e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e good evening is this on raise your hand in the back up here now okay so you it's 6:10 we usually start on time but I noticed that um everybody was having so much fun I wanted to let it continue it's like a uh it's like a family reunion or something which is always makes me feel good about our amazing wonderful City so good evening everyone and welcome let's call this commission meeting to order and uh have a roll call Mayor Weinberg mayor Weinberg here commissioner Bloom here commissioner freand here commissioner Joel here commissioner Cruz here commissioner Dr Marks here commissioner stern here Mr wson here and Mr Myers you have a quum thank you let me um just mention that uh all of the moms on the commission received beautiful flowers thanks to the clerk it's for Mother's Day I want to wish all the moms a Happy Mother's Day it's coming up on Sunday which does anyone want to show their flowers oh and wonderful show your bumblebees Handmade by the clerk's order this is a okay and also I do want to mention uh just make note of the passing of uh former Senator and Governor Bob Graham and uh he did great things for the State of Florida if you notice the flags at half Mass that's because of the passing of of Governor Graham but um a real legend here in the State of Florida okay with that I'm going to ask um former Commission L Weinberg former mayor Enid Weissman and police chief Michael bentala to lead us to come up and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance all those who can please stand come on uhuh you don't get away with that you got to come up here Enid lose Michael to the of the United States of America the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all thank [Music] you uh we're at item three and um every 6 months we rotate and have another vice mayor there was a smoke Filled Room a lot of horse play horse trading and we eventually reached I think a uh decision that um commissioner Dr Linda Marx will be our next vice mayor great job I want to thank now former vice mayor Cruz fantastic Administration the last six months have been spectacular did a great job thank you okay um any uh any additions or deletions uh Mr manager in the agenda not at this time May okay so moving on to item five we are uh very fortunate tonight we you may or may not know that um in our district and let's see I don't see him oh yes I do in our district uh we are blessed we have a uh a state senator who is um probably the hardest working guy in Tallahassee he may be the hardest working guy in Miami dat also but he is a fantastic advocate for us um he comes here all the time for our condominium updates on what's happening in Tallahassee that impacts us directly when he speaks he hands out his cell phone number for any voters this is his real cell phone not the fake one and um his staff is Non-Stop and he's here tonight to um to give us um an update as well so I want to recognize and welcome Senator Jason pizo good evening mayor Madam vice mayor and commission I started the day very early this morning with a tie on I apologize but uh my staff assist I get a haircut I think I left the tie there um it is uh wonderful as always to be here I represent as you know 20 cities 565,000 constituents uh which swells up to well over a million in the High season um but this is always a wonderful um uh spring board for any piece of policy or legislation that we're passing or considering and Aventura um has a special place in my heart um in no short order because of Enid wisman and uh go ahead and clap who uh is looking so fit she looks like Jennifer Aniston okay uh couple things it was a rather uh relatively comparatively muted session as it relates to socially divisive um issues we coalesced uh in a nonpartisan or bipartisan Fashion on a number of good things and we killed a number of bad things um beginning with what I anticipate to be a an upcoming veto on short-term rentals um I anticipate the governor is going to uh to veto that that's sp-280 um yesterday the governor signed into law uh a bill that I think everyone's pleased with except for my kids uh I passed a bill as it relates to Street takeovers uh which if you don't know what they are just Google them they're incredibly dangerous uh kids are getting killed my kids are upset uh but it gives a lot more tools to law enforcement uh no longer do you have the misdemeanor presence requirement of having having to be there at the scene all you got to do is check out someone's Instagram get their license plate and go get it and go get everybody that that are there um funding wise also keeping with that theme we were able to secure pending the the governor either vetoing or signing the budget into law uh $750,000 for uh First Responders at the 911 Communication Center uh as well as $100,000 for the aventur police emergency response radio replacement and conversion uh seated to the front of your officers is our newest member of staff Joan Alvarez who is a 35-year 911 operator so our office deals with a lot with air traffic control as it relates to a number of issues and no better person to have at the helm um so this session was also the 22nd or 23rd bill that I passed you know that we dwell within a hyperpolarized atmosphere to to a large extent but a lot of good stuff and of course the very first um kicking off point at post session was right here in Avent as it relates to condos it is principally a bill I filed five years ago um prior to the loss of 98 lives in Surfside but of course uh people and especially politicians to be honest with you take things seriously after there's a tragedy unfortunately it takes uh it takes that as the uh as the Catalyst um I am should I be blessed to to to be back in Tallahassee next year the incoming Senate minority leader a number of you have met the incoming Senate President when you were in Tallahassee um and we brought him down here uh last year as well and this looks to be what I think should be a gold Delux period as it relates to our ability in South Florida to get a number of infrastructure projects uh again to be even less socially divisive uh with no National sort of scope or or focus on on anyone else's ambition so um we should do very well over the next couple years and uh obviously aventur being close to my to our heart uh and to our staff who just likes coming here uh can't say that for every city unfortunately uh we should have a a very good uh situation there are a number of uh bills that were proposed you know there's over 2,000 each session we only have 60 days crammed in uh and we hear and pass I'm sorry Charlotte Charlotte I'm sorry Charlotte hi so we pass uh I'm available for birthday parties as well as uh but uh we passed a couple hundred uh uh as many of you know I read all of them so we don't we're not unfairly surprised at any moment uh there were a number of really really bad proposals that come from think tanks and interest groups um that have the ear of particular individuals who maybe cut a pack check whatever and get get some idea sent forward but a number of bad ones uh but we killed a lot we killed the preservation of uh of Confederate monuments um what did pass was an encampment requirement for cities of a particular particular size in a particular