All right, >> let's get ready to get started. >> All right, let's do this. The regular council meeting for Tuesday, January 27, 2026 is called to order at 7:03 p.m. Let's have a moment of sight of meditation followed by pledge of
>> allegiance to the flag of the republic for it stands nation. >> Very much a roll call. >> Roll call. Mayor Nickerson >> here. >> Vice Mayor Martin is not here. Council
person Urban >> present. >> Council person lifewood board is not here. Council person Winters >> present. >> Also present. For the record, Janice Jacobe uh inter manager Joseph Geller, village attorney and soon to be uh David Roseman is also present.
>> Thank you very much. Appreciate that. Madam clerk, may I have approval of the agenda? >> Motion to approve. >> Moved by Council Person Winters. May I have a second? One second. Second by council. All say I. I. Say nay. Hearing none. Moving on to good and welfare. Um
I want to say something really quickly you guys. Um it' be very very short. Um I just want to say that you know on our on the top of our page when it comes to our agenda we have a
statement of decorum. And I think that, you know, when when that was put on there, it was put on there for for the residents, but we have to really remember and keep in mind that as elected officials, we should hold
ourselves to an even higher standard when it comes to professionalism and decor. I just wanted to quickly say that um as the head of the legislative body of this council um I want to apologize to the residents
not only Elberttow but beyond and I also want to say this you know we always should strive for unity but sometimes because of emotions of different
individuals you might feel that we can't unify the way that we want to. If you feel that unity is not something that you can reach, you should always have mutual respect for others.
Respect should be the bottom line no matter what. And so whether you're talking about on a national level, a regional level, a state level, whether you're talking about the county or here in our
community directly, you should always remember that professionalism and respect is something that is nonnegotiable. Non-negotiable. And from now on, just know that
anyone who does not at least meet the lowest standards of respect will be handled appropriately. I also want to say that
just keep in mind you all that no matter what, no matter where you are, when it comes to government, when it comes to politics, when it comes to political differences, always keep in mind, and especially for
our community, we all want the best for El Pau. We just may have different ideas on how to get there. And that right there should be something that never leaves you. And that right
there should be something that will always bring respect for others to the forefront whenever you're addressing. Okay. Council person, do you like to address the community? >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
U you are certainly included in the apology that I will now read into the record. I fully understand my responsibilities and duties and what is expected of me as
an elected official and a community member. I am sorry and I apologize. I quoted these hateful words. I am deeply remorseful. I condemn racism as a recipe for human extinction and it is counter to my
personal ethos of one human family. I believe the word I used has no place in the 21st century and that all slurs should be globally buried. I acknowledge and understand that the word I use, no matter the context, is beyond offensive
and even traumatizing. I see people being targeted for nothing more than possession of melanin and I find myself angry at the historic silence of the culture I quoted. A culture of violence that invokes the creator of the universe as its patron.
That culture is here and it is thriving in the leadership of the organizations I take issue with. None of this excuses my choice to use the word and it has damaged relationships both in and outside my home, both in and outside my community.
I vow to never use any slurs in the future and to live up to the highest standards of community to which I now owe a debt. In the future, I will choose better words or refrain from speaking alto
together. I am sorry. We're in the good and welfare portion of the agenda. Um, anybody for good and welfare, you guys can come up and talk about anything at all. Name and address for the record and the floor is yours. Pascal Deool, 177 Northwest 90th Street.
Thank you for opening like that. I appreciate that. Thank you for your apology. I just wanted to go on record that I found your words to be incredibly offensive and vile and that they offended me and a lot of people that I know here. We work together here. One of
the beautiful things about El Patal, like you said, is we're black, we're white, we're straight, we're gay, we're Christians, we're Muslim, we're everything, and we all get along. And to hear you say that is unacceptable. I appreciate your apology, but we're
watching. Okay, I'm gonna read because just because I don't want to forget anything. Um, good evening mayor and council members. My name is Alexandra Vasa. I want to start by saying who I am because context matters. I am an Latin
immigrant. I am mixed race. I am pro business. I consider myself an independent thinker and I like many people I don't fit neatly in one political box. Unfortunately, we don't have a strong independent party in this country and that has pushed many of us
toward extreme positions that in my opinion don't represent the majority of of people. Most of us live somewhere in the middle. I supported President Trump in the last election. Not because of hate or division, but because much of the Democratic Party's narrative doesn't
align with my personal values. That choice doesn't make me racist, intolerant, or anti-commun. I want to be very clear about this. I am not racist. I love all my neighbors. I love Miami because its diversity. And I truly believe we are blessed to live in Eportal, a community that has
historically been inclusive, welcoming, and respectful. Because of that, I believe is the duty of the mayor and all the members of the council to actively protect that culture even when it's uncomfortable and even when it differs with their with their own opinion that leadership matters. I don't understand
why racist, religious, religious or political commentary have any place in council meetings regardless of who they come from or what color someone is. This meeting should be about policy, transparency and serving residents. I want to say this plainly. I do believe
that council umber urban acted in good faith. However, when language is used to insult or label entire groups groups of people, whether based on race, religion, gender, or political beliefs, it damage trust and divides a community that should be working together. This is not
the first time that these kind of incidents have been tolerated, but it should be the last. People need to be called out respectfully and everybody should be responsible for it moving forward. Respectfully, it should be the mayor's role to preside over meetings, keep
order, and ensure that this that discourse remains professional and focus focused on governance, not personal ideology. Finally, I ask that secretive closed door and divisive meetings to stop. Transparency is not optional in a
democracy. Open dialogue dialogue builds trust. Closed doors destroy it. I am here because I care about this community. I want teleport to remain a place where people of different backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences can coexist respect respectfully without fear of being labeled or dismissed.
Thank you for your time. Hello. Um Ron Flores, 61 Northeast 88th Street, just down the road here. Um, I was at the last meeting uh for a couple hours. I sat right up here in the front and I actually spoke, but I left um
before any of this had happened. So, I didn't I was kind of shocked when when um I had heard that it happened because I said I didn't hear it. Um but I did see it on the news. I did see it online. And although you did apologize
for your racial slur, I didn't hear you apologize to anybody else. Me in particular and everybody else. I'm not white. I'm Latino, but I voted for Trump and you call me a piece of
Are you apologizing for that? For voting for Trump and calling me a piece of I am sorry for the entirety of the statements that I made. Uh they I own those statements. They were impulsive. I did not plan to say all of
that. But that doesn't matter because in the moment I had an opportunity to stop myself. I did not. I take full responsibility for all of that. And I am deeply sorry for the entirety of what I said at the last meeting. >> I appreciate that we all get caught up
in the moment. I have many times. I I appreciate you owning up to it and hopefully never happens again and we can move on to whatever others if anybody else wants to talk. Thank you. Thank you. I'm George Alvarez from 165
Northwest 88th Street. Today is um International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It's very serious. It's not just about the death of over six million Jews and countless other
underrepresenting people in Europe. But if we dig into the weeds a little bit, we see that words and deeds start approaching much much closer and that on
our way to communism, authoritism, fascism, or just a very unpleasant and hateful life. Those little compromises and allowing little phrases and little words even
when the intentions are not bad can lead us down a very dangerous path. So I think it's always wise to remember the connections between the little things and the big things. And you know I I I saw I saw the the video
council person if if you don't mind my saying. I saw it on the news and um it was it was a big thing. But just like our our uh vice mayor who's not here, I know you were doing a thing. I know that
you were exaggerating and being dramatic to express a point against racism, but my lord, that was certainly an inelegant and thoughtless way to do it. to then throw the baby out with the bathwater of
everybody who voted for somebody or everybody who might come from everybody else. I appreciate your apology. I'm going to take it on face value and I think it's important that we all do that. But I want to connect this to something else. You're letting us down.
