Village Council - Regular Meeting

To order, Mr. Cantor, will you lead us?

If we could bow our heads in a moment of silence, please. And everybody could 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.

Council Member Burch. Present. Council Member Devaney. Present. Council Member Walensky will be with us shortly. Vice Mayor Cantor.

Present.

Mayor Charles.

Here.

You have quorum.

Thank you. Are there any additions or deletions or deferrals at this point in time to the agenda?

Mr. Mayor, I'd like to... pull one item and it's just so that I can speak a little bit on it. It's on consent and it is item 7C. So let's pull it out of consent? Yeah, I just want to be able to speak with you on one particular issue here. Okay. It's fine, but in order to get a better understanding of what I'm doing, I'd like to pull it. Okay. Thank you. So whatever it becomes, pull it to be heard. Yeah. Yes, thank you.

Okay. Are there any others? Hearing as there's none, manager's update?

I have none at this time. Okay.

Madam Clerk? At this point in time it's pointing the meeting for public comment It's limited to three minutes per person if you come up to the podium, please state your name and address If you come up at this part of the meeting, it's just general public comment, but if you do speak item specific at this point in time You can't then come up and do it when the item comes up So the floor is open now to the public

Hello, everyone.

My name is Peter Walsh. I'm a 30-year resident of Miami Shores. My address is 504 Northeast 101st Street. And I'm sorry I'm dressed so casually, but I'm running – the reason I'm here is to announce to folks in the Shores who might be watching remotely that – I'm a Democrat, and I'm running to represent our community in the Florida House of Representatives. The election is coming up August 18th, and you may see these signs around. This is me, Peter Walsh. My website is walsh4florida.com. It's Walsh, then the numeral, the number four, And I hope I get the votes of Miami Shores residents on August 18th. And that's all I got. Thank you.

That was a paid political announcement by Mr. Walsh? Paid political announcement.

That's right.

Are there any other public comments? Madam Clerk, are there e-comments?

Yes, you do have some e-comments. There's an e-comment that's general, but the user did not provide their name, so we don't read those into the record, even though the actual comment remains or forms part of the record. The remaining items appear to be item-specific.

So we'll read those when we get to the item specific. Or do you want to read them now?

There's one in particular that could be debatable. So this is from Stephanie Daniel. I am thrilled that we have a parks and rec master plan. This is a great step towards improving and replacing our existing facilities. As council considers the ballot initiative to support the parks and rec master plan, it would be prudent to designate one of your council members As the parks and master plan champion, Neil Cantor is ideally suited for this role. He passionately believes in the need for parks and rec improvement and has relationships with key stakeholders across our community. Neil's leadership, passion, and relationships will help council best educate our community on the parks and rec master plan. This concludes general public comments.

Thank you. Next item.

is the consent agenda, which is 7A and 7B and 7D, as the village manager requested to pull item 7C from the consent agenda.

Move to approve the consent agenda. Do I have a second? Second.

There's a motion and a second. All those in favor, signal by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries. Madam Clerk.

Item 7C, a resolution of the Village Council of Miami Shores, Village, Florida, approving the First Amendment to the Agreement with Roofing Services Solutions, LLC, DBA, Earl W. Johnston Roofing for Police Department Roof to incorporate additional scope of work and increase the contract price to reflect additional services, providing for implementation and providing for an effective date. This item is brought forth by the Public Works Director through the Village Manager.

mr. mayor mayor council this is a something really simple but I thought I should highlight it well because I another question was asked of this in one of the exhibits that you got to accompany this item it's exhibit exhibit a it's titled construction change order actually just an amendment But on this item, if you look at the contract price adjustment, it speaks to a unit cost here for permit fees. And it says that the permit fee is $8,500. Now, when someone puts in a contract price adjustment, anything can be – when I say anything – A number can be placed here, but we don't pay based upon what's here. We pay based upon what is invoiced. So whereas this may say 8,500, you may find that this number may be 1,500. I just wanted to, and it's a little technicality here, but I thought that maybe I should highlight it just so that no one thinks that on such a job that we're paying permit fees of 8,500. That's it. I just wanted to say that.

Okay.

Thank you.

Is there any discussion on this item now that it was pulled out of consent? Is there any public comment on item 7C? None to vote. No e-comment. Any discussion?

Movement to approve 7C.

There's a motion to approve 7C. Second. There's a motion to second. All those in favor, signal by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries. Thank you, Mayor Constable. Thank you. Madam Clerk.

Item 8.8, an ordinance of the Village Council of Miami Shores Village, Florida, amending Chapter 16, Parks and Recreation, Article 1, Section 16-21, Recreation Advisory Committee of the Village Code of Ordinances to reduce the membership of the Recreation Advisory Committee from nine members to seven members, providing for transition of current membership, providing for conflicts of ability, codification, and an effective date Staff on this item is the Parks and Recreation Director through the Village Manager.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm Angela Dorney, the Parks and Recreation Director. On May 19th, the Council expressed its intent to amend Chapter 16, Village Code of Ordinances, to reduce the membership of the Rec Advisory Committee from nine members to seven members. Reducing the Rec Advisory Committee from nine to seven members will make it easier to achieve a quorum at regularly scheduled meetings, improving consistency and efficiency in monthly meetings. The reduction in seats will occur through attrition as current member terms expire. This transition approach will avoid disruption to the committee's work, ensure that the committee continues to support equitable, sufficient, sustainable, and efficient recreational services for residents. There is no fiscal impact, and it is my recommendation to reduce the size of the board.

Thank you. Move to approve. Is there any public comment on this item? Is there no e-comments either? Okay. Sorry about that. Councilmember, move to approve. Is there a second? There's a motion and a second. All those in favor, signal by saying aye. Aye. Aye.

The microphone wasn't on accepting the village managers recommendation regarding requests for proposals number 20 26-0 3-0 1 Miami Shores tennis club program operations authorizing the village manager to negotiate an agreement with Miami Shores tennis management LLC Providing for implementation and providing for an effective date this item was brought forth by the village manager

If I may, Mayor and Council, before this item is heard, I wanted to address the procedural posture of the procurement as it relates to this item. So the village received a timely protest.

Madam Attorney, can we just wait two seconds? I think Mr. Walensky is on his way in.

Sure.

I'll just pause for a minute. Sorry about that. yeah he's better dressed than me we saved this moment for you we're on we're actually on item a day I appreciate that my apologies out of town only took half the kids with her

madam attorney was about to speak sure so before this item proceeds I just wanted to JUST KIND OF EXPLAIN THE PROCEDURAL POSTURE WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. SO THE VILLAGE RECEIVED A TIMELY PROTEST FROM ONE OF THE PROPOSERS WHICH CONSISTS OF TIER ONE TENNIS CONQUER SPORTS MANAGEMENT MIAMI RACKET CLUB IN BOSE'S TENNIS REGARDING THE VILLAGE MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION. PURSUANT TO SECTION 1.16 OF THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, The village manager and myself reviewed the protests and issued a written determination. The written determination concludes that the protest does not warrant modification of the village manager's recommendation. A copy of that determination has been provided to the protester in accordance with the RFP, consistent with the protester's alternative request for relief. And in the interest of ensuring a full and fair consideration of this matter, the protester were asking through the chair that the protester be afforded an opportunity to address the village council BEFORE THE COUNCIL TAKES ACTION ON THIS ITEM. THE MATTER IS NOW PROPERLY BEFORE THE VILLAGE COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL'S ROLE THIS EVENING IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER AUTHORIZING THE VILLAGE MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE WITH MIAMI SHORES TENNIS MANAGEMENT LLC AS RECOMMENDED BY THE VILLAGE MANAGER IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE VILLAGE. evaluation committee's rankings the village managers recommendation the protests the presentations made this evening and the entire procurement record are all properly before the council for consideration this evening in terms of next steps if it's the will through the chair for the protester to be allotted time, I would suggest that you allocate a certain amount of time. You also can allocate time for the recommended awardee to speak as well, if you so wish. And then, of course, prior to that, I would recommend that staff, through the village manager, present as well. And so before you close out, you'll close out with public comment, and then you can discuss as a body. Hopefully everyone understands that order of where we're going here.

The only discussion, I think, before we get started would be the standard here is three minutes and then just have a discussion amongst ourselves for a presentation. What do you think is fair? Or do you want to hit the three-minute timer and then just give additional? Or do you just want to give a new number right now?

I mean, let's give five minutes, I think, right? And if they go under, yeah.

We can determine whether we might continue here, but three sometimes can be a little bit tight give them a full five minutes, I think For the for the presenter it's technically in the just public comment We're just affording a courtesy because the protest Of an additional two minutes or both would again just waiving the three minute we have to do that now Otherwise we have to stick to the three minutes I don't know if the three-minute did, then we could afford the courtesy to them if you want to do it individually and just stick to the three-minute also. Okay. But that interrupts the presentation, and I think we could, I mean, it's a good idea that the Vice Mayor suggested five minutes. I'm with you. Okay.

Great. And so I think you can categorize this separate and apart from public comment from the standpoint that this, you know, a protest, and so the five minutes would be... would be reasonable underneath these circumstances. So we'll still have public comment limited to three minutes in general.

Okay. So we settled on that? Correct. Seems like there's consensus. We have consensus for that? Yeah. And then the next step is? The manager. The managers. Mr. Manager?

Yes.

Okay. Well, before I go to the manager, I think probably...

Your microphone.

Before I say what I have to say, and just procedurally, Madam Attorney, probably it should be prudent if Donna Rockfield or procurement manager speaks before I do, just to lay out what is involved in this RFP before it came to my desk. It probably would give a good chronology as to the way things work. So introducing Ms. Rockfield, who we all know. Yes, thank you. Good evening.

