e one weekend good evening everyone Welcome to our regularly scheduled Commission meeting February 12th 2025 the time is now 7:02 Madame clerk roll call commissioner bass here commissioner
Urban here vice mayor Kelly commissioner Santiago here mayor Taylor here as we stand for invocation led by vice mayor Kelly Eternal God our Father we thank you for all of your many blessings we thank you God for the great Saka continue God to give us wisdom knowledge
and understanding do those things which are pleasing in your sight in Jesus name we do pray amen amen to to the of the United States of America and to the Republic of exactly we're getting ready to go into
our Awards presentation Awards proclamations and acknowledgements so the first um award that we're doing on tonight is an award presentation to our retired employee Mr Rodney King Mr Ronney King
started working in the city of opaka in 1989 in various capacities to include the garbage truck metor and water and sewer division he would like to thank you for 30 we would like to thank you sorry we would like to thank you for 35
years of hard work and dedication to the great city of opaka so can we salute Mr King yes sir he started in the city the year after I was born so it says retirement Award
presented to Mr Ronnie King as you embark on your well-deserved retirement we honor and celebrate your outstanding accomplishments and the positive impact you've made on the city of opaka and all those you've worked with thank you for 35 years of hard work and dedication
wishing you a happy healthy and fulfilling retirement myself Mayor John Vice Joseph Kelly commissioner Santiago commissioner Dr sh and commissioner Natasha irvan wish you
a happy happy retirement and you know you're gonna be missed a token of appreci on those cold winter nights we don't get winter in Miami hopefully one you got
wait wait we want to get Miss King herebody get phone right here all right next we have a special award presentation by commissioner Dr sherlene Bass recognizing Alex vanco for his significant contributions to the preservation of opaka history and
inspiring presentation at the opaka train station Museum highlighting opaka black hist we got it it's coming well you can you can go ahead and just talk please come for and thank
you I'm going to pair phrase what's on the accommodations for you we the mayor and commission of the great city of opaka just wanted to recognize your efforts the hard labor of love that you put you put into showcasing our
community with the Train Station museum the Heritage Trail and so many other things that you have done we thank you so much and now that it's coming I'm probably just going to read a little bit of it grab my glasses gotta get my eyes y'all let me get my
eyes thank you okay let me just read this part it says accommodation whereas the city of opaka has long value its Rich history culture and Heritage particularly the significant cont contributions made by
the africanamerican community which have shaped the vibrant and diverse City we know today and whereas Alex call him Alex has dedicated his time effort and
resources to preserving the history of opaka helping to ensure the future Generations are able to learn from and honor the legacies of those those who came before us whereas Mr Alex vanco has
demonstrated in an unwavering commitment to educating the public about the local history particularly through his inspiring presentation at the opal Loa old train station Museum where he shared profound stories of opal lak's black history whereas the efforts of Alex MCO
has fostered greater Community Pride understanding by shining a light on the untold stories that have helped to Define opala as a diverse and resilient Community whereas through his passionate work Mr Alex Van has encouraged others to engage with and appreciate the
invaluable history and culture that is such a vital part of opal the opa's identity so it says now therefore commissioner Dr Shirlene bass along with the citizens of the city of opaka my colleagues Mayor John H Taylor
vice mayor Joseph l Kelly commissioner Natasha L Irving and commissioner lisis Santiago do hereby commend Mr Alex Van mea for his significant contribution to the preservation of opal history his outstanding presentation at the opaka old train station Museum highlighting a
remarkable black history of opalak and presented this 12th day of February 2025 thank you so again we want to thank Mr Ronnie King for his dedicated service to the city of opal
as well as Mr Alex vanco for highlighting and preserving the history of the city of opaka we're getting ready to go into the approval of consent agenda any plls deferrals or deletions at this time all
right can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda move it move by Commission moved by commissioner um her yeah Natasha Natasha Irvin second by commissioner lisis Santiago Madam clerk
roll call commissioner Irvin yes vice mayor Kelly yes commissioner Santiago yes commissioner bass yes mayor Taylor yes motion passes 5 Z all right can I get a motion to approve tonight's
agenda it move by Vice May Kelly second second by commissioner Santiago Madam clerk Vice May k yes commissioner Santiago yes commissioner baz yes commissioner Irvin yes mayor Taylor yes motion passes 5 Z all right
so we're moving on from the approval of minutes do we have any district one District Two or state reports at this time no Mr Mayor all right we're going into our public presentation and we're going to have a moment in black history from our clerk's office miss emilene rck
you have the floor tonight let's take it tonight let's take a moment to acknowledge the contributions and resilience of black history by highlighting one that is memorable yet often unheard of
a powerful yet often overlooked moment in black history let us remember the six Triple 8 central postal directory Battalion the only all black all female Battalion deployed overseas during World
War II these courageous women were sent to Europe in 1945 to sort a massive backlog of mail for US soldiers ensuring that morale boosting letters from home home reached the front lines despite facing discrimination they completed
their mission in record time and paved the way for greater opportunities for black women in the military as we celebrate Black History Month the city of Obaka acknowledges the 855 women of the 6
tri8 thank you moving on to uh Public Presentation by Mr Devin vilr the legislative aid from Senator Chevon Jones office District 34 for our legislative update mayor Taylor ma'am so
we do have two presentations that will be deferred to a future meeting and that's the office of Senator Chevron Jones and also Rachel badia requested to defer her presentation as well all right
so moving on to our last Public Presentation Dr Willie Logan president of the 10 North group referencing the Florida museum of black history and the amendment to the live local act Dr Logan you have the floor thank you very much Mr Mayor members of
the commission um good afternoon thank you madam manager Madam clerk Dr take the mic off the stand thank you I I'll be brief um I think we have a a PowerPoint presentation um my um purpose here this evening is really to give an
update on where we are with the Florida museum of black history the highlights oplock has proven Readiness um and the legisl legislature intent as well as to discuss the next steps and the key actions that are needed did I am I doing
something wrong oh okay that's B the AR so so while while we are loading it up um I'm I'm happy to report that I was was in Tallahassee last night I had an opportunity to make a presentation before the Florida
Conference of black state legislators um it was well received um the the um caucus started to take a vote last night they decided to wait until next week um the the only motion on the table was to endorse the city of opaka site um
because there were members of the Senate of course as part of the car because they thought it would be respectful to allow the other two sites to um to present and so St John is presenting next week and Edenville is presenting as well next week so anyway so but it was
well receive and I'm absolutely confident that we will get the endorsement of the um the black caucus and how do I make it go k you want to help me okay all right perfect okay um as I
said these are the purpos of the tonight's um um discussion to give an update on we are um to um talk about the intent and Readiness of the opaka site as well as to discuss the
next um steps all right so thank you so the the key areas that the both the legis as you all know let me just a little background because of the public the legislature passed a law last year um to create a task force to evaluate and make a recommendation on where a
Florida history of Florida black history State Museum should be located um what came out of that were um three sites the reason that they didn't recommend just one site but all three because they hadn't conducted a feasability study they hadn't conducted the economic
impact and they didn't know the Readiness of those particular sites and so part of the recommendation was that um the legislator should conduct the feasibility study so the the four criterias was site no no I'm sorry go back was site control whether the site
was controlled by a governmental body whether the site was ready in other words whether it's infrastructure there whether it was appropriate zoning whether there was access to Transportation whether the Environ environmental issues um were there and and whether or not there was a
feasibility and economic impact analysis that was independent that spoke to that fact and then it did a comparative analysis between the Edenville site and the St John site the third item was the governance and financial sustainability of the site whether or not um the the
location had recommended a governance of the structure and had put forth a a plan that would eventually make the museum financially sustainable and the fourth item was was that was there possibility to
immediately activate a museum while the new museum is being built near or on the site that's being proposed and whether or not there had been any public engagement as it regards to the proposed site the um to speak to those four
issues um opalak is the only site that is under government control the opaka site which is the site where the state um Regional building is is owned by the city of opaka and the State of Florida has a long-term lease Edenville site is not owned by government and the St John
site is not owned by government they both owned by universities the feasibility stuff um that the the task force asked for the legislature to do we felt that since we knew that the opaka site would come on top that we thought we should go ahead
and hire an independent firm to conduct the feasibility study and the economic analysis of all three sites and so we hired um such a firm the report will be ready in March um and so the legislature will not have to pay for such a study because we've already undertake
undertake undertaken that study the governance and fincial plan the opaka site is the only site that has extra land adjacent to it um which is zon for multi-purpose it's the only site that's in an historical um cultural area and
it's the only site that has a master plan um for commercial mixu um and and entertainment um area and that all is included in the city City's current master plan and the other sites are rural undeveloped no infrastructure and
not in the downtown area the governance and funding plan um as I was saying works because in the opaka site not only can we build a museum but we can rebuild a more efficient and better State Regional building there's about there's a proposed 200 units of Workforce
housing 500 units 500 parking and garage and 100,000 square F feet of non government commercial space and that's a four block area it would be no more than four stories and all of that could take place in that four four block area and there's no the site that can provide
that if you develop both office commercial and housing then you can use some of the revenue generated from that as an endowment for the museum to offset the operation cost of the museum the county has committed through um its resources to help pay for the
construction of the site and we're hoping that if it's designated the CRA would also participate in the city as relates to some of the infrastructure and other things to offset the cost because one of the things the state is saying is that there has to be some local participation both by government and the private sector we would take the
