e for e for e for for e for e e for for Mr C we ready all right good morning it's great to see everybody here today Tuesday March 12th 2024 commission meeting it's always a pleasure like I've mentioned before on multiple occasions there is many opportunities for public comment you can either use zoom uh you can either use our our public comment section which is uh open for one hour and you can also speak during any item that you please so first off I'd like to start off this morning by welcoming our Reverend Heddy Culver senior pastor First United Methodist Church Reverend it's truly an honor and a pleasure to have you here good morning good morning especially on women's month so it's an honor to have you here thank you thank you always an honor and a privilege to be here as well to share the invocation I actually am the senior pastor of the church right next door so I had the shortest commute I think of all of you by way you have a beautiful manger that you put out every single year yes we do yes we do yes would you pray with me gracious God we thank you for this beautiful day in the city beautiful we thank you for the way that you have blessed this community and for the way that you continue to work through this city commission God I ask you to be with each and every one of these leaders of our city and all of those who work in this beautiful facility all of the people who care for our community and work so hard to make it even more beautiful than it already is I ask you God to bless the decisions that are made both large and small here today so that we could continue to be a city that is welcoming and loving God we thank you for the ability to do this and we thank you for your blessing on this Gathering today we pray all of this in your name amen and amen amen thank you Reverend thank you again we extend our warm wishes best wishes to your congregation and worshippers on behalf of the city and we look forward to having you here again Madame vice mayor it would be appropriate to have you today please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance thank you hand from your heart I pledge allegiance to flag the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation indivisible with liy and Justice thank you very muching on to the first item of the day item A1 Prin presentation or Proclamation declaring March 21th Michael tuberville Day in Coral Gables commissioner Castro are we waiting for anybody from the museum or no I would expect they to be here I we can always come back to it yeah I understood Elvis did plan on being here um I'll check on it okay perfect then we'll move on to item 82 presentation or Proclamation declaring March 2024 as women's History Month in Coral Gables um Madam vice mayor yes and um we had a lovely presentation over at the sanctuary on Friday with some astounding women leaders in our community um telling everyone how they made their Journey how they made their choices and trying to inspire the Next Generation to make similar Journeys and have confidence in themselves so it's with great pride I'll I'll read this Proclamation for women's History Month whereas women's history month is a celebration of women's contributions to history culture and society and has been observed annually in the month of March in the United States since 18 uh 1987 whereas the month of March we take time to celebrate the accomplishments in the countless ways women of every race class and ethnic background have strengthened and contributed to the fabric of the nation and acknowledge that we all benefit from the leadership and contributions of women in education medicine government law business military services and every other field whereas we recognize the example of women who are committed to embracing everyone and excluding no one from their common quest for freedom and opportunity knowing that people change with the help of families teachers and friends and that young people in particular need to learn the value of hearing from different voices from different points of view as they grow up and whereas today Equity diversity and inclusion are powerful driving forces that are having a wide ranging impact on our country as members of families Civic and Community groups businesses and legislative bodies women are at the Forefront of re-evaluating the status quo and response women and communities across the nation are helping to develop Innovative programs and projects within corporations the military federal agencies and educational organizations to address these injustices and whereas the 2024 women's History Month theme women who advocate for Equity diversity and inclusion recognizing that it takes courage for women to advocate for practical goals like Equity diversity and inclusion when established forces aim to misinterpret exploit or discredit at them throughout 2024 we honor local women for the past and present who have taken the lead to show the importance of change and to establish firmer safe safeguards practices and legislation reflecting these values following Decades of discrimination we are proud to celebrate women who work for basic inclusion equality and fairness now therefore I've been slago as mayor Coral Gables along with the members of the City Commissioner do hereby Proclaim March 2024 is women's History Month in Coral Gables so I'm going to add an antidote when I started in law practice 37 years ago it was indeed a different world it was a world where men were oh you know looked at as being the individuals who would be hired women would never be at the Forefront leading the case or leading the cause in the courtroom they couldn't do trial work but um much to the shrin of my grandmother I pursued trial work and I pursued some of the things because I felt that I could do it and that we shouldn't shy back from it just because we're women it takes courage and that was one of the things that I um imparted to the women at the sanctuary event on Friday is you need to take the have the courage to step forward to do it jump in the pool you can do it just have confidence in yourself and the more you do it the more um confidence you will build on yourself so thank you all well said mam vice mayor thank you mayor thank you vice mayor for this Proclamation and thank you vice mayor for um your being so courageous right so you led the path for all of us here um so that we can enjoy uh the working conditions that we have we can be able to excel in our positions and our leadership roles so we really appreciate that so I think um we have a lot of the uh leader women leaders of the city up so I think I would like to call them up here as well for the picture that's amazing that that is amazing I love it do my colleagues have anything else You' like to add well I think we celebrate women's history month but I think every day should be a recognition of the women uh in our community because and I've said it here before you've had to work twice as hard as the men in our community to get to where you are and that's commendable uh like the vice mayor said said um it's courage it's sacrifice um but all of you have done it and we're a better Community because of all of you being here today and I think our city has always set a high bar to ensure that we have successful women in leadership in our city and you are all an example of that and I thank you for all that you do for our city I want to add that uh something that the vice mayor said because my mom experienced it when she was young that she was not for women certain careers you know secretary but if you want to be something a professional veterinarian whatever it's wasn't for you and and the mayor talked about uh the challenges at home uh if it wasn't encouraged and I know some of you have daughters and I think it starts early um when they're young parents dads and moms should encourage the young girls to dream the dream and that anything is possible and just because they say no that is mean it so know that you can continue on and do be anything you want to be in life you know reach for the stars and I know a lot of you are just I think all of you are in Inspirations but it really starts when they're young so I hope this message is a message for future Generations don't hold them back let them go let them let them rise and soar so again thank you for all that you do anything else so first off as I as I mentioned thank you for being being here as always and As We Gather here to commemorate women's history month we not only celebrate the Monumental contributions of women's women throughout history but also recognize the ongoing efforts to achieve gender equality in our time this month serves as a reminder of the strength resiliency and unwavering Spirit of women who have paved the way for future Generations I'm incredibly proud to lead a team where the majority are women both in the private and the public sector talented dedicated professionals who exemplify leadership creativity and comp passion every single day their contributions are not just vital to the function functioning of our office both in the private and the public sector but are fundamental to the progress and prosperity of our community they are daily inspiration to me and constant reminder of the power of diverse perspectives inclusive leadership for example in my own in the private sector in my office uh we are a pretty significantly large office over 60% of the employees that we hire are women every single every single every single leadership position in my private sector position is led by women and when you talk about like the vice mayor was saying that law 30 years ago and she's not dating herself law 30 years ago was a completely different scenario my sister's a lawyer and if you look at construction and Engineering it's always been a man's world as many of you know but it's very different when you look at for example the makeover of my office when you're talking about my CFO when you're talking about my head of construction when you're talking about my head of preconstruction when you're talking about my head of accounting Business Development marketing public relations when you're talking about um superintendents project managers the majority of them all the leadership positions are all made up of women and the reason why is because we've had incredible success with their attention to detail their integrity their hard work and their follow through and if you know about Construction and design that is critically important uh in our industry so I've learned I've learned a lot of good things uh being being surrounded by women and as a father of two daughters I'm personally committed to fostering a world that affords them and all young women every possible opportunity to succeed I want them to grow up in a society that values their contributions respects their rights and celebrates their achievements my role as a parent and as a mayor intertwines in my pursuit to make our city a place where gender does not determine one's Destiny where every girl and women can realize their full potential during women's History Month let us all commit to supporting the empowerment of women not just in words but through our actions let us work together to build a more Equitable and just Society for everyone so in closing I want to thank all directors who are here and all the women uh who make up our incredible staff here at the city uh your work does not go unnoticed and like I've said before uh you you allow the city to be the city beautiful so thank you for your leadership thank you let's take a photo yeah would like to get this photo this a special stand below Mr clerk moving on to item A3 congratulations to Captain Theus over our courage recipient of the city of cor Gable firefight of the Year award for 2023 Chief good morning it's great to have you good morning mayor ladies and gentlemen of the commission uh it's my distinct pleasure to introduce our firefighter of the year uh he was nominated by his colleagues for firefighter of the month and uh the reasons for him being nominated still ReSound he's a senior Fire officer he takes that role very serious he is a great mentor to are less tenur officers he runs a shift so everything that happens on that shift whether it's with new recruits whether it's training whether it's mentoring uh less tenured officers or watching over our new firefighters his hand is in it for almost his entire career he has served as the president of the Coral Gables fire benevolent Association that is a Civic group that has uh produced or been involved in almost every nonprofit event in the city from our Cadets to United Way to cancer um to uh veterans to any need that a resident may have uh he is always ever present when it comes to toy drives and Christmas trees giveaway and every special need that we encounter that organization is quickly to address so it's my distinct pleasure to present Captain thth aage morning thank you chief for the kind words uh good morning Mr Mayor morning council members Mr manager welcome to the city of beautiful um again the chief echoing at everything the chief said uh through the numerous years and 30 years of my career here I've always tried to put my best foot forward for the residents for the people who come through Gables every day on a daily basis as well as my fellow firefighters um I have been the president for the Benin organization which is our nonprofit our charity organization for the last five or six years and prior to that for the 20 years prior I was the um treasur as well as a trustee for the organization so it's a very proud organization that I was able to help build even though the history is about 50 plus years old um but about 25 27 years ago it changed into a nonprofit which is what is today and we get back to the community as needs bases and when things arise our biggest thing is the um uh the our Cancer Society Association that we do for fundraising breast cancer in October the biggest one that we do so again I AP I I appreciate everything today thank you again I'm honored to be here today and and to receive this award and I really appreciate it thank you thank you thank you for your hard work thank you take a picture ready thank you we get a picture that's congratulations thank you everyone before we move move on to the approval minutes I'd like to announce that we will be deferring items E5 through E10 which are time certain for 3 p.m. moving on to the approved minutes B1 regular City commission meeting Mr Mayor February 13 2024 those items E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 E1 yes not on sorry items E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 and E10 will be deferred to the April 16th City commission meeting just want to make sure the date certains on the record for purposes of notice perfect and they they can ask for the same time if they' like or we can move whatever whatever benefits you know the commission as a whole moving on sir before before I'll take you let me just move finish off with the approve of the minutes Mr clerk item B1 may I please have a motion on the approval of minutes from the February 13th City commission meeting I'll move it I'll second all in favor I thank you coming back to item A1 presentation or Proclamation declaring March 21st 2024 as Michael tuberville Day in Coral Gables good morning hi Elvis thank you for um representing Michael and bringing such beautiful art to the museum Proclamation whereas the City of Coral Gables has a rich and and stored history with many individuals who have made significant contributions to its cultural heritage whereas Michael a resident of Tampa is a prominent antique stealer and Museum lover who has dedicated over three decades to the preservation and conservation of the phineous pce collection and whereas Phineas pce collection is a valuable and unique collection of artifacts and documents that shed light on the history and culture of Coral Gables and whereas Michael tirelessly efforts have ensured that Phineas space collection remains intact and accessible to future generation and whereas Michael's work has earned him recognition na accolades from historians Scholars and Community leaders and whereas Michael has agreed to present his work for viewing and speak of the Phineas Pace collection before prominent City officials and Community leaders at the coral gaes Museum March 21st 2024 now therefore I vinago as mayor of the City of Coral Gables along with the members of the city Commission do hereby Proclaim March 21st 2024 as Michael day and Coral Gables in observance thereof I encourage the C citizens of City beautiful to join me commending Michael for his dedication hard work and on wavering commitment to preserving and conserving Phineas paace collection for the benefit of the community of Coral Gables congratulations Mr director welcome to the city Coral gaes once again as always museum has never looked better thank you for your leadership thank you so much and well to all of you really um I I want to just say in the record that this is a very very important step in recognizing a figure that has been away in Tampa but has been really thinking of K gaes for a long time he acquired this collection in the 1990s 1991 1992 through 1996 7 when he um basically acquired the entire state of finia space from his son and um this is really remarkable story because his he could have sell you know piece by piece and in fact what he did was to try to to keep the collection growing so he went out there and look for other stuff by the hand of fin space or document that related to finia Space story in K Gables and that of course is DNA of Cor Gables right um and just to give you a sense of the immensity of this collection with through the documents through the objects um we had sort of like this um Legend of cor FIA space being called the colorist of cor gaes and nobody really understood why why was that and then of course there was a color palette but what we didn't know that he was he had been appointed by Merck himself and there is a letter to to that effect to become the architectural inspector of cor Gus so he would be in charged with visiting you know a a houses or businesses that were not in compliance with the Aesthetics of corag gable that he helped develop so just with the help of this collector we were we were able to put together the exhibition of um finia space last year and to learn a lot and this now is really a very momentous occasion because it's going to come on the 20th we're going to set up um a this um a this whole collection for H you guys to be able to see it and on the 21st we are doing this very special program at this launch and we're going to present the proclamation and we're going to and he's going to talk about the collection about what he knows of FIA space and FIA space just um you know just so we understand is really much larger figure that we can imagine not only he had a career before he was an very accomplished painter he traveled throughout Europe H but he also was bang rolling from cor gaes where where he was making a living the first montau school in America that his his wife opened in Philadelphia Jo really a very interesting story from you know a Quaker boy a very poor in Philadelphia that ended up designing a whole city a dream city right the city of kages but also thinking of the impact that int the introduction the montesorri method of Education had in America throughout a 100 years the the next year is also 100 Years of the introduction of the montesorri method in America so I really thank you h and I'm going to make sure of course that and of course you're all invited for this very special event that was going to be on the 20th 5:30 to 700 p.m. and I hope to see you guys there right so you can talk to him thank you perfect thank you very much just a couple notes I mean I I went to the prior um preview Expedition and it was just an amazing uh treat to be able to see not only were all the Phineas past design homes were throughout our city but the technique that was used to make that plaster that special plaster with the color in it so you get a true appreciation of the techniques that were used and the artwork that was used that shaped the design choices in our city so well I we're very honored to be able to have this opportunity to try to acquire this collection and I'd urge folks that are passionate about these items to um look at it and uh look at ways you can contribute to the acquisition of this entire collection because it it does belong here in C it really does and we're blessed that he didn't um I guess sell it off into Philadelphia where his roots were that we get this opportunity to have it here in our own museum thank you I remember all your efforts before this even happened and how much you would you were show you were showing me um how important it was to into the museum to get all these art pieces to the museum mum and I have to congratulate you for all your efforts really remarkable thank you so much and thank you take a photo congratulations Mr clerk moving on to public comment yes Mr Mayor first Speaker this morning is Maria Cruz that's Mrs Maria Cruz 1447 Miller Road Coral Gable Florida where we've lived since 1976 I had some comments written but I'm going to start by making a comment about A2 many years ago one of my students said something that I've always remembered if you look at any organization hospitals government schools if the executives do not show up to work you may not know but if the cleaning lady doesn't show up to work if the bathrooms are not cleaned if the bus drive it doesn't show up to work we have a problem and the phone start ringing I think it's about time to recognize the women that work for this city that are not Executives but they're mothers they are single parents and they deserve to be recognized I know they could all be here but when we have an event in the evening we could have invited some of them to come and be recognized and I'm sorry but that's not acceptable all right my comment today by the way I'm wearing my winter is coming because winter is coming believe it or not um there is there is there is an elephant in the room and I didn't have the other prepar so I was not talking about that today on the agenda I see that we're naming several Parks several women are being recognized but there's a glaring absence on the list a woman who has been recognized by the state you go to talahasse in the Women's Hall of Fame her name is there the county the rape center carries her name the women's Park she's there what has the city of kabos done for her nothing even though she was very active even though she made many things change in this city the powers of be the establishment have chosen to ignore her today I'm here to say shame on you and ask the politics we put aside and recognize Roxy Bolton is there's somebody in this city who deserves to be recognized who deserves to have a park a building some facility named after her is Roxy Bolton and I'm ashamed to say we have failed her thank you thank you Mr clerk rip Holmes Mr Holmes good morning uh thank you all it's a great new uh City commission we have with um a great new city manager um so I'm going to make two comments um one is uh a a rather uh High Praise for the city manager uh and then the other one will be in promoting uh uh the present design the safe design of the uh Mobility Hub um so get ready here I'm going to coin a phrase today uh Amos roas is the second coming of Jesus Christ for Coral Gable's democracy and here comes here comes the the key line on this uh for trying to return Coral Gable to a place it's safe to raise kids children what's more sacred what's more religious than children uh we have lost Coral Gables as a place to raise children from infancy 0er to 18 Independence that's gone it's a uh I hate to say this but our last two Mayors have killed it well it's not really them it's the Supreme Court it's the it's the citizens united decision that's what killed it um uh but with this new city manager what is more sacred what is more worthy of the phrase the second coming of Jesus Christ than to try to restore in Coral Gables to to try to restore Coral Gables uh as a safe place to raise children free from overdevelopment and the crime that comes with it and in second place for that nomination is I'm going to nominate him for a profile and courage Award with the Kennedy people uh the Swing Vote uh Kirk Menendez um let me move then to the second item I think I have a couple of slides yes sir okay so if you can go to the one that talks about uh women's Shoppers women uh outspin men so guys and girls have you ever noticed this women like to shop and men don't and so if we're going to have a a parking garage on mirac Mile the mobility hub uh we better think about our bottom line I had a discussion today with the finance director Blanca Gomez she and I were uh had different views on what P what statistics have been published as to uh how much that this garage will affect the city's tax base and I'm saying it's 7.5% I hope you'll give me a couple of seconds um seconds um then uh so women do the shopping and that's our that's our first thing here you can see women 75% of the shopping uh so then we need to make sure that they feel welcome and they feel safe can we go to the one about the FBI statistics yes sir Welly he's great he I'm so bad with these slides and thank God for Billy Oria right he gets it organized you're good okay we on somewhere okay so this is the best thing that I've come up with um and I I'd like to get i' I need to do more research on getting something straight from the FBI but this says that the FBI says that parking structures are the third most dangerous type of property in our country and of course um and I found working on these garages uh uh since I came back here and was published in the Miami Herald in 1998 women do not like garages they're unsafe they're dark darkness breeds uh mugging or sexual assault and so if we think about how do we protect the city's tax base because it's not about helping the private property owners helping me it's about helping the city pay the unions their colas and and and and and keeping a balanced budget and all that so um if we can make women feel safe then they will do more shopping and the city will have more money to pay the unions who deserve higher rates but we got to make sure we generate the money from the women Shoppers so now if we go then to the next slide um yeah I have two photos which one okay so let's go to the to the one with the fancy one okay thanks for giving me a little leway okay so this is the garage that um that will make women feel safe now think about is if you're standing at that garage the mobility Hub that is a transparent building you can see through it and so think if you're across the street think if you're if you're where that that camera is and you you can see if some uh ugly guy is assaulting some beautiful woman Shopper who's paying the bills for the city and you can yourself just look at that thing you you can call 911 from your phone and protect that woman and the mugger uh will as he leaves the garage will have the police with their uh flashing lights waiting for him and he'll never get out of the garage you follow me and you sitting watching that thing from across the street will have apprehended and and you can you you can make sure that our our women Shoppers are safe finally we go to the last slide and I'll wrap it up there are those who want to take us back in time and don't don't want to live in the year 2024 we when we can make such uh this would be the safest garage if we do it the way I just showed they want to take us back to this now this is this was built by the same people that that have have the present contract here uh does this is this is right across from the fire station on Minorca does that look like a jail to you are any of us Supermen do we have X-ray vision can we see a woman being mugged in that garage take a look uh and so we can't that's not as safe there's no way it's a safe and if we're if our if our income depends on women wanting to shop here we need to go with the safe one thank you thank thank you sir I appreciate that Mr clerk Eduardo bronan good morning sir not at all morning thank you for being here morning how how you all doing uh my name is Eduardo bronin uh resident for over 25 years living on abiso um I've been playing I started playing pickall on five or six years ago and when I used to say the word pickle ball people would go what the hell is that right now you all know what pickle ball is you we're like you're getting bombarded right ESPN corporations billionaires are investing in this sport right now they're estimating there's around 6 to 7 million people playing in the United States going to be 40 to 50 million by the year 2030 so if this was a stock it's going this way and we're going to go here we're here so the growth is there it's not a fa that first there was that argument is pickle ball is a fat right like racket B what totally different sports um why is pick ball the fastest growing Sports what any reason why you think it's growing so fast I I'll tell you I guess number one it's easy to play anybody can play pickle ball uh there's people that have never played pickleball in their lives or played any sports in their lives are enjoying the sport of pickle ball you don't to be as athletic reason number two like in tennis basketball I can't go out and play basketball Now Or or volleyball or it's just too physical um even tennis is is too physical uh and probably the most important is social and that's what differentiated between us and ret ball and tennis and some other sports you play a game you sit down and you talk to everybody you meet a lot of new people I've met over thousands of people but I've played from Las Vegas all the way down to Homestead it's been my range PL my pickle ball experience and the people that play pickle ball are very good people and very Community oriented kind of throwing it back at what's the purpose of government one of the purpose of government is and reach the quality of its citizens right uh build community I don't know what other thing out there that is that is doing that on a consistent daily basis okay also it's very affordable uh there's places you can play for free you can buy a paddle you can people are give away paddles for $40 and and that's it it isn't golf They to spent for any you golfers that have played um in terms of the social aspect I play in different places uh one of the places I play there's three generations playing a grandfather a a son and a grandson what sport has that I've played against 88y old players and 11y old players and guess what both of them have killed me okay um so so I'm really obviously I'm a proponent and it makes sense for C Gables to expand its pickle ball program okay I think what's important is because I where I played in places like Las Vegas the reason I go to Las Vegas because my son lives out there there place called Sunset Park Google it if you like uh uh the the the community there built 24 free courts lighted courts beautiful state-of-the-art courts on the south side right next to the airport if you ever go to Vegas right next to the airport there's this beautiful facility out there and they're building one north of of uh similar again free is a key word and I think you need to have that as part of your component and um I guess in closing what are the other benefits for curl Gables uh it's going to give more exposure where we're talking about building it on top of the parking lot there is going to give more exposure to the restaurants the retailers it's going to bring in more traffic again people with money people that are going to go to the restaurants eat after playing at night um and have events another suggestion is what Lincoln Road did at Mii Beach they closed down Lincoln Road or they only closed down but they had pick ball court tournament there thousands of people showed up we can do that here on Miracle Mile to promote the city beautiful so that's my two cents have a good day thank you sir Mr Mayor I have a speaker on Zoom I don't have a name but I will be recognized in the next ma'am honorable City MERS can you hear me yes ma'am my name is Sarah gagon a pickall Enthusiast I work for United Community Bank at 3399 Fon Deon Boulevard Coro gabos Florida pickall has changed my life in a variety of ways as well as my families pickall cords frequently become hubs of activity providing a venue for Neighbors to gather compete on the courts and form lifelong friendships the games doubles format promotes teamwork and collaboration creating a sense of community that goes beyond the court one of the most appealing characteristics of pickall for me my family is that it offers a low impact workup that is appropriate for most people regarding of age and fitness level I have my mother who is 80 years old and she is now playing pickleball promotes a sense of community and togetherness among players whether participating in a local League or a pickleball game players create connection based on share experiences and a Love of the Game the sport continues to grow in our area and the construction of new courts will motivate community members who have never played pickleball to try it as well as attract new players and relieve the overloaded pickleball courts in the areas thank you council members for your time and attention thank you very much that's it Mr Mayor right we have nobody else for Public public com sir all right we'll close the public comment we'll move to the consent agenda before the vote adopting the consent agenda is taken is there anyone who wishes additional discussion or review of any item on the consent agenda any now may I please have a motion motion second all in favor I thank you uh moving on to item 21 Mr Mayor agenda item 21 is a resolution that was passed by the Retirement Board of the City of Coral Gables this was deferred from the last City commission meeting and is asking the city commission to consider the city manager's appointment to the Retirement Board um it's the gentleman is a it's not a coral Gable's resident however he does work in the gables and has served on the board previously uh this is a seat that has been vacant for several months we have not had anyone apply to the to this seat for the city manager and as part of the item is also agenda item G1 which would be the appointment by the city manager of Mr James skites Mr manager sir this is your appointment yes sir I'm as uh bil said the uh I'm recommending the uh approval of this uh of this resolution to appoint this gentleman to the board you have any further comment in regards to the issue the appointment um I believe we we should so we have a a full board have you know robust input from individuals who are highly qualified and experienced and the fact that this person has been willing to serve and works in our community and cares about the the future of our community is I think an important factor