Good evening. Can you hear me okay? We can hear you, Ms. Rockfeld. Perfect. Thank you. So on February 27th, understanding that the management of the tennis center that fell under PCM would be put out as a separate proposal, separate from the country club, the village issued a request for proposals for a qualified firm to provide the professional management operating under the village now. So on February 27th, we issued a bid. The bids were due on March the 27th, a full month later. The village clerk received six timely proposals of which all of the six were determined to be within the prescribed time requirements and were accepted for the evaluation. So what happens is the manager, under the request for proposals, and there's different criteria that has to be evaluated, appoints an evaluation committee that, in this particular case, it was comprised of four individuals. Those individuals typically represent a diverse cross-section of experience, their perspectives, and their backgrounds. all of the members in this particular evaluation committee met um for the tennis center are now or had been at one time residents of the village so once they were appointed each one of the committee members were given the written proposals i'm sorry we're given a copy of the written proposals all six of them they're tasked to independently review and score prior to an evaluation committee meeting and bring those scores with them. With that, the evaluation committee is offered to meet at a public meeting, which that meeting was held on April the 20th. And initially, their scores are established. Once their scores are established, then their scores are averaged. And I read aloud what the scores are. The evaluation committee members do not read aloud their individual scores. We collectively average them. Following that initial evaluation, the committee asked just to see the top four ranked proposals based on the scores. So with that, I reached out to the top four. And on May 28th, they were invited to present before the evaluation committee, and it was intended solely to clarify elements of each one of those four firms' proposals. And then following the oral presentations, the committee has the opportunity to do their final scoring. Once they've done that, their recommendation of award or ranking in this particular case is presented to the village manager. I can speak for our village manager. We have done 25 requests for proposals since he's been here through the evaluation committee. He does ask to conduct an independent review and do his own due diligence, which is typical and typically asks for the top two ranked proposals. Based on that, the manager asked for a copy of those written proposals that were initially submitted, a copy of the oral presentations, which were given in a PowerPoint, the actual recordings, and it was a public meeting, so it was recorded, even though the public is not invited to the oral presentation portions of that, but the manager is given a copy of the recordings. All of the evaluation documentation, and then any other relevant information that he asked before making his recommendation. So he did ask for additional information with regards to the four separate entities that submitted. And with that before you is the manager's recommendation following the evaluation committee's ranking. I hope that answered it.

I think it's a good segue as to what happens once it gets to my desk. No, it's important that everyone understands that I'm not a part of that process. Once I've established a committee, that reviews everything. And so as a result of that, when it comes time for me to look at the recommendation that has come to my desk, I do my own due diligence at that time that I ask for additional information that I could go through and to make sure that the recommendation that I'm giving to this body for the procurement of services on behalf of the village that it's something I could stand by, that I've done the proper due diligence in terms of that. And so before I go ahead, I think it's very important for me to say the entities that had responded to our RFP, I really want to thank them because there are some great competences in these different entities and they must be lauded. I think we have a product that I think these folks, looking at and see where they can enhance it for the betterment of our village I really want to thank them for having submitted and an RFP or a response to an RFP once I get it once I that's laid on my desk once miss miss Rockville send something to me I dive deep into it and so I did and I Among the things, the most startling thing that came to me was a situation that there was an entity that was ranked number one, but what I saw was four different pieces within that entity that's marked number one. Now, when we look at it, it's called the joint venture, and that's correct, but it's a common known joint venture. in that it is not a legally established entity in the state of Florida. There are four pieces, but it's not a capital joint venture as it is in a proper known. It really is a common known. It's four entities entered as a joint venture. And so when I listened to the oral presentations, what I heard was that if we were awarded and I'm paraphrasing now if we were awarded this bid then we would go about looking at the looking for the the proper and paraphrase and please remember that I then um we would then choose to become a legal entity like an LLC to conduct business with the village so it was four separate pieces so what in essence how I saw it is that I would be making a recommendation for for and about an entity that really doesn't exist and so in our conscience I really couldn't do that and so that was one of the one of the driving forces behind the recommendation that I made I saw four competent entities that came together as one, but they were not legally binding as a capital J for joint and capital V for venture LLC. And hence, that was the major piece that caused me to make the recommendation for selecting the second ranked firm, which incidentally is an LLC.

Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the Council, and community. My name is Guilherme Cunha. Please call me Gui. I'm speaking on behalf of our joint venture, Tier 1 Tennis, Concord Sports Management, Miami Racquet Club, and both teams. I want to walk you through the facts of how this procurement process unfolded, as Don already described, because while the Council is familiar with them, we believe the public should understand them too. First, I want to sincerely thank you, the Evaluation Committee, for the tremendous time and effort they put into this process. reviewing written proposals, conducting interviews, evaluating qualifications, and ranking the proposers. That's not small responsibility. We also appreciate the procurement administrator, the village manager, and the staff for overseeing what has been a thorough process. Once the RFP was issued by the village, we assembled a team composed with the best professionals that I know and that have worked in the past. Fede and Robert were here. and Rensley. People have worked with multiple occasions, each specialized in a different area to gather the knowledge to make this a success for the village, the club, the community, and for player development. When proposals were due on March 27th, our team submitted along five other entities. On their first meeting on Monday, April 20th, the evaluation committee met and ranked us first with 83.75 points. Miami Shores Tennis Management ranked fourth with 69 points. The committee had follow-up questions and requested oral presentations from the top four teams on May 28th. After addressing those questions, our team came up first again, 84.5 points, with Miami Sharks tennis management moving up to second at 81 points. On June 2nd, Procurement Administrator Donner-Wagfield sent a letter to Village Manager Esmond Scott recommending that the Village negotiate and execute an agreement to our joint venture, based on the committee's ranking. To our surprise, on July 2nd, we learned that the manager had instead recommended the Council award the contract to the second-ranked proposer. We are here tonight to present the facts and answer any questions the Council may have, and we're asking the Council to follow the ranking of the evaluation committee that the Village assembled. A committee that, after reviewing every written submission, hearing every role of the presentation, asking questions, and deliberating together, unanimously determined our joint venture was responsive, responsible, and the highest ranked proposer. That recommendation wasn't made by one individual. It was made collectively by four independent evaluators through the competitive process the IRFP itself established. Since that recommendation, nothing about our qualifications has changed. Nothing about our experience has changed. Nothing about our operational plan has changed. Nothing about the presentation that earned us the highest ranking has changed. The only thing that changed is the recommendation in front of you tonight. To be clear, our concern has never been that due diligence occurred. We welcome it. Our concern is that a new interpretation introduced after the evaluation committee and the procurement administrator completed their due process, completed its work, has effectively displaced the outcome of the competitive process itself. And respectfully, there is an important question. If a proposal can be found responsive, responsive, and high strength after full evaluation, and still be bypassed without the village even attempting to negotiate, what confidence can future proposals have that a committee's recommendation will actually be honored and followed? The evaluation committee exists for a reason. Its members give significant time to reviewing proposals, evaluating qualifications, conducting interviews, and applying the criteria set out in the solicitation. When that recommendation is set aside after the work is done, it naturally raises questions about what role the committee is meant to play at all. We believe honoring the committee's recommendation strengthens it, not weakens this process. It tells every proposer that they will be evaluated on the published criteria, that the committee's work carries real weight, and that the process consists for everyone who participates in it. Our joint venture represents decades of experience managing municipal tennis facilities, developing junior and adult players, building community programming, running successful businesses, and more importantly, serving South Florida families. We're not asking for special treatment. We're asking for an opportunity for the evaluation committee already determined we earned the opportunity to negotiate a contract with the village. We believe that when a village issues an RFP, it's because it's looking for betterment, to see whether there's a better service out there in the market. That's exactly what this process uncovered. Four independent evaluators identified our joint venture as the strongest option to bring new life, vitality, improving programs to the village. If continuity on the current operator was meant to be a factor, it should have been written in the RFP's criteria. It wasn't. Finally, I would ask the council to consider what message tonight's decision sends to future committees and future proposers. Will recommendation reached through a fair competitive process begin for Rio 8, or can it be set aside afterward based on different interpretation? Because on the RFP, joint venture is considered an entity. We believe the strongest message this council can send is one of confidence on its own procurement process and in the committee it's appointed to carry it out. Thank you for your time, professionalism, and thoughtful consideration of this matter. We're excited and grateful to have the opportunity to improve the tennis club, building on the community it already has, and making it even better. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Does the other group want to speak?

Sure. If you have questions, you can ask, or you can reserve that to afterwards if you like.

Which way do you want to do? Do you want to do Q&A with this group first, or do you want to have both? Do you want to do Q&A with this?

I would like to ask the attorney a question, but it doesn't have to be now.

If we're not doing that right now, if we're still listening to people speak, or if you think now is an appropriate time, but That's where I'm at.

I think since this one's fresh, it's probably better to each entity than do the Q&A right now. And then we'll do a general discussion at the end of it.

Madam Attorney, the gentleman says that the RFP allowed for joint ventures. Is the issue here that this was technically not yet a joint venture? but a proposed joint venture is, help me out.

I can let the manager speak to his reasoning, because I think that would be a more accurate statement as to why.

Through the chair, and then probably Ms. Rockville can speak more to the RFP that was put out that the lows with joint ventures. My understanding is with joint ventures is that if... if an entity comes up and then chooses to have, for example, subcontractors on there in a joint venture to get something done, then that can be viewed as a joint venture. What I saw in terms of this was that there was tier one tennis, there's Conker Sports Management, Miami Racquet Club, and Bose's Tennis first as four individual entities that said that they were a joint venture, but legally they were not a joint venture from the kind of standpoint. It wasn't an LLC or any sort of company that was called. I mean, even to this, I think we were calling it a company. joint venture. Well, maybe it is a joint venture, but this was not the joint venture. And as I've said before, based upon what I heard and what I read, I would be essentially presenting four different entities to you for you to vote on that.

I have a question for you also with joint venture too. In the JV term, it isn't a JV yet because then those four companies would have a JV and then name it something else or whatever it would be, and that's not there yet. I understand that they did this as four, but the question I have between the two is, for you is explain to the public the difference between net and gross revenue and the structure for the village working with a new entity in this P3.

Between net and gross income?

Aren't they both, they're not the same of what their proposal to the village is, is there? The structure for each entity.

That is true. If we're talking about net and gross, even what is net income, what is gross income?

Well, that's one of the things for me that stood out, the difference between the two, is one, for the village, when you deal with gross, you know what it is. Okay. And accounting-wise, when you deal with net,

it's different it's just a different business structure when you're dealing with the municipality I I think from the standpoint of of the committee that's assembled they will also look at dollars but from my chair the what I look at is the fact that you will I'm looking for the village to give me the okay to negotiate and execute when I negotiate and execute These dollars proposed become something else because I'm always going to look at the higher price point for a village where the net revenue is going to be higher for a village. Okay. So what's being proposed there and what we actually execute is going to be two different things.

So your decision for recommendation for us wasn't based on that yet because the next step for you, whichever one it is, is part of the negotiation process. Yes, sir. And the main concern is that it's four entities under one joint venture, even though the RFP allowed a joint venture to... And I'd like Donald to speak on that, because my interpretation on that is a little different.

Okay.

Can I just say something real quick? Should we be having a discussion about which one is actually better, or are we having a discussion about whether or not this one in particular is even qualified to be on the list?

It's just a question back and forth while they're here. I think the overall discussion will happen after the next presentation. But these are just some of these that are clear. I mean, for my point of view. I mean, some of this need to be cleared for this.

Okay. I mean, I agree, but if we're getting into that stuff, man, I got a lot of questions also, but I just didn't know if we were doing it. No, we'll get to it.

I just needed to clarify for this right now.

Do you want to speak to that? I think Ms. Rockford was going to say something about joint ventures.