responsibility of raising the money from the philanthropic and the private and the corporate world but we will reach back out to the city of opaka and Mii day County to help with the um the county and the and the Public Funding the um the car the comparable
sises I said come nowhere close I don't know if you all ever been to Edenville but Edenville is on the very northern part of Orange County off of I4 once you take that exit into Edenville the site they're talking about is about 5 miles to the east of that in a wetland rural area um Edenville is a significant area
but the site is just not ready and then St John is a joke it's the old site where Florida Memorial and I said it on record it's a joke it's the it's the former site where the Florida memoral Flor Mor College University was as you know it was burnt down in the dark of
the night in in the 1960s when Florida memoral was forced to leave St John County and move to the greatest city of opalak just the southside of opaka which is where it's housed now the site is Zone agriculture it's a wet land has all
kind of environmental issues and there is no infrastructure there are no roads and there are no people next to the site so it's a joke that even been talking about St John County but but the fact is that it was a political task force and you know they had four members from St
John and they voted for St John all right so we're getting to the end the feasibility study and economic impact as I said it's being done independent private Corporation business flare Academy they have done work in the city in the past they've done work for the county and all across the State of Florida in United States doing
feasibility studies and economic impact we've gotten the first preliminary um findings that relates to the market demand Etc it looks great we expect to have the full report by the first if not the second week of SE of March which means we'll be a to present it to the
legislature to further our cause and for getting this Museum cited here in opaka the financial modeling is simple um the the the land is available the state is committed to lease paying the 7 75% of
the cost of development we must raise the rest um um here locally the state has said that they will subsidize the operations for a period of time but we must raise and get operation support and for future growth and that's how most museums work and the governing board
should be appointed by both this commission County Commission and the legislative leaders in equal three parts and then those we're proposing those um appointees I think it's three for each body um then with turn around in appoint five or six
private sector points so you have a mix in representation with local government County government state government and then they go out and get the experts who may not be represented from those appointments to ensure that you have the folks who only can build it but manage and operate as a governing board and and
as I said the four report is due ahead of the legislative session and we're the only site that has undertaken and paid for such a report and so not only are we clearly the best site but we'll have the documentation independent um study that that speaks to
that and so we think that will go a long way um um finally um I talked about the governor's body already oh okay there you go all right and so I think this is the final slide and and Alex you like this because um this no it's not the final slide but this slide obviously has
a picture of the opalak museum because it says that we have been in the business of doing museums doing exhibitions this is an historical district the city has just renovated the beautiful iconic historical City Hall it in my opinion would be the rightful place of the temporary museum while the
new one is being built and so you have four years of activation in the proposed legislation it asks for the state to make all of its autofacts dealing with black history available to this site at the state cost of getting it here and ensuring it we're paying for the storage
of it and providing some program as well as installation um but obviously City Hall would have to be available if City Hall is not available we' take it right down the street to the hert building not as nice not as large and and but I think the home really should be city hall
because all what you can do to activate it um if you had those types of artifacts and you had resources from the state and we could do that on beginning July 1 as soon as the budget year start there's no other site that has a facility that's right next to the site or anywhere close to the site they can
activate day one or whoever an organization or entity or the the people like Alex of the world through your historical preservation on board who is prepared um to get in and really do that work and as you know we have the best curators in the world at 10 North and so
um we're prepared to to roll up our sleep and get this to happen um we um you see the downtown district I mean you all know it as opaka um it it shows um some the historical buildings and points Etc but once again what we're thinking
is is that from the historical train station all the way to the hert building all the way to city hall now becomes a walking district and and I know the building on fisherman Street has been purchased and so the idea that we could begin to activate all these spaces and have six or seven blocks of activation
of art culture entertainment music and history we think Not only would put the city on the lock on on the map for tourism but bringing food trucks and to to do weekend special events but once again I think Elevate where we want to take the city to and helping it to grow
and expand and be attractive for the greater people um of South Florida and people coming here to visit we um the next slide we're going to show where we've had um a couple public meetings as you see the meeting that we had um with
one of our partners um dting um black Grove um um you see Senator Jones and representative Gant um I believe M Taylor you were at that event as well you see um fredri Wilson's chaper staff you're also C the a the County
Commission s together but but once again we've had forums we've had events we've had conversations um about this we've had social media campaigns we have endorsements from Miami day Brower County Palm Beach County from every major historical and art institutions probably about 8090 LS of support so we
we really do believe that we're ready the Speaker of the House is from Miami day we have the support of both the mayor and the chair of the County Commission and I don't think anyone is prepared matter of fact the representative from Edenville said last night he's yielding to opaka and we were
very happy to hear that because he and Senator Thompson from Edenville were the two sponsors of the original bill that came out of the House and Senate and they now both endorsing or supporting the um the opaka site and I think the last Slide the last slide just well just
as some comparative analysis and and I don't know whether you have a point but you all know opaka but if you just think about it you can see this is already you know houses homes there streets there roads there's an airport there's a train station there highways Etc and this is
just the five mile radius of opaka if you look at Orange County this is Wetlands y'all there no people live here this site is right here this the city of Edenville is here so it's not even in the city of Edenville and this is all Wetlands there's not a ro a highway that goes through here other than our for
passes right through here so you can see and then St John is a joke look how far closest road and so I mean if you look at an urban area that's ready in a hard 500,000 if you take Maramar pimber PS North Miami North Miami Beach Miami
Gardens opaka North Miami and unincorporated Dave you're in the mech of the heart of the African American and a huge latino population all which are part of diaspora so we think op Lo WIS hands down but we got to fight because
as you know this could be a $100 million appropriation when it's all said and done it could be a real real fil in the cap and the economic engine for any Community they get it it can not happen at all and if we sit back and do nothing it won't happen and or won't happen here
so what we're asking our ask is that when this the city makes us part of the official legislative agenda this year that as you travel back and forth to Tallahassee that you work collectively with the county in tin North so we could um
have be you know meet with members of the house and Advocate together and be speaking the same language we ask that whether is the league of cities or County Commissioners Etc that you talk with your colleagues and let them know how important this is for for our County and we
also um would would ask that any I think and I believe um Mr Mayor all had appropriated in 2024 $25,000 to act on this we never did build the city for that I think we only spent about $9,000 of we never well we did but we couldn't get it you all know that story but
anyway um so we were act that $25,000 still available that maybe it could be used to help offset the cost of the feasibility study if not you are using to to do something else to help promote this Etc but this cannot be done without resources resources both in person power
resources both both in numbers and resources both in time we clearly are committed I mean we demonstrated that I got a 3:00 FL yesterday there and the six o'clock FL this morning back here um and and just a demonstration of our commitment you see we're here tonight we
think this is really really important not just for the city of opaka but for day County and quite frankly the people um of this nation because history should be known should be told and should be assessible thank you very much Mr Mayor and members of the commission
thank you Dr Logan well I do want to say I'm extremely happy that opalak is even at the table at the conversation of the table and I know that commissioner Irving was the one that sponsored the legislation to allocate the $25,000 for the project but I don't
remember what the the original intent of it was but but this no I'm talk as relates to where the the pinpoint of where the money was allocated to but I'm excited I am excited and I well I'm on board I'm on board because I think it is
going to be a great change for the city of opalak in both economics and residence as a holistically as a whole I open up the floor to anyone who has questions for Dr Logan um I don't I don't have a question but I would just like to say thank you
very much for the work that you all are putting into something so big coming to some place so small and I'm on board just whatever I could do to help make this happen
Mr Jason Walker um um um Regina silus that's who started it yeah yeah the mic any other yeah mayor um commissioner Santiago Dr Logan turn the mic please yeah thank thank you
um Mr Mayor um yes but I another person that another commissioner is going to support it that and and I think you're doing a great job but something that I want to be sure that I understand um when you're talking about the three uh
governments that they going to be involved okay you don't mention in there you're don't mentioning the city of baka elected officials it's the government it's not
nothing to do with us that's what I want to be so so so the way we propose that and the way the current law is is that the speaker of the house got three appointments the president of the Senate got three appointments and the governor got three appointments that was for the
task force what we're recommending is depending on the size that the Speaker gets one or two the president gets one or two the the governor gets one or two so the state gets three to six the city of opaka commission man commission
appoints 3 to six depending upon equal to the state and then the county the same thing we didn't say the mayor or a individual Commissioners we just said the city commission and we said the County Commission and we said the state government three presiding offices and
and a point6 and then I imagine there'd be some negotiations um along the way because that's the way it is we just put a proposal out there that would they gave equal um Power to both the city the county and the state and then those
appointees appoint six or seven other folks so you can have private sector philanthropic participation if the boards decid well thank thank you Logan I already B my ticket on a board great thank you any other questions or concerns to
Dr Logan Mr Mayor than man um I I want to be clear and I support the idea Mr Mayor you was at the meeting so I I have a little Comfort level um I know that you've been working hard you indicated that um probably take four years of act
