Council - Regular Meeting

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We're about to start the meeting now. Would everyone have their seats, please? Please take your seats. Okay, Ms. Hall, roll call, please. Mayor Douglas Lawson. Please, please, please quiet up, please. Okay, go ahead, Ms. Hall.

Mayor Douglas Lawson. Chairperson Bruce Guyton.

Here.

Chairperson Dr. Spiritus.

Here.

Councilperson Kashumbha Miller-Anderson. Present. Councilperson Shirley Lanier. Here. Councilperson Priscilla Davis-Panier. Here. Interim City Manager William Wilkins.

Here.

City Clerk Deborah Hall is present. City Attorney Don Nguyen. Here. Mr. Chair, you may proceed. You have a quorum.

Okay. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Could you please quiet up?

Everybody, yeah.

Please, please.

Hello, hello.

The next item on the agenda is going to be a moment of silence and a pledge of allegiance led by Ms. Miller-Anderson, please. Councilwoman Miller-Anderson.

Thank you.

Are there any additions, deletions or substitutions to the agenda? Mr.

Chair. Yes. There's one item THAT I WOULD LIKE TO PUT UP AHEAD OF, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE REGULAR AGENDA, RIGHT AHEAD OF 11A. 11a and you wanted to move that to where no no no i don't want to move 11a i want to add an item to um it'll be after 11 a i'm sorry to accept the slate of rivera beach youth council that's being presented i i'm sorry what was that 11 a will do and then right after 11 a i want to add an item to accept the slate of riviera beach youth council members okay well that may not be the exact wording but it's the youth council members that are going to be um inducted in for this year and that's right after 11 a under the regular agenda yes

Please quiet up, please. If you're going to talk, excuse me in the back, would you go outside? We can hear you up here. Thank you. Is there anything else?

Mr. Wilkins. We'd like to delete item 12A. We're doing some further research on that. and also as you all may know that was 12 a yes you want to delete that one okay continue and also uh the council received a request from attorney tason gaines and asked him to be and you asked him to be present here tonight to do that we'd like to add him on yes um let's add

Let's add that under, right after the presentation, or under presentation.

12C, under presentations.

Is it 12C?

No, Mr. Chair, that would be item 6E.

That would be 6E. Okay, are there any other additions or deletions? Hearing none, I accept the motion to approve the agenda as amended. So moved. It's been moved by Vice-Chair Spiritus. I need a second.

Second.

Seconded by Councilwoman Davis-Prenier. Is there any discussion on the motion? Hearing no discussion, I call the question. Madam Chair.

Councilperson.

Madam Clerk.

Councilperson Davis-Prenier. Yes. Councilperson Lanier. Councilperson Miller-Anderson.

yes chairperson dr spirited yes chairperson guyton yes item passes with council person lanier out okay we're going to move into the consent agenda do we have any consent items yes does does anyone want to pull anything from the considered agenda Hearing nothing, I entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda as printed. So moved. Been moved by Vice Chair Spiritus.

Second.

Seconded by Councilwoman Davis-Preneur. And is there any discussion on the motion? Hearing no discussion, I call the question, Madam Clerk.

Councilperson Davis been here. Yes. Councilperson Lanier.

Yes.

Councilperson Miller-Anderson.

Yes.

Chairperson Dr. Spiridon.

Yes.

Chairperson Guyton.

Yes.

I see unanimous vote.

That's the end of the consent agenda. We'll go right into awards and presentations. The first one is 6A, Emerging Leader Spotlight. And that is presented by Councilwoman Davis-Preneur.

I'm sorry. Yeah.

good evening residents and all of our guests here at the council meeting tonight i would like to call our emerging leader for the month of june 2026 mr christian williams to the front as well as his parents father alex williams alex williams and miss vernique williams would you please come

All right, thank you.

Today it is my honor and privilege to recognize Mr. Christian Williams, who was nominated by his mother, Vernique Williams, as one of the City of Riviera Beach's emerging leaders. He graduated from Suncoast Community High School and was an active member of Jack and Jill and the Kappa League. Christian is a proud Riviera Beach native and a junior at the University of Florida, where he maintains a strong academic record as a health sciences major while pursuing his dream of becoming a physician. His journey is a powerful example of resilience, determination, and purpose from overcoming his fear of public speaking to becoming the secretary treasurer of the University of Florida speech and debate team. Christian has shown that challenges come and they can become opportunities for growth and leadership. Christian's commitment to service is equally inspiring. Through his work with Jack and Jill of Palm Beach County, he helped provide swim safety scholarships for children in Riviera Beach, and he continues to give back through mentorship, tutoring, research, and community outreach. He has also founded ABLES, the Association of Black and Latinos entering the sciences, creating opportunities for underrepresented students to explore the STEM fields and pursue their dreams. Christian embodies resilience, responsibility, definitely kindness, leadership, and determination. Most importantly, he is committed. He is committed to being successful. He is committed to his community. He is also, listen, this is what I like. He is also planning and hoping to return home one day as a physician to serve and uplift the very community that helped shape him. I love the quote from his mother who said, Christian is not only a product of Riviera beach, but He also takes Riviera Beach with him everywhere he goes, in every classroom, in every leadership role, in every act of service, and in every dream he pursues. He is Riviera Beach. So on behalf of the city of Riviera Beach, I proudly congratulate Mr. Christian Williams on his well-deserved recognition. Your achievements, your service, and your dedication inspire us all, especially the youth here in Riviera Beach, and we look forward to the incredible impact you will have and continue to make and represent Riviera Beach proudly. We are grateful. So proud of you, Christian, and continue to be people focused, community centered and purpose driven. Congratulations.

Well, first off. First off, thank you so much, Councilwoman Pinier, for giving that awesome speech about me. I feel truly honored in that light. But yeah, I just wanted to say some things about me as well, just for those who know me as someone who has been a part of Revere Beach all my life. So yeah, I'm Christian Williams, 20 years old, about to be 21 in a few days. So that's exciting. In August, I will be a fourth year at the University of Florida, health science, pre-med, planning to be a doctor. Currently for this summer, I am working at an internal medicine office, hence the scrubs. I just came out of a shift just for that. So I'm glad I made it in time. And I am doing things like preparing for the MCAT and just simply just doing my best this summer so that I'm prepared going in for the fall and being able to graduate with my bachelor's and hopefully be the doctor of either in the specialties of dermatology or anesthesiology. So I'm a guy with big dreams ahead. I'm glad. that so many people were here to see this for me and support me. And yes, thank you so, so much once again for this recognition. And I hope that I continue to make Riviera Beach proud. Thank you.

Thank you very much and congratulations, young man. Look like you're doing great things and continue the good work.

The next item on the agenda is the legislative update from the Florida State Representative, Javonte Edmonds.

I did see Mr. Edmonds here.

All right. And so as we get our technology situated, can we point out the fact that a young man is about to be 21 years old and he already knows exactly what he wants to be. You all should be proud of him and give him some love. Yeah. That's a big deal. You may be the one that saves one of our lives one day. And I got to give a shout out to his mom and dad.

Renique, you do a phenomenal job at all you do.

She's my wife's LS. I just want to commend the parents. Can I give the parents a round of applause, please? trying to multitask. So mayor, council person, council members, city attorney, city manager, thank you all so much for having me. You all, my name is Gervonta Edmonds. I proudly serve as the state representative for District 88, which covers Lake Park, Riviera Beach, Mangonia Park, and Royal Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. But of course, my favorite city is the city of Riviera Beach. So before we actually get into our legislative update that has a bundle of important topics from redistricting to property taxes, we got to talk about who helps make this process happen, who helps bring the dollars back home. And you all know him. I like to address him as a hometown hero, but he's an attorney, a phenomenal lobbyist, and he is the key to our success in Tallahassee. So I welcome him up just to give a few words. Please give a round of applause for attorney Sean Pittman.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Mayor, council folks, Mr. Manager, Madam Attorney, Madam Clerk and everybody happy to be here today. And listen, first, I always like to thank you for taking the time to come up to Tallahassee. I know that you already know that it makes a difference. You wouldn't do it if you if you didn't think your time was well spent. But we're so happy that you do that because you just add to our team. And speaking of that, let me say Casey Denny, who's our regional director right here in Riviera Beach. And our team is extended, not just you, not just us, but our representatives, Javonte, Y'all call him Tay. Edmonds is an exceptional state representative. Senator Mack Bernard is one of the most experienced lawmakers that we've had from this area, and it shows in everything that he does. And we're making progress, and progress needs to be made because there's a lot of important items and things that the state could actually contribute to. And I would say that we also have to, I know we're working on the state, we're doing the federal, but I think we also need to get our foot at the table at the county as well. I'm not sure that we're making strong enough ass. I'm not sure that we're taking advantage of all the things and resources that is at the county. And where we are today, we need to utilize our senator, our state representative, our county commissioner and county commissioners to join River Beach and some of the things that we need for our citizens here. So on behalf of my law firm, we thank you for the opportunity to represent you in Tallahassee. It is not an easy place, especially when, as it relates to local governments, it seems to be a fight every single day to hold on to home rule, to be able to manage your own dollars And now we have a threat to where you get your money from in the property tax reform that is potentially coming after November. So we all got to buckle up. We all got to put our thinking hats on because there's a job for the citizens that we have to continue to do. So thank you for the opportunity you give us to represent you and to work with these fine gentlemen who, by the way, I know you know it, Riviera Beach is always first and foremost out of their mouths. And I couldn't thank them as partners enough. Thank you.

Again, I like to call him the hometown hero. He's from Riviera Beach and he makes it happen in Tallahassee. So as you all know, we go to Tallahassee and we have 60 days to pass the state budget. That is our only constitutional responsibility. What usually would take 60 days have taken almost 120 days. We have broken a record back-to-back years on how long it took to pass the budget. This year we saw 1,896 pieces of bills. So those bills could be one page long or 100 pages long, but We delineated down to 236 that passed both the House and the Senate. And as of now, the governor has only signed over 120. On top of the bills, the legislation that we put forth, we also put forth appropriations. Those are projects for our community. So we saw over 2,800 projects. within about 90 to 120 days. And so that's what we're doing in Tallahassee for those legislative sessions. So the Florida House is made up of 120 members. There are 87 Republicans and 33 Democrats. That just means the Republicans have a super majority, and it only takes 61 votes to pass a law. members of the house are allocated committees from four to six i am honored to serve on six of them and be the ranking member of the health professions and programs subcommittee and also on the property tax committee each member of the house are only allowed to put forth seven bills in the florida senate you can put up to unlimited you can put up 100 if you want to but in the florida house we only get seven opportunities it's about a five to ten percent chance of actually passing the law for any legislature And I was fortunate enough to pass two pieces of legislation. So the first bill is the Veterans Dental Care Program. Essentially, we're going to allow more access for veterans to have dental care. I don't know if anybody ever had a root canal, but that is one of the most painful procedures. And thankfully, we can cover that with this particular bill. House Bill 4035 for Palm Beach County. This bill was done by me and Senator Bernard. It just makes the process to get a contracting license in Palm Beach County a lot easier and it makes the process a lot more transparent. So we wanna make sure we have smart growth here in Palm Beach County. And of course my passion project 311, we wanna ask corporate companies to pay for their residents first home up to $5,000 and we'll allow corporate companies to write that off. But we're trying to make sure we allow residents to live local On top of that legislation we just talked about, again, we're in charge of making sure we bring the dollars home. This is the most important thing. One thing I got to point out, you see all the cities I represent, but if you look at the Riviera Beach Utility Special District, with the help of attorney Sean Pittman, our state Senator Mack Bernard, we're able to bring $1.5 million home for a new water treatment plant. And so this is huge as well. We also secured half a million dollars for the Riviera Beach Law Enforcement Training Center. So our job is to make sure that we are looking at the initiatives and priorities of the city and making sure that we can find funding to take care of it. Senator Bernard will be joining me momentarily, but until he gets here, I'm just going to move forward. So the state of Florida passed one hundred and fourteen and a half billion dollar budget. That is a lot of money, but that's actually less than what we did last year. So just like your own personal wallets, if you have less to budget with than the previous year, that means one, you're losing money and two, you have less to spend on expenses. So unfortunately, the state of Florida is losing money year after year. And by the year 2030, we're going to probably see our largest deficits because that is going to be when the baby boomers retire at the highest rate by 2030. So these are some important bills that I definitely want our city attorney to write down and make sure that they actually do some additional research on it. In Tallahassee, they have this thing where they kind of erode home rule. That means that they pass laws that go against what the city or county may be doing as well or their policies that they have in place. So HB 399, if you ever hear HB, that's House bill. If you hear SB, that's Senate bill. So HB 399, this particular bill is going to allow certain housing development projects to be approved, not through the council, not through public forum, but by the administrative process. If they meet all requirements from zoning planning and code and all the things that they have to check the box with, if they meet state standards, they can potentially get approved for their project for development for housing. through administrative process instead of through a city council vote. I really want you all to make sure you do some research so we can be proactive when it comes to development and growth. The second bill about development is SB1434. This essentially says if the state labels a parcel a Browns filled parcel, which means it has previously been contaminated, maybe it's a gas station, maybe it's a used tire store or a laundry facility, A developer can come in and they meet all requirements. They can develop on that parcel guarantee. There will not be a commission vote. There would not be public hearing. So if they meet all requirements, it would be developed. The interesting thing about SB 1434, when we pass a law, it affects everybody in the state of Florida. SB 1434 is only for Palm Beach County for our end date. And there is this very odd exemption in that bill that says if it is a golf course, that has been abandoned for 12 months, they can develop on it. So it's very important for us to be very proactive and mindful of the priorities of the city. As you all heard, redistricting. We had a special session that included the redistricting of our congressional officers. Previously before, the representative for this area was Sheila Circulus McCormick. That district has been reshaped to only be representation of Broward. District 23 will be the representative for Riviera Beach all the way down to Delray Beach. That current seat is held by Congresswoman Lois Frankel. And much of the other districts did not change. District 21 is held by Brian Mass. It didn't change too much. The biggest change is District 22, which is starting at Wellington and ends all the way in Naples. And that is what redistricting does. Okay. House Bill 991. This bill is going to basically state that previously you could use a student ID to vote or a retirement home ID to vote. Those IDs will no longer be valid to vote. You will need a Florida license. Property taxes. All right. This is what everyone wants to talk about. This is the important issue. And let me start by saying the real issue, in my opinion, is not property taxes. It is property insurance rates. But we passed legislation in this special session for property taxes. Currently, we sit at a $50,000 homestead exemption. Starting January 1st, that homestead exemption will increase from 50,000 to 150,000. We also passed out a handout so you all can see it visually. Starting 2028, that homestead exemption will become a super homestead exemption and be increased to 250,000. And so, yeah, it's going to be a problem for governments. And you will have to be homesteaded for at least five years to receive this exemption. Those who have non-homestead properties, right now there's a cap for annual assessment at 10%. That cap will be moved from 10% to 5%. So all this will take effect starting January 1st. and our governments are gonna have to figure out how we plan for that budget deficit. Last but not least, just last two bills, House Bill 1134. It bans local governments, commissioners, council members from promoting anything related to DEI. You cannot promote it, you cannot sponsor it. If you do, you can be convicted of malfeance or misfeance. And that's for the state legislators as well. SB 484, my last bill, this is about data centers. Just make sure if there's a data center that moves into our facility, into our community, they pay for their fair share and also let us know how much they're using in utilities to make sure residents are compensated for it. Council, that is it. I don't want to overwhelm you all. I want to recognize my staff and my team who's here today. My legislative aide, Rayma Sarkar is here. My district aide, Kiana Kelly. You all, our office is right off of 45th. Anything you need involving a state agency, if you have a good idea that could turn into a law, if you have an appropriation, a nonprofit that you want to get funded, this is our responsibility. This is what we're here for. Council members, thank you so much for your time. And if you all have any questions, I'll take them now.