size County uh that is Broward in Miami Dade cities uh to treat homelessness by having to set up a required encampment another Think Tank kind of idea that will never apply to the uh to the actual bill sponsor um of concern um the bulk of the 100 of 160 legislators I'm proud to say candidly 157 stand strong with Israel uh and it was important this session uh following October 7th uh to be mindful and to be very public about our position um as a whole acrossing all racial ethnic socioeconomic and Geographic boundaries um we continue to obviously face those challenges you do with your kids we know we see with your grandkids as well on college campuses but Florida really has zero tolerance um for for any rioting and for any uh for any violence and hate um but there's much more to do there's much more to do as it relates to security for private school funding as well I'm a proponent of public schools um I I I think it's a wonderful institution but at the same time we need to appreciate and realize the reality of the of the current landscape um and I would be hypocritical if I said that um you know every student needs to be protected wherever they are we are woful inadequately underfunded in a number of areas as it relates to that we carry and boast uh and beat our chest about huge multi-billion dollar surpluses and yet we are very lean and anemic as it relates to the funding of some some necessary uh silos going forward um I'm happy to take any questions a couple hundred bills passed the governor still receiving them and they're trickling in uh a little bit of Leverage as it relates to not signing the budget yet on particular issues we may have a special session this June um probably related to property insurance although there's no magic bullet yet because the political will is just not there to to pass real meaningful reform without uing the interest of special interest it's just that's just a reality uh as each year passes although I'm I continue to be uh wonderfully enthused and and excited for the future and being able to do to do a number of things I'm equally com equally compounded by the realities of um this is not the greatest generation and what I mean by that is it's just not uh we have a number of uh of headwinds as relates to the four or eight-year terms of polititions and their lack of political will to do the things that will last 15 and 50 years from now it just doesn't exist that's why it's a breath of fresh air to be in a place like this uh Billy's just told me I thought he was eight years younger than Biden he's actually seven years older um but it's the ethos it's the Zeitgeist of a particular area and it's leaving it better than you found it and establishing a legacy which really just doesn't exist in large parts of the state and certainly not with their elected representatives um so that's the greatest headwind that that that that we that we face and that relates to things like septic to sore conversion in sanitary sore we have wonderful beautiful topical Landscapes but they're still flushing their toilets into 65-year-old broken clay pipes um and we need to do something about it or be honest with ourselves that we have no intention of doing anything about it uh but those are the things that I'll continue they're not sexy they're expensive they're tough love measures like the condo bill but those are things I'll continue to work with so I can sleep at night I'm happy to take any questions any uh questions or comments from any Commissioners for the senator if they not I have a very light-hearted question I'm dying to know were you relieve the jury duty or would you were you picked I was kept to the very end yesterday um and I think both sides pretended not to know who I was even though they had a questionnaire and then there was some discussion about uh about a particular aspect of the law and then the judge refer to me as Senator pizo so I I think they knew I was released uh very late in the day but uh I'm like over for seven but someday I'll get to serve on a jury I was a former prosecutor so they don't really let me on jury panels have you ever been selected for a jury panel no right very late in the day and then I yeah I don't think any lawyers would ever be selected for uh jury duty I I got thrown out early when I was down there but back in the day we were exempt as members of the bar but I don't know why it changed but it shouldn't have because no one's going to choose us anyway um any any other comments I say so uh Senator pizo thank you for doing an outstanding job and representing which is actually what elected officials are supposed to do not just grandstand um my question to you is as Senate minority leader what will be your top priorities the number one priority for me is is infrastructure um I am not a Florida native I held from an area where we started with a pick and shovel and we we were blessed and able to build thousands of units and they'll own and and and hold those up in the Northeast but my father used to joke that he'll never see a dime from them and his maybe his grandkids will will start collecting checks and what he meant by that was these things were supposed to last for generations and that just really just isn't the idea in Florida at all um but there's got to be at least a few of us we can't all just th sort of throw our hands up and give up from the state level so infrastructure will be number one a quality of life for me as a number two includes security um you know there's we see things in headlines on TV as it relates to certain groups and and interests and all that stuff but at the end of the day I don't have a single Community black white hispanic Rich poor Inland or Coastal that doesn't want Safe Streets um and and they're just not and while people you know claim that we're we're at a 50-year crime low we're not at a 50-year crime low for violent crime we're just not that's just the reality of it we are for petty offenses for certain fraudulent activities and all that but not for homicide not for home invasion not for carjacking and in particular you know that Aventura serves as a as a throughway uh to a number of violent fonus activity that happens either North and Broward or or coming south uh and your your officers do an excellent job obviously of of uh and I say obviously because they pull my kids over all the time here in Aventura of um of fting out crime before it happens and then honestly it's um this was the 23rd bill this session that I passed with somebody else's name on it and I think you know what I mean we're in a hyperpolarized atmosphere so I file a bill and a year or two later somebody else files the same bill with their name on it but because they're from the other side of the island the majority it gets passed everyone makes a joke hey piso didn't you have something like this um but one in particular is uh the the blue ocean economy Bill to really take advantage of the resources that we have and and to put back and and just leave it as nice as we found it uh if not better so it's infrastructure it's the environment um and and it's really quality of life uh I work for everyone unfortunately I have my back to I work for you guys um doesn't pay anything but uh good Healthcare though but um but this is what I signed up for and I did it eyes