##VIDEO ID:6RK7_8xFlA4## Vice mayor, doctor marks. Are you there? Here? Yes, I am. Thank you. Commissioner bloom here. Commissioner Friedland here. Commissioner
Joel. Here. Commissioner Kruse. Mr. Lawson here. I'm Mr. Meyers here. You have a quorum. Thank you. All those that can. Especially you young people. Let's stand
for the Pledge of Allegiance. My. I pledge allegiance to the. Flag of the United States of. To to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for. Thank you. We have a first reading of an ordinance. This is item three, madam clerk. An ordinance of the city
of Aventura, Florida. Establishing
and adopting this city of Aventura. AD valorem
tax operating millage levy rate at 1.7261 mills per $1,000 of taxable assessed
property value, which as a percent change of rolled back rate of 1.5879 mills is 8.70% above the rollback rate. Computer. Pursuant to state law for the 2024
tax year, providing for conflicts, providing for severability,
and providing for an effective date. Thank you. Can I have a motion to approve? Commissioner Bloom, second
by Commissioner Freeland, Mr. manager. Thank you. Mayor. we're asking that the commission, please,
approve this millage rate of 1.7261,
which is the 29th year in a row we've had this millage rate one of the
lowest, third lowest in Miami-Dade County. It provides enough money for us to balance
our budget with no deficit spending. It funds all our programs, our capital
improvement plan, and it keeps our, and our city solvent. Thank you. Any questions or comments by the Commission? Okay. let me ask if any members of the public
have a comment on this item. Seeing none all closed for public comment. And, we'll vote Commissioner bloom. Yes. Commissioner Friedland. Yes. Commissioner Joel. Yes. Commissioner Cruz. Yes. I saw Mayor Doctor Marks. Yes. And mayor Weinberg. Yes. Motion passes. Can you repeat, please? An ordinance of the City of Adventure
of Florida adopting the attached tentative operating and capital budget,
as reviewed and approved by the City Commission at the review meeting held on
July 18th, 2024, as the city of Am. And to our final budget for the 2024 2025
fiscal year. Pursuant
to section 4.05 of the City Charter authorizing expenditure of funds
established by the budget, providing for budgetary control,
providing for personnel authorization, providing for gifts
and grants, providing for amendments. Providing for procedures
regarding encumbrances on the reappropriation
of Unexpended capital appropriations. Establishing the committed fund balance
for capital reserve. Providing for severability
and providing for an effective date. Thank you. Motion approved. Commissioner
Joe, seconded by Commissioner Bloom. Mister manager. Thank you. To the audience. I will just go briefly through the budget, this year. Budget priorities, as they are every year,
is to maintain all current and expanded services in the city, including programs
and events that we hold. Such as Founders Day, veterans Day,
bike rides with the police on movie nights, Halloween events, pop up events,
our annual volunteer recognition dinner, Arbor Day,
and some new events that we we've introduced such as the five K run,
our concert series went to London Wonderland and coming soon,
some outdoor basketball courts because we're adding
we have new fields in our city. We're adding 52 more days
of recreational use on our fields,
which we will account for in this budget. We also prioritize in this budget safety. It's one of the hallmarks of our city
as a safe city. Police services will continue
to be one of our highest priorities. We're adding several police officers. We're replacing tactical equipment. We always focus on training
for our officers so they can handle any emergency
that comes their way. We're replacing vehicles and adding, as of tonight, a new deputy police chief,
Chris Christine. See, tonight. The third item that we focus on
is really important to us that really sets us
apart is our infrastructure. We aren't
we we're looking to enhance and maintain our roadways, particularly around
Country Club Drive, a stormwater, program which we spend
millions of dollars on every year. Landscaping in our parks. Our roadways are our medians
and replacing our equipment as needed. Going into our budget. Just to give you some highlights
on the numbers this year, the millage rate of 1.7261, as I said,
is the 29th year in a row we have this. It will yield $22,217,915