So the request for proposal itself allows for individuals firms or joint ventures. The manager's interpretation is correct, as is the gentleman that spoke, Yip. The proposal does allow for joint ventures, but the intention is with one firm, licensed and insured, and an entity submitting The others would be considered subcontractors. In this particular case, there were four separate entities that had not joined together as a one venture. There was no LLC that had been incorporated.

Thank you. Did you have intentions of forming the JV as one LLC?

So here's where I would like to explain why that was our reasoning. When we found out about the RFP, there was one month left to submit it. One of the requests and requirements of the proposal is to have two years of continuous operating experience in Florida, apart from having five years experience, which Robert has over 20 at Coral Gables, managing a city facility. when we saw that, and joint ventures were allowed. Our definition and our understanding of a joint venture is companies coming together as one. When we decided that that was the way it would go, it was fully to separate the requirements of the RFP. We have been working together in multiple events throughout the years. Robert and Rensley work a lot in events for Miami Racket Club. Fed and I coach together often. We share a lot of clients. So we've been working together. It's not like this is like, oh, I assembled four people and let's do it. No. These people that we've been working together for a very long time. Just we never had our home. This is our plan to have the home to establish the community that we created, plus the amazing community that's already here, and bring everyone together to an amazing thing that we know we can create. Now, the reason why the JV will have formed that way and why we didn't create an LLC, because an LLC literally takes less than 10 minutes on some business. If that was a requirement, which we did not understand from what the RFP required, because it clearly says joint ventures, we did not create an LLC because that LLC wouldn't have the two years requirement of being in Florida, of being operating in Florida, because it would be a new LLC of less than a month. Another thing that I think I should mention now, the other company, Miami Shores Tennis Management, filed an LLC a month before the proposal was due. So they also do not have those two years. So if that's something that is going to disqualify us, it also should disqualify them, because it's the same thing. We, on the other hand, have over 35 years of experience between our companies running tennis business in Florida.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you

Hello, everyone.

My name is Liber German-Sadya. I've been working at the Miami Shoals tennis facility for over 20 years, and I've been working with Howie Olin, under Howie Olin, and I've been managing the place for over that period of time. But at that time, Miami Shoals was under the country club as you know and then eventually I we decided so it was a good time for us to move on to the next level and then coach Tim and I we are team together we decided to move forward for the community for the children and to step in for what's best for the community I do we do have the experience for over 20 years We have been there since the beginning. So the LLC that the gentleman just reached out to, we've been there. We just opened a new LLC because the PTM that is with Miami Shores is no longer going to be there because I will step down. So instead of that, we opened a new LLC that called Miami Shores Tennis Management LLC to make sure that when we move forward to the continuation of the future for the community. So to go back to what he was saying, yes, we do have 20 years of experience. We do have all the qualifications that we need. We are very good with the community. The community loves us. And we have done many, many great jobs. Our summer camp, our programs are packed. We work also with the village with many things. We work with many schools, Miami Country Day, St. Rose, the Miami Shores Elementary School. many other schools that is outside of a community come also to our Miami shows to do programs with us. So yes, we are well known in what we do. And our pros are top pros that are in there that the members loves. The members have been playing with them for over 15, 20 years. They love their pros. And I'm gonna introduce my head pro, which is Tim. He will have something to say.

Hi, so my name is Timothy Mioe. I've been working with Coach Byrd for close to five years now. And the relationships that we have with the community, with the programs, and just being able to step in and add my expertise and my knowledge of not only playing on tour, but coaching on tour, coaching junior level players, working in USTA development. You know, we've been established here. The coaches that we have, I have Robert McAdoo, who has seven national titles as a college coach. His son is the number 30 recruit in the nation right now, probably heading to Harvard or Yale. I have Rupert, another English coach that's coach English Davis Cup. I mean, the staff that we have is incredible. Everybody has many years of experience. And, you know, Bird's just how he was there. Bird's been there with him for many years. He's continuing what we've established already in the community. And, you know, I would just like to say that what we have there, we truly cherish. Everybody feels comfortable with the work that we do. And, you know, we'd like to continue the relationship with the village. Thank you. Thank you.

At this time, I'd like to open it up for public comment, and this will stick to three minutes apiece and state your name and address, and address the council, not the audience.

Hello, my name is Greg Reicher. I'm a seven-year resident of South Florida. I lived in Miami for six years. And I currently live in Fort Lauderdale. So I'm not a resident of the village of Miami Shores. But I'm here to talk to you guys about this recommendation because I am a member of this tennis community that you're considering awarding a contract to. My dad got me involved in this sport. I thank him every day. He's 85 years old, and I cherish every time I can get out on the court and play with him. It's a great sport, and it creates a great community of people. And that's what I can speak to, and that's what I think you guys can hear from a non-resident, somebody who's a part of the community that these four people have created. I'm sure that the community at Miami Shores is also extensive and has a lot going on. And so you've got two really great companies to look to. But if your deciding factor on this is the organization of the entity, I mean, I think that that says a lot right there. You had a committee that looked at the two proposals, that looked at the groups. and made a decision and made a recommendation for you. And it really seems like the only difference in the recommendation of the city manager, with all due respect, is based off of the organization entity. And if that's what it is, again, I'm here to just talk to you about the community and the things that they create. Tennis tournaments, pro-am tournaments, Individual tournaments, barbecues. I found my real estate agent through this group. When I was in a severe bicycle accident, it was my tennis coach who picked me up from the hospital. So if you're looking for a group of people who can continue from what I assume is a great program at Miami Shores and develop on it, that's why I'm here to speak to the people that have been providing me with that opportunity. community for the last seven years. So thank you.

Thank you.

Hello. My name is Linda Maness, 317 Northeast 104th Street. I really didn't expect to get up tonight and say anything, but I've been a member of the Miami Shores Tennis for over 40 years. So I've seen a lot that's gone on there and a lot of the management changes. And I've known Bird and his team for the past 20 years that he's been there. And they have really... done a great job with the community, with the tennis courts, with the professionalism, with everything. One of the things I'd like to say is about the evaluation committee. I was here at that April 20th meeting. It was public. The public could not say anything, though. My only, I guess, disappointment with it was that None of the evaluation committee actually talked to the tennis members. They didn't seem to even have known what was going on at the tennis courts or to find out what was happening. So I think that was an issue. And I don't know if they did it for any of the other um groups that are proposing their proposals either but i know a couple of meetings ago of the council here there were numerous people that said how much they appreciated bird his professionalism how much it was a community and it is a community and it is good we have nine tennis courts um i know some of these others we're talking about have 20 tennis courts you can only do so much with nine tennis courts and i think what bird does with them with as he said with the school with the um tournaments with everything that goes on he does a great job so i think since the council is supposed to be looking at the uh wishes and of the community i think the community would really like bird and his team to stay there so i would just urge you to vote on this proposal yes and i do thank the village manager for his due diligence in looking at everything and the memorandum that he wrote thank you

and his team will continue to serve the residents of Miami Shores well we appreciate the thoughtfulness which has gone into this process this concludes e comments for this item

did you want to speak sir thank you for allowing me to speak my name is Jay Weaver I've been a resident of Miami Shores for 33 years. And I spoke with you before a few weeks ago when you all gathered here, and so I'll keep it brief. But the one point I wanted to make, which I think is the overwhelming point, is that the Recreation Department here in Miami Shores is the heart and soul of this community. We all know it. We've raised our children in this community, in these programs, and they really bring us together. Bird's team with Tim's assistance and the rest of them, they epitomize what that heart and soul is all about. When you think about rankings and readings and all of that, they're very meaningful and they do matter. But when you basically have a tie between one or two candidates for the top position, you have to ask yourself, what's the intangible? What really makes the difference? And what really makes the difference here is we have somebody who is from the community, somebody who has been giving to the community for 20 years, who knows the community. And what's really more important, the community loves him back. You sat here a few weeks ago. You heard me and several others. You received letters from various people in this community, and what they expressed was a love for Bird and his team. And that, to me, is what this community is all about. That's what this recreation department is all about. And as we look forward, that's what we want to create at the Miami Shores Tennis Club, community, love, friendship, and maybe we all might improve our tennis game a little bit. So thank you very much. Thank you.

I'm glad there's so much passion for the gentleman at the tennis courts now. I didn't know that passion was part of the RFP process. I think that with Guy's group scoring higher following the RFP, I believe Guy can bring the same excitement, the same passion, and the same community involvement. I think he clearly – there was no tie. He clearly – his group scored higher. And I really find it disappointing that there was this selection committee that was chosen to be impartial, to rate their proposals, and that Guy and his group came out so high. Guy brings the same passion. He brings the same group of people. They are not here, they're not Shores residents, all of them, but they have that same love. And he can teach, as I told you before, my great-nephew, who I call my grandson, started with him at five. He has this passion for the game. He thought he could start playing tournaments at six because he instills this confidence in him, which translates into school. Guy can bring the community to this, and he can bring these new ideas. I think it might be great to have a change, to see what he can offer. And that doesn't disparage the other group at all. He followed the RFP, they came out higher, and I believe that's what the council should vote on. Thank you.

Discussion on this item the chair This is a basic philosophical difference You're looking at a group of people that were elected to represent the residents of this village We all ran for election Whoever got the highest number of votes got to sit on this council. I don't want you blaming our village manager. The village manager comes here and makes a recommendation. We don't have to follow that. There have been many times we haven't followed it. He puts together a committee and that committee gives him information and he's trying to help us. But in the end it's this group of people and our job is not the same. Our job is to represent the people who live in Miami Shores, who pay taxes in Miami Shores. This room was full of 30 people who to a person stood up and came to that mic and said, what a wonderful job our current tennis operation is doing. And so far, I have heard of two people. I'm sure you do an excellent job. I don't want to say anything that makes you think I'm disparaging you. I am not. But we're supposed to represent the people who elected us. That's what we're supposed to do. And the majority of Miami Shores residents, we've listened to two more tonight, but at the last meeting, we listened to 30 of them. One after another said, please keep the group that we have. So to me, this is not a legal question. This is not the committee that looked at the recommendations. This is not our village manager. He does his best. He puts together a committee. He tries to provide us with information. But in the end, we're supposed to make that decision. These are people who do live here. This is our village. So it isn't that I don't respect what you've brought forward. But it's impossible for me to support that position when we've had so many residents come forward and say what we're doing right now works.

I'm having a lot of problems with this because, again, are we having a discussion about which one of these entities we think is better? It's the motion that you're reading there.

Let me provide some clarity on what you're doing. You have a resolution before you that the manager is recommending you to enter into negotiations with the second proposer. So we know that the evaluation committee voted for a separate entity, several entities rather, And the manager now has made a different recommendation. Because we have a protest, you have entertained and heard the protester. You can weigh that information that you heard tonight. But ultimately, what you're deciding upon is this resolution and whether you want to accept the recommendation of the manager. You can choose to do that or you can choose not to do that. In terms of what your RFP says, Ultimately, we have reserved rights within that RFP that Miami Shores Village reserves the right to reject any and all submissions, to waive any and all irregularities in any submission, to solicit and re-advertise. There's several disclaimers that we make. And ultimately, to make awards in the best interest of the village. So you as this body, your decision is going to be what's in the best interest of the village. You see fit that it's in the best interest of the village to accept the managers Recommendation you can if you want to override the managers recommendation and which based on what you heard tonight want to award that to the committee's recommendation you certainly can do that too, but your Standard of the vote is a yes or no vote.

