[Laughter] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] n [Music] he [Music] [Music] o [Music] no [Music] [Music] [Music] please take your seats the meeting is about to begin please stand by we are going on air in 5 4 3 2 [Music] one e e 2 [Music] 1 please stand by we are going on air in 5 4 3 2 good afternoon welcome to the awards and presentation meeting thanks for being here for whoever is not seen our new Chambers welcome this is our um sort of second commission meeting together as a as a body in this Chambers and uh most of all thank you to all of you we're here for a reason to uh to recognize and thank our residents who make our city so much better who make us better uh every day so that's why we're here to acknowledge you but even those who are not here in the audience who are watching on TV um we hear you and um always feel free to reach out and in any way you can want to contribute to our city and get involved volunteer please let one of us know because there's always there's always a need um for things and that's why we're recognizing people today so this is the hybrid meeting I'm going to turn to our city clerk Rafael to announce the zoom information good afternoon everyone during this hybrid presentation and awards commission meeting the city commission is physically president present in the commission chamber located Miami Beach City Hall 1700 Convention Center Drive Miami Beach Florida a bit extremely the rest of us thank you uh odneal Rodriguez Franklin Bartley Jr Misha riab thank you so much for all of your help with transportation Logistics and making sure that um the city was welcome so should we go to the middle and take a picture two [Applause] okay we're going to go to pa5 proclamation of frola South Florida want don't you come up here so for those not familiar hat Salah is a all volunteer Ambulance Service that um if you've never seen them in action is it's something to behold and by the way it's not to take away from our fire department and the incredible work they do but their response time is incredible and think about it these are volunteers these are individuals having dinner with their family they could be in synagogue they middle of the night it does not matter they answer the call and personally thank God it was never anything serious but I've personally called for family members and they come they come quickly they come with care they come with love um I cannot say enough about them and a couple of years ago the State of Florida and the governor signed into law allowing them to have ambulances um which was not allowed previously so now their services are um expanded tremendously um they have over 250 um individuals in South Florida who who do what they do and I can't I can't think of many things that are more selfless and giving back to literally volunteer and save lives literally save lives but even when you're not saving a life a person's in a situation where they're calling for emergency help and they and and they and they have the comfort of somebody coming so quickly and usually it's somebody they know you're all well-known and people familiar faces um it means a lot to people so thank you for doing what you do every day you want to say something want to speak um my name is mandal Sano I'm a lifelong Miami Beach resident um I joined atsala about 5 years ago um and we've been Opera hsala in Miami Beach started about in 2008 so about 14 15 years already um we recently as the mayor said uh had the law signed into Florida law stating that we are allowed to transport uh patients so we're a full-fledged Emergency Medical Service um I personally uh have a wife and four kids at home uh they all know if it's uh a middle of yam kapor or if it's the middle of some Sabbath uh dinner when I have guests at my house house if the radio goes off they know they may not see me for the next 2 hours or so uh to treat a patient um all of this is volunteer all of this is uh not paid for by anybody but funds raised that we raise uh from our communities um and it's humbling to stand here and be awarded by this uh with this Proclamation from the city of Miami Beach uh coming from the obviously uh mayor's uh office it's it's really uh it's really a testament to the dedication from all of my members here at Miami Beach that help out um and do a a good job um in the middle of the night as we said in middle of middle of synagogue or whatever it is uh to come and help anybody who calls uh for our services so thank you mayor thank you to the commission for giving us this opportunity and uh we're open for anybody who needs to call we obviously have a great relationship with the local officials with the police with the fire rescue um in fact um three of us here uh went to paramedic school and and our instructors were Miami Beach fire rescue uh paramedics senior paramedics that were our instructors so we have a great relationship with them as well um and it's great to work along with everybody uh in the city um and we always have told uh the officials in the city that if there's any any time a need for our services if there's a city need um we're always open to helping out uh helping hand whenever whenever the uh need arises if it's a catastro catastrophe that happens or even something nice like a like a big uh a big event if