting closes, when the polls close, things of that nature. So with the benefit of a community of your size, because your population is a lot smaller, you could really communicate pretty clearly and in real time. with an SMS campaign at a pretty reasonable cost. Go to the next slide, please, and we'll wrap up here and I'd be happy to entertain any questions. But this is look at a roadmap of where we are today of saying, okay, the master plan was just adopted. The key milestones that you're working against, obviously, a lot of them are set by the county as it relates to election deadlines and what you have to follow for that. in terms of developing ballot language and getting on the ballot. But really the first thing that I would recommend doing is getting in some additional polling so that we can test the attitudes towards different levels of funding as it relates to the actual ballot measure so we can get some ballot language moving. So that would be a key one. You can see it's sort of backloaded with execution where, you know, starting in around the holidays, which is always a tricky time because there's so much going on for folks, but sort of starting and maybe ramping up just after the new year with a full-fledged outreach and communications campaign leading up to an anticipated election in April. So again, I know I'm just one thing on the agenda tonight. I don't want to take too much time, especially since the last time I think I presented it was an hour plus. But I did want to give a sort of a perspective at Angie's request of how you get from A to Z. in terms of moving forward from master plan to actually getting to a successful referendum. So with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions. I'm not going to go into all of the action plan data. I really just had that as backup in the presentation slide deck in case questions were asked. But is there anything, any questions that I can answer? Do you want me to ask him a question?

Sorry.

With the state of Florida looking into homestead exemption, and then if you look historically with exemptions in ad valorem, parks is usually the one that takes the first hit because services normally, like fire rescue and police, are usually not touched, and then the pensions. How do other states, how have they dealt with A cut like that, I mean, are you still, the municipality still be able to borrow money or is just the rates going to change or what's your experience with that?

Well, it's interesting that you ask that. It's unfortunately timely in that while I was president of our local park board last year, Indiana went through the same thing. So, you know, Homestead exemptions were cut. It resulted in our park department, which is... a couple hundred acres, but we took a 30% reduction, unfortunately. But the way that they were able to buffer that was by finding alternative ways to sort of leverage earned income and leverage additional grant resources to stabilize, which is really the first task. It didn't necessarily affect the borrowing or bonding capacity as dramatically as it might for other communities because we weren't over leveraged. And I feel like you all are kind of in the same place there where you've got a lot of capacity. So it will go down in the instance if that's approved. but I don't think it would necessarily prohibit you. Now, I do think all that said, if that's something that's going to be on the ballot in November, it makes a lot of sense to build some buffer into the schedule to be able to respond to that, right? So we wouldn't want to be rolling out, you know, a preferred or proposed plan of here's what we're going to go for, here's what we're going to ask for, and then have to backtrack on that, which is, you know, Any misinformation that gets out there, even if it's well-intentioned or unintentional, complicates the process. So I think making sure that we're being responsive to that timeline would be important.

Is there also, since you're all around the country, is there an appetite for public-private partnerships in park systems across the country?

Yeah, absolutely. I think honestly where we see that, I would say the most frequently in the context of a parks and recreation system in terms of like actual true P3 projects are in large scale capital projects. So indoor centers, sports complexes, things of that nature where there is a commercial viability, you can bring those partners in. And in some cases, they're complementary partners like a health care partner that really are value added versus detracted. So, yes, I would say it's becoming more. a lot more common, what I always say about P3 projects, which I'm a big proponent of, but the devil is truly in the details. So trying to figure out all of the details of arrangements upfront in terms of usage and access rights and rental rates and as much of that as you possibly can so that you're making sure that you're being good stewards of public resources and not using them to then play second fiddle to some private entity, which happens more frequently than you think.

Thank you.

Ryan, I just want to thank you for such a thorough perspective on all this and really kind of filling us in with some of the next steps here. I do have a question for Angie while we have you up here, though. And, you know, obviously, or at least I don't want to speak for my colleagues, at least for me, there seems to be a lot of interest coming off the heels of this presentation at the last meeting and a lot of excitement and um whether there's interest or not pulling it off i think it's a whole nother task at hand and as someone who's been with us for a long time and who's if we are able to pull this off whose legacy will in transition will largely be defined by this next step i just kind of want to hear what your thoughts are about you know on on the heels of his presentation and also in your own mind where you think we should really go from here just one more thing I want to add I know the rec board met yesterday but I feel like if we don't have a clear champion and someone leading the charge on this we're not going to be able to get the traction we need

So, yes, we did have a rec advisory board meeting. I think I have one of my constituents here. We did speak about that. And basically, you know, 2017, it didn't pass. And what I said is if it doesn't pass now, this is what you guys We're going to move forward from now until whatever. And there's a lot of infrastructure that still needs to be addressed, whether we go for a bond issue or not. The fields deterioration. The tot lot needs to be redone. There needs to be a new roof on both facilities. Well, maybe just the community center. I think we just did the field house. All the bathrooms. There's seven sets of bathrooms that need to be redone. Our drain field is shot. The kitchen needs to be remodeled. You know, we want to update the look of it. So we're talking, you know, taking all the drop ceilings out, adding new lighting, new electrical, maybe expanding the gym. I mean, what would that cost? And then, and the field house too. So you got to. You've got to look at that also. So there's going to be a cost either way. If we don't get a bond issue for fixing all of that, how is that going to work out of capital?

Well, I'm not even saying fixed and all that. I mean, at this point, we have so many aging facilities that it's going to cost us as much. But the clear distinction for me is getting the community to recognize, because obviously no one wants their taxes to go up, okay? But making the community recognize that they're going to get this money back in the value of their homes with a brand new community center that goes in, new programming, new facilities, and the cost alone backtracked. This is what I'm saying is we, moving forward, I think... And I also don't want to speak for anyone else, but in my mind, at least the clear vision is to move forward with something new instead of trying to fix the old because of the cost to repair all of the things you just mentioned. So at the end of the day, we have to have... We have to create the community support behind it. We have to, like I said, I think this clearly needs a champion either from the rec board or the rec board as a whole or some kind of leadership to help us. And I mean, I know that some of us are already appointed to other projects, but I think at least one council person should be kind of part of this project as well as a representative and as someone who can be a collaborative mind. Because like I said, at the end of the day, Like I said, no one wants to pay more in taxes, but this is the time right now to do this. We just spent all this time coming up with this plan.

If we can't make people realize, we're going to be— So the plan does include something for everyone, all ages, all demographics. The plan definitely has something that everybody can use in it. We cannot go out and solicit a PAC or solicit a yes vote. We can only present the facts. So the PAC has to be generated organically. Okay. So we actually did talk about that last night and just, you know, the REC Board can go out and talk to people. Right.

We did speak about that at the REC Advisory Board meeting also last night.

Yes, as staff members we can present facts and what's in the plan and how it could benefit each individual, but we can't go out and solicit a yes vote.

So based on the information we've been able to gather so far and the fact that the report was so comprehensive and included, even to the details of walking path extension do you think that it would be in our best interest right now to kind of come up with an abc list of once where we address critical top list priorities from the report and then make maybe a b wish list and see what so we can kind of begin to differentiate the different parts and see which parts we can get the most traction behind or

Yes. And the rec board did have a priority list, too. I believe I sent it to you, Ryan, also, right, at one point? We have a priority list that we've put together. Off the plan? Off the plan, based off the plan of what it would be. But basically, it's the recreation complex from 96th Street all the way to the top lot because there's just so much infrastructure that needs to be done in that area. Like Memorial Park, Optimist Park, the walking paths, they can be done through a capital project. Remember, it's a 10- to 15-year plan. So you do what you can through the bond, and then everything else is down the road a little bit. So you're not doing it all at once.

Bringing something to us that we can, I guess I was off, that we can look at in order to kind of see what those different months look like. Sure. Maybe we can begin to have those conversations. I think, like I said, I don't know anyone else who wants to do it, but if none of my other colleagues want to do it, I would volunteer myself to be part of this process. Because like I said, if we miss it, obviously November is too soon, but if we miss it in April. Wow.

I think we're targeting April.

I think we're back-timing it for April.

On that one graph, the timeline, he has it. September, we should have language drawn up. I think the date is in January to get on the April election ballot.

I'll take this time also, since I have a captive audience here. The village is going to be 100 years old in 2032, so do the math. I mean, we're voting in this would be April 27, and then construction, destruction, construction. What do we want to look like in 2032 as a village? And having a brand-new rec center somewhere around completion time of that would be something that we actually as a community should target for.

I think that's a great idea.

Wow. And God thinks so too. Oh, no, we got it. I think we lost Ryan. Oh, there he is.

Angie, another question. Another project, it's my understanding, Esmond, that right now our contract at the park at the end of 96th Street with this particular contractor only involves him building the seawall.

Is that correct? Or does it involve him also refurbishing the park? Just the seawall.

Right. And so as a part of this Parks Master Plan, I don't know. I'm interested in what the committee felt. But right now we're going to end up with a seawall with basically a fence on this side of it if we don't proceed with doing something with that strip of land there in your plan. So how did the Where did that fit into the group's thinking as far as – It's definitely on the priority list.

I don't know at what level. I'll have to get back with you on that. I don't remember.

Well, then I would agree that we need to get some type of priority, you know, discuss that as far as what we're going to include and do first and over what – over what time frame? Certainly your triangle is number one, but I'd hate to see us another five years with nothing but a fence there at the end of 96th Street. MR.

Through the Chair, I do agree with you. And we had planned on prioritizing it. After all, we had gotten some dollars, you know, because every bit helps. MR. Sure. MR. We've gotten some dollars from Commissioner Steinberg. And so we will be using some – I think it's 17,500 or something like that. but that will help in doing something to that area because we just can't do that just to do the wall and just leave it fenced. That would not be fair for all the time we have waited.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Ryan.

Thank you, Ryan. Thank you. Absolutely.

Item 5B has been deferred. Manager's update.

With pleasure. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and Council. June 1st came Yes. June 1st came. That's true. And we're in June 2nd now. But June 1st is significant because after two extensions to the contract that we had with PCM at our Concha Club, we were able to finally turn everything over. It was a very frantic Sunday afternoon as we got a lot of things going. I have some pictures of that, but we did a lot of stuff in that time and we're able to finally bring Kemper Sports on board to manage our golf and country club. What is even more significant is that we were, we never really said this out loud, but everybody knew it, that we were chasing a liquor license. And on June 1st, we also got the liquor license. So that's a good thing. Because there are groups coming that really just don't drink Pepsi alone. They drank other things. And I just really want to introduce two fine gentlemen from Kempro here this evening so that you see them, know that they're the faces of Hulbieto Country Club. And since we have this audience in here, I just want to... Just to remind everybody because there was some press there that said that we were going to lose employees. All employees who wanted to be retained were retained by Kemper Sports and so what you have is a continuity of the fine service that we have built over the years and that we have enjoyed, that those ladies and gentlemen who have served us well in the best hospitality mode are still there to serve us well. And so we're quite thankful of it. But I want to introduce, and I had to get their titles because they have bigger titles than mine, Mr. Mayor. And I know I had it written. I must have forgotten it. But yes, Chris Fleger, who is going to be the general manager, and also Matt Lindley, who is the vice president of operations. And those are two gentlemen here. I'd just like to acknowledge them. I don't know if they want to say some words or what it is, but just I'd like to do that.

Welcome. Welcome.

Yeah.

Just go to the podium. That way it's recorded.

Mr. Mayor, Mr. Vice Mayor, council members, village staff and residents, just on behalf of Kemper Sports, wanted to thank everybody for such a warm welcome and making our transition into Miami Shores so special. And we're just fabulously excited about being part of this. And with a team that we inherited from PCM, we couldn't be happier, and we look forward to many years of service for the village. Thank you. Thank you.