to activate to really get it going or is that the time frame that has been discussed I would assume that what we're asking the legislature to do this year is to designate the city and then to appropriate money to do all the pre-development up to select up to
selecting both the architect and engineering and all the folks who have to actually do the plan and then in 2026 the appropriate money to actually do the um construction drawings and to do the bidding and then in 2027 to start
construction and finish in 28 so yeah we think it's a 4-year progress but the activation of the temporary Museum to begin July 1st 2025 okay that's where that's where I'm headed because in your uh recommendation or what what you're asking to pass a
resolution endorsing the uh location it it really should say you all already have pass point of location but but I'm asking that you you support the temporary use the the city Hall would be the temporary use of the uh the
temporary museum while they're building the permanent one okay I'm just looking at the list one two three four said I thought we had already endorsed you had unfortunately first of all AI help with this SEC second
secondly is going to like we did it for the county we did it for a whole bunch of bodies Etc we did it for individual commission I know you all may have got an individual letter so we didn't correct everything for every appro body but no the city had already like the County Commission already voted so we may have sent them a letter saying pass
resolution they've already passed the resolution so it's not perfect but that's why I didn't mention that tonight we have that resolution but we would like the the formal support if the commission sees it um wise to do that you re use City Hall as a temporary um
space at the state funding okay another thing I heard you um ask the 25,000 that we had appropriated that was uh spons well sponsored by commission Irving supported by the commission you said you really hadn't build the seat at all we' done about 9,000 well yeah we did but we
hadn't you hadn't received payment so I I heard you asking if that's still available so I guess that's really a question to um the manager can answer at some point if not tonight um I guess we kind of scared to ask you something with all that royalty on you right it was
definitely it was definitely FCO 232 uh but may you can just scratch a check and do it you but um I I hear that that as well so you know the manager is listening to us and she's hearing that we are supportive so I'm quite sure um she'll meet with you to you know flush
out that part of it and then so really the the major part is the interim site until it's built okay interim site and I think that's key because we just had the ribbon cutting and there's already concern about what it's going to be used for and whether the community is going
to be involved and will it have a public purpose and so that would kind of address one part of that concern because you would have something um there as a part that could um draw as we're getting
to that 27 because I know the cra's got some plans for downtown that you know with development so that would tie into that so um from our perspective you really need that and some kind of um legislative
resolution I'll say it like that and when is the meeting again the one that that you would really like to have the res you know have the backing you all come to Tallahassee on the first week of March the week of session beginning session commissioner K we would like you
to have a formal position as you got to the temporary site right that's you still have the floor but I want to comment on something ask a question based on what you just said how much square footage do you need for a temporary site I'm sorry how much square footage do you need for the temporary site are you asking to activate the
entire building or just a little small I think I think at some point the the city needs to come up with a game plan of what it IDE idealistically like to see the property used as no I'm talking about the saying in
doing an exhibition you can do an exhibition in one room two room three rooms four rooms you can do outside you could do you you could do sculptures I mean you you can do um examples of houses that people lived in so you can do it on the ground I mean there's any number things we could do we would
curate based upon what was available what the what for example you may want to do something special in October because it's I don't know what's October Cancer month and you know whatever the case may be so you may want to focus on something like that it really I mean you curate around just like we curate the
her building I mean there's offices we use it for events we use for breakfast I mean whatever the case may be we will work with the city to curate I mean historical exhibitions around the availability how much space is available so there's no magic wand it's just that
that building is three times as large as the her building and her building doesn't have any land so I mean what you could do it if the her building was big enough to do it clearly City Hall is and weal I think the legislation says there has to be three historical pres um
exhibitions a year which means they could be for a month they could be for three months you know so there's no we didn't we didn't say all of City Hall we just said the city hall would be a venue um a temporary venue to do exhibitions but we didn't found it any further than that and they won't have no lease on it
the city would still control it um commiss vice mayor you still have the floor but um Madame manager I believe in The Proposal that you submitted to the commission it had a historical proponent uh um for Museum in historical City Hall yes that's correct yes
okay this should just give you access to artifacts so you don't have to buy them from somewhere else and um hopefully gives the money to ensure and store it and program it so thank you that that's why I was asking that because I know we had through the manager already
proposed something and I just want to be sure because I've been around a long time um we're not going to take the build and it's just going to become onedimensional it's really going to be used as we work towards a per site and it's not going to be that when the uh museum is in there nobody can use it I
want to be clear because I know how folks will absolutely run out and tell the story so um I think from our perspective you need that resolution or whatever uh by the time we come to Talahassee in March um and the other part of it is to um obviously deal with
the 25,000 what the manager can do on the side and and Mr Vice chairman I would strongly suggest that in your resolutions those things that you want to make sure like what you just said is in is part of the where Clauses or the not therefore for Clause ens sure that you know you talk about the city owning
it the city still managing it the C you know these are just temporary uses um for programming simple as that well I'm quite sure as a whole we'll probably I'm pretty sure I'm not speaking everybody I'm pretty sure we'll sponsor it as a whole but Madam attorney we'll work you know with you and the manager to make
sure the wording to include whatever but I don't want it to be viewed as this one dimension know um but there are some time frames that's really what I was getting at that need to be addressed so um I think that's doable and look forward to um having it thank you Mr
Mayor no problem thank you Dr Logan um and on that same point um vice mayor Madam attorney and Madam clerk because I know we are running out of time is that something that we can have for the next commission Mee that resolution that commissioner
Kelly speaking to okay all right thank you I spoke with the city manager before the meeting we're going to live the discussion for local live once we set a date for the workshop and I'll work with her tomorrow to do that got itk you all very much thank you Dr Logan and Dr
Logan just for the record M through the mayor if you can work with our office so that we're not surprised as legal for whatever comes up we would appreciate it have your legal your your legal poing everybody but you right so I we
and I think I think and I think we are most important so please if you have your attorney call us we appreciate it thank you okay thank you alrighty thank you Dr Logan all right we're moving on to uh citizens form Madame clerk can you please stay for the record how to
participate in citizens form yes Mr Mayor good evening city of opaka commission meeting meetings are held in person at the opaka government center city commission chamber 780 fisherman Street opaka Florida members of the public wishing to
address the commission may do so in person or virtually those persons wishing to participate virtually should register prior to the schedule meeting time on the city's website at www. opaka fl.gov when speaking before the
commission please make sure to give your full name and address for the record there is a 3 minute time limit for public comments please adhere to the decorum policy which is a part of the commission meeting agenda City commission meetings are aired through Liv stream at
www.youtube.com user city of opaka and Mr Mayor at this time we do not have any virtual public comments All right so citizens form is open for those in the chamber citizens form is open Mr Dennis do me a favor take um the mic
off the stand and turn it on you'll see that it should turn red the button is at the top you got it wa we got it coming for you right second and then uh we'll turn it on and then
we'll start the clock over because we GNA allow you to reclaim your time all right one second one second Mr Dennis then I'm reset the clock okay good evening man Commissioners Brian Dennis address 214 York Street
like to commend the mayor and the commission um I'm standing here on behalf of Tommy Johnson and scoop but I really wanted to thank each
and every every one of y'all especially Miss Irving commissioner Irving and here's why because well coach had him first though did he then I got him and raised him to where he at now a and he always talk
about how I Mentor him but it's great to see him get back and he wasn't looking for that and I was glad that you all honored him in that way now I'm a little disappointed in the mayor so I'm take a shot at him right now because he didn't make school
speak I've been trying to get him to speak publicly for for years it has worked but I got a slight complaint but it's not a complaint the the sign that's in the front of the Old City Hall where the manager's name is I think the
interim shouldn't be there I think it just should have said city manager Shea law said know she didn't say nothing to me about it I just recognized it because it's the work that's being put in by each and every person so it should be done it it that's
just my opinion I feel like she's doing a great job and the city is very calm it's very calm um the other thing I want to talk about right quick is the the water meters on the park AT&T
was on sle Park they wind up running over the water meter of Miss Mary Jackson we call him Miss Mary Kate and I guess the county could I don't think we got a water department the county came out and told us she had to pay for it and there was an exchange
going on between her and man and uh the the guy from the county and which got into it and then he U had to call me to see what was actually going on so I went to see Miss Jackson Miss Mary Kay to find out what actually happened and
those meters is like six or seven water meters that sit on seagull Park they sit in the park because the the park took the property so all those people meters are in the park so if
something happens to the meters on the park those homeowners are not responsible for them because they're on the city park it's like six seven of them up on there and so they wind up um getting it done but I
told and I didn't have a chance to do it today that I was going to ask the to the water department to see if the pressure could be if the meter turned all the way um thank you Mr Dennis back up one other thing Mr may please I know I know I
complain a lot and push especially when the last manager was here but I got to commend those officers from the police department got to thank you that was on scene when those kids lost their lives you got to commend them for that really
appreciate you guys for that really do thank you Mr thank you thank you sir miss Robin 6 640 D that Avenue I'm all for the changes and every all of the great things that's coming to the city of opalak but if Willie Logan owed us
$25,000 for 40 years nothing should be talked about until the $25,000 should be paid citizens form is still open good evening mayor Commissioners Audrey Dominguez 1147 Jan
