Village Council - Regular Meeting

We are here today for our hybrid emergency special council meeting today, Thursday, July 23rd. And we're starting just a minute late. Oh, actually, we're right on time, 5 p.m. Madam Clerk, can you call the roll?

Mayor Karen Cunningham.

Present.

Vice Mayor Mark Meritor.

Present.

Council Member Patrick Fiore. Present. Council Member Steve Cody. Here. Council Member Marsha Madsen.

Here.

Quorum is met.

Wonderful. With that, I'll turn it over to Council Member Fiore for invocation.

Thank you, Madam Mayor, if we could all bow our heads in prayer. Tonight's reading is from Deuteronomy 31, verse 12. Gather the people together, men and women and children and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of his law. Amen.

Wonderful. At this time, we'll take request petitions and public comments. I know there's only two people in the audience, but this would be the time for comments not related to anything to tonight's agenda, but something you might like to share with us. And seeing none, we will move into resolutions. I understand we have an additional resolution. Everybody should have that in front of you. Hopefully you've had the opportunity to take a quick look. And if I could get somebody to move it to the agenda.

Move it.

Is there a second?

Second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Anyone opposed? All right, very good. Okay, so 4-1. So this item will be Resolution 3B on tonight's agenda. For the people that are in the audience, there's copies of it over there. It's related to 87th Avenue. Oops. Just throwing in some sound effects. Okay, so would somebody move item 3A? Move it. Is there a second? Second. Madam Clerk, can you please read the item?

Item 3A is a resolution urging the United States Senate to pass House Resolution 1689 or similar legislation that would extend temporary protected status for Haitians lawfully present in the United States for three years. This resolution is sponsored by Vice Mayor Mark Meritzer.

Thank you. This would be the time for public comment for this particular item. That's you, Charles. That's okay. There's a little button there you have to push, but the clerk's going to run over and...

Okay.

IT's going to help you out. We should put a little red dot on it, by the way.

Okay. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm Charles Windham. I'm a physician. After years of teaching at UM and Jackson, I now see people in emergency rooms from coast to coast. My address is 8355 Southwest 160th Street, Palmetto Bay, Florida. Yesterday, I saw a man who was in the emergency room for an acute stress-induced medical disorder. He had no medical history. He had no mental health history. He was a proud man, and he didn't want to admit anything was wrong. After some questioning, he finally admitted that he'd recently lost his job. He lost his job because the TPS job permits had been pulled. He has a wife and four children. He has no criminal record. He had never used drugs. He was a man of faith and he didn't want to reach out to anybody for help. I feel like I don't want our country to be the type of country that targets a man like this. That's why I'm proud that this village has put forth this resolution, and I hope it passes. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thanks for coming down, and thanks for your service to the community. Any other comments? All right. With that, Vice Mayor, it's all yours.

Thank you. I want to start by thanking our village clerk and village attorney because I texted them yesterday at around six o'clock with this and they jumped right on it. So thank you to both of you for jumping on this and being willing to work with me and notice this and get this ready for the meeting and also to the rest of the council for agreeing to this because I think this is a matter of incredible importance to our village because We are home to quite a few Haitians in our community, and currently the country of Haiti is under a level four State Department travel advisory. And for those who are watching at home and are not familiar with what that is, that is the highest designation of what a country can receive for travel or not. And what that means is that US government employees are not allowed to travel to Haiti, it is considered an extreme risk of crime and other challenges that can come if you go to that country. So it is not a safe place according to our own U.S. government, and it frankly has not been for a very long time. And to see that we're suddenly declaring and ripping apart the temporary protected status for the thousands of Haitians that live in this community and across my county is incredibly to me personally, disturbing. I mean, I think that we are a country that should welcome people who are in really, horrible situations and are not able to go home. And this is I think something that I believe is the right thing for our community to do. And then also I want to highlight as well the economic case that has been made where thousands upon thousands of Haitian Americans who are here on this TPS status are actually working in our community and are full members of our community in many ways. including the gentleman that Charles just mentioned. So it's really unfortunate to have this just ripped apart, and to have families essentially being sent back to a place that our own government says is unsafe is just not acceptable to me, and I think our village should take a stand. And part of the reason why as well that I wanted to bring this is that we're in a very sensitive time period. According to the last I checked, tomorrow is the day that a lot of these Haitians can lose their TPS. It's also currently in the Senate, and our actual local congressional delegation, Congressman Jimenez and Congresswoman Maria Salazar and Congressman Diaz-Belar all voted to keep TPS on the books, but it's still stuck in the Senate at the moment, and whatever pressure that we can put as a local government and also as residents of this community and of this state to send a message to both Senator Rick Scott and also Senator Ashley Moody, we have to do our part. So,