And anybody on this deis is letting us down when they dive into egocentric or pedantic activities that have little or nothing to do with the business at hand. This community is in the middle of a major discussion right now where
developers are ready to feast on us and we need clearheaded the people up here. Look, I know that some of you ran unopposed, so not all of you were were were elected, but you are the council that we have. And when you indulge
in the tangential stuff, you leave us in the lurch. This is our council, right? We have to look to them. We have to trust them. You may not have voted for them, but these are the people who are going to represent us in these dealings we we
have with with Adam Newman, who's going to be uh who's attempting to build multiple properties here. Uh if you don't know about it, Google it. You'll you'll you'll read more. But in addition, there are problems, questions, concerns, and and
just little things that that make our way of life in El Patel so wonderful that you guys get a say on. We don't get a say on it. You guys are the people that we are looking to to represent us. When you engage in
the circus, you're not representing us. So, I hope that you'll think about that. And one more thing about words. I don't I don't want to presume why two of our council are not here right now, but words matter. And the vice mayor and and
and and council person Lightoot Ward were very very gracious as was the mayor was very very gracious. And when I saw what I saw on the news, you got you got to take this in. You had people on both side of you and they were
scared. Council person Winters was talking about that you frightened him. I know you didn't plan that and I know you didn't mean it because I saw the video at this point, but words matter and no council person
should be feeling this way if for no other reason, if not for their human dignity and just common civility and respect. It's because we need protection from some of the forces that are surrounding us. And we need cooler heads
to negotiate with some of those forces so that Elpel can continue to prosper, can continue to grow, businesses can develop, and people can live in peace. You guys are our team. Thank you for
your time. I appreciate your apology. I appre all appreciate all of your work and your patience. And um that's all I'm going to say for now. Thank you. >> Yes, I had to write something down. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, council
members. My name is Max Sturman, 55 Northeast 89th Street. the mayor already brought up and I but I'm going to follow up on the very first item on the every single council meeting agenda is a statement of the quorum whereby any person not in compliance is
barred from the audience. I don't know how maybe Mr. Attorney can help us how we do this legally but there needs to be that statement for the council members too. It needs to be any person in this room needs to comply with
a monocum of decorum. Period. I want to thank the vice mayor last week for speaking up as she did. I'm sure that there was some shock in there and for the mayor's response tonight and Mr. Irban's and Mr. Urban's response tonight.
Um, yeah, I'm changing everything I put here. Publicly attacking citizens of the village is inexcusable, inappropriate, and is an abuse of power by our council member and should be reason enough to think
about any member who does that. Think about their position, whether they belong there or not. Our village council members are required to represent our residents in a professional, friendly, and positive manner at all times. And Mr. Urban gave
a public apology to the village. I heard him say that he won't do it again. You know, I would presume there's a personal strategy that you're going to be following. So, if you don't, and I don't know if like my voice, they put a note card down so they remember. Do not.
I'm dead serious. I'm now a parent speaking to a child. That's the way I feel. The problem is that I heard the apology, but I I'm I'm I'm I'm disappointed in the your text response to me and you didn't know me, but my text was very
positive. I asked, "How can we move forward positively?" And that's all I said in my text. And you can say I didn't criticize. I didn't ask. That was it. How do we move forward positively? And you wrote that I had to meet some personal criteria for you. I had to be
familiar with Akmod Arbur's murder in Georgia. You know, I'm still sick about that. It's got nothing to do with color, race, skin, anything. And if I didn't know about that, then we had nothing to talk about. And then you said,
if you voted for Dantis Scott or Trump, which I didn't, and whom I despise many of the things that they stand for, but I did I didn't vote for them. But when I used to tell the scouts, the scout message, people would say things, they have a right to be a jerk because that's
what America's about. But you said that if I did vote for them, anybody who did were traitors, you I can't talk to you. So this is my own. And I know the clock is going to beat. So I'm going to ask for a second. I had a right to speak with you and to
say what I wanted to say. And everybody has a right given to us by the Constitution to speak up. And I know that's what you were trying to do, but it was the wrong way. We're all human and we make mistakes. You gave your apology. I want to really
be sure that you don't do it again. And I want to say something else that Mr. Attorney, I'm not sure what your responsibilities are, but I know that if I'm an attorney and I'm sitting there, he wouldn't have gotten a third word out of his mouth. I would have stopped him. You probably can't do that. I don't know
legally what we're allowed to do. I And he's shaking his head. He's not allowed to as a human being. You should have slapped the desk and said, "Sorry, we can't do that. >> Sorry. I know that the rules. Here we go. We followed the rules and that's why we are where we are now."
>> But sir, I would be happy to discuss it further with you and I'll give you my number so we can talk about it. You can understand why that is. >> Yeah. But I I just I will only say >> as a parliamentarian >> I know
>> I don't run a meeting. >> People say that to me all the time. Parliamentarians don't run meetings. They invite >> I've been members of planning and zoning boards in two different cities. I've been chairman of committees in in local communities for development. North Miami Shores and planning and zoning here. And
I understand that. But I have had the attorney speak up to me when I'm saying something that somebody doesn't like. Bottom line, our council is supposed to represent all members of the community whether they agree with us or not. And the village has to have a council and an
attorney who abide by the rules and you're saying you abided. Then we need to change one of them equally represent all members. We have to be accountable. I don't want to come to these meetings and talk about anything like this anymore. I want to talk about the streets development, the families, what
we can do for the properties. I'm working real hard not to be angry. I'm looking at you. You're looking at me. I get it. I hope that you really meant it and that you're hearing what I'm saying, what everybody else is saying. It's not acceptable and I want to work with whoever's here on the
council. So, thank you. >> Thank you very much. Velvet Connelly, 355 Northeast 87th Street. Um, so first of all, I want to commend you, Anders, because I think it does take a lot of courage to acknowledge
when we make a mistake and to take responsibility publicly in a forum like this, I know is not easy. And so, I do want to acknowledge that that's a hard thing that you've done. And I think you've done that graciously here tonight. And I think that's been to all of our surprise. It has been to mine. I didn't expect that to be your attitude
or your tone. But I am very appreciative to find that this is your tone tonight and that you are taking responsibility. And I've said this to you privately. I've said it to other people and I'll say it now publicly. I have been so impressed with you at times in your
expressions, your ideas. I think I I've said to you personally, I think that you're a brilliant man. I found that you have information. you have ideas that I've never heard of or I've never thought of and I found that very valuable in conversations with you. I've learned things from you and I think that's the value that you present on the
council and I found that with so many members of the community and I think when we come into these forums and we don't bring that part of ourselves we do a disservice to our entire community to what's possible in a forum like this and we spend so much time talking about
things that are irrelevant that don't move us forward and then create shock news and our village still has all the problems that it has and we still have yet to bring viable solutions to the table. But I have heard you present viable solutions at times and I find that your tirades overshadow those
things. So I ask you from a humble place as a citizen and a resident and I remind every person on the council that you guys obviously you have your own opinions and I believe that what is a truly American value is to protect all opinions even ones that I don't agree
with even opinions that are racist even opinions that I might personally find deplorable. I it is American to protect the right to have those opinions and to protect the right to express them but in appropriate forums. This is not the forum for personal opinions because you
were not elected to represent yourself. You were elected to represent the village and the people. And so that's really my main issue. It's not any opinion that you hold. You have the right to have it and express it in appropriate times. But this is not the time. This is not the forum. And I do
want to say that there were two things that really concerned me about last week. One that a lot of the comments that you made and in the past as well have been directed at white men. We had a team of developers here with an open application before the council who had a
team that was made up of mostly white men. And I think that opens up our village to a lot of liability, right? And any decision you make from this point could be questioned as potentially being motivated by racism,
discrimination, personal bias, and it undermines the authority and integrity of this council and any decision. Is it okay, Mayor? any decision that is made going forward. And I think that's a valid concern. It's something we all have to be aware of. Who knows what the
fallout will be now that they've heard those things and and seen those things and what it will mean for decisions going forward. But I think that's the weight and the gravity of sitting in a seat like that. And I would say the same thing um to Attorney Geller.
Um Attorney Geller, I want to say this to you. I'm not a lawyer. I don't know the legalities, but my understanding is that your role in these meetings is to shield the village of legal liability and to allow statements like that to be made that
were hostile towards white men in front of a group of mostly white men who had an active application before our village council. And it's not for you to stop his statements if you're not allowed to do that. But you could have immediately denounced them as not the opinion or
perspective of this village or this council. That those are personal opinions and not the opinion of the village. And there was no no action taken to even try to mitigate the damage in that moment. And for me as a resident, that was alarming. And so I
do just want to say I'm not sure what's happened before, but I hope that this situation can bring us all to a place where we raise the standard for not holding each other accountable, but holding ourselves accountable to a higher standard of what's possible here that we get to the business that needs
to be done. And we all just step up to the role of doing what we can do, which is a lot more than what we've done so far. I appreciate everybody and what everybody is doing. I think everybody is some degree is doing the best that they can, but I think that we all if we're
truthful, we can all do more for our village, for ourselves, for our community. >> I did not intend to make any additional statements, but I do want to be as clear as I possibly can. Clearly, I
have challenges communicating effectively, but I'm going to try right now. The entirety of responsibility of what happened last week sits on my shoulders. The it was at the end of a three and a half hour meeting. I did not plan on
saying what I said. Once I started, I did not stop. It was an impulsive reaction that I had that went pretty quickly when I spoke to the mayor the
next day apologizing for many things putting him through this what I said uh all of it. Uh uh I got the context and conversation with him that he actually missed uh part like the
first part of when I started going off. So, I told him, "Please go watch the entirety of the video before you decide that you're going to speak to me, you know, in a friendly way." Again, I hold no I hold no grudges or animosity towards anybody who writes me off. Uh, I
totally get it 100%. But it is not the chair in that meeting's responsibility, nor the attorney's responsibility to regulate my behavior. It is fully and without a doubt and without exception my responsibility to regulate my behavior.