Avenue I wanted to thank the city and everyone for the ribbon cutting of the old historic City Hall and the state of the city everything was beautiful um well put together I literally thought that I was in the embassy of Morocco and
South Africa how beautiful everything looked um I also wanted to speak in regards to I was happy to see that there was a radar speed limit um on Jan and Ahmad however it was there like for a week and then they took
it out so I mean it stopped me from going a little faster because it was right across the street from my house but I wanted to know if there's a system in place um there's going to be a traffic study or what's going to happen so that's a question
now this is to the charter members city clerk City attorney and the intern city manager address the commission oh oh yeah I'm sorry I just wanted to say hi to them they report to the Das they know
their job and their duties and their responsibilities they protect the DI all the time which they don't have to do okay last meeting which I encourage everyone to go
back and look at the meeting um to see yourself speak and something that commissioner Dy johnon used to tell me all the time go back and look at the meeting I saw one of the members of the Das speak to the interim city
manager I felt it was unprofessional harsh and demanding and this is my opinion I'm sure she has an open door policy especially with her bosses and I would just encourage that the next time um if you would like a
meeting I'm pretty sure she can give you a meeting and you know talk about what your expectations are and to investigate provide and to hold her accountable now I also wanted to thank commissioner Irving
for the ordinance that she brought about which is amending the loud or unusual noise on the street you got the memo all right citizens form is still open citizens for form is still
open I'm just not going to touch it Alex rme 806 Jan Avenue good evening mayor and commission um city of opaka Staff residents businesses um I just want to start by thanking the commission um and the city I I moved here three and a half
years ago to my historic home I recognized that there was a value in the home that I purchased with the historic marker that was on that structure and since then I've been completely mesmerized by the possibilities of our
community um it means a great deal to be recognized but more importantly I want the community and its residents to be engaged and to be aware of the exciting things that are at their doorstep the Heritage Trail is available to you 247
starting at the historic fire station you have an opaka museum at the historic train station at 490 Alibaba Avenue which is open the last Saturday of every month from 10: to 2: and assuming we can get more volunteers and support it will
have even more regular operating hours my point in saying this is I might be part of a movement or a mission but it is not about me it is about our Collective it is about our identity and we have 98 years of stories and places
and people to get to know and to invite into our home so um I wouldn't be where I am and not just being a historic homeowner and active resid pres but also in doing what I'm doing with historic preservation and environmental for that
matter that's an important part of preservation as a whole without the support it has come from you the Das it has come from the city admission Administration and staff um I know I can't speak to them directly but I'll say it through you I'm so thankful to
the city staff for believing in some of my crazy ideas as much as you and for what it's worth a lot of these initial conversations started as a complete Outsider with 10 North helping to support um at least to start with the Heritage Trail and the rest is history
so between all these efforts last year's manifest which I hope to bring back this late this summer which will come to your attention hopefully very soon um I care a great deal about opaka um my intentions are very pure um but again I
I implore everyone to stay involved stay engaged and stay in touch um discover opaka on social media and the website uh is my platform to be able to connect and to receive and to invite others from the
outside to explore so um again I'm very touched I you know I'm not big on Awards and I'm certainly not big on speeches unless I'm giving a tour to the public um but I just had to say that this really means a lot to me and I'm
thankful to the city thank you all right citizens forum is still open citizens form is closed all right we're moving on to our first reading ordinances Madam ma Madam attorney I'm
sorry 16 A1 an ordinance of the city Commission of the city of opaka Florida amending ordinance regular certificates of appropriateness for certain improvements Renovations and maintenance projects on historic
designated properties listed in the COA Matrix providing for severability providing for conflict and repealer providing resending all ordinances in Conflict providing for an effective date this is sponsored by the interim city manager all right can I get a
motion move by commissioner Irving second second by commissioner Santiago Madam manager go ahead and present and then we're open up for public comments historic designated homes are required to present any request for rehabilitation and repairs to the historic preservation board it has been
it has been determined that an administrative process should be established to allow for minor home repairs this will expedite the process for historic Property Owners seeking to change small features such as Windows Doors or roof Replacements Mr gate will
ALS is also available to answer any questions you may have all right this is a public hearing item public hearing is open public hearing is closed any questions for Mr Gay on this
item all right hearing n seeing n Madam clerk commissioner Santiago yes commissioner baz yes commissioner Irvin yes vice mayor Kelly yes mayor Taylor yes motion passes 5 first reading all right
1682 in order of the city Commission of the city of opaka Florida amending chapter 14 of the city of opa's code of ordinances entitled nuisances creating new section 14-13 Forin one and subsequent numerical sections to be entitled registration of
abandoned vacant foreclosure properties providing for purpose intent and applicability providing for registration and maintenance of certain real property providing for penalties and enforcement as well as the regulation limitation and
reduction of registerable real property within the city of opaka providing for severability repealer codification and an effective date this is sponsored by mayor Taylor all right can I get a motion move it move by commissioner Irving second second by commissioner
Santiago I present this item this item is simply to begin the foreclosing we're trying to clean up opalo the the blighted and the abandoned properties that people have walked away from and have left neglected so this process is the as the manager says as
administrative step in order to start the foreclosure process so that we can do something about these abandoned properties throughout our city this is a public hearing item so public hearing is
open public hearing is closed and also I do have Mr Gay and the attorney here if you all have any questions as it relates to this item any questions Mr Mayor commissioner Kelly I do have a
couple of questions but I I'll defer them to um the attorney for the brevity of time thank you okay Mr Mayor um commissioner Santiago yeah like the sponsor the UF for that um ordinance I
heard the youth say if we are not making a mistake um the that's GNA help enough to F clothes and properties uh can I heard something a little bit more about that because I that's a question that I asked in my
breing uh meeting uh of the agenda and I got a different answer to that from out City aternity from the city attorney yeah and I I'd like to have a little bit more of what what was the answer I should
give what was the question well the you you now say a few minutes ago that that going to help and know you know to creating you know a a resolution in the future to give it the power to the city okay to go after this property and doing
the for closes a favor to us to the city to collecting our money and I and I know the like meetings ago like uh two meetings ago we be talking about that and they said that we don't have any policy you know to take over that
property when they owe so much money to us for all this year we're talking about maybe 40 45 years and we never can do anything about it the city Mr Mayor that power and that's essentially what if if
I may um I think commissioner Santiago may have misunderstood what we what we talked about during his agenda briefing was that this is one of the things that can lead us to a place where we can have more um uh I guess more teeth to try try
to do things and put things in an order where they you don't have properties that hopefully um over a long period of time build up um fines but there is I mean we're limited and as I said in a previous meeting and I said it also in
his meeting we're Limited in what we can do by and we there are a lot of factors to consider which is what I told them and I said the same thing I said in a previous public meeting which is you have it depends on the property and it depends on you know what leans are
against the property it depends on um who you know ownership how where in line you could be to even you know be in place some of these are code enforcement leans it depends on whether it's um residential or commercial property I told them all the things that you have
to have in you know in place to consider that but this is one step in the process is what we told them and so it was me and the you know the um inter manager and other people in the room and we were I think all on the same page um Mr Gay
is here and so maybe perhaps Mr Gay can explain Mr Mayor um a little bit better if you would allow him to what this is intended to do it's a registration um ordinance and so next you would have to get a a a a vendor but we had to have
the ordinance for registration in place first so Mr Gay is prepared to um kind of speak about the process and if you if if you would allow Mr Mayor y thank thank you madam attorney I will allow D the manager Gregory gay director
of planning and Community Development as was previously discussed the primary focus of this legislation is to deal with a registration process and that registration process can lead towards the opportunity of foreclosure which
would be most likely the last step as it relates to the city addressing those particular properties but this is to begin the process so that we can have a vendor come in have the vacant properties abandoned properties and properties that may be within a foreclosure process register with the
city so we can identify who those particular properties are who who they're owned by whether they be owned by a private institution private owner or a bank but we need to make sure that we know who those entities are to make sure that when it comes to the lean
citations and violations if we get to that point that we'll have a contact person and they will be able to address whatever Corrections need to be made on the property so that's what this ordinance is in essence doing giving us the initial tools so that we can start
the process to get to um that that that point Thank You U Mr Mayor well yes sir yeah I feel more comfortable with the uh explanation that you tell us now because this is the
beginning for something that I ask him before or we asking before about that and they say well is it's not possible to the city but I see possibility now okay that we're gonna have that kind uh I don't want to call him power but we we we GNA have you know the the right to go
to these properties or owner Properties or bank and let it know that we don't need to see that property that way no more and we be talking about a property that we have there for years and years and years a year and the person he don't want to do anything about it to uh beautify that place or to fix in it
or to clean it up right in the middle of the center of a residential area I'm comfortable now with that I going to support it because I know that's the beginning for what we asking before that is possible thank you
thank you commissioner any other questions or concerns are I hearing n Madam clerk commissioner bass yes commissioner Irvin yes vice mayor Kelly yes commissioner Santiago yes mayor Taylor yes motion passes 5 first reading
all right moving on to item 16 A3 Madam attorney and ordinance of the city Commission of the city of opalak of Florida amending article 3 division 3 section 2-1 32A entitled calling and notice Article 4 Division 1 Section 2-
