City Commission - public_hearing

All right. Good evening, everyone. Today's date is Tuesday, September 8th, 2026. The time is 6 0 6 PM. This is our regular city commission meeting for the city of West Miami. The meeting is now called to order. Madam clerk. First item.

Yes. Uh, for item one for invocation, please rise.

Good evening. Please bow your heads with me in prayer. God, we thank you for this opportunity to gather together. We thank you for an opportunity to rest over the weekend. The Lord, we ask for comfort and blessings for those that were involved in the tragedy and their families affected. This evening as we come together, we ask that you would guide our minds, guide our hearts, guide our voices as we discuss, reminding ourselves that we are good stewards of the gifts that we've been given. Thank you for our community. Thank you for our police and commissioners. Lord, in all our leadership, we thank you and we pray in your name. Amen.

Amen. The Pledge of Allegiance.

We start the Pledge of Allegiance.

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

Madam Clerk, before the roll call, the mayor is en route. He'll be here shortly.

Okay, roll call. Mayor Eric Dias-Ratron is running late. Vice Mayor Ivan Chavez, Jr.

Here.

Commissioner Juan Blanes.

Here.

Commissioner Gustavo Ceballos. Here. Commissioner Victoria De La Torre-Gans. Present. You have quorum.

Thank you. Next item.

I am for presentation of minutes for approval for August 12 2026 regular Commission meeting and I respectfully request an amendment to item 11 F all the minutes to the way says commissioner Blan is should state commissioner the left or against so we request to approval of the minutes with amendments.

I also want to amend, Mr. Chair, 10A. That was a conditional deferral, and I don't see the condition listed there. So we had deferred that item with a condition of allowance of inspection. I just want it to be public record and known.

Okay, duly noted. Second amendment.

Do we have a motion for those items as amended? Do we have a second?

Second.

Motion is second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any against? Seeing none. Motion carries. Next item. And the mayor is here. He'll take over.

Yes, the mayor is here. Duly noted. Item five, public comments.

Okay. I apologize. What, uh, w where are we? Catch me up. Item five public comments. Anyone from, uh, public comments not tied to any public hearing item going once going twice. Next item, please.

Item six report of the city manager.

Good evening, Mayor and Commission. I'm going to defer my comments tonight for the budget meeting later on, and you have my manager's report that was emailed to all of y'all, and we'll have it on the website starting tomorrow.

All right. Thank you. Next item, please.

Item 7, report of the city attorney.

Nothing new.

Nothing unique. Perfect. Thank you. Next item, please.

Item 8, report of the city engineer.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor, commissioners. The phase two water project has been progressing nicely. We've been able to get through the first couple weeks of school without any kind of major chaos over there. So we're looking at wrapping that up in late October. And we are looking at hopefully starting phase three around the same time. We should have a selection by the end of this month for the phase three contractor and be able to move forward with that project. A couple other small items. We're working on the design for the traffic circle over on 11th and 60th Court. So that's underway. and we are a couple spot drainages that we're working on getting proposals from the contractor to move forward on some of those so if there's anything specific you guys have questions on i am here anything for the engineer and any projects ongoing in the city well you're off the hook tonight thank you next item please item nine community reports

Anyone for committee reports, just a quick reminder, Saturday, the charrette at Cooper park is at 9 0 AM.

That's correct.

Vice mayor for anyone that would like to attend. Beautiful.

I am just going through this agenda here because it's a little bit of chaos. Um, we're going to move a whole bunch of stuff around to make this make sense more. So, and let's take some items so that some residents can get dinner tonight. Um, let's take items 11 C out of order. And then we'll take item 10A following that. And then we'll probably mess with the agenda more after that to get through all the items before budget so we can have a clean budget. Read the item, please.

So item 11C, this is a public hearing, special use permit 2026-003, applicant current resident, property address 1960 Southwest 61st Court, West Miami, Florida, 33155. The applicant requests a special use permit for the renovation and expansion of the existing single family residence at 1960 Southwest 61st Court, West Miami, Florida, 33155, including enclosure of the existing carport, a first floor addition, And construction of the second story addition, the proposed second floor will contain two bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office, and an open library area. According to the application, the completed residence will contain six bedrooms and one half bathrooms. The property is an approximately 7,276.1 square foot interior lot. And each zone are one single family residential zone in ordinance 282, sections 2B.1 and 4.17.

Okay. Um, read the resolution, please.

Resolution of the mayor on the city commission of the city of West Miami, Florida, approving special use permit 2026-003 for the property located at 1960 Southwest 61st court was Miami, Florida, 33155 to allow the renovation and expansion of a, of an existing single family resident, including a second story addition in an R one zoning district pursuant to zoning ordinance to 82, Section 2B.1 and 4.17, providing for incorporation of findings, providing for conditions of approval, providing for conflicts, providing for severability, and providing for an effective date.

Thank you. This is a public hearing, 11C. Public hearing is now open. Mr. Janowitz, the floor is yours.

Good evening, everyone. Sorry for the binders, but I guess if you give someone like me an instruction, I'm the first one who's going to follow it, so I'm giving you complete plans that I have. And hopefully, if you had a chance to read the letter of intent, which for us was more than just the standard vanilla, this is what we're doing. We wanted to sort of put a little bit of our hearts into it, and as we know all of you guys, and we've This is definitely our home and community for the last 12 years and, you know, hopefully it is for the next generations, quite frankly, which is why we seek to do this. You know, 12 years ago we bought our house, which we thought was a starter house, you know, with builder grade materials and we didn't know where life was going to take us. You know, you guys know that. We bought that house because of that oak tree in the back and that was really it. I didn't really care about the house, but four kids, two aging in-laws, and later, and we need a little bit more room because right now we have three of our boys in one bedroom, and frankly, that's not acceptable at some point in time. We seek permission so that we can go ahead and build it. We're trying to do that in a way of we don't really believe in the cookie cutter, current modern square, full two stories. We wanted to have some sort of setback in the second story to make it look nice and yet modern, and so that's what we're seeking. We're really only, we tried to comply with every possible setback we could, so we are actually within our boundaries of the rectangular. The only thing that we need the variance for is apparently since we'd be enclosing the garage, the primary wall would be closer to the street than what is currently acceptable so given that and that's you know what we're we try to do we try to just build a little bit up but not completely but be functional let me actually do some work at home and let the kids run amok elsewhere in the house we'll do questions from the commission we'll get a recommendation from the city and obviously we'll have the applicant here to

talk about anything relevant to his plans. And from the board, any questions, comments?