wide open and then finally um I called it a Goldilocks period before and I've said that I said on the news last week and we reject more interviews than than we actually give I'm going to be doing a few tonight and tomorrow and the reality is I just want to be sort of less divisive um there's a 4-minute clip at the beginning of a TV show called Newsroom is with Jeff Daniels and it talks about how America is not the greatest country in the world anymore not that I agree with that position but just what he just goes through about what we spend money and time on about how we Define ourselves not by who we voted for in the last election but you know who we were and in a time we were able to do great things and and not be so skeptical of each other you can't introduce yourself to somebody without the second or third question getting into something that's incredibly divisive our kids I'll leave you with this and I don't know how to how to manufacture this are officiated legislatively but the greatest problem I I saw and one of the reasons why I ran for office and Eden knows this um I knew every single neighbor growing up I knew 15 houses one way 30 houses the other I could be five miles from home and people still knew and when a mother would say I'm going to tell your mother they meant it as a sign of affection as a sign of community and neighborhood kids today are chronically online they don't make eye contact they don't shake hands they don't introduce themselves and they're incredibly passionate and amped up to go March on Washington somewhere about something but they cannot connect with their nextdoor neighbor and I handled all the shootings and homicides of children in Miami Daye County I started the gun violence Division and all of it was because things that would otherwise be resolved on a playground are now resolved digitally where you can be super digitally socially media tough and then the confrontation becomes a powder keg and becomes incredibly violent we are just not engaging with one another we cross the the street when we when we see particular people we don't make eye contact and it's it's sort of trickling over also into adults um and so I don't know how to manufacture that from a legislative perspective but we just need to do a better job and I'm trying to do that as a dad as well well thank you very much and I know that in this age of such high political polarization we know we need more Bridge Builders like you that don't care about the personal uh accolades but just getting things done so thank you thank you thanks everybody hey hey [Applause] thank you so much Senator and by the way this big screen up here we put this up so that you don't have your back to everyone anymore so don't worry about it I want I I just want to say thank you uh several several of us were up in Tallahassee during session um trying to bring home Appropriations for our taxpayers and your office as always is very helpful we actually did very well subject to of course the governor not vetoing not redlining our Appropriations but we had a good year where all we ever want is our fair share of of tax dollars to come back to our city and uh you know we always have uh a big help and um always a place to go hang our hat in your office and we very much appreciate it okay we've got a lot of um special presentations tonight I'm going to go a little bit out of order to um to um shrink the list a little bit I want to um ask if the manager will um hand out the um certificates of appointment we've reappointed uh members of the Arts and Cultural Center Advisory Board and I think at least three of them are here this evening um Beck Becky is Becky here uh Edna and I know that Judith is here Judith Weinberg come on up Becky Edna Judith there's Joyce Lisa mer merid Judy Rita you can take for whoever you want but we appreciate the service thank you so much thank you anyone else here from Arts and Cultural okay thank you for representing okay some uh proclamations and um you may or may not know that um those of you that enjoy activities on the water this is National safe boating week that is a fact and we're honored here to have um couple of members of the United States Coast Guard thank you for your service uh Vice Commander Natalie bunting US Coast Guard auxiliary district 7 and division three and Coast Guard auxiliarist Amanda Mitchell ladies thank you for being here I'm going to I'm going to read this Proclamation and then I would ask that you come up here and we're going to take a nice picture with the elected officials but I do want to say um being uh born and raised in Connecticut where the Coast Guard Academy is located and the eagle Clippers ship the training ship um I appreciate you and the Coast Guard is um one of the branches of our military it's the one that people think the least about but your mission is very very very important and um it's great that you're here so whereas numerous residents and tourists participate in exercise and Recreation in the waterways throughout Aventura whereas the sport of recreational boating can become dangerous when boter or passengers fail to practice safe boating techniques whereas approximately 650 people in the US lose their lives each year in boating relating accidents Bo boating related accidents it's estimated that 75% of those lives could be saved just by wearing a life jacket whereas National safe boating week is observed to bring attention to important life-saving tips for recreational boers to provide a safe or more fun experience out on the water throughout the year and whereas the city of aventur supports efforts to encourage boers and passengers to wear life jackets and to take boating safety courses to gain Knowledge and Skills to reduce Human air while operating a boat now therefore be resolved that I Howard weberg as mayor and and on behalf of the city Commission of the City of Aventura do hereby Proclaim May 18th 2024 through May 24th 2024 so it's not yet it's coming as National safe boating week in the City of Aventura please and if if either of you wishes to say anything you may otherwise you'll just come right up here but if you want to speak just take that microphone make sure it's green push the button push the button okay sorry I want to pick it up uh we're honored to be here thank you very much um mayor and vice mayor and Commissioners thank you very much for having us here uh National safe boating week is celebrated nationally it's always the week leading up to Memorial Day weekend um because Memorial Day weekend is the kickoff of the voting season and everything you read there mayor is 100% accurate um it's a sad fact that Florida has the leading cause um leading number of boating accidents in the country and a leading a number of boating related deaths so it's our um our mission our goal to use this week and the whole year actually to promote uh voting safety to educate the public we offer classes um all year long uh boting safety classes we do vessel examinations uh there's all kinds of tips that we can give to voters but the biggest thing is that we encourage everyone to wear their life vest and 75% of the deaths are drownings and um 85% of those that drowned were not wearing a life jacket and two-thirds of them were swimmers it's not that they didn't know how to swim