And then I have one other thing, Mr. Mayor. I just wanted to give a timeline for something. It was brought to my attention that there is a that well I saw it that there are many comments about the tennis contract and I just like to speak on it a little bit but just to remind everybody that there's something called a cone of silence and a cone of silence still exists no the cone of silence ends when I have written a memo to to the council as to a recommendation for the provider would be taking over our tennis facilities and functions. I received the memo, the package from our procurement manager this afternoon at 2.45 p.m. I have not looked at it. And so as a result of that, there's a cone of silence and if there is discussions, you, collectively five, as well as every one of us here, including myself, we're still in the corner of silence, and we just cannot discuss it. And so I just wanted to make sure that that was clear. I can speak on the facts as they are, because those are well documented, was that we went out for an RFP, we got six respondents, the committee, which included three residents and an employee. And the residents are those who are well-versed in tennis. Two of them are directors in parks and recreation. Three of them are directors in parks and recreation. Two are. One is a tennis player. And then the other is an employee here. But they got together. They narrowed it down from six to four. And then they add oral presentations and selected two for my attention. And that's at my desk now. And as soon as I'm able to, and I'll do that expeditiously, I will make the recommendation to you. Until then, I mean, those are the facts. But until then, we're in the corner of silence. We can't discuss this. Thank you. Or rather, we should not discuss this.

We can't. We can't discuss it. We can't. Is that the end of this portion of the minor's update?

Through the chair, if I may.

Yes, that's it. Maybe since all these people are here for... I believe for the tennis situation. Can you maybe just explain the RFP process and why we do things that way when we're hiring somebody, what the intent is to give everybody a fair chance?

Sure. It's casting a wide net of the goods and services that you want to procure for a municipality. That's what essentially the RFP process is. When you cast a wide net, you have people who respond. then you have to determine whether or not their responses are based upon the scope that you have advertised, if they meet the scope. And some other things go into that. But then we assemble a committee. And the committee you assemble is a committee that can make the decisions on the entity that might best suit the needs of the municipality. based upon the scope and based upon their presentations, which is why you have oral presentations. So it gives somebody, other than just handing in a big packet or something, give them a chance to see them, to meet with them, to interact with them, to hear what it is that they have to say. And the RFP process just levels the playing field for all respondents who are interested in providing a good and service to municipalities.

And it's a preferred way in municipalities. And the cone of silence means that we're not supposed to be meddling in their process?

I'll tell you this much. I'll go even further. We're not allowed to, rather. We're not allowed to. I have not.

Right.

In fact, I forgot they were meeting on Thursday.

But there will be a time when that recommendation, which has come to you today, you're going to review it and then bring a recommendation to us.

And it will be discussed in the public forum. Then we will have those discussions about, you know. And the moment I do that memo and send it to you, it becomes a public record. But you haven't seen that yet, and we haven't seen that yet. Absolutely not. Correct. Thank you. I'm done, sir. Okay, thank you.

Madam Clerk. At this point in time, it's a public meeting. This is the juncture of the meeting that we have public comments. It's open to general comments. If it's item specific, the person could do that later on. If they speak about a specific item now, then they can't repeat at then. It's three minutes at the podium. State your name, address, and have three minutes to speak. So the floor is open right now.

Michael Weber, 1700 Northeast 105th Street. I wanted to mention that there's a home at 823 96th Street. It's falling apart. It is a blight on our community. More importantly, it's a health and safety issue. And I believe that that home should be raised immediately for the betterment of our community. I also have another item I want to mention. Traditional public schools as we know it are a dying breed. Miami Shores Elementary is a traditional public school that is excellent. We need to do whatever we can to promote that school. And one thing I think that we need to do to promote it is to have a joint venture between Miami Shores Village and Miami Shores Elementary. And I want to point out that Miami Shores Elementary's curriculum, which is the Cambridge program, is financed by Miami Shores Village. And one of the ways that we could promote the school to make sure that it doesn't die like other public schools, such as Horace Mann, is to have a concert and utilizing a band shell that's at Miami Shores Elementary and get the residents who know nothing about Miami Shores Elementary there to see what the school has to offer and anything that the council can do to help promote that agreement. And there is a joint agreement between Miami Shores Elementary and Miami Shores Village. So that's all I've got to say. Thank you. Thank you. And if you go down 96th Street, you can see that house.

And it's awful.

It needs to be destroyed. Thank you.

On the north side of the road. Hi.

You guys aren't allowed to talk about tennis, but am I allowed to talk about tennis?

You're allowed to say whatever you want. OK. As long as you state your name and address first.

My name is Maliki Karen, and I live at 1270 Northeast 102nd Street. I've lived in Miami Shores for 15 years. And the heart of this community for my family and so many others is Bird. Bird doesn't just teach tennis, he transforms everything he touches. Within weeks of taking the helm, the courts were gorgeous. His vision for what's ahead is even more exciting. His energy is electric, his instruction is brilliant, his impact profound. My husband and our three sons and I don't just play better because of him, we love the game because of him. Kids giggle on his courts, adults stand taller, and people of every age call out his name just hoping for a wave. Miami Shores is lucky to have him, so are we. And go bird.

Hi, my name is Chuck Strauss. Point of order. You said you're limited to three minutes for speech. That means only at this meeting, correct? Yes. So if it comes up next time, I can come back and say the same great stuff about Burns.

You come every Tuesday and there's three minutes. I'd love to see you at every meeting.

Do we have cocktails after the meeting?

Every other Tuesday. Only if we get out of here at 8, there's cocktails after the meeting.

I just want to echo what the last lady said. Bird has been part of our family for years. He's one of my favorite people on the planet. My son, my wife are real tennis enthusiasts. I'm a terrible hacker. It doesn't matter. He just treats me okay. I think he's been a great addition to our community and advisor to my family and advisor to Miami Shores. I really hope When you come to the point of making the decision that you consider his, the guy's brilliant at what he does. And we support him. And I think we could have 150 people here and he'd be here all night. Because I think playing at those courts, you find everybody is a fan of this guy. He's an astounding personality. So I really hope when it comes to that vote that you guys support him. So I just want to say that.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you for letting us speak. My name is Jay Weaver. I've been a resident of the community for 33 years. And I just want to say, generally speaking, that the Parks and Rec Department is really the heart and soul of our community. You know, not only have all of our families raised our children in all these programs, soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, but so at mine. And it wasn't until a little later in my 50s that I discovered the tennis courts and rediscovered tennis. And it was kind of a revelation because I didn't know any of the instructors there, but they took me in and they improved my game. But it was more than just getting better at tennis, more than just a place to exercise. it really became an extension of my own family. And it was remarkable. I felt like I was meeting new friends, meeting people I could trust, meeting people I could confide in. And it was that sense of community that we value so much in Miami Shores that I found at the Miami Shores Tennis Club. And Bird, as everybody has said before me, sort of personifies that virtue, that ideal, that character that we all want in Miami Shores. And it's not just Bert. It's the team around him. There's Kati. There's Tim. There's Chelsea. There's Nicole. I could go on and on. I know them all. Juan, Andy. They're really people who care about each other and care about the people who play there. And so when it comes time to really consider who you want to manage the team into the future, Don't think of it in terms of just a year or two years or three years. Think about it in terms of the history of Miami Shores and the community we have built. And what they are doing there is building more of the community on a smaller scale, but in a way that really enriches the lives of so many families. So I just wanted to let you all know that. Thank you.

Hello, I'm Stephanie Picone and this is Eli Flock and we live at 55 Northeast 97th Street. Everybody's been much more eloquent than I could ever be but I just want to emphasize how much Bird and the team over there has meant to us into getting into tennis and I also really love the way that the kids from all different schools kind of get together at this court and I think it's testament to how he runs the classes how he's run the summer camps and for myself getting back into tennis too after probably 15 years of not playing for a long time but we just feel so welcome there it's definitely a huge part of the community and yeah we're I just want to echo what everyone else has said so thank you

I'm Billy, 10400 Northeast 12th. My concern is the seawall a little bit. We walk around pretty much every morning and I watch the crane break. It's embarrassing to me. I mean, that's disrespectful to have a company that has one crane. I don't know who did the research on the company that was hired or whatever. And to watch people fishing. The workers are fishing. My gosh, that's an insult to me. I'm not better than anyone, obviously, but geez louise. Who hired his company? Gotta help people accountable. You know what I mean? And the cost. Something to think about. Really, there's something to think about. Miami Shores is a gem. It's a gem. I've said this before. We are the envy of Dade County. We're the envy of probably South Florida. Let's run it like it. Let's really value what we have here. You know what I mean? I mean, we are just awesome. But let's elevate it in every way. Every way from the people that are doing our work, the people that represent us, the people who are making the decisions. should have the same elevation of the capability to make the right decisions. Because that's just disturbing to me. So I wish that with the park situation, I hope that you all make the right research to hire the right company. As far as tenants, it rocks. I love it. So just keep it going. Thank you, guys.

That one's tough to follow. My name's Christine Gay. My address is 9957 Northeast 4th Avenue Road. I'm also here to speak about the wonderful Miami Shores Tennis Club. My son Henry, who's here with us, he's 15. He's played in the high performance tennis group at Miami Shores Country Club for about three years with Bird and Tim who are here who are Excellent coaches they have really improved his game, but I think they've really done a lot more than that I mean there's a lot of people have talked about it is a community, but also as a parent I do not play tennis, so I don't actually know what goes on there But I will tell you that in the past three years since we've been there the communication has improved greatly and the you know the way that you pay for what you attend the coach the camps and that sort of thing has improved greatly all of the efficiencies with Dealing with the courts and the club have from a parent's perspective Really improved and I think a lot of that of course is because of bird additionally they take my son to tournaments and They help him decide which tournaments he should go to. I mean, they're very focused on the individuals. They've really increased the high-performance tennis program for kids, and it's been great. They now have camps on every single break. Even if it's just Memorial Day, they'll have a camp, right? They have it all throughout the summer, every holiday, that sort of thing. So I think that even just in the three years or so that we've been there, Everything is really on the up and up, and we hope that Bird and Tim and the rest of their team can continue to run the club for many years. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Soraya Strauss. I live at 432 Northeast 100th Street. Yes, that was my husband. My son is also here, and he's 28. We've been in Miami Shores for 30 years. And since my son was about eight, Bird was his coach. And there's so much more than tennis. It's character, mentorship. It's friendship. It's always wanting to know and give more. And there's no one more that exemplifies those characteristics than Bird. I've known him for years. You can't find that anywhere. I play many women's leagues. I go to all the different tennis courts all over South Florida. And when you get to the Miami Shores courts, it's joy. And it's joy because of Bird, because of Tim, because the office managers who are so professional, so organized. The courts are in shape. All the other courts are in good shapes, so are these. But you get there, and it's always, good morning, Soraya, how are you? The professionalism, the tennis, the quality of the tennis is excellent. You go there any Saturday, it is live with this height, this height, ages, men, women, and playing all levels of tennis. And it's just bringing the community so close together. So they are pillars of this community, and we hope to keep them. And we hope that you consider them seriously because they are part of our family. Thank you.

My name is Willie Skelly. I'm at 574 Northeast 95th Street. I'm 50 years. I've been a member of Miami Shores Country Club. The first 30 probably golf and the last 20 tennis. I just want to rewrite what everybody else said earlier that Bird and Tim, everyone over there, the office staff, everything has been really top notch. It's very personal. A lot of places you go around and you play. I ran a men's league for a while back in the day, and it's not personal. It's impersonal, I'll tell you the truth. You go, you do your thing, and you leave. But going to the shores and being around those guys, it's really a family-type thing, like everyone said. And I really hope you guys really consider everything. And Bird's a great guy, and everybody else is top-notch. And I just wanted to reiterate that I hope that they keep going for quite a long time. Thank you.

