please take your seats the meeting is about to begin remember to speak into the microphone as this meeting is being recorded for public record please stand by we are going on air in 5 4 3 2
1 good morning and Welcome to our commission meeting uh of the Miami Beach City commission March 19th 2025 thank you all for being here uh before we get started I'm going to ask our city clerk to read any pertinent announcements
morning everyone during this hybrid commission meeting the city commission is physically present in the commission chamber at Mani Beach C City Hall 1700 Convention Center Drive third floor the public May attend the meeting virtually however members of the public who wish to attend the meeting or provide public comments in person may appear at the
commission chamber to participate and provide comments virtually during the commission meeting the public may join the meeting by visiting the Zoom app on their smart device or on the web at zoom. us or by telephone at 305 2241
1968 305 2241 1968 the toll-free number is 888- 47144 N9 the webinar ID is 813 9928 576 71 pound again the webinar ID is 813
9285 7671 pound members of the public wanting to speak virtually on an item during the meeting must click the raiseed hand icon if using the Zoom app or press star n on their telephone to raise their hand the zoo the zoom link webinar ID and telephone number provided
for this commission meeting are static and do not change from meeting to meeting thank you mayor thank you uh it's my honor to call uh to have our invocation to call Father Juan Sosa from St Joseph Catholic Church thank you good morning everyone
as you all know Springtime is Among Us and uh our Miami Beach Sun showers us with light and health and peace as we go about our business um we must always stop to appreciate God's Gift of creation and life so at the beginning of
this meeting we acknowledge the work of the Commission in providing safety and development to the neighborhoods of the city and are grateful for the commitment of each of its members to the work entrusted to them by our citizens so let us pray by echoing the psalmist the The
Book of Psalms 36 that may offer a little bit of uh guidance today Lord your mercy reaches to Heaven your Fidelity to the clouds your Justice is like the highest mountains your judgments like the mighty deep human
being and Beast you sustain Lord how precious is your mercy oh God the children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings for with you is the Fountain of Life in your light we see
light show Mercy on those who know you your just defense to the upright of heart do not let the foot of the proud overtake me nor the hand of the wicked disturb me so as the psalmist exalts the rule of
divine love over mercy and over God's friends so do I in God's name do the same over this Gathering of our Civic leaders and anyone else all of us present Among Us I ask that God's guidance may never cease Among Us for
the sake of the common good and the well-being of all Miami Beach citizens I make this prayer it may have been an accident but I make this prayer precisely on the Feast of St Joseph our patron saint our Parish in North Beach
and obviously two days after St Patrick's which is the other Parish nearby two just men Joseph and Patrick who always carried out their missions with God in their hearts so may I pray
may all here present today go about their daily chores in the same manner carrying always God in their hearts amen amen thank you thank you Father for your words of
prayer um I'm going to ask we're going to do the Pledge of Allegiance and I'm going to ask our chief Jones to come up but wanted to give a big thank you we're not we're not done yet with spring break but uh for the second year in a row we're having incredible success uh our
city is vibrant welcoming and safe and uh really I thank our city commission here and its entirety for everyone's work on this it's really a collective effort our city Administration and certainly our police chief uh and all the law enforcement agencies that have helped us so please Chief lead us in in
the pledge good morning Mr May good morning commission thanks for the honor of allowing me to do this this morning please place your hand over your heart for me and join me in the pledge I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America andent to the Republic for which it stands one
under God indivisible with liberty justice for all thank you so we before we start sutnar I just wanted to speak briefly uh to explain my reasoning for bringing this item I think it's important to know that um and
obviously I want to hear from everybody we're actually going to extend sutnik hour today a bit we can't do it uh and I think based on the number of people are I think we can hopefully accommodate everyone I want to hear everyone's voice we all want to hear everyone's voices but I will
say this what whatever opinions anyone has including my own this is democracy I'm actually very proud of our country I'm proud of our city this is the way it's supposed to work things get said legislation gets put on legislation gets put
on and then the public has the opportunity to weigh in Give opinions disagree um so the background if you can just bear with me and you'll have the opportunity to speak Mr Mayor before you even start this a point of privilege um
normally when a former mayor passes we start our meeting with a moment of silence for mayor Alex Dow who passed uh this past weekend uh we still don't know when his funeral services were will be but um he was mayor of Miami Beach for
eight years from 1985 to 1981 he was Al also the author of of South Beach most recently he had been elected to the Palm what Palm View sorry I was going to say uh neighborhood association and his passing really came as a shock uh
because it just happened out of nowhere so if we could right now just take a moment of silence for Alex Dow rest in peace Alex okay thank you thank you and uh with all the excitement of the day I I neglected to
do that so I appreciate that commissioner Rosen Gonzalez so I do ask just to bear with me for a couple of minutes and everyone will have the opportunity to be heard but I think it's important to know what my thinking was and you may completely disagree with me but that's okay that's the beauty of our
of our country so the Genesis of this is I was watching the Academy Awards and I see that the film no other land won the Academy Awards and um but what I was surprised about was the hurtful and what I considered hateful comments made by the producers of the
film and did some research and realized they did something similar at the Berlin Awards which caused many comments uh internationally including from the German uh the German uh government and the city of Berlin I then started researching uh a little bit more about
the movie about the facts and noticed that it was playing in a local theater O Cinema which is a government facility uh and also Reed some Grand funding I actually then got a I was able to watch the movie uh I got a copy of it and and watched it so I know a lot of people
have asked me did you actually watch it mayor and the answer is yes I did watch it in its entirety I then proceeded to write a letter to O Cinema expressing my concerns about the movie and also the hateful comments made uh at the Academy
Awards what I deemed hateful and then uh I got a letter back from EMA uh and I don't want to put words what they meant or what they didn't mean but the answer was due to concerns of anti-Semitic rhetoric they would not be showing the
film and and reiterated that uh Second Time in the letter so I thought that was the end the matter I thanked them and then I got uh found out subsequently that the board overruled the decision and would be showing the film
again reasonable Minds can differ but a government-owned facility Grand funding um this wasn't a private property so what was hurtful to me it is in the guise of what is
happening around the world and I think I don't pretend to speak for the Jewish people I am Jewish but I don't pretend to speak for Jewish people but I can tell you what I see and hear from what I believe is 90% at least of our residents not all some Jewish people will disagree with me but I think I'm speaking on the
vast majority from the left of the political Spectrum to the right of theal political Spectrum to the right of religious Spectrum to the left of religious Spectrum from people who sincerely dedicate their lives to the
Arts have actually commended me for highlighting an issue and the issue is anti-Semitism the belief is there's an absolute double standard in the world in this country when it comes to
anti-Semitism every group deserves to be protected and I have protected every group whether it be racism whether it be attacks on the lgbtq community whether it be any group deserves to be protected but somehow somewhere along the line that got lost when it comes to Jew
hatred whether it be demonstrations that harass and intimidated Jews we see Colombia other cities UCLA had actually what a court called a Jew exclusion Zone if you did not dedicate and denounce the state of Israel you could not get through the camp certain ports it's not
a lie that's a lie a lie it's written about it's a written about in a judge's decision what I am highlighting what I am highlighting is what Jewish people fear in this country this country has been outside of Israel
the best country for Jewish people I hope many groups can say that but I can tell you as a Jewish person and what I hear from fathers no other country has allowed Jewish people to practice and live freely and securely as this country has but as throughout our history Jewish
history that that comes to an end in every country we're in and simultaneously in the country of Israel surrounded by almost 500 million Arabs and there's about 9 million Jews the country is under attack this is relevant this is relevant
to why I bring this up we need to not have a double standard I'll finish off and then I want to hear from all of you and the reason why this has resonated you may again agree or disagree with me but the reason why this has resonated so much and I've
gotten a lot of backlash and I understand it by the way what I don't understand actually though is the hate mail I've gotten a lot of very nice considered emails mayor you're 100% wrong I disagree with you that is perfectly fine but half of the stuff
I've got is not that it's hate it's vile it's disgusting some of it threatening that's not okay but I'll I'll finish off with this and this is why the perspective is important I don't and again I think I'm
speaking for all the vast majority of Jewish people there's a war going on no no there's a war going on and I'm not talking about the war with guns I'm talking about the war with propaganda and it is an absolute War that's going
on and every Jewish person that I speak with feels they are a soldier in that war and this is part of it and this is part of it when we call out hate now if you want to show a film if you want to show a film that by the way and I'm sure
I'm going to hear the booze on this I did the research the film shows an interesting story and for some and in many respects a true story but what it leaves out changes the whole narrative it's a hard watch I watched it it is a hard
watch but it tells you a story of Israel bulldozing homes it's sad nobody wants to see anybody moved out of their homes having their homes lost but what they don't tell you in the movie is that it was a military training Zone that
had I got that and I will let you speak but it was a military training Zone it was empty land for 20 years under International Oslo under International Oslo Accords the movie doesn't show
you the the movie doesn't show you well you're censoring me right now the movie the movie doesn't show any of that history the movie doesn't show you that this went through the courts for 20 years the Israeli Supreme Court which by the way often rules against the Israeli
Army often rules against the Israeli Army which is a hot topic of debate in Israel right now yes and what I am saying is that if what's fair is fair we're in the heart of Miami Beach a very highly populated Jewish area if you went into the heart
of a black neighborhood and showed a racist film or if you went into the heart of a Cuban neighborhood and showed a film that glorified Castro and the revolution or Into the Heart of a gate community the LGBT community and showed attacks on the lgbtq community I think
someone can expect a response I think what's fair is fair and my issues and by the way I will say publicly EMA has been a good partner this has been uh an issue obviously that has has brought um I think some issues to to the Forefront
but they've been a good partner they've shown a lot of films about the Holocaust what bothered me also is there hasn't been a film that shows the current Israel perspective if you're going to show the film from a Palestinian perspective show a fair and
balanced show a fair and balanced film showing so what I am doing today is I have put on a resolution r7g that urges encourages a fair and balance showing and that's what I am
going to bring for a vote after the sutnik hour uh first Speaker good morning everyone if you wish to speak please approach the podium please state your name address and due to and we're going to the time allot it
will be one minute per speaker to accommodate all participants so please start good morning everyone but I think you know it takes me almost one minute to open my mouth so I will be really very brief I am Wendy Joseph rug coordinator of the
lecture series at Bell Plaza condominium of which many of you have participated I want to start off with something positive I want to thank all of you for keeping us safe during spring break it's due to you and what you
implemented and hopefully the next two weekends will be the same so with that I'm going to curtail my my speech so that I'm fair to all these other people who want to speak thank you very much thank you very much our next speaker is
going to be our first virtual speaker speaker Alex Heckler please unmute yourself we've lost Mr Heckler our next speaker is Johan Moore please unmute yourself good morning uh I will take
half of my time to speak in favor of following items R51 we thank commissioner Dominguez for making it possible we hope you will support that today uh for two yard sales a year uh c7r commissioner bot's neighborhood
walkthroughs invaluable we have found c7w we really want to thank commissioner Fernandes for the water rate increase moratorium and I want to thank possible prospective commission candidate Mitch novic for bring that forward C7 A1
raises a concern in one of its items uh that there appears to be the possibility of a slush fund and I would urge you to strip that detail out uh I oppose r7g just as I opposed C7 AA both of them are
anti-constitutional and unconstitutional and in light of the mayor's Jewish supremacist Zionist statements in his uh remarks your and item our next inperson speaker please uport the podium if so go
go ahead do you have one minute state your name and address good morning my name is Dr Arnold lemman 25 years ago when I was director of the second largest art museum in the United States the Brooklyn Museum in New York city mayor Rudy Giuliani tried to shut down
our Museum because we were showing a work of art that he found offensive however the museum Museum sued him in the city and federal court and won on every count at the time this was the country's most publicized First
Amendment case I hope that o Cinema versus the city of Miami Beach does not become the second one I'm 80 years old a visitor or part-time resident of Miami Beach for 79 years I am Jewish
handicapped and fiercely protective of the First Amendment to the Constitution Public Funding for the Arts does not allow the government to play the role of censor although the government is not required to subsidize Arts programs once
it does so it cannot resend funding or threaten eviction because it disagrees with a Viewpoint expressed in a particular work of art such as a documentary no other land greetings everyone my name is Brenda
Jordan better known as Ima to most of my family and friends which means mother I came here as an artist vendor um because they're making um rules and regulations and I don't think anyone on the commission
here as an artists or have ever worked outside on the street so it's very important that when you're setting up a program you get an expert in that field to guide you on how to set up the program and that wasn't done and we're
going down this road and none of you except one came to visit my table or has taken a stroll out to get this right this time the first people who set up this program did it without any input from artists so I think it's very
important that you take a stroll out on the street and see what's going on so that we can regulate this together but when I came here and I hear what's going on I was wondering what everybody was here for you
know as liberty and justice for all it's important sometimes we are grown with religion and we take that view as law we need to open up to all sides you can't get a balanced Society unless you look
at all things so please open your heart and not just because you're trained in a certain way you follow that path open your heart thank you so much large thank you so much thank you our next virtual speaker has a
screen name of Judas please state your name address good morning I am Judith SM of the Flingo Park neighborhood and I am a Jew I was raised in the kosher home that cherish Israel which gave the
remnant of slandered despised or cancelled European Jews their own Homeland I am man very reluctant to have started founding fault with Israel but you know what facts Trump believes I
love Mi Beach I've been concerned since the Clint Administration came in with the mayor being very aggressive in these meetings that even today cut off a resident because apparently he said a word that the mayor didn't like or that the administration didn't like and
specifically for equating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism I am very happy with the other speakers that came to talk about opposing resolutions to defund
or control oema thank you so much I apologize but your time is up next virtual speaker please go ahead state your name address and you have one minute good morning my name is Brandon hlum I am Jewish and I am a former o Cinema employee speaking in opposition
of C7 AA contrary to the mayor's Ransom letter to ocinema he does not speak for all Jewish residents of Miami Beach or all Jews at large punishing a cultural Institution for screening a film about the lives of Palestinians contradicts the Jewish values that I was raised with the Jewish value of Justice
commands us to seek truth not suppress it the tradition of welcoming strangers invites us to learn from others not to exclude them and intellectual freedom is foundational to Jewish life as many of you on the de know we are a people of debate not
censorship the destruction of a school the the destruction of a school the shooting of civilians the pouring of concrete into to a water well these are not hateful inaccuracies it's not propaganda and it's certainly not
anti-semitic to portray it they are documented realities silencing them does not make them untrue and to invoke the Jewish values in name of repression is to betray our faith the mayor seeks not to defend the Jewish tradition but to distort it and as a Jew I cannot stand idly by thank
you our next our next virtual speaker is Melanie Ryan Melanie please unmute yourself St your name and address you have one minute hi this is actually David Roland 760 uid Avenue I'm a longtime Miami
Beach resident and voter in fact I voted for mayor Miner in the last election that along with being a film lover a Jewish person and an American makes me very concerned by his threat to evict o Cinema for the last 6 years as a film critic I have had the honor to serve on the critics panel for the Miami Jewish
Film Festival many of whose films are screed are screened at o Cinema while many Jewish people I have met have diverse opinions on Israel all Jewish people are united in their love for movies there is a famous quote I ask the commission to consider before voting and the mayor to
consider I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death the right to say it please keep o Cinema open go good morning my name is Adam saper a Jewish resident of Miami Beach at tenth and Lennox speaking in opposition to C7
AA and r7g it is no worse to censor art than it is to mandate its display the mayor's first resolution to shutter o Cinema is bound to fail because it is unsupportable by m be residents by the Arts community and by the law resolution
r7g imposing a cultural mandate is equally unsupportable in both resolutions the mayor seeks to deny the legitimacy of a Palestinian perspective at the same time he proposes to codify his personal beliefs about the morality of Israel's deadly vience as official
City policy this is not about balance it is about control and controlling a narrative for a political purpose is quite literally the definition of propaganda when governments demand that art serve their political agenda they do not protect the truth they manufacture
it I ask the rest of you Commissioners do not be a part of that machine the commission should be focusing on climate resiliency a able housing and safe public transportation thank you so much our next our next virtual speaker is estaban's
iPhone that's yes I hope you can hear me good morning um I'm the mayor of the city of haia and I wanted to show my solidarity with uh mayor Miner and his courage to be perfectly honest with you as I could
tell by the audience and its reaction you know it's sad when people try to hide under the guise of art to promote hate and what we've seen now in this country over the last year and a half of anti-Semitism across our campuses folks
that come into this country as guests with visus just to spew hate against the Jewish people and sooner or later against the American people you know you know we need to stand up against this the fact that it's happening in Miami Beach is to basically Stick it to the
eyes of the Jewish community and I know many in the audience may be Jews and believe strongly in the right for the Palestinian story to be told and absolutely it should be but it should be balanced so mayor I congratulate you stay strong and we're with you from the
city of haia next please okay uh change of subject here Mitch novic for one year I've stood here at least half a dozen times expressing my concern about state preemptions to our home rule the former
City attorney who is now employed by a prominent pro-development Law Firm issued a flawed opinion suggesting Miami Beach not challenge this legislation the statute of limitations expires soon and I continue to urge this body to take
immediate action as we now have a demolition request for two historic buildings byp passing all review by the city once these two buildings are torn down I believe the wholesale demolition of our history will have been achieved I
implore you to treat this as an emergency matter and fulfill your constituent expectations to continue doing nothing implies complicity and erasing Miami Beach's Rich architectural history
our next virtual speaker is Franklin Perez Mr Perez you have one minutes to your name and address please hi my name is Franklin Perez my address is 598 ker Woods Trail lito Florida do not vote for outrageous resolution caaa a resolution that would
revoke EMA's lease for merely exercising EMA's First Amendment right in showing the academy awardwinning documentary no other land this film Chronicles and exposes the destruction of a Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank by the Israeli apar regime between years
2019 and 2023 enough Israel is a Jewish supremacist aparti state that has been committing ethnic cleansing human rights abuses and now genocide against Palestinians for 76 plus years stop supporting Israel stop giving it weapons
St giving it money and condemn it for what it is an A parde and genocidal trait that has 186,000 plus Palestinians in Gaza no on outrageous resolution C7 AA it is nothing but censorship thank you we have
thank you so much our first our next inperson speaker go ahead please good morning my name is Kevin Arrow I'm a Miami Beach resident voter and a professional who has worked in the creative Community since the 1980s I do want to say that the censorship and
defunding of a small art housee Cinema is a very local tragedy it is an act of cultural repression and should alarm every citizen regardless of political belief anytime a government targets culture it is a cause for grave concern
we have seen this story before and it never ends well esteemed Commissioners I urge you to consider this documentary films exist to challenge to illuminate and to Foster discourse that is what art does and that
is what free society allows and if Miami Beach truly wants to be a beacon for arts and culture it cannot simultaneously shut down spaces that allow for conversations to take place killing a movie theater is not fostering
arts and culture it is the opposite our next virtual speaker speaker has a phone number that ends in 3342 please state your name address I mute yourself please good morning this is Mayor Francis Suarez from the city of Miami uh
mayor Miner thank you so much for the opportunity to share my thoughts on this very important item before you start over it was a little hard a little hard to hear you yeah hopefully you can hear me better now this is Mayor Francis Suarez from the city of Miami and I'm appreciative of the opportunity to
express my thoughts on this very important item just yesterday in the city of Miami on 82nd and bis game we had someone graffiti pous and disrespectful and anti-semitic uh tropes on one of our buildings uh this was on
private property not on public property on private property we contacted the private property owner and they put it down within an hour it's imperative for us as a community standing together to be unified on this issue um we believe
that in Miami and in Miami broader Miami Miami Beach hiia and all the other cities of Dade County it's the safest place places and place for Jews to live on the planet and we're we are completely um in solidarity with you
mayor Miner in your concerns over what is happening in a public theater we have public theaters as well uh and if uh you know and I believe that anyone who operates a public theater is also a steward of the public trust and that person should have that person should
should also understand the community that they are producing films and showing films in and they should be respectful for that community and so the fact that that I'm speaking and people are shouting the fact that I'm speaking and everyone's
shouting the fact the fact that I'm speaking the fact that I'm speaking and everyone is shouting at the time that I'm speaking means that it seems like they want to censor me so I find it very very interesting that many of them are making the argument against censorship and are also at the same time trying to
shout down someone who's speaking and giving their perspective so I I I stand with you uh and I would do similarly if it were a similar situation in Miami uh offensive to our community thank you our next iners call uh speaker go
ahead please good morning Robert lansburg 90 Alton Road I'm here to speak about uh spring break measures don't come to Miami Beach it's all over the Internet there's a billboard on I95 that says thinking about coming to Miami Beach don't come
here as early as the 70s people of color had to leave its Sunset they weren't welcome here in the 30s advertisements always a view never a Jew we forc them out again the unprivileged
people that can't afford our upscale lifestyle not welcome here today military style blockades 12 15 police officers shining lights in your car as you cross over the
causeway if you were a person of color a youth would you think it was fair what we're doing what is our goal to stop crime twerking couple of people putting things on social media I need you to FBI crime report
says crime has been flat the last 10 years so what are we doing thank you so much our next virtual speaker is Alex Heckler Mr Heckler unmute yourself you have one minute hi good morning uh thank you mayor thank
you commission for taking up this item I think it's an important item to be discussed I am very much in favor of on government land on a government lease equal time for perspectives this is a
large Jewish Community the mayor has constituency that he's reaching out to that he is sticking up for and I think we're all grateful for that so thank you for this dialogue if you're going to show a film as really a fiction film not a non-fiction film you could at least
give equal time you could at least give equal time to other films that tell the truth and other films that are not anti-semitic or anti- anything and I think o Cinema If you send a letter admitting that this is an anti-semitic
film and then your board tries to raise money around it by sending out mass emails and not doing the right thing shame on you you were a good good corporate citizen you were a good nonprofit Citizen and let's get back to that if you want to show if you want to
show this film show a film about October 7th thank you next please state your name address you have one minute my name is Ed Deo I reside at 20 Island Avenue here in Miami Beach I respectfully urge the mayor and the city council to please drop all proposals regarding ocinema and
get on with the business of running our city please vote please vote no on any attempts to censor censure or politically correct politically control the programming of O Cinema our city is a diverse multi-ethnic multi-religious City and these proposals are already
damaging Mii Beach's well-deserved reputation for openness and diversity I am here today as a concerned Citizen and Resident as a movie goer and also as a book seller who owns underbridge bookstore in Chicago which I started 44 years ago I am deeply concerned about
the recent Trends towards censorship book Bannings and attempts to limit freedom of expression in our country what movies we see at a local theater should not be decided by the mayor or or this city council period we value all the arts and culture institutions we have here in our city that make Miami Beach so much more than just its bars
and beaches please say no to all forms of censorship and yes to freedom of expression please do not inject politics into the decisionmaking processes of the O theater thank you our next our next virtual speaker is Carro Gutierrez
go go ahead please you hear me yes go ahead please hi I am speaking today uh urging the mayor and the rest of the commission to vote no on removing funding from a beloved cultural institution o Cinema
which I have been attending since high school for over 10 years now um and I would also love the mayor to stop censoring the truth I think what he's afraid of is that the truth is out there and now the war that he is saying is actually just the fact that we are
getting to see the other perspective that has been censored for so long by the Zionist regime of Israel vote no and keep o Cinema open thank you and please state your name address and you have one minute go ahead my name is Charlotte leeo I'm a Miami Beach
resident and I'm Jewish pro-israel a journalist and an author and none of that is relevant because I'm here to protect our freedom of speech but but last night mayor Miner flipped the the script and put in a
resolution calling for fairness when o Cinema screens films that's also Irrelevant this isn't the FCC we don't have a fearness Doctrine we have freedom of speech and one of the Commissioners apparently
thought this was um reasonable although I suspect they have changed their mind by now after hearing from their constituents this issue isn't Mo there is no issue more important than freedom of speech and we shouldn't move on to other things until this is
resolved there are those who would like to to strip us of this Freedom which is why I would like to see the commission go on record so I know who I'm voting for when I enter the voting booth in November thank you so much thank you very much
our next virtual speaker has a screen name of the initials G and G please state your name address and you have one minute good morning my name is David goldwaser I live at 4545 NIS Court um morning mayor and members of the
commission I just wanted to voice my support for the mayor's agenda uh item regarding o Cinema I am Jewish and I hear and understand the opposition's view Viewpoint regarding freedom of speech however I'm fairly confident that if the film was supportive of Israel they would
be protesting it as fascist and hate the previous virtual speaker who sounded like a pre-recorded message proves that I hear the argument of Free Speech but let's be honest here this isn't a protest about Free Speech it's about it's a protest about Israel being that EMA is occupying city property the
commission should have the ability to choose who occupies and who have Who and the commission should have the ability to sanction the tenant if it chooses to we voted for this commission and this mayor the commission and the mayor should vote their conscience thank you so much our next
inperson speaker please state your name address and you have one minute hello I'm Orel vinski the Cil general of Israel in Miami first of all congratulations from bringing me to Miami Beach on Springs break that does not happen lightly H let me first
commend you uh mayor and the commission for for your support of the Jewish community and of the state of Israel from the bottom of our heart thank you and I want to of course thank also the residents of of Miami Beach for their long time longtime support and I should also commend o Cinema they have been a
good partners and they have shown Jewish films and and films about the Holocaust and and and Israel films and and and and I want to start off by saying that I'm totally against censorship of Art and I'm all for a freedom of Art and and and
art and cultural institutions at the same time this freedom of art at does not take away the the responsibility that these institutions have to show the full pictures and to show the context that we are that we are in and we are in
a very very uh complicated situation in which this full context should be should be shown and I want to say something one last sentence I hate to break it out to to thank you so Mr Peres on to those speakers that are those chanters in the
back you are anti-sites and I hate to break it out to you thank you so much thank you very much our next virtual speaker has a screen name of Sophia Sophia state your name address and you have one minute hi I am uh Sophia SOS I live at
650 West Avenue um on Miami Beach I am a artist photographer and uh I am very opposed to Mayor Miner's uh revoking of O Cinema's lease and like Charlotte the
previous speaker I would say that this is really an issue of of freedom of speech the Bill of Rights you either stand with that or you oppose that we live in a country where people have Confederate flags on their lawn people dress up as KKK members proud boys and
all of that and it's horrible and horrifying but to have freedom of speech you have to face the opposition and that that's what gives us the right to be able to say good things as opposed to bad things in terms of a documentary a documentary is a
perspective by the filmmaker you have spoken of Truth wrap it up but you didn't speak about international law regarding Israel and the settlements in Gaza thank you so if if a person next please state your name
address you have one minute yanos 501 noreast 14 AV I'm a teacher of Miami day Public Schools um cultural workers stand in opposition to the resolution to terminate the city's relationship and funding of O Cinema mayor as an elected official voted with 5,000 votes in a round of election let
us remind you that you assume a position meant to represent a constituency of over 79,000 people in the city as an officer of the city and a recipient of public funds you took an oath to defend free speech and freedom of expression both protected under the US and floridia state in constitutions this oath also
requires you to renounce allegiance to foreign governments we demand an immediate end to this perative resolution as well as any future resolutions that infringe upon all Cinemas programming an end to conflating Justice seeking narratives with anti-Semitism observance of us and state
laws intended to protect free speech and most importantly divestment from Israeli bonds a total of 20 million in taxpayer dollars as these foreign investments undermine our needs and our trust in your governance our next virtual speaker has a screen
name of Wayne Wayne please state your name address and you have one minute thank you very much um good morning ladies and gentlemen any semitism is not new it's been going on for thousands of years since uh the
Roman Empire uh threw us out of Israel and uh whether it's the uh the uh bazars of Russia or the Spanish Inquisition or the German Nazis anywhere around the world we've suffered for
thousands of years and uh the syrians and the Lebanese are also victims of these same monsters called Hamas and Hezbollah they killed a million of the Arabs in those countries displac 70% of their
population permanently and they want to do the same to the Jews of Israel and yes we should have a alternative view on what's going on in Israel after five Wars that were instigated by the Arab League and Iran is taking on the flag
these proxies of Iran and and thank you so much yeah sorry next please go ahead Mr Mayor Commissioners my name is Alfred Spelman I'm a Miami Beach native and lifelong resident of the island the mayor's proposals regarding the OA have
subjected the city and all of you to International humiliation and ridicule the original resolution the mayor introduced is blatantly unconstitutional if P Miami Beach taxpayers will be on the hook for potentially millions of dollars in legal fees I'm sure your attorneys can tell
you how the city of Miami did in federal court in 1991 when it tried to evict the Cuban Museum of Arts from a city building under nearly identical circumstances there is a potential solution here the city could express its values by programming films at venues it
already controls like the symphony wallcast or the North Beach Bandshell you could simply choose to compete in the free Marketplace of ideas one more thing Mr Mayor you seem to forget this historical fact us us
Jews are safest in Liberal democracies where civil liberties are cherished and respected thank you and our our next virtual speaker is Anna Gomez Miss Gomez state your name address and you have one
minute um my name is Anna Gomez I live in 2101 Brickle Avenue I'm a resident of Miami Gade and I'm here today to address a deeply distress distressing and unlawful situation I encountered at the hands of Beach towing
services um on Sunday March 9th my vehicle was towed and when I came here Beach towing services violated my rights despite my legal entitlement to pay with a debit card as outlined in the Miami Beach towing Bill of Rights I was
forced to pay in cash the workers at Beach towing services refused to accept any debit card payment any money orders and despite charging me nearly $700 in Towing and storage fees they would not even explain what amounted to this total
this lack of transparency and refusal to comply with my legal right was both frustrating and unjust I urge the city of Miami thank you so much Ma I I co I I co-sign with her civil
rights issue as well sir state your name address and you have one minute Billy Corbin documentary filmmaker with an office on Lincoln Road for 20 years once again the humiliating misconduct of this government has uh made the city an embarrassing International la stock and created a distraction that does nothing
to improve our quality of life which is what all of you were elected to do you are not public servants today you are government censors Mr Mayor please stop your unwanted advances on the constitutional rights of O Cinema you are getting a little too handsy with
their programming decisions you are inappropriate touching of their curation decisions has got to end do not abuse the power of government to urge or encourage or dis discourage or intimidate artists to change their content this is not about supporting Israel this is about
supporting American values it's about supporting our constitution our first amendment to paraphrase the famous Martin NE Muller quote that adorns the wall as the final words of the exhibition of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum first they came for the O Cinema and I did not speak out because I was not o Cinema we all know where that
slippery slope goes Mr Mayor they come for us all eventually and please remember the Taliban when they took control of Afghanistan in 1996 the first first thing they did was shut down the cinemas thank you so much our our next virtual
speaker our next virtual speaker has a screen name of Jennifer Jennifer go ahead please state your name address and you have one minute Jennifer go ahead let's s go to Nikki Z Nikki unmute yourself please state your
name and address Nikki zul 2445 for Mingo Place Miami Beach my family has owned a property on Miami Beach for over 60 years which we continue to use as a family gathering place I am Jewish the
solution that is now under consideration and was just put on last night um is appears to be fair but I am concerned that it runs the risk that the city will be the Arbiter of fairness
rather than putting that decision in the hands of the O Cinema itself if the Miami Beach mayor and commission are given the final say this decision today will be seen as a capitulation to the the authoritarianism that is rapidly taking
over our entire nation thank you next please my name is Charlotte Eli and I've lived in Miami Beach since 2001 with my husband who is Palestinian and we have three daughters it has been hard as a
mother to see part of my children's identity treated as controversial we hear a lot about Palestinians here but rarely from them over the past year and a half I have seen how even grief is a privilege some losses are mourned publicly While others feel invis able
even acknowledgement of my family's pain feels like it's making a political statement for some people that's why no other land owe Cinema meant so much this film shows more than the brutality of occupation it shows Palestinians as people it shows them not as numbers it
shows them as parents children as friends censoring this film and threatening to shut down o Cinema not only stifles free speech it tells families like my own that their stories don't matter but they do and this city
should not be in the business of erasing them our our next virtual speaker has a screen name of David harston go ahead please David unmute yourself PJ let's go to Brian's iPhone
hello my name is Brian Orin I'm an American Israeli Jew I used to live at 47th in Pin Street Drive first of all the console General doesn't speak for all Israelis don't vote to censor o Cinema you should postpone and rewrite a new resolution that speaks to your earnest aspiration for open dialogue
I'll even help you do it this new bill is filled with so much rage and fragility and distrust in engaging o Cinema with this conversation and even this bill mayor you're trying to create a culture of balance dialogue and understanding around the world War and the Israeli Palestinian conflict that's actually admirable but this isn't the
way to do it in the resolution you dangerously conflate Hamas and Hezbollah with the Palestinian people I know you're scared of anti-Semitism and I share that concern but put your weapons down no one is saying that October 7th wasn't horrific no other land isn't about this war and isn't stealing attention away from October 7th or the
hostages it's not about that you mentioned the military firing zone what's what it's calling into question is the difference between Law And Justice Just because the Israeli military the civil administ ministration and even the Supreme Court designates masaf yata firing zone doesn't make that just and that's what Basel Adra and yal
Abraham are calling attention to again I'm happy to help you rewrite this thank you ahead s state your name address and you have one minute Gabriel Gman from ball Harbor Florida I'm here just to point out the naked hypocrisy of the crowd here in the room today um if ocinema was playing a movie about
President Trump they would all be here as well uh urging the city to cancel the lease or to cancel the the showing just like they would if it was against white supremacy pretending that it's about free speech is laughable and it's as laughable as it is wrong and I'll tell you why people are citing all these old
cases suddenly everybody's a constitutional law expert but I urge everybody to look at the Walker case from just a few years ago in the Supreme Court which states that the government also has the right to free speech and if this is a government facility the government has a right to decide what is shown there and what is not and the
proposal and the proposal that is being that is being put forward today about fairness it's incredible to me that we don't have a room full of people saying we're all for free art for arts and for all different viewpoints we should have all kinds of movies in this theater everyone should be supporting that if they were being honest they're not being
they're not being honest Arbiters of what's Happening Here and I urge the commission to do what's right not just to answer to the circus that's here tonight thank you thank you so much our next virtual speaker is Danny penson hi um yes um my name is Danny I
am actually from haia Miami Gardens and honestly just like a long-term lover of Miami Beach and the arts and culture that is there at a constant basis I just want to remind everybody that Miami Beach isn't just for the residence it's for everyone that's arounds it because I
know that in my area we don't have as much diversity into arts and culture as we do over there oh Cinema has really created a space for us all to have come together to learn and discuss and share our thoughts over movies and it's really
been a pillar of creativity and connection for so many of us so I really deeply urge the panel to vote no um and vote no on censorship and just vote no on you know just censoring the freedom of speech um this is really protect it's
really about protecting the freedom to express ourselves no matter what the perspective and I really think that the mayor's last minute decision on creating like this fairness thank you so much next please please state your name address and you have one minute my name
is Donna Neville I live in Miami Beach I'm here to speak against both of the mayor's resolutions in relation to Ema I speak as a Jewish woman who grew up in Miami Beach the mayor calls the film anti-semitic nothing is further from the truth the mayor is trying to shut down a
theater for sharing the stories of of Palestinians living under Israel's brutal occupation it's another one of the mayor's attempts to silence and penalize those who care about the rights of the Palestinian people to live free
of violence on their land in their homes these false accusations of anti-Semitism also derail the fight against actual anti-Semitism which we know is coming from white nationalists as part of attacks on so many of our communities anti-Semitism must be fought alongside
all forms of Injustice including anti Palestinian racism the mayor claims that his views represent the views of most Jewish people in our city they categorically do not on the second resolution it's morally reprehensible to think that you have to show a film from
the Viewpoint of the oppressor and occupier after you have shown a film about those being oppressed and living under occupation thank you our next virtual speaker is lyanna to state your name address and you have one minute wow hi I'm lyanna I live at 4301
Collins um thank you so much to all of you uh mayor and commission for providing this forum it's super intense um I'm wow I'm Cuban American I'm the shabas
in my building I'm thankful um first let me say to Kristen Rosen Gonzalez for being so available communicative um I'm thankful for the for the controversy because I got to see
this documentary and I'm naive maybe but this is a love story I think I think it's something everyone should see and they should disagree about um um I oppose r7g thank you so much thank
you go ahead please you state your name address J Martinez 9333 vong Avenue I'm a film producer member of the International Film Community and I'm co-chair of the resort Tax Board of the city of cers we invited Miami film festival for a screening a couple of weeks ago and the screen was a success
on April 6th we are bringing the Jewish Film Festival to the city and with hope the movie we have chosen is a success as well we open the doors to films without censorship today I'm here as a neighbor who believes that the audience deserves
the freedom to elect what they want to see and express Express freely about it I'm here to support Cinema the first amendment of our constitution the academy awardwinning documentary no other Land cema O is a gem like no other
censorship the way mayor mayor is doing equals the dictatorships we all deserve an apology from you mayor for undermining our freedom of our expression to finish I'm aot director I admire movies are the memories of our lifetime they touch our
hearts and awaken our vision changing the way we see things Cinema is the best medium for understanding how we see the world Martinez cores our next virtual speaker is Elio men Menendez Elia go ahead please hello can you hear me yes please
go ahead all right my name is Elio Menendez I live in Westchester Florida and O Cinema is a place where many films I've been able to watch and just like many other people here it has been a place of Education I very strongly am
against the censorship and the ending of this place if you want to end a place for Joy if you want to end a place for Education go ahead but you are putting yourself in a rut for uneducated people who do not want to ask questions people
who do not want to open their minds and their thoughts please keep this place open I'm not as well verbose as some of the people here but I feel strongly on it this place deserves to exist and we deserve to watch films there no matter what the film is so I strongly disagree
with your place of getting rid of O Cinema thank you so much mayor we have now gone 45 minutes it is usually 30 minutes so we recommend that this end at
this point and we go to snck at 1:30 five more minutes okay go ahead sir state your name address and you have one minute Alan Lavine Miami Beach Mr Miner for 18 months you've done what you can
to belittle and to silence those of us who are in this chamber and on the streets of Miami Beach calling attention to the genocide in Israel and now in The Same Spirit you propose censoring an award-winning film that also tries to
expose Israel's inhumane treatment of the Palestinian people you call the film hate speech but it is clear that for you all talk about Israel's crimes is hate speech your original resolution is
flatly unconstitutional so now you've offered a resolution that simply encourages o Cinema to take a fair and balanced approach the threat to O Cinema cannot be clear and what's next art basil it's in a city-owned building are
you going to demand that they present exhibits that are fair and balanced you hold yourself out as an art welcoming City these resolutions make a mockery of that welcome thank you our next virtual speaker is Wesley
Wesley state your name address and you have one minute yes sir my name is Wesley Chow 1690 Southwest 27th Avenue but I am speaking as a concerned citizen of Miami I have great issue with what many of our public servants have said on this call
Mayor Miner himself called himself a soldier in the propaganda war no sir you are a elected official who guarantees the civil rights and Liberties of your constituents as our previous speakers have pointed out Americans fly Confederate flags Americans burn
American flags that is all allowed free speech is often about challenging our views and that is sometimes a good thing the balance of power in this hearing has itself demonstrated why free speech and no censorship is needed who is on the side of shuttering o Cinema government
officials and who is on the side of keeping it open the people Americans must speak up about against anti antism that's true and that's why I expect mayor Suarez to denounce El mus who has spent years according sir go ahead state
your name address you have one minute my name is Ken Barnes I'm Jewish and I live in Miami today you are considering a resolution about the O Cinema the mere fact of which would have a chilling effect on the showing of films at the cinema this is after you
threatened to cut funds and close the cinema essentially acting as a censor of films the issue brings to mind some history film played an important role in the propaganda of the National Socialist Party a Reich film law passed in 1920
and amended in 1934 establish a censorship committee enabling enabling the Nazis to ban Troublesome movies no other land is troublesome movie as it challenges us as individuals and Community to rethink our
assumptions about the Israeli Palestinian conflict chronicling the despair of the displaced in their home territory seeing troubl some movies is required of us now more than ever the mayor and City commission have no right to dictate what films should be shown at
the imposing its morality and in particular should not make efforts to silence Pro Palestinian voes our next virtual speaker is is David seon David unmute yourself please go ahead David go ahead please hi my name
is David seon I'm the chair of the Cultural Arts Council in the 30-year resident of Miami Beach um I'm I'm here to say that I support o Cinema and their ability to do what they've been doing in the community for a long time I did
support the suspension of funding for ulite Arts when they showed the art display that featured the phrase from the river to the sea that was an entirely different situation it was public facing it was a call for violence
it was not a Jewish artist that put it on there this is art created by co-created by Jews that shows a perspective I wish the mayor had started with the second resolution which would have gently asked o Cinema to show the other one but I I feel like today we
need to step back pull both of these resolutions look at some way to work through this situation and and I hope we can come to a peaceful solution I I think o cinon does amazing work and I hope they continue to do
that wait can I say one thing there are a lot of people who came down here to speak and I think that we should hear them they're speaking for one minute um I have no I have I have no problem with listening to more people and mayor
I would encourage you to allow people who who are here to speak I see one student from Ransom Everglades who pres you know who he's coming here to speak on something and now he's going to be sent like it's just not right
okay everyone who else wants our micrones AR work go ahead ma'am go ahead say your name address you have one minute hello my name is Geneva Claus and whether the mayor likes it or not I'm a member of the Miami Jewish
community and regardless criticism of Israel or depicting life for Palestinians under Israel's occup ation as the film does is not anti-semitic to the contrary it's an urgent call for justice for us all
shutting down the film does not erase Israel's violence in fact preventing the facts from being told enables the violence and makes us complicit in that violence hundreds of thousands of Jewish people across the globe together with
millions of others are calling out for justice for the Palestinian people the proposed cancellation of the lease and funding of O Cinema and the resolution forcing o Cinema to show films the city arbitrarily sees fit for public viewing
is unconstitutional embarrassing and shameful I urge you all to protect your legacy your dignity and do the right thing in voting no our next virtual speaker is Yanna state your name address and one
minute hi my name is Joanna popper I'm a longtime Miami Beach resident I'm a property owner in South Point and I'm Jewish with grandparents who escape the Holocaust many of the comments here have been very disturbing that said I encourage you to vote no there are so many better ways the mayor could have handled this one you don't like the
movie don't see the movie two this is an art housee film it would have come and gone quickly but the mayor's actions created a stend effect driving more interest more showings and even expanded into Coconut Grove and free publicity for the film this is Art and it shows the documentar filmmaker's point of view