It's a yes or no to The resolution so

Correct, but you can amend your resolution.

My point is if we vote no on this, for example, what happens next? What's the next step?

Then the manager will probably bring you back another resolution going with the first one. Or you can just right now, the second, say I'm going to amend this resolution and change the person that we're entering negotiations with.

Can I ask if either the attorney manager, Mrs. Rockville, can comment on...

the point that was made about the experience is it the entity that is applying that needs the experience or the people like or the people that make up the entity it I'll defer to Donna from the standpoint of deeming something responsive or not responsive usually what the RFP says is the contractor needs to have the experience I think the experience is not at issue tonight. That's not the manager's concern. It was never the experience from either one of the entities. The concern in what was stated in the memorandum, as well as in the protest, response to the protest, was that this was all about organizational structure, not necessarily experience or history. Both entities when you look at them collectively, have probably the same style and structure of experience. So experience is not the issue.

But one of the entities is saying that they specifically applied the way that they did because they thought it would have disqualified them based on the experience.

And Donna, you can speak to whether or not that would have disqualified them in you deeming something responsive.

So individually as firms, they met the requirements. At the time that they submitted the proposal, they had not worked, there's no independent operating history. So the RFP itself required that the proposer, meaning the firm, have continuously engaged in similar services. So I believe that the manager's due diligence concluded that that mandatory qualification was not demonstrated because they had not had the previous experience, nor did we understand which firm we would be contracting with as they had not created an LLC previously. They satisfied the qualifications on the basis of individual experience. However, they never operated together and they never jointly managed a tennis facility and they did not have a legal entity. So the LSC was going to be created only after the award. I think the intention of the RFP with regards to a joint venture speaks to itself as

one entity and then subcontracting jointly so the problem with that is according to what you just said I'm not sure the Miami Shores tennis management qualified you know so well that's because the golf course has changed if management

They had the LLC based with professional course management, and now it's going to be based with Miami Shores Village. But it's the same.

That's the only reason it's changed.

It's not that they didn't have an LLC, that it wasn't operating there. It simply is a change of ownership of the tennis facility.

Also, Mr. Walensky, the structure of it, too, with how the tennis facility was over the country club, it was PCM was managing it and then there was another P3 or through them, a subcontracting out for the entity that's now Miami Shores Tennis. And the difference between other municipalities is the village or city itself runs everything. So all the booking of the tennis, all the inventory, everything is run through the municipality. for my understanding that the Miami Shores tennis that's been over there has been doing that and then at the end of the year monthly or whatever the deed is is that that is shored up so we're a little bit different than other municipalities we don't do all the bookings of all the tennis as it is and for the manager and my understanding is coming with this it's we're it's kind of keeping the same model that we had that there's an entity that runs the tennis facility for us and then we just have an agreement on dollars and cents for that. So there's also a structural thing that's a little bit different than other municipalities. Does that make sense?

Mr. Mayor, if I may? That's a question for Mr. Williams?

No, I was just trying to, I mean, to me, I think for where he's coming from on this, one of it is, is even how that facility has been run I would hope that the residents know how that was how that was it all ran through PCM at the end of the year and this one's being different now that it is under parks but now we're going with a p3 and then we're looking at an entity that actually it's a turnkey system they're running they're handing over the keys to an entity to run the facility

Am I correct? If I may. Yeah, yes. If I may just add something to what Council Member Walensky was talking about. I just want to make sure that my point is well heard and cemented to some point. For me personally, and that's when I started speaking initially, I think I lauded the experience of these different firms. right of the of the four different firms who came together as a joint venture as well as the the Miami tennis LLC But for me, it really wasn't about the experience that much that got me because I thought we had experienced folks, period, across every individual who applied for, who responded to this RFP. For me, it was more about the proposed organizational structure, what is being proposed here. If I can, and just overall how they're going to operate operationally, and probably thirdly if I could say that maybe their readiness to perform that's what I looked at because for example we'll just talk about something that we're quite familiar with we're building the seawall and Chenmore & Associates gets awarded Chenmore & Associates comes up and they're chosen to do the seawall however it's well documented from day one that they're going to be working with Cummins Cedarburg they're gonna be working with somebody else so they didn't come up and say that they were a joint venture with common Cedarburg they brought common Cedarburg along because they needed their knowledge skills abilities their competences to enhance their response to this and similarly and I say this with all respect key and to the rest of your joint ventures that had one company from that come forward as the response as a person was responding to the RFP and then saying oh and by the way here's how I enhance it I will be working with the other three entities then that would be a different approach

I'm totally clear on the fact that you know we go through all of this stuff in this whole process here because what's very important in government is accountability if somebody has to be accountable that's what you know I'm looking at the definitions of all the terms and contractors. The individual, firm, partnership, corporation, or joint venture whose bid is accepted and who enters into a contract with Miami Shores Village and who is liable for the acceptable performance of the work and for the payment of all legal debts pertaining to the work. So it's about who is taking responsibility, who is taking accountability. I understand that the problem with the number one choice is that there's nobody that we're handing accountability to. There's not one entity there that's taking accountability. They're saying they're going to form one entity after the fact, but currently it is not one entity. So we're directing you to negotiate with – there is an entity, basically. That's a problem. But I'm trying to give a fair shake to the argument here because – Part of the problem is a lot of this discussion is about is this one better or that one better. I don't know if I'm ready to have that discussion or get into it. I have a lot of problems in general with the structure. I don't understand why for the country club that used to run the tennis court, we made an arrangement where we get all the money and then we pay the people managing it. but why we're doing it seems like the reverse for the tennis where they're going to keep all the money and give us a percentage. So I'm yet.

If I may, we haven't gotten to a contract yet, sir. And if I may say something.

Well, we talk about this kind of stuff, but other people are.

No, we haven't gotten to a contract yet. If other people need to hear it, we haven't gotten to a contract yet. And probably most importantly, I don't recall in the last 30 years where we have gotten a single dime for tennis.

You haven't gotten a dime. Johnny Lopenzina had an agreement with the tennis facility. They gave him a flat rate of money regardless of what went on there. He did not want to personally have his group involved in running it. He personally told me that. So that, and you all are here, you can correct me if I am mistaken, but that's what he told me. And so the relationship was between professional course management and the tennis facility. And he ran both as being the manager of the club and the only money that we got on a $7 million gross was $368,000, I think, last year. from Johnny based on the percentage of the money he brought in and handled, et cetera. But there was no cut out there for the tennis.

But that's, I don't understand what we're saying. Just because we didn't have a good deal in the past doesn't mean we shouldn't be having a great deal going forward. I still want the best possible deal. I'm not just going to be thankful for whatever we get because we didn't get anything in the past. You know, I want a good deal. I'm sure the manager is going to work out a good deal. And as much as you're going to tell me that this is not the deal, it's a part of what's in front of me. It's a part of how each one of these entities were evaluated was their proposal on how the structure was going to work. It seems like it had its own category, as a matter of fact.

But the end part, if I may, through the chair, the end part, as Breer says, that you would If you vote for this resolution, then you're giving me the authority to negotiate and to execute. And I think we have done this 25 other times, to ask me to negotiate and execute. Thank you. if I may just say something else rather quickly through the chair okay that's rather quickly I think someone said that probably we should have spoken with the members from the tennis fraternity the committee should have I am so so happy for that statement because it shows that the process worked if I had heard that any member of the committee had spoken to anybody, then that's all process would have been compromised, and there would have been a violation of the corner silence. So I'm happy to hear that none of them did.

I'll go, I guess. Gentlemen. Gentlemen, I want to thank you for coming out tonight and pleading your case. I think it shows incredible resolve to not just take the decision and to come and speak with us. For me personally, there's no doubt in my mind that both entities probably do a great job running the program. But for me, it... All this discussion about a technicality, whether it's a joint venture, whether it's LLC, I have to say is all irrelevant to me because as my colleague said, we sat here a couple of weeks ago and we listened to over 30 people take time out of their day to come and champion our current program, to talk and share stories with us about the success of our current program. Even still tonight, as I'm scanning through, I'm cleaning out emails from residents. And for me personally, I sit up here, as I believe most of my colleagues do tonight, to serve the individuals in this community. And when the individuals in this community come in maybe the most overwhelming number I've seen of any support for anything ever since I've sat on this council, I have to say to myself, These are my neighbors, these are the people I interact with every day, that I see every day in the community. And if they so adamantly have come to ask for this, then I believe it is our obligation through our elected position to go with their wishes. I mean, it would have been a different situation to me if half the room came and supported and told stories about you guys and half had come in. Then we would have really had a more, I think, even, and I'm not saying that to your disadvantage either, because like I said, you're a new entity. You haven't worked here before, but... I think this council constantly sits up here and we are looking for ways to improve things that we know need improvement and that we can do better. But when you hear the overwhelming cry that the tennis members of this community presented through their emails, through their calls. We're not talking about 10 people. We're not talking about 30 people. We're talking about in excess of 50 residents between all of the different ways. And so for me, someone who takes the responsibility of serving this community very, very seriously, I feel like there's really no way that at least my vote can't be to continue on with our current program and support what they've been doing because that's what the community has asked for.

like I said I appreciate you guys for coming tonight who's the chair for me mr. manager yes sir if we vote yes on this you are not obligated to close a deal with this this firm in other words if you if you can't come to the terms that you are happy with in the negotiations

That's usually the case. If the negotiations don't allow me to, if the negotiations don't go well, typically I can go to the second firm, assuming that that second firm is not yet being excluded from the process. I think I heard something, Madam Attorney.

typically yes this resolution isn't I don't recall it being drafted as such usually we bake that into the resolution that you authorized and you know to negotiate with this contractor if not if it fails you go to the next one and so forth I don't think we drafted this one as such but assuming that it doesn't go through the need to bring back another resolution authorizing whoever that other person that the her entity that the manager will recommend

here's my concern I I don't know much about tennis I I trust very much the people that were on this committee that made this selection I trust very much all of the people who came and spoke on behalf of our current tennis program which means I'm confident that these two entities we're looking at are experts in tennis and can probably run a fantastic tennis program but my concern is you know the financial arrangement I'm very happy mr. manager with what you worked out for the country club and comparing that to the proposals here there is a very very far off in terms of you know how happy I am about that for the village so I just want to make sure that you are I know you're gonna try to get us a good deal just like you did with the country club but but that you are not going to have a problem walking away and negotiating elsewhere if we don't get the right numbers, right? Yes, sir. Okay. So, you know, in that case, I'd probably go with our manager's recommendation, I guess. But that's all I've got to say for now. Patrick, do you want to speak?

