City Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. It's going to be just a few more minutes. If you can just get settled, please.

Mayor.

All right, good evening, everyone. It is 6.33. Nice to see everyone here. I'm calling the meeting to order.

Commissioner Joseph. Present. Commissioner Lama. Here. Vice Mayor Vizcarra. Here. Mayor Svecin. Here. For the record, Commissioner Stuyvesant is not present. We have a quorum out.

Great, thank you. If everyone could please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Vitaly, if you could lead us, please.

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Mr. City Clerk.

Okay. The first item that we will be considering tonight are the approval of minutes of the August 20th, 2026 commission meeting.

I need a motion, please.

I'll make a motion.

Need a second? Second. All in favor?

Aye.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll go into your opening message.

Thank you.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We appreciate your attendance and thank you for joining us tonight. Before we begin, there are a few important reminders regarding conduct during our Commission meetings. Please ensure all electronic devices are turned off or set to silent mode to maintain the integrity of our proceedings. Mutual respect is the foundation of productive discussions. We ask that everyone remains silent and attentive when someone is addressing the Commission. Clapping, applauding, heckling, or any verbal outbursts, either in support or opposition of the speaker, are strictly prohibited. Any individual wishing to address the Commission must fill out a public speaker's card and submit it to the City Clerk before the relevant item is announced. Each speaker is granted a maximum of three minutes. Should you exceed this time, the chair will notify you to conclude your remarks, speak directly to the agenda's points, remain concise, and avoid redundancy. Should an individual speak without the chair's permission or continue speaking after a warning, they may be escorted out of the chambers. It is essential to avoid making impertinent, slanderous remarks or becoming boisterous while addressing the Commission. Such behavior may lead to being barred from future Commission appearances, unless the majority of the Commission members present vote otherwise. The presiding officer may disallow signs or placards in the Commission Chamber. Please exit the Chamber quietly and without disruption. The goal of our meetings is to facilitate public input and participation. However, disruptive or disorderly conduct hinders our collective objective. Individuals who want to speak on an item on the agenda are asked to fill out a public speaker's card and give it to the city clerk before the item is called. Speakers are asked to speak to the issues, make comments concise and to the point, and refrain from making duplicate comments. All speakers will be limited to one three-minute comment per item. If you exceed the three-minute allotment, the chair will advise you to finish your comment. If you speak out of turn without permission from the chair and or you do not cease speaking after one warning, you will be escorted out of chambers. In order to maintain orderly conduct and or proper decorum at these meetings, anyone who interferes with the orderly process of the meetings after a warning may be removed from the meeting and may be barred from further appearance before the City Commission, as permitted in S-286-0114-FS and SS-74-5 and 74-21 of the City's Code of Ordinances. Any necessary removal will be made at the direction of the mayor and will be carried out by law enforcement or a designated sergeant at arms. It is essential that attendees adhere to these rules of procedure to ensure productive meetings that serve both the public and the city commission. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

OK. I believe we have Rabbi Caleb that's going to do an invocation for us. Thank you.

Good evening, Madam Mayor, commissioners. Almighty God, as we gather this evening to serve our community, we ask for your wisdom, guidance, and blessing. The Jewish community is now preparing for the Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. We reflect upon our actions, seek forgiveness from one another, and from you. and resolve to enter the new year as better people. Yom Kippur reminds us of our responsibility for one another. It teaches us the power of forgiveness, the importance of humility, and our obligation to pursue kindness, justice, and peace. May you bless our mayor, commissioners, and city staff first responders and all who serve Sunny Isles Beach. Grant them wisdom and compassion as they make decisions for the good of our community, and may our city continue to be a place where people of every background and faith live together with dignity, respect, security, and friendship. As we approach Yom Kippur, May we all be inscribed and sealed in the book of life for a year of health, happiness, prosperity, and peace. Amen.

Thank you. Thank you, Rabbi. Before we go to the order of business, I'm just going to make a few announcements, please. And again, I appreciate that there's a lot of people here. Some of you are here for the first time. Some of you maybe walked in after the message. We try really hard to maintain decorum here, so I'm going to ask you to please not clap. Try, please. If you've signed up to speak, please go ahead and be ready with your remarks. You have three minutes. I'll let you finish your sentence, but... but not really go over. If you decide that you do not want to speak, that's fine. You could just say I'm in favor or I'm opposed and you don't need to speak. I ask everyone to speak through the chair, which is me, and not directly to anybody on the dais. Please maintain decorum as well. Now, I know we have a number of changes, so Mr. City Clerk, if you can just very slowly Yes.

Announce those.

OK. So we have a few changes to tonight's agenda. Item 9A, providing a merit increase for the city manager, has been deferred. Item 9-0, which is a second amendment to the continuing services agreement with Miller Legg, has been revised. That revision is to correct the agenda memo, which incorrectly mentions a different firm. And item 9-X has been added on, which is a resolution honoring the Archdiocese of Miami with a key to the city. In addition to that, we are hearing a couple of items out of order. We are hearing items 9W, 9T, 9V, and 9U after item 9C. And those are all the changes.

The paper copy that I have does not have 9X.

9x is a separate sheet of paper that's separate there.

Okay, so if you've signed up to speak for any of the items I will just make sure to clarify before that I before I close the public comment to give you an opportunity to make sure you're speaking on the right item, so mr. City Clerk if you can just Look at the speaker cards. I'm imagining a lot of those are for those items that we moved out of order. I

Yes, the majority of them are for those items that were moved out of order.

OK. You'll keep track?

Yes, ma'am.

OK. All right. Wonderful. All right. So for those coming in, if you can just please take a seat. And I also want to remind everyone that the acoustics in this room allow us to hear every single conversation. So even if you're whispering, we hear you. It's really distracting. Plus, we don't want to hear your private conversation. So if you need to speak to someone, please take it outside. And please turn off your phones. All right, with that, Mr. Clerk, next item.

So the first item on tonight's agenda is item 6A, an ordinance of the City Commission of the City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, amending Chapter 233 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sunny Isles Beach, Section 233-1, entitled to permit required, and procedures for the application for permits. Excuse me. Entitled Permit Required and Section 233-2 entitled Application for Permit to clarify the definition of special events and procedures for the application for permits, providing for repealer, providing for servability, providing for codification, and providing for an effective date.

I'm sorry.

Wait, wait. One second. Yes?

I have an additional item that I want to ask to have put on the agenda.

OK, that should have been done at the beginning, but OK.

I was politely, I was waiting.

Thank you. All right, if you can name your item. What's the title of your item?

So my title of the action is? Item. Yes, the item is?

Would it be under resolution?

No, this is a, yes, well, it's a resolution, yes, for the city, for the commission to look into hiring a headhunter to find us an outside person as our new city manager.

OK. First, I need a motion to allow this item to be added.

Madam Mayor, may I just a point of clarification? There is no resolution to add, so this would be considered a motion.

Yes, I'm making a motion to add this to the agenda.

No, to clarify, it would be a motion to request the action that you are asking for. There's two type of motions that we are requiring tonight. The first motion is for you to add it onto the agenda. And then once discussion begins on your add-on item, then that would be considered a motion and not resolution.

OK, yes. So let's do that.

OK, so I need a motion to add it on.

I will make a motion.

I need a second. No second.

OK. So then I, since we had one agenda item pulled, I would like, and this was the second time that this item had been on the agenda, I would like to ask the city manager, what was the reasoning for this item being pulled tonight?

Okay, Commissioner Joseph, it's no longer on the agenda. Yes, I understand. It's not germane to the meeting.

Okay, I would like to say that on September 9th, the city manager, which is on, anyone can Google it, with the city of Lake Worth Beach, he did an interview for a job as the city manager of Lake Worth Beach. Commissioner Joseph. At the same time, he was asking us for a salary increase.

Mayor, I really think this is inappropriate. Commissioner Joseph, it's not on the agenda.

No, but still, the residents and the commission needs to know.

I understand that, but this is not the time.

Because we need to be ahead of the curve. Otherwise, we're going to be left without a city manager.

I understand. However, it's not possible right now, OK? So let's go on to the next item.

Yeah, so we're currently on 6a.

All right 6a is being presented by the city manager or Julio I'll do the introduction. Thank you. Mr. City manager.

Go ahead mayor vice mayor members of the Commission This is an ordinance for first reading amending chapter 233 entitled permit requires required Application for permit to clarify the definition of special events and procedures for the application for permits for special events Our code was unclear. So we've had discussions in the past. Can you ask us to bring this to you?

Mr. City clerk, do we have public speakers for this item?

I don't know.

Do we have any comments from the Commission?

No, no, no, it was clear during the agenda review. I

I just brought up, yeah, I'm fine with it. I just brought up to the city attorney in the memo. I don't know if it's true in the resolution. I didn't see it in the resolution, but it's on the bottom of the memo. It says received less than 60, and then in parentheses it says 30 days. So whichever one it's supposed to be, just make sure it's correct in the, please. That's all.

And since we have such a large crowd, to clarify, we have already had code for special events. This is really pertaining to areas like the beach, where in the past it wasn't very clear. So if you'd like, you can take a look at it. There's very specific requirements in order to get this permit. All right. So with that, I'll take a motion.

Motion.

I need a second. Second.

One second.

Commissioner Joseph.

Yes.