to put this out there and ask for your support and once again thank you very much very good uh i see we have a um a list of um okay i say you're gonna probably uh okay uh questions first for the vice mayor all right then comments or motions

I'll move the first amendment that's printed here.

I'll second. Is there any discussion on what's been moved and seconded? Any questions, discussion on that? Okay, then all those in favor of the proposed amendment number one? Aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? Opposed? Okay, so the first amendment, and Madam Clerk, you've got a copy of it, correct? Correct. Okay, so the First Amendment passes 4-1. And then, you want to move the Second? Yeah, move the Second Amendment. Second. Okay, it's been moved and seconded. Are there any questions or discussion? All right, hearing none. All those in favor of Proposed Amendment Motion No. 2? Aye. Anyone opposed? Opposed. Okay, so Proposed Amendment No. or the motion number two passes for one. So now we're back on the item as it has been amended and, uh, comments, I guess. Any comments?

Uh, well, yes. Yeah. Thank you, Madam Mayor. First, I want to thank the vice mayor for bringing this forward. Obviously I've said this before. It's very personal to me. My wife is Haitian American and, uh, I'm happy to hear that our three Congress people in the area did support this. I didn't know that. And my understanding from today is that there was a judge that extended this a few more days, I believe, till July 27th. I hope our senators do the right thing. They probably won't. They do what they're told. I'm making opinions here, so that's all it is. Um, there was a senator today from the Midwest that I believe blocked this for no reason. I could go into all the good things that Haitian people do in this country, um, that work in nursing homes and hotels and are hardworking people. Um, and I think we all know that, uh, up here. I don't know where the, or even our local officials, uh, I haven't really heard the outreach. Yes, I hear it, but I mean, people should be screaming and there should be outrage. I don't know where our commissioner is on this. I haven't heard anything. At least I haven't heard anything. So someone can chime in if they haven't. Um, but you know, this, you're, you're dealing with people's lives here. Haiti right now is a failed state. It's very, it's an extremely, it's an extreme stress. I'll leave it at that. So any extension, that can come from our federal government. I just hope the people think with compassion and with their hearts and not through politics. So, again, I hope our two senators do the right thing, and I hope this senator from the Midwest changes his mind or God sees through his heart to do that. That's all I have. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you. Are there other comments? I'm so sorry. Council Member Cody, go ahead.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Just looking back two years during the past presidential campaign, we saw a continuing cavalcade of racism aimed at the Haitian community. I don't know if you recall, but the man who would go on to become elected for a second term, used the phrase, they're eating the dogs, they're eating the cats. And he said that about Haitians. It wasn't true. There was no evidence of that. But it was an appeal to racism. And the racism continues. And as my colleague to My left pointed out Haiti is a failed state. And to send people back there right now puts every one of them in extreme jeopardy. And it's not just men who may have committed some act for which they would get deported. The loss of temporary status means everyone must go. Children born in Haiti, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, they're all going to be sent back. And it frankly to me is appalling. I have worked with a number of people who are from Haiti over the years and are descended from people who came to this country from Haiti. And I wholeheartedly support this and I would ask the Vice Mayor, if he would allow me to be named as a co-sponsor on this.

Anyone else want to be a co-sponsor as well?

Yeah, I was going to ask, so I think you'll have everybody, it looks like. Perfect. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you. Anyone else? Yes.

I think it's wrong to send these folks back to a country where they may be killed. Really, Haiti's in such bad shape. So I'm supportive of this, and I hope that Our senators, Moody and Scott, will support it, will support bringing it forth, because it's wrong. It's absolutely wrong to send them back to that desperate situation in Haiti.