Thank you. Thank you, Representative Edmonds. I do have two questions, but

um does any of my colleagues have any questions or comments first the chair one question yes uh representative uh on the zoning ordinances that you said where they're going to be able to bypass you know the home rule uh requirements on zoning is that going to exempt uh special exceptions that i'm not sure of i know if they are making a variance or a zoning

reclassification, that will have to go before the commission. But again, if the project meets all the standards, state law, pretty much the staff will be able to approve it.

Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Mayor.

Thank you. Rep Edmonds, thank you for joining us tonight. You're doing amazing work up in Tallahassee and Palm Beach County. So thank you so much. Thank you, Mayor. Senate Bill 1434, underused or brownfield. What does it mean when they say underused?

Well, it's not so much about so what you're talking about, the provision maybe about the golf course is if it has not been used consistently for 12 months and it has also been offered up for sale. Those are the two requirements for that carve out to actually go into effect. When we're talking about specifically brownfields, I'll give you an example. It could be an old gas station no longer being used. a former dry cleaner, an old warehouse, an old auto repair shop, anything that was once potentially contaminated. And by the Florida Department of Environment Protection, they have labeled it a brownfield. But you have to get that classification from the state.

And just to follow up one additional question, House Bill 1134, that is to promote DEI.

Yeah.

So understanding the promotion or discussion of DEI as a municipality collecting data OUTLINING OR REFERENCING DEI, ANYTHING WHERE IT'S MINORITY, BLACK-OWNED, WOMEN BUSINESSES, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE MUNICIPALITY IS STILL ABLE TO DO UNDERNEATH THIS HOUSE BILL OF COLLECTION OF DATA?

WE ARGUED ABOUT THIS ON THE FLOOR ON WHAT IS EVEN DEI AND IS VETERANS INCLUDED IN THAT? IS DISABILITY INCLUDED IN DEI? BUT THEY basically said local governments cannot have any related trainings, any offices, or initiatives. So I probably would assume data collection may fall under that, but I don't have that legal answer.

Okay. And I know a legal staff is looking into that as well. So I have a laundry list of questions, but I'm just, it's a benefit to have access to you in Palm Beach County. So thank you, Rep. We'll sit down soon. So thank you for being here tonight.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Any of my other colleagues? Representative Edmonds, thank you for the work that you do in Tallahassee, especially for Riviera Beach. It is greatly appreciated. That's a good set way into my next question. We are getting ready to entertain sending an application up to the state for the revolving fund loan program. and we're gonna need some assistance up there. And whenever Senator Mike Bernard come in, get my attention so he can be recognized if you're still here. And we need to know what you need us to do, if you need us to come up there to meet with people, but our staff has told us that it is important that we get engaged at this level now. So whatever and we can do it offline, whatever you think we need to do to increase our chances of being successful in that loan, we need your guidance.

And yes, I got to admit, you have probably one of the greatest and proactive staff. They have already reached out and briefed us briefly on it. And that's something that we want to look into and try to invest any opportunity we can to bring more funding home to Riviera Beach. We're going to do it. So you have us for it.

Sounds good. Last question. You indicated that the property tax bill was going to go into effect the homestead in January. Did I misunderstand that the referendum was going to take place in November?

Great, great job. So essentially, this is going to go on the ballot in November. And if it's approved with 60 percent of the vote, it will take place. And so just to back up, when we passed this bill, it wasn't a House bill. It was a House joint resolution, also known as the H.J.R. So when we pass a joint resolution, it goes to the House and to the Senate. It does not go to the governor. It goes straight to the ballot. And so this property tax proposal, after we passed it, it will be on the ballot in November. And again, if 60% of the state votes yes, that property tax super exemption will start January 1st. But thank you for that clarification. Okay.

My colleagues, anything else? If not, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, STATE REPRESENTATIVE EVANS. COME BACK ANY TIME YOU WANT. YOU CAN HAVE THE MIC.

I HOPE WE COME BACK WITH SOME CHECKS AS WELL. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

OKAY. THE NEXT ITEM, 6C, NATIONAL HOMEOWNERSHIP MONTH PROCLAMATION.

THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR.

I DO HAVE A PROCLAMATION, BUT I DO BELIEVE WE HAVE SOME OF OUR HOUSING PARTNERS HERE IN THE BUILDING. SO IF WE CAN HAVE OUR MS. JENKINS, CDC REPRESENTATIVES COME JOIN US AT THE FRONT. SOME OF OUR HOUSING AUTHORITY PARTNERS ARE HERE. IF I COULD HAVE THE CHAIR AND SOME OF THE COMMISSIONERS AND MR. HERT JOIN US AT THE FRONT. AND ANY OTHER REPRESENTATIVES THAT ADVOCATE FOR HOUSING, PLEASE JOIN US AT THE FRONT. And if we have a representative from community partners, please join us. The month of June, we're going to be doing an official proclamation to recognize National Homeownership Month. The city of Revere Beach has been intentional about providing opportunities for housing for our residents, but we've been intentional about making sure that we've provided affordable workforce housing options and also fee simple properties for residents to actually own. We want to create that block here in our community, and that's how we strengthen our community and stabilize it, because creating those homeowners stops the transit, stops the tourists, and stops the ones that are actually just coming through Riviera Beach versus that's making roots and planting roots in Riviera Beach. So this month, we're recognizing Homeownership Month in the city of Riviera Beach. Whereas the homeownership represents fulfillment of the American dream, serves as a foundation for strong families, stable neighborhoods, and thriving communities. Whereas home ownership promotes economic growth financial stability civic engagement and neighborhood revitalization while contributing the overall quality of life for residents in the city of riviera beach. Whereas the city of riviera beach recognizes the importance of creating pathways to affordable and sustainable how home ownership opportunities for residents of all backgrounds and income levels. Whereas national home ownership month serves as an opportunity to raise awareness regarding the values of home ownership encouraging financial literacy and recognizing the efforts of housing professionals. nonprofit organization lenders realtors developers and Community partners who work to expand access to safe, affordable housing. Whereas the city of Riviera Beach remains committed to supporting initiatives that foster housing opportunities, neighborhood investments, community development and long term success of homeowners. Whereas during the month of June, communities across the nation observed National Homeownership Month to celebrate the positive impact of homeowners that have built a stronger and more resilient community. Now, Mayor Douglas Lawson, on behalf of the City of the Riviera Beach and our City Council, do hereby proclaim June 2026 as National Homeownership Month in the City of Riviera Beach. I do want to bring up one of our housing heroes to give a few words. I have a representative from the Housing Authority, and I have a representative from the CDC, but most importantly, I have one of our heroes for housing, Ms. Anita Jenkins.

Thank you, Mayor Lawson. To the chair of the commission, other commissioners, and to staff, to the CRA, thank you for your fervent support of homeownership. I am just so happy that one of the board members of Housing Leadership Council is in the audience, this is Skip Miller, because he will know that everybody knows the job that Riviera Beach is doing in homeownership. Everybody knows about the commitment of this city to making sure as many of our residents as possible have the potential for homeownership. Everybody knows that we're bringing everything to bear that we can to make this possible. I want to thank the mayor and Commissioner Councilman Spiritus for coming out to our eighth annual homebuyers fair on Saturday, where we had all partners to come and we were just presenting opportunities throughout our city for home ownership, including with community partners and the housing authority. We are just so proud to be partners with you. We're going to be here for the long term. We are committed to making sure that our residents participate in this unprecedented economic growth that we have. And I'd just like to leave a minute, if I may, for my chairperson, Ms. Becton, just to say hello to you and to say thank you. Continue what you're doing. We appreciate it. And we need as much more as you can put on the table as you consider your budget for the new year. But thank you very much for the recognition.

Thank you very much. Thank you for the work that you do.

Good evening. You know, I've been reminded several times in these last few weeks how long I've been in my house. As a matter of fact, yesterday someone reminded me that it was it was 1972. I know for some people, they don't understand that, but it means a lot. It means a lot to be able to turn a key, walk in a house and be secure. And so when you see other people doing that, it's a blessing. And so as long as we can continue on this journey, we should, we should not get too tired. and we should not step back and stop. So thank you for your commitment, certainly everyone else, and everyone that we can encourage. Let's promote homeownership because it is important.

Thank you very much. Thank you for the work that you do.

And if we could just have a brief moment from the chair of the Housing Authority just to give a quick introduction of Mr. Troy Patrick.

Good evening, everyone. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Commissioner Chair. As the housing authority, we are very LOCKED IN AND COMMITTED TO CONTINUE TO ENFORCE AND HELP BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR OUR COMMUNITIES HERE IN RIVERA BEACH. WE HAVE ABOUT 10 HOUSES THAT WE'RE BUILDING RIGHT NOW FOR OUR COMMUNITY. AND HOMEOWNERSHIP IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US. SO IF WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD AND MOVE FORWARD OUR CITY AND OUR PARTNERS HERE IN OUR CITY, YOU'LL CONTINUE TO SEE MORE PROJECTS COMING FORWARD.

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU FOR THE TIME, MR. CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU. continue with the agenda. Okay. I think I saw Senator Mike Bernard walk into the building. Senator, if you'd like to come up for a brief moment, feel free. Thank you very much. Senator Mike Bernard. Excuse me. Oh, oh. OK. OK, wonderful.

I want to get Senator Mike Bernard.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much to the Housing Authority and other housing advocates.

And you know, Ms. Jenkins is the real housing hero. So thank you very much for all the work that you do, Ms. Jenkins, for housing for River Beach. Mack Bernard, State Senator, I'm really sorry for being late. You know, this job, as a state senator that they pay us so much and you don't have to have another job, but I actually had regular work that I had to do in Delray and so I apologize for being late. But I just want to give you a quick overview of what happened in Tallahassee because I know I'm late and I promise to come back because I want to do a check presentation to the city because It's so important because we have two major items that's in the budget that I'm sure Representative Edmonds and Mr. Pittman spoke about. Specifically, we have the $500,000 in the budget for the training center. And most importantly, we have the $1.5 million for the water treatment plant. And I am hoping that by the end of this week, the governor will go through his veto list, and I'm hoping that I can come back and present a check specifically for that 1.5 million for the treatment center. And I want to continue to bring funding back to Revere Beach in regards to appropriations for District 24. I filed 76 appropriations requests for the 18 plus municipalities that I represent, and we're able to secure 42 appropriations that were passed both in the House and the Senate. And that totals about over $41 million to bring back for District 24. And there are three big items for us that we had to pass, which is the budget. And of course, we had to deal with redistricting. And lastly, the property tax discussion. that we ended up passing in a special session. I don't want to be too long since I am late. And so Representative Edmonds mentioned some of the issues. And if you would like for me to speak more on the property tax, I'm willing to do so or come back at a later time. So I apologize to the residents for being late, but Mr. Chair, at your pleasure, I can speak more about the property tax conversation or I can come back at a later date.

Thank you. Thank you, Senator Bernard. And certainly we would be very delighted to have you back. We did get a good understanding about what the property taxes and the homestead exemption is going to be and the referendum that is going to be necessary with the 60%. So we would love to have you back. But are there any other questions or comments to the senator?

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Yes.

Thank you, Senator, for being here. As we said earlier to our representative, you've done a phenomenal job for Palm Beach for a number of years. So thank you, especially Riviera Beach. Your dedication is truly commendable. We do have some additional town halls and charrettes and conversations that will be happening as we educate residents on the impact. So inviting you back, of course, at later dates. And thank you for also joining me at the town hall that was hosted a few weeks ago, because you also gave some insight to what was going on. So residents, there is some basic initial information online on YouTube that you can go back and watch from our senator. And then in the coming weeks, we'll be doing additional town halls. Hopefully you can join us for those.

Definitely. Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Chair? Yes, right.

I would just like to recognize Senator Bernard when he was our representative in the county commission, took the lead in the workforce housing bill that was passed. And I want to thank you very much. It's really taken hold here big time and it's making a big difference in a lot of people's lives. So thank you for everything that you've done.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Spirit.

Councilmember Spirit, as you know, that housing is very complicated and Palm Beach County created a housing dashboard. And last week I looked at it and so far we've created eleven thousand units in Palm Beach County since twenty twenty two. So and that's a testament to the work that many leaders in the community have worked on to create housing. SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW, MS. JENKINS IN TERMS OF CREATING HOUSING. THANK YOU. NEW SPEAKER Thank you, Senator.

DOES ANY OTHER COUNCILPERSON HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY? IF NOT, DO YOU HAVE ANY CLOSING WORDS YOU'D LIKE TO SAY?

NEW SPEAKER MR. CHAIR, I HOPE TO BE BACK NEXT WEEK OR IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS TO DO THE CHECK PRESENTATION TO THE CITY. THANK YOU. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU VERY MUCH. LET'S GIVE HIM A HAND, PLEASE.

OK. The next item is Kauffman Land Construction to present the city with the ABC Excellence in Construction Award for Fire Station 87.

