Welcome to our regular CRA meeting. Is this special? No, it's our regular It's a rescheduled regular meeting. Regular meeting. Okay, great. Our regular North Miami CRA meeting is Tuesday, February um oh, April 22nd, 2025. It's
approximately 5:42. Madame, I know you got to say something. Madame Secretary, did I get the time right? You did. You did. Chairman Desome here. Vice Chair Timothy here. Board member Burns here. Board member Eston Mayoran present. Board
member Charles present. Chairman, you have a quorum to proceed. Thank you so much. We'll do the pledge of allegiance and then we'll go right into consent agenda. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Secretary. the consent agenda unless a member of the CRA board wishes to remove a specific item from this portion of the agenda. Tab A and B con
tab A constitutes the consent agenda. This item is self-explanatory and are not expected to require additional review or discussion. This item will be recorded as an individually numbered item adopted unanimously by the following motion that the consent agenda
be adopted. So move. Second. Thank you. I have a motion made by board member Charles to approve the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by board member estimate Irvin. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries with a 5-0
vote. Chairman, before proceeding, I would just like to say that item seven is being um tabled by the applicant. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Item one, agenda item one is an advisory committee appointment. Randy
Grace, who has applied and is eligible to be appointed to the CRA advisory board, has been nominated by Councilman Charles. Move for approval. Second. I have a motion made by board member Estate Urban to approve agenda item one.
The motion was second by board member Charles. All in favor? I. Any opposed? The motion carries with a 5-0 vote. Item two. And before item two, any um explanation madame director regarding the um approval of investment policy? We
do have a presentation and we do also have our consultant who's available virtually. Okay. So at this time if we can have the presentation I'll just ask if you can hear me in the meantime. Yes. Yes, we can hear you. Thank you. Perfect. Thanks.
We're just waiting for the presentation to populate on the screen. And here it is. Miss Mets, you can proceed. Thank you very much. Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for having me. Um, my name is Danny Denela Mets. I go by Danny because it's a little bit
easier. Um, and today we'll be going over the investment policy. I will start by saying that the basis for the policy um was the city of North Miamiy's investment policy and we made a few edits which I'll go through here um in a moment and and and explain those. So
I'll start with the next slide. The next slide. Thank you. All right. So our investment policy framework here at PFMA consists of three components. So first is Florida state statutes. The second is the
association of public treasures with US and Canada. And finally with GFOA best practices. And the reason that we use a threepronged framework is so that you can really know um that we're not making any of this up right all of these are established best practices. And I will
skip over to the next slide to start with Florida state statutes. So here we list out the main requirements under 218415. um which is essentially what we use as a checklist when going through the policy. Um we do have a few items here
highlighted in blue and I will go through these are the pieces that we edited um from the from the investment policy but essentially we are looking at state statute first as a checklist the dos and don'ts what are you legally allowed to do what are you not allowed
to do and moving from there. So there were updates to state statute um um in the 2023 legislation. So we did include those updates here that are required to be included. Um and we did make some edits to the uh sectors that are
permitted and that's just given the CRA's um position. So I will go through those on our um on our last slide, but for now we can skip over to the next slide. Here with the AP of USNC, there are a couple of more guidelines that we
review. And the reason that we do this is that because the AP of USNC, they actually have a model investment policy and essentially it is structured so that anyone can pick up your investment policy and understand what is going on.
