meeting um today May 7th 2024 um can we have roll call please the time is now 5:34 p.m. mayor desel vice mayor ese Irvin present councilman Galvin councilwoman Timothy here councilman Charles present vice mayor you have a quum to proceed okay um we'll stand up for the pledge of Alle Allegiance and that'll be by Commander Miranda please stand I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all please remain standing for an invocation by Pastor Ruben Joseph from the new generation 7-Day Adventist Church of North Miami is Pastor Ruben here do we have a pastor that in in the room that's willing to do the invocation if not I'll just go ahead and do the invocation um dear heavenly father I thank you for your presence I thank you for bringing ourselves all together as a community um we're going to address a a tough matter this evening and I ask that you invite reverence and peace as we're about to take care of the city matter in the name of Jesus I do pray amen thank you okay order of business Mr attorney is the agenda set yes vice mayor the agenda is set you may proceed okay tab a a proposed resolution of the mayor and City Council of the city of North Miami Florida pursuant to article 4 section 18 of the city Charter commencing the process of removing the city manager from Office suspending the city manager from Duty immediately appointing an inim city manager and providing for an effective date and all other purposes tab a thank you um good evening everyone as instructed by the City Attorney at our previous city city council meeting we are here tonight to vote on a preliminary resolution to remove Rasha camo as city manager of the city of North Miami this decision was difficult but the majority of the city council has stated in previous City Council meetings believe it's time to move in a different direction as it relates to the city's position City manager's position prior to today efforts were made to resolve this matter in a mutual agreeable way to both the city and Miss Carmo regrettably those efforts have not been successful accordingly we are here to address to adopt this preliminary resolution to remove the city manager and appoint an interim city manager as requested by the city charg by the city charger before we allow public comment on the preliminary resolution I will move to approve the preliminary resolution and the appointment of anabo Emanuel as the interim City Manager for discussion purpose may I have a second second okay uh we will now open it up to public hearing but before we do um regarding public comments on this item I would like to remind the public that all remarks should be addressed to the city council as a body not any members members of the public will be allowed two minutes to make a public comment repetitive comments should be avoided to assure all members of the public are provided with an opportunity to speak in if a prior speaker expresses your sentiment or opinion you may state your name on the record and state an agreement ments with your prior speaker in accordance to the rules of the Quorum any person making disruptive or slanderous remark or who shall become boisterous while addressing the city council and refuse to stop may be requested to leave the meeting in addition we respectfully ask that members of the public allow each person to speak without interruption thank you madam clerk um if we can have um the um public hearing is now open and if you could just line up everyone will have two minutes to speak and please don't forget to name to to to state your name and address for the record thank you so much Madam councilwoman me members of the council I'm Max Sturman architect 1310 West Dixie Highway I stand in full support of retaining Miss Rasha Kimu as s manager as chairman of the deac and former chair of the bdb business development board I've had the opportunity to observe Miss Kimo's worth EIC a close and I highly recommend that the council members support her as city manager during her relatively short period of time as city manager she has performed a responsibilities of leadership and guidance of our City's daily operations in a transparent open and professional manner her actions have resulted in fiscally responsible decisions thereby protecting the taxpaying citizens in North Miami and I believe have been non-political and only in the best interests of the city do I need to stop okay she previously managed a very successful CRA department for years greatly improving the facilities and lives of a substantial number of local businesses and business owners she also guided the process of securing a 200 million Federal Loan for our woefully deficient water treatment system and we require her active leadership in order to successfully complete this essential project retaining Miss kamu would provide stability for the future of North Miami her leadership against corruption and unbudgeted spending is essential to maintaining a solvent city of North Miami thank you um Sarah mcdevit 14490 Northeast 10th Avenue um so I've lived here 20 years I've seen city managers come and go I have never ever seen the public come forward for any city manager this is this sets a precedent we all whether we're small business owners residents members of the development Community or the business Community we all I've received calls from every corner people do not understand why this has been taken this decision is really unfortunate and I just I can say from personal experience when we first purchased our property we reached out to the CRA and we're able for the first time ever once Russia took her position at the CRA to work through the CRA in a transparent and professional way prior to that we never had a process that was evident on how to work with the CRA when she left and then came back as city manager I've seen her meet with business groups with homeowner associations constantly reaching out and working with the public I've also heard many reports from staff members about how clear it is what their role is in