City Commission - Regular Meeting

Okay. I'm trying to work it through.

I'm working through it. Okay.

You want a water or something? No, no. Oh my God. It's so confusing. Say it again, blue side.

Thank you.

retirement's good. I'm glad to hear it. We're happy to see you. Yeah, we're happy to see you.

Thank you.

All right, we're about to start. Good afternoon, everyone. The time is 6.40. We are gonna start our Tuesday, April 2021st commission meeting. Madam Clerk, can you please do the roll call?

Commissioner Chernoff? Here. Commissioner Florimon? Here. Commissioner Jean? Here. Commissioner Smith? Present. Commissioner Hsu? Here. Vice Mayor Smuckler? Present. Mayor Michael Joseph? I am here. You have quorum, sir.

Next is the invocation. Commissioner Floremon? Pardon me?

A moment of silence.

Regarding former Vice, yes, go on.

Good evening everyone and thank you Mr. Mayor for setting aside this moment to recognize a public servant a scholar and an environmentalist, someone who dedicated her entire life to service, and that is Vice Mayor Nancy Matea of Coral Springs. A couple of weeks ago, the entire nation was hit hard and has since been mourning the loss of such a vibrant spirit in the person of Nancy Mater. was a public servant, truly was a public servant. And I think it's very rare that you meet someone who is able to resonate with so many people and be personable with so many people and have an influence on so many. And Nancy was that person. And so we honor her today. We honor her legacy. And I think that we all should emulate her example in what we do as public servants and everyone as well in their role as a community leader and someone who is helping organize and lead a community, we should all emulate what Nancy stood for. And those are my thoughts. I know that more of my colleagues may have something to say, so.

It's truly a loss. She was definitely what we call and look up to as being a public servant and she loved what she did and it's so sorry for all of us and her constituents.

I wanted to take this time to extend deepest condolences to her family and it was just just a traumatic loss for our community as a whole and her example her legacy will live on.

I just want to say that May her children always remember her with all those fond memories they have and be grateful that she was their mother and they I say to you that if you see anything here anything say something we in North Miami Beach have violence every single year a walk against violence and the devastation is not just the person that's gone and the person that did it it's to the whole family and in this case it's to the community and beyond she was a service person every step of the way and it's a huge loss maybe she may she be sitting on God's lap

Thank you. I had the opportunity to meet her back in 2022 when Commissioner Flormond introduced me to her at an emo class in Cocoa Beach.

Yes.

And as she was coming our way, And, you know, I forget many things. And for some reason, this I have never forgotten. You said to me, watch her. She's an up and comer. And she was definitely that. However, I do wanna give my sincere sympathies to her parents who have not just lost one child, but have lost two children in three months, no parent. No parent should lose one, much less two. So my deepest sympathies go to her parents. May she rest in peace. And all I can say, and sometimes people don't like to hear that, but at least the siblings are together in heaven.

Thank you.

Crystal? Crystal?

I'd like to extend my deepest and sincerest condolences to her family. And I know my friends have been wanting to introduce me to her since I got elected. And they said that what a great example she is for being a public servant and being always standing and doing what's right for the residents and being nonpartisan about her thinking and what's right for the residents. That is something that I also admire. And even though I didn't get a chance to really meet her, but I've heard so many great things. And like Commissioner Floriman said, yes, I think we could use her as a good example to bring us all together. Thank you very much.

And Mr. Mayor, if I may, you know, her family really hearkened on the importance of how she lived. And I think that in our honoring her, there's a lot of things that she stood for. She stood for equality. She stood for diversity. She was a fighter for the environment. She was a scientist. So she fought for the environment to make sure that our ecosystem was one that was cared for. And so as elected officials, and as I said, as public servants, It's just super important that we lead with that in mind and everything that we do that we make sure that we put the people first. And that's something that I will dedicate myself to definitely lead as she would lead and to take that as an example.

And Mr. Mayor, before you take the mic to say what you'd like to say, I didn't have the privilege of knowing her personally, which is my loss. But her children were the children of the community, finding that she had, I thought she had stepchildren, but she did not. She had all the children of the community and beyond. And I want to tell you, what you see on television and the dedication she's had and the thousands of people that show up, you don't have to say a word about her. What you see speaks volumes. So thank you again.

Nancy was the best of us. Going back almost 10 years, I've been set as, you know, As many of you know, I'm very proud when it comes to people I care for. I have not been as open as my fellow colleague knows me quite well. I pray for her family. I pray for the friends that knew her well and loved her. I pray that she remains to be a beacon for this community for generations to come. And to the people that have suffered or have been impacted by domestic violence, don't suffer in silence. Please speak up. And, you know, please speak up. That being said, next action item on the agenda is 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, any requests, withdrawals, affirmants, or additions?

Mr. Mayor, I do not have any requests.

All right, that's being done. Next is presentations. No presentations?

Let's go to public comment.

Oh, if you can open up for public comment.

Good evening, everyone. The Mayor and Commissions of the City of North Miami Beach has opened the meeting for public comment at this time. There is a three minute time limit for each speaker. Speaker, when you're called to the podium, please state your name for the record. The Mayor and Commission of the City of North Miami Beach recognizes the importance of civility. The City of North Miami Beach requests that all the new attendants exercise civility towards each other. And our first signed speaker is Star Breedlove.

Good evening. My name is Star Breedlove.

How about now?

Okay. My name is Star Breedlove, a member of the Voter Council in North Miami Beach. We want to thank our mayor and all of our elected officials, our city manager for all of your support. and making Heritage Day happen for us and keeping us close to your heart, as I hope, and as well as in the budget. So we want to thank all of you guys for all of your support, continued support. Special thanks to Ms. Andres Bernard for everything that she does. Had a lovely meeting with her today. Thank you. Anyone else with it? That's it. Thank you.

Mr. Mayor, I'd like a personal privilege here. I'm from the Washington Park Heritage. Sorry I couldn't make it this year. This is my first day back from surgery. So I really, you know, I'm always there for you. So thank you. You were there. Glad you had a great one.

You were there. Yeah, you were there in spirit. We felt you.

Thank you.

Next signed speaker is Pat Santangelo. Sorry about the mispronunciation.

Sorry. Name and address.

Hi, how are you? Good evening. My name is Paola Caizel. My address is 1463 Northeast 182nd Street. I'm a resident here. I'm here trying to get the Warriors program of soccer to our community. We travel all the way to North Miami so my son can play soccer. And it'll be great because I've tried all the soccer teams in this area, and weekly is about give or take $150. And for a single mom, it's really hard. Thank you.

Okay, next speaker.

Yes. Good evening, everyone. My name is Catalina. Oh, you hear me now? Okay. Good evening, everyone. My name is Catalina de la Menge. I am a part of the Little 80 FC, and I wanted to thank you for giving the Little 80 FC soccer team the opportunity to be free, to be accessible for every kind of children, every type of children. As a mother of one, That's my son, and that's my nephew. I have been in a soccer atmosphere, soccer team for, since my son is three and a half, four, today is 12, and I always paid every month like 450, 500. In 2023, I lost my husband, so since our finance has been difficult, and we moved in North Miami, And moving in North Miami, we went to a school. I registered my children to a school, a nice school, on JFK. And JFK saw the potential of my son, and they put him in a soccer. However, they sent us to a little ADFC. And I was very shocked to see that a team like Later 80 FC provide the opportunity to every kids, any kids in Miami, the possibility to play in a team because it's not everyone that have the chance, that have the opportunity, the grace, the parents, you know, are involved for them to play in team and admit million moms, and it was hard for them, hard for single parents that are single in different way, to have their children to play soccer. You may not see the impact now, but it's when them children go back home, it's a huge impact to wake up every day to be happy, to go to a team, to have the possibility to go to a team, even to walk there. and to play and it's not every children that has this opportunity and have been around children that didn't had moms like me, moms like other mom that will pay a ton of money every month and every six, seven months to travel overseas. I'm from France. In my country, the soccer is free, and they provide opportunity for our children to go to a formation to play for free. And when I saw that here, I found it amazing. The first time I went to Little ADFC, I saw the children, the way they were, everybody was so beautiful. And I am in for a long time, and I didn't see this kind of joy, even though I am a mom, I'm invested in my children. I'm invested in everything, from A to Z. And I didn't see that. that joy, that love, that passion. The way the children play there is very different. It's beautiful. They play like it's their last day of living and it's so beautiful. And the first time I bring my children, I cry. I was like, my God, that's so beautiful. And when JFK sent me there and I saw his team and I tell them, What you're doing is amazing. It's beautiful. And I thank you, all of you, for giving to all these kids the beautiful opportunity to go and to have fun, to play what they love to do. I mean, to play what they love to play. And for them to have the opportunity to play soccer and maybe be pro. I believe they can be pro because the way they play is just amazing. So thank you for everything. and I'm grateful for, for giving the opportunity for my children to play, and because my finances has not been great right now, because now I'm student, really student, full student, and it's an opportunity for me as well.

Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker.

Paola Sacido, and then Karen Harold.

My name is Pat Santangelo, co-founder of Little Haiti FC. 12 years ago we started. It's the only free youth soccer program in the state of Florida, one of the few in the United States, recognized internationally as one of the best youth soccer programs in the country. recognized by the Inter-American Bank as one of the best anti-poverty programs, Inter-American Development Bank, which funds anti-poverty programs in South America and Caribbean. We're the only program they fund in North America because they say we're one of the best anti-poverty programs they've seen. It's the best gang alternative, stay in school, you name it, to keep the kids out of trouble. They're 12 years, every kid graduated high school in 12 years. We start at five years old to young adults. 80% of the kids went to college. We do social services, wraparound services, after school programs. It's more than just a soccer program, it's a huge, for the children to be able to assimilate in their schools and in their community. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Next speaker.

Next speaker is Paola Sacito. Okay, Karen Harold.

Okay.

Hi, my name is Karen Harold. and hello, Mayor, Commissioner, City Manager, Deputy City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk. There are a couple of concerns that I would like to address. One, the petition being circulated in our communities of which the City Manager sent out a letter saying it's not from the City of North Miami Beach, thank you for that, and I want to talk about in the folly it represents. Comparing the size and population of cities around us will explain why I say that. So, according to our website, The city of North Miami Beach is 5.2 square miles with a population of 41,253. Miami Gardens is 19 square miles, population 111,640, and they're divided into specific residential districts City of Hialeah, 21.6 to 22.8 square miles, population 221,000 to 235,000 population, and the city council's elected by all voters citywide. Remember, we're only 5.2 square miles with a population of almost 42,000 according to our website. All the districting would do is divide us and put one district against another. The commissioner for their district would be looking out only for that district and most likely try to get as much from the one budget we have for their district. Now imagine five other commissioners doing the same thing. Divide and conquer. What would our new model be instead of where people care, which I think means about each other. Okay. And I'm going to skip ahead to... I'd like to address what happened at the last city commission meeting when, once again, our commission chamber was disrespected with a lawyer basically trying a case by finding fault with a resolution for censorship, which our attorney prepared, so that didn't shed such a good light on him, versus addressing the potential misdoings of the mayor. The only focus was on getting the video and any paperwork from the interviewers. the people that were interviewed. Nothing was addressed regarding the concern of possibly bypassing procurement to giving an expensive contract for the city we already have, plus the P-card expense for the upgrade for the travel. I felt like between the mayor's lawyer and the mayor was set up to be a court of law, and this case argued with yelling, and lecturing, no substance regarding the above-mentioned items. Everything was met with the mayor's response, I didn't do it. And when the mayor introduced his lawyer, he said it was because he was advised not to speak. So why did he speak throughout the whole discussion after his lawyer spoke? The mayor's lawyer started putting a negative light on our employees. He just did what lawyers do. Our commission chamber and our commissioners deserve more respect. They were not up there to try a case. They are not lawyers. The only one that's a lawyer is our mayor. When the mayor's attorney said to a reporter, we won, To that I say, no, you didn't win. Our chambers is not a court of law. You presented the mayor's defense with yelling, used what sounded like scare tactics, intimidation. You lost my respect for your display. And I think for the civility, you need to add anybody who speaks, because it says residents and that. The civility pledge, it should be anybody who speaks on the podium.

Next speaker. I don't think that microphone is working well.

It's not?

You can't hear, it's, I don't hear, can we try that microphone?

All right, next speaker.

Joas Castro, and then Ketley Jochen.

Hi everyone, I'm Joan Castro, also known as Coach JP. I'm a physical educator. I run a soccer school in the city of North Miami Beach. Since 2023, 22, I established the school here in the city. In the last two years, we have a program, a very affordable program, running in Allen Park and Uleta Park. We've been going from one park to the other because six months of the season, the football team uses Allen Park. And we've been growing. We have here in this program around 50 kids. Seventy, 80% of the kids are from the city, and it costs way less than what was mentioned today. We are a recreational program. We are not a travel team, although we also play leagues. We play Sunny Isle Beach League, and we also play a small league that I partner with two other teams. including Little Haiti. We played against them in leagues before. So I would just mention that so the city now is aware that we have a program, very affordable, and we have kids. that eventually when the parents cannot afford it, we waive the fee. And I think, I have the feeling that the city doesn't know about that. Okay? The school is called Miami School of Soccer. It was established in 2019. We have two different locations, one here in the city and another one that we run in Oak Grove Park with more than 150 kids. So I'm available for more information. Don't hesitate to contact me. Thanks for your time.

I can hear him much better there. Phyllis, you can hear him better too there?

Yeah.