So maybe constituents that want to have an idea of what's going on on with the CRA. Um those that are not uh uh dealing with investments every day. Maybe they just need a definition. There's a glossery as an example included. And the AP of USNC is actually interesting
because you can send them your investment policy and get it certified. Um and then they'll send you a plaque and essentially tell you that you've got the best in investment policy ever. Um so we do like to use these. These are also best
practices. On the next slide, we go through GFOA best practices. And by this point, um the the third prong in our framework, all of these pretty much overlap. You'll see some of the same things on the screen here. But the reason that we go through GFOA best
practices as well is because the Government Finance Officers Association is specifically looking at issues or recurring events, situations that affect public entities and public agencies. Um, so if there is something that they deem
should be a new best practice or something that should be changed or added, that is something that of course we would like to review with you um and and see if it makes sense to include as well. So with these three um the the framework
here covered I did include on the next slide um a peer comparison. So we tried to include folks that were in your area folks that also are um usually using short-term investments primarily as well. And we have another authority here
which is capital project heavy um and I know the CRA is project heavy as well. So, um, we did include those as well. As you can see, pretty much the the draft here in the green column, it aligns pretty well to what other folks are doing. Um, the edit that we did change,
and again, this is based off of North Miami, the city's um, investment policy. The only edit that we did make is, uh, boxed here in yellow for local government investment pools, and we up that to 75%. Um, and the reason is that local government investment pools
typically yield more than let's say a bank account or somewhere else where you would hold your dollars. Um, but we still get the same liquidity. So local government investment pools have daily liquidity and and they're rated and at least the one that we've been discussing with the CRA Florida Palm um is highly
rated by S&P. So, still safe and still liquid, so you can pull the dollars out when you need them, but again, yielding much more than a typical bank account. Um, and as you can see, that also aligns with with the Port Authority we have directly next to it and to some other
cities um that that are short-term in in nature for the most part. Um, and then I'll I'll summarize on our next slide here with key observations and recommendations. So, as we discussed increasing the limit for
local government investment pools, um when we did look at state statute, there were some uh pieces that needed updated. So, our first bullet point here is section 19 of state statute. And that just says that should you need the dollars um earlier than than
anticipated, you can sell at the prevailing market prices um as long as as the proceeds go directly into a proper account. So an account named under the CRA for for an example. And then the next piece was under 20 oh sorry go back one. The the
second bullet here was um under HB3 the 2023 Florida legislature um passed this bill which um in as it relates to investment statutes for local governments means that only pecuniary factors can be considered when making
investment decisions. So essentially that excludes all ESG investing um any other political or ideological interests as well. So I that's been something that has been happening recently anyway um but but has now been put into state
statute. And the last um bullet point on this slide is uh is pretty standard language. This comes from the AP of USNC as well. It just states that should the CRA decide to hire an outside investment advisor, the investment adviser has to
be hired with a written agreement. Um, they would have to invest according to your investment policy and your risk tolerances and the investment advisor has to be registered under the 1940 act. Um, so again, most of these uh well, all of these additions are are pretty much
based on the CRA's uh position in the short-term space given all of the projects. and then as well as um state statute and best practices. So I will pause there for any questions. Uh um right now I don't think we have
any questions. Um yes we do. One second. Yes. Um thank you so much for your presentation. Um so I just wanted to say that you mentioned short-term investments. So, those are mainly going to be short-term investments.
Yes. So, those would be mainly for for the projects. I know um we spoke with the CRA and there was a 50 millionish bond issuance that recently came out. Um so, given the the timing of the projects, these would be for those shorter term projects. And what type of
an investment would you be investing the these dollars in? Yeah, sure. So, I think the main one that that we were looking at was the local government investment pools. Um, so those are essentially pulled assets. So two public entities have to come together to create
a local government investment pool. Um, and essentially they're pulled assets. So you get the benefit of lots of folks investing. Um, so you don't need to make the the per se giant investment yourself. Um, but you benefit from shared liquidity and then an outside
investment advisor doing the strategy um, and having the economies of scales to make the trades. So typically it's it's more flexible on your end. There's more diversification. It has daily liquidity, so high liquidity, and also competitive rates as compared to other
short-term investments. Um, additionally, with local government investment pools, the rates that you see are net of fees. So, you will never receive an invoice um or or you you won't have to pay any fees at all. You'll never receive um an invoice for that um because all of those are taken
out on the back end. Okay. And what is the estimated the the estimated or projected rate of return that we will get on the investment? I know that there's no guarantees, but what are you projecting and and
Yeah, not a problem. So, so rates typically change every day because they are short-term. Um, they're highly affected by what the Fed does and if they cut rates or not. Um, what I can tell you is right now the current yields on the local government investment pool
we were considering is 4.1 I'm sorry 4.41%. Um, so the the caveat is that because it is short-term, if um at the next Fed meeting the Fed were to cut rates, the rate for the local government investment pool would soon follow and
drop according to that. Um on the same token, if something crazy happened and the Fed raised rates, then the rate here for Florida Palm um would also increase. Okay. And um my last question, can you tell me what is the investment the 1940
act? Yeah. Um so so the investment advisors act of 1940 is essentially a a registration tool, so to speak. Um so just making sure that the investment advisor follows all of the requirements of the act. So, they're registered with
the SEC. They don't have um any uh uh centers that would require them to be disbarred or or any of those sorts of things. Is there is there another act because it's saying specific to make sure that they're registered under the 1940 act? Um so, there have been revisions to the
act, but they all fall under the act of 1940. It's it's mainly the titling here. Okay. Thank you. That's all my question and thank you for your presentation. Sure. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Any other members with questions? Okay. Thank you so much.