Commissioner Lama. Yes. Vice Mayor Vizcarra. Yes. Mayor Svecin. Yes. The ordinance passes on first reading four to zero. Second reading will be scheduled for October.

All right. Mr. City Clerk, next item, please.

Next item is 7A. It's a public hearing on the annual summary report of the city's red light camera program.

Okay. Hello, Chief. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the commission. Let's start off by saying what an amazing turnout. Thank you for showing up tonight and your participation. It's great to see everyone here. I'm here before you tonight to report on the department's red light camera program. As mandated by Florida statute, a municipality that operates traffic and fraction detectors must annually report the results of the program to Florida's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in addition to providing an annual summary report to the municipality's governing body at a regularly scheduled commission meeting. A red light camera enforcement program began at Sunny Isles Beach on September 1, 2024, with the operation of six traffic infraction detectors placed at four different intersections within the city. On November 9, 2025, and January 12, 2026, four additional traffic infraction detectors were placed at two different intersections. The camera locations are identified as Collins Avenue southbound at 193th Street, Collins Avenue north and south at 183rd Street, Collins Avenue north and south at 174th Street, Collins Avenue north and south at Sunny Isles Boulevard, Collins Avenue north and south at 159th Street, and Sunny Isles Boulevard eastbound adjacent to Gateway Park at the Mark Pedestrian Crosswalk. For the reporting period of July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2026, the following statistical numbers are being reported. Notice of violations issued, 25,887. Notice of violations contested, 28. Notices of violations upheld, 28. Notice of violations dismissed, zero. As a reminder, vehicle owners contesting the issuance of a notice of violation are provided with a hearing before a local magistrate. Notice of violations paid, 15,378. Notice of violations elevated to the issuance of a uniform traffic citation, 8,367. Total revenue collected from payment of notice of violations $2,459,025. Distribution amounts, Florida Department of Revenue received $1,288,492. Retained by the City of Sunny Isles Beach is $1,170,533. Based upon a review of the number of violations captured through the city's use of traffic confraction detectors for the listed reporting period, enhancing traffic and pedestrian safety at intersections continue to be a priority for the police department. As such, it is your police chief's recommendation to continue operation of the city's red light camera program. Thank you.

Thank you, Chief. Are there any public speakers?

No, ma'am.

I'll take comments from the commission. Commissioner Lama?

No comment, ma'am.

Vice Mayor?

I had a question. So first of all, I love the statistics of the 28 contested, which is such a low number to begin with, and that all 28 was upheld. That means that you're scoring 100%. That's pretty good. Of the million 170 that we keep, do we then subtract Whatever it costs from there, or does that number already include our expenses having been taken out?

You have to subtract our expenses.

From there?

Yes.

Okay. And it's our expenses less than $1,170,000? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Well, then it's financially successful.

Yes.

On top of the fact that it's enhancing pedestrian safety and traffic safety. OK, very good. Thank you. Mr. Joseph, anything? Yes.

Go ahead. So what are our expenses, actually? You'd have to get with finance on that.

There's officers, court, magistrate, time of personnel, et cetera.

Or it doesn't come near the amount that's our portion?

Correct.

OK. And I'd just like to say that the visibility on Collins is unbelievable. We need to please maintain that as long as we can. because it makes us more like Bell Harbor and Golden Beach. And we have less people laughing that you can just drive through sunny aisles. And we're the speed capital of South Florida.

Thank you.

Now I have to work at getting speed bumps on North Bay Road and Golden Shores.

All right. Vice Mayor, you're recognized. Thank you. I just wanted to add, even if we were making zero dollars or even if there was a small loss, which we're not there at all, but even if we were at zero, it would still be worth it. Absolutely.

It makes a difference. A lot of our violators are transient, and it really makes a difference. As many of you, if you're driving with your GPS, you hear a red light camera ahead on my way to work. I hear it, and I tend to automatically just tend, you know, it's a reaction. You slow down. You're more aware. We haven't had any rear-enders from this program, so it's worked out very well.

And despite those warnings, you still issued 25,000. That's crazy to me. 25,000 is a huge number. So OK, good job. Thank you.

Thank you. And just a quick warning, tomorrow night, we're going to be out there. We have several officers out there tomorrow night.

Thank you, Chief, for that warning. Commissioner Lama, you're recognized.

Yeah, thank you. I appreciate it. I think the program has been successful. I appreciate the statistics. Obviously, I think the goal here and the purpose is safety. And I think there was some apprehension about rear end accidents, et cetera. But I think that, and I speak to friends of mine that don't live here, that live in Aventura, but come by here, they know that there's red light cameras here. So I think the number one goal for safety I think is being met. So I thank you for that. Yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chief. I have just a few questions. Do you have the percentage of residents that are getting these tickets? I know in the past it was very low.

I don't. It's going to take quite a bit of time. And the reason why is when people put on their driver's license, Sunny Isles Beach, they spell it in many, I'm talking probably about a half a dozen or to 12 different variations, Sunny Isle Beach, Sunny Isles Beach spelled out, Beach, BCH. And I got to go one by one from day one to get that answer. So if you really want it. I will do it. Absolutely.

It would just be interesting to see if it's created deterrence, because that was the biggest argument against it was that there was going to be rear-enders. And I know that people, probably maybe some in the audience, have gotten a red light ticket, and hopefully it's your first and last. But this was directly in response to the community requesting it because of the fatality that we had. So thank you, Chief. All right, with that, I'll take a motion.

There's no motion needed. It's just a report.

Yeah, sorry. This is just a thank you, Chief. So you don't even need a vote.

You're so good, you don't need a vote. Thank you. Have a great night. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. See what Vitaly is doing there? You could do that. All right. Mr. City Clerk, now to resolutions.

9B is a resolution approving the renewal of the commercial package policy, property liability automobile, workers compensation and miscellaneous insurances with Brown and Brown, preferred government insurance for the period of October 1st, 2026 through September 30th, 2027. OK.

Thank you. Mr. City Manager?

Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the Commission, this is our automobile liability and property insurance commercial package for the city. It includes workers' comp and overall represents a 5% reduction.

Thank you. Do we have public speakers?

No, ma'am.

All right. I'll take comments from the Commission. Commissioner Joseph?

No.

Anyone else? All right, I'll take a motion.

Motion.

I need a second. Second. All in favor?

Aye.

All right, next item, please.

9C. 9C is a resolution amending resolution number 2024-336-61 to revise citywide parking rates, establishing parking agreement rates for temporary long-term parking permits, establishing electrical vehicle rates, and authorizing the city manager to do all things necessary.

Thank you. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners. So the proposed resolution establishes updated parking rates for metered beach parking, temporary long-term parking permits, and electric vehicle charging. Specifically, the resolution would establish rates as follows. Beach metered parking rates would go from $5 per hour to $10 per hour, while resident rates will not be affected. Temporary long-term parking would be set at $400 per space per month, $14 per day, or $10 for half a day. And finally, electric vehicle charging will be set at $0.18 per kilowatt hour, recovering approximately $4,200 per month in electricity charges currently incurred by the city. And finally, we'll have a $0.10 per minute idling fee to prevent individuals that are sitting at those electric vehicle charging stations without actually charging.

Thank you. Do we have public speakers?

No, ma'am.

Any comments from the commission? Go ahead, Commissioner Joseph.

Hi, how are you? Thank you. So within this resolution, is it possible to memorialize times when there would be a moratorium on ticket giving, such as religious holidays and all?

So no, that isn't here currently. We're just updating the rates at the moment.

Okay, but still you're updating the resolution. You're going to have a new resolution that's going to be written, correct? That's going to be overwritten?

At the moment, this is the only resolution here. So we do have a city code for a lot of the other related parking regulations throughout the city, but all the rates are set by resolution. So before you today, we're just establishing rates by the resolution.

Okay, so if I wanted to memorialize the fact that on certain days, religious holidays, either whatever, Christian, Jewish, whatever it may be, that there's a moratorium on parking fines. in certain areas. That could be written into the code, correct?

I will defer to the city attorney or the city manager on that.

That would be a little tricky to do. You're picking winners and losers. So it'd be difficult to create exemptions based on a particular religion or series of religions, because you can't cover them all. So it would be very difficult to articulate in the code or resolution.

So how do we avoid a debacle like happened last weekend? Well, the word didn't get out for some crazy reason, and there were tickets written when they shouldn't have been.

So Julio, the rates, because we're talking here specifically about the beach parking and the charging stations, correct? Yes, ma'am. And resident rate is not going up. It's $3.

That's correct. The resident rate is not being affected whatsoever in any of these, with the exception of the electric vehicle charges of residents who have electric vehicles.

Right. And so when you say the city incurred, taxpayers incurred. Correct. I just want to clarify that for the public. You all paid for the electric, so now... We're going to get paid back for that. Correct.

And this was no due to the city itself. FPL prohibited the city from charging at one point in time when this was established. And now they're allowing us to be able to charge to recover our expenses, to recover the taxpayers' expenses.

OK. Thank you. So Commissioner Joseph. It sounds like you're trying to make a motion, but it's not really clear. Do you want to try to put it on as a discussion item for next month?

I have already considered doing that. So I understand it's not going to go through this month. I have a couple of things to put on for next month already.

All right. Thank you. Do you have anything else to add?

No.