there's some overwhelming circumstances in the city we're always open to help so please use our services thank you two [Applause] let's call Pa 11 uh 11 commissioner Rosen Gonzales p 11 can I bring the members of our homeless Outreach team bohal everybody can you guys come up for a second um um I received a call from a resident um that in Flamingo Park a couple of homeless guys had literally uh taken over a building and the building was a A working class building of mostly Central American uh Spanish-speaking residents who might probably didn't know who to reach out to and these homeless had set up shop there and they had actually taken over the building and so uh she's not here but Liliana Martinez um made a phone call to Mr boha and all of you responded and immediately you went to the scene and you were able to Force our law and remove the homeless encampment and kind of free this building from um the situation that they were in and I just wanted to show our appreciation to all of you because uh it's not easy work and you never know what a homeless person is going to do are they going to come at you attack you stab you with something spit on you so these guys are on the front lines and they're doing really hard work so thank you so much I would like to mention your names before I come down and give you all the certificates we have have Jerome the barar Barian Sergeant our homeless liaison specialist binen boha officer Melissa Rosa officer Gustavo vam officer yo Merida and officer Alan Perez thank you so much for all you do you could all do scoot down a bit everybody Scot the center [Music] thank you for her it's called pa2 vice mayor Laura dingz thank you um and so pa2 deals with more sister cities first I'm going to recognize a business and then um the chamber uh the organization I want to recognize is Tom poopo of moonlighter Fab Lab they're right across the street from City Hall they do fantastic work so many of the um residents take part in that um there's nonprofits that are housed within there and have their offices and do their work but when sister cities was coming to visit Fuji Sawa I needed six gifts and I needed needed them fast and more important I needed them free and he did it so thank you so much Tom poopo and moonlighter fabl C [Applause] want to call pa4 the second part is a CH sorry sorry go ahead so um the chamber uh has been an amazing partner to Miami Beach for many many years and the Chamber has been an amazing partner when it comes to sister cities because without them even being asked in 2019 they were handed the uh opportunity to do sister cities they had basically a teeny tiny budget and they made it happen they were an incredible partner so to recognize the outstanding contributions of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce to the sister cities program the Miami Beach sister cities program has been a long-term partnership um and the Chamber has really exemplified leadership in administering the program enhancing the cultural exchange and you're still going to be involved and you're part of the committee and we couldn't have moved forward without you so with that we have a special certificate of recognition signed by all the Commissioners and the mayor thank you Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce so much [Applause] two [Applause] going to call P day 14 a proclamation recognizing Israel's 76th anniversary day of independence I'm going to ask Kenny come up while I speak briefly Kenny is the director of political affairs from the Consulate General of Israel in Miami and I don't do that many proclamations today I think I did four in about four and a half years today I probably have four or five but there was this was important for me to do and I think for our entire commission um October 7th was The Darkest Day and we've done a lot as a commission get together collectively whether be sending firefighters to Israel donating an ambulance increasing our purchases of Israeli bonds but it's important to recognize what the anniversary means and I say it's the 76th anniversary of the modern state of Israel because there's been Jewish people in Israel for three over 3,000 years um but certainly to have that Independence for the first time in several thousand years over 2,000 years without having ability to govern yourself which really every other nation has that ability and Israel is constantly fighting for that recognition that they have the same right and the same right of self-defense that every other country for your friendship M minor in the whole city of Miami Beach uh this is yet another example this proclamation of a beautiful friendship and support between the state of Israel the city of Miami Beach and we're truly grateful for that thank you and we pray and we pray for peace thank you let's do pa7 vice mayor Laura Dominguez want to challenge that yeah and it speaks why we need to continue procla doing these these proclamations we think we've gotten far but everything that we've been achieved in today's political climate of hate of hate against minorities of hate against Hispanics of hate against towards the Jewish community of hate against towards the black community of hate against the lgbtq community there are people who want to strip the all away from us but they can't strip our