So um by no means or circumstance was anybody else in that room even partially or remotely responsible for the words that I said in my inexcusable
and mistakenly guided tirade. So all responsibility is on my shoulders exclusively. Experts for good and welfare Velvet Connelly 355 Northeast 87th Street. Anders, I'm going to have to
respectfully disagree because everybody in this council has a role and 100% it was your words and you are responsible for your words. The mayor is the coun is the chairman of the council. He has a responsibility
regardless of what you do or do not say. The village attorney has a responsibility to the village to protect and shield us of legal liability. And that is from any direction. someone coming into the community or somebody that is sitting on the council. So I'm
not saying anybody shares responsibility for the words that you are using but they do share in the responsibility of whatever their role is to the village when things like that happen and I think we all have to look at that what is our role and take it more seriously.
So I do have to disagree with that but I appreciate you. >> Thank you. Thanks for getting Daniel Roas, 60 Northeast 86 Street. Um uh leadership matters. Our words matters. However, it also matters when you
acknowledge that you've made a mistake. Uh even though I didn't agree with what was said, I do share the concern and I've expressed it in the past. And I would like to bring up what our village and our police department would do to
protect us if ICE comes here and behaves in disrespect of the law. if they don't have warrants and they try to get into people's homes, what will our police department while our city do? And uh that's what I want to bring out right now. Thank you.
>> Thank you very much. Um in the past I've addressed you guys uh I I addressed that in a meeting uh previously um when the gentleman brought up that concern also. Uh then if you guys don't remember I spoke about that I said that the police
officer Tile are here to protect the residents of Alpertile. I've also said that there was there's a lot going on. Um we're still holding out. We're one of the uh few holdouts in Miami Day County as far as signing on to um have ICE to
assist ICE if they came in. one of the few holdouts in Miami Day County, but understand that others who had previously held out, the reason why we're one of the few left is because others who had previously held out, the
uh governor got involved and the governor um went to well told them that they would strip away their funding for that hold out. understand that because, you know, Eltowal um we're a
small community with a small budget that stripping of state funding for us would be disastrous. Yet, we're still holding up. Okay? So, this is what it is. Um if things change, uh I'll let you guys know, but that's
how it is for now. But understand even other communities like um up north I think Fort Myers or Fort Pierce um other communities has held out at first and then the governor uh began to strip their funding and remove the council
members. So um so that's where we are but we're still one of the few holdouts. Okay, next we're going to welcome going Good and welcome. Going twice. Good and welcome. Going three times. Good and welcome. Thank you very much everyone. Um moving
on to the acknowledgement of visitors and special presentations. Let's do the swearing in of the village manager and then we'll have the women's club do their presentation. Thank you very much. Please raise your right hand. I, David Roseman, >> I, David Roseman,
>> do hereby solemnly swear or affirm >> do hereby solemnly swear >> that I will support >> that I will support >> protect >> protect >> and defend >> and defend >> the Constitution and government of the United States >> the Constitution and government of the
United States >> and of the state of Florida >> and of the state of Florida. and that I will >> and that I will >> in all respects observe the provisions >> in all respects observe the provisions >> of the charter and ordinance of the village of Elportal >> of the charter and ordinance of the
village of El Portal >> that I am duly qualified >> that I'm duly qualified >> to hold office >> to hold office >> under the constitution of the state >> under the constitution of the state >> and that I will well faithfully >> and that I will faithfully >> perform the duties
>> perform the duties >> of village manager >> of village on which I'm about to enter. >> which I'm about to enter. >> Congratulations. Welcome back. You start tomorrow. >> Place this pin on you. Make make it make it official. >> Here we go.
>> There we go. There we go. >> There you go. Looking good. >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. No, no, no. Um, Chief Mendes and Renee and the police. So uh good evening everyone. I am the
president of the GFWC Alport women's club and uh we have been reinstated for 10 years. So this is our 10th year being uh active in the community. We have always had um a beautiful event created.
uh my daughter started it 11 years ago and uh we have always been supported by the fabulous police department and so on behalf of the Alport women's club and the village of Elportal residents that
enjoyed the carolling through the village we wanted to in December we want to extend this award of appreciation to the the fund. So, if you were around December 13th and it was really loud, it wasn't Santa, it was us caroling. So,
this is the award. And then, um, I realized that I also had one that I never presented from 2022. So, you get two for one today. and we look forward to working with the community again. We are having family
game night this Friday. So come to the village hall at 6:30, 6:30 to 8. We'll see you there. Family game night this Friday. >> Thank you very much. Um for consent agenda, do I have a motion to approve consent agenda? >> So moved. >> Moved by Council Person Winters. Do I
have a second? >> Second. >> Second by Council Person. All say I. >> Oppos say nay. Hearing none. Moving down to the agenda item. Council person Winters. You want to jump in with H1? >> Absolutely. So, um, first thing is, um, madame clerk, um, the agenda items were
not posted the way that I originally emailed them to you. We were supposed to say, um, the actual discussion and possible motion, and so without the possible motion, I won't be able to make my motion today. Is that correct, Mr. Geller? >> I sat down with the mayor and that's
exactly how how he read them to me. the fact that they came in really quite late, Councilman without backup in order to prepare something for a possible vote. I mean, typically we we
asked them a little sooner. I know you mentioned that apparently in in some previous meetings and the managers talked about it, but um it's possible to add something to the
agenda late, but when it's an item that's of not an internal item, but an item of great public concern, there are issues. If action is taken
where residents can say that they did not have sufficient notice in advance, I know it is done in some municipalities, but we try to avoid that because the citizens have a right to know at some
point in advance what the item is, what's going to be discussed. That's why we draft resolutions. So I don't want to say it can't ever be done if there's exigent circumstances, but under the circumstances here where it's not even
clear that the council had taken prior action or a deadline, the the best practice is to be sure that the public knows well in advance that items as important as what you're talking about. I don't I
don't by any means minimize them. It's the opposite of that that leans towards saying there would need to be prior notification and some kind of backup so the citizens know whether they want to come and talk
about it and they have to comment on it. So it's not as open and shut. It's not straightforward, but under the circumstances, I think that's the reason that the mayor made that decision and that decision
supports something that I know you support, which is transparency to the public and and having something that is not understood and hasn't been discussed and hasn't doesn't have backup to it and is added at the last moment.
that's that's problematic in this case. And I you know, you can have an open discussion about it. And you know, if the mayor chooses, although it's not a public hearing, if the mayor chooses to hear comment from the public, you can do
that, too. And then you're you're free to, you know, get some backup, take action, we'll work with you to draft a resolution to express the will of the council. doing things by motion in the
absence of a resolution is disfavoring. I can't say it's >> Thank you, Attorney Geller. So, the first thing is I did actually request this in December. So, we're now at the end of January. Second, I sent an email request three and a half weeks ago.