Okay, good evening, mayor and commissioners, city manager, staff. My name is Ketley Joachim and I reside in Uleda. On April 11, 2026, the City of North Miami Beach hosted a historic welcome reception and press conference at the Littman Theater in honor of professional footballer Duquesne Nazan. The event was a resounding success, evidenced by the attendance of hundreds of community members and significant international media coverage. Press representatives traveled from across the globe, including France, Italy, Haiti, Canada, and Jamaica, bringing unprecedented global attention to our city. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the mayor and city commissioners for their support of this initiative. Special recognition is due to city manager Darwin Williams. It was his specific vision and leadership that brought this event to fruition in North Miami Beach. By recognizing athletes of Nassau caliber, the city manager has strengthened our cultural ties and highlighted our city's place on the international stage. As the FIFA World Cup approaches, the inclusion and celebration of players from the Haitian national team is deeply meaningful. As a native of Haiti, I am personally grateful for the city's commitment to inclusion. The event did more than just honor an athlete. It unified the local Haitian-American diaspora, showcased North Miami Beach as a hub for international sports culture, fostered community pride ahead of the world's most prestigious football competition. Thank you again for your dedication to making North Miami Beach a vibrant, world-class city. I look forward to seeing the continued positive ripple effects of this successful reception. And also, today, we have the honor at Taylor Park to do a beautiful event for Fran Rica. I thank each and single one of you that showed up with the beautification committee to make this happen. I would like to thank Sam Bernard, who has worked tirelessly to make this happen. I would like to thank each and single person that had something to do with this, parks and recreation. Right now, if you go to Taylor Park, you are able to sit and enjoy the view. So when you all stress after this, just go to Taylor Park and sit down and have a wonderful evening.

I think it's sun up to sun down.

Oh, come on. Come on. Go and enjoy it.

We could if we end the meeting in the next 20 minutes. There you go.

Thank you, next speaker.

Bruce Lamberto, and then Mara Hawk.

Good evening, mayor and council, city manager, city attorney. This man that spoke just before me, Bruce Lamberto, Eastern Shores, has had a soccer program for going on five years now. He started out over at Mishcon Field, and then Boca Soccer came in there, he got kicked out. He found a field over at Oak Grove Park, the park over there. So he's built his program over there. He had enough interest from residents from North Miami Beach to do a second program at Allen Park. He pays rent to our recreation department to do this. And by the way, I've heard all these high prices from the residents here or the people here about this $150 and 200. He charges $50, $50 a month. for every Saturday program, one hour, hour and 10 minute, hour and 15 minute program. So you get four or five of these classes every month for $50. And I've personally seen him have signed up people and some of these single moms came up and said to him, you know, I'm gonna have to pull my kid out because I don't really have the money to pay you this month. He says, don't worry about it, I'll cover you. So he's doing this. He's got probably a dozen kids or more that he's paying the freight for them. He's got to pay his coaches. He has about seven or eight coaches because these kids are all divided up into age groups. So he's doing a fantastic job. And if you want to see this, go there Saturday over, at Oak Grove Park and you'll see the program there. The kids all have uniforms just like these kids do over here and they're all inclusive. There's a broad cross section of our city playing soccer over there. And I really think that this issue here, it shouldn't, he never knew about it, I never knew about it. This is like the trolley all over again. No bid, nobody else gets to have the opportunity to participate in this. My suggestion is you play Solomon. Cut this grant down the middle and award half of it to each of the groups here. You're gonna have, He has almost 200 kids between the two programs. I don't know how many are here, They deserve, the kids, my kid, who's in the program, deserves that help from the city just as much as anybody else. And I'm hoping that you guys will at least consider the residents here, like myself, when you award this, and it should be, again, if you split it down the middle, who can argue with that, right? You're gonna equally take care of people. And Mr. City Attorney, I'm hoping that, hello, hello? I'm hoping that you'll look at this contract and say, yeah, maybe you got a point there and advise the commissioners accordingly. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Mara Hawk and then Terrence.

The other, yeah. Kamenzade.

Oh, this one is working.

No, we don't. Hello. We don't hear it well, though.

Good evening, distinguished servants of North Miami Beach. My name is Maria Hawk, or Mara Hawk. I am resident of this city for a long time now. I want to speak clearly tonight about the proposed septic to sewer conversion, because for many of us, this is no progress. is a burden we are being asked to carry without justification. Let's start with the most immediate reality cost. Right now, many residents rely on septic systems that are affordable and already paid for. This proposal will force homeowners to take on massive hookup costs on top of mostly money sewers bills that we pay today. Okay, sorry. More higher cost for what we are paying would be if this is a sect.

Good evening, North Miami Beach.

Go on.

Okay. This proposal, give me more time. This proposal, let me see what it was. This proposal would be, it's a financial shock for working families, retirees, and long-time resident. This is simple, not sustainable. And let's be honest about what's driving this. We are being told this is about infracture, but the reality many of us is different. Expanding sewers access make it easier for developers to build large, projects, projects that will not be possible with septic system. in place. So while residents are being asked to pay tens of thousands of dollars, developers are the ones who stand to benefit the most. That is not fair and it is not right. There's also the issue of getting of the gentrification. When sewer systems are in place, land becomes more attractive for high density development. That means rising property values, raising taxes, and eventually displacement of the very residents who build this community. And there is accountability. Residents deserve to know who truly benefits from this push. Because from where we stand, it feels like certain boys on the base are pushing for the development interest over the needs of the community. Let me be clear. This is not about opposing all change. It's about opposing unfair change. This is about saying that residents should not be forced into a system that is significantly more expensive than an open door to all under development. And that risk pushing people out of their own neighborhood. Because our community should know how to pay the price so that other can profit. Thank you.

Thank you, next speaker.

Good evening. Mayor Joseph, Vice Mayor Smuckler, and all the commissioners.

Our condolences and prayers to you. Thank you.

My name is Terrance Camenzuli. I'm a 35-year resident of the city of North Miami Beach the last 33 years with my late wife here in Sunray West. First, I'd like to thank you, the mayor, and the commission for the recognition of the time I've spent here, and especially with the proclamation that you guys provided with her funeral last Friday. Thank you again. I also like to thank the city for recognizing Fran Ricca for her long-term volunteerism to the city with the dedication today of the trees over at the park. Unfortunately, I was not able to make that because of prior commitments. One thing I'd like to bring up, speaking to many residents in the Sunray West area, especially those who live along Edna Moffett Boulevard here at 171st Street, we have people that like to use the sidewalks to walk their dogs, just take leisurely walks, especially in the morning time before it gets really hot, especially in the evening time before it gets really dark. However, there is a large number of people that are riding their electric bikes at high speeds, electric scooters at high speeds along the sidewalks. I've almost gotten hit three or four times just by them speeding by instead of them using the actual bike lanes that are there. I know the city of Miami Beach, the city of Key Biscayne have created ordinances that prevent the use of these on sidewalks and or totally use of these vehicles in the city. It's something that I think we need to look at because it is an unsafe situation and it's something that I will ask the city commission and the mayor to look into doing over the next year, coming up with an ordinance to prevent this from happening and to prevent an injury or worse, a death occurring because these residents are using the sidewalks very dangerously. Finally, one other thing that's being brought up to me in the area is the construction of the former Nova Southeastern site. There are lots of trucks that are coming up 17th Avenue that are actually crossing over into the actual Sunray West neighborhood versus the city central area. And they are full of trucks that are full of debris.

15 seconds.

And it's something that needs to be done because I thought they were supposed to only be using 167th Street to 19th Avenue. A lot of complaints in the area. Thank you for your time and have a great night.

If I may, TC, we actually did not have it ready for today's meeting, but I already have legislation that I'm sponsoring for the scooters and it will be on the agenda next month.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Thank you. Next speaker.

That was the last signed speaker, if anyone else.

The other microphone, please, Mr. Kazan.

You can hear me all right.

All right. Don't complain if we don't.

That's okay. Nothing new. Mubarak, Kazan. North Miami Beach resident. I have to wear the shades, Mr. City Manager, because last time I was here, the sun was shining in my eyes, and again, I have to wear it, and I'm not a FBI. Okay, so I went into Home Depot the other day, and I asked one of the assistants there in the electrical department to help me. He says, he's not from this section. You have to ask somebody who's from this section. And today, why I mentioned that, I came home and something was hanging on my doorknob. It says they're against districting. They're for districting meaning, Each and every one of you would be representing a district. So if I call, I know I have access to like five of you. I can pick up my phone right now and we can talk anytime. When you're with district in, you call, let's say, I'm not in your neighborhood, Commissioner Chernoff, you would say, oh, you have to call your representative. Only one representative you get in. And I've been here for more than 20 years, and I've complained almost about everything, but never have I complained that any of you have been refusing to take my calls. Even the mayor, when we weren't talking terms, he used to take it anytime, but however. Septic to sewer, that also is a problem. I know the mayor is pushing that heavily for his developer friends, claiming that Florida is sinking and we need to get the septic to sewer. Well, I'll tell you if Florida is sinking, we all would have to move out from here. No septic to sewer is gonna save you. Septic to sewer is just a developer's dream in North Miami Beach. And I'm not talking about other areas, which I'm not going to mention, because the developers are not attracted to there. We have the ocean. We have Grenell's Park. We have a lot of nice sceneries around here, where the developers would love for the taxpayers to foot that That sewer bill, put down the sewers and the sewer lines, and then they move in. And as what the previous speaker said, gentrification is going to set in. We are not living at the side of a river or by Highland Village or Eastern Shores where it was necessary for them to have it. A lot of us not living in the commercial area. So this gimmick that you have that this place is flooding and you had the former city manager saying that when the rain falls, the sewer's gonna be flowing down the streets, it's a gimmick. And I have him on video saying that. Thank you very much for having me. Did you hear everything, Commissioner?

Thank you. Any more speakers?

No more speakers, Mr. Mayor.

Okay.

If I can.

Yeah, you have some requests to, because that was, if you wanna.

Yes, so there are two items that is being requested to be deferred. One is under consent, and that item is 9.8. which is resolution number R2026-54, and that's being requested by the city manager. Item 15.1, under the discussions, that's being requested to be deferred by Commissioner Hsu, which is her item, entitled Boards and Commission Appointments. So, if you can. Okay, okay.

Do I have a motion?

I make a motion.

All in favor say aye. Aye. As amended, so. Thank you. City attorney, could you, we're on consent, oh no, are we on consent or? No, city announcement. City announcement, sorry. I'm gonna.

Hello, good evening, mayor and commission, city staff and residents. My name is Jasmine Joseph, the interim communications manager. Go ahead and take it away, IT. Good evening, North Miami Beach. The months ahead are filled with opportunities to connect, celebrate, and stay involved. From community events to key city updates, here's a look at what's upcoming as we continue our centennial year and strengthen engagement across our community. The city continues to prioritize senior engagement with an upcoming senior luncheon on Friday, April 24th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Marjory and Williams McDonald Center. In celebration of National Arbor Day, the City of North Miami Beach, in partnership with the Beautification Committee, will host a tree giveaway on Saturday, April 25th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Senator Gwen Margolis Amphitheater. Residents can receive trees while learning about sustainability and environmental stewardship. A farm share food drive will take place on Thursday, April 30th from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Yelida Park Community Center. Food will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis with walk-ups welcome, Join us for the NMB Gumpa and Kids Fest on Saturday, May 2nd from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Grunold's Park. This is a family-friendly event which will feature live music, cultural entertainment, kids activities, and free food. The City of North Miami Beach invites entrepreneurs and small business owners to attend the Small Business Summit and Expo on Wednesday, May 6th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at City Hall. The event will feature workshops, networking opportunities, and business resources. Registration is encouraged through the provided QR code. Step into elegance at the Bridgerton Senior Prom on Monday, May 11th from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Marjorie and Williams McDonald Center. Residents are invited to enjoy an afternoon of music, dancing, and a beautiful themed experience designed especially for our senior community. Experience culture and community at the NMB Asian Night Market, happening Saturday and Sunday, May 16th through 17th. Enjoy food, entertainment, shopping, and live performances in celebration of AANHPI Heritage Month. The next regular City Commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19th at 6 p.m., located at City Hall. Residents are encouraged to attend and participate in shaping the future of the community. Free healthcare services will be available at the UMC Mobile Health Clinic on Sunday, May 24th from 2.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. at the Yulita Park Community Center. No insurance, no appointments are required. The city continues to prioritize senior engagement with an upcoming senior luncheon on Friday, May 29th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Marjorie and William McDonald Center. Close out the month of May at the Community Tea Party on Saturday, May 30th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Ronald A. Silver Youth Enrichment Center. Residents are invited to enjoy a day of culture connection and community. Residents are encouraged to stay informed by signing up for the City of North Miami Beach text messaging system. Real time updates, alerts, and community information are available by registering online or scanning the QR code provided.

For a century, North Miami Beach has grown through vision, diversity, and a commitment to public service.

My name is Darvin Williams and I'm the city manager for the city of North Miami Beach. So exciting to be a part of the city at this historic moment, 100 years.

We invite everyone, residents, visitors, and stakeholders alike to be a part of this once in a generation celebration.

Together, we honor the past, celebrate the present, and move forward united for the next 100 years.

As the city looks ahead, it's all a part of our centennial celebration and continued investment in keeping our community connected and informed. For more information on these events and other city initiatives, visit the City of North Miami Beach website or follow us at CityNMB on social media. Stay connected, stay informed, and continue celebrating 100 years of North Miami Beach.

Okay, I'll be sure to make that adjustment. Yes.

Through the city clerk's office, we would also like to announce that the city of North Miami Beach in person clean campaign class is taking place on Tuesday, May 5, from 630 to 830. Here in the chamber. We hope to see you there.

Vice Mayor.

Okay.

Well, now can you hear me? Okay. So we don't have a quorum. We don't have the attorney. Okay, so now we have one, two, three. No problem. You were the first one that walked out. It was the others who left.

City Commission reports.

City Commission reports. Madam Clerk.

Commissioner Chernoff.