it's inherently imbalanced just by being that P that group's point of view oh Cinema has hosted Jewish film festivals before instead of trying to ban or shut down the theater the mayor could have suggested not demanded via legislation a panel discussion or a double feature with an October 7th film there are three
of them even though the film isn't about October 7th now if the worry is really taxpayer money there's likely a negligible amount that that would go to the them based on the original plan of being shown for 2 days but now we'll end up sending more on a lawsuit giving the filmmakers even more International press
and probably a streaming deal which they hadn't even gotten until now thank you so much last the movie is not online go ahead please state your name address you have one minute hi my name is Stephanie agu and I am here to oppose the city's resolutions to retaliate against o Cinema for contributing to our
Civic discourse we all want to see Miami Beach flourish and open dialogue is key to that goal that Miami Beach is seeking to terminate the lease of O Cinema and control its programming for doing what the cinema was created to do and does well which is host a claimed
thought-provoking art that creates a conversation this reflects terribly on the city of Miami Beach and its leadership and it's quite frankly an embarrassing use of City resources in everyone's time what kind of city do we want to be the fact that no other land
is uncomfortable as the mayor has said it's uncomfortable to watch does not give the commission the right to use its pen and punish o Cinema in the Miami Beach Community I urge the commission to do better and vote against the EMA resolutions thank you thank
you we're going to go to the next person on the podium go ahead go ahead hello city yep hello city commission my name I'm sorry excuse me for one second when the mayor's on the day is I'm the vice mayor and I'm taking
a point of personal privilege I don't know if you can hear me with the mics and my voice which I have lost because I've been talking about this issue since last Friday when the mayor or any of us are
not at the commission D de it's probably because we have to go to the bathroom you try sitting here drinking coffee all day long and not excuse me let me finish my sentence please you don't know because you would have no
way of knowing this but there are speakers in the bathroom so we can hear what's going on there are speakers back there so we can hear what's going on the meeting is broadcast out in the lobby of the third floor so we can hear what's
going on so even if we are not physically present sitting here we are hearing I can't speak to my other colleagues um uh hearing capabilities but I think we can all hear what you're saying loud and clear so if we are not
sitting here it is not because we're trying to avoid something we were elected to handle things okay give us the courtesy of letting us do our jobs hello city commission my name is
mato SAA and I came here to speak about ordinance r5b regarding doubling vendor fees and limiting the amount of bead vendors while I know the discussion and vote was moved to June I would still like to comment what I have prepared commissioner Suarez introduced this last year to comment the amount of bead vendors and the $53,000 the city spends
on the program it's my perspective that the ordinance in question is an unethical course of action to take against the vendors because you're further destabilizing a community that's already under a lot of pressure every day vendors can't set up their stands when it's too hot too windy or too rainy and when they can they're not always
taking home money a vendor that I spoke to glat told gold Me sheet sometimes takes home as little as $25 to $5 a week doubling fees would be devastating for many vendors who are working hard and trying their best to provide the vendors here are a community and while I agree there needs to be a more robust quality
control system for those who don't make most of their own products the majority of them do this ordinance in its current form will only serve as a detriment to an already challenged yet continually persevering Community thank you for your time thank you we're going to go to the next
inperson speaker go ahead please is that me yes sir okay thanks uh good morning my name is Pete Sidman I'm a resident of North Miami and I'm somebody who goes to O Cinema and needs o Cinema I'm here to oppose both the motion to evict o Cinema as well as the one
seeking government control over the artistic programming decisions that it makes I am here to oppose mayor Miner's claim to be speaking for all Jews and in the interest of all Jews Jew when he makes these motions because he certainly does not speak for me and obviously many
others in our community the founding fathers of Miami Beach like Carl Fischer and Henry Flagler were anti-semites of the highest order it wasn't until 1947 that restrictions against Jewish people as guests or property owners in
Miami Beach were made illegal before then it was common to see signs in Miami and Miami Beach that read Gentiles only or no Jews or dogs one hotel advertised always a view never a Jew thank you so
much how ironic that today a Jew who has become mayor of the city is proposing to take us back to these terrible times thank you and now we have a slogan come on in always a view but never a Palestinian thank you sir we're going to go to the next
in-person speaker please go ahead thank you um good morning my name is Monique yesaya I'm a Miami Beach resident I'm a Jewish woman I'm an Israeli woman and I'm horrified to have to spend my Wednesday here with you today because
mayor Miner decided not to take questions during his town hall meeting yesterday that I know me and many of my friends took the time to attend but used as a way to just extemporaneously speak about his views and once again put words into the mouths of other Jews you do not
speak on my behalf as a Jewish man you do not speak on my behalf as an Israeli and I'm outraged to have to spend my time with my community who all had to take off work get child care and do what they had to do because you want this town and City to be a racist
establishment that just furthers Jewish values and isn't an American expression of the freedom that we all love and take for granted which is to say how we feel and have freedom of speech and have our community reflect those values so if
you're going to vote with him you should have to put money of your own towards this lawsuit so that the city is not paying for this horrible go ahead please right hello mayor hi Commissioners my name is Jessica Lane
I'm a uh Miami Beach resident at 100 Lincoln Road I'm a granddaughter of Holocaust Survivor that immigrated here after the war a proud Jew I come from a proud Zionist family Zionist only meaning Safety and Security and self-actualization rights for Jewish
people nothing more I've spent time in Israel I've studied in Israel I know I agree um I've spent time in Israel I have my master's degree in International Peace and conflict resolution I have worked my entire life to bring people from all different
backgrounds together I am a dialogue facilitator I've brought together Arabs Jews Muslims Israelis and what I can say is that we have to humanize each other and censoring this documentary is not the way to do it I understand your
concern absolutely I'm scared of anti-Semitism so is my family we're very worried but this is not the way to do it we need freedom of expression we need dialogue we need to be open to hearing our stories so I hope you are too and just for record keeping purposes
the gentleman with the blue jacket is the last person speaking yes sir so uh go ahead please go ahead sure hi everybody thank you for being here uh my name is n yini I'm a lifelong resident of Miami Beach um in
the spirit of learning from history there was a movie made in 1915 called Birth of a Nation it was made by DW Griffith this was in the age of silent films it was technically Advanced and it was the first movie to have Musical score was over 3 hours long first movie
ever it was also the first movie shown in the White House to President woodro Wilson this movie was made as propaganda against the black population in the United States it showed black people in a horrible light made the KKK out to be the saviors of America this movie
revived the KKK large scale distribution of film did not exist at the time so this movie was taken City to city like a circus was a study was done in 2020 by Desmond Ang that Professor Harvard that shows that in cities where this movie was shown hate crimes against black
people increased five times this single-handedly extended the suffering of black people into the next decades in this country this is the same situation we're facing now we should learn from history and not allow racist propaganda
footage to be shown against any minority Community thank you mayor next please hello my name is Chaz Meine I want to thank you for the extra time Mr Mayor um I am a filmmaker I am a father and I'm a
husband and I'm also safarik and the reason why I have been able to study with the breast lovers in New York City was because I saw the sorrow and the pity at o Cinema these were films that needed to be said I am not I want to recognize the
pain that this caused you I don't think you're the enemy I think you are reacting to it and I will and whether or not you have made the decision I would I would like to quote um the rabbi nman how very good it is when you awaken
your heart and plead until your tears stream from your eyes as mine and when you stand like a little child crying before your father father please don't
let this candle go out thank you so much thank you next please my name is Mary M Mary Michelle from Southwest Ranches Florida I am no stranger to the city of Miami Beach and it's oppressive and unconstitutional tactics
I have been harassed and intimidated by police officers who have told me I was forbidden to walk down a public sidewalk or risk arrest I have seen peaceful protesters attacked by policemen who allow violent zionists to physically encroach and
attack while they stand idly by in previous meetings the mayor has repeatedly violated the freedom of speech by shutting off the microphone of anyone who dares to criticize Israel now the mayor wants to decide what we can and cannot see this
will not stand any politician law enforcement officer or member of the Armed Forces who puts the interest of a foreign Nation above the Constitution and laws of this land is nothing more than a traitor this is still the land of my fathers and I will and I for one will
defend the ideals of the Constitution and fight against Zionism thank you so much Israel has invited our country thank you our next speaker please good morning to all my esteemed comrades I thank you for being in the presence and I thank you for getting us all
together in this room the mayor your name oh my name my name is Gabriel Marcado I live in Carol City Miami Gardens I came all the way here today I'm very blessed and um for one I would just like to say to everyone in this room let's listen more and for what I have to say about the mayor I never had
an impression of you until now it took this Outburst as it seems for me to get your attention as same for the film as well just because a film won an Oscar doesn't mean I'm necessarily going to watch it the film has a very heavy subject matter and I'm not necessarily willing to watch something like that on
a on a typical night but now I feel obligated to watch it in the movie theater to buy a ticket to bring my friends out to watch it not because it's a popcorn flick and an action movie but because you Tred to censor it like cave paintings on a wall we cannot censor it
because it is a part of History whether you believe in it or or not thank you very much for your time Jesus died for our sins and so let us not crucify him the way that the corrupt Romans crucified him let us not be a corrupt government let us be better we are the
Team USA Team USA please state your name address so you have one minute yes my name is Hill blackett and uh I live at 1000 West Avenue uh here on the beach um so I just want to um take a slightly different
tack than uh a lot of my friends have been taking and I want to say thank you to the Commissioners uh whichever way you vote on the one hand um if you vote against these resolutions uh and stand up to this goofball mayor and say that we're not
going to evict or or censor uh or control the programming of this you know beloved local movie theater um that's a great win for the community but on the other hand if you vote with him and you do do those things um it shows that you know people like me are correct people
who say this is not really a free country this is not a real democracy and uh we need some major changes so uh I just want to say thank you whichever way you go thanks thank you so much hi I'm Victoria PES Elliot I'm a
longtime resident of Miami Beach I live on Pine Tree Drive in 30th Street I'm a proud graduate of Columbia School of Journalism and I do want to say and I my brothers and my children have gone there as well and protested I proudly protested there myself when I was an
undergraduate and I want to say mayor that respectfully your comments about the protests are ill informed and also to say that the matter here I support so many people who've said what they've said it seems clear-cut the matter of First Amendment right seems very obvious
that we shouldn't even have to discuss it but more importantly what I want to say is in six months time I want to make sure that o is still here here when it's out of the headlines I want to see that grant money still goes to them they've shown thousands of hours of Jewish films they two hours of a Palestinian
perspective and that mimics and mirrors what we see in this country it is a propaganda war and it's not up to you to fight it I think we should give the Palestinians I've seen the movie there's no propaganda it's a documentary it won an Academy Award thank you go ahead please
hello my name is Monica sell um I am a resident of uh North Miami I am a filmmaker and proud former o Cinema employee and I strongly oppose resolution C7 AA you have called this film anti-semitic the Jewish Israeli
filmmaker of no other land youval Abraham her responded to you saying when this mayor uses the word anti-Semitism to silence us Palestinians and Israelis who proudly oppose occupation AP partti together fighting for justice and equality for all all he's dangerously emptying it out of meaning it's
interesting and ironic to me that just a few weeks ago a Jewish man shot Israeli tourist in the name of anti-Semitism this is the same logic at work this is the environment Miami Beach has created this is your Miami Beach Florida is descending into fascism quickly I consider your resolution to be
a part of that precedence matters your hurt feelings your sensitivity to truth and your misinform beliefs that are so paper thin fragile that a film by Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers together can shake you censorship are not more important than what your community wants and needs thank you so
much I hope the mayor can hear me because I want to address him specifically hello Commissioners oh there you are sorry start with your name please um I was looking around hi my name is Susan shine and I live on West Avenue I've lived and worked and voted
here in Miami for more than 32 years I've been in the media business for nearly 40 and 34 of those have been related to the business of film and a documentary is by nature one-sided I'd like to address you Mr Mayor specifically as I was on the zoom call
build as a town hall last evening where comments were disabled so I couldn't respond to what I heard as a fellow Jew and vacillating supporter of Israel I agreed with everything you said regarding the dangerous nature of the increasing anti-semitism in this country
and around the world indeed we've seen this many times over the course of hundreds if not thousands of years where I disagree is in the way you've chosen to portray that particular Scourge as justifying a violation of the First Amendment because personally because you personally disagree with this message in
this CA case a does not equal B does not C both can be true good morning my name is Jonathan David Kaine I a Jewish American filmmaker and artist born and raised in Miami Beach at 4354 Alton Road I'm a product of Miami Beach and Miami Dade
County Public Schools I learned how to use a camera filming Bar Mitzvah at Temple B Shalom I'm here today in opposition of Mayor Miner's proposal censorship has no place in these halls in this city nor in our American
Constitution o Cinema is a pillar of Miami cinematic Arts Community o Cinema has supported the films and careers of countless Miami based filmmakers and artists their programming has always been insightful educational and thought-provoking to shutter their doors is to deeply wound the artists and art
lovers of our Mii Beach Community disagreeing with political leaders is not anti-Semitism expressing conflicting viewpoints and inviting debate is not anti-Semitism denouncing warmongering is not anti-Semitism I remind you that the world is watching us here today and how
we handle this first amendment issue will rever thank you uh hi my name's uh Gerald Payne I'm from Broward I'm a filmmaker in the area um I just wanted to take the time to thank the commission for giving this
film more publicity than an Academy Award could ever have I got up at 6: a.m. to be here I don't get up at 6: a.m. for anything um a lot of people today have been talking about balance you know if it was an Israeli film they'd be protest I think that's crazy
because Captain America 4 had an Israeli superhero is very bound this can't even get screened in the theater you know and I think it sets a really bad precedent to start censoring things that we don't agree with because it's very imbalanced uh you know Israel has jets Gaza doesn't
even have ambulances so when you tell people not to watch something the first thing they think is well why what's what's wrong with it I want to see it immediately and it says so much more you silencing the movie than the movie ever could have on its own so thank you for your
time good morning I am a firsttime snowbird to Miami Beach and ironically I discovered o Cinema while I was perusing the catalog for the Jewish Film Festival I sincerely doubt that anyone
on the commission got involved with what the Jewish Film Festival was showing or not showing in addition I would like to again just say uh repeat what someone else said about
documentaries which is a documentary is someone's perspective on a particular subject that they think are the facts I think we've all been in enough conversations to to know that we've been on both sides of stories that we think
are right and and to censor someone for uh telling their story I think that's a bad presedent okay I never really knew what uh art basil was but I happen to live near the Convention Center thank you and I just want to say one last
thing which is I would really not like to see the commission or the mayor having a special screening at Art basil to go through thousands of pieces of artwork to decide which one should not be in a public building good morning my name is Kevin Sullivan
I'm from Stuart Florida um I just returned from being spending three months on the West Bank about two weeks ago including spending a week in Masa prata where the film northernland was made um the the notion that anti-semitism ISM
exists when institutionalized systemic discrimination segregation oppression domination violence and inhumane acts are documented sir either represents um a extreme misinformation on your part of
what's going on in the West Bank or you are frankly just misstating the truth thank you so much okay hi guys I was born and raised in Miami Beach my name is Franchesca Gonzalez um I was born at Mount Si and I grew up going to the O Cinema and the
col of theater every weekend with my mother at first because she bribed me with candy but after a while because I enjoyed it my mother is actually on the de right now as an elected official hi Mom I'd like to preface she did not ask
me to speak and I think I actually really shocked her when I walked in here and I walked to the back of that line um I was watching online and I was so proud of all the citizens who came out here to speak and I felt as though I had something to say so I came here straight away my mother has taught me
time and time again that the role of an elected official is to represent the people it is not Israel versus Palestine it is free speech and it is absolutely incontestable if you wish to represent the people listen to them here today we
have heard only five people or six six people who were in favor of defunding and three of them were your friends Mr Mayor who you clearly called to speak on your behalf um we've heard dozens of people who have spoken in favor of the O Cinema
and I urge you to listen to the people thank you very much hi good morning this is Melissa I drove all the way down from Broward explains the rollers uh very quickly I'll keep this brief I understand some of your concerns that you have except that this is about freedom of speech
Vivien has done fabulous job at being a pillar in bringing culture and art to Miami Beach it is the only reason why I come to Miami Beach anymore because Miami Beach sucks now because all of the mom and pop shops are gone all the individuality is gone and now they're demolishing all these historical
buildings you guys are not protecting this place so you may have your own opinions about this but do not infantilize the rest of us who want to view this film and make our own informed decision about how we feel about the current state of the conflict thank you yes yes good morning everybody how
you doing uh Sarah the r s of Harbor neighborhood association and Resident I want to support uh c4c the Maurice GI Park entrance referral to land use thank you very much Alex uh C40 and to name the street pedestrian Bri Rich Mark
simoan I think that would be a great thing to actually do in r5f I'm supporting all those thank you thank you okay good morning thank you Mr Rabbi Daniel Hadar 139 Bay Drive thank you for
uh for all you for the city M Beach does not suck it's an incredible place and uh thank you for all you do to have a great City and O Cinema is a great place as well and I really appreciate everything that everybody said today uh very very uh it's very healthy to have a conversation um I just would like to
share one small thing and that's this I believe that the mayor and the commission some of the thought behind this is as a Jew and as a person who represents a large community the the visceral reaction against the Jewish people since October 7th has been
extremely difficult extremely painful and extremely uh tough and I think that there is just a a a high higher sensitivity right now and there's an idea of perhaps we we should just T down a little bit because there's so much
hatred out there so much I think it's a good idea to have two sides to it but that's I think that original concept lets tamper down things that really bring a lot of a lot of upsetness thank you everybody that is the last speaker commissioner Suarez thank you Mr
Mayor you know um on Sunday I had the honor of celebrating the 109th birthday of Molly Horowitz one of the last remaining
survivors of the first Holocaust it was very cute she had her daughter there her granddaughter her grandchildren her whole family sitting with her and talking between broken Yiddish Spanish and
Hebrew I felt like I was transported back to my childhood in Sunny Isles I lived in a very small one-bedroom condo with my mother and I vividly remember getting into
elevators uh with my elderly neighbors and I would always see their numbers on their wrists as a child I I didn't fully
understand how or why the Holocaust happened but now I do those numbers were evidence of a genocide A system that wiped out six million Jews in a matter of years
and yet here we are nearly 80 years later watching history try to repeat itself on October 7th excuse me I let you speak I did not
interrupt a single one of you I expect the same courtesy Mr Mayor if they continue to interrupt can you please escort them out of the chambers I agree he he is a an elect he is an elected commissioner I let everyone speak in this room went way
over time he is an elected commissioner and he is going to speak please don't make me clear the room on October 7th Jews were slaughtered babies thrown into
ovens women raped in front of their children entire households burned alive infants decapitated at Hamas didn't just commit these
crimes they glorified it they filmed it they put it on their GoPros they cheered it and now in Miami Beach some want us the taxpayers to fund
a film that spreads propaganda from Hamas let me be clear I oppos censorship in all forms but this isn't about Free Speech this is about government
policy Miami Beach is one of the most Jewish cities in the world how it decides to allocate taxpayer dollars is between us if this film were playing at Regal Cinemas we wouldn't be talking about this right now
if a private group were screening it outside City Hall we wouldn't be talking about it but when it's being shown on taxpayer subsidized government venues with public funds that's not free speech it's
government policy this film isn't just another perspective it's a megaphone for Hamas sympathizers and what makes me sick is seeing people here who would be the first victims of
Hamas women LGBT excuse me I'm speaking please we have to have the Quorum I will clear the room if he is not allowed to finish or any of us up here please let him finish no if you are so concerned about Free Speech don't interrupt
mine this film is just another perspective isn't just another perspective it's a megaphone for Hamas terrorist propaganda and what makes me sick is seeing people here most of them would be
the first victims of Hamas women lgbtq activists if they were in Gaza they'd be sexually mutilated thrown off rooftops and stoned to death yet here they are lecturing us
about morality but let's be honest this has nothing to do about art Free Speech if there was a film glorifying white supremacy would we be funding
it if it were a film promoting Charlie hebo cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad would we tolerate it we all know the answer is no why because it's wildly
offensive so why would we spend a scent of public money to priv to provide a platform for a film that purposely Lies by omission and justifies Hamas propaganda I know
why because it's the Jews we don't have to worry about them they have a double standard they're Israeli Jews the hypocrisy and double standard here is
staggering the executive director of o Cinema admitted on paper that this film has anti-semitic rhetoric but chose to air it anyways and the chairman of ocinema Kareem tabash has a long well-documented
history of pushing for censorship when it suits his agenda this man has called for the silencing of our state representatives he's called for the silencing of the president of the United States he has spent years demanding the
suppression of Free Speech but doesn't like it now the reality is that o Cinema is exploiting this controversy for political and financial gain just yesterday we all got an email from from
from them where they're using this controversy as a fundraising tool here it is they're asking for $2.8 million in private donations while pretending they are under attack meanwhile they receive taxpayer
funding pay next to nothing in rent and then turn around and demand even more this is not about Free Speech it's about publicly funded institutions using outrage as a business model and yet while they refuse to
entertain dissenting perspectives they have no problem directing and glorifying a film about beastiality where a man rapes a dog and get this even a
dolphin the same person at o Cinema leadership excuse me the same person at ocinema leadership compared beastiality to interracial sex Yes you heard me right this is what the city of Miami Beach is subsidizing with
our taxpayer dollars enough is enough the government has no obligation to fund propaganda period play the film wherever you want on private property in front of
City Hall on the street corner but do not ask the taxpayers of Miami Beach to foot the bill for Odus propaganda films where the sole agenda and intention is to dismantle the Jewish state of Israel
not here not on our watch because when we say never again we mean it thank you vice mayor bot um I'm gonna ask for some Grace from the
people in the audience going to ask for some patience from my colleagues um as I said I'm usually a little outed in this but this is the best I got I apologize I have so many thoughts on
this disaster that has unfolded before us over the last 10 days and I am trying very hard to speak about it in a professional way in a non-emotional way
in a fact-based way I have a tattoo on my arm where our fourbears had tattoos on theirs I don't know if you can see it it's got flowers around it it's kind of cute it says
never again the reason I'm here as an elected official before you is because two of my father's fathers side of his family were not burned alive in a church in Lithuania two one of them
had already immigrated to New York one of them was in a Siberian Work Camp because he refused to cooperate with the Russian overlords at the time I shouldn't have to preface any remarks that I speak on as an elected
official in a nonpartisan race with anything to do with my personal backstory or my Jewish ancestry my faith it's
irrelevant I will tell you that um I'm not a huge fan of organized religion generally that's a huge generalization but there are things that I admire about um organizations who reach out
into the community churches synagogues mosques insert organization here because I think they do incredible work in a lot of different ways one of the things that I'm proudest of living in Miami Beach is that there
is a um breadth of religious organizations that do good work it is immaterial to my work as an elected official but it makes me proud that we can have so many different fa
living and working together at multiple points along the Continuum I'm not a hidic Jew I mean a bacon cheeseburger is my favorite food some people might not find that funny but I I still think it's funny
thank you um but seriously I it is a mark of who we are who we have become as a city that that is a true statement and I think one of one of the speakers rightly pointed out several of the speakers rightly pointed out that we did
not come by this um openm mindedness easily we were wildly anti-semitic Carl fiser who we rever as a Founder was a raging anti-semite Joe stone crab is where it is because that's where they
were allowed to open their business in the Jewish dle south of fifth North Beach when you drive up to North Beach there's a whole area Normandy full of funny French names which I love um because it's really funny to hear people
try to say French names with a Cuban accent and it makes me laugh I I find it delightful but the reason it's there is because he couldn't buy land to develop homes and houses for Jews anywhere else we were A Sundown town for the longest
time even as we had gorgeous hotels and venues where every person that we still listen to performed and crowds clapped for them adored them paid money to enjoy their performances
but don't sleep here don't get caught here after dark if you work here taking care of our families that's great but not after dark unless you've a card giving you permission to stay here when you get
stopped by the police those are facts they're horrifying but they are part of our history and it is so important that we remember them because what we have become as a city is the
antidote to returning to that I find it horrifying that instead of having the really big fight that we need to have about whether or not and when and how to raise our
sewer water rates which we're going to have to do and it's going to be an ugly fight we are spending hours talking about this I've spent most of this last week working on this issue instead of doing what we were elected to
do what I find even most upsetting is the narrative that is being painted that you are either a raging anti-semite and a Hamas supporter or you support
censorship that is a don't want to get censored by the FCC but that is a BS false binary choice I will tell you I am sure that tomorrow or the next
day there will be be a newsletter going out and video clips of me used for when I run for my reelection in 3 years calling me a Hamas sympathizer I'm sure of it I can assure you that I am not have never been would never be and it
doesn't matter what I think about the way in Israel is conducting itself or the way it doesn't matter for the record since I have the platform I believe uh Jews should be
safe to be how they are where they are wherever they are I believe Israel has the right to exist and I believe that I believe that we are supposed to walk among each other living our best
life without trying to subjugate each other now o Cinema did not handle things the way I would have liked the mayor who comes by his passion
from a place of deep honesty and genuine feeling also did not handle things the way I would have liked but I'm not their mom it's not my turn to watch them they are all independent grown-ups acting the way they feel is correct
but what I will say is that an organization that has shown well over 50 films pro-israel films by Jewish filmmakers and is a huge supporter
foundational supporter of the Miami Jewish Film Festival which I know intimately from my last job which is in the middle of showing I think it's a 12-part documentary about the Holocaust to silence that voice does more
damage than almost anything I can think of what I would propose excuse me let me finish please what I would propose when the item is called and I I really am grateful to the mayor for coming with a second option of how to proceed I think
that I think that's great what I would propose is to take o Cinema out of the equation and what I would propose is that we in the city of Miami Beach put together a thoughtful weekend or week or whatever
we want to do screening series of screenings with talkbacks people who can speak on both sides of the issue with opportunities for residents to get educated and share their thoughts I will tell you that I'm
not censoring anybody obviously but I think the folks in here who are purely stirring the pot and I and I believe their views are are come by honestly I I hope I don't know I don't know these
folks are not serving their cause well one of the things that I love most about being Jewish even though a BAC and cheeseburger is my favorite food is the fact that the way we try to resolve most of our issues is by educating ourselves
is by learning more not to shut down not to assume that we know the full story something I'm guilty of less now but when I was younger boy I was sure I was right about everything just ask my
ex-husband I believe that the path forward is to let o Cinema go continue doing the good work I think the message has been received loud and clear and let us as as as um an
organization a government entity that has multiple ways of screening um films and has has a history of showing films that we think our residents would be interested in let us do that let us do that good
governance work it is a Hot Topic so let us address it headon but not by shutting down one voice or another voice and I will state again that when you see the newsletter come out or the clips of me in a couple of years supporting High
Hamas and and and I you know I I understand that we all have our our passions but really the sensationalism of calling out what Hamas did which is vile and reprehensible and there is no justification for October 7th there just
isn't Wars suck people do awful things on every side there was no excuse for the way they conducted themselves and I can assure you I am not defending them or their position ever or their their views
on on um having other foreign actors be their proxies but that's not why I am here that's not why you elected any of us if that's what I wanted to weigh in I would have run for Congress I'm here to talk to you about why it's really important that we raise your sewer rates
I'm going to get pillared on that too but that's okay so I am begging my colleagues and the people in this room and anybody listening and anybody reading the newsletters or watching the Clips in three years to take the rhetoric down
because it does not serve the purpose it serves to inflame and to promote somebody's particular agenda let us find a path forward it is not safe to be Jewish right now in a lot of places it is not safe I used to wear
starve David around my neck I haven't worn it in years because why give somebody an easy way to Target me I give them plenty of other ways just by walking around you know I don't need another one so the inflammation that I'm
hearing serves no one well and if we want to get to a better place if we want to make sure that we can continue a a a dialogue that is not propaganda and I understand where your passion comes from respectfully I really
do I saw the film I know intention of seeing the film but I wanted to be informed so I went and bought my ticket at o Cinema and watched the film and here's what I came away with and if you haven't seen it whatever do or don't not my problem
here's what I came away with and I'm actually pretty fairly uh fairly well informed on uh world affairs uh I'm a political nerd um my family has been you know is Jewish through and through I think I'm the only one who married somebody outside of of faith and he's
gone now but my girls are are are you know very invested um what I came away with from watching this film was it was not a complete story because by definition something
that is written or filmed isn't there is always an edit an um an element of editorializing it's a narrative Arc you tell a story even if it's a factual story it's still a story and you put your
spin not spin but you you have to shape it it also by the way to covered a period before October 7th but what I came away with it was very difficult to watch for so many
reasons what I came away with was hope I came away with hope because you had people in circumstances where normally bricks would have been thrown and worse and yet they kept
talking they kept questioning each other how is this okay why are you doing this to us what how do you think this is right how do we fix this I went to law school but I'll never
be able to practice law because I don't live in an equal Society how do we fix this and that is the right question that is the dialogue that we need to have it's not comfortable there are no easy answers you talk to any foreign policy
expert and in the world and they will say the single most difficult foreign policy situation to try to resolve it's not nukes it's not Iran it's not the fauland islands if anybody remembers that it is it is this situation in the midle
Middle East if it were easy it would have been done already so let us continue the dialogue let us take down the the tone of the rhetoric let's turn down the Fanning of the Flames that will end up in more
danger we had a neighbor in in mid Beach literally shoot two people that he thought looked Palestinian because he thought he was doing the right thing you know who they were two Israeli tourists and frankly it
doesn't matter you shoot somebody because you don't like the way you they look that is a huge Public Safety problem for the City of Miami Beach and an elected official our first job no matter what our views are on any issue
taxation demolitions new affordable housing insert topic here the only thing that we are supposed to do as your officials is Public Safety and I don't think we're
delivering on that with this rhetoric that is being inflamed so I would respectfully urge a friendly amendment when we get to where we we're going with your item to do a bigger problemsolving step forward to
host a film festival and all the people who've been emailing on both sides let's find folks from that group who have something productive to say and let's give them that platform thank you thank you everyone oh commissioner
magazine thank you commissioner bot uh respectfully I thought I had the trade bark on self-depreciating humor about a struggling or failed marriage and love life um but anyways uh what saddens me is how divided that our community appears the
community that I personally know uh we have a lot in common and the issues where we have shared differences we do so respectfully in every action I take as an elected leader I Look to achieve consensus lead by example and be a community Builder not
divider I support our arts and culture I'm proud to lead efforts in helping Miami Beach be the center of the entire arts and culture world that's demonstrated by the funding we've allocated to Arts even when the state has pulled some of those funds I also
steadfastly support our Jewish Community I'm proud we have and continue to take measures in Miami Beach to make our city the most welcoming safest place outside of the state of Israel for our Jewish brothers and sisters and I'm confident and I hope we continue to do so I don't
think I truly appreciated how deepr rooted anti-semitism was until tragic events in recent years that said I also wholeheartedly believe in free speech whether I agree with it or think it's absolutely abhorent do I think a
community partner in a community with such a large Jewish presence should at minimum play shows depicting both sides yeah sure but if I wanted to influence or have a say in what is played at the theater I'd be more involved in that Theater which I am not so I
wholeheartedly support our Jewish Comm community and I'll continue to work hard in ensuring Miami Beach Remains the safest most welcoming Community for our Jewish brothers and sisters and I'll also steadfastly support the right to free speech Let's be clear those things are not mutually exclusive I hope we
don't even take a vote to remove funding or expel the ocinema I won't vote in favor of that I do hope all of our Community Partners take it upon ourselves to hear the pain and passion on both sides commit to playing films that show a wide variety of interests
we need to bring our community together those up here on the de and every single person out there in this room it's incumbent upon all of us to realize we're a community of shared values shared interests and disagreeing in a respectful manner this may sound silly
or cheesy but I mean it before everyone leaves these Chambers I encourage you introduce yourselves shake your neighbor's hand of somebody that you think likely has an opposing Viewpoint as as your own in fact that I don't know if the mayor will allow this but I also
ask for anyone that wishes to so show signs of unity let's Unite with our brothers and sisters when everybody says what they have to say let's join together for a picture where we're symbolically saying we respect all viewpoints of our brothers and sisters
and if you want to laugh or mock that it's not because it's silly or cheesy maybe it's because you don't want to share with your brothers and sisters that have differing viewpoints so in summation I'll be voting to uphold Free Speech but perhaps even more importantly
for our day-to-day lives I'm calling upon our entire Community to come together to unite to stand together not just with those that we agree with but those that we likely disagree with as well thank you commissioner Rosen Gonzalez
good morning so just to give you some a background history about who I am I was born to a Yiddish speaking father and both of my grandparents on my father's side were killed in a pgr in belus a uh
Christian mother a married a Hispanic and believe it or not my mother married twice once to a Jewish man once to a Persian man so I have three um Iranian brothers and sisters so in my
family we there's a lot of diversity a lot of love a lot of focus on Academia and and and dialogue and frankly there are many things that we disagree about and I found over the past few years that my siblings and I sometimes have
terrible fights um over the Israeli Palestinian conflict but we discuss it and you know we have the same mother and it it is it is you know what it is and we we encourage those
dialogues as an elected official I have to put myself into everyone's shoes I practice empathy as a politician and I don't think we see that enough in politics and when I got the mayor's email um which was threatening to defund
the O Cinema had to put myself in his shoes and say why did he do this and obviously um mayor Miner you did this because you found that the EMA in a city building receiving public funds of which
by the way I recently um sponsored $75,000 to have this DCP equipment and the screen so and my colleagues unanimously supported that um decision to fund and get the ocinema new equipment so I think from his side of
this equation uh showing this movie in what you know commissioner Suarez and commissioner magazine said is a you know a Jewish Community was very offensive but then the O Cinema's
reaction to what you know and and and and I think this knee-jerk reaction mayor went a little bit too far as you can see today but I also think that the O's reaction to his complaint to add more screenings and you know potentially
fundrais I also think that that was antagonistic too and it really does discourage any kind of open dialogue and I was very upset about the potential defunding and
eviction of the O Cinema and I absolutely don't support that and the res and when the mayor presented the second resolution yesterday which is an urging to show and tell both sides of the story I thought well we're coming to
some sort of Middle Ground now there are many people feel that the mayor is presenting the second resolution um because to somehow punish the O in the future and that is something that I would never like to see happen okay do not believe in censorship
and frankly there was young one young lady who came up to speak today a um a resident of myi beach who said you know we encourage dialogues between um the Jewish Community the Muslim Community between you know all peoples and I think this unifying message from commissioner
magazine and commissioner bot were very healthy this type of division is so unhealthy mayor minor for our community and I would ask
today and I would support commissioner bot's I would support commissioner bot's idea to hold screenings surrounding October 7th if that if that is what you're proposing and I would ask that you just withdraw both of these
resolutions which people find punishing and censoring and why have this and and and and and and by the way it's not a very enthusiastic clap but this is not an easy position to be in and do the right thing and do what is fair and
protect our Constitution and at the same time understand the fact that we have members of our community who are deeply offended by this you know I was in Rome on vacation this summer at an outdoor Cafe and there was a violinist and he
looked at me and he started to play Hava agila and not in a very nice way and all of a sudden I began to feel uncomfortable I I did because it was the first time that I said why is is he like
you know marking me and what does this mean and you know is is there going to be some sort of repercussion so yes anti-Semitism is real and we have to understand that we have a community of people who are feeling
fearful okay so I would ask mayor Miner today let's pull this resolution if you would like to have a dialogue with the community and the O Cinema and you know and and and talk this out fine but let's
not you know punish an organization that hosts the Jewish Film Festival that screens a holocaust movie monthly that has a lot of cred in the Jewish Community
okay so and don't force a vote on something that might be punishing what we need to do is possibly have dialogue so would you consider
pulling both of these resolutions please and having an additional Sunshine meeting that the community can attend and we talk this out I'd like to hear from all my colleagues but thank you for your commissioner Fernandez thank you Mr Mayor I firmly believe that that our
city has always been a city that thrives on artistic expression where creativity is celebrated and diverse voices have a place to be heard we are home to a thriving Arts and Cultural scene one that has historically
uplifted diverse perspective including those of our Jewish Community from hosting the Miami Jewish Film Festival to supporting Holocaust educ Education initiatives our city has always understood the power of art to
educate to heal and to bring people together we invest in the Arts because we believe in their power to shape communities for decades Miami Beach has been a national leader in cultural funding supporting everything from worldclass Symphonies to emerging
filmmakers but with that investment comes a fundamental responsibility not to control content but to ensure that the public resources serve the public good while respecting the freedoms that make arts
possible art challenges us art provokes us it inspires us but with that power comes responsibility the responsibility to uphold the freedoms that make artistic expression possible and the first amendment is
clear government must never censor artistic expression even when it is controversial or deeply offensive at the same time while freedom of expression is absolute Public Funding is not institutions that receive taxpayer
support should be mindful of the diverse community that they are in but the answer to speech we find offensive is never censorship it is more speech it is stronger speech it is a commitment to
the truth a true commitment to funding Arts is also a commitment to Artistic Freedom even when we find the art troubling in fact the National Endowment of the Arts AFF firmes I'm going to quote directly from them stating that
the freedom of artistic expression is is essential to our democracy the Arts should challenge provoke and expand our perspectives while public funds should not be used to dictate Artic artistic content they must uphold the principle
that no art should be censored simply because it is controversial and I understand the Deep concerns raised about this film and I take them very seriously Jewish people have endured centuries of slandered and misinformation that has fed hatred that
has fed violence that has fielded persecution and it's sad that in 2025 anti-Semitism is not a historical Relic it is a growing danger that has no place in our city in our country or any world in the world we must reject efforts to
Del legitimatize Israel and Jewish identity just as we reject all forms of bigotry I also believe that old Cinema like any institution receiving public funds has a responsibility and that responsibility is to ensure that
important issues like this current world Affair is presented with fairness and with balance but that responsibility should not come from a government mandate if we start policing artistic
content today where does it stop Do We Begin requiring religious institutions to receive city funding to alter their messaging if it does not align with the city's position as an openly gay man this is an issue
I've encountered as a commissioner I've encountered with the issue of funding religious entities that don't align precisely with the city's position on lgbtq issues and I've cided with the right to
the freedom of expression to the freedom of religious beliefs because that is what we do in the United States of America because once we cross that line where does it end instead of mandates I believe that we need to encourage institutions to act
responsibly to be fair to be balanced to recognize the power that they hold in shaping public discourse but we must do this while respecting the very freedoms that make that discourse possible and just as I cannot support
the item before us to today to end the lease of old Cinema I have to say I am deeply disappointed by the hatred by the intolerance that has been displayed in these Chambers and I'm very sad to say that but I expect more from a
community that believes in freedom of speech that believes in the diversity of opinions that seeks to uphold these true and American values we don't do that by this kind of vital it doesn't strengthen anyone's
argument in fact it discredits it makes it so much more difficult to take an important vote about freedom of speech it is saddening to see this blade and anti-Semitism in our commission
Chambers because that's what has been exposed in part today not by everyone but by some we have received it in our emails we've received it in phone calls to our offices
and that cannot be the path towards unifying a community we need respectful dialogue we can't have hateful dialogue when we're trying to reach a positive outcome I also want to acknowledge that
o Cinema has failed to find the proper path that acknowledges the Deep pain that it has caused and I think that's a respons responsibility that they have that is disappointing to me when poor judgment
occurs it is the responsible thing to do to correct it may excuse me excuse me excuse me excuse me excuse me we are all leaders whether we be
elected leaders or cultural leaders or Civic leaders when we make mistakes we have a responsibility to correct our mistakes and I've had to do it in the
past the position is not to double down the correct course of action is to say we've made a mistake we're willing to talk we're willing to find a path forward and that's what I believe as Leaders we we must make decisions based
on principles that will stand the test of time and this is more than just one film this is about defining the kind of City we want to be not just for today but for the future we can stand firmly against
anti-Semitism without setting a precedent that could later be used to silence others we can reject hateful rhetoric without handing government the power to decide what art is acceptable we can fight for truth
without sacrificing the the freedoms that allow truth to flourish and I firmly believe that government should not be in the business of dictating artistic policy or artistic
content this is a moment to defend freedom of speech and to stand against anti-Semitism and to reaffirm our City's commitment to fairness to truth and to responsible public discourse and I truly feel that we do that not by passing the
items in front of us today but we do that by Leading by example by standing strong in our principles by fostering dialogue by fostering understanding and as commissioner magazing said by fostering unity and so that's that's
where I stand on this I think there's probably been many mistakes made but I think we are a community and we're trying to find the proper path forward there's nothing wrong with acknowledging ing that a mistake was
made or that people may perceive this film in a way that is not appetizing in a way that's hurtful but the point is how do we move forward from there do we just double down and say yes we acknowledged this film was hurtful and yes we said we were
going to remove it but we're just going to ignore all of that or do we find a common path forward that respects each other as one community and I think that that's the challenge in front of us today and I thank you Mr Mayor for this opportunity
I thank my colleagues for the elevated discussion that we've had here today for everyone's position but I truly feel that censoring o cinema by revoking their lease is not the path forward and it's a very dangerous precedent for us
to S as a government because it just could could be transmitted to other entities it could be trans mited to religious entities it could be transmitted to to other times in the future where perhaps the sentiments in our community are different thank you Mr
Mayor thank thank you commissioner Fernandez commissioner Laur Dominguez uh thank you mayor and I'm not going to Echo all the same things that have been said on the day is um I will mention Miami Beach does have a very
vibrant Jewish Community there is no place place in our city for anti-Semitism o Cinema has been an art house theater for many many years they've hosted the Jewish Film Festival and as some of my colleagues have mentioned have there been mistakes made
on both sides here I think so but censorship is not the answer and I think we need to come to a compromise so that we can move forward and I know how much this pains the mayor even just discussing it I see it in his eyes and
it's um something that's very deep I respect him very much and I hope that together we can find a path forward here I appreciate thank you well first of all I want to start off although most of it was healthy some of it I I'll
admit was hurtful uh I'm appreciative of everyone who came in here I I hope you saw that I was attentive uh other than running to the restroom at one point but I was attentive and that was the point of having it and extending the Forum also very appreciative of my colleagues
I felt we're in unity Unity doesn't mean we agree on every policy decision unity means that we are striving for what's best for our city and for our community you know so a couple of individuals joke that I made the movie