love and and that's what fuels us and that's what unites us forward Michael I don't know if you like to say a few words um sure um no I I will say um you know I produced winter party festival and we had people ask like how can you continue to do this in the State of Florida and what I say to them is this isn't the State of Florida this is Miami Beach and this is this is the beacon for of welcome for the G lgbtq community so the city has always been so supportive of our community um you've given this committee your Aid to help us uh do great made it very difficult to even understand how to pay um to get your so of serve their time and wanted to go in AC the State of Florida had to pay five 10 20 years they couldn't even find so what they did try circumvent this with a bunch of bureaucratic but then we have people like [Applause] Dwayne he said I'm GNA do something and you have been working tirelessly to help restore uh voters voting um if you say words of the work not quite EXA how many why not I'll have you sayne Thea better work Andi work since 2020 stamping the restoration of for formally Mr the nap excuse me chapes familiesa and dri Li those seeking to expe criminal outstanding legal obligations Mr th did sign significantly to the betterment of the Lives Many MERS of inreased involvement productivity within Society passionately adva for the legislation offering Second Chances and restor policies devoted has exemplified resilience compassion uning dedication to his community now [Applause] as reality I was undoing all the things that I was claiming I was doing since then I've worked towards um fighting for opportunities and chance for everyone my motto is I have to make everyone's life better period doesn't matter who it is doesn't matter the circumstance doesn't matter the situation who race Creed whatever if they're in front of me I feel obligated to try to make their lives better because if I can do that then maybe they can make mine I want to acknowledge that you guys did something for me that's extremely rare and unusual people that do what I do very s get recognized usually we get ridiculed by people people tend to think that we're wasting our time A lot of people are not worth it Etc the fact that today you guys even recognized a small person like myself what I've done um says a lot in itself I want to thank you guys for for the recognition I want to correct one thing Florida rights restoration Coalition is the organization that pushed Amendment forward and every day we fight for the rights for returning citizens so they can get their right to vote their privilege to become normal because once you have a felony conviction you've lost all your rights and there's never you're never really given a chance to get back into society I believe everyone in this chamber right now has expressed and shown the ability to give back to others and I believe they will do the exact same for people like me who have been to prison I thank everyone [Applause] here I love you D way [Applause] [Applause] thank you love the passion pa3 vice mayor doming thank you thank you mayor um so this is a certificate of recognition to the police citizens subcommittee uh for their efforts in suggestions for spring break so last year in 2023 when the commission was uh talking about spring break this was in the late spring early summer the police citizens committee sent an LTC uh suggesting a spring break task force and it was recommended that they be that task force and I was so impressed with the police citizens committee uh chaired by Seth fer he was so professional he uh invited me to the meeting presented it to the group created a subcommittee and the subcommittee would meet monthly and send us suggestions on how we can improve in spring break and I am so grateful so I wanted to give a certificate of recognition for the time that all of you spent um to make sure that our our spring break was successful so thank you to Seth fer um Alexander fried Christine Kingsport Lisa Cole and Jill shockett come on I'll [Applause] since you're on a roll vice mayor why don't you to take pa4 so pa4 is to recognize the black Affairs committee members for their spring break at advisory efforts um one thing's for sure a lot of people in the community cared about spring break and the black Affairs committee really went to work they put a lot of work into the ideas and suggestions that they gave um throughout the year by sending us ltc's one of them was activating the Goodwill ambassadors so thank you to the black Affairs committee for doing that you also talked about messaging and communication and that really helped in so many ways you also uh were involved with meeting with the police department and And discussing police enforcement and um and address addressing all of the lack of diversity so with that Glendon Hall and the entire black Affairs committee I thank you Bill Warren Troy Wright Melba Pearson Dory Foster and Henry Williams thank you so much oh front and center BB Andrade Vice chair BB Andrade yes it's d thanks [Applause] depart good afternoon I'd like to make a few comments so I want to thank thank commissioner Dominguez on behalf of the BAC for this recognition for all the work that we've done and we've been doing it since 2021 it's been a lot of work and uh you know