[Music] turn the M on all right good ready Mr Mayor good morning I'd like to uh thank everyone for being here today it's always a pleasure to see members of our community both residents business owners and individuals who have an interest in government join us for February 13th 2024 City Mission as I mentioned before in the past there will be a multiple there'll be multiple opportunities for public comment uh you can either speak at the beginning of the commission meeting you can speak at the as the items continue to progress to the day but we look forward to your guidance and to your interest so to start us off this morning uh we have the Reverend Melanie Marsh from Riviera Presbyterian church again it's a pleasure to see you twice in 24 hours so Reverend good morning and welcome back to the city cor GES commission we're blessed to have you thank good morning Mr Mayor Lago and uh to the all members of the commission it is a delight and an honor to be invited and on behalf of my church Rivier Presbyterian we are such proud members of the community glad to be part of Coral Gable so let us pray Creator and sustainer of all that is and ever will be We Gather in your presence giving you our thanks for this day and all of its blessings we thank you for those who are called into public office to serve the people of their communities for the time that they give and for the vision that they hold to to make our city a beautiful and welcoming place we ask that you guide and direct the people of Coral Gables our leaders and their actions grant that each of us may feel our responsibility to our neighbor in our community and Beyond bless this time of decision- making and discernment guide these Leaders with your spirit of wisdom and compassion and humility help them to be mindful of the needs of all your children the powerful and the power less the rich and the poor our elders the young and all those in between by your spirit may this community continue to grow into a place that is Rich with culture bright with the beauty of creation and committed to Unity and thriving among diverse people we ask all of these things in your holy name amen amen amen amen Reverend we would like to extend our best wishes to your congregation and thank you again again uh for being with us and we look forward to having you once again here helping us with the city of course thank you and God bless thank you Mr manager will you do me the honor and the commission H by Leading Us in the Pledge of Allegiance yes pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands nation under God isible with liberty and justice for all we're going to skip A1 for now I need about five minutes we're waiting for some individuals to join us I'd like to move on to item A2 congratulations to driver engineer David Hill recipient of the city of cor Gable firefighter of the month award for the month of February 2024 Chief good morning morning mayor good morning ladies and gentlemen of the commission nice to see you all again um we're here to present our firefighter of the month uh David Hill was really nominated by uh the same folks that he uh rescued he was on his days off he's driving by and elderly couple were riding their bikes and they were attacked by a dog stray dog so he pulled over protected them from the dog called for rescue to assess their injuries uh we were told that he even went and grabbed an umbrella to protect them from the Sun little did he know that uh the gentleman that he assisted was actually a retired Broward County fire rescue uh firefighter so as we often say up here and it's listed on our trucks our motto is committed to our community and that usually transcends outside of our job so for his actions on and off the job David Hill is our firefighter of the month congratulations to him I just want to say thank you for your time thank you Chiefs thank you for being here and I'm very honored to award this I wasn't doing this for for that I saw somebody need and P over to help out so I want to say thank you well deserved thank you for your service and commitment to the residents of the city thank you so much congratulations he rose to his challenge he was just commenting how much he did not like public speaking so I think that's guys so I I asked the the mayor and I asked the commission for an Indulgence for a few minutes um I just like to is Chief Jones here so Chief Jones was an uh a product of our fire cadet program uh as he Rose through the ranks he took on the challenge of restoring that program and over the weekend our fire Cadets participated in the Florida fire games uh they won first place in the victim rescue category and they placed top 10 in all the other categories amongst 48 teams so I just I appreciate the moment of privilege to recognize our fire Cadets the firefighters that trained them so well and Chief Jones for re instilling that program so thank you very much that's all congratulations to them what a complete honor thank you so much oh congratulations is that even working somebody disconnected congratulations commission guinea pig the commission guinea pig we should do this excuse the delay I had to go and pick up the proclamation for A1 coming back to A1 a presentation or a proclamation declaring February 2024 is Black History Month in Coral Gables I'd like to invite a few of our friends who are joining us here uh from McFarland from Golden Gate please join us please come up so as many of you are aware every February we're proud to celebrate Black History Month uh this year's theme focus on African-Americans and the Arts and in Coral Gable's residents and visitors can enjoy the work of Hank Willis Thomas which I've had the privilege of knowing for some time throughout the year as we have six sculptures and a seventh sculpture on Miracle Mile he's one of the preeminent uh contemporary artist in the world forget being black he's just an exceptionally exceptionally talented individual who has uh done numerous uh public installations throughout the world uh and you can see them from Washington to New York and is in every major Fair uh throughout the world um his 22 speech bubbles can be found like I mentioned along Miracle Mile and His Four I apologize artwork benches are placed throughout the city as part of the city's acclaimed art in public places to celebrate the University of Miami Frost School of Music will feature a musical series and the coral gab Museum will feature works by marel pler and Edward Duval ker who's also an exceptionally locally renowned uh artist who recently had a show at the Pam the Paris art museum um welcome welcome to the city again would you like to say a few words before we before we before I read the proclamation into the record good morning Mr Mayor commissioners Madam City attorney Mr city manager and others my name is Clarice Cooper and I'm glad for this opportunity today a recognize Black History Month in the city of Coro Gables my late parents William and Leona Cooper and Mr Prime's late parents Carl and uina Prime would be very graciously accepting of this opportunity today especially for the work that they did to preserve the quality of life and the improvements in the two hisor L africanamerican and black neighborhoods of uh Golden Gate subdivision and the McFarland Homestead historic district and also I would want to bring greetings from my aunt Leona Koopa Baker who was recently honored as one of the women of Distinction at the corl Gable Museum's annual Gaya back in November of last year and I would like to invite everyone to the theme for this year's black history nationally there're slow Logan is africanamerican in the Arts and the George Washington Carver High School alumni association which existed as a full High School up until 1966 and I remember that cuz I was one of the students impacted by that decision when it became a junior high school and it was no longer a senior high school and we had to go to other schools around the area and also out of the area they do have a very active Alumni Association that meets monthly and they will be celebrating their alumni day on February 23rd of this month and they will be honoring a graduate of uh George Washington Carver's class of 64 her name is Shirley Richardson and she has the distinction of being inducted as the AL in the Alumni Hall of Fame and she's one of the co-founders and co-directors of the M Ensemble theatrical casting group theatrical group that exist here in the state for over 50 years and we're real proud of that thank you oh thank thank you thank you for all that history and all that knowledge thank you Mr Prime good to see you again sir oh good to be seen as they say got more you got more more than just that uh yes well I always um appreciate the city acknowledging our historically designated neighborhood which is the only historically designated neighborhood in the city of Coro Gable sets on a national register of historic places and that was much of the uh work of my late parents and Miss Cooper's late parents to have that designation and we're proud to represent that neighborhood if I may I just want to just briefly um mention I had the privilege of spending a lot of time with Miss Cooper and along with Miss Prime uh they were salt of the earth uh they were Visionaries people who were entrenched in you know really recognizing the history of these communities uh we worked hand in hand you know to make sure that we address issues for example like St Mary's Baptist Church uh the park that we were able to with with private funds we were able to renovate but they were amazing amazing in in what they did and the ground workor that they laid uh to ensure that uh everybody in that Community was uplifted so I just wanted to again remember them and Leona uh please send her our our best I had the pleasure of spending some time with her that day in the museum she's the firecracker that she always is uh always holding everybody accountable and always always imparting wisdom uh in regards to the neighborhood the City of Coral Gables as proud City of Coral Gables residents so I'd like to uh briefly just read this Proclamation if I may whereas as Harvard trained historian Carter G Woodson like web the boys before him believe truth cannot be denied and that reason would Prevail over Prejudice thus his hopes to raise awareness of African-Americans and their contribution to civilization were realized when he and the organization he founded the association for the study of negro life and history conceived and announced negro history week in 1925 Woodson also realized the importance of providing a theme to focus attention in the public on the public excuse me with the intent to bring to the Public's Consciousness important developments that Merit emphasis set event was first celebrated during a week in February 1926 and whereas the celebration was expanded to a month in 1976 the Nations B Centennial when the when then President Gerald R Ford urged Americans to seize the opportunity to honor the too often neglected accomplishments of African-Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history and since then the entire nation has come to recognize the importance of this celebration thus each American president thereafter has designated the month of February as Black History Month and whereas during national black history month we celebrate the Legacy of black Americans whose power to lead to overcome and to expand the meaning and practice of American democracy has helped our nation become a more fair and just society and now there therefore I Vince logo as mayor of the city of cor Gables along with the members of the city commission and the citizens of the city beautiful to hereby proclaim the month of February 2024 as Black History Month in Coral Gables with this year's National theme of African-Americans and the Arts one thing I also forgot to mention something I'm very proud of is besides Hank Willis Thomas which is amazing world-class artist we also have Von span which is a world recognized artist who lives in New York who will be having a sculpture which has already been purchased and uh approved by the commission which will be installed just a few blocks away here uh so it'll be another addition to our incredible art portfolio here in the city that people will be able to enjoy so thank you and please send my best to to our dear friend Miss Cooper all right let's take a photo please please when we go up me no thank you uh moving on to item A3 congratulations to officer Eduardo castan recipient of the 2023 Robert decort Memorial award 13th good morning good morning thank you for being here with us thank you Commissioners thank you for vice mayor city manager the Robert dord award a cherished symbol of bravery and sacrifice within Coral Gables stands as a tribute to the courage commitment and spirit embodied by the members of the Coral gaes Police Department named in the memory of Robert dord a courageous Guardian whose life was tragically cut short in the line of duty on January 21st 1972 while attempting to apprehend two subjects as they were coming committing an armed robbery this award serves as a poignant reminder of the risks inherent in protecting our community it it honors not only DT's bravery but also the enduring bonds of camaraderie and service that defines our city today it is my privilege to present this award to officer Eddie castanada a truly Exemplar of integrity and professionalism within our department nominated by Officer Chris hinski and selected with Care by the Cora's Fraternal Order of Police Executive Board officer castona embodies the values of the Robert DT Memorial award his eight years with the corable police department is marked by dedication compassion and resolve day in and day out officer Caston upholds the highest standards of law enforcement demonstrating a commitment to Justice and service that inspires us all it wouldn't be a surprise if you didn't recognize officer castan because he worked the midnight shift protecting the residents of the city beautiful officer caston's contributions extend beyond our department his efforts to Foster unity and mutual respect among his colleagues recognized by his selection as the George P web Webster member of the year in 2021 reflect his commitment to the betterment of our profession in honoring officer castan we pay tribute to his remarkable achievements and enduring Legacy of of those who have sacrificed for our community congratulations to officer Castaneda it is my honor to present you the 2023 Robert Dort Memorial [Applause] award [Applause] um before I address the commission I'd like to uh express my heartfelt gratitude to my friends and family for their support compassion and understanding throughout my journey in law enforcement to my beloved mother uh you're my Guiding Light my guardian angel to my father you're my Pillar of Strength to my god parents you've been my mentors and guiding stars to my brother thank you for always helping me shoulder life's burdens when they become too heavy for me to Bear alone and to my grandparents thank you for all you endured so that I could be here today you reside in my deepest chambers of my heart forever as I humbly accept this award today let it stand not only as a recognition of my efforts but as a tribute to the remarkable individuals who have played pivotal roles in shaping my path thank you uh Chief thank you for the opportunity back in 2016 to work for this department and always answer my questions whether I like the answer or not to the fop executive Boards of the past who listened to and engaged the annoying Brookie with a b a big mouth thank you for allowing me into not only this Brotherhood but educating me along the way on how to better serve others to the current executive board and although those who work and all those who took part in this nomination I'm truly humbled blessed and unbelievably honored to receive this award the names of its previous recipients are proof of what it means to be a Robert Dort Memorial award recipient and I hope to continue this distinguished Legacy throughout my career to the esteemed members of the Coral Gables commission today as We Gather to honor the legacy of Officer Robert Dort and I accept the award that bears his name I am compelled to reflect on three fundamental principles that he embodied and that the current cor Gables officers continue to personify service sacrifice and greatness service sacrifice and greatness service is a calling that many of us share a commitment to selfishly serve others in our community officer Robert Dort epitomizes ethos during his 19 years of dedicated service to the city beautiful on that faithful day in Jan January 21st of 1972 responding to a call for service he confronted two individuals in the act of an armed robbery despite nearing retirement officer dor courageously attempted to apprehend the subjects and unfortunately made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our community his Valor and commitment to duty serve as a Timeless reminder of the noble calling to Serve and Protect as I stand before you representing hundreds of current and retired officers who have served and continued to serve Coral Gables I cannot help but acknowledge the profound sacrifices demanded by this profession these sacrifices extend beyond the Physical Realm but also the mental leaving indelible scars both seen and unseen on the bodies minds and even the families of those who bear the badge as Coral Gable's police officers sacrifice isn't just a concept it's woven into the very fabric of our daily lives each time we put on our uniform we understand the weight of the sacrifices we make it's the M birthdays anniversaries and holidays spent patrolling the streets ensuring the safety of our community it's the moments of fear and uncertainty knowing that danger could be lurking around any corner but despite the challenges we press forward driven by a deep sense of Duty and responsibility we sacrifice our own comfort and safety to protect those who cannot protect themselves knowing that our actions make a difference no matter how small our commitment to protecting our community is unwavering fueled by a sense of Duty and responsibility that propels us forward into the face of adversity each sacrifice we make is a testament to our strength resilience and unwavering dedication to the greater good in the words of the late Kobe Bryant greatness is to inspire people next to you it's not something that lives and dies with one person it's how can you inspire a person to inspire another another person that's how you create something that lasts forever officer D's Legacy of greatness lives on inspiring us to strive for excellence and to uplift those around us as negotiations continue I urge each of you to consider the service sacrifice and greatness demonstrated by the rank and file who Bid Farewell to their families and loved ones each day and dedicate themselves to the safety and wellbeing of our community I'd like to extend my gratitude to the city's initial offer which demonstrates your commitment to addressing the disparities and compensation our department faces compared to others however as we proceed I urge you to prioritize The crucial areas requiring attention to prevent further loss of talent from our department the failure to adequately address the pay Gap during negotiations has unfortunately led to a significant Exodus of officers they're not leaving because they don't love their profession or their Community but because they can't afford to stay the situation is concerning and requires our immediate attention and action in closing I extend my heartfelt thanks to officer Robert aort for his exemplary service sacrifice and greatness and to the cor G commission I ask that you continue to honor our service recognize our sacrifice and dare to be great I leave you with this the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of Challenge and controversy Martin Luther King Jr thank you for your time and your recognition thank you officer congrats rul ation well deserved your words are very poignant words I'd like to take an opportunity to call your parents up and also your grandparents cuz I think that like you said in your speech they they deserve the ultimate tribute for raising the man that you are today I don't have the privilege of having my grandparents around anymore they grew up they were they're had a house about a few blocks away on Minorca but there isn't a move that there isn't a move and there isn't a day in my life that that goes by that I don't think about my grandparents um they are at the root and the base of every decision that I make and I see that you're the same so I congratulate you on that um can I have your parents come up it's important and your grandparents please come up would you like to share a few words in regards to your son no good morning way I didn't understand that simple Spanish just so she said that I got it I got it I I I I did take three years of Spanish in higho there you go I see where you get your stylish cues for your glasses all right let's take a photo thank you very much please she stay in the photo [Music] ready got get challeng come on get in here let's go you guys ready ready than moving on to item A4 congratulations to Carlos picardo Community Recreation Department recipient of the employee of the month award for the month of November 2023 good morning mayor Commissioners raara HR and risk management director um today we are recognizing and celebrating our November 2023 Employee of the Month Carlos picardo from the community recreation department just a little bit of background before I turn it over uh to Fred cero um Carlos has served the residence of Carl Gables for 24 years always in the community recreation department during his tenure Carlos has served in various positions and currently holds holds a position of Youth Center supervisor as a youth center supervisor he works hard daily to create a safe fun and inspiring environment for all those that attend um the youth center he regularly goes above and beyond his normal duties to give back to the children and visitors of the youth center he even volunteers his own personal time to coach the youth center girls volleyball team um Fred would you like to present him with the award and say a few words yeah a quick you said 24 years 24 years he started in kindergarten he looks he looks 24 it's a testament to working in Recreation uh that didn't work for you keeps you young I Administration Recreation is not the same as Recreation um uh as as Raquel said I'm I'm I'm really happy for for this day to uh really honor Carlos as she said uh started in 2000 um started as a counselor right away he was one of our popular counselors um we had a he was able to move his way up he kind of did every classification in the in the youth center that you can do as as a part-timer he went up the ladder and then as a full-timer from specialist to ass supervisor he's a supervisor he's done great things um he's already now taking um run programs for Generations he has children that were in his camps come back as adults with their kids for special events for the haunted house um I see them they come they oh we're here to see Carlos where's Carlos um and you know right now he's running a a great program that he kind of developed from the ground up which was uh our our girls volleyball program which has been very successful something and he holds um dear to his heart and um I think this is a well-deserved honor for him it's been a long time coming um he works hard the youth center is a big building and he's the guy in charge of it so congratulations to him if he wants to come [Music] up um just want to say thank you to Fred and Carina for your support and all of the the staff and that's it 24 years and that's it come on that's all you and I you and I interact every time we get a chance at an event and I just want to congratulate you for your hard work uh in regards to the entire department in regards to the entire city um 24 years is a big accomplishment and we look forward to your service here for as long as we can have you thank you thank you sir I would just want to add um thank you for taking care of what is dear to my heart the youth center and uh I guess I did know you when you were in kindergarten back in the day and you did like Fred say you participated in every aspect of the program and now you've obviously grown with the program and thank you for listening thank you for adapting with the times and the youth center continues to be uh a jewel of our community thanks to you and and the staff so personally thank you and I think you always have a smile on your face whenever you're working regardless of the time how many hours you've been out there uh and that shows and I think it shows in the rest of your team as well um I think this is this this shining star of our City's our community recreation department the dedication you all show every day but Carlos you you're you're a star and we appreciate you having here so fin thank you for showing examples of good leadership by the example you set people can emulate what you've done and try to grow up to be the next person like you that's in the Parks and Recreation Department so I know that U children are great in emulating their parents then and uh you're setting a good example outside of their homes as well so thank you you're a great person but overall you're a great employee and we need more of you every day thank you well yeah I thought Carl is going to introduce somebody [Music] this let's try Mr clerk moving on to item B1 approval of the regular regular City commission meeting minutes of January 9th 2024 I have a motion sir motion second all in favor I moving on to B2 regular City commission meeting minutes of January 23rd 2024 for move it second all in favor I thank you uh moving to public comment uh first Speaker today Mr Mayor is Eloy Garcia Mr can I ask you a quick question would you prefer to wait to speak during the item or speak in public comment so you could leave yes public comment be fine thank you good morning Mr Mayor honorable commission City Administration my name is Eloy Garcia and I'll probably be the most objective individual you'll hear from today in regards to my support for your city manager Peter Eis I don't live in the city unfortunately I moved out of the city from the craft section many years ago and I regret it to this day because you have a beautiful city I don't work for the city I don't conduct business with the city unless you count when I come with my families to eat at your lovely restaurants which is they're amazing but I met Mr elus in 2014 at that point the city of Miami was going through the largest building boom ever I inherit I became the city fire marshal I inherited a fire prevention Bureau in which more than half of them over 40 individual division was retiring due to the end of their drop I needed to find someone I can rely on someone with the knowledge with the experience and the trustworthiness that I needed at the time and at that time Mr elus was the building director and the building official and we immediately bonded we worked together we accomplished so many things I was always able to reach out to him for assistance and we work together there wasn't one time that a developer would not go to Mr elus and request something he said what did fire say or not one time that they would come to me and say what did building say and I would reply the same thing so that was important because Mr acius was able to navigate what I call the three legs of this tripod one is life safety number one not only from the discipline of BU of fire but from the discipline of building that's structural electrical mechanical elevator but he also knew the other leg which was the business community and how important it is for the revenues of the city and lastly politics yes politics make sure you don't and why do I say politics because as they asked once Cole and pal is there politics in the military he says there's politics in all Endeavors so I will conclude today by telling you one story because that that's what you do when you get older and you have gray hair like I do it's called experience we were in a meeting with an elected official and Mr gissa said to that elected official Mr so and so I'm going to work with you I'll work with you this is like a football field from sideline to sideline but what I won't do is go out of bounds when we left and I said Peter that was great I'm going to steal that from you and he goes to me Eloy after 30 years in this business whether in the public or in the private sector I'm not going to end my care career with egg on my face that's the individual you have so I support Mr Eis I hope you do too however ever and this is the most important statement always after the however the but if they choose not to support you you're always welcome back thank you very much for your time and thank you very much for your service thank you sir Maria Cruz good morning Maria Cruz Mrs Maria Cruz 1447 Miller Road I guess some people are going to be surprised because I think we have to wait for the right time you know Ecclesiastes is very clear there's a time for everything and this is not the time for what people expect me to say today actually I'm here to bring back an item that I discussed and I was told by Mr IG lasius that the plans were already in I'm talking about the sidewalks around doctor's hospital as you all know and I'm not going to go into details I had this had opportunity to be sitting at doctor's hospital for 10 days till my husband passed away but we had a lot of people that came and they all brought about what is shame that we have to walk on the street because there's no sidewalks to get to this building and I know that we discussed it I know that that was one of the things that Dr sosal Baptist was supposed to do when we were so nice and allow them to buy the parking lot across the street I know like I said last time I brought it up the plans were in well the plants may be uh getting a lot of dust maybe wetness if they're in the right part of the building where the water comes in but the plans haven't happened yet and people need to be able to get to Doctor's Hospital thank you Mr clerk before we go to the next person I'd like to address that so when we were in the process of negotiating the sale of of the surface parking lot across the street to Doctor's Hospital uh I made the request at the 11th hour before we voted that doctor's hospital I would vote no on the item unless doctor's hospital fully funded the sidewalks around uh the entire facility and helped us connect to University which is probably about I would say 80 to 85% completed over the last 6 months being in construction and having an understanding of what it takes not only did we have to get it Not only was it funded but we also had to do surveys we had to do plans this is a process that takes time Mr manager can you give us a quick update uh in regards to where we are right now because this is a project that is again three blocks from my house so if anybody has an interest in regards to seeing this project completed it's myself uh yes of course May the Public Works director is here to give us Mr D is will you please provide us some clarity and provide the actual information in regards to where we are funding and also where we are in regards to the design phase and implementation yes good morning poly director so um we're finalizing the design for basically the the remaking of Pisano yes uh which is the between um and the hospital and uh we should get uh probably a we hope it's 100% drawings by the end of this week there may be additional comments they County already reviewed it very minor things that they want us to do there my understanding is that the sidewalk on the University per se I think that's when the parking lot gets redeveloped yes and cuz right now there's no space on University to build That Sidewalk until the parking lot gets redone and gets pushed back but on Pisano which is the one that we be working on we should have what we hope is final plans or maybe be some small comments left over towards the end of this week okay so there it's a multipl step process correct we're moving forward the funding is already in place as a result of the deal that we struck so that's not an issue that we have to worry about the hospital will pay for it sidewalks take time it takes input you have to do surveys you have to do plans but also let's be very careful the information that we say here because this is a pro this is a project that as you know I have probably put on the agenda I don't know seven or eight times in an effort along with blue Road and I have the item again on the agenda today to show you some pictures of blue Road uh and trying to get those sidewalks also accomplished so so in the case of Pano we're not just putting a sidewalk we basically redoing the entire East Side there's some drainage that goes along with that there's some corrections to the cross-section of the street that needs to happen so it's a little more involved than just the sidewalk itself yeah so I welcome my colleagues who would like to get engaged in this issue you know please join me and help me push this over the hump because I think it's an opportunity to finally connect University of Miami with University and hopefully we can go to Blue road we can go down blue Road and connect to Riviera and then make a left on Granada and I would love to see us do Granada next which is something that I think we so sorely needed all the way to all the way to the bridge which will then connect us to Blue road so I I appreciate the update and I look forward to hopefully next week when the plans are finally completed and the county has given their comments that we can please send it to the commission through the through the manager through the manager please provide it to us all so we can review it 100% thank you if I may Mr Mayor Mr manager would it be possible to add this to the updates on the on the city's website similar to Burger Bob's uh just so that residents have a place to go just to get an update absolutely problem of course thank you sir Jackson rib Holmes good morning sir thanks so I have uh good news great news right true or false in most of our lives uh most of we get bad news right but sometimes we hit the jackpot and we get great news so what's the great news for the City of Coral GES two different doses uh probably the biggest one I think is fighting climate change uh the uh Gavin Nome of the the governor of California is now suing the uh oil companies the US Supreme Court has okay so nobody can stop him and this is the beginning of the end of the oil companies like with the tobacco companies so they've been trying to drown us here in Coral Gables for how many years how many we've been planning our deaths right death by Drowning to climate change caused by the oil companies we can even sue them ourselves and now there's life after death right there there uh we can we can sink the oil companies before they sink us that's item number one uh the other piece of great news for the City of Coral Gables is uh the light at the end of the tunnel we we can take down we can end citizens united citizens united as we know has unfortunately corrupted even local elections so that developers can uh contribute four times more than all voters combined to our elections corrupting the whole thing right uh but now the Federalist Society remember this name Sheldon White House senator of Rhode Island he has now proven that the Federalist Society got citizens united passed through