in tax taxable income on an assessed value of $13,549,224,714. that is additional billion dollars in assessed value that the city incurred. This budget overall is $66 million, 776 66,771,000 and change, which is roughly $2
million, $2 million less than last year. Some of the operating costs, highlights personal services on this is
and the employees will be. We'll be putting five more police
notices on the street. We'll do that by a combination
of reassigning some positions within the police department. And so we added
we just added a new deputy police chief. We're adding new, several park attendants,
four of them, to be exact, for, for founders
and to take care of and, and deal with the extra work that we'll have
with the extra days of service. we were adding a human resource
specialist, and we're also adding somebody, temporarily
to help with the IT department and and installing or putting in our new ERP or our, financial reporting system,
or upgrading our financial reporting system that has been in place
for the past 25 years. It's really going to move us into a new,
accounting with our human resources, finance department, community services,
and code and building department. So it's really a step step forward for us. Capital outlay and capital outlay
we covered that is our debt is our,
capital improvement program. Just for everybody's information. That's where we, we
we prioritize where we're going to spend over the next five years
in big projects, equipment purchasing, but big things that we need to replace
and work on in the future. We always work backwards when we figure out how much we can spend
on our capital improvement plan, and that's why the city
usually has a balanced budget every year. This year, the CIP is going to have
$2,672,000 $886 in that program, which is an out of that amount, 
$1,883,700, which is roughly $400,000
more than we had last year. And that's because our revenues have come
in much stronger this year than last. So the city's in a very strong
financial position. This covers big equipment, items like
police equipment, stormwater enhancement, building enhancements,
roadways and vehicle replacement. Inventory as a contractual city. So we do spend money on contractual
services, landscaping. we're going to spend $6,238,000 in change on landscaping, janitorial
services, a legal legal services, engineering department, our bus service
that we use around the city. Our on demand freebie service
and our the arts. The. I've been to our arts
and cultural center. Some of the charges and services
that we have to deal with insurance. We spent $7,756,000 on insurance, utilities, legal advertising, repairs and maintenance, repairs and maintenance
for not only our roads and buildings, but how we maintain
the city will spend just over 1,761,000 in that area. We're spending money on our programs
for community services, our and our summer rec program. Those expenses are actually covered
by revenue that we do get in for. People who pay
have to pay for those things. we just transportation and street maintenance,
our right of way maintenance program. We will spend $463,000 this year for relocating some CCTV cameras. If you don't know that there's a lot
of cameras around Aventura that we use for security and just for monitoring
certain intersections. we're adding a couple
of new camera systems on Country Club. We're replacing ten light poles
or will be able to replace ten light poles around the city. These are the smaller green ones. several of them have got knocked down
or out of service. our our our city or our enhanced
bus service and our, our freebie service will be spending
just under $2,400,000 on those areas. The last I'll talk about is
a building fund, which we have $5,270,000. That's an increase of $1,017,000. That shouldn't alarm you. However, because most of those charges
are, most of that money comes in for it's a revenue source. So money comes in and money goes out. And we're happy that it's kind of go up,
because it means that Ivan Tour has been very successful
in the building department. A lot of people are coming here
renovating, building and making their apartments nicer. So that's that's a direct correlation
and something that we see, we see here directly. and that's, that's
really the highlights of the budget. Thank you for that outstanding report. Any questions. Comments from the Commission. Seeing. No I'll open it for public comment. Step right up. Seeing none I'll close it
and ask for a roll call. Vote. Commissioner Friedland. Yes. Commissioner Joel. Yes. Commissioner Cruz. Yes.