Just a comment. One, the oak tree is still there. You didn't use it to make these, right? No, not yet. But more importantly, and jokes aside, you and your wife are an incredible family. The fact that you moved here and this was supposed to be a starter home for you and you found a home here in our city, we really appreciate the work that you guys do for the community, yourself obviously in your private life, and then your wife is involved in our schools. She's at our rec center. Much more to my wife. Right. So we see your kids everywhere, and if we can help to make your kids and your family more comfortable, we'd love to do that. The house looks beautiful. To me personally, I think this is an easy pass. I'm sure there will be other questions, but I just want to say that I'll be supporting your item today. Thank you.

Yeah, I think I think she said all of us are obviously want to facilitate the growing family. So it's more of a question. There's anything that needs to be amended or anything that to to make sure the project is, is, you know, good for the family and the next family that comes after. But is there anything from the city or go ahead and Commissioner?

I tell you, I've been sitting here for a long time, and I've seen presentations, but never like this one. This is incredible. I commend you for doing all the work and then providing copies for each and every one of us.

Is it one of those things where you dump everything to see if, you know, because you dump so much information, you can't?

I was told to submit eight binders of all my plans to the city, so that's exactly what I did.

This is impressive.

I figured I'd do the labeling because why not?

It's impressive.

Mr. Mayor? Yes. If I might, I'm sure the applicant understands and agrees that when you approve the permit and the variance and so forth, it is not your intent. to approve every page and every item in this long item. It's very useful to have it, but the portions of it that are in the nature of a construction permit are not being approved. Then the applicant is not claiming that either. I just want to make sure you know on the record. You're approving the generalized permit, not the detailed construction parts.

Yeah, I'm fully aware that next goes to the building department for actual permit review and everything else.

Only questions I have. You said that you're following, you're within all of our setbacks, with the exception of the enclosed garage. Correct. Which is something that has been done many times in this city. Very few real garages left, I feel like. I mean, everyone needs more square footage than what was first built here.

And for the purpose of hardship since I know that actually is the current I know there's talk of revision but under the current idea it would be a hardship given that the pillars of the carport and the house actually already extend beyond the border so I would need a variance otherwise it would look weird and everything else so it is a hardship actually not to not to enclose it in order to deal with it otherwise.

And what else? I think you kind of addressed everything. The only quest is the second story and the enclosure. And like you said, the enclosure is not encroaching any more than the existing pillars that already exist today. Is that correct? Correct.

Yeah, and the second story, you're only here because that's what our code requires, right? Correct. So I went through this motion myself, so I can appreciate the effort that you have to go through for the second story.

And I commend you for doing a second story that is in a box and set back.

Once it means a lot from a former planning and zoning committee member. So it was actually denied my clients under the representation. So I appreciate it.

Well, they didn't bring this.

So this is true.

Alrighty. Um, seeing that there's not many other questions, comments from the commission recommendation for the city.

I recommend this approval.

Okay. Public hearing is now closed. Um, anyone like to make a motion motion? We have a motion second. We have a second for approval. Call the roll, please.

Yes, Commissioner De La Torre-Gans. How do you vote?

Yes, I do. Let's get him a dishwasher.

Commissioner Ceballos?

Yes.

Commissioner Blanes? Yes. Vice Mayor Chavez, Jr.? Yes. Mayor Díaz-Padrón? Yes. Five-zero. Item passed.

Thank you.

If anyone doesn't want their binder, I will take it, because apparently I have to submit some of these plans to the city again.

I'll leave this for the clerk. Wow, that's a workout.

Okay. Do you have a dolly or something?

I don't have to go to the gym.

That is... All righty, well... Madam Clerk, if you can start reading item 10A, please.

Item 10A, right?

Mayor, if 10A, we're going to request a deferral on 10A.

And 10B? And 10B as well, sir. Okay.

And the reason for that in 10A, they still haven't come forward with any plans for approval. And we in the city are not... going to give them any legal opinion. So they have to come forward and come up with a plan before we can even bring them forward to you guys. So I'm going to ask for this to be just deferred, but without a day certain. On the second one, the attorney called me today, and that's 10B, and she was unaware that this was going to be heard tonight. So she's requested that it be moved to the next meeting, which is on the 23rd.

All right, can we get a motion on deferral next meeting A and B? So moved. We got a motion. Second. We got a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any against? Hearing none. Item passes. All right.

May I, Mr. Mayor, just to clarify, the manager was recommending 10A be deferred to not a date certain. Of course, the commission can do whatever it wishes, but I believe you stated both of them to the next meeting. Yes.

Would you like to amend the motion, Mr. Attorney, or is that sufficient? I know we probably didn't even need to do a roll call for a deferral, so it's sufficient, right? Okay.

Mayor, it's fine like that.

Let's move on. I'm sorry. This agenda, I'm just trying to piece it together. I'm going to do something here. Is there anyone in the audience that has an item that they are a party to, an applicant to? I don't, Mr. Manager, is there, what item? 11-0. 11-0. Okay, yeah. Read the resolution, please.

Yes, item 11-0, a resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of West Miami, Florida, awarding request for proposal RFP 2026-12-007 for Employee Assistance Program, EAP and Addiction Recovery Support Services to MAI support, authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement in all necessary documents, thereto authorizing the implementation of the program as an additional employee benefit, providing for several ability and effective date.

So thank you to the administration for facilitating this RFP, for working with me on this RFP. I know we got a bitter back and we'll work through a contract, but it's basically no cost unless we choose to move forward with any of the services. At that point, it's a cost per, so we can pilot and see what our employees want or don't want. But again, it's one of those situations where it's a tool in the toolbox. Should we like to pursue it? So if anyone has any questions, the applicant is here, but this is essentially something that I worked with the administration to get some responses back on to allow for the opportunity for employees to access something should we feel that we want to give them access to. It reminds me a lot of the sandbags, but for mental health. It's a toolbox that we can use or not use depending on employee demand and what we want. Does anyone have any questions? Anyone have any motions?

It's a great benefit. I commend you for bringing it forward. Motion.

Motion.

Second. Would you like to add anything or say anything?

No.

Happy to partner with the city on this, and thank you, everybody, for your time.

Thank you, sir. We have a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any against? Hearing none, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Now, Mr. Manager, how do you want to take these items? Do you want to do the budget first? Do you want to go order? I mean...

Todd, if you want, we can start with the budget, sir, I guess.

I mean, I guess let's get to the budget. In the future, let's run the agendas by my office so we can, you know, because I know every meeting I'm kind of doing this jujitsu with the items, and it's just kind of chaotic. So let's get them beforehand so we can just structure it in a way that makes the meeting flow. Let's go to the budget, and then we'll take on all these other items.

Okay, a public hearing for tentative budget fiscal year 2026-2027 submittal. Item F is the submission of the tentative city budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 by city manager.