the bribery of people like Clarence Thomas we've seen that in the news Clarence Thomas and that whole decision is a corrupt decision and and and the federal Society made the big mistake of supporting president Trump's crimes opening the door to the FBI investigating them there is light at the end of the tunnel we can end citizens united and its depressing effect on our government thank you thank you thank you very much that's it Mr Mayor okay moving on 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 uh I just like to add one uh more appointee for the coral Gable's Country Club I'd like to appoint Sher celsia CES a uh I've had staff um verify that she is a member of the cor Gables Country Club there was a tough decision between three applicants um being that there was a apparently a shortage of women on on the board I I chose one of the two women um the other two are very qualified if there becomes another vacancy I recommend recommend them as well so thank you may I have a motion please I'll move it I'll second all in favor I thank you okay we have a 10:00 time certain uh that we will be taking now and and we need a five give us a five minute break and we'll take the time 10:00 time Ser which is item F2 but before we move I'd like to defer items E4 and F18 at the request of the sponsor so we'll be back in 5 minutes at 10:05 to address item F12 which is at 10:00 a.m. time certain thank you may mayor if we if we can just on e4 it's going to be deferred to to a date certain which is February 27th okay perfect thank you very much [Music] [Music] huh that's fine sounds about right Mr clerk yes Mr Mayor all right [Music] we let's get back to our reg regular schedule programming uh welcome back so we're going to do things we're going to do things a little bit differently just something that I thought of right now since there's so many people here and so many residents who reached out to us and who spoke to me outside um with the respect of the sponsor of the item on F12 I'd like to have the residents speak first I think it's an opportunity for people who need to go home we have to go to work we have a Lov one they got to take care of I hope that my colleagues will support me on that and we can move forward and expeditiously have everyone speak and then we'll address the item Mr Mayor I have no issue with that I just want to make sure we set the tone this is about somebody's job performance I don't want to hear personal attacks towards a manager I don't want to hear personal attacks towards members of the commission we are a civilized City we're a city that sets the bar for everybody else and that's what I hope we do today let's have a conversation as a municipality that's going to set Coral Gable's path for the future all right so Mr clerk with that being said um we have a civility code here we hope that everybody aderes to it we ask you to be kind and thoughtful as we move forward uh we have a a lot of people and I have probably about 20 or 25 letters that I'll be submitting that I all know I know that we all received the copy of it that I'll be submitting for the record um for consideration by the commission and obviously the record Mr clerk who's first Jose riera Jose Jose you're up you're up good morning sir nothing like first right wish I wasn't first uh this is the first for me uh good morning uh Mr Mayor vice mayor fellow Commissioners and the rest of the individuals in the chamber my name is Jose riera I'm a coral Gable's resident um and I want to mention two things that uh are of concern for me um last month in The Gables good government meeting commissioner Mendez was asked his opinion on the issues with Mr Iglesias commissioner Menendez responded there is a toxic environment in commission meetings emails uh commissioner Fernandez appears of having negative behavior belittling inflicting verbal abuse targeting personally and through emails Mr Iglesias these behaviors and then firing the the same person for their actions or a different way of thinking than you believe or you think concerns me it concerns me with liability um it appears certain Commissioners have forgotten that the commission's meetings are televised taped emails are public records quick irrelevant responses and forms of sidetracking do not eliminate liability um this toxic environment began since the last elections I respectfully request you think long and hard how to stop these types of toxic and disrespectful comments whether you agree with a person or not there could be legal repercussions for this behavior that could cost us the taxpayers second issue that I wanted to mention was if you do come to an amicable succession with Mr Iglesias I respectfully request you hire a qualified individual someone that has experience and will ensure a transition a smooth transition to avoid wasted time and taxpayers money hiring nothing personal but hiring the community recreation director will not do that I will not hire a doctor to prepare my taxes each commissioner should put the interests of the city of cor Gables before their personal and professional interest this does not appear to be the position of three Commissioners thank you thank you sir Nicholas CA morning sir good morning members of the commission my name is Nicholas Caba and I reside at 45 ntia Avenue Coral Gables Florida I'd like to begin today with a recent story just this past Friday night I received a phone call from a business owner along Geraldo Plaza it was brought to my attention that the canopy lights and pencil lights along the plaza were off this was at 7:49 p.m. a time when Geraldo Plaza is most active on Friday nights and the businesses rely most heavily upon these lights I immediately stopped what I was doing and took a visit the street was Pitch Black and businesses had to find way ways to provide lights to their patrons so I did when I thought best I immediately reached out to vice mayor Anderson this was at 8:08 and within less than a minute vice mayor Anderson responded to me and by 8:09 we were on the phone by 8:10 p.m. vice mayor Anderson had none other than city manager Peter gesus on the phone with me I explained the situation to the city manager and I and he immediately responded Mr glus said to me and I quote Mr Cabrera I'm aware of the issue I have sent an electrician to fix the lights Not only was Mr Iglesias a true gentleman he was responsive and ATT attentive to the issue at hand he understood the challenges this blackout caused for the businesses along Geral the plaza and the need to resolve the issue immediately we finished our call at about 8:22 p.m. and by 9:46 p.m. the lights were back on members of the commission the reason I tell you this story today is to remind you our commissioners of the professionalism and responsibility Mr Iglesias brings to the City of Coral Gables and this position of city manager to remind you of the dignity with which Mr Iglesias represents our city and cares for it each and every day in fact this is not the first time Mr Iglesias was attentive to me as a resident and responded to me with honesty and respect not so long ago during a wonderful experience in our community known as Moon Over The Gables I saw Mr igus with his wife enjoying the experience and I walked up to him during our conversation i' had expressed my love for Pon Circle Park and the vision I had for the space I told them about all the incredible opportunities this park brought to the city of cor Gables for public art and events future experiences like the one we enjoyed that evening not only did he enjoy my comments he agreed and listened intently shortly after the event I emailed Mr gasius I emailed Mr Iglesias requesting the most recent plans for the renovation of the park not only did he respond to me within less than 2 hours but he had also directed City staff to assist me in finding the records I searched for should you wish to find his response feel free to do a public records request for our email exchange on April 4th 2023 at 4:32 p.m. this Exchange is just another example of Mr 's respect for the residents of Coral Gables members of the commission Mr Iglesias represents our city with honor and Grace with professionalism and integrity however I believe a trip down memory lane is the only way to fully drive this point home as many of you recall my father Ralph Caba served as the commissioner of the City of Coral Gables for 12 years retiring in 2013 during my father's tenure three different city managers served under his leadership each city manager had their strengths and each had their weaknesses each had their moment unfortunately for my father the final city manager he served with was by no means an individual representative of the C the beauty of the City of Coral Gables the city manager was a brow beater he was secretive he was manipulative polarizing and D diligently work to ensure my father received zero support in his efforts to serve the people of Coral Gables so as you Ponder and discuss the current manager's future please consider the following the city manager my father ended his tenure with would not allow the cleaning staff to enter his office each night at the close of the day he'd take his trash home with him when working with Consultants he would not allow them to write him emails or call him directly on his City phone in fact he had a second cell phone which no one knew about he consistently prepared my father's colleagues to debate him on his agenda items and often prohibited City staff from responding to requests from his office the good news is one year after my father left office this city manager's True Colors were revealed and he was asked to resign by the majority of the city commission so members of the commission when you ask yourself what a bad city manager looks like remember this era and coral Gable's government and for those of you wondering who the city manager is I'll tell you this Mr Iglesias is not Pat solo nor does he even stand in Pat Solo's Shadow commissioner Fernandez commissioner Castro you have been office but only 10 months this is not the first time I've have challenged you to reconsider your stance on an item you have done Mr Iglesias a disservice today and have portrayed him in a false light simply for your own political gain you have disrespected him on the deis in your emails and in your messaging Mr Iglesias is the opposite of what you've portrayed him he's a gentleman he serves with veracity and he maintains his accountability to the people of Coral Gables and all members of this commission my comments are not only directed at you but there are also directed at my fellow residents to my neighbors my friends and my families they're directed to you commissioner Mendez and the entirety of the City of Coral Gables it's easy to forget Andor off off its gate history when it's convenient for you terminating C city manager pdus today will do irreparable damage to the City of Coral Gables this is more than just a discussion item no matter what happens today should the manager walk out of here still the city manager nothing will be able to erase the stain this is left on our city I sincerely hope you will consider my comments as well as as as well as those of other supporters of Mr Iglesias that are here today and remember what a bad city manager really looks like thank you thank you sir Tom Wells Mr Wells good morning good morning iise to take less than 7 minutes can I give you eight NOP my name is is Tom Wells I live in Coral Gables I also served as a first lieutenant in the ordinance Corps of the United States Army I've been employee and or employer for over 40 years I know about following rules and respecting superiors I have never seen such insubordination go unpunished as shown by pet glaz's last commission meeting such insol insolence cannot be tolerated or condoned I'm here to request the commission vote to remove Mr gla's a c manager pursuing to section 11 of the C Charter at 6:22 of the last commission meeting Mr glacies grossly insubordinate verbally attacking commissioner Fernandez by saying I have never worked with a more disrespectful person than yourself you're threatening me to do things that will not work you're the most disrespectful person I have ever met this grossen subordination violates sections 277 281 of the city code and Roberts Rules of Order that govern all city meetings comments are confined to the question under debate which was Mr glaz's unilateral decision to terminate the and fron Le Robert's Rule 43 prohibits disly words that attack a person as the last meeting both vice mayor Anderson and commissioner Castro tried to control the improper conduct but were interrupted the technical term is point of order in Rule 21 Robert fools if a commissioner calls a point of order the meeting is stopped and the person engaging in the improper conduct must leave the meeting while the improper conduct is considered the rule applies to every person on the days the quote rule 43 three is not the man but the measure that is the subject of debate Mr gla's lack of decorum denigrates the mean process in the status of the city's government in addition Mr glaz's lack of truthfulness and cander at the last meeting also violates sections 155 of the C Charter and A2 of the citizens Bill rights that provides no Municipal Employee shall knowingly furnish false information on any public matter nor knowingly omit significant facts when giving Ro giving requested information to members of the public for example at 617 the last meeting Mr glazy said we lost $187,000 at orique we lost $240,000 on this particular lease for frz and fron first the C's failure to enforce the lease terms with ornique is Mr ais's failure it has nothing to do with Fritz and frons Mr glaz's efforts to sway public opinion by tying two different businesses together is wrong also his assertion of a $24,000 loss is wrong the commission addressed this issue when it unanimously approved a new 10-year Le in 2014 and there's no payment default under the current lease a payment default only occurs when the city sends a written notice and is not care within 10 days the city has never sent a non-payment notice under the current lease for Fritz and fronds by making such a significant facts Mr glacia violates both the city Charter and the citizen Bill of Rights this is just a recent example there are other examples but my time is limited in conclusion Mr glaz is the highest ranking and highest paid City employee making approximately $290,000 per year 55% higher than the average salary paid for other City marriages in Florida he sets the standard for decorum and honesty for all city employees he cannot backtrack from his subordination of falsehoods committed at the last commission meeting Mr glade's inability to keep his subjective opinions to himself and be honest with the residents and the commission should be a clear sign to all of you this term must end we deserve better particular particularly with Coral Gable being the FIFA's headquarter for the 2026 World Cup please vote today to remove Mr glac C manager thank you thank you sir Jackson rib Holmes sir good morning sir so uh I support the retention of Mr eaus as city manager um I hope everyone has a week it'll only take me a week to give you all my reasons um it actually uh upsets me that people are trying to um take down two things they're trying to take down Mr glacius but more importantly actually to me is the uh Mobility Hub which adjoins my property and which would be if we follow through the safest uh parking garage in the country certainly in the State of Florida I've done that much research but Kevin Kenny tells me it' be actually the safest parking garage in in the country that's an asset to the City of Coral Gables because women shop and women don't like parking garages because they're unsafe the mobility Hub uh is all lit up all the time if you see somebody getting mugged you can call the police on 911 and say I'm I see a crime in progress and we're going to take this down and destroy it and destroy the safety and the income of Miracle Mile I I you got another week I I got a lot of things to say thank you sir Mr clerk Ed Santa Maria good morning good morning Mr Mayor commissioners at santaria 47 San Sebastian Avenue may may I interrupt you one second sir you brought something to my attention Mr clerk we make sure that everybody puts their address States their address on the record thank you very much thank you once again I stand at this Podium as a resident and former city employee with 5 years experience over half of that experience was his assistant city manager working directly with Peter Iglesias in the manager commission form of government employed in our city the work of a manager is unimaginably demanding the demands come at a Breakneck speed from every direction a manager is either at work or on call 247 365 a high level holistic understanding is essential simultaneously it requires a granular understanding of the goals of elected officials the needs of the the community the skills and capabilities of staff and the status of All City projects past present and future this is all in order to meet the city's approved strategic plan there are few individuals in South Florida equipped to do this effectively manager Iglesias works hard at his job he is driven by an intense desire to Steward the city's resources in the best interest of the community acting as its chief executive working with his board of directors the five of you this is his only agenda Peter can be direct and to the point some see this as arrogance and an unwillingness to listen I disagree a manager when merited must utter the word no and this is a word that some people don't care to hear mesus is Guided by a strong moral compass and a high sense of Ethics based on my experience he is Incorruptible I ask what is the rationale for having this discussion these Chambers have seen this type of conversation several times before but always with just cause what is the just cause here how will this body justify terminating manager essias when the effects will greatly damage the community and further strain the confidence of your constituency I see much cause to keep our present manager first replacing the manager with someone experienced in the rigors of this post will be difficult it will be a long and steep learning curve of at least a year two maybe depending on the individual also the obvious fractures in the commission combined with several openings at other municipalities will make it difficult for the city to recruit the best candidates the word on the street unfortunately is that the Coral Gables at this time is a difficult workplace environment lastly compounding politically in political instability with managerial instability will further demoralize staff the staff Exodus that we have seen as of late will only accelerate it will increasingly be difficult to recruit hire and retain good talent this will have significant costs in Recruitment and training of replacement staff additionally with the Exodus and less effective managerial guidance City projects will slip and services will degrate your objectives and the community's needs will only suffer lastly this managerial instability will not be welcomed by our elected officials at the state level and we are likely to lose funding from Tallahasse it will also be unwelcome by the bond rating agencies and our current impeccable AAA rating will drop yielding increased borrow borrowing costs for years to come before a decision likely to cost millions of dollars is made please ask yourselves is there just cause the community is looking at you to set aside grudges and personal vendettas and do it is right you will all be held accountable if you don't in closing unless there is demonstrable Just Cause I urge you to retain mandre glesius and do what is right for the City of Coral Gables thank you thank you sir Juan Galan Jr good morning sir I'm wearing the outfit that some of you know me usually would wear to awake because in my opinion taking action on the letter that commissioner Fernandez submitted today would be the beginning of the death of the city beautiful and a new era called The Ugly city as my predecessor just said who is a civil servant knows City well and knows the rest of the municipal environment the somewhat confrontational environment that has evolved since the last election the lack of collaborative work work is not the history of the City of Coral Gables City of Coral Gables Works differently has always worked differently if you want to work that way I would suggest you got elected in Miami become their Joe carolo or H and become their Steve boobo but that is not what we want here in the City of Coral Gables now furthermore I believe in facts my background is computers I know how to do data mining okay and I know due diligence I did due diligence okay we have a few issues here okay okay we have a commissioner trying to judge a person who manages a th000 people and property taxes over $100 million who has never managed more than 20 people and I will please put his um LinkedIn resume and if commissioner Fernandez wants to show me where he has worked and managed more than 20 people I'll learn and if he wants to show me where he served on a board like this one that manages the the size of this organization and the dollars that are involved I'll listen but I believe I'm correct okay so I I urge you to do not act on the letter that was sent I also would like to ask commissioner Fernandez why the facts have changed and he has not recalled his letter I do not believe that the facts that stated with regards to what the assistant city manager agreed to are correct and I believe that when you send a letter and the facts are incorrect your first responsibility is to recall the letter and resubmit the letter okay I do not believe the assistant city manager agreed to serve if city manager was terminated so that's what the letter said that's wrong okay now one last item okay I agree first of all with the previous speaker about credit ratings I don't want my property taxes going up because all of us sudden the credit rating agencies think we're in distress as a city and not don't have good governance but I also believe that if you were to act together as the two new elected Commissioners and one commissioner I remind you that you went to Tallahasse together it was public information I understand aasan officer did not go with you so therefore it would be subject to people questioning whether some of this action was convened in violation of the Sunshine Law which would create all kinds of problems for a lot of people including the city okay and one last thing and this is really directed at at my fellow property owners and those people that are going to be working on the charter review again doing due diligence I I know each and every one of you where where your property records are your folio where you live I couldn't find that until I did some other search uh but you have the you're the only commissioner that has asked the property records to not to show your house which I find interesting but also if I may one second my address is protected because of my wife's role in and so you're disclosing that information is in violation of state law good because my wife is a protected individual because of her prior employment so you're disclosing that here on the record to try to show off no unacceptable I'm not and I will be addressing your points later because the threats you're making here are evidence of what we have been put through over the last two weeks okay what one last item is I I could not find commissioner Castro's address I did some more digging I understand she rents property and I understand that not everybody can own property in Coral Gables but what I don't understand is how we as residents and property owners that elect people haven't asked a city to change the charter if legally possible to require that anybody who's going to serve as a commissioner has some skin in the game be a property owner why do I say that because if my taxes go up because of actions taken that credit rating Ines don't like okay then and a commissioner who is renting leaves the city we're all responsible for what is left but the person the left can go live wherever they want and they pay no consequence for it so I believe going forward I would ask the city to ensure that if possible any person that puts their name up for election as a commissioner has to be a property owner thank you very much Maria Cruz good morning thank you for being here with us good morning again oh this must be the best show in town today Mrs Maria Cruz 1447 Miller Road same address I am a property owner but I take offense to asking people to be Property Owners to be able to do anything in this city because you know what to me me that's a way to say if you're poor you cannot participate I'm sorry wrong but I'm not here to talk about that I know I mean we've already heard some somebody from City of Miami I don't know how that relates but that's okay I am here with some facts because I took the time to look up me to read minutes to read even my not favorite magazine and it's very interesting how we can showcase what Mr petas has not been able to do has not done properly and that's one of the reasons why we need somebody who can do better and I'm amazed that he returned emails let me tell you if there's one person in this whole organization that is known for not putting answers in writing the name is Peter elius call me I'll talk to you don't put it in writing and that is a fact okay if nobody believes it check for his me emails and you will see how many times he says call me all right here we go very interesting I'm going to start by Burger boops that's going to be my my because the residents in this in this city our city beautiful made it very clear here from the get-go what they wanted to see happen in beggar boobs and I hate to say it from the very beginning it was very clear that that's not what the people that were running the show at that time wanted to see happen we wanted a something um that was not the home the mom and pop every person can come in in shorts and anyway they wanted to have an expensive meal with their family uh people made it very clear they did not want another high futen restaurant but that's not what the people that were sitting at that time here thought it was appropriate we were we had to upgrade that and we have discussed this so many times we have heard people we have had I believe Sunshine meetings we've had Community meetings we have elected officials talk about it and let me tell you I could only go back of for obvious reasons I've been busy and uh I was so happy that I had the April 2022 and this was not the beginning of the issue okay this has been going on for years before this but in 2022 my favorite man magazine and then I'm lying um closes timing is everything on page 12 April 2022 the editorinchief G gabos magazine is so happy he says if all goes according to plan Burger Bobs in quote now in uh in parenthesis and the name will remain the same will be back in business but at the end of the year he was not talking about 24 25 26 28 he was talking about 2022 and please spare me the comments about construction and the prices because I see the developers still working and making money so I do not know why we always have to hear about how if we had done this in 2022 the prices would have been lower than they are now that's a reality anybody who's done anything around their homes will tell you the prices they got in 2022 and not the prices are paying today okay so but we knew that this was going to happen because pet elius and the mayor did not agree with what the residents wanted at that time I also need to remind you that the price was not that high to fix it actually even the mayor said he could do better than what was being offered he even said he could get his people to do it for much less than we were told well I hate to tell you Mr Mayor but the price has gone now to close to $2 million for a small place that all we wanted was to keep it the way was just do what needed to be done and move on now we may end up with something that will not we will not be able to afford okay commission meeting May 10 another discussion Mr Menendez spoke about getting it going the sooner the better May 10 2022 okay Lago said we'll get update from the manager we'll see progress soon 2022 May July 2023 that's a year a little more later city manager waiting for final interior design plans are about to go into the building department Menendez said residents have provided input God is seem to be moving forward this is July 2023 but then we get to August good news again contract awarded to a construction company city manager looking forward to finishing the project sometime in August or September next year December 20123 now we're not talking Burger Bus anymore now it's the Granada Diner see we're moving up it's a big it's a better place now okay we're told that construction started yesterday 1.27 million plus the Contin fund almost 2 million okay that's the story with burger Bob then and I'm sorry that I have to be the very bad news the 427 building we congratulated people here for the wonderful job that was done there magnificent I mean some people got the key to the city for that the windows facing City Hall and anytime there's a major storm leak there there are walls that are already wet which may mean mold soon the female bathroom the exhaust doesn't work I've been told that if people do not come ready there what is it that I learned last time the PO poopery if they don't use it the smell is on terrible not long ago there was a smoke event somebody was cooking and something was burned cooking in the 427 building with pots and pans that were bought by the city um there was Smoke event guess what the alarms did not go to the fire department because they're not connected they had to call 911 to say there's smoke in their building okay shall we go to the AC air conditioning this is a building that was spent money that we took money I believe from this building to make sure that we finished that one okay AC is still to work well not long ago there are days that people were wearing winter coats because it was so cold and then there were days when they needed fans there's somebody that works I had to have a fan on his desk because it was so hot today as we speak I was told that when you're sitting in some areas of the building you feel that you're in an airplane because you the air conditioner makes noises so loud that they cannot hear themselves talking okay moving on to the public safety building I need to remind you all this was under Mr elaia watch okay the people that work under him he's still responsible public safety building sometime ago I heard Mr elius and the chief were looking into oh something was wrong with the roof there were leaks water was coming to the new brand new building this is not a building that was refurbished this is a brand new building that Mr Iglesias was responsible for okay brand new building now I've heard now the latest leaks are sewage leaks sewage okay this is I know that you're going to hear that the building came under budget somebody needs to forget the smoking mirrors and check the records cuz that's not what we heard when it was going on and to make it worse they didn't account for what was going to be inside the building when this city was told told about the public uh safety building we were only told about the building but there were no plans to put stuff inside the building whatever that took okay and my last example is going to be Miracle mil Miracle M everybody's so happy Miracle Mile is fantastic that's why there are 123 I've been told because I don't I haven't been there in a while 13 empty storefronts only 13 12 13 and maybe off by one or two you know people are so happy to go to miraco mile people love those tiles I've been looking around talking to people that are in the business in their construction building and I was told if they have but different tiles they wouldn't have had to be fixing so many times and last but not least somebody suggested that I mentioned the what happened when the people in charge did not realize that there were pipes under Miracle Mile and that created a problem and I will be remiss if I did not mention the wonderful beautiful decorations for Christmas and all you have to do is read next door go back to that time of the year and you will hear people complaining about what has happened to our Miracle Mile I could go on and on and on but I think this will be enough everything is great Mr elasia term of office that appointment by the city commission Not Elected appointed like the other uh city managers were and by the way I'm glad that Caba brought up Salerno because our mayor was the one that was very very invol involved with getting solerno out of here because he lied and guess what I could show you my book of all the lies that I've heard from Mr elasia mouth so you know what's good for the goose should be good for the gender if he cannot do a good job of everything he handles and I'll I'll keep my investigation about purchases for another time thank you thank you Mr clerk I like for the record just to show I know Mr Wells was concerned before about time that was 13 minutes on the clock thank you very much Mr clerk Alicia Fernandez good morning good morning Mr Mayor Commissioners city manager my name is Alisa Fernandez I live at 6000 Granada bouard I've been a resident in the city of corg since 1962 and I am here today in support for our city manager I respectfully ask that you vote to keep our city manager Peter elisius I received an email from Gable's Insider news alert commissioner Ariel Fernandez 6 removal of city manager Peter Iglesias proposes replacement I said not this again commissioner Fernandez why is it that every time you have a disparity or things do not go your way you again now try to ask house the city manager you show no respect for your own fellow Commissioners by doing this you have no respect for the residents of the city of cores first item on your agenda when first elected was again to get rid of the city manager now again you try for the second time this shows that you have a personal grudge against the city manager from before you were even elected to be commissioner you came into the city requested and got the biggest pay race ever seen in the city plus expenses that you do not even have to report you refuse to lower our millage rate to our residents of the city that is what I call disrespect for the residents in the city it is only what you want to get done and not care about the residents of the city of course this was done with three votes your vote commissioner Castro commissioner Menendez not to mention how how much it would cost for an executive search for a new city manager who might not be as capable and as professional as our city manager Peter eaus I ask where is your loyalty to the residents of the city of porable seems your only loyalty is for your own selves commissioner Ariel Fernandez you must learn how to accept criticism and be corrected when you're in the wrong without the T Tantrums which shows a lot of your insecurities when in reality your personal problem is with the city manager this Discord is only between you against a city manager personal Vendetta that should not be played out with by other Commissioners city manager is a professional doing his job and has been here since before you came in you divided this Commission like the city has never seen before you seem to lack the professional professionalism the job requires