more popular by doing what I did than the Academy Awards did and they may be right that was not my intent I I knew this would create a dialogue uh and I don't want to say that I I'm shocked by what's transpired and and the attention that it's got I I
wouldn't say that I expected there to be a bit um but certainly nobody can predict this level um but I think it's for the most part a healthy discourse I viewed this as a public safety measure I
know we're talking about Public Safety we're talking about water and sewer we're talking about that's really what our city is we're a nonpartisan government but I and I I'm trying not to get emotional but I legitimately view this as a public safety threat not immediately I didn't
think anyone in Miami Beach is going to get hurt or attacked because this movie is being shown but I see and I'm witnessing what's going on in our world I'm seeing There Are Places many places in Europe that Jews do not wear yamakas on their head they are told by their
rabbis and leaders not to that was once Unthinkable in America and it is happening here you heard it from a vice mayor she doesn't wear her Jewish star I hear it all the time but I also hear from people not just Jews I hear from many people thank you mayor thank you
commissioner thank you to our police for making Miami be such Miami Beach such a safe City but I do hear it from many of our Miami Beach Jewish residents thank you for making this one of the last bastions in the world where we feel safe we can walk down the street and be proud
of our identity but that is crumbling in many areas so what I was trying to do was highlight a level of hurt and what propaganda yes it all needs to be hurt
but a level of propaganda that eventually can lead to Devastation whether it be pums in Europe and by the way I'm picking on Jewish issues but it's happened to other groups too and I'm cognizant of that and I will fight to defend every group in Miami
Beach pums in Europe the Holocaust and certainly October 7th it starts with propaganda in deum dehumanizing people and that's why I brought this to the Forefront because in my view it was a public safety issue
and I would implore this is such an important issue and I really am I really am appreciative of the passion that we saw today that's what makes our country great I mean it wholeheartedly but I'm also asking people whether it be the people in this room people listening but all people of good conscience
to have that same passion when any group is attacked when any group is under a threat and Jews are fearful I am telling you I don't speak for Jewish people but I think we all know it and I hear it all the time Jews
are afraid they are shocked I am shocked we are shocked by the level of anti-Semitism and Jew hatred and excuses that are made for why it is okay to dehumanize a Jew whatever excuse you want to use you know
throughout history there's been different excuses for hating Jews sometimes it's because Jews are too successful sometimes because they're too poor now it's the state of Israel it doesn't matter every generation it morphs into something else it's just a convenient excuse and that's what I was trying to highlight that we need to be
mindful of where hate can go and where it can lead to and that we should just keep open-minded perspectives I am going to withdraw c7a the uh revoking of the funding to O Cinema um you know I heard some r7g which is
the encouraging I heard some comments from my colleagues I actually I'm going to defer that I think it it's open to more discussion I also think it's not going to be healthy to debate what the wording is the Nuance is I overall think this was a very positive today I really
do it's emotional to me but I just want you to know from the bottom of my heart even though some of you said some things were hurtful I love you all I really really do we're all Americans we're all proud to be in this country it is a great country and I
really just want what's best for us our city and our country and the world God bless should we do that group picture yeah I'm open to that idea for a group picture get up here let's go who doesn't like a selfie
how by the way e e e e everyone if we can start clearing the chamber yeah e
e e we're going to go ahead and resume the meeting we're going to go ahead and resume the meeting we ask for everyone to clear uh the chambers at this moment uh we're going to go ahead and resume the meeting at this time so please uh we ask the media um to go ahead and clear out the central portion of the day so we
can go ahead and continue and resume the meeting thank you take your seats the meeting is about to begin remember to speak into the microphone as this meeting is being recorded for public record e we will go ahead and resume the meeting
we ask that you kindly um if you're having conversation to step uh outside uh we're going to go ahead and resume the meeting uh thank you so much for your understanding please take your seats the meeting is about to begin remember to speak into the microphone as this meeting is being
recorded for public record e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e e please take your seats the meeting is about to begin remember to speak into
the microphone as this meeting is being recorded for public record okay back to uh order of business um thank you again to my colleagues and everyone here for uh a very powerful and important discussion um we do have some important business uh in addition to
what we discussed this morning and I'm happy and proud to uh invite uh mayor and property appraiser Thomas rgal to give us an update thank you for being here it's r9d thank you so much Mr Mayor
Commissioners uh uh what did they but uh I I guess uh I remember my days at the city of Miami when we had uh so many people uh talking about important issues uh Mr Mayor Commissioners uh Mr uh
attorney Mr attorney uh manager uh I'm here to introduce the new office of the property appraisal as you know uh because change in the constitution on November 5th uh the people of Miami day
County elected five uh new constitutional officers and those will be independent of the County uh government so in January 7 we all took office and what I'm here to do is to
offer you the service of our office in this two months I found that there are many many people that do not understand or don't know about the services and the benefits that they have
uh in terms of exemptions uh for widows uh for uh uh veterans uh for person with disabilities for seniors and uh it's our mission to explain to them uh the way
that the system work we are supposed by a State statue to Value property at just price uh and we all seen the growth in in the past years in all Miami day County especially in Miami Beach uh we
are seeing that the market is uh is been stable in the last uh six month but uh we will be sending uh in August the trim notice uh to 1 million. two uh property
owners in Miami day County what I want to offer is that what we're doing with other cities now uh whenever this commission the manager decides uh we can bring a team uh to City Hall for a day
uh and bring the residents uh and we'll have uh computers uh and people that understand uh the different exemptions and issues uh fix problems uh for your residents we are also launching a a new
system uh never done before which will be uh a vehicles uh with uh the uh wheelchair we will be doing home visits for person with a special needs uh
because it's impossible for them uh to go out to downtown or to the South office so we'll be visiting those people that require uh help and uh fixing their problems uh there are many issues uh in
terms of trust uh that people create and lose their homest at exension and other uh things that we believe can be solved by talking face to face so we're here to serve I thank you for your time and
anytime we'll be uh ready to come to beautiful Miami Beach to serve your resident thank you thank you mayor I appreciate the uh the update and uh coming in here and for all that you do and obviously for making yourself accessible so really much
appreciated C7 AF mayor before we do that we need to approve the consent agenda yes thank you so just for the record the following items have been separated from the consent agenda commissioner bot is separating C7 W commissioner Dominguez
is separating C7 W commissioner Fernandez is separating c2b as a boy and c7e commissioner Rosen Gonzalez is separating c4i and C7 a d commissioner swars is
separating c7a c7q and c7z uh the addendum items have not been approved have not been approved to go into the agenda those will be heard after five o'cl so if I may have a
motion to approve the consent agenda excluding the addendums and excluding the separated items so moved I have a motion and a second motion by commissioner Fernandez seconded by commissioner Rosen Gonzalez all in favor I 70 the items are approved thank
you C7 AF C7 C7 AF is approved $75,000 Grant to support Lapidus architect of Joy documentary C7 AF was separated by commissioner
Suarez good morning Commissioners uh did you want us to speak or do you want us to address comments from commiss Suarez um uh since commissioner Suarez pulled it let's have him give us his
thoughts thank you vice mayor bot um when I saw this item I I I was a little caught off guard um I I don't think generally that spending $75,000 of
taxpayer dollars to fund a film is the right approach and when I got a text message from commissioner libin um I I simply asked a couple
things I said what what's the 75 that's because it's an odd number why $75,000 um and he said it was toward the cost of the film total budget is 1.3 million the director producer will be at the commission meeting on Wednesday
um they have applied for a number of Grants and we have met with the fountain blue which we have made a large larger request including both cash and soft cost as well as other meetings currently being scheduled the film has begun on some of
the interviews on the film schedule to be compiled completed in June 2026 uh can we count on your support um I asked them well why are you getting involved in this and his response was I was asked to assist in
connecting the people and organizations that I know in Miami and surrounding areas I have registered as a lobbyist for this project and I'm being compensating $2,000 a month a small token for the time I'm putting in as I believe the story needs to be told on
the big screen to me look um when I'm being lobbied by someone who's getting paid for something for tax taxpayer dollars that gives me a little bit of
pause um you know I I if this is going to go to a film The film's obviously going to generate some money uh I had some concerns where I if if we did do this uh will we be getting back would taxpayers get back their
money okay um obviously it's going to go to a box office or it's going to be screened somewhere and there's going to be ticket sales so I didn't know if there was a room room to add a refund for taxpayer dollars uh to be repaid but
generally speaking I I don't know if now is the time between rate hikes of water and sewer FPL urance affordability that spending $75,000 for
a film creation is the right approach and that's simply the only reason I pulled the item um and I I'd like to hear what my colleagues have to say about that um commissioner
Dominguez thank you uh so I was approached about this project and it's about Morris Lapidus who's one of the most influential architects of Miami Beach's history he designed some of our most iconic hotels including the fountain blue the Eden Rock The
Americana Hotel and when I was approached with uh from Jerry and the director asking for help in the film uh the budget is $1.3 million I went to the county to ask for assistance and they're
they don't look at anything that's under $5 million so they didn't qualify I went to the VCA and in order to qualify for funding from them they would need to have a specific uh large room block which they don't require uh Morris
Lapidus um lived and passed passed away in Miami Beach he was Jewish born in Odessa Ukraine our now sister city and uh one important note here
um is that the funding is contingent on the producers ability to secure at least a million dollars in funding so it wouldn't be a blanket 75,000 they have to show their skin in the game and given the importance of Morris Lapidus in our
city and the excitement around this documentary I um would greatly appreciate the support of my colleagues um before we call a vote does anybody else want to add something before I make some comments um I think that this isn't just
about producing any other movie it's about an anthropological account of who we are based on our architecture and Morris Lapidus was pivotal in that and I would love to be supportive of this movie and um I enthusiastically support
this item oh I have one question was there um I know that you said that you went around to find uh different different funds there's no funding that we can pull from any Arts organization including cultural art to
working I can let Jerry and and them answer that question I tried on my end on um what I could with the county and BCA and they don't qualify so before we have Jerry answer questions because I'm sure there's a few things Joe
commissioner magine um we recently and maybe this's a question for staff but we recently had a film Grant permit is that correct uh program program yes I I know I personally send it around
to uh a couple different stakeholders in the community where we're actually offering uh grant for any type of film being produced in Miami Beach will this be produced Miami Beach yes will be produced it will be produced in Miami Beach and where are you
expecting to roll this out is is this going to be uh streaming is it going to be in the box office so first we're looking into submitting it to prestigious fil festivals around the world and then to get it on an online platform yes and reach hundreds of
thousands if not millions of viewers who hopefully will come to the city uh to look into uh exploring some of the properties and maybe organizing along with the city tours that are specifically about moris laus's work so
we're really looking into how to benefit Miami Beach from that film that is going to be all about the life and work of midus who actually uh was very highly successful in whatever he created but never got to recognize for his work uh
and we're going to make him Justice if you will actually honoring both his life work in the city of Miami Beach so I I do wholeheartedly agree with my colleague commissioner Suarez that that the time for scrutiny of our budget uh certainly is now and I know it's a kind
of kicking the cam when you say well time is now but this is okay and that's okay um but I think my threshold for evaluating some of these projects going forward is yes is there community and public benefit uh but also do we see some sort of Roi whether it's you know uh allocating money for events that
we're going to hold or uh cultural programming that that we're going to provide it to I do see a a a feasible um case where we actually even from a financial perspective have an Roi on that taxpayer dollar if this is being used to promote Miami Beach and our arts
and culture and architecture across the world I I do see a reasonable case there so I excuse me I haven't spoken yet so um you know we are under attack by the state of Florida to demolish our architecture um we just say Saed the
South Shore Community Center which is an unpopular Mars Lapidus um piece of architecture um but it is a huge win um we you know one of the best movies of the Year God help me if this is polarizing um is the brutalist right and
it a story of a Jewish Refugee um a fictional character but you know brutalist architecture Jewish Refugee so I think now is the time to do this because um Beyond just what it does for for the City of Miami Beach I think this if this film was done well no pressure
I'm just saying um it could be a commercial success as well I share my colleagues concern about finances um you know we're we're fine for this year but next year is going to be a disaster um because 7 million dollars is coming right off the top thanks to um you know
our new DMVs apparently and who knows what's happening in other areas so um I'm not a big fan of of um horse trading from the but I would suggest I would suggest that um we Grant
this um and and um I'd actually make a motion to defer until we we figure out the the the um um how to do this but we Grant this um and either get repaid once you make your money back or um have a
financial interest in the success of the film so that if we vice mayor I'm sorry to C I just want to answer your question several raised it I just conferred my client and he's willing to reimburse the city of May beach after he's covered the costs of you know okay so this is why I don't want to negotiate from the de but
that is great so I think that allays your concerns commissioner Suarez um I think it is a tremendous um you know you useful fil tremendously useful film for our city and Incredibly interesting um nationally and I think it
is a great Counterpoint to some of the the other things have been s rling around so um I would like to defer because I want to have a conversation if it makes more sense to um make a deal where we get reimburse which is great and safe or if we want to do that um or
maybe take a bet on the film um and and and see if we get some ownership but um I think that that this is a a great thing to do commissioner Rosen Gonzalez I I don't think we need to be reimbursed as long as we're mention put us in the credit somewhere give us a little shout
out in the credit city of May beach you'll see that municipalities and government organizations always um you know support certain films this is a this is almost like um paying for positive PR you know and I've seen us fund so many other things that will not
be a lasting part of our culture but this film will always be there and when people Google moris Lapidus they'll be able to see this film they'll be able to rent it that you know it's it's it's it's wonderful public relations maybe what we can do is get the
gmcvb to uh allocate some of our gmcvb funding for it if that would allay your concerns but I would rather be a sponsor and have our name someplace on it in the credits than have than request number one I I don't think you know
$75,000 in a movie that what's your total budget 1.3 1.3 I mean you really want to have that percentage given back of the credits this type of movie is not I mean I'm not saying that it's not going to make money people sometimes films are made you know commercially but
this is the type of film that's an educational film it's a film that we can show in our schools if we wanted to we could you know it's going to be purchased by institutions libraries uh this is you know it's an archive so I I don't think that we should uh request to
be a business partner I think that the only thing that we might need is you know you know as part of the city of Miami Beach just in the credits with our little logo if I may resp uh you may respond and then commissioner Fernandez then commissioner Suarez so um
we will obviously get credit for being the city of Miami Beach because we are the where this is all happening um I know what we've done in the past we have given grants we've given um funding and that is great and I I am not against
doing that I I I've been talking to staff colleagues about how we need to think about things moving forward and what we have done in the past is I don't think is going to serve us well if we don't think about it in a more um
fiscally responsible way looking ahead at the reality of what we're dealing with and so I'm not trying to be punitive I want to get this film made and once you cover your costs that means everybody is paid then we we we get reimbursed or we do something else and
we but that's why I want to defer to have this conversation it is a lasting Legacy it will be shown everywhere we can use it that is why I'm supporting this um but I think if we are not starting to have these conversations and this is not a five or 10 uh
thousand ask it's close to $100,000 it is not insignificant and if we don't um start having these conversations about what is the best way to do this if it for $5,000 then I'd say you know sure but it's close to $100,000 so why don't we do it in a win-win way where we help
get this film made and we figure out how to make sure it doesn't have any fiscal impact and then everybody goes home happy so motion to defer I believe um takes precedence um who else I'll second okay so I'll I'll let everyone just make
State their piece but then um and and then Jerry we'll we'll get to you commissioner Fernandez thank you Madame vice mayor so you know today we have an opportunity to do more than than just fund a documentary um we have an
opportunity to defend the very soul of Miami Beach uh Morris Lapidus his Visionary work shaped our Skyline uh shaped our identity uh his architecture is not just part of our
history is a Cornerstone of our tourism economy and our cultural heritage you know we have been facing so many preemptions from Taz that threaten uh our ability to protect that
very history that very identity and I think supporting this documentary we are making a clear statement that we as a city value its architectural Legacy and we will invest and we will fight to
preserve it I think this project will educate it will inspire it will reinforce the economic and cultural importance of historic preservation I think it arms us with a powerful tool in our advocacy efforts uh ensuring that
other elected officials that other jurisdictions that future Generations even understand why protecting our historic buildings isn't just about Nostalgia it's about safeguarding what makes this city unique from so many
other cities in Florida and unique from so many other beach destinations and cultural destinations and now as Jerry mentioned with the producer's commitment to reimburse the city for this grant I think it becomes an even better investment uh I don't think we
need to negotiate that further and we uh Jerry just stated it uh at the podium uh so we're not only supporting an important cultural project but doing so in a way that comes ultimately a no cost to the taxpayers and so I don't think
there's a need to defer this I won't support the deferral because it seems like we're we're providing $75,000 but that $75,000 will eventually uh come back to us so I urge all of us to support this Grant and to stand in
defending our City's history its identity and his future thank you Mr Mayor thank you um who else commissioner SP thank you vice mayor uh guys uh we just heard that
they're willing to repay us this is not our money this is taxpayer money Jerry livon commissioner liin is getting paid $2,000 a month for this there is a I mean if that is not pause caution for
pause uh I mean if this film is a total success why not repay the taxpayer money to the to the Presidents I I think it's I think it's good governance to especially if they're willing right here on the record to do that I mean I I this
isn't Monopoly money we're not just going to just hand out $75,000 whoever wants to make a film about a project that's great about Miami Beach I think given this time right now given all the rate hikes we should be very very
cautious on how we spend our money it's not when I say our money I mean the taxpayers money who we represent so if we have someone right here willing to say like look we're willing to pay you back after all the cost has been
incurred why not take that I mean it's so um but and I understand Vice mayor's bot uh vice mayor bot proposal to defer that way we can just work out the terms of the agreement I think that's prudent I think that's uh a a smart moving forward because this is not
going to be the only time that someone is going to come to us asking for money and I think it's important to set the message that in this Current financial Market that we're going to scrutinize every single dollar of taxpayer money
thank you Mr Mary if we're if we're going to bring it back how about a referral to the finance committee and just hammered the details out there so we can bring it back to commission commission Voice May B I think what I
would recommend it they've offered it up I think we're largely in agreement um we'll leave it to staff to negotiate what that looks like uh essentially I'll make a motion I know there there's a defar on the table but make a motion to
move forward with approval of this with with uh the uh expectation and understanding that our staff will work out the terms that um will be at the top of the waterfall structure uh upon repayment yeah oh you and your fancy Finance
terms go ahead yes she's finishing oh just just to close loop on this and I support both the Morris Lapidus funding but I would like to call out commissioner Suarez who said that we have to scrutinize funding he put forward a $50,000 item for anti-semitic training which I enthusiastically
supported also but there is a double standard when if it's your item it's okay but it's somebody else's item and then all of a sudden it isn't okay so I would like to just point out some of the hypocracy um so I actually um would like to with
draw my emotion of withdrawal with deferral um I would like to um we have a a um a motion and a second on the table right yes Jerry given all this do you want to say anything or I just want to thank you
but I also want to let you know that not only supporting this is important to the project but it is also important to future people that we talk to to be able to say the city of my beach which is at the epicenter of the film is supportive without that a affirmation today makes
it that much more difficult to go raise money okay so with that let's call the RO commissioner liin can you introduce the gentleman I didn't catch his sorry om BARC om bar he is the director and producer sorry sorry director and producer om
bar I was read some information about thank you i' just like to respond to commissioner Rosen Gonzalez um you know my item for to fund anti-Semitism was not a commercial movie okay um and to conflate the two I think is
it's really disingenuous uh whenever I spend taxpayer dollars it's for the direct benefit to Miami Beach residents whether it's their safety well-being and cleanliness of the city
so um I think I I find that highly offensive to to compare the two um and then bring in some sort of personal bias uh with this I'm certainly not calling out many of the ridiculous items that
have been put before by commissioner Rose and Gonzalez okay um and and I don't plan on doing so so I would appreciate that you keep your personal opinions and biases to yourself I'm just saying don't wait let me just respond to
this please commissioner bot I like to respond because he cannot say that he is a steward of taxpayer dollars if it does not apply to him but applies to everyone else so let's call a spade a spade if it's his item and he wants $50,000 he gets it there is no payback and that's
an educational item this film is also an educational item only it's not your item so all of a sudden we're not being good stewards of P taxpayer dollars so this attack um and these continued attacks on other colleagues uh funding items when
we vote for your items and we support your items is just unwarranted and frankly it's divisive and it's not the kind of leadership that we need okay so we have a motion before us that has been seconded I will just add I don't think the concern is um that anybody's funding
more anti-Semitism uh education because in my view you can't have enough of that I think the thing that caused a little bit of consternation at least with me is that we funded a program that mount siai was already funding fully funding and so
that was I think the frustrating thing mind you if was still passed unanimously so um let us put that behind us because it is a vote and that was taken I don't believe anybody is calling a motion to reconsider that vote so let's move on if
anybody wants to Duke it out off the day feel free but not on our watch so we have a a motion before us that has been properly seconded Mr clerk would you please call the vote uh vice mayor we have motion by commissioner magazine seconded by
commissioner Fernandez to approve C7 AF as amended all in favor please say I I anyone opposed hearing none the item is approved as amended 70 thank you mayor Commissioners we appreciate your support thank so much we appreciate that good luck thank you looking forward to
watching it yes yes get huh June 2026 is supposed to be the premiere hopefully yeah excellent thank you allk we'll be there uh let's do some second reading items to try to get through that before we break for launch r5a
R5 breakfast the two r5a is an ordance of the mayor City Commission of city of May Beach Florida amending chapter 12 of the city of May beach code entitle Arts culture and entertainment by amending Article 2 entitled special events by creating section 12- 5.2 thereof entitled special event permit required for large scale residential parties and
events and providing for repealer cability codification and effective date this is a second reading public hearing it is item r5a commissioner Fernandez co-sponsored by commissioner Bot Magazine and me thank you Mr Mayor um and if I could
just there's a lot of love in the chambers today in these Chambers or somebody else so at the November City commission meeting uh we all approved new regulations for special event permits during art week to address the large
scale commercial parties in Palm hibiscus and star Islands to protect residential areas and maintain Public Safety that was a public uh Pro a pilot program that I sponsored which I think uh was highly successful it limited
large house parties and addressed issues um such as noise coming from these parties building permanent violations um though enforcement was challenging once the parties began um the program was upheld as lawful by the
US District Court of the southern district of Florida uh in a kind of high-profile uh case that we even made it on page six by the way U which I never thought that that would happen but anyways uh thanks to City staff and the city attorney's office um we were able
to implement this program last year and the success of the initiative laid the foundation for stronger and broader protections the goal was to make these protections permanent and Citywide the ordinance that we have before us uh creates a Citywide special event permit
system for large scale residential parties and events during specific periods of the Year aiming to allow residents to host Gatherings while mitigating negative impacts on the neighboring areas the special event permit is required for SP for residential parties
or events that meet any of the following criterias if it involves a firework if it's more than a 100 people that is expected to attend if there are more than 50 Vehicles expected for pickup or drop off or parking uh if they're using any commercial grade
speakers or lighting or generators I mean imagine this you're trying to put your kid to sleep at night and you have a house that is basically converted to a nightclub with commercial grade speakers and lights I mean it's really unheard of and then all the traffic we had videos from
residents this just this crazy traffic it looked it it just looked like 300 p.m. uh on Alton Road in some of these uh residential nebor neighborhoods uh at 10:00 at night it really was unheard of
um so this is seeking to address this during specific time periods of of the Year during spring break during Memorial Day during Independence Day uh during Halloween during art week but before be between first and second reading uh the
ordinance was updated to ex to expand the time periods to to include Super Bowl weekends Formula 1 race week uh and other time periods like the Latin gramys in order to get one of these permits the property owner uh needs to get um need
to got a review from their neighborhood association with feedback um they have to agree for City personnel to conduct compliance inspections before and during the event they need to obtain unnecessary permits from all departments
including the building department we've seen in the past these parties go on they bring in structures and they don't even get building permits that can cause electrical issues and that can cause other life safety issues so that's a big uh issue we're closing the loop on uh
they need to comply with the special event guidelines including obtaining insurance and IND identification and they need to adhere to any additional restrictions as might be deemed appropriate by the city manager to uphold the public safety I think one of the most important
things that this also does is that it puts penalties if you don't adhere by this if you don't adhere by this you won't be able to get a permit for 13 months so if you want to get a permit to throw a party a huge commercial grade
party during art basle and you don't get it you won't be able to get a permit for the next one and if you try to this has really strict penalties even up to arrest if if necessary because we won't allow our residential neighborhoods to
become de facto n clubs for individuals who want to who want to abuse of the residential quality of life and who want to put their neighbors through inconsiderate nuisances that are consistent with single family homes
throughout our city so with that Mr Mayor I'm going to move my item I'm going to recognize our chief Deputy City attorney Robert RS and wal there's anything else that needs to be added for the record I I think you covered everything I'm here to answer any questions if anyone has
any I'll second thank you let's call a vote it is a public hearing I see no one requesting to speak in the audience and there's no one requesting to speak via Zoom I have a motion by commissioner Fernandez seconded by we have Amy go ahead hi there I'm Amy day sen I'm
executive de director of the Palm hesar Islands Association I'm here on behalf of the board of the association and uh uh absolutely yes to everything you've said I'd like to add the public safety issue uh many times for these numerous
large scale events um emergency vehicles would not be able to access uh the area at all due to the traffic backup uh and sometimes you know Bridge Road was closed uh recently back in December I mean this is these are serious serious issues not to mention the drain of
public resources the number of uh Police Department fire department Code Compliance and parking enforcement officers is not to be believed just trying to contain the chaos so thank you so much that's why I'm here today to speak in favor of this thank you for your support and thank you Mr Mayor if I
could just add what you just mentioned the roads were so CLA yes that if a police officer if an ambulance had to get by they wouldn't be able to they could not and now imagine this in a single family home that is operating like a nightclub they could have
thousands of people there in a single Family Home and like unlike a commercial nightclub the police usually conduct safety exercises they know the layout and so they know how to address safety situations here but this is in single family homes with little safety
protocols where they really don't know their way around it so uh thank you for bringing this raising this to our attention and your advocacy on this issue ABS absolutely you Comm thank you Amy commission Rose Gonzalez what I really like about this item is that it's
very very Pro business because while it does protect neighborhoods and encourage Public Safety at the same time it really pushes a lot of these event holders to hold their events at our hotels in commercial space um and that's just really good for our economy because
instead because it's spreading our you know tax dollars around instead of it going to you know one individual homeowner it's going to the employees of these organizations at a time when you know the SLS is undergoing a remodeling right now 200 employees are being uh
laid off so the more that we we can give and actually during our bosle I've been approached by several organizations that are saying okay we're not going to hold our parties on these islands where do we hold the parties and we've been working so that some of them can hold the parties at places like scope and Untitled on the beachfront where they
can have their parties and there are no residents around there and they can you know and so we can have the rry and have the public safety at the same time so congratulations commissioner uh Fernandez and um it's all of us actually it's not just me it's all of us so it's teamwork thank you let's call the vote
uh we have one more public speaker Wayne please state your name address and you have two minutes Wayne South the fifth as you know um I agree with Alex and his position um I just I fear
um our our Revenue uh Resort revenue is down or tax revenue uh and it's it's related to um to some degree uh our limitations on uh tourism and art basle is a very
important event for tourism in in Miami Beach and I would hate to lose them so I agree with the The Proposal completely um I would just make it I would try to make it as less onerous as possible to keep um the
neighbors happy um at the same time um but I I fear that you know if we get to Draconian with this that you know they'll move the party somewhere else and that's all I have to say thank you there are no other public speakers
call the vote so uh vice mayor bot yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Suarez yes commissioner magazine yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes air Miner yes motion carries the item is
approved 70 trying to get through a couple more on this but it is 12 o'clock when don't we take a lunch break we'll return at 1 for the sutnik uh half hour e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e please take your seats the meeting is about to begin remember to speak into the microphone as this meeting is being
recorded for public record please stand by we are going on air in Four 3 2 1 well welcome back to our afternoon session of the commission meeting we'll start it right up with our uh snik hour if anyone wants to speak if
anyone wants to speak please approach the podium uh please state your name address and you have two minutes yes okay good afternoon I'm Dave weissberger I live at 6620 Indian Creek Drive in North Beach right across from
where the doville is going when I saw the plans at the last meeting with the open you know where they showed the model having come here four years ago from Tribeca and being happy in Miami Beach I was struck by the fact that what they were actually doing is no different
than the knockoffs we see in Tribeca of Coach bags and Louis V bags the notion that somehow it's historical preservation to make a replica sandwiched in between what's going to be a big hotel and two large condo Towers is frankly false it won't look or
preserve the character of the building of the neighborhood when you contrast the two plans the one that was voted down by the voters because of the height of the buildings with this plan it's clearly inferior in fact almost everyone I talked to agreed with the reason think of it this way instead of having a hotel
with around 300 some odd rooms and condos with how many ever units that was going to be which would support local businesses you'll have 140 room Boutique Hotel and 100 units which my math tells me we be averaging over $10 million a unit that's not going to be the kind of
people that are going to be you know frequenting local restaurants in that neighborhood in fact it's quite out of character for the neighborhood there is one clear benefit and I clearly admit that as an owner it benefits me as well which is real estate developers are going to love it because it's going to increase the amount of value per
property average just by putting a 100 units that are that expensive into it but when you look it from a land use perspective it's also Stark the plan that currently being trumpeted has two beach axises one forces you up a flight of stairs to go through a full retail
Plaza which no one's bringing you know babies or dogs are through the other is a small walkway what we were going to get before was 45% land use and a public park now the public area is really just for the residents to me it's a hard pass
thank you thank you our next our first virtual speaker is Omar Jimenez please state your name address and you have two minutes please good afternoon my name isz I'm the president and founder of the Park
View Island sustainable Association as we recently found out in the second phase of the UN Park View Canal study a new bacteria hotspot has been found at biscane Beach Elementary the outfall sampled at the site confirmed bacteria levels found 2,800 times over the fdoh
standard we are outraged that the city has spent years and millions of city tax dollars to remediate this canal pollution to Now find the source for the high levels of bacteria over the five past years could have been the elementary school all along we were in
full support of bisang be each Community playgrounds expansion item on the agenda using 600,000 600,000 City funds for construction and completion of the project before this alarming news came to light we began sounding the alarm
about the worrying conditions to Public Safety in the Tater Waterway walkway where the Hotpot was found which runs directly adjacent to the school almost a year and a half ago at the end of the day regardless of how many more studies we do the source is still going to come from birds human dogs and all other
contributors cited in the study it all flushes down the storm water drains and into the canal as enter caucus bacteria the only real solution to this pollution issue is to retrofit a buffer system and filters to the drains and Al falls in the affected 81 acre area to minimize
sediments and hydrocarbons from entering the storm system while also having the ability to remove bacteria and nutrients from the storm water before it enters the Park View Canal none of the near-term Solutions before 2028 include any type of filtering for bacteria and
nutrients this is really the real issue at hand here that is not being addressed we strongly support and commend this commission's efforts to improve water quality in the water in the waterways by launching operation clean water North Beach tackling our storm water runoff
issues requires a multipronged approach that needs to be constantly addressed and improved uh go ahead please state your name name address and two minutes please hi Daniel seral on behalf of Miami Design preservation League uh PO Box 19180 Miami Beach Florida I'm speaking
uh on behalf of mdpl to urge the commission to deny the demolition permit for 3611 and 3621 Collins Avenue and to challenge a constitutionality of sv1 1526 that was passed at the State of Florida
legislature last year these two national register listed historic buildings contribute to the Collins Waterfront historic district both nationally and locally yet under SB 1526 developers can bypass local preservation laws forcing
demolition without public input or oversight this law is arbitrary it undermines home rule and it prioritizes private developers over our City's historic character and so we as the city Commission because we're aware
that an LTC was recently issued that a demolition permit has been applied for and so we asked the city Administration to consider delaying or denying that permit until we can uh check to ensure
the validity of sv1 1526 we all know a lot of laws are passed in this country but there's also mechanisms to ensure that our laws are compliant and um we also would like you to consider joining or supporting legal challenge as this
law directly undermines Miami Beach's home rule Authority and we also ask that you publicly commit to protecting our architectural Heritage from unjust State overreach Miami Beach has led the nation in historic preservation and we cannot
allow an unconstitutional law to erase our past we urge you to act now to defend our City's Legacy and I'll be reaching out to you all individually in the coming days days and weeks and hopefully we can work together thank you thank mayor commissioner Fernandez thank
you I'd like to ask the city attorney's office to follow up on the issue of the lawsuit on the state preemption I really feel very strongly about our local control about our home rule Authority uh and this bill that was passed you know
while it's not as bad as it could have been it is still it is still catastrophic to our historic districts uh and to our historic Skyline and so I think we should explore Avenues uh for possible lawsuit in that regard of
course who who is the commissioner Ros Gonzalez I just the sponsor of the legislation is who if that was well was Senator AA uh and then there was I can't remember the guy from Naples roach roach
representative again he was the first time around he was the first time around they found a different sponsor for the second time around and we don't know who the sponsors are right now can I can I suggest may I suggest please with all due
respect that we do not have this conversation on the deis because everything we say will be the Playbook of how they try to co-opt us she's just asking who the SP I understand but I would just ask that we be very mindful about what we say on the
day okay my question was who the sponsors were and that's all I have to say if I just could say for 5 seconds this was about the bill pass last year it just said right now are the first two buildings coming for demolition under the that bill that's why happy to meet
with you to discuss further thank you our next virtual speaker is BU Mal's iPhone please state your name address and you have two minutes please unmute yourself yes thank you so much for uh your time
Commissioners and Mayors I always have a good experience with Commissioners and Mayors and I want to address this issue uh technically what I see that uh my business
location has a meditation Divine God's name and it's settle and my visitors and customers feel peace and calm with a God's name to our understanding God is
one no matter what culture ethnicity religion practices God we cannot divide God so I'm requesting that I should be allowed to practice God's name I should be allowed to practice
God's name at my business location which is not a noise violation city has concluded that it's not noise violation it's not not going inside the building uh my practice of God's name
which is my first amendment right also should be restored if commissioner or mayor has any question I can answer thank you sir next please name address and you have two
minutes please hi uh poy weissberger I live at uh 67th and um Indian Creek I'm here to talk about the doville and I feel like 67th Street is suddenly like the unpopular
cousin because you know we're told oh you don't get to have beach access you get a little walkway with stairs so I can trip on and then on the other side is small narrow the people of town voted down the the Ross
um uh plan which was going to actually get give us a park and access to the beach and a beautiful walkway now we're getting um a sidew walkway and Two Towers taller than what they voted down
and a third building that's going to be like a faux uh replica I guess of the doville but not really and what's going to happen to businesses that are already there is it going to compete with them is it going to help them probably not um
as it is now my Miami Beach won't even allow on Indian on Indian Creek there's this little um group of businesses that are down like a little alley I want to call it an alley and they won't even put them put a sign on the building saying these businesses are here so if you're
not supporting businesses that are already there how are you going to help the businesses that you're supposedly going to be putting in number one and number two where's 67 streets access to the beach and Public Access if
and number three why are we getting something that's taller than everybody voted down already it seems like it's a money grab it seems like the Realtors really want it because they're going to sell sell sell and it's going to make property values go up but so what property go
values go up only help people that are leaving not people that want to stay here and make M Miami Beach their home that's it thank you thank you commissioner thank you mayor thank you our next virtual speaker is Phillip Stillman please state your name address
and you have two minutes good afternoon my name is Philip Stillman I live at 3015 North Bay Road and I'm uh here to speak about uh the lack of transparency in the uh remediation efforts to uh remediate the
severe traffic problem that we're having on North Bay Road as it's being used as a uh a shortcut from uh to avoid Alton to get to the 195 5 and for those of you who aren't aware of that problem it is we have backup all the way down all uh
to North Bay Road uh beginning about 3 o'clock and ending between 6:30 and 7 o'clock and it it literally takes me uh to get to 3015 it takes me I would say 25 minutes to just on North Bay Road during that time period because of all
the people who think that that's a shortcut to get to the 195 we spoke uh at length with uh some some of you and a pilot project was proposed uh where surveys would go out and there was a proposal to uh explore the possibility
of uh no through traffic uh signs Limited in time to that 3 to 7 pm time period on Monday through Friday or no left turns from uh Alton Road and uh that was uh we were waiting for our surveys we were sure that they were
going out and then all of a sudden we found out that the project that whatever this uh project was was no longer being pursued and none of a none of the residents on North Bay Road have been consulted about this and we we really need to be uh consulted and included in
the discussions on how to solve this problem I mean it's a problem that we face every single day of the week uh during the weekdays it's people are now uh using the other southbound lane of North Bay Road in order to cut through the traffic on the on the Northbound
side and so you're getting you know you're jeopardizing people on bicycles on scooters on you know skateboards thank you so much please I thank you good afternoon Mitch novic taxpayers spent 650,000 for
zovich and Associates to present an estimated $100 million Bondo plant for lumus Park which entails relocating relocating ocean drive into the park destroying the vestiges of the original
1870s coconut Plantation which remained today in light of the county Charter's explicit prohibition on placing public roadways within Parks my question is has malpractice occurred shouldn't this
Commission on behalf of taxpayers demand a refund for this flawed plan on another matter I urge you to reject the proposed utility billing rate hikes and focus on reducing our massive $1 billion budget
this comes after over a dozen of automatic and annual rate increases over the past Dozen Years including new fees such as the F monthly fire sprinkler fee our city budget has doubled in that time as well we've added 500 Municipal
Employees and our infrastructure by all means should have been goldplated by now instead we're left dealing with the consequences of past mismanagement and diminished Public Safety and quality of life again please stop gouging the
residents and businesses of the city all this has led to housing unaffordability and an exodus of residents thank you thank you so much our next virtual speaker is Paula King Paula please unmute yourself you have two minutes
Paula unmute yourself please PJ let's go to the phone number 6222 please state your name address and you have two minutes phone number that ends in 6222 please unmute yourself hello go ahead hi my name is
Jose valador can you start again I'm sorry hello my name is hi my name is Jose valadares I live at 17 C drive Norman de is I'm a born and raised second generation Builder contractor resident of North
Beach my father was also a contractor developer I would like to say that North Beach is underwater the most important thing we need to do is tackle flooding spending $100 million on the Byron carel to gift Apartments to friends is
completely uncalled for spending 200 million plus for a parking garage with a pool is completely uncalled for tackle flooding we will all be underwater because we have water under our feet and we have a water all around us goond is
not spending money on infrastructure in North Beach we need to tackle that as far as the agenda for silencing free speech and all those uh people that were complaining about Free Speech you just
open the Pandora's Box and you can also have videos documenting white supremacist KKK Castro it's the wrong time and the wrong place that was the issue this is not the moment to have a film about Palestine just like when
Castro was killing people they didn't put a film about him in Little Havana or when the Riots of McDuffy they didn't put a film supporting police or now go put a film in Sunny about supporting Putin now is not the time maybe 10 years
from now that was the issue but now you cannot put a film about killing Jews that was the mistake that you made you cannot support these L liberal radical leftists that are still in your commission and gave bad advice you need
to remove this film because you will have KKK films Putin films Gaddafi films and all these films supporting them that's what you made a mistake on thank you thank you so much is there anyone else in the audience who wishes to speak if so please approach the podium seeing
none let's go to GG Gutierrez good afternoon Commissioners and mayor my name is giigi Gutierrez speaking on behalf of Troy Wright for the Washington Avenue business improvement district unfortunately he is on on a flight returning back from Seattle visiting his sick mother on
behalf of Troy Wright I am confident to say that in the history of Washington Avenue there has never been a time when both business and property owners have been more concerned about their Investments and livelihood over the past few weeks I have heard the distress of
many on the brink of losing their businesses some have already put them up for sale While others are holding on to hope and a miracle same as everyone we understand that something had to be done about spring break it was chaotic
however we now know that the situation facing business owners requires urgent attention if we do not act Miami Beach businesses will continue to decline at an accelerated Place placing our economic stability in a precarious
situation this is deeply troubling as we prepare to celebrate the opening of four new businesses in the coming months we also mourn the businesses we stand to lose so what's next the Washington Avenue business improvement district will continue doing everything we can to
sustain and grow our community in addition we are calling on the city to do the same historic circumstances demand historic creativity and those Solutions should yield historic results it will not be easy but I believe we can
do it now is the time for deci decisive action positive me messaging unwavering support and collaboration let's come together to find the right solution we are concerned thank
you is there anyone in the audience who wishes to speak seeing none we're going to go to Paula King Miss King please unmute yourself state your name and address uh Paula King 811 crespy
Boulevard Miami Beach um I'm on various things but anyway I wanted to support t uh Tanya in her suggestion to build tanks underneath the West Lots that's our best hope for future water
mitigation for Hurricane overflow when the ocean comes up we should have a place to put the water and this is our only place in Miami Beach where that will be possible so I do believe that building big tanks underneath every anything we do on the
west Lots is a is a marvelous idea um you can Dober Cole there was a guy named Jason King who also suggested that in the north beach master plan so it it's a viable thing to do and it has been done
in other communities I think there's one in in the Netherlands or something but I think that we should build again you know massive tanks to to accommodate the Overflow of the ocean that may be in our
in our yards very soon um secondly I want to say that I'm really against any form of censorship in our Cinemas in our bookstores or anything else and you know it's just not the right thing to do for
Americans I'm going to see this film on on Thursday night because I feel it's my duty as an American to stand against censorship that's it for me today thank you thank you there is no other speaker
on Zoom I see no one else in the audience mayor submic has concluded okay thank you everyone who called in um let's continue with the agenda let's call r5c r5c R5 C is notice of the mayor City Commission of city of May Beach Florida
amending chapter 2 of the May Beach city code and title Administration by amending article four entitle officers an employee by amending division 5 thereof entitle Office of the Inspector General by amending section 2256 thereof entitle Office of the Inspector General to authorize red flag review by the