Good evening. Jeff Zalka, Kauffman Land Construction. I'll get straight to it. Building something successfully for the community is a partnership. And that partnership, success doesn't happen just because it's a good company or it's a good city. It happens because of that partnership. And thanks to Terrence, the fire department, your whole staff, as well as you all and our whole team, we're able to achieve really good things for the community. The award that Terrance is holding is the ABC Eagle Award for South Florida for the top municipal project for Fire Station 87. It's for the construction, the quality, the safety, the final product, the schedule, all the metrics on it that, and it won the top project, which is the Eagle Award. In addition, because we recognize the partnership it takes, we have created something at Kauffman Lynn, artwork for the city, hand carved that talks about in gratitude and partnership for the service for everyone here in making a successful outcome. So we want to present this and the award to the city as thanks for the partnership that's achieved those results. Thank you. The Mayor can go.

Okay. Photo, the mayor, the mayor going to represent, like that.

Three, two, one. Thank you.

We're going to move to the next item.

The next item on the agenda is dealing with the

The report that attorney gain what. What's hard to do is attorney gain 10. Attorney gain is not here so we're going to move on to the next item. But what. What I what I would like to happen. And with the council's consent is that attorney Gaines is contacted. And the report that was due on the 15th. We would like whatever he has now. We did not vote to give him an extension. So whatever the work product is that he has, we would like to have it.

Are we taking a vote? I mean, what? So is this an item?

No, this was all of us got an email. He was requesting a 10-day extension. We asked him to have it on the 15th. So I told him that I personally couldn't make that decision. It needed to come from the council. And I asked him to come here tonight to make his case. He's not here. AND I'M SUGGESTING THAT WE REQUEST A PRODUCT THAT WAS DUE ON THE 15TH. AND SO IF ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS DISAGREE, SPEAK.

NEW SPEAKER I'M SORRY, CHAIR. IS THIS WHERE WE HAD ADDED TO THAT? I GUESS I MISSED THAT. NEW SPEAKER I'M SORRY. NEW SPEAKER IS THAT WHERE IT WAS ADDED WHEN WE DID THE ADDITION? NEW SPEAKER YEAH, IT WAS ADDED. NEW SPEAKER BUT WAS HE GIVEN A SPECIFIC TIME TO COME OR NO?

Not a specific time, but he was told it would be on the agenda tonight.

6 o'clock?

Yes. Okay. Okay.

So... Mr. Chairman, what time frame are you requesting us to... What?

The report?

Yes.

ASAP. It was done the 15th.

Immediately.

Excuse me?

Tomorrow? Would you like it tomorrow? ASAP. That means as soon as he is, as soon as possible. So as soon as he can give it to us.

No, no. So not ASAP. Tomorrow, tomorrow.

Okay, thank you.

Mr. Chair.

Yes. Is it going to be providing us with a complete report or he's just going to give us his notes?

Now that I don't know. And what I do know that every time we've given the deadline, it has never been adhere to that I've been on the council. It's always I need more time I need more time I need more time at some point we have to say just give us what you have. And I think we're at that point now. And for other discussions. Okay, we're moving on.

We have a motion we that is official action yet.

Can we get a motion to request the work product that he has up to this point tomorrow? Mr. Chair?

Yes. I make a motion that the employee report be delivered to the city manager no later than tomorrow at the time.

It's been moved by Vice Chair Spiritus.

Second.

Seconded by Councilwoman Davis-Preneur that we request the work product that has been completed up to this point. it be delivered tomorrow. Is there any discussion on the motion? Hearing no discussion, I call the question, Madam Clerk.

Councilperson Davis-Panier? Yes. Councilperson Lanier? Councilperson Miller-Anderson? No.

No. No.

Okay. And it's a no vote for Councilperson Lanier. Chair Pro Tem Dr. Spiritus?

Yes.

Chairperson Guyton? Yes. The item passes with councilpersons Lanier and Miller-Anderson dissenting.

Okay, we're moving on to 9A.

Item 9A, ordinance number 4317, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Riviera Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida. approving a city-initiated code of ordinance amendment, amending the city's code of ordinances, Chapter 13, Parks and Recreation, adding Article 3, entitled Boats, Floating Structures, Live Aboard Vessels, and Other Watercrafts, adding section 13-56-.1, my apologies, overnight anchoring or mooring limitation, providing for exemptions, providing for enforcement and fines, providing for removal, towing, and disposal, providing for codification, providing severability, providing for conflicts, and providing for an effective date. Mr. Chair, we do have two public comment cards on this item. The acceptance of cards is closed.

Okay, I entertain the motion. So moved. It's been moved by Vice Chair Spiridou.

Second.

Seconded by Councilwoman Davis-Preneur. Staff, who's given a summary on this item here.

Dr. Spiridou.

Yes, Chair. As you know, the town of Palm Beach and the town of North Palm Beach passed a similar ordinance that was authorized under state law and county law that we could pass this ordinance, which basically limits the amount of time that someone can leave a boat moored and that the boats are moored properly. And that limits it to 30 days in a six-month period. Right now, what has happened because the other municipalities passed this law, everybody moved their derelict boats and their house boats to our waters here in Riviera Beach. So if you look over the Blue Heron Bridge on either side of the Intracoastal, you'll see many, many, many derelict boats. In fact, two of them sunk last night, two large boats. That's going to be our responsibility in the long run to float those boats and move them out of here. As you know, we've been doing this for a long time now. we usually wait for state funding to help us move the boats which is why many of them still sit there but it will take a long time we now have a new police boat which will be able to enforce these rules and regulations where we have a resolution i believe on tonight for an underwater drone to help us determine whether or not the seagrasses are being abused and whether or not the boats are more properly under the law And this will give Teeth Tower Police Department and will give us the ability to get these boats out of our waters and make it safer, especially during hurricane season. These boats are not moored properly. They're not floating properly. They're just really missiles to go into other people's boats, good boats, and into people's bulkheads and other areas during hurricanes can end up on a main road. So it's very important that we pass this ordinance. in order to give our police department the ability to enforce the rules and regulations as other municipalities are doing in our area.

Okay, thank you very much. I think there are two public comment cards.

Chair, we have two public comment cards, Scott Lewis and Julie Botell.

Thank you.

Hi, Scott Lewis, 256 East 22nd Fort. You know, the two boats that Councilman Spiritus referenced, they sank in front of my house yesterday, slow motion. There were people watching. It was a joke. But what's not a joke is what comes out of these boats too. Because you got oil, grease, fuel, all sorts of contaminants. But the worst thing that's coming from these boats, the worst of all, and I showed Councilperson Lanier at our audit committee, I think it was last November, human turds floating under the docks right there at Safe Harbor, coming out of this same area with all the houseboats. You can visually see it. And that's right where Phil Foster, everybody loves to go swimming. And it's inhuman dung. And it's coming out of these boats. You've got to get this enforced. I know I've been up here for two years mentioning the mooring field. I don't care about the mooring field. Stop this abuse of our environment. You guys need to pass it. Palm Beach, I mean, they blew past Riviera. Y'all have been talking about it for years. John Sprague came to my place three years ago. Nothing's happened. North Palm and Palm Beach, both have taken action. Vote this through, pass the ordinance and start enforcing it with the new police presence. I'd also like you to have them check the Riviera marinas to be sure the large boats have the proper disposal for sanitation. I don't like swimming in poop. No one here does. And that's exactly what the video has that I took and I can take it any day of the week. floating in off these boats where they're flushing their crap into our water. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Next speaker.

The next speaker is Julie Votel.

good evening julie botel singer island riviera beach i am so pleased that this ordinance is coming before you so pleased and i hope it passes unanimously i suspect it will it's so important you know back in 2021 we started the process of trying to remove those derelict boats and all of the effluvia that emanates from them of one kind or another and we did pass an ordinance back then with the help of the county because we took a look at the waters out there and said you know what People don't know if they're in Revere Beach, if they're in Palm Beach County, if they're in Palm Beach Shores, it's really confusing. So we got the county to work with us and the county created an ordinance and then we did one that was actually stronger than the county's ordinance. So it was very helpful back then to work with the county and work with the other municipal leaders around here. This ordinance that you're going to pass tonight, I hope unanimously, builds on that work. And it's really stronger, of course, because it addresses overnight anchoring and the limitations that we faced back then, the mooring limitations. so finally one last thing about this i urge you to work with the county and with palm beach shores because as i said people don't know whether they're in riviera beach waters or county waters so the county doesn't yet have an ordinance like this neither does palm beach shores as was mentioned it's wonderful that north palm beach has one it's wonderful that palm beach has one but as we could see the votes that that got ticketed or whatever got cited in North Palm Beach moved right into around Peanut Island. So it's really important that you work with the county on this project as well as Palm Beach Shores to be sure that they also have ordinances similar to the one that I hope you will pass this evening. Thank you for listening.

Thank you very much for your comments. Carly, do you have any further comments?

Yes, Chair. So I, you know, as the speaker said, you know, This ordinance is extremely important. This is much, much more strict than the previous ordinances that we have passed. They're not even close. This will do the job. After we finish this, we will be in a position, as you know, I asked for the deletion of the mooring field at one of our last meetings. For whatever reason, I mean, I've been asking for this ordinance to be on for close to two years now, unsuccessfully. I'd like to thank the city manager FOR MAKING SURE AND THE CITY ATTORNEY. I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE NORTH PALM BEACH MAYOR, LISA, AND HER STAFF AND HER POLICE DEPARTMENT HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH US VERY CLOSELY ASSISTING US, LENDING US EQUIPMENT AND WORKING WITH US ON THE ORDINANCE ITSELF AND WORKING WITH OUR COUNCIL ON THAT. and we do appreciate all their assistance. But we're finally, this is gonna be a new day for the city of Riviera Beach and our boating community and the safety and the protection of our environment. So I urge everyone to please move forward on this ordinance. Thank you.

Second Vice Chair, are there any further comments?

Mr.

Chair?

Yes.

Thank you, sir.

Mr. Mayor.

This ordinance is on first reading, correct staff? Yes. Correct. Thank you. Can we, if we could pull up the actual jurisdiction and the boundaries that can be impacted by this ordinance, do we have a rendering or a visual of what jurisdiction this will impact? Where the line is in the coastal. Yes, we can get that for you. If we can pull that up on the screen.

We don't have it available. I know you asked for it in your agenda review. We furnished it and unless your intern has it, we were not expected to, we didn't expect to pull it up. We did send it to her, but I don't know if she's prepared to share it either.

This will come back at second reading.

Yes, we'll have it on second reading.

Board members, we just want to be very clear as to where the lines and what's the impact. One of the speakers did reference working with the county, working with the other neighboring municipalities.

We just want to make sure that that line and show where the boats are going to be because our police will be enforcing that area.

But if we work with our other jurisdictions that will allow for, they can move it 10 feet North or 10 feet to the West and be outside of our line. So I just want it to be very clear on where our lines, what's the drawing and what's the location. So when we have it at the second reading, if we can have that rendering available.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Are there any further comments? Hearing none, Madam Clerk. Oh, I'm sorry.

Is that something that the spirit is we will be getting the this right and right.

Yes, I'll make sure that we have what happened at the next meeting.

Thank you.

Okay, madam clerk.

Council person Davis been here. Yes, council person the near. Yes, council person Miller Anderson, yes, you're not the spirit. Yes, Jefferson guy. Yes, that's the man of all.

Okay, we're moving on to the next item now, which is 11A.

Item 11A, resolution number 75-26, the resolution of the City Council of the City of Riviera Beach, Florida, amending resolution number 129-25 to permanently expand the membership of the Riviera Beach Youth Council from 15 youth to 17 youth, providing for a conflict severability and an effective date Mr. Chair, we do not have any comment cards. The acceptance of cards is closed.

Thank you. This is a resolution, so a vote is required. I entertain a motion.

I motion that we approve resolution number 75-26.

Moved by Councilwoman Miller-Anderson. I need a second. I'LL SECOND IT. SECOND IT BY BRUCE GUYTON. DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT CARDS?

NO, SIR, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT CARDS.

OKAY. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION?

YES. I'M JUST GOING TO DO THE PRESENTATION OF THE RESOLUTION.

YOU WANT TO DO IT NOW OR AFTER WE VOTE ON THE RESOLUTION?

NO, I GOT TO DISCUSS THE RESOLUTION.

I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO DO A PRESENTATION. But go ahead. Go ahead.

No, this item here is for, you know, like we would normally have the staff do a presentation, so I'm going to do that part, and then we can vote on it, and then after that. Okay. Okay. So this item here actually has already been approved for us to extend it to 17. If you recall back in October when we had our first group of youth council members, we initially said 13 to 15, and then we had so many outstanding applications, we decided to approve it to be up to 17. So you're not approving that tonight. That was already done back in October. What has this amendment on the agenda at this time is simply because we had, we received about 24, 25 applications. They were all outstanding. There were a few, we had about What are we at, 24? So we had about seven that did not meet the requirements. And so that could have been the GPA, that could have been not living in the city, a variety of reasons that were part of the criteria. That left us with the remaining amount of 17, which again is already approved for us to do. But what I thought this was something we could do to make sure that in the future we don't have any issues Say, for example, we have 16 kids. Well, let me give it a better example first. So say we have 17 that apply, they all meet the criteria. We would just allow for them to be accepted. That's different from what we had before. The other thing is, is if we have an even number up to maybe 16, we would make sure that we have an odd number. So we would accept the 16, but one person will be designated as an alternate. The alternate person would have all of the same rights as the other council members. However, they would only vote if there was a tie that was needed. Also, that person would become the permanent one if one of those seats become vacant. So we did a modification on this resolution so that those things could be cleaned up. Outside of that, everything else is the same. Any questions?

Chair?

Vice Chair Spurte.

So Council Member Miller-Anderson, is there a cap on the number?

Yeah, in the resolution it says not to exceed 17.

I just want to make sure that we got that out there. So 17, and you'll always have the odd number. So 16, 17 will be the max.

Until it's changed again in the resolution, yes. But we already approved that back in October. So that was already understood since October that it was 17 with the cap.

Okay.

Okay. Anything else?

Are there any further comments? If not, Madam Clerk.

Councilwoman Davis-Panier. Councilwoman Lanier. YES. COUNCILWOMAN, COUNCILPERSON, I'M SORRY, MILLER-ANDERSON.

YES.

CHAIRPERSON, DR. SPIRITUS.

YES.

CHAIRPERSON, GUINSON.

YES.

THE ITEM PASSES WITH COUNCILPERSON DAVID PENNIER OUT.

We're going to move right into the next item that was added by Councilwoman Miller-Anderson, and it was to accept the youth council. The members of the youth council. Could you clear it up what the item is, please?