people would be surprised to learn that the paddlecraft uh Community kayaks paddle boards and canoes make up the number two leading cause of boating related deaths and it's because most of those individuals are not wearing life vest they have them on their their kayak or their canoe and they think that that they can easily get to them if they fall off the boat and capsize and that they're not able to do that so we do encourage everyone to wear life vest and we thank you very much for supporting our efforts to promote National safe voting week thank you so much come on come on come on up that than okay we're not done yet with proclamations this one is pretty near and dear to the hearts of everyone sitting up here it is actually you may not know this but we are currently in the middle of municipal clerk week yes a big one Municipal Clerk's week we are blessed one thing you definitely should know we are blessed with the best city clerk of any City she is amazing and um she keeps she keeps us all on track and unbelievably efficient and organized I'm going to ask our new vice mayor to um read the proclamation whereas the office of the municipal clerk a Tim honored and vital part of local government exists throughout the world and is the oldest among public servants and whereas the office of the municipal clerk provides a profession link between citizens the local governing bodies and agencies of government at other levels and serves as the information center on functions of local government and community and whereas Municipal clerks have pledged to be ever mindful of their neutrality and impartiality rendering equal service to all and whereas Municipal clerks continually strive to improve the administration of the Affairs of the office Office of the municipal clerk through participation in educational programs and professional organizations soon as he's done talking it's your turn oh I missed my my Mark um now therefore be it resolved that I Howard Weinberg as mayor and on behalf of the city Commission of the City of Aventura do Florida do hereby Proclaim May 5th through May 11th as munic municipal Clerk's week wow and Alisa if you will come up here and I hereby order the schools to be closed for that uh well first of all I would like to thank mayor Weinberg and the entire commission you make my life easy um to work for such a wonderful group um I'd also like to thank Arlene Giannis who's hiding in the back there she's the one who helps keep our timers uh set and everything she was actually uh similar to Senator pizo she was um has been during going through the jury selection process for the past three days so I'm happy to finally have her back tonight um Arlene if you want to step out and say hi to everybody and um Jay Smith also helps my department shine so thank you to both of you also there's Arlene in the back Jay raise your hand Jay raise your hand Jay yes very great thank you e [Music] [Music] okay so if you think we're done you would be wrong we have another Proclamation we have a new judge that we're very proud of Judge AAR and I'm going to ask um commissioner fredland to read this Proclamation as a member of the bar so before I read this I do want to say thank you to judge AAR for stepping up and serving we serve in a different capacity but our judges are so important and so significant last week um I was at the North date Justice Center for Law week and um it was an honor to see the judges speak to the members of the community and I think it's as as a member of the bar who goes into court may leave family court but litigation all the time it is so important for her to have a smart intelligent caring and informed judges so thank you for stepping up give me [Applause] one whereas Jennifer LH AAR is a resident of the city of aventur member of the first graduating class of Dr Michael M crop senior high school and a graduate of Northwestern University and the University School of Law University of Miami School of Law whereas Jennifer La chazar has devoted the majority of her career to Public Service having served as an assistant State Attorney a federal law clerk to the United States District Judge Jose Martinez and his assistant County attorney for Miami Dade County as well as serving as an Adjunct professor and Mentor Mentor at the University of Miami School of Law and whereas in February 24 Governor Ronda santz appointed now Jennifer Judge Jennifer LH AAR to the Miami D County Court to reside over criminal misdemeanor cases and whereas the city of aventuro would like to recognize Judge Jennifer LH Aur for her recent accomplishment and for her commitment to making a difference in our judicial system and giving back in positive ways now therefore be resolve that I Howard warberg as mayor and on behalf of the city Commission of the City of Aventura Florida do hereby Proclaim May 7th 2024 as Judge Jennifer LH AAR day in the City of Aventura congratulations congratulations please please I came I came prepared just in case I had the opportunity to thank the commission and mayor Weinberg I brought a couple people with me this is honestly this is just the immediate family so the investure hopefully you'll all be able to attend and we'll need definitely a bigger Courthouse but I'd like to thank the City of Aventura mayor Weinberg our commissioners and my high school principal former mayor uh Weissman I wouldn't have been able to do this without the support and encouragement from my family particularly my husband Nao thank I'd also like to thank our governor the general council's office for entrusting me with the position of Miami Dade County court judge I recognize that this is a tremendous responsibility and I am devoted to upholding the rule of law and the principle set forth in our constitution lastly I'd like to point out that um all of my achievements in life stem from the extraordinary education that I received under Miss weissman's inaugural team of standing Educators at Michael crop Senior High which is why as soon as I was appointed I reached out to her to thank her for everything she did to ensure that her students went out into the world armed with the principles that I was raised with and the principles that were then reiterated in my schooling hard work Integrity honesty and a commitment to public service so I deeply appreciate your honoring me with this Proclamation and I thank you all very much for this recog so so I would like first of all very good use of both principles very very clever your and L your written opinions are going to be very very good uh From the Bench so I want you to bring up anyone you came with and of course your former principal and former vice mayor Enid Weisman please join the judge and her family former did I say Vice oh I'm so sorry for we're appointing new Vice Mayors former mayor my predecessor Enid Weissman who I had the privilege to serve with for six years and and the first principal of crop yes um please come up with the family thank [Music] spe to [Music] pi [Applause] yeah [Applause] y okay that was really so nice because quite frankly that's you see what makes aventur the city of Excellence it's like a family it's so wonderful you have your principal here you have your family here now you're a judge we're all going to get um our tickets dismissed I mean it's just