office of the Inspector General or of proposed or impending City action and providing for repeal sub ability clarification and an effective date this is a second reading public hearing it is item r5c commissioner Fernandez thank you Mr Mayor um this is
an ordance I I I brought forward to help maximize uh the tool that we have in the office of the Inspector General it creates a red flag review which authorizes the oig to revie to review proposed or impending City action that
could violate City's policies rules or laws or perhaps more concerningly result in waste and Fraud and Abuse or inefficiency you see whenever we have City Commission meetings we got these volumes of books uh with thousands of
pages this agenda for this meeting and this is a small agenda has over 1100 Pages all right over 1100 pages that we have to review in a very short amount of time and it's impossible for us to
identify every instance of waste every instance of fraud every instance of abuse every instance of inefficiency and I think that's part of the spirit of the reason why the electorate the electorate exercised this wisdom to create this
this office um and if the oig finds An Occurrence of something of this nature the office would give or would notify the city commission Andor the administration of such concerns the oig
finds that a proposed City action will violate policies or laws will have to notify the city commission or the city manager unless of course it would interfere with an investigation which certainly we we wouldn't want to do that the oid would also have to notify us if
an agenda item is expected to have a sign a significant negative impact that involves waste or inefficiency in our City's programs in our projects uh in our contracts or in our expenditures um you know this is an
expanded role I feel to a lot of the work that the oig already does uh the O the oig is empowered to respond to inquiries from of us from City officials and the city commission regarding City matters as long as it doesn't interfere with any investigation this however
strengthens the oig's oversight role ensuring that actions align with ethical standards and most importantly with the trust that the public has put in our hands to be a steward of their assets so that with that Mr Meer I move this
item call the vote it it is a public hearing I see no one requesting to to speak in the audience no one requesting to speak in Su I have a motion by commissioner Fernandez seconded by commissioner Suarez commissioner magazine yes vice mayor bot yes commissioner Suarez yes
commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes mayor Miner yes motion carries the item is approved 70 thank you commissioner Fernandez let's go to Let's uh let's finish off a
few more second readings r5f r5f is an norance of the mayor and City Commission of city of Rach Florida amending chapter 7 of the city code entitled miscellaneous offenses by amending article two entitled public places by amending division two entitled bicycling skateboarding roller skating inlight skating motorized means of transportation electric bicycles mopets
motorcycles motorized bicycles and motorized scooters by amending section 70-66 intitle definitions by conforming the definition of motorized scooters to state law and by amending section 70-67 in prohibited activities by prohibiting motorized means of transportation bicycling inline skating roller skating
and skateboarding on the Baywalk and providing for repeaters Sur ability qualification and effect up date this is a second reading public hearing it is item r5f commissioner Dominguez co-sponsored by commission vice mayor Bach thank you um this item was meant to cover a very
narrow area at the Baywalk behind um West Avenue and Bay Road some parts of that area are 5T wide there's no railing and and pedestrians that were walking were getting um bulldozed by bikes ebike scooters
motorcycles mopeds things that um didn't belong in that area and it's second reading with that I move the item second let's call the vote it is a public yes sir you're the you're you're in I ride a skateboard I inline skate
Mitch start with your name I'm sorry Mitch novic sherbrook Hotel I ride a skateboard I inline skate I also ride a a standup scooter and a bicycle Laura did are skateboards and inline skates uh
included in your the language of this ordinance uh so Mark Fishman will be able to speak and just so that to clarify is from 5th to 15th on the bay walk so okay it's not South Point Park
it's not Marina Park my question is how about just inline skates I wouldn't ride a my skateboard or I think it is prohibited but Mark Fishman our a City attorney no commissioner you you are correct it's bicycling roller skating inline skating skateboarding as well as
obviously motorized means of transportation they are all prohibited on that portion of the Baywalk north of the MacArthur Causeway F stre so is that your intent Laura to prohibit inline skating on that small section of bay walk which okay I don't know if it has
yet opened have you been there no okay um so it doesn't look like it will affect you but it's very narrow there there's hardly any room to walk much less do other activities but South Point Park is safe you're good I also want to give a special shout out to Henry Stoler
uh he gave a lot of input um to me and also to the city attorney's office um and gave great recommendations and we took their feedback and the same with Gail Durham who also spent time and gave us some valuable
feedback thank you seeing no one else requesting to speak uh we'll call the role vice mayor bot is absent commissioner magazine yes commissioner Suarez yes I'm here and I support So commissioner vice mayor bot
is a yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Dominguez yes mayor Miner yes motion carries the item is approved that was item r5f r5g r5g is in Ord of the mayor and City Commissioner of city of man Beach
Florida amending chapter 106 of the city code entitle traffic and vehicles by amending article 3 entitled off street parking lots and Facilities by creating section 106-119 thereof entitled requirements for private properties used for motor vehicle parking penalties by requiring owners and operators of private properties that are open to to
the public for motor vehicle parking to place certain signage in such private parking lots and Facilities by imposing certain requirements for the issuance of private parking invoices by requiring special specified appeal procedures for private parking invoices by requiring a 15-minute grace period of private
parking lots and facilities and and by prohibiting private parking lots and Facilities from selling offering to sell or transferring any personal information obtained from a party using the private property for parking services by providing civil penalties for violation and providing for repealers ability qualification and an effective date this
is a second reading public hearing it is item r5g commissioner Suarez second call the vote it's got four co-sponsors it is a public hearing I see no one requesting to speak via Zoom no one requesting to speak in the audience
commissioner Suarez yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner magazine yes vice mayor bot yes mayor Miner yes motion carries the item is approved that was item
r5g r5i five I is a nance of the mayor and City commission City May amending chapter 86 of m city code entitled sales by amending article two entitled garage sales by amending section 86-58 entitled conditions for issuance by amending subsection a to provide that a garage
sale permit as required by section 86-56 shall be issued for a garage sale located any single family residence or multif family building on no more than two occasions during any 12mth period of providing for repealers of ability qualification an effective date this is a second reading public hearing it is
item r5i hello commissioner Dominguez uh so I was approached by members of uh Flamingo Park neighborhood and the multif family buildings they wanted to have two garage sales per year
and uh we crafted language so that it was um pretty strict where a building would have to have approved two for their building so it's not uh blanket that every person in the building gets two so I think it's drafted narrowly
enough and uh will be good for the community and uh anything else to add I think it's that's it okay I move the item let's call the vote it is a public hearing I see no one in Zoom no one in the audience requesting to speak
have a motion by commissioner Dominguez seconded by commissioner Fernandez commissioner magazine yes commissioner Suarez yes Comm commissioner Dominguez yes vice mayor bot yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes mayor Miner yes motion carries the item is approved that was item
r5i R5 J R5 J is an Ord of the mayor City Commissioner City man beach door amending might be be city code chapter 2 entitle Administration section 2-1 thereof entitled reasonable opportunity to be heard section 2-2 thereof entitled alternate publication of legal notices online and section 2-14 thereof entitled
meeting procedures and agendas for the purpose of conforming implementing into the code voter approve the amendments to the city Charter and citizens Bill of Rights concerning increased public right to be heard we had two standy suic citizen forms at regular City commission meetings alternative publication of legal notices online and amending and
and amended procedures for deferral of commission items as well as requirement for two public hearings for city ordinances accept emergency ordinances and proposed ordinances subject to adop procedures establish in the city zoning ordinance and providing for repealer cability qualification and effective date is item R 5j it is a second reading
public hearing and mayor if you'd like we could call Jay and K together since they are companion items mayor sure r5k is an both commissioner Fernandez items r5k is an Ord of the mayor City Commissioner city of May Beach Florida amending that by BB city
code chapter 38 entitle election section 38-4 thereof entitle acceptance of election returns installation of new officers for the purpose of conforming implementing into the code voter approve amendments to the city Charter concerning runoff election date and date of installation and commencement of terms and providing for repealer Serv
ability clarification and effective date this is a second reading public hearing it is r5k commissioner Fernandez thank you Mr Mayor um this this item basically amends the city code to implement the charter review amendments that were approved by the voters last November the first item
R 5j uh amends the code to require two suic forums to be attended by a by a quorum of of us of the commission during each meeting it also uh puts into the code the David Suarez online notice act for ordinances in L of publication in a
newspaper uh agenda items that have been deferred by the sponsor and not heard within three regularly scheduled meetings uh shall be automatically withdrawn and cannot be placed on another agenda for the next three regularly scheduled commission meetings unless waved by 67th vote of the
commission and it also requires the two public hearings for ordinances and this was uh supported by mbu uh and of course it was drafted uh with the support of of our Charter review task force the second item um R
5K um it it IT addresses uh and codifies a runoff election date now the second Tuesday in December it talk to the date of installation for new commission members which will be now the Monday following the second Tuesday in December and IT addresses the commencement of
terms on the date of installation which is the Monday following the second Tuesday in December Nick I don't know if there's anything else to be added no commissioner you covered everything thank you with that Mr Mayor I move I move the item we have a motion to Second let's
call the vote this is a public hearing on items R5 J and K I see no one in Zoom requesting to speak I see no one in theice audience requesting to speak uh commissioner Suarez vice mayor bot yes commissioner magazine yes commissioner fernandz yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez
yes commissioner Dominguez yes air Miner yes the items are approved that was R 5j and r5k let's go to rda1 we are recessing as the city commission meeting and convening as the
RDA uh RDA 1 is adopt Second Amendment to the city center RDA operating budget for fiscal year 2025 and for the record commissioner Higgins is absent welcome Jason thank you mayor uh Jason Green uh CFO the item we have
before you is uh a budget amendment for the RDA uh this would uh complete the city's portion of the Sixth Amendment of the RDA agreement which would be the onetime $10 million uh payment to M County for homeless uh type Services uh
due uh this March 31st I move the item I heard a motion by vice mayor bot I believe I heard F commissioner Fernandez second magazine magazine I'll take magazine if there's no discussion this is not a public
hearing call a vote all in favor of rda1 please say I I anyone opposed hearing none the item is approved 70 want to reconvene as the Miami Beach City commission so done uh
c7w c7w is in post moratorium on water sewer and storm rate increases that was separated by two Commissioners c7w was uh vice mayor bot and commissioner Dominguez unless you want to address I'm happy to commissioner Dominguez thank you um
so there I'm one of the co-sponsors but the reason why I wanted to separate it is when I've had um discussions with different city staff the feeling is that if this item were to pass it could um
severely hurt us for a long time so I want to figure out what language within this area would be helpful so that we're not hurt years into the future somebody from the city Administration can help
um can I just ask a follow-up question on that because my understanding was it all depends on the speed on which an assistance program is created so I apologize I didn't hear the specific question but I think the
question was related to the increases related to the rates were alter so the moratorium the way this is worded um could really shut us out for years in the future so if there's a friendly amendment that we can
make to this item I'd like to do so now Madam voice yes sorry go ahead uh commissioner magazine maybe a friendly Amendment as I understand but I also do want to talk about this uh just to see where everybody's at I think
collectively all if if not most of us if not all uh have committed to resiliency and moving forward understand wanting to work uh this out for people that are cost burdened if I understand and perhaps uh legal can clarify this
there's not a way to bifurcate uh in terms of rates we we can't charge different rates to different people whether that be income based uh so that's a state statute is that correct that is correct so that's where I think we would actually behoove
ourselves to have separate legislation and we would vote on that as a standalone uh but while that works its way out perhaps a friendly amendment is to essentially allow this to travel forward because it's my understanding these rates aren't going to be implemented until October correct that
is my understanding that was the Direction coming out of right so we can keep this on track and on Pace uh give staff we could say until next month to come back but we don't essentially implementing
any type of pause or moratorium because you know it could be misleading I think we still have ample time to sit here and if we decide legislatively that that is a priority to ease the cost and um rate
impact on a certain segment of people and I think we need to Define what that actually is will it be income tested will it be uh fix you know want to see where people want to go with that but I think our staff still has time to essentially come up with those Solutions
without voting on some type of moratorium given that those rate increases won't go into effect until October commissioner Rosa Gonzalez and then vice mayor Bob I mean I would like a a moratorium for a few years until the state works
out its issues with condo reserves and assessments and all of the legislation following um you know what what was the building called I can't remember in Surfside whatever the collapse was following the building collapse in
Surfside um I I don't think it's a a great time to press our our residents with any extra expenses I think when you add inflation the fact that next year the governor would like us to no longer have property
taxes and have some sort of 25% consumer tax we know right now that there's additional tariffs being added which is going to add to the cost of living this I really think that if Miami Beach does not have to right now that we can just
at least hold this off sorry for a couple of years while we and until the legislation I meant Champlain Towers earlier it finally came to me um I I understand resiliency and I understand
Water and Sewer fees but I'm asking you I have people in my office asking for rental assistance for some people $150 just so that they can stay in their apartment this is any increase that we
that that that we impose right now um I just think across the board is going is is not a great thing for our residents and by the way I would add that we had a 9% appreciation okay in property values last year and that could have gone to the increase
instead that stayed as part of our management budget so we already did raise taxes in essence by nine points okay and to for you know to cover our fullen budget so I think it should come out of the 9% um property increases that we had last year or find the difference
um that this would be um whatever the property appraise value is uh in the in the incoming year and but I do think that this should be something that does not happen year-over-year that the commission has a rate to to vote on this and um I'm completely against um raising
these fees right now vice mayor bot so um you know I uh nobody wants to pay more money um many people don't have enough of it to make ends meet it's a choice between U medicine and rent and that is not a
liberal talking point that is a fact and I'm not um uh um inured to what that is like we are um a very compassionate City that tries
to help people when they can when we can when people come to us and ask for help we we have an incredible Department of housing assistance led by Dr led by Dr and I love the fact that my colleague brought an item to say how are we going
to help those who are here who are going to be really adverse adversely affected by this but here are the facts the facts are that we cannot control cost of living increases CPI is not something
that we can wish away that is a a factor which affects the cost it it the costs that we have to pay to repair things when they break um a couple years ago we had an enormous sinkhole in North Beach
where a truck was literally swimming in poop we're not supposed to have sink holes here just last week we have another sinkhole on lorse or pine tree in the 50s um again much smaller no
vehicle got stuck in this one but again we are not supposed to have sink holes and when I asked why uh the answer was and and Jay if I get this wrong please correct me we're not 100% sure but we think it's because there is an infrastructure pipe underneath that has
failed and so you know when you look at the facts the facts right now nobody wants to be paying more I get that it's going to hurt all of us but the facts are that of our water main infrastructure
24% are less than 50 years old that means 75% are over 50 years old sewer Ms 80% are over 50 years the vast
majority storm water pipes 76% are younger than 50 years old so yeah it sucks to pay to fix that but what's going to suck more sorry
that's not the professional way to put it I apologize I'm really tired I apologize what's going to be a harder and more painful way to proceed is when something ruptures and we have
an emergency situation and it affects homeowners and it affects Transit and we have to pay whatever we have to pay to fix something on an emergency basis and it's not a question of it might happen sometime in the future it's
a question of how soon is it going to happen in which neighborhood first because it's not relegated to one neighborhood or another we already we are already 60% design with one project and I forget the percent design with the second project so if we put this on
pause now that means that when we go back to restart this not only do we have to pay to redesign because conditions change but it's going be more more expensive to pay for the work that is already planned because inflation goes
up as much as we don't like it and as much as we wish we could control it that is the fact and I agree commissioner Rosen Gonzalez it would be amazing if our state legislature could address some of the issues that are causing incredible risk and uncertainty and
heartache and pain for almost everybody who lives in the city one way or the other but I'm not holding my breath for that cuz I they've had an ample chance to have those conversations and maybe not find a resolution but at least have the conversations and I to my knowledge I don't think that's happened yet so I'm
not prepared to wait for that I would love to be pleasantly surprised and have them come after this legislation legislative session say we got it sorted out that would be great but I am not waiting to do what's best for the residents and the businesses of the city
again our job the most important job we have is Public Safety and Public Safety includes being able to drink the water that comes out of your sink it includes not being concerned that your toilet is going to back up some random day through
no fault of your own it includes not being concerned that the street that you drive over is going to have a sinkhole that breaks an axle and it sounds far-fetched but with the numbers I quoted and these come from public works this is not me making this up this isn't
a survey of what is currently existing in our city we're a young City we haven't invested in the replacement of our infrastructure and we have I don't know what the number is but I can tell you it's a lot more people living here now than there were 880,000 people uh um uh
80 years ago and if we do not do the right thing sooner rather than later which includes finding a way to help those who are going to need help we are all going to be paying the price literally and figuratively in very short order so I don't like want to put a moratorium and I do want to challenge
our colleagues on staff to find a way between now and October which is plenty of time to find a solution to help the people who are going to need the most help commissioner Fernandez thank you Mr
Mayor it's not lost and me that resiliency is not just about upgrading pipes or reinforcing our infrastructure or improving the storm water system resiliency true resiliency is
about ensuring that the people who call Miami Beach home can continue to live here and that's why this moratorium on the on the water and sore and storm water rate increases it's not just necessary it's urgent I I've heard how far Advanced we
are with the planning of of certain projects well how how far advanced are we in the plan to protect those on fixed incomes other major cities with other major cities have Financial assistant
programs that were put in place before raising their essential utility rates I'd encourage us to look at New York San Francisco and Chicago who have all done it usually Miami Beach is the one that's leading because when it comes to water
water is not a discretionary expense and it's not an amenity it is a fundamental right and it's a necessity even if you're elderly even if you're in fixed income it's not an amenity and making it unaffordable
forces people out from Miami Beach when longtime residents when seniors and working families are priced out of their own City that's not progress it becomes displacement and when all of this has
been discussed I was thinking 10 years ago when I worked at the county and I worked with commissioner solsa at the time and we worked on bringing the Rockefeller 100 resilient cities program to our region and one of the most important lessons I learned from the
resilient cities program is that true resiliency is not just about infrastructure it's about people a city cannot be resilient if it loses the very residents who give it
life and that program challenged us to adopt a broader view of resilience one that goes beyond responding to climate change and addresses the economic and social pressures that make communities vulnerable resilience is not just about preparing for storms and sea level rise
it means tackling ongoing stressors like poverty like inequality and access to basic services like water and being able to afford that water when you turn on the faucet I'm proud that Miami Beach was a
part of that program but we cannot forget the lessons that we learned we cannot claim to be a resilient City if our policies ignore the economic realities of our residents resilience means preparing for the future while protecting the people
who live in Miami Beach today if we leave behind those who cannot afford price and costs then I'm sorry we are failing at the very mission of resilience and so yes I want us to
invest in storm water improvements and climate adaptation and yes we must ensure our water and Source systems remain strong for future Generations but I don't want to lose the residents who live here I don't want to
lose the elderly who who won't be able to afford that and let's make no secret about it gentrification is not just caed by De by development it's about Rising costs that
forces people out when essential Services become unaff unaffordable what follows is displacements and we must ensure that protecting our infrastructure does not come at the cost of displacing the very people and the Very communities we are
trying to protect so let's put that into numbers because when you look at the national and international standards it's recommended that a water bill should not exceed 3% of a household income and based on that metric and let
me just ask Mr manager the average water bill Miami Beach I think the memo said was about $130 at the moment approximately that's about right okay so 3% all right so for today's average miam
Beach water bill of $130 per month a resident would need to earn at least $433 per month the equivalent to a salary of $52,000 but if we increase the bills eventually to $200 per month which is
what It ultimately would lead up to is that correct I see our Public Works director nodding has said yes okay residents would need to earn at least 6,6 $67 per month the equivalent to approximately
$80,000 per year for many in our community for residents who I represent for residents who don't have a loud voice or a large platform or on social media or who can't afford to be here or seniors on fixed
incomes or single parents or hospitality and service workers on fixed incomes that is simply not a reality and when residents can no longer afford to live here we don't just lose people
we lose the very fabric of Miami Beach so you know I wanted to be very clear I support the storm water and infrastructure programs I support our long-term planning for a rilian Miami beach but we cannot pursue these
initiatives blindly without a plan to protect our residents from the unintended Financial hardship that they will inedibly won't they won't be able to escape it they will have to pay up or move
out and so that's why this moratorium is critical it does not Hal progress it ensures that progress does not come at the expense of our most vulnerable residents it provides the time necessary to develop a financial assistance program that ensures that no one has to
choose between paying their water bill and putting food on the table or medication and let's be clear a resilient City it's not just one that can stand the storm or avoid a FL flooding is one that protects the people who live in it that's why we invest in
infrastructure it is to protect people and that cannot come at the expense of pushing those very same people out thank you Mr Mayor May thank you commissioner Fernandez uh commissioner bot vice mayor bot and then commissioner Suarez so I I
agree with absolutely everything you said Comm commissioner fetes um and I have you know I I wish this item were called with the accompanying underlying um rate increased discussion because we're talking about things a little bit in a vacuum and I I don't
think that's super constructive one of the conversations that I've had with staff is can you go back and take a look at the numbers and see if there's a way to um reprioritize things maybe
redo how we look at things a little bit um so that the rate increase is different than the way it is laid out currently but we haven't had a chance to have that conversation yet um we absolutely need to find a way to make sure that people can continue to
have their drinking water and I don't think that anybody is suggesting that we don't do that the the concern is that if if we put a moratorium on something then we have to legislatively
take the moratorium off and we therefore run the risk of losing contracts and really having some difficult consequences that we are not trying to have today is the middle of March this
takes effect in the beginning of October respectfully I would defer this item I would make a motion to defer this item and bring it back in two months so that we can give our team the time that it takes to put together a plan to
recalibrate some of the costs and we have uh the the time to put together the program that we need to to ensure that our residents who can least afford it will be protected and then we can continue without having a moratorium
that needs to be legislatively undone and I I would make that motion commissioner Suarez thank you Mr Mayor I think it's a bad slippery slope
to be picking winners and losers on on who gets a rate hike and who doesn't I think there are a lot of people who are not lowincome who are
struggling um and to say that we're going to we're going to draw the line of of who is low-income who who gets uh rate increases I think is is not something I
I'm comfortable with deciding it's either all or nothing really I think if we're going to move forward I think we need to either vote for everyone gets the raid hike or
none um I'm okay with deferring for a little bit to calibrate uh these costs but um I can tell you that I'm I'm not comfortable with with picking winners and losers um when when it comes to who who gets
tax and who doesn't so um I think we're all in this city together we're we're all in the ship we we we're we're going in One Direction and it's going to be a city a city of residents and and
and I don't again I I I I think it's a really bad idea to to start bifurcating who who gets tax and who doesn't so um I'm going to second that motion for referral and and and see what staff can
come back with Mr Mayor Mr Fernandez you know um in speaking with staff staff has told me because I was hoping this is something they could get done in a month or two so unless you guys are hearing something different than what I'm hearing this is not
something that they can get done a month or two so I don't want to I don't want us to set ourselves up for a failure so if that's the case I I'm happy to withdraw this item and let's call to a vote uh the uh City manager's uh item on
the rate increase and let's just you know and let's just take care of that business today and not Kick the Can down the road so with that I'm going to withdraw the item thank you Mr Mayor Eric how do we you know I think part of the issue here was the uh
let play games the rate increase which it was sticker shock um how do we get to a point where it's a gradual maybe Consumer Price Index increase that's uh something that's more more in line with what I think would be uh acceptable and comfortable with to our to our residents
and and us so Mr Mayor we've done a lot of work over the last six months and I would ask our Public Works director and our fin fincial team uh I believe I saw Brian
here um to step forward to the podium and they've looked at the capital program over the next basically 10 years correct and this is the the dollar figures that would be
required to allocate the funds to fill that Capital Gap ultimately we can make decisions as to what projects move forward and what projects don't move forward and we can dial back the numbers
but ultimately that's going to take a lot of reassessment by the team that's worked on this up until this point um happy to do whatever is the will of the body uh what you have in front of
you reflects you know three three 9% rate increases and 3 45% rate increases over the next 6 years that will ultimately provide for the bonding
capacity necessary to move forward the projects as they're laid out Mr Ros Gonzalez Mr manager I'm sorry are we on r7e then are you yes that's R7 okay PJ can you put up R7 e then okay is that the
item you're calling please no no we're still on this okay okay commission Ros Gonzalez we have a lot of fluffy capital projects okay that we're spending tens of millions of dollars on if you're telling us that these projects are more important than the others then I think
we need to reassess which capital projects we're moving forward on as much as I love parks and beautification and all of these bells and whistles if as commissioner bot says our toilets aren't going to flush I think we need to prioritize from the ground up right what
is it that you need electricity Plumbing Roofing the basics so um rather than raise have rather than have another rate increase um on our residents maybe we need to go to the city manager and say
where can you find the money and what we currently are moving forward on right now I'm going to repeat I have people as as I have people coming to my office that are complaining about you know hund
a $100 rent increases that they're already going to possibly have to leave I'm not this is wrong morally especially when we are allocating so many other tens of millions toward projects that are not necessary they are projects that we choose to do because we wanted to
everybody loves more parks and you know everybody loves beautification of of who knows you know the the pool on top of the garage but if our toilets aren't going to flush then we have monies there and we need to figure out how you can
allocate monies from specific projects to fixing um to to addressing these hotpots do not imp do do not impose this on our residents right now not just our residents but our businesses by people coming to me saying we're having a
problem paying our Sidewalk Cafe fees now we're going to say hey guess what 10% on your water bill excuse me 9% over the next 3 years no this is not the time to impose um more fees and increases commissioner B I I I appreciate you know
your sense of you know fiscal you know responsibility but then again then all of these requests whether it's the film request today for Morris Lapidus or the you know or the educational training for Mount Si then all of these should be be
removed and we pay for our toilets flushing but I do not want to raise prices on individual residents when we well know we have the money so Jason where can you find the money apart from these increases on individual residents
I'm going to be a a very vocal no I'm very upset about this the budget has swollen over the past okay last year we had a 9% rate increase and uh we just kept spending the money the year prior what was it 14% every single year our budget has nearly doubled in the past
you know what we did we returned money to Residents and we didn't increase fees why don't we increase fees why do we subsidize the residents of Miami Beach guess what because we host a party every single day and we sit in traffic okay
and tourism dollars are supposed to subsidize our lives here so you're taxing us on both ends and don't say that we're not that you didn't raise the taxes last year by 9% because we did okay so there has to be a better way to
find the money this is really wrong uh vice mayor Bon commissioner magazine so um there are a couple things my understanding and I I'm not a bond Finance expert by any stretch um there are many things I'm not that especially
one that I'm not um my understanding is that if we move forward as plan that would enable us to get bonds money to pay for the work it's not that these increases would pay for the work directly is that a correct understanding
or a misunderstanding correct uh it's standard uh that uh most Enterprise funds being water silver and storm water around the country are funded through the issuance of revenue bonds because we're talking about large Capital programs here and this this program I think is around 670 $680 million uh of
projects uh actually new funding for projects over the next uh 10 years okay so hypothetically speaking everyone just let's play this out if we pass this going forward and we get the bond money we need and in the budget process
because I think I think we've been talking about it on the dayas today um and some of us even over the last couple of months we are going to have to have very difficult conversations about what the budget covers for our city over the next few years and so um and we just we
make a decision as a body that we are going to dial back where we can on some of the softer things that we love um because we need to make sure that the the less fund things like sewer lines are properly funded and we find that we
can actually um change that balance of what the rate hike is does that affect our ability to get bonds well there really two different things you know talk about the property taxes that's the city's general fund which this being the Enterprise our Enterprise water sour
storm water completely uh separate so so we couldn't take the fund you you theoretically uh there could be a a transfer from the general fund uh into a water sewer storm water uh to partially fund the projects but I would tell you
we kind of already do that on the large these large neighborhood Improvement projects you know West Avenue Phase 2 was under construction this program here is West Avenue phase three uh First Street Normandy Isles Northshore d Flamingo there's a number of the big
neighborhood Improvement projects and in there the above ground portion which is about 10% of that massive uh Bill uh comes from uh usually the general fund being the pgo and I know we've talked about this at length on several times
with the city's infrastructure most of our infrastructure expenditures come from our Enterprise funds not from our general fund we have our our Capital Ro replacement and our Pago millages which bring in only a few million dollars per per year and most of our general fund type
infrastructur as the commissioner was stating parks and sidewalks and asphalt are actually funded through the general obligation bonds that the voters voted to impose upon themselves so even a third Source at the end of the day but but if I could I just wanted to to kind of explain why we're here today and why
why we're here today is actually via commission Direction so back in March of 2020 VI resolution the commission approved the Water and Sewer Master Plan including the project prioritization of what should be done when and with with the 10-year critical needs Pro program
in July of 2020 the commission approved the neighborhood Improvement program including the the prioritization of 40 or 50 uh different projects and directed the administration to move forward which is why we are as commissioner bot mentioned uh West Avenue I think is
around 60% designed in first streets at 90% so all will probably need big construction dollars uh in the next year or two in March of 2024 only one year ago the commission approved the storm waterer master plan including the 10-year prioritization of
critical needs and directed the administration to com to commence a rate study to pay for this massive program in June of 2024 the commission approved the First Street neighborhood Improvement project and directed the administration to move forward completing design and
due construction and as we all know First Street was a long and Winding Road uh but we finally got to to the end or we're almost at the end and then just this September of 2024 the commission approved the West Avenue Improvement uh project phase three and directed the
administration to proceed so once we had all of that together uh the public works with their consultant Brian here put together that whole team that whole prioritization all the commission directions over the past few years laid out the projects as commission has
already approved them and we're now at that time really to approve uh you know set of rate increases to fund these projects you know we had this discussion this isn't new I know I've I've been kind of paring this for the two years I've been your your CFO and we talked
about this at length about a year or so ago when the commission approved the $85 million Declaration of intent to issue for water and sewer which was just to fund really this year's Capital program for water and sewer saying we have to come back with that rate study this is
the last dollars that would let us be a doublea rated uh utility which is where we want to be um so that's just the history of where are and just to know that this program ties in SE about 77 million in state and federal grants so this isn't the going you know going on
our own at the end of the day so it's important to note there's a lot of Grant dollars that are put in there and I think one last thing I just want to state is just speaking about the you know the utility rate increases which we went through in detail uh at furin I know that's not this item technically
but just a reminder because it was a point that was uh discussed by the three members that were fot was this very similar discussion appears to happen back in 2017 where uh there was an interest in moving forward but didn't want to pay for it and at the time the
administration recommended a 22.5% increase in storm water fees to move forward all those projects and then a series of smaller increases uh but at the end the the commission approved only a 3 and a half% which obviously delayed many projects and kind of that was the
pause I think that many people were speaking about so between that and the rates that were approved by the commission of that 5year plan uh not doing the 22 and a half and they doing smaller actually if just sticking to inflation and not the dictated numbers by the commission we actually lost out
10 more perent to just inflation based on the low below inflation uh rates that we've been increasing So to that point Jason thank you for for um Illuminating the history um the longer we wait the more expensive gets Point number one um
if we uh put a pause on this now we we will likely lose almost $70 million in Grant funds that we're counting on I I don't know how long you know we have had these uh grants for a number of years at certain point there's an expiration we
continue to ask for extension so I don't want to I don't want to state that if today you don't do something we're RIS we're at risk of losing possibly up to 7 we want to take action and I can't go to markets either until the Public Works director told me no the other day so I said yes or I said no because I'm
getting conflating information so I need Clarity from our staff I need Clarity from our staff because the one thing I do not like is getting conflicting information and I'm getting conflicting information it seems like my colleague is getting one source
of information and I feel like I'm getting a diff a different uh set of information I was told this doesn't jeopardize um uh now I'm hearing it does jeopardize so which one is it we need Clarity if I if I can what I said was I cannot definitely say that today if we
don't take an action today there would be a risk of uh losing those grants but at some point uh if we're going to move forward on the program obviously uh we would have Clarity if we're going to move forward that doesn't have to happen today I have a question and so if I I
wanted to just finish my because I had a third question for you um the the fact that we as a city did not increase our impact fees on our developers for 30 years I think that predates all of us in
the room Mitch maybe not you you was here um is a huge problem and I don't have it Quantified so I don't know how much it would have offset the costs that we've had to pay all along the the process but
um I can't imagine that helps so as a separate matter and Mr attorney I'm not sure how we do this but as a separate matter I would like to do an an after the fact resolution or something that effective immediately we bring the um
impact fees the relevant impact fees up to where they should be instead of having them continue where they are today set at 30 years ago I that was very poorly stated um we are we are collecting from
our developers ERS the same dollar figure you know like $4 per acre whatever the thing is from 30 years ago when it should be the equivalent I'm sorry I can't even articulate this properly they are paying
what they paid 30 years ago today and that has not gone up with the with um the rate of inflation that has not gone up with anything it has not been adjusted one single time in three decades so as a separate motion I would like to make the motion that we reset our impact fee to be set as to what they
should be currently it's not going to fix this whole issue but it's going to help and and um and so I don't know what the proper thing is on how to do that I'll second that but I I have a question right here what is the difference between what okay so right now in this
economically volatile situation you are recommending that we go into a $680 million debt is that what you're recommending Jason the new money would be um in in that realm yeah I think it's 680 million is the the new money needs to complete the program and you need all
of that money right now and what is The Debt Service what okay in Tres just it's my turn and what is The Debt Service on the 680 million per year because maybe commissioner bot the impact fees can
cover this dead service and therefore we're not going to impose it on um our residents so let's find out what that is because by the way we're calculating millage rate independent of debt service so basically we're buffaloing our
constituents and saying we're keeping your millage rate because when you look at the millage rate it's says millit rate plus Deb service on the G first Geo Bond plus de service on the art Services Bond now you're going to put us into an additional $680 million of debt I don't
know what that debt service is but I do know that there's an ex extremely volatile economic situation right now and frankly Jason I question this entire proposition and how we're going to raise that money but what I do think is that the people that might that could pay the
the The Debt Service are not just um impact fees from uh develop from new projects but I think that in addition to that everybody who wants to um hold any kind of event in Miami Beach um let's add on a fee and that fee will cover our
debt service on this because I don't think that we should be paying for it we sit in traffic we handle like the crime that comes along with it we are imposed upon constantly um we have crime because of it and why are we paying for it we should you want to hold your party in
money Beach fine but you're going to help subsidize it if that's the way that it is but I don't think that this has been um well thought out I I also I'm really concerned that you're not going to have that 9% next year I don't think think that this is prudent because I don't know where you're going to cut are
you going to start cutting employees after this because now you've put us into this dead service and you want to cut us I mean like you do you know what the economic Outlook is going to be because everywhere that I'm reading people are really concerned so and when people are concerned and there is
Extreme um instability and volatility that's not when you say I'm going to take on more than half a billion dollars in debt in my opinion yeah if I can answer that um the water sewer rates uh have no impact on your property tax bill so your millage rate um has no is not at
all affected by your water and SE bill it's a it's a user rate U much like electricity or gas or things like that so it would have no effect on that nor nor the voter approved uh geobond Debt Service the no but the the geobond debt services are part of the military excuse
me commissioner Suarez I heard you laughing at me but at least I'm bring at least I'm bringing to light um what's really taking place here instead of trying to bury it and I'm trying to find a solution so that we don't raise taxes and fees on our residents so so what is the total of The Debt Service that will
we that we would have for the next two to three years based on this plan okay first just the the CL um the you are correct that there is a voter imposed geobond Debt Service but this has nothing to do with that I understand
that but by the way the county doesn't do this city of Miami doesn't do this they don't bond into their water and sewer bills they don't no they do not I'm sorry that's maybe they have started but I guarantee you what where do they bond their money it's going into a
general General sorry that's incorrect and as as a water and sewer engineer from 25 years ago before it's a CFO I and who who helped manage the program director of of a b billion dollar Water and Sewer Capital program I assure you that the the fees come through bonded
the only way that Mi county is able to to generate the multi-billion dollar Capital program that it's in again now is through water and sewer revenue bonds this is the standard way that all Municipal governments raise dollars to build their water sewer and storm water
infrastructure Mr Mayor may I ask a few question I'm I'm trying to get The Debt Service numberz I just have a few questions if if it's okay first let's find out what we're going to be responsible for well in the meantime they can look it up but I just have a few questions for a CFO look up the
uh what would be the increase in revenue on the first year from these uh rate increases uh in total I'm going to ask Brian Manza the rec consultant who did all this work to go through and if Brian you could um
what is the additional water silver storm water so maybe you can tell me the first year yeah and then the second year um and through the fifth year and if you don't mind Mr May I'd like to stay in
debate you'd like to what I'd like to still be recognized to speak after they get the answers I I did promise uh magazine before you I just have one more question after this yeah he's just looking at it it's a little surprising you guys
don't know total right off the top of your head well there's a lot of numbers here but for the record Brian man from from gov rates on the Water and Sewer um rates the the uh the um estimated Revenue would would uh um increase from
105 million to about 114.5 million in in 2026 so a $9 million gap and then what would be the 2 third fourth fifth year okay in in uh
20 27 it would be 24.8 million 2028 it would be 136 million 2029 be 142 million um that would be for water and sewer for
the storm water it would go in uh 20 it would go from 40 million in 2000 fiscal year 2025 to $49 million in 2026 $ 55.3 million in
2027 and uh 61.5 million in 2028 and 67 9 million in 20 29 so about 70 million extra and and
revenue in the last in the next five years total and and Jason what what was our what was our tourist tax revenue uh for last year through all the taxes I think was over over 120 in that
range and what do we what do we keep I'm sorry what do you mean do we do we keep the whole yes yes we get to um we are one of the three municipalities that get to collect and retain all of our bed and food beverage taxes correct okay do any of those fees as commissioner Rosen
Gonzalez does that go toward our water and sewer no no okay okay magaz so thank you Mr Mayor I do and
this isn't let not make any of this person Al right I I do think we're conflating a few issues and mostly Enterprise funds through General funds so the question is rather simplistic do we want to carry forward with these
infrastructure and resiliency storm water Wastewater projects if the answer is yes the way you pay for that is through Enterprise funds and if we want to increase the amount of projects that we're going to undertake the capex and that then we have to raise money through our Enterprise funds right we should
really be bifurcating our Enterprise funds through our general funds because we're constrained under State Statute that we can't charge different amounts to different people in our Enterprise funds this really becomes uh we're really conflating various issues the
question is do we want to move forward with these projects and what cost impact is that going to be now if we say yes we want to move forward but that impact is too much then perhaps we reexamine some of the projects that we're talking about and I would like a list of the projects
which essentially are baked into this and then it becomes a separate legislative decision of if people are burdened because we went forward with imposing these increases in the Enterprise funds then how do we provide that relief it's not through an
Enterprise fund it would be through some sort of um General yeah probably the general bu thank you um thanks for jumping in there uh but yes it would be a legislative solution
through the general fund of how we can essentially uh shorter some of that burden and correct me if I'm wrong but the only way would be apply some type of uh population that we essentially uh describe whether it be through income or
or age whatever it may be and money from our general fund would essentially be redistributed to that pre-selected population to help shoulder some of that burden so I think we're looking at one where simplistically is are we going forward
with these projects do we need to scale it down because the increase is too much and if the answer is yes then we move forward with it and then we find a legislative solution to help shorter some of that impact through Creative Solutions uh via
our general fund right but we're really conflating those two issues we can't essentially sit here and talk about our property taxes yes that's overall why people uh their costs have gone up across the board but we're kind of conflating these two issues is correct
yes and if commissioner if I could answer the I think the first question you were asking was was the projects and I I don't want to go on because there's many but I will at least read off the the big dollar you know neighborhood Improvement projects so there's West this would complete West Avenue the
funding uh gap for West Avenue phase three uh Al uh First Street Alton Road uh to Washington phases one and two and phases three and four uh this would also fund the NorthShore D phase one the
NorthShore phase two and correct me if I'm wrong here uh Normandy Isles phase one Normandy ales Phase 2 design uh Flamingo Lumis Phase One Design uh and then what looks like around 400 million
or so uh in water sewer uh Mains and Rehab pump stations and improvements uh North Bay ra Road Lake View uh sewer collection upgrades uh there are Duram and EPA consent decree uh required
dollars and of course the fdot Alton Road uh dollars that's an you know the Alton Road improvements that need to be done uh for the drainage and the water and sewer issues we have in there it's a DOT project but we have to fund our uh underground uh items that so that's
that's the list of that and you are correct commissioner uh like I said at the beginning we are here because the commission approved these projects in this prioritization and at this timeline and you know at the end of the day if if uh there was an interest in lowering
that rating impact obviously projects would have to come off that list and we'd have to relook at uh our storm waterer master plan our Water and Sewer Master Plan our water and sewer critical needs and storm water critical needs and then if we are the big some of those big dollars as you know in our
neighborhood Improvement program projects got it and I know I'm asking you to quantify in uh unquantifiable sence here but I don't want to say wishy washy on the grants but try and come in on are we
in code yellow code red about the danger of losing some of these grants I I don't think that there's any issue assuming that we're moving forward uh at at some behind the next months or or or uh you know before the end of the calendar year somewhere in that frame time frame uh so it isn't about today you know as
commissioner FZ was was very correct in that statement this isn't about an action that has to happen today because as that item that came out of firk these rate increases are projected to be put into place uh October 1st um but we have time to settle this issue but obviously
we want to get it settled so we can begin planning to move these dollars forward at some point in the next six and N9 months year we'll be ready for construction on number so finally do you have a leg up or an idea on what some of