OK. Vice Mayor, any questions?

Yeah. So we're doubling the non-resident rate from 5 to 10. So I was just wondering how we came to that number. Is it comparable to other cities? Were we undercharging? I mean, you're doubling. So I was just wondering the big leap.

Yeah, absolutely. So in looking at some other cities, and particularly Hollywood, they do have higher parking rates for the beach only, which is what we're doing.

And my follow-up question to that is, That is, Gateway is not considered beach parking. We're talking just about Newport and the other one.

Your parking in Ellenwood. Yes, ma'am.

Yeah.

OK. All right. So it's just a few, not that many spots.

I can't tell you how many people I see parking at Gateway that go to beach.

And Intercoastal Park as well. Oh, OK. Yes.

OK. Commissioner Lama, you have anything to add?

No.

I just want to say that it's a long time coming. If you go anywhere else, if you go to Miami Beach, you pay a fortune to use that beach. Our residents shouldn't have to be paying for all the cleanup, the garbage, the law enforcement, everything that comes with making sure that we have the safest and most beautiful beach. If you're going to come visit us, then you're going to pay a little bit more for parking. So all right. Thank you.

I'm sorry. I have one more clarification. So Gateway is not considered beach parking? No, sir. OK. But I've seen so many people walking with chairs that park at Gateway and go to the beach. So are we undercharging? Because we're not considering Gateway as beach parking?

So Gateway is used for multiple different functions, as are some of the other city lots that people could potentially go to the beach from. So right now, we're really only focusing on the ones immediately adjacent to the beach. But in the future, we could look at the potential of other parking lots and garages as well.

OK, thank you.

All right, I'll take a motion.

Motion.

I need a second. Second. All in favor?

Aye. Aye.

All right.

Next item, please. Thank you.

Thank you.

So this is a part of the agenda where we're moving the items at the end to the top. The first one that we will hear is item 9T, as in Tom. 90 is a resolution directing the city manager to raise the flag of Israel on October 7th, 2026 in a display of support and solidarity with the state of Israel and its people.

Okay, so this is my item. For many of you, if not most of you, I don't need to explain, but for those that are potentially watching and really for the record, this would be the second year that this item would be introduced and hopefully passed. The idea is not an event. No dollars would go towards this. We would just be raising the flag of Israel in solidarity with the atrocities that occurred on October 7 that affected not only every single Jewish person in this community, but more than that. The state of Israel was sadly attacked by terrorists. And they didn't just attack Jewish people. They attacked Muslims. They attacked Christians. It was really hard for me to talk about this last year, so it's a little bit hard for me to talk about it this year. The idea is not to forget. We talk about not forgetting, and sadly, we have a new thing to say, don't forget. The people that this continues to hurt, us as a community, obviously, but even individuals who've lost someone or someone was maimed, and many, many were maimed, raped children, babies were put in ovens, horrible, horrible things. Seeing on October 7, the city of Sunny Isles Beach recognizes that this is something for all of us to remember. I hope that will give them a little bit of solace and a little bit of peace. It's a very small gesture. It would go up in the morning and would come back down at night. So with that, do we have speakers?

We do. Alex Brisk.

For those that this is your first time, if you could just please say your name and your address for the record and kindly keep it to three minutes.

Hello, everybody. My name is Alex Brisk. I reside at 210 174th Street in our beautiful sunny Isles Beach. So mayor and commissioners, I am speaking today to urge you to vote in favor of directing the city manager to raise flag of Israel on October 7, 2026. October 7 marks a solemn anniversary honoring the victims of the deadliest day of the Jewish people since the Holocaust, as well as the hostages who were taken. Raising this flag is not about engaging in international politics. It is a direct statement of solidarity, human dignity, and moral clarity against terrorism. For our local community, this gesture keeps deep personal significance. At first, standing with our neighbors. Many residents in our city have direct ties to Israel. Friends, family, and loved ones who were impacted by these events. Flying this flag signals that their city stands with them in their grief and remembrance. Also, rejecting anti-Semitism. At a time when anti-Semitism and hate crimes have surged worldwide, visible actions matter. It shows that our municipal government refuses to stay silent in the face of targeted violence. And lastly, affirming shared values. Flying the flag for this single day honors shared democratic principles. and affirms our commitment to standing against terror and violence towards civilians. So this resolution is a meaningful, compassionate step to support our residents and remember their innocent lives lost. I strongly urge you to vote yes. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please.

Eli Fraislin.

good evening my name is eli friedlin and i reside at 1700 planted boulevard mayor the commissioners um I'm not going to repeat what the mayor said already. And I just want to say that some time ago before I moved here, my job took me to a place in Tampa area. So at the north of Tampa, there is a little cute town. It's called Tarpon Springs. And if one comes to visit that town, you cannot help yourself but notice that this city flies a Greek flag. The Greek flag is everywhere, including the city hall. I'm pretty sure there are more Greek flags there than in Greece itself. But if you look at the history, you see that the reason they're doing it is because initially the place was established by Greek refugees who came there. But people decided not to forget the history. And like I said, it's there every single day. They fly the flag 365 days every day. It's in the city hall right next to the state, city, and USA flag. And nobody takes it as a political statement. And what we ask is we're not looking for a political statement. We are looking to memorize and remember of what happened, the atrocity that became a part of this world. It happened to Jews, but it is a part of all of us now. Raising the flag once a year, commemorandum, is not a political. Thank you. Thank you.

Maya Nakmias.

Hello, good evening. My name is Maya Nakmias. I live at 230 174th Street, Sunny Isles Beach. I'm here tonight to speak about raising the Israeli flag this October 7th and every October 7th that follows. Personally, October 7th changed the course of my family. My daughter, Daniella, was deeply affected by the brutality of that horrific day, and it led her to enlist in the Israeli army, where she now serves as a lone soldier. So I'm here as a resident and as a mother. I know some people worry that raising the flag could feel political, but this is not about politics. Just as we understand the importance of never forgetting September 11, October 7 must also be remembered. It was the deadliest single day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. We honor the innocent people who were brutally murdered that day, the hostages who were taken, and the families whose lives were forever changed. Raising the Israeli flag on that day is a symbol of remembrance and solidarity. It tells everyone in our city we remember and we stand together. That's why I respectfully ask the commission to support raising the Israeli flag this October 7 and every October 7 that follows. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Do we have any other speakers?

Arthur Curran.

Madam Mayor and members of the commission.

Just your name and address for the record, please.

Arthur Curran, 1800 South Ocean Drive in Holloneal Beach, Florida. Thank you. Today, I request and urge you to fly the Israeli flag not only on October 7, 2026, but every year thereafter. This is not a opportunity to supplant the American flag, It is not a political issue. It is a human issue where we can align with and pay homage to those who lost their lives on October 7. In fact, in 2005, Netanya in Israel became a sister city of Sunny Isles. And it's undoubted that they would do and are doing the same thing and commemorating our 9-11 the same way we commemorate and will commemorate, hopefully, with your resolution the tragedy that occurred. It was not only the Jews. It was the Thai. It was the Arabs. It was the Christians that actually suffered. And they continue to do that. The benefits well outweigh the burdens. In fact, the burdens are slim to none, if any. It's merely one day. The benefits mimic and actually echo the majority of those sitting here today. In fact, there's not one reasonable person that would oppose that. So I urge you, and I would hope that this commission would raise the flag of Israel, not only this October 7th, but every October 7th going forward. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And finally, Vitaly Falkovich.

I know we know you, Vitaly, but still, for the record, your name and address, please.

I ask that you support the resolution. It shows us that we stand with Jewish people and that by us supporting them, it shows us that even if, God forbid, it happened here, that we're not going to be shaken. No matter what happens, we stand with them. Thank you.

Thank you, Vitaly. All right. I'll take comments or discussion from the commission. Commissioner Joseph?

Well, for me, I have neighbors and friends that lost family on October 7. And for me, this is a no-brainer. Though I'm Jewish, if I were not, I would still view this as a humanitarian request, and I would be for raising of the flag.

Thank you. Commissioner Lamba, any comments? Vice Mayor?

I am going to be a no on this one. I told you last year that my yes vote on the flag last year would be my last vote on any international conflict The humanitarian aspects are not lost on me. But I made my thoughts clear throughout the year as the items progressed that I felt very uncomfortable feeling that we as a commission were benefiting politically from something so horrible. And that just didn't rest well with me. So my last vote on any international conflict was to raise the flag last year. And I've been true to my word. Ukrainian issues have come up. Other things have come up. And I've been no on that. And it's not to dismiss anything that anybody has said or anything that happened, because that's not where I'm coming from. But I'm a no on international things. And while it may not be political to you, it may be political to others. And it's why I also didn't support putting up the autism flag. I just think we need to keep our flags the way they are.

Thank you. Thank you. I'm just going to add before I take a motion. Vice Mayor, I knew you were going to be a no, because you said it, and you're about probably 99.9% keep to what you say. So I appreciate that. So I was prepared for it. MARTHA MINOW- I don't know why it's political. But it has been political. And it's been politicized. And the only thing that I can say is that one of my other items is reintroducing the IRA definition of anti-Semitism, which I'll speak about later. But that is one of the accusations is that you are showing some sort of solidarity to a foreign nation. And it's not. If, God forbid, anything like that happened in any other country, God forbid, I would do everything possible to make sure that the people in our community would feel heard. And so I appreciate you all coming out. I appreciate you speaking. And so with that, I will take a motion.