Commissioner bloom. Yes. Vice mayor. Doctor. Marx. Yes. And mayor Weinberg. Yes. Motion passes. Can I have a motion to adjourn, please? Commissioner Cruz,
seconded by Commissioner Blume. All those in favor say I rise. Any nays? We're adjourned. Do you think you. Okay, now
for the regular commission meeting. Let's call it to order, please. Madam clerk. Mayor Weinberg. Here. Vice mayor. Doctor Marx here. Commissioner blue here. Commissioner. Friedman here. Commissioner Joel. Here. Commissioner Cruz, Mr. Watson here. Mr. Meyers. You have a quorum. Thank you. Any, deletions or additions, Mr. manager? On the agenda? No, mayor. Okay. Thank you. So, before we get started,
I want to point out a couple things. It's, it's a bit of a somber, evening because this is the first meeting
of this commission since, we lost our beloved commissioner
Michael Stern. And, my friend, all of our friends, my seven time ski trip buddy. we served together the first time we served, and then we ran together,
and we were serving. Now, the second time, we're back to serve. And, 
I as close of a friend as he was from. To me, nobody was closer
than, Commissioner Meat Bloom. So I'm going to ask a meat
if you'd like to say a few words. Thank you. Mayor. for those of you
who don't know, Commissioner Stern and I were friends for over 30 years. He was more than a friend. He was family. So I'd like to take a moment to remember
Commissioner Stern, who passed away on July 25th. Sorry. Michael brought passion, humor
and camaraderie to every aspect of his service
to the city. His desire to serve was matched
only by the warmth and kindness he showed to all of us every day,
and everything that he did. Most of us is known, have known Michael for many years,
and in that time he became a part of our lives
in a way that can never be replaced, though he is no longer with us. His presence will be felt throughout these
halls for many years to come. He will be sorely missed, but he will never be forgotten. Thank you, Commissioner. Also,
you may have noticed that the, flags in front of City Hall are at half mast. That is out of respect to, the six innocent hostages
that were brutally murdered this past week,
including a 23 year old American citizen. we in Aventura feel that deeply. And I wanted to ask Commissioner Cruz if he'd like to, Make a comment on that for us, please. Three days ago, six innocent hostages that were taken on October 7th of 2023 by that, barbaric, terrorist group, Hamas were executed, 2 or 3 days before. And this is just a few days after Israel had accepted a bridging offer to to have a cease fire. So we know exactly
what we're dealing with here. These were young people
who were just beginning their lives, people
with families who had with loved ones all over the country and all over
the world that have been praying for them. We have heard Goldberg Polen, who was an American
Israeli who was killed. We must never forget that amongst the 251, captives that were taken kidnaped, there were 30 some odd Americans
that were in that group. There's still, I think, about six
American hostages left there. We must always keep him in our mind
and understand Israel is an extremely difficult position because on the one hand, there's
nothing more important to the Jewish state
than saving every Jewish life and not only every Jewish life,
but they go at great lengths to safeguard the lives of everybody when they go into Gaza,
they send our soldiers, the IDF soldiers, put them at risk
so as to minimize civilian casualties. I want to read off the names of the hostages that were brutally killed. And then, if we can stand up for a second
and say a prayer for the other hostages. Hirsch Goldberg, Poland. And then Yerushalmi, Carmel got Alexander Lohmann of Almog, Cyrus and Ori. Danilo. So if you would
please stand up for a second as we say a prayer. For the hostages. Our God and God of our fathers, we call out to you with fervently
in prayer to bless and protect the civilian men, women and children
brutally kidnaped by Hamas and held captive in Gaza, along with the members
of Israel's defense forces. Missing in action or help held captive. May it be your will, speedily and soon, to bring them out from darkness
and the shadow of death. May the Holy One of blessing
break their bonds, deliver them from their distress,
and release them swiftly back to the loving
embrace of their dear ones. To all them do all that must be done. So that relief, rescue, and long life
may be the lot of every one of the soldiers and civilians
who have been taken hostage. Act on their behalf, Lord, take up un. Take up their cause without delay. Is that you fulfill through them
your verse from Isaiah. Those redeemed by the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing, and
everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away. So may it be your will. And let us say Amen. May. Thank you, Commissioner Cruz, and thank you to my commission for always having moral clarity. Okay, so back to our regular agenda. We have a few proclamations this evening. The first one, it's kind of kind of dear to my heart. I'm not going to read it. I already presented, the similar one to the honoree, on his last month, on his 90th birthday. And that is, Robert Sue Pedro. Better known as Evan Torres, architect in, 2012. 2016,
we presented him with the key to the city in our 3.5mi² city. There are we've identified 200 buildings
that are standing that were designed by Roberts, Woodrow. Basically,
the vast majority of our population comes home every day to a building that was designed by Robert Sweat over the last 50 years. Before it, long
before we were even incorporated. And yet he's still designing
buildings today. And he designed all of the buildings
that the Sofer family developed. He designed the all of the buildings on Williams Island that the South African