Good evening, everybody. Congolenses to your family losing your wife, and I know that's a terrible thing. You were married for how many years? 33 years. All right, again, my apologies to any of the events that I've missed from starting April 15th when I had my surgery. Today is the first day back, and I did miss the Esposa Eastern Shores Communities one on the 15th, my day of surgery, so I do apologize for that. And the other big one was the Heritage Day. Besides the Heritage Day at Washington Park, Washington Park was privileged to have the first centennial block party. So hopefully the rest of our communities are going to get that. But, you know, again, it was I'm sure it was great to have and the community appreciated it. And thank you all. I want to thank Phyllis and Lynn for going today, for Fran. Fran Ricca, for those of you who don't know, passed away. And Fran was on our beautification for many, many years and was an integral part. And we redid the Taylor Park, which was thank the community, thank our city staff, thank the police department, thank everybody, our manager. for allowing it. And it was a great dedication this morning. We thought she was there with the winds blowing through us all because it was so windy this morning. And again, she was a lovely woman that we miss her dearly already. All right. Congratulations to Donnie Reynolds. As I said, Donnie has been an institution in this community. He started out as a motorman and traveled training all the motormen. Again, did a great job for our community and still here as a reserve officer, and we really do appreciate that. Arbor Day is this Saturday. What is Arbor Day? Arbor Day is Tree Giveaway Day. Each resident of North Miami Beach will get two trees one fruit tree and one regular tree. And all of our trees are Florida native and better for droughts and so on and so forth than hurricanes. So talk to us before you purchase, you don't purchase, you get them for free. Before you get your tree, really look at the chart that we're gonna have that will tell you how big that tree is going to get. And trees don't grow super fast. They take a while. So be in your house for five years, and then it finally is five feet tall, but so on and so forth. But that's this Saturday, 9 o'clock, and it's free to all residents. And actually, this year, it's free to our non-residents also, because the county is giving us 200 trees. So we have a total of 400 trees this year and we want to give them all away so everybody please come on Saturday. What else? Oh, the most important thing. There's a group going door to door in our community right now and trying to get you to sign a petition. If they go on your door and won't go away, call the police, okay? They're representing themselves as being the city of North Miami Beach. They are in no way, shape, or form attached to the city of North Miami Beach. And what they're asking you to sign is to go to districting. You've heard two or three people talk about it. Districting was brought up as this commission when I was there many years ago, and we heard from our citizens who didn't want it. They wanted all of us to represent them, not one, and that's what districting will do. So again, we had a pastor of our community you know, talking about it, how good it is, it's not good, and the pastor should stay away from that. This is a political hot potato right now, and they came to my door on Sunday, and my wife told them to leave, not signing, that you have that right to do that, and I don't know why they didn't come to our city. We have a committee meeting right now to come up with things that we want to do and bring forward, and They just are disrespecting that. So stick up for your community. Don't sign the petition. Thank you.

Commissioner Florey, you want? Wait, I got a point of reference. Regarding the trees, are we going to put some aside for the, because I know it's Saturday, the orthodox community.

Yes, yes.

The orthodox have to go to the library. The library will have the trees, and I have made a request, and the manager said he'll follow through to make sure they don't just get the... That the Orthodox don't just get the trees that are not fruit-bearing, that they will also have the pick of some fruit-bearing trees. They're not just gonna get the leftovers.

Do we know what type of trees it is? I mean, other than fruit? Do we know what type of trees are getting away?

I don't remember.

Does anybody here know what type of?

No?

Oh, all right.

I'll have Maria, our arborist, send it to all of you, what the trees are.

Can I have an email sent out again?

Yes.

I know we do it every year.

Yeah, we've always advertised what type of trees are being given out, and we didn't this year. Yeah, we'll send it to them. Okay, thank you. Sorry about that.

Mr. Mayor? Yeah. I think I have some information. We have starfruit, jackfruit, soursop, and mulberry. Whatever. Okay. Okay.

All right. Those are the fruit trees.

That's all I got. I got something. Commissioner Florian, your commission report, please.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. First of all, I wanted to extend our deepest condolences to you and your family, Mr. Kamenzuli. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. On last week, we had the great pleasure of welcoming an international soccer superstar, Dukins Nazan, to the city of North Miami Beach. And let me tell you, the amount of energy that was in that room was remarkable. I think that when it comes to the FIFA World Cup, And all that it brings to the United States, really having a focal point on North Miami Beach for that purpose was a good thing. And so I want to thank all of our team, our staff members, who worked so hard to put that together. Thank you so much. Haitian Heritage Month is in May, so we have a lot of things in store for our community. The Compa and Kids Fest is coming up. In addition to that, I know that there's other events that are happening, such as the kickoff for District 2 with Commissioner Marlon Bastien. But throughout the county, there's a calendar that's actually available for people who want to participate in various events throughout Miami-Dade County. So please be on the lookout for that. Heritage Day. Heritage Day is always amazing. And I really look forward to it every single year. I was excited to participate this year. And so I want to thank the Voters Council for welcoming the entire community to Heritage Day. What I will say is, though, I feel as if we... can work a little bit more in concert with the Voters Council. Not that we're not already doing that, but I think that we need to do that with a particular objective, which they can agree with, perhaps, is that when I look at certain communities, there are certain festivals and things that happen in those communities that really draw a crowd from all over South Florida. And I think that what the Voters Council is offering in North Miami Beach is historical in nature, that people from all over South Florida should know that it's happening, right? And that it could be a really big attraction for the city of North Miami Beach, just like in Sistrunk. Everybody knows about what goes on over there every year. And so I think that you know, Washington Park is that place, right, that we can have people from all over the county and all over South Florida come and enjoy the Heritage Day festivities. So, Mr. Manager, if you can look into that with the Voters Council, like, this event is already on the map. but I know it could be even bigger than what it is now. Aside from that, the voting site for Washington Park, it's super, super important that we make sure that that issue is addressed. I understand that the county leads that effort, but they've always used the facility provided to them by our city. And so I think that we need to also be very much in the driver's seat as to what we're offering them to solve that issue related to the voting site. And whether or not they've approved of something already, I don't know. I'm understanding that they've taken a tour of certain sites, but if those sites don't work, if we have to get trailers and put them out there at the same location where people have been used to voting, we need to really take that assignment on to make sure that the Washington Park residents are not trying to figure it out during election day, okay? And so there's those people who may come to vote at 12 o'clock in the afternoon and you tell them to go to another location, but then what about the person who gets off of work at 6.30 and shows up to the poll at 6.50 and then they don't know where to go? Or what about the person that needs to vote before they go to work and they don't know where to go or it gets confusing for them? So I really wanna make sure that we have something in that area specific to Washington Park. So Mr. Manager and Madam City Clerk, thank you. We're on it. All righty. ESPOA, thank you so much, Eastern Shores Property Owners Association for welcoming us to your annual meeting. In addition to that, I just wanna say, I did hear the conversation about Little Haiti FC and its importance. And so I am... ready to support that initiative, but I also wanna hear a little bit more about making sure that all of the kids in our community have a way of playing soccer. I don't think it has to be something that is adverse or something that is divisive in nature. I think that it's something where we can look at making sure that all of the kids in the area are supported. So thank you so much.

Commissioner Jean. Thank you, good evening everyone. I just wanted to thank all of our city staff, city manager for all the amazing events that we've had in the past couple of weeks. It's been really exciting to see our community come together. As Commissioner Florman mentioned, Espoa and all the other communities that have really engaged us. I had the pleasure of also witnessing Tort of the Force. I think it was its 30th anniversary and it was amazing to see all the officers come out for a great cause. I want to use the rest of my time to get an update on Washington Park through the attorney. I know the last we had a meeting about the current contract and the new contractor. Can you give us a quick update?

We had an internal meeting to discuss with one of my partners and with procurement some concerns about our standard contract that came from the proposed new contractor the low bid which again let me point out is some 3.7 million dollars less than what the one that had previously been presented substantial savings to the city due to rebidding it which is we believe is our our right to do We still have some litigation we're moving forward to on that, but that hopefully is nearing a conclusion. But regardless of that, we went over the concerns that the proposed new contractor has. Keep in mind that they're at 15.3. We have another proposal that came in at 16.1 if we need to go that route. We're setting a meeting with the new contractor to talk about the objections that they had, which we've discussed internally in the last few days. And hopefully we'll be able to come to agreement on contract terms with them, but if not, we have somebody lined up right behind them.

All right, so I know the last meeting, we were made sure that through the city manager and your team, you guys would be able to move forward in getting that done. The last I spoke to you, I remember you were mentioning, oh, it's a five-week delay, which turned into a six-month delay. So I'm hoping that we can expedite this process, and hopefully the next commission meeting, I'll start my comments with the same question.

I don't know. I mean, the item had previously been in front of you in November, but that was before we were still talking contract. That was into January, sorry. It is a little bit of a delay. I don't think it's six months, Commissioner, but... We're headed there. Well, hopefully not, but we... It's an urgent project, but on the other hand, we're talking, I mean, millions of dollars that were saved, and we know it's a very tight budget environment, so we're trying to balance getting it done as quickly as we can, but the millions of dollars in savings just was something that, in consultation with the administration, we just didn't think could be ignored.

Absolutely. Well, looking forward to hearing from you and seeing how we can get an update weekly. Thank you.

Commissioners Smith Thank you so much. Good evening everybody Terrence our hearts go out for you You've been a loyal resident that cares about us and we care about you So I have a few things to say that are just standard. What are we doing? What kind of meetings? One of them is the senior luncheon, which is always packed. It's always full. You must sign up. You must call. You must register. You must come to the city and sign up. The senior prom night. So everybody saw it was Bridgerton. I don't think there'll be anything illicit, because I have seen that show once. I think it's just gonna be a lot of fun. And if you know my board, they are ordering dresses online so they can look of that era. It is gonna be a lot of fun, and it's gonna be a full house again, you must sign up. Okay. Um, Saturday we have a lot of things going on at the library, the tree, the free trees. And of course the Orthodox family can come and get their trees at the library during the week. And there will be some fruit trees for sure, as well as the other trees. They're not going to get the end of the pickings, but Saturday also nine o'clock in the morning, I think till one, you can get your driver's license renewed or get a driver's license if you lost one. So that's a once a month service and it's coming Saturday. I wanna say that Eastern Shores had its annual meeting and we try our best to do this in every neighborhood. The thing that I wanna mention about it is people came with their concerns, their complaints, And you know what? The manager was there. The police department was there. Code enforcement was there. They listen. They listen. So please don't sit at home and stay silent and stew over things that you see are not taken care of. Broken sidewalks, potholes, horrible traffic, a neighbor that is encroaching on your property. Whatever you see, call us. We can't be on every street, and we don't know. But when you call, we're going to do our best to remedy it. We want you to be happy where you live, and we want you to be happy in North Miami Beach. I also want to tell you my safety program is going to start safety first initiative. We're going to come to every neighborhood with the police department, with the manager, and we're going to give you more insight to help to keep your family safe. These are crazy times. These are crazy times, but we are on top of it. Uh, the first one will be in Washington park next week. We'll work out, start to work out the dates and the times and where to meet. And that'll be published. I also want to say that I'm did I too missed a few things last week. Some of you know, my husband had emergency surgery and it felt funny. It absolutely felt funny when I got the call that he needed to go to the hospital. They thought they were going to take him. I was on my way to present a proclamation for the city for Enchanted Lake down in North Miami. I was on 135th Street because half of it's in North Miami Beach and half in North Miami. And my family can't get over, I can't either, that I went to him in an emergency before I did the proclamation. It felt funny not to be there and not to Make sure that your money, when you have an event, is well spent, well attended, and well performed. Well done. So that's the reason I go. And I tell you, lately it's been amazing, the turnout. We just had Saturday for autism. The room was packed. impact and the only thing i can say to you what i say to them if you don't show up we're not going to spend the money next year so thank all of you that come thank all of you that take advantage of what we're offering i just want to tell everybody to have a good week to stay safe um i will say one more thing and thank you to the manager hazel crawford i believe that's going to be if i've got the got it right because um she is going to have an award because the first woman to ever integrate and i was going to tell you it's going to be at the miami-dade um junior college on northwest 27th avenue i was going to give you the date if you wanted to attend and watch her get her award that would be fabulous because we do want to support everybody that is recognized from north miami beach we'll come and see me after a call smith and here it is it's going to be recognition ceremony community partners award on april 28th from 10 to 11 30 in the morning and that's at miami day college north campus in the William Lehman Theater. All of you have a safe, wonderful month. We look forward to seeing you in June. And don't forget, we have swimming lessons for your children that don't know how to swim that are free. Our favorite four letter F word, free. If your child doesn't swim, that's on you. We live in an area that has water, and when you don't see the water, go around the block and you'll see more water. We have water everywhere. You must take advantage and make sure everybody in your household swims. Thank you, have a great month. I look forward to seeing you soon. Commissioner Hsu?

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor, colleagues, staff, and residents. Of course, I just want to give a shout out to all the past events that we just had in the past, this past month, whether it be Heritage Day or the FIFA activation with Dukins-Nazon, All of that I have to tell you that without our wonderful staff. It would not have been successful So I'd like to begin by recognizing autism awareness month. I think we've like mentioned this several times so just so that Just to keep an open mind like it's just for us to promote and understand accept and include individuals and families in our community I think our city is like really, I mean our commissioners here have done a wonderful job in that, so we must continue and ensure our programs and public spaces and services are accessible and welcoming to everyone. As we move into April and to May, I want to highlight several important recognitions. We will continue to observe National Volunteer Month, and I want to sincerely thank all of our volunteers, especially those serving on our boards and committees. As you've seen today, we recognize Fran Rica, and that is all because of our boards and our volunteers. So thank you so much. You strengthen North Miami Beach every day. May also brings us many heritage months, so as Commissioner Floremon mentioned, we have the Haitian Heritage Month, we have the Jewish American Heritage Month, and we have the Asian American Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian Heritage Month, so there's a lot of that. Each and every one reflects the diversity that is very at the core of North Miami Beach. We have a shared humanity here in our city. For our workforce, we recognize and thank Public Service Recognition Week. I want to thank all of you public service people out there. Teacher Appreciation Week, I think it's May 4th to May 8th. National Nurses Week and Police Week. These are the people who keep our city safe and keep us taken care of all the time. Earth Day is tomorrow. So a reminder that our environment deserves to be protected not just tomorrow, but every day. Administrative Professionals Day is also tomorrow. So honoring those who keep everything operating behind the scenes, thank you so much. And Memorial Day is coming up, so be sure to participate in that. That comes towards the end of the month of May. Of course, that is the most important, because those people made the ultimate sacrifice. Our next UMC free clinic will be at Yulita May 24th. So if you know anyone who doesn't have insurance, who is not very healthy, or who had recently lost their benefits or anything like that, be sure to keep an eye out for the clinic. I want to remind our employees as well. We have part-time employees who don't have health care. You are welcome to come to that facility. So I see Coach JP, if you have families that do not have health care, please remember that we offer free health care. That's also free prescription medication as well. All right, so I'm excited to share by popular demand, North Miami Beach Asian Night Market is back. Everybody has been asking me about this. It's happening May 16th and 17th from 3 to 10 p.m. at the Jeffrey and Patricia Mishkon parking lot. This is a vibrant celebration of culture, food, small businesses, bring the community, bring your family, a meaningful way for us to celebrate Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month right here in North Miami Beach. So we have incredible energy this year and we are expecting a bigger turnout. So last time we hosted almost 2,000 people and this time we're hoping to get to 3,000. And I encourage everyone to come out. We have worked it out with the vendors. They are not charging anyone, whether you're a resident or not a resident. So invite the whole entire family to come, enjoy, try out something new. We have, I also was able to get a local celebrity. So she's a half Vietnamese Chinese. Her name is Lena Ung. If you were to go to one of her concerts, the tickets would be in the hundreds. She has agreed to make an appearance and perform at, in North Miami Beach, just North Miami Beach for free. So she's doing this pro bono. So if you wanna see, if you're not sure whether you wanna go to our concert, you can come take a listen. at the Asian Night Market. So other than that, I want us to be adventurous, check out each other's culture, learn about what we eat and what we do, and there's a lot of merchandise that's going on, you know, selling there. So I would love to invite you all to come join the fun and enjoy the evening together in the Asian Night Market. And last but not least... Is the food free? No.