So now that we've already approved that item, we do have the 17 applicants that are here. EACH ONE OF THEM WILL COME UP TO JUST GIVE A LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT THEMSELVES AND WHY THEY WOULD WANT TO BE ON THE COUNCIL. AND THEN AFTER THAT, YOU ALL WILL DO YOUR VOTE AND ACCEPT THEM ALL. HOPEFULLY YOU WON'T TURN ANYBODY DOWN. AND YOU WON'T RUSH THEM BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO GO REALLY QUICK. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. MS. KIERA, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME UP? MS. KIERA HESTER HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN HELPING US WITH THE YOUTH COUNCIL THIS YEAR. Ms. Kiera Hester, a hand.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council, and Mr.

Chair.

My name is Reese Caballero. I live in District 2. I am a senior vocal major at Dreyfus School of the Arts. I am 17 years old. During my first year on the Youth Council, I learned the importance of collaboration and civic engagement. Working alongside other youth members, city leaders, and community organizations show me that meaningful change happens when people come together to solve problems. One accomplishment I am especially proud of was having the opportunity to represent a youth people in discussions about issues affecting our community while also participating in community events that strengthen my leadership, communication, and public speaking skills. I would like to continue serving on the youth council because I am passionate about making a positive impact in Riviera beach. I want to continue advocating for opportunities that benefit young people. including mental health awareness, educational resources, and community engagement. Serving on the Youth Council has inspired me to become a strong leader, and I hope to build on the relationships and experience I have gained while helping create programs and initiatives that make our city an even better place for future generations. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Next speaker.

Hello, I hope everyone is well. My name is Genesis Salmon. I'm 15 years old and I currently attend Palm Beach Gardens High School for the Global Business Academy. I'm an upcoming sophomore. An accomplishment I learned with being in youth council is being able to take on real world problems in our city and find solutions. For example, our anti-THC vape campaign. Continuing this program will give me the opportunity to continue to advocate and be a voice for the River Beach City. I want to thank you all for the support.

GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. MY NAME IS ZIYA. I LIVE IN DISTRICT 2 AND I AM 16 YEARS OLD AND I AM AN 11TH GRADER THAT ATTENDS PALM BEACH GARDENS AND I AM A MEDICAL MAGNET. DURING MY FIRST YEAR AT THE YOUTH COUNCIL I LEARNED THE IMPORTANCE OF LEADERSHIP AND TEAMWORK AND GIVING BACK TO MY COMMUNITY. I ENJOY WORKING WITH MY MEMBERS representing our youth and putting things out there such as the drug thing and also e-bikes movement and going to Tallahassee to get our water fixed. I like to continue serving because I want to make a positive impact sharing new ideas and growing as a leader. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Christopher Thurston. I'm 17 years old. I'm a junior at William T. Dwyer High School and a previous member of the Riviera Beach Youth Council. One of the most valuable lessons I've learned from the Youth Council is the importance of building connections. I've learned that strong relationships create opportunities for collaboration, growth and positive change. These connections have helped me develop leadership skills, gain new perspectives and better understand how we can work together to improve our community. I look forward to continuing to serve and make a difference to Riviera Beach. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Raina Caballero. I'm 17 years old and I attend Dreyfus School of the Arts as a vocal major. I am going to be in the 12th grade. I would like to continue serving on the Riviera Beach Youth Council because I want to make an impact on the community and advocate for the youth to improve the wellness of our city. My first year on the Youth Council was an unforgettable experience that taught me how to properly work hard and advocate for the issues that I care about. I believe that I can make a profound impact on this city because of my prior experience being a part of multiple honor societies like the Spanish Honor Society and National Honor Society and having previous leadership positions. Also throughout this experience, I will be able to grow my academic and professional career. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.

Hello. My name is Supreme Melvin. I'm 16 years old, and I attend Palm Beach State College by dual enrollment. One accomplishment from last year's youth council was going to Tallahassee and be able to speak with the different youth councils around Florida. The reason I want to continue serving in the youth council was because It allows me to have a better understanding on the importance of teamwork, leadership, and integrity. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Next speaker, please.

Hello and good evening. My name is Elijah Duverson. I'm 16. I'm an upcoming senior.

I'm sorry. Could you speak into the microphone, please?

My fault. My name is Elijah Duverson. I am 16. I'm an upcoming senior. I attend Palm Beach Lakes High School with the Law Academy. And one lesson I learned during my first year in the Youth Council is that you can always step up for your community no matter what. And I would love to continue serving on the Youth Council to better how I serve my community and to improve my leadership skills. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker, please.

GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS CLAVOR DESTINA. I AM EXCITED TO JOIN THE YOUTH COUNCIL BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE A VOICE FOR YOUTH AND MAKE AN IMPACT FOR OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU.

NEW SPEAKER PLEASE. NEW SPEAKER PLEASE. NEW SPEAKER PLEASE.

NEW SPEAKER PLEASE. NEW SPEAKER PLEASE. NEW SPEAKER PLEASE. and I live in District 1. I will be attending Dreyfus School of the Art for Technical Theater as an upcoming freshman. One main reason why I would want to join the Riviera Beach Youth Council is so I can have a hands-on experience of real-world problems and make my community a better place. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.

Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Sierra McGriff. I am 17 years old. I go to Palm Beach Lakes Community High School, and I am also a member of the Pre-Law Academy. The reason why I wish to serve in the Riviera Beach Youth Council is because I want to see change within my community solely because I am also the next generation. With that being said, when the next generation comes, I want them to know that they are in good hands. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Denise Andrew. I'm 16 and I'm an upcoming senior. I'll be attending Palm Beach Gardens Community High School. I am in the Navy ROTC program. And the reason why I'm interested in serving on the Riviera Beach Youth Council is because I want to be involved in my community and share my ideas. and use my leadership skills to help make a difference. Thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Next speaker.

Good evening. My name is Khalees Lydell. I am 16 years old and I currently go to Palm Beach Gardens High School in the global business program. I was first interested in being a part of the Riviera Beach Youth Council because I felt that I could be a part of helping my community be a better place and a safer place for me and others. I also feel that I can make a positive impact on my community and the future generations. I also feel that I can use my voice to help others. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next speaker.

Good evening. My name is London Asbury. I'm 14 and I'm an upcoming sophomore and I go to Suncoast High School. The main reason why I would like to serve on the Youth Council is because I want to help out my community and serve. I also believe it would be a great opportunity to build more relationships and better certain skills such as leadership and teamwork. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next speaker, please.

Hi, everyone. My name is Jade Ruggier. I'm a rising senior. I drive the School of the Arts where I attend the dance major. I would like to serve as a member of Youth Council because I want to be a part of the change that I would like to see in the city. THE CITY, THE COUNCIL DOES NOT ONLY ALLOW FOR A PLATFORM FOR ADOLESCENTS TO VOICE OUR PERSPECTIVES AND OPINIONS, BUT IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN HOW TO BE ACTIVE PIONEERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND MY COMMITMENT TO THE CITY IS EVIDENT THROUGH MY DEDICATION AND RECOGNITION, SUCH AS BEING AWARDED AS ONE OF THE PREVIOUS EMERGING LEADERS, AND I'M BEYOND DEDICATED TO CONTINUING THIS SERVICE. THANK YOU.

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

OH, MY BAD. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS XAVIER SMITH. I'M 17 YEARS OLD AND I'M A SENIOR AT PALM BEACH LAKES HIGH SCHOOL. I'D LIKE TO JOIN THE YOUTH COUNCIL BECAUSE, ONE, I'M A FOURTH GENERATION RESIDENT OF RIVERA BEACH AND I'D JUST LIKE TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON MY FAMILY AND MY COMMUNITY. SO, YEAH.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NEXT SPEAKER.

That concludes our second cohort. So if everyone can give them a round of applause. This is your new youth council for 2022.

All right. Guys, if you have a seat for a minute, what we're going to do next is we'll take the we'll have the mayor, he's going to do a pledge with them. They have to take an oath to become one of our River Beach Youth Council. So we'll come up and they'll do that. And then after that, we'll have a picture and then we will be able to send you all home. And then we will see you on July 11th, I think, for the orientation. But we'll be in touch with you.

Do we?

We're going to have you vote on those if you're so... kind enough to do so, unless you want to change it.

Okay. Keep it moving. Mr. Chair, Ms. Millington, I believe we have to vote on the first before we determine.

Yeah, I thought the chair was going to make a motion to accept the slate.

So moved. Second.

There we go.

It's been moved and properly seconded. that would accept all of the most talented young people who just came before us to be members of the Riviera Beach Youth Council. Is there any discussion on the motion? Hearing no discussion, Madam Clerk.

Councilperson Davis-Panier? Yes. Councilperson Lanier? Yes. Councilperson Miller-Anderson? Yes. Chair Pro Tem Dr. Spiritus?

Yes.

Chairperson Guyton?

Yes.

That's the unanimous vote.

congratulations if we can have all inductees please stand now as a point of personal privilege I want to commend every one of our applicants and all of our returning Youth Council members The inaugural group was phenomenal. You guys put on for this city and represented the city at the utmost tremendously across this country when we went to Tallahassee, when we went to the land and showcased the city of Riviera Beach. But what we're doing as a community is we're creating leaders for our next generation. We're creating a bench for the city of Riviera Beach. These are going to be our future city managers. our future mayors, chairs, and leaders that push this community forward. And they're putting and taking on the commitment. And this oath is a serious oath because they're going to be held under the same standards of this city council. They're going to be held to a sunshine where they can't communicate with one another about votes that's coming. They're going to have to pass resolutions that's going to impact the next generation. So community, I need you guys one more time to give a round of applause to these young people. If my inductees can please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly pledge to uphold the mission of Riviera Beach Youth Council to represent the youth of our city with pride, integrity and to carry out your duties with responsibility, respect and dedication in unison? I do. Do you pledge to uphold the value of leadership, using your voice and actions to inspire positive change in this community? Do you pledge to commit yourselves to service, giving your time and talents to making a difference in the lives of others? And do you pledge to respect all people, honoring the diverse voices, ideas, and experiences of your peers and your community? I want you to repeat after me. I pledge to embrace, collaborate, and work together with my fellow members, city leaders, community partners, and build a brighter future. I pledge to lead with integrity, acting with honesty, fairness and accountability, in all that I do. Now members, by accepting this pledge, you're officially inducting yourselves as members to the second class, 2026-2027 Riviera Beach Youth Council. Congratulations, we look forward to your leadership, your service, and your commitment. To all our members, if you can join us up front with the city council.

Yeah, I got everybody. Everybody agree? Three, two, one. Thank you.

to our parents and to the Youth Council. If you want to take some pictures with the students, we'll take them in the hallway.

Thank you very much. Congratulations. Those are some very talented youth, and we're very happy that there's an interest to participate in our community. The next item on the agenda, we're going to move into the public comment. It is now seven thirty eight. And. Okay, public comments shall begin at 7.30 p.m. unless there is no further business of the City Council, which in that event, it shall begin sooner. In addition, if any item is being considered at 7.30 p.m., then comments from the public shall begin immediately after the item has been concluded. Please be reminded the City Council Board has adopted rules of decorum governing public conduct during official meetings which has been posted at the front desk. In an effort to preserve order, if any of the rules are not adhered to, the city council chairperson may have any disruptive speaker or attendee removed from the podium, from the meeting, and or from the building if necessary. Please govern yourselves accordingly. Madam Clerk, would you call the first public comment speaker?

Mr. Chair, we have 10 public comment cards. The first speaker is Annette Dragon, followed by Rochelle Hughes and Dr. Philip Dukes.

Hello, everyone.

Hello.

Annette Dragon, Riviera Beach. I got to tell you guys, I am desperately unhappy with the way things are moving forwards in Riviera Beach. I think that you have sold us out. without doing due diligence about the developers, land usage, whether the infrastructure is going to be in place to support all these hundreds of units that you guys are proposing to build up and down Broadway and on Singer Island, which is already sinking into the ocean. I don't like the fact that Mr. Spiritus has asked for $75,000 worth of sand remediation on the beach. We all live in Riviera Beach and we can't access the public beaches at the moment. I thought and was given to understand that remediation of the beaches was an EPA responsibility. What's being done about getting funding at the federal level to help restore the beaches so that all of us in Riviera Beach can actually enjoy them? Did you really do studies on the infrastructure and how it's going to affect the current residents in Riviera Beach, not only on Singer Island and up and down Broadway, but on the west side of Riviera Beach as well? Today, I heard from two of my neighbors that the water pressure in Lone Pine was somewhat lacking. Nobody could tell us why. we'd like to know when we're going to have the water pressure completely restored and the quality of the water completely restored as well. The other thing that I wanted to mention is that I am not seeing any advertising on the City of Riviera Beach website for a new fire chief or a new city manager. Why is that? Mayor Lawson actually said at his meeting that We wanted to have somebody local come in as city manager. Well, how are the people going to actually apply if there is no job opening posted on the website? Homegrown would be nice, but I doubt whether it will happen. Now, I know that the City Manager report is coming later on in the meeting, and I've also requested to speak at that point. And finally, why do you guys never respond to an email? I sent email on 10 June to all of you, and not one of you has responded. I personally think that's rude. And if I get an email from somebody, I will respond. Thanks a lot.

Thank you for your comment. Next public speaker, please.

Mr. Chair, the next speaker is Rochelle Hughes, followed by Dr. Philip Dukes and Derek Burns. The acceptance of cards is closed. Good evening, Rochelle Hughes, Riviera Beach.

A couple of things, and they're just comments. I thought what we've done was great with the Youth Council. and the awards and all that stuff. But I was kind of hoping that at some point we could move and start the council meeting at 5.30 to handle all the awards and stuff because if you think about it, not that it's a waste of time, it's a great thing, but there's a lot of when you gotta get up and you gotta take pictures and you gotta do this and it's wonderful, but at the same time, it takes away from the council meeting. getting to the important agenda items so then it keeps continuing to go late into the evening so maybe that's something that the council can look into to maybe start you know have the meet have the awards at 530 and then you start the regular council meeting at 6 just a thought another thing that I want to say in watching the utility district meeting and being here is You know, you talk about you want to get things going, keep it moving, keep it moving. But there's a lot of times there's discussions going on that really shouldn't be going on. And I think we need to have a better time, you know, where instead of having these sky conversations and all this talk, because a lot of times we don't know what you're saying back there. And you're coming up with these things. Oh, you want to do this? So time management really needs improvement to keep these meetings going and to keep them on track. I know you're trying, but I think you gotta do better, you gotta come in. And if there's anything that wants to be changed on the agenda items or moved around or whatever, I know you have agenda meetings. Let's have you guys do it then instead of in the beginning when all of a sudden it's like we're having this conversation, this and that and changing the agenda. But I know we can do it. It's allowed, but it just would save on time. That's it. Thanks.

Thank you very much for your comment. The next public speaker.