Trump family developed. He designed all the buildings
for calfskin, which would be, the waterways, one island place and the point and port's view
and all those. It was very, very prolific. And so, interestingly enough,
when I presented him with the proclamation on his birthday, he had
maybe the coolest cake I've ever seen. It was a gigantic blue
green diamond from the condo, and in the 40s on Collins
Avenue was very, very cool. Anyway, it's just a bit of irony that,
I moved down here and ended up marrying his daughter, and he's the grandfather of my three
children, and somehow
I ended up as the mayor of avatar. It's just a pretty cool thing. So, I'm very proud of that. So I'll bring him a second proclamation. Because if you know architects,
then you know that they have ego. So he'll take a second one. No problem. But thank you for bearing with me on that. also,
is, is feeding South Florida here? Oh, great. Okay, come on up. I want to read this. If you you'll stand there,
and if you want to speak, you will. This is a really wonderful organization. So why don't you read this? I'm going to turn this over
to Commissioner Friedland to read this. I get to read the last paragraph
because that's the fun part. But I will. Yeah, I will share with you
why Mayor Weinberg gave me the honor of reading this proclamation. Reading South Florida is very dear
and dear to my heart. in 2020,
during the beginning of the pandemic, it was a major effort that I started with the former mayor, the current mayor, and my children and, our current director
of communications, Evan Ross. And our goal was to go out
and help raise money to for the first responders
and to help families in need. And we partnered a few times
with feeding South Florida, and we partnered with our local food
banks. And Aventura Cares continues to grow. It's actually in the Dons
over Aventura High School as an organization, and that their goal
is to go out and help the community. So we so appreciate all that you do for feeding South Florida
and being a part of our community. And our county is so. Whereas September is Hunger
Action Month, an initiative created by Feeding America
to help raise awareness about the issue of hunger in the United States
and in local communities. And Whereas, Feeding America,
food banks across the country, including Feeding South Florida, will host
several events throughout September to raise awareness
about the issue of hunger and inspire action towards
ending hunger in our local communities. And Whereas Feeding South Florida
has worked to end hunger since 1981 by providing food and grocery products
to those in need in South Florida,
including children and seniors. And Whereas the city of Aventura
would like to recognize Feeding South Florida and leading domestic hunger
relief organization for their efforts in serving a larger percentage
of the food food insecure population throughout South Florida,
including Miami-Dade County. Now, though now, therefore, be it resolved that I,
Howard Weinberg, as mayor and on behalf of the City Commission of the City
of Edmonton, do hereby proclaim September 2024 as Hunger Action Month, and that we. Would you like to say a few words, please? And your your name as well? My name is Allison Box. And thank you both for and the entire commission
for recognizing Hunger Action month. and feeding South Florida. We have the I call it a privilege
and an honor to work on behalf of the more than, almost a million people
who deal with food insecurity daily. but the 1.4 million
individuals and families that we serve regularly,
there are 1 in 5 people who, are experiencing hunger and who
those people are changes from day to day. But we consider it an honor and a privilege to be able
to work on behalf of those families, our neighbors, our community, and provide
food and other critical resources. So thank you very much. Thank you. Now, if you can come up here, we're going
to present you this and take a picture. With you. We're with you. You know. Thank you so much for. For. Everyone involved in. That wonderful. Earthquake. All right. Right over here. One. Two. Three. Three. Just like that. Make it one more. One, two and three. And last one. Beautiful. Thank you. Yeah. Oh, shoot. Get that back. Straight to them. In the back. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Moving on. I see Sylvia, one of my favorite people, a remarkable woman, a remarkable organization, Mystic Force Foundation. And, I would like to read this proclamation every year. I'm honored to do it. September has been designated
National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month to honor those children whose lives have been lost, those irrevocably impacted
by this terrible illness, and to strengthen
the nation's resolve to search for cure. And whereas cancer is the leading
cause of death by disease among US children, and Whereas childhood cancers across
all racial, ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, in
each year, tens of thousands of children face the battle of cancer with incredible
bravery and inspiring hope. And Whereas the city of Aventura
recognizes the devastating impact that this disease
has on members of our community and the importance of increased research
on childhood cancer. And whereas this month
we recognize that these burdens are shared by countless dedicated healthcare
professionals, organizations, charities, and parent advocacy groups that support patients and families
by offering advice, encouragement,
hope, and financial assistance. And work tirelessly to lift the spirits
of children suffering from cancer. Now, therefore, be
it resolved that I, Howard Weinberg, as mayor and on behalf of the City