Great. Anything else? Yes, Vice Mayor?

Yeah, I also, since the mayor's office is here, I also wanted to point out that her office has been working on this issue, and I wanted to say thank you. So that's all.

All right. Thank you, Mia. If I didn't, I think I mentioned at the beginning, but Mia Devane is here tonight from Mayor Daniela Levinkova's office. Thank you for joining us. Anything else? All right. Then all those in favor? Aye. Anyone opposed? All right. Item passes 5-0. And Charles, normally I don't call people out in the audience, but You know, it's very cool. You've never come, at least that I've seen, I've been here for more than a minute, never come to a meeting before, but you felt so passionate about this that you chose to leave your home and come over this evening. So I just want to say thank you. I think that speaks volumes about the people, speaks volumes about you for sure, but certainly about the compassion we have here in our beautiful village. So thank you. All right. We have item 3B. Would somebody move it?

Madam Mayor, before we make the motion, can I just make a request on some language to include in that? Because it's slightly different since this is an emergency special meeting.

Okay, sure. Is this on the item we just passed?

Nope, it's on the one that we're going to. That was why I jumped in before somebody to move it. I would just ask that whoever moves it, that you move its consideration in accordance with the emergency terms of Section 2-44B of the Village Code.

Okay, would somebody move it? With that language, it's been moved. Is there a second? Second. All those in favor?

Aye.

Anyone opposed? All right. Madam Clerk, can you read the item?

Item 3B is a resolution urging Miami-Dade County to conduct an expedited feasibility study to evaluate reducing the posted speed limit on Southwest 87th Avenue in the vicinity of the new bridge located near Southwest 164th Street, expressing concerns regarding increased vehicular speeds and the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and nearby residents, requesting the implementation of appropriate traffic calming and safety measures as warranted. directing the manager to transmit this resolution to the appropriate officials. This resolution is sponsored by Councilmember Patrick Fiore.