the city and how much they appreciate rasia as a manager for me I'm I'm devastated that this move was taken and I just I feel super concerned about what the future holds without her at the helm thank you just um please if you could refrain from clapping that would be great you can snap but please refrain from that thank you good evening Nicholas Davies 1165 Northeast 127th Street it is truly tragic to watch what is happening to our city government and our city but we will finally be holding an election in 6 months time and I hope that we we can seat a new mayor and council members who will bring new Progressive leadership and a culture of democratic consultation with the citizens of North Miami in the meantime I just have four requests for all of you first whatever you do please do not try to cancel or further postpone our election in November second second that second please do not fire rasia camo the city manager she is trying to prioritize the most urgent needs of the city to impose some fiscal discipline and to root out a corrupt culture of entrenched nepotism in other words she's trying to clean up the mess that you have failed to clean up and in many ways have been making worse many people understand this and that is why there are so many people here tonight even though we know you never listen to us and probably won't tonight either third please start reading your agenda packets before Council meetings and research whatever you don't understand when citizens come to this chamber because you are discussing proposals that will seriously affect our lives it is simply insulting to see that you have not even bothered to read the details of these proposals before talking about them and casting your votes fourth please stop wasting the city's money on vanity projects excuse sir Elite events you have to stop funed you have to stop now please frequent flyer program Mrs Brown could you have the floor thank you good evening Judy Brown 1100 Northwest 120 you can reset that for me please Madam vice mayor I apologize for being late but y'all decorum please yes I and I'm going to State again for the record please no clapping um I've asked twice now if people are clapping you will be actually to leave the room we want everyone to have an opportunity to speak but we want everyone to be respectful you can snap that's fine but please do not clap thank you for understanding Miss Brown thank you my two minutes Judy Brown Northwest 100 1100 Northwest 128th Street north of Miami I come this afternoon um in full support of the city man of the city manager I've lived here for a long time and I have seen city managers come and go and I ask how much money are we going to spend how much talent is going to walk out of the city I'm very um I'm very upset I'm saddened because I feel that compromise as long as people are alive and if you're willing to give one give the other give no winners and losers but compromise because we are the residents especially in District 4 I stand here asking that the water plant we have been promised that water plant over and over and over and yes I was told that don't worry Miss Brown the water plant will go forth I'm not saying that it will not go forth but I'm it's going to be delayed you have to get somebody up the snuff no one in 12 months has done what Rashia has done with her staff and I applaud her and I am hoping that my council person will understand the importance of what we need and I know he does and I know he cares I know he cares and he's a good person so I'm just asking that um I just do believe I just cannot see why we cannot come together and have a compromise with this for the good of the city because the city is moving forward everybody feels that you can see it I feel it I know it I go to I went and got a permit I got it in seven days the work was done to inspection never happened before it is very organized so I just would like I'm just asking that I've heard what the vice mayor said that you tried to come to a compromise and it has not worked but I hope you can you thank you for your comment if you can line up please there are two podiums if we can just um come in and line up please as of 541 councilman Galvin is present like to say good morning to everybody I mean good afternoon to everyone your name and address for the record please uh my name is U Wilkinson seu and I am the owner and land owner of um Chef Creole Seafood I'm located at 13105 West Dixie Highway uh I am in support of the council's decision whichever direction that they feel deemed to go in I wanted to tell you about an experience that I had when I applied for the CRA uh in North Miami I am one not to seek any type of aid from any government organization and I was I was talked into getting that getting that Aid because I'm a taxpayer and I can tell you I had one of the worst experiences and I was very very very disappointed and surprised the experience that I had given that I'm an economic engine we hire people because of that experience I said I would never in my life asked the government for a150 because of how unaccommodating under Rasha the management was with the CRA I understand that there's a lot of people that support uh her efforts but with my experience that I've had it was very very disappointing till this day I would not seek any kind of funding for any government because of that experience that I've had thank you very very much Veronica gusang uh 540 Northwest 127th Street good evening um council members I'm here in support of keeping our city manager Raja kamo um I lived in the city of North Miami for 35 years and like others I have seen city managers come and go I have seen the morale amongst the employees um completely changed since she took office and I want to make a point regarding the resolution um one of the statements is a lack of confidence in the city manager when we vote or and elect and put you um council members in office there is an innate trust that we are instilling in you to do what is right for the residents