316 perin 3B entitled administrative policy Powers duties and functions of the city manager Article 4 Division 1 Section 2-3 2 0.2 D1 entitled cone of silence chapter
8.5 section 8.53 B entitled resolution the wrong one 1683 and they let you go long amending chapter 15 thank you sir an ordinance of the city Commission
of the city of opaka Florida amending chapter 15 Article 5 Section 15- 75 of the city's code of ordinances entitled loud or unusual noises on city streets and section 15-8 entitled discharging fireworks
combustibles to define the the time restraints exemptions and violation enforcement providing for codification providing for sever ility providing for an effective date this is sponsored by commissioner Irvin all right can I get a motion Mo it move by um commissioner
Santiago second by Vice May Kelly um Madam say Madam I'm sorry commissioner Madam commissioner yes um the res this kind of speaks for itself the ordinance does but just to
let the the noise it it's a bit much we had fireworks last week the Fourth of July we had fireworks on Saturday the Fourth of July was over weeks ago or uh whatever we just had years was just over
and it's it's a nonstop it's constantly going music constantly too early in the morning too late it's just something that needed to be not just reformed but um we needed
this all right this is a public hearing item public hearing is open public hearing is closed okay Madam oh go ahead go ahead um Madam commissioner I I'd like to co-sponsor it but I'd also like to know
if you'd be a meaning you have 1 p.m. 1:00 am on here um I'd like to make a 12 midnight personally um for it and the other question I you know unless it's authorized with a permit permit that's fine but 12
midnight the other question I had um the ordinance speaks to a warning and then the fine assessment and I'm thinking about some folks you know you go there at let's say um 105 to warn them and
then they turn it down because the police whoever comes by and they turn back up at three with the assessment kick in then or would have to be on another occasion because personally I think I to kick in then but I don't I don't know if the if the ordinance
speaks directly to it because that's the other part that happens even we tried to enforce some of the ones we've had um they turn it down you leave and they turn it back up whether it's m particularly music but I agree with the
fireworks too so I don't know if the ordinance um speaks directly to it if it does maybe I missed it but if it doesn't I just want be clear but I wholeheartly support it and like to be a co-sponsor okay I'm okay with that if we
the reason I said 1:00 cuz some people may say that 12:00 is too soon that they're a party but at one after 1:00 there should be no excuses as to why you still have to have the music so loud and I want to think that if a police get there at 1:15 that
they would receive their warning at that point and if the police has to go back at 3:00 then the necessary finds should take place at that point maybe we can make that more uh clear in the
legislation um if need be okay I I I don't really have a problem with one I just you know it it just seems like it takes folks a while to unwind after they supposed to stop I think we have something on the books now that it's supposed to stop and they don't and I
get that complaint they turn it down and then when the police if they do come by it goes back up so if it's all possible if it doesn't speak to it to make sure it does that that fine can happen that same night if they have to go back um I
want to be clear on that because otherwise I can see people trying to take advantage and again it comes down to enforcement as well so and that's an ongoing issue as you know because you don't heard enough to meet me Monday where um residents feel like the police
are not um going when we do hear it or they hear it in the Run of their regular um patrolling I do know on Monday there was um a thank you for one of the residents about noise that the police
had did go there and it went down and um so hopefully we're going to get better with that but if we could just make sure if that's in there um I'm okay with it not to tighten it up for the second reading so that's very clear that happen
I'm getting Winks down from the attorney I don't think can happen yes sir yes ma'am um I'm not sure what um communication staff may have had with uh Miss Wilcox on it in terms of how it's done but it would go through the code enforcement process right am I
right okay so it's not like you're going to be going out and saying give me money for the fine so what I'm saying is once it gets triggered it then goes to code enforcement and so that's that would be a part of the process Mr
Mayor oh I was you you you okay right number one cold is not out there 2:30 in the morning so my question really is if officer a goes out at 1:15 as commissioner uran is saying you you're in violation warning stop turn it off
right the noise continues is 3:00 a.m. 2 am. and the officer has to go back that's the question I have are you all collecting fines you may because I'm not sure what staff talk to with the so it must be I don't think they collect money from no they Ain
collecting money but I think right yeah I know good evening commissioner wait one second Chief oh Mr Mayor one one second yeah I'm asking the questions yeah I I I'm not sure what the process is internally so that's that's really
the police and or code or however they're going to know better than than I would all right so any other comments for the commission yes uh it's getting good this um I'm waiting on answer you as answer
for the yes answer you asked him to come up oh he want you to want the man the manager asked him to come up to give an explanation because the reason I'm saying that I don't want us to create legislation which I wholeheartly support and it doesn't do what it's intended to
do and I fully support what commissioner iring wants to do but I want to know the process you're saying Cod Co out there so go ahead I'm sorry so vice mayor if I could say we're saying a fine but we're a fine is actually a ticket they'll
receive a ticket um yes there'll be a ticket we're we're saying a fine but it's a ticket Mr Mayor to the sponsor um let's first you know listen what he want to say to us about
that but before we talking about any fine okay this ordinance have to be passed is one okay yeah we we understand that confused wait Comm Santiago one second um I was I was answering Kelly's question that a fine we're saying fine
but it's a ticket I was answering Kelly's question vice mayor Kelly got it all right so commissioner Kelly what's your question Flor all right um I'm yeah I know you're
trying I'm about to one of these Hershey Kisses here and do something uh I I want to be clear because I don't want to be perceived that we're passing something which we all agree needs to be dealt with so if the sponsor is saying it is a
ticket that the police department can issue I'm fine with that I just wanted my question really was if they go out as I said at 1:15 the order says 1:00 am turn your music off whatever police has to go back out at 3:00 am 2 am and
they're still doing it now it becomes an infraction violation so according to the sponsor they will be issued a ticket it's now whatever the process after that's whatever but the ticket that they would have to comply with because they received it that is correct okay that
that's what I want to be clear of um because I can see that happening but we do need to address the the noise and I think people do take it for granted so the police department will be able to do the ticket if the viol
um occurs even on that same night or whatever okay that answ my question so I'm okay with that thank you commissioner Iran thank you all right um commissioner Santiago uh thank you um for the sponsored again I don't try to
uh uh say anything negative because I really like the um that Iden and and not going to be a supporter of that but something that I one make it clear is this okay the a say that they gonna they
allowed to be up there up to one o00 1:00 a.m in the morning I'm sorry 1:00 a.m in the morning but what does that mean you're going to tell the uh you know the people that they know you have to finish your party and that's it no more music when they are when they are in the U uh in the house in the private
you know residential is not doing the right thing to say yeah you had to lower it down okay we don't want no more noise but not going there and dictate it that you had to finish the party or that's it for tonight okay
I believe okay like Monday to Thursday okay we don't we don't have to let people you know be Lou or do parties you know in the uh what days but Friday and Saturday that's a family you know weekend or something like that and you
have a part in your house and you have per to have the music loud or whatever at to 12 let put in 12 I like that that time 12 like um how is the Disney thing the everything finished the 12 okay all
right yeah okay 12 is okay but it's me like yes loading your music okay you can be loud but not going out there and say everything is done finished I don't think it's fair okay
that's my concern I love the item and I like to uh remember the uh the sponsor uh for that item that you forgot something that is making a lot of noise to the city and it's a lot of complaint that's the auto uh racing track that we
have in front of the 37 Avenue I believe that that's supposed to be including here too because that make a lot of noise and worse and bad I like the em I love it but let's be you
know a little more careful with the time and what we going to tell the persons or the people that they doing that because if it's that we have by Alibaba in 22nd in another residential area we have they bars they have music for whole the whole
morning and that's going to be including these places no it's throughout the city of opal okay but including that place is the nightclub the nightclub is usually inside nightclub or whatever they want to call it but I know there one there
that I can hear the music from my house every every night not only the weekend Monday to Friday even Sunday I think I say whatever I you know what I feel about it I love it but let including to that noise that we have
there in 307 Avenue by the airport that is very bad thank you thank you all right any other questions are concerned for this item all right so the only question I have I didn't like the one o'clock I
felt one o'clock was too late so I'm with commissioner k Sorry Vice May Kelly into amending that to say midnight if you don't mind on that and then the other part where it says on City observe holidays in case those
holidays these activities shall be prohibited daily between the hours of 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. so only holidays that are oberved by the city so if we have an organization that wants to come in and do a firework on let's just say their
holiday they application but it doesn't specify that in this and then I noticed that the part where says upon um Proclamation or by written permission of the mayor that was taken out so I wanted
to get your yes yeah they would do an application if they wanted to do if my organization wants to do fireworks we would come to the city and do as for a permit to do to have fireworks at that
thing at my event who determines whether or not it's approved or not the commission the where all the other permits go through okay the I guess I'm talking about the time you specified here the time right fireworks gunpowder um
discharge squibs and other combustible blah blah blah blah blah that's what I'm referring to yes because they they do fireworks all night long I got it we're all on the same page I just want to know who will grant that permission I think that should be stated inside of the legislation I I see you put took out
upon Proclamation or written permission by the mayor so you you don't want the mayor to do it but then there needs to be an oversight so it can okay so we need to put in there that for the the regular permitting process you're the we'll have it we'll
we'll make the adjustment okay all right and also the other Amendment which was vice M Kelly's Amendment which was midnight I if I like midnight and not and I'm gonna tell you why midnight is it's still early it's late but it's
still early so if we say 1:00 at 1:00 there's there we've given you guys ample time to get all your music loud everything out and at one o'clock the city should be quiet it's not g to be but we have to
have enforcement to help us to make it quiet cuz 12:00 is still young I mean I'm in my older years now but when I entertained a lot one o00 was I mean that's a lot of time I 12:30 I mean it's just counter to