Thank you. I'm going to turn it over to Councilmember Fiore. If I could, though, at some point, Councilmember, we had a meeting today. Ms. Devane was part of the meeting with several directors and staff from public services with Miami-Dade County, to talk about this and other more emergency-type items. So at some point, if you would allow the manager just to give an update on that, I would appreciate it.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I wasn't aware of that when I did the resolution. Thank you. Basically, since we were having this emergency meeting tonight, this is an emergency as far as it affects the life, health, property, and public peace of village residents. Um, you've all received the emails or phone calls as I have concerning already the speeding. It's only been four or five days, I guess, since the bridge opened. And, um, I don't, I know we passed a resolution sponsored by the mayor, our mayor here several months ago, um, for the county to get involved in this. Uh, but the issue I believe is expediency. in regards to the safety, I mean, there was a, again, according to the email, and I know the police were out there, there was almost a tragic incident, I believe, with a child on a bike. I don't have all the details, but I think before, I was not aware until the clerk told me today that I thought school started like August 25th or something, but I Now I hear it's like in two and a half weeks or three weeks, less than three weeks. So there's a sense of urgency here. And basically, you can all read the resolution. Again, I wasn't aware that the mayor had a meeting with the county mayor today. But I still think we should pass this on and do everything we can through our manager to get the county public works to move on this. And I'll turn it over to the manager. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman Fiore. Just to briefly summarize the meeting that we held today with Miami-Dade County at the request of Mayor Cunningham. The County Public Works Department was represented in that meeting and we presented together with the Palmetto Bay Municipal District, the Sheriff's Office here, a number of compelling safety concerns that we thought the county needed to take immediate action on. Three in particular. Number one, and Councilman Fiore, you've already brought up the crosswalk situation, both at 87th and 164th Street and at 87th and 163rd Terrace. There are existing crosswalks that are there, the east-west crosswalks, that is the ones that would cross 87th Avenue unmarked there's no striping there's no warning that there's a crosswalk and it's compounded by the fact that the crown of the bridge is such that vehicles whether you're traveling north or south across the bridge you're potentially in a position of not having enough reaction and stopping time if there is someone in the middle of the crosswalk again either north or south of the bridge We brought that, and the sheriff's office here went out, did an assessment, and that was frankly their assessment that we passed on to the county. Our recommendation to Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works is that they modify the location of the crosswalks. Currently, they're in a position that, due to the construction of the bridge, makes it, in our assessment, unsafe for pedestrians crossing. The county will meet our sheriffs on site tomorrow morning and then next week, I think on Tuesday, the engineers will come out again in the morning and we'll meet both public works director, the sheriff, and myself on the bridge and we're looking at that being on Tuesday morning. The second issue that we presented was the overall level of speeding on 87th Avenue. Again, mainly north of the bridge and both in the morning and in the afternoon. Just to give you a frame of reference, on the first day of the week that the bridge was open, on Monday, the Sheriff's Office handed out 13 tickets. It's been double digits every day of the week. Today, I'm told, and this was a few hours ago, they were already at 10. So we're handing out double-digit worth of tickets, and we do believe the speed limit itself on 87th Avenue should be looked at. We recommended a reduction from 168th to 152nd Streets that the county reduce from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour. Again, that is something that the county can get on immediately. We also recommended that the county in place permanent pedestal mounted radar speed signs. We currently have our trailers out there and the sheriff's office here has strategically placed trailers, both north and south speed trailers, north and south of the bridge. They do have an effect on how fast people are traveling. and we think they should be made permanent and again on a pole or a pedestal-type mounting. So, to summarize, the three big points were the pedestrian crossing, 164th, 163rd Terrace, the overall speed limit reduced that to 25, put in a number of permanent radar speed warning signs. There was also several locations where signs, both speed signs and other directional signs, have been obscured by vegetation or trees or the emplacement of the sign and where the bridge was built, we made recommendations to the county that they either trim the vegetation or relocate the sign as would be appropriate. There's a number of other great ideas that residents have submitted We're going to work with the county in a more deliberate manner after the county does a detailed traffic study. And the engineers have made a good point that the best way to do it would be after school goes back and the traffic patterns stabilize, the county will do a more detailed traffic study and we'll be able to emplace additional traffic calming and traffic control measures based on data the county also informed us that they had done a recently before the bridge opened they had done a traffic study to update counts traffic patterns and things like that so when they do the post-opening study they'll have very recent data that they can compare it against that's a quick summary Happy to answer any questions that any of you may have.

Are there questions of the manager? Vice Mayor?

Yeah, thank you for that. So by the sounds of it, the county is waiting for school to start and then they're going to do a traffic study and then do implementation of whatever ideas come out from that study.

I want to be clear, Mr. Vice Mayor, for the three items that we thought they could do immediately, they're going to take a look at doing them immediately. To answer your question, on the more holistic traffic calming, traffic control, yes, after the traffic patterns have stabilized.

Sure, and I guess my next question would be, I remember this council approved a 20 mile an hour speed limit, and I'm wondering if we decide to order those signs and implement that in the next fiscal year, I'm wondering if that area can be prioritized for that 20 in the surrounding area so that especially if they start getting cut through, we're already responding to that. I'm wondering if that's a possibility.

We certainly can.

Perfect. And the last question is, I know that there's discussion about potentially doing some pop-ups or temporary measures in place in terms of the actual intersections around 87th Avenue. I'm specifically talking about potentially converting some of the four-way stops into mini roundabouts or other improvements that we've done elsewhere in the village with temporary or pop-up materials. I'm wondering if that's part of our consideration, if that's something the county could consider as well.

So that's a great question, Mr. Vice Mayor. If you remember, as part of our Safe Streets for All project, they actually scoped out at 160th and 87th Ave a quick build roundabout. In April, once we got the detail plans from our consultant, we went to Miami-Dade County, we provided the conceptual diagram of how that intersection would look that's another of the items that the county wants to do a detailed traffic study on so at this time they're not opposed to it they do recognize the importance of keeping traffic moving on 87th avenue that'll cut down the cut through traffic through the neighborhoods to the minimal extent possible so they're not opposed to it they just want to they want to see the data so to speak

Thank you. Questions?