The next speaker is Dr. Philip Dukes, followed by Derek Burns and TK.

Good evening, everyone. City Council, Mayor, citizens. I haven't been over here since February because my schedule changed. I had promised to continue to talk about black history, the stuff that they don't teach in schools, and draw the parallel between what President Trump is doing now and how it parallels with Andrew Jackson.

Now, I want to remind people as I come back and start talking that I'm not talking about black nationalism.

I'm not talking about black power movement. I'm talking about truth. The truth sometimes that we don't want to admit. The truth that's being omitted. And I accuse our sitting president as a bigot racist that he is. And some of my colleagues got upset with me. I say, y'all scared to tell the truth. That's the problem. You don't have to have hate in your heart to tell the truth. Donald Trump supports white supremacy. Everything he's doing is to undo everything that black people have achieved through the years. And he has some black folk that's helping him. But let's just speak the truth. The truth doesn't hurt. I'm not in any form, believe in any forms of bigotry. Because if my wife, I had met her, she would have been a blue-eyed little Becky. I would have married her. Because I don't roll like that. But we're going to tell the truth. And right now Donald Trump is dividing this nation. He's the most corrosive president along with like Andrew Jackson. So this is why I was asking the citizens of Revere Beach, we're in the backyard and let's stop doing all this talking. The Bible tells us to pull down everything that results of above the knowledge of God and to bring ourselves in line to obedience. In other words, we're to deal with these issues because Jesus said, by this shall all men know that you are my disciples when you love one another. And that's just not a fuzzy, warm feeling. That means I'm concerned about you emotionally, socially, socially, in every form of life. And what we have now in America is taking us back. Didn't y'all see what that guy just said at this event? I ain't going to say what I was going to say. At this event when he attacked Michelle Obama. She's a man. And not one white evangelical pastor called him to court. But that's not the first thing. That's the only thing that's going down. So what I'm saying is let's start pulling together. I believe we should start having Love Thy Brother movement right here in Riviera Beach. Against all forms of white supremacy and injustice. Right in the backyard of Donald Trump. Not hate Donald Trump. Pray for him, but hold him accountable. And those who are supporting that regime accountable. So I'm going to give you the receipts of the stuff they're doing. Not the jargon, but we pull together as American citizens. We haven't had that since Pastor King died. And you know, the majority of our evangelicals. And conservative Eurocentrics do not like Pastor King. They call him a communist. Now, I got my master's degree from a conservative seminary. I got my Ph.D. from a conservative seminary right here in Palm Beach County. It was not even accredited by the state. That's why I went there, so I could understand Eurocentric folks. We got to deal with this stuff, especially those of us who named the name of Jesus. You can look up Operation Restore Inc. on YouTube. We have a video called We're All Americans. You can contact me at 561-827-7499. We should start this movement, not of hate, not of bigotry, not of violence, but tell the truth and not be afraid. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you very much for your comments. Next public speaker, please.

The next public speaker is Derek Burns, followed by TK and Cindy March.

Thank you for the truth, my brother. Derek Burns, 310 West 22nd Court. I live in the city of River Beach where I live, work, and play. I'm just here for clarity. I came here about a month ago and parked out here in the parking lot with a handicap parking sticker and about A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER, I GOT A TICKET FOR $40. I WENT TO THE MUNICIPAL TO TALK TO SOMEONE TO FIND OUT DO THEY HONOR HANDICAP PARKING IN THE CITY OF RIVER BEACH LIKE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES DO. AND SHE COULDN'T REALLY ANSWER MY QUESTION BECAUSE THEY SAY IT WAS A THIRD PARTY THAT THEY WORKED THROUGH AS FAR AS THE PARKING SYSTEM GOES. I'VE NEVER BEEN INTO WHERE outside any other municipality where I have been ticketed for a handicap parking sticker and just never been anywhere but here in the city of Rare Beach. I feel that the system is broken because I wasn't even here for two hours. They say they give you two hours free parking, which is good, but then the respect of the disability, handicap, I mean, Do we honor that in the city of River Beach? Because when I disputed it, it was like they were saying, well, we're going to waive it, but you have to pay for the ADA, which I'm not sure what that is. I'm assuming it has something to do with the handicap park and ADA. So I need some feedback because I was told that we was going to bring it up to the agenda today. But then I've been told that this has been canceled. off the agenda for whatever reason. I don't know. I don't know if there's a pause on the system right now. Are they still charging people to park in handicapped parking or not right now? I just don't know. Anybody can answer that question? The city manager or anybody can tell me, do I have to pay for the handicapped parking because I don't have a problem paying for it? I just need to know, are you honoring the handicapped parking in the city of River Beach? It's just something I think we as residents need to know. Because some people use wheelchairs. Some people use walkers. Some people use canes. Some people have disabilities. I've had two permanent damages of surgery done on my feet. I have permanent damage. I'd be walking handicapped for the rest of my life and what my doctors told me is why I have this. So I just want some feedback on it. You know, is it pause? Is the handicap free or what? That's all I'm here for. Thank you very much. Thank you for your comment.

Could you give your information to the city manager your contact information?

Mr. Chair, the next speaker is TK, followed by Cindy Martin and Jacqueline Berger.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Tanyel TK Kushakian, candidate for the Port of Palm Beach Commission Group 5 seat, TK4port.com. I'm a resident of West Palm Beach, Florida. I live about a mile south of the Port of Palm Beach, which is why I'm so interested in it and have been for many years. First and foremost, I just want to say thank you to all of our veterans, men and women in uniform, and even our law enforcement and fire. I say this because June 6th was the anniversary of D-Day. My grandfather, when he came to the United States fleeing genocide and persecution with his brother and his mother, the only ones who survived, he earned his citizenship by joining the U.S. Army. And he fought in World War II in the Pacific Theater. And his brother, my great uncle, died in Normandy on D-Day and did the same thing. And so I would be remiss if I didn't remember that and thank our men and women in uniform for all that they do. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of being invited and attending the 39th anniversary of Bishop Masters, former mayor, Reverend Masters, the church leadership and service to our community here in Riviera Beach. It was great to see the mayor, Councilmember Spiritus, and many others, Police Chief Coleman, celebrate in that. It was great to see so many bright and vibrant families from across our community come out and celebrate all the good things that he's done, and hopefully he has 39 more years left. I was also pleased to attend the boat christening for Riviera Beach Police I think it was Tuesday that was really really wonderful to see I know that's something that has been over a decade in the works for Riviera Beach Police as someone who's involved in the maritime industry and passionate about our marine industry it was great to see that and I know we're going to get a second boat and the port when I'm elected you know you have a partner and making sure that we have a home for our vessels and that we have a collaborative relationship. It was also great to see the youth council here today. I have two kids, they're six and three, and I try to teach them civics as they learn how to talk and walk. And so I hope one day they have the pleasure of being able to participate in something like that too. As you know, there's been a vacancy on the Port Commission for going on nine months, the longest Port Vacancy Commission vacancy in the last 25 years possibly ever. When I'm elected, I will fill that vacancy. I will get our commission back to work. Three of the last eight months of meetings have been canceled. The port's not actually doing its work. They're having difficulties even calling meetings to get the work done on behalf of the people so I want you all to know that I'm the type of person that will lead with purpose I mentioned intentional purpose last time but I want you all to know that you will have a partner with the port commissioner such as myself I'll fill that vacant seat I'll televise our meetings our residents here in Riviera Beach can watch it but you can't watch a port commission meeting so learn more about my campaign at tk4port.com thank you thank you very much for your comments next public speaker please

The next public speaker is Cindy March, followed by Jacqueline Burgess and Loretta Paul.

This is Cindy March. I first want to say if we can just keep prayers in for Keith Golden and his family with the loss of his wife, I know he will greatly appreciate that. I ALSO WANT TO PIGGYBACK ON REV. MASLIN'S 39TH ANNIVERSARY THAT I'LL ALSO ATTEND. THE MAYOR ALSO WAS THERE, DR. GLENN SPIRIDIS, CHIEF, AND SO MANY PEOPLE SPOKE SO HIGHLY. And I know I came up here to this podium on several occasions and said negative things about him. But at the end of the day, you have to always be the bigger person if you have a heart. And this man has done so much for this community. And I know the mayor spoke there and said he's going to do everything he can to make sure they change that name to his name as well as Dr. Spiritus. And we need to make that happen. We can agree and disagree, but we know who helped run the city here in the city of Rivera Beach for the betterment of the good. And that's all I'm asking. And I would advocate it until it happened. We don't, everybody don't have to vote yes, but we know when somebody family needs some bereavement or need an open house to go to, they can depend on Reverend Masters. And I also want to elaborate on the speaker who said, about Singer Island this and Singer Island that and when they're going to know about this city manager and that city manager, you all need to really get over because last I checked, Singer Island is part of Riviera Beach and we up on the one accord. So whatever is there now, We're going to deal with it for right now and take one day at a time. You all sit up here week after week and bash Dr. Glenn Spiritus. No, I am not his saver, his keeper, but this man has done a tremendous job. He is one of the reasons why we got this water plant going the way it's going because several people in here said the water was good when it still wasn't good. So if you're going to have a voice about being negative, say something positive. And I know I've been very negative to several people out here, but I can always be the better person and give my apology. Just like I admire what Mrs. Miller is doing to the youth, It's that simple. That's the only way we're going to run this city forward. We got to stop bashing one another and be the bigger person. We know we got almost another year before election and all of this negative coming up about the Glenn Spirits. Why don't you talk about the Emirates? Why don't you talk about these people thought they was purchasing a condo when they was purchasing hotels? Then we can get up on the one accord. It's enough already. I love my city. I will continue to advocate for my city. When I'm wrong, let me know that I'm wrong because I'm not always right. But what I would not do is tolerate somebody keep up here bashing the same person that has helped move this city forward. He might not look like me, but the man has a heart. And he don't just reach on Singer Island side. He comes on the west side as well. Thank you.

Thank you very much for your comment. Next speaker, please.

The next speaker is Jacqueline Burgess, followed by Darrella Polk and J.B. Dixon.

Good evening. Jacqueline Burgess Burton, Riviera Beach. I just had a couple of things. Back when COVID, the governor, I believe, put out a law of having meetings online, Zoom, on the telephone. SINCE COVID HE HAS SINCE REDACTED THAT OR RETRACTED THAT LAW I WANT TO READ YOU SOMETHING FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION A CITY COMMISSIONER CANNOT VOTE BY PHONE OR PARTICIPATE ELECTRONICALLY TO ESTABLISH A FORM OR AND OR CAST AN OFFICIAL VOTE SO WHY IS IT RIVERA BEACH IS CONTINUOUSLY ALLOWING COMMISSIONERS to vote on the phone, attend a meeting on the phone. If you were an employee, you were not permitted to do that. If Deborah Hall, I don't mean to use her, but if Deborah Hall was sick, she wouldn't be able to attend a meeting on the phone or in person. So why is the city commission allowed to do that? And I'm gonna put in a public records request because it is something that says maybe home rule. So do we have a home rule charter that permits that? I know you can't answer those questions, but it will be a public records request for that. Because how do we know that the person is really listening to the meeting and just casting a vote? How do we know they're not getting texts? Because we can pull your text if you're sitting up there on your phone, that's public record. So how do we know that's not happening at a house or wherever they may be? They may be at a party. It's not right. You all got raises. We got raises. Employees got raises to be at work. If you're not going to be at work, then don't participate. Because as a resident, which I am, I want to know, see your face when you say yes or no. I would like to see that. Another thing I have, you all voted to have the kids go swimming at Gaines Park. Has anyone checked to see if Gaines Park is open? Because now I don't believe that we have our kids available to go anywhere to swim. The police department does not need to go on a small corner where it is, but yet you still have employees sitting at this building while you guys have meetings over here, they're sitting at that building that's contaminated. So what about those employees that are sitting over there? You can't have a meeting over there, but you can still allow your employees to sit there all day. My next thing is, probably my final thing is, I just watched two people come and gave Mr. Sherman a comment card. The comment card says give it to the city clerk. So now that person is back there having a fit because their name hasn't been called. They put their card in after me where they handed to Mr. Sherman after me. So you should direct your staff If it says give it to the city clerk or her staff, that's what she'll go to.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for your comments. Next public speaker, please.

The next public speaker is Doretta Polk, followed by JB Dixon and Dwayne Taylor. Doretta Polk. Not you yet.

Good evening. My name is Doretta Park and I'm a citizen of Riviera Beach. And I just want to make a comment Several council meetings ago, there was a young lady by the name, I think her name is Mrs. Wells. And she came to her statement. Some of her statements was that the foster development has a litigation also with Lake Park Now, I know you all agreed that a foster developers will go ahead and put these condos, develop these condos. But did we look into that? Is there any litigation between Lake Park and the foster development? And who's supposed to see to it that our protection as a city, we are protected. So we won't be in any lawsuits. So I would like that answered tonight. And also I would like, and I think everybody else would like also the, sorry that attorney Gaines didn't come, but know the report of this investigation, because, you know, it was such a rush to, I want him gone tonight, several months ago. Why couldn't we at least extend the Olive Garden to let this go and the investigation be played out? And we all know, why couldn't he fulfill his contract? Mr. Evans fulfilled his contract. And you know, I also asked some of the council people who voted that way, how do you sleep at night? And I was at an event and Ms. Penera Davis said that she sleeps very well at night. Well, that's good. If that's how you feel, you sleep very well. But in the Bible it says, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Wouldn't you want the investigation first to be investigated and brought to the diocese and brought to also the community? Would that be fair? Was that fair? I think the whole system of you three voting that way and not getting him a chance to thoroughly be vindicated or whatever, however it plays out, I think each and every person deserves that, deserves that. And I just think it's just shameful that this has happened the way it is because nothing. And you say you lived here all your life. I lived here all my life. Nothing was being developed here in Riviera Beach until Mr. Jonathan. And I thank you.

Next public speaker, please.

The next public speaker is J.B. Dixon, followed by Dwayne Taylor and Maria Almonte. David Dixon has passed. Duane Taylor. Followed by Maria Almonte.

Well, y'all got tough crowds in here. How y'all doing? My name is Dwayne Taylor. I'm from the Center for Creative Education in the Foundation School. And the reason I'm here today is to offer the City of Riviera Beach a free scholarship to our private school over on 45th Street. We have a private school there. Right now, our kids, we've been there for four years. Our kids, 89% of our kids are reading at grade level and above. as well as that score is 89% as well. We have free scholarships that's $30,000 a year and the scholarships are for four years. So it's $120,000 per person. I got 30 of them. Y'all want them? Here they are. Simple as that. Any questions?