these possible solutions would be you don't have to be tied to them but do you have you know you've essentially going to get the instructive to find ways to help our most vulnerable shoulder some of these burdens the staff and maybe
it's not you you know this is open-ended to staff whether it be the city manager CFO or Public Works director do you have idea of the direction we would go for some of these uh relief efforts and how quickly or the timeline that you'd be
able to come back with something a little more solid so I can jump in on that I mean ultimately I think as we mentioned before we would have to find a way to allocate general fund dollars to
help subsidize people that are on a fixed income or low income to be able to offset some of these cost increases the most challenging piece of this is for the individuals that may share a water bill for example multif
family residential units have one water bill for an entire building and so it's not if if we were talking about all single family homes this would be a much simpler calculation we could just assess
what are the income levels in that home and how do we subsidize the bill for that particular home when you have shared water bills it becomes um infinitely more complex and we literally
just got this a week ago we have not had a chance to delve into that wait but point of order because I've had an item pending at the finance committee for and not not you know it's been uh there for uh several months on having to do
with with utility rates uh and that's not a new referral that's been there this not just something that willy-nilly came out of nowhere this has been an ongoing conversation for a long time that I think has uh has been there and my
apologies that was not meant to sound in any way shape or form like it came out of nowhere it was willy-nilly we've certainly been having multiple conversations over the last 6 to 10 months over utility bills and these are difficult discussions there is no doubt
about it um and I am very um aware of the fact that we do have individuals within the city that are going to be significantly impacted by these type of rate increases that we're talking about and so trying to find a way to split the
baby so to speak is is really where I think that this is going to either succeed or fail in my humble opin vice mayor B commissioner Rosen Gonzalez and then commissioner Suarez so Eric if you just clarify or
maybe it's a brad question I'm not sure but um is there a reason why we can't have water meters for each unit in a multif family home because for instance on Parkview Island uh I lived in a townhouse and there were eight of us contiguously
attached um and all the water meters and obviously the pipes come into a different place but all the water meters came in like were in one place so wouldn't there be a way to wouldn't it be possible to assign um
usage for as it's metered as it's being used I don't know I may maybe maybe you can't but is is it technically impossible is it legally impossible is it possible but we've never done it it's not a separate service it's by the building right now so no I know it's not right now but is there a reason it can't
be done if if I can might be you know My Condo building has 365 units you know I live in my beach and that would be I would think 365 individual pipes running through the building to 365 individual meters somewhere on the building okay so but maybe for a a small multif family
it's a different thing you know like an eight unit I don't know the buildings were built that way to have individual service they're they're built to have one master uh pipe for you know all eight units or 16 or 32 or whatever they are yeah commissioner Rosa Gonzalez and
commissioner Suarez if we didn't if we didn't know what the debt service was going to be how did we choose 9% was it arbitrary um that and wait wait wait and
that's my first question and then commissioner bot I think you had a great idea because I think that new projects should cover this $680 billion Bond debt service fee
and I don't know what the legalities are surrounding it but I do think that if you want to build a 400 foot Tower well then you're going to pay for our resiliency projects and that's where we need to go on this um we need to pass
this off to um to to to developers who um are going to build these massive Towers we have projects large projects coming Citywide so I think that we should move this to the finance
committee and have you guys work out the numbers The Debt Service numbers um look at the impact fees and and figure out what we need to charge in Impact fees to cover the cost of the differential in debt service if I could if I could add
in just asking Brian the impact fees don't bring in significant amount of money we're talking in the hundreds of thousands talking we need to bring those impact fees into the millions of dollars and that should probably be everybody's public benefit it's nice to get all these other bells and whistles but at the end of the day if we're passing the
cost off we should just say to people you're going to pay into this fund and this fund is going to C cover the differential in our impact fees and I see that the City attorney is giving me a look are we not allowed to um do this I don't have all the details but impact fees can be raised I think if it's by
25% over two years if it's by between 25 and 50% by over four years and I believe there's even new legislation that is further restricting the ability for us to impose impact fees I think what if we don't call it an impact fee let's call it some other kind of fee why is it an
impact fee it's a city water and sewer contribution um fee that we collect um from people that would like to build massive Towers in our community that tax our infrastructure as is and I'm sure that they want resilient streets too so
by the way instead of funding you know these bells and whistles that we're currently getting at least we're investing in something that is going to benefit not just the developer and the project but the whole Community you know but all of us as as a whole I would rather all of these public benefits that
we get from people to go to our basic necessities and by the way developers wanting the zoning are willing to pay into these types of funds I mean people come to me all the time and they say what do you want the what do you want our benefit to be there that Michael Stern is willing to pay 12 million 24
million for this Bikini Hostel well maybe that type of money should be going into these resilient projects um and we have we should make that happen and I don't know if that's um because I think that that's a smart thing to do look at what's happening right now in North
Beach we know that we're getting six large buildings right we are paying for the infrastructure to and plumbing for these six massive buildings and the developers profiting and all of us are
paying how much is that resiliency project costing the city in North Beach right near the Town Center project do you know do you have that number you talk about Northshore d project yes to that's over100 million that's
$100 million 125 why are we paying that why are we paying that money if we know I if if without these projects we wouldn't need to do that project granted there are updates needed but the point being here is that we shouldn't be
shouldering the cost I don't want an abua living in you know North Beach to pay $40 more per per it's it's a lot of money for people I you don't understand it it's hard sometimes to put yourself
in other people's shoes but I don't want to pass this cost off because if you were to ask our residents do they want these larger buildings really they don't they really don't but we're trying to be accommodating to the development community so I think that we need to
make these I I think that that that this is the direction we should go in and we should start actually with the DOA for example if we approve the dova we can say to the public benefits what's the first amount that we needed $9 million I
don't know what all the public benefits are for the doo but let's have that first year let's have him pay into a fund instead of everything else that he promised to do then you have the um West Avenue project you have so many different projects coming up in addition to raising the impact fees to what they
should be let's start um subsidizing our infrastructure and helping our residents Mr Mayor Mr Mayor thank you uh well commissioner Suarez is next uh then commissioner Fern but we got to bring this home for a landing let's let's start taking some votes I think think we we're pretty much Stak
our positions and then I'll let you speak as well let let me hear from CHR thank you um you know with that line of logic where we would have developers pay for infrastructure that means we would always need
development right we would we would always need to be building all the time to fund our water and sewer I think that's ridiculous I mean that is literally overdevelopment where we're going to uh the only way we're going to
fund our water and sewer is to get more development in my beach and I think I don't know I've knocked on thousands of doors lately and people are not happy about development so um I think that's a very narrow-minded way to to to solve a
problem I think you have to just at the end of the day vote how you uh feel about this and and and see if now is the time time if we want to raise rates at at the worst possible time to do so I in
2020 when this was a commission objective I think we were in a very different spot um and of a different spot financially um and you know things things were a little bit different then
so um I don't know how going to vote yet but if it's called for a vote I'm going to vote on it Mr Mayor and then uh you let let's bring this home for landing and let me know whether you're withdrawing the item and go ahead well I'm just going to make a few points uh again from
my perspective resiliency it's not just about pipes it's not just about pumps it's not just about roads resiliency is about the people who are supposed to benefit from all of that we can build a dry City but if we push out our people
then we're only frankly literally taking their own money to push them out uh and if we push out our residents in order to fund infrastructure then we have failed at every definition of resilience PJ uh
pull up page five of the attachment I sent you please I find it quite Rich that I have people stand in front of me and tell me that they're that you know it's a complicated thing to figure out how are we going to handle multifam properties
and all all that we've had September October November December January February March seven months to figure out the creation of a utility cost relief program to incentivize landlords to absorb increased utility fees
protecting lowincome tenants and supporting homesteaded owners and Rising utility rates I want to thank the chair it was going to be heard I think in March I requested a deferral from our March meeting because I'm going to be out of town but we've had seven months seven
months this is not something new and thank you PJ for that this is not something new this is not a new discussion this is not a new concern but we forget about the poor they're not present in our mind because they don't have a loud voice
because they don't have a lobbyist because they don't have an online platform because they're working and they can't be seated in these commission Chambers to tell us that they're going to be pushed out so this is where the rubber hits the road do we care about
the impact that our decisions have on the residents of our city and their affordability to live in our city are we going to be mindful of that and so I'm going to withdraw my item I'm going to encourage the mayor to
take up item r7e and let's take a vote on that and if it fails then it fails and you know maybe then the administration will come back with a plan that takes into account
the people in our city who we are entrusted to protect not just our infrastructure of course the infrastructure is a priority we've been this has been the most unified commission to advance on infrastructure that we have seen in a long time we have
done that but we have done that because we have won the Public's trust and the public has trusted us to advance on that agenda but we don't keep that trust if we don't protect those who are going to be pushed
out we need to do it responsibly so I'm going to withdraw my item I encourage you Mr Mayor it's your prerogative you're the presiding officer but I would encourage you to call r7e I'm making it very clear in the absence of the plan that I've been asking for
for S months and that I'm asking through this moratorium and the absence of that plan I'm not going to subject our residents to be subject to being priced out will the rich ones be priced out no
the rich residents won't be priced out they'll be upset they won't like it they're not the ones that that are going to be hurting the most there is going to be people who don't even know how to communicate with us who don't even know that this is
happening who aren't aware of it they're the ones that are going to suffer uer the most from from this decision the people paying everyone's salary in this room they're the ones who were going to be hurting so so with that I withdraw this item and let it be what it is thank
you commissioner um the item is withdrawn can I call r7e or do we have a pending motion no you can call r7e because that motion should be made in the next item r70 oh you had a comment right U Brian
man from G again uh first of all I wanted to to comment on the impact the legislation there is a section in the Florida impact the act that does say this doesn't apply to Water and Sewer connection fees and some uh a lot of legal interpretations have
been that um that the connection fees are essentially um doesn't refer to doesn't apply to Water and Sewer impact fees so um it just depends on whether the the you know the City attorney would support it but I don't think there's there any limitations to to rightsizing
the the impact these the second comment I wanted to make is is that it's cost prohibitive to to complete these projects without bond financing and until the city has a multi-year schedule
of rates adopted there there really is it's not in this City's best interest to to uh move forward with any bond financing for the water sewer and storm water infrastructure when you issue bonds the rating agencies want to see a
five-year forecast and one of the the key considerations in the rating is does the city do the city leaders um raise rates when needed so whatever whatever Capital program the
the city wants to move forward they the it is in the city's best interest to show that it is fully funded at all the increases needed for that multi-year Capital program have already been identified if not it is possible that the city could lose its Bond rating and
the implication of that is that you that the city would have to pay millions of dollars of extra uh interest rates and issuance costs so again until some action is is taken on adopting a multi-year schedule of rates to to fund the capital program over the next
several years it doesn't make any uh it's not in the city's best interest to do any kind of bond Bond financing uh and like I said it's it's you just don't have the C the cash to to fund all these hundreds of millions of dollars thank you
r7e r7e is discuss I'm sorry r7e accept recommendation proceed with water sewer and storm water rate ordinance marketing plan question I go ahead and then vice mayor bot so we're talking about an
average uh increase of about what8 $18 for the average person it's about $15 for water sewer and storm water combined so if we would re-evaluate some of these projects that we're moving forward with right and still go forward
with maybe the bulk of them right but perhaps re-evaluate if there's ones that we say yes this is important but it's more important for us to provide resiliency in other ways in our city as my friend and colleague commissioner Fernandez highlighted and and
we uh defer or get rid of a handful of those other projects that perhaps we decide aren't as much up the priority list what type of impact could that make in terms of the rates uh that we would be passing on could we essentially get
away with a $5 increase would it be a $8 increase $10 increase right I I know what you're going to say is well depends what projects you get rid of but if we would uh keep the top yeah I don't know how many projects are we looking at in
summation there there are sign about yeah a dozen uh or maybe about eight neighborhood Improvement program projects which are and just the dollars that are needed to complete funding uh between West Avenue phase 3 First Street
and Northshore d uh 222 million so almost the third are just in those three projects but the there's a I don't even know the exact number that are in the critical needs water sewer uh storm water mains and rehab and Pump Station Improvement programs and water station
Improvement programs there's uh about 350 million or more in there but those are made up of literally dozens and dozens and dozens project I I know you're not a policy maker but from your Viewpoint yes everything's important but are there some in there a handful that
we could live without over the next 5 to 10 years and defer that uh to essentially help soften some of the rate increases that we would see in the uh immediate and near term if I could before Brad Json when we look at Capital
Improvement program uh project best practices on a national level when you talk about prioritization one of the things you really look at is funding the projects that you've already started so you know part of the equation might be which projects are in design that you
need to construct and that would fall into place some big dollar ones like West Avenue phase three what the aggregate of uh what's the aggregate dollar amount West Avenue phase three and First Street combined are about $110 million in needed funding for those just
for those two projects those are in design but you know a big dollar anyone that hasn't started design uh could be paused you know indefinitely until uh we wanted to start those up so those would include things such as Northshore D which the commission I believe just gave
uh consent to begin negotiating the design fee we could pause that that's $11 million in funding needs right there um and then the Normandy aisle all the ones that haven't started design in the neighborhood Improvement projects the only ones that have started design that
are really far down the road are uh phase three of West Avenue in First Street if you wanted to defer uh or cancel all the rest of neighborhood Improvement projects obviously that would bring down the scale of the 10e program and what is the cost to go to the bond market for us and where I'm
going with this is essentially if we would sit here and say we're going to go to the bond market now with these utility rate increases for these projects that are already a design of $120 million perhaps that only leads to a rate increase of backing into the number three or four dollars per month
per uh resident which I think is certainly manageable and something that we could all get by not putting words in anybody's mouth uh then we essentially sit there and say well are the projects in tier two and possibly tier three
we'll re-evaluate those in two years um when maybe our financial uh picture and economic situation uh clarifies a bit or or hopefully softens um would it be silly then to sit there and say well
we'll go to the bomb Market again are we talking it takes us a million dollars to go to the bomb Market or $5 million usually the the issuance costs are around 1% of the of the principal oh so it's actually commensurate with the
amount so e it's not like some large absolute number up front it's going to be commensurated on a percentage basis it's yeah between one and 2% and if I can can our first issuance will be at least 85 million the commission has already given Direction on a declaration intent issue based on existing rate
structure to keep us in the double a rating but obviously I don't want to go to market to tap out the last 85 million in our financial plan uh because all the questions will be about the future um and what our our future is so unless we downsize uh dramatically which may be
what we're talking about and stopping all projects that are haven't started design yet and putting them on Paw or cold storage and only moving forward on those uh both in critical needs and we couldn't just say you know what we're actually going to take a laded approach
right uh so the one we're going to go to the bomb market now uh for the ones that are already in design pH to move forward with that it would just be restructuring our our capital program did not be what was commission approved with our four sets of prioritizations the commissioner approved is we would come back I guess
with a a new prioritization plan that we would obviously want to prioritize those projects that are already in design and I guess I asked my colleagues to consider something like that where we move forward uh at a reduced amount with the projects that are already in the
design phase that way we're moving forward it's a much much more um manageable rate I don't know if you can back into into that off the top of your head uh but we're talking probably in the $6 to7 per month range and then we
would take a laded approach where uh we still remain committed to moving forward with those other projects but you know essentially in a deferred manner that would that would be a bit of a hall but we can do that if that is the direction of the commission to reprioritize our program I thinkk you
manager Eric so I think we've gotten a lot of good feedback today I think we've been challenged with trying to come up with some creative outside the box Solutions um I I also have some ideas
that that maybe we can um adjust the increases on the base rates and maybe push more of the increases onto the consumption rates and so people then control their own destiny as to
whether or not they see larger increases based on the amount that they use so let us take that back let us work through this a little bit more um maybe we can bring this back or have
this conversation at FK next month um and try to come back with something that's more palatable because I hear The Angst amongst the deis um and I think that you know trying to push this forward to a vote right now
is probably not going to land in a good spot no matter which side ends up I think there should be a vote so um I have a a a piece of information that as you go back and
um consider how to move forward uh a pal of mine is an architect small scale he's not a developer lest anyone think there's that going on and he texted me because he was watching and he said and I'll read it um submetering is a very
common third-party solution lots of HOAs do it to split costs of overwat overall water fees it's a simple installation each unit has a separate shut off anyways one pipe goes into a unit it's a common practice and I said can um can it
work for a 300 unit building and he said yes it's easy it goes in right where the shut off valve goes because every unit has to have a shut off valve by code for their unit um there are millions of companies who who who do this um I don't he didn't know off the top of his head
if any municipality has ever done this but I would really strongly encourage that part of the conversation that comes back does a deep dive on that because I think that would be um a significant way to help improve this outcome for
everybody because I don't think anybody disagrees with commissioner Fernandez's desire to make sure that the the folks who are struggling the most get the help they need the reason why this City Works is that it's be is because it's a city
for everybody not just some and that is really important to I think most of us if not all of us on the de so I do like the idea of um giving you a month or so to come back um and then I also want to just make sure that we capture um the
resolution or whatever the vehicle is to increase the utility impact fees effective as soon as humanly possible I know it's not going to solve this issue but I don't want it to get lost and I don't think it needs to wait until this bigger
issue gets gets resolved lur thank you uh one comment I wanted to make is um a lot of buildings have the water already included so it's not done by consumption per unit and if it were it would be thousands and thousands of dollars to
reconfigure that also if there's a property owner that owns the entire building building and they are renting out the units the water is likely included as well so it would be a tremendous impact to the landowner and
uh not necessarily an impact to the renter um if they yearly lease isn't up at that time so keep that in mind just thinking that you can adjust the price individually may not solve the
problem okay let's wrap this up are we are we moving this to finance committee we discussed that I think um and then I'd like to vote on this item as well yeah I just um if I can PJ if you have what I just sent to
you right this is from a resident that just texted me I work and earn a modest salary I cannot work and live here even though I cannot not work and live here even though I should be retired at this age of 71 a hike in water rates is another nail in the coffin I believe
slowly Miami Beach will only be accessible to the well off and that that is that is echoed throughout our community that's one person that reached out that is what's going to triggle down to so many others who do not have the fortune
of even the least wealthy Among Us on this day is so many of us that are going to be suffering the way people like that are suffering even with a modest increase unless we find a way to help them absorb those costs thank you I'm I'm with you commissioner I I was
co-sponsor with you on your item c7w so um but I think we should uh if we're going to refer this to FK we'll need a motion in a second and do that and then we should call the vote on r7e and I if I may I believe commissioner V made a motion to split the ordinance up so that the impact fees are could move forward
and that would need a sec a first reading now it's possible you come back and you have an item that addresses everything uh but I I leave it to commissioner bot I I believe you wanted to split this correct yeah I don't want to delay on that because that has to happen no matter what we decide on the other thing
our impact fees should not be 30 years out of date and it's it's as my grandmother would sh would say it's a Shonda that that it is so for those of you who don't know that means it's mayor you want to a shame um it's embarrassing that for 30
years we haven't updated the um the impact fees so that um that we're not making sure that everybody pays their fair share so yes I absolutely want to bifurcate it I make the motion I would hope that it's a unanimous support is it a motion to
finance no to to um it's a motion to bring the ordinance back but only to address the impact yeah well we actually discussed uh sorry for speaking out of turn we actually discussed uh last Finance meeting about increasing the
impact fees that are charged for developers because as the vice mayor said uh it's been decades 30 years since the there's been a change to the impact fees charged for developers and I believe that there was unanimous support that might have only been two of us I'll
I'll support that it was still un um but we did discuss that at FK that uh we do need um I believe we actually had a 1,000% increase uh that we were supporting for the development fees am I correct in that yeah there was a large increase in in the impact fees you know
there's a prescrib stuff study that has to be done which was done it is a large increase that's listed but still unfortunately it's still hundreds of thousands not tens of millions which what we need but if that's the interested yeah that this could come back as a first rating ordinance just to deal with the impact fee which has already been dealt with that committee
and then the uh the base rate and flow rate uh can go back uh to firk to relook at that and uh either readjust your Capital program Andor uh the rate increase uh so we could we could do that that could be the the motion sure that is the motion and that before us do I
have a second I second can you call the to be clear is that coming the motion is to refer the rate increase to FK but to bring back the ordinance with respect simply to the impact fees so we're bringing back at the next commission meeting first reading first reading just
for the Imp only got it everyone clear so got a motion a second let's call the vote all in favor of uh this direction uh please say I I I any oppos
direction is given let's vote on r7e what I think that was our that was it oh that we modifi okay so there's no res at this you wanted to vote on the resolution right this before was not yeah I'm sorry I'm speaking to the mayor my thinking was that we passed that
motion but that we still have r7e if we don't have a motion is uh and a second it just fails I'm going to make if since we're on r7a I'm going to make a motion to declined the administration's recommendation r7e I'll second that what was the what was the I'm sorry I thought
the the prior motion was related to r7a motioning the resolution back to FK if I may sure my intent that we just voted on was to take just the impact fees and bring that back as a as a resolution to
the Commission in April just on the impact fees that are currently 30 years out of date separate and above from anything else that we do because you wanted to separate that out from the referral to the finance committee because the fact
that we're even talking about the fact that our our impact fees haven't been updated in 30 years is offensive to my core and I would like to fix it as quickly as possible and regardless of where we we we net out on the rate increase on anything else that should be
rectified yesterday but you you that pass and you're getting that that ordinance is coming back at the April meeting we also included in that motion that it's going to be referred to finance so there there's two separate items in that motion you're getting what you want it's just included with something else okay if if I me so just because it might be complicated if what
commissioner Fernandez wishes to go on the record that there is a rejection of the administration's recommendation but that there is a direction to send rates to finance and to bring back the ordinance we can reopen
the motion so they only have two competing motions that are a little bit conflicting I didn't view them as competing because I feel like on the one hand we're asking the city Administration to come up with uh a different plan and here we're actually just specifically rejecting or this plan
yeah only because this plan also included the the rate increase or impact fees so you you could reject it as to the rates I guess if you want to do that we're just rejecting it we're just come back with something different find
a different recurring Revenue Source okay ice mayor bot's items still coming back to the next meeting we're still referring it to FK referring what to FK an Administration plan fees well more more than
just no basically this entire it's r7e it's coming up with a with a different plan that the one proposed regarding water sewer and stormm rates storm water rates that's the that's the referral to First well let let's let's let's let's just let's position ourselves carefully
okay how about we let's buy for Kate the to I think that's because right now this is very confusing I can I can only imagine the staff is very confused let's have a vote to um bring back the resolu uh the
ordinance for impact fees M and separate in a hole from anything else y okay and then what are we going to do about r7e are we going to do I need to make a motion to to vote on it I I already made
a motion to decline it that's a motion right okay r70 well Rick why don't you why don't you have I mean we passed the motion already uh so procedurally what do you recommend what do you
recommend well I just want to make sure that there's Clarity that the direction is to bring the ordinance that everybody is in agreement with that for the impact fees Mr Mayor in r7e staff's recommendation is to accept a favorable
recommendation of the FK from its February 21st meeting and directing the city manager to present an ordinance to the city commission at the March 19 2025 meeting amending the city's water sewer and storm water rates
with the initial implementation of the monthly rate structure to take effect on octo memorandum and two develop a marketing plan for the city's infrastructure program including an explanation of the city's water insur St rate
structure that recommendation from the city Administration I want to make a motion to reject that recommendation and that's the motion we we made on the table that the mayor has second to reject the
entirety because we had a motion that was accepted to come back with an ordinance for the impact fee okay so you can take out the part of the impact fee that was the inconsistency thank you so so as amended to take out the impact fee okay we have
a motion a second let's call the vote all in favor yeah sorry Mr Mayor the ordinance was already was already voted on approved I understand that there's going to be a motion to
hear to vote on R7 e correct let's vote on r7e I second that motion to vote on r7e and let's call the rule through the mayor so yeah have no
idea bring on for a landing okay r70 is rejected except in so far as the impact fees I believe that is what I'm hearing no this is saying no to the current rate increase proposition that before us
we're just voting on r7e Independent of the impact fees we the impact R7 includes both that may be the confusion r7e includes rate increase and impact fee increase right so we what what commissioner Fernandez's motion proposes is that we take a vote rejecting r7e
excluding the impact fees that we have already that is correct that's correct everyone clear and then another vote referring that's been done already we referred it already now we're just literally to vot your impact fees is coming back in April we're referring to finance commissioner
Fernandez's motion is just to reject everything in R7 except for the impact okay clear as water I am water and go forward with this okay call the vote so to reject
r7e except for the impact fees uh all in favor I I any opposed motion is approved okay that was smooth let's call no res thank you everyone R9
e sorry r5e r5e r5e is nor of the mayor City Commission of City amending thee of the city of Mii Beach so Part B entitled Miami Beach resiliency code by amending chapter 2 entitled Administration and review procedures article two entitled General development application and
hearing procedure section 2.2.3 entitled development application submission and review by amending section 2.2.3 five entitled fees for the administration of Land Development regulations to provide a fee waiver for certificate of appropriateness
applications in single family zoning districts and providing for repealer qualifications cability and effective date this is a first reading public hearing item requires 57s vote it is item r5e yeah um the fees to go before the HPV are quite expensive and if you're
doing any work on your single family home I would just like to make sure that these fees are waved that basically it yep so that is my motion second okay call a
vote it is a public hearing I see Mr seral is on Zoom Mr Caldo please name address and you have two minutes yes ialo Daniel you're muted yourself okay can you hear me now
yes okay thank you wanted to thank the commission uh for this item uh one thing I did want to mention though is the vast majority of s family home renovations are done administratively a certificate of appropriateness is usually for major
demolition work I don't think that's the intent to make that more easy for a total demolition but I do uh appreciate uh this bill for simplifying and streamlining processes which is part of the city's overall Vision thank
you thank you so much is there anyone else who wishes to speak seeing none public hearing is closed mayor okay we we have a motion second I have a motion may I call commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner magazine yes commission
vice mayor bot yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Suarez commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes mayor Miner yes motion carries a second reading public hearing is scheduled for April 23rd r5h r5h is a nor mayor City Commission
of the city of Mani Beach Florida amending chapter 82 of the code of the city of Bambi Beach entitled public property by amending article 6 entitled naming of public facilities and a s of Monument or memorials by amending section 82-53 thereof entitled naming of public facilities coaming and renaming of streets by amending subsection c1a
and c2a to provide additional criteria procedures for the coaming of streets in honor of an individual who has made lasting and significant contributions to the city baby Beach Community through Healthcare philanthropy and arts and culture providing Sunset Provisions thereof providing for repealer Serv ability clarification an effective date
this is first reading public hearing it is item r5h I move the item call a vote there's a public hearing I see no one on Zoom I see no one in the audience commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes commissioner Fernandez yes
vice mayor bot yes commissioner magazine yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Suarez yes mayor Miner yes motion carries the item as approved second reading public hearing is scheduled for April 23rd that was r5h R5
L R5 L is an Noti of the mayor and City Commission of the city of Mi Beach Florida amending chapter two of the code of the city of Mii Beach entitle Administration by amending article two entitle City commission by amending section 2-14 thereof entitled meeting procedures and agendas to require that any resolution placed on a city commission agenda with a fiscal impact
of greater than $755,000 and seeking a waiver of the required review of by the finance and economic resiliency commit by 57 of the vote by the city commission may not be placed on the consent agenda and shall be said be heard as a regular agenda item providing for repealer of ability qualification and effective date
this is a first reading public hearing it is item r5l commissioner Suarez thank you Mr Mayor um as we all know we're in tough Economic Times we just spent an hour discussing rate
increases that are going to affect all the residents of Miami Beach um I put this on the agenda so that we can have a little bit more fiscal accountability on uh the items
that we want to approve it's not saying that we can't approve this on uh at a commission meeting just I don't think it's it's responsible to pass it on consent I think there there needs to be a discussion for um anything with
$75,000 or greater so uh I'd like to hear what my colleagues have to say about this go ahead commissioner magazine I I I wholeheartedly welcome uh the renewed uh focus on from all of us on fiscal responsibility uh commissioner can you
clarify I'm all for so anything with a fiscal impact above $775,000 can't be placed on consent that's part of the ordinance it's any item that is more than 75,000 that requests a 57th waiver
cannot go on consent what kind of items would those be I I mean I I'd back you if you said anything over $75,000 can't go on consent where's the 57 waiver come because currently you can request a 57th
waiver from referral to FK so it's to ensure that an item either goes to FK got it or is on the regular agenda got okay yeah I second that and I commend you an appology for this thank you
anybody my only I I think I think discussing Big Ticket items is a great idea my only reservation my only hesitation with this because the the way it is now is that um even if it's on
consent it can get pulled and discussed um and then you have the the thorough airing the the concern the and it's a small one but it's a concern is that if it is um an item that doesn't get called as part of the regular agenda and let's say it's
something that's more time sensitive like if it's if it's and maybe I'm not understanding the Roberts rules but I think that if it's on consent and some pulls it it has to get heard that meeting is that right or no depends on whether the mayor gets
through all the items I mean it doesn't always so even if it's if it's um a consent item and it gets pulled if it's a consent item obviously it goes through but if it gets a consent item and it gets pulled that pulled consent item
does not have to get heard that happens on occasion I think the proper procedure that point would be to let the mayor know that there's a time sensitive concerned with respect to an item that was pulled or that is on the regular agenda so if if that's already the way
our agenda works or our process works that it goes into consent and if somebody wants to learn more about a project or understand it better where it has reservations that then gets pulled and um then if it's getting close to you
know 5:00 and it hasn't surfaced yet any other us can let the mayor know that it needs to be heard because it's time sensitive so to me it's like two sides of the same coin kind of so we have yeah so so it's we kind of have that already
well right now if you want to spend $75,000 or more you need a 57th waiver correct because normally you would be going to FK correct okay so I I don't see a problem with just demanding a dis
discussion on why you know you should be spending $75,000 of taxpayer money uh especially given what has happened today W with um with financial instability I think
it's very prudent for us to to always discuss why monies are going to be spent and um it forces us to engage in that dialogue and I think that's important I don't think we should be putting things on consent
um for $75,000 or more it really puts the onus on the the sponsor to really discuss the item and I think that's good governance I think that's good transparency and um I don't see anything wrong with that I you know we put a lot of safeguards in land zoning regulations
where you know you have to have a certain am of meetings you have to you can't put it on consent I don't see why you wouldn't want to have that same sort of stringent policy for taxpayer dollars I agree with uh vice mayor but
we have the guard rails in place already and there are um you can't say that it's that there's no transparency I mean we have details in these books they're available online everyone has access to an agenda review
everything has gone through thoroughly so there's nothing hidden or secret when it's on consent and if anybody on the days has an issue with it they can pull it and there will be a robust discussion but um I think the card rails are there uh vice mayor
you nailed it colleagues I think this is good if we want to spend $75,000 I think we're upfront make the case and that's that um so I'll make a motion uh approving this second I'm sorry motion to do
what motion to approve I already had one by commissioner SZ and you seconded yeah so uh there's no one on zoom and there's no one in the audience requesting to speak now call the RO so I just okay so in
2022 we adopted a procedure that requires that any ordinance or resolution with a fiscal impact greater than $75,000 first be reviewed and recommended by a committee is that
correct yes and that was recently amended so that it goes to the finance committee to the finance committee okay and then it but then it was unless is waved by a 57th vote that is correct
okay and what is the difference with this what does this do now if you are seeking not to go to Committee in other words you are seeking the 57 waiver this item would require that item to be placed on the regular agenda and not on the consent
agenda so that it must be discussed um because in the other case it would only be discussed if it's pulled so so why wouldn't we just pull it like today there was an item we got and it got pulled I mean I just I think you're asking me the question yeah yeah sponsor
I'm sorry of course I I think I think everything as far as money being spent at least 7 $5,000 or more deserves a discussion I think uh you know we have a unified commission here now but what's to say in future commissions that you
they decide to have no discussion and move forward with you know Reckless spending I think it also puts the onus on the sponsor to really have a discussion ready to to to talk about the item it forces us to be very fiscally
responsible and accountable for what we want to spend taxpayer dollars on I don't I think it's it's almost like a loophole uh putting on consent um and and and you know there may be an issue where you you don't want to offend one
of your colleagues for uh pulling this item because you have another item I I think this really just sets us both in a position for accountability uh on on why we should spend you know amount of
number of dollars 75,000 or more on certain projects I think it's just good transparency and good government and and it it really not only that but the public sees what's the discussion right I mean I understand you know commissioner uh Dominguez said we have a
lot of material here but most people who are at home they don't read the agenda okay they at at best watch our meetings read our newsletters and and discuss um um and get information that way so look
um I I think it's good governance I I think there's nothing to hide if you want to spend $75,000 of taxpayer money uh you should be more than willing to speak up on the subject and and discuss your point in a public form and so and
and so I just as a followup so how was the $75,000 threshold determined because I remember when we made this policy into 2022 you know I was questioning why $75,000 uh and I was trying to
understand that at the time because to me even $50,000 it's a lot of taxpayers dollars um you know I can lower even even $225,000 is is a lot of taxpayers dollars so I'm just wondering like how how did you come to the
$75,000 uh threshold for this because well first of all I wasn't elected in 2022 so I I can't speak to why it was 75,000 apparently M Mr City attorney you can correct or you can you can read into the record of of why it's 75,000 I think
that was just the determination by the by the commission at the time to use that threshold that is commissioner Suarez didn't come up with that number that was already in the code I'd be more than happy to lower to 50,000 I mean I you know I just
I don't know I don't think it's necessary because I think the mechanism is already there you know the ne the mechanism was shown today you know there was an item for 75,000 it was pulled and I think we've done that in the past I think today we see items
being pulled of smaller amounts I think I think there's an item for $5,000 being pulled from the agenda for discussion and so you know I just you know at that point let's just make everything like why be a commissioner
then like like if we're not going to trust each other let's just be frank if we're not going to trust each other as Commissioners as good stewards of the public how can we expect the public to
trust us with their assets and what this item is saying is that we don't trust each other as as responsible stewards of the taxpayers dollars I think the mechanism
is there already where we can pull an item we can discuss an item we can refer it to committee without over having without having to over legislate it because the reality is that often times we just have
carryover items and these extended discussions that's I don't it's kind of how I feel at the moment I don't I don't know but I welcome your feedback on that yeah sure U and by the way you know this was um recommended by our CFO and I'd
love to hear what Jason has to say on this Mr well I want to know what the cfo's thinking was in recommending this policy I'm sorry if you just repeat yourself sorry talk to the public works director
about a prior item this is on the $75,000 uh referral yeah what's your opinion on this uh you know we had a discussion uh uh about this and this was really I think was in your interest in making sure that items were you know properly referred to
FK and to kind of put an extra don't want to put words in your mouth but my understanding was really to put an extra um hurdle in that uh you know you wouldn't have items just on the consent agenda approving expenditures mid year that haven't been you know appropriated previously and and I don't think it has
anything to do about trust right I think uh to a certain extent we all trust each other but again this is more about Open dialogue with the community of why we're spending money and I think it behooves us to open in an Engaged public setting
of why we want to spend money I think it really puts the onus on the on the sponsor to describe uh why are we spending this money um so so let me just follow up on that P now I'm more
confused so I see the administration had a recommendation on this and I don't see a recommendation from the administration on the agenda and and he just said that it was your idea not his idea and you said that
it was his idea so whose idea was it where's the administration's recommendation because I guess the administration recommended this but there's not an official recommendation on the agenda so I this is a predicament because I usually like to follow staff's recommendation and I like to know what
staff recommendation is before I sit on the day to vote on something so I'm being told the administration took a position on this and all the members of the city commission were not privy to that position if I may this was a discussion
that the commissioner uh requested to have in his office that we sat and uh had a discussion overall about the city's budget uh it increasing um and what you know the commissioner has I think other items that have been on the agenda are on are being referred
related to uh trying their best to keep the trajectory of the budget increasing and this was just an overall series of of many different policy discussions uh that happened uh in a in a private meeting in the commissioner's um office
and this was an item that the commissioner decided to move forward with it wasn't specific uh to this there was a lot of different items discussed on that there were there were many there were many ideas discussed if I may it started off as a discussion really related to the item I think that's on
this agenda is a referral to finance about uh having the general fund budget uh cut by 10% or 0% CPI it was really that was that discussion um and you know as we know that all that uh we have going on in our federal level and just
you know do we want how do we want to look at ourselves in that area so there was a very was a very long you Mr CFO so Mr attorney I just have a question this is the section of our city commission agenda that relates to meeting procedures
right and to the structure of our agenda it's uh 2-14 yes yes Mr CFO are there any other changes to our remaining agendas and procedures that you think may be necessary these are purely a policy decision of the commission uh no I I
know I I understand I I understand our role as policy makers I'm just wondering you know I I know you have an opinion on this procedure having to do with our meeting agendas and and how many votes Commissioners need on an item for it to
be passed and what section of of an agenda that I can put an item in or any one of my colleagues can put an item in I'm just wondering do you have other opinions on other sections of this section of the code that should be amended I haven't really gone through
through all of it but I would just say you know I think it's I welcome an analysis and I welcome your feedback if you feel there's any other meeting procedures or anything else that's that's wrong that should be amended in our meeting procedures or agendas that need to be fixed I'll welcome your feedback sure thank you Mr Mr Mayor also
if I can follow up on this you know I look right now anything over 75,000 is supposed to go to FK right where we where we thoroughly discuss an item but there is is a waiver that we can have
57s that uh disrupts that process and so I think given the the the financial constraints of our times you know it really isn't prudent of us to allow this loophole to not even be
discussed uh it's not I'm not saying get rid of the 57 waiver I'm not I'm not forcing this go to to FK as as a as the law says it should um we're not withstanding this waiver I'm simply saying let's not put it on consent and
then not discuss it so I I think it's common sense and look if if if the if the will of this body is to is to not do that I completely understand no I think it's great I think it's great that the CFO is giving us this feedback I wish I knew about it beforehand uh it gives great context as
as where this is coming from um so no certainly I think I think you know it's it's good to know commission Ros Gonzalez and let's call the vote my concern with this is is that I have items on this agenda that have been there for months that
don't get called so how do I use the consent agenda I know that when I put an item on consent it will pass and it will be called and if somebody has a problem with it then they pull it so here's my um here's what I would like to see um I
how can you you assure me that if I vote for this that that item with the emergency $75,000 or more funding is going to get called at that meeting if you can include some sort of language that demands that that item with the $75,000 funding gets called before any
other item like right after the consent agenda then I would support it but right now there are no guardrails on it so do you think that you could fix it and bring it back next month or maybe the City attorney has some language that could add to it
because um I know my my big concern is that you know it just doesn't get called and like commissioner bot says it you know could be 7 p.m. and then the meeting gets adjourned and I'm not blame I'm not you know pointing uh fingers but but the
consent agenda is very useful to ensure fairness um right to to ensure a a a fair and balanced agenda so that all of us make sure that our items are somehow heard you know so that's that's that's really you know what what concerns me
here so if you can correct that then I will support it I I would uh I would look at the City attorney and I as as I understand it if there is an item on the agenda that hasn't been called or or you would like to be called someone can make
a motion discuss that item and as long as there is a majority of the commission that votes the to discuss that item actually the mayor controls the agenda there are some rules that relate to um you know an item that gets called
to to take it off I believe but um I think what commissioner Rosen Gonzalez is suggesting is that she wants some certainty that the item would get called so to add and language that would require the item to be called after whether it's after the consent agenda is
adopted or it could be after the afternoon snic you know and and and by the way those safeguards that we have for example if your item wasn't called on the previous agenda it's supposed to be called on the subsequent agenda and there are so many many times where my
items um not just my items but everybody up here has items that are languishing on the agenda so we put legislative guard rails in PA place that are not being followed so that's why the consent agenda is a protection for everyone
because for exam and even then it's not I mean I pulled some items from the consent today to talk about and I don't know if they will be called or if they're just going to go to wherever the mayor chooses I mean I have you know so if I if I were to count all my items um
so I just so that's so I have no problem I I am all about transparency I rarely put an item over $75,000 ever um on a consent agenda especially when it needs to pass with a 57s vote my problem is that I don't
think here in Miami Beach right now this body gets equal opportunities uh to be heard in the past I've seen mayors that barely go through an agenda one item after another after another but when you skip around the agenda and you cherry
pick you know your friend's item or your buddy's item or some special who whomever it is then it becomes a problem and that's why I that's why I use the consent agenda and I'm not saying it's it's just you I've just seen different mayors and and how it works and I've
seen mayors that go through the agenda one by one that to me seems the fairest way depending on how Commissioners submit items the quicker you get your item in the further up on the agenda it should be and that's really how it how it was when I first started here uh we
didn't hop around the agenda like this everybody got a fair shot wait because there's something to be said about going in ordinal you know order and and just having everybody's items heard and um and and okay so I so