Plenty of time. Third, this was passed in a resolution. It was F5 passed in September. So, these were all there ahead of time. I would appreciate that when a council member requests to put something on the motion or on the agenda that the
entirety of that agenda item is there because now I'm going to have to ask when we after I finish with my speech here about these two items that we're going to move it to next council meeting. It's just going to keep dragging on. And by the way, it's going to take more than one vote to go through
this anyways. So, I'm going to continue uh by explaining to the residents what I am doing right now. So, uh ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here tonight. Thank you for everything you've said. It was wonderful that you all showed up here and expressed your thoughts. Uh there are two agenda items
up right now. One is called a road diet and one is called the conceptual streets master plan where they're planning on turning the roads into oneway roads. If you've been to prior council meetings, you might have heard me um speak about this plan that passed in September of
2024 before I was actually uh elected. Um there's a large problem with the plan. We are now uh we have approved a conceptual plan where we're turning most of Eltown into oneway streets. Basically
85, 86, 88, 90, 91 are all going to be going from west to east. I mean east to west. This means every person who wants to go to their streets in Short Forest, north side of Short Forest is have to drive down 87th Street. Now, as you drive down 87th Street, we have a train
track there with 55 trains a day. This means every single person who lives on this side of Tal in order to get to their homes has to go down this street and wait at that train track multiple times each day. We're going to cause chaos. We're going to cause confusion. We're going to have people trying to get away from it and speeding out of the
way. Now, if this wasn't bad enough, this conceptual uh the the road died is something that got um sent in by the manager to the Miami Dade County Transportation Public for approval. Once it's approved, the Northeast Second, which is a public road. It's not owned
by Elportal. It can they can do the work on it right away. And now, let's look at this next problem. If we have this road diet take effect by Miami Day County, we're going to go from four lanes to two lanes. This means every single person who gets to take this right-hand turn
onto 87th towards the train tracks and everyone coming the other way to take a left hand are going to have two lanes. No one can go around them. Suddenly when this gets backed up because every single person all these streets are going to be stopping and going all the way to northeast second. Then everyone in northeast second is going to be sitting there waiting to turn there. We're going
to be blocking roads further. If we have a downtown, which is part of the Cherret, what we had in 2013, which I was at, and we actually have a downtown there, there is no way you could have a downtown with two lanes and no place for the semis to pull up in the mornings or
in the afternoons to drop off the food, the drinks, the different supplies for businesses. Basically, they have to pull up in the middle of a lane and on a two-lane road, they have to drive around the semi in order to get there, which is coming into oncoming traffic. We've created dangerous conditions. We created
more traffic and more problematic uh things that can sorry let me it is a little yes I'll calm down it's a little crazy what we basically voted to do with F5 in September at pass and it's a
little crazy that the manager previous manager submitted this um to Miami date so my hope is that we can undo this uh let's tell the city of Miami that we do not want to use this conceptual treat
master plan that tell them we do not want the road diet. Um undo the F5. Um and hopefully uh I think the citizens here know what we need. We know what kind of traffic we want to have here and we do not want to create a worse condition than we've already seen. So
this is my hope and my plan that when I am allowed to have a motion that we are going to undo both of these. Thank you. I'd like to clarify for the record. Um, Council Person Winters, at any time you wish to speak to me, you can always speak to me. It doesn't have to be on
the record. I know that you'd like to make your point, but I did discuss this. I came in on a Saturday. I'm doing two jobs at the same time. So, I'm not asking anybody for no pity, but I did take that on hand to help the city out. And at the same token, when something is given to me or to my department, I
always run it through the mayor and I make sure that we have backup. Why? Because first of all, I think US council members and your peers should be educated on what they're voting on. And I think for the lack of, you know, for the lack of transparency, voting for something that had no backups and for
the residents as well, I think that the right choice was the one that the mayor told me just put it in for discussion because we did not have the backup. >> So, every single municipality in in Miami Dade, including Miami Shores, has that discussion of possible motion on their agendas often
>> with backups. But >> backup means the documentation that they have to read and educate themselves. They can't talk to each other due to sunshine. So since they can't talk to each other due to sunshine, they need to have the papers in order for you guys to be educated. And actually this is the
reason that we have these open meetings because if not they would have closed meetings. So the open meetings are for you guys to have input but also be educated. So something that they would only know wouldn't be fair for you guys that are coming in. That's the whole thing. There's also a citizens bill of
rights in Miami date county that guarantees the citizens the right to know what's going to be discussed and be able to come and comment on it if you have a comment but also to decide if you
don't feel the need to come because what's on the agenda is not something that you feel you need to be heard about. So, >> wow. The councilman is asking that it be placed on for next meeting. Sure. >> But I mean, if there was something and
and let me just so I'm clear so I can find it. >> You say it was passed September but >> 2024, correct? >> I mean, if you're talking about repealing something that was done a year and a half ago,
>> it's a fiveyear conceptual plan. So, we're about three and a half before it could possibly be >> Yes, sir. I understand that. But my comment was intended to be if you're talking about repealing something that was done almost a year and a half ago,
you need to have attached for the agenda what the original item that was passed was. You have to that's a necessary attachment. You can't repeal it without having everybody
here to see what it is that you're repealing. So, I didn't know, frankly, I was here then, but I don't recall a year and a half ago that they passed something about a road diet. It wasn't particularly something that would come
through my office one way or another, but I I believe you that there was a resist. Excuse me, sir. If you're going to repeal it, you need to attach it so everybody can see what it is you're repealing. >> There was ample time for that request. I submitted January 6. I just found out it
was going to be on this agenda on the 23rd. I would have been happy to give the appropriate necessary stuff, but I just found out about this as well. And then of course, I did not know about the not able to make a motion without the word motion being on there until you told me right before this meeting today on the phone.
>> It was uh several hours ago and it was when you asked me, sir. the first I heard that that was something you were interested in. But typically >> motions are not sufficient. If you've passed a resolution,
then you should formally pass a new resolution that repeals or rescends the previous resolution. It's not something typically that would done be done by a motion. And I try to be flexible and
there are times when something there are exigent circumstances where something is going to happen on Monday or or Friday and if we don't act this minute. So I try to always make sure that you have flexibility. So if there is something
that's urgent, you can still do it. But routinely a motion is not the way to address prior legislation. that's passed and and you only asked me about that at uh 2:30 today.
>> So, since um the other part of the uh the agenda item was the road diet and there is no actual passing by the council, just the manager submitting it, uh is it possible without a motion today, we could ask the current manager who's now been sworn in, congratulations, we're happy to have
you, that possibly contact Miami date and see about rescending that. A lot of things are possible. You asked, is it possible? Yes, sir. It's possible. My understanding is the new manager, though he's sworn in,
actually begins work next Monday. He was required to give notice to where he was and there was some delay on our part. That's not on him, but my understanding is he starts Monday. Yes, sir, you can ask. But the fact is that on something
like that, the again the the the best practice is to have a conversation, hear your residence, have the council discuss it, pass
something in the interim if the concern is, oh my god, what if they're going to do it right away? Um, by the way, I don't necessarily think it's quote them that would do it. It still is something that this village would have to be, in
my opinion at least, some kind of participant in. They couldn't just do it under cover of darkness without telling us they were starting. There's certain things they need to come for us for. But the best course of action, the best practice would be to request the new
manager when he starts on Monday, not to just unilaterally decide to undo something that's previously been done, but it would certainly be appropriate for the
new manager to be asked to reach out to I think it's the county, by the way, not the city. Maybe I'm wrong. I haven't seen the documents, but are you sure it's the city and not the county? That's >> the road was submitted to the Miami Day County in July of 2023.
>> County. Okay. They would be certainly appropriate for the ask to ask the manager to reach out to the county, ask them is there any imminent action planned or is this something that's being contemplated for a year from now?
that would certainly alleviate what your concern is, but further to just ask him to ask them if they're contemplating doing anything soon to just say, "Well,
look, uh, that was done a, you know, by the previous manager who's no longer here. I'm the new manager. My council is interested in discussing this. Please just don't do anything
until our council discusses it and gives me as the new manager some clear direction. And I think that'll accomplish your purpose of make sure making sure it's not happening again under cover of darkness. But just have
the new manager get a hold of them and just say just, you know, whoa, just hold off. We're looking at this. We're not sure that the prior directive from our previous manager is what we want to do
or what our citizens want. And just do us the courtesy of agreeing not to take any action until we have a chance to investigate this fully, hear comment, and then take action. And
I I I would imagine I'd be very surprised if Miami date county wouldn't honor that request. But if by some chance they told the new manager, "Sorry, we're starting, you know, next week whether you like it or not." Again,
I'd be very surprised. But that's why people have emergency special counsel meetings. If that was the response, you would still be able to have time to meet, to discuss it, and to formulate a plan of action with the new manager.
>> All right, let me jump in here for a second, you guys. Um, all right, so first of all, first thing I want to say is, um, if things are brought to me in a certain way, I put them out on the agenda in that way. Let me just say that. Secondly, let me say this. Um so
for the resolution and I understand uh council person um Winters and what he's saying but let me just kind of shed light on the resolution. This is
a conceptual resolution you guys. The resolution 2024-31. It says a resolution of the village of Elporttowal of the village council of the village of Elporttow Miami day county Florida approving and adopting
the conceptual streets master plan from preservia design for the village providing for and incorporating besides providing for an effective date. The first where says this. Whereas the village of Elporttowal for planning purposes
decided to conduct a conceptual streets study for the purpose of developing a conceptual streets master plan. Not this council person winters. I understand what he's saying. But you guys, for planning purposes, a
conceptual streets master plan, there's a lot of things that we do for planning purposes and their in their con their concepts. That's just in case if we ever decide to go that way, we'll have the design or we'll have planning things.