Could you give your contact information for people watching a phone number or something?

Sure. You can give us a call at area code 561-805-9927. That's the Center for Creative Education in the Foundation School. Mention the free scholarship. Otherwise, they're going to charge you 30 grand. So make sure you've mentioned free scholarship from the City of Rivera Beach. I only got 30.

Thank you very much.

You got it.

It's greatly appreciated.

Anybody want the flyer?

I do.

Next public speaker, please.

The next public speaker is Maria Almonte.

Good evening. My name is Maria Almonte. I'm living in Riviera Beach for more than 20 years. I know I see a lot of progress, but something happened three weeks ago, and I'm parking by the beach. I used to go in there for more than 20 years because I had my son's special need, and he enjoyed going by the beach about the music and something over there. It's my surprise that Two weeks later, I received that for paying $40 because I don't bring anything. I'm used to parking in the handicap. And what I think is it's not fair. The handicap, people like my son's special need. we have to pay for the ticket because I be in downtown Clamari, I parking the handicap, I know how to pay. I be in City Play and I parking and I know how to pay. And I be there and I receive $40. I don't say that parking is no good project, but not for handicap, I don't think so. I think maybe you can consider about the handicap people because they need respect. Thank you.

Thank you. And could you give staff your contact information?

Mr. Chair, we do have it.

Okay. Next public speaker, but Mr. Sherman, I have a question because we're getting a lot of comments here. yes uh yes we voted to one paul's enforcement have you contacted the company and advised them to pause sending citations yes yes i spoke to them thursday morning after the council meeting and everything was put on pause okay um You spoke to him, did you send any digital information, emails or something that we can verify that they've received the information to Paul?

I have an email confirmation from them that everything is turned off.

Yes, I'd like a copy of that.

Okay, sure.

I would suggest, I had this conversation with the city manager the other day. I think we would have put plastic bags or something over the signs so that people don't think they have to pay while we're in the pause error right now.

Okay. Can we do that? Yes.

Okay.

I support that. Okay. Next public speaker.

Mr. Chair, that was the end of public comments for general public comments.

Thank you very much. We'll move on in our agenda. Our next item is 11B, resolution number 3926. Item 11B,

Resolution number 3926, the resolution of the City Council of the City of River Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, accepting the recommendation of staff and authorizing the mayor and city clerk to execute a three-year continuing services contract to provide towing and sword services with comps of Palm Beach Inc. of West Palm Beach, Priority Towing Inc. of West Palm Beach, and Shee Shins Towing Inc. providing for two one-year renewal options based upon the mutual consent of the parties and providing an effective date. Mr. Chair, we have two comment cards on this item. The acceptance of the cards is closed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. I will entertain a motion for approval. So moved. It's been moved by Vice Chair Spiritus.

Second.

Seconded by Councilwoman Davis-Preneur. Staff.

Hello, good evening, everyone. Latonya Ammons, Director of Procurement for the City of Riviera Beach. On November the 14th, 2025, the city's procurement department posted a solicitation seeking towing companies who would like to do business with the city. That solicitation closed on December the 18th, 2025. It was distributed to 101 vendors that were posted on VidNet. Three responses were received. We are seeking approval for a towing contract, a continuing service contract with the three vendors who did submit a proposal and the cost is $0 to the city.

Okay. Before we get comments from the dais, public comment cards, please.

Mr. Chair, the public speakers. The first speaker is Sean Loscalzo followed by Crystal Griffin.

Good evening, Mayor Lawson, Mr. Chair, council members, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Sean Loscalzo. I'm the vice president of Coffs Towing. We proudly provided towing service to the city of Riviera Beach for more than 25 years working closely with the city law enforcement fire department residents to provide safe professional and efficient service to the community and the motoring public i have two concerns that i would like to bring to your attention regarding the rfp process first coughs was ranked as the number one vendor passed based on the evaluation and scoring process However, section three intent and scope work states the city desires to retain two towing storage vendors for this solicitation. My concern is the award says it's for three vendors. This significantly reduces the volume of work available under the contract and materially changes the opportunity that was advertised to the vendors. Based on the city's towing volume, I do not believe a third provider is necessary to adequately serve the city's needs. As the highest ranked proposer, we've demonstrated the experience, equipment, personnel, and performance history necessary to successfully manage the city's towing operations. My second concern relates to the location requirements contained within the RFP. The requirements that the towing facility be located within a 10 mile radius of city hall and referenced four different times throughout the solicitation. In fact, the RFP specifically states to the vendors located outside that 10 mile radius would not qualify. With that being the case, I'm struggling to understand how the vendor is being considered for the award if they are located outside the required 10-mile radius. If the requirement was important enough to be included four separate times in the RFP and identified as a qualification standard, then it should be applied consistently to all proposers. I respectfully ask the Council to review both of these issues before making a final decision. The entire team at COPS Towing looks forward to continuing our longstanding partnership with the city of Riviera Beach and serving our residents for the many years to come. We're grateful for the opportunity to compete in this solicitation and appreciate your consideration. And I'd like to make one more mention. My CEO is a Riviera Beach resident and would have loved to come here and speak instead of me, but he's away on business, so he apologizes. Thank you for your time, and I'd be happy to answer any questions if you've got any.

I have one quick question. You mentioned there were three vendors and you indicated that you feel something was changed from what was advertised

it was it was mr mayor was advertised as i'm not the mayor that's the mayor oh i'm sorry mr mayor um it was advertised as the uh as two vendors they would seek up to two vendors not three okay do you have the advertisement with you do i have the advertisement i do

Would you like to see a copy of it? Yes. Next public speaker, too, unless anyone else has any questions.

Yes. I mean, is Ms. Ammons aware of what he's talking about?

I'm sorry.

Is Ms. Ammons aware of what he's speaking of?

Well, I'm trying to get some data documents and evidence. Then I'll give it.

Yeah. My question is to ask her. Yeah.

Oh, yes. No, that would be something I would have to review from a staff perspective. However, as the director of procurement, I do have the option to waive irregularities from the two to the three. But I am more concerned about his second point for the 10 mile radius. IT WAS MENTIONED FOUR TIMES IN THE SOLICITATION AND MY STAFF MISSED IT, THEN IT IS AN AREA OF CONCERN NOT ONLY FOR THE VENDORS, BUT IT IS A CONCERN FOR MYSELF AS EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT MY DEPARTMENT MOTTO IS FAIRNESS, TRANSPARENCY AND COMPLIANCE. SO IF THERE IS AN ERROR, WE WILL RECTIFY THAT.

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU. NEW SPEAKER SO WE'LL BE BRINGING THIS BACK?

NEW SPEAKER OKAY.

But the same can you tell me who was number one and who was number 2 and who was number 3 in your rating. Yes, I give me just one moment.

Okay, I think we had another public comment.

Yes, the reasons are in the back up.

Yeah, we're Dr.

Spear, did you see it in the backup, the ranking?

Yeah, I just wanted the public to hear what the ratings were in case we have to go and vote on this and discuss this further.

I got you.

Moving a little, laptop's moving a little slow, but I can't pull up the rankings.

I mean, I have it right in front of me. Quiet, quiet, they're doing that.

And it was attached to the, oh, I'm sorry, Chair.

No, go ahead, go ahead.

Yeah, it was attached to the agenda, so it's all public.

I can't see the, excuse me.

NEW SPEAKER, I'M ASKING AS COUNCILWOMAN MILLER-ANDERSON SAID, IT WAS IN THE BACKUP, BUT I JUST WANT THE PUBLIC TO KNOW THAT ARE WATCHING ON TV OR YOUTUBE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE RATINGS WERE. NEW SPEAKER, I'M SORRY.

CHAIR, DO I HAVE THE RANKING? SO POSS WAS RANKED NUMBER ONE, PRIORITY TOLIN WAS RANKED NUMBER TWO, AND SHEHAN WAS RANKED NUMBER THREE. NEW SPEAKER, I'M SORRY. I read one, two.

Ms. Ammons, if you can just get the information from your records. Mr. Chair. But we need to, are you still looking for something? No.

I was going to officially look in the system on our records.

Okay. I think you can have a seat for now so we can keep the meeting moving. That was another public speaker, was it?

Yes, Mr. Chair. Crystal Griffin.

Good evening, mayor, council members and the staff. Thank you for allowing me to speak tonight and also for considering me to be a continued service provider. This is going to sound a little redundant for what you just heard from Sean. And I am the second scored submitter on that. The city established a requirement that successful tow contractors must have offices and storage facilities located within a 10 miles of the city hall. That's dictated on page seven of the RFQ. This requirement was included to ensure timely response, efficient vehicle retrieval by owners, convenient access for law enforcement personnel, reduced transportation costs, and effective management of impounded and evidentiary vehicles. The distant required service a clear public purpose and creates an objective standard that all proposers must satisfy. Vendors submitting proposals were expected to review the solicitation requirements and demonstrate compliance with all mandatory qualifications. Based on the information available, priority storage facility is located outside of the required 10 miles from city hall. In fact, they are 27 to 31 miles away. Allowing a proposal to does not satisfy a mandatory distance requirement to receive the contract would undermine the integrity of the procurement process. So we just respectfully request that you consider Koff's and Sheehan's as your vendors. Thank you.

That's the in the public comment for this item, Mr. Chair.

Hello, hello.

Testing, okay. That was the last public comment. Now it's on the dais now. There are some things that I think need to be clarified before, I would suggest before we take a vote, I would suggest that we postpone this item, allow Ms. Amos time to go and do the research to determine um if either of these claims have any validity and bring us back to evidence um those are my comments any any other comments i totally agree because we do want to make sure we're yes um can i get a motion to postpone this item motion that we postpone this item until the next meeting or are we would that give you enough time yes it's been moved by second Councilwoman Miller-Anderson and seconded by Vice Chair Spiritus. Is there any discussion on the motion?

When it comes back, can we just get clarification if there was a discrepancy, what it was and how we got to that point?

No, we don't do that.

Thank you.

Okay. Is there any further discussion? on the motion.

Hearing no discussion. Ms. Davis-Panier said to get a report on how did the problem arise. Is that what it was? Pretty much.

Okay. Any further discussion on the motion? Hearing no discussion, Madam Clerk.

Councilperson Davis-Panier?

Yes.

Councilperson Lanier? Councilperson Miller-Anderson? Yes. Chairperson Dr. Spiridon?

Yes.

Chairperson Guyton?

Yes.

That passes. Would Councilperson Lanier out?

That item has been postponed until our next meeting, and our staff will come back with some clarification and answers to the questions that were raised. Okay, we're moving on to 11C, resolution number 7026.

Resolution number 7026, a resolution of the city of Riviera Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida, authorizing the issuance of the city's general obligation bonds. Series 2026 in the initial aggregate principal amount not to exceed $115 million for the purpose of financing a portion of the cost of the series 2026 projects. Describing the series 2026 projects determining certain details of the series 2026 bonds, approving the form of a summary notice of sale and a notice of sale and authorizing the public sale of the series 2026 bonds provided for the application of the proceeds of the series 2026 bonds, delegating authority to proper officials of the city in consultation with the city's financial advisor to accept pursuant to a competitive public sale process The bid or bids of the lowest qualified bidder or bidders for the purchase of the Series 2026 bonds subject to certain parameters and other matters set forth in this resolution. Approving the form and authorizing the execution of an official statement in connection with the offering and sale of the Series 2026 bonds and authorizing the distribution of a preliminary official statement and the official statement, appointing a paying agent and registrar, authorizing the execution and delivery of a paying agent registrar agreement, authorizing the series 2026 bonds to be registered under a book entry only system of the registration, authorizing the proper officers of the city to do all other things deemed necessary or advisable in connection with the sale and delivery of the series 2026 bonds and providing an effective date.

Thank you. I will entertain a motion for approval.

So moved.

It's been moved by Councilwoman Miller-Anderson.

Second.

And seconded by Councilwoman Davis-Peronier.

Mr. Chair, we do not have any comment cards on this item. The acceptance of cards is closed.

Discussion on the motion, staff.

yes good evening again i'm randy sherman chief financial officer on march 19th of 2024 the voters for the city of riviera beach passed three referendums authorizing the city to issue up to 35 million dollars for a police station 25 million dollars for a fire station station 86 and 55 million dollars for parks and recreation projects On May 1st, this board approved the master agreement, master loan agreement resolution, which laid out all of the significant terms general to the conditions of issuing these bonds. So it laid out all the definitions, all the covenants, and dealt with, you know, default issues, how cash would flow, and so on and so forth. What this resolution is, this is the supplemental resolution to the first resolution. This is now coming forward and bringing the specific details to the issuance of this $115 million. I do have here tonight Bond Council, Disclosure Council, and the city's financial advisor, if you have any questions on this matter. Chair?

Yes, Vice Chair Spiridon.

Okay, so I just want to make it very clear to the public. You have to pay for these bonds. This is not free money. It's nice to have all these new buildings built. The city right now has reached its bonding limit That's very, very rare for a city to reach its bonding limit. Our utility district has reached its bonding limit. We are currently in a financial situation where if we don't tighten our belts very tightly in the next few months, we're going to end this year in a deficit. This costs money. This is not free. It sounds great to do all these things, but I don't think that the people in this city can afford it. Based on what the director of finances told me, we're gonna be paying $100 per valuation. Is that what it is?

It's a dollar per thousand. A dollar per thousand.

So what would a $400,000 house pay right now? $400. $400, okay. So a lot of people, that's a lot of money, but we have a lot of houses that are worth a lot more than $400. especially you know well throughout the city you have property it's worth a heck of a lot more and property will be coming in i don't know if the public can afford this this is recurring this is going to be like how long is the bond 20 years 20 years you're going to be paying that additional cost it's not a one-time 400 it's every year 400 for 20 years i think that we ought to rethink full amount of the 115 000 clearly we want to build our police station clearly we want to build our firehouse but can we wait till next year or a couple years to do the recreation should we consider taking the 55 million from the recreation and reducing it to maybe 10 million and upgrading our parks, building a new swimming pool, which we know we're going to have to do if we do the police station at the location it's at and upgrade some of the parks. I think we should be more responsible with the taxpayers' money. We can't act like children in a toy store. We know that the cost is coming very soon. When will this hit? It'll be on the tax bills that go out this fall. so it's coming we're going to see it coming this year yes sir so you haven't seen it yet you haven't seen station 88 you haven't seen station 87 hit yet right are those included in the bonds or are those hit already no uh the only fire station included in the bonds is station 86 okay 87 and 88 are paid from non-tax right those are non-tax but we're paying for it that's money that we could be using for other things in the city roads or the infrastructure whatever else But we're paying for it, it's not free. We have to keep our millage rate up so that we can pay for those things throughout the city, be able to pay off these bonds. That's why we have a high millage rate, one of the highest probably in the county. So I think we have to really rethink this. I have no problem, like I said, I think we could have done better if we didn't do design-build, if we put it out to bid like most other municipalities. I still question the design-build process. When we say design-build and finance, that's how it went out to bid, yet they only designed and built. How many more firms would have put in if they only knew that they had to do design-build and not finance, because not a lot of companies have the ability to finance a $40 million project. So I think we have to really think this over real, we have to do a lot of thought in this, because the taxpayers are going to pay. Once we pass this resolution, the taxpayers are on the hook. So I think we have to really think about this. Like I said, clearly we have to do the police station, we have to do the firehouse, but I think we really have to think about that recreation right now. Is that an essential service that we're providing right now? Remember what's gonna happen next year if the taxpayers vote for that homestead rule? What are we gonna do then? Where are we gonna get that money at that time? That's gonna take up a majority of our budget. We're not gonna be able to do the other things that we are expected to do. So I think we better start now, tightening our belt, not waiting. We should be proactive instead of reactive. We should start thinking about this now. Mr. Chair.