me it's just counterproductive to what y want to split 120 before but that's just me because we complained about noise and all of us get those calls from residents especially those in um highly senior populated areas that the noise is too loud so yeah
one to me because as it stands today it's 11 so you're pushing it back two extra hours so now the calls are going to be increased and we get a now so I and they don't stop at 11: so if we do it to one we're giving them we're giving
you two extra times to get two extra hours to get everything out the way so that at 1:00 we don't want any excuses you you turn it down turn it down go inside with it we don't care we just don't want to hear it out here we've
given you two extra hours so we're being fair two extra hours Mr Mayor commissioner Sago okay with the amendment uh from uh 12 to one I I think
the the sponsor you know she's right to or give it a little bit more time you know to finish the Patties or whatever at one o'clock but also please okay uh see like Monday to Thursday Monday to
Thursday that that's a working day that everybody had to wake up early I don't want to hurt a party next to my house after one o00 okay weekend is fine Friday Saturday and probably Sunday you know up to sometime you know early or
that but not every day not every day I don't that I that I in the right uh track okay with the that Amendment and also please just including that noise that we have in 37 Avenue when that racing track that just made a lot of
noise if it that's the reason why we wanted passing that because we have noise and all that in the whole city but that's part of the noises I'm fine when 1 o'clock a 1 a.m in the morning okay and after that please be be clear okay what are we
going to do to the owners of the properties so that finish the party or low the volume that's one thing that we have to be sure that we there finish the party or please you have to low the volume of the music
because he can't stay in the house for Qui all right um yeah I kind of agree with commissioner Santiago if we're going to do it and maybe we should phase it out that Monday through those working nights Monday through Thursday it's one time and then on the weekends it's a
different time but as it stands yeah Mr Mayor commissioner Vice my only challenge with that is you know we need a uniform time in my opinion cuz sometimes depending on who you are holidays and or occasions some may have loud music on a
Tuesday because of whatever is going on it's highly unlikely I I think the real issue as far as I'm concerned is enforcement number one and number two reason I said 12:30 just to go midways because the reality is right now it's
11: and they're going past that even now so to me to give them to 12:30 is is adding an additional hour and a half um because you know I think in and again I won't get too technical I think the way our shifts are the police don't change
they're done 12h hour shifts and so they're switching from not mistake around that same time uh I don't know what the hours are but I it I don't have a problem with with 1:00 but the enforcement still needs to to be there and I think if I'm clear on the
ordinance it's not to lower it down it's that you stop the noise or stop the the fireworks whatever um because it's past the time that the uh ordinance indicated so I just suggested 12:30 because it seemed like there was you know some
Midway I can support one because it's 11 right now and and nobody in my opinion really um adheres to that so if you want to go to one it still has to be enforced I can agree with that but I don't I don't like the idea of Monday through
Thursday a certain time and others cuz there are some holidays there's some things that occur that are going to happen on a week day um that may be partial to someone so that to me it be kind of a little challenging and with regard to the U airport I know the inter
manager was working on something with that I I don't know this legislation could even Encompass um that or the intent I'll defer that to the sponsor um yet it's allow go to the go over to the county to the airport
and you incomes legis I don't think you did no it's not it's it's not in there specifically leading to them but they shouldn't be racing cars before 9:00 in the morning no I don't I don't disagree with that but I think this legislation is not something we passed that our
police officer going to go over to the airport at you know whatever time I think that's a whole separate issue that we've tasked the manager to to address um so I'm fine either way I'm that's question and Mr Mayor to the manager
you're meeting with them tomorrow correct that's correct okay all right well any other concerns this item we can call the question Madame clerk commissioner Irvin yes vice mayor Kelly yes commissioner Santiago
for 1 AM for 1 am yes commissioner bass yes mayor Taylor no motion passes first reading 41 all right we're moving on to our second reading
ordinances um 16 B1 an ordinance of the city Commission of the city of opaka Florida to adopt a text Amendment to the Land Development regulations ordinance 15-31 to permit construction trades and Equipment vehicle storage vehicle recovery
repossession and storage Tow Truck and Tow vehicle storage shipping container storage yard utility vehicles and Equipment parking and storage uses in the the I4 zoning District providing for conflict and repealer providing for
severability providing for an effective date first reading and public hearing was held on January the 8th and this is sponsored by the interim city manager all right can I get a motion move move by Vice May Kelly second by commissioner irvan Madam manager the I4
zoning district is designated as a liberal industrial storage and Salvage area which typically attracts junk yards this text Amendment will allow innovated uses of the I4 zoning it would include usage such as construction equipment and
or material storage sites and Tow Yard recovery and vehicle storage Mr Gay is also available to entertain any questions you may have all right this is a public hearing item public hearing is open how are you good evening Mark
Cooper I'm 6801 South 75 ches Miami Florida at at the first reading I stood up here and I commended the city staff for this ordinance and again I do it I'm in full favor of it today I had two prospective tenants in the area telling that the zoning was
changing and I could U maybe offer them these pieces of land and they weren't so intensive with contamination and everything so trying to merge the use of the area away the only thing is that as I told the perspect one of the prospective tenants in this area here the shore line is in place but will be
operating in the next six months I thought to myself uh am I really kind of so sure about this so again I would ask you to please make sure that the shoreline that gets put in place or is in place or will be in place or should be in place is in place at some point
because whatever we're doing today with this enlightened legislation has no effect if durm won't allow uses on those lands because they have no sewer lines so please put the staff's feet to the fire to get this done and put the resources in place so we can get away
from contamination and make the city the great City it is thank you thank you thank you public hearing is closed all right uh any questions from Mr Gay on this item all right Madam cler we can call a question vice mayor Kelly
yes commissioner Santiago yes commissioner baz yes commissioner Irvin yes mayor Taylor yes motion passes 5 Z all right moving on to 16 B2 an ordinance of the city Commission of the city of opaka Florida considering
approval for the renaming of the city of opaka police department to the opaka police department Timothy Holmes headquarters providing for a repeal of all ordinances and conflict providing for severability providing for an effective date the first reading and public hearing was held on January the
8th 2025 this is sponsored by commissioner Santiago all right this um can I get a motion move by Vice M Kelly second second by commissioner Irving commissioner Santiago uh thank you Mr
Mayor if it's not any question for me or any discussion about the area uh Iden um my idea is to recognize the good work the out friend
and brother that today he's resting in Haven he do for the great city of opaka and I know that he always love that Police Department here and he always be the biggest supporter for that our our
Police Department here in the city I living up to my Coles but this is my uh concern about that resolution to bring it up and uh the ordinance and I tell the manager I believe like if we need
anything you know fund for doing that okay we're going to get it and this is my my position in that um Mr may all right this is a public hearing item public hearing is
open public hearing is closed all right any questions to the sponsor on this item all right um commissioner Santiago I do have a question yes sir it's not really a question but the the name to me it's something wrong can you can we
switch it around some kind of way the Timothy Holmes Police Headquarters or the Timothy Holmes Public Safety Office because the city of opaka police department Timothy Holmes it doesn't yeah this well okay so can we call it maybe the my suggestion you thinket loan
no yeah I like the I like I like the first one that you uh mentioning okay the city of the Timothy hommes police police headquarters yeah I think it's better it's not a problem with me to amend it and change it all right Madam
um um man Sor Madam attorney so instead of the city of the opaka police department Timothy Holmes headquarters it'll be the opaka Timothy Holmes Police Headquarters got it Tak out Department taking out Department it's then just so
just to um restate opaka police opaka Timothy homes Police Headquarters no just repeat it again that's he I bet that's what I
said so the the op Timothy Holmes Police Headquarters or Police Department police whatever yeah yeah Police Department the department that department is weird it's weird well you want to calling know headquarters headquarters I don't know
it's just the department before the Timothy holes just that's weird the main thing is to recognize commissioner Timothy Hol when not Police Department okay it can be the native commissioner Tim Timothy
Hol police headquarter is fine with me that's Mr Mayor Vice man Kelly yeah since you always want to give someone their highest um title if you would just say you know vice mayor Timothy Holmes police head quarters I think that
captures um your concern about the word department and also gives him his highest title um when you're doing the signage I think that that would address all so the vice May Timothy homes Police
Headquarters you got that Madam attorney yes sir all right so that's my motion um do we need to vote because it is an ordinance you will need so can I get a second on the motion second by vice mayor Madame
um clerk sorry commissioner bass yes commissioner Irvin yes vice mayor Kelly yes commissioner Santiago yes mayor Taylor yes motion passes 5 Z on the amendment all right now we're going to um vote on the actual ordinance but
Madam attorney I want to hear from your mouth can you read it into the record the entire ordinance with name the entire title or just the name the entire title in ordinance of the city Commission of the city of opaka Florida
considering approval for the renaming of the city of oblaka police department to the vice mayor Timothy Holmes Police Headquarters providing for repeal of all ordinances and conflict providing for ability
providing for an effective date thank you um we can go ahead and call the question Madam clerk commissioner Santiago yes commissioner baz yes commissioner Irvin yes vice mayor Kelly yes mayor Taylor yes motion passes 5
Z all right moving on to item 16 B3 an ordinance of the city Commission of the city of B block of Florida amending article 3 division 3 section 2-32 Forin a entitled calling and notice
Article 4 Division 1 Section 2-31 163b entitled administrative policies Powers duties and functions of the city manager article 6 Division 1 Section 2-32 0.2 D1 entitled cone of silence
chapter 8.5 section 8.5 D 3B entitled resolution calling election required contents of publication Article 5 Section 13-12 A entitled sell of C's machine disposition
and monies article 3 section 19-2 29b entitled public hearing and naming by City commission referendum article 3 Division 1 Section 21-11 0f entitled exception and interim
package treatment facilities to eliminate the requirement for newspaper publication provid for severability conflict and repealer and providing for an effective date the first reading and public hearing was held on January the 8th 2025 and this is sponsored by the