so I have a question for for the City attorney um I know other municipalities have to serve on a board you either resident or you work does our do we have that mirror what other cities do so for the majority of our boards a residency is a requirement we have um at least one board or or maybe perhaps a few more but but at least one where you can live in be a resident or have an office in Coral Gables but that does not applied to the Retirement Board so in order to have a non-resident serve on the Retirement Board we need a waiver which would require a forits vote by the city commission do we know why some boards have it and some boards was just the the evolution of res laws you know so specifically with Board of Architects am I understand we it's a it's a large board and it's a big time commitment so I know that specifically with that board we have um at least as far as I know it's always been open to individuals who at least have an office in Coral Gables or work in Coral Gables um I don't know the reason for not having that for other boards um but the code does allow for non-residents to serve on boards it just requires a forfeits vote is not for this matter but maybe for the next meeting could you and your staff do a comparison with other cities nearest like City of Miami where I used to work um if having an office in Coral gate in the city qualifies across the board or is it like ours some boards yes some boards no I want to see if we're sort of behind the times we can certainly do that okay thank you to clarify this resolution this is not giving a waiver to a specific person this is actually waving the whole resident requirement so no so the the resolution that came from the Retirement Board to you all is asking you to wave The Residency requirement for what they consider qualified me Members as long as they work in cor Gables and it's within the language of the resolution is specifically mentioned this individual and then we also have so on 21 you don't have to take any action it's more like them urging you to to consider waving The Residency requirement but with the subsequent item which is G1 which is the manager's appointment that is asking you to vote with specifically as to that individual James gues um to approve the residency require uh waiver I appreciate uh Mr gu's interest in in serving I think the one thing I heard repeatedly uh as I campaigned this past year was it residents wanted to ensure that our boards were made up of residents so I'm going to stick to my policy in the past of of not voting in favor of this can I have a motion there's no further conversation on the issue well on a item I think we can have further discussion when it's called we we're I think we're hearing them together because they were listed mayor I mean I I I think there are certain boards where we need the special qualifications of individuals such as you know on the disability board we had no resident applicant at all and you know the level of of education and experience that's necessary for the Retirement Board you know and I think the interest of any business own owner to make sure that this city is in good shape uh with regard to the uh employees and and retirement because it's one of the major reasons why people will work for a city typically at a lower wage than what is out there on the private sector is because of the retirement planning and benefits that exist within a city structure and stability um so I think it's necessary to uh give strong consideration to for certain boards where you have not everybody can serve on a pension board it takes a high level education and experience this is not a passion like sustainability board or other boards where you know resident in puts necessary traffic advisory board where you know you need individuals that live in the different sectors there's there's a factual basis for having residents over and above somebody with the pedigree that's necessary to serve on the Retirement Board there so um I do think you know that's necessary but to just give you um a comparison even on a sustainability board we have individuals that come from different backgrounds so uh you'll have an appointee from University of Miami that's part of their staff not necessarily a resident of City Coral Gables but you want that representation on that board so there are factors outside of you know someone must be a Resturant resident if you put a resident on there that can't provide qualified input qualified insight and guidance because they don't have the experience in education necessary then we're really doing of disservice to the residents so I am in favor I don't know if we have the four votes here today to move this forward or if you would prefer to do this comparison with other cities that may not have the same dynamic or needs uh with pension boards that we do the one thing I will mention to the city commission is that we have not received any applications for this vacancy in the P I would say since we made the appointments last June so the the vacancy has been there and this is not one where the Cent continues to serve this seat has remained vacant for the last8 months yeah I will not support the first resolution um or move it but as the second one I would consider it given the what the city clerk said so as to G1 is what you're saying correct I have a motion from the vice mayor may I have a second please on which one 21 on G1 G1 I'll second second yeah I may not or we can just defer to the next meeting I'm good with G1 personally okay uh Mr Mayor before the vote I do have a member of the public requesting to speak on the item Maria Cruz good morning Mrs Maria Cruz 1447 Miller Road I have a big problem uh dealing with this we haven't had had anybody applied well we have five elected officials that could have been reaching out to people because I can believe that in this city that we brag so much about all the professionals all the accountants all the bankers that live here that we haven't been able to find one I'm sorry this is an important board look how important it is 41 okay it's is important enough that whoever set it up decided that this was not one of those that could be different so I'm sorry the residents of this city deserve to have somebody who has some interest because guess what they pay taxes you know if you're a resident and you have your you pay your money you expect somebody who feels it the same as you do and somebody who just comes here to work guess what we have plenty of places where people come byy and move in if they care so much about this city okay it's not easy to live here as you know some people choose not to join like the annexation bid in high Pines because they don't like our rules oh they want the they want we have people that want the good things of cor Gables but they don't want the other side I'm sorry you know what those of us that live here take the whole package and anybody who's going to represent us on a board should be the same way Mr your clerk that's it Mr Mayor just uh before the vote just to note that businesses do pay taxes in the City of Coral Gables so um only because that would be an incorrect fact am I pointing that out um clerk okay so we have a motion a second vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez no no commissioner Menendez yes mayor logo yes thank you perfect now we have a Time certain items starting with F7 f8 F9 and F10 mayor would you like me to read them all together yeah that's fine F7 is a resolution of the city commission renaming the city-owned property currently named William a Cooper Park located at 4920 Washington drive to include William Cooper's wife and longtime Community activist Leona Cooper with the name William and Leona Cooper Park f8 is a resolution of the city commission naming the recently acquired city property located at too Street and alava Avenue in honor of the city's first and only female mayor Dorothy Thompson whose involvement in the sale of the property to the city was integral to making this space a community park with the name mayor Dorothy H Thompson Park f8 is a resolution of the city commission renaming the city-owned property currently named Sunrise Harbor Park located at 25 East Sunrise Avenue in honor of Sally and James Jude who were both longtime Community activists and whose contributions led to the advancement of modern medicine with the name the James and Sally Jude Park F10 is a resolution of the city commission renaming the city owned property currently named tisano Park located at 7700 Old Cutler Road in honor of Fallen par rescan staff sergeant Carl Philipe Andis of the 3 38 rescue Squadron with the name staff sergeant Carl Enis Veterans Memorial Park good morning sir how are you good morning how are you um so today um this is a culmination of um a few discussions that we've had um regarding the park namings and the processes as we've gone through the process and we're going to have a a presentation um on briefly telling telling you the process that we went through and discussing each of the the the different individuals that we're honoring today um so what we figured we'd do is we'd do the presentation and as we we completed each individual maybe because all the families are here so maybe at that point we would have a picture with the individual with with the commission and then we'll go back to the next one unless you want to wait till the end we can do it that way through great so Carolina is going to start off with with presentation and um and then we'll we'll do the pictures as we go if we could load the presentation please thank you good morning by the way good morning thank you um my name is Carolina Vester I'm the deputy director for community recreation and today we're represented by quite the PowerHouse of legacies here with namings our last Park naming happened in 2020 so it's been about four years since we've had any namings and what we wanted to do as part of the presentation today is kind of regroup and go over the actual Park naming process because we did revise the process in 2020 so the intent of the policy that we have established is kind of to set some standards and guidelines for Park namings and of course the final approval of any name is by resolution by the city of commission and that's why we are here today so there's uh two different criteria and guidelines one is about significant contribution so the individual has to have had a significant contribution to the community and that can be done through a parkite or facility that is donated on behalf of that member it can be done through a donation in the amount or equal to the value of the property and it can also be done in a donation of 50% of the cost of the development of that property the other criteria is about significant service and that's through sustained and continued public service over 25 years um it's also through programs or projects that have contributed positively to the city and its community and as an accomplishment or achievement to honor that brings or brings National Honor and international prominence to the city itself so as part of the guidelines we want to make sure that the individuals are considered to be at least 70 years of age or have been deceased at least 18 months unless the naming is of an individual and is part of some kind of a contractual agreement of financial contribution the naming procedures is through normally through a submission process and in that submission process we normally have information on the candidate um often it's through a group nomination proposed location proposed name information and testimonials as well as a letter of approval from the nominee or next of kin so that is our normal Park naming process when it comes through the community um the case today we're going to go over those they actually came through the commission itself and previous discussion items or resolutions um there is a committee review process that is normally led by the department director or Deputy or design as well as directors from some of the following departments if applicable and that could include landscape Services planning or historical resources finally we have a board review process and all of the uh presentations today have gone through the parks Advisory Board sometimes they'll also go through landscape beautification and historic when applicable upon completion they do get presented at commission which was why we're here today and uh like I mentioned we need to at least have one Advisory Board support these nominations which they have all been nominated and approved unanimously by the parks Advisory Board um finally the city always has the the opportunity to go ahead and wave any of the procedures or processes in the naming policy finally the signage which would be the next step once these are approved today we will work closely with the families um to go ahead and prepare the language the city manager has the final approval over the language and signage of the the marker there's different types of signages we've done formal markers that are larger in scale for some of the facilities as well as smaller plaques depending on the the location and the desire of the family once that has been set in place we'll do a formal unveiling of the marker and we'll include the family and the family coordinates closely with us to invite any of the members that they wish to do so as well as the neighboring community so the first naming uh as was mentioned is for William a Cooper Park this is a renaming of the park so sometimes we have a brand new name and sometimes there's a resolution to do a renaming so this was very fitting as we wanted to um add Leona Cooper Who is the wife of William Cooper to this park naming um the proposed Park is William a Cooper Park located at 4920 Washington Drive and this is like I mentioned is an updated Park name to include Leona Cooper and the name would be William and Leona Cooper Park the requesting party was by City commission which unanimously recognized via resolution and then like I mentioned via the Parks and Recreation Advisory board so a little bit about Leona Cooper she was born in Nasa Bahamas in 1932 and she migrated to South Florida as a teenager Leona's passing in 2022 was preceded in death by her husband William a Cooper of 58 years upon her graduation from Miami Booker's Washington High School she began an over 40-year career in medical technology retiring in 2002 from the Miami Veterans Administration Medical Center as a supervisory microbiologist in the early 1990s the Coopers formed the lolab be Walker homeowners association and mobilized Community Support to save black Gables a lifelong Roman Catholic she founded in 1986 the St Martin the pores Association in 1999 Cooper was invested as a lady in the equestrian order of the holy sepul of Jerusalem in 1992 Leona was presented with the proia aoni award from Pope John Paul II so I think we'll pause here yeah yeah so if we can pause we do have the family Carina if you'd like to introduce them yes if I can have the Coopers come up mayor I just if you have a moment I of course sure I think they might want to say some words as well as possible say so while they're making their way up I just wanted to say that you know I mean this is something that I think our entire commission feels incredibly strong about for each one of these parks and it's kind of fitting that you know it comes during women's history month because uh we're honoring it so um mayor you know with your permission i' I think i' like to co-sponsor this and be able to show that the you know the commission does have broad support for for these individuals and their contributions to society because talk about a Trailblazer yes so good morning good morning it's always a privilege to see you again yes good morning I'm Lee Cooper Willis I'm the granddaughter of William and Leona Cooper and just I want to say on behalf of the Cooper family we'd like to thank you the city commission um for this distinguished honor as you know my grandmother was a longtime activist in the community and what way to honor her Legacy alongside my grandfather with the renaming of the park so we just like to thank you anybody else want the commission like that anything if I may um I'll be very brief I sponsored this item in 2022 um and I I did that for one very simple reason and that was because I had worked with Leona and past colleagues of mine on the commission to renovate with private money uh St Mary's Baptist Church along with a park that we're we're discuss discussing today uh Baptist Hospital played a major role uh in helping us along with many different individuals including uh vice mayor kdik who also donated to that cause so we can get both of those uh landmarks in in in the neighborhood uh renovated but more importantly than that I had a personal relationship with Leona I met Leona when they walking in the neighborhood um looking at certain issues that had fallen by the wayside and that had not been addressed and Leona gave me an earful in a very tactful respectful way uh Leona was an exceptionally brilliant individual who you know had a passion for our community and could basically convince you to do anything by just sitting down with her and having a conversation I used to go to her house and I see my dear friend in the back which I wish you would come up here I will take a picture okay and sometimes they would play good cop bad cop and you'll meet the bad cop now who used to come over but sometimes the roles would be reversed and it was good cup bad cup but uh we're talking about a community that is incredibly incredibly proud a community that has exceptional leaders and it's fitting you know to to have this conversation I just wish that we would have been able to do it when she was alive uh because I think that she while she's she's listening to this meeting I know she is um I think it's a it's a privilege to have spent a lot of time with her um and for her to to be not just a mentor and a friend but to be a true Advocate on behalf of the city beautiful she always put the city first and her resume which we put up there if I may just briefly is not her resume if you would see the accomplishments of this woman um you would get goosebumps because she was a woman that did it like the vice mayor said during some of the most difficult times in our community and Not only was she a leader in the city of cor GBL but she was a leader across the Spectrum when there was race Wars here in this community when somebody needed when there was an elected official not only from the city beautiful that needed to have a conversation with somebody who was levelheaded who always put this community first they went to speak to your grandmother and trust me she gave me many many stories where you had everybody from state senators Senators congressmen Governors uh Mayors from all different municipalities that would go and have a conversation with Leona and I enjoyed spending so much time with her in her house um and it was just a true privilege so um I want to say thank you for allowing us the honor to do this it's incredibly fitting and it's a long time overdue thank you and Mr Mayor that's I think the hospitality that she always showed I remember the first time I ran eight years ago I got to sit in her living room as well and we had about an hour and a half conversation about all the issues that there were in the neighborhood things that needed to be addressed and she's like I'm going to be on top of you and make sure that you get these done uh she also did it with great humility you know she knew that she was here to serve the community uh and that's evident in her family who is still serving our the the community today and I would say you're Coral Gable's royalty thank you so we'll take a picture thank you so much I IE thank you very much come we need car car come up was wait till c it's great time to resp email if we may resume the presentation but if I may should we have to take a vote in between each one I asked unless I asked the commission to allow me the privilege to move the gavel and and obviously make the motion I'll entertain a second I'll second commission C yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes mayor logo yes thank you moving on to f8 all right the next Park is the Toledo and lava property on Toledo Street and Alva Avenue um this individual is Mayor Dorothy Thompson the location like I mentioned is that property and the naming proposed is Mayor Dorothy H Thompson Park um the requesting part was also unanimously by the commission via resolution and recommended unanimously by the parks Advisory Board a little bit history on Dorothy Dorthy was born at the height of the Great Depression in 1932 she was elected to a 2-year seat on the city Commission in 1979 winning a four-year seat after the next election and in 1985 was elected the first and only female mayor of Coral Gables during the most incendiary meeting she ever conducted the commission chamber was packed with angry residents because there was so much Discord Dorothy decreed everyone would have the opportunity to be heard without interruption if anybody remembers this was the conversation about the builtmore hotel when no one was left to talk Dorothy called for discussion and took a vote of the commission the builtmore would be saved and restored to reflect George Merrick's Vision with that I want to call up of course Dorothy and her family mayor good morning the privilege to have you here as always voice please join us um good morning uh to the commission to the mayor and the vice mayor and the other Commissioners and the City attorney City Clerk and what was your name I don't I do know I'm so sorry of course i' I've met the new city manager and I see in your first day here your first commission so so um um congratulations I think I I know it's congratulations to you and um and I hope that you have a very good tenure here um and um as far as the the the prior people here the Coopers uh Leona and I were were very good friends she and I were the same age um she I was um say six days older than she um mine was June 24th and her birthday was June 3rd 30th in the same year of 1932 so she and I would celebrate at different times birthdays together different years and that was um a lot of fun to do that and uh and with our reminiscences and so forth and Bill Cooper escorted me throughout his whole neighborhood around my first election time my first campaign to introduce me to all his neighbors so I'm very well U acquainted with the um the Coopers and and all of them many years many many years um anyway thank you again for for having us um all of us here today um it is just um an extravagant time I mean it's it's a magnificent time I don't really how to uh deal with that because um here after so many years and like I say you figure out the the age it's it's in the 90s now and uh I'm gradually approaching the Centennial of the city but I won't catch up with it but nevertheless uh pretty close and um I'm so thrilled to be able to be here today um it's it's a unique situation to me very unique in that I had no idea that this park naming was coming along a total surprise um I've had various um in various events along the along the way over these many many 40 years um having to do with the commission um and each one has been you know Superior and thrilling and all the accolades I can lay on it uh even there's a plaque outside on the hallway in front of the door that of my office there uh proclaiming the having to do with the belm and more recently for the last 10 months of from November of uh 2022 to August of 2023 the museum had an exhibit having to do with the builtmore I still have magazines on it and here I said oh this this has to be the best my goodness the best uh I can't believe that they put all this together and it was just magnificent exhibit and I was so thrilled and I said Thank You cor gaes thank you everybody and um and then one day you know I don't always come to the commission meetings but I do listen to them at home and I and I video and I I record them so that I go back at my leisure and within the next two weeks before the next commission meeting usually um and and and listen to everything so I'm up Swift to know what's going on and what's coming along and one morning I'm sitting there watching the little bit of the TV and I I hear the mayor say we're going to have a park named for Dorothy Thompson and it sort of shocked me because I had not spoken with him I had no idea this came is complete out of the out of the blue out of you know was it was just a magnificent to the point that I didn't believe that I heard it right so I like I said I recorded it so I wound the thing back and yes it was he he was saying that he was going to do this and I said no talk to me you it came out of your own heart I guess it really was and I thank you so I I was so shocked I don't even know ever thanked you because I didn't think it could ever happen frankly and long many many months ago and I thought well they forgotten it and I I never called anybody I never asked what happened to that I just stayed stayed quiet I really did until it surfaced again and now it's surfaces with two co-sponsors and I want to thank you for co-sponsoring Comm Mr mandz and Comm Mr Fernandez and I I think your names were on there but they ran out of the script I think the co-sponsor they yeah and I I had asked to co-sponsor as well because I know I know one of these each one of these things is is critically important yes I thank you all every single one of you and um I really I'm just so still in in a State of Shock on it but I will take a moment if of your time if I can because this may never happen again it won't happen again this is this is the this is the the Pinnacle I know so if you be so kind as to give me a few moments I want want to express a few things um one thing is I don't know who made the the uh selection of the particular Park but honestly there would be no other place in the whole corab that would have more significance to me and um it it's it's on it's uncanny that's all I can say and I say that because that lot belonged to Granada Presbyterian Church and I've been a member of Granada Presbyterian Church for 70 years as a matter of fact my husband and I were married in Granada Presbyterian Church in November of 1953 so we have a very you know deep connection to that particular site and I'm thinking how could how could this possibly have been been happening and I went over there look at it and I want to invite my my daughter June came up to and say a little couple things about the church and our and our uh connection to it and also you're actually stealing my speech oh excuse me you wanted me to say just one one or two things and that is that when my mother asked me to go walk on the park with her we stood there and looked across uh Bird Road to Granada church and and and her eyes were very moist as we looked across the way and said how symbolic this park is to my family so not even not just to my mother but to my entire family my grandparents worshiped at Granada Presbyterian Church they lived on Osorio and there two blocks behind just two blocks from the park my grandparents live there and um my parents were the first couple married in Fellowship Hall and I was one of the first group of babies baptized in the sanctuary so that church has special meaning for my family it's remarkable that you chose that particular parcel of land and um it represents my mother yes and my family has been here since the earliest days of Coral Gables thank you and in in addition to that um um I wanted to have Allan speak as I say for a little bit of back history that you may not probably do not know about that particular parcel of land how it was intertwined because Allan also and his whole family have been uh worshippers at the uh Granada Presbyterian Church all these years these two even knew each other when they were youngsters and they went along in their lives and came back again and got reacquainted and married but it's all intertwined it's it's remarkable how I guess what comes around goes around uh I've I've been in Carl Gables for over 70 years now and um my father and I O over 30 years ago acquired these these sites these Lots uh in order to get get them for Granada church and um and uh together with uh our friend Jack Thompson who was did the pro bono legal work for it at the time and now it's ended up being um a park uh for the city of Carl Gables and I couldn't be happier thank you Alan thank you all so much uh ladies and gentlemen of the commission Commissioners just wish that my husband were here today it'll be one year ago this month on March 24th when he passed away and he and he knew about this this point and he and he was so proud um of everything and um I don't want to leave him out of U of the significance of this which I haven't we've been married in Granada he has dealt as as an elder in the church to acquire this property and then pro bono of course legal work for it and everything so it's so very important I I'd like to make a one request however that as we go along oh and I totally forget I forgot to to thank to thank Fred Fred and and um who are doing all that I really really enjoy um they doing that and the border the board as well who voted for this but um my one request is that I have some ideas of maybe adding a little something to the park um significance um I'm unique in that I can say something to the park most everyone you know it's been it's been the uh um it's been the way the city has done this to name Parks after people are gone well I'm here today I I can't tell you what I'm going to do next year but by here today I'm here I'd like to have a little bit of input with with Fred you know and and all to make sure that uh I can get some ideas that sort of whimsical because it's a park that's going to be utilized by a lot of young children and so forth from from that area uh it's really grown out the whole area back there and uh I like to have a little input on that if I may um and um and not only that but beyond that sorry I'm taking advantage I know I'm anyway I usually sit at home watch this I'm won't bother you again for a long time um i' like to have commiss mandez help me uh on a couple of things that I have in mind because it it's a rical part of it I'm talking about because he's he's the guy that's always in the movies doing the all these kind of things and he's got some cute ideas and I like to be able to um um you know have time together and talk with you on that and bring it all back to the commission and whatever in the long run but again I'm I'm so it would be my honor I'll be I'm I'm so thrilled just maybe to see the park and not just have be after I'm gone you know and this this is unique for me I can't thank every one of you enough from the bottom of my heart I really do um over and over and over again I never will forget it ever ever it's the Pinnacle of My Success I thought different things BL the way were but no this this is it this is it thank you mayor so everybody knows you you were the vote that saved the bmore but you saved a lot more than just the builtmore it was because of the builtmore uh for those of who are not familiar that we started the historic preservation movement and the treasures that were saved there presidents have come other dignitaries have come to stay at this iconic hotel at a very central location in our city with a beautiful beautiful golf course and it could have been another one of those uh developments like kaloa you know just turned into row houses as opposed to to uh this treasure that we have and because of that we have homes and so forth that were preserved as well so you were very well um you know deserving of this and and much more uh because of you I met Ellen guani and I learned about all her contributions and working with you and with your leadership we're able to be saved so if you get a chance to while you're contemplating the some of the Whimsical things uh have a talk with Dennis olly cuz he strs very strongly about the Butterfly Garden in there and I know you're a member of the Garden Club both of you are um he has some amazing ideas on how uh we can do that and I have butterflies coming in my yard I have kids with Nets coming to catch those butterflies because it becomes part of the Whimsical things that we can add to the to the park but you're so pleased you're here I'm glad we're getting this done now and thank you for all your contribution to the community and the the words of advice that you provide us can I give you a hint yes what I have in mind yes a hint that is that um I come from a um my hometown is up in New York State up the Hudson River and it's Peak Skill in the Hudson as a matter of fact and way back in the 1800s before I was born incidentally um there was a an author by the name of Frank bom b m and you know who that might be okay he went to school there um at the pxel military academy PMA and he went to that school there and he got off from the boat I think was the boat at the time at the Hudson River this back in the 1800s and he asked the way can anyone tell me the way to to PX Military Academy yes and they said yes just Follow the yellow brick road the yellow brick road is on top of that hill is where the p is so he went to PMA and uh that was his U schooling time and um if you go to Peak scale now you will find a replica a small from here to the to the wall of a yellow brick road because he wrote right what did he write Wizard of Oz a Wizard of Oz what is my name Dorothy Dorothy Dorothy I want to put a little bit yellow brick road if we can in just a little bit for the kids to play on you know all right it would be it would be wonderful beautiful commissioner I really really look up to you and um it's really so deserving what's happening right now and it's a complete honor and it gives me so much pleasure to experience this moment here um thank you that's sweet thank you thank you thank you commissioner Mendez um you mentioned that you're here uh present before us but in fact you're a force of everything that's good in our community you embody everything that's good your wisdom I've never spoken with anyone with more wisdom than you you see things from different angles different perspectives from your own experiences from the experiences of others the mayor has mentioned I think we've all mentioned the opportunity we've had to sit with you learn from you even to this day you guide us going forward we need you you are a light in our lives your heart is unmatched your love for your family your love for your friends your love for your community your love for your faith is reflected in you each and every day there's no wavering there's no doubt of who you are and what you believe in your C courage what can be what can we say with the vote on the buil more but everything after that you were always willing and able to take a difficult situation and make the choice that was right for the community not