>> Mr. M, >> but there is no way. I'm going to get to you in a second, but there is no intention on changing the streets one way if the residents don't want streets changed one way.
The first whereas the village elpatile comma for planning purposes, not for construction purposes, not for implementation purposes, for planning purposes. All
right. Decided to conduct a conceptual streets study for the purpose of developing a conceptual streets master plan. So this is because our some of our streets are really small, really skinny because some of our streets you can't have two cars on the street at the same
time and we don't want to take away the front yards of our residents. So the manager at that time, this is not my project. I had nothing to do with this project. So the manager at that time as I'm looking at this um said,
"Well, let's get a conceptual streets study to see if it ever gets to a point where the residents of Alberta want to have one-way streets. Let's get a study." And that's what this
is, you guys. It's not for construction. It's not for implementation. Now, that doesn't mean that the council person went this to your point that we shouldn't rescend it or get rid of it. But I just want to make people understand because I think what was being painted was that as soon as the
coun the county gives us approval, we're going to start doing one-way streets. It's not true, you guys. It's just a planning. It's just planning purposes, just a concept, conceptual studies. All right? Governments do that all the time. Doesn't mean it will ever come to
fruition. All right? It's just to prepare just in case. Okay. No, Council Person say something. Council >> Winter. No, thank you for clarifying that. Um, I share Council Person Winter's uh uh concern um that there
would be something already um in motion, right, that uh that we may or may not be able to u alter, stop, or otherwise u choose, right? So, uh thank you for clarifying uh that. It sounds like um
it sounds like we would be ready for Pluserbia, I'm guessing, but uh it could be the manager with someone from the county, but for someone to come in and basically present to us either the results of the traffic study or what, you know, the proposals are, there's always a lot of um nervousness because
Northeast Second Avenue is under the authority of the county. So, uh, that is always cause for concern because we don't have, you know, agency over over Northeast Second Avenue all on our own. So, um, so, so I would fully support having somebody who could speak to this
or, you know, the the results of the study or or where we're at right now come in. It might be time to have a presentation um, uh, to the council so that we could either be reminded, refreshed, or otherwise ready to move forward in whatever capacity uh, seems necessary. Council person
Yes. So as I understand what a conceptual plan is, but unfortunately what we're doing on this dis every single month and every time we bring something up, we're actually using something as justification. If it's passed as a resolution, we're saying this is consistent with the council
approved conceptual master plan or this is not with the conceptual master plan. For instance, right now there's a possibility there could be a new development here where the little farm used to be, which might be a very large amount of uh stores. And at that point,
the only way to get there is through 87th Street. And through 87th Street right now, with everything going through there with that conceptual plan, it's it's not viable. So, it makes it not viable for anyone who wants to build here. And it lets them know, well, it it's not accordance to the conceptual
plan, so I'm not going to build it. For all we know, you know, this reason this whole park has been empty for the last was it 20 years is we had a chetan in 2013 that no builder wanted to comply
with. But who knows why? All we know is that, you know, it's sitting there empty. There are homeless people on it. There's trash inside of it. And it's it's not what we want. And I don't want to cause trouble, even though I do it all the time very well. I would like to say that um next uh meeting we talk
about this maybe uh we figure out a better way because I think we know better for our community and these people know better for community than Plurbia does. So I so what so I think that at the next meeting what we should do is we should have a resolution prepared
>> to resend this resolution. I I'm say I I hear loud and clear. I heard loud and clear this afternoon >> from Councilman Winters about it and I get that and you know if there is a
prior resolution on that one, that one's easier to address as long as you know that's in front of you and you know you can you'll give notice. It'll be on the agenda in advance. The backup will be there so people can see what's being rescended. that allows the citizenry to
be heard. Uh my only question after hearing uh Councilman Urban's comment I was going to go there also >> would be is it without having to take a vote or have a motion because >> I don't want to say never but you know
that's not the favored way to act. It's not best practice, but sort of informally on behalf of our brand new manager starting Monday, is it fair to say that the consensus of the
council on the matter that the manager submitted, the five-year work plan that the prior manager submitted, >> the the road diet was submitted, >> which you you ask this manager
when he starts Monday or thereabouts to reach out to Dade County, verify that nothing is immediately in the pipeline and just ask them to, you know, hold off a little bit until this council has an
opportunity to hear from the people and to discuss it among yourselves and and make a decision and maybe in the process find out what the mechanism is to amend what the previous manager submitted. I
again I can't imagine that there's no mechanism to amend it, but that doesn't mean we know what it is. And just because I can't imagine it, sometimes the unimaginable occurs, but is it kind of your consensus to request the new
manager to at least do some factf finding and ask them just to you be sure nothing's happening before the council has an opportunity to discuss it. >> Council person Winters, um, what council person was saying about having them come
and like show us what it actually was like a or just do a presentation. Um would you be against we could have it on the same meeting and we could have the resolution to resend and we could also see if we can get them out here on the same meeting to like at least do a a presentation to show us exactly what was
supposed to happen as far as the concept. >> Um oh for transparency and um I definitely read through all those studies. Um, I think though that the people of Uptell know better what they want for the streets than them. And I would love to see that after you have
them present this, maybe we sit down in a town hall or something and actually get an idea of what they feel would be better uh for the streets here. >> Yeah, I have no problem with that. >> And and and therefore, Mr. Mayor, the idea would be that while you go through
that orderly process, you just make ask the new manager to just make sure, as you know, councilman Urban points out, it's northeast second. The county
might try to be moving, they shouldn't, but they might try to be moving forward without you. So, just to do a little factf finding and try and hold them in place while you do what you were all
just describing as an orderly process to look at it, get some input, think about it, and make the best possible decision we can. >> Thank you. Um, do you want to discuss H2 or have you is
the kind of >> kind of going hand do we want to like agree without a motion like to to the manager? This was that was the idea of saying is there a consensus to guide your new manager. It doesn't require really a motion unless frankly unless
one of you objects to that. A couple of you have suggested. I've suggested it. And unless there's some objection, your new manager is sitting right here. He's hearing you and he can proceed
forward with that. it unless someone has a real issue with it, that's within his purview as manager to just investigate, find out where things stand and ask the county to hold off a little bit. I'm
speaking, believe me, if he was on the job already, it'd be him talking, not me. But since he's a few days away and he's trying to be respectful, I'm speaking up for him here. But unless one of you has an objection, he's got two
good ears and a good brain in between them. And I'm sure he'll get the message to reach out and make sure that they're not planning on starting without telling us before you have a chance to to go through the appropriate steps to to make
this happen. And I'll just shut up now. Unless somebody has an objection, I'm sure he heard and I'll stop talking. Council >> So I just wanted to as far as who would
be presenting to is just um the reason I include in that is is because they've done years of work that we've paid a lot of money for with input from residents included. And so I definitely want to hear from the county to understand, you know, what they have and where they're
at. Um, and the reason I include Serbian like if they would present is simply because they have all the files and documentation including a lot of data. Um, and I would imagine that um that if we discover that there is like if this was then three years of of it's time for
town halls. Um, so I would definitely agree with that as far as just community engagement as soon as possible. But but I think understanding where the county's at, what they have is first. I included Serbia simply speak because they have the data in the files and it's it's a
plan they've been working on and then I'm I'm immediately ready for town halls essentially to get community engagement. I appreciate that and agree with it. I just want to say one thing is uh uh when I went over the conceptual plan um and they did the online survey um they only
had eight people from our city actually request all the one-way streets. That was it. So, it wasn't a good pool to to pull from. >> Thank you very much. All right. So, the action items coming out of this, you guys, we're going to have the manager reach out to the county and see where
they're at in the five-year plan. Um, I don't I personally don't think they're anywhere um because I have county uh meetings all the time and it's never come up when it comes to infrastructure and um streets and stuff like that and flood planes and stuff like that. So, that's the first um action item. The
second action item is we're going to uh see if we can get the survey out here for a presentation about exactly what the road diet was and then at simultaneously at the same meeting we'll have a resolution to resend just in case we decide to resend even after watching
that. All right, those three things. We're going to do this next meeting next month, but if any of you guys want to come up and speak about the road or anything like that right now, I'll allow you guys to do it. But we will be doing this next month again. So just in case just so you guys know uh Mr. Manager
>> um good evening everyone just wanted to assure the council that I am familiar with the um individuals in the county who had the responsibility for these kinds of things. Uh we worked very closely when we implemented some of the
speed bumps in front of the U horsemen uh junior high during the time that that I was here. uh plus I have worked very closely with preservium and in some of the other projects in the city of Miami that are similar in nature. So um I just
wanted to reassure you that this would not take much time for me to get acquainted uh with what needs to happen. Um I had the good fortune of having worked for the department of transportation for seven eight years before this. So I'm
quite acquainted with the process of not only what it takes but also in managing to uh involve all of the people impacted in these kinds of of projects because many times what is lacking is people understanding exactly what is it that
the engineers are uh proposing and the reason for it. So, having had that opportunity to have done this in the past, um I'm acquainted with what is going to happen and and I get your marching orders. You would want a sense
of urgency about this just to make sure that I see our attorney has said that there is nothing going on. um that we cannot say uh hold off a second until we have the opportunity to make sure that what the
county is planning to do is in agreement and alignment with what the residents and the property owners in front of these um streets uh what the county is proposing and I always found the people in the county to be quite um
sympatical to whatever it is that we are recommending. So I do not fear that there will be any problem in putting a little bit of a hold on um if in case that there is something in the pipeline that they can hold off until we had the
opportunity to make sure that there is a agreement um by all the people who are going to be impacted by this project. So, um I I I guess I have my marching orders starting uh Monday as to what needs to be the first thing that I need
to tackle. Uh so, um um I hear you loud and clear. >> Thank you very much. And we'll and we'll address this for sure next. >> I just want to let the residents know who live on 88th Street. Um I I understand 100% of you still want oneway street there. And it makes sense because
it is literally the width of one car. So if you don't want it, you speak up and uh we will we will try and figure out a way to make your street better. But um I understand there is that's the I think this is the thinnest street in Elortell. Is that correct? >> Yeah,
>> one of them. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Well, I live on that one and I like I think I can fit two cars. >> All right, you guys. We appreciate that. Um so this I'm going to go. So, this is uh so we have our marching orders for next
month. Um before I close out those agenda items, uh even though we're going to do this next month, is there anybody that wants to say anything about it right now or you guys? >> Yeah. Come on. Come on up. See your name, address for the record, please. >> Uh Ron Flores, 61 Northeast 88th Street.