when you volunteer it's kind of thankless to bring some solutions to this high impact periods in the city and show us certifi support for Mi PPD and the glogle ambassadors right we like to thank Vice chair BB andr where she go there you go all right for all her work also and a m of the committee that is here and finally I'd like to thank lazette where's lazette and the staff I see she didn't expect that um for the support we do a lot of work and we do a lot of documentation for ltc's on our minutes Etc we are a very strong working group and also I'd like to continue the work that we do it's not just spring break we want to deal with Equity inclusion and we call our three PS procurement policy and programming and so hopefully everybody can get together soon before the uh Hall of Renaissance exhibit Clos at wonan go check that out it's fantastic get you guys go over there so on that thank you very much thank you let's call up [Music] pa6 it's actually my item a certificate of recognition presented to everyone that worked on the breaking up with spring break campaign this is one of the coolest marketing pieces that I've ever seen you know usually when you come up with a marketing campaign certainly our cities historically has tried to promote responsible behavior but this one took a different turn this one was we're breaking up with you and DJ why don't you show the video just so we can see it one more time we need to talk this isn't working anymore and it's not us it's you we just want different things our idea of a good time is relaxing on the beach hitting at the spot or checking out a new restaurant you just want to get drunk in public and ignore laws do you even remember what happened last March that was our Breaking Point so we're breaking up with you and don't try to apologize and come crawling back this isn't safe so we're done and just so you know we're serious this March you can expect things like curfews bag checks and restricted beach access DUI checkpoints $100 parking and strong police enforcement for drug possession and violence whatever it takes because it's time to move on maybe we can talk when you're done with your spring break phase but until then [Music] I think one of the best parts about this spring break besides the obvious success was so many things so many people work together to make this happen from a legislative all of us as legislators our city Administration our Police Department every Department our Goodwill ambassadors we just recognized but the marketing campaign was the face of all this and it couldn't have been that it's an instrumental part of what we were getting out and the messages we were getting out I have to I have to read a couple of Statistics that are just literally they blow your mind an estimated 19.8 billion just make sure who was listening it's a b media Impressions over 1,000 news stories uh featured by 197 news organizations The Wall Street Journal New York Times it goes on and on CNN Fox News news others I mean this this was a global and pretty much I know I know I had a lot of TV interviews with uh local local media stations but also National and they always would air that clip as part of the piece which I think was so instrumental in the success we had and personally I think it res it just resonates with everybody whether you're young middle-aged or older it just it's kind of you watch it and everybody has a reaction to it because it really hits home to every single person so kudos to everyone who worked on this and uh I'm going to read out some names um of some of some folks first of all I want to thank the uh the gmcvb team the Greater Miami convention and V visitors bureau we had a great uh event yesterday at the at the Port of Miami I want to specifically recognize Jella Marty Jennifer Diaz aluri Tamara Walker also the vml team the creative Ad Agency uh Jamie Baron Marissa good Danny Miner Sebastian Taz zaga and Stephanie blackham but most of all since it's dear to us and people we work with literally every day I want to recognize our team but starting with our director Melissa berc and also Matt Kenny Madison Brown Pierre Joseph better known as PJ up there aliet for and um I mean I could read the certificate but I think it just it kind of it's it's it's I think we we know how appreciative we are of your creativity uh and getting that word out do you want to say something thank you now that you put me on the spot um 19.8 billion and Counting so thank you for watching yet again and really does take a village and I'm so grateful to our partnership with the gmcvb and their agency vml has really been magnificent and uh we hope to produce more and more work so stay tuned for the summer I'm I assume you're getting ready for next year too right we are definitely getting ready for next year excellent thanks take photo know C than do a [Music] pa9 I want to recognize our public works department is Joe Gomez in the house there he [Applause] is you know we talk a lot about uh there's so every Department in our city is important I never want anybody to think otherwise but some get more noticed than others and certainly our Police Department our fire department code but really what makes the city run in many ways is what our public works department does day in and day out and you're obviously the