causing toxicity in the commission created 10 months ago City Hall has turned into a joke whether has always been respect cordiality there is none now commission can hardly accomplish anything because of the three2 votes it is sad that most residents do not even know what is going on hope hopefully everyone knows before election time comes commissioner Ariel is the only one calling for the city manager removal without thinking of all the damage this will be costing the city it is my humble opinion this should be more like instead of Ting the city manager commissioner Fernandez maybe if you can't take this maybe you should be the one to resign and that's my humble opinion God bless you all and goodbye thank you will ver Mayo good morning sir morning Mr Mayor members of the commission City attorney city manager and city clerk my name is Willie Vero with address at 1238 Malaga Avenue that's my residence and and my office is at 4711 South leun Road I've been a resident of Craw Gables since 1965 I have had the opportunity of working as a professional with four prior city managers and I come here today to speak on behalf of Peter Iglesias I support and I recommend that you not only keep them but that you properly embrace the work that he has done unselfishly for this community for the years since he's been here without a doubt I have found Mr elas to be a consumate professional I may not always agree with his opinions but I will tell you that even when I don't agree I understand where his opinions are coming from and they're always on behalf of the city of Carl gaes um I consider him a consumate professional and in looking at all other opportunities that you would have outside of South Florida or within South Florida I can tell you that we're blessed to have the city manager that we have we're blessed to have the fire chief that we have the police chief that we have we're blessed in this city and one of the things that attracts people to Coral Gables is in fact the fact that it's not just a city beautiful but the level of service the quality of service and professionalism in the City of Coral Gables is a distinguishing factor from many of the municipalities that's around us and we need to keep that in mind now I realize that some of you have made up your minds before you came here today and maybe my voice will not resonate and I'm not here to criticize anyone each of you have to make your own decisions and there's only one judge that judges us but I do want to address those that maybe have said that they are coming here with an open mind so commissioner Menendez you know I live by the three O's we're always being observed and every observation creates an opinion and those opinions either lead into opportunity or this opportunity and I would hope that you listen to the comments of people that you hopefully respect and you respect their advice you respect their experience and you respect some of us when we say to you that it will be a mistake for us to remove Peter elus from the position that he currently has just the opposite I think he needs to be complimented and I think somebody was talking about salaries I would review salaries and I would look and make sure that he is being paid for the job that he's currently being done and that we compensate him and if he's not being paid to the top I would pay him to the Top If if I was running a company of this size a municipality I would want to make sure that my CEO running the business is properly compensated because I will tell you that not too far from here there are municipalities that right now are looking to hire people like Peter elisius and it will be disastrous for us to lose him so I encourage you those of you haven't made up your mind to think about those that are here today this item I will tell you is galvanizing a silent majority that was asleep they're now awake so please hear our voices thank you and God bless you thank you sir Mr Michael Mana vice mayor Mana it's a pleasure to have you good morning morning Michael Mana 5800 Jasmine Lane it's good to be here before you guys today I've done my best not to be be back here I think the last day I was here was my last day in office but I felt today's the importance of this item you know compelled me to be here today so as We Gather here today I stand before you not just a citizen of Coral Gables but as someone who has witnessed firsthand the remarkable transformation our city has undergone under the stewardship of city manager Peter elus it's with great concern that I address you in light of the recent attempts by City Commissioner to remove Mr Iglesias from his position let me be unequivocally clear Elias embodies the essence of integrity and honesty throughout his tenure he has demonstrated unwavering commitment to the betterment of our city and its residents his dedication to transparency and accountability has set a standard of Excellence that has not only been recognized no locally but as garnered National Acclaim these achievements are not the result of mere chance but rather the product of his vision determination and hard work instead of f focusing so much time and energy on divisive politics it's incumbent Upon Our elected officials to come together and prioritize the needs of our community leadership is not about tearing down those who have proven themselves but rather about working collaboratively to build upon their success if you're incapable of collaborating and compromising you're incapable of leading so I urge our elected officials to set aside their differences and do what is right for the people of Coral Gables lead by example demonstrate that you can work together for the greater good and stand behind Peter Iglesias as he continues to lead our city to even greater Heights mayor logo vice mayor Anderson I know where you stand and I have no doubt you would do the right thing today commissioner Fernandez you've made your position clear since day one I don't agree but at least you're clear commissioner Castro I don't know you well but I look forward to the moment when you demonstrate to your doubters that you're willing to take a stand on a position even if it's in contrast to commissioner Fernandez do away with that narrative Forge your own path last but perhaps most importantly today commissioner Mendez I've always known you to be a good man a man of Faith you know Peter Legasus you know that every word I have said about him is true you know he's a good man you know he's an honorable man you know he's trustworthy you know he's exceedingly competent in short you know better I ask you to speak up we wouldn't be here today if you would stand up and make clear where you stand you've worked with the city manager for several years now you know who he is you know what he's about no one else should need to tell you you've been here he's been accused of insubordination but no one can point to a single issue where this commission has voted on an item and he has refused to execute the commission's will not one instead his mere attempt to explain that he serves at the will of the commission which requires three votes not two has been miscast as insubordination but it sounds more like sour grapes when there was three of you who had the vote to increase salaries and give yourselves a car allowance he executed he may or may not have agreed but he executed I didn't hear anything about insubordination then but you're a good man commissioner then is you know better being a good man and a man of Faith it's about walking the walk every day no matter how hard it is your actions today presiding over the future of this good man will Echo loudly and forever be a part of your legacy do the right thing get busy leading and Stand United in support of the city manager Peter Iglesias and the incredible staff that he directs every day this is a hard job when things go well Commissioners Pat them themselves on the back and they take Victory laps when things go bad they throw city managers under the bus I got news for you he's done a great job and everything that's gone well under each of your tenur is partly because of him and everything that made you think didn't is partly because of you so let's own that let's do the right thing let's work together these people all expect more from you wherever they fall on this issue we expect you guys to work together and do the right thing stand up and let everybody know where you stand thank you thank you vice mayor Mr clerk Lano Cil good morning sir morning members of the chamber um I I'd be brief in what I have to say about this first of all let me tell you a little bit about my background I think that might be critical I'm a 23-year me um resident of cor Gables I'm also a Peter Pan member my understanding is Mr Iglesias is a Peter Pan member himself I think I came before him though because I came March 16th 1961 one of the first ones to come uh my background in this city goes back to 1962 actually back 1961 when I came I used to play at the youth center for all those years and so maybe I might have played with Mr Menendez so we go back that far I don't I don't remember that but I mean it could have happened uh uh I've been an attorney for 40 years I'm I'm licensed in three states currently licensed in New York New Jersey and Florida uh I have previous I also have a master's degree in in management from a very good school um so uh my experience is is extensive and nonprofit uh I uh I worked at Columbia University as assistant director of Labor Relations I worked at the New York Botanical Garden as the uh Director of Human Resources and I also worked at Ropo State College I didn't work there I was a member of their Board of Trustees and we took up issues regarding performance performance of managers and I think this is what it's become I think somebody mentioned at the very beginning this this was an analysis of Mr iglesia's performance uh obviously I have some experience dealing with Mr Iglesias and that's why I'm here to address my experience when I had to deal with Mr Iglesias uh before I get there I like to say that the city of cores has a serious problem I don't know if you're all aware it but he does have a serious problem we we have a lot of people who were upper middle class who came and bought their homes here in cor Gables and then all of a sudden um they got to be 65 and they retired and all of a sudden they having difficulties making their payments on their houses or making adjustment changes to their houses improvements to their houses and so and and many of them has have um uh Trust on their Estates or their homes and they can't sell their homes they can't leave because the family figures they I want to make sure Daddy doesn't sell the home and I give my piece so um I I think the administration overall in cor Gables is the fact that they think that everyone in cor Gables is Rich they look around they say the average home here in cor Gables is worth $15 million they have the money to pay and so we'll make them pay you talk to the police department many of them make over $100,000 and they think hey I got to got to have more the fire department uh um the the M the people who even the guy who picks up my garbage tells me go you go talk to the city manager make sure he gives me a race um the people who pick up my garbage work um seven days a week every day of the year you figure oh that's wonderful no it isn't wonderful it just reflects that the contracts with the unions in Cor in in corales have been in incorrectly negotiated they were incorrectly negotiated because all those people working on holidays make double time in addition to the regular pay so you got somebody of course he wants to work on a holiday he's not doing it for for the the good of the city and then I also found out that people who ask for funds one day the firemen were asking for funds some Bird Road and then I find out they were earning overtime their regular Sal they were collecting money for some CA that they figur was significant and they were getting paid overtime so just is some examples that they they don't really take into account the fact that the citizens of the of the city just don't have the funding that they think they have they have restraints family restraints they want leave their home to their kids uh you know we I think Mr Menendez knows quite well why that movie that you show at at the city of corable theater so many of the older people go there because they have financial problems although why do they go to the exercise over here by the palace because it's free and I know lots of them who do that and they might sympathize with that so the bottom the bottom line in that particular long story is the fact that I did have a case similar to that with Mr Iglesias not too long ago I had to cut the the the you know trees in my yard there were too many of them and I had to to cut them you know just have to do it and the gardeners have gotten used to charging people a lot of money to do things around cores they figure the going rate is so much that's how much you're going to have to pay well uh and then on top of that they don't want to do what you want to do so I I brought in my own Gardener and I told him exactly what I wanted him to do so after we got done with that we put the the the trees whatever we cut the branches and forth right on the side of the road and maintenance came and picked it up and took it away so the next week next week I did the same thing I cut some more trees and I put it there uh well you know like a month later I get a bill it says you owe $500 I say what do you mean you owe $500 supposed to be free so then of course I call the city say this is is insane I pay $800 a year to to for main for to pick up of my shrubs and and here I have to pay $500 so I says that's the way it is the idea is you're rich you have lots of money no problem no problem unfortunately I call Mr igus I didn't call him I wrote him I but let's put it in sequence I spoke to the person in charge I follow the chain of command I call the person in charge and the person in charge said good luck go fly kite so then I wrote a letter to Mr glasius and the up upman of the city uh then well the manager called me back and said look we have an offer for you you notice there an offer they're doing me a favor here uh oh I I for I said what what's we only going to have to pay for one pickup rather than two pickups you so you'll pay $250 I said I shouldn't pay anything I shouldn't pay anything because of two reasons the city never notified me that they had this policy I've been here for 20 2 years and nowhere ever came to see me about this I thrown the garbage it never happened well that's the way it is so then they said I I figure well you know you're not going to go anywhere just take the offer I never got a call from Mr glasius I never got a call from the obvious man regarding this particular issue no calls just an offer take it or leave it if you don't like it you know you know the implication is if you don't take the offer you're going to pay $500 well it seems like a minor thing but it isn't because it reflects on his managerial techniques and you know there's a there's a very old story about famous Admiral who who was out in in the Pacific and he had this uh crew sitting next to him and they sit there and they have something to eat and after they they have their breakfast he calls his HR person back and he says I want to make sure you're right in that person's in that officer's uh um you know file that he had his eggs and he put salt on them without first finding out whether the eggs had salt he has no managerial ability a person who goes out and makes a decision without even F trying to find out what the deal is it's not cannot be promoted within the US Navy I always remember that because this this comes right to the case of Mr eaus I never got a call from Mr eaus even though I wrote him an extensive letter was like four pages long outlining specifically what was the problem and the guy never got the obious Mane what does he do does he ever call anybody back I took me hours to type this letter he sends me the person back this the offer okay um the fact is that what we have here it was I was complaining about something that was not ethical I was complaining about something that the citizens of the city should not be submitted to and that is we pay $800 $900 to have our garbage pickup and they have tried to take that right away and they were unsuccessful doing that thanks to the Commissioners the ones that everybody criticizes Ariel Fernandez and Miss Castro and Mr Menendez thanks to them they didn't take it away thank you thank you for your help but anyway the bottom line was that they they they didn't he he should have called and ask hey what what is the problem the problem is basically I I what I wanted to address to him what I addressed in the memo was you should change the procedure not try to bargain with me and give me a deal I'm not looking for a deal this is incorrectly administered you're doing it wrong if it's wrong it's wrong don't just because the the garbage guy who called me up or the guy in the maintenance said oh everybody in the city complains when this happens when you first find out you got to pay extra money for them to pick it up says what is this and they pay it up and they get used to it they get used to it that's the Frank well you have money you all have lots of money pay it doesn't really matter matter it's not going to hurt you you got lots of money unfortunately lots of us are not real estate developers we're not uh you know we're not uh uh we're not representing people in buying properties and we get commissions for that which are substantial 6% of a commission sometimes it could be a million dollars sometimes it could be $500,000 unfortunately a lot of people a lot of us don't do that so we don't have that source of side income coming in right you you understand that Mr Mr Lego you understand you're you're in real estate you know how that works right I know how that works thank you yeah I know you do well in any case in any case so we're talking about we're talking about a job that Mr elus have that pays him almost $300,000 a year Well we ought to pay him more money there was a guy who came up here said give him more your money not his money he didn't say yeah I'm going to write a check for you to pay salary no no we should pay more money now all I do all I know I checked that out the governor of the state of Florida makes $134,000 a year but we pay him $300,000 more than twice as much as the governor and a US senator makes $174,000 my God he almost makes as much as the President of the United States well I understand Mr igus you're really good you're really good guy so maybe we should pay you more maybe we should pay you more than the president let's give him a race uh so I I I I want to conclude because I'm going to here all day because I can talk a lot I don't want to do that I don't want to do that I don't want to do that you know I had I had a medical problem once and I went to a local doctor here a very good medical doctor very good medical doctor and and he gave me some medicine and the medicine wasn't any good I said Doctor you know this isn't working and you're the best guy in town what do I do he says oh keep taking it he's been better take this medicine not to take anything at all so I did that for once I it's got to be crazy this don't make any sense so you know what I did I got I I I told the doctor look change the medicine because if you married to somebody you don't like and you find out you don't like them you have a choice either take the medicine for the rest of your life or move on and get a different wife some people keep on taking the same wife you know I happen to be lucky I've been married for 49 years I didn't have to I didn't have that dilemma but some people do but in any case the doctor said just take take keep taking this medicine and I said this don't make any sense I got on a plane you know where I went to the Mayo Clinic the best hospital in the world for the last 10 years in Minnesota I went I flew up there cost me $5,000 to go up there but you know what what the doctor here was giving me the wrong medicine the wrong medicine and it's a good thing I went there because they cured me the bottom line how does this apply to Myst glaas well you know everybody says he's such a great man no one could be better than him this is that nonsense the lots and lots of people I worked in HR for many years I know about recruiting you can find a lot of better people for $300,000 let me tell you you put a out in the paper the line would be going out from here to Kingdom Come to downtown Miami there are lots and lots of people you can't just be saying oh he's the best just because you're used to it just because he have lots of friends just because he he helped you at some point fix your own problems no I would I would say that's what the the commission has to do I mean MREs might be doing a great job but you know what we have is we have greater expectations the more money you make the higher the expectation if Mr if Mr was making $100,000 we would say okay we getting what we pay for if we paying $300,000 it does doesn't work that way may I interject I apologize I'm sure we've been speaking for 13 minutes oh you've had plenty of people supporting your position okay who spoke for longer than that that but I don't have anything else to say because I think everybody gets the drift of what I'm trying to say including you as always you're a gentleman thank you so much oh I appreciate you okay thank you Carl Leon Prime Mr Prime great to see you again let me see what I here all right good morning again Mr Mayor Madame vice mayor members of the commission Mr city manager Madam City attorney and Mr city clerk I and many members of my community are distressed by the term from civility that once was a Hallmark of this esteemed body some members have forgotten to place principles before personalities and service to this city the current move to replace a distinguished public servant who has brought stability and clear direction to the operation of this municipality is in direct opposition to the adage if it ain't broke don't fix it a spirit of cooperation for the greater good must be reestablished consistently employed returning the city beautiful to a place of eminence within the state the removal of the city manager would plunge the city in a state of catastrophic chaos similar to what existed prior to his appointment the ship may not be on calm seas however there is a firm and confident hand at the helm as we head to the port of world class City greatness the manager has been responsive to needs of this community with an eye towards fiscal responsibility and Common Sense direction towards accomplishing projects making the sausage is not beautiful the result is the goal at this time failure to return the retain the city manager would not be in the best interest of this city work together for the common good and remember you are but trusted servants results not personalities is what counts thank you thank you Mr Prime lety caller good morning thank you for being here um I'm ly caller and uh I reside at 440 Seva Avenue um I moved here from Colorado in 2015 and I remember when Mr gasius uh was appointed in 2018 and in those short three years I saw the the changes that he brought to the the city the progression in a positive way um and I'm not here with a lot of big words or a lot of history or personal interaction with Mr Iglesias I'm just a resident of Coral Gables that appreciates when somebody does their job they do it well and they do it in the best interest of the community not for their own gratification financially or otherwise um I understand understand um that not everybody's in agreement with people that are in leadership positions uh sometimes uh we don't agree but we have to respect some of the changes that take place it's it's part of you know what happens um but I understand that Mr eaas um has overseen uh municipal government of more than 51,000 residents and 1100 employees in in the last 10 years and he has a um an operating budget of $195 million um and uh has been a top administrator uh reporting to the to the mayor and uh and the four City commissioners um I also understand that you have an incredible experience managing people professionally uh in both uh a um experience in both private and public sectors and that is something that shows in how you conduct business on a day-to-day basis uh in my humble opinion I would like for you to stay in your position to continue to help Coral gaes grow in the right direction um we're not always going to agree with you 100% but um I speak for a lot of residents that are not here today because not everybody has the opportunity to come and and able to voice themselves but I talked a lot of folks around the city and um I have never heard anybody say anything really negative about you in the time that I've been here and it's it's um you know almost 10 years now so I don't really understand the sense of urgency to get this position replaced in the manner that it has happened in the last 10 months um if there was something really wrong with what you had have done as as a manager I think over time it would have accumulated but it seems like all of a sudden in the last 10 month there's been a um a drive um to move you out of your position and I would like to understand the reasons why because they're not clear to the residents and and that is important to us because we are in a position to vote for the next round of Commissioners and we would like to understand um what's right and what's wrong so I thank you for your time and um and I hope that the right decision is made today thank you we appreciate you coming Xavier dur good morning sir uh good morning uh Xavier danana uh resident at 1111 Adana and business owner at uh 333 palmo um just real quick um you know been a lifelong resident of Coral Gable since I was 6 years old uh Coral Gable's High graduate uh Gable's business owner our company has our offices here uh we do most of our work in Coral Gables uh I sit on the historic preservation board um you know I kind of just want to be quick because I know some people here have taken a while and respectful for everybody else um you know I think recently we've noticed a lot of toxic environment here on this board um I'd like to see that you know change I don't want this to become you know City of Miami politics I'd like us you know to be able to work together um with regards to Peter gasas um I have worked personally with Peter gasas and I've always found him to be extremely professional and an individual with high integrity and standards for business uh he doesn't bend the rules for anyone and I admire him for the courage to do that and all my interactions with him have been you know straightforward and he's he's always been a great guy so I hope you reconsider and and keep Mr gasas working for the city it's a privilege to have him thank you thank you Vinnie Tor morning sir thank you for being commissioner Vitor residing at 450 Valencia offices at 208 Andalucia I'm here to State mind unwavering support for the city manager Peter glaus who have known for probably 25 years I've known Peter since he was a structural engineer and I've known him to be man of integrity it's it's been a long time Peter you you're a good man and I definitely support you I also support staff and this is an issue because I believe that the moral the city is in a real bad place I really really do I've been here for a long time I've seen many many things happen seen many Commissioners I've seen five to six city managers for those who say this is easy to replace I beg to differ this is a very tough job and if you guys embark on finding a new city manager good luck this is this is something that I would not suggest you do back to the issue of morality the city staff is a great group of people I've had the privilege to work with almost all directors every staff member from the top to bottom and I tell you that they're professional they're ethical they're the book and they treat everybody with courtesy and I've seen that through the years and people that say otherwise it's not true it's not true so I was reading the paper yesterday two comments came back commissioner Castro commissioner Menendez you said you were open-minded and you had not made your up your mind that's what I read I would hope that is true I hope you're asking that that is true there a lot of people here speaking but what Mr bero said is true you gavine in the people who have been quiet I've been sidelined I'm here speaking out loud because times are changing and I don't like what's going on in the city what's going on in this commission is is taking my city the wrong direction and I'm very upset about it that's why I'm here this is not something that should be happening this is very serious and I hope you take it as such thank you thank you sir for being here dor Thompson mayor good morning thank you for joining us today I thank you sitting too long and I'm not sure that I would make it from there to here know the feeling um my name is Dorothy Thompson and I reside at 2600 carda Street for over 30 years and uh I you might call me if this were a trial here today you you might turn me as a reluctant witness because I wasn't planning to come um I'd rather be sitting at home and watching the proceedings on on my television uh because the position I'm in is that I like all of you and I think all of you all of every single one of you is doing the job that you're that that you're supposed to be doing and doing it with um uh with with great U accomplishment um so I'm not taking any stand here or any side if you wish I do not wish to do that I am here only because of Peter igus Peter igus is a uh he's an icon I would think in in his own right here in the city for so many years it has been uh 23 years this spring since I left the commission having served over 16 years on the commission um and um so I'm I'm not privy to what's going on you know uh in the um as far as a commission actions are concerned I stay um apprised of everything uh and I I stay involved as you will know however I do have to say that based on my experience with my interaction with uh city manager Peter glacius then as the employee of the city as a chief engineer here in the city he is a remarkable it is not is not even the adjective that I should use I said he's an icon in himself because he's um an engineer by profession so he really knows the the nuts and bolts of the city right and I say that with I'm to meaning he doesn't know his nuts and bolts of um all the various buildings that have put up in the city of cor Gables and um I I personally know that he was has was always the individual in the city position that he was in he was the go-to individual on anything having to do with the building and you heard Willie Bello a claimed U architect in the city come up here and say the same things he's very well respected uh he's always been well respected Ed I still respect him in that capacity and I respect him as a city manager even though he never was a city manager while I was serving in office um Peter eaus is a fine gentleman and I know we do not want to be smch his reputation in any regard whatsoever however we were sitting here today in this different situation different scenario Al together so I left my home and I came here today and I said started to think why is this happening um and commissioner Fernandez has every right to bring this up today that's that's he's he's a commissioner he has every right I do not fault you one bit you have some I when I was on the commission I had different problems at times with my city manager I never brought it Forward today you are and that's a different uh way you want to do it but um it's not always easy and we don't know it it's it's beh it's a different world Al together government and everything is Upfront for the for the uh um for the community and for the for the public but there there's so many things happening in the background that none of us understands unless you're actually there and with it um something was said about um commissioner Castro you know not being um in much experience whatever yes I didn't have any experience either when I first came on the commission 1979 but I I did my I learned my lessons along the way and she's doing the same thing every one of you is is unique you are unique I admire uh vice mayor Anderson with the way she dissects her um items that she brings before the commission like a a real uh lawyer which she is she's a wonderful attorney I can tell but even listening to her she dissects it and gets gets to her position and you all should have a very genial U and and uh very happy good atmosphere and to get things done that's why we have such a wonderful reputation in the city you know I if I may make bring align it with something that happened did you all watch the Super Bowl the other night yeah that was something else again wasn't it well why do I say that is because in a way I can bring I can align something in my thinking you remember the when there um their F favorite one of their favorite players uh Kelsey came up and he um he bumped his coach now I don't know did you bump the commissioner here or something along the way but you Noti that the coach did not flinch he just um Shrugged it off you will and I'm sure he had much to say afterwards to that player in his private domain but not in public we're in public today and I don't don't know again I don't know really the the reason why we have this on the agenda nor should I because this is between this in your in your commission um ruminations and so forth um however if it is that I would suggest that we go back and and and try to get this all solved behind this in your offices which is proper you and he um and and I know Kirk is there always there to fall back and him to hook come up with some solution of course but if uh if it's to the point of um Peter glacius you know uh failing in his job I I have never seen it I don't believe it I think it's a momentary thing that should be taken care of before it goes any further what is today today's Tuesday the 13th Tuesday let's not make a Friday the 13th Mr elius today thank you very much Madame mayor thank you and always being present when you're needed thank you so much it's an honor to have you here today thank you Mr clerk ra M good morning Mr M how are you sir good morning Vince how are you sir Raul M I've been a longtime resident of Coral Gables uh I Live Now at 610 via Bella Avenue in Coral Gables um my first residence in Coral Gables was at 3111 Coconut Grove Drive which is now the parking lot for Coral Gables Hospital uh and I've been here on and off ever since um following Dorothy Thompson is a very difficult thing to do um a woman of extraordinary Grace and intellect and clear thinking um reminding all of us I think of the importance of Civility of the importance of sometimes you got to take a hit and um you know roll with the punches type of stuff um you know and I think about that and I I I look at you know everybody on this deis up here and you know I consider everybody up here you know not just friends but neighbors uh you are in fact our elected leaders um Ariel I've known you for a long time consider you friend Kirk you know you our family goes back a long time Vince Rhonda I mean uh Peter I don't know you that well but I mean the few interactions I've had with you over the years have been fairly Pleasant um and I've never had an issue that has required your direct attention usually the City of