such a it's just so wonderful really right we're going to get out of jury duty I really appreciate it uh um so we're not done and especially um given the events worldwide after uh on and after October 7th uh it's more significant than ever that this is Jewish American heritage month so we have a proclamation and we have um uh we're going to present it as a representative we're going to present it to to Steven Czech the incoming chair of the Jewish community relations Council of Greater Miami and I believe the vice chair of the Anti-Defamation League as well and um I'm going to read this and um then Steph's going to speak and come up whereas the city of avator has been positively influenced by the Jewish immigrants to America who have played a central role in the creation growth Freedom prosperity and strength of the United States of America and whereas our city of Excellence is home to a significant Jewish American population that has helped to Define America's character and values through the infinite value of every human life and the importance of Education in the lives of children and whereas the state of Israel is now celebrating the 76th anniversary of its modern founding and its emergence over the last few decades as a beacon of freedom and prosperity in a world leader in technology agriculture water conservation medicine and all manner of innovation and whereas the city of aventur would like to recognize Jewish American Heritage Month in support of the efforts to increase awareness of the significant contributions of all Jewish Americans now therefore be it resolved that I Howard Weinberg as mayor and on behalf of the city Commission of the city of aventor to hereby Proclaim May 2024 as Jewish American Heritage Month stepen why don't you come up and uh say a few words thank you mayor uh vice mayor Commissioners um as you all know on October 7th which is actually seven months ago today uh our lives were turned upside down and um and I think it is is very important for us um as Jews uh especially in city of T we almost have a minion um here up here which is nice um to to really appreciate the everything that that Jews not just in Aventura in Florida but also United States and the world have contributed uh you know to the world um and uh as the incoming chair of the Jewish community relations Council uh but also the the vice chair of uh ADL Florida to understand what's been going on so uh in 2023 there's 140% increase in anti-semitic incidents over 2022 which was over 100% increase over 2021 um since October 7th there were 5,000 over 5,000 incidents of anti-Semitism in the United States which is more than the last three years combined uh and that really just doesn't go into what's been going on on our college campuses I have two kids in college um and so it's it's a very scary thing I just came from University of michig for my niece's graduation uh and it was pretty scary there as well and so I think it is important for all of us um to to stand together uh not just for Israel um but for also Jews worldwide um who are who are going through this and this to will will end Israel will still be here um we have faith and we just hope that it will be soon so we appreciate everything that the city of eventura does um and appreciate uh um the honor and since is the 7th uh it should bleed into the next month we we should get credit for the next the first week of June as well um so we hope we can make that happen so thank you so ordered so ordered thank you thank you come come on up and and I would be I would be remiss if I didn't uh recognize two two things one what come on up I I want to the first thing I want to recognize is I want to say thank thank you to the contributions your family makes to our community your family literally is aventur royalty and I am just want to say thank you for that the second thing is I want everyone to know that on May 24th at 10:00 a.m. here here in this room and out front we the people of Aventura will be presenting our ambulance that we purchased as a city the people of aventur will be presenting their ambulance our ambulance to our sister city modin in Israel their mayor will be here it will be a fantastic fantastic mandavid Adam the three words that I cannot say properly um we purchased the ambulance through them it's been completely outfitted it will say from the people of aventur to the people of Israel and that's going to be on May 24th I hope the shech family will be there too me con I just also want to say thank you to Steven Sheek he's another example of one of our local homeboy you know raised Kids Go Chargers n&b before crop was built Go Chargers okay so now that we're on this theme uh the other the other night I had the privilege to speak at our Performing Arts Center our Cultural Center um for Holocaust Remembrance Day and um zippy Holland was there to speak a holocaust Survivor remarkable woman remarkable story and um it we felt that it was important to um to recognize her but really I I I give the credit to um to commissioner Paul Cru and I would like him to take over from here thank you it's my honor to do this presentation um my mom uh of blessed memory was a holocaust Survivor and actually I I found out spent most of the war in the same place Tippy did in uh Siberia and was one of the few lucky ones that was able to survive as well and we are very lucky in this community in Aventura and in this community that we have one of the largest uh communities that has Holocaust Survivors uh at some our synagogues here in our community I'm blessed to see them a lot that come to my restaurant and un fortunately every year that goes by we have less and less they are truly an inspiration and heroes to all of us we're talking about October 7th and I put myself in the shoes of these survivors and say what must they be thinking seeing after what they went through to see another small Holocaust excuse me that happened again but as with the state of Israel uh we the Jewish people and people of good faith all over the world will not be unbowed we will be resilient we will continue to fight and we will continue to be a light unto the Nations so uh as as uh mayor weberg was saying uh we were blessed to have at sippi at the As honory and and and a speaker at the aventor Arts and Cultural Center and we were also uh very blessed to have our Jewish Student Union leading the charge as well and we have uh the the the the president of the Don so rever T high school here Ethan bazak who was there and who was interviewed as who interviewed Tippi as well as well as Ariel who's a president of JSU and um the good news is as many challenges as we have uh we should all feel very secure and comfortable that we have an upcoming generation of leaders that are ready to take the mantle and to lead us into the future stronger and better than ever but it is because of the wisdom the courage uh of people like sippi Holland that make it that make it all possible you truly are an inspiration to us Topp be so with that in mind and in commemoration of Holocaust Rememberance Day yum we want to to give you the certificate of pre uh of appreciation presented to Tippy Holland in recognition of your courage resilience and dedication to ensuring that future Generations never forget the horrors of the Holocaust from