Hello, my name's Jeff Caron, a resident of Miami Shores for 15 years. I would like to officially complain on the record that Bird has never let me win. In all seriousness, though, Miami Shores is an incredibly special place. As Simone was saying, we're the envy of South Florida, of everyone in the Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach area. It's a truly unique and special place. And it has stayed that way. My wife and I raised our three sons here. We go through the country club. There's 50 sets of eyes on our kids at any given time. And it's really that family, that community sense that's so special. And Miami Shores is what it is because it's a collection of the community, of stores that protect that specialness of the community. And Bird exemplifies what Miami Shores represents. He's a family man. He's a wonderful friend. He's an incredible mentor. He's somebody that my kids look up to. He's somebody that I look up to. He always does the right thing. And Miami Shores has, in honoring its past, it's through people like Bird that it will maintain. And as we look into the future, it's finding the right stewards and the collection of stewards to help guide us and continue the wonderful community that Miami Shores is. And I could not choose a better person to lead the tennis center than Bird. Thank you.

Hi, everybody. I'm Jacob Strauss. You talk to my parents. The whole family's here. I just wanted to say I also grew up here pretty much my entire life. And I really do see Bird as another father to me. And a lot of people in my community that are of my age, that I don't really see a lot of people my age here, but we all see him as a father figure. It's kind of crazy. And so when they say he's the heart and soul of our community, he really I don't know how he's been in so many places at once, but he always takes the time to talk to everybody and make them feel like he's family. Right now I'm in med school, I'm a third year med student, and I was rotating at in a children's hospital at Nicholas Klaus, and a lot of my interactions with the little kids, and a lot of the tricks I use, I got from Bird. He gave me a little stint there when I was in a trouble spot with money, because he helped me He helped me, he taught me a little, I mean, I grew up with him, he taught me tennis, and he gave me an opportunity to teach little kids. And a lot of the tricks that I learned there, I brought into the hospital, because he is amazing, he's electric, like all the kids listen to him, and he does it with such, in a way that it's not, He's not telling them what to do. They just listen to him and they all just become really good tennis players from that. And he has the skills. He turns them into incredible tennis players. I'm not sure how many guys of you play tennis, but he'll make you really good. Thank you.

Hi, how are you? Yvette Ruiz, 104-00 Northeast 12th Avenue. I just had a couple. Bird, I don't know you. I don't play soccer. I don't play tennis. I play soccer. So I'm always at the field. So I think you got the job, though.

Anyhow.

I just wanted to bring up a couple of issues on the master plan. Actually, about the bay, the seawall. There you go, the seawall. And how we have that in the master plan as part of that project versus it having its own independent and part of what's happening now. Those two things, I don't know how it was separated somehow. It just doesn't make any sense to me. So I just wanted to know if, or I wanted to say my concerns about that. We have to wait five years, six years before we see something happen there. It's already ripped up, halfway ripped up. Why not add it to another project, independent from the master plan? since it's already ripped up. That was one of my main concerns. As far as the homestead exemption, if they do remove it, will that throw away the master plan thing? That project, will it be thrown away? That's another concern of mine. Where are we going to get that money from to continue that? And then what's going to happen to the bay? What's going to happen to the seawall and that part, since it is something completely separate from what's happening now? So those were my main concerns. Maybe you guys can think about that and independently do something for that.

That's it.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk, are there any e-comments and public comment?

You have approximately 16 general comments regarding the Tennis Professional Services RFP. Is it the pleasure of the council to hear that now or when that item appears before council?

I think for that to be in the record, I think it's better on the night. Otherwise, it's asking them to do it again.

Okay.

That's my opinion. I have a consensus from the council. To go in the record, do you want the public comments in the record for tonight or when the RFP is actually discussed? They submitted them for tonight, I think. You want them to go in the record tonight? Then the clerk will read them tonight? Okay.

I mean, that's my opinion.

If I may? I know. However...

I don't want to prevent the opportunity if they wanted to speak twice, right? They could very much so easily the same way these folks spoke today and then come back again and speak. So for that purposes, we need to read it into record.

Okay.

Okay, first speaker is Adriana. As someone who worked for several years in Miami Shores Tennis Club office, I had the privilege of getting to know this wonderful community and its valued members. Over the years, I have seen firsthand how Coach Bird and his staff have created a welcoming, friendly, and professional environment that makes the club feel like a true home away from home. Their dedication goes far beyond maintaining the tennis facilities. They have built outstanding programs for players of all ages. and skill levels, including after-school programs, camps, clinics, and competitive training opportunities for juniors and adults alike. These programs have had a positive impact on countless families in our community. Coach Bird and his team know the members personally, care deeply about the club, and continuously work to improve the overall experience for everyone. Their commitment, experience, and passion are invaluable assets to Miami Shores Tennis Club. I strongly support Coach Bird and his staff in their bid to continue managing Miami Shores Tennis Club. Their leadership has helped create the vibrant tennis community we enjoy today, and I believe they are the best team to guide the club forward. Next speaker is Chuck and Soraya Strauss. They already spoke in person, so I will move on to the next speaker. Is Susan Konchak? OK. My name is Susan Konchak. I'm a resident member of Miami Shores Country Club for 40 years. I would like to recommend Bird and his group to run the tennis center. He has shown professionalism and has a kind nature towards children and all tennis players. He is a true leader and will improve and support all programs. Thank you for your consideration. The next speaker is Catherine Sterling. I'm writing to you today in support of the current tennis operators of the Miami Shores Tennis Club. My family and I have been residents of Miami Shores for over five years, and in the last year, my son and I have become frequent visitors of the Miami Shores Tennis Club. I have played every Wednesday with a group of moms, my son each week after school, as well as various camp sessions. The program that Bird has put together for our group of moms as well as our kids has been incredible. He's helped to foster a love for tennis, a fun learning environment, and friendships. It has been instrumental to me deepening my connection to the community of Miami Shores. As the time comes to vote on a tennis operator, I hope you take our positive experience as well as that of many others into consideration to maintain the current operators. Bird and his team, and Howie, who have served this community so well for many years. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Next speaker is Dr. Carla Levi Miller. As a member of the MS tennis team for many years and someone who plays tennis there frequently, I am so happy with Coach Bird and his team. They have a great group and have continued to improve the facility every day. They know so many of the members and make it very friendly and personal. Changing management to any other group will take away from the home-away-from-home atmosphere we love. Next speaker is Anthony Harder. I am writing in support of LeBird running the tennis facility at Miami Shores Country Club. He has been instrumental in helping us to get what we need at Miami Country Day School, and we would love to continue our partnership with them. My name is Anthony Harder, and I'm the upper school athletic director and varsity tennis coach. Next speaker is Rachel Mayer. I am a Miami Shores resident. I am here to express my strong support for LeBird and their proposal to keep and maintain the existing community and programming at the Miami Shores Tennis Center. What exists at the tennis center right now is not just a set of courts or a vendor arrangement. It is a real community. The tennis program serves families, children, adults, seniors, and senior tennis players in a way that feels rare and worth protecting. For my own family, the tennis center has become a multi-generational place. My children have benefited from the kids' programs and camps, which are excellent. They are active, well-run, welcoming, and meaningful. My mother, who is 70, has also been able to participate through classes and programming that make her feel included and engaged. And I have been able to play and improve as an adult in an environment that has good tennis level while still feeling warm and accessible. That combination is hard to create. A place can have strong tennis, or it can have community spirit. But the Miami Shores Tennis Center has both. It feels organized, familiar, and personal. People know each other, families see one another, kids grow up there, adults of different ages play together. This is the magic. I respectfully ask the village not to disrupt something that is already working so well for residents. The existing programs, the camps, the multi-generational classes, and the overall culture at the tennis center are valuable to our community. Change for the sake of change risks losing trust, continuity, and personal connection that have built has been built over time. Please support LeBert's proposal to keep and maintain the current tennis center community and programs. What we have is special, and I hope the village will protect it. Next speaker, Asil Krupp. I support keeping the existing management team in place. The staff and all personnel have made this facility an ongoing support village, which encourages a fun, family, professional, safe environment in which all can participate. This speaker did not provide their name, so it will not be read into the record, but does form part of the record. No name. Next speaker is Paula Barth. Hello. I would like to support Agenda 5A to leave existing staff and directors for the Miami Shores Tennis Club to run the programs. I have been a member of this club since 2009 when I first moved to Miami from Boston. This club has been a huge part of my existence and social success in Miami, allowing me to take to make lifelong friends along with advancing my tennis skills. I am a huge advocate of the current administration as well as the staff, pros, office staff and maintenance staff. I would be devastated if the contract was not renewed. The community as I know it lived in it would not be the same. The contract should be given to the only people that deserve it and have worked hard to make this tennis club what it is today. I have watched it evolve over the years and saw the growth and camaraderie that everyone has while playing the game. We all love elevating our goals to be the best players we can be, thanks to the hard work of the people in charge. Tennis. This is from Danny Valenzuela. Tennis has become part of the family's daily life, and the team of Miami Shores has a lot to do with it. They have created such a great tennis community for adults and children. My wife and I learned to play tennis together at Miami Shores, and all three of my kids are involved in tennis clubs, tournaments, and camps. Bird, Tim, and the rest of the staff truly have a passion for tennis, and they have created the best family-friendly tennis environment that you can ask for. This club wouldn't be the same without them, and I'm fully supportive of keeping Miami Shores in the most capable hands with Bird and Tim.

Thank you.

One more. I think it's Nur Mendoza.

What?

Alejandro Mendoza and Nathaniel Mendoza. I didn't have it on mine. Dear Miami Shores Village Council, I am ready to express my strong support for the Miami Shores Tennis Club, located at 825 Northeast 100th Street. For the past 10 years, the club and its team have been an essential part of our community, serving as a second home where neighbors connect and stay active. The club plays a vital role in fostering local relationships and keeping our families healthy. It provides an irreplaceable outlet for residents across the Biscayne Garden area to engage with one another off-screen. and on the court. The sense of community built here is lasting. Many of our children have grown up at the club and continue to return as adults. Please consider the significant benefits that Miami Shores Tennis Club provides for our community and our children. This concludes general public comments.

Thank you. Next item.

Is 8A, a resolution of the Village Council of Miami Shores Village, Florida, approving and authorizing the execution of a charitable donation agreement between the village and Miami Theater Center, a charitable nonprofit 501 organization, providing for authorization and implementation and providing for an effective date. This item was brought forth by the village clerk's office. The village clerk received an application from the Miami Theater Center seeking funding in the amount of $5,000 to support two after-school scholarships for children residing in Miami Shores Village. They provided backup documentation And in terms of the fiscal impact, the Village Council allocated $25,000 in the current fiscal year for charitable donations. Currently, $16,500 remains available should Council choose to award any particular amount to the nonprofit organization. There are representatives available to answer any questions you may have. I think it would be best if they would provide the background to their request. If anyone is present here on behalf of MTC, you can approach the lectern. Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Lakeisha Frith, and I'm the board chair for the Miami Theater Center.

Good evening. My name is Ermin Butz, and I'm one of the board members. Thank you.

Miami Theatre Center has been serving Miami Shores for over 20 years, and this past year they served almost 10,000 students at their location here in the Shores. This scholarship is for their after-school program, which is year-round beginning in September of 2026 and will go until the summer of 2027.

My daughter is currently a junior at Miami Arts Charter School. She is an individual that has been a part of this program since the age of four. I can speak not only as an educator, but as a parent that the service that Miami Theater provides is invaluable, not only to the children, but to the community. So any investment that you make is not only making an investment directly into them, but also directly into the community that you serve.