Um I've lived on 88th Street now for 5 years. I don't want one way. One way is and I I I know that my neighbors on both sides me. Well, at least on one side of me and across don't want one way as well. So, we definitely want to talk
about that. And as as a matter of fact, I don't want oneway street in any of our streets. How many streets are we from north to south? Five or so. You know, it's it's it's going to be a disaster if we do that. I mean, we really need to think who wants it, the county or the
people that live there. So, you know, hopefully everybody comes and, you know, we can vote on it or our council people can vote on it, but I don't think we should leave it in the county's hand to decide what's best for us. We have a small village. We all love it because of it. It is a small village
and we don't want to let them take control of it. >> Thank you. Hi, Edna Edelman, 301 Northeast 88th Street. Um, so we do want one way and maybe it's and what we're talking about is from Northeast 2nd to Park Road. Um,
our street at some places is nine feet wide. Um, it's the width of a car. Um so it's obvious um when a landscaper is there, when anyone is there, we can't come through. Um so for us that's a
really important thing. >> No, this will be a really fruitful discussion next month after we see the report and we see the presentation be good. I'm George Alvarez, 165 Northwest 88th Street, blocks and blocks away from the street in question. Um,
I'd like to request that uh information for review be sent out to the public. some of these uh Miami Dade County traffic reports and recommendations. Uh I've seen a few of them that go back
to like 2015. So, what are we voting on? Uh Council Person Winters had said something about 87th Street that made a whole lot of sense to me and would definitely impinge upon his neighborhood uh pretty severely. Maybe it could be mitigated.
Uh Mrs. Edelman mentioned that she likes one ways on uh at least I don't know a block or or some number of blocks of Northeast 88th. She gave me the the number three through the air there >> road >> to Park Road. Thank Thank you, Mr.
Giller. Um maybe it's great, maybe not. I'm going to bring up the idea that no matter how narrow any road is, it this all of this needs to be considered with future planning, which with our future land usage map and the
possibility that we're going to have um a school on Northeast Second Avenue that's going to have many, many, many, many visits. Like, I completely sympathize with Mr. Torres. I wouldn't be psyched about having a one-way street on my part of 88th over on the west
side. But for those people who might have to have every morning there's a Cisco truck that's kind of like idling for a half hour before it can be allowed into the school grounds. As bad as it's going to be one way, it's going to be a nightmare two ways. So all
of the all of the traffic planning that we've looked at in the past needs to be kind of modernized to and and thought about in terms of what's uh what's on our current consideration. Um,
so I'm I'm just going to say that to everybody and to you guys. And again, I'm going to reiter reiterate my request that at such a time when this should be whether there's a presentation by Miami Dade Engineering, whether there is a act, whether we're up for a discussion, whether there's a town hall, whether
there's a vote, please take it seriously that the people of Albertell, especially the ones on the streets most impacted, need this information. Otherwise, there's just a bunch of speculation and a bunch of unhappy people. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you very much.
>> Anyone else? You guys good and welcome for public comment for these two agenda items. >> There's something I forgot. >> No problem. >> You can say your name, address again for the >> Thank you. >> Sorry, I forgot something. Edna Edelman,
301 Northeast 88 Street. One thing that we did here um is that to repave the streets um a legal one way I believe is 15 feet wide and obviously 88 street is not um in parts it's 9 ft um my house AC
and the house across the street are 13 feet um so that becomes an issue as well a legal issue that needs to be worked out with Miami Dade thanks >> thank you very much feeling welcome or public comment for
these children. Hello, Thomas Pulium, 205 East Peacock Street. Um, so that is if y'all don't know because there's multiple street names here, right? So that's 86th Street. It's the corner of 86th Street where 86 and 85th Street are actually
one street together. So, we're getting double the traffic there. Um, I've been here for four years now. I was part of workshops we had last summer discussing this. Multiple town halls. Some council people were there, some
were not. This has been discussed and I believe um where it stands now is uh plus Serbia has a proposal of different options that were discussed that it's been up to the council for months now to actually go through that
figure out what to prioritize to actually bring motions for and do that work and that hasn't been done. Um so there has been a lot of conversation already. Um, a big concern I have is when I see any of the previous traffic
studies that the village has on file or what CALR submitted with um, the soulful school, it does not look at 85th and 86th Street in Sherwood Forest at all. Um, when we had those workshops last summer, um, at the time the thinking was
that Raider Church property would become the mixeduse uh, retail office um, etc. um which is a completely different parking situation that's more fluid throughout the day versus the very uh
time uh appointment urgent base that a school has where they're all basically arriving roughly the same time. They're all b leaving roughly the same time which impacts traffic in a bigger and also different way with volume at
specific times. Um, so of course all that new developments will need to be in consideration. Um, but y'all are up here acting like there has been no conversation that you don't know what's going on there. We've already spent six figures for the staff, the Placerbia
group to put together a proposal and we're not seeing leadership uh to actually carry that forward. Instead, it's a lot of conversation rehashing and cleaning up what has been done in the past, which is not productive moving forward. Um, so I'm sure there are a lot
of different exceptions, different concepts for the streets. Again, I were I was in several of those workshops and they presented uh several different scenarios. They just documented it, right? Um, of course, I'm not sure who it's on, if it's on them, the county,
whoever. Um but I believe uh if a street is one way, it should be based on technical requirements, not subjective uh bias. If someone wants a one one-way street or not, is it actually big enough or meet whatever technical standards are
required to be two-way or one way or whatever that is. Um, so I would love an inquiry um into if that is part of the placerbia work, if that is something the county is uh cross-checking and seeing about and how you guys are actually prioritizing
uh what changes in that overall plus work because yes, the streets were one part of it, but also uh what we can do in our swailes um and uh nuisance disturbances were was also a big part of that um which hasn't come to light so far. So there's a lot of work that I
feel as a resident we're six months to a year behind on here. Um and it's really frustrating to show up to these meetings and and hear kind of just conversation about what the process should be and look like instead of actual concrete motions and looking forward of prior
prioritize solutions that the village really needs. Thank you. >> Thank you. Alexandra Vasa, 120 Northwest 86 Street. Um, I'm just uh kind of confused because the last time I asked anything about Plervia, I was told that everything has
been put on hold. Uh, so I don't understand how we can how can we make decisions based on a study that has not been, you know, put out. So that's why I'm totally confused now. Thank you. Thank you.
Anyone else good in welfare? >> We're we're on the agenda items. Public comment for these two agenda items. >> No, no. We had good welfare in the beginning of the meeting. >> Do you want to come up and say something really quickly?