the city Commission of the City of Aventura recognizing your commitment and with our deepest thank you appreciation and love come on up [Applause] please please it's not [Music] necessary I usually I can talk for hours I'm speechless Paul thank you so much what you're doing for the Community First you because you brought me here so I have to thank you personally I want to thank all of you for realizing how bad the situation is not only in Israel but all over the world I never thought that I will have to tell my kids and my grandkids you don't have to adverti that you're Jewish because we don't know what's going to be but I wondered in the last couple of months why am I still here I'm going to be 84 July 27 what what for I did all this already I went through all this horror why do I have to be here and now I realized why because I have to tell you I have to talk about it I have to teach you to talk to kids to talk to people to not to be afraid because fear paralyzes you and then you can do nothing so stand up don't be a bystander stand up and speak nobody knows how long we're going to be here it could be in an hour it could be in years live every day like it was your last day and do something for Humanity I am so proud of this community I have been living in Miami since 2005 after a very bad sickness and I am so proud of this community you are apart from Israel it's the only place that I would want to live you are the best best of the best and I thank you all Tippy we just want Tippy we we just want you to know that in this city uh that we are not morally confused we know who we are and what we stand for and it is in large part due to the courage and example that you give us every day so thank you to up oh yeah okay so uh we have some employee well-deserved Employee Service Awards but before we do that it was just mentioned um Ethan was just mentioned as the president at Dan soer high school and he's done a wonderful job but his term as happens to all presidents his term is coming to an end and my understanding is that um there were elections and our high school has a new incoming president so Ethan if you could be so kind as to introduce the new president who will follow in your very large footsteps yes thank you Mr Mayor um I've had the distinct honor for the past year and for the past four years to represent the student government that we have at Dono for aventur high high school and first and foremost I just wanted to thank the students of Don Sofer I wanted to thank the city commission and Dr mcky Who is not here today unfortunately but thank all of you guys for the role the pivotal role that you guys played in in building me as a leader and and in hopefully allowing me to build other people and shape their lives just just as well and just as formative as you guys all did so I have the distinct honor for the first time she was elected today uh to announce president Sonia Dewan of Don s for aventur high school [Applause] please Madame President if you'd like to introduce yourself thank you so much hi my name is Sonia danan as many of you may know um I'm currently a junior at Don s Aventura high school and I have been in student government since my sophomore year this year I was a junior vice president my sophomore year I was a secretary and as school president I have a lot of motivations and determinations and and plans and and um it's going to be hard to feel his footsteps for sure but I'm very very um excited and I really look forward to establishing more um just more relations with the city of aventur and taking our initiative to the next step and I'm really really h i really I'm really proud to be representing my school and everything that our city stands for so thank you so much thank you we're very proud of you and all of us are here for you thank you so much much Mr manager Employee Service Awards good evening everybody this is uh the time of the night that we recognize uh employees who have served the aventur community for uh for a number of years and we have two members from our law enforc community and our Police Department who I'm very happy to introduce to you tonight one has served 10 years in the the other has served 20 years one's kind of a rookie still but when I tell you a little bit about them you're going to be really happy that we have people of their caliber working in our city and protecting our residents because they do an unbelievable job and you're going to hear that in a second so I'm going to invite James Martin down as James is coming down he's he's with us for 10 years but he began his career before he came here in the uh the Broward County Corrections uh department when he joined the APD uh at that's aventor Police Department he has served in numerous assignments during his 10 years he was a SWAT member uh he was a field training officer training the new police officers that come into our department he was a member of our crime suppression unit our anti-me plain closed detail he's a member of our Honor Guard he's a defense of tactics instructor and you can see why and I don't know if this is a good or aad bad thing but he is assigned to our Traffic Unit and he is the leading producer of citations for the last several years so we're happy to recognize his 10 years of service and we're going to look forward to 10 more [Applause] I forgot to mention his first year when he was here he was recognized as officer of the year and not only for aventur but also the Miami day Chiefs and uh the county of Miami day Ron I'm going to ask excuse me Mr manager commissioner freand wants to make it I just want to add that um I know the off is now um outside our schools every morning adding another level of safety and comfort to the families and the children when they see him and I heard you say he gives the largest the most number of traffic tickets I think he does it with a very big smile though so thank you for your service thank you our second a Second Officer I should say detective I'd like to invite Kenneth cely I can say I've gotten to know Ken pretty good going past his office all the time he's very quiet understated but don't don't let think for a minute if you're you're in trouble he's going to get you um he came to us before before he came to Aventura he served in the United States Army and was honorly discharged and came to us in 2004 he was also a member of our crime suppression unit our plane con unit but his heart I think really took him into investigations where he's done most of his serious work in this department uh in the spe he's currently assigned as a specialized the specialized in financial crimes unit in our department which is one of the top ones in Dade County he's considered a true expert in this field he's been he's worked with the Secret Service Homeland Security he's been honored by the PBA law enforcement Foundation the FBI and I have to tell you I'm going to just read off some of his accomplishments over the last 20 years he's been the officer of the month 22 times he's been officer of the year once he's been the Miami day PBA investigator of the year two times he's been recognized as the international fraud investigator of the Year also which is a really high honor and like I said he does so much good helping people who get ripped off by your identity fraud and