I will pass it along to our chief financial officer who can do the presentation.

Thank you. Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, and commissioners. I've structured this at a high level and then I will get down into the detail of each of the departments and funds as we progress. Please feel free to interrupt me with any questions or anything that you want to point out as we go along. So The good starting point for this is we're prepared for this. Under the last several years, our millage has continued to fall, and it saved the residents a substantial amount of money. Our crime rate is down 31%, and we have an average 75 second response time. This is just a summary of where we are. And then of course we've won three of the GFOA awards three years in a row for the first time in the city's history. So this is kind of a snapshot of what your money has achieved. At a high level for the budgets, including operating and capital, we're a little over $27 million. For the government funds, it's $18. nearly $7 million. And then for the enterprise funds, that's $8.9 million. And that does include capital. I'll go into detail of each of these, both by the government funds and the enterprise funds as we progress. I'LL START OFF WITH GOVERNMENT FUNDS. SO WE HAVE A SLIGHT INCREASE FOR OUR GENERAL FUND. PARKS AND RECREATIONS HAVE WENT DOWN DUE TO A DECREASE IN CAPITAL EXPENDITURES. AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S A PROPOSED INCREASE IN THE EQUITABLE SHARING. AND THEN CITT IS SLIGHTLY BELOW WHAT IT WAS IN THE PRIOR YEAR. I'LL GO INTO DETAIL IN THE NEXT SLIDES. this is a snapshot of where our money comes from you could see that about a little over 37 percent comes from property taxes and then we also have some other revenue sources as we look into the future of the city we're always looking for ways to diversify our revenue sources so that we're not over dependent on any one source of revenue and that we are good stewards of the funds This is a summary of how your tax bill goes whenever you receive your property tax bill. I'd just like to point out that only of the bill that you get, only 20%, 28% of that money actually makes it back to the city of West Miami. A lot of it goes to the schools, the county, and some other entities. This is an overview of where your money goes. So you can see that public safety and then overall general government are the biggest drivers of our overall budget. I've prepared a summary in the budget and in the upcoming slides that go at a high level of what these changes are. Public safety, most of our changes here are that we have a new multi-year agreement with the CBA to continue investing in our law enforcement team. That does include some cost of living increases. The important thing is that's what drives the budget, but what we get out of it is we do have the 75% response time, and we've got a reduction in crime, which shows that our money is being well spent. General government is kind of our overhead that doesn't fit into one specific department. One of the biggest drivers of this increase is we're proposing $600,000 in capital projects and we do have some cost of living adjustments that we're proposing in this budget. Executive, we're working on consolidating communications, continue to consolidate communications in with executive, which is the primary driver here. Again, in finance, you see an increase that's mainly indicative of COLA and also some more consolidation that we're proposing. COLA, minor increase here. Minor adjustment here. We have some litigation expenses time to time that we can't always control for the attorney department. Passports, we've really been focusing on digital improvements and using technology to help us be more efficient. IT is fairly level with some cost of living adjustments as well. Fleet, you see minor cost of living adjustments reflected as well. Facilities, we have relocated some people to the departments that they should have been in, including water and some other departments. So you see a decrease whenever we've allocated some of the positions to the department that they should have been in all along. Public Works, we're proposing to bring in some services in-house to help us serve the community more efficiently, which is the primary driver of the increase here. Parks and Recreation, this one is down as we have fewer capital projects in this proposed budget. Do we have any questions before I proceed to the enterprise funds? Okay. So enterprise funds, I just want to point out there's a little bit of a difference. This is where we charge fees for service, whereas the government funds are more tax revenue. So the rules on this are basically more like a business in some respects. So you see a lot of these are fairly close to what they were. In the prior year, I'll go through this in a little bit more detail. Some of the biggest drivers obvious, I tried to sum up on this first slide. We are looking at a true up from Miami-Dade County, that I've highlighted over here. So between the water and sewer fund, over $250,000 in a true-up that's in addition to the rate increases that are being proposed by Miami-Dade County, those are set by the county and we don't control those costs. In this budget, I'm also, we are proposing a new structure for our water rates that really reward consumption, and so the base bill on this for most of our users, our average users, would see a savings of a little less than $10 a month. You could see that highlighted here, and again over here if you're looking at whether that be seniors or a normal household, and then the THE OTHER PART OF THAT IS THERE WOULD BE AN INCREASE TO COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY USERS AND THEN OF COURSE WITH THE VARIABLE PORTION OF THE WATER THAT WOULD GO UP SLIGHTLY AND MOSTLY IMPACT OUR HIGH VOLUME CONSUMERS OF WATER. So with this going on, we're gonna get into the water fund, the sewer fund, stormwater. You're gonna see some adjustments there and keep in mind that whenever I get to the house, this year is inclusive of stormwater and the proposals that are gonna be included there. So water fund, we're coming back to the proposed true up for this is gonna be the 37,000. And then we're also looking at a 5% increase for Miami-Dade County. That's gonna be one of the primary drivers here. A big portion of this budget is the two and a half million for the water main improvement projects. It's important to point out that that is grant funded and we're handling those long deferred projects with grants. The sewer fund, again, this is another true up that is most of this $256,000 and they're proposing a 15% rate increase. So most of this that you see is gonna be that. It's important to also note that between the two of these that we still have the lowest water rates in Miami-Dade County and our sanitation rates are also some of the lowest for full service cities in Miami-Dade County. sanitation a big thing is that miami-dade county is proposing an increase here we do have a small increase but one of the most important parts of this is that we're now including vegetation pickup we're proposing in this budget so we're not having to send out a bill for picking up trees and landscaping and all that if there's big appliances and such like that we would propose a fee is that Stormwater, this is the one that there's an increase in the expenses, but there's also an increase in revenue. This is primarily due to being a little bit more equitable in the way that we're allocating our stormwater, much in the same way that we're doing the water and sewer. This is based on the size of the impermeable area for our commercial and multifamily properties. So with those calculations, naturally they're gonna pay a larger portion than most of our residents would. Community development, again, here there's a consolidation of some positions that were in other departments. We're putting people back in the department that they should have been in before. And we've been committed to modernizing that process and offering same day inspections and an overall better experience for the residents. And with this budget, we're proposing a long term plan to bring our compensation model closer to the 85th percentile. This budget includes almost seven million dollars of capital improvements some of what we've already discussed such as the water main improvement. We are looking at stormwater pump improvements our safe streets initiative and then the pickleball court roof which are some of the most sizable projects that are in the budget. Here's a just a simulated drawing of what that may look like for the pickleball court. Our water line main that we're continuing to work on this is two and a half million dollars of that. Streetlight replacement again this will be initially funded by FPL and something that we pay back over time. Stormwater master plan that's something that we continue to invest in to ensure that our streets are safe whenever there's storm and accumulating water so that we're doing the best that we can for our residents. In with this budget, the part that I would like to conclude with is the assumptions in this budget specifically for revenue are assuming that we propose a millage rate of 5.77.