If I can speak >> George Alvarez, 165 Northwest 88th Street. This has nothing to do with the agenda item. >> Yeah, we already had good and welcome. I'm going to let you say >> I just want to thank the three of you. This has been as constructive a conversation as I have seen in many,
many months. especially what a triumph it was after what a tough start we had this evening. You guys, kudos to you. I know that you don't always get pats on the back, nor do you always deserve pats
on the back, but tonight I personally want to give the three of you pats on the back. And um and I'm going to echo uh what uh Mr. uh Poleium said. Uh in addition um
that traffic study that was provided regarding Soulful did not bring in Northeast 1st Avenue or Northeast 3rd Avenue. It did not bring in 89th Street except at Northeast 2nd Avenue and didn't bring
in Northeast uh didn't bring in 90th Street at all. So, this is the type of stuff that whether it's about something like soulful or whether it's just about like general urban planning and the things that that we're talking about tonight, uh we've got to get current
accurate information and it's advisable that although we don't have any other vote besides the votes that happened in November, you guys have the vote. Uh it but it was also advisable that the people understand what's going on to make your
work easier and to promote transparency, goodwill. But if uh if this last agenda item is is any sign appreciate >> good things coming. Thank you
>> very much. Um anyone else for these two agenda items? Public hearing guys. Good. All right. All right, we're going to bring it back to the council. We're going to close out public hearing going once, going twice, three times. Okay. Uh just a little background on uh the
one-way proposal. So, um that concept does actually originate out of uh the village, the council. So, uh the primary consideration of changing any streets to one way. Um 88th is is the glaring
example because of its narrowness. Do we widen it for two lanes or do we or you know widen it a lot, double it for two lanes or do we widen it a little for the uh 15 uh foot uh requirement that settlement described. Um and so that's 88th Street. Everything else in terms of
proposing any type of oneway really has one specific thought behind it and that is to confuse outside traffic and to train outside traffic during the morning morning rush hour when the overflow off 95 comes through. uh evening rush hour.
The idea is to frustrate and confuse any outside traffic so that they will stop using uh our streets as throughways and stay on Second Avenue, Miami Avenue uh without trying to uh get through the neighborhood. So, um it's my
understanding, uh that regardless of what has been submitted, uh to uh the county, uh for budgetary reasons specifically, uh we are still quite a ways away from from anything, uh happening in terms of shovel ready
project moving into the neighborhood. And then beyond that there is another consideration that must be simultaneously addressed with this uh concept and that is that we have two infrastructure projects that individually uh basically will uh tear
up the streets as they come through. That is storm water mitigation. The planning for that engineering for that is fully completed. the only thing we're waiting on to complete a full storm water mitigation project. Phase one has been has been completed. Okay,
>> phase one has been completed, but the other phases are simply waiting on funds and so um that's the first infrastructure project that will destroy the streets and the streets will have to be put back. The second of course is uh septic to sewer. So assuming that we
would ever find money anywhere to complete the septic to sewer project, uh the streets once again will be essentially torn up to accomplish that. So the idea is that uh is that uh we need to be aware as we do anything
with the streets that those two infrastructure projects must be considered uh because of the level of disruption that they represent. The level of cost of doing and redoing uh something like the streets three times over perhaps if we do this wrong um
would be essentially uh financial uh uh irresponsibility at the least. >> Thank you very much, council person. Um, let me quickly address before we move to the reports um that uh Miss Baza is correct. Miss Baza, you are correct. Um,
as far as the Pervia workshops and they were done, they were completed they were code for code amendment workshops. That's what they were called. Code amendment workshops. So, they addressed everything that we wanted to see as far as and they do one-way streets on some of on those um those items, but what
they were addressing were things like what to do in the swell, how far up we're going to bring allow our vegetation to go without like an easement or whatever and things like that. Um, nuisance, um, M. Pullman, as you said, they were all about the code
and doing amendments to the code. The reason why that has not come back from those workshops is that after the workshop, our friends in Tallahassee passed SB 180, which is Senate Bill 180, which said that no more code amendments
could be made by municipalities. And so, Pleria at that time, they put on hold their reports. They never released it to us. Now, I reached out to um the owner of Plervia
two weeks ago and to ask him about the report to ask him about their findings and things like that. He said that they they they don't they never completed the report. They put it on hold and the only thing that they have are their notes, but they're only in paper format. I said, "Well," he
said, "Where?" He said, "We're not." He said, "I'm not He said, "I'm not going to send you anything digitally." This is what he told me. I'm not going to send you anything digitally. He said because we put our report on hold, therefore we don't have an official final report. This is what he told me. He told me this
also just to be frank with you. He said the previous manager, he said, "Oh, I dropped off a large fine a large like our notes a large report like our notes or whatever, not the final final report, but a large portion of our notes." He
said, "I dropped it off to her in paper format." I said, "Well, I never heard about that. She never told me about that." I said, "Can you please drop another one off for me?" And he said, "Okay, mayor. We'll try to get one over to you." And like I said, that was like a week, week and a
half ago. And so that's the reason why the Serbia workshop those the final report didn't come out. And that's the reason why because nobody's allowed to pass code amendments anymore. Now, there's a way around that, but I can't talk about that in an
official meeting. Okay. Yes, Miss uh Baza. >> So, it's it's just a question. So, the reports were paid for, correct? most of it. >> So I guess we have >> they're just incons I guess. Yeah. Yeah.
Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. I think you're going the same place. >> Uh well that's that's part of you know part part one of the question. The other part is um I guess at this point will be a matter of sharing their findings with the community to see if that is like we
don't need to enforce that. So, it's not like, you know, we're going against what Tallahassee says, but at least to give some guidance. >> They drop off to me the paper, the one that he said that um he dropped off to the last manager that and by soon he
drops off my part, then I'll have a town hall or something and I'll release that. So, >> Okay. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you, >> Attorney Geller. Justformationally, mayor, um that bill last year is badly
written and it's vague and that's why people are not sure what they can and can't do. There are other interpretations about what you can and what you can't, but it's just not clear. However, as is often the case, they are apparently
working on what is called a glitch bill this year, which is an attempt to further clarify and make clear what kinds of things they didn't want done because the language they used was just over broad and looked
like if you look at it one way, it wipes out everything. They're already in week three of the session and there is probably at least a pretty good chance that they will come out with something in a few weeks that will clarify last
year's bill and that would allow us to move forward on at least many if not all of the things that are in the buseria study. >> Thank you. Um yes, come come up and say your name, address for the record, please.
One more public hearing for these items. >> Patrick Mills, 166 Northeast 90th Street. >> So, how much did we spend on these notes that were never delivered that are still handwritten
and left in some drawer? >> Well, I don't know about I don't know if they were left >> a year ago. >> Yeah. I don't know if they were left in the drawer, but it was close to 100. It was $100,000. >> Really? >> $100,000. >> Yeah. $100,000. >> It was
>> my tax dollars. >> Yes. And you >> And you haven't gotten anything from them? >> The previous manager >> did this entire plan with them. Okay. >> All right.
when the previous manager left a few months ago. Okay. So, I started to reach out and go through everything that was still open and outstanding. I'm not the manager. >> Okay. >> Right. But I was doing that anyway to
get us on the right track and catch us up as mayor. This is one of the things that I'm working on. Yeah. >> That's just a lot of money. That's >> it. It absolutely is. which is why I started to reach out about it even
>> for a study. >> Is it even digitized? >> Yeah. So the the the individual the consulting group said that it's not digitized because they said that because of the
Senate Bill 180 that they're waiting to finalize everything once that um bill is taken care of. But mayor, again, if they do a glitch bill, I mean, we're not months away. We are weeks away from
being not having that impediment, whether it should have been or ought to have been or should not have been, whatever. That issue is going to be resolved pretty much one way or another in a few more weeks time at which point
that should become available. Max Sturman, 55 Northeast 89 Street. So, irrespective of the glitch bill, if that happens, that'd be great. You know, we put a time limit on it, two or three weeks. Wouldn't they owe us a final report
based on the code that was in place when they were doing it, and we they should finish their job. Worst case, a glitch bill requires a few hours to change it. They can do that, but they should be to me on notice giving us our final report digitized now based on the code they
were working on and then we adjust it. That's a question. >> Speaking sir, they were required as part of the contract to furnish that to us. Yes. >> Uh the session I mean having waited this long, it was a late session last year.
It's an early session this year. It's probably not two or three. Could be, but probably not. But you know if that's the impediment and there are different views of the old bill but one way or another I
mean even if the no glitch bill passes then you know case law would define what you could or couldn't do based on I mean if >> by contract they owe us something >> if they leave the bill they leave the bill but certainly
>> by the time that's concluded one way or another which is weeks but probably not two weeks. They absolutely under the contract must give us okay final report. Yes sir. >> Okay. >> Absolutely.