like he is if he's if he's after you you're in trouble so I'd like to recognize Ken's 202 it's a gold watch only way he gets a go Washington D thought going be a credit C thanks thank you both for your service we greatly appreciate it thank you so much so so believe it or not that was page one of the agenda the there's four more pages they're going to go much faster I can guarantee you that but that was really nice I mean that was that was a great hour and 15 minutes so we're now on the consent agenda I'm going to ask uh if anyone uh needs to remove an item if not I'm going to ask for a motion to approve consent agenda commissioner Cruz seconded by commissioner Bloom and uh I'm going to ask for a vote commissioner fredelin yes commissioner Joel yes commissioner Cruz yes commissioner Stern yes commissioner Bloom yes vice mayor Dr marks yes and mayor Weinberg yes motion passes okay uh first reading ordinances uh Madame clerk If You Could Read item eight an ordinance of the city of AV T Florida amending the city code of ordinances at chapter 2 Administration article 3 advisory boards by repealing division six art and public places Advisory Board providing for conflict severability codification and an effective date I need a motion to approve commissioner Bloom second commissioner Cru um Mr manager mayor like the ordinance uh says we're we dissolving this board as it has been very inactive over the several years and if there comes a time that we do need to do it again we can always bring it back okay any commissioner questions comments anyone from the public on this specific item talking about um this art and public places Advisory Board seeing none I'll close it for public comment and uh ask for roll call vote commissioner Joel yes commissioner Cruz yes commissioner star yes Commission commer Bloom yes commissioner fredin yes vice mayor Dr marks yes and mayor Weinberg yes the motion passes okay second readings um I'll ask Madame clerk to read uh item nine an ordinance of the city Commission of the City of Aventura Florida amending chapter 1 General provisions of the City of Aventura code of ordinances to create section-1 122 urinating or defecating and Plain View and public places prohibited providing for conflicts providing for severability providing for inclusion in the code and providing for an effective date okay I need a motion to approve commissioner Stern seconded by commissioner Bloom uh Mr manager uh I think this ordinance is fairly self-explanatory but um it's hard to believe there was never an ordinance like this in the city and being that uh we want to keep our city as nice as it is now we require it okay any member of the commission comments questions no any member of the public on this specific item seeing none close it and ask for a vote commissioner Cruz yes commissioner Stern yes commissioner Bloom yes commissioner fredin yes commissioner Joel yes vice mayor Dr marks yes and mayor Weinberg yes motion passes okay we're up to number 11 and um this is reports if any Commissioners have anything to report on or um uh the manager the attorney or the clerk so I just want to indicate I know that the City attorney has a report but I want to just say that um I put the scooters on here just to um remind us that that's something we're going to be working on uh I don't know if you've been receiving the emails I've been receiving and I don't know if you've been walking the sidewalks and almost getting run over the way I've been almost getting run over but we've got a serious issue with um ebikes and um electric scooters silently flying down the sidewalks and um there was a fatality in kisan I want to act before we have one here I know that Sunny is just created a registration process we talked about this in the workshop I know that the chief is working on um finding things ways to alleviate this problem it's great if people use other means than motor vehicles and I also understand why people would be scared to have their bikes and scooters on the streets but side walk the second word in that is walk um and these are people without helmets on either it's a danger to themselves as well so this is something that is a work in progress and um we're going to find a way to get people to act to ride them responsibly with with um with consequences if they don't so we have a couple people commissioner Bloom you you hit your button so you get to go first so I just wanted to mention really quick that we have a resident in the audience that was affected by the scooters that was actually hit um and is very willing to work with the city on a volunteer basis to offer um support uh in any capacity um so I would encourage the resident to speak with the city manager um to figure out how we can make this uh uh something that residents can get involved in solving thank you and he's welcome to speak at an item 12 public comment which I think he will um yes uh commissioner freedland so I want to say I do agree that there is some significant safety concerns with the speed at which these scooters can ride and move and without people wearing helmets but I drive in the mornings to school to two schools and I want everyone to understand that we are going into summer vacation and in the mornings I see more than 50 that's an exaggeration I see more than 30 kids in our city every single School morning riding them to the schools sometimes they're not motorized scooters some majority of them are they're the high school kids I see them in the afternoons I think we have to be cautious about how we limit them as well because they are obviously making it feasible for kids to get to our schools and we don't have buses for everyone and not every parent can drive them so I think we need to balance that and if we look at this only in a summertime months we're not going to be taking that into consideration that this is the means of transportation for a significant of our population thank you I don't think anybody was suggesting not allowing them the idea is they have to ride responsibly if they're under 18 is it under 18 Chief or 16 if they're under 16 they have to have on a helmet they are not and they can't fly down the sidewalk at 40 m an hour um and it's literally happens to me every morning they come behind me I can't hear them coming because it's electric and they don't warn me the law says they have to say that I'm I'm approaching or on your left or on your right they don't if I were to move left or right suddenly um the Collision would be uh catastrophic I can tell you that um so I took pictures last week actually of the bikes and the scooters at the high school it's one of the things as we build our new school we have to think of there aren't enough racks many many many of the kids are getting to school that way way it's fantastic actually that means we have a neighborhood school it's wonderful but they have to ride responsibly just like when you give a driver's license to a 16-year-old no one is saying you can't have can't drive a car they're saying you have to follow the rules I saw in the news tonight they indicated the new program where the cameras on the buses for people that don't stop when the bus is stopped and the stop sign comes out now it's just like the red light cameras it's a failure to to stop for a bus camera it's a $200 