Commission of the City of Aventura, do hereby proclaim September 2024 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Sylvia, would you like to say a few words? We're always honored
when you're here. You. The work you do is unbelievable. I don't think you ever stop. Thank you. Thank you so much for every year, be
one of the very first to respond to my email and to honor
our children during September. I want to offer my sincere
and heartfelt condolences on the passing of Commissioner Stern. He was a wonderful man. Current Commissioner Bloom and I
were just talking about a few years ago when she had the magazine, they wrote
a story, about me and the foundation. It was called The Mother's Mission. And that will forever be true. I lost my baby to childhood cancer. And it will forever be my mission
to save every child that I can, and to keep our children as happy as possible
as they battle this devastating disease. we have some of our children here with us. Everybody come up. This is Jake,
and some of you were at last. he's under treatment. Parade. And now bringing. And this is a beautiful exhibit,
and she's one of our warriors. We just celebrated her 10th birthday
at our heroes hang out this past Saturday. Happy birthday. Thank you again so much. for myself, my family, my extended family
and all the children battling cancer. Thank you so much for your constant
support all these years of our children. As far as we're concerned, we will always
support you and your mission. And obviously everyone here
has been touched by cancer, and we thank you for everything you do. And we need these young people
to come up here right now. And take a picture with us
and all of all of your people, please. You're all welcome. Stop. That's the timer for. 2020. Two. Come on up, you kids. Come on up. Yeah. What's your yarn? Yeah. Are you. Let's have some people on this side. It's a little beautiful, mom. Yes, yes. No, you're going over there. Actually, we able to get started. Yeah. That's perfect. Yes, it exactly. All right,
everybody, look right over here at me. Look at the camera. Give me big smiles on three. One, two. Three. Beautiful. Everybody stay just like that for two more. Ready? And last one. Yeah. Beautiful. Thank you for. All right. Thank you. Thank you so much. I just want to say. I think that's the best thing
in the world. Oh, my gosh. You are. You remember me
as I come back to another place? Yeah. I guess you remember her. Thank you. Buddy. Keep up the good work. I feel like take a stand. I left her on the street. I need to thank you. Again. Resolution. I like, I like, you know. Okay. Moving on. item five, the consent agenda. Does any member of the commission
or the manager need to remove an item? Okay. And in that case. I need a motion to approve the consent
agenda, please. Commissioner. Freelance,
second by Commissioner Bloom and, Let's vote. Commissioner. Joel. Yes. Commissioner. Cruz. Yes, Commissioner. Bloom. Yes, Commissioner. Friedland. Yes. Vice mayor. Doctor. Marx. Yes. Mayor. Weinberg. Yes. Motion passes. Moving on to, 
first readings for ordinances. That would be, item seven. Madam clerk and Ordinance of the City
of Aventura, Florida, amending chapter three, advertising of the city code
of ordinances to create article three business solicitation and section
three Dash 36 Solicitation of business on private residential Property,
providing for conflicts, severability and codification,
and providing for an effective date. Motion to approve, please. Commissioner
Joel, seconded by Commissioner Cruz. Mister manager. Thank you. Mayor. This, this codifies a, a protection
to the property owners inventory, especially the residential properties
where it protects you from having solicitors
come onto your property uninvited. Most, most, most properties
do have rules and regulations, but this actually codifies it. And from 7 p.m. to 10 a.m. in the morning, nobody can come on
your property and solicit, to anybody in your building
unless the property says it's okay. the properties could always set up
more stringent time from, from. It doesn't have to be 7 p.m. to 10 a.m.,
but this is, you know, the best protection we thought would cover the
best for the for the city. Thank you. Any commission questions or comments? Remember, the public have a comment. I'll close it for public comment
and we will take a vote. Commissioner Cruz. Yes. Commissioner bloom. Yes. Commissioner. Friedland. Yes. Commissioner. Joel. Yes. Vice mayor. Doctor. Martz. Yes. Mayor. Weinberg. Yes. Motion passes. Item eight. This is second reading of ordinances,
madam Clerk. And orange for the city of Aventura,
Florida. Amending chapter 36 retirement. Article two police Pension plan
a trust fund by amending section 3637 time of hire providing for repeal,
providing for severability, providing for inclusion in the code
and providing for an effective date. Motion to approve Commissioner
Joel, seconded by Commissioner Cruz. Mister manager. I'm happy to briefly explain this one. Approximately a year ago,
an issue was brought to the commission regarding some police officers
who were hired many years ago, who when the pension pension for the city
police pension fund was created, they were not and some of them
were not included due to the at the time. And over the past year, the city attorney, the staff here, the PBA attorneys, as well as the pension attorneys for the pension
fund worked together to correct that. And the result is the second
reading of this ordinance, which still gives those officers
the right to have their time accredited
so that they get that service time and they get paid for it in their pension
whenever they decide to retire. Thank you. Thank you. Any comments by the Commission? Comments by the public. Seeing none, I'll close it for
public comment and let's take a roll call. Vote. Commissioner blue. Yes, Commissioner Friedland.