that's so that's and I'm not I'm not saying it it's just you I why you know I'm um under the former mayor there were several times but I will say that prior to that my items always got heard because we had a fair system and that's really how the mayor should call the
items fairly for everybody depending on when they're submitted one 2 three four five straight down the agenda that way people are not sitting here waiting for their item to be heard if the mayor doesn't like the item he doesn't have the choice of you know making people
wait or not you know so so so that's my problem with this item Mr May yeah no so um first of all there's there's more items that we could possibly hear because the rules that I had this body had passed about limiting the amount of times we can speak I actually have not
been enforcing that and maybe I probably should because we we're really supposed to be limited to twice and we're going four five six times times so we're spending a lot of times on items also I pulled commissioner uh in past meetings you have most meetings have had either the most or the second most items called
of any commissioner and I can show you those statistics so we've pulled that because you you've made this comment before so your items are called and I've and I've always told everyone and I don't and I don't want to say I've never not followed it but if you tell me there's an item you want to hear I will
call it but there is way more items on these agendas that we are getting through so um doing doing the doing the best we can I'm trying to hit items of importance certain things have to be heard because they're time sensitive and I'll and I'll continue to try doing that commissioner
sarez I just um and and to Kristen's point there already is apparently a um I'm waiting to get confirmation as that as far as I know I'm not a parliamentary expert but if there is an item um I believe you can have a 57 vote to hear
that item which exactly is the same amount uh of threshold for for this waiver so if this waiver uh if if the item is pressing to the super majority of this commission then um there's no
reason why there couldn't be a vote for a a discussion on the item Mr Mayor let call the vote what wait um commissioner Suarez I just want to say if we're going to do this you know and again having listened to the wisdom
of our CFO and just for my colleagues to to know the cfo's wisdom is what what's influencing my vote here yeah today uh so you know thank you for letting us know about your recommendation on this not your colleague huh is it not your colleague well no because we want we
want the guidance of our of our professional staff um frankly what I would do is anything that hasn't gone to finance it hasn't been bettered at Finance let's just review it here let's just discuss it let's just review it here it's a taxpayer's money we're in a
public setting it's not our money that's just any amount that hasn't received a f recommendation let's just place it on a regular agenda and let's have a 5 S vote on it and and that's and and let's and and let's just do that um and you know
because ultimately that's where we're heading to anyways um and frankly it should be a high threshold some my money it's not any of ours monies here it's the taxpayers money and you know they should know where their money is going
to when we have um you know our budget hearings we have public hearings after five o'clock we have uh various hearings of it we send mail notices the public is able to to chime in and these are out of
budget out of cycle allocations of the Public's money right and so and and so let's just say of any amount place it on the regular agenda no more consent agenda for these uh budget allocations
and let's get that 57th vote we have a lot of items on the agenda today let's call a vote and that and so I don't know if you accept that wa I would like to point something out I would want to know if the sponsor accepts that amendments I'm okay with that okay okay wait as
amended I think we're ready to call the vote okay but I would to point something out um Raphael my my item r9e how long has that been on the agenda r9e I I don't think that's applicable this no I I do think I
do think it is because I this is why we don't get through the agenda I no it's not it's not it's be I just want to point some things out commissioner Rosen Gonzalez for once please let's not make this about you I'm just trying to make this has not been called for easily like
how long I would just like to know um my R R9 r9n r90 discuss an update the Roosevelt Theater that doesn't get called ever discuss the 67 vote thresold ldr commissioner magazine we heard the Roosevelt Theater FK last month I have
it on the agenda here and it just doesn't get my item doesn't get called okay but if but you know the double standard is that if if the mayor puts his item on the agenda he's for sure going to call it so when are you going to call our items I would like to have all my items called today I have items that have been on here for six to 9
months but In fairness these items have not been called either because I know for for example the one about 41st Street hasn't been called and the one about the peak hours traffic that hasn't been called and that's really old um and he
has the one about the alter road construction project that one's really old and he hasn't called that one either so like I think we have backlog of items in the discussion items that haven't been called and I just want to be fair about it I even have ordinances that
don't get called but like my r9r discuss 67 vote threshold on height maybe this commission is going to say they don't want to do it but I obviously the mayor doesn't call it because he doesn't like the item but that's not the mayor's prerogative because this is a good idea
that needs to be discussed and well I know but I think that those items need to get called so everybody's items need to get called so that's why I'm concerned about the consent agenda that's why I use the consent because there's no fair treatment here in terms of how items and I I think you're
getting I think you you get better if you kind of like the item but it's not your job to whether you like the item or not you just have to be fair and that's really not happening I I'll show you the stats you actually have way I call way more of your items than than my items are because you probably like my
items commissioner Suarez look I commissioner commissioner Rosa Gonzalez I I think it's Rich that you're you're pushing for a six sens uh vote on on height but you're unwilling to have just
a basic discussion on taxpayer funds and you you you don't want to have a discussion about that I I think that's that's mindboggling oh so we're campaigning again is that what we're doing Comm I for the years not find are
unfair so you send out an email tomorrow and it by the way it's disingenuous sarez because last time there was the item about the poll that we had to spend the $880,000 to allocate it in an R fund and he acted like we took money from the general funds for $80,000 their whole
story wasn't told when you tell the whole story that's authenticity that is like being like telling the whole story so now whether you know whatever happens tomorrow morning he's gonna say oh commissioner Rosen Gonzalez doesn't want
to let people hear items that are more than $75,000 and you know what's going to happen people you know it's not true I'm trying to explain explain why the consent agenda is a useful tool so in the past I was going to counteract some of these arguments but I haven't because
I didn't want to go there but I will you want to send out competing emails tomorrow morning telling both sides of the story so that we find out what's genuine and what's not we could do that or or you can tell you can explain what you're really
doing uh well for the record I just got elected last year um I'm not in any sort of campaign mod I I haven't filed to run for anything um I'm I'm going if you let me speak please I think it's a little bit rude um I I
have I listen I I uh I think making sure that we have proper discussions on how we spend taxpayer money and setting a high threshold for that is good governance I have no idea why you or not
you but anyone would want to avoid that discussion I understand there's concerns about some of your items you may not be in calleded I think the stats have been pulled that your items get pulled more than anyone else I think the fact that we have parliamentary rules that have a
5 S waiver uh to call an item despite the mayor um if that is the case go ahead and make a motion and see what happens with your vote and see if you'll get a second uh and you'll see if you'll have five vot votes to discuss an item
that that you want to discuss I I welcome to do it right now and see what the will of the body is to to hear the items that have been on the agenda for for an indefinite period of time can we call the vote on this
item as amend are correct and the amendment was if the item does not go to FK regardless of the amount it goes on the regular agenda there it is a public hearing I see no one in Zoom I see no one in the audience requesting to speak I have a motion from commissioner Suarez seconded
by commissioner magazine as amended vice mayor bot If an item does not go to F and involves any expenditure that is not in the budget it is heard here as a regular agenda item I um I'm not comfortable with this
item um I think we already have the guard rails in place so I'm going to say no and I'm sure I will be pillared for this as well commissioner Dominguez um I feel the same way if something is urgent and it's going on
consent the understanding of the body is that somebody can pull it for further discussion the voters have set us in here to be stewards of their money and I think we all do as good a job as we can and uh we're very Mindful and fiscally
responsible and adding this extra layer as commissioner Fernandez says shows that we just don't trust each other so no commissioner Suarez yes commissioner magazine yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Rosen
Gonzalez I'm going to support this item but if for some reason my item is not called I am going to speak at both sutnik hours about it I am going to scream from the rooftops that my item is not being heard and I will make sure that anyone and anyone who has an issue with this will get Justice and have
their item heard please listen to me as a co-sponsor if you're okay with it I welcome your co-sponsorship thank you commissioner Fernandez we finish the mayor Miner yes motion carries as amended second reading public hearing is
April 23rd commissioner Fernandes is going to be listed as a co-sponsor as I'm sorry as and commissioner magazine co-sponsor r5n r5n is an ordinance of the mayor and City Commission of the city of May Beach Florida amending chapter 46 of the code
entitled environment by amending article four noise entitled Noise by amending section 46152 entitled noises unnecessary and excessive prohibited to remove from the prohibition of the use of loudspeakers type devices attached to and upon Vehicles a car out permitting
the legit legitimate use of such devices in political campaigns consistent with Florida Supreme Court precedent providing for repealers of ability qualification and effective date this is a first reading public hearing hearing it is item r5n so this a cleanup item to comply
with state law and basically the city attorney's office generally just goes to the mayor to uh put it on the agenda and that's what I did I'll second I'm sorry have a motion and a second it is a public hearing is there anyone who wishes to speak I see no one
on Zoom no one in the audience I have a motion by commissioner Fernandez seconded by mayor Miner on r5n commissioner dingz I'm sorry commissioner Suarez yes yes yes commissioner magazine yes vice mayor Bach yes commissioner Rosen
Gonzalez we didn't do this confused also she's in the rest commissioner Fernandez yes mayor Miner yes motion carries second reading public hearing is April
23rd Mr Mayor could I just disappoint a personal privilege yes uh I see we have hernon cin our director of code enforcement and just want to give him a shout out uh because he's been I I've seen him out and about uh over the
weekend uh with spring break and code has been doing a fantastic job even uh going after establishments that don't have ptrs that were going to open against the provisions allowed under under the law and so uh he's been boots
on the ground he he and his team and so I just wanted to publicly thank him and know let him know that his work is appreciated thank you very good sir thank you all there you go there you go yes thank you all uh let's do some budget items
r7a should we call r7a and B here I'll give you in a second okay Sor r7a r7a give me one second I apologize r7a is adopt Fourth Amendment
fiscal year 2025 operating budget to just before you go uh commissioner Dominguez was a yes on r5n so go ahead please good afternoon tamaa Stewart budget director this is the fourth amendment to the operating budget it contains four items it
recommends an overall increase of 144,000 to the general fund budget and all four items were approved by the city commission at the February 26th commission meeting uh the first item is a grant match for the peer Park pedestrian safety and Street
improvements project that total amount approved was $250,000 we do have some available Capital dollars so all we need from the general fund to fully fund this 84,000 the second item is for anti-Semitism sensitivity training
program at M this recommends an appropriation of $50,000 as approved by the commission the third is a grant to Auda for the art classes at stalam Maris and that's in amount of 5,000 and the last is a sponsorship for the exemplary
woman women's award exhibit and that's uh from the general fund reserves as well and that's it for the operating budgets I'll second it is a public hearing I see no one requesting to speak on Zoom no one
requesting to speak in the audience if no discussion may I call the RO yes all in favor of r7a please say I I any opposed hearing none the item is approved 70 r7a
r7b r7b is a public hearing adopt Fifth Amendment to the fiscal year 2025 capital budget and this item contains two amendments one is for the Flamingo Park neighborhood slow streets project the job order Contracting proposal came
in 76,000 below the approved budget so the recommendation is to appropriate 7 $76,000 from the Transportation available fund balance and the second item is a pair Park pedestrian safety and Street improvements project which is a grant that was approved by Commission
uh in on February 26th so this is to appropriate 250,000 in the event that we actually go for the grant and those are the two items I'll second it is a public hearing I see no one requesting to speak in the audience
no one requesting to speak in Zoom if no discussion may I call the rooll yes on r7b all in favor please say I I I any opposed hearing none the item is approved 70 it is a Voice
vote R9 W r9w is discuss take action of necessary biscan Beach Elementary School yard partnership it is commissioner Rosen Gonzalez's item defer to Dr Rosenfeld our
director good afternoon Leslie Rosenfeld Chief education and performance officer this item is a followup to a resolution that approved a partnership with the trust for public land for a community schoolyard at biscane Beach Elementary
we do have on the um Zoom uh Jay wnc from Trust for Public land who I'm going to ask to uh have PJ bring bring in an moment to uh just uh do some a presentation on some of the concepts
that were uh developed after much input from uh the community in the area around bis Camp Beach Elementary the students the teachers uh our staff and um other uh in uh individuals uh prior to his speaking I'd like to read into the um uh
record a uh an email of support from M day County Public Schools they did have a school board meeting today and we unable to join us in person Miami day County Public Schools supports the city of Miami Beach and Trust Republic land in expanding the Playfield at biscan Beach Elementary Mi day County Public
School supports the city of May beach and the trust Republic land's efforts to expand and renovate the Playfield adjacent to biscane Beach Elementary School we are also grateful to the city of miime beach for its continued investment in the Improvement of this community's public school this collaborative effort reflects our
ongoing commitment to fostering strong Partnerships that enhance educational and recreational opportunities unities for our students in the community mdcps recognizes the value of highquality recreational spaces in supporting student well-being physical activity and Community engagement we look forward to
the transformation of this park into a vibrant space made possible by the city of Mami Beach and its partners that will serve the students of biscan Beach Elementary and the residents of Miami Beach there was also a motion made by the committee of quality education yesterday that requests the mayor and commission support biscan Beach
Elementary Community schoolyard Concepts presented by the trust Republic land including the identification of funding and I also would like to add that the Playfield at biscane Beach Elementary is actually a jointly owned field uh it is
jointly owned by deed uh and a joint use agreement uh with between the city of Miami Beach and Miami dat County public school so is Jay on the call I am uh greetings everyone um I believe
there should be some slides up for all of you to to see um here's a picture of the the site next slide please and this is the area uh that we've been discussing uh that Dr Rosenfeld presented um so next
slide uh biscane Beach Elementary is just south of 77th Street uh certainly an incredible site with a potential uh in terms of taking advantage of existing resources the school is already
doing this uh the trust for public land if you don't know is a national nonprofit that is focused on connecting everyone to the outdoors we do that through a number of ways we do that through land protection we do that through Park construction we through we
do that through developing Bond measures um for cities and counties to to vote on in order to provide funding to their their their communities uh the fourth way we connect everyone to the outdoors is through our schoolyards program trust
Republic land schoolyards program has been successful at 300 sites across the country this is our first project working in Florida and have been honored to be working with the students at biscane Beach Elementary and the community in the development of the
following uh designs next slide please in order for us to get feedback to inform the designs there was a survey that was distributed to the community through a website uh the city of Atlanta's parks department was
responsible for getting the word out about this project uh it was with this information that our biscan Beach Elementary Green Team um developed uh some ideas uh in terms of what the site
could actually be to to better um benefit not just them during the school day when the park would only be used for them or by them but also by their families after school hours so looking at the survey results that we received
uh it was pretty clear there's definitely some needs out there that everyone agreed on that shade structures trees benches a soccer pitch group seating for Outdoor Learning picnic tables pretty pretty simple uh basic stuff uh next slide
please it is with this feedback that trust for public land was able to take uh the students through a design process working collaboratively with your off with members from your office of
sustainability from your uh parks department um but then also closely with the school district and their students uh we took the students through two design workshops where they got to learn about the importance of parks in uh
placemaking and and sustainability professions next slide please there were two concepts that trust rep public land developed as part of our contract with the city of Miami Beach um taking the ideas that we heard
from the students we were able to conceptualize these into schematic uh Concepts uh per our scope so just there's there's two concepts here uh you'll notice a new walking Track or Loop within the the
park space um uh a more formalized Playfield that could be used for a variety of sports but we we certainly know that soccer is very popular at biscane beach you'll notice um some shade structures quite a few uh addition of
trees a space in the northeast corner or I'm sorry that's actually the northwest corner to the upper right a more formalized Outdoor Classroom where the teachers can take their students out and you know en enjoy their time outside uh learning and and and uh about
nature and the other um resources that exist on site next slide please um the second concept that was developed similar and in terms of program elements just relocating them to different areas
um one of the three basketball courts has actually been considered as a transition into a footall court um for for soccer you'll notice at the lower left corner uh a different location for a themed
playground um and then a shift to the center of the design with a with another Outdoor Classroom so these are both Concepts that were shared with uh the city the city's um Department of parks the school district about a month ago we
received some feedback we developed some very preliminary cost estimates in terms of understanding exactly what this would would cost but all in all this was an incredible event and activity working with the students as as we had a chance
to uh introduce them to uh you know uh hopefully their future careers in in placemaking and and design um but uh you know certainly they they received uh um or provided us the the necessary feedback for us to come up with these designs that hopefully the city will
consider and school district will consider investing in down the road okay PJ if you want to stop sharing please okay commiss Rosa Gonzalez so I want to thank Dr Rosenfeld and also that um the trust for public land this is one
of the coolest programs um that you can think about I mean they come in and and get the children actually vote along with the adults and parents it's Community Driven so we have lands at schools especially playground areas that
aren't programmed at all and so um this is an example of how a nonprofit can come in and and partner with the city and really Dr Rosenfeld you had to do a lot of work because it's not so easy to get these agreements done with Miami day County public schools with the national
um with the with the trust for public land um and and and bring pull this together and actually get the funding and present um an area that was just once programmed for nothing into something that the entire Community can
now use so I'm really impressed uh Dr Rosenfeld and at this point when we passed this today um what where where do we need to go from here to continue um the process well the agreement with the
trust Republic land actually ends at the end of of this month so next steps would be direction from uh this entity uh from from the Commissioners and the mayor regarding what you would like us to do um obviously we want we want you to
build this plan and we have the funding correct we do not have the funding so the trust okay the trust for public land is giving us how much and in this they're offering no the Trust for Public Lands responsibility
was to to come up with the plan to facilitate the uh Concepts uh in conjunction with the school district and the community but we have all the agreements in place what we have in place is a joint use agreement with miid
day County public schools that allows for the school to have exclusive use of that field during school hours during school days and then the community has access to the field after school hours on the weekends and on holidays so then in order to realize this plan I was
under the impression that they were going to fund a portion of it they're not there just their portion of this was just the community survey and design correct however they will continue to work with us in potentially identifying sponsors uh through their
networks um so the cost of this would be 690 000 I think one of the directions would be there's there were two different Alternatives I think there was an A and A B there uh one at 670 one 690 so in the same realm you know up to $700,000 there there is no construction
dollars identified at this time but obviously there's you know where I guess we're looking for some direction on which one of the two Alternatives the commission likes um and then second is this something that the city is interested in moving forward with either partially or fully funding is this
something that we return if we're able to enter into a partnership with the school board or find a third-party um private uh donor which you know working with the TPL was is a little bit of a direction that was what the item originally was approved for us to come back here today for this discussion well
I think we should take this then and um refer it to the CRA the North Beach CRA to see if we can get it funded and then if they agree to the funding um bring it back we rarely spend
any money in that area of the city we have parks and you know that that we're building Citywide and yet um on that Western portion of the city where we have so many children and multif family housing we literally have nothing so if
it's okay with you guys I would like to refer it to the North Beach CRA and if they approve the funding I would like you to identify the funds there would you like uh the referral to be for both for them to discuss that they're interested in funding it and also which one of the two Alternatives what between
the 670 and 690 the two different the difference between the two there were two different layouts in the screens the orientation of the uh soccer field and the placement of some of the other features but the the it's not a great difference but if you want to leave that up to them to get into those details I would leave that up to I'm not I'm no
expert on soccer field orientations so but I would like to see this funded and um I'm I'm hoping that the last thing I sent to SI kind of got shot down so I'm hoping that this gets funded because there was a lot of work put into this how many years did this take to bring to
fruition this idea it was approved in March of 2023 okay that's that's not so bad okay two years still that's a long time it's a lot of work so um if you guys are okay with this let's refer I would have it
stop at the CRA but I would recommend that that's where we fund it from how can I that the North Beach um North Beach Sia there's an Advisory Board I believe and I'm looking C Advisory Board yeah Advisory Board advisory so we can go to the advisor board to get their input and then come back to commission
with with their um come back to commission to see if if we can fund it from the CRA um I think that this is a great impact for uh $700,000 and the community will greatly benefit from this and it needs it vice
mayor bot and commissioner magazine um so I walk my b my dogs pass that sad empty lot every day for six years and I am so thrilled I know commissioner Dominguez has an item that is wiing its way through on um really activating that
path Crab Alley which is an underutilized Gem and even its raggedy state is amazing if you get there at the right time of day there are these giant blue crabs that Scuttle around and you see people fishing um which I don't advise at the moment the water quality
but um it it's such a a magical little corner of our city you like there are times when you don't even hear cars you just see herons and all kinds of birds there so to see that field that is mostly not used because kids are in
school um turned into a community amenity is just I can't imagine a better use for that field um I don't know um Heather I don't mean to put you on the spot but do you happen to know how much money is in the CRA fund right now
so while while Heather's getting that information um if we can fund it you know um entirely or or the grand the vast majority through the the CRA that would be great and I think they will be really supportive um it's a permanent
kind of thing for the community there are also you know other options that we can explore once C comes back and tells us if they're in favor but even if God forbid the CRA does not agree to this I can't imagine that they wouldn't um or if we don't have enough money I think we
can Cobble together um whether it's from some of the online some of the development projects that are coming online it could be a great investment for a blue zones partner um so you know even if it's not the entirety I'm confident we can get it funded um so I
commend the school board and the and everybody who's been involved with this and the other reason it is so important is because we know from the the research done um from the professor from University of Miami and from Amy Nos and
her team that a huge part a huge hotspot in North Beach that is contributing to the Park View Island water quality issue is emanating from that site you know somewhere in that school site and we
don't know where and we can't help fix the problem until we get access to the facility to the the land to see is it a pipe over here is it a leak over there and this project will give us the opportunity to do that while we are building the park so I think it is I
can't imagine a better win-win for all of us and I would be very supportive um of going to the CRA and then coming back with a a proposal Mr Mayor commissioner magazine thenk commissioner Fernandez yeah I love this uh commissioner rosing and you had me at children you had me at Public Schools uh both things that are
absolutely near and dear to my heart uh one thing that concerns me is we have so many of these ambitious projects that kind of get punted uh and that was leading up to this and now when we're facing budgetary concerns um but with this going through the CRA believe we're
going to hear uh an item later today that could make significant contributions to the CRA and comments were made earlier about well how does a residential Tower um in that North Beach area benefit everybody else I know myself I'll never live in a I think it
was ter $5 million $10 million condo or maybe even a $2 million condo I'll never live in but this is how the surrounding area can benefit from this right $600,000 that can be used for school funding these are children my daughter goes to school with them she's in second
grade one of our Public elementary schools and thankfully because of the parents there we have ample resources but in other areas of our city we do not and these children should get the same opportunities the same privileges uh the same benefits that children all across the
board do there's nothing else that we can do to better prepare when we talk about resiliency of our city resiliency is preparing our next Generation as well right and to have CRA funding to go towards funding public schools and Parks so our children can play uh with the
dignity that they deserve I think is a win-win so I commend you for bringing this and I really look forward uh maybe as part of the discussion uh that we have later today we could even talk about how uh this could be accelerated because I know as a father um of a second grader it's great to have some of
these projects but I'm like well you know want to pass this for her to have a playground by the time anything gets done she's driving right so I don't want our parents at bcan beach to get excited and then all of a sudden uh they have teenagers at Miami Beach Public High and
we're just putting these projects forward so thank you commissioner for bringing this and I think uh you know when we have the opportunity for different projects in front of us this is the exact benefit for our entirety of the community Fernandez I'm good to
support let's call the vote I just want to make sure about the the funding and because for this is exactly what the CRA is for right we we're going to check we have 1.9 million in in reserves for the uh CRA and we're also in the process of
going through a strategic plan for the future funds of the CRA but um it's something to consider we'll look at the Redevelopment plan and see how this type of project could fit within that so we're going to we have it on the next agenda and commissioner bot and anybody else who really feels strongly about
this I suggest you attend the meeting with us like attend the meeting and and present the item one thing I would tell you commissioner magazine is that the one thing that we're really good at is doing a park like this quickly we can get the courts built we can I mean we would be we would be constructing this
right with the funding so I know that if John if you were given this plan you would be in charge of executing this correct it has court it's basketball courts it it's actually really funny if you look how the kids and the parents voted like the kids voted like trampolines number one right and the parents that
was like the lowest item on the parent so if you look I mean these are really this literally came from the students of the school and by the way during the day the school gets to use it but at night but after school hours the entire Community gets to use the facility so it's becoming a transformative Community
spot okay if if if I can yes uh there would be probably CIP and Parks perhaps working together on it and then also you know this was a thirdparty TPL cost estimate so I think going to the north beach are is a great idea to talk about that and staff will have time to get into it to just validate some of those
estimates so make sure that you know we get them up with the right number okay and can we say that when it goes to the CRA um we this commission approves of this project and would like to see it funded can we add that yes okay so that would be our motion that would be um are
you making a motion yes I'm making a motion I'm seconding it I'd like to be added as a co-sponsor please so we'll have it we're going to show it uh referred to the North Beach uh CRA board Advisory Board um for for to see about funding validating which option have staff work on validating the cost
estimate and then return to commission with the final recommendation yeah and when then we yes and we with the with the caveat though we would like the CRA to fund this like we are voting for them to do this they're tough group can I thank you Mr
magazine going to I don't know whether to say now or later uh later or never um it I mentioned that we're going to entertain a project that comes before us where we would provide
ample funding to the CRA and like I said I don't want that this project to get those CRA funds in five or six years so while I'm not putting them on the spot I'll give them 15 minutes to chew on this I think one of one of my asks is uh if that project ultimately is approved
if there would be some sort of acceleration in funding uh where perhaps the developer would be repaid out of the CRA uh but he puts up that initial funding so we could get this funded right away if his project passes thank you doctor thank you thank you on behalf of the children and their parents thank
you thank you let's call a vote so I have a motion by commissioner Rosen Gonzalez second the back vice mayor bot all in favor please say I I any opposed hearing none the item is approved 60 I don't see commissioner Suarez I'm here
okay got it 70 oh we have a point of uh clarification from commissioner Dominguez r5l since it was first reading I will change my vote to a yes r5l uh commissioner Dominguez is a yes
an R5 L and Ralph yes ma'am same so at 4:31 uh and vice mayor bot is a yes so the item r5l is approved at uh 70 second reading public hearing is April 23rd let's do some of the pull consent items
c2b as in boy c2b is a w ITB 2025 008 MP pressure washing services c2b was separated by commissioner Fernandez today's a good day for this discussion I'm recogniz Mr Mayor yesion
Fernandez so I pulled this sign from the consent agenda because I think we need to have a serious conversation about the state of cleanliness in our parking garages right now we're facing
significant parking challenges in our city and we need people to start using our garages more frequently but let's be honest our garages they're not places where people feel comfortable parking in and
cleanliness is a major reason why the latest garage cleanliness index for f for the first quarter of this year gave us an overall score of 2.37 on a scale where one is the best and five is the
worst that means we are far from being where we need to be nearly half of our garages failed to even meet a good standard of cleanliness and from my perspective this is not a minor issue it's a quality
of life issue it is a safety issue and it's a public trust issue because ultimately like any other asset that's a city asset as well and the way we M we maintain it is a way that the public is going to judge us as stewards of their
assets people are already frustrated with parking in our city and now we're asking them to use garages that are dirty they're smelly they're on welcoming and if we are serious about getting people to park in garages instead of endlessly circling streets
looking for street parking we need to make sure the garages are place where people actually want to park so today we're being asked to approve a contract for pressure washing services but let me be clear we're not
just looking for a company to power wash floors we're looking for a real Improvement in the conditions of our garages and this contract is specifically and correct me Ron Ron if I'm wrong this contract is specifically not just pressure washing services but
it's specifically for garages is that correct that's correct so I just want to be clear that we cannot afford another round of surface level cleaning that looks good day and then quickly falls back into neglect we need a vendor that
will treat our garages as critical public infrastructure that must be consistently maintained at high standards and so I'm just wondering because this is pretty big contract it's hundreds of thousands of
dollars is that correct hundreds of thousands just wondering has anyone inspected the vendor's work has you know the company that we're about to Ward is uh blue Adonis and they have they reportedly do
work in Maramar and dely beach has anyone from our staff physically gone to inspect the garages at the municipal sites that they clean so we verified their references and that they were valid um contracts that they had and they also provided
prior services to the city of Miami Beach for window washing not pressure washing but for window washing so has anyone gone to Maramar or delway Ray Beach to see the quality of their pressure washing not specifically if we are entrusting the kindliness of
our City's garages to this company then we should have firsthand verification that their work is up to standard and if we have not personally inspected their work then how can we be confident that they will actually improve our conditions
here I'm just wondering you know you go to some of our garages walls are filled with Grime windows are filled with grime stairs they smell like urine will interior areas been
prioritized in these garages will the will the elevators the walls the stairwells how would that be prioritized as part of this contract yeah I I I think what what we've currently been doing is all of our garages are washed on a quarterly basis except the anchor
garage which is done monthly um you know obviously we utilize the services and and our own inspections to verify how that work has been completed if it's been completed up to our process and standard procedures yeah but we're seeing that
our cleanliness index tells us that even that is not enough so you know I'm just wondering then what are our options and the vendor fails to deliver these if the vendor does not meet the high standards we
expect if we don't see an improvement in the cleanliness index and by the way the cleanliness index is not moving in our favor in fact it's going the opposite direction of our favor it doesn't show if we should be as close to
a one as possible in 2016 when we started the cleanliness index we were let me see here at uh 2.0 in the parking areas now we're at a
2.62 so we've gone up which is not good we want to be going down and so what are our options that this vendor does not meet the highing standards forget us that our public that our
taxpayers that our users who are paying the user fee to pay in these parking garages expect agreed under the contract you know the city will always have the ability obviously with contract management but we also have the ability to terminate for convenience or for
default if they're not performing as required by the contract in addition we have a secondary vendor if for any reason the primary isn't able to perform to the standards of the city they can always step in okay is the vendor
here not that okay this is what I would suggest I really for for us I think the mayor says it best I think the mayor says safe Street dry streets clean streets I think that's what what do you say Mr Mayor yes
exactly cleanliness is a very important priority of a safe City if the city isn't clean if our assets are in clean people won't feel welcomed and they won't feel safe and that's one of
the things when we talk about Public Safety that a lot of times like everything falls on the police cleanliness is one of the things that affects people's sense of safety and I really do think for this contract is hundreds of millions of hundreds of thousands of
dollars I rather defer this item number one until staff has personally conducted a site inspection of the facilities that B that blue Donis is cleaning in marar and dely Beach and report back to us their findings because I think we should see
the quality of their work before we award them this contract but I think a representative of blue Donis should be here present at our next meeting they need to hear directly from this commission about the challenges that they are inheriting and the very high
expectations we are going to have for them as relate to cleanliness because if they are not up to this challenge then I will hesitate uh I will not hesitate to terminate this contract so I think I would like to see the vendor come to
hear how much we prioritize cleanliness of our garages because it is a direct quality of life issue issue so um so for that reason I'm going to move to defer this item until the full sight inspection is is complete of their
current um locations but also until the company representative is present to hear from the commission vice mayor bot thank commissioner magazine so um the you said that if I heard
correctly that our garages get cleaned once a quarter except for one garage that gets anchor garage that is correct okay is that going to be the same case under this current contract would be that same so I have a huge issue with that and let me tell you why not that
you asked but I'm going to tell you here's why it is a problem for our garages to smell like pee I mean it is a problem in and of itself but the the reason why a lot of
people people don't use our public garages especially women is because the thought process is if I'm in a garage where somebody has just peed and nobody has cleaned it up then that means that if I forget
about being mugged if I trip and fall down the stairs when is the next person going to be here to look to see if everything is okay it is um it is not acceptable I know you've negotiated contracts contract based on
that but I will tell you that once a year is not acceptable so maybe the floors you know the main parking floors don't need to be pressure washed every month but the stairwells need to be pressure washed if
I had my DRS weekly at a minimum because it is not safe if somebody is feeling so secure that it is a vacant enough space that they can use it as their personal bathroom then it is not a safe place for
me to be walking and that is why I will happily Circle the block three times before I go into a parking garage and I can guarantee you I am not the only person who feels that way to clarify um the stairwells are actually cleaned by the sanitation
department and they're clean twice per week I'm sorry go that's an interesting point if I may um because I lately I actually have been using the garages a lot and when I'm driving up the ramps I've actually been impressed with the look it's looked very clean I I've
actually uh been pleasantly not pleasantly but I've been been I've been pleased it's the stairwells that are obviously the issue and the homeless which get gets into so many different issues why we our commission is because that is the issue and yes it's uh it's unsightly and and I think you bring a
great perspective that to me is just a little bit disgusting but you're bringing you know safety issues that that I don't even really uh yeah well I I think of and and I'm and I'm and I'm looking around but probably not as much as as as as you and other women would so
uh that's I think that's a great Point you're making and uh yeah I do there's one one garage I literally use every day and I smell it literally every day uh commissioner magazine commissioner Rosen Gonzalez it now that we have these pressure washing machines
for our sidewalks and things like that are the garages some sort of Specialty Service that we wouldn't be able to do inhouse for some reason is it a Manpower issue uh yeah I'll start the discussion Brad Kane Public Works director um it's
just it's different it's it's completely a different service and again we we just had this discussion actually uh with Jose between parks and and sanitation yesterday about those services to touch on exactly what um vice mayor bot's talking about the stairwells um we need
to make improvements there it's it's a difficult challenge because all the things that are happening in the stairwells happen at all different types of the day and well after the services that sanitation providing um you know are completed so that's why you know some of these things happen and you see
this and you know obviously there's not you know people there on a constant basis but what we have discussed and going forward uh into next budget year um there is going to be an enhancement uh made by parking to take that particular function over on an internal
basis with their own internal staff uh to uh service that on a more frequent basis that will allow for the parking garages to get uh you know the needed service levels at an enhanced level that you know particularly we can't always do in sanitation because that's just part
of the scope of what our uh prescribed pressure washing routes are and I appreciate that initiative and since first becoming elected uh I stressed we need to start doing more with the same right and if we don't don't start doing more with the same we're going to have
to do more with less right and what I mean by that is let's maintain the the resources that we have and if we can't do that and we keep spending and spending on extra resources we're going to be forced to make Cuts right we've had these budget discussions all the
time and all day so I applaud you and your department Jose for stepping up and being proactive if I understand it correctly about Tak taking on this additional responsibility uh this is one microcosm we need to see that type of
thinking replicated and compounded across the city in a number of different initiatives because it's not an empty Val threat we're all in this together if we do not start thinking outside the box and being proactive and going the extra mile doing more with the same amount of
resources we're going to be forced to in the not too distant future do more with less resources we'll have no other option than through our budget so thank you all Mr Mayor thank you commissioner for bringing this up uh it is absolutely important I probably walked more garages
in the city than anybody else with the paddle initiative um and it's something that uh that you know I highlighted during that discussion uh regardless of what form that took that we need to do better for our residents and our visitors uh vice mayor B just had a clarifying question for you and then uh
commissioner Rosen Gonzalez and commissioner Fernandez Jose I'm sorry to um I just for you said something that I want to just understand is there any reason and thank you because you're already wearing two Department hats so apparently now you're going to be a sterile washer as well so thank you for that um is there any reason why that has
to wait until next year if that's a transition that you're already planning on can we it's because it's an enhancement to to the budget we currently don't have the funding for it uh we've got some of the resources but essentially it's sanitation that's been
performing that function so we've been if you will paying them for those services and so it's a budgetary uh adjustment that needs to be made and it's considered an enhancement and so as an enhancement it's not that we're getting it's not that you're asking for more necessarily it's that you're taking
the money that you pay them and keeping it inous to pay staff to do the work yes that's the goal and is there not and I don't know this might be a Jason question or City Attorney question I don't know is there does it have to wait for the new budget cycle or can it just be in on the fly you know codified and
done properly but does it have to wait until October or can we do it sooner from our perspective CFO has left the building I can say that we can figure that out I'm sure that that's just a paperwork issue and we'll make
sure that the responsibilities are handled you know I think that they'll all tell you that I've already challenged them multiple times to find ways for the stairwells to not smell the way that they smell because I've I've
I've acknowledged and and witnessed the same thing and I don't think that that's good enough so can you guys come back at the next um commission meeting with an update and like update being it's done and we're starting on on Thursday kind of update yes okay does that need to be
codified Rick no I believe the manager can handle that administratively okay thank you madam Vice just have a follow up question so you said the pressure washing we're going to be doing pressure washing in-house the stairwells parking wheel
the stairwells just the stairwells not the deck so so but isn't that what this contract is supposed to be doing no actually I believe this contract in in the context of parking garages it's
more for the the garage structure the the the decks the walls stairwells are treated separately and that's what's uh has been historically done by sanitation and will start being done by parking
yes right I think it's more related to the decking is what the contract is relating to not the stairwells well but the memo says the facilities and flea department requires a contractor to provide periodic pressure cleaning services for parking decks stair walls
St stairwells sidewalks curbs columns and walls have very multi-story parking garages Public Safety buildings and administrative buildings as well so this is notate then it's related to the parking decks not specifically the stair walls but if
the parking decks along the stair walls so for example um if when they're cleaning and this was part of the solicitation process some of these questions came up if they're cleaning and something goes up on the wall or something like that they need to just you know clean it off and Etc buter to
the department more on the scope so let me ask this what was the selection process we doing this did we go ba did we go Lis bitter did we go based on um you know ability to perform
work qualification what was the basis of ranking these contractors there was a minimum requirement for them to have at least several projects of pressure washing services and in addition it's an invitation to bid so it's the lowest bidder um as long as they're responsive
and responsible um is recommended for award so we're going so so so so rather than going for the candidate that could perhaps G get us the cleanest product
we're going with a candidate that's the lowest responsive bidder the lowest bid correct and is that the best option Mr manager to go with the lowest bid rather than seeing like which one of the respondents can get us the best work
products so this in many way shape or form is similar to buying widgets so yes this is something that I would recommend that we do an ITB which is what was done and we go with the lowest responsive responsible bidder okay now there are
additional services that we do inhouse that are more detail related but this is something that they're doing it's similar to the difference between planting and mowing we mow with contracts we plant within
house um because it's more detail oriented okay all right well I I'm going to move for a deferral of this item I would appreciate for you guys to go out and see the work of this contractor verify that that is the standard that that that you all are going to be
comfortable up coming up here and defending the work of and and it'll be great to have the contractor come here and understand our concerns I'll tell you I just got a text message from a constituent who's also an employee of the city uh that works in one of the
Departments and and they wrote hey Alex just an FYI even at our garages at City Hall our our garage at City Hall is so bad there was poop under the stairwell smell of urine I mean that's just it it's it's
unacceptable it we we wouldn't we would have higher standards of private properties yet we should be setting the example for it and we have to make sure this contractor that's going to be benefiting from the taxpayers dollars delivers for our
taxpayers the cleanliness that they deserve thank you Rosen Gonzalez thank you commissioner um I'm glad Jose that you have this idea to Outsource extra pressure cleanings because I think it was so necessary and I'm glad that um we're going to have that service what I
would like to add just because we have facilities here could you paint the stairwells too please because when when you drive into a garage you don't necessarily see the walls of the parking garage but when you go on that stairwell they are filthy and it's more than just
a pressure cleaning and I think painting those stairwells will go a long way in removing some of the odor you know abut that people find I don't know how long that would take but at least for sure the anchor garage needs it I know that the Sunset Harbor Garage needs the
stairwells painted um and I can't even imagine the ones in South Beach I know that those are the the one on um what is it 13th and Collins that that garage could have the stairwells painted you don't have to paint the whole interior just keep those
stairwells painted I don't know what kind of rotation we currently have um if we even have one but I wouldn't wait to paint the entire garage because I think the stairwell needed a lot more than the entire interior does that make sense MH absolutely and so I would encourage you
guys to um to to add that to the maintenance start off now with a fresh clean paint and you know then put it on some sort of rotation because I don't think there's any things thank you commissioner Fernandez what's your uh I'm gonna move to defer this item uh
asking staff to go out inspect the locations this their the recommended V vendors are currently cleaning and uh ask for the selected or the recommended vendor um to come back to appear before us so that they can hear uh from us how
important and the priority that this is uh for our community thank you thank you there a motion in a second let's call the vote sorry commission magazine seconded uh all in favor please say I c2b of
deferring the item I I any opposed no if uh the item is deferred to a specific to April 23rd yeah okay April 23rd okay uh
c7e sorry c7e is approved operation clean water pollutants in park now we only had seven sponsors on this commissioner Fernandez thank you Mr Mayor um it's randomized today we have an opportunity
and an obligation to take decisive action on an issue that has long impacted the Park View Island canal and by extension the environmental and Public Health Community the public health of our community and I really want to thank vice mayor bot uh because
I really learned about this as a candidate sitting out in her backyard looking at the canal and her teaching me about the environmental challenges that we're dealing with at Park View Island for years and for years we have
discussed water quality improvements in our city year after year I brought items and we've all supported items to prioritize in our budget funding for critical infrastructure upgrades for Park View Island including the lining of
waste water pipes uh sanitary sewer Rehabilitation storm water uh treatment retrofits this has been a lot with the guidance of our chief resiliency officer Amy nolles this has been to help restore and protect our
waterways and these Investments have made a measurable impact um The Phase 2 Park viw Canal water quality report confirms that our efforts are working but we're not done