city clerk all right can I get a motion move by Vice May Kelly second second by commissioner Santiago Madame clerk yes thank you Mr Mayor so um this ordinance is um due to recent changes in state law
which no longer requires municipalities to publish legal adds in a newspaper this ordinance is just to eliminate language throughout the city's code that makes reference to that requirement so basically this just just going through the code and making sure that that
language is eliminated all right can I sorry this is a public hearing item public hearing is open public hearing is closed any question for the city clerk at this time hearing none Madam clerk commissioner
Irvin yes Vice mayor Kelly yes commissioner Santiago yes commissioner baz yes mayor Taylor yes motion passes 5- all right moving on to item 16 B4 an ordinance of the city I'm sorry
madam attorney before you read this item um I have a problem I'm going to ask the manager to defer this item because at the last meeting we asked that you all make changes this commission did and I think it's a slap in the face that y'all bring the exact same item
without the changes that the commission asked for so I don't know where that came from but it is the exact same piece of legislation from the January 22nd meeting without the changes we asked to take out um the residential part of it
and it's still in this this legislation Mr Mayor um Madam manager with that being said I will be um deferm agenda item 16 B4 B4 to the March 12 regular commission
meeting thank you all right moving on to item 16 B5 an ordinance of the city Commission of the city of opak of Florida amending ordinance 15-31 of the Land Development regulations article 4
section 2 2-101 0 or o related to the historic downtown opaka district HD o to increase the maximum building Heights to no higher than 105 ft and 10 stories to comply with Federal Aviation
Administration regulations part 77 to ensure safety and livability providing for conflict and repealer providing for severability providing for inclusion in the code providing for scous erors and providing for an effective date the first reading and public hearing was
held on January the 22nd 2025 and this is sponsored by the interim city manager all right can I get a motion move it move by commissioner Irving second second by commissioner Santiago Madam manager this your item go ahead the city's current Building height
is restricted to seven stories in the historic downtown opaka district this amendment will allow for an increase to 10 stories for the his the down the downtown area only um um Mr Gay can answer any questions you may have all
right this is a public hearing item public hearing is open public hearing is closed all right any questions for Mr Gay on this item hearing none Madame clerk go ahead and call a question commissioner Santiago
yes commissioner baz yes commissioner Irvin yes vice mayor Kelly yes mayor Taylor yes motion passes 5 Z all right moving on to the city manager's report Madam manager you have the floor Mr Mayor and commission I
submitted a written report to the city Commission on yesterday and will entertain any concerns that you may have at this time all right do we have any questions or concerns to the manager at this moment mayor ice May Kelly um I do have
some concerns but I will um I I'll speak with you in depth on the rest them but I did want to get an update on the um PSAs um I did see one out there I know
you said that um you work on it so I'd like to get update on that and also um where we are on the beautification initial update and the others I'll get to you
um tomorrow all right any other questions yes M sorry any um commissioner Santiago thank you um mad manager um I have some concerns about
situation that we have you know around the city and I want to make uh I want to make that in public okay to see what we can do or what is the plan that we have okay to stop all these problem that we
have especially around this side of the West side and also the other side of Magnolia the triangle area Okay um it's coming a lot of things from this area and what we talking about beauty
beautification of the city is including a lot of things okay one of the thing is you know have um order okay with the uh with the city residents you know to uh make them understand that we have rules
and regulation perfect that's not a problem and I know that we have uh a own Police Department in the great city of opaka and I know that they do the best you know to do uh to protect and to make our
city safe but it's a couple of area that I don't see any safety there and it's already be a resident when a lot of people you know they may and renew the houses uh we have in the other side a comp
apartment and this is not that somebody told me it's me I see it with my own eyes we selling drugs there the whole day all day especially in the nighttime
and people they be afraid even to go out in that particular areas and we're talking about that we had children there we have woman family all together and I like to know that's also like part of the beautification and to
make the city in order what do we have for that places they stay there for long we not talking about that they knew they there for long long long long long year and I'm not afraid to say that because
that's the resident coming to me and complain about that yeah we be talking about safety we be talking about a lot of other teams and fine but what about that not the situation that we have who going to handle it what department that
we have to call to stop all these drug dealers or people that in the street selling drug selling drug anytime nighttime daytime everywhere like the way that I see the other side of molan Park the triangle is a lot of people
people that they investing a lot of money in there in new houses and and getting beautiful better before but we still had the same problem at night when the drugs dealers do they have any plan to stop that M
manager I have heard your concerns the police have heard your concerns we'll make sure that we um patrol that area more frequently and provide something to the commission moving forward yeah not not only Patrol is me Tak on action and
if our Police Department need equipments or need anything that they need to make our city safe please and I want to be always nice and I'm sorry I'm I'm Latin Latin American and a
afrod Dominican okay and sometime I I talk you know and I get excited but it's not me that I want to make you feel you know all the way because I'm soor I like the work that you
do mad manager I think the city's choir everything going smooth and I love that job that you're doing okay it's not me uh the meeting pass that I say that I say that because I want to see some order in the city I
want to see changes is the time to change opaka we cannot acct in that in in that nebor neighborhood in both in both side the east side or the west side when that situation if the police department they need anything we here to
support them okay but I want to see some action the soon as we can in that area Less ending and that's one of the main entren to to the historical City Hall okay and we're going to have that in April I think a very big event the
Arabian night I don't want the tourist or the people pass by bu there and they said that we selling drugs in one of the main entr for the city please that's my concern Madam manager thank you all right any other concerns to the manager
at this moment all right all right moving on to the official board reports see no we're going on to our May commission
report um B okay so commissioner B's reported that we have she just wanted to say that chess is coming back March 1st so bring your kids out the adults those of you that love the game of chess you can meet the commission as well as Commission of
B at where is it it's going to be at it's on the where is it I'm sorry it's on the thing a a flyer will be presented on social media for the chess tournament march on March 1 all right um
commissioner Santiago yes thank you um Mr Mayor um last week I uh made some decision to uh to bring some kind of event or activity to one of the uh more
popular community that we have here in in the great City poaka uh we talking about the uh uh the Dominican community in in the city that is big and year before I helped then you know and and I celebrated what we call in the
independent days for Dominican Republic and I tried to bring in an item but uh the item U be uh uh I don't want to say be stop but it B luck okay I cannot bring him because I
don't have enough time to bring it to the commission but it's something that I want to do for you know for that Community it is not going to cost anything to the city but I want to make it a public to tell you that all my col
they invite into the uh event that I want to make for the um for the 27 of this month uh um I don't have the place yet it can be chavand or probably um the place the Mr Logan have there are behind
our building but it's going to be a breakfast a good breakfast Dominican breakfast and I hope you know um everybody's inviting and it's not going to cost anything okay to the city and it's gonna I gon to um uh sponsor that
for myself nothing to do when any money for the city got it and you said it's February 27 yeah February 27 I Tred to do it a like between uh 10 a.m to 12 okay okay I think that's a Thursday if you not making a mistake and the
location will be I don't have the location yet but I believe uh that we're gonna we're going to working on that and I'm going to let it know the the cler office and the manager and like that we can uh split you know the invitation to
the for the rest of my colleagues okay so commissioner um after commissioner I address that I was just about to say something okay I so I know that day majority of us will be in Orlando for the black
caucus so the majority the majority well well but we will support you in spirit me is the reason why is that day the only date that can be done is that the only day that can be done well yeah that's the uh the day for the for the
hly day for that independent yeah um uh yeah that's that things um I can see if it we can celebrate it you know the day before but it's going to be a little difficult I understand it's the same day well depending on what Vin you have I want to take my uh comments so they can
hear it okay at your breakfast yes I'll give an it and take my comments not a problem I won be in town we can put you in zoom and you can speak to the people that they are good you know I've it before remember I've done it before I know yeah you're doing it before yeah
and and the the the reason why that I want to bring it to the commission that I cannot bring that um ordinance you know in front of you it because I try to uh to use the uh historical City Hall to make a a a com a commemoration to the
Independent to put the flat in front of the uh historical City but if it's if it's not possible it's okay we're going to have the breakfast all yes sir all right well like commissioner Kelly said we'll give
you our our what you say no I'll take my comments so you put them on the program at the appropriate time of the breakfast that's all usually that's what you do when you can't make it and I know we're already committed well I'm committed out of town so I I
want to let the community know it's not we're sliding overlooking we do have a large uh Dominican population and I've done that with him before co-hosting uh I mean it is a major event and I support wholeheartedly is just the timing of when it's occurring so I'll prepare my
remarks I'm quite sure like all of us will but you can just tape them in um at the program thank you Mr Mayor all right um commissioner Irving oh y'all sub
M y'all in time out ah it's good it's good we host at our our monthly uh Farm share distribution uh which is always the first Wednesday of each month at Shaban Pavilion we service over 300 families uh
in about three hours I always thank my co-host the mayor commissioner Irving and all of my colleagues for being supportive um as always to our volunteers and City staff the clerk the manager's office Public Works uh police for their support we also hosted a
clergy luncheon uh with local pastors on last Thursday in preparation for our annual National Day of Prayer which is co-hosted really by the entire commission commissioner bass and commissioner Santiago's co-host um
talking about Nation Day of Prayer also upcoming Citywide Community Revival to be held in the summer and the return of our monthly 12 noon prayer for our city to start in the coming months I certainly want to thank um the staff my