Yes, Commissioner. Joel. Yes. Commissioner. Cruz. Yes. Vice mayor. Doctor. Marx. Yes. And mayor Weinberg. Yes. Motion passes. Item eight B, please. An ordinance of the City Commission
of the City of Aventura, Florida. Creating section 4846
of the city's Code of Ordinances to authorize the placement,
installation, and operation of speed detection systems on roadways
maintained as school zones. Establish traffic enforcement procedures
when speed detection systems are utilized for school zone
speed limit violations. I'm sorry for service
traffic enforcement procedures one. Speed detection systems are utilized
for school zones, speed limit violations and create hearing procedures relating to
such school zone speed limit violations. Providing for conflict, severability,
codification, and an effective date. Motion to approve Commissioner
Joel is fast on the trigger tonight. Commissioner
bloom, seconded by Commissioner Bloom. Mister manager, I, this is really a safety ordinance, and, a recent study
we just did at both of our schools. As you know,
we have bases and done so far. And one day we tracked over 800 violations
of our speed speed cameras for speed people
violating the, the the, the speed speeding of through the, the,
by the schools. The this ordinance will allow us
to install speed. Speed cameras at our schools
and to force that and come up with a program similar
to our red light program. And going forward,
I'm sure it's going to lead to people slowing down a lot. And I'll ask for a commission comment,
but I want to say, we will hear that
this is some kind of a money grab. I want people to know
that the goal of this is to keep our students safe,
and that's all that matters. That is by far the most important. When there is money,
it goes right back to the school anyway. But the fact of the matter is,
if you watch the news recently, they started showing some schools
back in session videos of the cars that are not stopping
and not slowing down, and how close they are to hitting students
and in at least one case in Dade County did hit a student. So that's the beginning and the end of the discussion. Student safety. Any other commission comments? Yes. Mr. Attorney. Well, I'll defer to the commissioner. no. Okay. just to be clear about this,
before it can go into effect, I think there's with 90 days,
there has to be notice given to the public that these cameras
are going to be installed. So the public will have ample notice
that this is going to happen. This is not to surprise anybody. All of a sudden they're going to be cameras
and they're going to be, you know, clocking
people who are speeding. They're going to have 90 days notice. Great point. And thank you for telling everyone that, Any member of the public
want to comment on it. Oh, okay. Commission comment
I just wanted to make a comment. because I get a lot of phone
calls from residents that are upset about the red light
cameras, and I had sat in many traffic hearings in the city and in downtown court, and the number of lives that are saved by these red camera red light
cameras is significant. And that's the purpose of them. And that's going to be the similar purpose
of these speeding cameras. just so you know, our city
did a study with 100 daily drivers exceeding the posted speed limit
by more than ten miles per hour
in the city of Aventura school zones. This was just from our small traffic study
that we did so imagine ten miles over the speed limit is 1525. That kills someone. And that's the reason we're putting them. And right now
we're just targeting the school zones. But I returned from New York yesterday. I was signed the city manager
earlier today where I learned speed cameras are everywhere. I'm not saying that's the way
our direction of our city will go, but it's something we need to look into
because it is the safety. And other cities and other states
are doing this around the country. So in New York, on every other side
street, they do have speed zone cameras, and we will have to look and see
how this affects the safety of our city. So thank you. Thank you. Yes. I just want to add to that, I agree with everything you said,
Commissioner Friedland. And also, I think it's important to note
also that most of the, red, the, cameras, red light
cameras are, along Country Club Drive, which is, we all, know
very well is an area where we have a ton of pedestrians,
young people, bikers, people that are at all hours of the day
coming and going. So it's extremely important
people understand that safety is always our first concern. Thank you. Any member of the public. Care to comment? Seeing none, I'll close it for a comment
and ask for a vote. Commissioner Friedland. Yes, Commissioner. Jill. Yes. Commissioner. Cruz. Yes. Commissioner bloom. Yes. Vice mayor. Doctor. Marx. Yes. Mayor. Weinberg. Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. Item eight. See Aventura City
Commission, acting in its capacity as a governing board
for the Aventura City of Excellent School, as an ordinance of the City Commission
of the City of Aventura, Florida. Amending Ordinance Number 2023. Dash zero eight. Which ordinance adopted a charter school
operating and capital budget for the Aventura City of Excellence School for fiscal year