I think I'll just make a quick comment about I think the issue is that we already have a proven history of Miami Shores tennis management staff working with this community specifically you know I think the joint venture I think they have a lot of skill combined experience among them but we already have this proven experience and community relation and I think the other thing I'm considering is like if the joint venture if we vote yes and they have to walk away would they form an LLC and continue to solicit other communities That would be my concern. It's like essentially I don't necessarily know of a history of them working together as a team, as a combined entity. So I guess that's really my concern and why I'd lean more towards voting yes than I.

Thank you.

Is it appropriate for me to speak now?

Well, at some point I think I could speak, right?

Yes, sir. Go for it. It's your turn. It's not my turn yet. Tell me when, Mr. Mayor.

It depends. Do you want to call the question and then you want to speak? No, I wanted to do it before you call the question, if you don't mind.

I just wanted to ask the attorney a question. Yes, that's fine. Thank you. Madam Attorney, Can any amendments be made to this current resolution?

Yes.

And can a resolution be made that in the event... I don't know how to craft it. an amendment can be made to this resolution an amendment can be made since we have nothing that speaks to negotiating with another firm if the firm is not yet if those negotiations don't go well with the firm that I'm recommending to the council can I negotiate with for example the first rank firm if at that time they were an incorporated firm?

Yes. So we would just need to amend the resolution, if that's the will of this body, that if negotiations fail with the recommendation that you've made, then you'll go to the first-ranked on the condition that they are an incorporated entity. Something along those lines. We'll have to flesh out the language, but if that's what you want.

I'm just asking. Just based on this into the watch, some members of the council are that delayed. Wow, I'm living in the future. Cool.

Time machine. That was a long time. That was weird. That's it. That's it. Well, I had a colleague that says they don't know anything about tennis. I'm a little bit different than that. I grew up in a house that tennis was, I would breathe and eat tennis. My mother was the first one on the tennis advisory board in Miami Shores. My brother played D1 tennis. very familiar with it I would also like to just to tell the general public tennis is a service to the community it's it's a outdoor sport and I know there's money kicked around here and talked about but for the most part it falls under parks and it's usually an amenity that we collect taxes and then try the put a facility world-class facility together for it and back when I was younger they used to hold junior tour they used to hold junior Orange Bowl tournaments at that at our facility I was very good friends with the previous before how he was there over 30 years ago with Michael Michael Malana fee Unfortunately for him. He's suffering from the onset of Alzheimer's and is living by himself But so I do know tennis the other thing with tennis and even how the structure of it is right now for the public is We have a golf enterprise fund and yes, mr. Lappin Xena was brought up and he handled tennis a certain way and We're moving forward with it falls under parks because it's a very tough business. People do make money with tennis. It's usually the people that are involved with it. As a municipality trying to make money with it, it's not the easiest thing to do in the world. Most of the management companies that I talked to for golf before we went out for RFP, all of them that I spoke to, They offered it as an amenity. It was not part of their business plan and never had solutions because actually when you talk to them, they're a golf management company, not a tennis management company. So I understand that part of it too. Just like my colleague said about the election part of it, we do come up here. We are volunteers. And the charter for this village and has been is that it is manager strong. With that said... This body has the capability of listening to the manager, and it's also our task every time is to do our due diligence, and we do this for all 11,000 people. And I would say for the most part, when the manager recommends something to this body, we usually follow the lead of it, and we'd have to come up with something to go against that. And our track record for following the manager's lead has been pretty good so far. So with that said, yeah.

Move, we accept.

I say one more thing. Go ahead. Because I really appreciate the comments you just made, actually, because you touched on something that's been bothering me, too, which is, is this an amenity or a business? Because when I look at this stuff, I see the word, you know, like, Net revenue and, you know, I can't help but start looking at it like a business, but, you know.

It is to the entity. Now, like, where Coral Gables decides to do it, but then you're running that part of the business. If we buy the software for the scheduling, we own the pro shop. We stock the pro shop. We make the logos for it. All of those. We sell the tennis balls. We make the contract for the tennis balls. We buy the clay. All of that is running the business of tennis. Everybody that does that professionally, that are really good at it, they make a good living doing it they should so the other part I mean just so the public understands with it but when it's when it's part of the park system for us it's just an amenity that we have decided and also racket sports have changed for us and well as we move forward with the parks master plan we're gonna we have two right now two tennis facilities and in the future we're gonna have more discussions about this I mean this this to me I'm willing to take care of what happened because we have a contract with Kemper and we have a facility over there and we're looking for a partner to help us through this but I don't think this is the final for Miami Shores racket and tennis I think you know for me being on this council I think it's going to come up again but I do appreciate all four companies that made it up to the top and that they're interested in this community it is an important an important thing and even As it goes, I mean, one of the sports that is being played now, we don't even accommodate yet, and that's part of a modern racket facility too. So I think the discussion is going to come up again sometime in the near future.

And just to reiterate your standard for review, if there's one at all, it's that what you think is in the best interest of the village. So whether you accept this award or not, it's ultimately your view of what's in the best interest of the village.

Sorry, one more thing I just want to say to the chair. I mean, Sinead saying it like that, I feel like is the fundamental point behind our whole discussion here. Honestly, like, we are tasked with the decision to make the best decision for the village. And if the residents of this village tell us in overwhelming numbers, literally overwhelming numbers, that, you know, to be loyal to the team that has shown up for us for the last 20 years, I don't know how we can turn our back on that entity. I don't think any... First of all... Obviously we trust our village manager in making decisions on our behalf. That's why we have the village manager that we do. Both entities technically don't qualify if we're basing it on the LLC starting thing, but I don't think even that matters. Like I said, we, I think, have to show loyalty right now in a time when loyalty is at an all-time low. And if the current tennis program, and I'm sure you guys would do a great job, I have no doubt in my mind, but if the community is telling us to stick with what we got, then we got to stick with what we got, I think. So, George, you want to make a motion, I think?

Yeah. I mean, again, I just don't want to lay this on Esmond. I agree with everything he said. I think 99% of the time we have gone along with whatever he's presented. There have been a few times we have not. And it's nice that he puts the committee together and tries to get the information. But in the end, we have to look at things he doesn't look at. And what we have to look at is what do the residents in this community want? That's what we have to look at. That's what our responsibility is. They elect us and put us here to do that. And they have spoken very, on this particular issue, the mayor said to me at the last meeting when this room was full and they had the room outside full of people, he said, what did you bring the people here tonight for? Because I have done that with other issues in the past. I said, Jerome, I didn't do it. And I didn't understand at that point why both of these rooms were full of residents. And after 30 of them spoke in here, then I understood. So it's not you. I think you'll run a great program. I have every respect in the world for you. It's just that you're trying to come into a community that you didn't see this ahead of you. And the community here is happy with what's going on. So it's not that, you know, and whether or not, to me, what happened as far as whether you have an LLC or not is immaterial. That's, you know, I think that's an excuse maybe if you want. But that's not the bottom line. The bottom line is what do the residents, the 11,000 people that live here want? And they're happy the way we are. Sorry, I did make a motion, yes.

Is there an amendment to it? Whatever you want.

I think we should negotiate with the chair. I think that obviously we have faith in the manager to make the best of the possible. If for some unforeseen reason we cannot come to a deal that works for both the village and for Miami Shores tennis, then I say we amend to engage with our runner-up.

Well, he already does that. I mean, we've had instances before. Do we need it?

Well, we need it as an amendment because she said that the language in this resolution wasn't structured that way.

Okay. But it's an if, and it's all right.

Okay.

And it's, yeah.

I'll make it that if negotiations fail, then we'll move to the highest ranked proposer under the condition that they have set up a separate LLC or corporation to contract with us. That's fine. Fair?

Mr. Burt, are you happy with that? Oh, sure. I mean, I can't remember the instance now. Maybe you can, but we've had one instance so far where we were unable to come to terms with whoever the first choice was, and we ended up going with the With the second one, you remember which event that was? But I mean, it was with you.

I'd like to second Mr. Birch's motion as amended.

Okay.

There's a motion and a second. All those in favor, signal by saying aye. Aye. Motion carries. Thank you, everybody, for coming out. I appreciate it.

Appointments to the arts and culture board This item is brought forth by the clerk's office The application process was publicly noticed on the village website newsletter social media platforms and the deadline was revised numerous times to ensure we exceeded the number of vacancies for each of board presented to council. The selection process is as customary where council members will be casting paper ballots during the council meeting to vote for their preferred candidates. The clerk will collect and tabulate the ballots and the results will be announced and recorded in compliance with the Sunshine Law. Candidates who receive a majority vote will be appointed to the respective boards or committees absent any residency requirement or a term limit. To help you make an informed decision about these appointments, the clerk's office received applications from Michael Bach, Victor Bruce, Alice Kang, Jovan Polanco, Victoria Roe-Traster, and Michael Stock. We do have some residents present that would like to briefly introduce themselves. Just bear in mind that the council has received your application and supporting documents, so we kindly ask that you limit your comments to three minutes. I just also want to note that the applicant, Alice Kong, she did specify that her first preference is education advisory board, but that her background also lends to arts and culture as a fine arts educator. If anyone is present and would like to introduce themselves for the Arts and Culture Board, this is your opportunity to do so. I do see Mr. Bruce that's also on Zoom. But if anyone here is in person and would like to introduce yourself for the Arts and Culture Board, this is your opportunity. Mr. Mayor, seeing none, Mr. Bruce, would you like to introduce yourself at this moment? Mr. Bruce, can you hear us? I don't see Donna's on there anymore. Amy, can you check to see if there's an audio issue with Zoom? Mr. Bruce, you're muted. So if you're speaking, we cannot hear you. He may have stepped away. He was here earlier.

He was definitely watching earlier.

Mm-hmm.

Excuse me. Isabella, can you answer a question? You said that Kahang was more interested in education, but did she mention whether she was willing to serve on two boards then or not?

She did not. She did not indicate. When we asked if she had a preference... She she had outlined that her number one her number two But she didn't say that she was open to serving on two advisory boards at that well arts and culture is not an advisory board It's a decision-making board, but she didn't express interest in serving on two boards But she did say she her background lends to either or but her preference is the Education Advisory Board Mr.. Bruce unfortunately we cannot hear you if you're present and

Do you have anyone in person?

We try to. I asked if there was anyone present. It seems like no one's present for the Arts and Culture Board other than Mr. Bruce, who's on Zoom. But they have received your application and any supporting documents that you've received. Council, in the upper right-hand corner, your ballots are located. As usual, please cast your votes for the top three candidates of your choice. Remembering that there are four vacancies on the Arts and Culture Board.