Just for the record, so that the public knows, it's after school for the full year to Miami Shores residents. I think for me, looking up on the website, that's about $2,800 per student, $2,870, I think. Yes. Correct. So then, therefore, even the $5,000 doesn't cover everything, but then these two would be a full scholarship, correct? That's correct, yeah. Just one question. That's two residents. Is it for the residents of Miami Shores that would attend there, would... It'd also just be a benefit if it was five residents at 1,000 apiece and then instead of the 2,800 for the year? Or is it just best for you knowing the community and children that need the opportunity to have this opportunity? That's correct. And then the process for selecting the two

Shores residents is that a lottery or how would it how would it believe they do an application process and then they look at a couple different things so financial and also an interest from the child should we work in coordination to put it out there to the public that there is a scholarship out there how would how is this just so they will they always post it on their website and all their social media but I think it would also be beneficial if the council shared as well

I think it would for just the community to know about it.

So that they know everybody knows about it. It's also listed on the application that that's an opportunity that's provided to parents who cannot afford it.

Right. And this one's specifically for Miami Shores residents.

And of the 10,000 students that attend, How many of those are Shores residents?

I believe she has a list in the application. I think it's about a couple of schools that also participate in Miami Shores Elementary. Those are the field trips. So they bus in students from Miami-Dade County public schools to the facility for field trips.

Would the students, the ones that are after school, would they also do a performance at some point in the year and then they're friends?

That's correct. So in the fall they do a Broadway Junior show and in the spring. So they would actually do two shows. Right.

And the attendance normally at the shows that are the year culmination for the after school project are usually residents from Miami Shores?

That's correct.

Yeah.

So when we say we're serving 9,400 individuals, That's not in this after-school program?

No.

That could just be kids that came to see a play?

Those are kids that come to see shows, correct.

Okay. How large is the after-school program currently? How many?

Is it maybe like 200?

That's a fair estimate.

Yeah, it's probably about 200 students.

And what is the cost?

It's $2,800, I believe, per semester.

It's $2,870, right?

It's every day after school?

Correct, yeah.

Do you know how many of the after-school program students are Miami Shores students?

I could get that information from Victoria.

I'm sorry. The application states 2,000 out of that 9,400.

But those were just people who have attended, not that are in the program that they're asking funding for.

Right, but based on what you're, if that's the case, we'll need to make that like amendment of what you're asking for, but based on the application, what's in the application documents is that it's 9,400 is what's served, and 2,000 of those 9,400 are Miami Shores residents. Now, being a little bit more specific, what's tied to the resolution is the two scholarships. And then the greater public purpose that we're attaching that to is the benefit to the residents that attend the show. So maybe the question could be framed as how many they expect in attendance of this showcase. I'm assuming that's what this is working towards.

There's a show? There's two shows.

There's a fall performance and a spring performance that are open to the public.

So the resolution is tied generally to those two scholarships and the benefit to the community that may participate in the show.

Those shows are not dependent on these scholarships. No, that will happen. Those are going to happen regardless.

Correct. But the scholarships lead to, you can correct me as your program, but the scholarships lead to the showcase. That's correct.

The individuals that are performing in the show are individuals that would be able to perform as a result of receiving these scholarships in some cases.

Do any of the students currently attending the after school program have a scholarship of some kind?

Yes.

Can you?

I do not know. I'm the board president, so I don't manage the day-to-day, but we can find that information out for you.

Have we, as a council, donated money to this cause in the past?

Through the chair, no.

I think you've received funding, though, through the community alliance in the past?

I believe so.

I'm not sure how this vote would go, but I just wanted to lay out the options since it seems like we're a little quiet. If there are some additional questions that you have that you would like clarity on, then by all means, you could defer the item and the applicant can amend it or get the proper individuals to be able to answer those questions that you have. If this is sufficient, you're fine. can approve or you can deny as well so those are your options for tonight as you kind of navigate absolutely

I don't know where everyone else's head is on this, but I was thinking since we haven't previously donated money to this cause and because we foreseeably will hear a lot more applications for these charitable donations before the end of the year, I would possibly entertain funding 50 percent for each of the scholarships, so giving a $2,800 donation, $1,400 if the tuition is $2,800. That way we're giving a 50% donation towards two students participating. I don't know if anyone else feels.

Through the chair, if I may. It just feels very narrow to me, like the effect that we're having is only on two students. Relative to the scrutiny we've given these asks in the past for schools and we're talking about a whole student population that we're trying to affect, it seems a little narrow to me. It's a lot of money. It's not our money. I think there's a fine line between like charity and philanthropy, I guess. In other words, we're not dealing with some trust fund that has been set up just to do good deeds. This is people's tax money. So we have to make a good case for how this is a benefit to the community. I'm a fan of the theater center. I think they're doing great stuff over there, but I'm just trying to put it all in perspective. And I don't know, it's hard for me to justify giving away other people's money for a scholarship that we're not going to choose who gets the scholarship. So another entity is going to choose who benefits from the money that we're handing over. I don't know. I feel like if the people, if we had students like here in front of us that were telling their story, their hardship story, and they wanted, you know, that would be more compelling to me than,

you know subsidizing somebody else's like charity basically because they're going to go and make a selection and they're going to choose who who gets it I don't I don't know it's it's it's it's rough chair Neil if that's a motion I would second it these are the type of programs I believe that we need here in the shores I think they're good for our community and good for our students We have a lot of organizations that we need to support. We've only got a limited amount of money as far as spending other people's money. Every penny we spend here on any project we okay. is other people's money. That's our job, is to represent the residents and the spending of their tax money. But we allotted $25,000 to give to charitable organizations and we have a lot of them, which you know, so it's not that you don't need the $5,000 for the two students. I realize that you do. You know, we have a lot of people that we need to help if we can do it. So if that's a motion, I would second it.

Through the chair, if I may, I just want to be clear. We did not say that we wanted to give away $25,000 every year. We said we are capping the donations at $25,000. We will not give more than $25,000. Not that we have to give away $25,000. I just want to be clear on that. That is correct.

Patrick, anything?

Through the chair, I'd just like to echo my colleague's sentiment that it is a very concentrated benefit. It could be a huge impact for those children's lives to have that scholarship, but the only thing is it's only for two people, and the other concern is we have an implicit precedent that we've set where the Miami Shores Community Alliance asked for $15,000, and we settled on $5,000, and then subsequently the Miami Shores Elementary parent-teacher association asked for $5,000 as well. I think we settled on $1,000. So I just feel like throughout the rest of the year, if we get more charitable donation requests, we need to have things in proportion and be fair and equitable to different applicants.

Through the chair, I definitely hear both your points on the end, and I definitely think they're they're very valid points, but I think that charity is a gamble at the end of the day, no matter what. I think that sometimes you take an opportunity to put your money, money behind something and whether it's scholarship or whether it's for programming or whatever, it's not always guaranteed to work out. These two students who may get selected, they may not, or one of them might be the next Chadwick Bostrom who, you know, uh, was fun, had his career funded by Denzel Washington as a, uh, I saw that clip recently, and it's just really echoed with me this week. And so I think about those type of things a lot. And, you know, obviously we never want to frivolously be giving away the community's money, but I think sometimes we've got to take a leap of faith on some things to try and do things where we see fit to, you know, to make a difference. And I see this as one of those opportunities. Now, if we want to discuss... the dollar point for a minute and adjust it. I'm okay with that, but I also stand by my proposal for the previous

recommended amount so but if we have a counter offer or something else we'd like to discuss so that we can do something I would be inclined I mean for being on the board how would you how would you feel for I mean I know that it was in the scope and the request was to students but how would the money be best served for

I mean, I think what he had proposed, even if we were able to offer half and we give that notification from ahead of time, we'll figure out, you know, we can probably try and support it as a board so that those students can participate for the whole year. I mean, there is a cost. There's a cost to using the theater. There's a cost for all the teachers, and they're putting on full production. So this is very elevated, I would say, from a traditional show.

And since you do have the time right now and the podium, could you also use your time to tell the public how much the arts actually have been impacted on lack of funding?

Yeah, just last year, we, Miami Theater Center, have lost quite a bit of funding because we received a lot of funding from cultural arts, Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs, and that was reduced a lot, and we've had to pivot. with our staffing and pivot with some of the projects that we were supposed to do so that we could continue to serve the community. So I think the team at Miami Theater Center has done a really good job of pushing forward. We've had really great after school care this year. The after school program has thrived. We have great teachers teaching. Now we're gonna be adding dance next year, but we had a wonderful teacher coaching the after school program and they're doing amazing work. And the arts, I study classical violin. It's expensive. There's no way around it. Even with community programming, it is expensive to get high quality arts education. And they have a beautiful programming right here in Miami Shores.

Thank you. How long after school, how many hours is it after school?

It's an hour. Yeah, they're there almost every day. An hour?

Yeah. I mean, it certainly seems like, you know, a good value.

And the schedule is different. So they have students, depending on the age and what show they're doing, that are doing, you know, maybe they're doing choreography and dancing. acting on Monday and Wednesday, then they have other programs on Tuesday and Thursday, but it is an everyday program after school and the team is there all day.

And part of what makes their programming different and special as opposed to other arts programs are the children do everything from the bottom up. They write the scripts, they design the actual costumes. It's a whole production from children from beginning to end.

Yeah, it seems like For the cost, it seems like the kids are going to get a lot. I'm not trying to come off as a Grinch or anything. It's a great organization. It's an awesome thing. It just makes me very uncomfortable giving away money that's not mine.

I think one last thing, though, as I said at the end of the day, it's always a gamble, and I think that we could take an opportunity to do a great thing for two students who might not have the opportunity to do so otherwise. And I definitely see the value in that. And as we're getting older up here, the future is in the kids. I mean, they're going to be running this world. And I think you never know when you get an opportunity to take someone who doesn't have an opportunity to do something and give them an opportunity to become somebody that they never imagined they could become before.

unless there's any other further discussion like to make a motion but no further discussion but I just want to read one whereas clause from the resolution that kind of sums up what this is benefiting. So the project will provide Miami Shores youth with access to a structured and supportive after-school environment that promotes educational enrichment, artistic expression, confidence building, teamwork, and social development, while creating opportunities for participants to engage in collaborative theater experiences and performances that benefit the broader community. So I just want to emphasize that this application is not solely the two, but it also is the benefit of the broader community as well for the purposes of this serving as a public purpose for the record.

So you want to amend this part of the whereas? Amend it?

Is that what you want to amend?

Right.

So I was going to make a motion to Approve the resolution in the amount of $2,800, which would give a 50% opportunity to two different students. Second.

I'm sorry. Can I just? Yeah. We were getting two scholarships for $5,000 before. Now we're getting one scholarship for $2,800.

One semester is $2,870. Paying 50% of them. We weren't covering too fully because our $5,000 cap, so it's $2,870 per semester, which is $5,740. Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh about that. The $5,000 was not going to cover

My question in the beginning was they would actually, the wave, if you go to their website and see the price for the whole semester, for the school year, 26-27, the price is actually higher than what they're asking, and then the organization was just going to cover that cost, the difference.

Right, that was my, that was the way I understood it.

But then if you do this, but then if you do it, it's just half, and then it's just half and half, so $1,900, right? Yeah. Well, what number did you do? I thought it was $2,870.

Right, but if you're doing two children. Two children is $1,400 each, right? $1,400. $1,400, so $2,800. So my minimum is for $2,800. We could do $2,870.

You want to pay half for two kids. I want to give a 50% benefit. Sure, as a resident. Okay. I thought you just wanted to give one scholarship.

And more so, well, I have the floor. I feel like this is a thing that every year you hear more and more and more arts, theater, performance programs, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash. I mean, it does not carry the weight and value it did even... 10 years ago, in my opinion, as far as the funding that these programs used to get. We have to fight, I feel like, to keep these things around. And if we can play a small part by giving 50% tuition to two students for a semester, I feel like we're playing a good part in the game.