2023, 2024, July 1st to June 30th. By revising the 2023 2024 fiscal Year
budget document as outlined and exhibit A attached hereto authorizing the City
Manager to do all things necessary to carry out the aims of this ordinance
and providing for an effective date. Motion to approve. Commissioner
Joe, seconded by Commissioner Cruz. Mister manager. Thank you. Mayor. Briefly. You're in. Budget. Amendment is done once, once a year,
and it counts for expenses. And in this case,
a lot of revenues that came in higher or came in through the year. the total amount that was $3,132,250,
which is 800,000 less than last year. Some of the revenue increases that we are
accounting for, the revenue that came in, we took in an extra $741,000 in Esser Grant funding,
the Florida Education Financial Program. We took in an extra $323,027
referendum fund is for teachers. Their referendum
that was passed in the county to help pay teachers a higher salary or, keep, keep teachers with us. we received an extra $545,740
in capital outlay. That's money that we give for each child that goes towards
capital expenses in the school. $43,000, $238. Our after school programs, $206,975. Private source income. That's it. From our billboards and such,
we get actually revenue that we collect goes to the city of $66,350. And then a transferring
of from the city $1,174,400. And there's a grant funding. A lot of times we know a lot of times
we have to outlay the money before we can get reimbursed
with being reimbursed for the money. And as of the first reading,
we were talking about how much money to the district
goes to the city. right after we close that meeting,
we got a check for 1.3 million. So that money is coming in
and we expect hopefully by next year, we should have most of it
all back on expenditures. We paid out
796,000 and stipends to teachers that basically went to afterschool
tutoring, Saturday school to, pension, social security,
health insurance and workman's comp
on the operating expenses. Another 1,455,000. We spent more money or we had to spend
more money on bus service, transit, special education, $80,000 conference and training of $175,000. Most of our teachers are taking advanced
or advancing their degrees. And because now we're teaching Cambridge
and different, different things in the school,
we have to train our teachers. So that's part of that expense. Field trips were $235,000,
but that's an in and out expense when people are taking a going
with the field trips. So we get we get money back from, you know, it's
not it's not a coming out of our pocket. It's a trade. Building and maintenance repairs $345,000
for the school and textbooks, $370,000
that was paid for with the grant. on capital outlay,
we paid $165,000 to replace a couple of big pieces on the roof. So. And that was our
rundown of the amendment. Thank you very much. Any commission comments, questions, any public comment on this item? Seeing none, I'll close it for comment
and ask for a vote. Commissioner shell yes. Commissioner. Cruz. Yes.
Commissioner. Bloom. Yes. Commissioner. Friedland. Yes. Vice mayor. Doctor. March. Yes. Mayor. Weinberg. Yes. Motion passes. Okay. Moving on. I believe number nine, no resolutions. And, moving on to reports. Let's see. Eight. Yes. Any commissioner, city attorney or manager have anything to report
that is not on the agenda. Okay. I have one thing I wanted to mention,
and that is the fact that, as many people may recall, the city was sued
by one of our condominium associations. Aventura Marina, regarding the, Founders Park South renovation project, the tennis courts
and the pickleball and the relocating along the water of the gardens,
and during the pendency of the lawsuit, based upon the advice of our city attorney, we could not respond. And people would come in
and have the three minutes to speak, and they would tell us
that we were very, very bad and that clearly we were violating the law
and that there was, some kind of a restrictive covenant
that we were not allowed to give the people of Aventura
what they were demanding, because somehow having to our Marina
was in control of that park. And. I want to report that, none of that was true. The court in Dade County, very, very rarely in Miami-Dade County
does the case get thrown out of court on a motion
to dismiss a motion to dismiss. If the court granted,
it means that it was so frivolous that the party that was sued
doesn't even have to bother responding, that the case is just thrown out
because it makes no sense. Well, that's what the judge did. She granted the City of Amateur's
motion to dismiss. And you don't have to be a lawyer to
review the document and see quite clearly that what was being said by people
that were very upset, who lived next to the park, what they were saying
was simply not accurate. It didn't take a lawyer to, to, to determine that. But the part that personally disturbs me. Well, let me say one other thing. We also heard a lot
about how bad the noise would be. at my request, I appreciate the manager brought in a scientist, a sound engineer,
and he brought all of his equipment. And we filled that park
with pickleball players, and the engineer went onto the site of Aventura Marina,
to where the residential units are. And scientifically, now, this is not based