I will make a motion.

OK. I'm going to pass the gavel. Now, vice mayor to chair, I will second.

All in favor? No, I'm just ready. Oh, all right.

Let's take a roll call, please.

Commissioner Joseph? Yes. Commissioner Lama? Yes. Vice Mayor Vizcarra?

No.

Mayor Svecin?

Yes.

The resolution passes three to one.

Thank you. All right, next item. If you have... If you're speaking on the next items, and again, I so appreciate, all of us appreciate that you're here. We would love to see you here every single month. But if you can just try not to repeat what everyone else says, and I know these are very emotional things, it would help give everyone an opportunity to be heard. So next item, please.

Next item is a resolution designating the first night and the first Sunday of Hanukkah as official city-wide community events of the City of Sunny Isles Beach for years 2026 through 2031 to be facilitated by the Chabad Lubavitch of Sunny Isles Beach and the Chabad Russian Center of South Florida, respectively, recognizing the cultural, historical, and community significance of events and declaring the city's purpose to be secular in nature.

OK, this is, again, my item. So just a little bit of history. Many of you have been here for many, many years. Former Mayor Edelkopp is here, so he can definitely attest to this. Going back at least 20 years, I'll say 25, we've held a Hanukkah event here inside the lobby of the government center. But it started, meaning Rabbi Barron and Toby held the event, but the city was very supportive of it. The commission always attended. It got so big, and I think actually it was during COVID, it was put outside because we couldn't be inside. And boy, oh boy, you build it, they will come. There was one year, I think there was over 500 people there. Last year, because again, it's not consistent, the city was able to sponsor the event at Gateway that was annually, that has also been for many, many years, I'll say 20 as well, if I'm correct, something like that, that has been sponsored before by the Chabad Russian Center. The city was able to make that a city-sponsored event. There's a lot of talk about what is the church and state. And we've had these discussions on the dais, I feel, very, very strongly that a community needs to be represented. And it should not be the responsibility of any nonprofit to have to take on that complete burden, especially since an event is free to the public, free for anyone. No one's asking anyone's religion. And it provides such an exceptional experience. And like I said, members of this commission, past commissions, going back to former mayor Edelkopp, have attended these events. And they just get better and better. every year. And it's great for the solidarity. It's great for us to come together as a community. And it's great to understand each other's cultures. Similarly, we're going to have an event for Hispanic Heritage on Saturday. this is in line with doing something like that. In the past, I've actually said our egg scramble should just be called an Easter event, because we know that's what it is. So it's silly not to acknowledge the fact that we have a strong Christian and Catholic community, and we have a strong Jewish community. So that's why I decided to finally say, okay, we need to just trying to negotiate this every year and allow the city to work with these two entities to continue to put on an amazing event. So that was a little long when I said not to be long, so thank you. Do we have public speakers? We do.

OK. Alex Brisk.

You don't need to repeat your name and address for the record.

Well, I'll try not to repeat some of the stuff you already said, Mayor. Thank you. I'll start off by saying Sunny Isles Beach is special because of our rich diversity and family traditions. We celebrate together. And as you have mentioned, we already celebrate major seasonal gatherings that bring our neighbors out in full force, like, for example, our annual Easter egg hunt. that we do in the spring, and also as we're coming up, our beloved Boogie by the Beach Halloween as well, a celebration in the fall. So extending the same official city-wide recognition to Hanukkah is a natural, fair continuation of how we bring our community together. I'll just mention one of the main things that I can say, that equal representation, community, unity, and clear secular purpose By you guys allowing bringing Hanukkah as an official citywide community event. So when Sunny Isles Beach Supporters supports events representing the people who live here, our entire community becomes stronger and more united. So I strongly urge that you vote yes and in favor of this resolution.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Felix Kisner.

You haven't been here in a while, Felix, so name and address for the record.

Honorable Mayor, honorable commissioners, my name is Felix Kisner. For those of you who don't know, to 15174th Street, I will be a little more stern because There's a famous Russian book, says, ,, which translates, dear buddy, we're strangers in this party of life, celebration of life. You know, Sunny Isles Beach is home to one of the largest concentration of Jewish residents in Florida, including many Orthodox and Israeli-American families. A municipal event calendar should reflect the community it serves. And right now, Hanukkah, the most widely observed Jewish holiday during the same winter season, is kind of officially notably absent. This is not a novel or legal uncertain request. Public menorah lightings have been repeatedly upheld by courts in the same way Christmas tree lighting have, because both carry secular and cultural dimension along their religious ones. Numerous municipalities across Florida and the county, including neighboring cities such as Aventura, Miami Beach, Hallandale Beach, and Boca Raton, already host city-supported Hanukkah events without controversy. Practically, this will be a low-cost addition. A menorah lighting can be organized to the same parts in a recreation structure already used for the city's existing holiday events and typically draws strong community turnout and positive feedback. Press, I respectfully ask the commission to consider adding Hanukkah events to the 2026 community calendar and going forward, structuring the same way as the city's other holiday programming. I know bathrooms are important. If you can find finding for this, you can find finding for lighting ceremony of Hanukkah. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker.

Felix Sukowitzki.

Hello, everybody.

I feel like after my last two speeches, you guys would know me by heart. But anyways, Felix Sukhabitsky, 18625 Atlantic Boulevard. And I'm here to talk about parking.

Did you say parking? Yeah. We're not talking about parking right now. This is for a Hanukkah. So that's a different item. That's okay, because we made it very confusing, so.

I have nine U. I thought it was a parking.

No, it's not. Did you, you wanted to speak on parking? Yes. Okay. Thank you. You can come back. All right.

Okay. Boris Dabrówka. Dabrówka?

I apologize.

If you keep it under three minutes, if you keep it under three minutes, sure. In fact, I appreciate that. So ladies and gentlemen, if we want to give Boris his time.

Good evening, commissioners. I am Boris Dobrivka, 230-174 Street, Unit 1718, Sanias Beach, Florida, 33160. I am working as an educational specialist at Miami, at Alonso and Tracy Morning Senior High Schools. Mostly, I'm working with Russian-speaking students. My goal at the high school is to teach students to be tolerant to any religions, any nationalities. Now, please. I was very quickly, I really support to provide the event of raising the Israeli flag on St. John's, to make the Hanukkah events without explanation, but really support this. I support to provide the park, the space under the near the synagogue to use as a playground for the children. And I support to do all and any things against anti-Semitism. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. OK. Thank you for keeping it under one minute, a little over.

Alexander Kaller.

Rabbi Kaller.

Alexander Keller, 403 Poinciana Drive, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida. Madam Mayor, commissioners, I'm asking the city of Sunny Isles Beach to recognize our annual Hanukkah festival, as well as the menorah lighting by the city hall as official citywide community events. Hanukkah is, of course, a Jewish holiday, but its message reaches far beyond the Jewish community. The menorah has become an enduring symbol of religious freedom. the freedom to live openly according to one's faith and traditions without fear. That message is profoundly American, and it is profoundly relevant to Sunny Isles Beach. Our city is home to a large and vibrant Jewish community alongside residents from many different cultures, nationalities, and faiths. And an official city Hanukkah celebration is not about separating one community from another. It's about bringing all of us together. In fact, every single year, When we conduct our Hanukkah festival, people of all faiths and walks of life do join with their children. When we light the menorah publicly, we are celebrating the principle that every person should be free to practice his or her faith, preserve his or her heritage, and be proud of who they are. This is also already a part of the life of our city. Sunny Isles Beach has celebrated Hanukkah publicly through its Festival of Lights, and I'm asking that we take the next step and establish this celebration and these events as an official annual citywide event. Let these be the events for everyone, Jews and non-Jews alike, and let families come together for music, food, children's activities, the lighting of the menorah, and celebration of the community. And especially at a time when anti-Semitism and religious intolerance remain serious concerns, there is something powerful about our city saying publicly that in Sunny Isles Beach, people do not have to hide their identity. We celebrate our diversity. We respect one another, and we stand together against hatred. The central message of Hanukkah is simple. A small amount of light can overcome a great deal of darkness. And I can think of a few messages more appropriate for an official celebration of city of Sunny Isles Beach. Thank you.

Thank you. Do we have any other speakers?

No other speakers.

You guys are gonna have to come more often so you know not to clap. All right, so with that, I'm giving one last opportunity because there was a change. If anyone else wanted to speak on this item, I will let you speak. All right, public comment is closed. I will take comments from the commission if there are any.

Yeah, I just wanted to, okay, so this is great, but I just wanted to mention that Unfortunately, there's a state law that it goes into effect in January 1st of 2027 That does not allow for taxpayer Funds to be spent on ethnic and cultural events. So we're sitting here today We're gonna vote on this for the next five years. It's a resolution But I just wanted to make people aware of that. It's not within OUR POWER, THIS IS A STATE LEGISLATURE THAT PASSED THIS, SO I JUST WANTED TO INFORM THE PEOPLE OF THAT. SO WE COULD PASS IT TODAY, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT YEAR FROM A STATE PERSPECTIVE.

THANK YOU. VICE MAYOR? WE DO KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT YEAR.

IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ALLOWED AFTER JANUARY. YEAH, SO IT'S THE REALITY OF IT'S COMING DOWN FROM THE STATE.

Commissioner Lum, are you done?

Yes.

No, I was responding to him. You have the floor, Vice Mayor. Thank you. And so that was one of the points I was going to raise. The other one is we literally just passed a budget on Tuesday. And you were asked by Commissioner Stuyvesant, is there anything else that you want to add or comment? And you didn't answer that.

Yes. No, that's true. Wait, wait, wait. I did actually. Wait, wait.

Vice Mayor has the floor. Thank you. And so you know where I stand. I'm a purist when it comes to the constitutional stuff, so you know where I stand on that as well. It's not just these issues. I also don't like nativity scenes. I am very strict about the Constitution in that sense. But we also have this budgetary issue. We have this legal issue that's a state legislature. You mentioned earlier today that, well, if the Republican candidate wins for governor, he's thinking of doing away with that. He doesn't actually have the authority to do away with that. It has to go through the legislature. So you're going to be stuck with this law in January. But also, it's not budgeted. I didn't ask for a budget amendment for adaptive beach day, which is $6,000, because we don't know what our budget issues are going to be should Amendment 3 pass. So I can't support this for the reasons I normally wouldn't. I love the idea of taking our existing Event, you know togetherness that we do the lighting of the tree. We do the lighting of the menorah I think that's beautiful. I and I think if we're gonna enhance anything we should do that. It's already in the budget but Adding to the budget when we just passed it when we have a law that's basically telling us that we can't I'm gonna have to be a no on this one.

Okay.

Thank you Commissioner Joseph.

You have the floor. I

Yes. So we had Jewish Solidarity Day last year for the first time. I was told that, according to our legislature's DEI amendment, that that would not be allowed. I'm looking to get an opinion of Attorney General Utmeyer, there are exceptions that are allowed. And I'm going to be advocating for an exception regarding Hanukkah celebration. Hispanic heritage in Sunny Isles, and also Jewish Solidarity Day, which is important to us. It's not anything religious. It's having our Jewish heritage community come together for a celebration. And I think that's important each year, since our community just never comes together for celebrations.

You're done?

Yes.

Okay, thank you. I'm just going to add to this, and Commissioner Joseph, the community has come together, but I understand what you're saying. So to speak on a few points, for those that are not aware, a law was passed that was targeting DEI, and one of the, I guess, blowbacks on it is that things were swept into there, that the legislature was not meaning to add, as far as I know. These laws change. So we know that. So just because something is expected to be passed or in effect on January 1 doesn't mean that it will. And to clarify, what I meant was that the candidate, the Congressman Byron Donald, when I asked him about this, his response was, you all are not understanding this correctly. So I am also looking into it to make sure that we can get clarification, because certainly the city of Sunny Isles Beach is not going to do anything that is against the law. But we are for sure going to fight anything that is in any way impeding our right to observe and to celebrate and to enjoy our lives and our city. So I can appreciate the comments, and I can appreciate some of the opposition, but I feel very, very strongly about this, that a community needs to be recognized, whatever that community is. And if members of the community come out and they want to have a celebration, it's your money. So you should be the ones deciding how to spend it. So with that, I will take a motion. And I just want to add something.

Please, go ahead. That law. It should be something that should be challenged. I would support challenging that. But until it is, that's the law. That's what we have.

Mayor, I just wanted to ask about the budgetary process. So I know this is a resolution, but from what I understand, this will still have to come to the commission. Obviously it will have to be budgeted year after year, come to the commission and be approved by the commission, you know, with the budget approval process, correct? Or is this, this is just basically saying that we're committed to having this for five years? we're not budgeting them an amount.

My intention is not to lock any future commission in. It is to allow future commissions to understand that this was the will of the community and then add it into the budget, however that looks like. In some years, it may be very small. In some years, it might be much bigger. It depends on what that commission decides to do.

But let's say three years from now, for some reason, well, for some reason, let's say the commission doesn't want to have it to be part of the budget. It just won't happen?

They repeal the resolution.

Okay, okay. All right. Yeah, I just wanted to make sure that we're not locking in because obviously the budget process is that it's got to be approved on a yearly basis. So, okay. I just wanted to have that part clear.

Okay.

Well, I pray that never happens. What never happens? That we have a commission that votes to not have that. No, no, I understand.

I just wanted to understand the budget process. All right.

I'll take a motion.

I'll make a motion.

Okay. I'm going to pass the gavel, and I'm going to second. You seconded? Yeah. Go ahead. No, no. All right. Roll call, Mauricio.

Commissioner Joseph? Yes. Yes. Commissioner Lama? Yes. Vice Mayor Vizcarra? No. Mayor Svecin? Yes. The resolution passes three to one.

All right, thank you. All right. Next item, please.

Next item.

Don't forget, ladies and gentlemen, that I can hear your conversation, so please.

Nine views of resolution reaffirming the city's opposition to anti-Semitism, reaffirming ordinance number 2018-516 and 2020-560, restating the definition and examples of anti-Semitism.

So this is my item. And anyone potentially watching this or not here for these items may be very confused and wonder why are we talking about so much Jewish stuff. I will say that for me personally, and I'll just make a very quick comment about October 7, after October 7, me and many, many other Jewish people became a lot more observant. And that became very important to me. But not just that portion of it. I started really looking into what anti-Semitism means and why it matters. I sit on a few boards. I sit on a national mayor's board with Combat Antisemitism Movement discussing exactly this and adopting the definition of antisemitism. We've already done this, and we did this before October 7th. The city has historically, before this commission, before I was on the dais, has supported the Jewish community and passed various resolutions combating anti-Semitism. So the reason for this is when some may say this is overkill, come on, you guys already did this, it's because Sadly, in our community, and in South Florida, and even in Sunny Isles Beach, we still see anti-Semitism on the rise. And it's horrifying. And it's been said before, and I'll say it again, it starts with the Jews, doesn't end with the Jews. So for the record, I just want to name the list that's included. And part of that list goes back to what I said earlier as far as the idea of solidarity with Israel and Israel's right to exist, which is Zionism. So this is a list that's included in the definition. Rhetoric, myths, and Holocaust denial. Justifying harm, calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of radical ideology or extremist view of religion. Dehumanizing myths, making mendacious, dehumanizing, demoralizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews or the power of Jews as a collective. This includes the myth of a world Jewish conspiracy or Jews controlling the media, economy, or the government. Collective blame, accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group. or even for the acts committed by non-Jews, Holocaust denial, denying the fact, scope, mechanisms, or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of the National Socialist Germany and its supporters during World War II, blaming the victims, accusing the Jews as a people or Israel as a state of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust. dual loyalty and collective responsibility, dual loyalty accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide than to the interests of their own nations, collective state blame, holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel, manifestations related to the state of Israel, denying self-determination, denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination by claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist endeavor. Double standards, applying double standards by requiring of Israel behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation. Symbolic associations, using the symbols and images associated with classic anti-Semitism. Jews killing Jesus or blood libel to characterize Israel or Israelis, Nazi comparisons, drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis. This is important because the language is very, very important. And we all need to understand what is included in this definition. It's not just about calling someone a dirty Jew. It's much cheaper. So again, we have passed this. Well, this is an ordinance, Mauricio.

This is a resolution. This is just reaffirming.

Oh, the resolution to affirm the ordinance. Thank you. And this is just reaffirming it. So do we have any public speakers?

We do.

OK. Alex Prisk.

So if you've spoken before, if you can just keep it a little bit shorter, I'd appreciate it. I don't want to stop your public speech. You may speak up to three minutes.

Please. I'll keep this pretty short. Condemning hatred cannot be a one-time gesture. It requires consistent act of reaffirmation. So by committing to these two ordinances, Sunny Isles Beach sends an unmistakable message that anti-Semitism, discrimination, and hate have no place in our community. The reaffirming our stance today is a necessary statement of moral clarity and community safety. So I urge the commission to please vote yes.

Thank you. Any other speakers?

Vitaly Falkovich.

OK. Go ahead, please, Vitaly.

My name is . Thank you for protecting Jews. There's a war in us. It doesn't matter where we live. When we live in Israel, when we live in France, when we live in the United States, Surfside, it's because of you there's no incidents that happen here in Santiago Beach. As a person that conducts a business, I feel safe coming here. It doesn't matter what time I'm here. I feel safe to conduct the business in the Sanyala Beach area. I don't feel safe in Surfside, and it's only five minutes away. I don't feel safe in Boat Harbor. It's only five minutes away. I don't feel in Miami Beach. It's 30 minutes away. Yet I know when I come here, I'm safe. That's because of your administration. It's because of the city manager. It's because of the amazing police chief that you guys have. Madam Mayor, you should be proud what you do. Thank you for introducing that. Thank you.

Thank you, Macaulay. Thank you. No other speakers, ma'am. No other speakers. All right. Public comment is closed. I will take any comments from the commission. If there are none, I'll take a motion. Any comments? I'll make a motion. You'll make a motion?

I'll second.

OK. All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed?

No.

OK, thank you all right next item, please.

Next item is 9 W. Which is a resolution there from the city manager to initiate inquiries and explore opportunities with the Florida Department of Transportation regarding the potential joint use lease or acquisition of state on stormwater retention property within within and adjacent to the West and a state road, a 26 for the possible development of additional parking.