for yourself and even to this day your courage is unmatched your passion I wish everybody had the passion you have for our community because we'd be a much better Community if everyone gave everything their heart like you do you are my movie partner I guess if you're Dorothy I'm the Scarecrow your Tin Man um and I told you and you know I when I say things like this I mean it from the heart I love you my friend feeling is mutual commissioner that's the last time I let you speak before me yeah um I've been here 10 months and in those 10 months I've had the opportunity to sit down with you a few times and just get feedback from you advice uh and I cherish those moments that we've had I get to sit with you on that crime watch meeting which was your idea to start here in our city and for those who don't know crime watch from Miami day County she was one of the the leaders who who created that um it wasn't just about Coral Gables it was about doing better for for our community and that's what you've always done and I'm glad that we're able to recognize you while you're here with us so that you can celebrate it with us and I think this is an important moment um thank you for all you've done for for our city for everything that you do every day and you still watch the meetings and you still chime in you give us your opinion but you do it with respect and more than anybody I think you understand what it is to sit up here and make these tough decisions and I appreciate the feedback that you give me thank you very much commissioner it's my pleasure it really and truthly is so mayor before we take a vote I just want to briefly give a little bit more color to why we have the honor to honor you today so a few years ago we wrote a piece of legislation that I'm very proud of to have my name on it we worked on it for a long time and our city manager and our staff didn't incredible job crafting that and that was the they won't put a pee in there will they what happened they won't put a p in my name now the the legislation that we crafted the legislation that we crafted was the The Parks master plan which helps acquire Parks using developer money .5% from every from every permit and that's how we acquire this land and I want to give credit what credit is do because it's important I remember receiving a call one day with somebody who have a lot in common with in regards to parks and buying as much property as we can to leave a legacy which is something that's near and dear to your heart and that was uh vice mayor cik and he had just gotten off the DI and he called me and he says Vince I hear that Granada would potentially be selling some of these Lots so I immediately called um one of one of the leaders of of the church and I had a coffee with them and I said listen before you put it out to the market let the city buy this and we bought those three lots using the money that came not from our coffers but came from permit money and i' had always heard your story and obviously the engagement that I had with you and there's so many stories that I could share that you've allowed me to be part of and one day I hope and maybe it's part of your legacy is the story that you can tell people not today because I know it's a more it's a story that deals with your husband and your time in Cuba M yes and it's a story that to me taught me a lot about you and where you stand on democracy and you stand on human rights and issues of freedom and what you and your husband did as we were as you were leaving Cuba with one of your most prized possessions which was your car uh that is a story that I hope one day you will share in your book um because I think it's important and I know I don't know if you're writing a book but one but this community deserves to have the story of your life including in your families but I think more importantly not only is your legacy as the mayor and all the things that you did in your life but I think your most important Legacy is something that I touched upon earlier today when we were talking about women's month and that is for example me it's my two daughters your children are not only exceptional but they're incredibly involved your son is a police officer here in the city and he has given his life to the city true and your daughter I mean what can we say besides being involved in every philanthropic cause from you know the Coral Gables Coral Gable's High School all the way to the museum to many different other causes uh she is a leader in this community in regards to philanthropy giving back and making sure that she's a voice in regards to reason but there something that I that I always will close clo you know keep close to my heart is the relationship that we have that we've had over 11 years now in April that's true while I knew you while was running um I didn't really have a really close relationship with you I had served on the Planning and Zoning Board we had exchanged you know ideas and information but we had never had gotten close together and uh something that I shared the other day when we went to the to the Amic house was a little story that I'll that I'll be very brief brief but it's a lot more long-winded than this when you and I got to became close used to used to write me you still do to this day letters yes letters and I thought I thought that I was the only one receiving these letters and there were letters leading me down a path a yellow brick road which was you know vice mayor commissioner mayor whatever my title was at that point you know I think that you should consider the following not that you should do but you should consider it was an approach to me that I thought was so beautiful so dignified so elegant that set you apart from everybody else cuz you know everybody has you know you're either on the you know you're on one side or the other there's no there's not real common ground but then I later found out from the likes of Mike Mana Frank cadaa George fors Pat Keon Raul kase you know everybody who had the privilege of serving with in the past Ronda Menendez that you were actively writing all my colleagues in regards to in regards to leadership issues that you viewed as important to the city so in closing when I spoke to staff about sponsoring this item this is one of the easiest things that I've ever been able to do here in the city because you you deserve this just like Leona deserved this and the other two families this is the right thing to do because it only elevates the standard and the quality of our city when somebody Drives By on Bird Road and sees this park and sees your name attached to it it brings a level of quality it raises the quality in our community because that's where you've always exemplified here in the city beautiful no matter what task you were the task that was at hand so I want to allow you the privilege I want to thank you for allowing me the privilege to to to be part of of this naming because this is something that I will always U Carry close to my heart especially since it's very close to my house it's within probably a 5 10 minute walk from my house and truly um This truly is the is the story of my life my political life here you take City Hall on on a trajectory up to the builtmore you go straight where I live plus through the park through the builtmore it goes almost like a direct Arrow I like to be a direct Arrow so you know there it goes and it's so it was meant to be but I have to thank every one of you from again the bottom of my heart this this is something that trumps everything may I say that yeah trumps everything course not to be political we are political I'm sorry but I I I really and truthfully want to tell you so sincerely that I say a prayer for you every night all of you because of what you've done to me this this is this as I said it's the Pinnacle it's the it's the greatest and I thank you so much I'm going to be able to enjoy it I hope and I'm going to enjoy the children playing on the yellow brick road and I want to enjoy life here if I may just add one last thing and I apolog I just want to give thanks to the gran our Presbyterian Church cuz we're here today because all the bricks fell according to plan and there wasn't really a plan uh there was a need the city came in at the perfect time vice mayor kdik at that point who had just gotten off the commission called me our city manager and our incredible staff did everything possible to negotiate a good deal so we have to give all our directors all the staff our city manager City attorney city clerk they deserve all the credit we we pushed forward we had the funds in the account and Granada understood could they have potentially gotten more money somewhere else maybe because those three lots are in a great location but they understood the Legacy and the opportunity of leaving this for our community and then the idea of naming it after a person who was given so much to this community is just the right thing to do so I just want to say thank you for allowing this the privilege thank you forever ever thank you all ever and if I may if it's the will of the commission if I may move the item i' be honor yes that's second moving to G Mr cler do you have any public comment no Mr Mayor okay commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes mayor logo yes Carolina you join us you men I could use it congratulations we'll work on brick road Mr moving on to item F9 all right the next one is also a renaming it was originally named after the street that abds this property it's Sunrise Harbor Park located at 25 East Sunrise Avenue and this renaming is a joint renaming for Sally and James Jude um and the proposed name is going to be the James and Sally Jude park again this was uh unanimously approved by resolution by the city commission and unanimously approved and recommended by the parks Advisory Board a little history on on Sally and James Jude Sally garrian was born in Baltimore Maryland in 1926 and Mary James Jude in 1952 in the mid 1950s the Jews returned to Baltimore to live work and to raise their family it was while Dr Jud was going doing his residency at John's Hopkins University that he was part of a team that pioneered the research that led to the development of CPR Dr judee's work with CPR received National recognition and brought the Judes and their family to Miami in 1964 where Dr Jude became the chief of Thor thorasic and cardiovascular surgery at the University of Miami school of medicine and at Jackson Memorial Hospital Sally became an active and integral part of the community she was involved with medical wives group her church and in her daughter's schools in her Children's Schools I'm sorry she credited with she's credited with being part of the small group that was founded the DAT reading Foundation which is one of the earliest programs in Miami day County for learning for disabled children with that I'd like to call up the Juds good morning Marlin please join us me please join us and yes I would like to mention that Marlin Ebert has championed this effort all the way through so thank you please good morning thank you for being here with us good morning um my name is Peter Jude and I Mr Mayor vice mayor and Commissioners and um city manager and Clerk and all of you some of you I've known for many years uh and uh thank you for your recognition of our parents through their time here on Earth um they they as you well know love to this community and when they came to Miami pretty quickly settled in a 200 Edge waterer drive and made that their home and then at the end my mom and dad moved to uh visy Avenue but they they love the community and as I think about this park and we're so uh honored to be associated with these other great leaders in the community that I've known and and had the pleasure of meeting through the years and the impact they had and thanks for saving the the builtmore I mean my father when he was in the for a while did surgery there is temporarily the VA Hospital uh at the Belmore hotel but um you know as a reflect on the park and this is my brother Robert Jude and there's seven of us now only six one brother pass last year but um you know with seven children my parents were always like what do we do with these kids right so we were often sent to uh the park that we're speaking of today uh there was a summer camp there and so we spent many times many hours there um at the park so thankful for the parks thanks for the park team that makes these things happen and makes the greatest of parks I was mentioning the Ingram uh Park uh up top of Edgewater a beautiful Park now but back in the day it was just dirt and you couldn't do anything there it was a passive Park um but so we went down to this other Park and um it was a Gathering Place like I think Park should be there were many good friends in the community that we came together like I said either for camp or play basketball or just to to be there um as a community and Parks should be that a community Gathering Place and so great that we're making that a focus in the City of Coral Gables the city beautiful to to have more Park so thank you on behalf of the family for this recognition you know we talked about my father he actually um was on I believe the planning board and then unsuccessfully ran for mayor probably the best thing so you get back to doing heart surgery so you get paid for all these kids but um they love the kid the city like you all do right it's not an easy job um but so so important that we have good leaders that make a difference every day so thank you thank you sir G I'd like to recognize Marlin Ebert please for her great work and recognizing and suggesting this so miss Ebert ask me to come up and we were outside speaking with the family and uh I was commenting that their father's contributions go so much farther than the confines of our city and their history here in the city um and I commented to them that after his father work validated the importance of CPR that all these great medical advances uh to the resuscitation of patients in cardiac arrest in particular outside of the hospital were uh invented and and brought about and after Decades of all of these great advancements uh couple of years ago there was a study done that said that all those modern medicine Innovations were great but they could never replace quality CPR so I was commenting to the Suns that it almost like history did a full circle and went back to the basics where how we train our paramedics now is whatever intervention we're doing um whatever medicines we're administering have to be done without the suspension of CPR so certainly his father's Legacy is very important to to uh modern medicine throughout the world so I just wanted to comment that in front of all of you and the the conversation that we shared and thank you for inviting me up here thank you Chief Marlin and I'd just like to say a few words about Sally she was such an inspiration um her efforts in preservation and in environmental causes were just outstanding for our city uh she as I said last year when I planted the seed of this idea she'd call me about once a week and she'd say now we should do such and such and I knew that was Marlon you get busy because you need to do such and such but she was always so gung-ho um if I was going to a play at the uh she wanted to see Gloria Stefon play she called and said will you take me to that play she was just so young at heart and uh just a wonderful individual and I'm delighted that we're all here today thank you thank you Marl just a couple of additional words and you stole some of my thunder oh sorry that's okay no it's perfect because historic preservation was so near and dear to her heart every time we had a historic preservation issue we' always get an email from Sally you know and support or that it's such a passionate passionate interest of hers also was you know gardening and and flowering trees I went by her home and we talked about a number of things uh and one of her favorite trees was a cassia pakarana which we do have one on the golf course Marlin and I went together to um have it planted on the golf course took her out there to see it unfortunately it wasn't blooming yet um but uh and she also had asked me to help out with the Royal Pon Siana Festival because the flowering trees are definitely a passion of hers uh I'm going to ask the Park and Recreation Department to remember that U that's what she likes and if there's opportunity to put in a flowering tree at this park please do so yes and uh just as a little sales pitch the Royal ponana Festival is coming up uh there is Trolley Tours there's a bike tour the Bike Tour by the way is on Father's Day if you want to join us mayor um we will go around and have an educational piece on flowering trees throughout not only Coral Gables but our in our neighboring cities um Sally yes is quite an inspiration I could I remember the last Royal ponana festival and she was there worried about everything I don't know who's going who's got you know can fill her big shoes so I'd forgotten that um commissioner I mean vice mayor Anderson and I for her birthday it must have been 2022 I think so we we planted we had a tree planted on the golf course we have a nice picture of that we do with a with a bow yes I don't think the Bow's still on the tree but that bow stayed on the tree for over a year I'm going to go home that way and see if that Bow's still there it should be blooming this year so how wouldn't it be fitting to get a picture of the family there next to the tree yeah so y thank you thank you for reminding me anyone else just wanted to mention one thing uh that we failed to mention about my mother my mother was a Die Hard uh activist in the environment and she did and as you all know some things that sold systems that she donated uh I think it was at the billmore you we didn't even know some of these donations she was making but the environment my father and hers that was very important and I hope that in the future that this city recognizes the need to keep the environment because it's not as important to our generation as the next but as we all know the seas are rising uh the environment is changing and it's it has to be incorporated in our deal daily planning of what we need to do next in this city and I think that's important that we all remember that as being part of her Legacy and my fathers they were both di arts in that anyone in the commission I did not have the honor of meeting your parents but I've heard so many wonderful stories about their involvement in our community and their philanthropy their dedication to um not just Coral Gables but the community at large um that I feel as if I did know them and seeing the two of you here I know that the apples did not fall far from the tree so I appreciate everything that you do as well for our community and for sharing them with us so first off I'd like to thank you and um as the primary sponsor of this you know I want to thank Marlin uh Marlin is the reason why we're here today martinin wrote me an email uh and she also facilitated my ability to meet Sally on multiple occasions and spend some time with her so I'll just a few anecdotes that to me put me over the top on why we moveed forward with this and and we brought it before the before the Commission in 2023 and then now obviously it's being ratified through the support of my colleagues um to think about somebody in our community a power couple like your father and your mother who not only revolutionized medicine my father's a physician so I have a little bit of understanding of of of what CPR is and everybody here does but just the the understanding of what that means to modern medicine it is groundbreaking and the thought of how many lives were saved um I also had the pleasure of of engaging with your mother in regards to the Garden Club she was just as strong as your father if not stronger um you know a lot of the women that we're that we're talking about today Le Leona Cooper Miss Thompson these were women to be be uh to be respected uh these were individuals who not only leave a lasting Legacy but they were individuals who put the city first above everything I remember having conversations because she was intrigued cuz she had heard that I had gotten solar on my house and uh that Ronda was also uh had solar on on our house and I was asking me a little bit about solar and what was our intent and you know how was that working out and we had some conversations that were again facilitated by by Marlin who you know was always a person who stood by Sally and made sure that she was taken care of along with our vice mayor and I have a lot of respect for that because you know again through most difficult times you know a friend like that who can stick by a person like Sally when she had trouble moving around or she had issues like that that is to be commended and to be respected so I want to say thank you for that Marlin because that was a gesture that many people don't mention but again it's it's just to be respected and to be honored one thing that should be noted is my mother was not a driver I know so and I don't think I don't know how many of you all knew that so he she needed help from everybody to get around so one of the last things I want deeply grateful for that and one of the last things I wanted to mention was just her commitment to to the Garden Club uh you're talking about you know Susan Rodriguez and all the other individuals that are involved she was an advocate she would talk about tree canopy she would talk about obviously parks open space she had a real interest in preservation like you mentioned um but again this is our honor it's it's you know again we're you're not doing you a favor you're doing us a favor because as people drive by uh this park they're going to inquire when I found out who Dr Jude was I was mesmerized and I even went to my father and I said you know are you aware that in col Gables we had an individual who was you know left an indelible Mark in modern medicine and he didn't know he didn't know and he was I think even more mesmerized than I was about that accomplishment and then I talk to him a little bit about my father's you know loves trees you know our back his backyard is full of trees every fruit tree you can think of um started to explaining a little bit about what her interests were uh in regards to the Garden Club orchids and all the different things so um your parents were amazing individuals who have left a legacy in this community and I look forward I look forward to when people visit these parks and they ask you know who was Dorothy Thompson who was Leona Cooper uh you know who was Sally Jude I think the history that can be taught by repeating the name and repeating the accomplishments I think will serve a significant purpose in the future to inspire people to run for office to become involved in philanthropy to you know take it to the next level on whatever whatever is that they want to do but to leave a mark and leave and hopefully leave a mark that again benefits his community so I just want to say thank you for the opportunity for allowing us uh to name your your mother and your father as a park recipient here in the city and it's truly a privilege for us thank you thank you one other thing I would mention is my father gave us all a book many years ago was called the dash he said it's not your birth date it's not your death date it's that Dash in between that really makes a difference and that's what was important to them they really made a difference and I'm very proud of them so proud there's nothing else um Mr clerk I'd like to passor gabo and make a motion if my commissioner will allow me to no second Mr Mayor before um oh I didn't know there was a comment excuse we have a member of the public requesting to speak I believe is carelia carbonel on Zoom good morning Miss carbonel oh please join us good mind after you're done if you might just fill in a little a little Bruce Brock house and um I was very privileged to be a great friend of both Dr Jude and and Sally but Sally was the one who um pushed me to be better than I am um and Dr Jude I loved watching him not only do um you know all these wonderful things with CPR but I watched him do all these wonderful things planting trees doing irrigation systems it just he was a multi-dimensional man but um Sally asked me to be on a um on a board and I somehow became involved in both marjor Stone and Douglas's house and the builtmore hotel in the daring estate so they had a huge Legacy in historical preservation also Sally herself when she moved from the house that they had on Edgewater which was also have had many many uh passive um and um active um environmental um systems on it she put in her house both passive of solar and photo volic um geothermal air conditioning and this is on this is on a historical project so we did both an historical project and this beautiful house that she preserved um had all the systems that it used relatively no energy so I just want to say this park really is a special place for them and it's it's uh some place that I visited with Sally and I think it's an honor for her and the city to have that Park and and Dr Jude too and um thank you so much for all that you do and if I may say one last thing also I don't know if the person is ready I just want to thank um our staff our director for parks and the assistant director we had multiple conversations about finding the right location we had lost track of what what the current you know what the current Park why was it named after the street we we tried to be as sensitive as possible to make sure that we weren't doing anything removing anybody's name and that we were just complimenting the city so uh staff deserves all the credit for all your hard work I don't know maybe if I'm leaving anybody out please tell me so that I don't I don't regret it later but I know that you work for months and months and months to make sure that we did everything the right way and that we didn't step on anybody's toes Mr clerk Miss carbonell is on Zoom sir M carbonell good morning good morning everyone um can you all hear me yes um I just want to say um first congratulations to the three women that are being honored Dr Cooper and and um I I feel very privileged because I have had relationships with all of them Dr Cooper as uh she was on the board of Carolton when I was there heading one of the Departments also mayor Thompson who is really our thread uh historical ribbon as I say it whenever I have a question um she has the answer and of course Sally Jude Sally was served on our board uh a a historic preservation Association board for many years and actually even before I became involved and she um I think one of her last um events was one of our events which was about sustainability and preservation but I do want to share one anecdote that Sally and I had during a board meeting and we were all talking about the different architectural Styles and coral gaes and of course she was very much a Mediterranean uh proponent of of the Mediterranean style uh but there's so many other styles in Coral Gables and and there's the art deco and and uh you know so many others and of course the modern architecture and she she wasn't getting it and I you know one of the analogies to her for me was Sally think about these different styles as your children all your children are you children are all different and she she said you're absolutely right and from that day on she was absolutely um you know so appreciative of all the different styles and and and was a great uh Advocate uh on on behalf of um you know just preserving all so anyway with that said I I really think that these women are are all worthy and um and thank you to the city commission and of course to Mayor logo for um for spearheading this so thank you thank you kelia thank you I have a hope you have a wonderful day Mr clerk do you have anybody else no sir all right perfect then can we take a photo please amazing Mr Mr Mayor let me just call the RO really quick quick okay go ahead commissioner Menendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes mayor logo yes thank you in the G m and outside of chickens peasants orid over 150 chocolate choc sh thank you guys congratulations thank you for all you do you're thank you it means a world to me easy do Mr director Adam assistant director we have one more I know I'm not tell know it's been four it's been a lot you can it's on you it's not on me okay no you got to bring them one like you did me sorry to get you in trouble but we do have one more so we're we're going to we're going to continue please you just under his motor home all right last but not least uh we have the location of Tiano Park which is located at 7700 Old Cutler Road and this individual is Staff Sergeant Carl Philip Andis and uh this property is actually a property that is pretty close to the the family res residents and that's why we selected that location and work closely with the family um the proposed Park name will be staff sergeant carlis Veterans Memorial Park and we added the Veterans Memorial Park with input both from The Advisory Board as well as with the family that we thought it was very fitting given the history of this individual that this would become our first Veterans Memorial Park in the City of Coral Gables uh this was a discussion item that was originally presented by the mayor and then recommended unanimously by The Parks and Recreation Advisory board so this is a a photo here uh depicting staff sergeant Carl Philip Enis who was born March 31st 1986 in Miami Beach K grew up in Coral Gables and attended guliver Preparatory he received a bachelor's degree of Science and Environmental Studies and master of Business Administration from Florida State University staff sergeant Andis was a par rescue men also known as PJs in the United States Air Force PJs are an elite team of guardian angel Airmen who serve as highly trained rescue Specialists providing life-saving trauma care and search and rescue on March 15 2018 at 31 years of age staff sergeant Enis was killed in a helicopter incident in the Syrian Iraq border along with six other Airmen we do have the Sergeant's uh brother Eddie is here um if he could come up he did work with us we we met with him a couple of times and also with um the Sergeant's mother to find the appropriate location um and the location that we found was because it was close to the family home so um Eddie good good morning how are you thank you and it was a privileged to be here in front of all these beautiful families um it's a six-year Mark our first email started with mayor Vince logo and uh it's been clear to my family that you love this city and you take your role seriously and you um believe in what is right I also want to express my sincerest thank you to Fred karolina Sarah Mitchell Chelsea and um Peter eaas who helped um my mom this is a a really sensitive subject for my family because it's uh 6 years and 3 days and um Carl Carl was somebody they would want me to not only mention his name but I just want to mention the six other people that perished with my brother um major and jeras O'Keefe 106 rescue wing major Christopher Zen edtis 116 rescueing staff sergeant Christopher ruso 6 rescue wing and Technical Sergeant Deshawn Briggs 106 rescue wing and uh Captain Mark Weber um 30 uh 308 rescue wing um thank you so much um so I think I'm the only person up here that knows you and your family personally if I'm wrong I would ask some my colleagues to let me speak for one second when you I think you and I became friends probably about four years ago I had the pleasure of meeting you through to an acquaintance and I was absolutely mesmerized by your family story uh your father was an exceptional physician who left an incredible Legacy in our community um your involvement and your family's current involvement and a whole host of philanthropic organizations throughout South Florida throughout this country are to be commended and those are things that you don't really share with people and um cuz you're a very private individual I never met your brother I never had the the privilege of meeting him but he was an incredible Patriot his story is um is one that we in these very very difficult times as Americans we have to come together we have to honor people like your brother this not the first time you see me cry about your brother because the story is while a tragic one it is one that is wrapped in who we are as Americans it is a story that we need to remember just like we talked about these three families and hopes that people when they read the names at the parks they will ask who is this incredible woman who was this man that gave his life for our country your brother served and I would like for you to touch upon this if you can CU you humbly don't say this but for the many stories that I read about your brother your brother served not because he had to your brother served because he wanted to as an American and that is to me what is the most commendable thing your brother had no need to serve this country he was a brilliant man brilliant man who had multiple different businesses like you do had a family that had worked hard had come to this country with nothing and had built many different businesses and had built a great life for themselves as a result of being in the greatest country in the world I'd like for you to can if you if you don't mind I think it's right to do justice to your brother's Legacy on that front I think my brother's military career was influenced by my father who was a Founder at Mount Si and a Founder at Cedar's hospital he served in Vietnam um they're both buried in Arlington Cemetery uh Carl and I both attended Gulliver Preparatory and um you know the par rescue Creed is That Others May Live and my my dad instilled that kind of work ethic and giving back um and and that's what I think chose or made my brother choose a military career path and um I just I want to thank everybody and it's just my mom Dr Colleen Andis also wanted to be here she's not in country right now um so I'm here representing the family and it's just an honor and my mom is retired and lives in front of Fairchild Garden so she drives in front of Old Cutler every day and my in-laws live in um Gables Estates so it's it's really nice to just just have something to remember my brother by so if I may um just to give a little bit of background again I want to thank our director and her assistant director and her staff and I want to thank Peter gasius um we met how many times did we meet in regards to this proba um I know that you you quarterbacked this and Fred thank you again for all the meetings we had and just my mom's not an easy person to deal with sometimes especially in this situation so sweetheart um it's just it's just we just can't thank you guys enough for getting it across the finish line and the reason why I mentioned that is because I want people to understand a little bit about we were going to do a Gold