If I may add now, a couple things. On community development, which is code, the state has also passed a law that we're in the process of doing right now that effective at the end of this year, we have to look at our costs. And instead of doing it on a valuation basis, we have to do it on a per inspection cost, per review cost. And every department has to go through that process right now. So that will change some of our recapture rate. True Up, again, True Up is something that's been set up that it comes out of the commercial. It does not come out of the residential side, which is one of the reasons why some of the rates are changing on the commercial side. Cost of living allowance this year is 3%, slightly lower than the average of the county. We are doing, with this budget, fleet modernization. We are getting some new trucks that we need desperately for our public works department. We're running around with trucks that are more than, some are getting close to 20 years old. And lastly, the most important thing out of this budget budget is, there's $600,000 that's being put into capital, but also an additional $221,000 that'll be reserves. And with that, any questions that you may have, we'll be here to answer.

There's a quick question. The pickleball court that I saw there for 1.3, I mean, that's a lot higher than the original RFP, but it says grant funded. Is that all grant funding?

It is. We have a million dollars from federal, and we have, I think the rest of it is from a state grant that we have.

Fantastic.

And, and I'm sorry to correct you, but on the same point, where are we still, are we still negotiating with the contractors on, on taking out some things from the RFP to where we are?

So that that's the max. It'll be, it'll probably come in lower than that. I will. I'll be starting that up in earnest next week, mayor.

Okay. Thank you. Sorry, commissioner. Go ahead. Anyone else? on the enterprise funds. Um, when it comes to the water and sanitation, uh, so let's take water first. Um, where are we on the, uh, profits or losses on the water?

Um, at this point, we, we are breaking even. And in fact, The way the budget is being proposed this year is allowing water and the sewer funds to repay general $100,000 each. So we're being able to recapture some of the money that we had as the case for both water and sanitation. That goes for water and sewer, $100,000 in water, $100,000 in sewer, and $40,000 in sanitation. I'm sorry, Mayor.

How much, give or take, does the water and sewer and then sanitation enterprise funds? In all the enterprise funds, the total is $6.6 million. Okay.

Beautiful.

All right. I mean, look, we've gone over the budget a hundred times, so I'm, you know, I don't have any questions, but maybe I have questions from anything that comes up from fellow commissioners. Let's follow up. Go ahead.

I would like to commend the administration. I know that there's been a great deal of planning and projection, projections in each and every one of these projects. levels of of service and and capital improvement it's taken some doing to be able to project you know with the money coming in and and figuring out all all the projections you know to make our what we charge the residents, the military. So I'm thankful, I'm grateful that this has been able to be accomplished. I've seen a lot of presentations. I've seen a lot of information, uh, being given to us in the past, but, uh, you know, this is really a great improvement, you know, the way this presentation is, is, is being done. Um, so I, I commend the, uh, the administration and the finance department. Thank you.

Thank you. Anything else from the commission? Why don't we do this? Give a moment for any commissioners to have any questions, uh, read item, uh, G and H I guess.

Okay. Item G is the public hearing on the tentative city budget for fiscal year, 2026, 2027.

Read items H and I as well. We'll take it all together.

Yes. Mayor, if I may recommend you open the public hearing.

No, I'll open it. Just read it. Okay.

Item H, resolution of the City of West Miami, Florida, establishing the 2026 tentative millage rates upon all real and personal property within the city limits for the payment of the amounts appropriated in the 2026-2027 tentative budget.

Item G is a public hearing. The center of city budget fiscal year 2026, 2027. The public hearing is now open. Anyone from the public wishes to speak on this item? The floor is yours. As we wait for any residents, anyone from the commission have any additional questions for Cody, your CFO, for manager, anyone else on staff? Seeing none, public hearing is now closed. Let's take up item H item H. So an item H, um, I'm getting a motion motion. Second motion in a second. Uh, as this is a 5.7, seven, correct. Your motion is at 5.7, seven. Correct. Okay. You have a motion in a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any against hearing none item passes. Next item is item.

I item I resolution of the city of West Miami, Florida, adopting the 2026, 2027 tentative budget motion.

We have a motion. Second. We have a second. You can't be shy with these seconds and motions. Come on. We're going to sit here all day. You have a motion. We have a second. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Any against? Hearing none, item passes. Thank you. When is the next budget hearing?

September 23rd.

September 23rd. Yes. This will be read again and heard again. Next item, please.

Item J, resolution of the City of West Miami-Floyd adopting the Tentative Water Enterprise Fund budget for the year 2026-2027 in the sum of $4,351,400. Motion. We have a motion.

Second. We have a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any against? None. Item passes. Let's go back to the original order of the agenda. Thank you. Item 11A.

It's item 11, a, this is a second reading and a public hearing. And Mr. Mayor, if I may recommend to hear item 11, eight together with item 11, E which are is related to item 11.

I'm sorry. 11 B or E E okay.

Which is the resolution related to the ordinance. Okay. Item A, second reading and public hearing an ordinance of the city of West Miami, Florida, amending the code of ordinances of the city of West Miami to establish a city of West Miami master fee schedule as the controlling force for city imposed rates, fees, charges, deposit, permit fees, license fees, registration fees, inspection fees, service fees, utility charges and other cost recovery amounts. Amending specific code sections relating to water, sewer, garbage and trash, storm water, parks and recreation, building zoning permits, licensing and administrative service charges to remove specific dollar amounts and be played such amount with the reference to the City of West Miami Master Fee Schedule, providing that the Master Fee Schedule may be adopted and revised from time to time, authorizing the City Manager or the City Manager's designee to recommend and administer updates to the Master Fee Schedule to ensure cost recovery for City services, providing for conflicts, codification, severability, and an effective date. This is a public hearing. I'm gonna read now item 11E. A resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of West Miami, Florida adopting the City of West Miami Master Fee Schedule pursuant to ordinance number 2026 blank. Establishing the Master Fee Schedule attached here to as exhibit A as the controlling source for city imposed rates fees, charges, deposit, permit fees, license fees, registration fees, inspection fees, service fees, utility charges, and other cost recovery amounts, providing that any code provision referring to the Master Fee Schedule shall meet the amount set forth during authorizing the city manager or the city managers designated to administer the master fee schedule and to recommend future revisions, providing that non fee fiscal controls controls are not superseded and providing for conflict, severability and effective date.