Commissioner Jean has really good ears. No, you said something about you guys worked it out with the vendors. I just didn't know what that meant.

So what happened is last time we charged the vendors to be there. This time we're having a different pay structure in a way that we can allow for all the people, like the entrance tickets, right? Last time, the tickets for non-residents were $7.

Oh, okay, okay.

Right. That's what's free. So, I mean, like, if you had friends and family who really like something like this and you want to invite them to come over and you're the NMB host, you know, it's all free. Okay, are we clear on that? We're good? Yes. Okay, no free food, though. So listen, patronize our vendors. It's very important if you want them to come back, if you like them. So if you go there and window shop, most likely they won't be coming back to us again. And we have a lot of locals this time, too. all right this is very important to me so as we approach mother's day mother's day is may 10th um i know you know that but for me my mother is very important um i want to close with a reflection there was a time in all of our lives when we couldn't take care of ourselves when we depended entirely on someone else for many of us that was our mother who carried us, protected us, and sacrificed in ways we may not have fully understood. Even now, I have to remind myself that beyond flowers and gifts, the greatest thing we can give is honor. Honor is how we speak to our mothers, how we care for them, and how we carry forward the values they gave us. To all the mothers in the community and all those who listen, happy Mother's Day and thank you for everything you've done and continue to do. Thank you.

Vice Mayor Fortuna Smuggler.

Good evening, I hope to see you all May 2nd, Saturday, May 2nd, when the Multicultural Committee and the City of North Miami Beach, Mayor and Commission, bring you the North Miami Beach Kumpa and Kids Fest from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it's going to be held at Reynolds Park. And please register in advance, very important. And the following Saturday, May 9th, the Commission on Status of Woman is bringing back the Jacqueline Smith Mother's Day Breakfast. And as soon as that is open to the public, it's for mothers only. So dads, you can go shop at Walmart or you can go to the library. Well, what?

They got the hardware.

Yeah, go to Ace. There's a lot of places you can shop in North Miami Beach. Happy Earth Day, happy Arbor Day, happy Administrative Professional Day, happy Cinco de Mayo, happy Mother's Day. Cinco de Mayo. Yes. Mm-hmm, we should celebrate Cinco de Mayo in our city. No, that's may the fourth be with you the day before. Yeah, didn't get it. May the fourth be with you, get it? Yes. Okay, okay. TC, again, my condolences for the loss of your wife, and to Hamid Naqveen, our water plant director, our condolences for the loss of his brother. This past Sunday at the library we hosted an autism fair and as always, everything the library does, everything, there's nothing the library can do wrong. It was such a wonderful affair and brought so much education into the lives of families with children of autism. Sorry I couldn't be there for Fran Rica earlier this morning, but I had to go to work and I just couldn't get out of going. Thank you to the PD for always, always, always taking care of all of us, our families, our visitors, our residents, our employees, everybody. So, I'm gonna be talking a lot today. There was a, there is, sorry, recently there was a mailer, some of you have already mentioned it and some in the audience has as well. Recently there was a mailer sent out about a petition going around. I believe that I have not seen a mailer in its entirety and conveniently, I suppose, it was not sent to my household. I just want to clarify some misinformation. Eastern Shores or the east side does not have four commissioners. We currently have two commissioners in Eastern Shores and one in Western Eastern Shores. Two plus one equals three, okay? I am termed out. I live in Eastern Shores. Commissioner Smith, who is from Eastern Shores, is up for reelection. When I am termed out, that leaves three minus one equals two from the east side. Ironically, there are four on the west side, yet that is not what is being told. People say that the West Side is not being taken care of, but four equals majority vote. I live in Eastern Shores and we do not, I don't have underground electricity. Okay, thank you Commissioner Smith. We have cables, cable lines falling within reach of short people like me. We do not have a community center or a community pool. Oh, I'm getting to it. Not everybody has a pool in their backyard. I do not. Okay, Commissioner Smith does not. We have a park that is probably, you know, I wrote down that it's probably the same size as this room, but I think it's smaller. What do you think, Commissioner Smith? I think it's smaller than this room. This room? Yeah. Half the size. Okay, so we have a park half the size of this room. I have gone there with my grandkids and I will tell you that if there are three or four different kids there with their prospective parents or grandparents, it gets crowded and the kids have to wait to get on the few rides that are there. To the point of removing the term limits, Ironically, they wanted to start in 2028 when three commissioners are termed out, allowing them to stay. Coincidence? I don't know. To the point of districting, I'm not gonna get into that very long opinion of mine and back and forth, so you can call me to discuss. Lastly, this petition is not endorsed or sponsored by the city and the employees are not city employees. And to the person supposedly in charge of it, you are supposed to be a man of God, a man that should not lie or encourage misinformation. someone who should be trusted. Please tell the employees you have hired to stop giving misinformation and correct your flyers. Obviously, you have big money behind you because those flyers and those employees cost a lot of money, so you should do it, fix those flyers, resend them correctly without lies or misinformation, because big money, the people behind you, they have no problem spending money and they should be truthful. You know, for the last year and a half that this commission has been here, a little bit less than maybe a year and a half, I have been saying that we are the city that is probably the most diverse commission. And I say it proudly. I love it. I love the diversity here. I was on the radio this past Sunday and once again bragged about our commission diversity. I was happy to hear that Duke Naison was coming to our city. Although I had not known who he was prior to his visit, after looking him up, I was certainly thrilled to meet him, and he was so nice. I saw him the day after also as well, and super nice guy, really down to earth. After his visit, I was informed by Creole speakers that Commissioner Jean made some inappropriate remarks during the press conference, and I was also told that while she was saying them, that Dugan's face changed, and it was not from happiness, but more from disbelief.

What remarks were those?

I'm gonna talk, I'm not finished. Since you're saying my name, I need to know what those remarks were. Well, let me finish and you'll find out. Okay. And I'm actually wrote down asking you to talk about it. If you come right here, it'll say Commissioner Jean. I was not happy to hear what I was being told. I asked for a translation because I did not want to go by chatter here and there. and I did get a translation. Commissioner Jean starts off by saying that the most important thing at this moment is a moment of unity for our community. I agree. After all, having Dukins there and having someone from Haiti in such a historic sports event is amazing. He is a role model, and I think I even touched on that when I spoke. hoping that children learn and do as him. He actually turned to me and thanked me. A little later on, Commissioner Jean states, now I would like to ask you for something very special. We see that the Haitian electorates need the support of the community. I say this in Creole so that we can understand. The community needs it. We need a serious backup at this time, especially in the coming time, in the time of this upcoming election in 2026. If Haitians do not stand together, we will definitely lose the city. I ask you with all sincerity to stand together behind your leaders and all your future leaders coming to us so that the city can stand up and everyone in the community can receive what they deserve. First of all, I am both shocked and upset. Mostly upset because I myself have done a lot for the Haitian community, for all communities equally. Equally being the key word. Shocked because this is campaigning in my opinion. You're encouraging residents to organize politically in a public setting, in a public meeting, in a public building. Imagine me saying something to the effect, Oh, vote Jewish, vote Cuban, vote women. No, that is not acceptable. We are all equal. No race, religion, ethnicity, education, or background makes any one of us any better or worse than the other. And every community deserves to be heard and receive everything equally. Our residents, employees, and vendors expect us to be fair. While I brag about how diverse we are, I am now seeing that people are trying to cause diversion. And like I said, Commissioner Jean, through the mayor, I would like to give you an opportunity to either clarify or apologize for your message.

Thank you so much, through the mayor. I want to be very clear. I grew up in this community. I came here at the age of six years old. North Framing Beach is my city, just like it is all of our cities here. I made comments at our last commission meeting that I stand behind. As we celebrate every culture, every community, and even during times where we go out and campaign and do different things, there are communities that are left behind. This is a hard statement to make, but it is a statement that I have to make. When we look at outreach in our community, it should be done in Spanish, it should be done in all languages. It should be done for all the community to benefit. And I stand behind that statement. All of our communities should be reached. All of our communities should be reached in the way they need to be reached. That is a fair statement. And I stand behind this statement that I'm making right now. All communities should be reached. When I knock on doors, a lot of people who are Creole speaking in this community say they don't know what's going on in our community. Every community needs something different and the city needs to provide it to every community.

Mr. Mayor, through the mayor, if I may. Let me just say something. I'm a lot older, I've been around the block more than most of you, especially, I've been around blocks 46 years selling houses. You know, you don't sell a house, you sell the people. Let me just tell you something. This is a different statement than you're making. We don't sit up here for one group, for one ethnic group. We have voted on many things. I have said so many times the Haitian community went to Haiti, honorary Haitian. I have said the needs, we're voting on something tonight that's called a Haitian soccer team even though It is welcoming to everyone. If you're a Jewish kid from Sky Lake, if you're a Puerto Rican kid from Eastern Shores, everyone's inclusive. To sit up here and say that we're not reaching every community is an insult to all of us.

Commissioner Smith, I have to be, this is a delicate conversation. Little Haiti FC is not going to create a Little Haiti FC here. They're creating a North Miami Beach team. The program itself is called Little Haiti FC and Little Haiti, but what they're creating is North Miami Beach. Which is what I just said.

You don't have to be Haitian. Right. But you're stating that the Haitian community is not being reached. And by the way, Haitian community, be sure to vote. Vote for the Haitians so we can be... Commissioner Smith. That's what I just heard.

This is... This is what I just heard. And it's a fair statement. Like I said, it's a hard statement, but it's a fair statement. Every community that needs to be reached needs something different.

And I hope it's the commission we're giving it to you. I hope we're addressing everybody, and I just said in my speech, call us.

Mayor, excuse me, I hate to interrupt, it pains me, but I would ask that we have one speaker at a time. because it's difficult for minutes and transcripts to reflect who's speaking when two people speak at the same time. I apologize. Thank you.

All right. I heard all the comments. Can I...

I'm just going to say that it was said, if Haitians do not stand together, we will definitely lose the city. Again, I... I... I've been invited to Haiti, and I would have gone if it was not because security reasons. I would love to go to Haiti, and I would love to one day go to a free Haiti. However, you know, we, especially, you know, and when you go door to door, if you wanna speak like that, you're going door to door, but we are in a, this was said in a public meeting building, a city building, this was said at a moment where, you know, we're coming together, we're bringing Dukans here to our city, you know, he shouldn't even be like, I was told because I was, I can't see his face, the audience. I was told that his face was in disbelief. We should be showing unity. I am so, again, and I'm still gonna continue bragging about how we're the most diverse commission, I like to say Florida, then sometimes I'll say United States, whatever I'm in the mood to say, because I really believe that this is true, but definitely in Miami-Dade County. you know, we should not be campaigning, we should not be telling people how to vote, and we should always, you know, stand, we should stand together All of us should stand together. It's not about a group of people, because a group of people standing together to vote is actually, you're creating diversity. I have voted for Haitians. I have not voted for Jews. I have not voted for Cubans. I will always vote for the right person. I will vote for the right, I will not vote for my party, I will vote first for the right candidate. You know, I guess, you know, I was hoping you were gonna apologize, but you're not. And okay, I'm going to finish this. Thank you, and let's continue.

Thank you.

Mayor Michael Joseph.

Am I following too well? I wanna move this along, so can we go to the consent agenda, please?

Mr. Mayor? Yes. I'd like to make a statement, please. I'll be very quick.

Okay.

So we discussed or stated everything that we're celebrating during the month of May. I would be remiss if I didn't state that May 3rd through May 9th, is the 57th Professional Municipal Clerk's Week, and just kudos to all the clerk and whoever's listening out there. City Attorney, yes.

Mr. Mayor, can I just make one statement? I have two things. Sorry, Mayor. I want to just say one thing.

Commissioner Schatz, the mayor addressed me. I just want to be sure I didn't miss.

No, I wanted to congratulate Vice Mayor Fortuna Schmuckler for the Home Rule Award. And I want to just make one statement. When I knock on a Haitian door, they invite me to dinner. They invite me to lunch. So I'm very blessed that I'm part of that community. Thank you so much.

Consent agenda, please.

I'm okay. Mayor, you had nothing in it? Move to introduce. Move to introduce. I was asking, Mayor, there was no report from you?

No.

Okay, I was just asking. I wanted to be sure I was, had been expecting that. Mayor. Okay.

Yes, please read the consent.

Well, the first items are 9.1, commission conference minutes of March 26, 2026. Item 9.2, regular commission meeting minutes of March 26, 2026. And item 9.3, the special taxing districts, there's nothing available. So now, Commissioner Chernoff, you're up.

Move to introduce, approve the consent .

Oh, I'm sorry, I keep on forgetting that I'm supposed to be doing this.

Is there a second?

Okay, second, sorry.