OK, this is my final item. And then if possible, I'm going to ask the manager to add any commentary. So we went out of order. This was really supposed to go after the parking report. And the reason for that is, and we've spoken about this at length, and it seems more and more every month, that we need more parking in Sunny Isles Beach. In fact, we've even joked, but now it's not so funny, that it's a commodity. We can definitely make money off of it. This parcel is not the parcel that was already approved. And let me be clear, although I would love to say that this voting yes on this means that we're getting parking. No. What this means is that we would be directing the city manager to have a conversation with FDOT for the potential of parking. The land that this is referring to, For lack of a better word, it's sort of like the swampy land that's in front of the storage. It's a big parcel. It would be incredible if there was a way to add parking to that. And a few years back, we were told by FDOT it was not possible. But I think anything is possible with the right engineering. So Mr. City Manager, if you can just add a few words as far as this item, and then I'll take public speakers.

Thank you, Mayor. This area is, as you described, it's essentially a stormwater runoff area that's owned by the Florida Department of Transportation. So for the past many years, I've worked with Rabbi Keller to try to come up with some solutions for parking in that area, many that have been before you. So what this does is directs me or gives me approval to further discuss and report back my discussions with the Florida Department of Transportation, who owns the property. The potential for us entering the Florida Department of Transportation will not enter into an agreement with a private owner. So the agreement would have to be as an agreement with the city and then a potential sublease with the rabbi, depending upon what you direct me to use it as parking. So this is the first step in taking official action to move that process forward.

OK. Thank you for that clarification. Do we have public speakers?

We do. Felix Sukovitsky.

You don't need to say your name and address for the record. You already said it before. So thank you, Felix. Go ahead.

You know, Ms. Mayor, after you mentioned things, what anti-Semites tells about us, I feel so good. We control the banks. We control the countries. We control governments. We control the weather. We control global warming. We control earthquakes. Could you please control a little bit of parking? In comparison, I think, frankly, I'm a simple guy, really simple. It means very straightforward. Not stupid, just straightforward, not diplomatic. In comparison, the municipality of Sunny Isle Beach has 674 parking spots between several locations. We have 25 right now. We've been approved for 18. And I promise you that our synagogue on a daily basis has more people than all of the municipal offices together. And yet, we have right now 25, 18 approved. We need more. So that is one thing I wanted to say. Also, I'm a developer. I'm actually going to look into how we can preserve the function of the land and yet have the parking built above it. I can do that. And one more thing, actually, is that something was deeply bothering me. And I was trying to understand what it is. And I understood what actually bothers me. You know, every time we try to get something, it takes years, like children park, additional parking spots. Why does it have to be so difficult for us? And I understand why. It is an opposition. Now, what's funny is I never get to see the opposition. Here I am standing here before all of you. I give you my address. I give you my name. I never see anybody here who is opposing us. Who are these dark, elusive, evil forces lurking in the shadows? I want them to be named. I want them to be here. Or I don't want to hear about them. Or I don't want their opinion taken. So I honestly think they should be promulgated, whoever they are. We deserve it. We deserve to know who our position is. So or their opinion should not be taken into account. I think it's only fair, don't you think? Because otherwise, it feels like double standard, if not flat out discriminatory. I'm done.

Thank you. Do we have any other speakers?

Felix Kisner.

Honorable Mayor, commissioners, Felix Kisner to 5174th Street. As you know, as any establishment in the city, religious establishment, there is uneven amount of cars that come. For example, holiday season, there's a huge overflow, whether it's at the church, at the synagogue. We also know 163rd Street, it's Police is doing a great job in controlling the speed and the traffic there. But still, it is a difficult avenue to control. And we know there was a tragedy there. If we can get the children, the people, closer to the synagogue without crossing Right now, 163rd, which again is still pretty dangerous for me from the way I see it. This can be done and bring the people instead of far away that would have to cross, be closer. I think it would be a safer venue for both the children and also people attending the synagogue. If there's a way you can consider that and at the same time look at the potential dangers of 163rd Street, that would be great. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Do we have any other public speakers?

Alexander Keller.

Good evening once again. Our chief did an amazing job giving us the statistics that everybody received so favorably. Statistics were both promising in terms of the revenue, and also we clearly see the benefit from the enforcement and making our city much safer. Commissioner Joseph mentioned that he doesn't want us to be the speeding capital of South Florida. So I am here to urge you, the commissioners, to direct the city manager to make sure that we're not no parking capital of South Florida. I'm not going to say that that's who we are and what we are, but a lot of times to find parking not just in our neck of the woods is challenging. I think that creating additional public parking, and we are very grateful for the city now creating these additional 18 spots under the bridge I don't like to say I, I, I, but it took me four years to push this through with FDOT and being in direct talks with them to the point that I had to go and measure every single pillar under the Lehman Causeway when FDOT said that there's not enough height. And I told them, here is... pole by pole, pillar by pillar, I'm going to give you the height. And I gave it to them just in a way and actually measuring it myself. And as my experience shows, many times when FDOT, FDOT that we're all afraid of, when they say no, eventually if there is enough persuasion and if there is enough way to show them that there is a public benefit, there is a financial benefit both to FDOT and the city, and of course safety and alleviating the traffic and the parking and all that, they could change their mind too. I know it's not the first time that we're going to go with them, or the city hopefully will go, but I think there are new people, there are different people, and if we present a compelling enough case, they're going to... I hope to listen. I had a preliminary conversation with a civil engineer who said, yes, it's a water retention area, but it could be mitigated. It could be done in a way that maybe a part of it could be parking, and the rest will remain as water retention space. There are creative ways of doing this. So again, I'm asking the commission to please direct our city manager to engage in these talks with FDOT. And I'm sure there is compelling evidence that this is going to benefit the community. This is going to benefit the city. This is going to benefit the FDOT. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other speakers?

Alex Brisk.

I'll try not to repeat mostly what everything was said. So I'm just going to say that this would be a smart land use. Sunny Isles Beach has virtually no open land left. So exploring joint use, lease, or acquisition from FDOT retention property is an innovative way to add capacity without encroaching on existing neighborhoods. It's also a common sense first step. This resolution simply directs the staff to initiate discussions with the state so our team can evaluate feasibility, drainage requirements, and practical site layouts. So this is a clear opportunity to solve a severe parking deficit. while directly improving pedestrian safety. So I urge you to support this resolution. Thank you.

No other speakers.

OK, again, because we did move things around, if anybody did not sign up but meant to sign up for this item, going once, twice. OK, public comment is closed. I'll take comments from the commission, vice mayor. Parking is good.

More parking is better. Thank you.

Commissioner Lama.

Yeah, I just wanted to, obviously I have a couple of questions. It is a water retention pond. So we have to take a look at the engineering around that. And then also just wanted to make sure that it will be public parking and everybody in the city will have access to that. That's it.

Thank you. Commissioner Joseph.

Yes. So I'm absolutely for that. We need to look and see whether that might be an advantageous area to use pervious concrete. I'll have to take a look at that. And then in January, I'll be advocating for at least a 500 car parking garage on a certain lot in Sunny Isles.

Thank you, Commissioner Joseph. I'm just going to say a few closing words. For those of you that have been here for many, many years, you may remember when you were going down that loop, it used to be called the business loop. And when I was growing up here, I thought that was really funny because there was no businesses and there was nobody there. It was just basically, I don't even know what was there. I think there was a restaurant on the water. It was dark. It was dark. There was a subway where Saint-Tropez is now. The reason I'm mentioning that is because we've grown, and growth is good. And when the rabbi was getting his site plan approval for the shul, The concern was parking, but nobody ever imagined, and certainly probably not him, but thank God, how many people would be going to that building. And not just on the holidays. There's lots of other events that are happening there. There's a... educational events that are run there on a regular basis. There's a school there. There's a lot of things. So it's wonderful that that area of the city, which was really just not just not, it was underutilized as an understatement, is becoming more vibrant. So I would hope that there are engineers that can figure it out. But I appreciate that the community is pressing forward and that Rabbi Kaller is Is taking so much time measuring? Underneath the bridge so and and I appreciate that the the Commission Approving or rather supporting it. So I will take a motion.

I'll make a motion.

I need a second second favor Okay, so before we go on to the next item I Am NOT asking anyone to leave Please stay. We have a lot of items that are attached to our budget that was recently passed. You should know about this. This is your money, so please stay. But I will take just a two-minute recess, so that way it's not disruptive for anyone that wanted to leave. So we'll just do a two-minute recess.

Oh.

Thank you.

items maybe.

OK. Thank you for your patience. We are back. Mr. City Clerk? OK. Next item, please.

So we're going back to the beginning of the agenda. We will start with item 9D. And we will be combining and hearing 9D through 9N as in Nancy all together under one vote. But I'll read each one individually into the record.

Let me just stop you for a moment. So if anyone signed up to speak on any of these items, could you just say them one more time, please?

So we're combining items 9D as in David through 9N as in Nancy.

If you had any intention to speak on any of those items, please fill out a public speaker card now. Go ahead, Mr. City Clerk.