Are you done? Yes, thank you. And very good comment. It's something that we need to be aware of, and I agree with you. Mr. Mayor.

Thank you. Mr. Chairman, the tax amendment for, if this passes on this ballot in November, What happens with the bond payment? What is the increase to the taxpayers? Because you said it's about a hundred dollars per a hundred thousand.

Right now with the valuation is, it is just slightly under, but effectively it is a dollar per thousand dollars of valuation. That dollar per valuation doesn't change. I mean, unless the values, property values continue to go up. If I may, Mr. Chair, may I ask Bond Council come up and provide a response to the question?

Yes. And while they're on their way up, just to be clear, the evaluation would have to change if we're having less revenue coming in. But I guess Bond Council could address that because we would be losing a substantial amount. I know we're going to be doing a presentation soon. But what does that payment look like to the current taxpayers? Because isn't it assessed on the number of clients that we have?

So this is a separate assessment. So you get your regular property tax for operations of the general fund. And then this is a separate millage rate that you would see on your tax bill.

Okay. So this wouldn't be a part of this tax amendment then. So if they get the homestead exemption, this is a completely separate assessment.

This is a separate assessment. Okay.

Did that answer the question that you had? For the most part, because I do have a follow-up, because I just want to make sure that the residents understand that. And as Dr. Spirit has said, we're going to have a loss in revenue. And sooner than later, Mr. Wilkins, we do need to see what is going to be the impact of the ad valorem tax annually and when is that coming before us. Because this is a separate assessment of a tax bill. Those homesteaded owners that actually will be having a substantial reduction in their tax bill will now still have this assessment. If it's a $400,000 assessment, it's $400. That's going to be beneficial for the city if we do pass this in November. So we want to look at every arena, make sure that we've identified every cost, and see what's the exact impact on every dollar. I think that we've already gone down the the direction of trying to turn back, trying to continue to develop, we have the housing in place. But if we stop with something that was put on the ballot and voted on by the taxpayers to provide a bond for them, I think would be reverting back to allowing the taxpayers to make that decision versus this council. I'm not even sure if we could do that legally, being that we've already passed this on the ballot. So this discussion that Dr. Spirits is mentioning, I think it would have to go back before the ballot for us to overturn this $115 million bond.

Got a question?

Attorney Wynn? For bond counsel? I mean, can we just say we don't want the money right now? Can we just say that we don't want to? And I'm assuming he's saying that he doesn't want to utilize the funds as of right now, but we still would have to utilize them at some time, meaning that the taxpayers voted on it, correct?

Yes, Skip Miller with Greenspoon Martyr. We're at the city's bond council. There's no time frame within which you are legally obligated to issue the bonds, if that's your question. And if circumstances have changed, you probably are not legally obligated to issue the bonds at all. But recall, the voters approved each Each of the referendums by, I think, was about 70% of the voters. So the voters, in a sense, have spoken. But it is really at the council's discretion. You talked about maybe doing the police and fire and not doing the parks and recreation. You legally have the ability to do that also, if you want.

Thank you. And that was my follow-up. I do understand we have a lot of items that are on the document that we're going forward with, but I think that the voters have spoken. They wanted to move forward with these referendums. They wanted to move forward with the development of these projects. And for us to either delay or never move forward with them is concerning that we didn't allow for the voters to make decisions. Their intent was this would be coming before them. We would be developing immediately and provide this opportunity for them to have the parks, the police, and the fire station that was voted on close to 70%. So I understand that we may want to delay it, but delay it at what timeframe? It's time sensitive. If we delay this, it may never come back before the board or we may never move forward. We keep kicking the can down the road. These projects will not get done or get built. And I'm concerned with that. There's other bonds that we do need to address, and with our bonding capacity being met, I know finance is going to be addressing some concerns tonight and also at the UD meeting and moving forward. There's other options of financing. There's other ways of generating additional revenue, but we want to make sure that we've addressed and looked at every opportunity outside of just the bonds. But this one was already voted on by the taxpayers, so I wouldn't want to overturn or stop this process.

Sure.

Vice Chair Spiritus and then Ms. Miller-Anderson.

Mr. Sherman, can you tell me how many people voted in the referendum?

I can't. I don't think I brought it up. I have it at the podium. Was it 13?

$40,000.

And while he's looking that up or trying to find it, let me make a comment. And I'm going to come to you, Mr. Miller. Okay, to support what you're doing. The voters voted without knowing how much it was going to impact their pockets. When these bills start hitting their pockets, When these water bills go 40 percent this year and then another 30 percent next year, that's 70 percent, another 30 percent the following year. That's just on the water side. And then we got these bonds, hitting them with assessments for the different type of projects. I don't think that the residents would be angry at us for being financially conservative and responsible, when these bills start hitting their mailboxes, it's going to be a problem for us. And with the trying financial times that we're in now, the escalating gas prices, how food is cost, Can't nobody convince me that somebody is going to be angry at us because here we're telling them that we're not going to drop a whole lot of mobiles on you right now. So I'm in support of doing whatever we need to do to delay this. But I'm sorry about that, Dr. Spirit. But I just want to put that out there.

Thank you.

When the people voted for it, they didn't know how it was going to hit their pockets and they didn't expect for the economy to be in the condition that it is now. And that needs to be considered.

Thank you, Doctor. Right. Chair, just before I guess Mr. Sherman responds to my first question, I just want to add also that I'm sure that the taxpayers didn't realize they were knocking down a $23 million aquatic center to have land when we had land for free. So I don't think that they were aware of that. I don't think they're aware of a lot of things, but I think the amount of people out of our population of 40,000, which we know is probably 50,000, 60,000 for real, how many people really voted? We're playing games with percentages. 70% of what? Of how many people voted? Because we know that there was a heavy lobbying event going on during the voting to get people to vote for this. Yes? Yeah. Mr. Chair. Oh, I'm sorry. Was that a question?

No, I have the answers for you. Okay. So on question one, which was the police station, 4,118 votes were cast. And that passed 68.65% to 31.35.

On question number two, which was the fire station, 4,053 voters passed. No, I'm sorry, that was the parks, I'm sorry. 4,053 voters and that passed 64.91% to 35.09%. And then on station 86, that was 3,950 voters and that passed 70.73% to 29.27%.

Chair, follow up? Okay, so what we're saying is that like 2,800 people are making the decision for 50,000. I don't think that that was an overwhelming majority of the taxpayers coming out to speak and give us a directive. Far from it. So I think we have a fiduciary responsibility to take care of the taxpayers' money. And right now we were given a warning from our two state representatives earlier today when they gave their presentations. And I think we better heed that warning. Once again, you can't take it back. Once you approve it, it's done. It doesn't mean that we can't come back and do this again next year or the year after when we have more development, more tax revenue coming in. We know where we stand financially after all these things happen and hit home. I THINK THE RESPONSIBLE THING TO DO IS TO REDUCE THE RECREATION AND WE HAVE TO DO THE POLICE STATION AND THE WE REALLY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO DO THE POLICE STATION AND THE FIRE STATION. BUT I THINK WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY ON THE RECREATION TO REDUCE THAT WHERE WE CAN GET THE NEW SWIMMING POOL BECAUSE IF WE BUILD THE POLICE STATION AT THE LOCATION IT IS WE'RE GOING TO NEED A NEW POOL AS WE ALL KNOW. But we can do that for a heck of a lot less than $55 million.

Mr. Chair?

Yes, Ms. Miller-Anderson.

Just going along the lines of the comment that Dr. Spirit has mentioned about how many voters voted for that, if I'm not mistaken, that's about the average that we've had voting for how many years? I mean, that's not like it's a low amount. That is what we typically have, about 10%, 10%, 12% that vote every year. So the amount that voted... for that referendum is no different than them voting for us to be in our seat. So if that's the case, then none of us probably need to be in our seats because that's how we got here on that amount of votes. That to me is not an issue to push because that doesn't really prove a point. The point is majority of the people asked for it. And again, and the mayor said it best that if we're going to not do this we need to put it back on the referendum and let them vote it down if they want to but clearly they've already said what they want done and the thing is we've for decades many previous council has kicked the can down the road continuously and that is why we have buildings that are falling apart full of mold and everything else and that is why we have had the the time of If we don't do this, you have police that have been in a building. We all know there's been a building that they shouldn't be in because it is not built to be a police station. We know that the fire stations, they were falling apart. And that's why we had to get the fire stations continuing to just say, no, nobody wants to go up and their bills go up. spend more money for gas, but it's happening. But on the USD agenda, I believe we're being asked to give away some fees for the housing authority, about almost $2 million. So that sounds to me that that won't be happening because if we got to tighten our belts and do all of this stuff here, we surely don't have enough money to be giving away $2 million. We've already given that away. So that should be an easy answer. But in terms of making sure that we follow through on what the voters asked for, I mean, there has been plenty of times you all, we all, we all, as a board, not everybody, but as a board, we have voted on things like the stipend. I mean, we need to save money there. There's plenty of money we could have saved, but we didn't. And now we want to go against what the voters have asked for. So we can't pick and choose when we want to say, oh, we're spending too much money. We need to save. We need to be consistent and say that all the time for everything. not just when it's convenient because the voters have spoken and and i you know obviously cannot support the change because that's why we have our roads not in in a good condition because nobody wanted to make pull the trigger and do i'm sorry for using that word but nobody wanted to make that decision and that happened for decades and that is why the voters said they wanted to see these things happen so i mean hey

Okay, are you done, Councilwoman Miller-Anderson? Thank you for your comment. Thank you.

So when the vote is voted, the Homesteading Act was not on the agenda. The people had no idea. We have to be responsible officials. And when things change, we have to change. The referendum that they voted on said that any component of these projects could be changed if it's for the public good. clearly the people will not be able to afford this. Many people will be forced out. We do not want to be part of gentrifying our city so we can have a shiny new building. I think that we have to be responsible. We're not saying don't pass the bond. I'm not suggesting we don't pass the bond for the police station and the firehouse. I'm saying the recreation can wait maybe a couple of years and we should just reduce it now for the swimming pool complex that we know we're going to need as a result of doing the police station at the location that it's at. That's all I'm suggesting is that we be responsible government officials.

um yes and and we we need to vote and decide what we're going to do chair wait wait one moment um but to just reduce the bonds and the fire station and the police station will still be built and the pool that's been promised will be built i think that's being responsible uh and and we um were advised tonight that we would probably lose a lot of our avalon tax when when that issue hit the ballot in november when they asked the people do they not want to pay taxes or get a higher homestead exemption so we see a financial crisis right in front of us And at some point, I think that we have to make the difficult decisions to see where we're going to trim. And to still get the fire station, still get the police station and get a pool, I think that we're being responsible.

Mr. Chair, so my question is, does that does that include doing improvements to the current recreation site? Okay so that is something that can be done because we do have to address the pool which you keep you said and I appreciate that but also making improvements on the current recreation facilities that we have that are definitely outdated and need improvement and yes I do believe you do we do have to go with the flow there is a lot of new information we are having to make adjustments we're going to be going through our budget we're going to have to be cutting a lot of things. And so these are things that we're not trying to, we're not trying to cease. We're just trying to delay a delay. It's not a denial. We're not saying that we're not going to do as the voters have asked, but the delay may be necessary.

Mr. Chair.

Yes, Mr. Mayor. And then we're going to decide on which way we're going.

Thank you. Thank you. Just for clarity, we're trying to trim. on our annual budget because we still don't know the exact amount of the loss that we will receive if the homestead exemption comes in. The staff is working on that exact number from us and it's going to be an estimate based on last year's numbers from all the homesteaded properties. We do know that we have some of the lowest homesteaded property numbers in Palm Beach County because we're mostly rental, second homes and tours. That's one. So we're not going to be as impacted as much as other municipalities. Number two, this is a bond where it's a separate assessment as staff just explained to you from the ad valorem tax. So it's an additional revenue that the city will be generating that the taxpayers by 70% voted to tax themselves. So we're talking about two separate items. Our board is convoluting the two. This is a tax that the residents have assessed that the residents that came out to vote that have historically voted in the same elections, whether it was 3000, 5000 or 7000, they represented the vote of the people. And those residents at a 70 percent rate voted to tax themselves additional revenue. So let's not convolute the two with saying that we're trying to trim the fat by not taking this bond. when realistically the taxpayers are paying for the bond and the fact we're trimming is still going to need to be trimmed. There's a conflict, and I think my board is convoluting the situation. I need staff to explain a little bit more because what I'm hearing is not clear, and my board is confused as to where the money is coming from. So I do understand trimming the fat, yes. But in regards to this topic, this was voted on by the taxpayers. The taxpayers are paying the additional revenue for the bond. So even if this passes in November, we're still going to have to find other ways to trim the fat. This is not going to do it. This doesn't help us trim the fat because the taxpayers voted and said they want to see new development. So I understand that we want to cut costs and we want to generate additional revenue for the city and we want to cover some certain things. But this is not the direct clear cut way of how to do it because that one doesn't equal two. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Let's get some numbers. What I would like to know, Mr. Sherman, is you kind of articulated it. when you got there, the cost for the police station, the cost for the fire station, and the cost for the pool. And I don't know if Mr. Wilkins know what would be an approximate cost to do improvements to our existing recreational facilities.

so if i may mr chair yes um okay so again there were there were three components uh the voters approved 25 million dollars for station 86 on singer island that price if i recall without having any paperwork i believe came in at 33 million dollars so we've had to add extra dollars to that project The vote is approved $35 million for the police station. That cost is at $57 million. So we've talked about issuing other debt to fill that $22 million hole.