Okay. And this is a public hearing. Public hearing is now open back to the board. Mr. Manager. Um, well, anyone wish to speak on the side of public hearing? Mr. Manager, context on this item?

This is basically just a clean-up. We're trying to codify all of our stuff into one thing instead of having them spread throughout all of our different ordinances and chapters. And it's trying to codify and put all our fee schedules in one place. That's all that this really is. And the resolution is basically putting all the fees on a fee schedule that's very clear and everybody can follow and understand it.

Okay. Any questions from the board on this item for manager or for, I guess, Cody he's up there. So I imagine he's ready to take questions as well. Just the housekeeping item.

That's all. That's all that is vice mayor. Yes.

Okay. Public hearing is now closed questions, comments, motions, motion. You have a motion. There we go. We have a second. Call the roll, please, on the item. This is on, just clarify, your motion is on item A and E? Correct.

Both items?

Both items.

Okay.

And your second as well on item A and E?

Yes.

Perfect. Yes. Call the roll, please.

Okay. Commissioner Ceballos, how do you vote?

Yes.

Commissioner Blanes? Yes. Commissioner De La Torre-Gans? Yes. Vice Mayor Chavez, Jr.? Yes. Mayor Diaz-Padron? Yes. 5-0. Both items passed.

Thank you. Thank you. Item 11B.

11B, this is a first reading, an ordinance of the City of West Miami relating to walls, fences, and hedges, amending section 7.2 of City Zoning Code 282 as amended, changing the composition of fence materials, changing the maximum height of walls, fences, and hedges, distinguishing interior lots from corner lots, providing for hedge buffers as required, providing for conflict severability and codification, and providing for an effective date. This is the first reading.

This is the first reading.

Sorry. This is the first reading. So we can take this opportunity to make any fundamental changes, but obviously this item will be coming back for a second reading and probably in a scheduled meeting or within a notice period. Want to provide any context that is relevant to this item?

I do have a presentation. Go for it. If the commission wants to hear it.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners, and staff. Before you tonight is the first reading of a proposed ordinance amending section 7.2 of the city's zoning code relating to walls, fences, and hedges. The purpose of this ordinance is to modernize and clarify the city's existing regulations while balancing residents' desire for privacy with neighborhood appearance, visibility, pedestrian safety, and security. So the Planning and Zoning Board previously deferred this item to allow staff and the city's zoning consultant additional time to research and revise the proposed standards. The revised ordinance was presented to the board on August 26, 2026. Following discussion, the board unanimously recommended approval for the city commission by a 3-0 voice vote, subject to the revisions that were discussed in that meeting. So these photos illustrate some of the examples that we're looking to propose. uh this shows fence styles materials heights and conditions and one of the goals of this ordinance is to provide a clearer standard for future fence permit applications the proposed ordinance includes tables identifying the types of fence materials permitted in each yard location staff did attempt to address the commonly used fence materials however because this is a first reading The Commission may provide direction regarding whether any material should be added removed or further restricted and you are going to see these materials in section 7.2.3 of the ordinance. Again, these are some more samples. And then for interior lots of residential area, the ordinance distinguishes among front yard, interior side yard and rear yard fences and the front yard walls, fences and hedges will be limited to four feet in height. Interior side and rear fences could be constructed up to eight feet in height beginning behind the front plane of the principal structure. Staff was also discussing gates and fences running parallel to the front plane of the principal structure, which are commonly used to secure access to the rear yard. And the proposed clarification would limit those gates or fences to a maximum height of six feet. If that is the commission's direction, the language will be expressly incorporated into this ordinance before the second reading.

If I could stop you there for a second. We're talking about interior side. Is that interior side?

So this is for an interior lot. So both sides that say interior side would be your next door neighbor.

What about when there's a lot that is a corner? I'm getting there. Okay. Do you?

So now we go to corner lots. So the ordinance also establishes separate standards for corner lots. The shorter property line is generally considered the front, while the longer property line abutting the second street is treated as a street side. So a street side fence could reach a maximum height of up to eight feet. Up to six feet may be opaque, with the remaining two feet being semi-transparent. A setback from the sidewalk for landscaping and pedestrian clearance is encouraged, but would not be mandatory, providing all site distance and safety requirements are met. And that is one of the photos, if I go back. This would be an example of that.

Is that eight feet, the other one?

Yeah, so that concrete wall would be six feet, and then you have that iron on top, which would be an extra two feet.

So it's from the first setback of the house? Yes.

Correct, from the front wall of the house towards the back. The proposed ordinance also identifies which fence materials are permitted based on their location. In the ordinance draft you'll see that list there. Decorative materials such as finished picket fencing, aluminum, wrought iron, finished concrete or concrete columns with metal components would be permitted in the front and street side yards. Materials such as wood panels, Composite panels, vinyl coating, chain link would generally be limited to the interior side or rear door locations. Unfinished wood and uncoated chain link would be limited to rear yards. Barbed wire, things of that nature would be, any type of hazardous material would be prohibited throughout the entire city, regardless of the zoning districts. Separate standards are proposed for commercial and A-Zone properties. When one of these properties abuts in R1 and R4 residential property, an eight-foot water fence would be required, finished on both sides, and set back two feet inside the property line, and accompanied by a landscaping buffer on the residential side. I would like to note that there is a technical inconsistency if you look in your drafted ordinance. A finished wood picket fence and aluminum slats in terms of the c district we put it as permitted that is at your discretion we don't have set requirements for the commercial corridor on fence location but we would like to establish one so that is an option and then the ordinance does establish a maximum absorption height and two and a half feet within the required driveway and intersection site distance triangle to protect motors and pedestrians that isn't for the mainly residential area and off walls and fences would require permits which are subject to the florida building code and the draft proposes measuring height from the crown elevation of the adjacent roadway Because this is a first reading, staff would like to coordinate with the city's zoning consultant and also the attorney in terms to finalize that fence height measurement language and location diagram before the ordinance returns to a second reading in terms of establishing that road elevation. Any questions?

Any questions? Go ahead. Commissioner and the commissioner.

First, I'd like to thank staff. I asked for a very small change, and you have done a complete overhaul of the entire thing, and I think it's great. One question I did see on the side street that it said the frontage is the shorter of the two. What are we doing for homes that face, like let's say 62nd Avenue, that they're much wider on one side than on the other side? Would we treat that as a side street?

The way it's always been set, regardless of any fence ordinance that's come through the city, has been the narrow point of the lot is what we treat as the front. Regardless of where the front door faces, basically, the most narrow point on any corner lot, that's what's considered the front.

I would ask that we just revisit that for a second reading and take a look at specifically, I'm concerned about certain houses on 62nd Avenue that I feel like they are much wider than they are deep. And that would allow a six-foot fence with an additional two-foot wrought iron or opaque, or not opaque, transparent to block the entire front of their home as opposed to the rest of the city.