Coral Gables and the the staff of the City of Coral gaes is able to take care of those issues and and I am no stranger to the city as a Rebel Rouser as somebody who is willing to challenge the city who is willing to um you know take out take out the proverbial sword and and do battle um but you know I'm I'm really taken by the comments of Mr bero and and and Dorothy Thompson and you know not everything is worth fighting over quite frankly and you know we've got a terrific Community here um uh and if if I was in your position I would want to have a city manager that challenges me on occasion that you know holds us accountable um and probably going to butt heads every once in a while but I I guess I'm here to say that um you know the last time that we replace a city manager I think it was for a very good reason you know we had a city manager that had taken on our esteemed police chief uh uh Ed Hudak and and that was a battle worth fighting I I I don't know if if this is one that requires you know the the removal of of the city manager and so therefore I sort of want to Echo the comments of Mayor Thompson and just sort of say let's figure out a way to fix this man I mean you know there's some issues here there's some arguments um um maybe a centure is warranted I don't know I mean I don't know what the rules call for here but you know I I just don't see it I mean you know why you know when I first heard that Peter Iglesias was going to be the city manager I didn't even know who the guy was was you know oh he's worked for the city for a long period of time he's an engineer I said well that's good this a guy who fixes potholes who's going to take care of business who's going to just you know follow whatever the commission tells him to do and I think that's basically the way I sort of view him as someone who's done his job but again you know Ariel has the right to sort of bring this issue up and I just call for some Civility and some figuring out a way how to get past this difficult patch that we're in um because I think we're all blessed to live in this community we're all friends we're neighbor neigh let's figure out a way to make this work that's it thank thank you sir sarene coni M coni good morning good morning I'm Sarah Elane coni I'm from 228 alesio Avenue um I just wanted to say that uh I noticed that there were uh a lot of people um in support of uh the city manager but I did notice that they were all related to the development industry either directly or indirectly um I think we need a city manager who's and he is responsive to them I believe that he is I believe that he answers their calls um but I think we need a city manager that's responsible to all of the uh residents not just those who are connected uh and like I said a lot of the people who spoke uh were uh connected and I'm sure that they get great response but that's not all of us thank you Javier BOS thank you good morning everyone Javier BOS 1253 Anastasia Avenue um one of the things that I wanted remind uh the commission uh you well specifically the mayor uh back when he first ran for a commission I was one of the people that walked this the city for him and make sure along with many other there was he a large contingency uh had him elected uh to be commissioner and he confided with me afterwards about his opinion of city manager once he was an elected official and he told me about the positive of what he believed Mr serno had done then he told me about the negatives of what he believed Mrs alno had done and he ultimately led the this the the effort to terminate Mr serno he didn't believe there was it was guiding the city in the right way and I think Mr Nicholas has Illustrated one of the many reasons for which Mrs alno perhaps was not the best person to to lead our city subsequent to that we had uh Miss Miss Kathy uh hard time to tell say her last name senson Swanson there we are ER and Miss Swanson also wasn't to to his uh um to his satisfaction the proper manager for for for the city of qu GES there were defects there were issues with the chief which we also port of the time and all the items that repend so the point that I'm trying to make is managers come and go okay there's always a there there's a the there's always a change for one reason or another we've heard a parade of horribles about if Mr eaus were to depart how you know how the wheels are going to come apart and the city uh will go to shambles and my experience has been not only in this city but in all the municipalities that that doesn't really ring true okay H leadership does matter leadership does have a change in in in the in the effects but are the time I think Mrs alno was called by uh the den city um the city mayor Miss uh that he was Irreplaceable indispensible something along those lines okay he was they were effusive in his in their um in their accolades as Mrs orero and Mr Lago was one of the people that led the the charge eventually for cost to eliminate Amar I'm sure Mr Fernandez and commissioner Castro and the other members of the commission who may vote one way or another today have their reasons for which they believe that Mr elius is not in the best position to lead our city uh as in his position as manager and I'm not here to disparage him I think uh I try to make a point to say that he's a capable person and he he has he has done what he believes is in the best interest of the city think the complaint has been by many residents that I've heard is that his mode of thinking his approach to problems okay is not in their perspective in the best interest of what can of what they think the city should go so there is a Cadre of people who maybe were asleep and were awakened back in April since we're talking about people being awakened that responded to that and changed membership of this commission and as I've heard matter or say before elections do have consequences so it is the most natural thing that happens in many municipalities that upon there being a change in leadership in the commission there's a change in the management there's nothing overly dramatic that is going on here today so with that I thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak and I wish you luck okay Daniel Daniel ravisher Jose pepio the morning sir good morning thank you for the education from everyone before me I appreciate learning more about what's going on um my experience with uh pet glaas is none but I'm in the construction uh industry the pumping rental and I only heard negative things about Mr glacias only because he was tough he was safe and he was hard hard to deal with him because safety was his priority and the people that put cranes up had to deal with him and he was the most restrict of everybody I I say my name is Jose pepo I live at 198 Coba Court in Coral Gables I own uh three other properties in Coco Plum I love this country I love Coral Gables I hope that my kids one day can achieve that success to live in uh Coral gaes the city beautiful um I like a few things that I've heard number one I don't know much of you guys but Mr Fernandez when you first got elected one of your priorities was to raise your salary I think that's disrespectful as a business owner I think that you should prove yourself first and not bring chaos to the city that's my uh opinion so I suggest that we take a step back and be cordial to one another and let Mr gasius continue to do his job and uh Mr mandez it seems like on the salary thing I think you guys deserve a proper salary I don't want to work for free I don't think you should work for free I think you should get paid well I think we live in a great community that has money I think people that cut too much of their trees they should you know do the right thing and wait one week and the next week but really your landscaper is supposed to take things like that so I hear all the things but it's hard to please everybody people care to comp complain more than anything and that bothers me people not you know uh helpful they just take forever so I think maybe you should raise the time a little bit and people should be more respectful about the time of everybody else that comes here so Mr Menendez I think you might be the the middle vote there and if you don't have your mind made up I think maybe you should make a motion and save everybody's time so anyway thank you very much thank you sir Samuel Lawson good morning sir there is I'm here um humbly I've been here before and spoke and sometimes I want to be careful ful that I'm not here to just hear myself speak that in fact I'm here for a good reason so the thing that I'm here for today is I'm triggered by um what I think is a lie what I think is deception what I think is unfair and I think I owe it to my community to stand here and say some things that are quite actually uncomfortable to say so let me start with good morning city manager I'd like to start by apologizing to you for what we the citizens of coral Gabriels are either directly or indirectly putting you through today I have reviewed various online articles and comments and read emails between yourself and commissioner Fernandez and I've Seen Nothing At All That remotely resonates of insubordination second I inquired about your credentials and found that you are both a structural engineer and a building official a very rare combination and highly difficult credentials and experience to achieve and I've seen your salary online and it's basically in ballpark with a mid-level vice president in a South Florida corporation which seems to be the minimum job level you would likely have in the corporate world given your educational background your years of work experience and the fact that you have a large team of directors and managers reporting directly to you I don't see that salary even remotely out of line I've also met with you personally on City issues and you were very responsive to me professional and had an honest and a humble personality I'm sorry next good morning mayor vice mayor and Commissioners I'd like to start by asking a question who's really on the hot seat today who's really on trial is it the city manager who has a great resume and can easily go out and get another extremely high-paying job or is it the members of the commission who have unethically fabricated this issue and in a disgraceful attempt at publicly humiliating the city manager actually not humiliated him but humiliated themselves by not only making slanderous lies but also by the unprofessional tactless below bar open delivery of these things the educated or let's say the majority I would think of the educated professional citizenry of Coral Gables I'm sure are quite offended this would never be the process in a corporate environment in a legal environment or any professional environment and only demonstrates the lack of Education experience manners and especially lack of decency that we are witnessing today I'd like to start with a few observations before making a couple final comments in 2023 a commissioner meeting agenda item was brought forth to move the election date for the city commission from April to November to coincide with the general election cycle the idea was that considerably more citizens would vote in November and that the vote therefore for commissioner would be more reflective of the Coral Gable City there was a considerable public participation and comments at that meeting which I attended and spoke at as well I would estimate that Approximately 80% of the people physically present and online were for moving the election dates to December 80% yet commissioner Ariel F Fernandez commissioner Menendez and commissioner Castro voted against it contrary to the majority public demand that day why I would assume it was for a self serving interest and here's why the same three Commissioners as was stated by several other speakers here today not long after that subsequently voted to give themselves a raise I am not sure how this is even allowed legally in our city this is the most obvious example of a conflict of interest imaginable can you imagine if you or I could just give your own self a raise when you like not your boss you give yourself your own raise it is so obviously unethical to do so so in fact embarrassing to do where's the shame I noticed immediately thereafter one of the Commissioners upgraded to a Mercedes is that not a conflict in fact this embarrassing conflict reached its way all the way to Tallahassee where I have heard that certain Florida legislators refused to even meet with these three Commissioners on their trip to Tallahassee I heard stated that they will not even provide funding to the City of Coral Gables until those salary increases were reversed I'm not sure if that's true but that's what I've heard now after this despite the incredible disgust so many of us as Citizens witnessed and felt watching this the city manager Peter aesus against his own sentiments did in fact subordinate himself to the commission and instituted the raises next I'd like to bring up a couple of email strings between commissioner Ariel Fernandez city employees commissioner manager city manager peteras and the other Commissioners that shed light on what's going on behind the scenes in Coral Gables particularly Mr Fernandez's unprofessional aggressive outof order approach bullying the city manager Peter aesus there's an email string on January the 29th um and you can find I I encourage everybody who's online watching and everybody here today that's interested go to asops gables.com don't go to asops gables.com that's a kitchen designer in New Mexico go to asops cables. substack character so on January 29th there was a city employee who wrote to the commission on the fritz and fr providing an update commissioner Ariel Fernandez was outraged these are some of his words where's the manager with everybody online in the email where's the manager nowhere in this email is he mentioned why if there were concerns why did the manager not address these prior to offering an opportunity to renew on August the 3rd is is this directive being taken seriously the commissioner or the city manager responded back tactfully with some facts they were long I'm not going to go through those right now it was very very vanilla but very factual commissioner era Fernandez retorts back how often do we check the dppr dbpr for issues with our tenants please provide me with all dbpr violations status reports for all our current tenants so the city manager responds back this one I will read two two two small paragraphs as I mentioned before we are currently negotiating the lease extension this is the city manager's tone and professionalism as I mentioned before we are currently negotiating the lease extension with Fritz and frons properly and rationally as directed by the city commission we are acting appropriately as fidu fiduciaries for the city as I believe this is the intent of the commission he goes on with a lot of details and then he closes with unfortunately your continued demands on our incredible staff significantly affect our morale please work with me to make our our great City even better you can clearly see a conflict or the contrast in professionalism demeanor experience now despite this harassment well I said that yeah extremely professional tone so another email string on February the 1st an email from the city from commissioner Fernandez again bypassing the chain of command directly to the city employee at CA copy to Mr gasius quote again listen to the tone please call me ASAP FPL is damaging our trees all work must stop Mr manager this needs immediate attention Addis replies back I called you as in called Mr Fernandez but there was no answer I'm gathering information there was an email back then from Mr Fernandez to to that employee Addis with a copy to the city manager just informed this is from Ariel I'm sorry commissioner Fernandez just informed tree cut by our staff in violation of what our commission requested I will address this with the city manager so this goes on and you can see that Mr Fernandez is bypassing not only speaking directly to the city manager but going directly and going directly to his staff but as we subsequently find out that tree that was cut was not not cut under the circumstances that Ariel was so alarmed about Mr commissioner Fernandez was so alarmed about um it turns out that it was a monkey pod Tree in terminal Decay being suffocated by a Strangler tree and the pro the the response by uh the professionals there that was best practice cut the bad limb cut more as time goes on until the tree dies there was a photo attached it was a clean cut and it had nothing to do with fpnl but this is the kind of thing going on behind the scenes so last let's move on directly to the issue of in insubordination but before I do that I'd like to point out that the role of the city manager from what I understand does not directly report to any of the Commissioners individually not even the mayor the mayor can of course call the city manager as can any of the Commissioners but the committee the city manager position is a self-determined rule from what I understand that simply carries out the will of the majority of the commission and their majority votes so commissioner Ariel F Fernandez or the mayor or any of the Commissioners do not have the right to directly Demand work from the city manager any more so than do I or any of you so with that in mind I'd like to read the direct comment by commissioner Fernandez during the January 23rd meeting in regard to issue F5 and I quote this is from commissioner Ariel fernandz the manager said to me during my last agenda review with him he only answers to three members of this Commission in other words he does not answer to commissioner Castro or myself Mr manager there was an election in April and we were elected and yes we are your bosses again the tone and incorrect right clearly Mr Iglesias was referring to the collective majority decision by the commission and not an individual jab at commissioner Ariel Fernandez and again individual Julie commissioner Ariel Fernandez and commissioner Castro are not the city manager's boss now on to the now notorious email that went out to Coral Gable citizens from commissioner Ariel Fernandez on February the 5th with a memo attached um which was somehow shared with the Coral Gables Insider and cedo before even getting to the citizen showing a nefarious mination to spin an untrue harmful slanderous narrative on all fronts declaring that the city manager was publicly insubordinate and refusing to do the will of the commission when he decided not to accept the least renewal demands as they would have cost the city as per the city manager Mr glus $250,000 so basically if you go back and listen to the to the to the words of the city manager what he says is he says I will not do that but if the commission wants it so be it in other words he doesn't want to sign a trumped up lease agreement that would cost us $250,000 but if the city wants it he'll do it where in any of that where in any of that do you hear in subordination What I Hear instead is good fiduciary management if I may Mr Lawson will you bring it in for a landing I will land it thank you very much so final thing to say I think we as citizens should strongly consider recalling commissioner Fernandez for even bringing this series of lies and defamatory remarks to the commission agenda but at the minimum we should immediately work on the recall of any commissioner that votes that does not vote no against terminating the city manager so in other words I'm steering away from these soft Landings where we've seen sometimes by commissioner Mendez a kind of a negotiated extension which is kind of like wiggling your way out of it so we should either see a no or a yes and if you vote if you don't vote no we need to strongly consider why are we even tolerating this and what is the process for recall and I know that there are people out there talking about it and looking at it so let's get on it thank you sir Andy muray Mr muray good morning thank you for being here [Music] sir my name is Andy meai I currently serve as chair of the Court enforcement board I have served this city for the last 40 years continuously as a board member coming to the cityall month after month because I care for the city and today I'm here sad to see this happen because it's not what the agenda says about the sucession of the city manager is the lynching of the city [Music] manager without cost just yesterday I think some of you all of you attended the opening of forest station number four under his guidance with some State money the city manager was able to seek or process or whatever and that's a reality city fire station number four is a reality luckily we stopped and I was involved in stopping the previous location which was at residential home home in a in a awful location which have been a major mistake I was a member of the blue re room commission where we stop and we have $4.5 million buried in that courtyard where that anx was going to be built in a blot that did not fit in a building that was truly not proper for the services to be rendered during the last few years is as you well know and you more than anything else Miss Castro the building department has going to transformation from paper to electronic a mammoth job and the building department continued to work and plant continue to be processed and work continued to be done some of you might not recall that we built the public safety building this gentleman here took it upon himself to review the structural plans to make sure that that building was built correctly this gentleman here went to Tampa to look at the manufacturer of the windows to make sure that those are special Windows to make sure that they were right he never told anybody never told me I happen to ask was Mr GL I to speaker he's doing this and do and today we have the public safety building I was here and few an hour ago Mr Mena was here we owe a debt of gratitude to Mr Mena he was the one who finished the Swanson Fernandez era where they try to fire this best police chief that we've had in our history where he reinstituted the zones where there are police cars all over the place and Mr Mendez early on you might not remember me we spoke I did not know you I was asked to support you I checked on your background of your Youth Fair activities I said this is a good man I as you well know contributed to your campaign I seek more important I had my friends vote for you I had my family vote for you because we believed in you and we believe in your rational and making the right decisions for us I'm aware of the infighting that's going on between you Mr Fernandez and the mayor and miss castus you know I'm very pleased to have seen Miss castus support the manager on the second around after he was defeated that you wanted to get rid of him the first time around Mr eaus has performed his duties well with respect to all Mr Elia has a assistant Mr ston CIO a finer man to help residents there's not a day to go by that I don't send somebody to see Mr CIO and things get done done so the city is working well the morale is working well we have an excellent police chief day in and day out only the man with his rectitude and fortitude could stand what he had to stand during the swans of Fernandez area where they installed the police chief on top of him insane absolutely insane and what are we doing here today this man has done the transformation of the building department to electronic this man has got the fire station number four open this man has make sure that the budget is on time or you know in in in within the budget this man has contributed more to the pension fund than is required from 4.5 or whatever I don't keep track of that I'm not here every day this is first time I've been here in years I'll be here tomorrow morning again to chair the code enforcement to make sure sure that things get done with respect to all the residents at the same time preserve their C I have served to preserve The Gables and preserving The Gables and through quter enforcement this man has served to preserve The Gables to install morale to install good people you know under him we have a true professional a respectful professional you know a true good human being why the change what has he done what what has been so terribly wrong that requires his firing it's not a sucession we have spent now what 3 hours for this four hours you've seen take notice of what Willie said take notice what my man said by all of this going on you have awakened the silent majority Coral Gables is not North Gables and the streets abing Southwest a Street Coral Gables is not the gables Insider Coral gave us a lot of people that perhaps don't get involved but now after seeing all of this I received calls I said what is going on I ask you to put aside your personal feelings put aside your infighting for the benefit of all of us Mr mandz we trust you thank you Mr Mayor thank you sir I appreciate your service to the city Diane Wells Miss Wells good morning thank you for being here Diane Wells I live at 1310 Coral Way um I'll be brief I wasn't going to speak but the reason I'm standing up is I listen to everyone this morning I do support the measure um I emailed vice mayor uh Ronda Anderson Sorry Miss uh Casto and also U Mr Men Menendez it's about the future for me and what concerns me about what was said today is that everybody's telling you that the city is going to be in a catastrophe if we don't have Mr glacius in office tomorrow if he's done the great job that everyone says he has done we will not have a catastrophe tomorrow so this is really about the future it's about what is our succession plan where where are we headed our future is some of you but not all of you because we're all getting older um but we we appreciate you being here today and that each of you is respected today by your children for being here and making decisions and yes be open-minded but make show the leadership for our future and so what we need is a succession plan thank you thank you Harold new good morning sir thank you for being here we have your item coming up soon good morning Mr Mayor M mayor Commissioners city manager City attorney uh my name is Harold Norwick frer France Pier House I didn't want to really speak today I thought it was not my point to come up here and speak but the name frz of FR P house came up numerous time in this meeting today and I would like to tell you thank you for your last decision at the city Commission meeting to give me the three weeks to negotiate with the city and I'm happy to report thanks to Alberto buas that we are in basic agreement with the terms of the square footage the it's going to be probably an amendment to the leas and we're going to work it out in the next uh couple weeks and I think there's an agenda on here as well so thank you very much much and thank you Ariel Fernandez for putting this on the agenda three weeks ago and that's why we are at this point with FR and France beers here today why I'm speaking right now is I wanted to tell you while I believe and I really don't know but what I heard today is that the city manager is a fantastic person dealing with big development and uh big business but maybe he forgot the small business and the reason I'm saying this because the issue surrounding frit and France beer house could have been avoided by him just saying let's find out the market estivate for Fritz and France beer house and let's sit down with Harold and figure out if he wants it and if he wants to negotiate and we would not have had this problem with Fritz and France be house over the last five months and that's why I think and I'm not here to tell you today what to do this is not my decision I I know with Peter glaas when he was assistant C manager and I never really had an a problem with that but it felt to me and I mentioned this at the last meeting he was eminent to get Fritz and France P house out of this place and he didn't really succeed and I wanted to tell you you it's your decision today what you going to do regarding the future of pet ecclesias but whatever it is we need to look in the future not just the big business the big development but we also need to look at the family operations the longterm uh business development in the city and hopefully whatever happened today will be a better future for the city of cor gabas which I love very much and I'm thank you again for letting me speak today thank you chip Withers commissioner Withers thank you for being here with us today thank you sir it's great to have you chip withs 1104 Hardy Road I want to thank you all I I used to think that um weddings and funerals was the only time you saw old friends but I guess replacement of city managers ranks right up there with it so I um saw a lot of people here today uh s saw a lot of folks that um uh that really have worked hard in the 35 years I've been involved with this city and making this the city the way it is so I implore you uh when the vast majority of them support Peter in his work uh it's it's shouldn't fall on deaf ears but I want to tell you I did a little personal survey I don't know actually the number of living Mayors and Commissioners today uh I can tell you that I reached out to seven of them and um the issue of decorum will be discussed another day but the issue on hand today I can tell you unequivocably that every one of them felt the retaining of city manager is the right decision without hesitation without thought and the fraternity that you will be joining as a past commissioner uh you know a lot of the things that I know went on that were behind the curtain a lot of things a lot of decisions a lot of discussions and I'm not talking about breaking rules or or or violating sunshine but a lot of the issues that you deal with on a daily basis um are yours kept in confidence and um there's a lot that goes on that a lot of folks don't know uh I don't know all that's going on with this happening right now uh I can tell you that um personally it's it's disappointing to me uh we've had issues in the past uh huge huge issues in the past that that we have been able to resolve uh quietly and and and systematically but to to bring in um I guess I guess some of the some of the political ramifications that I'm I'm seeing involved in this uh is very discouraging to me uh each one of you obviously have the right to make your decision uh if I were to handicap this I know that it's going to rest on Kirk and um I'm not disparaging commissioner fenis Mr Castro all of you been publicly and have told me one way or the other how you feel uh Kirk it's a big decision and um I I hope that you have thought I know you've prayed about it and I uh I encourage you to to put any of the political you know what aside and make the decision that is best for the city of cor Gables thank thank you very much yall and and look forward to the deliberations thank you commissioner U Mr Mayor I'm going to go to zoom next first speaker is Enrique Bernal Mr Bernal good afternoon uh he is not unmuting so I'm going to go to the second speaker is Cheryl Gold Miss gold good afternoon okay good afternoon mayor and Commissioners Cheryl Gold residing at 721 builtmore way thank you commissioner Fernandez for placing this item on the agenda I know that this is not a result of any personal relationship you may or may not have with the city manager Carl Gables is a A Tale of Two Cities the one presented by this Administration and its proponents today and the real one that exists behind the smoke and mirrors I could speak for hours about my personal experiences as an Engaged resident during the past eight years on multiple issues including but not limited to the wrongful upzoning of my neighborhood the ongoing loss of Ra on street parking the city's failure to address flooding mitigate Urban heat Islands plant trees public safety issues traffic caling historic preservation and widespread demolitions and overdevelopment instead I'm going to make this very short today residents have been ignored dismissed disrespected obstructed insulted and even lied to I've been considered a nuisance and an adversary when I've come to the city with Solutions not just problems my experience isn't unique among residents although I may be one of the few that speak up today the bottom line is the city is dysfunctional and Peter Ag laus's mismanagement and disrespect for elected officials and residents alike is unacceptable a change of leadership is long overdue so the city can move forward with residents safety quality of life and sustainability as the top priorities and not those of the special interest who have circled the wagons today to perpetuate their own special treatment thank you very much thank you Miss gold our next speaker Mr Mayor is Myra Jolie Miss Jolie good afternoon afternoon let me let me get my my video um yeah can you hear me okay yes ma'am yes the floor is yours okay all right um I I agree with uh um the resident that just spoke now because right now what we seeing it's a parade it looks a little like an episode of a the real House Husbands of Miami in which they all just supporting somebody who's an employee nobody is indispensable the ones are indispensable here are the residents and if Peter Elias is not there for the good of the residents if he's not willing to fall to follow the directions of the Commissioners if he says that he's not gonna he's GNA not gonna work with one commissioner then Peter is doing his job if I have an employee in my office who said he not going to do what I what my orders no going to follow my no going to work for me you think the city of coros is going to fold over their their their belly if Peter glaus is not there or who's the one who's going to suffer it's not the resident but for real it's GNA who's going to suffer suffer are the developers I remember vividly I don't have any beef with the glacias I don't know how he got there who was he be he who was he before that and whatever but I do remember one time that we were fighting for this bwa project not to be a in in a school zone in in uh with the entrance by the school but the newest one that Peter elius and whoever was the attorney at the time and even the the the the clerk of this cor city of cor they were all there in the police department um building they were ruling for the interest of Bawa no other the residents B I didn't have one single representative there but they were peteras fighting me for whatever I was saying because they that would represent more uh money that the the the developers and the Hors of Wawa have to expend and I C remember how any of you every of you mayor Lago Anderson elasia they all said that this was said and done and we time telling that there's nothing to do that their hands are tied because that that contract was done long time ago so the bow people have to have their gas station right there in the middle of the school for those children to to be uh uh to to use it at at the leure so nobody's going to tell me now that Peter Legas all the people that are there saying that peteras is the best of the best when you take him home you employ you employ them or you paid him his salary how many residents have been at the microphone because we all have things to do but how many of the residents have been in a microphone saying yes I want Peter elasia there we don't care who's there we care for somebody who's doing the job who's doing our representing our interest so if Pia have to go believe me believe me tomorrow the city of cor is going to continue going we have presidents elected every four years America doesn't go down to sh