OK. But they were going to pick up the remainder. for those scholarships. It wasn't that much, though. Right.

They're going to have to pick up a lot more now, but at least we're still... They will. Somebody will, for sure. But my point is, and the reason I made the adjustment is because we are going to have, I believe, a lot more applications this year, and I want to make sure we leave enough money for other causes so that we show fairness to other departments as well, but I think this is an opportunity, like I said, to make a statement.

My only concern was it just seemed like we went from two scholarships for $5,000 to one scholarship for $2,800, you know, and that's all.

Or, I'm sorry, two half scholarships for $2,800, which, you know, is...

Not as good as the original.

It's not as good as the original, but like I said, in fairness to the other applicants we'll probably have to hear this year, knowing that we want to give a maximum of $25,000. Like as you said, we don't have to give that all away, but we have up to that to give if we have enough people who... That's not the point of what I was saying.

The point of what I was saying is The applicant came and asked us to cover the cost of something. The cost was more than what they were asking, and they said they were going to eat the cost. So now, with what we're proposing right now, they're not eating any of the cost.

No, they are. They're eating tremendously more of the cost.

I'm just trying to make sure I understand.

No, they're eating way more of the cost than they originally had asked for.

Are they saying they're going to pick up the other 50%? They're not saying that. You're saying that.

I'm not going to pick it up. I'm saying somebody is going to have to pick it up.

The Miami Theater Center will cover the rest of the cost. The Miami Theater Center will cover the rest.

Or maybe some other scholarship opportunities that you guys get funding from.

If this just became a matching grant, then that's a whole different thing. That's why we have a discussion.

I don't think that's what it became, though. I think it became less generous than what they're asking for. But I'm still trying to be fair and generous at the same time.

I concur.

You know what I'm saying?

Can we call a question? We've kind of discussed this. We have a motion and a second.

We have a motion and a second.

There's a motion and a second. All those in favor of the amendment to tonight's resolution, say go by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Motion carries. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Next item is 9A, appointment to the Library Board of Trustees. There is one vacancy. The village clerk's office opened the vacancies to the public and to – specifically to the residents and to the incumbents. About a month ago, with the help of the marketing communications team, the applications were published on the village website, the newsletter, social media. The village clerk's office received three applications. The applicants have been encouraged to attend the meetings. to briefly introduce themselves. They are aware that you received their application and any supporting documentation. Before we entertain any comments from the board applicants, just informing you of the selection process, which is by board ballots, which are located in the upper right-hand corner. And once the ballots have been cast, the clerk will read the results into the record. Seeing one of the applicants present so far, Mr. Bell.

Right.

I'm sorry, Ms. Lafreda. Just going by alphabetical order is all. Mr. Bell.

Thank you, Mayor Charles and Council. On behalf of my fellow applicants, You have a tough decision because you've got three qualified folks here for one opening. And they want to devote their time to support our community. So I think I share my esteem for all of us. But I realize I have to self-advocate in this role. And to that end, I'm wearing my hat. Citizens Academy shirt because I'm fresh off the Citizens Academy. So I learned much more about how this village operates and I'm ready to put that to use. I know that you have my packet. In addition, I am certified by the state of Florida in the Sunshine Law for other duties I do. And in addition to my 43 year career in education, I have spent 40 years in this community. running creative writing programs for our youth. So I think my experience advocates for this role. Thank you.

MR. Good evening. My name is David Briggs. I'm a 26-year resident of the Shores. I am recently retired from a 40-plus year career in the financial services industry. My work demands in the past have not allowed me to contribute a lot of community service time in the past, but I am – since my retirement, I've been working with the – feeding South Florida and with the Humane Society And I am now looking to give some contribution back to the Miami Shores community. I feel like the library, we've had a lot of well-deserved praise at the recreation facilities here in Miami Shores. I feel like the library is another hidden gem that we have here in this community. And I'm anxious to contribute to that. And I would echo Michael's comments about I think we each bring some unique backgrounds to this potential role. And I think the library will be well-suited no matter who is chosen tonight. I would just emphasize my background in finance, accounting, and operations, and that I would be a good steward of the resources available to the library, which would be, I think, especially pertinent if some of the property tax reforms go into effect as resources become more and more scarce. Thank you.

Thank you guys so much for considering me. My name is Diane Lofredo, and I've been a 46-year resident here in Miami Shores. And as my colleagues who are applying, I feel like they're really well qualified. I feel like myself. I bring a lot of experience as someone who grew up using the library as a child, and then now brought my children up here in the community, and now my grandchildren. So we know Ms. Brenda well. We're there all the time for the children's activities. I was there last night for the Pete Seeger concert, lecture, and we love all the programs because they hit on all the ages. So my love of the library is why I'm here, and I would just want to continue supporting all the resources that we have for the community and that wonderful gem And as everyone else was saying before, they each have their own place that they feel is the heart of Miami Shores, the tennis center, the country club. And for our family, it's always been the library. So I really hope that I can serve. And if I do, I will really do my best to be a good steward as well. I have a master's degree in nursing education. I worked for 40 years in education and administration, so I have a lot of management background. I worked at four different hospitals here in the community in their administration, so I know a lot about budgets and making sure that we can make budget. And as well, I was a faculty member at Miami Dade Community College, that's where I retired from, and also a faculty at FIU in their nursing programs. And I always brought the librarians into my classroom. We had one day where we would go over the syllabus. Everybody remembers the first day of class. And I would bring in the librarian and make sure that they spoke to my students because library resources are the key to good education. And so I'm just going to say one more thing. I want to brag on my granddaughter Morgan. She just got the award at St. Rose for reading in the first grade, the best reader. and part of that is because she goes to the book club at Miami Shores Library, and that just ended this year, and she has learned how to read and just loves reading from all the exposure she's had at the library. So I just hope we can continue all the good things we're doing at the library. Thank you.

It's also great to see three applicants for one position. We have a lot of boards that I wish we had that same ratio to the seats that are there. So hopefully this will set a precedence.

And through the chair, if you don't get appointed to the board tonight, we have a lot of other great vacancies going on right now. So if you're looking for other ways to serve our community, we're really struggling to get applicants in right now. And we really need, and this is something our community has done well for a long time, but we're not doing so well right now. So please consider other types of service as well, because we need it.

Thank you. Yeah, I'm going to add to that and say we're very fortunate to have the three of you apply. I can't speak for my colleagues, but I wish I could put you all on the board. But the good news is we have a lot of other vacancies on other boards, and we can use all of your services on one of those. So if you don't get selected, please take a look at those other. We would love to have you guys there, please.

Well, and I would add to that, perhaps if you look at the other boards where we have a lot of vacancies, find something that you would be able to help that particular area with. We're trying to build our rec center. We're trying to do our parks plan, our planning and zoning board. You know to find something that where you have some area of expertise because we could sure use your help this council depends on these committees to advise us we are certainly not experts in all these areas and we depend on our committee structure to come forward and and give us Some informed advice on what should be done on various topics that they cover. Thank you

All that's going on, I'll just add also, you know, don't. limit yourself by what you think your skills or abilities are. Don't be afraid to, I can tell you firsthand, my first experience with local government was actually on that charter review board with Mr. Bell. And I had no experience whatsoever. Didn't know if I was going to serve any purpose there at all. And it ended up being a phenomenal experience that led to this. don't be so sure that you don't have something to offer one of these committees because if we have a vacancy there what's more important is that we just have somebody there that cares about the village is trying to do the right thing that's what's most valuable so if you think you can fill that we would love to have you this thank you for the chair the results yield as follows one vote for Diana Fredo from councilmember Devaney one vote from

Four, David Briggs from Council Member Birch. One vote for Diane Lofredo from Vice Mayor Kanter. One vote for Diane Lofredo from Mayor Charles. One vote for Diane Lofredo from Council Member Walensky. Ms. Lofredo has been appointed to serve a four-year term on the Library Board of Trustees. Next item is 10A, discussion and possible action regarding survivor benefit considerations involving the Olsen family. This item is brought forth by Councilmember George Burke.

This is an item that we have discussed several times and I'm hoping that this evening we can come to some kind of consensus for this widow that everyone feels would be a fair and just resolution of this situation. At the current time, she has only received the insurance from the death benefit. As far as the contributions at 3%, she's not taking those because if the pension plan becomes involved. If she removes that money, then she's no longer eligible for that at this particular point. So this has dragged on for quite a long time. I know Jerome at the last meeting had some recommendations. I would like to hear those again and have them explained. Elizabeth Keeley stated that she felt that whatever we did should be fair for everyone, and I think everyone is going to agree with that. Esmond told me that he would wait and discuss this with us, and I'm very interested in what he has to say. I just want to say this. This is an incident. I've done my best to research this. This is an incident that has occurred one time in 90 years. There is one incidence where another village employee was killed. He was one of the people driving, riding on the back of the garbage truck and the driver of the garbage truck backed up and ran over the top of him. It wasn't a matter of him dying of natural causes or whatever. But as far as this particular situation, in the 90 years this village has existed, it has never occurred before. I think that trying to change our pension plan based on this one incident, and so what the General Employee Pension Board did was come up with a figure of 221,000. You heard at the last meeting, the actuary said that her estimated lifespan would be through the age of 85. And this would provide her with an income from the village from her husband's work of 25 years, which was a short period short of what he needed to be in order to be able to retire. But I don't want to, I hope we won't argue about anything. I would simply hope that everyone can give their opinion and let's see if we can reach a consensus on what would be the best thing to do in this circumstance. And I'll stop there and listen. To the chair.

My opinion on the matter hasn't changed since the last time we discussed it. I felt that I would have either liked to see a solution that addressed the problem in a bigger way than just the individual. It seemed like maybe there was a little gap, or we wanted to make some adjustments so that this wouldn't happen in the future, even though it's only happened once in 90 years. But more importantly, the proposal that we had was not to get him to that milestone that he just barely missed, but to give him the full retirement, or his spouse, rather. So those were the two hang-ups that we had, and I think I mean, I don't know what the next step was. I believe we were sending it back to the committee. Anybody else have any other comments? Back to the committee. It was to staff.

Okay.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Yeah. In the discussion or even what was requested by this council to go back to the pension fund was instead of changing the ordinance in the pension fund was all their alternatives. And you heard from the attorney that showed up. He didn't give us any alternatives. And the last discussion we had on the dais about this was to work with staff on that. Even if the one thing that I proffered about using the general fund, it would still have to go through legal. This is not a, it wasn't an at-work death, and what we're looking for is a one-time compensation or discussion about how does a village compensate a family that That was so close to what everybody says what he was. Again, as far as even the discussion last time, the manager stated the law that we have on the books is the law that we have in the books. And what I brought up with it was more of a broad discussion, since it was and is such a difficult decision. The three things were to be talked about with staff's input is looking at it just like Mrs. Keeley asked us a couple of years ago to do this. so that it's not the one-off thing, it's just how does it work. It could be a life insurance gap that we do. But to bring this up again tonight with what we had discussed at that last meeting where this was brought up, I don't think it gave administrative staff. I remember clearly asking if Mr. Manager would be, it was Tuesday, but Friday you would have to answer by Monday, then this is the next meeting. I don't think staff has had time to Even the three points that I brought up, how we would tackle just, again, from two years ago, the pension needed to be looked at. And employees came back and presented something. And one of the things that was brought up where you brought up a figure today, that figure was also to cover all employees, not just one employee. And also when you use the figure that they brought up that it's $26,000 the first year and then $220,000, but it's a pension also. And what I was doing in my role was asking if there is an alternative for this one thing, for this village, for what happened. And that's where I'm at because I still haven't gotten information back from legal or the staff about this.

Mr. Mayor.