Thank you for the presentation. We truly appreciate it. Thank you. Sure. Thank you. With that being said, may I hear a motion to approve? Oh, I'm sorry. Yes. Public hearing is open on the item. Public hearing is open and I see Mike in the mic, so we know we
we're in good company. Public hearing is closed. Move approval. Second. I have a motion made by board member Burns to approve agenda item two. The motion was seconded by board member Estimate Urban. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries with a 5-0 vote.
Thank you so much. Um item three. Agenda item three, request to resend Lagger House Business Attraction Grant. Yes, Madame Manager. Um um director staff recommends that the board formally resend the business attraction grant of
150,000 awarded to Lagger House at the December 12, 2023 board meeting due to the project's termination by the grantee. No dispersement have been made under the award um the awarded grant and staff recommends approval.
Okay, thank you. Um public hearing is open on the item item three. Public hearing is closed. Move for approval. Second. I have a motion made by board member Eston to approve the the agenda item
three. The motion was seconded by board member Charles. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Mot motion carries with a 5-0 vote. Agenda item four, request to approve Paradigm Senior Services Business Attraction Grant.
Staff requests the board um the board's approval for 200,000 from Paradigm Senior Services located at 1375 Northeast 123rd Street um North Miami. Uh, Paradigm Senior Services is is a tech enabled health care services
company founded in 2016 providing billing and compliance support to home care providers serving veterans, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. The company has experienced significant growth and is now seeking to establish a new corporate headquarters in North Miami. Oh wow. The
building formerly used as the video production and warehouse facility will be transformed into a modern uh administrative and training headquarters. The total project cost is estimated at 1.2 million with Paradigm requesting a total of 200,000 and CRA
grant funding to support the buildout. Staff recommends awarding the grantee the maximum funding amount of 200,000 under the current program guidelines to support the successful completion of the project. Uh the applicant is in attendance and is available to address any questions the
board may have. Thank thank you so much. Um item is open for public hearing. Okay, seeing none. Thank you so much. I have a couple of question. Public hearing is closed on the item. Um I have a couple of question. This is
this is good and thank you so much for bringing this to North Miami. We truly appreciate it. Would this would would they have enough would you guys have enough money with with this request that they are asking because you say it's a $2.1 million um investment and they requesting 200,000. Yeah, it's uh 1.2
million and the threshold of the um program guidelines is 200,000 for business attraction. Okay, thank you. Well, that's good stuff. Right. I Well, um thank you for um bringing this business especially around Nomi Tech month. Just wanted to plug
that in. And um so I'm I'm hearing that there are are are you go planning on employing and what are those positions? Can you state them? And is there going to be a job fair? Um are you going to give preference to North Miami residents? You know, all that good
stuff. Um we currently have 119 employees um that are in that name for the record, please. My name is Danny My name is Danny Shapiro and I'm the CEO at Paradigm. Um, the address please. My my
address we are currently the business address is 1 1900 Biscane Sweet 780. Thank you. Go ahead. Um, and we're uh excited to move to North Miami. We currently have 119
employees. Um we yeah we have um 19 postings which actually amounts to currently uh we have 19 open postings that we're hiring um which amounts to 27 open positions. That's just currently we have a few people that are dedicated to
this process. We um we have been prioritizing local talent um since we opened our doors um just about 8 years ago. Um, so we will certainly be prioritizing that moving forward and uh we're look Yeah, we're looking forward.
Thank you. Any other questions? Just a comment. Um, hi John. How are you? Um, just just to echo what some of my colleagues have said. Thank you for bringing this to my district. I know we don't have districts in the CRA, but um, love to see, you know, services,
especially for our seniors moving into our city. Thank you again. Thank you. Thank you so much. Go ahead, council. No, no. Um, quickly, I just want to say, um, thank you for, um, bringing this, um, to North Miami. Love it. I look at the concept and said,
this is exactly what we need and we just just want to welcome you guys to uh, to our city. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Um, with that being said, may I get a motion? So move. Second. I have a motion made by board member
Charles to approve agenda item four. The motion was seconded by board member Eston Mayorman. All in favor? Any opposed? The motion carries with a 5-0 vote. Agenda item five, request to approve Masimo Fish and Chicken, Inc. Business Attraction Grant.