Okay, item 9.4, resolution number R23. Item 9.4, resolution number R2026-50, adoption of the FIU North Campus 151st Street Station Area Master Plan, sponsored by the City Manager. Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida, adopting the North Miami Beach FIU North Campus 151st Street Station Area Master Plan, a transit-oriented development plan providing for findings of fact, implementation, scrivener's error severability, and providing for an effective date. Item 9.5, resolution number R2026-51, approving a purchase order for laboratory analytical instruments through piggyback contracts with Hatch Company, sponsored by the city manager. Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida approving purchase orders for laboratory analytical instruments through piggyback contracts with Hatch Company in an annual amount not to exceed $200,000, authorizing the city manager or designee to do all things necessary to effectuate this resolution, providing for conflicts, providing for scrivener's errors, providing for severability, and providing for an effective date. Item 9.6, resolution number R2026-52, approving a purchase order for fire protection services through a piggyback contract with Johnson Controls Fire Protection. Sponsored by the City Manager, a resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida, approving a purchase order for fire protection services through a piggyback contract with Johnson Controls Fire Protection, LP, in an annual amount not to exceed 100,000, authorizing the city manager to designate and do all things necessary to effectuate this resolution, providing for conflicts, providing for discriminatory errors, providing for severability, and providing for an effective date, item 9.7, resolution number R2026-53, approving and authorizing a purchase order with OMBS Security System, LLC, for fire alarm maintenance services sponsored by the city manager. Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida, and authorizing a purchase order with OMBS Security System LLC in a budgeted amount not to exceed $125,000 for fire alarm maintenance services. Authorizing the city manager to do all things necessary to effectuate this resolution, providing for conflicts, providing for scrutiny, providing for severability subject to the budget appropriations and availability of funds and providing for an effective date. Item 9.8 was deferred. Item 9.9, resolution number R2026-55, authorizing a change order to the contract with Trihedral Inc. for the purchase of SCADA Software Configuration and Integration Services, sponsored by the City Manager, a resolution of the Mayor and City Commissioner of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida, authorizing a change order to the contract with Trihedral Inc. Increasing the estimated expenditure by $24,850 for the purchase of SCADA software configuration and integration services. Authorizing the city manager to designate all things necessary to effectuate this resolution. Preventing for conflicts. Preventing for discrepancy. Preventing for severability. And providing for an effective date. Item 9.10, resolution number R2026-56. Authorizing the city manager to accept the grant assistance under Miami-Dade County Rescue Plan Act, sponsored by the city manager. Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida, authorizing the City Manager to accept a $500,000 grant assistance award under the Miami-Dade County Rescue Plan Act for the Washington Park Community Recreation Center project, providing for incorporation of recitals and providing for an effective date. Item 9.11, resolution number R2026-57, authorizing the city manager to accept the grant assistance under the Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water State Revolving Fund, sponsored by the city manager, resolution of the mayor and city commission of the city, North Miami Beach, Florida, accepting a federal grant in the amount of $1,141,038. From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, through the fiscal year 2022 community project funding program is secured by congressional representative Frederica Wilson for the City of North Miami Beach Drainage Improvement Project, authorizing the city manager or designee to execute all necessary agreements and documents providing for implementation and providing for an effective date, item 9.12. Resolution number R2026-58 authorizing the city manager to accept the grant assistance under Miami-Dade County Community Development Block Grant. sponsored by the City Manager of Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida, accepting Community Development Block Grant reallocation funding for Miami-Dade County in the amount of $460,000 for the Washington Park Swimming Pool Improvement Project. Authorizing city manager designated to execute all necessary agreements documents providing for an effective date item 9.13 resolution number R2026-59. Authorizing the city manager to accept the grant assistance under the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development sponsored by the city manager. Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida authorizing the City Manager to accept grant assistance from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, providing for incorporation of recital and providing for an effective date. That is the consent agenda.

One, two, three.

I'll approve.

A motion, do I have a second? All in favor say aye. Aye. Next is legislation, second reading. Yes, sir.

We'll move to- We'll move to introduce ordinance number 2026-04. I second. Okay, and there, I'm sorry?

Okay, there is nothing under quasi-judicial that we're on item 11 legislation, and as just moved 11.1, ordinance number R, I'm sorry, ordinance number 2026-04, second reading, the noise ordinance sponsored by Commissioner Hsu and ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida, amending chapter nine of the City of North Miami Beach Code of Ordinances, offenses and miscellaneous provisions. Section 9-4, noise control, to establish specific noise regulations for outdoor power tools and landscaping equipment at residences, and for outdoor events, and to clarify enforcement, providing for conflict severability, codification, and for an effective date. This is second reading, and Mayor, it's in order for the at your direction for the sponsor to speak on the item.

And it's community development, right?

Well, certainly, yes, sir, and... It's my item.

Yeah, I mean, it's second reading, so it's between us, so go ahead.

So I, actually, so we're waiting for the county to pass theirs, and actually their meeting was today, I believe. I haven't followed up on it, but I asked the attorney, so you have the latest version in front of you, it's a paper version. I was expecting to get this before, but I think the attorney got a little busy, so we didn't get a chance to do that. Um, for just as a, as a reference, all the penalties that we had, we had amended while we were on the days together, um, are all in there as from what I see. Uh, no, no, the new one in front of you, the one I have that I read this morning or yesterday. That's the, that's the, that's the wrong one. So, um, the attorney had just completed this today. Is that correct? Mr. Attorney?

Yes, ma'am. You had indicated when we discussed it several days ago that you were going to end up deferring it anyway because the county was not acting on their side.

No, I mentioned to you in the agenda review that I said I would like you to make.

Well, go ahead, Commissioner. Allow me to finish. Thank you.

I said that I'd like you to amend it according to our meeting. You said the clerk is looking at the minutes and that we'll correct it and send it to me. So now it's being sent to us, all of us, at this time, so as we are sitting on the dais. So my point is that I want us to review this, and if there are any corrections to anything that you'd like to amend, and I'd like to hear your opinion on it. Just as a result, I went to the committee hearing with Mr. Bankole and it passed the committee, the infrastructure committee that Commissioner Steinberg is chair, that she chaired. So in that meeting it passed, I believe it was a five to one, four to one. So if there are any changes or anything like that, we will bring the second reading back at the next meeting. So if there are any changes that you would like. We are deferring the vote for the second reason.

However, you want to add, you want to make sure whatever concern, okay.

Correct. I want to make sure that any concerns that the commissioners have that we all work together on this one and pass it unanimously. Yes, sir.

All right, my concern is on.

The chair.

I'm sorry. Commissioner Chernoff, sorry.

under G, outdoor power tools and landscaping equipment. It says at a residence between hours of 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. So that means that it's being allowed at 7 a.m.? Yeah. But I thought we wanted to amend that and not do it so early.

In the summertime, when it's so hot for them to start, that was what we agreed.

No, I don't remember that.

In the summertime when it was so hot, that's what we said.

Commissioner Chernoff, whatever the point that was made by Commissioner Hsu when we had a gender review, since it was going to be deferred anyway, but the reason that it wasn't just deferred before the meeting started was that the commissioner wanted to be sure there was discussion. So I want to stress to you that regardless of what was done on first reading, it's a live item for you to weigh in on if you have thoughts other than what happened at first reading. And since it will be deferred still for a second reading, basically to be sure that we align with the county, you could even bring something up There are such things as second reading amendments as long as they're not drastic and change the nature in such a way that the public has no fair opportunity to know that they might expect that. So your comment, regardless of whether it was previously discussed, it's open for discussion like yours now. You're not limited by what was done at the previous reading. You can talk about it now.

even when the second reading is rescheduled so your your comment is certainly well within bounds all right so my concern is that 7 a.m. is too early especially on the weekend so let's make it 730 that's what they do in sunny Isles I'd say 8 o'clock on the weekend.

But it's on the weekends and 7 on the weekdays when the people are getting, well, that's what you could do?

I make that amendment.

All right.

I'll second that.

Before we continue, Commissioner Smith, can you have your point of personal privilege?

I have a point of personal privilege. I apologize. I had voters' counsel on my mind, and I said... Hazel Crawford, who started Votes Council, but Barbara Pearson's the one that's gonna be honored. Barbara Pearson is the first woman that integrated the North Miami Beach High School, and she's gonna be honored at Tate County. I apologize for that. Thank you for letting me correct it, and we all love Barbara, and I appreciate you very much for allowing me make the correction and bring it where it should be that everybody goes to honor.

Mayor, did you take a voice vote on this amendment?

I had a motion and a second. So, all in favor?

So to clarify the motion?

Yeah, to clarify the motion. There was a motion to amend the existing hours by Commissioner Chernoff, seconded by Commissioner Smith, from 7 a.m. to, well, it goes from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. currently, and the motion is to change that to 8 a.m. on weekends, but leave it at 7 a.m. on weekends. Is that correct? Correct.

Correct.

All in favor say aye as amended. Aye. Aye. Pass this. Now we're, it's in the.

You're back in discussion.

Discussion as the, for the. On the noise. For the proposal.

Second reading before it's deferred.

Okay.

Yes.

Are there any.

Anybody have any, any suggestions?

I mean, if anybody has any additional concerns, they'll have time to bring it up at the next commission meeting.

They certainly can be brought up on second reading unless it's a drastic change in the ordinance. The principle, just so everyone understands, is it's a matter of the public having notice. If the public knows that this item is going to be discussed and the basic parameters of it, you don't have to have notice that there won't be some tweaking of it. It's only if it's a radical change rewriting or restructuring or adding something that was not contemplated, that you have to have a new first reading. Okay.

I just have a question through the mayor for the attorney. If you get something right now to vote on, something new or something, do we have the right not to vote until we get the chance to read it? Until we get the chance to know what it says?

Well, again, the changes... I'm discussing in general.

Okay.

If the changes are minimal, such as could be brought on the floor, as Commissioner Chernoff just did, anything that could be done by a proper amendment giving it to you in writing in advance of the meeting, even if it's just before the meeting, is no worse than having something that comes up on the floor. If it is a substantial rewrite, even if it doesn't mandate a new first reading, then you have the privilege of saying, you know, there's not a, this isn't like just the amounts of the fine, which I think was the only thing that changed substantially. Maybe the distance was a little, but I think that was in there before. It's just, it was like whether it was 153 and five or 250, something that small, you have the ability, yes, to consider, but you also always have the right as a commissioner to say, you know, I haven't really thought about this. This is a little different than the way I had analyzed it. I would like this to be deferred to a time certain to the next meeting. You have that privilege if it's a substantial enough change. But if it's a minor change, if it could be brought on the floor, then certainly it can be brought presented in writing to you if it's minimal.

No, even new legislation, even new legislation is handed to us before we start the meeting.

If it's brand new and was not previously noticed so that the issue is, frankly, is noticed to the public, The public is entitled to advance notice of what you're gonna be talking about. That doesn't mean every tiny little detail, whether the fine is 150 or 250. It means if you're gonna start imposing a fine on something that wasn't even mentioned previously, then the public doesn't know that if they haven't something to say, they have to come. You have the right to vote on things that have been noticed, the topics of which have been noticed to the public. But if it's something that's a departure from what the public notices in some substantial way, then no, you should not be voting on it Unless, I mean, again, it could be maybe on a first reading, but for second reading, you can't have something that's brand new because the public didn't have notice that that idea would come in front of them. So in that circumstance, no, you should not vote on something that's a whole brand new thing that's new.

And who would stop the vote? I would. The trolley vote, which was supposed to be an extension of a rental for three months, became a $9 million vote.

That's why I brought it back, Commissioner. I ruled that it had to come back for a new consideration because it was a departure and that was not made known. Some people didn't like it, but that's why it had to come back for a vote, exactly for that reason. You can't bring up something that's brand new without notice. Now, some cities do it, but I don't think it's proper. City of Miami, they call them pocket items, and they do it all the time. I think it's not proper. It isn't? Well, and I would rule that way. If it's something that was not... previously introduced and not discussed, then it needs to come back. That's why I insisted that item come back for another vote. You're exactly right.

One more thing about this particular ordinance. I asked the city staff to verify with the county, because the 25% is about waterfront. It's only about waterfront, the rest of 25 feet. It's only about waterfront, where it says here in yellow that we want to, the North Miami Beach Commission wants to maintain consistency with Miami-Dade County, then we have to, know exactly what Miami-Dade County is because in the ordinance, you change it to 100 feet and it's only 25, it's only, you change it from 100 feet to 25 feet and it's only 25 feet in waterfront.

Commissioner, that's why we, in discussion and in the gender review with the sponsor, said even though Miami-Dade County was meeting today, actually earlier in the day, until they're done. I've seen that commission reverse itself six hours after they vote on something on reconsideration, so we wanted to be sure we aligned, wait until they were,

I understand all that, but what I'm reading is exact. I understand we're waiting because they haven't voted, but what we're reading, that's all I can do to study is what I can study. I'm given three new things tonight right now, three new ones. Do I listen to you or do I read what I have to vote on?

Read what you have to vote on.

I'm just saying.

As far as the 25 feet, that's directed to the sponsor with all deference, Commissioner. I'll defer to the sponsor on the 25 feet. I asked staff to review it.

Commissioner Sue, sorry.

Thank you, thank you. So remember that the 25 feet only asserts 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Waterfront. Waterfront, house to house, however it is, it's just one house away. So if you can hear the music too loud while you're next door, that still doesn't count until you pass to the next house.

The staff will review it. Thank you.

Okay. So now we have the ordinance as amended. We're going to defer it. Yes.

And I wanted to check with the manager real quick because I remember that we had talked about a grace period for contractors and service personnel to be 30 days. Was it 30 or 60? Did you confirm as 60 instead?

I believe it was 30, Commissioner.

Yeah. So, Mr. Attorney, I'd like to have that corrected because that's what we agreed on.

Okay, as long as we're correcting it, when you say grace period, what exactly was implied by that?

Like the education and informing the contractors and the personnel, then the service personnel. This is item 9.46D.

I understand. I saw the item and I understand that I did not know. But what I what I'm asking is what is intended by, quote, grace period, whether it's 30 or 60. That was a little unclear to me as to what that grace period meant.

It meant that if these is the penalty aspect of it all. Yes. So it's an education period before we actually- Before you start fining.

Fining or any written- They have a one-time grace.