Okay, those two. Yep. What is the total for those two with additional cost?

Those two are $60 million.

To do the fire station and to do the police station?

For the voter approved bonds.

No, to complete the project. You were saying that some of them came in at a higher cost than what the bond was voted on. Correct. Both of those projects came in. I want to know what the overreach cost, what is the cost to do them?

Okay. So on 86, again, if I recall correctly, it was $8 million. And on the police station, it was $22 million. Okay.

that's over what over and above the the referendum bonds that were approved correct that's that's 30 million that's 8 and 22. that's correct that's an additional 30 million dollars and and what i'm trying to get how much do we need to complete both of them and the pool and repairs that's where i'm going okay i don't have a cost of the pool separately

But what I do want to point out, and I don't know, we were looking to see if Mr. Bailey was still here. Remember the city hall parcels, the north side of Blue Heron, the south side of Blue Heron are part of a solicitation for the city hall project. As part of that solicitation, you are, giving the selected developer the south side of Blue Heron to develop and they're proposing housing on that side. You are going to, in that process, you are going to lose the Wells Recreation Center. The Wells Recreation Center was then going to move over to the north side over by the Riviera beach new high school that's going in. So you'd have the pool and the rec center there. Um, so just putting in the pool, you will lose the Wells complex. Okay. But I do want to point out that even though it's $55 million, only $45 million of that was to go to that project. Six and a half million was going over to Callaway and three and a half was going over to the municipal beach. Again, when we talked about the $60 million back in March, we were looking to add additional dollars to Callaway and additional dollars over to the beach. So I only caution you on that because if you build a pool, you will not have a recreation center if you don't put sufficient dollars in to build the recreation center as well. So again, wells will be going away and whatever goes on that north side.

Yes, one minute. One of the things that we have leverage to do is to negotiate with builders on our land. We have the leverage. We can request things like a recreation center and other things that they're doing on our land. So I'm not that concerned about that. But what I am concerned about is when these assessment bills start hitting the mailboxes, that's just sticking with me. Some people may be able to afford it. There are gonna be a lot of people that can't right now. And I don't want to be the one to put that additional burden on them when we have an option now that we can delay some of this until the economy gets better. So, but I need some numbers so that we can move forward. We cannot be on this all night. And that's fine. We have a lot of numbers, a lot of items.

And again, as Bond Council said, that certainly is within your prerogative to change that. However, what we do need to know is what is it that we are, what the amount that we want to reduce it by. And as Dr. Spheeris has pointed out sometime, what components are we taking out? Because right now on the referendum bond, it had a description of the project that was going to be $55 million. So if we're going to go, whatever the number is $25 million, we have to say, okay, what is that specifically going to pay for? Because we have to tell the bond buyers Okay, we're issuing 25 million, again, whatever the number is, and this is what it is going to pay for.

I think that we need to have individual meetings and you go over everything that is in the bond and you can get the opinions from the council people about what they want in or what they may want out. But I don't think tonight is the night to try to negotiate that and determine what we're gonna put in

just take too long tonight okay so the recommendation from bond council is past 60 million which include the fire station and police station that's your 60 million and we would bring back another resolution for whatever you decide to spend on the park side so we can come back after staff does an assessment of what it would cause to repair the existing recreational facilities mr wilkins i see you're trying to say something

I was going to suggest that. It's a land deal. And there are several components of the deal that rely upon this particular project going forward in its current state. So we have to look at those components, as you suggest, and come back. I mean, I would think if we have to, when do we have to do this? When do we have to pass these on?

If it passed tonight, we would be closing in August. But if we want to come back in July, then it would push it out to September. The issue is, again, is we're spending a lot of cash, as we've talked about, and we need to get some cash infusion into these projects because the city keeps funding it. Okay. Dr. Smith.

Mr. Wilkins, finish your point, and Dr. Spirit, and we have time.

I would suggest we delay this until the next meeting so you know exactly what ramifications of your decisions are.

Okay. Chair, can I just make a couple questions so we can be ready for the next meeting? I just think that everyone has to understand that we passed an additional $20 million for roads this year, general obligation bonds. Now, when we do general obligation bonds, just because it's not coming from taxes, it's coming from other areas in our budget which means these are not recurring funds that means that we have to budget for this every year from somewhere in our budget that means something is not being done because we have to pay for these bonds for the projects that we did in previous years they're not going to be new projects so we i would like to see a total of all of the bonds that the city has right now and what the costs are going to be to the taxpayers and that includes uh the referendum bonds as well as the GO bonds.

Okay. And I move to postpone this item until next meeting. I second. It's been moved and properly seconded. Is there any more discussion on the motion?

Chair. Yes. So I'm clear that they're going to get with everybody and go over all of this before the next meeting.

That was my suggestion. Yes, absolutely.

Okay.

And I think that would be the best way to approach it. Any further discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk.

Councilperson Davis-Panier. Yes. Councilperson Lanier. Yes. Councilperson Miller-Anderson. Yes. Chair Pro Tem Dr. Spiritus.

Yes.

Chairperson Guyton.

Yes.

The unanimous vote.

Okay. And this is our last item on our city council agenda. We're moving to 11D on resolution 6926.

Resolution 6926, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Riviera Beach, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, accepting the recommendation of staff and authorizing the execution of three continuing services contract to provide summer academic enrichment services at Wells Recreation Center and then Callaway Recreation Complex for the duration of the city's summer camp program with Raw Academic Services Inc. and Destined to Shine LLC. for an amount not to exceed $50,000 and no cents per contract year per vendor, for a cumulative amount not to exceed $150,000 per vendor during the initial three-year term, providing for two one-year renewal options based upon the mutual consent of the parties, authorizing the chief financial officer to make payment for such services, and providing an effective date. Mr. Chair, there are no comment cards on this item. The acceptance of cards is closed.

I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR APPROVAL. IT'S BEEN MOVED BY COUNCILWOMAN MILLER-ANDERSON. SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN DAVIS-PRINEER. ON DISCUSSION OF THE MOTION, STAFF.

GOOD EVENING. THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT IS SEEKING APPROVAL FOR A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT FOR SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS. and to award a contract to Destined to Shine LLC and Raw Academic Services. This is a result from an RFP that was issued. It was distributed to 802 vendors. Seven proposals were received by the deadline. There was a comprehensive review of all proposals seeking responsiveness and responsibility, and we are asking approval for the top two ranked responsive and responsible vendors.

We're going to get to know public comment card no comment cars, Mr.

Chair.

But then the body on the diet of any clarification.

Councilwoman Miller on this you said there were 800. You said 800 people all the solicitation.

No man was distributed to 802 vendors. All right, thank you for the question to come in.

Here none, madam clerk.

Councilperson Davis been here. Yes. Okay. Councilperson Lanier?

No.

Councilperson Miller-Anderson? Yes. Chair Roten and Dr. Spiridon?

Yes.

Chair Rosen-Guyenton?

Yes.

The item passes with Councilperson Lanier dissenting.

Okay. Keeping in mind, we've got to go right into a utility district meeting to resume where we left off. Mr. City Manager, do you have any closing comments?

Excuse me.

Excuse me. Excuse me. We're still following the agenda. How we end. I normally get comments from the city manager, then the city attorney, then council members, then we end.

What item? What item?

It's not on mine.

Update on the city manager search. Update on the city manager search.

Oh, it's not on.

Okay.

MR. CHAIR, WE'RE ON ITEM 12B, UPDATE ON CITY MANAGERS SEARCH. WE DO HAVE ONE PUBLIC COMMENT CARD ON THIS ITEM. THE ACCEPTANCE OF CARDS IS CLOSED.

GOOD EVENING, BRENDA JENKINS, HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR. ON MAY 12, 2020.

I'M SORRY, COULD YOU PULL THE MIC A LITTLE CLOSER?

ON MAY 12, 2026, THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT CONTACTED HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTORS AND PROFESSIONALS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF FLORIDA TO DETERMINE WHETHER THESE AGENCIES HAVE RECENTLY CONDUCTED A NATIONAL RECRUITMENT FOR A CITY MANAGER POSITION. THE INQUIRY REQUESTED INFORMATION REGARDING THE EXECUTIVE RECRUITMENT FIRM, SCOPE OF SERVICES PROVIDED, COST OF SERVICES AND COPIES OF ANY REQUESTS FOR PROPOSAL OR REQUESTS FOR QUALIFICATIONS. As of this date, responses have been received from the city of Lake Worth Beach, which is currently conducting a city manager recruitment, and the city of Fort Lauderdale, which conducted a city manager recruitment process in 2024. Information received from these agencies is being reviewed to assist in the development of the city's solicitation documents and recruitment strategy. At the June 3rd council meeting, staff presented a PowerPoint presentation outlining the options and processes associated with recruiting a new city manager through local, regional, and national recruitment efforts. Following the presentation, the city council requested an update regarding the next steps necessary to initiate a national recruitment process and engage in the executive recruitment firm. THE PROPOSED NEXT STEPS ARE AS FOLLOWED. WE NEED TO DEVELOP A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR AN EXECUTIVE RECRUITMENT SERVICES. WE NEED TO ADVERTISE A SOLICITATION, RECEIVE AND EVALUATE PROPOSALS, CONDUCT INTERVIEWS AND PRESENTATIONS, NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT, CONDUCT A RECRUITMENT PLANNING SESSION, LAUNCH THE NATIONAL RECRUITMENT EFFORT IN LIEU OF US DOING A SOLICITATION, PROCUREMENT IS RESEARCHING TO SEE IF WE CAN PAY BACK ON ANOTHER MUNICIPALITY AND THAT WILL CUT OUT THE STEP OF A SOLICITATION PROCESS.

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS?

CHAIR?

YES. COUNCILWOMAN MILLER-ANDERSON.

SO WHAT IS THE TIMELINE TO BEFORE WE'RE ABLE TO GET SOMEONE, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, GET THE HEAD HUNTER, THEY DO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO AND GET SOMEONE. WILL THAT ALL HAPPEN WITHIN THE 120 DAYS?

NEW SPEAKER SO DEPENDENT UPON WHETHER WE HAVE TO DO A SOLICITATION, PROCUREMENT HAS ADVISED THAT THE SOLICITATION WOULD EITHER RUN 21 DAYS BUT THE PROCUREMENT DIRECTOR HAS SUGGESTED THAT THE SOLICITATION RUN FOR 30 DAYS. AND BASED ON THAT, THAT WILL PUSH BACK. THEN AFTER WE DO THAT, THEN WE PROCEED TO SELECT THE FIRM. BUT NO ADVERTISEMENT WILL BE DONE UNTIL WE SELECT THE FIRM.

NEW SPEAKER, WHEN WOULD YOU ALL BE MOVING TO DO, I MEAN, LIKE WHAT'S THE TIMELINE TO GET TO DO WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU'RE PLANNING TO DO? IF YOU'RE GOING TO PIGGYBACK OR IF YOU'RE GOING TO PUT OUT ONE OF YOUR OWN?

NEW SPEAKER, MS.

And while she's coming, Ms. Nguyen, if we don't get this done within 120 days, what happens?

You have two choices. You can make Mr. Wilkins the permanent. You've gone through this before when Ms. Hoskins was your interim city manager. You did not get a city manager within the 120 days and you made her your permanent city manager until she retired, really. Or you could choose a new interim city manager for the next 120 days.

THANK YOU CHAIR UH YES DOCTOR SO UH ATTORNEY WINN SO CAN WE GIVE A SHORT-TERM AGREEMENT TO MR WILKINS IF THAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE COUNCIL YES SO WE HAVE THAT ABILITY OKAY THANK YOU CHAIR HI I BELIEVE THE QUESTION FOR PROCUREMENT WAS HOW LONG UM WITH EITHER PATHWAY CORRECT WHETHER IT'S A PIGGYBACK OR FULL SOLICITATION

So I will have to review the Lake Worth package, ask for permission, and then be able to move forward. We ask for permission to be able to use the agreement. So within 30 days.

So that takes about 30 days?

Yes, that would take 30 days. In that same amount of time, I can put together a solicitation to also hit the street within that same amount of time. However, we put the solicitation out within 30 days, have it post for 30 days, Reminding we have the evaluation process, contract negotiation process, and then make the schedule to come back here before council. So 90 days, we'll push it.

So for you to review it and just ask for their permission is going to take 30 days?

To review, to come back and to do the paperwork that's necessary because we do ask for permission from the vendor as well. So it's the city and the vendor. So it's a matter of just communication. And we also have to review the contract to make sure that legal is agreeable to all of the terms. So some contracts already default and say, yes, so one can piggyback that is then, you know, that helps shorten the period, but our legal department has to also review the contract.

So if you don't piggyback, what, how long does that take?

I can have a solicitation out within 30 days and I'll say another 60 for the process, 60 to 90 for the process to sit back at the table and ask for you to approve and move forward with a vendor.

I are you done on come from one million.

Mr. Mayor, thank you the process of the solicitation we're going out to look for a a firm to do the search correct, yes. And the cost of these firms the reason we're doing that with the public solicitation because the cost is over 25,000. Yes, how many firms have we reached out to.

That will be a question for HR.

I have received one proposal from Colin Basinger, and they gave us a proposal of 34,000. I also reached out to MGT, and that's the firm that's actually doing Lake Worth. They did not give me a response. And then I reached out to a firm in Tampa, and they also did not give a response.

Okay. So the reason I bring this up is during our agenda review, this discussion came up. We only have one bidder that stated the cost is over $30,000 or $34,000. And we haven't researched enough headhunter funds to look to firms to see if there were any that would do for under the cost that would need a public solicitation. So I think staff needs to, at the same time, while we're putting together solicitations, see if there's other firms out there that we can actually procure. Because going through the procurement process for a headhunter firm, going through the noticing period, that's an additional 60 to 90 days when staff could hire and bring in a firm or at least get three bids for a potential firm to come to the table. And we could select one at the July 1st meeting.

So Lake Worth is at $30,000. Mm-hmm.

And that would be the option of a piggyback if we were able to negotiate that. And Ms. Hammond said that would take about 30 days. Correct. To negotiate a piggyback with them, to discuss the terms, bring it back to the council. So it would take 30 days for us to go to them, say we want to piggyback to make sure it's in line with what we have and our expectations.

Yes, sir.

Chair?

Yes.

And regarding firms, have we reached out to like the Florida League of Cities that definitely have a department that helps with

The Florida League of Cities does not do national recruitment. The executive firm that we select would actually post the recruitment on the Florida League of Cities.