ticket with video of you of the individual not stopping we have to make sure that the kids are safe um okay so other reports Mr attorney uh thank you Mr Mayor so as you know you required to meet in public uh when you convene but there are some exceptions and one is to call an executive session if there is a litigation against the city and we uh received a notice of appeal from p prominade uh and that allows me to request an executive session just just so you know the prominade was a situation where the uh uh The Entity was uh cited for operating in illegal short-term vacation rental in the city and the process had to play out and now we're at the appet stage so prominade filed a lawsuit or an appeal and uh tomorrow we're going to be speaking with uh lawyers from prominade they're going to offer a settlement and I I can the best way of handling this is to present the settlement to you in this executive session and the executive session will be at the end of your on May 16th you have a workshop and you have a special commission meeting and I think a governing board meeting so we're scheduling the executive session for May 16th at noon uh members who can be present myself and two of my partners may appear but I'm just going to mention them by name so that way they can attend uh if we need them Tony Rio and Jose orango the mayor and the members of the commission can also attend and the city manager can it is it is reported uh there's a court reporter that will be present but understand uh what you say is is confidential only until the conclusion of litigation once litigation is concluded uh the the transcripts that were uh recorded uh become public records so uh we we'll schedule the executive session for May 16th at noon and the clerk will post that and we can have a discussion of the settlement and uh strategize in terms of what we want to do going forward if you want to accept the settlement reject it modify it whatever okay thank you uh I have a question yes for the attorney you're posting it at noon but if our prior meetings end earlier can it take place at 10:30 11:00 a.m. no we we we we can't start it until noon I talked to the manager uh about that I mean we could I guess we could call it a little early there's nothing wrong with starting late we just can't start early so so so let's post it earlier okay and if if we're late we're late which is how early do you want to make it 11 yeah that's F that's fine okay 11 and if it happens if it happens not till 12 that's okay okay so well yeah I mean the the last one we did with respect to the the pickle ball offsuit I think we we noticed it for 10 and we didn't get to it until noon but that's fine uh okay so so then I'll just amend what I just said that we will the session will begin uh the notice will be 4 11 if we start after 11 that's perfectly fine okay vice mayor marks I just want to mention that uh school will be out in the next several weeks and I would just like to remind everyone to please be careful when you're driving because now all the kids are going to be out on the streets and on the sidewalks and everywhere so hopefully we can put something up on our website Etc to just remind our residents about the importance of safety when you're driving during the summer time thank you thank you any other reports okay if not we'll move on to uh public input and public comments sorry and um ask the City attorney to re view that process well thank you mayor so for the items that were not on the agenda that were already covered excuse me that were already covered on the agenda uh this is an opportunity for people to speak on other items uh even though the uh uh the mayor did speak about uh scooters I think we we decided that the speaker should be allowed to speak during public comment so uh whoever wants to speak about that item or any other item that wasn't on the agenda but it's within the jurisdiction of the city they've got 3 minutes uh to to make a presentation this is not a back and forth between the members of the commission and the speaker person gets 3 minutes and then we move on to the next speaker thank you thank you anyone wishing to speak you have three minutes just when you come up here make sure the light is green and start with your name and your address please and you'll see a timer there I see it here okay my name is Rob is it just make sure it's green because they're recording you thank you my name is Robert eball I've been a 20-year resident at Bonavista condo for and I have been walking and running and walking my dog on these streets for 20 years and uh when I contacted you through the aventur Facebook page that was after two Under 12 girls riding in tandem on a scooter uh without any notice no warning horn anything else slammed into my back threw me to the ground they were going that fast I'm glad that I had my wrist bracelets on because otherwise I'd have another fractured wrist and it's not just them it's everywhere I mean it's like we've the scooters and everything are almost like cockroaches coming out of under a stove or something because they're everywhere and they have no concern with traffic and especially pedestrians something needs to be done to regulate or uh add an extra lane somewhere for the motorized scooters and even bicycles because the bicycles are even more hazardous than the scooters but these scooters you do not hear them you do not see them if you're walking one way and they're coming from your rear and it's a dangerous situation fortunately I was not that injured but I spent the next two days in uh in the hos at Mount Sinai Hospital here getting checked out for my contusions and bruises and everything else so so I fortunately I have Medicare so I don't worry about the cost of that but it's a hassle to have to spend your time in the hospital away from where people could be needing more and I yield to that but the electric bicycles are even more hazardous I saying thank you for letting me speak I wish we had an audience for it that could hear this but I mean well you're being live streamed and it's it's being broadcast on TV and the internet and um and it'll be replayed on YouTube for anyone who wants to and I'm sure that the ratings are through the roof so you're being heard but I do appreciate it and we empathize with you and we're working on it and if you do manage to or decide to come up with some sort of committee or something to come up with some sort of Arrangements I volunteer thank you and you also can always directly reach out to to Ron wson the manager he has an open door policy he interfaces with the police chief so you could always check on you know what's going on well Mr Watson's only heard from me for complaints so at least this time we're on the same page hopefully and thank you for coming okay thank you and I do volunteer for anything to assist in this since I'm a retiree from the National Weather Service for 30 years and everything else so I mean I do want to help our community thank you so much and thank you for being a longtime resident any other public comment seeing none I'll close it for public comment uh I don't see any other business so in that case I'm going to ask for a motion to adjourn commissioner bloom in a second commissioner Cruz all those in favor say I I anyone oppose we are adjourned