Anybody has a one-time? Or it's just now that there'll be, if it's intended to say that the ordinance, the better course would be to say, if it's just for contractors, that's one thing. But if you're going to, perhaps you want to defer- The effective date. for 30 days to allow for that time of education. I'm unclear whether it's your...

I guess, I think she's mentioning, and correct me if I'm wrong, Commissioner Hsu, that let's say you, someone's sent the police or someone to complain, right? So that first instance, right, they have, I guess, what, 30 days to correct? Or is that what you're trying to say?

There's a warning, it says already... Tell me, because I'm... Because he's going to be the one executing it, so...

I'll let him share how he's going to do that.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So generally our process is, when allowed to, we provide 30 days of instructional period and informational period to the residents, particularly if an ordinance has a penalty to it. So we'll have a workshop, an educational workshop, invite the residents out, make sure that if a particular community is impacted, we will target that community with flyers and door-to-door knockers. After that, generally speaking, the first citation is a warning. and you have 30 days to ensure that you don't have a similar occurrence, or if it's a type of physical violation that you have to correct it. After that first citation, after that 30 days, if another one occurs within 30 days or 30 days passes and the correction has not been implemented, the next citation is a monetary fine.

So I'm clear on the 30-day warning. But as to the grace period, which is separate, if I am understanding City Manager Williams correctly, what it's going to be is once the ordinance is adopted on second reading, there will be a one-time 30-day grace period during which the city will conduct some education, but that's not available to individual contractors thereafter. After that one-time grace period after adoption, what we have is something that says the first violation is a warning, but if there's a repeat, then they're responsible. That's what's intended? Through the mayor to the city attorney, that's correct.

Thank you.

I think we're on track here. This is great. So yes, I think the grace period that you mentioned.

The grace period that you mentioned is correct. There is a period of time that we need to send out information and notify and educate everybody on this new ordinance. But each occurrence, so if somebody blasts the music, let's say at midnight, heard Five Doors Down, and there's a report. We go in and we do a written warning, right? 15 minutes later, after they turn it down, they do it again. That is when the first fine kicks in because it's not a 30-day period that they're not committing to the same thing because sometimes you have to have it stopped. So that occurrence must stop immediately. It's not a 30-day to cure bringing down the volume. So that's what my concern is.

Mayor, through the mayor. That's exactly what my understanding, and I think that's what it says about providing the warning. And then if there's, you know, you get a warning for the first violation, you don't get extra time, you get a warning. If there's a second violation, it's a second violation. And I think that's clear. But the grace period, which is the education period, based on the level of what City Manager Williams described, and going out to communities and making sure that affected communities received notice and education as to it. That's why we thought the 60-day grace period made more sense because getting all of that education done and scheduling, if necessary, workshops in different communities might be difficult to complete citywide within 30 days.

Mr. Manager, would you like to opine on that? 60 days, 30 days? Or you think 30 days is sufficient?

It's be the will of the commission. We can do 30 days, we can do 60 days.

Well, we have time to decide between now and then. Okay. So do we have a motion to defer?

bring back at the next, I have a direction for, Mr. Attorney, could you please make sure you check with the county ordinance on what the vote passed is and then propose any changes by the 30th of April?

If it gets passed.

Which is nine days from now.

Is it gonna be on the agenda for them to, would you wanna do that by the 30th? Because something might happen, they might defer or something, it doesn't get on there, like.

Right. I mean, we have to touch base and have to see whatever passed by the county. I'd like to see it by the 30th, so when we do have the agenda published May 5th, I would have, you know, everybody gets a copy of whatever we need to get.

Presuming that the county actually has it available to us. Correct, yes. They're sometimes a little slow, so if we end up with a one- or two-day window there, that may be difficult. But we will absolutely check with them and make sure that we get what they have.

A procedural question. What happens to what I proposed as an amendment?

It's already included. Yeah, we're dealing with the amended.

Yes, but it is tabled after that amendment has been accepted.

So do I have a motion and a second to the table? To defer.

To next to next meeting. Yes.

Motion. I have a motion and a second. All in favor say aye.

Aye. Next item on the agenda. Mr. Mayor. Yes. I'd like to be recorded as a yes vote for the consent agenda items. I wasn't here when they were voted on. Thank you.

Yes.

Okay.

Madam Clerk, if you would so record Commissioner Fleury.

Noted.

11.2, yes sir.

Pet cells. The dog.

Yep.

I introduce the dog.

Second. Item 11.2, ordinance number 2026-06, second reading, amending pet sales, sponsored by Commissioner Smith, an ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida, amending chapter six of the City of North Miami Beach Code of Ordinances, animals and fowl, section 6-9, restrictions on retail pet sales and pet mills, to clarify exemptions, enhance regulations and enforcement, providing for conflicts, severability, codification, and for an effective date. And let me note, Commissioner, that the only change in what's handed out was the amendment that you made to delete, I think it was number five under part B. That was the amendment that you did last time. And that's the only difference is to reflect that in what's in front of you. There is no other change.

Okay.

And Mayor, I think that the Commissioner, I guess, gets to speak first as the sponsor.

Well, this is the second reading. Commissioner Smith, do you have any issues?

You have the floor, Commissioner.

Pardon me? Do you have any issues regarding your second reading?

You have the floor to speak in favor of your item.

No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Thank you all for bringing me back. I'm trying to see, because I got two 11-2s, and you just explained what it was, because I didn't understand why we were having a second one.

It was just that one item.

All right, so the only thing I want to say is today at the hospital, they brought a therapy dog, and everybody on the floor went crazy. We have to protect these animals because they protect us. So I appreciate all of your support on this. Thank you very much.

Do I make the motion to approve? Second. Madam Clerk, can you do a roll call?

Commissioner Chernoff.

Yes.

Commissioner Florey Morn.

Yes.

Commissioner Jean. Yes. Commissioner Smith. Yes. Commissioner Hsu. Yes. Vice Mayor Smucker.

Yes.

Mayor Michael Joseph.

Yes.

It passes.

All right. Thank you all. First, 11.3, first reading. Sign over. Do I have a motion to introduce?

Motion to introduce.

Second.

All right.

Item 11.3, ordinance number 2026-05, first reading sign code ordinance sponsored by Commissioner Hsu. An ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida, amending North Miami Beach sign code as to political signs, shortening the time to remove signs post-election, and increasing the amount of the signed bond, providing conflict severability codification, and for an effective date. I do wanna note that there is a memo from our office that went out on this. There is some troubling case law that deals with the regulation of non-commercial signs. And the essence of that case law, as put together by one of my partners, Skip Miller, is that the Supreme Court has said that non-commercial signs, that is not, you know, buy a mattress or shop at my restaurant, should all be treated the same. That means if it's a sign relating to a religious institution, if it's a sign relating to some kind of a non-profit organization, or political signs which are non-commercial, they should all be treated the same. Now, frankly, in this South Florida community, that's not the general practice. What we were asked to do, we have a sign code. We were asked to make a couple of changes to conform it in a couple of regards to what Aventura does. They have seven days to remove them, and it's a slightly higher signed bond. Aventura does it, frankly, most local cities do it the same way. they regulate political signs. They do regulate political signs differently than other non-commercial signs. And we're only talking about political signs in the context of an election, something that's on the ballot, whether it be a candidate or whether it be a referendum item of some kind. You cannot regulate other kinds of political signs at all. I mean, if somebody wants to have a sign that says, bring home the hostages or legalize marijuana or something like that, that's free speech and they have a right to do that. Unless it impacts public health and safety, we really have no right to regulate those. what is being proposed here and what we have in the books and what most of the neighboring communities have may not represent strict compliance with Supreme Court guidance on it. Frankly, I don't know that anybody is gonna challenge that because it's what most communities do and I consider it relatively low risk because If somebody actually did challenge it, and we had to amend the ordinance to not be able to regulate political signs separately, but regulate them the same way that other non-commercial signs were regulated, we could do that pretty quickly and pretty effectively and not incur much of a substantial penalty. I just have to note for the record, though, that there is at least... at least what appears to be a technical noncompliance, because if it were to come up, I wouldn't want you to think, gee, I thought we were bulletproof on this. That's not quite the case, but I do consider it to be an acceptable level of risk, because so many communities around us do exactly the same thing. So I just wanted to note that for the record.

Madam Clerk, since it's first reading, can you open up the floor for public comment?

If you'd like to speak on this item, please come forward.

That would be law of the jungle though.

Okay, I just wanted to say, also to include something, when people put their campaign sign. Speaker, please speak. Oh, Karen Harold, NMB resident. If people put their campaign sign on your property without permission.

Mayor, if I might. No one can put something on your property without your permission. If they do, now again, we may not know who did it, but it doesn't matter who placed it there. If it's on your property without your permission, you can report it, but you can also just pick it up and throw it in the trash. Something that's on your property without your permission does not have a right to be on your property without your permission, and you may remove it.

Okay, we have also some homes that are vacational homes, like people only come down certain months of the year. So they have a sign stuck there that they didn't put there. There's nobody to see it, no one to remove it. If there's anything that can be added in there about discouraging or not putting it on, I don't, There's nothing to stop them, no one to stop them. So people think they're voting for this person when they were illegally put there.

Mayor, if I might. Anyone who believes that somebody who's renting out a vacation home indicates that that's their preference is foolish, but people are allowed to be foolish. Again, the right belongs to the owner. And unless it's a violation in some other way of our sign code, too big, too garish, something like that that's not... within the regulations that we have, we can't remove things that are on private property except at the direction of their owner. Now, there should be records as to, through the property appraiser and otherwise, of ownership, and certainly if somebody contacts the owner, wherever they are, there's supposed to be contact information, and if the owner says, I want it removed, then they can have it removed if it's their choice, but we cannot presume to act for an absent owner because the absent owner may have authorized it.

Okay, I mean, I just know this last year, the last election, down 10th Avenue, you see somebody, the same person, put a sign, sign, sign, sign, sign, somebody went around, I have video of them doing it at my yard, and they did it on many other yards, so, okay, thanks.

Well, if you find somebody who's trespassing on your property and you can identify who did it, you can report that to the police. Trespassing is illegal.

They have more important things to do. Okay, thank you.

Next speaker.

As a resident who've been taking part in elections for many years, I have problems with people putting the signs under swales. On swale, I think it's illegal. It's also illegal for when you put down your signs, other people come in ripping it up. I think the North Miami Beach Police Department should be investing in remote cameras because we need to catch some of these culprits, and the fines should be really heavy, so heavy that they would never do it again, where you can listen to the candidates speak. as to where they're losing their signs, and you put up some of those cameras about here to catch the culprits, because we can't be doing this thing here over and over. Then they leave the signs up after the elections. I know the mayor is guilty of that. He had his sign up on the school fence, even though we spoke to him. Send mails to him. He refused to remove it. I mean, if you're going to be creating laws and you don't want to abide with it, there's a problem. It's lawlessness. That needs to be taken care of. People shouldn't be threatening you to abide with the law. The law is for everyone. It's not for some. skip on these sort of things. Create the law and follow the law yourself and make the city a better place. It's not a king we elected. A king wouldn't have to remove their signs. You're an elected official and you should abide by the laws that you make. Thank you very much for having me.

Good evening, Terrance Camenzuli, Sunray West. I think the $500 is way too low. Being on the code board and speaking to all these code enforcement officers over the past 15 years, 10 to 15 years, their time is money. There are many, many signs. Last election, there was over 15,000 signs, is what I was told, by code enforcement officers that they keep taking down, being put back up, taking down because they're illegal, putting back up. They're not getting fined. All they can do is take them down. I think a higher... then $500 should be out there for these candidates that don't want to follow the law. In Swales, private property, multiple signs on the same property, commercial properties. This is something that I've been a, person who's speaking out against this over the last 10, 15 years, myself being on a corner house, and I usually don't put up signs. I've never really okayed signs because of my wife's beliefs, so it's something that I think should be more than $500 for a, for an amount, thank you.

Any more speakers?

Any other speakers? Public comment is closed.

All right.

We'll go.

Yes. There are some people also that they are running against, your name please? Oh, again, Maria, Mara or Maria Hawk. if Miss Daniela Jean put her sign in my house, somebody that is running against her go and take it and throw it away. I have seen that. I am not saying yours, I'm just making example, taking you as an example. But I really don't like that. You see, there's when I vote for that person, And that is for, that work for almost everybody. When they see that somebody run out so hard, there's when people alienate to vote for that person. So if any of you want to keep doing that, you are welcome, but just keep in mind that. Thank you.

Anyone else? Mr. Mayor?

All right, seeing public comments close, Commissioner Hsu, right? Yes.

Okay. So I think like in the last election cycle when I was running, you know, I was, everybody made sure that I picked up my signs from all the homes and everywhere else. I mean, we're hearing a lot of things that I know a lot of people are dealing with, whether it be like, you know, ghost planter into a home that has no one there sometimes they just put it there and like you know hope that the other person would take it out or the owner would take it out and some a lot of times like the owners feel like you know they don't want to do that because they don't want to offend the candidate so you know but they're like unhappy and then of course like let's say they're supporting me and there's another candidate running for the same seat so they just kind of feel awkward Sometimes some people would just take it out if they didn't allow or give permission to the candidate. So there's a lot of things around that, and I think there's bordering between campaign signs, the length of time that it's on. This is strictly to address the time that it's on, the time that the signs are up in our city property, I mean, in our city boundaries. And if it's not, then, you know, I mean, if... What TC said just now about 15,000 signs, if you can imagine our code enforcement personnel going to pick up 15,000 signs, this is a problem. So, and I agree, if that is the case, 500 is definitely too low. Now, there were, okay, so there's no permission, there's in the public right of way, there is also, Removing other people's signs. I think removing comes into the category of trespassing. Is that correct? Mr. Attorney?

It depends if it's on private property, it's trespassing My understanding of our laws is you're not permitted to place them on swells, right? Although in some places like in Aventura, there is some limited ability to place some signs on public property They do allow it for instance At the library, there were signs that were allowed to be placed there, although there are some regulations about whether they're unaccompanied signs. But swales right of way in this city, I believe, are not allowed, but it's not trespassing. It's a different violation. Trespassing is only if you're going on private property.

OK thank you so I am I want to open up this discussion because we've all ran for office before and I just want to hear what your thoughts are.