face of it I know you have a great team behind you I literally communicate or someone from my team communicates with you guys all the time and you're tremendously responsive um but you know some of that is the I don't want to say the little things because when you look at our survey that just came out you know the sidewalks and fixing those is is up there so I know that's something we'll we'll be working on but also the the literally the resiliency the infrastructure the the underbelly of our city that makes everything run comes under Public Works in your department and we're making upgrades infrastructure is incredibly important it's something that we are not going to kick the Ken down the road anymore we are working on those things we're doing it and uh no pressure but you're going to make it happen uh Mr Mayor uh vice mayor Dominguez honorable Commissioners um on behalf of the 350 plus men and women of the public works department thank you for for this recognition we're not a sexy Department um or but we get the job done um our men and dedicated men and women work around the clock 365 days a year year to keep our city going and they work under extreme conditions to get the job done and I am incredibly proud and honored to to be working with them alongside and the team is here some of the the team members are here today who get the job done I just I'm just the face of of the department but I thank you so very much and I want our residents to know that we're here for them each and every day thank you thank you it's always a good week to recognize our public works department but this is National Public Works week so have to mention that we'll thank you come on come on let's go I'm not going to let Eric get away [Applause] what PA 13 vice mayor Laura Domingos maybe thank you okay so this Proclamation is presented to Alex Krueger deoda for Fleet week and um a little bit about Alex he emailed all of the Commissioners and commissioner Alex uh Fernandez sponsored an item which we heard and approved throughout Fleet Week I attended many of the events and saw Alex on many different occasions including one where he's it's night time and he's telling me the bleachers are going to come on Friday can you make sure that uh somebody in the city is aware because it's a new time he was on top of it every step of the way my favorite besides being on the batan was um the Olympics the Top Gun Olympics and you executed everything so beautifully so I wanted to recognize you along with my colleagues um city of Miami Beach would like to recognize Alex Krueger deoda a military veteran Community leader and seasoned entrepreneur with a rich background in business and real estate Alex is engaged in various entrepreneurial Pursuits and holds a significant role in supporting the military and Veteran Community as he serves as the senior Vice commander of the Miami Beach veterans of foreign war Wars recently Mr Krueger de Broda played a pivotal role in organizing the highly anticipated Fleet Week Top Gun Beach Olympics along with seven other exciting Fleet Week events Alex's exceptional leadership skills and military background were instrumental in creating impactful experiences that merged military traditions and Community engagement with an impressive track record of exemplary leadership Innovative thinking and profound impact on the community Alex consistently inspires and spearheads positive change across diverse sectors his unwavering passion combined with dedication to serving others truly defines his remarkable journey of success and influence now therefore do we as mayor and commissioners of the city of Miami Beach Proclaim May 22 2024 Alex kruber De bro day congratulations and you're welcome here with your wife and your beautiful children if you'd like to say a few uh thank you uh everybody the commission the mayor um Alex Fernandez for the last minute request for sponsoring it was literally like hours before the deadline and then I was waiting in the Commission office um and and you made it happen you saw the vision thank you to all the uh Commissioners the mayor for seeing the vision uh the the commission meeting day where I was supposed to present I was there for 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. it was the last item you guys approved it with within seconds and so uh really it's a culmination of the support from the city of Miami Beach all the different departments uh I'd like to shout I give a shout out to leet arante from the director of culture and tourism she was with me every step of the way and you know we we made it happen eventually um the military definitely threw in some extras what was really really interesting about this event which I think never happened before was uh the Navy Seals and Coast Guard they jumped out of a helicopter to deliver award medals in the ocean right off of South Beach and swam to Shore and delivered it to our city dignitaries the police commission the the police chief fire chief um as well as uh I think it was four Admirals that were there from Fleet week as well to give to the winning team which I'm happy to say was Miami Beach PD so they [Applause] so just to finish off Fleet Week it's all going to be alternating between here and Broward every year so it's slated for 2026 um so we'll be back in two