Remarks by Ralph "Rafael" Rosado
50 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 2
- Play at 3:41:35
“Thank you. I have two images that I wanted to show. So I've gotten a lot of questions about how we got to this place. And essentially, there are three different reasons why we are in the state that we're in. So the first one is, you know, equipment changes over time. And so buildings become obsolete. That's nobody's fault. if a fire station was built in the right capacity 60 or 70 years ago, but now it doesn't make sense. There you go. But now it doesn't make sense. That's something that we just have to deal with. The second item is population growth. I think we all understand what that…”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 3:55:39
“to those families in the long run. And so we were able to introduce a program called SAVE. So storm proof assistance and value enhancements. And thankfully it was approved by the commission unanimously as well. And the idea is that if you come in in the year 2026 and you are making potential home renovations that either increase your home's ability to stand up to a hurricane or make your home more energy efficient, you will get half off on your permit fees throughout the entire 2026. So if you go to the building department and you say, I'm going to replace my roof, I'm going to put impact…”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 3:56:40
“We've been very supportive of increasing the number of police officers. So as our city's population grows, the number of police officers should keep up with that. And it's not so easy to ensure that that happens because police officers retire in large groups. And so we've got to make sure we're getting more young police officers into the police academy. But in terms of District 4 very specifically, that's a citywide initiative that we are very supportive of and help to lead the way on that. But in terms of District 4 specifically, we also have created a program called HUGS, which stands for,…”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 3:58:09
“Living in Miami anywhere, whether it's our district or anywhere at all, is expensive. I mean, people do want to be here. And so what we're seeing is the cost of living going up. And we know that many folks work at relatively modest income jobs that have salaries that aren't going to be shooting up from today to tomorrow. right so we've got to figure out ways to make the living in the city more affordable for those folks so i've been very supportive of helping to get affordable and workforce housing projects underway across miami-dade county for many years with regard to my district…”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 3:59:50
“Absolutely. So we've got a couple of things on the horizon that I'm particularly excited about. So we had a press conference recently and we announced the creation, the upcoming groundbreaking for Superhero Park. And it is the city's, well, the district's, the city's and even the county's first 100 percent ADA accessible park program. I had a niece who passed away a few years back and she lived her life in a wheelchair. And so I got to see firsthand what it was like to have to try to navigate Miami and South Florida within a wheelchair. And the reality is a lot of our recreational amenities…”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 4:02:29
“It's a phenomenal place to hang out for sure. Come to downtown and come to District 4.”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 4:02:45
“Absolutely. They should call us at 305-250-5420. 305-250-5420. We'd love to hear from you.”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 4:42:13
“I just want to thank Commissioner Pardo for his advocacy around this project and around Miami Marine Stadium, both of which are historical, architectural, cultural assets that the city has had closed, or city and or county has had closed for half of my lifetime. And I know you've been working really hard to get this reopened, restored, and renovated for the public. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner.”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 5:02:26
“Second. Actually, I didn't get the opportunity to speak. I wanted to... No, it's okay, it's okay.”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 5:02:35
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 5:03:31
“You can vote against it, that's okay. I don't want to vote against it. This is one where I just like a little more time for it, if that's okay.”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 5:03:52
“He's a motion on the second. Yeah. So we have a motion and a second.”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 5:04:03
“Commissioner Scalona, you wouldn't consider a little more time on this one just to bring it back to September?”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 5:04:54
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 5:05:11
“What are your thoughts on this then on the revised version?”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 5:20:02
“As somebody who was elected via special election, I'm very, very supportive of the process. And I agree with letting the people decide. For me, the one sort of nuance to this is how much time is left in the term. Because if there's very little time, logistically, the elections department doesn't have time to pull together an election. And then if they're able to do it, the person may just serve for one or two months. Doesn't quite make sense given the expense. My election costs almost $230,000, just to give you an idea. And so for me, I want to vote for this, but I'd like to propose a…”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 5:26:26
“Tom, do you, I'm sorry, do you have a recommendation then based on the election dates, the qualifying dates?”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 5:37:14
“Madam Chair, I know that we have the attorneys involved with this item, the outside attorneys, and I wonder if we could hear from them because there seems to be a discrepancy between the two sets of attorneys.”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 5:51:36
“Madam Chair, I do want to give them the opportunity to clear the record. Okay, that's fine.”
City Commission · Jul 9, 2026
- Play at 10:03
“Thank you, madam chair. Good morning, everyone. So today I'd like to recognize better Mayo, a Hamel and partners. I know we have Willie Burmeo, president of the company here with us this morning. He's somebody I've known for a number of years, but more importantly, he has been a major contributor to our design community here in South Florida and far beyond. Willie and his partner, Luisa Hamil, met in Coral Gables High School, and then they reconnected some years later at our very own Monty's Raw Bar, where they decided to start an architecture and engineering firm that has done work not only…”
City Commission · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 26:49
“Madam Chair, if I could take a quick point of personal privilege, because there seems to be some confusion.”
City Commission · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 27:03
“No, no, I'm not referencing the discussion item. I'm referencing FR1. There was a substitution.”
City Commission · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 3:05:39
“Thank you. So I've been critical of Live Local, not only in my time on the dais, but even prior to that. And you all may remember about a year and a half ago, I brought a number of residents from my neighborhood because we were threatened with a project next to Coral Gate, which is an NCD, where folks were saying, oh, it's going to be live local and we're just going to have to accept it. And so we, at that time, this would have been October 2024, I urged the commission to take a stance against it back then. So my position's been consistent in regards to having major concerns with this being…”
City Commission · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 3:07:32
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
City Commission · Jun 25, 2026
- Play at 3:19:56
“I did. I just wanted to go on the record on this item because it's my item and it's somewhere along the process of it being crafted. There was a misunderstanding. My request was just to amend our traffic study process, not at all to touch our environmental impact processes. And so the substitution memo that was issued yesterday was a correction to that, but I'm not sure that everybody in the audience was able to see that. And I think there's maybe been an article, et cetera. We never asked to touch the city's environmental impact processes.”
City Commission · Jun 25, 2026