Well, I'll give you an example to your point. My house I'm constructing right now in the city, the narrow side is on the avenue. My actual front is on 10th Street. um the front of my house would be on 10th street and it would like you said it would it would be counter counter and my front door neighbor has the same situation right so it would be it would be i agree i was that was the point i was going to make too to revisit that because we have a certain number of houses on 62nd avenue is the case but also certain corner properties like my own that would go counterintuitive to what we were trying to you know kind of productive we're trying to do Um, so I, I know we had a discussion a lot when I was putting my plans on that. We always treat the shorter as the front, but I think we should adjust that language. I agree with the commissioner before second reading to make sure that if our intention is to not have a six foot fence in front of the front of the house, that we don't just box ourselves in with shorter or longer properties. I apologize for the interruption, but I was thinking the same thing.

Go ahead, Commissioner. And in terms of materials, I think we already addressed the finished, unfinished. We make sure that we can include that definition so that people know what the difference is because most fences are treated, but whether they're finished means whether they're painted or whatever it may be. I have seen a lot of homes, especially throughout Miami-Dade County, that have the white or colored PVC materials. Is that one of the materials that we're considering allowing or no?

We could add it.

No, I defer to staff. I'm not saying it's pretty or it's not pretty, but I've considered it, so I don't know. I'll defer to staff to take a look at that and consider whether that's something that fits with the city and if it's an existing product that's already found throughout the city.

I, I have seen it throughout. Normally it, they put it in the rear yards. Um, but it's something that we can consider.

Just a comment. Thank you.

Commissioner.

Um, the, um, the eight foot, uh, fences on the side of the house, you said that it's being proposed that, uh, it starts with the first, uh, setback in line with the principle in line with the frontage of, of the house, right?

Yes, sir.

but not the front gate, right? So front gate would be six feet, correct?

Correct.

So being a first responder for so many years, this will cause an inability to the police and fire department to make a quick size up of the situation. I know that it hardly ever happens. You know, you don't have that many fires, you don't have that many criminal circumstances, but an eight foot tall fence, can keep the police department or the fire department from readily sizing up and seeing what the situation is. And if they have to spend time climbing the fence, looking over the fence or running to another side of the house to get a better angle of what, or what's happening, it could, it could cause you know, an aggravation, you know, to the aid that could be rendered in a timely manner. I mean, I'm just playing the devil's advocate here. You know, I don't know what the police department thinks. I know that from a firefighting point of view, you know, you want to see windows, you want to see wall, you want to see roof, you want to see everything, you know, so you can make a better, you know, quick decision on how you're going to, attack the circumstances. And again, this, this hardly ever happens.

You know, we don't have that many fires, but if I make commissioner, it could happen. How is, how is it different than, for example, I believe correct me if I'm wrong. Cause I'm, I don't read the code every night. Um, we allow now right on interior, for example, um, eight foot hedges.

Correct.

right? So a thick hedge, right? I was, I was done necessarily different in terms of visibility for fire department or fireman.

I would grab the hedge and I would open it up and I would look, well, I mean, I, you know, it's common sense. If you have an eight foot tall fence, what do you do? You got to find a ladder and a frame ladder. You got to scale it. You know, you have to look, look, I'm just playing the devil.

I believe that the way, if I may submit my commissioner, I think the way it's rated, it's a six foot solid. And then the last two feet is, is visible. So you can still see through those slats that are up there. It's not like it's, a complete solid eight feet on a side street of six feet, plus a two foot material that's,

correct only in the rear yard would you have an eight i'm all for privacy and i'm all for allowing our residents you know to to do whatever they want with a property as long as it's reasonable but this is something that we need to to consider you know i mean i and you know what not now maybe the planning and zoning maybe with some input from the police department let's see what other cities have done if there's if there's been issues and cases of of you know an eight foot tall fence keeping police or fire from from doing their job i mean i i don't know i'm just you know i'm not i don't want to stir the pot but you know it's something to consider so just bringing it up but you know what it could it could i don't know it could possibly maybe put the city in a position of liability we allow this eight foot tall fence the firemen can scale it and climb it and somebody gets hurt

Well, I'm going to stop you there because I know in our city we used to use the word liability like the block of everything. There's no liability issue there. I'm not going to allow – no, not because of you. I know we were on a commission together for a while where liability was thrown around like candy. But, you know, it's – I agree with you. Yeah. I know we served together on that. So I know we have that – Vice Mayor, you want to –

I'll say all great points that you're making, but ultimately the homeowner, what we're giving them is the freedom to determine if they want to take that risk, say if it is a risk, and in order to have more privacy in their home. A lot of homes are on crawl spaces, so I think that's why this was brought forth to begin with. Six foot fence, your home is elevated, you're looking right into your neighbor's yard. So as the mayor mentioned with the hedges, all the points that you're making, I mean, ultimately the residents are going to have more flexibility to have privacy for their families. And as a firefighter, we're going to get the job done anyways. Maybe not so much the retired guys, but I think I can hop that fence and figure it out.

I was going to say I'll play devil's advocate the other way. So firefighters and police officers might not be sizing up our property, but as a mom of two young girls, peepers and predators are, and honestly, that's why I had asked for a variance. I'm one of the ones that has a very elevated property. And the fence really didn't keep me and my backyard where the girls play private. So we have hedges now. I think I wanted to propose, I know we have eight foot hedges now, but I did want to kind of, and I made this proposal and the planning and zoning board, if we could, separate the hedge limitations from the fence and just focus on just the fence and then maybe go with the hedges later because I do know other residents that are probably grandfathered in that had to go the route of hedges that right now might have taller than eight foot hedges and we'll be asking them to take away some of their privacy that they've already kind of established.

Go ahead Vice Mayor.

I'd be supportive of that as well. I know we're only talking about fences now, but hedges are in the first reading of the ordinance. I think now there's a moratorium that goes back a while, right, for the hedges, if I understand correctly.

Is that still the case? Do we still have the moratorium? Did we never take that up? I thought we took it up finally.

It was lifted. Okay. But regardless the intent, I think for hedges specifically would be if it's maintained and it looks nice, the height isn't so much the concern as it is. Cause somebody got a four foot hedge. That's the show. It looks terrible. So I think in the past this was an issue because people were getting violations because their hedges were, were tall. And then you drive by and look at it. They're beautifully maintained. We see in other cities around us. So I'm in favor of looking at hedges separately.

Okay. Is that something, go ahead, commissioner. Go ahead. Sorry.