Star Family Memorial at the youth center and we probably had about six or seven meetings over the last I would say probably three years Fred would you say and we wanted to find the appropriate place just like we wanted to find the appropriate place for the Jude family we wanted to find the appropriate place for the Thompson family we wanted to find the appropriate place for Leona Cooper Leona Cooper is resting with her husband um so we looked and looked and looked and thank you to Fred karolina staff the city manager you know we found the right place this commission was Allin considering your family sister here in The Gables residents went to school here the amount of effort that you do in regards to philanthropy without anybody knowing the amount of times that you make donations anonymously to help causes that really benefit this community so I just want to say thank you for allowing us the privilege as a Comm Mission as a city to honor not only your family but to honor your brother because thank you your family paid the ultimate sacrifice and gave gave your son gave your brothers life on behalf of this great country so I just want to say thank you again and we look forward to cutting the ribbon and opening this park we'll have his unit join when we cut the ribbon we'll have everybody come down from the Patrick Air Force Base thank you my friend can we um before you leave um the commissioner would honor me with the privilege of making the motion entertain a second yes commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes mayor loo yes can we take a quick photo of course just so I want to I haven't seen your mom in six months and I just want to say thank you to her one I get a picture Tre I'm not the sponsor of the item let's do let me do five minutes thank you for everyone's patience um at the request of the clerk and a resident who's here we're going to take item F2 but I'm going to just step one second to go to the bathroom and give us a 10-minute break okay e m n w Mr clerk yes Mr Mayor um I'd like to see if we can start with F2 one second sir I'm sorry oh that's the pickle all right we're good to go we can invite you out to play sure thank you um we uh have a a presentation this is a followup from uh the presentation that we uh just a status update uh from what we presented uh a couple of meetings ago and you wanted us to come back and work on the numbers a little bit and talk to some people so that's what we did so this was the proposed rooftop plan um it had the the eight courts um still had a row of parking on the top um there was also a waiting area in the middle and uh the office uh indoor space with bathrooms that was what was proposed uh working with um uh the Consultants that looked at it and feasibility study um so we looked at this uh what we were looking at is the size of the Court the size that was proposed was a tournament play um we did I did talk to um you know uh some pickle ball players and you could go a little smaller on the on the on the courts if we wanted to look at you know extending uh and maybe adding another one if there's enough space but um that one would allow it for tournament play and if you look at the bottom um the cross-section we would have 12-ft fences towards the street um 6ft fences on the North side and then if we had separating fences in the middle between the courts it would be 3 ft so this was the original uh estimate I made it a little bigger cuz I know we it was tough to read last time so um what we looked at is um the courts including the fencing lighting um you know restriping and construction of the waiting area and the restrooms and the and the office with all of the construction costs and the contingencies which we put in at 15% for construction contingency and 10% for General conditions the construction cost was 683 when you factor in design and the Consulting um that turned out to be a project of 786 uh 78562 3 there was also um a discussion of whether we put in an elevator uh for that um because it doesn't have an elevator and that would have been an extra 719,000 in terms of the rough rough order of magnitude so um we went back uh working with the the Consultants our Capital Improvements team looked at our Public Works team and looked at what um needed to be done and how we could look at different um uh reduced scope and there were a couple of items that our Public Works uh Team our Capital Improvement team thought that needed to be included that weren't included in the original rough photo of magnitude which was the demolition work and the surface preparation um it still has a number for the courts and we'll talk about that a little bit later um and it had the the the same numbers for the fencing and the lighting um and there was a look at if you didn't do the waiting area you didn't do an indoor um space up top you would have to do something in terms of seating and shading um in that middle area and they looked at that as being an estimate of 50,000 versus 240 for putting a building up there that reduced that total down to the total project cost of 6,530 now I did speak with um Representatives a representative from the pickle ball uh players and also a couple of other pickle ball players as I walk by as you know we have the pickle ball Courts at the youth center and uh they're there on Tuesday morning so they always see me walking in my suits to make sure they they tell me what's going on so we have some good talks with them um one of the things that they looked at which would result in a small savings is uh reducing the fencing by grouping the the courts together in the in the poster had a little bit of a separation that's a small savings it's not a big savings it would reduce the three-foot fencing which is about $5,000 so um they did say um there was a couple of other um things that might not necessarily have to do with the cost but we important to note is they wanted to make sure that we wrapped existing poles with cushioning um that we shift the quarts 4 feet to the South so we create a 6ot pathway um on the North side for the players to put their chairs and watch so that was one thing reducing some gates for access on both Banks of four um they did want to make sure that we added wind screens um which we would it's similar to what we do at our tennis court so we would put the wind screens those aren't a big expense um instead of having a bathroom up top on the third floor the suggestion maybe renovate the bathrooms on the first floor um which would um alleviate some of that 240 cost if you wanted to put an air conditioned building on the top um and the big uh item was to look at a an alternative to the court that was presented um by the Consultants which was Sport Court there are other surfaces out there um there's some composits and the famous the the the the most prominent one right now is pickle roll there's others that are out there but um just an initial discussion um that I was I was given some numbers um that it would uh possibly reduce the cost of the Court numbers by $80,000 so that gives you an additional um we wouldn't know until they go out there and look at the surface but that is an estimate um that you'd get a reduction there so um for us um we'll continue to work with with the community based on the direction that we receive um in order to make it happen and and the only thing to um to look at is when you do the waiting and office area if you don't do that um it's going to be hard for me to staff um so it would end up being more of a drop in type Public Access facility um it would be hard for us to do Court reservations for us to to organize things we could organize things like tournaments and things where we go out there with a 10 and we do a one-day thing but in terms of having people out there um without an indoor space up top um can it be done maybe it'd be tough on staff to be outside the whole time um so that's something that we'd have to look at um and as I said if you don't have the indoor space some shading and some other items there for people to sit while they're waiting for the courts would we would add in there um we talked about the court surfacing and the fencing uh uh reductions um I would say I have you know been approached um and that there are people that would be willing to to build it um private entities to build this facility but of course that would result in a business model that that would that business provider would would control the courts and and be some sort of negotiation with the city um so um from what I understand that there there is some interest and there could be a bit I haven't seen it um but I have heard discussions from uh entrepreneurs that have approached me and said they'd be willing to do it um so that's something to consider for the commission if you want to go there currently as we know we've talked about it the funding is not budgeted that's why I'm presenting um and the next step is based on the feedback we receive here and how we move forward um we'll put it in as uh as a funding request and if it gets uh if it gets approved then we can start in October um working on this project so I'm here for any questions so I guess the first question I would have is on on you're talking about a potential bid for somebody who could build the facility and manage the facility that's similar to what we currently have at the tennis courts in Granada correct um not not quite well because the the the Country Club Courts they they do they lease it um and they pay us rent so it's a lease it's a lease deal so um the difference being is that they're an operator they they still operate within our regulations and our rules um whereas I don't know it would all depend on whatever deal is worked out the way I would look at it is I I know that there's other municipalities and other um uh organizations that have had facilities like this there's a big one that's coming in for a lot of there's a much bigger scale you know 40 courts or something like that but that's the kind of thing I have been approached before not on pickle ball but similar um things were like I would be approached by someone giving me wanting to do five aside soccer you know indoor they call it indoor but it's the soccer with the walls where and that kind of deal was yeah we'll build it but then then we'll r it out and we'll control it so they're they're basically using public land for for a private Enterprise which you know some organizations do if they don't have the cost if they don't have the funding to to build it I was um I think the manager and the assistant city manager have been in contact with uh gentleman uh Renee pratz you may yes he's the one that um I he he he approached um City manager's office um they asked him to come talk to me he gave me just a overall presentation of what they do um really not anything on specifics on what it would be for the court and and anything else I I I don't I haven't seen what they would propose that was I was in the I guess copied in an email so I think the manager's office is going to be meeting with him and his representatives in March and I think it's a good idea to have you yeah I I think they have me on that meeting I I think they're going to because they're I think you mentioned fora they did uh Courts at Fort Lauderdale with no cost to the city whatever up front I don't I know the details but no it's and and similar like I said I I've I've come across from these suggestions before and what it is is yeah they put up the capital costs and then in return there's a management deal where the city has some sort of Revenue sharing or some rent or depending on what the deal is um you know I've had over the years many different ones and it was always for soccer for fivey side soccer I haven't done anything for pickle ball but um those are the things that um you look at for for the city in the past the old the thing that's very sensitive is I'm not a fan necessarily depending on the deal of seating control of our of our courts and our spaces especially for a long-term time I like having control of Courts I like presenting it to our residents as as as play and whatever whatever we charge admission wise is something that that is decided upon by the commission um so that's why I like it that way but I can understand sometimes if the capital the one in Fort Lauderdale is a 40 Court you know it's a massive facility which is multi-million dollars which is a different animal than what we're talking about here yeah no I just asked the manager assistant City manag to include you obviously I would imagine your assistant director on that to see where that where that goes maybe that's a solution maybe it's not but it's worth having a conversation May if I can add a few things uh and I've been asked for by you know uh some residents and so forth uh about elevator and we've cover we covered that issue with the city attorney's office doing research because we do have other pickle ball facil fa ities that are open for individuals with disabilities and our Our First Responders are doing what they do so fantastically taking care of us so we'll pause for a minute on that um because we have other facilities that are ad accessible for individuals and wheelchairs if you have a you know a van you can use those facilities uh and we've also talked about the bathrooms and the footprint in the bathrooms and there's several different styles of um you know handicap accessible bathrooms type a stall type B stall um that you know we can look into and I'll have further conversation with you on that so maybe we can save some dollars there there's also some folks that have reached out that uh you know want some additional features on on the courts and have expressed an interest in raising some money so I think we have a lot to explore you know if they want to get serious about raising the money because I think this is a benefit also to the mile because you're going to go up there and your exercise you're going to get hungry you're going to come down you're going to want to go see the Smoothie Bar or you want to go get a a wrap or whatever it is that you want to go grab quick uh to go eat and then go run back upstairs and and yeah so I think it's a a win-win for the mile as well as a residence and I know there's residents that want to have some free time you know basically free court so that if you if you if you want to come out out there and try it for your first time and see if you're going to be catch that addiction of pickle ball you can do that so the manager can come out there with me and I'll I'll um whack the ball a few times like I did with a resident around the corner from me just to get the feel of the ball um so love to you know continue this conversation we have SP spirited discussions about free um we've had in my office uh over whether they can play for free or not so we continue to have addiction you know we're helping the the sports industry sell these rackets and balls and you know the food downstairs so absolutely to the mayor yeah I think we all share the same sentiment that we really want to make this happen but I think the real question is how are we going to make this happen where is the money going to come from and when you say you know we'll get started in September I'm like oh my god well that is um that's that's quite impressive but usually when we choose a project takes a couple years to um a couple even five years to raise the money or to budget the money to make this happen so um I think that's something that we really need to talk about and see how we're going to make this happen and maybe I'll throw in the idea of there was a gentleman in in public comments saying that there was a festival pickle ball Festival maybe we could think outside the box maybe we could um try to raise some funds to make this happen before so many years go by that we're still finding the money to make this happen and I think the reason I put this on here uh and I've been pushing this is we've been talking about it for 10 months and I really want to make sure that we bring this in and and and have these courts we've already added one with the restriping of the basketball cour at the youth center but there are issues with the one at Salvador uh the size just doesn't work the location is just not not practical um so the question is let's find a path forward that brings it to us sooner rather than later it's a facility that currently does not exist uh so if there is an outside vendor who's interested in partnering with the city maybe we can work out terms where we can still approve whatever terms are uh are used for charging or or what have you um but I think we should have all the options on the table and maybe over the next 5 weeks before our next commission meeting you can have conversations with them try to really hone in on these numbers obviously we could be at 520 versus the 600 it's a big difference those $80,000 do make a difference um so what I would like to see is for us to try to get this done as soon as possible okay I just want to add quickly uh something that the vice mayor mentioned um in terms of that area um had conversation with the administration I think my gender review and you know right now what's in that area is going to be totally different than what's going to be in that area in five or 10 years um you know we have the Public's project coming up potential large Park there's some um very nice apartments condos coming online a block or two away people are moving to downtown you know back in the day when I was a younger man you drove or walked to downtown you went back but people now really want to live there work there and pickle ball the theaters right there I mean our downtown may actually I think eventually evolve into what perhaps was envisioned a long time ago but all the Dynamics are there and I think pickle ball because of the social aspect to it I think would be an ideal component of what's to come through the mayor one thing I would I would really like to see is a resident rate when um this does happen CU I think it's it's it's important we we do resonant rates for everything we're able to do whenever whenever we have the possibility to do we do thank you is there any further further comment before I speak just want to make sure that there's no other further comment so a few things I'd like to put on the record um I like your your preliminary ROM a rough order of magnitude very well done but we both know that it is unrealistic to have a 20% contingency I know that that that's un it's not going to work you don't put a 20% contingency I have never seen that before in any of my projects and it's just it won't work here um in regards to a resident rate I have I'm going to go one further residents should play free no resident rate residents should play free charge people outside of the city for x amount of time and let them pay the entire the entire rate so that they can if they really want to pay here and it's and it's that hot like the the residents have been meeting with lately and I'll give you names of residents I've met with I have them on email who I've met with them probably about six or seven different residents in the last 3 weeks they say that more people will come into this community because they're looking for facilities like the ones that they use um as the area where par par jungle is what's that area called that is um Pine Crest no no no per jungle per jungle on the way to the beach oh Watson Island Watson Island in Watson Island there's pickle ball courts I've been invited to go see them I just haven't had a chance in between one region or another on Saturdays the gentleman name is Dr Dr borus he he's part of a group that I sat down with that they want to do the same thing a private public partnership okay but I explained to them very clearly the issue that we have here at hand is that the cost of land here is so expensive that if we're going to give you I get into an agreement with you over over a piece of property number one I can't tell you it's going to be for 30 years 40 years 50 years that's not the way that it works and number two the cost along with the construction could be prohibitive in regards to to the actual use cuz I don't know how I don't know how you can make money the Lots especially in downtown so what I see is again I I fully support this I think it's a great idea especially since the infrastructure is there but we got to get real numbers those numbers are not real you know that construction numbers are not real the contingency is not real um I know you want to set the contingency high so you can need a way at the contingency if you have some cost over runs and then come back um but that's not realistic and but what I'd like to see what I would like to see if it's the will of the commission you can run parallel tracks you can move forward with this is not give up on an alternate location and I'll tell you why because I think it's important run alternate tracks continue to do this but also look for areas in the city where you don't have a second floor where you don't have an ADA issue where you don't have an infrastructure issue like you do here where you have a dilapidated building we both know it's not in good shape where you you may potentially have to build an elevator to meet 88 requirements you know that's another 7 $800,000 I built I built exterior elevator shafts and that cost is light but I think there's opportunities that we're not looking and I promise you I promise you keep moving forward I I think we should do this project but I'm sure that if we get people together in a room to have a conversation about this and say bring ideas of other locations that we could potentially install 10 courts that would 10 or 15 courts that are on some sort of city property that are underutilized we just have to kind of look for that um even if it takes buying something in downtown where there could be a potential agreement um and we could potentially do something in in that um in that space But I would like to run parallel tracks continue with this okay but also have a conversation with the neighborhoods and the residents and anybody who's involved in pickle ball both public and private and say help us find properties that maybe are underutilized right now in the downtown that won't bother neighborhoods that are not an issue maybe a city parking lot maybe we have a city parking lot that we could potentially use as a pickle ball court uh we run the numbers what are we making on the revenue there how much could we charge and that kind of stuff but in regards to Residents I'd love for I'd love to see it be for free okay Mr clerk do you have any public comment yes Mr Mayor first speaker is M Haley Miss Haley good morning everybody I'm back good to see you so I have to say you guys know me as a happy Sunny person a lot of you have known me for a long time I'm very disappointed today I'm very disappointed because I keep hearing the word explore okay and I keep hear putting this off Coral Gables is behind the times with this okay we've got Palmetto Bay with cords we've got Pine Crest with courts and all of these by the way are standing room only you cannot get reservations at Pine Crest today thank you Mr clerk for giving me that bit of information I did not know I I got it out of him water Oaks Public courts by dad County Way Out West those courts are packed with lines of people at four at at 7:00 on a Saturday morning um Dural has courts Miami Beach has many um public courts including the six at the golf course there's Courts at the polo uh Park I did not know about the courts at Watson Island that must be very new because I I don't know anybody who's played on them yet and I'm very in tune with the community so I don't know if there's there any there Dade County is about to open up Courts at Tropical Park for a total of 12 when those courts are built there'll still be a lot of waiting time the demand is here and I'm going to show you in a little bit some pictures but I wanted to start off with that because I'm just very disappointed that this community that Prides itself on Recreation that has a fabulous Recreation Department um that I've been associated with when I was a child who which by the way I might say I'm probably the longest the person who who's lived in Coral Gable's the longest in this room 1968 you and I might be close I beat you ah you beat me okay but I've been here since 1968 Youth Center old old Youth Center um you know took my son to the new Youth Center we've been my husband have been coaches I used to do the baseball stuff on on the back on the charts before we had apps I mean we've been involved in community recreation here we've got some fabulous facilities but we are behind the ball on behind the ball not um with the with this new sport and we've got to get on it um it's just shameful um for us to be so far behind so I wanted to just talk a little bit um about so Fred and I have had discussions Fred's been great he's just awesome talking about all this um first of all I I wanted to just address a little bit about these two things that have come up today one about um not under necessarily City control but having somebody else come in and do that I've been hearing about this I you know know the name um I know what what what's happening with that I just caution you on that because I really think every time the city loses control of certain properties like that we don't necessarily get the best deal and your citizens your residents don't necessarily get the best deal so let's be really really careful with what we might do with somebody that we negotiate with um you know they may be a very good operator I don't know I don't know who it's about and the numbers might be really high and you might be pricing families out I've really pushed for making sure our families can afford this and you know not everybody lives south of us one east of the highway okay we got a lot of Working Families here who would love to do this Recreation um we've got a great part Department who can run this we can do this um in in in here so I'd be careful with that and um Mr Mayor to your point about some other type of facility I'd hate to see us find a beautiful Green Space and then asphalt it over with with pickle ball courts if we're going to find new land for this let's use it as Green Space let's keep the trees that that you know my my my church friend um loved let's let's do that kind of thing and not pave it over and make sure it's got even more use than just a pickle ball cord um I I and on top of that that's adding another layer to explore some more it it's just taking too long it's it's taking too long and that's part of why I'm very frustrated um with this um what I do want to tell you is if if you decide to do this as a revenue um as a revenue thing whether it's City run or run by someone else um there's money to be made here but it would I would urge definitely some kind of Resident preference some kind of Resident um rate because that's what we do at the youth center that's what we do at the at the adult Activity Center that would be the the right way to approach it and and I would insist not that you're going to pay attention to me that much but I would insist of like if we have eight courts and we have I think it was the number was 624 hours court hours available that we do like what was it about 30 court hours available for free and do them at prime time so take Four Courts on Tuesdays and Thursdays and make them free for couple of hours in the morning couple of hours in the afternoon that will also help build revenue sharing program and Fred and I have discussed that he doesn't necessarily agree with me but that's okay we'll we'll work it out as we always have we always do as we always do um parking revenue is going to increase if we do this uh right now that go ahead and show the pictures I took some random pictures at a few times over the um over the last few weeks and nobody's on the top of that floor in fact I didn't take pictures of the second floor the the one that's sandwiched in between but it's only about a third full too during the weekdays and we wouldn't necessarily be using it during the weekdays during office times yeah if you can just flip through them um there's about five of those again oh thank you you can do that thank you see so it's City cars parked up there oh okay let's stop here just right there as you'll see um I will I will talk about the coure costs because I spoke to the national sales manager for the pickle roll companies which would be I guess one of the companies we would request an RFP from and um they said the surface is in really good shape their owner came and looked at their surface he was in town that surface would require minimal prep for the courts and those were her words minimal prep they would put the the actual um pickle roll surface up there and then they would bring us Nets too so for 160,000 which is the number that was quoted to me just yesterday for 160,000 we could get those things done instead of 242 plus Nets I think we have 242 plus the Nets in addition so you know costs keep coming down I think if we chip at it we chip at it we can do this um yes a little shady area would be nice but we could do that with a couple of sales that we can take down when the hurricanes come right yeah so so we could do certain things like that yes I I would love if we had some kind of structure there that would be great and if we had lights there's electricity up there already so it's just a matter of making sure that the lights are right um for for playing so I think the costs um and and revenues on in ongoing basis the revenues on an ongoing basis are great um I gave um you know we discussed a lot of different uh programs that would bring people to the facility we talked about getting rid of the Salvador Court the Salvador Park courts those courts are an accident waiting to happen I've been hurt on them I know people who have bruised ribs on them you're lucky nobody's come back to the city on that but I think it's a serious problem there the overruns are very narrow very dangerous they're not standard and I I think if we build eight courts up here we can net six new courts and give those back to our tennis Community for a practice wall for all of us pickleball players to practice on for lacrosse I've seen lacrosse kids practice on the on the walls back there um you know I just wanted to to to finish up by talking about the demand and if we could go ahead um and show the the other pictures so here this is one if you go back one to the young man yeah this is one of our Rising Stars these pictures were taken these players pictures were taken last Thursday night um he's one of our Rising Stars he's out there regularly on Tuesdays and Thursday nights the next one please these are people waiting to play I didn't count them there's more actually more paddles than that this was last Thursday as you can see it's still daylight in the so it's late afternoon they're waiting to play if you show the next picture we had well over 35 people there the way time between games you get you get cold right you get your muscles get cold if you're waiting usually football players don't like to wait more than one game to come up again um so so and look at these you know lots of young people are out there playing um pickle ball so it's not just you know the gray hairs like me out there um Nikki is one of our our our regular P people out there um I think that's kind I think that's the last thank you thank you for that we've got the demand so you know let's let's get Let's Get What the residents want please please please thank you for your consideration and I'll I'm happy to answer any questions if you have any of me I just want to respond if I Mayan you made some comments I want to put it on the record um first off the it's called Reserve paddle and pickle the Miami Herald which is here actually covered it covered it in an article which is that I apologize which is dated um April 5th 2023 what is that I'm sorry it's the you said about on Watson Island oh okay so it's actually here it's pretty extensive pretty extensive overview I hadn't heard of it yeah so it's there um you can look up the article April April the 5th 2023 I can give you a copy after you like thank um in regards to the approach I I think it's you're 100% correct I think it should be 100% free for the residents we should make the money up on on on non-residents which is kind of like what happens in Salvador right now due to the fact that we took money from the county years ago our our hands are are basically tied for years so it's kind of a very difficult situation if not we would have a perfect resolution right there at Salvador to add more courts um but that puts us in a tough in a tough situation you mentioned about landscaping and and Parks um again my job and something that I've advocated for and I've delivered on is bringing more parks to the downtown I would never take a park and make it into what I said was in the record it says how about a parking lot like get a parking lot that exists and we can take our already an existing parking lot and and renovate it and and use it for something again but we'd have to figure out what is the revenue that we're getting how much are we losing and can we make that up one way or another uh so I think that those are important distinctions to make that I wanted to make sure that I'm clear but I support moving forward I just think that having something at the ground level at the ground level and I think that if we if we were able to find something I think we put our heads to it I think we' be able to find something that that could that could work um and I'm going to give a few names of people who have reached out to me who are interested in a P3 partnership who reached out to me saying listen let's grab a cup of coffee and have a conversation to see how we can collaborate on this issue so thank you for being here as always thank you uh next speaker Mr Mayor is Maria Cruz Maria Cruz 1447 Miller Road Miss is Maria Cruz um I don't want to sound very cynical but it gets to a point where here we go again here we go again um the community want something and we start uh finding reasons to um make it hard when I was sitting here listening I had not even signed up I just signed up to speak Burger boops keeps appearing in my mind you know what is impossible to do anything and go against the wall if the community wants it you know what there are priorities we have budget priorities there are things that we do that the community doesn't want but we want it so it gets done well this is something that the community wants you know what go through the budget and find the money to please the community I you know I'm tired of the excuses somebody must want the rooftop for something because the rooftop is not a good idea now okay somebody must want something because you know every time the community wants something that the elected elected elect whatever we call them don't want