and we need to talk about the science of it in 2022 before we implemented key infrastructure improvements 92% of water samples taken from Parkview Canal exceeded the threshold of 70 MPN
per 100 milliliters for entro coxide bacteria the standard set for Save recreational Waters by the florid Department of of Health um is 70 is the 70 mpns but
92% of the water samples exceeded that Threshold at times the levels reached 1300 1300 mpns imagine is supposed to be 70 and we were reaching up to 1,300 that is an extremely high level of bacteria
and the primary source was storm water runoff contaminated with bacteria including bacteria IA from human waste after targeted intervention lining of pipes rehabilitating manholes replacing air valve a air release valves we have
seen a statistically significant Improvement in this bacteria by 2024 exceedances dropped with some areas seeing bacterial contamination during low tide dropped from 1300 to 40 mpns that that is
significant from 1300 to 40 that's a reduction by a factor of 30 and that is significant and that is progress however 70% exceedence is still unacceptable and our goal is clear we
must get below that 70 mpm standard for safe recreational Waters and we need to do it urgently water quality and Park View Canal remains compromised by storm water runoff street level pollutants and unmanaged
outfalls there was a hot spot identified at biscan Beach Elementary where bacteria levels far exceeded acceptable thresholds making it the new major contributor to contamination and that is a serious concern because that is outside of our jurisdiction and we are
very limited on the work that we can do there garbage is accumulating along the shoreline between 72nd and 75th Street on Dickens because it's not being cleaned out as it should adding to bacterial buildup and diminishing our efforts the mang GRS at the tantum
Waterway have accumulated trash disrupting an essential ecological buffer zone and worsening water quality that's why today we're introducing operation clean water to help us advance in our efforts of restoring water
quality on Parkview Island Canal this is a six-month initiative that we've worked together with the city Administration with our chief for resiliency officer and with public works and it takes decisive results oriented approach to address these challenges headon and part
of what I hope the city manager and his staff will introduce is a doubling of the frequency of storm water system cleanings in the 81 acre drainage basin to remove pollutants before they reach our waterways we're looking to install storm
drain filters at cat cat Basin fabrics and sediment filter socks to capture trash and de bring before they enter the canal with with regular monitoring to ensure that we prevent flooding if they get clogged we're
looking to expand enforcement efforts to address litter to address pet waste and legal dumping at identified pollution hotspots and we're looking to take an active role in Community Partnerships working for example with the Parkview Island sustainable Association to expand
neighborhood cleanups just as we support Beach cleanups we need to clean up our shorelines because the trash buildup along Dickens and tantum mangroves need to be addressed once and for all and we will hold ourselves accountable through our cleanliness index ensuring that every
action we take is tracked is measured and is adjusted for maximum effect Effectiveness because this isn't just about a vague commitment we need to get measurable results from this action we've already seen that our initial
actions has delivered improvements on our water quality but we are in the final stretch of this and one of the biggest challenges we face is indeed that sanitary sewer system at biscane Beach Elementary and commissioner bod mentioned it earlier because we have
limited access to that but we cannot control it and we cannot ignore it and we can't let the jurisdictional bureaucracy delay the solution yesterday I personally contacted School Board leaders about the urgent need to address this issue and that conversation led to direct
communication between our superint between the superintendent and our city manager and as a result next week we have a meeting scheduled on site is it on site we have a meeting scheduled on site to determine next steps to address
this water quality issue that's emanating in large part from land where we don't have jurisdiction over and I firmly believe we must do everything in our power to to line pipes and biscan Beach Elementary if that is the necessary path to restore healthy water
quality in Parkview Islands so colleagues I'm very excited about the work that's ahead um this is something that emanated out of teamwork on the land use committee and many of us were there present uh it was great teamwork
and was great collaboration with our uh City manager's office with our chief resiliency office with our uh Public Works Department ments and I think it's clear that we expect to see measurable progress in the cleanliness index we expect coordination at all levels from
City staff to school board officials and this is our moment once and for all to solve this issue and to give our residents the water quality they expect and they deserve at Parkview Island thank you Mr Mayor seven sponsors I hope you didn't lose the votes you never know
maybe is that a motion I'll move the item mayor okay let's call the vote on c7e I have a motion by commissioner Fernandez second by commissioner uh uh uh all in favor please I any oppos hearing none the item is 70 uh approved
70 uh vice mayor bot requested that that on-site meeting be sunshin so I'll do that sounds good if it's fine with this I just want to make sure are you fine for it to be sunshin Mr man no problem no problem do we think that the superintendent will be should we check
with the superintendent to make sure I'll touch Bas okay if so let me know and I'll advertise c4i C4 I referral to the finance economic resiliency committee March 26 2025 conflict of interest ethical
concerns regarding mdpls multiple roles commissioner Rosa Gonzalez um I pulled this item because um I know commissioner Suarez that you have some concerns with the Miami Design preservation league and you had certain
questions um you question the fact that the city um okay so the our just so that people know our Miami Design preservation league is a nonprofit that was constructed to work with the city to ensure that preservation is at the Forefront so I know you're concerned
that the the Miami Design preservation league has a seat on the historic PR preservation um board but then so does the date Heritage Trust and that's fine um the Miami Design preservation League operates on has a building also um on
Ocean Drive a Welcome Center because the city has always prioritized preservation and yes Miami Design preservation league and its director um comes to our commission meetings and land use boards to advocate
for preservation so yes these are the reason we have these items are the reason we have this structure and the reason that the Miami Design preservation League can even appeal a decision is because we've always prioritized preservation so when I saw
that you somehow think that this represents a conflict of interest and ethical concerns I wanted to understand why um you thought this is so and to have the conversation right here because
why would we have it at a finance meeting um so I would like to understand what your issues are and why is this an attack on the Miami Design preservation league is this an attack on Daniel Caldo
the director who recently filed a candidacy for office is there something politically motivated here I just want to be clear because one thing I will tell you is that I have witnessed uh Daniel and the Miami Design preservation
League over the past 12 years and if there's somebody who is not motivated by any financial interest um it's Daniel and the Miami Design preservation League they are purely here to ensure
preservation and I think that these types of you know items um you know if you if you'd allow me to respond i' love sure sure I I would because I was concerned by this and I want you to understand why not only does mdpl have a seat on the board
they have they they can Advocate as a lobbyist they do have a city building we do provide them funding you know why because we always cared about preservation in the past and that's why we have this historic district that's our post I'm concerned that I'm concerned that this is a first attempt
to somehow dismantle the Miami Design preservation League which I think would be really detrimental for the city and and so very concerned that this attack on the preservation league is some way to uh get around to dismantle our
historic preservation protections so I Suarez thank you I'd just like to read into the record my analysis um the Miami Design preserv Miami Design preservation league is a City Contractor managing the Miami Beach ocean front Auditorium the 10th Street
Auditorium as a visitor center Art Deco Museum this organization is also a recipient of grant funding from the city and engages in fundraising to comply with the terms of the management agreement
pursuant to the city's resiliency code mdpl also has the right to nominate three individuals for appointment for one of them to the seat of the historic preservation board mdpl also has been granted special status under the resiliency code specifically mdpl has
standing when other 30 parties generally would not to appeal certain decisions of the city's land use boards in addition to these interactions and relationships with the city one or more mdpl Representatives frequently appear before
the city commission various commission committees and the city's land use boards as a lobbyist and advocating for policies that could affect the city's decisions on matters related to Historic preservation and development
mdpls overlapping roles as a city contractor and lobbyist as well as its preferred status under the resiliency code raise important questions about potential conflicts of interest and ethical considerations the blurring of lines
between these various roles could create perceptions of impropriety or undue influence especially when decisions regarding City contracts and land use matters are being discussed and voted on by the city commission I would like to
engage in a conversation with my colleagues on the committee to assess whether these multiple roles are appropriately managed and whether additional safeguards or clarifications are needed to address any potential
conflicts this discussion will help ensure that the city's process remains transparent ethical and free from conflicts of interest now listen I am from what I from being on the
commission for a year I've seen some very very odd things from The Standard Hotel to now this I would not be bringing an item
forward if I did not have actual concerns regarding the ethics and transparency of some of our City funded organizations the item before us today I wanted to refer this to finance
committee you are more than welcome to attend that finance committee and discuss what I have to say I do not have to bring that item right here I'm not prepared for it I have uh I'm working on a very thorough
analysis of why I think there might be certain conflicts of interest and I'd like to discuss it at the committee meeting as for someone who is very adamant about
transparency and ethics I think you should allow one of your colleagues to have the opportunity to discuss this at the appropriate committee Comm magazine not sure why I'd be signing
myself up for uh forthcoming PJ can we see the slide but it sounds like that's what's coming ahead um but this was a referral to finance uh I think commissioner wanted to see where your uh thoughts lied
thought you spelled out some things that you'd like to hear discuss in committee and I think uh committee is an appropriate place for that I don't think uh it's appropriate to Hash it out here um before uh you know some of those details
are formulated um so I'll move it to committee if for no other reason then not to prolong this today I'll second that let's call the vote to refer the item C4 I all in favor I anyone
opposed the item is referred 70 C4 right Ju Just five seconds please actually thank you for the discussion but I I didn't have an issue with the referral I do look forward to the discussion I would to meet with the sponsor if possible beforehand to
understand a little more because the uh MMO didn't have much and we have been getting phone calls from Members saying it looks like we can't go to speak at the commission and just like you saw this morning that is something that that is hard for me I'm willing to take all
the bullets I've been here long enough I'm not going anywhere uh whatever side I'm on but I do want to make sure that it's clear to the people listening they can talk they can advocate even if we do have a small Museum that we we run and
help with the city you know we do a lot of things it we'll talk about at the committee but I don't want anyone to be afraid I'm not afraid of this referral and I think it's good governance Mr Mayor Mr Mayor if if you don't mind I think it's important to to note and put on the record that I did get a phone
call from you and I answered it uh and you asked me to discuss in private uh my concerns and I was very adamant about doing it in a public setting and then you threatened me with having one of the
Commissioners pull it from consent and apparently that's exactly what happened I did notation with Daniel but that's an accusation that's just not true well you can check my phone records I haven't even spoken to Danielle let the commissioner finish it thank you I look
at the end of the day uh there there was certainly a threat of of asking me to pull this from committee or off of consent and um at which point I I said look I think it's I think
sunlight is the best disinfectant and that's exactly what we're going to do but just to respond to the alleged threat very briefly when I called and I mentioned Mickey seinberg rule about when you do put something with a title that says ethical and
conflict of interest concerns about an organization I would love for any of you to be in that position with your funders with your members with your board of directors when you do get that so yes I did call you as a sponsor after without reaching out you did put that item on
and I'm happy to talk in private unless you want to put it out in the agenda which is fine with us too we like the information before we're slandered when we have a lot of people watching from all over I know right thank you and look and and just just the last thing to touch up
on I I think you know given given what has happened with like The Standard Hotel where there were back room deals going on which had nothing to do with Miami Design preservation league for the record and and I and that has nothing to do with mdpl can I can I just ask my colleagues we have a lot of items on
today this is just a referral let's just take the vote I just want to go on the record saying listen I don't think mdpl has a conflict of interests I don't think mdpl has an has ethical issues I think mdpl
has been a longstanding community organization and organizations like mdpl are larger than the individuals to sering them at the presentence there are about people like Barbara Kidman there are people like Maddie Boward there are people like Nancy leedman who have been
Bastion of our community leaders in the preservation movement and so when we talk about mdpl we're talking about something bigger than an individual I don't think an organization has a a conflict of interest I don't think an
organization has has ethical concerns I think those those things belong to individuals individuals are the ones who who have conflicts of interest who have ethical concerns I believe in in mdpl I want to see mdpl around for a long time
I've seen them fighting in Tallahassee The Entity the organization against horrible preemption bills and so and so I cannot support anything that is seen going after Miami Design preservation League I like their mission
I've been side by side them in their mission fighting bad preemptions that are hurting our historic district and organizations are bigger than than an individual so because of that I can't support this referral thank you I would
like to uh so I was on the board of mdpl for a number of years as a resident feel free to accuse me of unethical Behavior because I was on the board of an of an organization that um Advocates not just for Miami beach but
for all of Miami Dade County hence the name Miami Design preservation League its role is advocacy that's the the mission on on day one that is the mission it is
advocacy in preserving our historic Heritage culture culture in Miami Beach primarily but throughout Miami North Beach South Beach um single family homes uh Havana Little Havana um
some of the shotgun uh cabins in um Coconut Grove we are I keep I I always refer to it as we because I'm so used to being on the board it was such a long time but the organization takes unpopular stances sometimes because it's not always the
easy or the obvious route sometimes they win sometimes they lose but I can tell you for sure that this city would not be the biggest donor City in the State of Florida other than
Disney World if it were not for Barbara Kitman and her Legacy with Maddie Bower and Nancy Leman and the other folks who have fought four years against unethical
Commissioners nobody here I'm not casting dispersions but in years past decades ago read some of the books about how this history went down uh overly aggressive developers the only reason Ocean Drive
still looks the way it does the only reason check the news record is because the advocacy and the fearlessness of Miami Design preservation League now if there are concerns about somebody
have that conversation but do not impune mean you're feel feel free to do whatever you like but I will not take lightly impugning the reputation of an organization that sole mission is to do good for this city agree or don't agree
that's fine but do not not denigrate an organization that is only about protecting what we value in a huge way in Miami Beach I will not be supportive of this measure Mr if I could just close this out uh Daniel uh as chair of the
finance committee I I welcome you to speak there I don't know where this is call a vote because there might not be the votes no we did not voted to send this we did not vote to send this well then I'm making a motion to resend that
vote and right now to if if commissioner Suarez has something that he wants to do he can do it here at the Daniel Daniel you have my full promise and support that you have the full floor at the finance meeting um anybody from your
organization is more than welcome to come have but I was making a I was in the middle of making a motion I would like to make a motion right now that this conversation can happen here if commissioner Suarez would like to bring it back to the full commission next time but I think that this type of
threatening and um accusatory um language is is is just I don't see I don't see not just mean it's what we're seeing across the United States right now and certain institutions that have oversight that
people don't like I don't know if what this is is to criminalize or attempt to create some sort of narrative so that then you can go in and you know redevelop we know that you have these plans to redevelop parts of the historic
district and we know I know I'm not complaining I'm just wondering what this is all about I don't understand if it's political but I don't like it because when we allow this okay and when we allow what's happened to you know many of our other residents and we allow this
kind of bullying and finger pointing and insinuations and uh creating a narrative with certain facts then we are are just going it's it's it's it's not and if you do have an ethical concern you should refer this to the Inspector General
you I would like to reconsider this because I think that this is not the direction we want to be as a city I've never I think we should reconsider it does anybody want to Second my motion to reconsider this and have him bring it before all of us because I can't
necessarily attend your Finance meeting I don't have time I'm on I don't know how many other committees um so if I can't attend and be there I know for a fact that that I will be there to push back on you at a full commission meeting commissioner I have some serious ethical concerns what are your ethical concerns
I'll be more than happy to talk about it at the finance committee I don't understand what the deal is we have transparency it's going to be a sunshine meeting anyone here is welcome to come you have the finance chair saying that mdpl or Daniel Caldo would have the full floor I invite all of mdpl members to
come and I think that's right good good governance I don't look it's just a referral um I don't see how this is an attack uh this is not politically motivated I think you defending this is somehow politically motivated if one of your colleagues who's an elected official
who's voted on by the same people who voted for you I think you should give deference to that your colleague on the concerns that I have whenever I bring something with concerns whether it be the standard or fiscal impact I it's not like it's
coming out of a vacuum it's there's Merit behind it and I have and I have a good track record of putting forward a good presentation with thoughtful analysis and if you're scared of of hearing that
at a committee then I don't know what to tell you first of all I have no no fear of hearing you at any committee you know it was listening to the other day on NPR this report of like the dismantling of this radio station like Voice of America and this this is exactly how they
started out they start out by um creating casting this shadow of like ethical concerns and then they weave their way and this is not who we are as a city we are a respectful City we would never cast Shadow on Miami Design preservation league and allow all of us
to have this title that they have conflicts of interest and ethical concerns without defending Miami Design preservation League who I have personally observed so if we want to jump on this bandwagon okay of creating narratives ethical concerns
investigations I mean I guess that's who we can be as a community but I'm I I do not I I think that this is a horrible thing if you want to bring your PowerPoint to the full commission bring it on if you really feel that strongly then you can
refer Miami Design preservation League to the Inspector General maybe you want to get rid of the Inspector General I don't even know but I'm telling you right now that this causes a lot of cognitive um it it it it
hurts me to see you hurt others that's all I'm saying for for no reason because because I don't think that Daniel has done anything wrong and but not not just that I I I think that it's just so it's it's hurtful and it's not who Miami
Beach has ever been and I've never witnessed this kind of government here in Miami Beach so I guess this is a new thing for me and I'm definitely going to voice my opposition against and again and again against bullies okay so the motion passed unless we have a motion in a second to reconsider we're moving on to the next
item okay r5r r5r is an ordinance of the mayor and City Commission of the city of mayi Beach Florida amending the resiliency code of the city of mayi Beach by amending chapter 7 entitled zoning districts and regulations Article 2 entitled District regulations Section 7.2.5 entitled performance standard
districts s at subsection 7.2.1 15.3 entitled commercial performance standard District CPS to amend the permitted conditional and supplemental use regulations as well as development regulations including maximum permitted Building height within the cps2 zoning
district and providing for qualification repealers have ability and an effective date this is a first reading public hearing the item requires 5 sevs vote it is r5r I'm the sponsor and thank you commissioner Dominguez for co-sponsoring with me uh Tom this has been uh we've
been this has been in the works for a couple of years yes this has been around since 2021 um and it spent quite a bit of time at both the land use committee and the planning board it was recently uh transmitted to this um commission with a favorable recommendation by the
planning board it has not been reached the last couple of meetings and so I'm glad to see that it's been reached today um this is an or I'll just add though that that in that interim there's been a lot of work done right a lot of negotiations a lot of like you say land use meeting so it it's been moving it's just uh took a while to get to this
Landing correct it's it's there's been a number of public meetings there's been a lot of input by both Property Owners as well as the members of the Flamingo Park neighborhood association and I think we've got and I'll give a public shout out to the Flamingo Park neighborhood association because that's initially where this idea came from and they
brought it to me when I was a commissioner to sponsor the item and while it's a lengthy ordinance and I know that we're pressed for time what this ordinance does is essentially is it creates a transitional area on the south side of 6th Street which is zone cps2
between Alon Road in Washington Avenue and what it does is it creates certain regulations by establishing additional prohibited uses as well as heightened setback requirements uh on the south side of 6th Street in order to ensure that future development that is likely
going to occur on the south side of 6th Street in the commercial district is sensitive to to the more low-scale rm1 area to the immediate North the only area that the administration had um some very minor concerns with was with regard
to the overall height that um has been proposed for new construction on the south side of 6th Street and to that end the Administration has recommended that the ordinance be slightly modified prior to Second reading um by allowing for the
maximum permitted height within the first two platted Lots south of 6th Street not to exceed 50 ft regardless of the property use not withstanding for unified development sites that consist of five or more platted Lots the maximum
permitted height within 100 fet of the south side of 6 Street shall not exceed 28 ft and the maximum permitted height between 100 and 140t from the southside of 6th Street shall not exceed 40 feet we believe that this would be a better
way of allowing for new development to be able to realize its maximum F while still being located within a building that has architectural movement and so with that one change with that one recommended change the administration
recommends approval at first reading anybody want to move the item I'll move the item call the vote and to confirm is it with that change recommended by the administration just uh just I know you just said it describe the change again
basically uh in the ordinance that uh is before you the maximum height within the first 100 ft of the south side of 6th Street um shall not exceed 28 ft what we're recommending is that the first two plaid Lots be allowed to go to 50 feet
and that the lower height would kick in if there were larger aggregations of property so if somebody aggregated five Lots then they would have to come down to 28 ft within those first two lots but if somebody only wants to develop a
single lot or only wants to develop two lots we believe that limiting the maximum height to 28 feet might create problems in terms of the property owner being able to realize their maximum F and would not allow for enough latitude
to create architectural in interest with the distribution of that they are why the amendment now at this late stage we we had recommended that Amendment both to the planning board to the land use committee and now we're recommending in a first reading and that was it accepted
by the planning board the planning board did not include our recommendation and the land use uh land use recommended it as is meaning not with the amendment correct and what's the views of the property owners as well as the fling Flamingo Park neighborhood association I
think the Flamingo Park Association prefers the ordinance is drafted they believe that it should be limited to 28 ft um in the first two lots I think most Property Owners agree with the administration's recommendation that allowing up to the current 50 feet
actually you can go to 75 feet now if you're doing a residential or hotel project now hotels would be prohibited but if somebody was doing a residential project now they could technically go to 75 ft and the planning board vote was what they voted to transmit the
ordinance with the um with the text as drafted which would be 28 ft and what was the vote I believe uh let's see it was uh 70 and land use land use was unanimous as well this is first reading yes I think
we should leave it as is and then we can discuss the uh potential Amendment for second reading okay that the motion mayor yeah I agree I was the co-sponsor and I've been working on this for the past two years after you had um been elected did and it's really important to hear from the neighborhood association
I'd like to see if uh Ralph has them online I I have three people requesting to speak Mark needle Mark is one of them please okay Mark you are so if anyone's here in the audience who wishes to speak on this item please come out up if not I'll first call Mark needle Mark please
unmute yourself just to be clear I think the motion now is without the amendment so it is as is as is yep Mark say your name address and you have two minutes thank you Mark needle Flamingo Park neighborhood
association I live at Ninth and Linux um I want to thank the commissioner uh Dominguez for uh taking on from the mayor on this issue and for all including the staff for helping to get it into the shape that it's in now I do
want to say we strongly support the uh the compromise that was reached at the planning board when there are aggregations we feel like the um if it's following the one and two lot uh developments those can have the 50 Fe we
agreed with that we compromised with that that's something that we support if there are aggregations of three and four lots that exist as of the date of the planning board recommendation uh we would support them being grandfather I don't believe there are any what you will do if you increase from three to
five Lots the number of aggregated lots that will be exempt is you're creating a loophole you're creating an incentive for lots to aggregate uh in order to exempt themselves from the height we believe that if there's going to be aggregations they should be well thought
out they should be large enough that they can scale appropriately to Sixth Street and preserve that historic fabric that we all support so strongly thank you very much for your consideration thank you the with Miami Design preservation
League here in support of the Flamingo Park neighborhood's position on this and very thankful we know this is taken a very long time a lot of meetings and consensus building but we like the ultimate result thank you thank you our next virtual speaker is Kent Robbins go
ahead sir you have two minutes Mr Robins go ahead please it looks like Mr Robins is not available the next speaker requesting to speak has a screen name of iPad state your name address and you have two minutes please unmute
yourself screen name iPad please go ahead I go then to the next speaker Johan Moore Mr Moore are you here to talk about r5r yes I am go ahead good afternoon Johan Moore uh 717 Jefferson
Avenue Apartment 8 uh I want to Echo uh the the thinking behind Mark's statement and I want to put it in these terms that whatever final wording is approved it needs to
make sure that any development new development stair steps upward to the South from Fifth Street to 6th Street that's the only way to prevent Canyon walls and there is also the question of
proportionality 6th Street is about 25 ft wide and so a building that is too high uh for that relatively narrow thorough fair is going to read as looming whereas Fifth Street is much wider so I'd like you all to keep that
in mind conceptually thank you very much thank you all next public speaker is Mitch novic Mr noic state your name address and you have two minutes Mitch novic I manage a property at 610
Jefferson Avenue for the last 303 years 33 years uh I agree with the statement made by by Mark needle I certainly would want a stepping up nothing to be higher than 28 ft along on
6 Street which is two lots or two Pils away from my property uh certainly don't want a uh a wall over there thank you thank you so much and I'm gonna try again screen name iPad unmute yourself
please go ahead please unmute yourself they seem not to be able to so okay and there's no one else here in the audience so public hearing is closed okay and I think we have a motion in a second originally heard a motion from commissioner Dominguez seconded by
Fernandez commissioner if no other discussion may I call the roll please commissioner Suarez yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes commissioner magazine yes vice mayor bot yes commissioner Dominguez yes commissioner Fernandez yes
a miner yes vote was was 70 second reading public hearing is scheduled for April 23rd the item was approved as is it's call r5p and r5q yes sir r5p is an ordinance of the mayor City Commission of the city of Mii Beach
Florida amending the city of Miami Beach year 2024 comprehensive plan pursuant to the small scale procedures in section 163.187 Florida Statutes by amending goal rlu one land use objective rlu 1.1 establishment of future land use
categories policy 1.1.7 high density multif family residential rm3 creating the North Beach ocean front overlay land use overlay category providing authority to establish floor area incentives for partial reconstruction of contributing buildings and designating the North
Beach ocean front overlay District on the 2040 future land use map providing for inclusion in the comprehensive plan trans middle repealers of ability and an effective date r5p is a first reading public hearing our 5 q is an order of
the mayor and City Commission of the city of miambi Beach Florida amending the resiliency code of the city of Mii beach by amending chapter 7 zoning districts and regulations Article 2 District regulations Section 7.2.6 rm3 residential multif family high intensity sub high intensity subsection
7.2.6 point3 development regulations R in three to reference modified development regulations for the North Beach ocean front overlay further amending chapter 7 zoning districts and regulations article 3 overlay districts by creating section 7.3.1 entitled North Beach ocean front
overlay District to establish development regulations that incentivize developments including the partial reconstruction of contributing buildings on certain existing Ocean Front Lots within the North Beach Resort local historic district and providing for catification repealers of ability and an
effective date that is a first reading public hearing the item requires 67 spoke sponsored by private applicant uh Mr Mayor if I could just um Kick this off and then I'll go ahead and turn it over to the private applicant there are two ordinances that are before
you that will be heard together one and the main one is the ldr amendment that establishes um the North Beach um Resort District um actually it's called the North Beach ocean front overlay and it's
um essentially limited to the property that formerly contained the the old doville hotel and it creates a series of incentives for both the partial reconstruction of the former door hotel as well as allowing for what would be uh
larger residential Towers than what would be permitted now um and I'm sure the the um the applicant has a detailed presentation regarding the proposed increase in F and height and then there's some other uh exceptions that would be applicable to the overlay as
well um largely the administration is supportive of The Proposal we are recommending uh two changes if this is approved at first reading as indicated in the memo and that would be modifications to section
7.3.1 one the first is text to ensure that the development regulation incentives if approved will require the partial reconstruction of the former do dova Hotel and the second is that uh we're
recommending the inclusion of a maximum floor plate requirement so as to ensure that the developer's vision of having two separate towers with limited Footprints is actually realized and so we're recommending a maximum floor plate
limitation of 9500 Square ft per floor uh so as to ensure that you don't have a very large runon building and what is actually construction constructed is consistent on with with the um developers Vision um
should the comprehensive plan Amendment be approved the uh ldr Amendment does require a six7 vote because this is an F increase there will be a second public Outreach meeting um the first public
Outreach meeting occurred between um the first and second reading at the planning board and we have already uh preliminarily scheduled a public Outreach meeting for I believe April 10 10th which would be in advance of second reading on April 23rd should this item
be approved at first reading so um with that I'll go ahead and turn it over to the applicant for their presentation good afternoon uh my name's uh David Martin uh 3310 uh 3310 Mary Street Coconut Grove Florida
um long day uh for you all and I just want to try to make this presentation as a efficient as possible I uh I um I'm honored to be sitting here uh amongst you and and the difficult jobs you all have Commissioners and mayor and vice
mayor but also uh amongst this community um that uh you know we started this process in June uh and uh I've gotten to meet a lot of amazing people that live in our city and um and it's just a special thing uh that we're working on
and doing and and I just want to say that I appreciate everybody's hard work and attention uh and uh and focus uh I'm joined today quickly with uh Eduardo Fiero from Foster and partners Allan Schulman uh my colleague dick Hepner we've been through a long process
significant Outreach uh to all neighbors all affected stakeholders immediate neighbors uh to the north immediate neighbors to the South condo associations Community organizations we've had Zoom Public public meetings we've had uh physical public meetings uh
and I just want to say uh you know really thank you for everyone that's been attending uh and we're proud of that Outreach you know which really I think has gone beyond even what the minimum requirements were uh for the F amendment process I think you're here today hopefully a lot of support from
neighborhood stakeholders uh you know through our Outreach we we wanted us you know what we learned what we learned uh in the last referendum what we've learned is that people wanted that delille to come back and uh in some form uh and you know we're trying to find way
to you know see how we could uh hack capitalism uh to really solve uh uh you know some important things that North Beach needs which is revitalization which is a project that's going to Catal catalyze economic development in the neighborhood uh and so uh so we here we
are um you know really feel to world class Park project with amazing design team uh and it's important to the city's Heritage and to a neighborhood that deserves uh to see the doville site flourish as an overview our project going to cover the project design in
detail the proposed overlay legislation as well as the resiliency access and traffic and and last but not least the benefits a project has for the city so thank you so much for your time everyone and and uh with that I'd like Alan Schulman to take the floor real quick thank
you thank you David um good afternoon I'm Alan Schulman with offices at 7300 bisc Boulevard and very enthusiastic to be here um speaking uh about the project um many things our table of contents so
many things could be built on this old doville site and um but why is it important that something of the historic doville be part of that be part of what comes next and I think it's because Miami Beach celebrates its
history um the doville is one of a series of grand hotels that really defined the Mii Beach Resort in the 19 1950s the the F of blue the Eden Rock Etc um one of the
greats and you know its loss was a loss for this neighborhood it was an anchor of the north beach neighborhood and of the historic district around it now in Miami Beach a building is often much more than the walls uh that enclose its
space um it's about history uh it's about um the past culture Etc C oh sorry thank you Sor um thank you um you know the this building has
really participated in much more than even just Miami Beach's history National History global history it's part it's a cultural icon um and probably the best symbol of that was the Beatles uh presenting here on The Ed Sullivan Show um
urbanistic this is a building that is very important to the district around it it's um it's it was an anchor of the resort industry in North Beach it really commands the space the streets the retail areas around it and its absence
um as we've heard from many um has been felt and um you know it the most important Resort in North Beach has been here since 1926 when the mcfaden doville was was built um it's important for the surroundings for another reason if we
were to build a new hotel it could not come to the street like this it could not participate of the sidewalk and contribute retail and food and beverage activities to the city the way the doville building does and right now it's an empty space
so this is the doville that was designed by Melvin Grossman in 1957 it's an iconic uh architectural uh element of the landscape of Miami Beach or it was until it was demolished you can see by many of the features that it really belongs to this environment loone
made in Miami Beach uh its pool deck was uh famous uh playground uh in the 1950s and when we began this project uh our idea was just to be purely restorative to rebuild the original doville uh
pedestal and Tower um and this is not just a historic project though it's a contemporary project and so as we began to meet with our neighbors and with the neighborhood association um we realized that um they had concerns about the size of the Tower and as you can see in the
second element of the diagram we've we've pulled back the tower both from the East and from the and from the north and this created a new condition where our a tower is not really going to be exactly the way it was historically so we've reinterpreted the tower and I'll
show you what that looks like in just a moment but just to take you through the building quickly this is the pedestal this building will be redeveloped to approach the street exactly how it was with its dramatic architectural uh elements um as we walk through the
building we will see elements of the of the lobby restored and reinterpreted um in different ways and there'll be a variety of food and beverage um and Retail spaces within the lobby floor so it'll be a very um Active
Space but one of the things we're most proud of with this project is the way it addresses the public realm you know in this area the sidewalk are relatively narrow um and you know the area is sort of dominated by the car and so one of
the things that we've tried to do is to increase the sidewalk increase the public realm um bring the public space into the building but also to create new opportunities to get to the beach on both the South and the north side so um there are new beach walks which you'll
see um and together they create a circuit of public spaces wider sidewalks new beach access and uh Beach Walk revitalized on the east side and this is what the South Beach would walk would look like on grade um moving towards the
beach uh Landscaping um shaded Spaces Furniture Etc and on the North side um there would be an elevated walkway so that we are moving above the service area of the building which will be enclosed to be much more uh friendly to
uh our surroundings and as it comes down on the beach side in a series of gardens um it'll reattach to the to the beachwalk itself and then when we talk about the hotel Tower uh it is reinterpreted but we've um brought back all the most important
elements of the building it's massing its um horizontality it's vertical pylon the signage and um and the way it sort of looks at the ocean and at the pool deck itself and just to end on the pool deck you know one of the things another
thing we're kind of proud of about the project is that we could have done what I think many what what's very tempting to do which is to fill the courtyard you know we have a big Courtyard here why not put something in the courtyard we've pulled everything out of the courtyard to make sure that that open space
remains uh within the neighborhood and with that I'm going to pass it to my colleague Eduardo thank you Alan Eduardo Ruiz Foster and part is London um you go so the residences are the main addition
to the site when we looked at the uh historic photos of the doville with the most striking difference in how it relates to the neighborhood was towards the ocean side with the creation of the South parth and the and the June we thought
there was an opportunity to link uh the culture that remains free in the design um uh fill it with the Ecology of the June and open it to to a wider audience and the pools would uh be moved to a higher deck as as more private elements
at grade this would be a public green or an relatively open green space with a shade and and and as an oasis it gathers the rest of the buildings around it creating a sense of place um like like it like it was originally on the other side as we've
discussed uh we're widening the sidewalk on Collins Avenue and creating a a buffer uh with pedestrian life and and Retail and food beverage and a very light uh vehicular drop off and this has been uh one of the approaches that we're most proud of uh by bringing down the
vehicular access to the residence to the below grade really leaving that uh U ground floor PL U ground floor area um available to all the to the neighborhood and the life of of the people around it um the ground floor here shows this
growth of the public realm and also the growth of the landscaped soft landscaped area and as we move up uh this is the lobby level the the structure of the new buildings a residential component threads through the historic um Ballroom
creating a new space that's St lit and could become another food offering restaurant or club for the hotel in doing so um we've uh gone to Great Lengths to try to bring the structure into to the core to really thread it as lightly as possible through the historic
structure and at the same time reducing the foot the foot print of the tower uh and creating the greenest possible open deck above and also respecting the the nature of the historic building by creating a smaller touch and contact between the two structures this is also
this strategy of really uh minimal impact is been uh carried out uh upwards through the building U 23% uh of site coverage uh in the mid Tower levels when including the hotel and then down to 12% as we go up with a very very small
footprint and slender buildings in September we started off with a height of 437 ft uh with a step stepped massing and uh through the process of um dialogue with the community we brought it down to 400 and
uh and now we're exploring a further reduction of 20 ft bringing it down to 380 this is a view from the West Side uh towards the east and we're quite happy and satisfied with the way the rhythm of the neighboring buildings is carried
through with the two slender towers and how it fits in the general Skyline um from this side and from the water as as the towers push all the way to the Collins uh Avenue side leaving the Green Court free uh the strip of green that carries uh along the edge of the of the
path is continued and and that is the main experience that that The Pedestrian will have on the side of the beach thank you um you know one of the you know thank you Alan and thank you Eduardo one of the biggest most important moves I think we've made is that the residential
buildings are being set back 160 ft from the property line 160 ft from the beachwalk which is a big uh big move as we could have put the buildings you know around 80 approximately 80 ft uh from the property line so it's an additional
80 foot setback um which I think was important and in a lot of the community outreach meetings we were talking about that um you know and you know in order to make the the partial reconstruction possible we've created uh and proposed and work with City staff and and and and
and the neighborhood and everyone to come up with a a design guidelines of of how we could go about the development uh what are what the requirements were specifically on setbacks um originally the doo was Zero setback we've pushed it back 50 ft we had our neighbors uh the
Mt uh project who are here today we had our our neighbors in in in the Sterling building who are also here today uh that we needed to listen and understand what what their concerns were in order to satisfy them we've also uh looked at our side setbacks uh uh we we started out at
around uh 15 ft uh for our Tower setback uh to the South and uh and and and working with with the susman family and and and the neighborhood they wanted us to move that the building over to and we moved it 30 feet uh we also had a pedestal that had a the historic
pedestal was around zero maybe 5 feet from their property line and we've moved it to be a 20 foot setback for the pedestal as well uh to try to you know really uh really try to address and minimize any impacts of the of the Redevelopment um which I think is important uh here shows kind of the F
kind of uh analysis um basically uh prior to this uh we we went to the planning board uh for both for twice and and we're able to get a unanimous vote there which I think we were very uh happy with and and a lot of the discussion uh this is a little bit about
the resiliency that we're doing you see that green area and and and green space that we're creating we're going to be doing a series of of of of of of gravity Wells that are going to be not only handling flooding and storm water retention for our property but we're
going to be doing that for the neighborhood as well have Hernando here our civil engineer for efficiency purposes I'm not not going to have him talk through these slides I just want uh he's here to answer any questions as it relates to storm water and what we're proposing uh and again we're doing
rainwater collection increasing you know you know water conservation and uh and really just trying to have a smart a smart landscape design that's going to uh really be uh a model for for um for for the community and for development in Miami Beach um traffic very important
issue uh this project is low density and and we'll talk about that today you could build almost a thousand Hotel keys on the property and uh we're uh you know our legislation reduces that so our Target program which which which is what we want to develop is around 120 uh
residential units and and around 150 Hotel Keys we could do a thousand uh on this site today so there's a significant amount of reduced impact secondly traffic flow uh we're you know we we we we've met a lot with the community about during construction how do we mitigate
traffic and we have actually a garage that hopefully is going to be open to the public on 6 on 67th and Harding and and we'll talk a little bit about that but but here we have two drop offs so we created a res residential kind of uh ride share drop off we also created
queuing inside the property because the property's wide we were able to create a loading queuing so that no trucks are backing up into Collins Avenue and you could see that on the left there on the North side and on the south side we also are providing all the parking we providing around 250 parking 250 parking
spaces on the property with with intense queuing to get cars off the street uh which was I think important in addition to the fact that we're going to be opening up the garage that should that you know shortly we're going to be opening up the uh the 67 Street Garage uh for the community uh within months uh
we've been just uh since we got involved we've been uh uh clearing up some violations in the garage and and we're also going to be doing some enhancements and Improvement to that garage um this shows you the garage here this shows you the the garage that we have on on 67th and Harding um and and so in Indian
Creek U you know and and we're also uh you know going to talk a little more about some of the public benefits there this project actually is around a 62% decrease from what could be built there under the current code uh and it's also on on the am and then on the pm at night
this is a 66% reduction from what you know could be built today without making this modification and without our proposed modific a which we've showed we have kimley horn that worked on this traffic plan and they're here to ask you know any questions or comments so again
onsite traffic considerations uh uh you know multiple vehicular access points which is critical uh uh and uh you know minimizing a lot of the friction that occurs with different users uh loading operations completely internalized and hidden from the community uh and
obviously uh residential valet operations that'll be uh you know inside the building a lot of the offsite improvements we're working with obviously Collins Avenue dot we've been interfacing with them uh as well as the city traffic we did a traffic plan we reviewed it with the city when we filed
in June um and so this is just some a quick list of of some of the H the enhancements that that we're doing and I think there was a comment earlier that we only have a a a Beach Walk that's elevated we actually have two Beach walks I don't know many developments that actually do two Beach walks one in
the north one in the South one is at grade one is elevated uh but we felt it was important just to to provide that uh you know that um and and here's a series of neighborhood enhancements uh that that we're talking about just real quick lower Demand on public infrastructure uh
the Indian Creek parking garage we're looking at dedicating maybe a floor of parking uh to the community and to the public as well as potentially uh some ground floor uh retail space for the community to serve Civic purposes uh which I think is important uh and uh and
also uh this talks about the resiliency there's a little pocket Park on 67th in Harding and Indian Creek I I don't know if you've I've met with a lot of you and I've talked about Harding Avenue and I think Harding should become the cultural Street in in North Beach and we'll hopefully be able to work on that as well as some other uh public benefits
and infrastructure projects this is some dedicated funding just so you know uh we provided the city uh prior to Second reading obviously and it's going to go to planning board a a uh development agreement that's going to have a list of of public benefits that this Project's going to be either generating or funding
um and so this is just a a a quick list of uh of what we're looking at for dedicated funding this talks a little bit more about the square footage of that we're dedicating kind of to the public the beach walks the community Gallery uh the parking garage uh the the pocket park and then some of the
financial uh uh components which uh that we're doing to kind of help kind of the tree canopy plan and and some other initiatives that are that are necessary this is where the the big catalyst is um you know this project is going to generate significant revenues for the
CRA I've met and attended the CRA board meetings and uh you know there's a passion to make North Beach uh you know a a stronger and and a better and a more walkable vibrant uh community and and uh it's you know and it's got a great group of people and so we really feel that uh
you know you know this type of uh these types of dollars are are essential as soon as possible uh because I I know you know North Beach needs it uh so just talks a little more about um about the the you know you know this is just some quick numbers on Schoolboard impacts uh
not only after after the CRA there's also going to be after the CRA expires there's also going to be money going to the county money going to the city um so so this is uh basically the the you know an appendix and and that I have to be able to answer any questions but obviously I would love uh the
opportunity for the community and you to have input and and we're here to answer any questions thank you so much and sorry for going too long if I did thank you thank you luckily you talked quickly so I appreciate it why don't we take public comment and
then uh we'll deliberate so anyone who wants to speak please approach the podium while you're doing that I'm going to call the first virtual public speaker which is Lewis salom Mr salom please unmute yourself you have two minutes and please State