years let's see if miy Beach PD can defend defend their championship title and i' would like to just point out that last week Alex's hair was down to or past his shoulders but he worked so hard that it shrank all right come on up you guys [Applause] pa2 vice mayor Laura Dominguez thank you mayor this Proclamation is for Alan stain and I'll read you a proclamation here about him the city of Miami Beach whereas Alan Stang a dedicated resident of Miami Beach has generously contributed over 300 volunteer hours to our city in the past year alone and has been an active member of the CT team since completing training in 2004 Mr Stang has been a resident of Miami Beach since 1955 graduated from Miami Beach Senior High in 1963 raised four children with his wife Alba sedeno his commitment to volunteerism is exemplary always stepping forward to assist in times of need including deployment for two hurricanes with the Florida state Emergency Response Team in recognition of his outstanding contributions Mr Stang will receive the prestigious silver award which includes a crafted silver Medallion which is here and certificate signed by President Joe Biden so today as mayor and commissioners of the city of Miami Beach we do hereby Proclaim May 22nd 2024 Alan Stang day [Applause] did you want to say a few words okay I just wanted to say a few things um Allan was one of the very first volunteers that uh actually showed up when shirt was created here in Miami Beach uh Ser as a community Emergency Response Team and he was one of the first volunteers and he's always here constantly volunteering you know he's one of my he's on our team lead as well um and he's one of the ones that that helps create this program in Miami Beach we you know it I can also say right now if you're search tring in this room please stand up all right we're going to get a picture with him because he knows that but um it it's just a program that we we want to train employees citizens faith-based and Laura didn't stand up I didn't see you stand up okay you know to to be trained in your community and it's a volunteer program that's there for when we have a disaster so um Alan you're an awesome person [Applause] police [Applause] Oh I thought it was next item PA 16 is a certificate of recognition presented to City staff who assisted in the renovation of these commission Chambers that's my item I think I have more items today proclamations and certificate of recognition than I've had in four and a half years so but it's important I guess that's part of the role as mayor is to recognize the hard work that our city employees and staff uh do that often doesn't get recognized so this project to renovate these Chambers started when I was still commissioner and before some of us were even on the uh on the de but and last week we had our first uh commission meeting back here in the chambers and it's important these these these um this room had not been renovated in 40 something years and certainly uh in many aspects had been dated technologically and otherwise so we're um it's important uh that not only for us but also for our residents who come to these meetings um and it's not just commission meetings we have uh different boards and committee meetings here that take place as well so I want to thank um everyone who was so involved in making it happen our facilities and Fleet Management Department Our IT department our office of marketing and Communications um there's a tremendous amount of work that goes into into this I also want to give a special shout out to PJ and his team uh they had to dissemble the production in the in the convention center and then bring it back here they had to do that a couple of times that is not easy and to make sure it works seamlessly so thank you uh for that um there's probably too many names to mention uh to thank everyone so I'm not going to but know that you're appreciated and uh thank you let's do take we still on TV and of them are here [Applause] so this is my last one of the day there's a couple more after this the certificate of appreciation to a handful of our staff members who assisted individuals in preparing tax returns it's a big deal luckily for me I have uh family members my my my dad who uh who's a CPA but for those who don't know how to do it it could be uh it could be quite daunting the fact that our city provides these Services uh in partnership with branches Inc um to help file these um with through the volunteer income tax assistant vaita program I want to specifically mention um the individuals by name there's five individuals who are city employees but volunteered their time stayed late um helping our community and our res resents to be able to to do something that otherwise would be um not only difficult but can be quite expensive if you have to go out and find someone to to do that so specifically I want to mention paa arbola administrative supports manager ukia maso case worker julan Bernal program supervisor Alexander Reyes case worker and Vanessa Lopez who at the time was a temporary employee as now is a full-time employee so thank [Applause] you and again thank you for your volunteerism and dedication and if I could mayor I just want to highlight our department director Alba T and Marcelo Ruby our assistant director [Applause] C [Applause] let's call up PA 7 PA 18 commissioner bot good afternoon everybody thank you um so you know there are a lot of beautiful coastal towns around the world and even in our Fair State of Florida um there are lots that have nightlife and entertainment but there are very few that have everything that we have here in Miami Beach in fact I would go so far as to say maybe none have exactly what we have here and part of what makes us so unique in the world of urban beaches is that not only do we have a stunning Beach and lots of things to do when you are bored of being on that stunning Beach but we have this incredible built environment that goes back to the founding of our city um we have what I like to call an openair architectural Museum and it is not just the art deco that we all think of as Florida's postcard on Ocean Drive although that is quite stunning um but it is the neom Mediterranean that we have throughout the residential neighborhoods it is the U Miami modern that we see in the 50s and 60s in particular with Mars Lapidus and um other esteemed um Architects that that take us through decade after decade of decade of really interesting architectural development um it sets us apart from other beach towns and and cities um because we have fought as a community so hard to save that starting in the 80s with the um formation of the Miami Design preservation League after Barbara capitman I think literally chained herself to a building and if not literally figuratively chained herself to a building to try to prevent its demolition that really elevated the conversation about what it means to have character of place and what we need to do as a community to preserve character of place which sets us apart you know people could just go to Sunny Isles if they wanted a nice Urban Beach there are good restaurants there and plenty of things to do there but they don't they come here to Miami Beach and Miami Beach in large part thanks to its amazing character of place is second in state contributions or contributions to the state coffers only second to Disney World think about that for a second so when we are fighting like cats scratching to get out of a bag to make sure we're to try to prot protect ourselves from stay preemptions that eviscerate our ability to govern ourselves to protect our buildings to make sure that we are in in control of who can demolish what and for what reasons and who can build what to what size and for what reasons all of that is Led in very large part through the Miami Design preservation league and thankfully we sit on a de even though not all of our colleagues are here with us today but where we are very unified in in preserving that mission preserving the mission of the preservation Le um so with that being said if you don't know uh mdpls headquarters is at tenth and ocean if you haven't been I can't imagine anybody in this room not having been but there's an amazing Museum and facility there that is in um uh the Coast Guard or not the Coast Guard the um the Lifeguard it's right behind the Lifeguard patrol station which in and of itself is a gorgeous building um there is Geo Bond money that is um helping to fund a renovation of this great facility there are ongoing exhibitions and lectures on a rotating basis here's a pro tip they have a great gift shop phenomenal gift shop and Miami Beach residents get a 10% discount if I'm not wrong and if you're looking for that hardto buy person there you will find something in a pinch so um but seriously Daniel um who's been the face of mdpl for many many years um and is the reason part of the reason why I'm sitting here now because he was my first foray into local activism and so anything you don't like you can blame him directly um I just wanted to honor you uh honor the organization all the volunteers um and the paid staff who make this work it is very largely volunteer driven with the tour guides and the the board and um everybody who lends a hand to making this all work so um now therefore on behalf of the uh mayor and commission of the city of Miami Beach do we hereby honor the Miami preservation Miami Design preservation league for its dedication to Historic preservation Economic Development and the resilience of our city during this the National Historic preservation month so thank you for the excellent work that you do okay [Applause] just very quickly I wanted to thank you all Daniel Calo with Miami Design preservation League I also wanted to thank Sandy sidmore our board secretary and Sarah leic who's been on our board a long time as well and now chairs our program committee and it's really their dedication and Sandy you're celebrating how many years of being a volunteer tour guide 25 years so we are uh so grateful to all of our amazing guides and and members and and to the city uh like the commissioner said it was In This Very Room that Barbara Capman uh dedicated herself to saving Our Deck and came before the commission which looked a little different back then and really didn't agree with her but really made a big difference so we're so happy to continue on that mission with all of your support thank [Applause] you last but not least commissioner Fernandez recognizing Cuban Independence Day all there we go thank you Mr Mayor um it I wanted to take this moment to recognize