This is a slippery slope we're trying to go down. And I want to say that because sitting on the council for as long as I have. In the past there was a mayor in a wheelchair not the last mayor the one before it who totally blew our sign ordinance out of the water and called it his right. And because of federal was allowed to do that. And then our sign ordinance was put. So no matter what we put together, it can be challenged. And I mean, like to your point, commissioner,

Turn off. Sorry, I'm a little bit off. Turn off. Because how do you deal with the presidential stuff or the federal stuff? We're going to take down some of those and, hey, give us the money? I don't know how we're going to deal with that. But I understand there might be a need for it. I just want to know how you're going to deal with federal campaigns, state campaigns,

Mayor, and also, let me say again, I talked about the free speech aspects that are not as strict when you're talking about signs related to a campaign. But when you start talking about if you increase the, I mean, we're kind of in with other cities with our amount, but if you were to start to have drastically higher fines, you would draw complaints that you were violating political free speech, which is core speech, if it was done, if the fines became so high that it was actually prohibiting people from getting their message out, that's the kind of thing that can take us being in the middle of the pack with all the other cities and having a little bit of safety. We start sticking out, then that's going to likely to draw a lawsuit.

I'm not going to. The problem is that for many, many years, we had the regulation of four by eight signs allowed in the city of North Miami Beach. And you put up a $500 fine for all those years. Bond.

Bond.

Bond. I'm sorry. Bond. A bond. Right now, we have zero bond.

Right.

And no limit on the number of signs you want to put up. Large signs, there's a limit. Oh, 25 now. Right. But if somebody wants to put up 50, they can challenge us. And again, we can put regulations for as long as we want, and most, 99% of the people will adhere to it. But you're going to get that one person who's not going to adhere to it and doesn't care what your regulation is because they call it free speech, and they hang their banner on that, and the city attorney agrees with them, and we can't do anything. That's what my concern is.

I want to mention something. At the North Miami Beach Library, when I ran four years ago, I remember we were not allowed to leave the signs out overnight. We had to collect them.

North Miami Library.

Aventura. I said North Miami Beach, right? I meant Aventura, sorry. At the Aventura Library, which was a polling site as well, we were not allowed to leave the signs out overnight, and I believe during the day we were not allowed to have more than two, I think it was. Planted. Planted, yeah. I mean, they're doing it.

Well, they have to regulate, I'm not saying they don't have the regulation, and they're not enforcing it, but if somebody wants to fight it, they're not gonna win.

And they were actually enforcing it, like if, if they were, like when I would see them coming, I would like, you know, take for the other candidates that I was with. Like, if there was more than two signs, I'd, like, put one down. So they were definitely enforcing it.

But to what the city attorney said, that we would have to be somewhere in the middle of a pack to make it as enforceable as we can. Right. So I just keep, he wants you to keep that in mind. I don't know.

No, thank you. So I just want to address, like, when you were mentioning, like, the presidential campaign's I'm sorry, so I wanted to address the concern that we have with other campaigns that are not North Miami Beach candidates. I remember that I was pointing out that a state representative candidate had like 50 signs there, or I mean like whatever he had, and then the code enforcement came in and told me that no, he paid the bond. You cannot plant your signs in here until you put a bond up, in early voting for Aventura so I ended up holding all of my signs and then we had people there who were also holding signs so that's how it happened and I think that like they're very strict they drive I mean we've seen code enforcement from Aventura come over to that library like multiple times and they every time they come they pull out a sign and they put it in their you know in their truck bed so um I think that's just the enforcement side of it. We're now looking into what is the way that we could keep our city in order before election, during election, and after election. That's my concern because I feel like code enforcement, we have very few personnel already. There's a lot of things to do. There's a lot of things that they could be focusing on versus trying to get a bond back or collect signs from people. I mean, like during that time, I remember the wind was really strong. So some of the big signs flew out of their, you know, their stakes in the ground and they had to go retrieve it and put it back. And, you know, there's a lot of things. So I just wanted to make sure that like our city is in order. We're not having the election signs like bother, you know, residents and be a nuisance. Okay.

Mayor, let me just point out this. Resolution does two things. Excuse me, proposed ordinance does two things. It shortens the time in our code to remove signs after an election. It's currently 10, and we were asked to conform it to Aventura, which only gives seven. That's one of the two things this does, shorten the time. The other is to increase the bond, which, although Commissioner Chernoff is correct that it was blown up completely, our code says 250. This raises it, I believe, to 500. Those are the only two things in front of you, increasing the bond, and reducing the time to remove them. So if there's some other thoughts that people think they might want to do, which, again, your point, Mayor, what are we going to do if it's a presidential or senatorial campaign? It's a very good point. We'll do another analysis if somebody has other amendments, but the two that the sponsor is seeking here are both to make things stricter, and neither is to allow any Wild West anything. They're just to tighten up the code, and that's what's in front of you. you know, you could talk about it, and maybe somebody will come back and wanna do something differently, but for now, this is all that's being done, and they're both to make things stricter.

All right, this is its first reading, so Commissioner Smith.

If I'm wrong, there's another issuer, too. Madam Clerk, currently, what is the date that you could put up a yard sign if you're running for the November election?

Not before March 1st.

So is March 1st you could put up a sign in the yard?

That's what it says, yes. Okay. That's correct.

I think that's too long. Way too long. People steal them. The wind blows them away. I think they become blight in the neighborhood. The more people run, the more signs you see. Some people put four candidates in their front yard. And so I think that needs to be changed. Also, I'm trying to look for where it is that you can have 25 signs, any side exceeding 616 square inches per sign. So those signs can be made two different ways. The thing that's interesting is a lot of candidates put their signs in the county. And I don't know if they got permission or they didn't get permission. But the 25 signs regulation is only for North Miami Beach and part of North Miami Beach happens to be in the county. So I think we should keep that in mind. I understand what Commissioner Chernoff is saying, but I think regulations are important. I think people that break the regulations, the public sees. And I think that they'll recognize that they're not adhering to what what the regulations are to be a good candidate.

Commissioner Smith, I have to say to you, if somebody has lawfully opened a campaign account and they have wide latitude about when they can do that, even March 1st, if somebody opens their campaign account January because they want to start raising money and they want to start spending it by putting up signs, um, I'm not, I don't admit error from the dais, but I can tell you that we would have substantial issues defending a prohibition, certainly if we wanted to just make it later for a short period of time. And I'll tell you right now, in a city the size of this with close to 50,000 people, saying that you can only have 25 signs for your campaign,

25 commercial, big sign.

You know, if you have contacted private property owners and they have given you permission to put a sign on their property and the sign is not a danger to public health and safety, it's not loosely attached and could fly off in a storm, or it's not blocking the triangle or sight lines or something. In a city as big as this, with as much commercial property as we have.

With all respect, you're opening a Pandora's box. Yes, you're right, it could be sued. I understand what you're saying, but you didn't sit on this council when we went over and over the blight and the disfigurement of North Miami Beach with all those signs. That's why the regulation for 25 feet was started, and 25 signs was started. The first year I ran, I'm knocked on a man's door, and it's very interesting because I didn't know him, and he went and got me a check for $200. He liked the way I talked. He thanked me for running. He'd been there a long time. About a week and a half later, I get a phone call from code enforcement. You're not allowed to have a banner sign. And you're certainly not to have it on a two-story commercial building by the railroad track. I said, I don't have a banner sign. He said, you definitely do. I said, give me the address. The man went out and bought a banner sign and put it on his building. How embarrassing was it for me to tell the man he had to take down the sign he just paid for?

Shouldn't have been enforceable against you. You didn't do it.

I'm just telling you that the blight... And, you know, it's also code enforcement's, again... Who has the authority? And I'm gonna tell you a story that's true. We put up our signs, our big signs, my husband's men who had been with him for 50 years. And I get a phone call that they're one foot too tall. They're only allowed to be six feet and they're seven. I made those men go back and change eight signs and dig that hole in the hot sun deeper. And they quit, my husband, 50 years. because code enforcement called me, but code enforcement did not call when other people were on the fence of city property within the 100 feet of voting. And when I said to code enforcement, when are you going to have those signs removed? They said above my pay grade. I said, get me your supervisor. I got a supervisor. When are you going to have the signs removed? He said, get me, he said, above my pay grade. So, you know, there's a lot of games that go. I think a regulation is important so the public can see who follows the regulation and who doesn't. I really do.

Commissioner Smith and it was the then city manager that was allowing that to happen because it was making your sign shorter because to go against you and allowing the other people sign because that's who he wanted to win. So it was not so much the fault of the code. They were doing what the then city manager wanted us to do because it was convenient for him to have certain people win and certain people lose.

That's good. Mm-hmm.

um gary it's uh it's it's first reading so um uh i'm willing to move forward because it is first reading and it does put us in conformity with other cities um so um mr mayor i was gonna ask um would commissioner smith like to make any amendments to the ordinance

Bernie and I disagree. He knows law, and I know the blight. March, for people to put up signs in March, I think the regulation should be this summer. That's my opinion.

So, but, like I said, it's first reading. Does somebody want to call it, or?

Well, I mean.

It's first reading, so like.

All right, I motion to approve.

Okay, I have a motion. Do I have a second?

Second. Oh, did you want to do an amendment? I wanted to do an amendment. Okay.

Make the sign requirement not before July 1st. July, August, September, October, November, June.

Actually, what about qualifying? Like at qualifying, because that's when they can put the bond up. When is qualifying?

When is qualifying?

I think it's mid-August or something like that. Like this year.

But I thought the bond, you put the bond once you start putting signs.

That's true.

So it wouldn't be like when you qualify, it'd be like whenever you put the sign up. That would make it the most effective.

What does everybody think? What do you want?

June, July, August? I just don't want a constitutional challenge.

Well, they can have a constitutional challenge for any of us. I mean, we can't live with that.

Constitutional challenge. Do you have an attorney look into those dates and see maybe what's more appropriate?

And then him come back, like, this is a first reading. So can we just, can we pass it as is?

Wait, can we ask, just real quick, you saw the Aventura, did they have a start date or no? Whenever the signs...

I don't recall that they had a star date, but I will look, because, Commissioner, you had two specifics, and I checked the two specifics.

Okay, good. Why don't we explore the July, ask the attorney to explore the July date and give us an opine on that, and then for now we're going to pass it as is. Okay. So motion to approve.

I have a motion and a second. Madam Clerk, can you do a roll call, please?

Commissioner Furrymon?

Yes.

Commissioner Jean? Yes. Commissioner Smith? Yes. Commissioner Hsu? Yes. Commissioner Chernoff?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Smuckler? Yes. Mayor Michael Joseph? Yes. It passes. 11.4.

First reading, yes, motion. Do I have someone to introduce, please?

Second. Okay.

Item 11.4, ordinance number 2026-07, first reading. Establishing community association registry, sponsored by Commissioner Hsu, an ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida, GA-02-2026, community association registry. amending Chapter 14, entitled Building and Housing, adding Section 14-13, Community Association Registry, establishing local requirements for registration for community associations with the city, including enforcement provisions for enhanced transparency in alignment with Miami-Dade County Community Association Registry, providing for codification, conflict, scrivener's error, severability, and providing for an effective date. This is first reading, sponsored by Commissionership.

Open up for public comment, Madam Clerk.

If you'd like to speak on this item, please come forward. No one has come forward.

All right, comes back. Commissioner Smith.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So this ordinance is the condo ordinance. I mean, basically, the state had passed a whole condo statute about reporting and transparency and whatnot. And from I mean, I'm a condo dweller, so I live in a condo. I know the issues and the problems that we have. The fact that I had to invest an additional on top of whatever I purchased on my condo over $100,000 in assessments and repairs and getting the building recertified and all that. All of this would not have been a problem for me had all the budgets and everything be searchable or be transparent. So with that said, I'm 100 percent behind this whole transparency. I think what it's going to do for North Miami Beach is it's going to make our properties more valuable because people will start to fall in line about all the reserves that they need to put in and make sure that their budget is tight, everything is spent and sourced and procured correctly, and the transparency is definitely going to help our property values because currently, I'd say condos in Florida is rock bottom. We're the only state in the nation that is not allowed anything less than 10% down payment for a condo. So it's either 10% or 25% down payment, and that is a big burden because people cannot afford that kind of down payment when they want to purchase a first home. so with that said like i i look forward to your approval to this this is not going it's gonna very minorly cost the city um in terms of um in terms of code enforcement meaning because they will have to check to see if the condo association has or has not registered we have expanded the condo to hoas we have expanded this to co-ops and any any association related entity in our city So everything is searchable. They only register once. They don't have to do things twice. We can search them from our city's website. Everything has been collaborated with the county. So that's 100%. We don't have to add any more burden to our staff just for transparency's sake. Now, with that said, I just wanted to hear what everybody else had any input on that.

Mr. Smith.

Thank you. So I assume this is retroactive. Everybody had to sign up. The question is, how do we know? Because they already signed with the county. It's just the county collaborating their information with North Miami Beach. But if they don't sign up, if they're not transparent, what's the penalties? Mr. Attorney, don't we want to put the penalties in this ordinance?

I think that the penalties are already established. Not in here. I read them.

The county... really preempts this area and the original contemplation of this ordinance has changed substantially based on the fact that the county adopted something and they really preempt the area so it would be problem for us to do something that is really different than what their scheme of enforcement they have asked us to cooperate with them what's left of this ordinance since they've preempted is basically we're asking people in this city to do it and we're kind of like a reporting mechanism to the county they're policing the incorporated areas and we're providing that information for within our city limits for them to then proceed with enforcement.

So if they do not register, the county gets the fine?

That's the scheme that the county has enacted. And we're basically kind of eyes and ears for the county here.

So if it's a county regulation, why are we having an ordinance which becomes law, which doesn't state what the county's fines would be?

I mean, I'm trying to understand.

I'm trying to understand. No, I understood that we are enforcing it. That's the reason why we're passing this ordinance.

That's not my understanding, Commissioner. I'll go back through with you and sit, but I thought that when you look at the way the ordinance was revised, that's my understanding. We can inspect, we can report, but basically my understanding is that we are reporting it to the county so that they can take action based on it. We're kind of being eyes and ears, because there is concern that they might not look carefully enough at what's going on inside municipal limits. They may be looking to us to do that. But we can break that down. Again, it's first reading.