it there will be some problem and the longer we push it ahead the more expensive it will be look at Burger Bobs we we started with what 200 something maybe and now we're half a million and at the right we're going nobody will be able to go there because guess what we won't be able to afford it the same thing is going to happen with the pickle ball if we have to charge people because it takes us 5 years to get it done it' be for nothing because you know most people even though think that you know everybody in coros is filthy rich and there's money uh flow on the streets is not the case I think this is something that the community wants she's proven it m has in here so many times that I've lost track you know what let's see what's in the budget that we really could push later I'm not talking about the water tower by the way I'm not talking about buildings that have been allowed to to be decrepit okay I'm talking about things things that we put on the budget but that we haven't started and maybe we can say okay you know what that can wait but not this I think enough is enough the people speak you're here to listen Mr Mayor I have one more speaker on Zoom I don't have a name but I'm muting them right now good good afternoon ma'am if you could unmute your phone yes can you hear me yes okay uh I spoke earlier my name is Sarah Gago uh we don't have enough courts in the area to accommodate the community We need regular pickleball courts not only that it also for the surrounding communities that do have pickleball courts everybody who lives in Coral are coming to our community which is going to make it impossible for us to be able to play as well so you need to do something for this community please pickleball is a growing sport you it's inevitable you know we need to do something please thank you thank you Mr clerk next speaker on Zoom Mr Mayor is Lily aelle Mr aelle good afternoon Mrs L thank you oh thank you um I appreciate it uh good morning or good afternoon I'm sorry I'm uh I'm out west right now but uh this item is is way too important not to to call in and speak with you first and foremost thank you for bringing this up again um I spoke to you all about a year ago now regarding this um this need that as the USA pickleball Ambassador for Miami day County get calls and emails constantly and let me just say my name is Lil L um my address is 601 Northeast 36 Street Unit 1212 Miami Florida 33137 I'm at the Forefront of the need that is occurring in Coral Gables um as the lead usap PA Ambassador which is our governing organization I I've been talking in front of probably about 20 minut alties in our County and Miami day County at large um there were many reasons I think the last time I went in front of you all was when um there was a parking lot that was an idea with a parking lot and it was a real estate situation land again is too expensive um there was another study that I went in front of you all again regarding uh going into some other parks and there were issues with that um obviously the price tag was way over uh what was uh you all were comfortable with understandably so we came back to the drawing board pickle roll and that parking lot came as a result of the immediate need that Coral Gables residents had way overdue um and that's how this started uh pickle games of Miami came to in January it was 30 courts that were placed in the Miami Marine Stadium a festival um M was involved obviously with Fred uh and we're very appreciative to him and all his work he has done and and listening to the community about purchasing some of those courts because um that we could have that done immediately that's how this this parking lot came to be um so I urge you to stop the studying please because this has been done for quite some time um there's always going to be someone that comes in and that can do it and can do it better or this public partner Partnerships it takes a long time to get um anything done with those things it took few years for the for lale project to take place up there a lot of issues a lot of commission meetings people up in and arms about it there's a need now and and Coral Gables is way behind the times and it's very sad that that your residents are asking for you to do something and it's we're still in this situation um so I urge you yes let's take an analogous path I agree um with what was said by Mar Lago let's take an let's take a a path alongside but let's get these courts up so your residents can have a place to play look what pickle ball has done in Lincoln Road there's a shift on what's happening in in Miami Beach with the type of of Tourism coming in there people want their City back Coral Gables is nothing like that however there's a Revival that can take place in your downtown if people are walking around people are spending money um people are are visiting those those those those restaurants let's think about giving your residence your students um your public school kids a place to come and play with their parents um I urge you to please put this in front and and vote on something like this because we've been studying this now and I know Fred has been diligent working with the community as as many of you have um but I urge you to please uh you know put this in front of of for vote thank you mayor if I just want to give a little context U one of the first sites that I had looked at was the uh parking lot that is close to the police station okay and then since there was discussion of possibly using that for something else you know and the idea was to use that after we cut the ribbon on the parking garage next to the police station itself so that that would be ground level you know I don't want to exclude any possibility especially if it can we can get a deliverable faster uh and open to everybody in the community and then the second was the top of this parking lot because it is underused I mean it was something that I I noted for staff that you know look can we do it it's flat enough um you know I I don't want to make it overly constrained I know that when I go out to play I I usually sweat enough that the the need to use the restroom is not uh that high so uh I think the idea is we need to get it get it going uh the beauty of having the government do it is we can do this in phases too we can have a transition plan to improve facilities later on so I don't want to foreclose any opportunity especially if we can deliver it for fewer dollars and and quicker so um let's Forge forward that's what I I think we can do it and just put a warning that pickle ball is addictive so it will it does catch on Mr Mayor really quick I have one more member of the public requesting to speak on the item okay hello can you hear me yes sir uh yeah I spoke earlier real brief a wait a fund this um I would we have so much major corporations that are based and have offices in KL Gables Beck hardi that the Cadillac leaderships there's many more why don't we get try to get four sponsors give them a fiveyear deal $250,000 each that's $1 million you can raise that money and I think it's a a drop in the bucket for these companies to have their signature up there as major sponsors for this and we still have control the city has control of uh the project and not giving it out sourcing it out and that would be a way to raise the funds have you guys thought about that uh yes sir we have but also the city and we can provide it U through our City attorney or through the manager we can provide you a little bit of information in regards to our our code in regards to advertisement and what we allow um on the exterior of buildings uh throughout the city so there's a little bit of a hindrance in regards to that we we haven't allowed that in the past but I think there's a lot of opportunities and I think it's great to get the entire commission together and anybody who's interested in having this conversation and flushing out every idea that comes before us so thank you for okay thank you thank you have a good day Mr clerk is there anybody else that'll be all Mr Mr sponsor um so I guess I think vice mayor you you said what you said was makes a lot of sense there may be a phase approach here where you know we're going to need benches we're going to need you know other other things that can come later right now there's no benches is at any of our locations you basically just go play if you're waiting you're waiting there standing having a conversation uh as far as facilities um you know there's nothing specific to that area you have to go into the youth center to use the the facilities um so I think and and again I thought that's what we were going to get today what is our Bare Bones this is what we can do to get this you know get these eight pickle ball courts opened and ready to go and that's still what I would like to see you know I I know that there's a lot in here a lot of different things that that that are part of it but at the end of the day we have level ground there's not a whole lot of work to be done on the actual garage it's about purchasing or going through the RFP process to secure the pickle ball courts putting up the The netting around it and letting people play I think that's simple that that's what needs to get done and the vice mayor had even talked about Partnerships with neighboring uh businesses that have uh restrooms or facilities that could also be used there's obviously going to be an influx of traffic for their locations as well so it's a partnership um but we should explore these what I would like to see is a plan that we can try to move on by our next commission meeting and something that simple we can use money from this year's budget we have had an increase in in in in property values we have had more income our six six-month Mark we normally have an idea of what our budget projections are going to be for the rest of the year the money should be there in this year's budget and I would like for the the manager to work with uh with uh um the the budget director uh and our finance director to find a way to get this done as quickly as possible I know RFP is going to take some time but if we can get this done over the next few months get this opened we won't have 3540 people and actually those pictures aren't even close to what it was before before there was probably half that number of people so we've doubled and a lot of us I show up if there's a Longline waiting I just go back home you know I have an 8-year-old he loves to play but we don't have the the luxury of of waiting there because he gets antsy and you know Dad let's just go so I think we we have a demand now if there's a parking garage that can be used in the future you know I think we should definitely consider that we should consider all options that are available there's a sport that's continuing to grow and if we have other options going forward I think we should consider those as well but I think we need to satisfy the demand that we have today Dural opened a facility I think it was a year and a half ago or or last year and there was a post online uh yesterday about how that facility isn't even covering the demand that they have in Dado right now so it's a sport that's continuing to grow and the vice mayor is correct it is addicting cuz once you're out there you just want to continue to play uh and I'm I'm happy that we we have an addiction that's a positive for people not an addiction that's a negative for people and if we can foster that addiction for the outdoors we have a community that's completely an outdoor Community every day you see more people walking more people biking more people taking advantage of our Parks I mean our Parks Salvador Park is a is is beyond capacity every afternoon every weekend because people are looking for things to do this is an empty space right now A blank canvas that we can take advantage of it let's do it sooner rather than later so I figure if you can piggy back to piggy back on uh what commissioner Fernandez said um would it be possible in April my next meeting is in April to come up with uh two or three paths forward funding wise so we can consider them tangible real world options and then perhaps at that point we can say okay collectively this is the way the commission would like to go and give guidance that way sure we can do whatever requested not a problem yeah through the mayor if the if there is funding as as the commissioner is saying let's get it started what are we waiting for I mean we have several plans of things that we could do if the funding is available I mean this is the path forward okay on April yeah would you like to touch on that no we'll do is direct it um you know in terms of what we Tred to present is we we did we did look at at scaling it back as I said there's a little bit more if you if you do the Sur the the surfacing where you can cut it back some more and yeah you don't need the and that's why I itemized it out you don't need the 50,000 for the shade and all that but you're still it's it's still a substantial amount um when you do the the the the fencing the surfacing and the lighting um so it's it's going to be you know it'll be a little less than that 600 but it's not going to be half but we can definitely look at um we'll work with finance and and we'll we'll keep working on these numbers and Whittle them down as much as we can my my thoughts on the things you said that can be May perhaps added later um I want to make sure that those elements of the game that assure the participants that they have a positive experience are not we don't cut Corners there uh things that perhaps are more amenities you know the shade and this that comes later but I think you're were talking the fencing and I don't want to do something like say eliminate something and then 6 monthes later realize you know what we need we really do need to add it so I think if you concentrate on the play which is the surfacing the lighting and you do need the fencing the barriers you need to get that 12T up so that ball doesn't go over the for person yeah yeah exactly so that kind of thing so but concentrate on the play is is what we would do the the side stuff we can you can phase it in if you want to put a waiting that like I said though if you do that it will be it will be free but it because it'll be hard to toh control who plays there and who doesn't without staff thank you thank anything else okay uh moving on to item H3 H3 is a resolution authorizing the execution of a sewer Improvement agreement between Regency Park LC and the City of Coral Gables subject to the requirements of the public works department and provided that the executed agreement be made part of this resolution authorizing an amend to the fiscal year 2324 annual budget to recognize $475,000 contribution toward the city sewer Improvement fund as revenue and to appropriate such funds to be used toward sewer improvements Mr director good morning um so this is a standard sewer agreement except that it includes a contribution towards a sewer capacity project that the city is going to be breaking ground fairly soon uh for the city to area um in North cable so the will allow the sewer capacity not only for the developer who has been previously approved by this commission but is Crea enough capacity in the area for future uh projects and then to the mayor just a quick question um the amount that of contribution here uh addresses the needs uh for Public Works correct to execute this correct okay absolutely anything else from the commission no I'll move it a second Mr cler do we have any any comments or anything or no no Mr Mayor thank you commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes mayor logo yes thank you Mr director I appreciate it um moving on to H2 since we're here H2 is resolution of the city commission authorizing the acceptance of modification number one of Grant funds to agreement number G23 Mi 006 a funds in the amount of $ 33,2 3779 on behalf of the cor Gables Police Department as part of the office of National Drug control policy high-intensity drug trafficking areas program to support fiscal year 2324 operations of the South Florida money laundering Strike Force authorizing Amendment to the fiscal year 2324 annual budget to recognize the 33,2 3779 Grant modification number one as revenue and to appropriate such funds to put toward the cost of the program Chief how are you sir good morning Mr Mayor Commissioners uh this is a pass through uh that we do the Coral Gables police department and the City of Coral Gables are responsible fiduciaries for both the strike force and this heida so this is a pass through because of the amount it has to come uh as a resolution item thank you is there any comments from the commission no no I'll move it second commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes mayor loo yes thank you chief for your hard work on this issue we move on before you leave come back to we'll do f11 if you're here f1's a resolution of the city commission directing City staff to fund and deploy school crossing cards at Coral Gable senior high school and directing City staff to conduct a review of current traffic patterns and conditions near Coral Gable Senior High School there um mayor there's a number of items that are talking about similar issues f11 F12 all right I think you want to do as F7 and f8 I think we can knock them out let's bundle it up and well F not F1 F12 no no F4 and F5 I misspoke we got Vision zero electric scooters uh crossing guards and ebikes so I'll read F12 if you want to hear them all together mayor that's fine and you said also F four four and five okay it's an overlapping discussion you know about Public Safety yep so I'll read in F12 which is the other resolution that's on I know there's two other discussion items but the other resolution is F12 a resolution of the city commission and support of county commissioner regalado's efforts to allow City's additional oversight and regulation of ebikes motorized scooters and micr Mobility devices on County Roads within Incorporated areas of Miami County so before you before you begin can you tell me what was it that happened today there was a traffic accident um regarding one of our employees yes one of our employes employees was hit while crossing the street on their way to work to the station uh subsequently the individual driver that struck the employee also struck three or four uh police I'm sorry fire vehicles uh again the charges are still pending the employee thank God was taken to ride or trauma and my understanding as in good condition at this point the driver of the vehicle was also transported to a nearby hospital and uh that's under investigation so I don't have any idea of of the charges that have been filed since what is that was that in front of the station right in front of the police station yes sir they're the reason I asked we talked about this last year I think it was that intersection uh right where the entrance police uh you know it's chaotic it should be a four-way it's two-way and people either think it's a four-way or think it's a zero way and I don't know if there's any update on last week um in light of the other accident I was in touch with uh Miami day traffic control and streets uh the decision that we couldn't actually have the assessment of that intersection done until the parking garage was finished the parking garage is finished so last week I had a meeting with them for a couple of different issues uh the the tragic accident that we addressed at Altera and Lun Road Road was also on my agenda uh I spoke with the director as well as the Chief Operating Officer of Miami Dade County uh one we're checking those lights on that intersection second we are redoing the evaluation to look at the intersection at Minorca and Salo as a four-way intersection and looking at adjusting the one at uh navari this morning's accident was not uh anything to do with any kind of um design the from what we've seen through the investigation the employee waited had the cross the street sign cross the street uh again as we are seeing more and more every year the it appears the vehicle did not yield the RightWay to The Pedestrian when making a left-hand turn this is about the third accident that we have seen in the last week uh this one uh again struck down one of our employees one of my employees uh previously as you all are aware that we had a fatality uh again without getting into the details of the investigation charges are pending with the state attorney's office uh but a similar situation where the the person on the scooter actually waited we actually know that they waited use the signalization uh whether somebody was not or not paying attention we don't know that yet uh as I said said it's still uh still under investigation by the traffic homicide unit and uh when that that'll come from the state attorney's office but we're seeing um an increase I mean just from last year uh in our reports and we just updated it our pedestrian bicycle fatalities uh in 2022 we had none 2023 we had one and year to date 2024 we've had one uh pedestrian accidents uh with the information in 2023 we had 55 involving pedestrians of which 65% were the vehicle's fault pedestrians fault were about 18% 16% could not be determined this year 2024 we've had six pedestrians involved in accidents uh 177% of those which is one was a vehicle at fault uh and five we were unable to determine exactly who was at fault uh approximately 25% of all our accidents involving pedestrians were due to the vehicles failing to yield to The Pedestrian on or in a crosswalk while turning left or right or traveling straight uh approximately 18% of the accidents involving pedestrians were caused by pedestrians Crossing or walking in front of moving vehicles and not Crossing at designated crosswalks uh so again I think this is something that we have been trying to address um every year uh goly there is an uptick again we have uh State projects that we we part participate in as far as bicycle pedestrian safety and initiatives uh We've continued to uh rank very highly on that um in 2023 the police department received first place in the State of Florida for our Traffic Challenge category number five which is exactly what we're here to talk about uh our V vehicle pedestrian safety we received a $116,000 grant or award specifically just to deal with bicycles as pedestrian uh accidents and to try and bring those down um unfortunately some of those those are or I should say unfortunately but some of those are bicycle as fault very rarely uh that we've seen there has been a decrease in that a lot of it actually 133% of our crashes involving bicyclists are due to the bicyclist not following the rules of the road I.E failure yield to ride away failed to OB B stop signs driving with or against the flow of traffic approximately 46% of our accidents involving bicyclist are due to vehicle failure to ride away I.E the crosswalks intersections exactly what we've seen U today and what we continue to address one on Miracle Mile because bicycles are restricted on Miracle Mile to the vice mayor's um point about how we can restrict and better kind of educate people on both scooters and bicyclists um the ongoing issue that we see is some distraction uh whether it be a a a device in the hand uh and but some pedestrian crosswalks uh this this body is understood and I did this the last time we were up here a few years ago when we start writing the the The Pedestrian tickets on Miracle Mile your phones ring as do mine uh you know it's an $83 ticket but a lot of these issues uh and I see it every day uh the assistant chief and I if we walk to lunch we going to be standing there in uniform and people will walk right by us and start crossing the street um so that that that is an ongoing problem specifically about the U the crossing guards the fatality accident that we're discussing took place at 11:00 in the morning uh there so the school zone uh enhancement laws if you will were not in effect uh we have had an ongoing um cooperation with the Schoolboard police so as this body knows I have always kept uh the additional school resource officer at Gable's High even after the Marjorie stowman Douglas act where we have now one Schoolboard officer one Coral Gable's officer that's assigned to Gables High uh we have worked with the principal and I spoke with him again last night or last week I should say and the school district superintendent office that we have worked with them because it's a little bit easier for for us to get the um the the children or or the attendees the students at Gables High to listen to an internal discipline issue than it is to have us out there riding tickets um it is difficult and and this is might be why that we don't have school crossing guards on a street that big uh there is there there's a reluctance for certain age children to listen to a school crossing yard because we have seen that there's certain reluctance from the same children to listen to a police officer in uniform on the street corner so uh I believe our our our um attack if you will on this is to deal the three sides because we're really talking about three sides of the school campus Riviera bird and um Lun Road our you know last year alone and writing the the citations in that area as far as the enforcement is concerned is regular school zone citations near Coral Gables High School in 2022 all around and this is sovia to bird bird to almanar Lun to Riviera we wrote 2658 uh citations in 2023 we wrote 1,864 and the school zone violations for 2023 were 747 uh today up till March 8th we've written all citations 15438 for school zone violations uh part of this body that will we will have an item coming up on the next agenda will be to introduce uh school I'm sorry speed zone cameras and school zones uh we have done the um the the statuto required of our evaluation of where that would be uh we will be probably be asking to put those on lejun road on Bird Road as well we will look at what Riviera does um our biggest violators within the school zone around Gable's high are parents dropping off uh that's probably the most ticket we write as far as speed we very rarely do we get speed zone uh tickets when the officers are there we still regularly do that U so uh I understand you know right now I have three part-time and that's 2 hours in the morning 2 hours in the afternoon crossing guards that funding comes from uh the issuance of tickets through Miami Dade County uh as of right now I I've have one person that's been with us a very long time uh I have one person that since retired and passed from St Teresa's I don't know how St Teresa got that it was believe it or not well before my 37 years being here um but I will have to look at those um public school areas so the one that gets addressed every day is on Pont uh at Pont Elementary along with uh with school board as well as our officers if we have to as well um is it taxing yes I think there there's a routine that we have to to stay in in in front of um again this accident tragedy all the way around until you know the investigation's complete um but we nearly had another one in a totally different area of the city um where there's police trucks police cars fire trucks around um it it is a full-time operation of the specialized enforcement Division and the downtown unit to try and bring all of this together um you all have seen it I've seen it we have people on scooters we have people uh that do some pretty idiotic things on scooters and bikes uh not to say there's a lot of other people that are on their phones uh the patients are are less and less downtown uh as we push from people off of Miracle Mile and parts of of ponts it puts them into the roadway traffic so I mean obviously the police department is fully in support of marking up some more of our bike lanes and making it even more distinguishable uh um we we this isn't the first time in my career that we haven't had pedestrians hit um for no fault of their own and and trying to get cars scooters bicyclists and pedestrians on the same page in our streets is uh is something that's always going to be a challenge but in today's day and age we have to do even more and more so commissioner I I I don't want to say that I can deliver a school crossing guard at our our line item budget is 77,000 uh my recommendation and again I would go through the manager to talk about maybe we look at what has been successful has been our part-time traffic officers or these are police officers that are working 4 hours in the afternoon 4 hours so we might want to have a bigger discussion to see if we want to expand that from six now obviously um you know there there's a fiscal impact to our budget even doing part time officers uh but it does give us the teeth that we would need um for school crossing issues at GES high school I'm confident in our partnership with the district as well as with the with the principal uh that we can probably work even stronger for those crossing times but we we don't see the the the tragic accidents as we have in this one this one was um you know the again the the person on the scooter from everything I can tell from the preliminary investigation did everything required by law yeah so I think safety should be number one no matter what whether we have a crossing guard or we have a police officer there whatever the case is um Mar Ro has from the school board to reach out to the commission regarding her her concerns and most of the resolution was really drafted upon her recommendations um friends of Gable's is really showing a lot of support they sent me a letter for support for this resolution I think the main thing here is is is safety right and how do we obtain that I would hate for something preventive strategies I would hate for something to happen around Coral Gables High School and have have spoken about this subject it's it's these are children these are our children so um I think this is very important to me and I keep on I mean keep Kan and now um leun Al and then an employee of of of the police it doesn't even matter if it was their fault or not their fault it's happening it's happening let's find a solution um I would still like to move forward maybe we could change the resolution to police officers or or crossing guards either or just have somebody there right so through the mayor i' just like to add on because this is a comprehensive and cohesive issue throughout our city um know what I might I do favor having a police officer there because you also have the law enforcement aspect to it not just because you're more likely to listen to you but you can radio in and say Hey listen we have a lot of speeding going on let's and you can have ticketing going on which helps deter you can help identify the hot spot throughout our city that we have issues at and I put Vision zero on um before Miss ras' letter came in and I did speak with her on Friday at the um Sanctuary event you know about you know this idea of safety the reality is though that we in addition to having your presence there the police presence there and infrastructure changes that we need to have our staff look at from um our our traffic engineer look at to see if we can improve intersection safety there uh going forward is we also need to educate okay and reasons I say that is because I never ride my bicycle with music playing and even then I have those headsets that don't block my ears so that if I have to pick up a call real quick and I can pull off somewhere I can hear but you go on campus anywhere whether it's a college or or elsewhere and I was trying to look for Senator Cal's office and I'm going like this trying to get the attention of of a student they can't hear you because they have the airpods in there's there's things like wearing you know lights this is the vision zero thing that make yourself a more visible things I've learned from other folks when bike riding thank God I've never been hit I've come close a few times of being hit but wearing white even more so than the fluorescent colors pays off making sure that the driver has their eyes on you before you proceed into that intersection because if they don't see you just like a truck driver if you can't see they can't see you in the mirror they're not going to be able to see you at all so I have reached out to University of Miami to be part of this conversation and um to make a cohesive plan for getting students uh to the university we need to drive forward on on issues that have reached you know some resistance in our community whether it's safer bike Lanes sidewalks things of that nature uh when I plan a long ride or something I get out of map but new students coming into that University don't take the map and I try to find the safest route we can provide these students some guidance going forward all four having an officer present at the school and they can gather observations to provide input to our Traffic Engineers uh where we have some more issues how we can slow down traffic more whether it has those rib sections to slow down people more to wake them up before they get into some of these dangerous zones because we have three critical intersections there correct we have Riviera we have Lun and bird and you know we have the one on Altera and Lun all involved cooperation from the state and the county for us to do anything correct both of those roads so to your point mayor vice mayor is you know those are state roads so we obviously have to partner with them about what that is to to your voice vice mayor I mean we are we are giving out all the the the information including the lights so our we have been downtown uh dealing with basic laws we give out the lights that you I just mentioned about people can wear on their clothes uh I'm not going to lie we use it at night as a tool since you have to have a light on your bike and someone's not riding it gives our officers Reasonable Suspicion to stop somebody in a neighborhood so we we also readdress that and if there are residents and we have those lights we'll give them a set uh so it is our multipled and and the Department's convinced or committed I should say to actually part of working with the university to find which ways we can go as sidewalks get added I think that's going to going to help us a little bit on these issues um but again I I I I I don't think um and again commissioner Castro I I don't want to thwart the idea uh I I need I think we need someone that could stop children or teenagers from crossing the streets and also make sure that tickets can be issued down the road if the motorcycle unit's there so I don't want to poo poo the idea of not having somebody there we have done this in the past the principle has been committed to having the security from the school so if children or students don't listen then they suffer discipline consequences from which is probably a little bit bigger of an issue than than getting a tight a citation CU I just don't think citing a 16-year-old non-driver for for walking against the crosswalk