There are four.

Let me just double check. Give me just a moment. I just want to make sure here. One moment. I see one.

I asked if there was anyone present.

It seems like no one's present. Don, I think you're unmuted. There you go. Thank you. Let me just double check.

Is it three or four?

Checking right now. Managing 13 boards and committees. Just give me just a moment.

Yeah.

Okay. One, two, three. There are three vacancies.

Okay. What?

There are three vacancies on the Arts and Culture Board.

Three.

Sorry. Sorry.

Mr. Crickets. I know that makes it a little bit more challenging. We're just happy to have volunteers. Amen. Yes.

Mr Devaney, are you ready? Through the chair, the results are as follows. Council Member Birch, one vote for Mr. Bach, one vote for Victor Bruce, one vote for Victoria Rotraster. Council Member Devaney, one vote for Mr. Bruce, for Mrs. Rotraster, and Mr. Stock. For Council Member Walensky, one vote for Mr. Bruce, one vote for Roe Traster, and one vote for Mr. Stock. Vice Mayor Cantor, one vote for Mr. Buck, for Mr. Bruce, and Victoria Roe Traster. And for Mayor Charles, one vote for Mr. Buck, Mr. Bruce, and Victoria Roe Traster. Therefore, Mr. Buck. Mr. Buck. Mr. Bruce and Mrs. Roe Traster have been appointed to serve on the Education Advisory Board for a three-year term. Arts and Culture. Sorry, the Arts and Culture Board for a three-year term. I'm sorry. Arts.

Yes. Like what?

Sorry about the technicality, Mr. Bruce. Okay. The next board is the Education Advisory Board. The Clerk's Office received applications from Jill Campbell, Alice Kong, Mallory Matson, and Mr. Michael Weber. Mallory Matson has resided in Miami Shores for a little less than one year. According to the Village Code of Ordinances, there is a one-year residency requirement However, council may override that stipulation with a four-fifths vote. There are two vacancies on the Education Advisory Board. Is there anyone present that would like to speak?

My name is Michael Weber, 1700 Northeast 105th Street. I have been on the Education Advisory Board for almost four years. Miami Shores Village funds the Cambridge curriculum used at Miami Shores Elementary. I believe the Cambridge program is the reason Miami Shores Elementary is an A-rated public school. We need to continue the program and encourage Miami Shores residents to send their students to Miami Shores Elementary. One way to promote this excellent school would be for the Village of Miami Shores to sponsor a concert at Miami Shores Elementary, utilizing the unique band shell at the school. This would give Miami Shores residents an opportunity to see and learn about our fine school. Thank you very much.

Anyone else present for the Education Advisory Board?

And this has two seats open, correct?

Two seats. Seeing none, council can proceed to cast their vote. I do have council member Devaney.

He got him for there was a resident I think he got $200 for the pair. I paid a lot more. Well, he was up in that. No, I was on the floor. No, he was all the way up. Yeah, no, he was way, way up. He paid mortgage payment. Mr. Manager, you're running out of teams to root for in the tournament. I don't know what I'm going to root for now. I'm going to root for England. Gee, what I said, really? One of them's gone.

Mexico didn't do the job, so. Oh, that was. Yeah. So I think it's probably a show.

Oh. I might have to refer to Switzerland because it's like running for the UN. I mean, that team is like, really? It's the global team.

My team just fell like flies. Yeah.

England's trying to go to 66 is what they're trying to do. They're trying to get this on the 26th. Yes, yes. We'll see. Today's thing, though. Well, I don't know about that. I don't know why. You let somebody run down 100 yards and then say you had to review that?

You're up 2-0. We put nine people in the back of the goalkeeper. Keep one guy up there for the counter. That's what you should do it.

Through the chair The results are as follows For councilmember Birch one vote for Jill Campbell Sorry, excuse me one vote for Alice Kong and the other vote for Michael Webber for councilmember Devaney one vote for mr Campbell for mrs. Campbell one vote for mr. Webber For Council Member Walensky, one vote for Mrs. Campbell, one vote for Michael Weber. For Vice Mayor Kanter, one vote for Mr. Campbell, one vote for Mrs. Campbell, I'm sorry, and one vote for Mrs. Kang. And for Mayor Charles, one vote for Mrs. Madsen and one vote for Mr. Weber. Therefore, Jill Campbell and Michael Weber have been appointed to serve a two-year term on the Education Advisory Board.

Thank you.

And then last but not least is the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee.

Do we have to vote?

Okay. So at 2.36 p.m., the clerk's office received a withdrawal from Mrs. Martha Padilla. There are four vacancies and now only four applicants. As reflected on your ballot, there's a strike through Ms. Martha Padilla. The council can either vote by acclamation in support of the four candidates, even though the intent was to present more applications and vacancies, or you can direct the clerk's office to reopen the application process for the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee.

Just to have a paper record of it and then just put it into the record, I think.

If it's vote by acclamation, there's no... It's affirmation.

Right. We killed a tree, though.

You did? Okay.

We'll grow another one, but it is the resiliency committee. Unless there's a recycle bin or on the phone Through the chair

Paul Madsen, Nicola Meyer, Leticia Montiagudo, and Richard Plujar have been unanimously appointed to serve on the Sustainability and Resiliency Committee for a two-year term. Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to apply.

Thank you. Thank you. Do we have an opportunity to do a quick introduction?

Because I'm already here. Sure. Oh, yeah, please. So you guys get to know?

We would love that, yes. Thank you so much.

I know it's late, but good evening, mayor, vice mayor, council members, village manager, and residents. My name is Leticia Montegudo, and I'm honored to be considered for the appointment of Sustainability Resiliency Committee. I have proudly called Miami Shores home for the past 24 years. During that time, I have witnessed our village grow while preserving the unique character, beauty, and sense of community that Miami Shores is a special place. As a longtime resident, I'm deeply invested in helping ensure that our village remains safe, resilient, sustainable to the current future and the future generation. I'm a proud dual alumni of Berry University. where I earned a bachelor's degree in public administration and a master's degree in human resource and development. My education has provided me with a strong foundation in public service, organizational leadership, strategic planning, and collaborative decision making. Professionally, I have dedicated more than 30 years to risk management, property management, and operational resilience. I'm also a licensed general adjuster and a real estate professional. Throughout my career, I've conducted comprehensive risk assessments, managed complex projects, worked extensively with residential and commercial property owners to identify vulnerabilities, reduce risk, and strengthen long-term resilience. In addition, I've had the privilege in working in 42 countries, leading and presenting global operations and risk management initiative as the ambassador of International Air Transport Association. That experience allowed me to collaborate with government agencies, airport authorities, and international stakeholders to develop practical, resilient, and forward-thinking solutions to complex operational challenges. Every day I help individuals, businesses, and communities prepare and recover from unforeseen events. whether evaluating property risk, advising on mitigation strategies, or understanding the financial impacts of natural disasters. I have developed a practical understanding of what it takes to protect a built environment while planning for the future. I believe sustainability is more than protecting the environment. It is about protecting people, strengthening infrastructure, preserving property values, promoting responsible development, and ensuring our communities prepare to meet future challenges. South Florida's resilience depends on thoughtful planning, collaboration, and informed decisions. If appointed, as I am, thank you, I will bring collaborative data-driven and solution-oriented perspective to the committee. I am committed to listening, learning, and working alongside my fellow committee members to help advance initiatives that will keep Miami Shores a vibrant, resilient, and thriving community for generations to come. Miami Shores has been my home for nearly a quarter of a century, and I will consider it a privilege to give back to the community that has given so much to me. I have reached a point in my career where success is no longer measured by an extensive resume, but by the legacy I leave through service. Serving this village will be an opportunity to give back to the community that my family and I proudly call home for the last 24 years Thank you for your time your consideration and your service I Would truly be honored to serve as a resident of Miami Shores on the sustainability and resiliency committee And I'm happy to answer any questions

Your first meeting is tomorrow, you know, right To the Miami shows

Mayor and Vice Mayor, Village Manager, Village Council and staff, our members, residents and the entire Miami Shore community. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the incredible support, encouragement and kindness you have shown us. Your belief in ATSIM and continue to confidence in the Miami Shores Tennis Club mean more to us than words can express. We are truly honored to work alongside the village and we look forward to continuing to build a strong partnership that serve the entire Miami Shore community for many years to come. Miami Shores is surely a special village, a place where neighbors become friends and family comes together. That same sense of community is what we try to create every day at the Miami Shores Tennis Club. One of the things we are most proud of is the transparent place in us. They feel comfortable leaving their children in our care because they know they are in safe, positive, welcoming environment where they can grow not only as athletes but also as confident, respectful young people. Our club has always been about more than tenants. It's a family. With our love, there is no community. It's the relationship we build, the kindness we show one another, and the support we give each other to make Miami Shore such an extraordinary place to call home. We are especially grateful to work alongside our PAC manager, Angie Jacqueline, and their dedicated staff, David, Kylie, Jason, Clarissa, and Latro, as well as Leslie, Don, Val, and the entire community center staff for their partnership. As a heartfelt thank you also goes to our incredible Miami Shore tennis club team, to our head coach, Timothy Lee, our tennis professionals, our office staff, Nicole and Chelsea, and our court maintenance guard specialist, Louis. Thank you for your dedication, professionalism, and genuine care for every child, member, and guest you have. Your hard work and commitment are what make our club such a special place, and I'm truly grateful for everything you do each and every day. Finally, thank you to our residents, our members, their families, and everyone who continues to support our mission. We are excited for what lies ahead and remain committed to serving this wonderful community with integrity, passion, and heart. There is a word in Hebrew, say bashed, means meant to be. I truly believe that. I thank God for bringing us to this moment. May God continue to bless our village council, our village manager and staff, our community, and all the families for many years to come. In Jesus' name, amen.

Madam Clerk.

Managers report. have nothing to report on thanks attorneys report nothing this evening announcements the next meeting of the village council will be held on july 21st at 6 30 p.m village hall council chambers there are still vacancies on the planning and zoning board doctors charter school board recreation advisory committee If you're interested in serving on any of these boards, also Historic Preservation Board, Code Enforcement Board as well, if you're interested in serving any of these committees, please submit an application by visiting the village website, msvfl.gov. Under the government tab, you'll find boards and committees application or contact the clerk's office at 305-762-4870 for more information. Council comments.

If I may before, Mr. Mayor, if I may real quick, I think we have a meeting on the 20th?

Yes. We also have the budget workshop, which will be held at 5 p.m., Village Hall, Council Chambers.

Same day? Same day as the meeting? No, Monday.

The council meeting is Tuesday.

I got two questions. Council wait, did you have something? Yes? Go ahead inside.