Um... You're correct. At the last meeting, we had said that it would have been too soon to bring this back in time for this meeting. But I can tell you that staff has worked diligently on this. And we'll be ready for the next meeting to bring you back the three options. And I've seen the work that Yami is doing on it. She's going to present pros and cons for every different of the three scenarios. But I can assure you that when we next meet, you'd have been reliably informed. and would be armed to make a decision based upon what you have asked. Thank you.

I don't mind deferring this to the next meeting if that's what you all want to do.

To the Chair, though, I think you make a good point, Mr. Birch, that I think that next meeting, once presented with the options, it's time to make a decision and time to... unless they put this behind us, because that's not the case. But I want to get this sorted, and I think that we should do so at the next meeting once presented with the information. I think no matter what we end up deciding at the end of the day, and this was obviously Mr. Scott's recommendation, but I think the most appropriate thing on top of whatever we decide is to make sure that we honor this longstanding employee with something special for, you know, his service and his dedication for all those years and finding the appropriate way to do so. And I think that's an important part of it as well.

The only thing I was trying to do is I don't think we can lay this 100% on staff. Again, as a council, it is our responsibility to represent the taxpayers and the money here. And so with what gets brought forward, we need to We need to discuss this with the different ideas, but again, I would move then to defer this to the next meeting and we'll go that way.

If I may just add one other thing through the chair, staff will be coming back with the three scenarios as proffered. They will not be advocating for any of the three. We're just coming back with information so that you can vote on it.

Thank you. Public comment?

elizabeth keely grants manager i just wanted to clarify for the record because there were two other incidents of deaths during the period of time that mr perch spoke of and there was one incident where a gentleman had a car accident and died while he was employed here and there was another incident of our building official who died from natural causes uh and during the period so to say that there was only one other incident is i just wanted to correct that for the record

Two things, then, Elizabeth. Let me ask you a couple of questions. Were either of those people, had they reached their retirement age?

One of them had, yes.

Right. So that really doesn't affect the conversation.

But the gentleman who died from the garbage truck didn't either.

Again, I did the best I could with old residents and with the previous village manager. I questioned as many people as I could. It's good to get that additional information. Another thing I forgot to bring up, the vote with the pension board was not four to three. The vote with the Pension Board was four to two. Esmond had another obligation and was not at that meeting. There were only six individuals at the meeting. But none of that's important. What's important is that we, after a year, resolve this. So again, I move to defer this item until the next meeting.

As I said, we should try to make it a target to decide next meeting.

Yeah. Manager, I have a question. This item is deferred, but is staff going to bring up the item, or will it be – if this is deferred, that means this has to come up again.

You would ask us to come back to you on that, so then we'll have it on the agenda as something to bring back to the council. Right. As an item from staff, as requested by the council.

Does somebody from the council have to be the one proffering it, or it will come from the manager's desk?

It will come from a – I mean, remember that we respond to what you've asked us to do. Okay. So we'll be responding to what – the consensus that we've gotten.

My point is then the two items then. I mean, the council member is asking for a deferral of this discussion and possible action, which is new business.

If I may provide some clarity, a deferral is not required. However, Council Member Burch can, of course, put on another item next to the same scenario. But staff has already been instructed from the last meeting to bring forth the item. So it's not necessary because the item will be brought forth in another capacity. And just so we're clear, At the last meeting, you all voted down the language that was included in the proposed ordinance that was more specific to a particular individual. So that language can't come back forth. You voted that down. Now what staff has been asked to do is bring you back language that alternatively would give you some different approaches. So in terms of what the individual can do in the meantime or what you all have decided on that, it would either be they can utilize the code as it's drafted today, move forward with whatever that looks like payout wise, or they can hang tight and see whatever it is that you come up with the council that will be applicable across the board. And if that is more advantageous to them, then they'll take that route. If not, they'll take the route of just staying and meet the traditional code as drafted today.

Thank you so much for that, Claire. That really helps me, actually. Because something that I've been struggling with over here is if we were talking about making a change to the pension, then my consideration or what I'm concerned with is, you know, does this make sense? Is it fair, you know, for everybody? Does it fit into what is already going on? Is it going to throw things out of bounds? But if we're just talking about doing a one-off solution for one person, then that changes things. Not only am I concerned about it being fair and setting a precedent, but I need to know is this even something that the individual wants? Because if we're going through all this trouble, you know, and we end up with a solution that they don't even, they're not even happy with, and they would have just been happier with the other. So the fact that you're saying they're going to, it seems like, have the option, you know, or.

As of before you, the option will be available prior to you making whatever new change you decide to make. So meaning.

But after they see what that change is going to be. Correct. Beautiful. Correct. Thank you.

So the time, once the discussion item comes up. tomorrow, I mean not tomorrow, the next meeting, at that point we might know where you guys are going to go because you're going to hopefully come up with a decision, give some direction to your outside counsel to draft that legislation, and now they'll have an idea of what's going to be coming ahead. And so, manager, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but in terms of when they have the availability to move forth with the current code, they can do that up until the time we change the code.

If they so choose. If they so choose. But one thing is for sure, it's not going back to the pension board. Okay.

Thank you. And also, since we have this.

I think that's fine. Okay. All right.

Well, while we're here, though, in this council, and this was brought up two years ago, There are two separate things, but we might as well talk about it tonight. And it should be addressed while this council is active is, in my opinion, is number one, a death benefit modernization. Two, pre-retirement death benefit restructuring. Three, the employer contribution refund rate. It was brought up before, but we should still address it because other people have asked for it and other communities have it as a COLA. I mean, but that's totally sensitivity to analysis and cost with actuaries. But it was brought up as one of the eight. And then non-pension alternatives also, just that we have either group life insurance or a general fund policy that's attached to the employees that work here. a six actuarial and budget integration for us to look into, and then just required deliverables of what that would look like. So if we're going to discuss this, the subject matter is not an easy subject matter. I think it's been deferred and talked about. One is one instance of an employee, but in general, I think for how many years it's been, I think these seven items, and I'll forward you an email with this list.

Can you give us that list again, please?

So it's overall looking at it. And number top, this is also legal framework. We have to work within the state constitution. But I mean, in general, for us to have a discussion, and maybe I know this doesn't go back to the pension board, but this is where the council wants to have a discussion about it. It's modernization of the death benefit. All right? This is separate from what we've been talking about tonight. Number two, pre-retirement death benefit restructuring. Number three, employee contribution refund rate. Then when do we set the rate on the one? What year was that written in? On the 3%? Yes. Sorry. Yeah. Do not know.

Right. So should we have a discussion about it? Yeah. I think it's tied to general return, accepted return. But, yeah, you know something? Slash that. I don't know.

Right. I mean, but I think it should be, because it came up in this, and it's one of the things that we had to be deferred to another decision because of. So it needs to be talked about in another sense separate from the one employee. And then totally sensitive to this on every budget year, understand where the public comes from for the taxpayer, understand where the employee comes from. Cost of living increase, we should have a discussion about it so that at least the employees know where they're and who work here and how we will or any council could move forward with it. And then non-pension alternatives, meaning through the general fund group life insurance or something else to cover and then like I said we really should look at our actuarial and the cost of our actuarial but that's on that that's on that other board and just how we could integrate this into the budget moving forward but that's the work that I've done on this and I just think, you know, as Council Member Birch said, it's been a year, but it's been longer than a year. It's been almost three years where pension was brought up to this council, at least that I've been on. So I'd like to address it before I'm done being mayor.

Yes, I can assure you that it will be. Yami, I know you're listening.

To the chair, is this an amendment to that?

Well, I have the floor and this is open. It's not an easy discussion. I just wanted to use this opportunity to Well, because since we've talked about this or kicked it around in other meetings and with one-on-ones with the manager or me being on the pension board and hearing or presentations from staff, I just think the village, since it is an older document, I think that we should just look at it. And on one sense, it's expensive and everybody knows it, but it's also a way to benefits are always part of compensation and attracting workers or attracting people and keeping, retaining quality people and what the residents are demanding, looking at your benefits package should be done more often than not.

I'd just like to say I think that's a great idea. And I hope that when we bring this forward that those other items that Jerome just brought up our part of that discussion. It might not be you.

That's what I was trying to clarify to the chair. This is going to be an add-on to what was directed to the village manager at the last meeting. Just so that we're clear.

Yes, I'm crystal clear on that. I just don't want this to... Once the decision is made on the other one, I would like that the pension and benefits and compensation for the village be addressed at some point. That it doesn't become old business, that it actually gets in the... And I support that as well. Thank you. Next item.

10B, discussion regarding the new traffic study sponsored by Council Member George Birch.

So you all remember... When I first got elected, one of the first things I wanted was an ad hoc traffic committee, which met for over a year. At the end, their conclusion was that we needed a new traffic study and couldn't really do any more with the old one that we had. I still get constant complaints from residents on traffic and speeding as recently as this morning. And so my concern was that when we dropped this committee, that that subject would disappear, which at least looking back at our recent agendas, it pretty much has. And I don't really know what to tell these people now that call or that stop and say, what are you doing about traffic? And the good news is or I'll let Esmond describe that instead of myself My concern is that we hadn't put an RFP out we haven't Received a new study. We haven't started a new study But as is often the case, the reason for that, of course, becomes money. And I think Esmond has some good news for us in that department. Can you address that, please? MR. Sure.

And I'd like to do that in conjunction with our public works director and, if needs be, with our grants and project manager as well, Ms. Kealey. But we had said that we would be looking into a grant. We got the grant, and two grants that will help us in that area in terms of doing the study. So it's on our way. It's just being prioritized with the many other things that we have going on. But I'm happy you asked. One of the reasons you will not see an RFP going out, one of the first things I did when I got here was that I established an A&E list, architectural and engineering list, where we had several different disciplines. And we put out an RFP for that where all entities that provide these services can apply, and we We brought that list forward, that A&E list forward, with all these different companies in it. So I can tell you that having gotten the grant, Delroy has gone out and he has selected a company already to work on this traffic study. And he can speak a little bit more to that. But it's on its way in its embryonic stages, but far beyond an RFP. Mr. Peters, if you may, through the chair. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. And the manager is well-exposed and has said most. But I'll just add that we have two grants. One is for $300,000. It's called a Safe Street for All. And the other one is from the TPO, the Transportation Planning Organization. That's $40,000. That grant, even though we have been awarded it, it's not yet until the summer before they give us final documentation. We're currently working with DOT on the Safe Street for All. That is going through the grant process of approving the grant work plan. We're going to be getting some assistance from our grant writer, because very complicated document to get that done. While we're also in tandem with those grants, we have selected WASP preliminarily to kind of look at it to see how they can assist us with executing the grant as well as getting the traffic study and also anything traffic-related study done as well, analysis. So we're doing those in tandem. So by the time the grant comes through and we have We'll bring the grant agreement, by the way, will have to come to the council for approval. Then you'll know for sure that we have locked it in. And then we'll just bring the consultant on because we have already had the discussion with them. We have a proposal already. We're just waiting for the grant for us. So sign and seal everything.

MS. No, we've been awarded two grants. So until we have the grant agreement approved by council and it's signed by both parties, we can't move forward. And of course, as you know, we apply for the grant. It does take some time to be awarded. but also the process because it's normally the next fiscal year for the entity that's awarding it to us. So that's how we've started the process this fiscal year with both grant organizations. And so we are hoping to have the SSA-4 back to you. I don't know if it'll be before your August break because it has to go back. We have to write the grant agreement and it goes back to the organization for review to send back to us. So it is a process, unfortunately. That's the way the grant process goes. But as soon as those are awarded by the council, then we will move forward with the work plans and getting the studies done.

But we've started the preliminary conversations with these entities just to speed up the process.

Let's hope the residents are watching. Yes.