lights is going to work and really the only thing a crossing guard can do is and if you've seen it is walk out with the traffic stop it put up the two stop signs and then wait till everybody goes um so those kind of streets and again I think the speed cameras are going to help because once we put those in then I can realign some of my resources to deal with the actual people that are stopping dropping off I think talking to the state about seeing if there's something we can do ADA Compliant with making sure people are crossing at the intersections and not the middle because that's another issue that we have seen when pedestrians have been struck and I'm not saying specifically around Gable's High they're walking in the middle of their street they're not well lit you know uh and the really the only place that we can really write those is on Miracle Mile because there is a crosswalk so it's not necessarily illegal to cross the middle of a block unless there's a center crosswalk so that's why we write them there uh but you know overall I I CH I'll take each one of you to lunch one day and we can walk down Miracle Mile and they think this is a Halloween costume because they just right in front of me and I have had people argue with me in uniform about H do something else I was at the Miracle Mile set Saturday driving through and going north on ponds trying to make a left onto Miracle Mile cutting in front of Houston and uh Arrow turned green the car in front of me just made a turn and all of a sudden had to stop because half the 30 people that were there decided just to cross even though it said don't cross because their cars turning it's just it's um no it it it is a problem I had a couple other antidotes to add to you since you're you're talking about the mile we have cars that actually urn right in the midblock crosswalk yes so the other thing that you know and I'm going to dovetail into your item as well for the ebikes and and lights is that on on the bike I have the flashing light going daytime or nighttime MH because you're going past intersections and you need that driver to really realize that you're there and they're not always doing the head turn both directions but if you have a flashing light it's more likely to catch their peripheral vision and they'll be able to see you um so on the ebikes itself I mean I stay away from kids anytime I bike because they drive erratically there's a reason why we don't give children license is to drive powered vehicles and that's because they don't understand the capacity and the dangerousness of what they're doing that with that speed and they just they can't manage the power behind it and they end up hurting someone so I'm in favor of regalado's proposal to give you know cities additional oversight and regulation on ebikes there are ebikes that are capped out at 20 M hour you know saying that you you're going to ban ebikes is not the answer controlling the age of who can drive the ebike can controlling the speed the maximum speed that they can go uh is is a reasonable thing to do um not to say that I can't go pretty fast downhill on a on a regular bike you'll go faster than me vice mayor I can promise you that unless we're going downhill uh but you know I've been riding for a really long long time so um uh commissioner you know sorry I kind of stole some of your thunder but you can dub tail in on that and I'd like to see if we can do what we can both infrastructure wise and educational wise to um make things safer for pedestrians and teach people on both end of the spectrum you know that you can't have these in hand be looking at them while you're crossing the street absolutely yeah and I think um it's not just just here in the downtown uh I was down in Coco Plum about a resident I know vice mayor is also working with them and with the county uh the crosswalk at the entrance of cocoa plum the issue you have there is the folks that are driving north and Old Cutler are coming through and the folks that are trying to make a left turn around the circle are just focused on the vehicle that's coming and they're trying to make that cut across and they don't have enough time to stop if somebody's in the crosswalk and they haven't seen them they're too focused on the vehicle um so I I think Citywide we do have issues with that I I that may be a topic for larger discussion on our crosswalks uh and it'll be a conversation with the county as well whether in some places we need elevated crosswalks uh which will force people to slow down um I don't know that that's the the situation here but this is a situation you and I have spoken about for years because in the SCRC this would come up every year beginning of the school year the issues with and like you said the biggest issue is the parents dropping their kids off in the center lane and having them cross they literally open the door on the left hand lane and have them run into this school um I've seen it at Carver where when somebody is walking hand inand in the middle of Grand Avenue and you know we're up here so I mean and we have written I mean last year when we did this it wasn't just warnings we wrote 186 bicycle violations last year um which averaged about 37 citations a month for bicyclists that are violating that um commissioner CASRO I I I would just like to kind of put together something a little bit more comprehensive to say you know this is something we can do with the policing side of it and work together a little more comprehensively to address your resolution to instead of just I don't know if I can find somebody to work two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon because I would need four people and I mean the only thing we're budgeted for now from the city or from the the County government is 77,000 for the whole year so um if I could provide some context to that I know that has also been an issue that's been discussed for a while because we do have two vacant positions that we have not been able to fill for a couple of years now so having somebody there who can ticket is probably an option that will give this more teeth do you have resources right now to be able to move somebody there uh we would have to do it on a rotational basis so I you know I have and you know as of today one of our longtime members who has been the part-time neighborhood traffic officers retiring uh so we need to push forward on on finding those I I would recommend it again through the manager we would have to talk with Finance to see what those numbers are because the the the part-time officers don't count toward our headcount so to speak but they are officers and that's something that we would do because I can't take away from the cut through traffic in the morning to put them there um I do believe once we get through the red light or the speed cameras that's going to reduce some of the officers the motorcycle officers that are working speed in a Zone where we can focus on some of the crossing so I I do believe within the next month or so we're going to have a much better Clear Vision to what yourself and board member Roos um want to get to I mean we've dealt with this before and I think in the meantime uh our partnership with the with the principle and having two Schoolboard police officers and a Coral Gables officer on campus which is already being done since the set since the accident uh should be a stop in the right direction so okay I first I would want to thank Jessica Culler she reached out to me several times provided me with a lot of information um that we worked with in the past and currently I understand that we're having difficulties with the crossing guards we have funding I believe is $77,000 however from those $77,000 we are only spent I think 25,000 so maybe uh Communications can help with advertising for this position or and besides Coral Gable's High School we're missing more schools missing we only have three we only budgeted for three crossing guards in the entire city um again even though it is it is not a uh we're not commensurate with the Dade County school crossing guards that everybody sees uh a much bigger program than that uh we have been focused on public schools uh a majority of the private schools hire off-duty officers from this department or others and that's pretty much how we control that in and out um the $77,000 that we get I believe and I'll have to defer to Legal eventually to see if those are earmarked because of the way it's collected from the county so it goes specifically for crossing guards and I don't know if we could move that to someplace else in our bud no I I i' I've already spoken to them we cannot but I'm I'm just emphasizing the importance of covering those other schools that we don't have those those are covered by police officers so no school that we've already done St Teresa's and again I don't know how St Teresa's pulled it off off but they had a crossing guard they have police officers uh at Pon Elementary um they have police officers there every day and making sure we're working across yeah um I did speak to finance I Paula I oh right there yes we were looking if we had to find the money the 18 18x ex $18,000 extra dollar extra I think that's what we were talking about I think we would be able to find that money to um so just um for the record so the funds that we collect from the county actually we collect just under $20,000 a year so the funds so the portion of the tickets that we receive we uh we receive under $20,000 however we budget for three uh part-time crossing guards as the chief and you guys have spoken about he currently has two vacancies of the three that we have budgeted and so if the commission directed staff directed the city manager to add an additional crossing guard to our budget it is a nominal amount that we could probably identify in the fiscal year it's not something significant we would work with the chief's office and the manager to identify where those funds could be could come from so um because it you know and we're halfway through the year so we're not talking about a full year then we'd have to add that to next year's budget and it would be part of the budget that's presented to you during the budget process um but given that there are vacancies and that the chief has been unable to hire those positions there are those savings whether um whether the next position hired would go to that school or another would be you know part of that safety plan that's uh coordinated through the manager in the chief's office there's a crossing guard little course I think required to your crossing guard and I I don't think it's no no I'll I'll I'll put crossing guards on on neighborhood streets you know and on ponds with a divided median I don't believe it's safe to have a crossing guard trying to stop traffic or making sure traffic stays stopped at Lun and Bird Road I I mean it you you have to have the authority to issue a citation and direct a car over uh um you know we have we're budgeted for six part-time traffic officers and my budget shows $430,000 4 $430,500 a year those we can move around so again I I would I mean that's something I think we should explore commissioner to say listen during the year we can have them there in the offers I can use them other areas and they're multifaceted it's it's finding some somebody who to work 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon part-time with very little training uh and the background that we have to have because they're going to have access to Children is almost like having a part-time police officer and those are much easier for me to hire because there's other jurisdictions that may their officers may want to work part-time and there's ability so uh if if I got the two positions I would obviously Phil pon right and then possibly Pon uh junior high down there where we would keep them in a much more of a residential area um you know a school crossing guard on Douglas Road or I'm sorry on on Coral Way that I see every day um they work the light they stand out then they come back and if somebody Blows By them there's no consequences I really do believe that we have to have consequences and and the other issue that we have to have is modify the children's Behavior with with the school resource officers as well as an officer so I'm I'm all for pushing to try and find these crossing guards I just don't think it's safe to have somebody with no jurisdictional authority to stop somebody pull them over and work that I understand what you're saying I understand what you're saying I can agree that's why I can imagine what's happening out there especially given the ages that it's a high school when I'm talking about the crossing guards and and the course and I'm really talking about the ones we haven't filled right right so if maybe Communications can help us advertise this a little more for those schools that would be priority I mean I I'd appreciate it very much and as far as Coral Gable's High School I would love to follow your recommendation but I would still maybe maybe change the the language on the resolution so can I make a suggestion something something along the lines in Chief chiman please but maybe perhaps a resolution of the city commission authorizing the city manager to address um current trafficing conditions near Coral Gable Senior High School through policing as as determined or as needed um you know as determined through by the manager and the police chief we can we can do something like that yeah I think I I I think the is the if if it was I would say to to direct through the manager um instead of school crossing guards tra traffic traffic safety initiatives personnel and that way it it's kind of widespread uh I mean I may have to put regular officers there but in the meantime you know it's working in conjunction with them I think would be an easier lift for us to do that is successful beautiful I agree with that okay I would I agree to that and um if I I would move it you can move it I'll second before we make the motion I have uh members of the public requesting to speak on the item uh first speaker is Maria Cruz Maria Cruz 1447 M Road that's Mrs Maria Cruz um I've been lucky I guess to uh take my oldest granddaughter to Coral G High every morning between 6:45 and 7:15 and I've seen something I've seen a change for last three or four from the beginning of the school year we had at least one motor man and a and a unit on the corner of Riviera and bird in the morning uh stopping parents that were dropping kids in the middle of the road uh I mean they were doing wonderfully there then on Le June right in the middle between Merck Park I guess around that area and the school there were several motormen I remember officer wheeler cuz I happen to know him and some un they've disappeared the last 3 or 4 weeks we haven't had anybody there I am telling you you take your life in your hands because I'm going to tell you the kids when they were there you could see them a mob waiting for the light to change they wouldn't dare step on the street now it's like 3:4 304 and they crou they don't cover the light and they keep going and that's the same on bird and Lun and the same across the parking lot it's horrible and I'm telling you cuz I drive it every morning what has happened that we do not have any police presence there I would say for sure for sure at least three weeks maybe four I've been telling my daughter I don't know what's going on I don't know what's going on but they're they're not there they're not there the parents are back to the beginning of the year you know know they stop they drop the kids the kids get in the middle of the road the kids get on this I mean the traffic has become a nightmare because there's no presence there if I could say something um we're having a vacancies quite as of today we have uh 33 police officer vacancies uh also light duties so we have officer Rosario who is still recovering another officer who is on light duty from the motor unit spe specifically uh we continue to have 11 in backgrounds four are in the academy right now we're using twois we had 27 people I think showed up for the orientation on Thursday uh so we are continuing to move forward with with hiring those individuals uh some of those people have just been on light duty I mean officer wheeler who uh is a stalwart as far as working for years is retired and you know officer Smith retired so these are people that have going on uh we've put in new motorcycle officers as well we're also focusing on the downtown issue so we are moving people around people are working overtime to work those positions um whether they're on calls or not I don't know I would have to look at whatever days we're talking about uh again because we're the traffic accidents aren't just around Gables High I understand we're focused on Gables High uh miracle mile we we've had a a motorcycle fatality at the foot of of George Merrick and and we we've seen it happen here um I I understand vice mayor your thing as far as people not paying attention but I I challenge any of you to ride in a Rescue Unit or a police car with our lights and siren on and people don't get out of the way they're just not paying attention I mean it is it's alarming it is so uh again I think we we continue to work those areas major boets actually has the specialized enforcement Division and when we have these issues come up and again I I have to go back to this this tragic accident on Altera was at 11:00 and everything seems to have worked right I mean we are checking with the uh with with with Dade County who controls all the traffic lights it seems to be cycling correctly and if we can change that we can change that uh monitoring or managing parents actions and children's actions or students not even children's um is something that you know as police we have to do um but I I do believe that when the speed cameras get in place around there and those the part of that speed camera law is also if you go 20 M hour over the speed limit during school not even during the school zone it's another ticket so I I believe that is going to help allocate some more positions that we can actually repurpose those officers that are there uh some officers have been transferred out of the motor unit and I've had one or two put in so you know I think focusing on the part-time traffic officers could be a quick fix for somebody's for officers who like to do traffic and some of ours have been with us a very long time so with all the vacancies we have it only puts a lot more pressure on the officers we do have and I want to say how appreciative I am and how much it means of all the overtime they are working and all the hard work they're putting in yeah I listen I can't say enough about the officers that are here and that that continue to come in every day and there's a lot of young officers that because of our contract we have to start with the young when we have to hold people over and I think that um that's takes a toll on them as well so you know I can I can assure you that that our background unit in the police department and HR uh under the director are are pushing ahead and you know we've had probably more uh people apply to us recently and we're going to continue and uh when negot iations are done I think we're going to have another whole different attack for certified officers that I think are going to help fill some of those vacancies I mean it's the ripple effect of the vacancies is what I think we're seeing um but there's always going to be boots on the ground I think everybody needs to know that that's my job to make sure no matter how many people leave we are going to have people on the ground and you know I want to get those back thank you sir Mr cler do you have any any Mr Mayor I have one more speaker it's going to be on zoom and it's Jessica Keller M Keller good afternoon good afternoon this is Jessica Keller um I wanted to start by saying I wish there was a little bit more enthusiasm about Transportation traffic safety as there is pickle ball um and we wouldn't be having these conversations um initially I wanted to speak in opposition to f11 in its previous form um Chief FC did a good job um articulating some of the reasons why I opposed it in its original form and we've also spent a lot of time talking about um enforcement and education in these matters um but we're not talking quite enough about the engineering component of addressing safety um I really would like to see uh Florida Department of Transportation brought into the discussion I'm aware of a project that is planned for the corridor which includes lowering the speed limit along that portion of Lun road so coupled with lowering the speed limit on Lun Road and the speed cameras that the chief um mentioned I think it will improve the situation but engineering needs to be considered in the discussion as well that's all thank you thank you very much that's it Mr Mayor okay is there any further discussions in regards to this matter okay so there's a motion and a second correct yes sir uh just to confirm I have a motion and a second on agenda item f11 as as as modified as as modified yeah yes okay yes f11 commissioner Menendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes mayor logo yes uh you want moving on to item F12 we had a discussion it on that we had we already talked about it or we going to continue moving forward on that F12 I I read it into the record and so you all I don't know if there's any action by the commission before we take action just more commentary I just wanted to add one last thing to it before we do we know what we're actually voting on is there an actual piece of legislation that the county commissioner has proferred so I'm going to ask a deputy City attorney to explain what the resolution as drafted provides and what we know about you know commissioner regalado's efforts thank you um good afternoon everyone Stephanie thr Mar wut City attorney the item before you today is a resolution in support of the county commissioner's efforts to allow cities additional oversight and regulation of ebikes scooters and micr Mobility devices um we have heard word that an item is coming we do not have the item in front of us at the moment it's my understanding it should be published with the next BCC agenda but we do not have a draft item in front of us U my understanding is that it will be an effort to allow some sort of additional oversight over County roads but again I don't have the full um the full story on what that legislation would be just two points really quickly and again we can move on I'm in support of more oversight there's two main points here number one we have preemption by the state which which I think is critically important and we don't even know if we be preempted because we don't have actual legislation being presented to us I'm of the belief that I think that we should wait to see what is going to be presented before us before we make a resolution taking action on legislation that doesn't exist at the present moment while I age wholeheartedly there should be uh regulations on ebikes again speed control you know micro ability devices I I agree but let's I I'm of the belief that we should wait till the next commission meeting with her legislation and do a resolution of support this is just a resolution support but at least we know what we're supporting cuz right now we I have not seen any legis legislation I looked for legislation and I asked both City Attorneys at our meeting at my pre- agenda yesterday and they said we don't have any we don't have any actual legislation so I think it's that's correct unless we want to move forward we can support So through the mayor I you know I I do agree but I do think we can share our thoughts with uh the commissioner directly each one of us you know I did express some thoughts as well you know when you're talking about age limits on you know powerful Machinery uh depending on its uh its needs so so if I may mayor on that point though we please address the state emptions because we're very limited even if even if the county were to let us have some oversight we were very limited as to what we would be able to do on those County Roads nonetheless sure given um a fair number of preemptions um adopted by the state with sort of an All or Nothing situation when it comes to ebikes and um scooters there are some limits we have um speed limits and set for scooters within our city on our sidewalks we allow scooters on our sidewalks we allow bikes on our sidewalks unless that's posted and we have postings in certain areas namely on M Mile and up and down ponds in a few blocks um ebikes under state law need to be treated exactly like bicycles so whatever regulations you have in place for bicycles also apply to ebikes there used to be the ability to regulate the age of ebike riders that was taken away in recent legislation and attempts to bring that back this legislative session did not succeed so um while we welcome the opportunity always to have more additional oversite in our County in our city from County Roads um I'm not sure um how much we will be limited um and what were're able to do by the state preemptions so again we'd have to see what those um what the ability the county would give us and then in accordance with state law what we could or could not do okay so what I'm thinking is let's go ahead and defer this item to next commissioner meeting till we have some clear um idea of what she really is presenting of course and we'll work with Fernando and the manager's office to make sure to keep you all updated on um whatever bills or whatever um legislation gets proposed at the county in the next few weeks my recommendation if I may again call Mr escata and he can give a real oversight in regards to and a real understanding in regards to what the proposal is um even potentially before it even hits uh the BCC we have reached out already and we will continue I I reached to thank you very much all right thank you um I think the last the last item before we go to lunch is E1 we may E1 is a ordance of the city commission granting approval proposed amendments to the text of the city of C comprehensive plan future land use element pursuant to expedite a state review procedures article 14 process section 14213 comprehensive plan text and map amendments to provide for additional Building height up to 137 ft and 6 in with Park incentives is developed pursuant to the design and Innovation District regulations and clarifying the design and Innovation District as a transfer of development rights receiving area providing for repear Provisions cability clause codification and providing for an effective date this is a public hearing item afternoon see a client official um thank you um so this may look familiar to you because we already adopted this back at the end of October um this is related to some um I'm sorry just go back and due to some procedural um requirements by the state we have to reopt it and the timing of adoption of this kind of conflicted with some requirements of the state so we got that all ironed out right now um so here we are we adopting this this is related to the creation of the parks incentive program which is limited just to design Innovation District I go to if you want to about that but really is just the read adoption of that fine unless my colleagues need any further input Mr clerk do we have any any uh comments from the community no Mr Mayor okay we'll close public comment I'll entertain a motion I'll move it second vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes mayor loo yes thank you um just really quickly before we leave on item E3 do you think that's has that's going to have a significant um discussion on the item or no is it or it's just nothing has changed from the first reading E3 is regarding there is there is a a change but I don't think it would be very controversial um I don't know if we have any speakers uh speakers any3 we do we well you know we'll do it after lunch so we can have more conversation all right we'll see you at uh 2:00 we have a Time St um e E4 and E3 and 11 excuse me for w for for for e you ready all right moving on to item time certain at 2m uh E4 and E11 mayor I'll read both items into the record so we we can consolidate them for purposes of the public hearing E4 is in ordinance of the city commission approving a planned area development pursuant to zoning code article 14 process section 14-26 General procedures for Planned area development for a proposed public grocery store and liquor store on the property legally described as dos 1-48 block 8 Cor GES craft section Coral Gable Florida including required conditions providing for repeater provision separability clause and an effective date E1 is a resolution of the city commission approving conditional use review of a site plan pursuant to zoning code article 14 process section 14-23 conditional uses for a proposed public grocery store and liquor store in the property legally described as Lots 1-48 block 8 Coral gap's Craft section including required conditions providing for repeat provision severability Clause at an effective date these are Quasi judicial items so all individuals who would like to testify in this matter must be sworn in by the city clerk Mr clerk those will be testifying on this item please stand and raise your right hand do you swear or affirm that the testimony you'll provide today will be the truth and nothing but the truth thank you Mr cler can we have public comment yes Mr Mayor thank you you would would you like we do this to public the comment first okay thank you first Speaker today Miss Maris Maria Cruz this is Maria Cruz 1447 Miller Road since today such a beautiful day in the city of Carl G and I've been paying close attention to this project I'm happy to say that I agree that I support it that I think it's wonderful and go for it sorry next speaker Jackson rip Holmes Mr Holmes good afternoon greetings uh thank you for allowing me to speak uh I did not even know about this project literally until today uh but I want to um uh praise the choice again of our new city manager uh because uh I I had described uh cor Gable City Hall for about a year as a torture chamber which I I I sought to avoid and that's why I didn't know about this project uh and and by the way it's it's a tame project I'm I'm not going to object except it doesn't have my name on no I'm joking uh but the thing is that um uh you know I'm like breathing this huge sigh of relief because uh I'm very concerned with the whole parking picture so anything that involves parking uh is something that uh I'm either trying to get involved with or what you know nervous as as can be and the thing is where am I getting to and then I'll close my remarks now we we have a city hall instead of my describing it as a torture chamber uh I'll describe it as a place you can go and actually feel good because of our new city manager uh so that'll conclude my remarks there thank you thank you sir that's it Mr Mayor all right the applicant good afternoon Mr Mayor and Commissioners Mario Garcia Sarah with offices at 600 Bickle Avenue representing public supermarkets Inc the owner of the site located at 2551 South leun Road I'm joined today by Mr Hank Porche publicist selected feed developer as well as Mr Brian Fischer our project architect uh this project was approved on first reading during your second meeting in January and you asked us to address several items between first and second reading we have a summary if we could bring up the presentation please Carl Gable STV we can walk through thank you uh next slide please you you I'm sorry to interrupt you but um exp party Communications that I have received several emails there has been people that have came into my office to speak about this project and I just want to put that on the record okay here you have uh listed the various uh conditions of or not conditions of approval but items that were to be addressed between first and second reading the first one is the size of the park when we were here at first reading the size of the park was at 19,000 ft previous to that it had actually been at a even smaller size of 10,000 sare ft the park that's before you today uh and the plans that are before you today is at 20,000 Square fet uh on the issue of the underground utilities uh applicant City staff and FPL met and agreed that the over headlines uh will be installed underground uh the ones that are along the perimeter of the project side as well as Crossing Andalusia Salo and Valencia Avenue up to points between Andalusia and Valencia and the alleys to the north and to the south on the rooftop parking level which is a particular concern of commissioner Menendez we have revised the design so as to expand the use of trellises and Landscaping has been Incorporated to soften the visual impact of the rooftop parking level we will show you a a rendering of that uh when Brian makes his presentation the East Elevation wall facing the park uh in consultation with the city architect we've proposed the design of the wall that has been revised to add more variety and Architectural features we'll show that to you shortly on the bicycle Lanes uh we met with the County Public Works staff who requested a formal submission from the city of Carl Gables and applicant has agreed to construct any of the proposed bicycle Lanes approved by both County and City uh along the stretch of andalan Salo that are abing the property and either wherever the city and county approved whether it's north or the South side of andalan Salo looks like it's going to be on the west side it looks like there there'll be a need for some work on the Block between uh andalan Miracle Mile just to do a transition there uh RightWay and traffic improvements uh vice mayor listed several of them when we uh were here on first reading the reduction of Lanes on Valencia dedicated North bound leftand turn lane at valencian souo audible pedestrian countdown signals and do not block the Box signage and markings for the intersections of leun with Valencia and and delua uh these are all subject to County approval but we will go ahead and design them and submit them for for City and County review and then lastly uh the replacement of uh the replacement of of what was previously proposed to be palm trees with oak trees in the West Plaza area of the of the project so those are the items that were brought up at first reading and how we've addressed them in the time since okay here's the latest site plan as you could tell there's a 20,000 square foot park on the side on the east side there's a lot to like about this project the existing store is showing its age and this new store will be a state-of-the-art location and and a flagship facility really of public we have a low-scale project which will maximize the shopping experience minimize the visual and development impact uh of this uh development and will provide a major public benefit in the form of a park a public park in the central