I have some questions for the manager. Was there any discussion about the south 87th Avenue below the bridge, south of the bridge, in terms of the four-way stop and all the right-turn signs going into Malbrook?

You mean down at like 174th? Yes. No, ma'am, that did not come up in the meeting today, but we do intend to bring that up because we've requested that when this post-opening study is done, it includes the entirety of 87th Avenue through Palmetto Bay. So really all the way up to at least 144th, but starting at 184th, so it would include the Malbrook area. But we did not talk about that today to answer your question.

If I could, and just to piggyback, first of all, Thank you, if you would, Mia, to Mayor Levinkov for putting today's meeting together so quickly. I had reached out to her on Sunday, on Monday with a little more urgency, and so I appreciate that. The manager has actually, and you highlighted it, has been working, well, you've been working with the county forever, but you've also specifically, as it relates to this, have been working with the county. March 23rd was the date of the email that you sent to the staff. I don't know if there was a response, if the commissioner's office responded to try and help us move forward with some of these. You highlighted two items here, which was the warrant analysis for the removal of northbound and southbound stop signs at the current all-way stop at 155 and 87, and replacement of all-way stop signs at 160th 87th with a I'm sorry replacement of not placement with a quick build mini traffic circle and you shared the conceptual design from our safe routes safe routes home planning I on a couple of days ago and I know mark I think you're meeting with a group on 87th Avenue I met with a group and really just spoke ask them because they've got a WhatsApp group that's got a lot going on. I asked one individual if you could just run through what you feel is the most egregious safety issues. So first of all, Pat, Council Member Fiore, thank you for bringing the item. I appreciate it and I do want to co-sponsor. I'm sure my colleagues do as well. But what I really appreciated about the residents was that they highlighted, they're very clear on the fact that they know that the traffic study should not be done until after there's maximum traffic, which will be after the school year starts. And they highlighted a handful, seven items, and that was specifically what I had asked for, which was, you know, you can see the text. I'm not in their neighborhood group chat. But I said, you can see the text. Could you go through and just identify those things that are safety to life, is the way I consider them. So I do want to say thank you to the residents that contributed in that way with the professionalism and knowledge that, hey, we're being impacted. And we know that down the road, we're going to have to wait for some things. But there are some things that are immediate in nature. As I said to the county today, you know, one of the reasons why I'm so happy that we have this item in addition to the number of emails that we have, the fact that we had a police officer go out and do a survey and bring back, our sergeant brought back what he felt were real concerning issues that, you know, it's just a matter of you don't see it until you're using it. was able to bring those back and have that conversation with the county, for me and for us, I feel like it's very important that we're documenting because it is, and again, I know that Dr. Coley will come back, I'm sure, and sounds like we're moving forward with meeting on site, as I had suggested. I think it's going to be, I know there's going to be a partnership in working for it, but We have to also be diligent in documenting because I shared with you the video when I was driving over tonight. I said, well, let me go down 87th Avenue. I rarely do because I'm far enough east. I can take 82nd Avenue. So I drove down 87th Avenue. And I saw four or five kids on e-bikes. Little people. I mean, they were little. Little people. They were little kids. They're the smallest little e-bikes I've ever seen. I don't know if they're scooters or if they're, you know, I don't know the designation for some of these things. And they were crisscrossing the bridge. They're children. It's summertime. And they were drawn to one of the most attractive things on that route, water. So there's a gate there. There are little bikes, you know, they pulled up to the water area. I mentioned to the manager, I think we're going to have to talk about signage, et cetera. We hit, especially with the county, you know, this component where someone observed that a child almost got hit by a car, and then our police assessment indicated that they believe there's an issue there. We also talked about, as the manager mentioned, stop sign 163rd Street and 87th Terrace. Because you can't see it, the sign's obstructed. From 168th to 160th on 87th Avenue, there are no stop signs. It's become a racetrack. We talked about speed. We're doing our part as it relates to having our deputies be there during peak hours. And they also said thank you for the uh police presence they talked about people rolling right through stop signs at 160th and 87th which i've observed as well that's on the north south because you're already on a roll right you're driving you just cross the bridge and then you get to 160th which is really only just a few blocks away and several people have blown that stop sign completely pointed out too which i know will resonate with a few of my colleagues and definitely with Mr. Eric Tolberg, there's a bike path on the bridge and there's no bike path anywhere else. So cyclists, they come off the bridge, I guess they're supposed to head over to the sidewalks. And I also mentioned, because I know this would be more of a long-term project, but if you want folks to be, pedestrians to be safely walking in an area, you have to provide them comfortable, safe walking space. And so the sidewalks, I know there have been some repairs over the years, but the sidewalks on that county street are largely in disrepair. So, you know, making sure that that occurs. And, yeah, and that's it. And, again, I just, you know, I know that we're going to make some motion here, but I want for those that are viewing and those that I've spoken to, It wasn't my resolution that got the manager working on with the county to start looking at potential problems and finding potential solutions. It was just the fact that he knows his job well. And so starting even probably before March, if I had made a wider request, yeah, I'm sure there's emails dating even before that. So I would say very directly Mia to the mayor and I will reach out to her to thank her you know and I know Bobby Joe I think was on today's call and offered to come but you know I we need to see some some implemented solutions as soon as possible I do get we want to see how people where are people going to be walking well right now you know I If something happens, I can't say, well, we were going to look at that after August 13th. I'm so sorry you got hit by a car today, but we're going to be looking at potentially putting in crosswalks. So even if it's something that can temporarily, I've seen it done before, something that can be temporarily done, and if it doesn't match the study whenever that study is done, then okay, then you have to, repaint the road there and move it. Like I said, I've got a gallon of paint. If you need paint, I'm sure someone will chip in for yellow paint too so we can make it happen. I think it's just, I know I'm making light of it, but it's not light. And we're getting the comments and the outreach on a regular basis. And as I said on Saturday, listen, I am all in and have been there to shoulder all of the complaints, all of the meetings. That's my role. The only problem is this is not my project. If it were my project, if it was a city project, it would be easier to say, hey, Mr. Manager, we've got some problems here. Can you resolve these problems? So whatever can be done to get things moving along so that the residents know that it's not like ribbon cutting and then a footnote. Like, oh, yeah, maybe this isn't as perfect as we thought it was. I'm sorry to belabor the point, but I do feel passionate about it. So I appreciate you carrying that message back. So I'd like to co-sponsor. I'm sorry for being long-winded, but... Are there other co-sponsors? I've got Vice Mayor. All right, you've got a full house.