[Music] Staff request the board's approval for business attraction grant request of 200,000 from Masion um Guyo Fish and Chicken located at 13695 West 60 Highway. Masion Guo Fish and Chicken is a well established family-owned Haitian
restaurant that has been serving the North Miami uh North Miami Beach community for nearly 15 years. Two years ago, the owners acquired property within the NFC boundaries with plans to relocate and expand their operations into North Miami, enhancing their
presence and continuing their strong tradition of community engagement. The restaurant is known for its authentic uh cuisine, loyal customer base, and consistent community involvement. The total renovation cost for the new location is estimated at 975,000
[Music] uh which include a comprehensive interior and exterior remodel. To date, the owners have invested over 600,000 in renovations and are seeking CRA assistance to close the remaining funding gap necessary to complete the project. If awarded, the grant will be
used to fund eligible improvements, including parking lot resurfacing, fencing, signage, landscaping, and roof repair. staff recommends awarding the grantee the maximum funding amount of 200,000 under the current program guidelines to support the successful completion of the project. Thank you so
much sir. Um hi good afternoon. Good evening. Good afternoon. Question um before we open it for um to the public. Is is this the restaurant where um the best fish in the world? Yeah. You know who I'm talking about. Coming to
District Three. Yeah. No. You know I'm talking about you. That was the one that that that was the old Mario. Oh yeah. Oh beautiful beauty. Your beautiful. Yeah. We saw the work. We can see the work that they're doing right now. Yes. Yes. Yes. No. Thank you so much. Um and with with that being said.
Okay. Public hearing is open on the item. Public hearing. Mike is coming to your district. We're going to go there and get some district two. That's three. Oh, that's district. That's district three. But we cross the line and get some Mike and I will do that. Okay. Um,
public is closed on the item. This is Well, thank you for moving to North Miami because I have to go up to North Miami Beach to get some some go. Um, we call the city of North Miami home. So, yes, my go is coming home.
My I have a quick Go ahead. No, maybe for the quick uh question for the deputy. Um, you were supposed to you were going to visit the site to make sure that everything that was said that was already done on the interior has been done. Can you just give us an update on that? Yes, I did. Um, well,
first of all, I want to um thank the applicant for inviting the CRA to come visit the location. I am very happy to say I I'm proud of the work that they have done thus far, especially in the kitchen. The quality of the um the the
work the contractor and the applicant is putting into the restaurant is very is great actually and um for the work that they're requesting staff um reviewed the work the scope of work the work has um not been done and if approved that's
what the CR funding will be great thank you councilman Councilman Charles no no um quickly um to the men sitting in the I just just want to say uh just want to say thank you. Uh you guys been great. I've been to uh that restaurant so many
time that you know just just over my face by seeing me. The only thing that I'm asking is that you guys uh keep the texture of the fire plants and please do not change that. All right. That's all I'm asking. All right. Do not change it. Keep the texture. All right. Okay. Well,
go ahead. Yes. Um, welcome. Welcome to North Miami. Welcome to District Three. Yes, Masio is in district three. I'm just very excited that you're here and I'm just very proud of the work that you're doing and I'm and I'm ready to vote um and to to make a motion to
approve this request. And this is sit down restaurant, correct? Like it's like Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a sit down um seconded. Yes. Thank you. I have a motion made by board member Eston May to approve agenda item five. The motion was seconded by board member Charles. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries with
a 5-0 vote. Thank you. Congratulations to open. Thank you. We plan to open June 22nd. June 22. Oh, that's a big day. Okay, we'll do that. Thank you. Agenda item six, request to approve Jimmy's Diner commercial rehabilitation grant request.
Who diner? Oh, yes. Yeah. Helen. Yes. District three. M Mike Mike should be on on the thing on this one. NMC staff. Go ahead. We're requesting board approval for a commercial rehabilitation
grant request uh from Jimmy's Diner located at located at 510 Northeast 125th Street. Um Jimmy's Diner, formerly known as Ranch House Restaurant, has been a beloved part of the North Miami community since 1966. Under new
ownership for the past 3 years, the restaurant continues in its tradition of serving homestyle uh American breakfast and lunch. We got it. We got it. Yes. So, just we going to open up to the public as council woman mentioning him.
We have some comments. Mike Mike got to say something. I know. Listen. And but Mike has been really for years working and trying to get Helen to come and and and get this done because we go and meet there. It's a staple of our community and and and staple in Miami and we've
been begging begging Helen to come in and and take some rent and and Mike been Mike has been on at least three or four years. Um so I'm I'm glad that we see this is coming. So yes. So thank you. So give him an extra order of French fries
with his diet coke. The diet code. They know they know exactly what Mike want every day Mike is there. So thank you. Uh public hearing is open on the item. Public hearing is open. Public hearing is closed for approval. I'll second. I'd like to make a comment again. I'm just very excited that um you
are getting this grant. Um as you could see, the restaurants are coming to district 3 and I'm welcome. I'm You're very welcome. But thank you for what you've been doing. Look forward to the renovation and um we're obviously you can see we're very happy to support.