9D is a resolution authorizing the issuance of a purchase order to Granite Kids LLC for software services for various departments for fiscal year 2026 through 2027. 9E is a resolution authorizing the city manager to purchase and sell computer hardware and software from Software House International for fiscal year 2026-2027. 9F is a resolution authorizing the city manager or designee to purchase facilities, maintenance, repair, and operations and industrial supplies from Grainger for fiscal year 2026 through 2027. 9G is a resolution authorizing the city manager or designee to purchase necessary office and other supplies from Amazon Business for fiscal year 2026 through 2027. 9H is a resolution authorizing the city manager or designee to purchase necessary office and other supplies from Staples for fiscal year 2026 through 2027. 9I is a resolution authorizing the city manager or designee to purchase necessary computer workstations and related equipment from Dell Marketing for fiscal year 2026 through 2027. 9j is a resolution authorizing the city manager or designee to purchase necessary janitorial and sanitation supplies and equipment from imperial brady for fiscal year 2026 through 2027. 9k is a resolution waiving the bidding requirements of chapter 62 of the city's court of ordinances approving a blanket purchase order with public supermarkets for the purchase of necessary doesn't supplies or fiscal year 2026 to 2027. 9 L is a resolution authorizing the city manager or designee to purchase necessary supplies and equipment from Home Depot for fiscal year 2026 to 2027. 9 M is a resolution ratifying an increase to purchase order with Home Depot for fiscal year 2025 2026 for the purchase of supplies and equipment for repair and maintenance of city-owned facilities. 9 N is a resolution approving a blanket purchase order for the purchase of necessary office and other supplies and services from various vendors for fiscal year 2026 to 2027 under $50,000.

Okay, thank you. Mr. City Manager?

Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the Commission, we bring these items to you every September at the beginning of the fiscal year. These essentially are the supplies that we use for all of our departments. Also computers, hardware, software, janitorial supplies, regular maintenance, Bathroom issues all of this represents that we purchase these from different companies Amazon Home Depot Granger supply Publix those kinds of things Okay, do we have any public speakers? No, ma'am.

All right. Are there any comments or questions from the Commission? I Just I do have one question there one of the items nine Sorry. One that is an amendment to 2526.

M as in Mary?

I believe so. $30,000. Yes. You just get clarification on what happened there.

Yes, we researched that. And we have different departments, for example, using Home Depot to purchase supplies. So during the budget period, When we're preparing our budget, we do an estimation. So between various departments, we went a little over our spend on Home Depot, maybe some less in the other departments like Amazon. So we balance those out at the end of the year to give you a fiscal year true up. But that's what happened in this case.

So for the benefit of the public, can you clarify what the process is? So when we are approving, Home Depot, Publix, any of these businesses, does that mean that there are employees that are able to just go and purchase things with a credit card? What's the process, if you can clarify how these entities get paid?

Yes, thank you. I'm going to ask our procurement director to come up and respond to give you a brief overview of how that process works.

I think it would be very helpful. We just passed the budget, and there was a lot of discussion about transparency. So this is an opportunity to delve into it just a little bit more.

Absolutely. I'm happy to. Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, commissioners. to go over our process with our purchase orders, the annual purchase orders for the year. We have very clear checks and balances. For instance, myself in purchasing and my team, we enter these blanket purchase orders and we monitor them. However, our accounts payable department, our finance department, is the department that processes the invoices, that pays invoices, that writes invoices, Signature on the checks, we do not do that in purchasing. So there's checks and balances there. That's why we are separate from finance. That's just another layer of checks and balances. Additionally, our end users, when they make a purchase at Publix or Home Depot, their department head must sign off on that invoice. So there's various levels of reviews by various departments.

OK. Thank you. Does anyone have any other questions besides me?

No. All right. Mayor, I'm sorry if I may. I believe Genesis would like to, it would be her pleasure to announce a change for item 9D. 90 is changing, OK.

Yes, it's going lower. So Granicus, as a response to the mayor's comments on Tuesday at the agenda review, she asked for the staff to see what other platforms are out there, what other competitors are out there. And with that information, I approached Granicus, and I told them, we may be looking at other demos. And they reduced the renewal. So from 7%, they reduced it to 3%. So this item, yes, it's a good thing. So this item now, 9D, it stands at $100,000. Technically, we don't need that much now. We could reduce it to $90,000. It's up to you, Mayor, or keep it at $100,000 if you want a buffer.

I would entertain a motion to reduce it if somebody would like to make that motion. Make the motion to reduce it to 90. Mm-hmm.

Need a second?

Well, then I'm thinking to leave it at 100. And this way we wouldn't have to come back and do an amendment to add any additional. I mean, we know now that we had additional benefit. So it would just be something that was not used.

All right, so I don't have a second. All right, so we'll keep it as is. I know that you have this chart that you gave us. Is that in the back? No.

No, I just got that 3% like an hour ago sitting here. Oh, amazing. They just emailed me now. Thank you. So this is not the updated.

But the chart that we have, are you going to be putting that on the screen for the purchase orders? Yeah, is it possible?

The blanket purchase orders.

For people that are watching, they can see some of the level of detail that is available to all of you at any time. But do we have it, Susan? No?

It's not available for the screen. It is in the agenda packet. So if anybody looks at the agenda packet online, it is there. And I believe Genesis had some printed copies in the back of the room.

OK. Perfect. So it will remain there. All right. Thank you. So with that, I'll take a motion.

I'll make a motion.

SECOND I'LL SECOND THANK YOU GOOD JOB VERY GOOD JOB THANK YOU ALL IN FAVOR AYE AYE AYE ALL RIGHT THANK YOU GENESIS OKAY MR. CITY CLERK NOW WE'RE GOING TO 9-0 AS AN OSCAR A RESOLUTION APPROVING A SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE CONTINUING SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH MILLER LEG AND ASSOCIATES TO PROVIDE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS

Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the Commission, this is a second amendment for continuing services agreement for landscape architectural services as needed.

Thank you. Do we have any public speakers?

No, ma'am.

Do we have any comments from the Commission? I'll take a motion then.

Motion.

All in favor.

Aye.

Aye. Any opposed? Okay, next item please.

9P is a resolution approving a second amendment to the continuing services agreement with Keith and Associates to provide landscape architectural services on an as needed basis.

Mr. City Manager.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the Commission, this is a second amendment with Keith and Associates also to provide landscape architectural services on an as-needed basis so that we can use either or, depending.

Just for the benefit of the public, can you clarify why we have two?

Fabricio, do you want to come up and explain that?

Mr. Manager, if I may, because this is more the zoning. So we use landscape architects for plan review. When we just had the ordinance changed, we used them as a consultant for that. Parks and public works may use them for special projects, inspection services, things like that.

Okay. Thank you. Do we have any public speakers?

No, we don't.

All right any comments from the commission. I'll take a motion then motion second on favor. All right next item please.

9. Q is a resolution approving a first amendment to the project grant with Keith and associates provide civil engineering landscape architecture and electrical engineering services to design a parking lot only property located on state road a 26 service road underneath the sunny Alice Beach Boulevard.

Mister city manager.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the Commission, this is an expansion of the discussion we had earlier about expanding parking underneath the area near the 826 service road.

OK. Do we have any public speakers?

No, ma'am.

Any questions from the Commission?

No.

I'll take a motion, please. Motion.

So moved.

Second. All in favor. All right next item.

9 R is a resolution approving a second amendment to the agreement with concrete works paving to provide repair services for pavers concrete and asphalt citywide on an as needed basis.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of the Commission, this is a company that we use to repair various items throughout the city, including pavers, concrete, and asphalt on a citywide needed basis.

Okay. Do we have public speakers?

No, we don't.

Are there any comments from the Commission?

I have none.

Please go ahead, Commissioner Joseph.

So recently it's been posted online that we have such an issue with our sidewalks, broken sidewalks, broken pavers, trip hazards. And so is this going to solve this issue finally?

Mayor?

Please, go ahead.

It's definitely going to help, but the issue is that we have subcontractors for various utilities that sometimes come out in the evening for an emergency repair, and they leave the area in disrepair. So we're constantly after them from a code perspective to come back and restore the area as soon as possible. If it's under our control and we can fix it, we do it as soon as we can.

So from time to time, I've walked the area from 193rd Street down almost to Hollover. And I've reported trip hazards. that have then been shaved down or ground down to make the pavement more even. Is someone in the city doing the same thing on a regular basis or no?

Go ahead, Mr. City Manager.

Yes, as part of our public works team and code enforcement team, we're constantly in different areas looking for things like this. Some of it is private property, some of it is public. Anything that's under our control, we can fix. Other areas, we may have to initiate a code enforcement action. But yes, we are looking at this consistently.

So when we have, let's say, a condominium property that has pavers, but it runs down onto this sidewalk area into Collins, that sidewalk area is still part of FDOT or the city sidewalk, correct?

Some of it is and some of it isn't. It depends on the area.

OK. And with pavers, you always have a problem with sinkage and having to have them lifted and have additional sand added. So in those areas, why do we even allow the pavers to continue? I know it's pretty for the condominium, but it's not cost effective for the city.

Many years ago, the city made a decision at that time that they wanted paver design throughout the city, and that was incorporated in many of the projects that you see now. FDOT, because much of it falls under their jurisdiction, had to sign an agreement that we are responsible for it. But what we're doing now is trying to replace any areas with pavers with concrete.