Thank you to my colleagues. I want to thank you, Madam Mayor, for taking the personal initiative along with the manager. and the vice mayor also. So again, the point of this resolution really is for expediency because time is a luxury that the residents don't have. So thank you all.

And if you can get it doctored up pretty quick, I can sign it right here and pass it off to Mia before she leaves. I have a pen.

Madam Mayor, I want to thank esteemed city clerk for helping me with this today was done at the last minute on a day that I was working and a million other things going on so I want to want to thank her personally her name is Missy Orocha mr. manager that's what her name is awesome thank you yes vice yes Thank You vice mayor

Yeah, so to your point about making some motions, yeah, I actually just had two based on our conversation. I'd like to make a motion to also request the county include in any studies that they do the consideration of expanding any bike paths and also the repair conditions of the sidewalks on 87th Avenue as well. So that's my motion.

You willing to add appropriate pedestrian crosswalks?

That too, yes.

Okay. Did you capture all that? That's three additional things. That's your motion. I'll second it. Any questions? All those in favor of the motion? Aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? You're right, Missy. Okay. Okay. One more. Yeah, okay.

The next one is based on our conversation with the manager about the quick build projects. I would also just urge the county to implement where feasible quick build projects are.

uh for designs that are available on 87th avenue and around 87th avenue second session all those in favor aye anyone opposed okay still good um okay is there anything else all right then let's vote on this item all those in favor all right anyone opposed all right the item was co-sponsored by all and uh passes five zero uh so we've got we're gonna i'll take a motion to adjourn and for those of you that are watching we'll be back um at six but there will be nothing for you to see because we will move into executive session and then come back out and close the meeting so is there a second second all those in favor all right anyone opposed all right good night