on emotion or conjecture. He. Did the tests and found. That there were no decibels. That you could not hear the pickleball
from the residential units. What? You could hear what he heard with
his equipment was the delightful sounds of the students
at ASIS across the canal at recess, which I don't think
anyone was complaining about. And to my knowledge, Mister manager, in the couple of months
that the park's been open, we've had exactly how many noise
complaints? knock wood? None. The number would be zero. It's hard to get lower than that. So everything we were hearing get it? No pun intended or pun
intended, was not true. So anyway, I just want to say the part
that disturbed me, especially as an attorney
for over 30 years, was the idea that that lawsuit had to be funded. Who was paying for it? The residents of Aventura Marina,
many of whom approached me every day. Remember, I live near there. I walk past there every single day on my way to Moe's with my 30 pounds of weights on,
and they would say, I can't wait. When can I play? I can't wait, oh my God, pickleball. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Well, they've had to pay for a lawsuit because a few people on a board decided
that they were going to sue the city. So there's a thing called fiduciary duty,
right? As a board member,
I don't have any inside information, but I believe just based on
what was filed, it had to approach six
figures of the people's hard earned money who live there for a result of the case
being thrown out of court. Now, again, my understanding is anyone that was part of that decision after the recent elections
is no longer on the board. That is my understanding and it's something that we all need
to be careful of. It's something you always hear about good
boards, bad boards and all that stuff. And again, as the flagship all condominium municipality,
we have to be very cognizant of this. We just finished having condo connect
at the amateur Hilton with over 500 people there
talking about issues like this. again,
I don't have any inside information, but I'm going to tell you in my mind,
logically, one of two things happened. And possibly a combination, either the lawyers that the association hired told the board that they have a very good case,
if that's what happened. Shame on the lawyers.
Shame on the lawyers. As a member of the bar, that's embarrassing, because again,
if you look at the controlling document, it's obvious
there was no case or scenario to the law firm told the board, you know, there's not a very good
likelihood of success. We're just being honest. And the board said to them,
that's okay, go for it. In which case, shame on that board
and their breach of fiduciary duty. Now, I don't know which app. Maybe it's a combination. Maybe they're both at fault,
but some entity made a bad choice. On behalf of the people of Avon to Marina,
who by the way, are very much enjoying the gardens
and the pickleball and the tennis. So it's a lesson, folks. It's a lesson. Vote carefully. Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox. Yes. Anything you want to talk about? I just wanted to welcome our new deputy chief of police,
Chris Chastain, to the Avon, to a family
who was officially sworn in last week. Welcome to the city. We're very happy to have you. Thank you. Any other commission reports? Okay. And and at this time, then we will open it
up for public comment. And I'm going to ask the city attorney
to review the purposes and the rules. Thank you. Mayor, just briefly,
if anybody from the public wants to comment on something
that hasn't been addressed on the agenda, you have three minutes
to make a presentation. It's not a back and forth
with the commission. It's just three minutes to speak on
an item that's germane to the city. Like I said, it
hasn't already been covered on the agenda. Okay,
if anyone would like to make a comment. Step right up. Don't be shy. You have three minutes. Okay? Anybody? Okay, then I, I will. Yes. Oh. Are you. Please come on up. You just state your name and your address. Thank you. All right. Good evening everyone. so my name is Priscilla Rivera. I live here and I've been to the Marina
Cove, and I'm very happy to be here. First time. also,
I'm sorry for your loss, commissioner. Your friend
and I just want to say thank you to all of you, to the mayor, for helping us to have this amazing city,
because we love living now, interactive. And I'm very proud to file all our taxes. We have a construction company here. We have the city helping us all the time. And I'm very nervous
when I'm very proud to. I just want to say thank you. Yes. That's it. Thank you so much. That's very kind. Yeah.
We can clap for ourselves. Thank you. Does anybody else want to say something nice? Anything? Any. That usually doesn't happen.
People come here when they're upset. When they're happy,
they're staying home having dinner. But thank you so much for coming out.
We appreciate you. Any other public comment? Seeing none,
I'll close it for public comment. Any other business whatsoever
for the commission? Okay. Then I'm going to ask for a motion
to adjourn. Commissioner Joel,
I'm going to give it to you. seconded by Commissioner Cruz. All those in favor say aye. Any opposed? We're adjourned.