Uh, agreed. I would take hedges completely out as I don't think there should be a high limitation on a hedge as long as it's being maintained. Um, but to your comment, cause now I'm thinking the way a firefighter would think, um, trying to at least three firefighters on here. I know that's why I'm going to defer to their expertise. So my only question is right now, the proposal for the front fences would be six feet. So if a firefighter or a police officer arrived on scene to a property in the front of the home, the only barricade between them and the backyard is a six-foot fence. Is that correct?

Right. In the front, yeah.

In the front. So I guess my question is, your concern is they would have to get access from another property to get to that fence, what would be the eight foot fence?

The reasoning of my comments are that when police or fire first arrive, and they can arrive from any angle, if they arrive from the front, they have a great angle and they can see the sides of the house, not the back, but you know, they can see a lot of what's going on. So they immediately do a size up. They immediately, you know, that will let them decide exactly what initially is going to be their next move to help and render aid. That's all. You know what? You're absolutely right. They can come and they can run to the front and they can look and they can see the side of the house. They can see all the windows and the walls and the roof. Again, I don't know. I'm just wondering if this has been considered. But again, listen, I am all for privacy. I am all for allowing our residents to have privacy. I'm the first one that wanted the eight foot tall fences on the on the you know on the back and the size of the house a lot of people are building pools you know and they want to have their privacy and you know barbecues enjoy their time in their backyard i'm all for that i was just thinking from a safety aspect you know and all the things that can go wrong unfortunately i always think of all the stuff that can go wrong

You were built to think like that.

I'm going to ask a question right now because you have the opportunity, but it has nothing to do with this ordinance. When we're talking about fences, if a fence is fully interior on the lot, if it's a wall, fully interior in the lot, right? So let's say it's on the front of a house, right? But it's not blocking the front. It's extending from the house to block a side yard, right? Is this ordinance limiting that? I'm not talking about blocking from the side. I'm talking about blocking from the front, but not blocking the house, blocking a side yard, like extending from the house. that would that be, would that still be four feet?

Anything located in front of the front building. So the front, but it wouldn't be, it wouldn't be in the front of the building. If it's parallel. Yeah. It will be limited to six feet on the front of the property.

Interesting. Okay, cool. All right. Um, this is a first reading. Obviously there's a lot of detail put into this. Um, Personally, I'm okay moving it forward to second reading. We'll vote on that now, but I wanna go over with staff, obviously go to fine tooth comb and make sure that we're not missing anything that should or shouldn't be in here. I'm okay with moving it forward to a second reading if we need to continue the conversation after that. We'll continue the conversation after that. I'm glad that along with this item and the swales item and previously the hedges item that we're moving a lot of these items forward and not getting stuck in like the analysis paralysis of you know, not doing anything for that the residents have asking for. So we'll, we'll fully vet this item, um, in second reading. And if we need to continue it and until we have an item that we have a good consensus on and that the residents will, will be have clarity on what they can, can, can do and, and, um, you know, beautify and protect our city. So, With that, am I still in public hearing? Go ahead, Vice Mayor. You wanted to say something?

If we left the hedges in here, can we add something in there where it's not so much the height but the way that it's maintained?

We're on our way to second reading, so let's take care of that now. How do we want to deal with the hedges? Are the hedges necessary for this item right now? What is the...

I mean, it's up to the commission's discretion.

We can't put... At your discretion, we can take it out and just concentrate on the fences.

Yeah, let's do that. Let's make this clean. Do you want to make a motion on... Wait, are we still in public here? No, this is the first reading. Do you want to make a motion on the item as amended removing hedges for second reading?

Yes, I'll make a motion.

And with staff's comments from before?

Yes, with staff's comments. I'll second.

We have a motion. We have a second. Call the roll, please.

Commissioner Blanes, I'll do both. Yes. Commissioner De La Torre-Gans. Yes. Commissioner Ceballos. Yes. Vice Mayor Chavez, Jr. Yes. Mayor Díaz-Padrón. Yes. 5-0. Item passes. Thank you. And the second reading and public hearing will be advertised for September 23, 2026 at 6 p.m. Mayor, can we ask for the second?

I'm sorry. Can we ask for the second reading to be the October meeting?

yes uh yeah i think that's a little bit too much for staff to take on for that meeting yeah okay what day of october the first meeting of october

May I add, uh, Mr. Chairman that, uh, for the purposes of the record, the commission did move to, uh, and pass a motion to take out everything dealing with fence hedges. Hedges. Correct. And then you passed.

Correct. Everyone, everyone on board of that. Everyone's the same page. Yes. Perfect. Thank you, Mr. Attorney.

And the second reading would be October the 7th. Beautiful.

Thank you.

All right. Item K please.

Item K 11 K resolution of the mayor on city commission of the city of West Miami, Florida, proving the fabrication and installation of the veterans Memorial wall by three 60 repairs texts incorporated in an amount not to exceed $25,000. approving the purchase of an art piece in an amount not to exceed $15,000, authorizing the installation of the Veterans Memorial Wall, an art piece in the new West Miami Memorial Veterans Park, ratifying the recommendation of the Military Affairs Board, authorizing the city manager to execute all necessary documents and take all actions required to implement the project, providing for implementation and providing for an effective date.

Okay, Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mayor. That is a rendering of what we're proposing, well, what the Military Advisory Board has proposed. And we've kind of worked with them to come up with what it would look like. What this item would do will get us the art piece, which is the poppies, the red poppy flowers, which is symbolic for veterans, in the center. And it will allow us to build that wall in the background So the, and, and the platform end up in the Plaza area. So except with the exception of the flat of the flags and the landscaping and lighting, you would basically have this and we're trying to get disapproved to see if we can pull this off as soon as possible. Um, the military advisory board wants me to have it done by November 11th. I'm not quite sure that we can do it by then, but we will try our best.

Thank you. Questions, comments from the board?

Just for everyone listening, it's in Veterans Park, which is Sylvania Boulevard and 11th Street, roughly.

Actually, more like 12th Street.

12th Street.

It's that green area, that triangular green area that's near Sylvania between 11th and 12th. 11th and 12th, yes.

It will be between 58th Avenue and Sylvania. Right at 12th Street.

All good. Yeah. All right. Someone, uh, motion. Second. We have a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any against hearing none item passes. Thank you to our veterans affairs board for working hard on this and hopefully we can get it done in a timely fashion in a, in a reasonable way. But what's it, what's the, what's the best attorney work reasonable timeframe. All right. What's the next item please. Talking about attorneys.

Item L, a resolution of Mayor and City Commission of the City of West Miami approving an in-kind donation of the use of Cooper Park to the Cuban American Bar Association for a special fundraising event. Approving the dispensing and sale of alcoholic beverages for a special event pursuant to section 3. 3-7 of the City Code authorizing the sale and dispensing of alcoholic beverages by the Cuban American Bar Association during Cabas Carnival and Pig Roast on November 7, 2026 at Cooper Park, providing for conditions, providing for an effective date.