All right two things then Neil if I'm stepping on your toes here Stop tell me that I want to say and there's mostly to the community because everybody else here knows that Doctors charter school our village charter school got an a rating their rating was 67 points higher than it has ever been before and They're doing a fantastic job there, and as well as Miami Shores Elementary, we need to support them because things are really going well and getting better. And the other thing I'd like to say is that the July 4th meeting at the country club, to me, was a booming success. The place was sold out. The food was excellent. And if that is a country club the village is running, we can be proud of ourselves because we're off to a pretty good start. Thank you. Thank you.

I, too, am very proud of DCS re-earning their A. As you guys know, I've worked very closely with them over the last year, the staff, the board. And, you know, unfortunately, the narrative in the community is not always the most positive, but we are constantly working every day to turn that around and improve. Trying to make improvements in all facets of that operation. And like I said, we are headed in a good direction and I'm proud of our accomplishments. I'm proud of our A. I have two additional comments tonight. The first is on Wednesday of last week I had a Zoom meeting with five residents from the community who are extremely passionate about seeing the Parks Master Plan come to life and come to fruition. I discussed at a previous meeting I had volunteered to be the point and liaison on that project and I would like to ask my colleagues for their support in doing so. Obviously, that doesn't mean that none of you can be involved in the process, and I welcome your involvement in the process. But as far as the initial organization of the effort goes, I would like to lead that effort. I second that for you. Everyone okay with that?

I think it's worked really well for us for golf. And I think when any council member takes one of these on, and especially how the state works with us with Sunshine, you're more nimble and can then report back to us. And I've met with residents, too, about this. They're looking at strategies for. I've given recommendations that if the community wants, just like Council Member Birch says, the community gets. And some of this is they look to Village Hall for leadership. I get that. But a lot of the work that would be done for that parks master planner amongst the residents so that the messaging is a unified message for what the residents want and it's a little bit more difficult from here so I appreciate that you take the lead on that.

Anybody else can double your salary. So my second part of that is obviously related to the accomplishing of that goal. And, you know, whether the residents realize it, I know a lot do, but I feel like a lot at the end of the day, we pay high taxes here in the Shores. We don't want people's tax bills to go up if we can help it. But I think we all realize that this is an extremely important moment for the community. I mean, our facility, as we know, is 50 years old. I can't even tell you how many years outdated at this point. And like I said, nobody likes to spend money at the end of the day. But if we're able to bring a new vibrant community building facility that incorporates elements that most of the residents can use, I feel like we really got to go for it this time. April will be here around the corner. And aside from the passion of the residents that I've already spoke to who have already started to organize for the effort, I truly believe in order to make this a success, we're going to need to bring in some professional help. I was very impressed with what Framework was able to accomplish. I know that their continued help will come with a price tag, obviously, but I feel that if we're really going to make this happen, we have to allocate some money in next year's budget to allow for them to assist us. This is what their specialty is. from everything from surveying to community awareness to the wording of the referendum. I don't think people really realize, I don't want to harp on this too much, but what a tough ask this is going to be of the community and so we must I told the five ladies that I sat down with on Wednesday the effort must begin now. It must be something that we don't take lightly because our opportunity to vote for it will be right around the corner. And so I would like to get some support. And if you obviously don't support, I would like some clarification about how we feel about putting dollars in the budget to allow Framework to help us with this process.

To the chair, I'm sorry I forgot one thing that I think is important. We've had the offer, which you all have read, on the 9900 building for $2.3 million. That property belongs to the village, and it would require the village to vote in favor of selling that. And in order to get that on the November ballot as opposed to the following April ballot, Isabelle told me that has to be done by the 28th of this month. 24th of this month so I wish we could discuss that a little bit and maybe get a consensus of how you feel I would say this I don't think that the village wants to get into the business of running businesses we are running the golf course and We will be running the tennis courts, but this building has basically been unused since it was bought for a million dollars from the Catholic Church. And we've had it evaluated two or three times with possible uses and not been successful in doing that. You all have read already what he's proposing. businesses downstairs, maybe office buildings upstairs. We don't have any drawings, but he's willing to accept the building as it is. But if we tell him that we can't give him an answer before April, he may not be willing to wait that long. That's what I'm concerned about.

yeah I appreciate I think we should talk about both but can we finish the framework one sorry sorry I thought you were done no I'm done but I'm turning to ask to want to see if you guys want to support putting that in the budget for next year because like I said I think it it really is gonna require professional help to get it done this time and I want to get some feedback if you guys have any obviously at this time I'm

Whether that's a good idea or not. I will speak with the parks director and just so that we're in that pre-budget workshop, we can figure out for, I think, next steps. Like the last one where you presented to us, he did have it. And I think he's been in constant conversation with Ms. Dorney. And then I think... where we were at and what they can afford. I think there's even to it for the discussion for it. I think there's tiers of it. It's not just you just give a blanket thing and say you're going to be tasked with doing all this. They were very successful in Doral and like you said, their track record's good. And And in the climate that we're in, to put the onus on the residents themselves, it's a heavy lift. And I understand that. But it's also the success of a community is the people are the government. So I think it's leaning into just only the council doing it. I think this one, when we move forward, I think we'd be successful as a community and get it done. When we go into the budget portion of it, I'm up for it. I would like to just have stuff for the parks director's input and the manager's input on this. Colleagues?

Need more information. But yes, I'm open to it. I'm just very cautious about... I don't want to, you know, do like the sales pitch thing with other people if we're, you know, spending resources to inform and make sure that we're, you know, have as much input from the community as possible to get something on the ballot that everybody can, you know, stomach. I think, you know, I'm all for that but I just don't want to, you know, do the thing I've experienced in the past, you know, when this came up last time, 10 years ago or whatever it was, where I felt like I was sitting in a timeshare sales pitch. I don't want to do that. I certainly don't want to spend money to do that to our residents. So, yeah, I'm interested, and I certainly am a big fan of Framework. I think they've done great work so far, and I'm confident we're going to need some more work from them. But, yeah, I'm looking forward to that discussion.

through the chair I think we should take the time obviously to assess what package works best for us and how they can help in the best way without spending more money than than needed but I just wanted to also add one of the things that was talked about at the Wednesday meeting is uh and also with staff in my review was clearly defining an ABC tier of uh you know what items we obviously the main Community Center is the lead but I'm saying what other items will or will not be able to work in, what ones can actually gain us the most consensus among villagers. Because for me, I was very surprised after many conversations I had this week that the walkability portion of the framework presentation, actually for a lot of the residents who are older whose kids are no longer going to use the main facility, said, hey, I love the opportunity to be able to walk to and from those facilities. with an integrated path that framework laid out. So like I said, we're at the very introductory phase of what this is all going to look like, but we all know how quickly time can pass, and we have to stay preemptive and vigilant. And like I said, your support this evening in figuring out what is the best path is much appreciated. So thank you.

MR. Well, the only thing I would add to that is this, and that It's always easy to pass that and I'm glad you're willing to take that on. But each of us has a group of people that have put us in the position that we're in or we wouldn't be sitting up here. And those are the people that each of us needs to go to once we've got all the facts. And, you know, your group of friends and my group of friends, they're not going to be the same. You know, I'm going to be 79. I've got a different part of this community that, you know, I deal with. And we all do. And so we need to go to them and... And have the facts and explain this. This shouldn't be just your responsibility. This is our responsibility as a council to get input and to sell this idea so that it doesn't fail again. Or at least that's my opinion. But I think Jerome's right. That'll be part of the budget discussion when we get to it. But I don't think this money is going to come out of the budget. We're going to need a bond.

Since you brought up bond I think working with staff mr. Manager just moving forward. I think the council on two things one with the golf course itself It would be good if or whatever the arrangement of timeline that we could go to bond council because the golf course needs Kemper's been there for a month now and think the from their feedback is that the renovation has to take place but I think that this council itself needs to be educated on how much we can borrow on the renovation of that golf course and then I think we could piggyback on it during that bond council also see what what what it looks like also for a geo bond so each one of us is educated to the public and even the difference to explain to them the difference between a revenue bond and a geo bond but I don't know I mean timeline we could do that sooner or later sooner than later if it could be I don't think it'd be done this month but when we get back from break in September but just as quick as possible for this because I think it just would sure up the village With two things, assurance that we're moving forward with the stuff that we have passed and also for us as a body of dollars that are realistic because even with the golf course whole property, part of it is, well, how much are we going to do or what are we going to do? Well, I don't know how much we can borrow. So I think if we could get figures out there where we stand. It's also I'd like to get this ahead of the HDR vote if it actually goes to the ballot. Because then the community is gonna have a different discussion on The monies that we're taking in For taxes in the future and not not this one that we're working on this year But obviously the next year and each one of these projects are gonna ripple through that But I think Us up here as a body to educate the public on it. I I Even if the one goes through and the whole state of Florida votes on the referendum for taxes, my belief is Miami Shores is pretty sound. And to our point, you do have to borrow money. And we still have wiggle room in the millage rate also. It's just a little. But I mean, the one key to this, and even the conversations I'm going to have with multiple people, and I use the tagline out there, is that you get the government you fund. So even if there's a setback for us, we do have mechanisms to build out infrastructure that people have invested here for. And, you know, priority one to the village because of he said that we don't want to get in the business of businesses, but we do. And I think it's one of those things that back to the word resiliency or bouncing back from something. Us running the business of golf course is something that we should be proud of, and I think we're more than capable of doing, and we should just invest in our property. But we as a body need to be on the banking side of it just to get some numbers. And then in the discussions that I'm having, because people ask me, it's like, with that property, what has to be done? And I'll use this opportunity right now. In standard business of running a golf course, you have to do the greens, the bunkers, and the tee boxes once every 10 years to 13 years. Our facility did that over 13 years ago, but ours is even further away for other infrastructure, the carpets and also the irrigation system need to be upgraded to the 21st century. And we have some parts of the property dealing with sea level rise and also just golf play as we'll have to move earth. So instead of the standard bill for just doing tee boxes, greens, and bunkers, we have these bigger capital improvement projects that are on top of that. So that's when we get the dollar amount of what that looks like and what we can borrow so that the golf business could pay that debt services back. But I think all five of us get on the same page of what those numbers look like. I think then we could articulate that to the community.

Through the chair, I very much appreciate the mayor's comments. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the financials after the first month here and what having some real numbers to base our future plans on because it's been a lot of hypotheticals up until now. And I also appreciate your comments on the bond stuff. I think whatever we can do to get ourselves in the best position to have those conversations with residents obviously I don't think any of us are financial experts and dealt with municipal bonds before so there's there's a bit of a learning curve there and I want to be able to at least you know somewhat people ask me so I hope we can get there Something I just quickly wanted to comment on because I was a little late and missed it. I'm assuming you guys voted for the roof on the police station? Yes, we did. Okay.

It was pulled out of consent and discussed.

Oh, it was?

Yes.

I missed that? Oh, man. Well, all right.

It wasn't just rubber stamped. It was actually the manager informed us.