uh Cuban dependence day sounds kind of odd because Cuba really isn't free um and I wanted to reflect uh the whing plight of families like mine that were torn apart by the oppressive grip of Cuba's communist regime and and I decided to do this because I was thinking about uh May 20th at B Mayu a few a few days ago and everything that I learned about it over the course of My Life um and it just kind of hit home realizing that my last living grandparent had passed away this year and what we learned from the past generations to help form our ideas and our values and who we are for the next generation and it drove me to place this item on the agenda it reminded me of my grandfather one a banker in Cuba who was forced to flee to Puerto Rico to escape the persecution of a corrupt government my father who was sent to the United States on operation Peter Pan on a flight of operation Peter Pan separated from his family in a desperate bid for Freedom a freedom that he truly didn't enjoy until my grandmother my a Mary was able to escape on the fourth of July that she was able to to to to the United States a regime in Cuba that has not only shattered families but has executed and imprisoned countless Souls merely for daring to dream of democracy and we have to think about the very treatment uh against the lgbtq community who were persecuted who were incarcerated who were placed in forc labor camps in the 60s and the 70 s the long history of repressing religious freedoms the four members of our very own South Florida Community who were persecuted uh by the Cuban government in international waters the members of Brothers to the rescue that were trying to help individuals flee oppression and make it to to to to to the United States the black spring in 2003 when the Cuban government cracked down and 75 journalists and and Librarians and human rights activists sentencing the to Long prison prison terms the death of Oswaldo Baya in 2012 that they made it seem like a car accident but it was a death to silence him to the grave and that was orchestrated by the Cuban government and the ongoing repression day in and day out and the harassing and the detaining of dissidents of political dis dissidents and human rights activist that goes on in Cuba to this very day I'm kind of sadden that these Chambers are emptied right now and they weren't as full as they were earlier today because there are people who are still suffering this every single day in Cuba just 90 miles away and we talk here about about rights we talk here about supporting our lgbtq community about black rights about fighting anti-Semitism and so much of this is happening also just 90 miles away the suppression of free speech the stifling of economic freedoms that continue unabated the painting of a grim picture of a Nation where true freedom is just a distant thing a distant dream and so and so this Year's Cuban Independence Day just hit me a little bit harder and stronger and perhaps a little bit more nostalgic because it was my grandparents it was my grandparents who kept that alive who reminded me of the suffering of how dangerous that government is only 90 miles away the impact that is had in Latin America what its cost its effects in Venezuela it is its effect in Nicaragua its impacts to democracy the dangerous alliance between that repressive government and China and Russia and these Global adversaries who aren't friends of the United States and they are the true beacons of authoritarianism and betraying the very meaning of what it is to be a free Society and so as these older Generations have have gone away those suffering have not they continue to exist and those of us who are in this free land need to continue remembering that and we need to continue celebrating Cuban Independence Day so that those who are still suffering could truly be independent someday uh back back in Cuba and so that's something that this generation needs to inherit uh and needs to keep pushing forward and I want to thank this mayor and this City commission for having signed this Proclamation this Proclamation really wasn't intended to anyone it was not for a photo op to to to present it to any one individual is to keep on reminding ourselves our community our society that we need to continue being a beacon for diversity for inclusion for respect for human rights for freedom of speech for free and open elections not just here in the United States but in those for those who are not that far away from us just 90 miles away thank you Mr Mayor thank you commissioner Fernandez you mentioned you didn't do it for the photo app but do you want a picture okay you [Applause] so one housekeeper keeping item before we adjourn um and I'll turn it over to you commissioner Fernandez but um I understand you have an issue with the schedule June 26 commission date um since there's only four of us here I would say we give direction to our city clerk Rafael to work behind the scenes email phone calls to try to uh come up with a date that will work with um the scheduling conflict that you now have yes if we could if if the city cler could work on that and hopefully we can find an alternate date I won't be here on June 26 thank you thank you thank you great meeting thank you everyone uh good Awards and proclamations we'll see you soon e e e