>> Yeah. So as I was saying everyone >> when I reached out to them I reached out to them because I hadn't heard from them which I'm not the one to hear from. It would be the manager. I reached out to them. They they stated that their final
report is not done. I asked them I said, "Why isn't your final report done?" They said, "Well, mayor, because of SB 180, we don't know how to finalize it yet." This is what they said. I said, "Well, we need something." He He said, "Well,
mayor," he said, "I had a paper version of all of our notes compiled that I gave to the previous manager." I said, "Well, can you send me one? Can you drop off one for me?" He said, "Mayor, I'll get one over to you." Now, so the way that I
understood it was was that I could get that in the meantime until they finalized their final report. >> How long ago was that conversation? >> That was about a week ago. So, not to um stir the pot here, but
after seeing the previous Serbia um reports and the things that have happened in the village, I would prefer a full refund over the actual report. We we yeah, we can move on that. Understand
that as the mayor, I'm not the manager. Okay. And and so and so and so being Yeah. And so being that's the case, there are certain things in my purview that I have authority to do. All right. I'm trying to do everything I
can. fix it. That's what I'm trying to do as mayor. Okay. All right. Thank you. Uh is there anyone else for these two agenda items? Um interim manager, uh you want to say a
couple things really quickly? >> Yes. I'd like to say first of all, I am the most happiest person in this room today that Mr. Roseman is going to be starting on Monday. Doing two jobs at the same time is a very taskful but one that I was happy to accept. First of all, I want to thank the governing body
for entrusting me to do this job and um I want to also say that uh this is directly to the mayor. I been seen working at in the manager's capacity firsthand what he does for the village and um he does he's definitely
an asset because he does work alongside with the manager and does a lot of things that you guys do not see on a dayto-day. For example, there was a a situation with a resident and he was at the site before I got to the site, which
didn't happen before, but I'm very hands-on kind of person and he was surprised to see me there and I was surprised to see him as well. Uh, I also like to thank the staff for putting up with me and for helping me hold the fort. Uh, I also want to thank the
residents as well for your patience in this transition, which hasn't been easy, but we're here now. Uh I also want to say that thank you to my colleague which he has answered every time I had a question which holding the manager position I think that's another one that
you were close in hand and that's it. >> Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Um you guys see my report there. You have any questions always feel free to reach out to me. Okay. Uh attorney Geller you have any reports? Just briefly, our one uh matter um concerning uh previous
development is uh that was challenged is proceeding along and uh you know, we're working to get it resolved. Other than that, uh no one sued us and we haven't had to sue anybody. So, that concludes my report. >> Okay. I appreciate that. Uh Council,
everybody want to say something? Final comment is just uh thank you to you mayor for uh for the tot lot. Um uh it is uh awesome to see the grand opening was fantastic and already it seems like it's just um um absolutely welcome among
the residents to have that and the execution of it. Uh the final product is is really excellent. So I just want to uh say that uh uh thank you sincerely. I know uh there were material issues with the tariffs. there were uh changing up a contractor. There was uh all kinds of
deals and and and it seems like you were diligent through the entire process and the and the final product is is excellent. I just want to say thank you very much for that. >> Thank you very much. I I appreciate that. Let me just say you guys that um really quickly and I'm going to put out something that kind of shows the the
path of that um tot. But you know, we should be really proud of that tot lot. Um, I worked really hard, picked all the colors, tried to make it as bright and exciting as possible for the children. Um, also we are the only children's playground tot lot that has a native
plant environmental back area. Um, I purposely put that in there so our children can interact um, with nature. You know, in Albertal, it's really uh, special for us. And so we are the only ones in Miami Day County that has that. um no taxpayer dollars, not one penny
for everything that you see back there. And so I think it's really really good. Um the peacock that was made, you know, they made that uh as it to be made for us specially. And so everything you see there is wonderful. For those of you guys on the west side, if you haven't noticed at the um foot bridge and at the
uh the nature trail, I've put benches in there. I've tried to uh kind of spruce it up and put uh some uh data plants over there. Um that's no taxpayer dollars either. Um, and so a lot of things are are coming up and getting a lot better. And the families and the
children, they just love the tot. And to have that there and to be the only place in Miami Day County that has that uh environmental section of all native plants and trees is very very important and makes Alberta stand out where we are. Thank you. Um, do I have a motion to adjurnn?
>> I I have um my final thing. So, as we're getting ready to leave, um, I've waited to the end. Um, this is actually really hard for me uh because of what happened the other day and I I kind of prepared it written out. Uh, if you guys will give me a few moments of your time. Um,
uh, history shows us a hard truth. Terrible things are often done with good intentions. That is why words matter. Words spoken from this dis matter. They don't disappear when the meeting ends. They enter homes. They affect families. They shape whether people feel safe
participating in their own local government. A statement um that was made um from this very das said every person should be allowed to exist without fear. It's a very good statement. Every person should be allowed to exist without fear. The
idea is not partisan. It's not ide ideological. It's foundational. Um so when recent labor language used in this chamber targeted people by race, religion, gender or political belief um the language does not belong in public
service and does not reflect the values of this community or this government. Um it's not about politics. It's not about party. It's it's not about personal offense even. It's about whether the people of Albertalen trust those elected to represent them will speak with
restraint, responsibility, and respect. Our village is diverse racially, culturally, rigid religiously, and politically. That diversity is a strength, not a weakness. But diversity cannot survive in an environment where entire groups are spoken about with
contempt for hostility. Disagreement is part of democracy. Dehumanization is not. And when fear is introduced into public discourse, it stops being just speech, it becomes a failure for leadership.
And that's why this moment matters. Before we close tonight, I I just want to return to where we began. that one year ago, that quote from January 28th, 2025, a year from tomorrow, at if you watch the video of that meeting at 2 hours and 30 seconds into the official
meeting record, Andrew Zurban stated that every person should be allowed to exist without fear and I know he stands by that statement. The statements that are made from this dis matter. The principle matters and it deserves to
be honored. We quote to document the record and take responsibility for our own words. Quoting hateful language does not remove responsibility for repeating it or directing it others. I don't even need to say what was said
at the other meeting. The record speaks for itself because those words that target race, religion, gender, and political beliefs are the opposite of allowing people to exist without fear. When a moral principle is publicly declared and then violated in the chamber, it is not a
misunderstanding. It's hypocrisy. So we've if we I could just finish. I won't be very much longer. Excuse me for deorum. Thank you. um
when a moral principle I mean so on August 12th 2025 during a special council meeting about 2 hours and 42 minutes into the official record council person also stated that he answers to no one. When someone speaks about fear then uses
languages to create that creates it and then finally declares that he answers to no one that contradiction is complete. Elbertal deserves leadership that practices what it preaches, rejects fear consistently and respects the responsibility that comes with the seat.
This is not about ideology. It's not about party. It's not about personality. It's about whether words spoken from this das are meant to protect people or ex or or to excuse harm. A community cannot be asked to live without fear
while being told leaders answer no one. The people of Alport deserve better than apologies without charge, without change. They deserve leaders worthy of trust. And of course, I'm hoping that as we have seen a meeting tonight that has
had a lot of impact and a lot of great words that we all make sure we keep the council, myself, Herb, the mayor, all of us accountable. We are here for you. We are here to make sure that we are representing you. And if we are not, I
expect you to tell us that. My phone number and email are on the website and you can ask anyone who calls or emails me. I am on it right away. I really try and jump in there and be there for every neighbor. So, please, if you haven't contacted me yet, please do. I'll take
you out for some coffee. We'll we'll have a drink. We'll we'll relax and uh talk about what we can do better for this neighborhood. I want to meet and and work with every single one of you. Thank you and have a great night. Shantel Rodriguez, 48 Northeast 86th Street. I just think that moving
forward, we all, not only the council members, but the residents, we need to be respectful of each other. Okay? And without that respect, nothing can move forward. We need to be accountable. Yes. You know
what? We are humans. We make mistakes. There is no human who doesn't make a mistake. But when you make a mistake, you're accountable. You come and you profess. You say, "Yes, I made a mistake." And you ask for forgiveness. We all deserve a second
chance, but we also deserve to be respected. >> And if we don't respect each other, then nothing will be accomplished. That's all. >> Thank you very much. >> Okay. It's all It's called one voice. That's what it's called. >> Absolutely. Thank you very very much.
>> Do I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Second. Moved by Council Person Winter. Second by Council Person. All in favor say I. I. I post say nay hearing none.