because of that I say she because of that so if the if today they say peteras is gone is gone and I don't have papers to be bringing and accolades to be telling everybody how good they are you have to be good in your job and don't tell me what you did for the city of cor two weeks ago 10 years ago tell me what you're doing for a city coros today what you going to be doing for the C coros in the future for us their residents not the developers they don't live here and I'm glad that our frisen friends is going to stay yes have a great afternoon everybody thank you for joining us U Mr Mayor we're going to try one more time with Vernal Mr Bernard good afternoon okay he's not unmuting sir so Mr Mayor we had a speaker why don't we try again I think we're I think we're back to miss Jolie all right so um we had a speaker who came in and had to leave but he did leave me a letter his name was Daniel ravisher um he had prepared a written statement and it says my name is Daniel ravisher and I have lived in Coral Gables for over a decade with my wife and son one of the things we love most about about our city is the proud history of professional leadership provided by the Mayors vice mayor Commissioners and managers the city is safe clean and growing as at a reasonable Pace disputes arise of course but they have in the past been handled with professionalism and respect so that productive relationships can be maintained despite differences recently however I've been dismayed at a dramatic and unexpected rise in animosity and shall I say pointless drama among the leadership of the city that is causing us a grave concern our nation is built on the government principle of checks and balances no one person shall be capable or permitted to enforce their will on others I never would have thought that the city beautiful will turn into a Tablo town it's unsettling and the citizens of the city deserve better the most recent unnecessary distraction to remove the manager who serves the city quite well for quite some time seems Russian personal the propaganda materials distributed in advance of today's hearing to support their motion alleged subordination but did not explain what underlying dispute involved the city manager is an educated experience person with expertise that should be welcomed on issues affecting the city not ignore and told to just follow orders I am concerned that the commission has taken a wrong turn recently leading in leading it to a road that trust that it has built over Decades of faithful service to the residents the city manager should not be removed absent unanimous agreement by the commission to do otherwise serves to only further fracture those who have given their time and lives to serve rather than bringing everyone together for the good of the city I hate to consider the alternative but one must always be prepared for the worst while hoping for the best thus the petition I have been told will be started to remove all of the current commission if the city managers removed is one that I will unfortunately have to support thank you Daniel ravisher thank you sir um Mr cler do we have anybody else no Mr Mayor all right we're going to take a 15minute break so we can use the bathroom and then we'll come back to this item Madam City attorney anything anything we need to address before we take a break thank you it is 12:45 I'd like to see if we can get started I know we have a long agenda today so I ask my colleagues who are still pending to join us to please join us here in [Music] commission [Music] Mr cler I think we're ready to get started yes sir before we get started I'd like to put on the record um I have over a dozen emails that I think some of my most of my colleagues should have been copied on them I don't know if they were um all of them are in favor of having the manager remain um I'd like to put it in the in the record it's from residents who who were not able to make it today or somewhere but the end day I have the and uh I don't know mayor if you received the LA last couple that just recently came in one from Thomas snook and another one from Vicky Rua who couldn't make it uh due to a variety of personal reasons um and I'd ask that those be put in the record and all those also were in favor of retaining our current city manager and I also received one from Enrique ber now who was trying to get on he that email is included which is also in favor of retaining the manager commissioner Fernandez your item thank you Mr Mayor I want to start by thanking everybody who has come out today either a person via Zoom who has contacted us by phone text email over the last 8 Days um thank you for your participation and for your input um the five of us have been trusted by the residents of our great city with the responsibility of leading their government and ensuring the proper operation of the same Coral Gables was created August 29th 1925 as a commission manager form of government I wanted to talk to Residents about how a commission manager form of government works I've received calls from residents who are being told this Commission is an Advisory Board it is not in a commission manager form of government the commission is the city's governing body we select a city manager to enact the legislation and priorities set forth by the mayor vice mayor and Commissioners each of us up here has an equal role in this government none of us can individually decide what happens decisions are made by the majority of this five m commission the manager answers to the commission and we all answer to the residents on April 11th I was elected to this city commission by a 58% vote of the residents I took my oath of office to uphold the charter 18 days later in those 18 days the manager never reached out or took the opportunity to meet with me the city clerk and City attorney were the two first congratulatory calls on Election night and both met with me prior to my swearing in in respect not of me as a person but of the office I was about to enter I brought up resident concerns with the manager's leadership my first city commission meeting as has been talked about at length here today from the mobility Hub residents opposed to the promotion of MX3 zoning to the parking lot next to Cafe abachi to a 3-year delay of Renovations at Burger Bobs residents wanted to change the commission vote was a split 3-2 vote in favor of keeping the manager the manager and I were the first to return to this stas after a break following that vote I extended my hand and said it's time for us to work together and we show shook hands for some time there was progress in December residents began expressing concerns about fpl's replacement of the silver light poles in the north cables the manager made it clear during more than one meeting that he disagreed with residents he stated that if the commission wishes to spend $2.5 million in light poles they can go ahead and do it the last time the manager yelled that to me I asked him to leave the meeting because I did not need his animosity the manager said I was not his boss and that he only answers to three members of the commission the message was clear he only answers to those who voted to keep him in office through all that I kept my head down and continued to work through another commission meeting without bringing this to public light during this time the manager did not answer my phone calls and and delegated all Communications with me to the assistant city manager the manager then did not show up to my next two agenda review meetings I did not make any of this public until the manager decided to publicly attack me on the last commission meeting and stated he would not get a deal done with Fritz and France and that the commission could do it if they wanted to Residents contacted me wondering why the commission had not taken action to remov the manager immediately after a couple of weeks and rewatching the meeting seeing the manager's Behavior last week I realized we could not continue to allow for this toxicity to pollute our city hall the manager must set the tone for the rest of City staff if the manager States as he did he will not work with a member of the commission as he said about me and that he will not follow the directives of the commission he is sending a message to staff that this is acceptable well it is not I sent the memo 8 days prior to this meeting in order to allow for my colleagues to have time to rewatch the meeting and for residents to provide their input sadly the last 8 days have shown the worst in those seeking to keep the manager in office calls and text messages from members of the establishment have been spreading false information and using scare tactics on members of this community in order to come out and support the manager the same political attacks that were used during the last election by The Establishment to dissuade residents from voting for commissioner Castro and myself have been employed now the establishment will stop at nothing to hold on to power while attempting to run a shadow government circumventing the directives of this commission and the interests of its residents threats have been made against commissioner Castro Menendez and myself and most disturbing and residents need to know this threats have been made against our families to those mounting those threats let me be clear I will not be intimidated and our families are completely off limits my fellow residents I know we are better than this we can disagree on issues but making things personal and launching threats is way beneath us Martin Luther King Jr once said we must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope I am deeply disappointed in the behavior by people who I have looked up to in the past and who I helped lead our city I am disappointed that their desire to hold on to false power clouds their judgment to distinguish between right and wrong but I do not lose my infinite hope in a better Coral Gables a Coral Gables where we can differ in our opinions but be able to share a laugh and be respectful of each other where we can have an open-minded convers ation without fear of retaliation and baseless attacks we're a small community and the failures of one are inevitably the result of the failures of another today we are faced with a decision what direction do we want to set forth for our city this is not about the past this is not about the manager's experience and his work in the past in fact this has nothing to do with the IND individual himself this has everything to do as was mentioned before about our future setting the course for the next 99 years of Coral Gables the fearmongers will tell you that City Hall will cease to exist if the manager is removed it will not in fact it has not this city has survived many Peaks and valleys in its 99 years from major hurricanes to the Great Depression to placements of city managers to the removal of its founder from the city commission and it will survive many more but setting the course for the future must start today with a move towards a resident centered manager who will make residents and only residents their priority I know some have expressed their concerns over the city's stability this is not the first time the city has been in this position in the last 10 years the city has had four city managers each one of them with varying strengths and weaknesses Mr Mayor you led the efforts to remove two and to ensure the third did not get the permanent position this community trusted your reasons as did your colleagues at the time those managers all placed the city first and departed rather than the city being in the position it is in today this manager has been given numerous opportunities to retire on his terms his response was to place the item on the agenda and have the commission vote to remove him my memo last week put forward the name of our assistant city manager as a potential successor to our current manager Mr ACM I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your service to our city over the last two years you have always treated me with respect and been expedient on addressing resident concerns I know putting your name forward has led to some unintended difficult days for you but I stand by my statement that you would be able to lead this city in the right direction if you're interested my intention was to show this commission and our residents that we have an in-house candidate who could take the Baton on day one without skipping a Beat with that I will make a motion to remove Peter e glacius as city manager immediately before we move in a motion okay Mr hak please come forward this this is not a this is not a moment this is not a moment to joke around okay I have commissioner Fernandez to my left that says that he has been threatened that his family's been threatened I've heard rumors that tires have been slashed that Windows have been broken through the manager and I hope that my colleagues on the commission I want immediate action I don't want action tomorrow I want Action Now recess 15 minutes through the manager I want forces on the ground to address the issue I want to find out who did it I want to find out who threatening people in this community I want to find out who is behind it I want to understand every resource that we have I want to throw at it if somebody has a camera in front of their home like I do I want access to that camera if somebody is willing to make a statement in regards to an issue I want to ask I want to be very very clear that would be not this would not be tolerated in our city and the reason also why I'm doing that is because they all also been insinuations by the members to my left and to my right that I'm responsible for that and that commissioner Anderson is vice mayor Anderson is responsible for that so I want you to expeditiously through the manager move forward and address these issues because as we've seen before the constant threats the constant innuendos the constant remarks that are made by people these rumors the ball rolls and before these conversations and Whispers they become truths and people actually come up to me and make statements so I ask you to please address the issue immediately sooner rather than later and overturn every stone possible in this community till we get to the bottom of to your point mayor if I may um everybody on the commission and not to violate the sunshine all of you have contacted me one-on-one throughout the throughout your 10 years as officer the manager has been apprised as my boss to look into every one of those situations every commissioner and again this is not something to tell you all what somebody else is saying in the police department we are in the middle so every person sitting on the Das has relayed to me their concerns and they have been investigated to the point where we have taken measures over the last 72 hours to make sure that there were no any ancillary issues to become to be Frau any of you or your family members uh we have taken Extraordinary Measures to make sure that your safety here to and from your residence has been looked after let's be clear on that hold on one second you asked me if I wanted a detail no no I asked everybody yes sir I was adamantly clear I said I don't need a detail right I don't need a detail we're not the city of Miami we're not doing a sergeant of arms I don't need a detail I don't need a sergeant of arms while my other colleagues are more than welcome to have a detail that's not my that's not my interest so so to to your point mayor directly as far as we looked at everything every every commissioner and yourself and when they've talked to me we've talked about the issues that were presented whether to you all directly or to your family members reports are are are talked about they're written they're documented they're investigated uh at one point just on video cameras alone we were able to arrest several people and made no connection at that point to your jobs here uh whether they were flying drones or or damaged to tires uh you know stuff broken windows the police department has looked at everything under my tenure and and we will continue and if I may sure CD attorney can cooperate I've had many Anonymous letters sent to me threats to my family to me intimidation tactics comments that have been made people have showed up to my doorstep I've had people break into my car and again this is nothing new there's not anything that is happening to my left and to my right it happens here in the city and it's been happening for decades and it's been happening in an effort to intimidate people prior to signific bring votes but at the end of the day I want you to work through the manager and ensure the safety of the commission just like we ensure the safety of the employees and we ensure the safety of the residents here because what we're seeing now is the the the the just kind of the leading into the conversation that some of the commission is responsible for this and I will not stand for that under any circumstances mayor if if I may take a point of personal privilege Society has become so visceral on its own and not because of you all but because of the politics period the fact that I had to surround one of our residents houses for 7even days because he went to one of my officers family's houses has motivated me and the legislature to increase our stalking logs to protect you all now why that's happening I don't know but it's at a federal level the judges in our city the request that you don't know that the police department gets to protect its residents and because of what they do is something that is widespread across this country so I don't take these issues lightly and until I can prove who is responsible for it but to your point we have had no major connections criminally in investigation that any of you are behind anything that has happened and whether it's a coincidence or not cops don't believe in coincidence but we are working as a police department to protect everybody including what we have I've got 13 federal judges that live in here so we're all responsible the one person that knows everything that I'm doing is my boss and and I have to keep that through him and when when you talk to me individually because he allows me to talk to you about your personal safety and your family's personal safety so to your point mayor the police department has taken these threats seriously from beginning to end because we know what can happen we know the the fear that it is whether it starts in this room or not we understand but our job is to make sure you're safe to from while you're here and your families as well and we will continue to do that and the women men and women that I lead are committed to that that's why we have the best police department in Miami Dade County thank you Chief and to your point Mr Mayor um I have to thank you Chief every single time that there's been an incident your team has been quick to respond has has addressed rested quickly um and you've always made it clear that a threat against one of us you're going to make sure that we're all uh taken care of and and I appreciate that uh I think that's important thank you Madame vice mayor would you like to have any comments in regards to the item that we're discussing yes I do thank you Chief before you step down I again U thank thank the chief no this is a this is a thank you there was one time you guys were outside of my house and I said I wondered why because you were copied on an email in which I was specifically copied with a threat correct okay it was not necessarily directed to me but I you know and I didn't feel particularly scared but you you were VI Vigilant and protecting all of us so you can have you can have a moment to get off your feet right now okay and I'll start with my comments I can't you want okay yeah you can take you Chief yeah that's okay sorry just it was just it was just a thank you I know it's a little tense here today but so I'm going to talk to you a moment about the uh agenda item the way you phrased it city manager succession plan it's no secret in our city that our city manager is a man of great esteem but like all of us we get older at time and I've had this discussion with him about a succession plan and search committees have been cont contacted in order to bring in a younger ACM that can work under his wings and cause a smooth transition and the search team and I know you you you obviously didn't have this conversation with the city manager otherwise you may have phrased your agenda item differently city manager advised us from the prior search team that they just weren't getting any hits and if you look at the salary range for a top rated not only city manager but a building director I agree with some the comments that were made that perhaps he's underpaid because he's he wears so many hats we normally have two assistant city managers he works night and day tiously including managing projects projects that were you know delegated over to Parks and Recreation that he had had to bring back for himself to take home and work on overnight like Burger Bobs to make sure it got done because it just wasn't happening without his Direction without his experience being touched upon it so he's more than a city manager here serving as a building director a project manager and I know some people expect him to be on the job 24/7 and be in every place and every project to see every Malin that happens on every project out there whether it's a leaky roof or a leaky pipe it's it's impossible for one human being to be everywhere you need a delegate you hire contractors each and every one of us have probably had some work done in our home in which she had to call back the contractor because something wasn't done wrong landscapers same thing that's the same problem they don't follow directions necessarily but yet the one who takes the blame and the only one that's taking the blame is a city manager here today so let's go back to your agenda item this is not a succession plan a succession plan would be having an intelligent discussion here about how we plan for the future this is not where you say Off With His Head like an Allison Wonderland movie this is where you plan where your best and your brightest impart upon those who work under them how to carry the torch forward not take and D the torch out so they have to relearn on their own without the benefit of an experienced city manager how the city runs and how to best manage things going forward the term succession plan refers to a business strategy companies used to pass leadership roles down to another employe employee or group of employees succession planning ensures that a business continues to run smoothly and without interruption after important people move on to New Opportunities retire or pass away you get that definition if you look it up on Investopedia they talk about succession plans that's a logical way to do it you do do a hiring team now would be a good possible time to do it although although we have a lot of competition out there because the city of dado I think the City of Homestead City of Miami Beach City of Miami are all jocking around on city manager issues and that's just in South Florida we need to do a nationwide search we need to look for the best and the brightest and we need to bring them in with an opportunity to gain from this experience just like the chief of police does with his team he brings in experienced people sometimes to impart upon the rank and file that he hopes to be the Future Leaders in this Police Department the wealth of knowledge that they have from years and years and years of experience that you're not going to be able to get overnight that's why lawyers who have lots and lots of years of experience get paid a lot more per hour than those who haven't been in the courtroom know what it is like to be in the heat of the battle know what it's like to be down in the trenches and dealing with difficult cases in the public on the media or elsewhere I noticed you you you did have an opportunity to SP to speak to the media I know it's something that that is important to you it's not so important to me because what I like to focus on is bring in this city forward and representing its residents in the future this is not about sound bite this is not about causing a shakeup in the city not about causing chaos in the city your agenda title lacks the transparency that the that you've used on prior items pay raises buried in a financial budget of our 400 pages in length which I I heard because the great fine does talk was represented at the last Cable's good government as being something that you three were going to bring up but you didn't put it on the agenda you three were going to be bring up but myself and the mayor jumped the gun on it but you'll bury it in a 400 page budget where the residents can't see it you don't put it on for discussion what is the right amount that we should get he okay for the number of hours or the dedic dedication we put in the job I can tell you one thing commissioner based upon the number of times that you've brought items that have not been well planned like this the number of hours not just of this commission but of the residents that have had to be invested to avoid a catastrophe that could have happened is exhausting you owe it to the residents if you were in a court of law and you brought a frivolous motion you would be met by the other side most likely with a motion for sanctions for legal fees and for the waste of time and or the ultimate s uh sanction the dismissal of your case and that's what's warranted here this is frivolous this is one wanton this is just looking to engender yourself in a limelight for the television for the interview the shakeup in the City of Coral Gables has happened here because that's what the residents want yet you've ignored every speaker the majority of which 80 some odd per here has spoken in favor of this city manager today and no they're not all Developers they're ordinary residents in here too they know that this city manager is experienced they know he's more than qualified to continue to do the job our task now is to address the next chapter how do we get there no one lives forever I'm not going to live forever you're not going to live forever I always look for somebody to groom to be the next person that sits in my seat because it doesn't come overnight you've been here a little over 6 months I know you took exception with the fact that the manager didn't meet with you or call you after you were elected I didn't meet with the manager after I was elected either until after I was sworn in we had multiple meetings which we did a little differently here trying to consolidate it for you because it was Breakneck Pace with where he's just introducing me to this department and that department and this person and that person and to get a complete understanding of what each department does each department director does and how things get done in this city that takes time not only for elected to learn but a future city manager you just don't come and dump them in the pool and expect them to Wade through it without having an interruption in the flow and smoothness of how things are done you don't expect that to be done without our city being tarnished for the future people want to move here with this kind of chaos constantly going on this chaos didn't start until after you were lik it it didn't I know you're smirking but the facts don't lie I was going to read an excerpt from Ed Santa Maria's um letter to US based upon his firsthand experience but I'm just going to highlight a few points that are evident to me now that I've been in service here for over two years okay the demands of a city manager come at a break neck speed from every direction a manager is either at work or on call 247365 days days a day a holistic perspective is essential in the position requires visualizing the administration of at least at a 30,000 F foot level simultaneously it requires the grand granular understanding of the goals of the elected officials and the needs of the community the skills and capabilities of Staff members and the status of All City projects and initiatives past present and the future to meet the objectives established by the city's approved strategic plan there are few few individuals in South Florida equipped to do this effectively but I digress let's examine your stated reasons for an immediate removal of the city manager in your memo you claim quote dot dot dot as far as I'm concerned it's not going to happen sorry I'll wait for a moment you ready claim the city manager said as far as I'm concerned it's not going to happen if the commission wishes for that to happen the commission can go ahead and do it you assert in your memo this was a direct and public insubordination of this body which has raised much concerns for the residents and the manager's willingness to address their needs and concerns you misquoted the manager you absolutely misquoted the manager by omitting his full statement and distorted it you did it for the same purpose you do a lot of things to incense and inflame not only the residents but your two fellow Commissioners here that appear to be willing to vote for his removal if you look at things out of context you can distort a person's perspective of a very qualified and exceptional city manager that we have and I'm not going to say that I agree with him on on everything we've agreed to disagree and I have moved him in a position on items that he didn't realize existed before but it doesn't take it doesn't happen without sitting down at a table it doesn't happen when you point someone out of the room and direct them to leave like you did in the prior commission meeting when you do that type of behavior it's not quite you reap what you sow but you've caused the problem in insubordination as defined by the Indiana State University eight human resources department is an overused and misused word the work in the work environment and has a very narrow definition with serious consequences to the work and to the employees insubordination is a deliberate and inexcusable refusal to obey a reasonable order which relates to an employees job function the refusal may be openly stated or may be silently withholding of services merely protesting an assignment is not in subordination so our city manager sitting there telling us that he wouldn't do something because it was if it was his choice but if we want to do it it's okay to follow our directions is not in subordination that is merely protesting to make sure we understand the gravitas of what it is that we are going to do to our city whether it's a cola increase it's going to $26.7 million of additional debt on our residents which will ultimately increase either the length of the debt expense that we have to pay and yes commissioner cro I'm referring to a decision you made the advice of our staff in the finance department is critical and you need to absorb it and incorporate it and think about these residents that you're representing when you do it do they want this additional debt put on them are there is a a middle ground that can be reached that accomplishes the purpose so to make sure that there's no accusation that I'm drawing things out of context I've asked the city clerk to play a 17c expert excerpt of that critical piece from the last commission meeting item F5 at 6 hours and 17 minutes and 30 seconds to 6 hours 17 minutes and 47 seconds so when you're ready clerk uh cable TV should have the clip ready to play handle it completely different because we are a fiduciary for the city and I'm not here for and I will not approve something where we lose $240,000 again or we lose $187,000 again as far as I'm concerned this is not going to happen if the commission wishes for that to happen the commission can go ahead and do it but handle it completely different because we are a fiduciary for the city and I'm not here for and I will not approve something where we lose $240,000 again or we lose $187,000 again as far as I'm concerned this is not going to happen if the commission wishes for that to happen the commission can go ahead and do it but handle it completely different because we are a fiduciary for the city I think it I think repeat it but perhaps it P it was worth repeating so that you could hear it clearly and not distorted manager expressed his opinion he clearly stated if this the this commission wanted to take a different course we could do so that's the same thing he said about the white way lights may not be what you wanted to hear but it's something that we not only as a commission needed here but it's something the residents need to hear you want us spending additional millions of dollars to change the colors of the polls in the style of the polls this has been referred over to two of our boards to address in a sunshine meeting and they'll get back to us but understand the cost we need to understand the cost because it comes on our tax bills okay and this is H how you want to spend your money that's fine what the city manager has said if this is the way we want to approve something for fritsen fans that's fine we can do that we were looking for a market value rate out of Fritz and friends we hadn't received it we had not received it before the last commission meeting I had invited the owner to send in proposals I suggested that he forward it to the city manager manager's office while I's even out of town so that we as a body after getting a market rate analysis and have the information we need to make an intelligent decision could make that decision as you can see the city manager has dealt with that issue he resolved the issue and we do have a deal based upon market rate so the residents get the right dollar value for the City properties that we own and we're not going to be eating $240,000 on on a deal we're not going to be eating any money on a deal and we're going to have least terms that have enough teeth in them that we can get back into the properties unlike we were able to do easily in the past whether it be tines or the country club the the leases that are done today are not the leases that were done yesterday sometimes we're stuck with the language that we have in these leases it pays to read them because otherwise you make assertions that are not accurate and you hurt people with those with those accusations we have to be careful with our words when we do that one of the things that I I try to do is not just criticize contem and complain or demoralize anyone I first ask so I gain more information whether it be about a tree being trimmed on a golf course or elsewhere I ask I don't assume I know everything I I know a lot about trees but I don't know everything and I know I don't know everything and that's one quality we have to do um see clerk I'm going to ask you to bring up some of the emails now so although they were summarized by one of our prior speakers I'd like you to bring them up so the entire commissions can see the actual language that was that was used let's see it's coming up on this thing I'm the guinea pig on this new one we enlarge that okay from commissioner Ariel Fernandez again another example of how the commission is left in the dark Mr manager you had a duty to informance this is another example this is a little bit off screen now another black eye is I think what it says in the in the city commission this is in reference to the the fritz and France police you claim there was another black guy because this city manager failed to inform you that something didn't happen so rather than ask you accuse you criticize you condemn and