colleagues for their support and and uh for commissioner Santiago and the mayor were able to stop by uh we also attended the mandatory ethics training for elected officials that was held in Miami Lakes um last week as well uh we
participated and hosted um from the CRA side last Saturday Community neighborhood cleanup and Magnolia north um and I I will be uh coming forth as we talk about some of the areas over there that we need to enhance with parks and
other programming uh as well um we also held our monthly MeetMe Monday Community engagement this past Monday as always to hear concerns of our residents um and business owners in the community uh certainly want to thank the manager for
allowing staff to uh be there in attendance and as a spin off to that um and working with her really to my colleagues I think it's a good idea um on a quarterly basis instead of having a speaker to really have um staff present
to give a brief presentation and have um the community to be able to engage with them in a very different setting than just coming here in a meeting we did have a couple of situations where residents even at maybe Monday had concerns and staff was able to if not
address all of them but to give them some comfort level that they're working on it and working on it they hear the concerns so I want to um really put that into motion uh with the support of the manager spoke to her briefly about it so we're excited about that um we're also
working since it did passed tonight I want to thank all of you because it really is a commission effort um our feeding South Florida uh initiative um and what we're doing and like to do uh to my colleagues and Mr Mayor because I
know you sponsor legislation for our what is it Human Services initiative Department I know you're working on that but as a part of that until you get it really going um as a part of our South Florida Initiative for
feeding South Florida to include additional uh resources that can benefit our residents and community and for our February 21st when we have uh conver confirmed I'm sorry Florida DMV on Wheels I think we have the 10 North
assistance program and a couple of others to provide um additional resources to our um residents Community when they're getting their food they can also stop by that tent or table to get um additional information that can be
helpful to them as a part of that Outreach and then hopefully as you work towards how you're going to structure the um Human Services Department that could be a spin-off that you can roll that over into that because I know that's the long-term goal that we have
our own Social Service component here in the city opaka that our residents can um attend so if you have any um Community Partners or someone who's offering services to our community that can be beneficial please reach out to the clerk's office because again this is
really although I'm there kind of as a host it's really a commission Initiative for all of us um to be a part of one of the reasons why we do the feeding South Florida is because we know it's a lot of uh health items and we're living in a time where
everybody needs to eat healthy and so it's a great initiative so always welcome um the support I know it's difficult sometimes since folks are working but we want to continue that and look forward to that being even more um
successful moving um forward I finally want to just um command and I think he left but on behalf of at least myself I want to thank the um uh Communications folks for coming out to some of the things we're having unfortunately as I
said even at the state of the city addressed Mr Mayor with all of that positivity we didn't pick up any press but if you I think I said it commissioner San dieago if we had been arguing of fighting that the news people would have been front and center and so such a beautiful event and all of the
things that we're doing whether it's Bingo whether it's chess whether it's whatever uh we don't tend to get any positive press um and so we have to tell own stories So to that end I thankful that they're coming out and um at least showcasing we still got to go to another
level to get our story told um because we are doing a lot of good things in the city that unfortunately sometime go unnoticed until something negative happens so that is my um report for the night thank you Mr Mayor and to my colleagues thank you well commissioner
Kell I do want to correct one thing we did get positive press we were front page on the Miami times I believe a beautiful picture of commissioner Irving and her nice PE see I don't get I don't get the times
anymore so we we got so I'm going into the mayor's report sir oh J thought you said no I'm sorry we we trying to we're trying to U get out of
here we doing good n o' really quick quickly it'll be really quick is just we were skipping Kelly and because he was responding and not giving his report so that's why I said Kelly okay
um my police officers I am oh my God I'm in awe of what I heard that they did at that accident on Saturday night and I've already had conversation with our manager she said you know future
accommodations are coming I just want you guys to know that I am so proud of you all even the next day leaving my mom's house I passed by and our officers were there making a making a memorial um to the family my heart
really bleeds for them really goes out for them um but kudos to our Police Department also February 14th yes is love day I already know the two men to my left won't be there but we're having
Bingo yes Valentine's bingo at your Bundy please come out we'll give you guys a little food too because it's Valentine's Day we're gonna have a little food um so please please come out can't tell Mercedes to the Bing
have to tell it'll be a cheap date bring your date come out hang out with us I'm going to have a by8 we're out by by 8 we'll be finished um also if I can ask you guys to do a save the date it's been a while
since we've had it but karaoke will be March 22nd and it's going to be Rodeo car Rodeo karaoke so pull out those cowboy hats cowboy boots come out let's make it happen the same day is
okay be sure that we make noise there the next thing I have is um the ribbon cut cutting was beautiful the everything worked out really really nice it was really nice and I want to say thank you for my
gift thank you oh yeah yeah thank you and I'm finished that's nice you did not check the C yeah we we we you need to discuss that well all right um moving right along to the mayor's report so quickly um we had
the for the 99 Finance but you you gave us a written report but I just want you to eventually tell the commission um how many how many we started what we've accomplished thus far and what's what's the next steps for the the rest you if
not we can do it individually you can meet with us individually unless you all have questions on night yeah but I said you provided it in the report so I'm good with that um the also the other thing is the board presentations by the inum city manager
and and our clerk the city clerk's office have provided a board report to the elected officials it was sent via email and a hard C copy we ask that you take some time to review the recommendations and provide those
recommendations to us so we can move accordingly okay so you're not ready to present this you want to no we want to allow you time to review it review it it's lengthy that's fair all right so moving along um I want to publicly
thank all staff and everyone the city manager's office the city clerk's office um City attorney to miss poaba Wright for the state of the city it was a great event we cut the ribbon to historical City Hall and I'm
appreciative that opaka finally has its home restored so that's one good thing that we're doing also um this past Thursday we had our mayor's business lunch in where we launched the opaka the greater what is it I'm sorry the greater
chamber opaka chamber of commerce an initiative that we started in on the city of opaka that we're trying to bring all of our businesses together we had over about 70s something businesses that showed up and at that time we created our board we established one of our board members are here and we had a a
multitude of businesses from small mom and pop restaurants and you will be surprised the businesses that are in opaka some of them I didn't even know existed but they were there and they heard the call so we are bringing our businesses together and we'll do a more
formal introduction to the chamber at a later date I want to urge our commission to complete the survey for the vision retreat which is our strategic planning it was emailed out by Miss Ashley Walker because we want to make sure that all of our ideas are encumbers in the vision in
the um the um strategic planning so write it down jot it down at that moment they'll present a plan to us and we'll also have a working lunch where whatever you miss or whatever you want to say more you can add it at that time and I believe the date for the vision Retreat
is March 15th March 15th and the location will be sent out soon the location will be sent out soon also um uh Mr Dennis spoke to it and also commissioner Irving spoke to it but I got a lot of calls commending our opaka
Police Department from neighboring agencies for a job well done but we didn't I just want to highlight the actual officer which was I believe officer Kirby Nord Kirby Nord that was the one that stopped on the scene he was actually I believe going home or coming
to work he saw it stopped on the scene and he reacted and even to all of the officers that actually joined him um during that time our heart goes out to the family want to keep them lifted up in prayer because that is tough to lose a complete family and there were children involved so we want to make
sure hence why we are tackling speeding in the city of opaka because this is becoming a problem so shout out Chief to officer Kirby Nord and I know we accommodations will be coming soon but
thank you for that also uh to my commission we got a slight issue and the issue is that we all will be out next the the the end of the month for the Florida Black
Caucus and the trip that we go to every year however there was a commission meeting the day before so most of us will be traveling that day so I'm asking to pull the commission to see if we can cancel to maybe if the manager needs
to to um reschedule the commission meeting or just cancel the meeting Al together Mr Mayor can you deal with the issue here as opposed to since you you've announced it as opposed to polling that this is the issue that I'm dealing thank you you gota let me finish
mam attorney let me finish so I'm asking to poll the commission I'm pulling the commission now so that we can deal with it now because yeah three of us will be out so there is a lack of Quorum are you are you you all I don't know I'm sorry are you all going no no you got the
event yeah have the event and thank God that I gonna have somebody with me so we need to poll to see if we can cancel that meeting and if need be we can reschedule it for either the day before or maybe the two days before the week after if there are pressing items from
the manager so my vote is to cancel the meeting on the 26 we would need to poll oh commissioner Irving I'm Council yes and Mr Mayor uh only reason I'm
going I don't mind counseling but I know we have second is there any second readings that have been proposed for um that date that we could [Music] change any second reading that um any
first reading ordinances that were voted on today would not be be on the next meeting anyway they will be on the March first um first meeting in March I just wanted that said for the record yeah we can cancel meeting all right and Madam manager do you have any pressing items for no sir no sir and are you all okay
with canceling all right so I'm going to make a motion to cancel the meeting on the and then we can vote so Mo motion to cancel the meeting on the 26 can I get a second for that motion second um motion made in second motion made by mayor Taylor seconded by vice mayor um Kelly
Madame clerk commissioner bass commissioner Irvin yes vice mayor Kelly yes commissioner Santiago yes mayor Taylor yes motion passes 5 Z all right moving along we go we usually go to our official board appointments but the manager has ask that we delay it until we review the package and we'll come
back by the next meeting to discuss or disc are we G to are you going to do a presentation at that time or you want to discuss with us one-onone Madam manager 101 discussions and then you'll submit something yes as a whole all right so we'll move moving right along so can we
have a motion to adjourn move it move by Vice Kell second by commissioner Santiago this meeting is adjourned hey Cory not