Well, this event, the last time they had it, was very successful. I didn't want to eat pork for a long time after that. Hopefully, I don't get asked to judge again because I'm on a diet. But anything on this item, Commissioner Ceballos, you're the sponsor.

No, it's a, it's a great event. Um, uh, last time we did this, I was not on this commission, but, uh, the city was very helpful in getting this event to be as successful as successful as it was. Um, it benefits the bar, the community American bar association, specifically their pro bono aspect. It's all 501 C three. Um, it's a great fundraising event for all. Maybe I'll bother the chief. You know, depending on how we do at FIU, pig roast later this month. By the way, what date is that on? 26. 26. Reminder to all of our commissioners if they want to attend. But I appreciate staff and city working with me on this. I think it will be another successful event, hopefully bigger and better than it was last year. I'm still here.

Anyone else from the board? This item? Can I get a motion? Motion. We have a motion. Second. We have a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any against? Hearing none. Great item. Thank you. Next item.

Item M, a resolution of the Mayoralty Commission of the City of West Miami, Florida relating to grants approving the standard grant agreement VW 527 between the City and Florida Department of Environmental Protection under the Class 8 Municipal Service Drug Program, accepting the grant amount of $200,000 to purchase one new class service vehicle to replace one existing diesel truck authorizing the city manager or a designee to execute said agreement and other grant and project related documents as required to complete all tax set in the agreement and providing for an effective date.

Mr. Manager.

Mayor, this is just the acceptance of the grant. This is a grant that we've been able to obtain for $200,000 for a dump truck. As always, we try to find alternative ways to be able to modernize our fleet. This is one of them. Once we have this approved, we'll come back to you when we are ready to purchase the truck and bring you that paperwork at that time.

Is anyone against accepting grants for modernizing your fleet? Motion. Second. We have a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any against? Hearing none, item passes. Thank you. Next item.

Item N, resolution of Mayor and City Commission of the City of West Miami, Florida, authorizing 90-day pilot food truck program at the City of West Miami Multigenerational Center, authorizing the participation of La Ventanita de Yaqui, providing for the sale of health-conscious food and beverage items requiring compliance with all applicable laws, licenses, permits, insurance, and other requirements, providing for evaluation of the pilot program, providing for termination, providing for survivability, and providing for an effective date.

Mr. Mayor, do we have, I'm sorry, Mr. Manager, do we have the photos by any chance?

Sorry, Vice Mayor. No worries.

You're going to paint us a picture. Go ahead.

No worries. So it's a brand new food truck. They're over at Freedom Park right now where the soccer team is playing. Very highly recommended. And this is something that, as a park board, we had been discussing bringing over an amenity like this to our city. It was probably going to come later in the future when you saw the pickleball facilities and such completed. So we'd have more foot traffic. These folks want to come in as a 90-day pilot program, essentially as a free amenity to our residents. The risk is all on them. They understand that. I've explained to them that we don't have a lot of foot traffic. We would love for them to be successful, and we would partner with them in that respect. But again, it's a 90-day pilot program. We're gonna give them power. They're gonna pay for it. They're not gonna be on generators, so as far as noise concerns, anything like that, there's no concern there. They're going to work with our staff to determine what kind of food it is that we wanna see there, as well as give an employee discount so that all of our employees, PD, the guys that are on the street working, would have a nice place to stop. The only thing we'll provide to them afterwards is the times of all the different recreational activities, try to be there in a time where there's more folks so they can be successful. But at the end of 90 days, we can reevaluate this. And this is something that long term we want to see both at the rec center as well as Cooper Park. We want to see and have amenities that our residents can walk to. We see a great success story with Lucha Do over at the Casa Cultura house. This is going to be something that's not going to be competitive or competing with them. Again, they're a great partner of ours and a ton of residents and a ton of great feedback. So we want to start having these little pop-ups in different areas of the city. So hopefully it's successful and we'll do what we can to make it that case.

I want to commend the recreational board for bringing this up. Thank you.

I'm in favor. I think we want to provide amenities and opportunities for our residents to enjoy the rec center. So obviously if it works, great. If it doesn't, there's no risk to the city. So I'm, I'm very much in favor. And I've, I've heard good things about this vendor. So they come with a good reputation. So I'm, you know, excited. Hopefully we can, we can, we have a great partnership with them.

Yeah, this is all creating community. That's what brings community together. Neighbors meeting neighbors and sharing their time together. So it's a great thing.

I gave a shout-out to Lucho, though. I have to give a shout-out to Chopping Block as well. Can't forget about them. Haven't tried the Smash Burgers yet. I don't know if anybody here has, but looking forward to seeing folks on our staff. Some residents, they've tried it, so...

I've seen them both on Instagram. And actually, Lucha Do got a feature on Channel 10 or Channel 4 recently. So it's bringing a lot of good publicity to the city, as well as everything that the Casa Cultura team is doing there. So it's been a great partnership with the city as well. all right we have a get a motion on this or questions comments motions motion motion second we have a second all in favor say aye aye any against hearing none item passes consent can we get a motion of consent motion we have a motion second we have a second all in favor say aye aye any against hearing none good to the order

Just one thing to mention. We have a proclamation that we're going to sign, all of us, when we can, for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. And then I'm waiting for a date from Sylvia that she's with the Mystic Force Foundation. They just had their parade Saturday. We're always in attendance. Our PD was there.

I actually saw them going up the 7th Avenue. I didn't realize that they went down that, but it was very impressive.

It's incredible, and sorry I missed it this year, but our cops are always there, of course, supportive. So I'm waiting for a date and a time to go to their facility. It's a house that they have set up for the kids, and we can go and present a proclamation and get a tour. So I'll give you that info when I get it. Sounds great.

Go ahead. Quite possibly, if not our oldest resident, Soyla Martinez, passed away. She was 104 years old. We gave her a certificate when she turned 100. I know you did, Mayor. So one of the neighbors reached out to me and she said that it would be really nice if we give her a certificate and she's going to let me know the times of the funeral and maybe you, Mayor, or Vice Mayor, or one of us can go over there and present it to the family. a certificate for, you know, her being 104 years old. Yeah.

She was a great resident. It's a very, very sad passing, but, uh, thankfully a long life lived. Thank you for that, for that update, uh, commissioner. Um, anyone else for good of the order? Seeing that all the items on the agenda have been completed, have I got a confirmation on that, Madam Clerk, and that we jumped around a lot? Did we complete all the items? Yes. All right. Meeting adjourned. Thank you.