complain if you had asked you would have realized that you overlooked an email back in September and a letter from our City attorney I'm going to ask you to bring up uh this item C next Madam vice mayor are you going to be jumping off Fritz and friends are you jumping off Fritz and friends I'm just bringing up the emails okay cuz I'd like to add something to Fritz and friend if I just want to add something if I may just to be clear so everybody understands when the discussion was with Fritz and France like the vice mayor said it was a market rate discussion I have a lot of respect for Harold and the business we all have a respect for Herold and the business but it was not market rate today will be considering a market rate at $51 a square foot the lease that Harold wanted to sign with an extension was in the low 30s okay we are fiduciaries on behalf of the city I don't have any friends when it comes to doing business with the city so understand that we will consider your deal today but you will be paying market rate he wanted the same deal the same deal that we gave sea Martinez which is correct it's $34 a square foot but sea Martinez is putting $3.8 million in TI over $800 a square foot into that property which we own and it is and that will increase the value of the city- owned property Mr Mr Harolds new lease does not include any TI zero the building will remain the same he will just be paying market rate at $51 versus the 34 this is just a little background information so you understand what the manager was doing to get the best value the best bank for your book I can go through all of them I just don't want to disrespect the the vice mayor and her comments I just thought it was important with all the people that are watching today so that they understand the importance of getting the best deal for the city not the best deal for your friends okay so I brought up the September 28th email from our esteemed City attorney Christina soras where she informed the entire Commission of what was going on with Fritz and fr this was before you sent the accusatory and derogatory email to the city manager saying that this was another black eye in the city because you failed to inform this commission attached to this email is a letter the letter that was sent to fritzen friends a notice of non-renewal and as I explained to the owner Mr Newberg if you're lawyer Once you walk through those doors and learn the law you will never look at the world or the language in leases or anything else the same again our city manager had had an obligation as his fiduciary duty to our residents and this city to place to place them on notice timely that the existing terms on the lease were unacceptable we have a little problem with uh there we go that's his duty if he had failed to do it then it would have been another black eyy to our city but he didn't fail he did his job and he did it effectively throughout here throughout the your tenure here there's been demands for firing of employees that's the manager's decision employees that don't follow your directions there's been meetings that have been held in which there were not nice things said about all of our employees and chief you were present during one of those I understand are you still in the room there you are you're hiding around the corner come on up as well just stand there you were presentent at a meeting there was uh the commissioner Fernandez requested and um there were some words that were exchanged derogatory words towards our employees that if they didn't understand that there was a new sheriff in town they can take their opportunity and leave no you recall you recall that no I I recall the meeting I recall the email um the the email to myself the manager and the HR Director uh was uh as a result of a previous conversation that we had uh in the manager's office to talk about some of the issues that were brought up by the uh executive board or the members of the fop and uh we had a discussion about negotiations things along those lines uh subsequent to that uh there was an email I believe all of you got from president Challenger about two individuals that had left the two officers left the police department and and uh I was going to allow them to burn some of their sick leave and I was obviously not allowed to do that and the subsequent conversation which is where your email comes into play uh was the commissioner sent that to us I believe was like on a Thursday or a Friday um subsequently we we talked and met at the bike 305 you know and I explained my point to him that day that that that was not necessarily the case there were there was no um insubordinate acts I would say I mean I remember now I remember the title of the email and I listen that those issues when we made those decisions were before we met with him so it was just putting it in context but it wasn't directed at employees other than the three of us Ian I think that was the conversation uh in that email that you're now you're referring to was um that the manager myself and the HR Director um basically was blindsided him or didn't give him all the information because of a response that he had received from the fop who copied you all on some Personnel issue memos okay and Clark I'm going to ask you to put up um the email that's label G we can look at G um e f and g and I believe that's that email that talks about in subordination and you have to go to the PRI one believe that's that's the manager's response yeah let's go look at e let's take a look at e you're getting there that's scroll down that's that's P I don't know what page you're on on there what you got but I'm talking about the one June 30th 2023 at 10:2 okay talk and it's insubordination folks I made a request in meeting three of you which is completely disregarded not disregarded but the total opposite this in subordination will not be tolerated was the city manager rude to commissioner Fernandez during that meeting during our meeting no I think we all had conversations about what was going on I mean you know commissioner I it's not at one point or another I will be honest with you okay as probably the Elder Statesman of the employees and my job is to sometimes tell you all no and I don't I I am a person who is is married to government and I will tell you wholeheartedly and you some of you have heard me say this residents for this police Department are always first but they're not always right they're always first so I think we have had conversations in this de about things that you wanted me to do and I was like listen there's there's ins so those kind of conversations I have with each one of you individually I didn't see this as being something where the manager was screaming or Raquel was yelling uh you know the issue that that upset commissioner Fernandez was he believed that we did not uh were not forthright with him on something that the union brought forward um and I explained this to him it wasn't a question of of whether you know I saw the email when everybody else got it and uh I believe I rode my bike down with you that day to bike 305 day we had a conversation the commissioner was still cons you know upset about it but I think all of you have been upset with me at one time or another including my boss and and you know it's it's sometimes we have to say no that's part of being in these positions so that response he allowed us to talk about it but yes that was that was directed at the three of us yeah Chief I'm sorry to interrupt you I can't remember the last time I was upset at you but I have disagreed with the manager both in the private sector when he was in the city of Miami and both here when he was in the city but there's a difference though MH I've never used that tone in 11 years of being in public office with an employee in the city where I've said someone is being insubordinate when they're not being insubordinate they're telling you the truth but you just don't like the truth and they're telling you the facts and you are unhappy with that I think that's a difference and you have to be honest with us on that front so you know someone you you've sat there and You' told me no and I've said okay not a problem let me give you an example City attorney told me no last week correct we had we had we had a discussion and you told me no FL out no over a matter over the powers that the mayor has and I accepted the city city attorney's comments continue to work together value her as a professional but I'm not going to demean the City attorney and disrespect the City attorney in writing in any form or in person because at the end of the day it has a ripple effect throughout all 1,000 employees here in the city and we end up in situations like this I just see a lot of emails like this that to me set the wrong culture here in this community they have a disagreement I welcome disagreements I've had disagreements on policy with with all members of this commission but at the end of the day there's not emails that leave a level of stain like this so I'm going to follow through on you we've had disagreements before too yes we have this is why I call you all individual usually but again what when I get the okay to do that I mean this manager allows the chief to talk to you and U if I could the the one thing I've learned in this job as your chief for the last nine years was something that then mayor Manny Diaz said at John timy's Memorial you know a commissioner and a manager are made and broken by their police chief in one day and I've taken that that challenge very seriously to make sure sure I don't do anything that would embarrass you all the cities which is why I talk to you all one-on-one very frankly whether you like it or not I'm going to say what I think uh to all of you I mean I I to the mayor's point we have had some heated discussions I think we all have um vice mayor to you as well I mean and the idea is my job is to say no with if with within the police confines the same way the city attorne attorney is the city clerk the manager I think what we're getting down to Mayor to your point is the definition of insubordination within the police department is a terminable offense and my bar for insubordination has got to be a documented and and I have moved to fire people and have fired people within the police department for in subordination because we're a paramilitary structure you know and and so I look at it a little bit differently I don't know what commissioner Fernandez's level of insubordination is mine's a lot higher so I I guess I didn't get as upset about it uh but that's just my training or my my upbringing I guess thank you m may I I appreciate you doing that so and you can you can you can relax you can relax yeah yeah yeah we we all love you Ed we all love you I may agree to disagree with you I may vehemently express my opinions at times but it's in no way uh would I ever call you insubordinate so I touched upon the demands for hiring of of employees I mean we're deliberative body we have to make decisions together okay we don't make you know lead by one we lead by five and the majority obviously rules that is something that this city manager has recognized time and time to get again even if it's a bitter pill for him to swallow even if he doesn't support it he will follow our directions it may not be the direction that the residents want it may not be the direction that he wants okay but he has no choice but to follow it and he has dutifully done so so I I've noticed the level of email activity demanding records on the staff inquiring about bars of soaps and receipts which I I am the worst at keeping receipts okay by the way in case you want I purchased this I purchased these cups so we don't need to get down to this granular level as to wear $117 worth of paper receipts went because you have to recognize something employees are human and so are all of us human we're not perfect even machines are not perfect contractors are not perfect and we're all capable of mistakes the quality though of leadership is when you recognize your mistakes when a human being recognizes their mistakes and learns from them and it also takes a quality that requires you to look in the mirror at yourself and say is this the right thing for leading this forward or is there a better way to do it there's nothing wrong with succession plan like I told you I've already had those conversations with the manager I've already told him if we're having TR trouble attracting folks and this was before your election and after your election with the salary offerings that we have that we may need to raise that salary because this is an relenting job that the city manager does not many people would want to take it on especially with the level of demand this commission places on them there's no secret about it we are a very demanding commission we have a lot of projects going forward there's a lot more we would like to to to go forward with we just wish we could have a money tree able to get them done more to have more contractors able to lay out more sidewalks but there's a limit on supply and demand to be able to get those things done the consumption of time know for staff on these demoralizing things is overwhelming they'd like to get their job done I would like to get my job done which is moving the important projects of the city forward for the residents people have questions people don't know the answers to why weren't the lines painted on the asphalt yet well because it has to cure first okay why is Granada Boulevard all torn up and it's not been repaved yet okay well one because we're putting in a water Force man we're going to wait till it's finished with all the digging and then you repave it but that's that's just a sewer forcement we still got to dig it up again when we go do the septic toour stuff so would you do we want to put a you know this is not a decision for us to make today a finish finish coat on it or would you want to do our best job at smoothing it out in order to conserve taxpayer dollars talk to the county many times about coordinating our efforts for that reason but if you consume staff's time with needless witch hunts for $117 we're going to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to do an audit over a missing receipt or two I'm looking for forward to the audit by the way be great okay rather than trying to put our residents through unforgivable stress and distress in the upheaval of our city many people have approached me and said in I voted for him but you know I thought he was going to bring some good ideas but I'm I'm disappointed I'm sorry I voted for commissioner Fernandez so rather than gaslighting the residents with false representations of what this manager said and pointing him out of the door during meetings and pointing him out of the door during this commission meeting how embarrassing that was I've never seen that throughout the course of this commission's history looked more like a Miami commission City commission meeting than it did Coral Gables that was a sad day in this city unfortunately you're continuing it Forward leadership is a supreme quality of leadership is unquestionable integrity that is something countless people here have said about our city manager yet you want him out of here immediately leadership cannot just go along to get along leadership must meet the moral challenge of the day Reverend Jesse Jackson these are leaders that met the challenge of the day and led peacefully without disruption LED through the most difficult times that we've had in our country with honor I would hope that this entire body could lead forward and that same fashion put about put aside your petty grievances your allegiances your political aims and what is important to you you in your view in your personal view based upon the information that you have and I if you really hold the residents now I think their view of this commission is pretty low because of what type of leadership you've been bringing disagree with that I'll agree to disagree with you you know what they don't talk to you they talk to they talk to others because they don't talk to you let's bring Unity together we can talk about a succession plan let's put it together I would move that we have a succession plan hire an appropriate organization city manager you've done this before to do a nationwide search for a qualified city manager okay I know that there was a suggestion of bringing somebody up in the ranks that had applied for an ACM position before assistant city manager positioned before that person did not succeed at that because they weren't quite ready the person's not quite ready yet today either they need they need to take the necessary training and experience and I'm not referring to city manager uh assistant city manager poo but you're trying to land on the shoulder of a single man the job of this city manager who's serving as building director and has done an excellent job as city manager throughout the history of our city that he's been here what a stark difference this is than where we were prior to that it'll take you a little time to get used to working together with people I implore you to learn those skills so that we can work together as a collegial body rather than animosity and worrying about the next election in the next election I'm done I I yield the floor commissioner Castro okay to begin with I would like to put on the record that I was followed by an undercover detective because I was concerned for my safety and thank you very much Chief Hudak for that I also told my daughter not to go to school today um I've had a drone flying outside of my condo on a 17th floor and sing your jorney to file ethic complaints against me is pretty desperate this is the toxic environment that we are living in in this commission room but let me just make something very very clear I will not be intimidated and you're not going to scare me to change my vote I vote how I believe I should vote and that's the and that's the end of it if you know me you would know that there's no bargaining once I've made up my mind I've made up my mind thank you commissioner I'm not done but thank you okay before I begin I want to express my sincere gratitude to Peter Iglesias for his dedicated service to our city under his leadership we have seen positive developments and accomplishments his efforts have not gone unnoticed however as public officials it is our duty to critically evaluate the performance of our city manager and to ensure that he is the effectively serving the needs of our residents and employees it is with this responsibility in mind that I must address some concerns that have been weigh heavily on my mind I believe that we're currently facing a morale and employee retention crisis within our city while it is important to focus on the numbers and the financial well-being of Coral Gables we cannot Overlook the well-being of our employees we need a city manager who is not only acquainted with Department directors but who is also genuinely cares for every single employee and their hardships we need a leader whose vision is built on the principle of Merit rather than favoritism and who prioritizes the wants and desires of our residents over those of developers moreover it is imperative that our city manager remains neutral with all elected officials and shows respect to each and every one of my colleagues I cannot help but feel concerned when I sense a bias towards certain individuals or agendas trust the trust is the Cornerstone of effective governance and regrettably I find myself unable to fully trust our city manager we cannot turn a blind eye on the concerns raised by our residents or employees nor can we ignore the mounting evidence of mismanagement or misconduct as stewards of this community we have a duty to act in the best interest of Coral Gables therefore it is with a heavy heart and commitment to greater good of our city that I must advocate for a changing leaders leadership when the fundamental principles of transparency Integrity Public Service are compromised we owe it to our community to take decisive action with that being said commissioner Fernandez I second your motion commissioner mandz yes first off I want to say uh to Chief Hudak and the entire police department thank you for not only protecting our residents protecting staff protecting the elected officials protecting everyone in city in the City of Coral gaes I'm truly grateful for the work that you all do uh secondly I'd like to say that um my statement is not directed towards anyone individual none of my colleagues it's just a factual count um it's a factual statement of things that I've witnessed things that I've experienced and things I want to share publicly I want to thank everyone who reached out to me to have a thoughtful discussion and a respectful exchange of ideas concerning this matter it is greatly appreciated to those individuals who have chosen a darker path here is my response I don't respond to threats nor do I bow down to anyone who makes them not now not ever threats were made concerning the election issue threats were made concerning the annexation issue and threats have been made concerning the city manager issue threats intimidation and Mafia like thuggery have no place in Coral Gables no place in society and no place in the heart of mankind there are some who think they can plot and lash out and harm others while hiding in the shadows but I'm letting you know now that a light is coming a light that bright that shines brighter than the Sun and those who remain in the shadows purposely causing harm to others will be revealed now to the key issues and concerns shared with me by Coral Gable's residents and B business owners these past few days one the city has a great many capital Improvement projects currently underway and in the pipeline we can't allow those projects to Fall by the wayside two the city has made improved strides in the working relationship with the county we can't afford to turn the clock back now to a time when the city and the county were at odds three this city has a significant budget and a great Workforce which requires a veteran administrator and with leadership skills at the helm four stability has always been synonymous with Coral Gables stability at the top and throughout our local government is what draws and retains businesses and Investments to our downtown the economic engine of our city it is true that our great city has a long history of seasoned city managers with a wealth of experience in management construction and finance it is true that our great city has a long history of city managers who can motivate and Lead staff to higher Heights of Public Service it is true that our great city has a long history of city managers who have helped bring our community together as one therefore in response to the issue issues and concerns previously referenced and in keeping with our history of outstanding city managers moving forward I believe the city manager for the City of Coral Gables should be Ralph guier the director in CEO of the Miami dat Aviation Department who among his many responsibilities has overseen a $6 billion Capital Improvement project at the Miami International Airport Mr cier a 32 2-year veteran of Miami dat County government has 35 years of experience in the fields of project control critical path method scheduling project management construction Contracting and construction claims Administration Mr coutier has worked extensively in various capacities on numerous Miami Day transic projects of significance including the 248 million metr mover extension project the $88 million Metro Rail extension to the p met Expressway and the $106 million busway extension of Florida City Mr coutier is held in very high Este steam throughout South Florida both professionally and personally he would address and resolve the key issues and concerns of our community as well as be a great addition to our City's long history of excellent city managers for many years to come I have spoken to Mr coutier and I'm very act very excited to report that is ready willing and able to start the conversation with the city concerning the city manager position and I'm thrilled for our residents and our business owners and the city at large for this amazing and unique opportunity therefore I ask commissioner Fernandez to amend his resolution to direct the city to commence discussions with Mr rafka guier to become the city manager for the City of Coral Gables you done sir yeah I am thank you so today we have before us a matter of great importance I'm hoping that this governing body makes the right decision and represents the voice of our community which is to keep moving our city forward under transformative leadership and profound dedication of our city manager Peter gasius over the past 5 years his strategic foresight impeccable diligence and unwavering commitment have elevated Coral Gables to new heights enhancing the quality of life for each member of our community under Mr elasia stewardship Coral GES has flourished witnessing remarkable achievements that have fundamentally contributed to the city's growth and prosperity his role in spearheading strategic development and innovation has been instrumental marked by significant accomplishments in infrastructure Community engagement Public Safety and financial stewardship our city has seen the planning designed funding and implementation of key facilities including a state-of-the-art public safety building station two and the trolley Mains facility enhancing our emergency response capabilities and public transportation system the development of the thing studio and the 427 build more way Development Services Center alongside the renovation of coral Gable's golf and country club and the oversight of the borca garage and Firehouse 4 have significantly bolstered our City's quality of life cor Gable is proud of its 64 neighborhood parks and Open Spaces offering a blend of passive and active recreation activities these spaces linked by sidewalks Pathways bike Lanes serve as vital gathering places underscoring our commitment to community engagement our efforts have been recognized through a community recreation department that is nationally accredited a testament to our excellence in providing recreational services our Citywide Community engagement survey revealed a 94 4% excellence and good quality of life rating reflecting the positive impact of Mr 's leadership in our community living standards the launch of a City website and the introduction of a Citizens request system and mobile app further demonstrate our commitment to transparency and accessibility in governance look at the numbers today over 80% of the individuals that came to this to to the City Hall today spoke in favor even though even though this email will circulate trying to get people to get here I didn't get one email opposing Mr elius Public Safety a Paramount concern has been significantly bolstered during Mr 's tenure Coral Gables remains one of the safest cities in South Florida thanks to increased police and fire Personnel in Innovative programs such as man drone programs and T Health capabilities and our rescue vehicles ensuring our response times remain among the lowest in the region during the unprecedented co9 pandemic Mr iges provided critical leadership issuing guidelines and administrative orders to support businesses and ensure Public Health demonstrating his ability to navigate through crisis with Grace and Effectiveness moreover under his guidance Coral Gables has emerged as an international City in smart city solutions recognized globally for our achievements strategic leadership in the Implement implementation of new financial and operational systems has streamlined City operations enhancing efficiency and servicing Service delivery Mr elasia Commitment to Talent Recruitment and legislative success has strengthened our City's Administration and operational capabilities securing record amounts of state and federal grant funding for various projects his financial stewardship has ensured Coral was maintains a AAA Bond rating with significant reduction in the pensions unfunded liabilities and a healthy general fund balance Reserve show show showcasing our fiscal responsibility yet am this this these accomplishments there have been discussions misunderstandings and criticisms that fail to acknowledge the depth of Mr elasia contribution the exchange between him and commissioner Fernandez often reflects his professionalism and integrity Mr ess's words I work for this commission and if you tell me to do something I will do it underscores his dedication to serve our community and its leaders with respect and commitment as we stand at the crossroads let us not be swayed by cynical agendas or personal vendettas the proposal to discuss the termination of such a dedicated public servant without cause is not only unjust but irresponsible we must ask ourselves why is this happening why would we consider dismissing a leader who has brought about such significant advancements and whose Integrity remains un blemished let us instead focus on the positive on the achievements and on the future let us continue to build on the foundation that Mr glais has helped establish for the betterment of Coral Gables and for all residents we we owe it to ourselves and to our community to make decisions based on reason on evidence and on the truth for our people as we Face the proposal to discuss determination as we've been going through over the last few hours of Mr 's tenure without cause we must question the rationale behind such an action it is imperative that we consider the substantial positive impact of his leadership the unnecessary cost and fiscal irresponsibility of pursuing an unwarranted executive Search and the voice of our residents which have overwhelmingly overwhelmingly been in support we talk about residents first correct there was a call for residents to come out from the cgna emails were sent and we stand here today with an overwhelming support for Mr Iglesias and the voice of our residents who have vouched for his professionalism in conclusion I urge you to reflect on Mr 's achievements dedication and his Integrity let us not be swayed by political agendas but instead focus on the facts the accomplishments and the true will will the true will of our community our decisions and our discussions must be based on reason evidence and a genuine commitment to the betterment of our city together let us stand in support of Peter ganas a leader whose Vision integrity and dedication have not only shaped the Pres the present but will continue to inspire the future of Coral Gables as I mentioned before I've had many many interactions both in the private and the public sector with Peter when he was in the city of Miami I had um the opportunity to engage with him while I visited him uh in reference to a Liney of different structural issues that I was facing for clients every single time he was firm but he was just when I dealt with him on multiple occasions the answer was no to the tune of over $500,000 in one case that was added to the project cost because he found a an issue with an original design that had to be addressed even when there was conflicting views amongst Architects engineers and clients in an effort to try to not spend that amount of money he stood firm in his belief he was unwavering no matter how many lobbyists no matter how many you know Architects Engineers people showed up he was firm that this was the right thing to do as a result of his firmness of his unwavering ability to do the right thing that City that that building stands today in the city of Miami because we found out later that that Designer of that building in the 1970s and 60s had flawed designs and that there was potential issues he caught that in the city of Miami he caught that in a project that I was in we've had many discussions here in the city where the answer has been no where he's told me Vince I cannot support you on this issue you know I think we need to do it this way after having conversations level-headed discussions we've always built we've always built consensus I think it's a shame it's a shame to let this man go he's worked hard he's a resident of the city and after a 40-year career as a professional this is not the way that you deserve to believe so I wholeheartedly support you I'm thankful and grateful for your service and this community has been honored to have you as your city manager and I asked my colleagues in the commission to please let this man stay to do do his job on behalf of his community that he has always put first nobody else so mayor I if I may I just want to bring to light a couple things with uh commissioner mandez's proposal and that is you know we do have an issue at deam International Airport the sky Train been down since September 27th of last year because of concrete damage which means and I'm just assuming lack of inspections lack of follow through in any process where you bring in and hire or have a succession plan for someone you do a thorough background check you do a a nationwide vetting process and again I'll repeat my motion that we need a succession plan we can decide you know who that it who the who gets assigned to do the the Nationwide search what company does it how often they report back to us all these things were open for discussion is said every 30 days we should ask for report back we need to look at the CVS and resumes we have need and have an opportunity to interview that person to ascertain if this is a person that we can work with going forward and have the opportunity for that person to be able to learn the ropes here in a proper manner rather than being thrown into the pool so to speak and expected to swim with the water flow continuing at the same Pace that it is right now so yeah you call it chaos disruption lack of proper transition but that is why businesses in municipalities have succession plans we want to bring up people in the ranks we want them to train under the tutelage of the individual that is departing they may do it differently than new manager may do things differently but you can't hold them accountable for failures when you haven't when you you handicap them going forward if they don't have the opportunity to work with such a qualified city manager I am certain that he he does want to retire in the future and he deserves to retire in the future quite frankly he'll earn more in in the private sector than he does here he does this for the love of our city because he's a resident of our city so Fier may be the the the ultimately the best one that we can uh bring in to work under the wings of this city manager until the time comes to pass the Baton that's the proper way to do things you don't propose a name because you had a conversation with somebody that is the director of the MIM International Airport and because they're willing to to take the the the helm um despite the choppy Waters and despite the transition period That's not necessarily in the best interest of the residents or the city so I would I would expect us to do a professional job have a professional company do a nationwide search that we all have opportunities to review and interview a potential city manager succession working under our current city manager you know I I even had the opportunity to interview assistants coming in here previously I asked staff to First vet out the the unqualified folks and and I could talk to the LA you know the the ones that are the best qualified so I don't have to waste my time doing that we need to do this in a thoughtful process and just not pick