Well, they could hit replay. There you go.

And of course, you know, Public Works, we're open if the residents have a question, just give us a call. Send us an email. We'll provide the responses.

To the Chair. Aside from getting a new traffic study going, can we get an update on anything else we're working on, like where we left off with the street signs or any of that kind of stuff? All right.

So currently we are down one man. But we'll have the project manager join us. Very important, man. Yeah. Exactly. On the 15th. And so a number of our projects have kind of slowed a little bit. But he's going to be here June 15th, and we're going to be able to take that back up. We do have the funding for completing Councilman Birch did say we dropped the last traffic study. However, we do have some remnants of work to be done on that. We're going to be completing all seven other speed humps. So we have a project that includes the speed humps, some striping, and the signage. So that project will be done before this end of this fiscal year. MR.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Item 10C, discussion regarding the status of the next septic to sewer project. This item is sponsored by Council Member George Birch.

Quickly, as you all know from reading the paper, we have constant alerts now, don't swim in the bay. That's due to coliform bacteria, which basically comes from sewerage. And it's certainly not Miami Shores that's responsible for that. It's any of the cities and municipalities that are along our waterway and then the ones that dump into our drainage canals like the C8 canal. But right now we've got over 8 million, Esmond, allotted, what is it, 8 million? 8.7. 8.7 million allotted for our next sewer project and You know, back in 2015, Coastal Risk Management did the study for flooding here in Miami Shores. And they said there were two areas that needed to be done with a sewer system by 2023. And those were Shores Estates. The problem there at 105th Street and a few homes up the hill there. from 12th Avenue to the bay. Why? Because of the rising water table and the effluent coming out of the septic drain fields goes right into the water table. Were they right? Well, I guess they were because we've had two fish kills with millions of dead fish in the last five years. We've also had algae blooms almost every summer. So is Miami Shores totally responsible for that? Of course not. But are we contributing to it? Certainly we are. And so there We're a long ways from putting this next sewer project in. The boundary varies a little bit depending on which of the three studies that have been done we follow. Coastal Risk Management did their study in 2015 and they did pipe size and manholes and pumping stations and where they thought they ought to be for only those two areas, Shores Estates and 12th Avenue to the bay. The county is interested in putting in a pumping station which would assist their unincorporated date area just to the south of us but they of course want us to pay for the pumping station. But they have a plan. And lastly, the Shores did a master sewer plan. The last time that we talked about this, we were talking about an area that was brought up at least at council was from 91st Terrace to 96th Street. and from 10th Avenue to the to the water. Why? Because we can't afford to spend the money to do the whole city, nor does the whole city need it. Again, if you look at LIDAR maps, as soon as you get west of 12th Avenue, most of those homes are six feet or more above the water table, and you only need four feet of dry soil for the sewage. So, then what are our concerns? Or my concerns? would like us to at least begin to figure out the advantages and disadvantages of each of these three plans. If you put pumping stations up on 12th Avenue and you had dropped six feet to get down to the homes at the end of 91st, 92nd, 93rd Street, and sewage needs to run downhill in order to get to the pit and the pumping station, You know you're only what I read you're only allowed to have these pits be 20 feet deep So that's my first concern I'd like to see us just start by getting an engineer to look at these three plans and figure out what is the best here for our village It's it we're Roy Coley said we're, and Elizabeth, you brought this up one time as far as the main up Biscayne Boulevard, but we're years away from that unless you have new information. But that's the first point. The second point I'm concerned about is at Shores Estates, we have a little bit of a mess. We were so desperate to get sewers that The residents agreed to pay for half of the infrastructure, putting in the mains down the streets. That is not the normal case in Dade County or in other cities. The normal case is the city puts in the mains, and then the homeowner connects to the main. Why? It's on their property. They own it. They're responsible if it breaks. It's their lateral going to that main. In fact, in some cities, before you can sell a house, you have to have a camera inspection of that lateral and show that there are no leaks in it. Now, we've gotten an additional grant of $2 million. A million of that's going to go to increase cost to the contractor. And we've got around a million dollars, a little less than that. I think it's $900,000 left. And we're talking about giving them 9,000 to each homeowner to help assist them in putting their lateral in. And my only concern with that is if we do that in Shores Estates, are we going to do it for the rest of Miami Shores as those projects come online? Are those homeowners going to get the 9,000? And so I'm hopeful that we... We look at that again and think about it. I question that the homeowners initially should have had to pay for any of the infrastructure. And perhaps there's a way. And Elizabeth, you would know that. Is that on the ballot already? Or has that already passed? Where are we with that legally? Or Shanae? We're not there right now, right? Good. So anyway, that's something I wish the council would think about. That's all. And that was the only reason for bringing this up.

Managers report.

Uh, there, you know, I just wanted to say good evening to everyone. I know that there's been some talk about the seawall and what's happening there. I will, just based on the different queries that we've gotten, Mr. Mayor, I'm just thinking to myself that probably, and I'll own this, that probably we could be We could have given much more updates on what's happening there, just based upon what I've been hearing. But I probably just asked Delroy just to speak briefly, just to update you. And we have been in correspondence with one resident who lives close to that area. And I have not – he's really being speaking with Delroy and our assistant director, but I will speak to that as well, and I'll take whatever he has asked to. to heart, and we will endeavor to be more communicative in terms of what's happening at the seawall. Because, you know, we know the background, we know what's happening behind the scenes, but we'll take that one. This is one of the biggest pieces of things we have happening, so if we were missing sharing some information, then we'll make sure that going forward that we're doing a better job at that. Delroy, if you could.

Sure. So the seawall, of course, the project is, in our estimation, is going fairly well in terms of schedule. The contractor is four weeks ahead of schedule. So this downtime that most of you are aware with the crane has not affected the schedule. Right now, it will. Had he not gotten it fixed, then you'd have been in a little mess. The crane is now fixed, and they're moving forward with the construction. During the downtime of the crane, the contractor was still working because they had the sea cap that was being formed, or the form work for the sea cap. They were doing that. So they had some work that they were doing during the downtime. And of course, we are still in some discussion. And the manager will share if he so desires. As far as the sidewalk goes, we're in some discussion. But the sea cap has been formed, and the construction is now up and running. So they should be able to finish if there are no other challenges. And it's construction, so there are always some challenges. But if there are no other challenges, the project should be completed by November of this year.

And just further to that, I'd just like to say that I want to thank – still want to – I think we've gone a far way in terms of – this is a big project. It's something that stalled for a long time, where there was no movement on it. And I think over the last few years for me, started to navigate whether or not we were going to have access – water access or not water access. You remember all those conversations we were going – we took the bull by the horns because we heard that there's a certain part of the wall that was compromised, and we started swiftly to build the seawall. And we have added another component to it in terms of the in terms of the Living Sea Wall, which is the envy, or maybe they don't realize it yet, but it's going to be the envy of a lot of municipalities for what we have done. So we're proud of that work that we have done there. Even going back to two residents who sat on the selection committee to help us to select the vendor that we now have working on there. So when the question is asked, who chose these people, I want to say that it was chosen by professionals, including two engineers who live in Miami Shores Village who gave of themselves fully in helping us to select that company. I just want to go on the record of saying that. And the other thing that I'd really like to speak on is the fact that we have a liquor license in our possession, not the one that's being used by Kemp right now. Well, we have one. We have a quota license, which is the license that would have been used based upon a former management structure down at the country club. Now, because we changed from a lease agreement to a management agreement, we had to go out and get another liquor license, which is the one that's being used on there, which is a club license. So what happens to the quota license? You know, this exercise has taught me a whole lot. I didn't know that, especially a quota license, is that powerful. During the COVID era, I heard it was worth as much as half a million dollars. Well, we have that quota license. It's not worth that much anymore. but it's well over $200,000. We have it in escrow, and we have 270 days to decide what we're going to do with this license. I was speaking with our attorneys, and I said, you know, what do we do with this license? And he says, yeah, there's several different things we can do. But we have 270 days to make a decision. So I'm counting this as day one, Mayor and Council. I'll keep you informed. I'll keep you in the loop of things about possible things. And one of the things that he says, if you plan on opening a bar in the village, then it has value to you. If you don't plan on opening a bar, it has no value other than The monetary value, that's in it.

So I'll keep you informed on that. The second half speakeasy is in the play. I was going to say, turn this dais right here into a service bar.

Getting some revenue going. Do you have more, or does anyone interrupt you?

On your manager's update. Nothing more, sir. Thank you. Well, yes, one other thing. Ask you then?

No, I was going to ask you about since Tallahassee is 900 miles away or whatever it is, can you inform the council and the public what happened today?

You know, I was – we've been in budget meetings all day, ironically enough, and we – You know, we heard that it had passed in Tallahassee. So what's happening is that – am I correct on that? Yes. Okay. House 75 to 26.

House, yes. And then the Senate 30 to 9.

Overwhelmingly. And so what's happening is I think that the – How it's going to be framed coming forward for a vote in November is that it's going to be on a scale, some sort of gradient, where in 2027 that it would be at $150,000. That is, instead of the $50,000 for homestead exemption, it now moves up to $150,000. And then at the beginning of 2028, it moves up to $250,000. What is important to note in all this is that we're looking at fiscal years and we're looking at calendar years. And the property tax folks appraise this on calendar years rather than on government fiscal years. So when we talk about 2027, it will not have any impact on our – the current budget that we are working on to present to you in September – well, in July and then September. So it will not have an impact on the fiscal year 2027 budget, but it will have an impact on the fiscal year 2028 budget. We kind of run behind as well in terms of when property taxes are appropriated to governments. But we'll have to sort that out to see what exactly that will mean for us. That was the other item I wanted to talk about, Mr. Mayor. But I wanted to just ask, well, just to have a conversation. to say that this is a time when Miss Keely and her group are going to get very busy because we have to educate our public. And so they know exactly what this means to us because we all think that the question is framed in a manner then folks are gonna say wow reprieve we're gonna go for this but true to your form mr. mayor and I I use it with NBC 6 earlier today it's a matter of quality of life it really is I know our residents need to be informed that exactly what this means it's not just okay a reprieve in In our property taxes, it means a lowering of the goods and services and the offerings that we can give our residents.

It's a level of service. Level of service. And then with it also, it seems like they changed some of the language, the one where it's ambiguous about the five-year. It seems like today they changed it that that would be effective to anybody that moves to the state of Florida after 2027. Right. So therefore, that loophole that was how do you put it on the ballot for you've got to wait five years, they're just grandfathering everybody in before January 21st. So, I mean, with it, the other thing about it for – The Miami Shores residents just let you know. The homestead, the exemption that's there now is $25,000 on one and then save our homes another $20,000. So it's $50,000, and we have adjusted to that. But if you just, even the first one, and you jump it up to $150,000, that's a 3X. Yes, 200% increase. Right, which is the decrease for the general fund. And 85% of the homes... Miami Shores who choose to live here have decided to homestead here it's not their second home that's not their you know winter home like it was maybe you know 75 years ago this is permanent residency here now and we are gonna have to make adjustments to this and and educate the public if if the rest of the state votes on this and and decides that you know, tax relief, let's say, is afforded to them. I think most voters in a booth that, just like he said before with framework, they get to the booth and then make a decision. So it's really going to be on our task to educate the public on what it means for their quality of life and what we're doing as a municipality ahead of it even before It's not even a ballot item yet, but just assure the public that as the village stands right now, a movement by the state to change how we are allowed to tax our residents is a major – I don't even know the word for it. It's something I did not anticipate when I ran for mayor. How's that for all the pictures up on the wall? But it is definitely something that I think that Miami Shores is up to the task to, and assure the public that that level of service that the manager talked about and people living here is that we'll do our due diligence on making sure that we could do what we have to do. MR. I'm sorry.