Could we defer this until we find out what we're doing? I mean, if it's a county regulation and the county collects a fine and the county has a requirement, but we're making an ordinance to change our code, I would like the ordinance to state what it's all about. We're changing, let's just, I would make a motion to defer until we know. No, I'd second that too.

Yeah, because I mean, I was under the impression 100% that we're enforcing it, and that's the reason why the urgency of having this done.

Before you do, well, you can defer it. I mean, you might want to hear from community development.

Oh, yeah, we should.

But let's defer it, let's defer it. Okay, yes, sir.

We have a motion and a second.

All in favor say aye. Aye.

All right. And community development will come back. Next item.

We'll come back and I'll get with Mr. Ahmed and the department and we'll review that further and with the sponsor as well. 11-5. We need a motion there.

Motion to introduce. Well, I can't.

You do it so well. Move to introduce resolution number R2026-60, authorizing a facility use agreement with Little Haiti FC Inc. Second it.

Number 11-5, resolution number R-2026-60, authorizing a facility use agreement with Little Haiti FC Inc., sponsored by Commissioner Jean. Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of North Miami Beach, Florida, approving and authorizing a facility use agreement with Little Haiti FC Inc., authorizing the city manager or designee to execute the agreement and utilize funds in an amount not to exceed $52,240 from the community benefit youth sports account to support the first year of the program authorizing city manager designated all things necessary to re to effectuate this resolution providing scriveners there's severability and providing for an effective date sponsored by commissioner jean thank you so much um i i wanted to hear from the coach again what was your name

JP, Coach JP, can you tell us a little bit, I know you gave us in a nutshell what the program was, so this is the school itself, the monthly charge for families is how much?

$100 for twice a week.

$100 for twice a week, so for a month roughly it would be how much?

$100 per month.

$100 per month or twice a week?

Twice a week.

Okay. And this is what you do full-time, correct? I mean, as it relates to the school, the whole purpose is it's an academy, right?

It's not an academy. That's why it's called School of Soccer. It's a recreational program. Right now we have in Oak Grove Park, all the ages are playing recreational leagues. In Allen Park, We have only under eight, under 12, that we had the numbers to play this small league that we do with other clubs. We are trying to build a girls team, but we didn't have enough girls to add to the league, and the under 10. So we have classes from six to 12 years old. The girls we have older, yeah.

Thank you.

And one limitation of the program is that I've been What happened, we started at Washington Park. All before the renovation. And then we had the opportunity to move to Allen Park when the football season was over. But the problem is when we go to Allen Park, which is a better facility, a better field, big field, we were able to grow the program. But then when the football season starts, which is probably now in June, we have to move to Olida. And then when we move to Olida, it's very small. And we've been trying to use Michon Park too, but it's been very busy. and I was after, do you have any more questions for me?

No, that's all I have. So currently, Mr. Manager, the MOU is for which park usage?

I'll call up the Director of Parks to answer that for you, Commissioner Zon.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners, everybody else on the dais, good evening. Andrew Plotkin, your Parks and Recreation Director. The current site that the team is looking for that's in the facility agreement is Allen Park.

And for example, for existing clubs like this one, how would you guys work through the schedule?

So it's very tight scheduling. Mr. JP and his school is one of six other organizations that rent our fields throughout the city. So as he says, he has a program. It's a rental agreement, along with other rental agreements that we have throughout. And providing space and working around our well-established Sun Devil football team, and also our NMB Baseball, well, also the baseball. We have the Optimist Club, the Sun Devils, and then we also have our NMB baseball little league. So it's, obviously scheduling is a challenge for all the organizations. Everybody's fighting for the same time. Everybody wants the peak 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. window. So obviously scheduling for everyone is a challenge.

Thank you. That's all the questions I have.

Mr. Manager, through the Mayor, could I just ask Mr. Plotkin a couple questions?

Yes, please.

So Mr. Plotkin, when you add another, how much revenue do we get when they rent?

Off the top of my head, I believe, JP would know this more than me, but it's probably around $896 to us a month. Okay, so, Average.

And you have six places that pay that?

Depending on how often they rent and the time frame that they rent, it varies, obviously, but he's consistent. Like you said, twice a month it's been, and I think that average is close to around $800, $900 a month.

And the football starts, the football season, so now you're going to add somebody else. How would they have an opportunity to use Alan Park?

Commissioner, to be honest, they might not. Okay. That's why I believe he said that sometimes we'll say, hey, not hey, but... This field is no longer available. However, we could move you over to, let's say, ULITA or somewhere else if you're interested. But everybody knows going in that our priority has been always the Sun Devil Football Program and NMB Little League. They've been with us for...

When I was in diapers. So even if this is the region I didn't sign upon, they understand that it's not written in stone that there'll be availability for...

I believe the agreements are monthly.

Is that correct? Yeah.

So when we rent it out, it's on a monthly basis. It's not guaranteed, but we try to go month to month and try to accommodate as best we can to all we can.

No, but I'm talking in reference to this resolution.

That resolution right there before you is year-round. It's twice a week for six months. during the week, and then it's twice a week during the week and one weekend day for the other six months, and I think that's working, trying to work around the football program.

But is there, if there's not availability, are they going to get there twice a week, or we're going to push somebody that's paying out?

If this, somebody will have to go, because they'll become the priority.

So somebody that pays.

Well, somebody will have to relocate or adjust, I should say. I don't ever want to push somebody out, but space is a premium and timeframe is a premium. So they would have to adjust or we'd have to look at other locations, potentially.

So this money would be coming from, this money comes from a fund that has $70,000 that must be spent for sports.

Youth sports, yes, ma'am. Youth sports.

so is there other areas that we have a need that we as a commission would not be aware that there's a need for funds i'm thinking the free swimming i want every child to be able to swim so are we short on funds in other words does this money need to be spread a little different that's

for you all to decide. My team, obviously this came a few months ago. I went through Commissioner Jeanne when she was doing her public arts resolution uh... and then we're looking for the the funds that uh... the the community developers uh... had uh... agreed to and paid and so a few months ago i think it was three months ago the resolution came in the money was moved to the proper place so to be honest my team uh... we haven't done the evaluation it's only been a few months uh... they've been laser focused on uh... summer camp and usually about now or in a month is when we start focusing on next year's our youth sports programs after school but I'm sure I'm sure there's need. Free swimming, as you said, is one. We've partnered with the Zero Drowning in Miami-Dade County and the Children's Trust. So now we bring our local elementary schools during the school year to Victory Pool, and we teach them how to swim for free. It's a great program that you all passed. But during the summer, when we do our swim lessons, there is a fee to that.

So I think this is very important to bring to our city. And I made sure that it's for everyone. It's not just for the Haitian community, although the Haitian community are extreme, as they say, football, soccer advocates. But the boy across the street from me A Jewish young gentleman goes to a private high school in Orlando somewhere because he wants to be a soccer player. He spends five hours a day playing soccer. I just want to make sure before $52,000 is put in a direction and believe in the project 1,000%, but if we're going to turn down revenue for the city, then it's not a $52,000 grant. It becomes whatever we turn down also. The grant becomes bigger. So

We really have to concentrate. The central question here is what the city wants. If the city wants a soccer program that will be entirely free or not to the community, if the answer is yes, for example, how does this $52,000 will be used for the program? And if other schools would have the opportunity to show their program too. Because with this amount of money, depending on the number of days you can do, it can be lower than that. It's gonna be free for the residents and paid for non-residents. That's a different picture. So if the city wants to have their own soccer team, That's what you have to decide. That's my opinion.

How is this money being distributed, Mr. Manager?

The community benefit account is money that we receive from the developers for use of different programs. We have two separate accounts, Art in Public Places, which has $70,000 utilized to put art in public places. And we have $70,000 for the youth sports program, which can be at the will of the city manager or the will of the city commission.

No, but how is it being distributed? Are we ready to check, or they give us the bills?

How does it work? There was a discussion in parks about a reimbursement program, and there was also a discussion about paying the money up front in full.

I think Mr. Santangelo is here. He can speak to that if he'd like. Yes, for sure. We would love to hear from you.

Do you have questions for him? No, she asked would he like to say anything. Would you like to say anything?

Yes, Commissioners, we originally started in Little Haiti. Last year, we started in the city of North Miami with an identical program that we're asking to do here. Right now, in North Miami, we have 250 kids registered playing their field. We used Ben Franklin Park there, and they're able to give us that park basically six days a week because they believe in the program. Again, it's not just recreational, it's a whole lifestyle for these children. And we take them, we have, we put them, we're part of what's called Florida Youth Soccer Association, which is the highest level of soccer. All our coaches have workman's compensation, they have background checks. We've been doing this for 12 years now. And again, the children don't just come on Saturdays and then you don't see them anymore. We have these kids. you know, even if they're not there every day, they're calling us every day. So we're handling issues with immigration, with school problems, we monitor their school work every day. It's a whole lifestyle for these kids. So North Miami Beach or Franklin Park, if you went by there, you know, five o'clock Monday through Thursday or Saturday morning and watched them play, you'll see there's a world-class organization The president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, heard about our program. He talks about Little Haiti FC on his stump speech around the United States when he's trying to encourage local cities like this to provide the children in their community with free youth soccer because he believes the United States is missing out on a lot of talent. So this is the only program where any kid can come by and play soccer. If they're good, we had a girl play in the World Cup in 2023, 2023, for the Haitian national team. Naomi Ambros was part of Little Haiti FC. So if the kids in North Miami Beach have the talent, they can go all the way to the World Cup.

Let me ask you, you play now in Washington Park? Excuse me, ma'am? Did you play in Washington Park?

Do we play Washington Park? No. Yeah, I don't remember them specifically.

He's saying that you haven't, but why can't they? You haven't?

Oh, no, no, we've never played in the city of North Miami Beach.

And my biggest question is twofold. One is, how does the money work? Would you turn in your receipts and then they would pay whatever you paid or whatever you owe, we would pay the bills?

Now, the way we work in Miami and North Miami is basically we show you the budget, okay, which a city manager has, and basically that money is just for coaching, uniforms. The board of directors will ADFC, which is made up of educators, in fact, The Dean of Students at JFK Middle School is the president of Little Haiti FC. That's how we keep track of all the grades and everything. The kids can't get away from us, okay? The Dean of Students at Miami Edison High School is on our board. I have a degree in secondary education from UMass. So we watch education, the thing we're proudest of is that every kid in this program graduated high school and most of them went to college. Taking this high risk population and having a track record like this is what gets its attention almost worldwide because nobody's doing this.

And so my last question is, if you couldn't have Alan Park would you, for one or two of the sessions, let's say in the busiest time of the year, go to another park so that they don't lose the revenue for the city?

Our agreement is whatever the parks director and the city manager allows us to play, wherever it is, we're grateful for that.

So is that the way it's written, Mr. Plotkin, so that you understand it?

Yes, ma'am, that's the way it's written. That's the way, yes, ma'am. Okay.

I have some questions.

Sorry. Can you repeat what the way you went? What they're saying is because everybody wants Allen Park and let's say they have a tournament that they're in the middle, they're at the end of their tournament and they won Allen Park because it's a bigger regulation field. Rather than lose the revenue of $900 to the city, that I asked him would he move to a smaller field for that time so that one of the paying soccer teams, and he said he would.

Yes, what we do in the city of North Miami in Miami, we do that. When Ben Franklin Park is busy, we play in Little Haiti. And Little Haiti is called Little Haiti Warriors FC. North Miami is North Miami Warriors FC. North Miami Beach will be North Miami Beach Warriors FC. The kids who are good will play on the competitive team and go to tournaments and travel and all that. The kids that wanna learn the game, we take everybody who comes and we teach them the game. We wanna start in North Miami Beach with U8 and U10 right off, okay? Because most people will tell you, and I think the other soccer people's degree. You need to get these kids when they're five, six, seven years old in order to get them, if they are gonna have the potential of becoming college scholarships and professional players.

Okay, I wanna. Oh yeah, that makes sense.

All right, so why can't we give money to, let's say, the PAL program that has the sports program? or to the summer camp sports programs. Which one? The summer camps have, I think, have sport, or at least they may not have a sport program, but they have sports. Why can't we give money to the baseball little league? Yeah, but I'm saying, so what I'm trying to say is that I, since we're such a diverse community, I'd like to spread the wealth. mr um santangelo to have some i would like mr mr castro is that your jp i would like to him to have some i'd love to give to pal they have a sports program i'd love to um put some into the summer camp so they can do some sports i'd love to give some more if we if we give a ready to the the NMB Little League, there's a swimming at the schools, I don't know if we're allowed to give it to the schools, or is it to, it's us to have the sharks, the barracudas or something, is that us, or is that?

That's us, the barracudas.

That's us, I would love to give, you know, there's so many different programs groups of people that could benefit from all the different programs, from every religion, every ethnicity, everything that I actually said before that we should include. So I personally, I would like to spread the wealth. I would like to see this money given to several organizations.

That's it.

Oh, wait, and one more thing. Why can't we use Michigan Park?

We currently have a management agreement with Mishcon Park, and they've invested, the soccer development group, they've invested millions of dollars at Mishcon Park. We can do other sports there, but I would, I have a hard time, unless directed by the city manager, I have a hard time bringing in competition to an organization that's been very good to the city and a partner with the city and has invested in the city with a soccer organization. with a La Liga soccer program. And they have management agreement rights for the Michigan area.

Which company is it again that has management?

It's a soccer development group, the ones that have the artificial turfs on the south side. It's called La Liga, but the group's name is the soccer development group.

And to the clerk for item 11.4, I had stepped out, but my vote is yes to table it.

Thank you.

And I have, Commissioner Hsu?

Thank you so much. Okay. We were talking about, yes, through the manager, I'd like to ask the director a question about Boca soccer.

That's La Liga.

Okay, so all those six fields and the artificial turf, they're all under?

No, the six fields are under their umbrella. The main one is ours, and we do charge them when they, they're one of the ones that we do charge as well when they use our big field.

Okay, and the six fields are accessible to us or no? Are they rented like permanently?

The six fields, they control. We could have access, we can request, but they control those fields.