a name out of the hat so that's my comments on Fernand I was shocked when you brought the name up um because I've worked with with him in the past uh when I worked in Congress um he was my point of contact uh for many years at the airport uh address many of my concerns and um I've honestly never heard anything bad about this person uh and um in fact everything that I've heard from his employees and I've been reading over the last few minutes is has been positive about the way he operates the way he works the professional that is um I think if we're talking about succession we're talking about assistant city manager searches that have yielded no results um if we have somebody here in Miami date County who would Elevate the position of city manager which I think this would I think this does sound like a path forward for Coral Gables um there were comments made about nobody being interested in this job I was in Tallahassee last week and I had four people approach me interested in the the city manager position or an assistant city manager position in Coral Gables this is the most desirable City to come to this is a city that people want to work at we just need to fix things so uh commissioner I guess your amendment was to to direct the city to um apologize direct the city to commence discussions with Mr Ralph goodier um to become the city Manor for the City of Coral gaes to commence discussions City and Mr C if I may excuse me before before you move forward has everybody here read The Herald over the last 6 months has everybody what have they been say what have they been saying about the airport okay who is the head of the who is the head of the airport who was the who what was his position position before he was facilities director do we really want to go down this route and do this this way my advice to you is very simple let the manager stay if you want to go down this route let this gentleman apply for a position you don't just name somebody on a commission who on on the commission floor who's not even here who can't even speak and we take your word on the fact that we're going to replace him as a city manager that's not the appropriate way to do things the appropriate ways to do things is to go through the process unless a person has been the ACM or the person who works as a staff member here and you want to bring that person up and we've had an experience to work with that individual um I don't think this is the right way of doing things and I'd highly recommend that the manager stays and we don't move in this direction this is not the way that things are done in the private sector you don't bring somebody in without having vetted that person and named them the city manager of the City without having had a conversation vet their interest understand what their capabilities are do they want the job are they interested in the job are they willing to accept the package you know again um I know things are very very difficult in the airport but the gentleman currently has currently has a job and no I I'd like to at a minimum speak with the Miami day County mayor it's a it's a courtesy that you you provide somebody before you go after their employee um so you know that's the way things work in the private sector and I think that this right now what we're doing here is is not the appropriate way to bring somebody forward who could be considered the disc the the the the motion or the the amendment suggested by commissioner Menendez was to have begin the discussion it wasn't again it's not an issue about a discussion it's about there has to be a process and I want to if I'm going to vet people for a position if I'm going to be forced to V for people for a position I want to have a full conversation with as many people who I think are qualified for that position but I still stand with my motion with with my motion that Peter should be the person who was leading us forward he's done nothing nothing wrong he's more than qualified at the end of the day to be here if you want to make a motion to get rid of the manager like you've already done it's a second you want to take a vote on it then you're more than welcome so there there was a motion in a second and then there was the you know the request by by commissioner Mendez so so I will accept your Amendment and I would add to name the the the assistant city manager acting city manager until such time as the new city manager is in place so so have you spoken with the ACM to see if he's willing to accept the job let's so just to be so I understand what the motion is it's a motion to remove the manager Peter Iglesias and then appoint the assistant city manager acting city manager and to begin discussions with Mr Couer correct Mr ACM are you will will you please come forward do you really need to do this can we do this in private i' like ask this is an employee that has rights to his privacy you don't have to put him I am talking okay you don't have to put him here you could speak with him in private I would like to have a conversation with the ACM there there's a motion on the floor that affects his future yeah there's nothing you you don't need to scream at me there's nothing private you're you're getting rid of a manager in front of everybody you don't have you don't have to put a an employee Mr ACM would you please join us he did no one put the employee here the motion put the employee here commissioner Fernandez put the employee here so before we vote we need to be able to hear from this individual Mr ACM are you willing to stay during the course as needed to address the city manager objectives if I may may I have uh five minutes with the city manager take a minute break thank [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Music] see Mr clerk ready give me we ready Mr Mayor ready Mr clerk yes sir okay perfect Madam City attorney Mr ACM will you please join us um so Mr Mayor um I met with both the city man manager and the assistant city manager and I'll use the words that they both used and agreed which is that for the sake of the organization and for our wonderful employees the ACM would accept an interim appointment um as you know as interim city manager until the city manager is appointed but no longer than 3 months um if this motion is adopted or or passes um my office would prepare a resolution detailing with the details of that inim appointment that we would bring back later in the meeting as a standalone for his um appointment so if I may ask my colleagues just as a level respect to R ACM I ask you to please if you're going to have one motion please break that motion down in regards to one being the termination and number two the second one being the appointment for as the interim city manager of Alberto parus okay so your request is that we do two separate motions is am I correct mam City attorney and I have I have another request besides that and that be if we're going to move in the direction that's his that's okay so I guess I will amend my motion to um IM immediately terminate uh the city manager that's the first I guess that's the first motion you have a second I second that Mr clerk vice mayor Anderson for the reasons I have a I have a question I had requested um an amendment regarding um the gentleman that I had mentioned before where is that we'll do that in a second one so it's it's up to you all it's how you want to do that if you want to include it in this motion that's that's up to but I was what I was going to ask was after you're done with what you need to do when the the uh ACM is appointed as interim city manager that we like the vice mayor had mentioned that we go through a thorough review Nationwide search for a competent individual to step in and we include any individual because I had a conversation I had just had a conversation right now with Miami day County mayor and she was very disheartened with the process she says that this is not the most respectful thing to do and it taints the process and uh that she she wish that it would have gone a different way so what my recommendation is if if 3th of this body is going to terminate the manager then I think what we should do on behalf of all the residents in this community especially all them that came out here today why don't we look for the most capable person I've never had the opportunity to sit down with the gentleman that you proposed I think that this should be an individual who's going to move us forward she'll be a person that represents the entire commission the entire city let's have a conversation with this gentleman and anyone else who would like to who would like to throw their hat into the ring uh to be city manager I think the amendment was to open discussions it wasn't to hire him it was to discuss the possibility of hire I heard that again but I I understand that but there shouldn't be a there shouldn't be a discussion it should be let's go and search for the best let's not put ourselves in a position with just one person that I've never even never even had really a formal discussion with I think that's the competent thing to do the reasonable thing to do that's what we do in both the private and the public sector and that person has not worked here in the city of cor Gables um so I'd like to at least if we're going to go down this route let's at least do do what we can to have a robust a real large grouping of people who are competent who are capable who have an interest in the job not just say have a discussion with one person I don't think that's in the best interest of the city so just to to bring this in full light you know I heard that you know Mr was it Couer just quit Miami International Airport the other thing you know when we have discussions with somebody and that's usually because we've already you know agreed to have a that this is is the bid winner on an RFP process but we have to have discussions to iron out the language so the choice has already been made so the meaning of having discussions would mean that we obviate a normal succession plan where you have a a nationwide search a local search or an application the past search that was done was shortly after covid and right before you all um went into office um my understanding city manager was they were not getting any responses at that time so we hit pause and it now would be a good time to restart that again I mean you the city manager initiated that search and after you know with a professional head hunter in an effort to cause a smooth transition in a city in succession so you could retire and go into private business or go on to another city if you chose to do so so that we'd have a smooth and early business so having discussions with someone means you've basically already chosen them having discussion with them would mean that each and every one of us has had an opportunity to sit down with this individual and I'm not going to say that I haven't spoken to Mr Kier before because I have but I haven't had the level of discussion with him that I would have normally if I'm going to choose the next CEO basically of our city leading us forward evaluating the experience and capabilities of that person and matching them up against other individuals so having a discussion means you've made a choice we need to have discussions with more than one person in order to do comparison and evaluate what's best for us our city going forward commissioner Menendez do you want to clarify your Amendment does it exactly mean that we are hiring the person that you recommended or does it mean that we're going to give them the opportunity after we meet with them to consider him being hired that's exactly the point since it's been said over and over and over again not only during this commission meeting but for days and that seems weeks now from pretty much everyone I've discussed with that it's impossible to some find somebody qualified that it's impossible that there's nobody wants the job nobody qualifies for the job on and on I think searches have been done and um the fact that someone so qualified so capable at least is would entertain a conversation I think that's something we definitely should pursue considering that the mantra's been nobody wants this and nobody ever you know would ever come to cor Gables I think it's an opportunity to sit down and have a conversation that's what it's about so I would invite a conversation with that person with each and every one of us and that it be also opened up to others who are interested again the last search was done sometime after covid for a period of time and and the Head Hunter said listen I I can't find anybody it's time to start that again I don't fault you for putting on the agenda succession plan what I fault you for commissioner Fernandez is the abrupt removal of somebody without cause without any cause whatsoever other than your perceived personality conflict okay your memo provides no cause you use the word insubordination when in fact that was a misstatement of fact when you misstate facts that are the basis for your motion normally in the court of law it fails okay so there was no insubordination here here not based upon what was written in your memo I think that's been proven so I would like to have an orderly succession plan like I told you before I've had that discussion before with the city manager I said we need to evaluate what the pay ranges need to be in order to attract the best and the brightest to our city because we require the best and the brightest services to our residents in this city I have a question by putting that Amendment are we closing out the possibilities of looking for another candidate but what you're but what you're doing is you're sending a message that is the preferred candidate and there isn't a process where that person can potentially apply if they are interested in the job I I just don't know why we would pigeon hole ourselves and and only choose one person if we're trying to get the best let's cast a wi net and see who who lands maybe it is Mr CER who who who who is interested in the job but I I think that if you want to work with if you want to work with with the commission and with staff and you want to work with everybody then open it up we we shouldn't be afraid to have other people uh join the contest it shouldn't just be about one person that we're having a conversation with so I'll repeat the motion I made earlier because apparently it was missed and that is that we open it up for having a search for an assistant city manager in order to be able to carry our city forward in a logical and smooth fashion so that we have the best results for our city going forward commissioner forette sorry there's already a motion that's been motioned and seconded so we can't have two competing motions what I'll ask commissioner the question that I have for you is um do you want that to amend the termination and then have a separate item on the ACT the uh the interim uh city manager my initial request was to have the amendment that I proposed with your legislative item okay and then obviously now that the ACM has agreed to stay on board for three more months uh and acting city manager capacity I guess that would be the second okay so I there's been many conversations about the process and what's happened in the past we went to a national search we hired somebody and we had to remove them within 24 hours National search Was Then followed up by a local search which yielded just one candidate um commission there are different ways to do this commission I was there but let me let me just correct you I understand Mr say you cannot interrupt me though I I have the floor right now but it's not about interrupting it's about you have to give a little bit more background of the you just said we search Let me just explain to you I'm not I and you you you can talk after I finish let me complete my my comments there have been several processes I asked the the city clerk to send me the different processes that have been followed in the past um and every commission has opted to go in a different direction when we appointed city manager eaus we promoted him from within um Kathy Swanson rybark was a single candidate that that came up um Pat Salerno was a national search James Beard was a national search uh Carmino laaba was an in-house candidate that was promoted for nine months there are different ways to do this I believe we have a candidate on the floor who would be a step forward for our city we have an ACM who's willing to take a position for 3 months we can't go to a national search it's going to take 2 and a half 3 months and then where where are we I think this is a path forward this individual according to commissioner Mendez has said he's interested in the position um so I will accept that amendment to I want to clarify he's U would he's um ready willing and able to have that conversation with the city so uh I would I will accept your your friend L Amendment and I would ask that you lead the efforts to communicate uh with him uh and work on that discussion so if I may I me so that's my Amendment just for the record to be clear we we did do multiple National searches Mr beard I don't want to disparage his name uh was a person that was chosen within 24 hours he was let go because the background check had failed there was certain things that came back that we did not think were appropriate we were reimbursed of $50,000 for the National search that was done by a local firm so again you want to move in this direction you know you have you have all the ability you have the votes move forward I'm just asking you to please split it so that I can vote in vote in favor of having uh R ACM stay as the interim yes so so I am splitting it this is the uh termination of the city manager and commissioner mendez's uh Amendment um that's the item that's on the floor now so do I second it again right so are you are you okay with the amendment yes I am okay with it okay vice mayor Anderson for the reasons I extensively address during my comments no commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Menendez yes mayor logo no so before we move forward I would like to have our manager for the moment uh provide us some parting words please I just have a brief comment I'm here I want to thank those who expressed allocates for me today I appreciate each and every one of you thank you very much uh thank you mayor and vice mayor and all those past members of commissions that we worked together for the past five and a half years it was an absolute privilege working with all of you and to my team I hope you're as proud as I am about all that we've accomplished I leave behind an unbelievable team probably the best in day County uh God bless you all and God bless cor Gables Mr manager one second please the the clerk would like to say few things Mr Mayor before the manager leaves I wanted to say a few words not just on my behalf but behalf of your team as well uh you know through my tenure here in the city of cor Gables I've had the privilege of working with different managers and none of them ever come back to the city and I honestly thought that would be different for Peter because of his history and because I know the kind of man that he is I desired for Peter to get the farewell that other City officials get because he deserved as much as I acknowledge that this may be Peter's final time here in City Hall you know it would be remiss of me not to express my gratitude towards him Peter I extend my thanks to you for your leadership your integrity and your guidance and although you never appreciated my impeccable taste in socks and I've never lived up to your high standards for pencil pencil sharpening uh your dedication hard work and calm demeanor have always been invaluable I'll miss you my friend and as you exit this chamber today do so with pride and with your head held high knowing the impact you've made in each and every one of us take comfort in knowing that your legacy will live on through the countless projects and the countless peoples you've influenced I will truly miss you thank you very before we move on to the naming of the interim city manager I'd like to say a few words as someone who has grown up amidst the vibrant streets and the Lush Greenery that Define our city Coral Gable is a city beautiful has been my home my sanctuary and it has been an immense privilege to serve you the heart and soul of this community as an elected official however it is with a heavy heart that I address you today under circumstances that I am deeply disappointed in for years we have prided ourselves on being a city that acts with the best interest of its residents at heart a place where decisions are made through careful deliberations and a keen sense of responsibility yet it seems we have come to a day where the very principles that should guide us are overshadowed by personal vendettas and irrational impulsive decision-making I must express my profound concern over the recent actions taken against our city manager this decision made in haste and without do regard for the professionalism that has always characterized our City's Administration paints Coral Gables in an unflattering light it signals of departure from reason governance casting us as unprofessional in the eyes of those who look to us for leadership make no mistake the manner in which the city manager has been removed not only undermines our credibility but also sets a dangerous precedent for the future it sends a message to our city employees and to all that the personal grievances can triumph over the collective good a notion that stands in stark contrast to the values we hold dear to govern is a privilege a sacred trust bestowed upon us by you the residents of coral GES it is our duty to uphold this trust with the utmost integrity and to ensure that our actions always reflect the best interest of those we serve today however we have the we have witness an abuse of power an act that betrays the very essence of our responsibilities the city manager whom we have been fortunate to have at the helm of our Administration is among the most professional individuals I have ever had the pleasure of working with his dedication to Coral Gables has been unwavering his commitment to Excellence unmatched we are indeed blessed to have him serve our community in closing let us remember that the strength of our city lies not in the decisions of a few but in the collective will of its people it is together that we must navigate these challenging times always striving to act with dignity respect and a deep-seated commitment to the common good so moving forward I'd like to please call our ACM up we have another vote to take correct Madam City attorney correct so you all can appoint him as as you know as as he under the I guess U with the parameters he indicated um but wait one second but once if if there's a successful motion on that then I would ask that you know my office can prepare a separate resolution with the details of that appointment that we would bring back for a second vote another vote later this meeting I'd like to make a motion to make Albert the interim city manager and I hope that there's a process that does not named just one person city manager here in this community I hope that we have an opportunity to have everyone embark on that process even if it is you or if it's not you I've known you for a long time you're a great individual you're a great Steward you're an honest man and I hope I hope that there is an opportunity for real transparency in this community there's a motion on the floor a second commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes mayor logo yes and if I may Mr Mayor I know this has not been an easy decision for you and I know this has not been an easy process for you but I thank you for putting the city first and for serving our city with dignity Mr Mayor I just want to point a clarification so the direction was to begin discussions with Mr cier so if for whatever reason those discussions are not successful and there's no you know there's we don't reach an agreement with him to become city manager or was that is that a conversation that will happen at that point because right now staff doesn't have any other direction I just want to make that clear I would bring it back I'll bring it back okay an up and this is why I I suggested that we don't just look at a solitary candidate just like when you're purchasing anything or you're interviewing people you need to compare your candidates and choose the best for our city remember Mr jier was was essentially forced out he's resigned we need to look carefully I've learned in my law practice when when clients move lawyers a lot problems usually for the client not the lawyers so Mr interim city manager please join us what I'm requesting from my colleagues on the commission is that we have a lunch for the next 30 minutes when we come back I would like to address all the items on the commission except the commission is willing I'd like to move any City commission items I'd like to move all those items to the next commission meeting as we've already had a pretty long day so please consider that during your lunch and we'll be back in 30 minutes at 3:45 ite what items it stop [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] all right perfect let's get let's get to the meeting thank you all right we're back on Mr Mayor moving on to item E1 the ordinance I'm sorry mayor item E1 is an ordinance of the city commission amending section 14- 103.3 meeting panel review full by full board conflict resolution meeting special Master quasi judicial Hearing in order to amend certain in procedures related to the conflict resolution and special master quas judicial process for appeals of decisions by the board of Architects providing for repealer provision severability clause codification enforceability and providing for an effective date this is a public hearing item so I I didn't know mayor if you and if the participants wanted to table this for the next meeting or you want to just rock and roll with it let's go fine I mean it's pretty simp recording in progress good afternoon mayor and Commissioners this item is on second reading there have been some small changes since it was last on first reading including um and note that uh this would not become effective until there is a full complement of special Masters ready to serve on a panel as needed we have a motion I'll move it and if no one if everybody's happy with the language as it is I'll second okay commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes mayor logo yes moving on to E2 E2 is in orance of the city Commission providing for text amendments the city of cor Gable's official zoning code Article 15 notices section 15-12 notice to amend requirement for the applicants required public information meeting to occur prior to review by the board of Architects and to require additional registration information for future notifications to be including in meeting to be included in meeting notice providing for repealer provision severability clause codification and providing for an effective date this is a public hearing item commissioner Mendez oh um based on what I heard planning and zoning uh they wanted instead of just moving a meeting um at a second right and I'm comfortable with that I think this is what I'm going to suggest so we don't burden our small businesses that have to come before the board that you know the second meeting requirement go for projects that are 20,000 ft² and up so that you know the majority of the concerns of the residents are dealt with so they get to see those projects and they're not going to be worried about a you know what do they call it a cafe window and the side of a building that's not their big concern their concern are these large projects coming in their communities so that's my friendly Amendment absolutely okay have a motion I'll move it I'll second Mr cook is there any comment no Mr Mayor all right commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes mayor L yes moving on to E3 E3 is an ordinance of the City commission approving and granting to pivotal utility Holdings Inc doing business as Florida City Gas its successors and assigns a non-exclusive g gas franchise imposing provisions and conditions relating there to providing for monthly payment of a franchise fee to the city providing for adoption of representations repealing on ordinances and conflict providing a severability clause and providing for an effective date this is a public hearing item there have been no changes since first reading that's what I was going to say there have been no changes since first reading perfect I'll entertain a motion if there's no comment I'm move it second vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes mayor Lago yes all right moving on to item G1 city manager items G1 is a resolution of the city commission opposing the state preemptions in Senate Bill 1084 and House Bill 1071 on electric vehicle charging infrastructure good afternoon mayor and Commissioners Naomi Levy Garcia assistant City attorney these bills are comprehensive pieces of legislation that make necessary updates to a multitude of areas regulated by the Department of Agriculture and consumer services they contain a single line that would preempt the city's regulations on electric vehicle charging stations um they were recently updated in 2022 and for that reason we've brought it forward for your consideration any questions no just a comment um we brought this uh up to our lobbyist in Tallahassee uh the recommendation was we not take a stance on this one because of um our current initiatives that they're pushing up in Tallahassee um the next one they were considering they were okay with this one they had some concerns because of the sponsors of these items um so that was their recommendation up there again I think we should take a stand on this position I think it's important there shouldn't be any preemption in regards to electric vehicle charging infrastructure I think it's important what is the opinion of staff I mean you all as a commission have passed very Progressive EV ready ordinances um over the years um so it's up to you guys as a body would there be an option to defer it after we speak to our lobbyist maybe we all want to have some more Intel but I have Intel I mean I I know where I stand on this issue I'm pretty sure of it um I I have an electric vehicle my house runs on solar we have some of we've invested a lot of money in EV infrastructure and if we're going to be as sustainable as possible I know the government is St of Florida may have some issues with it and I respect those issues but I don't recommend preemption in regards to EV infrastructure so I'm ready to move forward on this I think we should take a vote on it yeah I I don't see why the state should be concerned when larger cities such as ours with residents that want need and desire more electrical vehicle charging infrastructure why they should be pushing back I mean they going to have to push back against the county they're going to have to push back against a lot of folks you know you know I understand in some rural areas they may may need to deal with it differently but I think that's up to the local government there and not up to Tallahassee um I I you know I I had not heard any push back from lobbyists either right so I have spoken with our lobbying team as you all know these resolutions are largely symbolic so it's just a matter of how important is the topic to you is it important enough that you feel inclined to take a public position we have a general statement on our legislative agenda that is opposed to preemption um across the board so you know that statement would apply to the scenario as well as any other scenario dealing with the preemption but given the commission's PED action and the recent Amendment to the zoning code uh that increased the requirements for Ev ready infrastructure in most new construction we thought you may want to consider this but again it's fully up to the commission it's probably not going to um make or break the success of the bill in the long term but something for you all to consider yeah I mean it's like our historic preservation um issue which I've repeatedly discussed with during my meetings with the representatives from this summer my last meeting was in January um you know if we don't take a stand on where we are on these important issues then Tass he's not going to know that's my concern if it looks like we don't care then they're going to just move forward on it and it's you know it's something important for our community historic preservation as well as EV charging so I don't I don't see where you know this is any different than any other resolution we have brought to state that we don't um favor these types of preemptions I have a request any other items I mean going forward um I'd like to get an official position by our legislative team our lobbying team Tallahassee because it's they're on the ground and if there's certain sensitivities you know uh as we get close to the end of session gets very heated and I just want to make sure that obviously I mean I think I know my position on this topic but um the repercussions you know it's the political uh animal in tassey and I just want to make sure that we're getting advice or at least guidance or at least information from our lobbying team so just as a matter of course I speak to our lobbying team on an almost daily basis I get their input on every single legislative question before I bring it to you but um I was prompted by the commission's uh actions in the recent past but we can I can shop around resolutions before they're placed on the agenda that's certainly something we can do and let you know the lobbying team's input on each of those resolutions I will tell you they tend to be conservative when it comes to this kind of thing because why Rock the Boat right like right so you have a motion I'll second you have a you're making the motion oh I'll move I'll move it second lost track I'm sorry I'm sorry who second it yeah okay commissioner Castro I understand your stance both of you and and I I have to say I agree with it however I think strategically right now is not the time and so no commissioner Fernandez I I agree with commissioner Castro I think based on the advice that we got from our experts on the ground that we shouldn't take a stand on this issue right now um I think we're all on the same page on this issue we all agree that the preemption is not a positive thing um but I think I need just need to listen to The Experts on this and and vote this down so no no commissioner Mendez same rationale uh I was there when they specifically mentioned these items I'm absolutely in in um I back the the the essence of it but because of we're in the session and what was we were told I'll vote no on this one vice mayor Anderson uh yes mayor logo yes moving on to item G2 thank you Naomi thank you for G2 too G2 is a resolution of the city commission appointing sen opposing Senate Bill 1526 and House Bill 1647 which would limitate local government's ability to preserve certain historic structures that are located sew to the Coastal Construction Control line established by Section 16155 3 Florida Statutes so these bills if enacted would prohibit a city from protecting could potentially prohibit a city from protecting local historic structures from Demolition when those structures are not classified as single family residential homes are located seaward of the Coastal Construction Control line and do not comply with the base flood elevation requirements for new construction issued