your address hi good afternoon leis shom lifelong resident of Miami Beach address is 815 Northshore Drive um a little bit going back a
little bit in history I remember when I was playing football we used to have the Optimus uh banquet at the doville so it's really nice that it's coming back love the way the developer had an Outreach with the community and on
behalf of my wife Gloria shom and all my family here we fully support this uh development and we're excited about what's going on in the North End thank you very much Commissioners mayor City attorney and city manager thank you go ahead sir say your
name address you have two minutes sure uh good evening uh commissioner is Robert Rosenthal 6799 Collins Avenue resident taxpayer constituent voter um generally not uh a guy that's in favor of uh of development but I have been thinking about this and I thought when
was the last time anybody was excited about the doville and it seems to me it was 1965 when the Beatles were here so we got we got 60 years and and I I would say that um look at us now uh the demolition of that blighted eyes sword that had been detracting from the
character of our neighborhood for years not only raised our hopes but at the same time it's revealed and highlighted the potential we now have to do something special for the community and so I've done uh some home and some due diligence here's what I've discovered is kind of the three key facts one is that
the lot as you just heard from uh Mr Martin here the lot is large enough to support a a dense residential project uh but but these the developers here have um instead of maximizing the number of units they are Reviving the iconic hotel and honoring the site's Rich history
while keeping residential density what you folks would call intensity uh down to a minimum I'm hearing 120 residential units where there could have been 800 in a lot that size uh and 150 keys for the hotel room where there could have been 900 both reasonable ways to reduce
impact I see the time is running low I want to say that I don't I don't know them personally but the the reputation that David uh Martin and terara have uh have earned over time for delivering highquality conscientious developments has been an Evidence of their meetings with the community uh of their Outreach
of their uh willingness to go ahead and uh and make the adjustments that they made to keep this within the architectural Heritage of of Miami Beach beyond the Aesthetics uh and the historical significance the economic benefits are undeniable I don't you
folks know the numbers better than I do but that CRA is a little bit of Brilliance and at 16 million or whatever your estimated Revenue increase is over 30 years that's about a half half a billion dollars uh devoted to uh uh uh designated to to to North Beach to make
it a make it better beautification infrastructure and I understand the common concern uh and this is funny coming from a guy who's dermatologist said whatever you do don't ever go in the sun again but I I think that a couple of hours uh of shade uh from the height of the buildings is a small price
to pay for what is potentially here an enormous uh uh Advantage not only economically but culturally to North Beach and I would urge you uh uh Commissioners with respect to think about what this uh means to the future
of of of this community to be able to do something uh that puts North Beach back to the level of prominence that it so deserves in Miami so thank you for your time your consideration and for your vote so we're going to go now to Virtual
our next virtual caller is Ivon andrees go ahead please say your name address and you have two minutes thank you very much good evening my name is Ivon Andress I'm a partner with the law firm of sck freed Rivera and I'm here speaking this evening on behalf and representing the interests of
the Sterling Condominium Association Inc located at 6767 Collins Avenue I'm here this evening at the request of the association's board of directors to express their strong support for the proposed Redevelopment of the doville site the project presents a rare and
valuable opportunity to restore a Historic Landmark while bringing significant economic cultural and Community benefits to the community recently the board has gained a deep understanding of the thoughtful planning architectural excellence and Community focused approach that the
developer is bringing to this Redevelopment their commitment to honoring the site's history while introducing a modern and sustainable design has reinforced the board's confidence in their ability to to deliver a project that will be a tremendous asset to the city the doville has long been an important part of the
community's identity and the board feels its Redevelopment will reinvigorate the surrounding area creating jobs attracting investment and enhancing the quality of life for residents the project emphasis on public spaces pedest pedestrian friendly design beach access
and cultural contributions further demonstrates its alignment to the vision of the community the association through its board believes this project will posit positively excuse me transform the community and the association supports this development and looks forward to this much needed revitalization coming
to fruition thank you for your time and dedication to the Miami Beach Community the association appreciates your leadership and your consideration this evening thank you thank you thank you go ahead sir hi my name is Brad bessi 7330 Ocean Terrace mayor Miner
honorable Commissioners I am here for one reason I'm here because I love the city of Miami Beach like you love the city of Mii Beach I am here because I believe in North Beach and I know David Martin believes in North Beach we are looking forward to having this project
done I got involved because I heard zero setbacks I went to a meeting and I heard that that was as many of you know me setbacks set me off and I was personally affected by that and I wanted to make sure that the Sterling and other
buildings but they that was a long rectified I saw the project it's beautiful you know when we talk about CRA $300 million is what we're talking about that's a lot of money you know never watch never watched this commissioner meeting prior to coming to what living coming speaking because when
I saw the whole infrastructure dialogue that you guys were having you know it sort of gave me aa and I saw possibly the 72 Street you know you know we have the opportunity to you know when we move the uh and number one I'm totally supporting of this project and I hope you guys give a
s0 vote on this please please please you know we want to get this done um so you know with that said getting this done um and I'm going to take a little a bit of time for North Beach because I really love North Beach um I'm
asking that with the projects that we have going on do not touch the 7 Second Street Park it's not a pool it's a parking issue that's what that building is going to be done for so when the library moves we have a huge piece of property that needs to be sold that
could be gone to our infrastructure so I begging you that there are opportunities to getting this done for uh us long term so um uh yeah so I I I'm totally oh lastly but should at least Paula
Kingsbury impact fees I never understood why she closed with impact fees now I get it we got to look at the impact fees because that's really important to how we're going to get our infrastructure straightened out because that you know it's like building a house and your
foundation's uh cracked and you're not going to fix it you got to fix a foundation thank you thank you our next virtual speaker has a screen name uh it's is Mark Mark please State your full name address and you have two minutes
me hi there mark fiser live at um 6515 colins AV I'm in the belir building and my unit faces the old Deval Hotel uh I was present when the uh Hotel was uh imploded and destroyed and um my main
concerns uh coming to this meeting is just around uh the impact on my lifestyle I'm expecting a newborn this um uh summer and um I want to know what to expect as far as uh noise noise mitigation that uh the construction team
is going to take into um uh into consideration so that I don't have to listen to uh beeping for uh years when the uh project is slated to start and when it's slated to um to end and um also what I should be expecting as far
as um dust being picked up uh and um you know possible uh issues with uh breathing that comes along with that so those are my main concerns uh on the negative side of the construction on the plus side I think the uh the plans are beautiful and you guys have done a
really good job of um uh demonstrating thoughtfulness in the uh the project so I'll seed my time there hope to hear um a little bit more about my concerns um being met thank you thank you next please my name is Anthony stiso I live
at the Sterling condominium 6767 Collins Avenue where I've lived for 24 years very happily um myself I also serve as a member of the board of directors at the Sterling myself and the other directors unanimously support the project we look
forward to welcoming our new neighbors and we hope that all of you will also thank you our next virtual speaker has a list of first name of Richard Richard please state your name address and you have two minutes yes hello my name is Richard
Zaki I'm a owner resident at the Sterling condominium uh complex neighboring um the future project of the doville a lot of very positive things um has been said about this project so I
will reiterate all of those points but I want to speak to you from my heart when I tell you that this project is brilliant and uh Mr Martin the time he has spent
listening um public hearings answering questions I think the humanity of it is also brilliant for such a big project and I would just like to finalize by saying please let's push this product it
is a fantastic product project thank you to all of you for taking the time to consider this thank you next please hello my name is David Sharps and uh I live at the Sterling as well
um I want to say something I struggled with this project and I struggled because I'm going to be blocked completely by it I'm a native I grew up here was born in Coconut Grove um been here for 60 some OD years built a business business here uh and I had
challenges trying to appreciate not being blocked or for the benefit of the community and I decided to take some time to get to know the developer I'd never met him before David Marton so I
created a task force at the Sterling for that purpose um and I realized the following Miami one of the greatest cities in the world now was built on Developers and developers have enriched all our lives and they've enriched all
our lives look at our home values it's because of development it's because the city is a magnificent City and it's one of the greatest cities in the world now so what's happened is and what's changed is the cost of doing business is so much
greater now the cost of land to develop to build greatness comes with great risk and it requires the help of the the community the leaders the decision makers that are open to going outside the box and approving
things that might be bigger than what they think is realistic and in this case we have a developer who cares more than anyone I've ever met never met this guy in my life wants to do whatever is necessary to make this happen has jumped through every who
possible to alleviate the concerns of the community and what I have to say to the commission is this our city was built on taking risk but the risks have changed where the land values the cost of development have gone through the roof so we have to
have some concern for the developers and what their needs are and in this case for this to happen we have to approve some changes to the law thank you and I can say that this very clearly that David Martin will do whatever is necessary to help this community I'm
going to be completely blocked but it's okay because it's for the greater good thank you thank you our next virtual speaker next virtual speaker is David seon Mr seon you have two minutes state your name and address go ahead
please my name is David sexon I live at 1255 Mars Drive I've lived in North Beach for 20 plus years I'm the president of the Normy Fountain Business Association and I'm calling in today to speak in favor of this project I remember when the doville shut down it
was a blow to all the businesses in the business district everyone suffered greatly and it we still haven't entirely recovered all these years later uh that space where the dovo used to be is a is a sore is a hole in our community and
this project is a beautiful way to fill that space uh I love the recreation of the doville they do seem to be the developers do seem to be willing to listen to the community make adjustments uh unlike some developers who just try to force through their projects so I'm
I'm supporting this on behalf of the businesses and on behalf of the community thank you next please uh my name is JR bolt 7330 ocean terrrace I was on the board of central P from 2014 2021 I'm currently again and worked with Ocean
Terrace holding to support and vitalize that area and through economic s simulation and uh live improve the livability Ocean Terrace holding didn't work I have a PhD in E economics and I think there were economics reasons for
that um currently 65 to 69 Street is also a problem small business owners are struggling um honestly it's a disgrace for visitors if you go by and for those who live there that that area has so much potential and so more than ever we
don't only need uh revitalization in that area but still in Ocean terrce as well and the reason why Ocean Terrace holding didn't happen uh from an economic point of view was that demand and Supply didn't work they they tried to get a a five-star hotel in and
they wouldn't get in because the area wasn't good and then we built a park and then anyway all that did nothing happen 10 years later we're here but you know what last week the sign for Ocean Terrace residents went up and it's happening and why does it happen happen
from an economic point of view because they changed the plans there are fewer units like this with a doville with a higher price point and they also put a a connection there with the Luxury Collection with the marot which is focused as the doel is on the
architectural features of that area um the sales office sales office open last week we were there and things are going fast there and the great thing is that doville is actually in the same target audience and and for my perspective the North Beach really needs a corner
development on the on the south side to help stimulate that whole area from a 10 block area from 65th 67 to 74th and and we can do that with this project and especially if we make that connection with the 71st uh Street revitalization
as well which I like to call the North Beach uh Boulevard um so please vote Yes for this project I'm sorry I didn't catch your name Jr bolt BLT David bromelli Renee de parice jewelry
store 6608 Collins Avenue right across from the project hello mayor and City commission you guys are doing a great job cleaning up Miami Beach doing a great job we're seeing the progress again my name is David my business partner is Don Frank Ventura he's 80
years old we're the owners of Renee de parice jewelry store Don Frank came over as a Jewish Cuban immigrant in 1960 and purchased our jewelry store and also his family is one of the founders of Temple MOSI on 71st
Street I represent six of the owners of the businesses in front of the duville project we fully support this project from David Martin and support keeping Miami Beach historic thank you thank you we're good thank you so much we're going
to go to our next virtual speaker Jason Walker State your name address and you have two minutes uh I'm a sterling resident I'm 6767 Collins and um I don't really share the
enthusiasm that some of my neighbors are expressing it's because we're uh not taking out of the closet the fact that the Mt hotel is also being proposed as a building project right between the
Sterling and the Deville and I think the commission really needs to be careful as they as uh they decide how to coordinate these two major projects um in the long run I assume that the community will
benefit from it but the members of the the community in the Sterling are going to be hard pressed um to tolerate um two years of building um directly in our faces and I would
appreciate um the commission taking into account that the mimed has is is covered up in these schematics it's not even talked about and it's right there between the Sterling and this proposed project and I think that's going to create a hardship for a number of people
that live in the Sterling and I would hope that you would take that into consideration thank you thank you so much and just so we could keep track of the speakers is there anyone else in the audience who wishes to speak otherwise then please stand on the line if you can or let me know that way I can I can kind
of Judge and the same thing anyone in Zoom if they can raise their hands so we know who's waiting to speak please go ahead hi my name is Susan Cohen I reside at the Caroline I've been in North Beach since 2007 and I've watched the demise of my neighborhood and it's terrible and it's
I feel like North Beach has been so overlooked if you walk on the streets you can trip they're broken the sidewalks are in terrible shape and I really hope this project has the capability to really Revitalize North Beach and I'm so so excited for it to
come and you know for all the other reasons that people have said I don't want to waste your time but I really do hope that you approve this project for all of those reasons thank you thank you our next virtual speaker our next virtual speaker has a screen name with
the first name of Sharon Sharon state your name address and you have two minutes Sharon I love it go ahead hi yes this is Sharon Weiss I live at 233 81st Street um I've lived up here uh in North Beach for uh almost 15 years
and uh while I'm not necessarily opposed to the project I have grave concerns uh there's been almost no discussion about public benefit uh other than well we're not building as big as we can build um there has been no uh no discussion about
holding the developers to a timeline I think they have like five years before they can break ground which is crazy um there we haven't talked about the all of the fines that the maros racked up whilst doing demolition by neglect I mean it's like a lot of money that could
be useful um no one's mentioned that uh no one's mentioned collecting appropriate impact fees for the massive amount of strain that this is going to put on our public resources and infrastructure and lastly I mean there was just something in passing about
perhaps opening up the parking Garage on Indian Creek which has been held hostage for almost a decade uh we're desperately need in need of parking perhaps we can impel the developer to build the 72nd Street parking garage since the city has been unable to do so uh in the last like
eight years um we desperately need parking we keep taking away parking we're going to be adding more people we're going to be adding uh construction traffic and with with no parking relief uh for us at all and so I think we need to be demanding far more from the
developer thank you thank you to accommodate all the speakers I'm going to put the clock at 1 if you need just a tiny extra time please let me know but let's try to because there's a lot of speakers also on Zoom so please go ahead sir Tom Richardson 6450 Collins Avenue
um I'm in favor of this development I think David and his team have done a really thoughtful job of uh adding something spectacular to the neighborhood But ultimately we all know it's a beautiful project but what we're really here to vote for is the F increase or not and in that
consideration you have to think what are the benefits to the community and what what would be the drawbacks I'm struck when I'm in here because I know Brad and I met you Kristen in 2014 when we were doing Ocean Terrace it's 11 years later that project is still not built and that is something
that we have not talking about what happens if we turn down this good project and this doesn't get built you talked about biscane elementary getting funding for for the c that'd be wonderful F that'd be a great project I'm on the C I'd be 100% in favor of that but you need money to do that and this provides a tremendous amount of
money to our community besides a beautiful project it has a lot of benefits that go past the immediate thing so for our community for all of North Beach it will be a great thing and I hope you pass it unanimously uh to support our community that's been really
deteriorated over the last decade thank you our next virtual speaker is pet vanderly state your name address and you have one minute please yes arar and the last name important
viso okay 7710 AB Avenue Miami Beach probably I am the younger speaker at this meeting and one of the newcomer since back 1962 so I have seen the transformation
of Miami Beach we have several properties at different sites H even at noran on how you call it the park right by so
I mean quite a lot of property we have own and transferred now the point is this one I have seen all these transformation of Miami Beach included the Mariel B leaf
everything and what I have seen is that Miami Beach is resurging but we need projects like the one on the I saw the when it was theil and I got the not
here but all saying I think that we will need this project for economic purpose for the good of the community and so Armando can live another five more years and maybe go to the theil project thank
you thank you so much let's go back to Peter Peter please unmute yourself name and address and you have two you have one minute hi it's Peter vandery I'm at 6365 Collinson Avenue um I want to express my concern
over this F increase which is still sizable let's not forget that the project was folded down when an F increase was asked for by the by the community and the issue I have is
twofold why have an F ratio if the request is to meaningfully expanded in the first place and secondly is I think it will set a terrible precedent this area north beach is going to undergo a lot of Redevelopment going forward and
by setting this president you essentially are potentially setting a a stage of a very different looking uh North Beach than the one we now have and and I I really enjoy so my issue is not
so much with the project my issue is this ask is a huge ask and the president it said is very damaging for the future of this area thank you thank you so much next please hello how are you uh mayor Commissioners
um I am uh James Rio uh the founder and uh manager uh principal of sushi be on 7330 Ocean Terrace commercial unit 5 so I uh
wholeheartedly uh support the doville project small this small businesses in North Beach and anywhere need uh hotel rooms they need density uh despite um the popularity and acceptance
from the community of sushi beichi and despite us having loyal guests that are at the restaurant two three times a week we still need hotel rooms we need to keep the restaurant or any business for that matter busy throughout its
opening hours and without uh hotel rooms and uh we were talking about uh F increases I support those as well we need more hotel rooms and density in the area to support good quality businesses
thank you our next virtual speaker is Jane krup please unmute yourself say your name and address please hi Jane crop 1390 Ocean Drive um I'm a professional designer worked with many
Architects and I think that this project is has just blown me away it's so beautiful and thoughtful and intelligent and I want to give a shout out to the developer and the team and I think you know it has overwhelming approval a few dissidents you know complaining about
their beach access well when I see those beautiful renderings of a shaded pergola who wouldn't want to walk under that with their dog you know it's it just magnificent and I think it it sets a high bar for the future development of Miami Beach when you look at the skyline
with these beautiful sculptures um you know I'm not one for glass Towers but this is not a phoned in you know AutoCAD uh snaap to a grid glass box these are beautiful thoughtful buildings and you look at um the portfolio of
Foster and partners every building is unique and uh globally ident you know recog ized as iconic I think this is a great thing for Miami Beach setting a high bar it's going to do for the skyline what z hads uh scorpion building
did for the glass boxes in Miami it's going to create a new standard and I think it's terrific thank you so much next please good evening mayor and Commissioners my name is Elise kremin I live at the carolon I have been a Miami
resident for five years um I moved from New York as did all my children and my very young grandchildren we have all fallen in love with Miami Beach and um a few of my kids do live in North Beach and we love it and this will be a
welcome addition to our community and I ask for your thoughtfulness in passing this and we just are very excited for the money coming into the parks uh beach access and the elementary school so on behalf of all the little ones out there
we're very excited about this project thank you thank you so much our next virtual speaker has a screen name of w state your name and address please and unmute yourself Wayne Roberts South the 5th um
good evening um I yep it's evening um I just want to say that um I've come to know David Martin and and I I appreciate how he's grown over the last two years um uh he's reached out to the community
in an effective way um uh certainly the project is better than the one that we turned down a couple years ago um and uh I know uh Sharon had some concerns and I hope he reaches out to Sharon to try to
um uh uh make her happy but um I I really respect David now and um he's he's a Miami Beach born and raised and um I think he cares about the city and uh I think we should you know I'm going to post a sign that says in Martin We
Trust as we enter the city um and thanks for all you do for Miami Beach at this point Thank you hi my name is Pam lebman I am a taxpayer and a voter I live at the carolon I've been in Miami Beach since 2007
since I moved in all I heard about was how North Beach was going to evolve and become the next great area it certainly has not as I look at all the other areas around Miami I see how much they have grown and what new development has done
to increase property values and help businesses and how important it is I've also been in the real estate business for over 40 years and I've seen a lot of really good developers and a lot of really bad developers we have an opportunity here to work with one of the
best developers in all of Florida to take this opportunity and let it go because there's a few extra square feet or because someone's view would get blocked or because we don't want the construction guess what something's going to be built there and in order to
build you get construction you get dust I've been living with a hammer over my head for a year now at the Caroline with everything and I can deal with it please don't let this opportunity pass Us by North Beach needs this our next public speaker has a
screen name of iPad state your name address and you have one minute cut it off yes Alfred Fela Sterling 67 unit 1903 I'm a seasonal
resident I am a a land use attorney in New Jersey of some note and have done I'm frankly been involved with clients billions of dollars of projects I will tell you Mr Martin met with our group in the in the in the Sterling and I've really never seen design and
thoughtfulness this is unique I really think it's a world-class project and believe me and the 12 million billion dollars of project been involved with developers that's a lot to say I think there's something more important though or as important design is nice Mr Martin
impresses me I think he's got vision and integrity God knows he's got resources that's as important as the project as it's designed maybe more so so I feel very comfortable telling you this is a worldclass project I hope you embrace it
you adopt it you prove it and make it something you'll be proud of voting for go ahead please hi my name is Christina Sosa I'm a resident at the carolon and I just came to say my full support for this project uh North Beach really needs this at this time it's been
over 20 years years that I lived in the community and I just want to reiterate uh David Martin is no other you know better source to go to to be a a trusted uh uh person in the community to help us get this done and to to support the community and all of his conscious efforts and Outreach that he's done to
with the community so we're really looking forward to this passing thank you thank you so much will Cox is the next speaker please unmute yourself say your full name Willcox go ahead okay let's go to Larry schaer
shaery schaer Larry Schaefer yes hello um okay so earlier today you passed an item to create a documentary to honor Morris lepus David Martin destroyed a
Morris lepus building in North Beach in order to build 87 Terrace when you discuss public benefits from this please remember the history it's not just a few years he's been around quite some time and that project didn't go very well there were significant problems in the construction I'm concerned about the
health and safety of the people around this new project please take this into consideration thank you thank you next please sir go ahead good afternoon thank you for your time um from the uh family that owns the
Sherry Frac I introduced my father Eli susman he bought the Sherry front act just south of the no in 1973 he's do the math it's over 50 years he's going to be honored at the Heat game this Sunday as a a veteran anyhow
um we support David and we we' like to see something happen at the Doo um think it'll in the area needs it um we have one concern it's our southyard setback we spoke to David we're working with him
he's at 30 feet we need what the the law requires the zoning law requires which is 50 ft he's getting many variances in many different ways God bless we are going to redevelop our property uh a neighborhood is more than one development we're going to continue the
revitalization of North Beach we're not going to be asking for for this much but we would like to have the side yard setback so it won't block our our development thank you for your time thank you our next speaker is Professor Vladimir usof
hello go ahead okay my name is Vladimir yusov uh me and my wife are the new residents full-time resident at Miami Beach and uh we actually moved from Chicago area and
we are professors for 40 plus years I would like to express our full support and strong support of this project um the the rule says that the quality of the entire system is defined by the
quality of the weakest element and when we saw the empty space then uh of course we were not happy however after several I didn't know Mr David Martin and after attending several meetings I understood
that he is a very Visionary uh person and I truly believe that actually this project it is not just one more building hotel it is actually a chain it is from the weakest element to the new uh strongest element probably of North
Miami Beach and uh sets the Exemplar uh um model for our community thank thank you so much next please hi Janet Silverman a lot has been said about the benefits I'm I'm sorry um I live at the carolon 6899 Collins
Avenue A lot has been said about the benefits I just want to say that I'm on the board of North Tower of the carolon and our board is unanimously in support of this project um we think that uh the developer has done a really good job trying to make it beautiful um and we
also think that this project needs to be developed and if there's two failed attempts of developers trying to develop this project is it going to be another 10 years before something goes there I just I don't see the
um I think the benefits of this project far outweigh giving up what needs to be given up uh to the developer to get it done thank you thank you our virtual caller is Will Cox will Cox unmute yourself please yeah good
afternoon I own a business at 6752 Collins Avenue Sand Barn kitchen and I believe this project would be a great advantage to the neighborhood ever since the doville closed we've probably lost 40% of our
walk by business maybe even more and in general it would just improve the entire neighborhood bring a better uh group of people living walking and I just think overall it would be a great Improvement for the
North Beach area and especially in the 60s where we've seen such a decline in business over the last Last Five Years thank you for your time thank you next please good evening it's been a fun day for you all I'm sure um I'm Sam latone I
live at 6515 Collinson Avenue two blocks south of the subject property I'm also the president of our board of directors and our board has unanimously voted to support this project we think it's incredibly important for our neighborhood um couple things I wanted
to mention is that um commissioner Rosen Gonzalez you mentioned that the CRA can be very frugal when it comes to um offering opportunities to invest in the community and that's because there's a limited budget I'm on the advisory committee and you know it's a binary
decision where we have to decide what projects we can actually fund given the funds that we have this project changes all of that I know that was very small print but the projections are that this project will contribute over $300 million into the city ra over the next
30 years and that doesn't include the multiplier effect of additional investment into the neighborhood and the rise and property values that result in additional funds that go into the CRA I heard of concern about infrastructure I want to remind everybody that the former
doia Hotel was 577 units we're now talking about half that from a density perspective thank you mron thank you thank you go ahead please good evening I'm H Joe Morano I'm a retired resident and owner at the accoa
6365 Collins Avenue I'm a former board member of the accoa I'm a former organizer for Save Allison Park committee and I'm a current board member of the Allison Park neighborhood association unlike many of the speakers
this evening I believe that I will speak on behalf of the seniors in our community you see we're not so concerned about when this project starts but we are concerned about when this project is
finished we are interested in when the project will be completed now at 75 years of age uh I think I speak for all of the seniors that we hope to be around to enjoy the amend
to enjoy the services to enjoy the restaurants and the beach access points and the new businesses that will come into the neighborhood thank you sir it thank you so much I appreciate it thank you good evening thank you all for the
opportunity and I've been in Miami Beach I'm sorry your name I won't take your time Fernanda Martino I live at the Carone 6899 cins and I've been in fulltime real estate for 20 years and I used to live south of fif and I saw so many neighborhoods getting so beautiful
with tons of rual spaces and beautiful buildings and unfortunately I was in House at the Caron and for 14 years I've been waiting what we were told it would look like in like 10 years and I see this taking like another 10 years and I hope that it doesn't take another 10 10 years from now we have a great developer
I love the way how you blend new exciting luxury mix with the beautiful of the old and keeping the Miami Beach historic so I think it will be a great a great addition I would I haven't heard from anyone 5508 units at the Carone no
one in this to come we love the beach we need more places like that just for everyone even for safety for all everyone thank you mayor everyone who was a line when we cut off has spoken and there's nobody REM there's no one
left remote but everyone who was in line spoke you know for Daniel maybe where's the Inspector General danal with Miami Design preservation League I'll try to be one minute as quick as I can um we have spent a lot of
time unlike the last project where a project was hoisted on us by a developer that literally said this is not a historic district and we heard what the voters said they said see you in Weston beach now we've got a local developer
Alan Schulman though I think gets the best credit because he actually designed a really beautiful a building it's not an exact reconstruction though but I think in this case it in some ways it's even better because there are balconies on the North side as well which is
probably better for the Neighbors um but I did want to mention in my 18 seconds that we need to make sure that we're clear that the owners are also the marel and they owe millions of dollars to the city of Miami Beach and David Martin is
a a very good developer but there's another owner that a lot of us know cannot always be trusted so we look to you uh to see what protections the the Marella
family the the marelas I mean the ones that let it Tanya could tell you vice mayor could tell you all about that but I did just want to mention in between first and second I got a lot of emails about not just from the next door neighbors that love it and and we agree there are a lot of good things but
residents about the height it is a double height of what was there now when the carolon was built a lot of people who lived in there loved it but the neighborhood actually downed for 200 ft so between first and second I hope you guys can really negotiate
the the height make it even better as good as we could make it for the city and um but thank you all thank you thank you um oh are you here oh Wen on line but we'll get but the last speaker no not
okay I'm speaking as a resident not a member of any association not as a member of anything at all but I honestly don't know how much we can wait how much longer can we wait at what point is something going to be good
enough for this spot yes we have terrible owners everybody knows that they are toxic um but we can't wait anymore at what point are we going to get somebody
that is going to come in and do what these gentlemen have done we're not okay so listen please please help our neighborhood I'm I'm I'm honestly begging you we cannot wait anymore we
are dying thank you thank you thank you to all the speakers uh vice mayor bot um so I hope you don't take this the wrong way um boy setting that up sounds
great um this is as almost as an emot as emotional an issue for me as the first item of the day was for the mayor not on the same order of magnitude but I fought like hell to try to keep the
doville standing I have a dossier that thick on the melo's business practices they're not good eggs and they I hate the fact that they're going to make money off of this I'm sorry David I know they're your business partners but
the fact remains remains they own the land and it doesn't matter who comes up with a project they are going to get paid we the city of Miami Beach we are also going to get paid because we are in final stages of collecting of
negotiating collecting what they owe us believe me this is not lost on me when when David and his team came in to speak to me for the the first time about this my body language first of all was like this because I don't like Developers ask
any of them ask ma Cohen how I feel about developers the first thing I said David correct me if I'm wrong when are you paying not you when are your business people your your business partners paying what they
owe I wish it were already in our bank but it's not but it will be shortly I have a lot of things to say about this project a lot has already been said about the benefits so what I want to do with my time is say very quickly some of
the things that I've heard over emails and in meetings that are factually incorrect and I want to put on the record here first of all this is not this is not a project to benefit the neighbors and improve their property values that's nice side effect I guess
if you happen to live next door but it is a project that improves the quality of life for every single person in North Beach somebody called in and said you haven't negotiated any any um development agreement benefits let
me we are there was a slide that gave off a lot of what we are talking about including helping us to pay for an infrastructure assessment project that we are desperately in need of in North Beach to figure out how bad our pipes
are including helping to um jumpstart some projects like like the the playground we just talked about at the school the Byron Carlile project including the parking garage which is not contingent on this plan by the way
because we need parking and while it may not be the most convenient thing for every neighborhood in North Beach at least as a at a minimum when there is an emergency a flood you will not have to slept down to South Beach and hope there's still a spot for you there are
so many things that are going to benefit our community at Large the the money that this development alone throws off into the CRA is so staggeringly Community changing it is irresponsible to think about this any
other way love the architecture hate the architecture I don't care if you have any thought about the financial well-being of our city as a whole and this neighborhood in particular then this is something you have to get behind I would also say that not for
nothing but this this hotel will create 228 full-time jobs that's not construction jobs that's full-time jobs and there will be parking on site so people won't be circling for their to be able to put their cars in there's a lot
still to be um finessed one of the thing one of the ways to do that is to um bring the development agreement to the planning board so that we can start figuring all of this stuff out but to wait until that
is done is irresponsible we it is so important that we need that we do this the folks who are saying there's no beach access or it's not good enough there is no beach access now one is at street level and one is actually covered so that the
people nearby are not going to listen to the trucks backing in at 3:00 in the morning or whenever they're backing in when when they're not supposed to um because we know that happens I'm sorry it's a true thing we know that happens the this is so important to the future
of this community and not not just these few blocks but the entire city because as one part of the city goes so goes the rest of the city we've spent a lot of time talking about our finances going forward it's going to be a rough few
years there's a lot of uncertainty and if we have a project that only applies to this particular plot of land and I'm the first one to talk about the tip of the spear kind of concerns as president of mbu for years that was my my my Benchmark this cannot
apply to other projects it is a very unique situation and the fact that the voters resounding resoundingly rejected the initial F was not because of this project or even the F it was because the
person behind that project said here's where you're getting don't talk to me about it you don't know anything we're jamming it down your throats and when we said you know it it has some historic value we'd like to have some input as a community said take it or leave it and we said you
know what we're leaving it so now we have somebody who has come into the community and spent a year and a half working with stakeholders and making adjustments and listening and refining and refining and there's still room to
refine I don't love tall towers I'm going to ask and hold you responsible to bring them down so I would like to un bended knee ask my colleagues for their support for this city changing project that will improve
the lives of so many people in North Beach who don't even live anywhere near this project I would also like to ask my commission colleagues to um uh support a motion to refer the development agreement to the planning board so we
can move this along so that we can get the shovel in the ground as soon as possible and get people living in our neighborhood and supporting our businesses and visiting our our beaches and staying at these hotels at this hotel as soon as possible we you know
people said it's just a a vacant lot it is a giant gaping hole in our hearts and the sooner we fill it up with vibrant exciting things happening the better off we all will be thank you
commissioner I'll I'll second your motion commissioner magazine commissioner I'll second your motion um going to be brief and concise uh before commissioner bin mentioned this morning I was thinking about the parallels of uh this morning to this evening where this
morning we came into the meeting as a very divided Community each other's throats we sat down we understood uh each other's perspectives and we left united we left looking at a brighter future it's not lost on me that several years ago this is a project that really
divided our community was very divisive uh but what we see here tonight the Outreach the overwhelming completely overwhelming support that we've received for this project there's a lot of symbology about now our communities come together after being divided on this
project uh so I'm not going to grandstand on the details I'm not going to ask a bunch of questions already know this is a day we should all be excited for proud of this is a day that we're going to look back remember for the future of North Beach um my biggest concern is accelerating this time frame
getting it done as quick as possible make sure North Beach gets the project that they deserve and we all leave here United with something that we can all be proud of so uh to the development team I wish you luck to the neighborhood I hope we can deliver this and have something that
we're all proud of thank you chrisser Fernandez thank you Mr Mayor um you know I'm going to Echo a lot of the sentiments that have already been said the revitalization of the duville site represents an an important moment for North Beach it's truly a chance to
transform a long neglected property into a catalyst for economic growth and cultural res restoration um I support the overarching vision uh behind this effort and recognized a
significant opportunity before for us to achieve to to to both activate the site and honor its historical significance um and that's important that is very important because the developer is under
no obligation to do that and that's something that's so important because in fact our code says that the presumption o under the basis under which the duville is no longer there the presumption is that replication is a requirement however because of the
resiliency and safe structures act that was passed by the state the developer is no longer required to replicate the historic property the State of Florida preempted us and this is one of the few opportunities that we
have to actually regain our local control and work with the community with a good private partner to be able to bring back this important um this important
architectural um gem that we lost because of the negligence of a property owner and so commissioner bot thank you for your leadership uh in this um North Beach NIS our architectural identity deserves
this and the businesses and the residents of the area have been not asking begging for it and so thank you for your engagement thank you for coming out I'm proud to support you commissioner bot it's time to bring life
back to this empty parcel and it's time to put North Beast back forward in the right path thank you commissioner Dominguez thank you and a lot of the points um that I had jotted down have
already been said but um this went to the voters back in 2022 and what didn't P was a completely different project uh the height of these towers is roughly the same as that particular project but here in working with the planning
department and um the developer the suggestion was given then rather than having one massive Hotel you split it into two and looking at the renderings it's incredible it really is such a beautiful project I'll echo of the vice
mayor in saying that I was really excited that it's going to bring jobs to the area and they will have parking to uh get to work and I also like that um for deliveries there it's been thought out
in advance and seeing the community get behind it whether it's the Allison Park neighborhood association uh the Sterling the mimet um it's something that's really exciting one thing I'll mention uh because I uh
was brought up in a meeting that I had with with them one-on-one um if you could uh meet again with the susman family and uh discuss the setback I know that's something that's very important to them and um and maybe by second reading
there'll be some compromise but I I love it and I love the public benefits and I think it's going to be something great for North Beach um when Mark was alive we were members of the carolon and when the doo closed and we were seeing how
how quickly it blighted and changed the businesses and the neighborhoods and how they struggled and I think it was Tom Richardson that said it could be another 10 years of this and worse so it's important to move forward and support
the community and the neighborhood and um I'm really happy about this project okay thank you um really appreciate everyone coming out here David thanks for bringing uh this project oh oh well call on others but I think it's uh and and vice mayor bot
mentioned that I think it's a it's it's it's it's a credit to you that you did spend so much time with the community that you uh that you got the Buy in that you're getting I Echo the sentiments uh would love to see some followup uh about the setbacks between first and second reading there was a caller mentioned
about noise mitigation project project timeline maybe we can get some answers on that and and discuss that at second reading uh but uh yeah I mean I think it's uh it's clear and overwhelming the the support you're you're having for this project in the North Beach area
commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yeah it's it's interesting to see who's here advocating for this I have all my saves save Allison Park I saw you save Ocean Terrace you know um with Daniel we we you know fought the first iteration of
of the doville and um I remember sitting down with Steven Ross and Frank Gary came here and everybody paraded out and we looked at this project with these two twisting mirror towers that really paid no homage to the doville and when I asked him what he was going to do to
replicate or pay any homage at all to the doville he said we're going to screen some pictures in the bar and at the time I said that's that's not good enough you know this is an iconic hotel and if I told you how many Miami Beach
residents were upset you know when the meruelo um you know demolished the hotel when they closed the hotel in 2017 following hurricane Irma and then had no intention of reopening it and we watched the entire area become bladed and I
think my heart really broke when I saw Athens juice bar closed that just killed me and at that moment I realized you know just how destructive it was to the area because that was a place that everybody uh went to but the DOA was was
an economic engine granted toward the end the truth of the matter is the owners were not taking good care of the property when I would walk alongside because at one point I did live in North Beach and I would see the pool area from the beachwalk it it did not look uh
great okay so toward the end it was it was bladed okay and then having the derelict property there and the Morelos now have millions of dollars in fines that they owe the city which I'm hoping is part of this project
um they are going to pay off so you know I understand that every the small businesses are suffering but more importantly that area needs a really great place a Gathering Place um on the beach where you know you can hold
parties and and go and you know have a nice meal and I understand that this is an or organic thing I mean the people from the Sterling where's the gentleman who said block view the neighborhood needs it I've never even heard anyone
say any anything like that you know and when when we won the campaign against the doel I'm sure a lot of you were upset at the time because you know I know I understood that that it was that it was bladed now I'm very happy that
the towers are set back so that your Beach is not cast in Shadow because one thing that I can't stand is that Sunny Isles effect now commissioner bot you said you wanted to bring down the height a little bit and that's why we're referring it to the planning board to see how much we
can bring down the height so so the development agreement needs to go to the planning board and that's where we're going to start really hashing out what the benefits are to the city okay including I mean I I've
already talked to the development team two stories at a minimum two stories Okay so so um the towers are going to come down a little bit the beach is not going to be cast in
any Shadow I'm sure that there's public benefits that we have not really spoken about but we know that those fees will be paid off the the only part about this that I don't like is rewarding the melo's bad behavior honestly blading the neighborhood for for nearly a decade
okay um but I'm interested to see what the planning board um comes back with and I know that the and also that the seson over here 30 to 50 feet I don't know what you can do to um work with the Susans also I think that's important be
because I would love to see uh you renovate your property too and make it something iconic and beautiful and renovate the historic part of it um and this is what we've been seeing across Miami Beach we did this now um with the the Shore Club it's happening hopefully
with the Raleigh um what is the Vlad dronin project called which one is that the we're getting the an Aman but what is that building the versailes okay and believe it or not the F were the first to actually do this and
if you go to the fena district um and you see what they've created there with their property it's it's very very special and you know the fact that it's 120 units which is 60 units per building I was really concerned about the density but I think because of the traffic in
north beach sometimes less is more so everybody wants to see The Arches and the old sign back up and have walk in and see that beautiful Lobby which I'm hoping that we are going to create a real tribute to the doil so that when
people are filming documentaries on Miami Beach they're going to go to this Lobby I hope when this is finished and be able to recreate that feeling because that's what makes it so special and unfortunately we weren't able to preserve what was there but we're taking
a stab at replication and that was a lot better than what was being proposed a few years ago so um I am you know signing on board everybody was nervous that I was going to be afraid
I and and and by the way because I know that I've been there's been some critiques by some members up here about you know when Fifth Street was built this is kind of what happened at Fifth Street too when the Floridian came to us a commissioner magazine you were one of the biggest advocate for getting a park
and when I saw um David Martin build the park there I thought oh we're never going to get that Park it's going to take 10 years to build the park like the park that was 86 and park but when you took it on you built that park with that drainage in a year I've never seen
anybody get it done so quickly and now we're getting that walkway which some people have criticized and others call iconic but it is what it is and today I think we renamed it after commissioner Mark amulance it's going to be the mark samulet walkway so you know I've watched your
work I watched this community building that you've done here which is really tremendous and takes a lot of patience and I think that land use attorney from New Jersey you know he's in love with you Wayne is in love with you make it jealous um but um congratulations for for
putting this together and hopefully with with a little bit less height we make this happen thank you thank you okay let's call a vote I have a motion from commissioner bot second by commissioner magazine it includes a referral to the planning
board for the development agreement for clarification this is a vote on the comp plan this is a vote on the overlay to both items commissioner magazine Ralph um one quick question does it also incl the two recommendations of the administration in the memo regarding the
floor plate and the um additional condition regarding the requirement for the um re partial reconstruction of the doville yes okay together okay so it was a I'm sorry it was a yes yes yes okay uh commissioner
magazine proudly yes commissioner Fernandez yes vice mayor B oh yes commissioner Rosen Gonzalez yes commissioner Dominguez yes
commissioner Suarez no mayor Miner yes motion carries uh second reading public hearing is April 23rd thank you very much it's been uh quite a day but uh a productive day in many ways thank you have a great night and God bless e