business district after second reading there will still be some work to be done such as agreeing upon a park Improvement plan in the terms of the conveyance of that land to the city but we will at least be finished with the overall site plan approval process Mr Mayor it's been about 3 to four years I think since we first met to talk about a potential park at this location and now I think it is finally becoming a reality through the efforts of the city and this applicant to get to this point I ask Brian to come up now and show you what's changed between first and second reading uh and and then we'll take it from there vice mayor there was I'm I'm not sure if I mentioned it but we' also agreed to remove the planter that's the raised planter that's on the West Plaza no no appreciate it because it makes it uh much easier for pedestrians uh transversing between the mile and back to to seek Safe Haven away from the traffic so appreciate doing that and your willingness to get all the stuff done before TCO y so thank you thank you good afternoon sir thank you for being here with us uh Brian fiser fish Architects CL Florida uh what we kind of look at is what we've changed from the last meaning where we're at see if I know which one which way to go these elevations are still the same elevations that we you were presented to last time we met uh as we come around the east side but some of the elements you see in the design on these elevations here will be repeated on the east side um as you come around the lower elevation is the uh new East Side elevation uh we have the louvered ventilation into the garage above and then we have a trellis shade area with bench seening underneath uh with also some crisscross cable uh arbors with the binds that would be growing up those and be maintained and that would tie into what you see on Valencia uh which is a similar elevation similar elements so it would continue on around the building as we come across the uh north side of the building a lot of these same elements are on that side so uh we we try to unify the design on all three of those sides as they touch and turn the corner um and have created this new elevation on the East side this is a a blow up of that elevation and the plan down below you can kind of see what the uh architecture is doing as it comes down to the ground uh we have these little bench areas which have shade above the trellises we have potted plants with Landscaping coming up into the trellis uh also you can start to see some of the landscaping that's were're introducing on the top deck of the parking garage as well that will be uh appearing on the edges of the uh the garage along with the trellises this is a a 3D rendering of the from the northwest corner of the project uh once again you can kind of start seeing some of the Landscaping it on this view it's kind of blending into the back scape of the street but you can start to see a little easier on this view here uh this is from the East northeast corner uh you see the larger Park the Landscaping shade trees the trellises with the potted plants and then on the roof if you see quite a few of the large potted palm trees that would be up there um for the uh the top of the garage itself I don't know if I have a pointer here but you can see several of these Palms that are appearing Up on the Roof itself and then all the way down the side here and across the back as well and we have a couple in front Corners here as well this is a street level threedimensional drawing of the uh park side which is the East Elevation this is looking from the other angle uh We've shaded out the tree the shade trees there'll be a lot of uh foliage between the streets and the architecture coming to that point and this is the Landscaping that is on that wall that kind of gave an idea of what we're proposing to do with the trellises and and the vine work going up the cable Tris thank you thank you very much Brian so that is pretty much the conclusion of our presentation we think we've adequately address the issues between first and second reading of course we have the whole team here available for your questions comments and we're ready to address them to hopefully bring this closer to to reality my colleagues have any comments yeah I do as well okay mayor vice mayor so I'm appreci very appreciative I I know I've made a very firm request on some items because these are things are so sorely needed in our in our neighborhoods uh to be able to get to this public on a safe basis has been a critical need for an extremely long period of time over 10 years ago I made the request for uh the fdot and and the um County and in the city to do the simple thing of do not block the Box on Lun and um I don't know if it was lack of political will at the time or uh otherwise it just didn't happen but it's it's very necessary because you do have the backlog of people trying to get through you have The Pedestrian safety issues I've almost been hit more than once trying to cross that street on Lun Road and I know of other people that have been hit then you have the requests from residents who have emailed me over the course of of years you know needing those walk signals where they're audible because if you're you know if you have impaired Vision um it's a big problem you know it's it's required you have a bus stop on that side of the street it's a very necessary piece to improve uh pedestrian safety which if you were here in the morning you would have heard you know the number of incidents that we've had where you know you have pedestrians not only hit but kill build uh as a result and it's it's something that we need to take very seriously and I'm glad public is stepping up to the plate to take care of it in this Corridor as well as the bike lane this is something that residents have been requesting for a long period of time to F the city to run all the way through to the adult Activity Center because people do want to be able to access public and access uh other uh City facilities on bicycle as opposed to always having to get into a car and and deal with the hassle of parking it goes with that uh so I applaud what you're doing I know this is a pad and you have to provide Community benefit um these Community benefits um I think will make a difference uh for for all of us and uh hopefully also for public too to have great clientele coming in there because we'll have a nice safe Corridor to get there it's going to be a great new store thank you my number one concern is safety and um and I just want to touch a little more on the bicycle Lanes the bicycle lane is only on one block it's only on one street no no this is part of a a plan and we can have more discussion on that later but this was a one of the critical intersecting pieces the commission the prior commission voted to have a bicycle lane on the south side of Andalusia to be able to connect not only from Douglas to Jun but from Lun uh to Points West okay so this is one piece of the puzzle um I would be remiss if I would say build this and then we'll build it later because then we then you have to move the trees and move everything that you've put in place in the way of infrastructure which it makes it that much more difficult to get something done let's just build it right the first time the city needs to move forward on its blocks and its obligation both on the East and the west side but publ will do its its part here as a good citizen and avoid wasting Resources by putting in trees that ultimately would have to be moved again yeah so my my suggestion here is I know there's a whole plan a bicycle plan and and and I like it but um I don't know how I feel about just building one for right now um and I don't know if the Miami date approval is going to be obtained the 4 TCO which is is a little worrisome for you guys so if maybe I could suggest you guys issuing us a bond for us to do the bicycle Lanes when we're ready to do them you know I think let's talk about the process overall because I think we can combine both ideas together potentially the city county and applicant all have to move forward together at the same time with regards to Bicycle Lanes the county wants to see how this pieces of puzzle fits into the greater hole which some work has been done already the city does have a bicycle master plan I think probably has to be looked at again and we get together with the county there's going to be some time you know we don't start construction on this side until construction on the new public on Dixie Highway is complete so that's going to take let's say an 18mon time frame then another 18 months probably to build this one that's all being pretty optimistic so perhaps if we have not been able to achieve all the approvals and permitting that we need to do in that time frame then maybe at that point we we profer Bond so it's to not complicate issuance of TCO well and on that and I'm very confident that we'll be able to get a bicycle lane approved uh for this street because it is a Connecting Point between our parking garages between the mile uh we really want to keep bicycles out of traffic as much as possible in these high volume areas this is where the accidents are going to happen so if you provide a lane for the bicycles and hopefully we can build a better bike lane than we do and and other areas that will be safe that will be visible and and as protected as possible uh for for individuals but we don't get anywhere by just kicking a can down the road and if this can has been kicked down the road far too long I think Publix can take the the lead here it's not going to be built tomorrow it's probably not going to be built next year maybe the year after that you know maybe you'll ground correct me if I'm wrong uh you know we we have Nelson here who could maybe try in a little bit might take a little bit longer than if I may y it's probably going to take four years all right and I'll tell you why if you're talking about a product that you're saying is going to be scheduled for 18 months which is a pro you have to finish before you take one project offline you want to make sure you have one completed correct that's the plan obviously iag that's your business model so at the end of the day you have to finish that store complete that store TCO and then you're going to take this this store offline right so you're going to finish that it's probably going to take 18 to 24 months then you'll be coming over and starting this project this project will probably take you 14 months 14 to 16 months if you're flying um the infrastructure roadway improvements the the bicycle Lanes depending on the magnitude are the last things that are probably installed correct along with your last last lift of asphalt and there's also a lot of Permitting lead time in that so I'm not worried about the permits because of the amount of the amount of construction time we have before us and plans right now we have is conceptual drawings that have been approved by by nobody so we have to move forward through a process where then you can go to construction documents it's going to take you at a minimum probably 6 months to get construction documents done I don't want to speak for the architect but is that correct so you have a long Runway here because things take time so I mean again I think putting a bond on a project that you're waiting for another project to begin and then you got to finish this project you're not going to have construction overlapping you're going to have potentially 3 to four years before this project on Andalusia is completed so I'm not I'm not worried about whether the infrastructure is going to occur because at the end of the day public is the community partner public is not going to step into the city having three stores and potentially even having four in the near future in such a small City and not do what's right for their own interest and obviously the community's interest so and I think that this is not that not that large of infrastructure that we're talking about it's not like we're doing like a giant forcan or um you know highway or a bridge this is this is infrastructure that's needed it's important but I think that it's something that at the end of the day it's going to be required by the city and it's something that can be easily easily installed at the end of the project and if it's not installed guess what you can't open the store if that's part of the agreement and part of our development agreement that is approved today by the commission correct me if I'm wrong you will not be able to open that store so I have full faith and confidence that the owner Publix wants to install whatever is agreed to today if not they won't be able to get their TCO at seal correct in good faith we're moving forward with that with that planning you know if unforeseen permitting delays were occur or issues come up that we're not aware of as comes up in the past we would probably want some flexibility at that point I understand but I don't see it as an issue in regards to in bicycle infrastructure it's a mandate across the county and all cities especially as a result of a lot of the things that you're seeing now the accidents so it's in line with you know good practices it's not like as if it's anything out of the out of the norm it's it's not a it's not a heavy lift it's part of affordable living so I have full faith as well that you will proceed and get it done so and I'm certain by then we'll we'll have our ducks in a row for the remainder of the U the bike lane and connecting it uh all the way over to the bare minimum sovia where we have existing bike Lanes already and it would complet you know provide a a route for people to be be able to get to the grocery store on a bike if they choose yeah I so I think my what I was really worried about was the continuity the the continuity of the bike Lane right just having it in one block and then what you're going to teleport off there needs it needs to continue and I think that's Miami J approval first needs to happen right and then where do you continue and I know it's step by step but I if you go back and you listen to the prior commission meeting in which the commission voted to have a bike lane not only running there but east and west continuously it is the direction of this commission to continue this this just didn't drop out of the sky this desire to run north south on Salo and east west on Andalusia was part of thoughtful planning that was done and it's part of the bicycle master plan and I know that as my in my role as part of this commission I will continue to Advocate with the county you know with the state whomever I have to to get these things done uh anything that you're pushing for that you need additional support on please just reach out to us and I'm sure every single one of us will put pick up the phone and make a call send an email and support of what it is that public needs to do here today because down the bottom line it's the same issue that we're dealing with everywhere else it's the vision zero plan it's the it's the vision to be able to get people safely to the store and to be able to get them out with their groceries so it's not teleporting in and out it's being able to bicycle in and out you know we don't want a bicycle lane of nowhere and if I may I just wanted to add something to that point um the goal and the reason why prior commission moved the direction of addressing issues of bicycle infrastructure in the downtown because it was a lot less contentious than the residential neighborhoods and this is something that we could take care of by funding ourselves and then finding Partners like yourself so when you finish this project and the and the bik bicycle lane infrastructure is installed I hope and I will push just like the vice mayor said that Advocate through the manager to make sure that we have allocated the necessary funds in the budget to ensure that you're completing your infrastructure and we're right behind you or we're waiting for you in the next 3 years because our infrastructure is already done that's the goal this has already been passed by the previous commission now it's just about funding a plan to address it but it is a good thing because you're bearing the brunt of the financial responsib ability to address massive infrastructure that is going to give us connectivity in our downtown and it takes it allows the city more relief and more flexibility to potentially address other infrastructure issues so I don't know if you're going to be finished first or we're going to be right behind you or we're one way or another but at the end of the day I think it's going to be good interplay and we're going to deliver on something that again is much sorely needed in the dowtown question based on what I was hearing thank you um I have another question later when it's my turn but I guess it's for the attorneys because in the presentation what I saw about bike lane it said County approval City approval you know the certain approvals so and yeah there is a big push for bike Lanes everywhere there's you know all kinds of organizations and much needed but legally what happens if what happens if the agreement years to have the bike lane on the south side of uh Andalusia and the county goes no it has to be under the north side does that basically derail the entire project the the way the condition is drafted it leaves flexibility for whatever is approved by the city and the county so the county could dictate to us changes to whatever it is that we envision here yes and that doesn't and and well let me let me rephrase that I don't think we are specifying here which side of Delia or which side of the street the bike soal lane will be on the submissions have to be made to the county and then whatever is approved by both the county and the city is what they're committed to construct yeah to me yeah I mean I just want to make sure there's flexibility because you never know the unexpected happens and it throws everything out of whack so the fact that there's flexibility I think it's obviously good good for everybody um want to thank you and the applicant for the work that was done on the facade I think it looks a lot better uh than what we saw the first time around I think this park is going to be huge asset to this uh this neighborhood uh I was uh your city architect had a role too there you we give credit or credits to um I was at your new korgo location the day after it opened it's the first time that I saw anybody taking pictures inside of a grocery store uh because of the good work that was done there huge new store very highend uh has the the cafe which I'm guessing is similar to what we'll be seeing here I just want to make sure you don't build another nicer one after we build this one so um thank you for the efforts that have been put in uh and I appreciate everything that was done between first and second reading to address the concerns that we all had am I have a follow-up question regarding the the improvements to the rooftop parking lot uh parking garage um I guess uh there's there'll be an understanding of the agreement that public will maintain there you know God forbid a storm comes by and you know the trees that were there aren't there you know that's our responsibility to maintain and keep as are indicated in the plans right now okay wonderful I don't know if you guys want to talk anything about Windstorm or anything like that about no everything's done to code is there any other further comments by the commission no so before we make a motion I just wanted to touch on three things you mentioned one before you know having worked with you Mario on this project for 3 or four years um it's been a labor of love and I want to congratulate the team members here we've been on many many Zoom calls even when I've been on vacation I've been on Zoom calls with you uh this is truly a Visionary project and I remember when I came to you uh with our previous city manager and we started talking about will you move your public a little bit so we can get a park and to be honest with you it took a lot of negotiations but you never said no and I I really value that and that shows me and not only myself but it really shows this community that you're a true partner of the City of Coral Gables and that you just don't see us as an investment opportunity you understand the importance of a partnership like we're in so I want to commend you on that when we started talking about the park it started at 10,000 ft and now we're at 20,000 ft uh that is a massive win for the city and that's a massive win that I think will pay significant dividends for public and we'll send a strong message uh about the project uh number two I want to thank you for listening to me in regards to uh not having palm trees around around the property uh I know it's a lot more expensive to put oak trees especially oak trees that are not just sticks that are going to take 30 years but oak trees that have a significant size that will bring shade to the community and hopefully it'll slow cars down as they drive CU there we understand there's a direct correlation between you know canopies and and slowing cars down so I want to commend you on that that is a that is a a real investment that I think will bear fruit not only in the Park but also you know be beautifying the city and it sends a strong message so thank you for that um the bicycle infrastructure I think we've discussed it at nauseum and I think we're headed in the right direction and in closing I know there's a question in regards to to the the transfer of the property and that right now we can't we don't have the instrument necessary to transfer the park to the city I have full faith and confidence Full Faith and confidence in Public's we put it on the record that that is the will of this commission that has always been my will and I think this what's important um for public I look forward to the day when it's completed and we can cut that ribbon and um that that property will be one in probably three or four properties within a quarter mile radius where we'll have three to four Parks uh in the downtown that never existed before and that is only only going to make quality of life better raise property values and invite more people to visit your store so I want to thank you for that and I know you'll be working with the manager and the City attorney correct in in regards to the conveyance of the property and I look forward to that and also on a detailed Park Improvement plan what we have right now is General placeholder we need to put the details to that a lot of people come here and they come to conduct business in the city of cor Gable Publix is tried and true not only in the city but throughout the state and as one of the largest privately heeld companies uh to me it brings me it brings me a lot of Pride to say that not only do you have one store but you have multiple stores and you're continuing to grow here in the city and I know that you want to continue to be an incredible partner so I commend you uh for all the hard work and for the last three or four years of negotiations of conversations with our city architect city manager City attorney and we're at the finish line today and it's because you've had a lot of patience and you've had a lot of faith in that the city would deliver and thank you for an incredible project along with a 20,000 ft project this is a feather in our cap and something that I was always look back fly on thank you and Mario I appreciate you of course because wor the effort many times we've walked almost walked away from the table public the city but I think today we got it done thank you for you I appreciate you thank you some minor notes to the uh to the ordinance I noticed sort of typos uh the ordinance on the pad Madam City attorney we need to update the name of the city attorney on that oh yes we do that of course and then also I noticed on 1e right now it reads all representations preferred by the applicant's representatives I think you mean to say all representations proferred by the applicant represent yes thank you does ever any question as to me being fair with the city yes that's that's number one example to bring out you could have read preferred by the applicant representative so is there any other further comment I will entertain a motion I'll move it I'll second so we do have two items MH so is this a motion on um E4 E4 the pad ordinance yep so I show vice mayor Anderson making the motion commissioner Fernandez second it commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes mayor logo yes moving on to item thank you very much 11 have a good day thank you 11 is a resolution approving the site plan sorry okay second switch it up okay I'm sorry who second we have a second me commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes mayor logo yes now I can say thank you thank you very much everyone thank you congratulations thank you been a pleasure moving on to item H1 one it's always a pleasure with public it's my public so I'll be looking uh forward to it being done quickly everybody H1 is a resolution of the city commission calling a special election on the proposed non-binding straw ballot question to be held on August 20th 2024 providing for submission of a non-binding straw ballot question to the electors related to the possible annexation of little Gables providing for requisite ballot language providing for procedure for balloting providing for notice providing for related matters and providing for an effective date good afternoon mayor and Commissioners Naomi Levy Garcia assistant City Attorney at the last meeting you all considered a resolution to adopt ballot language for the special election of the straw ballot question regarding annexation of little Gables we receiv received direction to uh amend the language to include um some information related to costs indicating to people who would read the ballot question that costs are associated with the annexation so that they would be prompted to do some addition research and and see what other information is available to them in regards to those costs and so we've added that language um we've presented the language to you we are still within the required uh number of words for the title and for the question itself if you have any comments or questions I'm happy to take them at this time I want take a motion if there's no comment my the only question I had is a same question I had to you all as to um what information can we put in ews or whatever to tell people where they can find information so we have um brainstormed on that question a bit we do think that we will be able to direct um residents and individuals who are interested in obtaining more information regarding the annexation costs we do think we can um add some information to ews directing them to the website and that all information um including the estimates that Diana discussed at the last meeting could be posted on the website um I'll move it I'll second call second commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes mayor logo yes thank you Naomi I appreciate your hard work um moving on to item E2 E2 is an ordinance of the city commission providing for a text Amendment to the city of cor Gable's official zoning code creating section 5-34 window and hurricane shutters to regulate the closure of window and hurricane shutters and amending the city code chapter 1 General provision section 1-7 entitled penalties to provide a penalty for the closure of window and hurricane shutters outside of the hurricane season providing for severability Clause repealer provision codification and providing for an effective date this is a public hearing item Jennifer Garcia planing official so um there have been some changes since the um ordinance went to planning zoning board they had some recommendations to allow on the rear and the side as long as it's not visible from the street the shuts I'm talking about um just for safety concerns um and I think that was the main change that happened since then um the changes that were suggested by Planning and Zoning I thought were Fair there are some elderly folks who uh rely on these for safety concerns and I believed as long as they're not visible from the street I did not have an issue with that so um staff included them in the um current language anybody else oh I I would agree with that I mean having a uh my obligations when my father was alive to go up and make sure that his place was shuttered um there's always a time constraint for the family member whose obligation it is to take care of that so that's why I wanted the the warning period and you know you don't start immediately finding folks and if they're not visible from the street we're not hurting anybody because I literally would leave his shutters up you know and just take off of few in the front to accommodate light and needs so um any other comments folks I'll move it so I only have one comment um my issue is I don't have a I support this but um what do we do about a person for example who has a real hardship I know it sounds absurd and ridiculous that a person cannot remove one shutter but if you have a person I received a few phone calls from residents that told me um you know I don't I can't afford it or I'm I'm I'm retired or I'm disabled I have to pay somebody to come and do it how are we going cuz it's going to happen how are we going to address somebody that says again I'm in favor of the ordinance this a beautification issue for me um how are we going to address a person who comes before us and says especially an elderly person a retired person or you know there's there's a many reasons why you know people fall not only just their elderly but again a person who is who's just on tough times let's say and doesn't have anybody that they can help them and go and remove it I know that we're giving them a window to remove uh the shutters but the next Resort is we find them and then we have in addition to the 30-day um kind of warning period there's also language at the very end that allows the city manager does a knee um in cases where unique circumstances or emergencies a state of closure of the window so he has some flexibility as far as um I guess regulating but for example if the person says you know I can remove it and should be remove D I think it should be and I can give you two or three examples in the city that I drive by where again the person just does not want to remove their shutters do we put ourselves in a position where we start having rolling fines for these individuals do we offer them assistance through maybe police fire Public Works there's not many people in the community it's a handful maybe people who just for one reason or another they they they're not inclined to remove the shutters or they're not in a position to do it C people C people told me like no no I'm just giving you I'm just going a little back and forth like I'll give you an example one of the individuals that I spoke to has a second second floor house it's an older house uh they can't get up there and remove the shutter um and they told me look it's been up there for years you know it's a it's it's a it's an it's an adjacent bedroom no one sleeps there uh it doesn't really bother me I haven't even thought about removing it I said well that could be an issue um I got to pay somebody a few hundred take it up there on the second floor and remove the shutter I don't have an issue with the legislation at all I'm in favor of it again I just want to I just foresee that that's a perfect example that we're going to be facing yes sir good afternoon Mr Mayor vice mayor commissioner assistant City attorney guses so in regards to the code enforcement aspect of it the way it's currently drafted it's a civil penalty it's a ticket so there wouldn't be any running fines at least the way it's currently proposed it's basically the equivalent of if you park your vehicle on the grass in front of your home that's not an approved service it's $100 ticket you can appeal that ticket if you so choose um if how much if you don't let me ask $100 okay and does it does the does the ticket acre so as of right now it wouldn't acre um typically if you appeal there's an additional 10875 which is an administrative fee for requesting the appeal um the magistrate does have the ability to wave the entire uh both the fee and the and the cost what we can look at is always you know maybe some sort of the special assessment process um similar to what we do for law maintenance once again this is just something we' have to really look into before we can even propose it but it's something we can always consider um you know if you don't cut your lawn we can always go onto your property and cut your lawn and that's a perfect example because we already have that issue and we've already had to do it on multiple occasions but that that also acrs that's that's a cost recovery so typically there's no fine but if it costs us $300 to mow your lawn we will assess that but it is a but the over the overgrown lot is a fine the overgrown lot there's a fine for the overgrown lot and then there's a assessment for the work done by the but then you also have it eventually turned into a lean correct yes I'm referring to the special assessment yes it eventually would turn into a lean which what ends up happening is for example we've all had them we've had um a home excuse me a potential homeowner who was buying a property in the city uh that was in a trust and that person has passed away they had multiple leans on the property I mean it's it's happens here probably you know a few times a year we've seen it multiple times happens all time I think I brought you a resident the other day that had a very similar issue um they're trying to buy the property and they have these massive leans that have accured and a lot of them have to do with for example cutting cutting this the the grass because you have a lot of these residents the neighbors who justifiably complain to code en forcement saying this person hasn't cut their yard well the person is no longer alive it's in a trust and it's you know the the the trust or the bank that has the mortgage is in another state and at the end of the day we've had to address that issue on multiple different fronts but my concern is again it's not a concern I'm voting in favor of it I'm saying how do you deal with the person that says hey I'm disabled and I can't afford to pay for somebody on the second floor to remove my shutters I believe the shutters should be removed not in question how do we going to address that tell me well I mean I do think that there's something more that we can do in a way of Outreach um aside from Aesthetics though these shutters being left up uh outside of hurricane season when you're dealing with so much of the house shuttered up it also becomes a fire issue because you can't get people out without um you know breaking down those shutters if you had a HUD piece of property they' be telling you that