by the national flood insurance program um based on our analysis it does not appear that the city has any buildings that would be subject to this preemption because the Coastal Construction Control line does not run adjacent to Coral Gables it actually affects uh the Barrier Islands however because it's a preemption because you've taken similar positions on similar bills in the past we've brought it forward for your consideration and there is all always the risk that it could be expanded in future years to impact the city so one second me quick question so is this something else that the governor or the state legislature Senate is is obviously would not be in favor of us moving forward with I'm sorry your question is this in the same vein as G1 it's in the same vein as G1 in the sense that it is a preemption you'd be taking a symbolic position um doesn't directly impact the city as currently drafted but the governor's position is contrary to the position we're taking correct well the governor hasn't you know taken a position as of yet but state house senate yes it has it it's moving in the legislature by all appearances it will probably be enacted so this is something that again could potentially anger anger our our elected officials like G1 would have correct correct okay so we have a motion yes I moved it and this was one of the ones that was not recommended that that we could actually um vote right the second we were told that since we have proactively been advocating on this issue before there'd be no no issues with them passing this resolution Mr clerk a motion a second I'm sorry I know vice mayor Anderson second that who moved it commissioner Cas commissioner Cas commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes mayor logo yes thank you very much Naomi moving on to item G3 G3 is a resolution of the city commission authorizing the city staff to negotiate an executed contract with freebie to provide on demand public transportation services for one year with two one-year options at an amount not to exceed $52,750 annually pursuant to section 26077 of the procurement code code entitled exemptions the uh resolution generally outlines the terms of the agreement we're proposing uh one thing I want to make clear is we did one year with two optional one-year extensions just to make sure that each of the successive years we have the matching funds from fdot so we are guaranteed the funds for this coming fiscal year and uh as long as those funds reoccur and are approved in future years we would continue for the three years but it is contingent on the continuing funding from the state so mayor if I made so that's a change we would make to the resolution just to make that to clarify that make it more clear that the two one-year options um uh are subject to availability of State funding yes thank you very much I'll move it second uh Mr Mayor we have a member of the public requesting to speak on the item Maria Cruz okay commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes mayor logo yes moving on to G4 mayor G4 I I'll read the title but it's going to change it's a resolution of the city commission extending the time for continued negotiations regarding a potential lease renewal with the ten of 60 mer way operating as Spritz and fron beer house prior to the next commission meeting um as you all have been made aware there's a an agreement on on principle on on the terms for the market rent and so really the resolution should be uh granting an extension for the city attorney's office to prepare an amendment um for the lease renewal and authorizing uh the city manager to execute such Amendment correct how are you good afteron mayor commissioner Zeta sardinia's asset manager I think the City attorney explained it compl completely um we're in the process of drafting an an amendment for um for review by his attorney and and Mr Neck excellent work excellent work I want to commend you and I want to com commend the city manager Peter gasius for we were looking at $34 correct 34 30 the payment the previous the Senora Martinez current rent which is what the tenant originally requested is $31 $31 so we're getting it we're going up to $50 correct $50 sir yes that's a big win that's a big deal so I congratulate you on on getting it getting it to that point um the assistant city manager was the city manager it was it was a it was a good job and again this is what a good deal looks like so I'm I'm in favor of of extending the 5year lease with this $50 per square foot which I think makes sense is it in line with market rate and I want to also uh thank both of you um Mr city manager and and Miss asset manager um I heard only positive things about the negotiation process over the last three weeks um the way you governed yourselves with true respect for them and coming out and finding Solutions so I really appreciate the work of both of you on this item thank you I need a motion I'll motion I'll second Mr Mayor we have a member of the public requesting to speak on the item Maria Cruz okay vice mayor Anderson yes Commission Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner mandz yes mayor Lago yes thank you thank you moving on to H1 H1 is a resolution of the city commission approving a stipulated settlement agreement between the City of Coral Gables and business improvement district of Coral Gables Inc um Mr Mayor as you know the city manager city manager Peter gesas and I attended a mediation in this um case in this litigation what is before you is the settlement agreement that was um that that was agreed upon during that mediation you I have briefed each of you individually I provided the final version of the agreement to you I guess very early this morning um the only and the key terms were in the resolution in the cover memo the only change in the key terms from what's in there to the the actual settlement agreement is that the the resolution said that the notice of voluntary dismissal would be within 10 business days the agreement says five business days um but otherwise the terms are set forth therein I can go through them if you'd like or or if you have any questions no questions I don't have any I reviewed it early I'll move it do we have hold on one second do we have any comments from from from anybody here yes Mr Mayor EST Cil how are you good hello hello cila with Law Offices at 232 Andalusia suet 230 um one of the properties that's assessed attacks by the bid um I've been a constant sort of instigator for for truth and for the actual records that the bid has maintained in this litigation I just want to make it clear the bid has yet to still produce any of the documents that were requested of them either the financial documents any public records it's basically just delayed delayed delayed until the city has folded into this agreement to stipulate a settlement I think it's completely unfair I think it's completely wrong the bid has not provided any of the information that the city has asked for they have not provided any production in the litigation the city filed a motion to compel not even two or three weeks ago so I don't know what substantially changed between the position where they were saying that you know they've essentially evaded all their obligations their fiduciary duties absconded with the money and now suddenly we want to go ahead and let them lead the way and turn over these funds and manage it over the last year and a half the city has produced all of the events we haven't lost any additional you know Halloween arches Christmas trees concerts on the Plaza basically the same functions that they were already doing the city has stepped into the shoes of this defunct delinquent organization and has done it successfully and frankly as a property owner that owns commercial property my personal property taxes increased 10% so the difference in the budget that you all have raised in other words doesn't necessitate an additional special tax taxing district to continue to tax me for services that the city could already provide my question to Madam City attorney is what what is the number of dollars that they actually ran away with and what are they planning to do with that and why is this not under a receivership so the the number of dollars the exact number of dollars is we're still waiting on confirmation that's one of the things that they will need to provide to us the exact starting balance with with reasonable documentation showing what that balance is um they currently do not have staff so that's why they they could not give us that number but what they can use the funds for is basically the purposes for which it was collected consistent with state law under chapter 170 so it's only the purposes for which it was collected and we put in the agreement some examples of the types of uses there's also a process for coordination with the city so if they have the intent to to put on some of the events the city has been putting on um they will notify the city so there can be coordination and we avoid duplication or any conflict of events with respect to anub there's no commitment that here that there will be a new business district established I know that was one of your concerns um the city will explore such a possibility but it will go through the full process um and what that business district if and when it is adopted or established will not necessarily look how it looks now it will be like I said we'll go through the process and we'll have to be what's in the best interest of the city so is it the case that they didn't produce any of that information in the last two years at the request of either the commission or under the court case I'm sorry what was the question so then it they haven't produced that information whether it's been almost two years that the city we do not have the documentation showing exactly what the balance is no but that is part of the settlement they're going to give us that amount as part of the settlement agreement it's a path forward to to get some certainty on that and to provide for a a reasonable um expenditure of the remaining funds um for the purposes for which it's collected with some over with with the oversight of the city so this is what troubles me it's been almost two years and all they have to do is look at their bank statement and provide us with a balance and this is just another example of them pushing the city into a position where they're just cornered they're cornering you all into not complying with any of the documentation not providing transparency and misusing our public funds like we're taxpayers this is taxpayer money it's not just play money and it's our money it's my money as a as a commercial property owner here in the district and I think it's wrong that we're just letting them enter into a STI at settlement where they've not provided any of the information either at the commission's request either under threat of litigation or under litigation or even responded to a motion to compel in the court it doesn't make sense that we would now say no problem we'll sign the stipulated settlement and hope that you give it to us within 5 days why can't we defer this ask them to submit all the documents that they're promising and then we could come back and give them something along the lines of it is what they're requesting I think this is a complete breach of their fiduciary duties and I think by approving this stipulated settlement you all are really failing us the taxpayers that contributed into this fund that was for a specific purpose not for them to litigate against the city and go Rogue so Madam City attorney can you give me a little bit more background in regards to what documents we could get a we could potentially get our hands on if we were to defer this what does it look like if we could have another meeting with them and say listen comply with request for documents balance you know actual copies of your balance from the bank um how do what are the last expenditures it was 6 months a year so mayor the agreement Pro you know part of the agreement was that that they would have the time to provide that to us um we we had like I said a dayong mediation with the with the city manager um and and they were insistent that they were just having uh they needed time to provide this documentation if if we do not if this is not approved as is then we have to go back and negotiate let me ask you a question if we if if we approve this today and they do not provide the documents obviously they're not going to get the money no they have the money mayor yeah say but they're not going to be to have the use of the money they have we would have to we would enforce the settlement agreement okay well the option that you have that we haven't discussed is whether or not we can amend the terms of this agreement we countered it you know it does happen in mediation where you know you have to wait for your board of directors here to speak and being that we haven't looked looked at every single point there how many days and so forth and after this discussion we don't even have any bank statements at all so the the the the starting balance or the remaining balance was one of the the big points of of negotiation and they would they agreeing to provide us that within 30 days of this effective date with reasonable documentation showing what that starting balance is that was a heavily negotiated point but again we don't have any statements whatsoever we're clueless right as to what this balance is nothing not even an estimate the the estimate I have is $570,000 that's an estimate as and that was their estimate based upon what date I I don't know exactly what date but in the last you know maybe as as of a month ago perhaps I'm not sure did they have a copy of a bank statement that we're relying on I have not seen anything like that um vice [Music] mayor sounds to me to me like they really weren't prepared for mediation they didn't even have a single bank statement with them I don't know if they did or not I haven't seen it can we make this this agreement contingent upon them producing the uh the statements when you say cont So when you say contingent what do you mean that that once we have the information on the starting balance then if if we get that then it's enforcable so that's something that they would have to agree to I can you know I can try to see if we can get them on the phone but they would have to agree to that no I I understand but um the ones didn't come to the mediation prepared so what's the will of the commission what would you like me to do I mean I think we should defer there's a there's unanswered questions and I think that it's better to just take a step back and and see what we can work through the process I think my biggest concern is it should be at least the bank statement should be something that can be provided rather quickly um so that at least we have answer on that question and that was one of my first questions to you when when we spoke about this agreement how much money were we talking about um because we have 10 days from the execution of this agreement to terminate 5 days to dismiss the lawsuit but we still won't have the documentation M question um any litigation fees can that be deducted from that balance that's on the bank from their part whose litigation fees the bids so I don't I don't know what has been deducted from their balance I do not know because because if they give us a little snapshot of what's in the bank account it really really didn't reflect if they're going to go ahead and withdraw all the money they've been in litigation for hiring attorneys yeah I don't I don't know what they have done so just knowing what's in the bank account really won't be if I may um to my point is that there's been no transparency with the city so they're asking you to sign off on a stipulated agreement saying that you could no longer go after them or their officers or anybody related to the bid on any of these related claims to the money that's been absconded but they haven't provided as the City attorney as the attorneys for the city said they haven't acted in good faith they've engaged in repeated conferral with the defendant however the city's efforts have been met with delay and baseless boilerplate objections there's been a complete lack of response or or any correlating lack of reasonable effort on the part of defendant to engage in good faith Discovery there's there's no reason for us to believe them now that suddenly when they have an agreement that says that we're going to dismiss all claims against them in 5 days that they're actually going to do what they're intending to do they've never made us comfortable even under threat of litigation under litigation or any step of the way for us to now believe that suddenly they're going to come up with all these long list of items that they now need to turn over so let me ask you a question Madam vice mayor are you are you will you be interested in deferring this item to have our City attorney move in a direction where they could speak with a bid yes I I think uh dismissal of this action at this point is not a good idea until these terms are resolved and the documents are provided so so I just want to that that's fine if that's a will the commission but I would just like to explain when a purpose of a settlement agreement is because litigation is is unpredictable it's costly and this was a way to kind of resolve and have a path forward um in a case that's um you know has its challenges um but Madam City attorney I understand that and I support you and I'm willing to move forward but I don't think we have support of the commission so my my my intent is to defer the item and then you know see how we can see we can get a little get some support from the bid with just a minimal documentation and an effort to Garner Goodwill okay to the vice mayor's Point she asked about can we do a contingent are we able to approve it contingent un receiving at least the funds balances prior to the the the the lawsuit being dismissed that gives you a little parameter to try to get the documentation if that's a motion you would like to make doesn't derail the whole process I think we can do that motion and if if I don't get what then it would be of no consequence I guess that would be you know something to kind of move things along I'll move it just second my worry here is that the longer we take the more time they're going to be paying their attorneys and the less money we're going to receive it's always a concern with litigation right but I think with this it gives us a little cover because it instructs the City attorney to try to get this information before the agreement is is agreed to if we get this documentation prior to the so to be clear the documentation about the starting balance something the show is starting balance understood okay which has been the biggest question mark that we've had throughout the whole process have a motion in a second Mr Mayor before we move on we' have one additional member of the public requesting to speak on the item Jackson Holmes I thought we lost him he's through Zoom okay okay holes uh thanks so much I don't know if you can see me um but um I I'm glad that you're uhu you're you're moving to postpone it oh there there we finally got it um I apologize i' I've been under doctor's care here so not that anyone cares but uh I was in the Emer I was hospitalized about a week ago and uh um I'm not trying to make you feel sorry for me but I am trying to explain my absence um so I wish I had made a stronger presence and presentation in both items today that I've been interested in yes please postpone this uh for uh uh to to get the requisite uh materials you discuss okay um we have a motion in a second anything else no commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes mayor loo yes all right um I have three items thank you I have three items F items that we're going to be going over I'm going to defer all my items we have f17 F10 and f-13 if there's anything else anybody needs to hear or they're willing to defer I'm deferring all my items except f17 because staff says that it's time sensitive in regards to um a house build U so we'll start with f17 f17 is a resolution of the city Commission of supporting house Memorial 517 and Senate Memorial 800 urging Congress to support solutions that examine the pollution differential between the Us and other countries that hold foreign polluters accountable for their pollution Naomi good afternoon again um these house the house Memorial and the Senate Memorial are both also symbolic gestures by our Florida legislature and if you were to pass the resolutions in support of those memorials um it would be consistent with past uh action the commission has taken in regards to establishing a carbon dividend tax and carbon adjustment at the border this is something that we've talked about on multiple occasions here before and we've had consensus yeah we've had a resolution before this is the item that um I sent you some reading material on uh I actually attended that conference and you know the as they say the devils in the details and working out the the pricing so mayor I'd be happy to move it I'll second commissioner Fernandez yes commissioner Mendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes mayor loo yes thank you thank you neomi uh item F10 which one was that thank you Mr Mayor um I had uh discussed this with um the manager earlier I don't know if uh you were ready for this item we have a a presentation for uh this site yes you want to move to the next one come back can we just move to the next one okay here it is here we go Recreation Fitness microphone good afternoon um we wanted to present to you is the rooftop uh pickle ball feasibility study that has been discussed um we uh we had a group that looked at a consultant that is uh well versed in parking lots and then also placemaking and um so I'm going to go into a little bit of the design it's a quick presentation not too long so this is the proposed rooftop plan what we're looking at is we're looking at garage 4 which is across the street from the publ based on what they looked at the design it would be in the the top floor you would still have access in terms of cars that would be up there on one side on the North side and then we're looking at eight courts there would be an office space and bathrooms then you'd be able to do a waiting area in the middle the court dimensions that we looked at we looked at what would be proper for up to tournament play which gets you up to 34 ft wide and then up to 60 4 ft in length there's a cross-section of what it would look like in terms of the fencing you'd have three foot high fencing dividing the quarts on the North side near the cars you'd have a six- foot fence but on the other side so you prevent any action on the street you'd have to have a 12ft fence and that's kind of what the cross-section looks like and you can see the scale finally in terms of the cost and what the the feasibility what they provided for us was a order of magnitude pricing um total cost for the pickle ball portion of it you're looking at $786,500 now there's an alternate for the parking garage so um you need if you added an elevator that's another cost and that elevator their rough order of magnitude pricing was $719,000 if you wanted to add the elevator cuz that parking lot currently does not have an elevator does that have a Contin on it yes it does they added the contingency on both um and we looked at it um and there's it's all here the analysis the soft cost contingency and all the stuff that's in there we looked at it we did the we did the standard that we're doing um within the city so um that's the cost that's what the design would look like um using that rooftop obviously the next step would be you know presenting it like we did in the past for pickle ball plan for f for funding and financing come budgeting it's a good time to discuss this if you want us to move forward with putting a a funding request and looking at considering it for the budget we can do that as well so um I'm going to dub tail you here because I I was in a discussion with the city manager's office and looking for ways to be able to try to deliver this a little quicker okay um then so and I got to tell you I'm the guinea pig on this thing right here it's blurry I could see the screen better than I could see this it came out blurry so I couldn't make out the numbers okay but one of the expensive pieces that we could possibly um address with an agreement with one of the businesses downstairs that's right in the first block of Miracle Mile is sharing of the restroom facilities and putting in our transition plan uh putting in the restrooms later we already dealt with you know cuz I had the city attorney's office do the research on whether or not we had to have high top Vans being able to get to uh the top level uh because we do have other pickle ball courts and other areas that are fully accessible with high top Vans um we are okay with not being able to get a high top van up to the top floor um I think we can do something similar here on a restrooms and I base that upon my experience on litigation and other Ada cases there's a a restaurant here that has an accessible bathroom there's one in the other uh facility that it's not uh readily achievable to be able to install a bathroom there and that's a title three type case um that we can work on an agreement with one of the businesses so I think something we can explore to bless Youk um bring down a cost or at Le and be able to deliver the pickle ball court sooner and an under tile to placing something in your transition plan to to build the bathrooms in it as at a later point in P time might be an option if we have a willing business may I just would be remiss if I didn't mention we do have uh men's and women's bathrooms on the first floor of the garage they may need to be remodeled or spruced up a little bit but they are we can clean them at least they are on the first level and we have both men's and women's bathrooms on no no I don't I don't mean to be degrading on stuff but one of the businesses that's you know someone could go and get some of these when they go down there to use the restroom might be very willing to allow us to let people come down here right and use it plus uh not to direct people to Publix but a lot of people use Publix's bathroom I'm guilty of that from time to time when I'm zipping through the neighborhood so um I mean we do have some other options it's not sure we I mean so I guess would you be able to come back to us maybe next meeting with a Bare Bones yep uh plan something that we may be able to get done sooner rather than later sure so if I just may add this again I support pickle ball 110% it's great to do the courts just want to give you a little bit of of a financial impact on this okay and I think there's other opportunities we got to put our head together and find the location this is uh by putting them here we're losing about $100,000 a year in Revenue correct from parking that's my understanding at this facility it would be less but yes we're essentially taking um about 80 spaces out of uh the inventory um our long range plan is to develop the mobility Hub at which time the roof of this garage is we would be looking at leasing it to somebody uh as a storage space but it probably is a little less than 100,000 0,000 yeah about 80 80 or 90,000 okay so you're losing Revenue it's money what I would do is if I was if I was me I think we could find place to put these on the ground floor and make an investment that will stand for the next 10 years or 15 years or 20 years I think that eventually you already know this parking garage is obsolete there's major issues with the parking garage we talked about elevators we talked about bathrooms we talked about current state how tight it is I think there's opportunities throughout the city to put courts on the ground floor um you know you talk about issues like drainage you talk about issues you know there's no shade you're talking about major issues here in my opinion where I don't think that this is the best location for them I support the pickle ball 110% I have it a diff I have a different idea different idea but it would just take a little bit more time and it could be something that we could potentially embark on and it's an open Green Space which could be used for to have what six or seven pickle ball courts I don't want to talk about it here I'll talk about it with my colleagues we'll do you know shade meeting we can have a conversation because those negotiations haven't finished yet but I I want to spend if we're going to spend this amount of money let's spend this money on something that again is easy for people to use you know it's not it's not it's not a difficult thing to to get to um I haven't I haven't been on the top of that parking guard is there a slope is there a slope no it's good it's flat okay um I just I think with the age of that of that facility who knows what ends up happening if we end up uh knocking it down or we have we use it for something else I'd hate to make an investment and then come back and say Hey you know we got we don't have the pick of ball courts anymore well I I did spend some time discussing the top surface with um city manager of gla yes and it's flat but it's slow for drainage purposes you do have a pitching it's like you would on any and there would have to be you know a special yeah whatever you call it surface built in there yeah it's fairly minor but it meets the requirements for a pickall courts yeah but but they have this this this like puzzle piece that they put on top what I'm asking for is very simple if we're going to allocate going to use a r number okay a million dollars for pickleball cours that's the number to build pickleball courts let's just take a step back let the commission have a sunshine meeting a discussion so we can talk I don't want to say in private we can talk amongst ourselves about possible locations and not make an uproar about these possible locations uh some of these some of these are still properties that are being negotiated that could potentially be coming from the private sector into the public sector and I think they'll be more beneficial especially the location uh the location of of these properties and there'll be properties there'll be properties that will not be remodeled or will not require that much effort a lot they have parking already I think it's a lot safer and it's not an Antiquated building that's all I'm asking is for a little bit of consideration and again if you can come back at the next meeting with what a Bare Bones option would be so that we have something to compare to i' appreciate that thank you all right moving on to f13 I will defer that to the next meaning my uh I don't have any other items that I like my second speaker had to leave perfect I'm deferring all my items else I'm deferring all the rest of mine good all right Madam vice mayor any comments for the good of the order mayor mayor we have one more item which is the resolution of with the terms of the appointment for the interim city manager perfect so we've we've provided it to you it's a resolution um appointing Alberto pus as inm city manager and it has the details of his appointment perfect so unless there are a question questions I I don't have any questions it it mirrors it mirrors the previous City manager's compensation correct correct I'll move it just before we vote I been asked to put something in the record here from uh commissioner Kevin Cabrera uh I said you can publicly quote me if you'd like during the meeting commissioner Cabrera says he spoken to director cutie and he stated that all that he agreed to do was have a conversation comma and that commissioner Cabrera finds it very unprofessional to publicly disclose a private conversation regarding potential employment while the person is still employed by another employer and that came into me uh today at 3:20 p.m. so thank you I'll second commissioner Menendez yes vice mayor Anderson yes commissioner Castro yes commissioner Fernandez yes mayor logo yes moving on uh for the good of the order do we have anything else before we adjourn Madame vice mayor couple things we had a really good tour to Kitchen um this past time was delightful as well as I think we all attended the 100 voices with mayor Thompson she was quite entertaining um reminder that our next uh music at mybride Plaza is on February the 22 second and at the request of uh Carl Prime he suggested that we set up a sunshine meeting at a location that I'll get back to you all on as soon as I got confirmation of its availability in the McFarland District to discuss Community concerns so we can start floating dates but I through them through the manager will confirm a location in their in their uh close to to their home that we can do this this meeting um that's it commissioner Castro yeah today was a very hard day um I foresee however brighter days coming and I'll see you February 27th M Fernandez Farmers Market again this weekend and I also wanted to ask the clerk we do have two art pieces in front of the de which were never uh explained earlier would you mind telling us what they're I will okay okay yeah well by the way I'm speaking on the farmers market this next time okay pesticides and a way to get rid of the bugs you don't want more safely those two photos are M blue butterflies a highly endangered butterfly and it related to the peacock presentation oh okay so um they were taken by a u professional photographer who's no longer with us their signed print so thought I should share with these uh butterflies look like um some of the projects that were done down at camp mahachi for instance put in the laral host plants for these butterflies in hopes that in the future we can bring up some uh Lara and get them restored on the mainland beautiful thank you for sharing that one last point on pickle ball um been working with community recreation uh we're trying to schedule one Clinic during Farmers Market uh they're working out the details in order to make that that possible for folks to come out and learn a little of pickle ball we can all take our hand at it commissioner mandez no items perfect uh two items I I asked my colleagues to engage uh through the manager um we had a great visit to the May house uh to hear mayor Thompson speak I spoke to the staff uh there's there's some pending items that need to be addressed in regards to construction there's some leaks uh you could see it uh in the uh sofits and uh Jason to the fireplace so Mr manager I ask you to please get in contact with our friends uh at meric house to see how we can hopefully address those concerns see how much we have to budget uh before it becomes a major issue we just spent a lot of money um in renovations and you know ensuring the quality of of that structure and I want to make sure that you know nothing gets too out of control um besides that oh I have a today is the 13th till Friday if anybody would like we've had a great response we're still picking up clothes uh for a clothing Drive uh it comes to an end on Friday at 5:00 when my office hours end I appreciate everybody especially all the employees who have donated clothing it's going for a good cause so it's men's and women's clothing uh you can donate in my office you can leave it in the manager's office or you can just call us and we'll come down and get it with that being said thank you I hope everybody has a wonderful week God bless and see you in the next commission meeting meeting adour Happy Valentine's Day