Thank you so much. Thank you. I have a mot just a procedural question real quick. Do we have to include in our motion that we're approving the 300,000 since it's going over the uh limit, please? All right. So, can we restate the motion? That should be read. So, Mr.
Attorney, so do we vote to wave the guideline or we can do it together? You can do it together that you're that you're approving the grant the amount of 300,000 and by and waving the guidelines. Awesome. Okay. As to the maximum amount. what you just said. That's what we That's That's my motion.
Am I second? I have a motion made by board member Charles to approve agenda item six in the amount of $300,000 and waving the com the guidelines as to the maximum amount. All in favor? Any opposed? The motion
carries with a 50-0 vote. Thank you. Thank you. Agenda item seven is tabled at the request of the applicant. Absolutely. Thank you so much, madame um director. Mr. Director, where are we? Reports. Well, we have the attorney report. Yeah. No, I'm I'm going to defer
my report to the executive director so she can update you on the uh the legislation. Well, before we do that, just so ju just so we can have that because I know we we we have a little time frame. Let's open up public um comments on on on this first and then we'll go to you, madam um director.
Public comment. Public hearing is open. Public hearing. Okay. See none, public hearing is closed. Thank you, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. And so, as you all know in the Florida legislature right now, there is a bill from Senate B 1242 and HB991.
It is being it's been moving through the different committees. Right now, the last committee was the rules committee and initially this was a bill that was proposed to basically end CRAAS. there was going to be no new programs that were going to be permissible after October 1st of 2025 and no ability to
bond where the there has been a significant amendment to the bill and where we stand currently is none of the above is no is um the case anymore however what it is specifically
doing that's relevant to RC I don't want to go through so what is it doing is relevant to us no I'm only going to highlight the things that's relevant to us IC So, um, for our purposes, the county always has the ability to add members to the board. It still has that,
um, ability to do so. Additionally, specific activities that are no longer permissible are, um, I want to make sure I highlight those. They are, and I should say that are proposed. This has not yet been adopted. So if it is um
adopted in this form, the CRAAS will no longer be able to indirectly or directly be able to sponsor concerts, festivals, holiday events, parades, or similar activities. And I don't want to say they would no longer be able to. They're just spec they're specifying those and I believe that they were they were never
able to, but they're actually Yeah. So they're actually just naming it now. There's also no longer an ability to extend the life of a CRA. So whatever life you currently have is the life that you have. So right now our CR will sunset in 2045. If this passes, there's
not an ability to extend it past the 2045. No, but I thought everybody was going to be ended in 2045. No, no, not everybody. So there are certain CRAAS now who did not extend their life. And so if you are going to expire in 2026, you no longer can go beyond. I was going to say so would there be after us? There
might be some others that that's still after 40 45. I thought that was No, I think that's a we got the full amount, but there are people Yeah, but there are people who would who did not and so that okay that affect that would affect them and I think those are the highlights that um affect our agency but right now
again this is still going through different committees and it has not yet been adopted on the floor but this is a much more favorable version of the bill than what was initially proposed. So if this were to be adopted in the current form, I don't believe any activities of RCA would change.
Crazy. The I agree. And I think to, you know, from what I've heard, they're hopefully expecting it not to pass at all. Great. But if it does, this is we would not be affected. Yeah. This is good. Yes. This
is good for us. It's good for us. There are other CRA who will be significantly impacted by this. neighbor to the north north Miami Beach might not be so uh well we okay fortunate but we will no longer be able to bond any money if this bill passes correct I mean right we
would not be able to but I I want to be clear that this would be a legal prohibition but we don't have the financial ability to do so anyway so again it doesn't affect even if it were to pass it doesn't affect our CRA because we wouldn't have the ability to do it anyway
awesome Thank you. Thank you so much. So, we'll get ready for our 7 o'clock meeting. Thank you guys. Thank you. Motion. But before I do, I do want to say one thing. Um Madame Director um Cass, I do want to give kudos and shout
out to the CRA staff and I know you guys been under a a lot of work, but um I've been getting a lot of stuff from the residents. So, um, Jimmy Gita, all of the other you guys, um, the work that you guys do when you go and meet with the residents and and and sit down and
go with them, it's not a notice. They do let us know and they appreciate it. So, at least that's one thing we just want to acknowledge that the Thank you very much for acknowledging the staff. Thank you. Thank you. There's a motion to adjurnn made by the mayor. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by by by the
chairman, seconded by board member Charles. All in favor? Any opposed? The motion carries with a 5-0 vote. The time is now 6:14 p.m.