Well, I'm glad. So after I got elected, I requested a tour of the police department. And I got to say, one of my biggest disappointments, I was really looking forward. I was like, oh, man, I'm going to get to go up on that balcony that I drive past every day. I'm curious. What's going on up there? What do they got going on? There's nothing. It's closed off. The chief was like, oh, we don't go out there.

It's not in use.

So this $25,000, $26,000, I think, addition to the roofing is going to make that space usable for, you know, I don't know.

Is the cheap over there? Over here next door. Let's see. Okay, he's gone.

All right, she's gone. Anyway, I don't know when the last time that space was used. Hey, all right!

He's here. He's the sergeant at arms. He's still here.

When was the last time that space was able to be utilized or used?

Never in the almost 11 years I've been here.

Okay, there you go. So I'm actually really excited about this expansion of the ROOT project there.

Yeah, it was always unsafe to even go out there.

Right, so when... invite me to the grand opening yes sir and the last thing I will say is the 4th of July huge success I was in my usual spot on the hill over there I wasn't inside the country club but it looked packed and there were certainly as many people as I've ever seen out on the golf course having a wonderful time. Certainly more kids out there than I've ever seen before in the past. It was a real amazing scene to see. The stereotypical Fourth of July, awesome families out having the time of their life and an awesome fireworks show. So big success. Thanks to the Parks and Rec, Mr.

Manager, staff.

I spoke with the manager today.

I spoke with the manager today at the Country Club, and he said it was quite profitable, quote, unquote. Yes.

Wonderful. They need to set up like a little, you know, selling some water bottles outside next time, and it would have been more profitable. We're working on that. I saw a lot of, you know, money left on the table.

The assurance to the public, the transition has happened, but the new company is switching to a different point of sale, and part of that, That will be fixed. The golfers are dealing with it right now. But let me just say, better than I've ever seen in the past. But if you are out there and you are a golfer right now, the beverage card, as it goes across the golf course, is cash only. So if you do go play there.

And let me just, well, now that you brought that up, let me just say, I never even knew that that thing existed. I'm not a golfer, so I haven't seen it out playing golf.

But for the very first time, and I've been out on the golf course every Fourth of July, you know,

for the last 13 plus years, that cart was out driving around selling stuff for the very first time.

And I was like, wow, you should get a couple more of those. That will be taken care of. Very cool. I think that's coming up in the next week or two. Can we discuss the 9900 building?

I want to hear how you all feel.

I am not in favor of selling any Miami Shores property.

I'm also opposed to selling it. I feel that with this mega developer attitude that's going on down here, every parcel of land is going to be a lot more valuable. I think it could be in excess of $5 million in five or ten years. I think that whoever buys it now for 2.3 is going to be stealing it from us, and I think we should hold on to it.

I have a different opinion. I mean, I believe, I mean, for living here and how the municipality is, is that the government already has a large footprint on Northeast 2nd Ave. We have plenty of blocks, and that's a commercial piece of property. I also consider it a liability. I understand what they're saying with what the sale part of it is, but you also have to look, just like you said, we're not in the business of. But you should look at it that there are partners that are willing to work with us And just like we have a covenant on a piece of property up at Berry, if you think that it's part of the public trust, there could be still a sale and a covenant on it that what goes in there matches with the community. You might have a different conversation about this in November when you'll see what the state of Florida does with HJR. And we should really discuss what we have. I understand that your point of view is that it's an asset. Well, so is this. And then so is across the street. And so is Optimist Park, and so is Memorial Park, and so is Constitution Park. But this particular one for us in the comp plan, this is where we already know we're up against it. People are interviewing me because Miami Shores is like, how is this going to affect the man on the street? How is this going to, if this homestead thing goes through, what is going to happen to it? The part of this that we're allowed through that comp plan is we're allowed to tax this differently than the homes that make up 85% of the build-out here. Yeah, I know that where you stand, and we've had these discussions before, but what's going to be facing you in the next few months, you might have a different take on it. And I think the people who have asked about it, we've gone through the exercise of what that corner lot could be. We have renderings of it. that it's a knockdown. We have people that are suggesting to keep it as it is. We have it if we need it for seniors. All of that is fine, but it is still a signature corner and it should be, to me, either the asset has to be that plus for the residents, all 11,000 of us, or the net value of that parcel of land in a signature corner on our main street has to be looked at, but how we're doing it, I could see this council for, I've been on it for three years now is we're kicking the can down the road from that building. And it just needs an honest conversation. What, what that would look like, what would a covenant look like? Could that become a third place for us? So I'm, I'm a little bit different than just saying it's going to be worth more money in the future. It also could be worth less. So, I just, I'm not, and the other thing for where you were asking where it goes on a ballot, this community also does not appreciate stuff that is rushed, and to the clerk's point of how quickly we'd have to look at the language of that, where is the research that was done, how come I didn't have anything said, and it would be at the end of the ballot. And that ballot on November is going to be a little bit complicated. If we're going to do that, it is an asset, so we have a fair discussion about it. All right, that's fine. We should just do it in the special election. I think anybody purchasing, I think, could wait the six months. That's my opinion.

Well, it does certainly increase. It's not like we're giving it away, and we're also increasing tax revenue, and we've also done two studies that I know of looking for different ways to use it and had professionals evaluate it as a building, and none of that has worked. Well, that leaves you, Delaney. What do you think?

through the chair if anyone wants to take a wager on whether it's gonna be worth less I'll take that bet with you all day so let me know right now I think gonna be worth less all we need one cat five but it's kind of a fallacy of logic to keep holding on to something in perpetuity based on the speculative value

I think that I'm in favor of waiting and seeing, I guess.

Waiting and seeing for what?

Essentially, like, evaluating should we sell it or should we not?

Well, I think because of how the charter is, and I'm not too sure about the square footage or what the actual law is for what the body here has and is making a decision or it has to be an honest conversation for instead of just cancel comments that it is a discussion and possible action first steps so that it would become new business and then afford the public the opportunity to have their input instead of the five of us obviously we do the due diligence for us and the previous manager purchased this for a reason just for it's out there that that recreational center that didn't get built he was thinking that there could be programming there and he would need a temporary space but as you seen for what we've used it for it's actually it's it's not I mean to your point it's it's a value but it's not really an asset for us as far as I'm concerned as much as it could be if it was activated

Through the chair, just to clarify, the charter amendment that I think took place, what, 2023? Yes, it was voted on. It's not associated with square footage. So it's simply, if it's a sale of a land, it has to go to referendum. Yes. So if it's a lease that is less than 10 years, then that doesn't. But that's what I think the confusion I've been hearing that 10,000 circulated and it's not associated with square footage.

That's actually the years.

Yeah, and if it's a lease. But if it's a sale, that's purely very clear that it needs to go to a referendum, any property.

And the lease thing also is a little catch-22. A lot of companies will not. There's money that has to be invested in that building, and who does it? Does Miami Shores invest in it, or does a leasee? And then what you run into for a business deal is that a nine-year lease is kind of short. No, I mean, I'm well aware that the public, when they voted on the charter, they want to say, and

the property that is miami shore so i just want to do the best for them and then november one i think you'd get lost in whatever's going to happen in november and i'd rather talk about it in in april and um if i may mr me let me just talk a little bit about the 10 000 square feet because i've been wondering you know because we've been talking about 10 000 square feet and in fact the person who came to me that offers 2.3 million spoke with 10,000 square feet, and I was like, where's that coming from? I finally figured it out. Remember at one time we were talking about the public arts, and we said anything over $10,000, then they would have to pay. So that's where the $10,000 is coming from. Right, yeah. Yeah. Multiple places. 10,000 square feet, right. That's where that is. We have a lot of 10s. But I'll tell you, we await your decision on what to do with this, because as it is right now, is a 40-year recertification that's running on this building. We know that there is no – we know that there is no – what was it? We had a test for Delroy. Asbestos? Asbestos. We know there's no asbestos there. That we know for sure.

Or inside roof.

Yes, as far as you know. So my thing is, and we've got a new roof on it.

On the top. On the top. Yeah, the problem's already inside on that one. Right.

But, I mean, from a standpoint of 40-year recertification, I think, and we had discussed this once before, that based upon what you do, we will probably just gut that building And that will take here a lot of the fourth-year recertification stuff, which can run to a very high cost.

Can we do that as a fundraiser? Just give all the people sledgehammers and goggles? I personally would love to do that.

Just if you want to smash a wall. I would love to do that. But Delroy won't. All right. All right. Well, thank you.

Exactly. Yeah, I know where that's coming from. Are there any other comments?

Just one last comment on that subject is I really liked what we saw in the Parks and Rec Master Plan and what they were proposing for that property. And part of that proposal involved some opportunity for revenue through being, you know, I know we said we don't want to be a business or landlord. I The way things are looking, as the mayor said, I think we are going to have to start being, yeah, we are in business now and probably going to have to be more so going forward. We have a lot of potential for revenue. That's one of them. And that was one of the parts of the master plan I was more impressed with, actually, was what they showed for that piece of property because it showed that it's a lot more than just the building also. It's a pretty big piece of property. And the whole back of it, there's there's a lot of potential there and I like that it included a good portion of it being for generating revenue and you know commercial space that could be a good place for a pizza shop we'll see if we've been waiting on one already for quite a few yeah across the street so no it's that's that's where

No, but also from this seat, just please keep this active because the dates for the administrative staff, they do get away from us since we only have two meetings. And then also for how the council has been in the past, don't foresee it for this one, but, you know, the next election is in April and sometimes they take away the power from what we have if they see that there's other candidates running and say, why are we voting on stuff in February when you get a new council in April? Okay. so just I would rather keep it in in the conversation and where we're at and thoughts on it because again the big thing for this is to do the due diligence for all the village and yeah I mean and keep on keeping abreast of I know we didn't get it from the update from the attorney but is there any other movement on the lawsuit for the just the ballot language or it's just it was just filed

I don't have any update at this time.

But it was filed, right? Yeah. Okay. But just keep aware of that also.

To the chair, I hope that you all will think some more about this as far as the village getting into businesses. Yes, we're in the business of the golf course because, as you know, we were receiving a very small amount of money for a very a big asset, and I think we're in a better position there than we were. But we're laying a lot on the Village staff and the employees that are here. We are not developers. We are not business creators. We, as the village gets into more and more businesses, we're putting responsibilities on our management that You know, I mean, we all did different things, or for you all, you are doing different, you all have different professions, and you're experts in whatever those are. But I would caution us in getting in, making Miami Shores now, you know, an area that is going to run different businesses throughout the village. I mean, if you agree with that in the end, we need a a developer who does that for a living, who has contacts to put people into those spaces and shops into those spaces and et cetera. We're not in that business, or that's my opinion anyway. Thank you.

Motion to adjourn? Second. Thank you. Thank you, everybody.

Thank you.