Go ahead. MR. Sorry. And if I may just add one thing more. Thanks, sir. You know, it's – one size does not fit all, because in speaking with some of my colleagues, they vary. My friend in Golden Beach. It feels differently. I didn't see my friend in Indian Creek. It feels differently, too. Yeah. But my friend in Balabra says, well, you know, there's a whole lot more that can affect us here, you know. But when you think of Miami Shores, you know.

The other thing to add is this. I did a little math on that. It looks like it'll cost the village a little over a million dollars the first year this is instituted. However, the assessed value of of homes from Dade County went up 5%, which pretty much cancels that out. So as far as at least the first year, it's not gonna have a lot of effect on us. By the time the average home in Miami Shores now is a million and a quarter. When it gets to 500,000, obviously it's gonna affect us, but it isn't gonna affect us much at the 150.

I disagree. The math that you did there, those homes that you're talking about were capped at 3%. And this will definitely affect us more than what you just said there.

Yeah, but the...

Listen to the homes that are here that are even homesteaded, that the value, if you add that to what their taxable dollars are and you subtract it, it affects the bottom line here because they were capped at 3%. If the county raises up the whole value of the whatever we're at, what is it, billions, two point whatever, for the two point square miles, that effect is over our overall budget for the general fund. I mean, there's eight, what is it, 65% of the homes here are homesteaded at that 3% increase, no matter what the county raises to overall property value here. But the overall, the ones that don't qualify from that, that even their increase in that decrease, it's going to be more than a million dollars. I've got figures closer to 2.6 to 6.4, depending on how it works out. Whatever.

That's not the math I ended up with. Through the chair, if I may. To the point the manager was making, we got an interesting document from the League of Cities I'm sure you guys have in your email box also that kind of gave a rundown for all the municipalities in Florida and I think that you have Wild extremes on there, you know, I saw some municipalities where it was like a 90 plus percent hit to their budget Yeah, wiped out, you know if you're talking about a community like Miami Shores, that's mostly Homesteaded residential but it you're talking about a municipality where the homes are not millions of dollars, that's the whole property tax gone right there. And then on the other extreme, you look at a municipality like Indian Creek, I think the estimate was like a fraction of a percent of something they're going to be affected. So I mean, that alone, this is not going to affect everybody the same. And I would add to this, too, it's not just about the money. I mean, yes, that's a big part of it. But I would like people to think about it in terms of autonomy and power and home rule. And a lot of this stuff that local government is funding, it's not going to go away. And if you're talking about a municipality, It's going to get 90% of their budget slashed. They're not getting rid of their police and their fire and all that kind of stuff. So where is that money coming from? State. That's right. So to me, this is more than about fiscal responsibility. It's a power grab to me. If you have a problem with what's going on in your municipality, you could call one of us up. We'll probably answer the phone. You have a conversation. But when the person who has power over your problem is so far away from your house, that they're in Tallahassee, Washington, DC, your chance of getting any action on that are pretty slim. Whereas over here, look at all these empty seats. You can come make noise over here, and you're going to get some attention. But if this becomes a body without a budget and we have to go with our handout to the state, like, for everything we want to do, I don't think that's efficient, number one, for sure. And number two, something is lost here. You know, you've lost something in that scenario. You've lost a lot, whether you realize it or not. Don't fall for the easy, we're going to lower our property. You have the power. We can control our taxes here. I think people think they get a lot of services for the taxes. We'd all like the taxes to be less. But consider what you're giving up and what you're losing if you go that path. That's all.

Well, just to piggyback on that, if you think about just the system of it, the state is the one that's allowed to tax. And then the county is a franchise of the state. Property appraiser is a separate entity. Property appraiser just looks at houses sold in Miami Shores, then does that figure that he just said. Then they say, oh, by the way, the taxes are too high. Well, the mayor and this council did not set the prices of the houses here. The public did. And the public's saying, we're getting charged too much in taxes when the state is the one that set the rate. And now they're being the heroes saying, we're going to lower it. I was like, then get rid of the property appraiser. Now, who says the property appraiser has to sit there and, oh, I need to do this, and say, well, because Miami Shores is just having a windfall right now. We've got to do the whole village is up 12%. Why? Question the state. The state should be looking at how they built. And the other one they do, and they did it again on this one, they carved out the schools. Miami Shores residents are still going to have to pay for Dade County School District at our millage rate. And then we're going to have to drop our level of service because the state says you can't use the homestead stuff. But your residents have to pay for the school district. It's a little hypocrisy on their part.

And we're already down to like a third of that bill, Miami Shores. So... The impact that Miami Shores can have on your tax bill isn't what it used to be either. If we eliminated the Miami Shores tax, that's only a third of your bill. You're still going to pay two-thirds of what that bill is to the county.

And you'll have green and white cars driving through here instead of black and white ones.

And you made a great point about the property appraiser too. As I said earlier, I got my start in local government here on that charter review committee. And seeing where that charter started versus where we are at today, I mean, the Miami Shores was operating closer to like a country relative to where we are today.

We had to take care of everything ourselves here back in that time when a municipality existed.

There wasn't so much reliance on the county, certainly not the state. And over the years, there was some things that were certainly obsolete would be a mild term in there. But just through overstep of the county and state and whatever else, Most of that document became irrelevant. It's stuff that didn't even matter anymore because it's not things that were under the village's power anymore. So we just see that progress over time and how much autonomy has been lost it puts things in a little more perspective than just looking at a snapshot of today. It's been a long road to get to where we're at, and I think people should be weary of giving up their power and control of what's outside their door. The farther the power gets from your house, the less control you have over it, and please keep that in mind.

That's come up for vote three times, or it did come up for vote three times, whether or not We should even have a metropolitan Dade County. And of course the cities opposed it on one of the votes. It was less than a thousand votes that decided the outcome. When I was young, This village had its own fire department. It had its own judges. It had its own, well, we still have our own police department. But we were a totally self-sufficient, independent city. And Tallahassee is constantly, and the county, doing what they can to take that power away from us. And the farther that you get from the governed, the less likely they have any input into what occurs. So I'm glad to hear that. I agree with you 100%. And you have to just fight it every step you can.

One other education for the public, 20, it might have been 40 years ago, the state, we all voted on a tax committee that was independent from the legislature to convene every 20 years. They were supposed to convene in 2027. So it's a little bit disingenuous with the legislature passing a law to give to the public to vote on taxes before what we voted for over 40 years ago to convene independently from the legislature or how our citizens are taxed. So we'll see what's coming up. I was surprised that a three-day special session could move something as quick or two-day than even to use their whole seven days with a lot of amendments to just doing it on the fly without any public input. But it's, again, whether it's down the line, it's the state, it's an independent country if you think about the union, and then the county is a franchise of the state, and then We do have home rule, even though it's been chipped away. Actually, the meeting I went to, the mayor of Dade County asked me if that was a philosophical question about home rule. I didn't snap back on that day because it was more existential when I brought it up, but I was new to the meeting. The other thing that needs to be discussed, and the public needs to know about this, again, back to level of service, there are people that have worked here that we have pensions for, and our property taxes feed that pension. There are people that are taking their pension. There are people that are working here now. And it's also us borrowing money. The public has to know that what we borrow against and what those rates are, they have to be educated on it. If they're voting for something that takes something away, eventually it's going to cost them more money because of the rate that we're doing it. If we're truly building, and which we should build, a new rec center, the borrowing rate is going to change because of what we're borrowing against. More education over the next time, over the time period between now and November from this dais or whatever we can do. Even the state is making the village itself pay for notification on this thing instead of state money. That was one of the other things. And it came up earlier how many words you can use in the ballot. They've also waived that so they have an exemption that they can use more than 75 words. So I'm sure this ballot option is going to be very clever and I don't know. We'll see. But just stay informed and just let the public know that the council's aware of it, the manager's aware of it, staff's aware of it, and we'll work on it. And it'll pass in a landslide. Well, it did in the House and the Senate. Any, I think that was.

Yes, exactly.

Still, I mean, with that said, there's still a law that you cannot do anything with birds, whether you have the sign or not. It's a protected village.

And if you're talking about birds... And I'm talking about new residents, Jerome.

In other words, people that have just moved here and, you know, have they read all the resolutions that we've... Well, there's a county law against doing anything against birds in a bird sanctuary. So, I mean, I guess we could put up signs. I'd rather actually put up trespassing signs or no trespassing around the golf course, more so the... keep e-bikes off of it so that the police officers can actually get them for trespassing.

We have more than one problem, I'll say that. We've had several complaints from residents which you know about. Well, they're visiting my house.

They've crossed over 10th Avenue. By the way, we should have a joint meeting about this with the village south of us because they have a total different opinion on those birds. Last time I checked, those birds don't know the difference between Miami Shores or El Portal. They just are peacocks. And hopefully you got the email from Coral Gables. I think they're having it, and they don't agree with how Pinecrest does it. It definitely is an issue. But also with the bird sanctuary, one of the things for environmental stuff, the iguanas, we have two sides of it, they really shouldn't be here, and they eat bird eggs. They eat what? Bird eggs. They're detrimental to the bird population that we're trying to do, and our golf course has a ton of them on there, and that used to be the nesting area for birds. So if we want to do this, maybe I'll go to a sustainability meeting and have a discussion about it. We'll do the humane thing of catching iguanas and making belts out of them or have a barbecue or something.

As someone whose wife is very involved in local wildlife and that kind of stuff, it can become a very – controversial thing because the people involved in such activities are, you know, they love animals. And it's a hard discussion to say, well, you know, these animals belong here. These are doing damage. For some people, they don't want to hear it. You know, the animals are the animals and we need to protect. But there are some animals that are doing a lot of damage to the other animals, you know. some people's property around here also apparently. So I don't know what the solution is, but I'm glad to see it's getting attention from other municipalities because my understanding is there's a law bigger than Miami Shores that's preventing

They're peahen and peacock laws on the books. The county has one. But it's also, even with it, that it's come to the attention of all the council about the flock that is in Miami Shores. It really started off with just one male, and then obviously one female but the brooder flock or whatever it is actually gotten way bigger than what should be in the area that they've decided to do it start off with two and there's over I think 24 now and then again back to like the speed bumps in the neighborhood if you go into the neighborhood where they're nesting it's not a hundred percent it's but if we can come to a consensus On it, then we'll come up with a solution with it. But I think Mr. Peters has been involved in this. I think they've been reaching out to Public Works, Code. I think the manager's office has also been brought up. But I think with also back to the property of the golf course, I think that'd be a good place for bird sanctuary signs also. And I think it'd be good for trespassing signs. And the iguana issue should be addressed. And even I think it may be in coordination with the school that's just north of it. Because I don't think the iguanas know any borders between unincorporated date and maybe the village north of us also. Or we should have a discussion about it and come up with a solution. Any?

Not tonight. I know. We're going to get out of here. We talked about a lot of stuff tonight.

Oh, no, but no. I'd also counsel comment. I had the pleasure of being able to attend the graduation ceremony for doctor's charter at Berry University, and I'll pass it to my colleague.

Yeah, it was a wonderful experience, once again, to be part of. Me and Jerome got to sit on the stage for the graduation. We set records with this class as far as dual enrollment numbers, a bunch of great scholarship opportunities, a bunch of kids going to some really great universities, some really great speakers from the student body. So it was a great thing to be part of, and we're going to continue to do the work over there. We have several vacancies right now on that board, if anyone's interested in serving, obviously. As far as that, I'm going to save my other council comment for next meeting. That's fine.

Thank you for doing that, Tom. And by the way, he gave a speech, too, that we just sat on the stage. Right, right. I remembered my speech. I gave my speech. He gave a speech to the whole audience. Any other council comments? Motion to adjourn. So moved. Thank you.