So again, I've brought up the fact that if we're redoing sidewalks, that we should be looking into paving with pervious concrete in order to increase our absorption area and alleviate some of the flooding. I'm not saying all, but even if we have heavy rain, the pervious concrete acts as a sponge to some degree. So I believe that that should be something that the city should be looking into, especially if we're going to be repaving such a large area I believe that that would be so beneficial to the city. And for some reason, it hasn't been taken up.

Thank you. All right. With that, I'll take a motion.

So moved.

I need a second.

Second.

All in favor? Aye. All right. Next item, please.

9S is a resolution approving the issuance of a proclamation recognizing September 15, 2026 as Central American Independence Day.

Thank you. Well, so this aligns with Hispanic heritage, but it's specific to Central America. And we were going to have the Salvadorian consulate be here for the approval, but they couldn't make it, apparently. There was some consulate stuff that got in the way. So the intention is to then present it to them. at the 1.30 meeting next month, even though by then the month will be over. But we tried. So it reads, September 15, 1821 marks the declaration of independence from Spain of the territories now comprising Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. And September 15, 2026 commemorates the 205th anniversary of this historic milestone. This shared anniversary honors the pursuit of freedom and self-determination and the distinct histories and traditions of these five Central American nations. And people of Central American descent enrich our communities. through their cultural traditions, entrepreneurship, public service, and dedication to family and community. And the city of Sunny Isles Beach values the diverse backgrounds of its residents and welcomes opportunities to promote cultural understanding and mutual respect. And Central American Independence Day offers an occasion to celebrate this heritage and recognize the enduring ties among people and communities across Americas. So again, that's what the proclamation would say. We'll present it to the consulate. And also, it was a little bit of a nod, the fact that Alex and I are both terming out. And we're both from El Salvador. And I thought it would be a nice thing. But it'll happen. But it'll happen next month.

So they'll come next month for sure? Okay.

Well, they were going to come today for sure, too. Okay. So hopefully, though.

If not, we'll present it to them in some other way. Okay. Do we have any public speakers?

No, ma'am.

Any comments from the commission? No. Did we, I know we didn't pass it yet, but did we put anything on social media on September 15th? Social heritage. Can we do some? Can we do that?

I'm sure we can.

Vice Mayor, does that make sense? Yeah.

Yeah, we just couldn't, because it's not part of our regular list. Right. We had to do it this way. Well, it will be on the list now. Okay, for this year. And if you guys want to put it in future years, I would support that.

Okay, wonderful. Now, this is lovely, and it's very apropos, since both of you are from Central America. Okay, I'll take a motion, please.

So moved.

I need a second. I'll second. Thank you. All in favor? Aye.

Aye.

Thank you. All right, next item is

The add-on item. 9X. 9X is a resolution honoring the Archdiocese of Miami with a key to the city for its long-standing charitable, educational, and community service contributions to South Florida and the city of Sunny Isles Beach.

Okay, Vice Mayor.

So the Archdiocese of Miami has maintained, this is what the memo says, a longstanding significant presence in South Florida, providing decades of service through its educational institutions, charitable initiatives, community outreach, and programs benefiting individuals and families throughout the region. The archdiocese also has a direct and enduring connection to the city of Sunny Isles Beach through St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Parish, which has served the local community since the 1950s, something I did not know. I didn't know it went back to the 1950s. And has supported outreach initiatives addressing the needs of residents, including seniors and families. The parish is also associated with the establishment of Marion Towers, which provides affordable housing for senior residents. These longstanding contributions and the archdiocese's meaningful connection to the Sunny Isles Beach community are consistent with the city's criteria for the issuance of the key to the city. So that would be what's up for the vote. But I also wanted to add that before Pelican Park, The church was our first aftercare place. And that parking lot was our first basketball hoop. They were here, obviously, before the city was. And they were established. And they've been, that particular church in particular, really good partners to the city. So I thought it would be nice to acknowledge that. I don't know what other tidbits in terms of activities Susan might have. Did I miss anything? They were the daycare, and was there anything else?

They were summer camp, basketball, and they were also our respite for our first soccer program. We would use the restrooms and their indoor space for our soccer program across the street.

And I got married there. I got married there.

You did? I didn't know that. Okay. Do we have any public speakers?

We don't.

You got married there. Didn't your kids have, like, First Communion?

Yeah, all of that, yes.

Exactly. All right. Yeah, go ahead, Commissioner Joseph.

So I had a couple of people mention to me that They thought that in recent years, the archdiocese had been underfunding St. Mary's. Do you know if that's actually true or not?

I don't know if that's true.

Well, wouldn't that be something, if that was the case, that since we're giving them the keys to the city, that we could speak to them if that happens to be the case, to have them up there funding?

We can certainly speak to them. But I wouldn't condition the key to the city on that.

But yes, we can speak to them. Well, I wasn't the one that brought up the offering of the keys to the city. But I certainly knew that there might be an issue with the funding.

OK. I'm going to add more trivia to this. The parish hall, so there's the church and there's the parish hall. And that space has been integral for many, many things as stated. They have an annual bazaar. There is a group, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which is non-denominational, even though it says saint, that is run by volunteers who have a pantry there and serve our community actually every single week. They provide also hours for our school. They work with our police department to get toys for various children. both in our community and outside our community. I really can't say enough about that little parcel. It's not really that little, actually. It's kind of big.

Although I don't know if that programming is part of the archdiocese programming, but certainly they're on the premises. They use the space. And they facilitate that, yeah.

So absolutely. Are they going to come next year?

To receive the key, that would be the idea. And the reason that it was an add-on, just so you know, is because I requested the item on time, but we didn't get confirmation from them until very recently.

All right. So this would be our third key to the city. We have sort of this strict criteria. So this is a really big deal. So thank you, Vice Mayor, for bringing this. So I'll take a motion.

So moved.

Second? I'll second. All right. All in favor?

Aye.

All right. Thank you. Now we are on to Citizens Forum.

We have Stephen Hirsch.

Good evening. Stephen Hirsch, 172.01 Collins. Today at the workshop, Commissioner Lama raised moving the city forward effectively and efficiently. I caught most of it, but then towards the end, the stream went out. But I think the message is clear that government, whether it be Sunny Isles, the state government, the federal government, as a public entity, When accusations are made against that public body or any particular individual without the requisite proof, it has a very deterrent effect upon both the residents or the populace of whatever that political entity is and all of the employees of that organization. Lately, Commissioner Lama said that lately it's been a little frustrating sitting on the dais when there are accusations flying around. And I think we all can appreciate that. The problem is, once an allegation against a public entity has been made or a public official, it's very difficult, if not impossible, to erase that. allegation, even if it's unfounded in some people's brains, it remains as their truth. That, as well as decorum both from the public and from elected officials, is so also critical to an effective government. Lack of decorum disrespects the entity, the government entity, as well as all of the other elected officials, and most importantly, the electorate that voted all these people into office. We need to work. for the betterment of our residents. And that has to be through, while disagreements in government are inevitable, being disagreeable is not. Being disrespectful is not. And I'm usually more structured in what I'm trying to say, as I think you know by all the times that I speak. Just finish up, please. It's just that we really need to realize what the purposes of this commission and work for the betterment of the people, work together. There may be disagreements. There will be disagreements. But keep it respectful. And the truth should always be the primary focus when, whether it be a resident or the commission, or a commissioner, or a city employee says something.

Thank you. Do we have any other speakers?

Stanislav Friedman.

Good evening, mayor, good evening, commissioners.

Name and address for the record, please.

My name is Stanislav Friedman. I reside in 209 Point Sian Island Drive, apartment 109, Sunny Isle Beach, Florida, 33160. The reason I came now and talk, because there is a very disturbing video traveling around Sunny Isle Beach. This video made by the political campaign that really disturbed me as a father, as a grandfather, and as a citizen. There is a person who runs for the political seats running around the public's bathrooms in a Glenwood park. I sent you the video. And she said, oh, this is the public bathroom. Here our football players go. Oh, this is the public bathroom where our fathers go. I go down there to the dog park with my dog. I don't feel comfortable to go to the bathroom. Maybe this would be a nice sign put down there, no videotape in a public bathroom. If you complain in a public bathroom, good luck to her. But I don't feel comfortable for my nieces and nephews and for myself and for the football players to go down there. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Vitaly Falkovich.

Is that okay if I keep my name? One of the things is that as a citizen of Sunny Isle Beach, you guys can have an opportunity. I always wish that I was a resident here. Opportunity to vote in a couple months. Look and see and do the research. You have one of the most amazing cities. I'll say in South Florida. There's only two cities that I conduct a lot of business and I live at, it's in Palmetto Bay and in Sunny Isle Beach. And to me, it's one of the best cities in South Florida. Not Aventura, not Golden Beach, doesn't matter how much money they have, it's the Sunny Isle Beach. And as a resident, you have an opportunity to continue that, or you can change that. Look at what you want. Do research on people that is running. As a visitor here, I come here almost every month, couple times a month. You guys have one of the most amazing staff. And that comes from the Madam Mayor, the city manager, deputy manager. The only way you continue to have that is when you go in November and vote for the same people. Thank you.

Thank you, Natalia. Is there an issue with the time?

There is.

OK, well, you're keeping track. Do we have any other speakers?

No other speakers.

All right, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for everyone coming out. And the meeting is adjourned.