you'd have to take it off they take make you take the bars off the windows things of that nature that would impede the ability of somebody to escape a fire but I do think there's more Outreach that we could do you know trying to get people some help and you know get some volunteers together to uh take down those shutters for the folks that can't handle it my apolog VI may I didn't at all at all well we were going to make a volunteer Squad and you were going to lead it I have removed many shutters in my day I'd be happy to help that program so why you weren't listening that was a good one yeah so the there's there may be a county option as well that they I believe have a program to assist elderly residents and issue and residents that may not be able to put up and remove the shutters so that's something we can also explore um in regards to those previous fines for the special assessment that you're concerned with typically those one time I stepped onto your property to mow your lawn those don't grow to these large amounts that's the $500 that's just stays the same $500 for 10 years or two years um in regards to the running fines this is a one $100 day ticket but we The Code Enforcement Officers do have the discretion to put a running fine so because this is a not unlike your parking situation where you can just simply move your vehicle the violation existed you paid $100 but the violation can be cured easily if you fail to do so there can be a a $100 daily running fine so that that may be a concern but we can definitely explore some different options on how we can address that with our residents and uh we can take it on a Case by case basis and I think Mr Mayor to uh we can implement this following the upcoming hurricane season because we're less than 75 days from the current hurricane season so with the 30 days I think it just doesn't make sense to implement it uh effective immediately I think it should be implemented uh following the upcoming hurricane season so it'll give us plenty of time to get the information out to to the community and to Residents again I'm willing to implement it today I think it's important there are standards and we have to follow those standards but we're going to have to face that person that's going to come and say I can't do this and I need to offer that person a mechanism because I know there's nobody on this commission that's going to say sorry the law is the law that's not the way it works cuz what ends up happening is is we're going to have to end up getting called and I'm going to end up calling Gus I'm going say Gus we got to go remove this gentleman's or this lady's uh uh you know uh shutters and it's going to happen trust me because I used to do it on Minorca at my grandmother's house cuz she didn't have impact windows so and trust me pretty able-bodied and it took me a long time to remove those shutters and on many occasions I almost cut my arm off that's how sharp those shutters are especially when you have the cheap the cheap metal shutter so my point is that you don't want that liability on your hands I'm in favor of the today I'm just saying let's move forward and think about not just pass the law and because you're going to get a situation where someone's going to come to you and say okay I got fined what do I do now because go and force is going to uphold the law so I just want to just always just try to make sure that again when we pass certain things that there's that there's an opportunity to help the most needy in our community because like what these individuals told me Vince if you pass this you know you're going to be hurting certain people in the community that again maybe can't afford it but I think it's the right thing to do so Gus is going to come up with the uh procedure so the volunteer network can help we can offer free pickle ball afterwards for those who come out right all right anything else for the good of the order a motion second and just to confirm the motion includes the effective date taking place in 2025 November after this year after this season correct at the conclusion of the 2024 hurricane season understood so November December 1st I guess uh 2024 yes wa vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Menendez yes mayor loo yes moving on to item one second do we take care of e3 no right Mr we have not done E3 we have E3 E3 is an ordinance of the city commission providing for text amendments to the City of Coral Gable's official zoning code amending Article 1 General provision section 1- 104 jurisdiction applicability amending Provisions for the citing of City facilities to include facilities for Workforce housing that are owned financed or operated by the city the county or other public governmental entity as required by the code of Mi immedate County Section 33- 193.75 avability clause codification and providing for an effective date this is a public hearing item uh J Garcia apping official so as client zoning board uh reviewed this um they wanted some clarification there were some concerns about the county you know regulating our churd dition um so we um we did some clarifications that um that has to be fully financed by the government a camp government entity so it's not just partially financed has to be fully financed um and they would still be required to uh comply with the sub provision of the zoning code so setbacks and open space and height and whatnot but they would still have that you know more streamlined process for the review actual approval Mr clerk do we have any comments uh we do Mr Mayor but the speaker is not here so okay well then we'll close public comment and is there any comments from the commission and that I'll I'll accept a motion move it second commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes mayor logo yes moving on to item F1 thank you so much uh Le Park um I had asked um I spoken to the manager and to the uh ACM about um a few of the issues that residents had been disc um having with Le Park I know conversations have already taken place and some of those issues have been addressed uh but sardinas hi good afternoon mayor Commissioners Zeta sardinas asset manager commissioner we prepared a small presentation if you want to okay okay to provide um an update uh so bonjour LLC took over operations at the cafe on November 27th 2023 when it entered into three-month license agreement with the city um that agreement was from 1127 to 227 the agreement included a 3-month renewal between 227 and 527 at the city manager's discretion the interim city manager granted that renewal and bonjour will continue operating in the cafe until May 27th um regarding Bon jour's uh performance since taking over the operation of the cafe on 11:27 bonjour expanded the Cafe operating hours to 7 days per week Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 8:00 to 5:00 bour has also provided additional varieties of baked goods cakes and Specialty menu items that have met with positive feedback from the community in coordination with the city's communication Department combined marketing initiatives were implemented to develop content and increase followers on the Le Park Instagram page bonjour LC has also promoted the Le Park location on its established Instagram Pages bour LLC has also taken responsibility for some of the Cities expenses and operating costs with respect to customer satisfaction the customer feedback results on the toe system showed that out of 33 respondents the cafe received 29 positive and four negative ratings toast positive and negative ratings were attributed to Atmosphere weight time service and food quality categories and the Google reviews for Le Park are almost at four and a half Stars so we also wanted to update you regarding sales so as you can see from this graph um Le Park sales since spour took over at 1127 have increased substantially this slice compare sales year over-year between November 27 the February 28 for bonjour and the former operator it's important to note that the sales that you see here from the former operator include beer and wine sales but bonjour only started selling beer and wine on February 14th in this next slide we compared the total overall sales as you can see during the first 90 days Le Park overall sales have increased by 37% year-over-year and for the month of February the increase in year-over-year sales was even more impressive which is um they increased by 51% going forward the city expects that revenues um will continue to increase and Le Park implements additional Revenue generating initiatives these include the beer and wine sales that started February 14th Sunday brunch corporate catering community recreation special event catering an additional menu menu items which include three different types of of burgers so in response to the city's request and in an effort to improve customer service and customer experience this past weekend bonjour increased its service Personnel by 50% for weekends also starting tomorrow bonjour is increasing its Personnel during weekday peak hours of operation to provide Le Park customers with additional and faster Service as such during the next 30 days the city manager's office will be coordinating individual meetings with each of you to discuss the next steps for Le park operations after the current agreement expires on May 27th question regarding the presentation um have we been able to uh pinpoint what has triggered the uh numbers to increase the revenue I know that they have a lot more small items like when you go in you know there things that uh the guess in the fridge or whatever that you can grab and pick which wasn't there before I know when you go shopping at public when you go to pay there's all the chocolate bars and the national inquire and you just grab what you can and you throw it and you pay for it so I would imagine that helps in the process do we know if more people are going or is just they're buying more well I I think it has a lot to do with Supply um I think before we we you know had limited amounts of supply per day that was out there I think they had do a lot of more different type of items so if you notice there's a lot of like the desserts and other things that are there to be you know there's people can order cakes they can do you know um things take so I think that that has a lot to do with it I just think they have a lot of efficiencies and and ability to be able to promote those sales but they they are doing substantially better makes sense and my only other question was just out of curiosity if we don't have the information we don't have the information it's wonderful that whatever negative rating was like 7% or some number minimal do we have a sense as to what it was that we're doing that perhaps was not to the liking of some people I mean it's always good to figure out is there something we can do better I read the responses on Google I took the time and I also read the ones that katalina I didn't want to like list them here to be able to just in general idea yeah and we have had conversations with them I think the staff is going to help a lot to to offset some of some of the weight time and things like that which are really what irks people the most yeah um I think also it's a process right so we've been at this for 90 days they have to kind of look at the numbers see when their sales are at Peak and make sure that they're staffed appropriately so you know we're kind of providing them for a with a little bit of time to be able to to do that right to be able to adjust given the data that they're getting from Toast of when the you know most the sales are are and and seeing the wait time and seeing the responses just because we have the majority of of um good reviews doesn't mean we don't pay attention to the ones that are not so great and that we ask them not to address them the the assistant City the deputy city manager has been very adamant about having us you know have that conversation and through the manager to be able to talk to them and to say Hey you know they're here and they and they have access to the data too they don't control toast in the sense of the where the money goes and everything else because we pay them out but they do they do have access to see all of that all right so no I appreciate those are my only two questions thank you as far as um there right now there's counter ordering are they going to bring back table ordering I've not discussed that with them they have that system set across all of their different locations and and they handle it that way um I mean if it's a conversation that you know you want us to have with them we're more than happy to have it the only reason I say that is there's about in the restaurant industry there's about a 20 25% of sales that take place at the table after you consume your meal whether it's coffee or desserts that could be a trigger for additional sales just putting it out there obviously whatever their model is that's what they're employing and that's what they're good at uh and the numbers are heading in the right direction so uh but just food for thought uh even if it's just coming around the table and see if people want something additional uh they can still order at the counter but if you want something else they can maybe process that additional order at the table okay we definitely have that conversation with them through the mayor um what percentage is lour paying the city so we are doing um they we we did 8515 um of Revenue um which is what what is working out now they did take over some of the things that we were doing that was bringing us costs on the other side like they are taking care of the janitorial which was a very large expense for us because it's it's an outsourced um um service so they have taken over that um that made quite a difference um but yeah we're doing 8515 so my real question here is how much are we under well I am trying to gather the new cost commissioner as a matter of fact this morning I just got the update from Mitch on some of that when we go meet with you individually I we'll go through the we can go through the numbers if that's okay with you yeah cuz I know we're under I know that it's not paying for for the full expenses that it's supposed to be paying for now we are meeting expenses we weren't before but we are now so I just I need to be able to look um before I I make statements because I just got them Mitch was out yesterday and he was supposed to get me that back so I'm going to go through it and then we'll set up individual meetings so you guys can look at thank you just just wanted to um really applaud the the changes that have been made I think the the budget speaks uh loudly that people are liking the positive change as the word gets out more and more that this is now a more U hospitable wider menu broader menu for people to be able to uh dine at with better hours and consistency I think we're going to be doing very well there so thank you for all your hard work you know it's important for our residents to be able to have a place to go well I I I that's great I just I think it's not only me the parks department is really uh you know has a lot to uh they put a lot of time into being sure that they're directed and that the day to day operation um works and again the assistant city manager has been great at directing us to to make sure that the relationship is working fine yeah and if anybody had had an opportunity to go back a house with what that place used to be and compare it to now it's it's more than night and day it was yeah incredible that it even operated in the condition of what in before well that's definitely the parts department yeah no my kudos to them I they did a remarkable job so Zeta just a few questions so when would these changes made so I saw for example the 88% the 88% um approval rating what I'm most interested in is the Google approval rating because you can have somebody walk in there and say Hey listen go and eat and leave me a positive view correct yes okay but on the Google you know again you you have you have less control it's actually people writing there it's and they have to leave their information and it's verified correct so I took a a a very close look at that mayor um and I and I looked at because it's cumulative right so it goes way back right it does it's not just for since since November right so I took a look at the on since November and but the and I went to the trouble of doing the number to make sure that that it wasn't and it hasn't upset the averages from before so what you're saying is that since the it's not that it's that it's better or it's so the 4.4 was there before right I can't go historically but at least I took my time to pull out the recent ones and again the ones that I that I that I U pulled out that had um that had issues had a lot to do with the wait time but it's not like we implemented something this week that has gone Gang Busters and and everything is going perfect it's something that's been going on for some time now yeah well in November I think when the change happened and Parks took it over for a little bit of time and they were supplying the the the the food and we were we were doing that and then they finally took over with their employees I think that again the amount of choices that people have and the ability that what we've put out has really like made a difference that's great I appreciate it perfect thank you Zeta thank you thank you uh moving on to item F3 see um I noticed an article in the paper about what Tallahassee was addressing with gas power blowers and I asked our city attorney's office to provide us an update so that we um understand what tal where Tallahassee is on gas leaf blowers with regard to a one-year moratorium thank you vice mayor um this legislative session is over special thanks to um our legislative team and Naomi and Fernando for assisting the city and all this um implementing Bill HB 5003 had an amendment that stated in order to implement specific appropriation 1864 which I will get to in a minute of the 2024-25 general Appropriations act a county or municipal government may not amend or adopt an ordinance that restricts or prohibits the operation of a leaf blower that is powered by an internal combustion engine or motor this section expires July 1st 2025 it's essentially a one-year moratorium preemption on Municipal regulation of gas plowed leaf blowers it is tied to a specific appropriation which is non-recurring funds from the General Revenue fund that is that are to be used to conduct a life cycle analysis of leaf blowers powered by internal combustion engines compared to electric or battery operated alternatives so in that implementation of that appropriation came along with a one-year preemption that's it you can't talk otherwise so I figure this way I can state of preemption huh we live in the state of preemption that's true I have a question so does that mean no new legislation does it impact anything that's already in place that limits gas power no it's modifications or adoption of ordinances so it's it sort of GR in anything that's there um as Naomi can tell you we do not currently have anything on the books that would be preempted by this ordinance I me this not an ordinance this implementation Bill all right we can certainly add it to next year's legislative agenda though as this particular preemption will sun it after one year okay okay that's it thank you thank you Mo thank you moving on to the last item of the day F6 oh I have this here okay beautiful um this is I this is not the first time I mentioned this but morale and the whole city is quite a little low I've met with Christina I believe Stephanie HR department Raquel um there you go I met with Raquel and it's not going to call it's not going to I think you guys received a letter all employees from the City manager's office it's going to be now the employee Ambassador committee it's going to bring back it's the idea of bringing back the picnic so we can do some some bonding and um right now we're working with it to make sure that we could provide online a platform that you feel safe with your suggestions or concerns that's not going to trace your IP address or Trace back to you you're not going to be afraid um we're trying to provide the most healthiest working environment that's the whole point of of this U morale committee employee Ambassador committee if you're interested you volunteer you go you write an email to Lena and um City manager's office is going to overstep HR no directors no supervisors no managers this is for the general employees I think after that Lena would choose as far as I think we're going to have a committee that's the correct word committee committee right committee and then everybody else is welcome to attend what's really exciting about this is that we have a city manager that is more than willing to listen to concerns and we also have an assistant city manager that will do the same so I know that I've spoken to both of them about being it's going to be every one Thursday of the month and they're going to be at the end of the meeting to sit with you in private if it's necessary if you don't want to put things in writing if you don't want somebody to listen to what you're saying they're going to be more than available to to listen to and I think this is going to really improve the culture of morale in the whole city and I'm really looking forward to this so correct commissioner so we're really excited of bringing and thank you uh for the suggestion of bringing back like I guess the employee morale committee 2.0 right so it's going to call the employee Ambassador committee it's going to meet the first Thursday of every month from 12:00 to 1 we would like participation from every department and for the large departments divisions within the large departments so they're going to meet from 12 to one lunch will be provided it's open to all employees even if you're not selected to be an ambassador and the idea is for employees to offer suggestion ideas anything that they feel um they would like the the city manager to address or to discuss immediately after that meeting um the city manager or the city manager designate will make themselves available for an hour after that meeting or half an hour after the meeting however long they need to discuss any issues that were raised during that meeting so the committee should choose like a spokesperson to then have that meeting uh with the city manager his design so right now um we are encouraging um any employees who would like to participate to send an email to Lena Santiago so L Santiago coral.com um just identifying or letting her know that they are interested and then she will select from the full of employees who's going to be who are going to be our ambassadors and we want a good representation Citywide thank you so much for being all of you ladies on women's month for being so receptive to my suggestions and it I see this turning out very good thank you oh and one more thing we already have selected or I think it has already created an employee suggest suggestion box on the intranet so if you go on the city's internet they'll see an employee suggestion box you can click on it you can typ whatever suggestion you want those suggestions go straight to the city manager's office so no one else has access to what any employee can whatever suggestion that employee puts in that suggestion box we'll also be um purchasing physical suggestion boxes and we'll place them around the different lunchrooms throughout the different um City buildings and again trying to encourage um a safe way for employees to um Pro provide us with any suggestions ideas good bad anything yeah I want to reiterate the um the importance of the mechanism that we're using to put suggestions in and it's going to be directed to him but I also want the employees to know it's not going to be traced back to them right so feel safe to express yourself because whatever we could do to better the work environment I believe we're going to do absolutely thank you just a couple comments because I know that this was a program that was tried before and unfortunately the particip dwindled I think uh too if we can emphasize to employees that you know they don't they can also go to a library if they're still concerned that their IP is going to be traced that there's not going to be a camera at where the suggestion box is uh so their suggestions are are taken that way because um you know reluctance many times is you're concerned about what a supervisor may or may not do and the supervisor may not do anything bad but people are just apprehensive for fear of the unknown that might happen so um I applaud this I I hope that employees participate and um you know out of this we can get some some uh different programs and so forth going forward that make our city a better place for people to work absolutely I agree I think this is a phenomenal uh idea uh to bring this back and as I've said many times here to the employees watching there's any concerns you ever have or anything that this commission can do to help you please feel free to reach out our office doors are open our phones are are available feel free to reach out to us directly we have a manager in place and a management team that's willing to address any concerns that you may have and uh we appreciate all the hard work you all do uh I commend your office for organizing the ice cream socials uh a couple of weeks ago uh I know I was out at the one Public Works and they were very excited to that this was taking place uh they suggested some ideas for different time so that more of them can participate but the ones who were there really felt like they were appreciated that day and I think uh the more we show our employees how much we appreciate them and the efforts that they put in on a daily basis uh the more we will increase morale in our city absolutely and we're looking to do more of those things and we do have like a calendar of events that we're we're scheduling for all of our employees and also different times just to make sure that we capture and are able to you know have that time with the different employees and acknowledge and recognize them and I also wanted to thank you your team also put together that email that goes out every week about job openings so that employees internally can see what uh jobs are available so if they're interested in promotions or or switching from one Department to another they can do that um I don't know if you've had results from that but I think uh I've heard positive feedback from the employees that are getting and and and we get them so it's good for us to know what's uh what's open what's available as well great thank you Rael appreciate mayor Mr clerk I don't think I have any other further items no no Mr Mayor you've covered everything Adam vice mayor you have any comments before we close yes um we have the Garden Club is going to have its annual fundraiser at the Museum on April the 19th it's a their F fundraiser is a VIP period of time from starting at 6: PM if you go on the cor Gables Garden Club website uh and you would like to attend the avenity museum it's going to be spectacular so we do appreciate your support the Garden Club has done historically a lot of wonderful things for the city and it's 100 years of existence from entrances to as of course gardening projects as well in fact the statue in front of this building was a Garden Club project too so help support the Garden Club come on out let's have a good time yeah M yeah um this week and I believe Saturday and Sunday they're giving a little mermaid in the actor's Playhouse um it's a children's play if you have time swing by and and join and join them another thing I wanted to mention is I've been working with the city attorney's office and Jennifer from Planning and Zoning on some door hangers a new requirement for Community meetings when it comes to developments that are over 20,000 ft so we can get more Community input that would be coming next commission meeting just mentioning it and um that's it commissioner um I just a recap on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. at the miracle theater um we showed and hosted ET the Extraterrestrial um every ticket was uh reserved it was a packed house um I've never seen so many toddlers at one movie in my life I had grandparent I think AG age range was from two to 92 it was an amazing mix um and it goes to show you what being able to come together in a family setting because when the movie ended and the climactic John Williams music hit the place erupted in cheers and I haven't been to a movie in a while where that happens and it just goes to show you that as a city as Leaders uh we can offer off thanks to staff so many wonderful experiences for families kids even seniors and I hope that's a a tradition that we're able to continue on for many many many more years um um the weekend of March 1st I think our our city shined our um staff from Parks from um Public Works police fire they were all out at the numerous events that we had throughout the city that weekend everybody had a smile on their face very receptive to those who who are coming up with questions uh and I think it was it was a good moment and a good Shining Moment for our city um I don't know if Fred has left um but I believe this Saturday at the farmers market we will have a pickle ball Clinic uh for those who want to learn about pickle ball there will be a pickle ball court uh out there so I believe the city there's a sponsor who will be sponsoring the the clinic so if you haven't checked out our Farmers Market we still have believe 3 weeks left uh it's a great event activities for the family and and uh plenty to check out in the outdoors so look forward to seeing you there and uh we have a five-week break so um wishing everybody a safe uh Ramadan Passover and Easter thank you uh my my points are simple uh through the manager in his office is uh we need to really address the corway entrance feature on Red Road along with the the um the a street and red road entrance features those need to be pressure washed I would appreciate if you can get staff uh to address those issues uh make sure the lights are working and The Fountains are clean I also want to make sure that the parking garage across from from uh the books and books is also addressed uh that we have that pressure clean because it's starting to look a little um you know not not Coral Gables um we also have an opportunity that I been working on as a result of burger Bobs and the construction I'd like for your staff to meet with mosaicist mosis and Ray Corral our big philanthropist here in the community very involved with the coral G Community Foundation and we're working on potentially putting a nice entrance feature uh for Burger Bobs using mosaics and it would be something that if staff is interested can be done in different colors and it could be something that's a nice entrance feature um for Burger Bobs uh right now is the appropriate time as we're moving forward with the construction we can start coordinating that donation if it's something that is the will of the commission he generously offered and we've been talking about it for some time now and I want to put it in front of the commission as an opportunity to to leave something beautiful um as we as we conclude on Burger bobs with that being said um it's been a nice meeting I wish all of you a wonderful five weeks God bless oh before you journ um on that item on the on the mosaics this is a historic area so I think it should come to the commission for approval if we do go forward with that I think I would like to see anything that that goes forward uh on on that and make sure we get community input on on what the design is going to look like so let me be clear this is not for the exterior as you're aware with historic buildings you can do what you like on the interior of historic building this is we're talking about an entrance feature when you walk in through the front doors you could have like a nice little map that says Burger Bobs in a design element it's not for the exterior of the building we're talking about on the floor uh it's something pretty simple pretty benign and it's something that he offered to donate but if the commission is not interested in it you can talk about it with the manager and then he can schedule a meeting with Mr Corral uh it's not an exterior uh Mosaic it's just a simple Mosaic for the entrance when you walk in it could say Burger Bobs it could say the city cor Gables you can have the city's emblem I just thought it would be something beautiful since he is probably one of the most respected uh Mosaic installers that I've ever heard of and he does some incredible work I think it'd be beautiful for the interior the interior Burger Bops but I think we did go through a lengthy process commissioner Mendez did with members of the community on the design so I think if we're going to be changing that or or even if it is a beautiful Mosaic on the interior I think we should go back to that committee because I know that was a lengthy process and there was a lot of animosity from members of the community as to what wanted it to look like I don't want to throw things off but at the last minute with a with a major change um I mean I'd welcome it I just want to make sure that they're included in the in the design process I guess again it's we're talking about something benign like a placem like it's something simple but if you don't want it it's okay it was his offer anything else no no I just since you brought up the maist I mean he's done and is going to do a piece over C Gables Elementary School yeah not on the historic wall and stuff he's done another one over at U Carver Elementary um then we brought in folks from uh well Dena recommended a a landscape architect that we they who put in the um butterfly plants so you have the Mosaic mixed with the butterflies it it would really energized it was quite nice and so do a beautiful Mosaic that looks like this that is the city corable seal it could be something very benign you could say Burger Bobs talk it over with the manager and if it's an interest of the commission we move forward uh it was just a very generous offer by a gentleman who has given a lot to this community and he would like to leave his stamp or just assist in a be a beautification opportunity for burger Bob it's not on the wall it's not the entire floor because that would be Beyond expensive but it's just something a simple entrance feature like a doorm when you walk in it could say something very beautiful and very well done and it could be something that uh could say something as simple as Burger Bobs was started on the following day and was renovated on the following day and celebrating the Centennial it could be up to it could be up to staff it could be up to a committee but at the end of day this is something that is very very very benign wishing everyone the best thank you very much e e e