not to run a Personal Agenda of what you want based on the city's budget um with that being said you know there are rumors going around of of mismanaging of funds of mismanaging of personal funds and I find it um in my line of work I'm an investigator so I find it disheartening when I research and and look at facts and see that I have council members who have been foreclosed on council members who um can't run their their own finances and yet we have to trust you to run the city's budget I don't feel comfortable with $410 million being up for grabs and not getting another water plant um and in the in the interim we're paying the cost for it so I hope that you do reconsider because I don't think that there was some kind of consideration or some kind of negotiation when from the last meeting it was within a week there was already a special meeting wanting to be held remove her from office so I I really hope you do reconsider thank you thank you hey this is Eileen Baba 13350 na third Court um third court has lived through hell under this city and Miss Rashia camo offered AR Ray of Hope and you just took it away it is unfortunate that you do not put the best interest of the city at heart I have seen that Third District 3 has really had absolutely no representation and no one has stood up for us on third Court over the last six years of Hell in September the 20th of 2023 I wrote this city and copied the council members blind copy with my concerns that there was no money for the third qut drainage program after all these years in which you guys Public Works screwed up on the 26th of September I was told there was 1.5 million I made an appointment to see I I contacted the mayor of the city complaining again that I suspected there was no money for third Court you guys sit here every meeting and you parse words and you say things in a way that make the public don't listen to me but to prepare for that meeting there was a staff meeting with Public Works according to the public records weel in which Public Works admitted there was no money for the third quot drainage project yes guys you hear me correctly thank you for your comment ma'am hi my name is Lauren landre um 385 Northeast 131st Street um I am here to strongly protest um the suspension and firing of our city manager I think this is a very very very sad day for the city of North Miami not only are we losing a tremendous asset to the city but we're losing it for very suspicious reasons and the community is not um let's just say we're not blind to what is going on we've got elected officials up here maybe one is not um and we are seriously looking at what our options are not only with elections but with uh legal matters this is a this is just an embarrassment that's all I have to say thank you for your comment next hi everyone my name is Mary Brown I've lived in the city of Miami since 1980 my address is 580 Northwest 134 Street I'm here in support of the city manager and I hope that we do i' go down a rabbit hole like opaka like opaka in the city of Miami back in the 80s when the city of Miami was I worked for the City of Miami for 30 years and back in the 80s you all going in the same direction of the city of Miami running like a Banana Republic without any type of consequence about the law or any type of of um justification to fire someone and if you do fire her and go to federal court and she get her job back and you all have to we as a taxpayer she sued for $2 million who's going to pay it it's coming out of our money the resident of the city of North Miami and you all you know we cannot afford to pay for a lawsuit against the city of North Miami and you know what happens when he goes to Federal Court there no justification for determination we the resident will have to pay that bill and I think you also your think twice before you fired her and that's all I have to say thank you for your comment sir my name is Romeo Charles and uh I've been part of the city of North Miami since 2005 address for the record please oh my my address uh 141 I'm sorry 14295 Northwest 7th half I I own a few properties in North Miami as a small business owner owner and this city manager doesn't represent us for people who started from Nothing Like Us she doesn't represent us and we understand and we know the Commissioners understand that when you see the news media when you see the assembly is done when you see the the fast the fast assembly is done against something that mean there's money spent there's a campaign behind it there's a lot going on just to keep the corruption going on we're tired in North Miami we're tired and people like me need to be represented people like me need to be defended and I think the Commissioners are doing an ex excellent job they are elected it's not the first time it's not the first time somebody lose a job it's not if you're not doing a good job you're supposed to be gone if you do a good job you get your job so why would we be talking about going to Federal Court doing all that stuff it's a job it's not an elected official people who's elected are recalled in certain if they're not doing a good job we recall them we take action against them as a city manager if you're not doing a good job action take against you and you lose your job simple as that I don't see the big deal behind it thank you for your comments my name is William Simpson 20005 alamander Drive first I'd like to thank the city manager I think she's done a great job I think she's tried and worked hard to uh balance the budget and get us out of the deficit that we were in for the last four five six years so I commend her and I thank her for me and my family second of all I'm not for firing the city manager she's done a great job and I think we need to keep her I know personalities get involved in these things but things can be worked out but I would like to address my remarks right now to councilman Pierre France Charles sir you will be the Swing Vote tonight I'm sure everybody in the room knows it you were elected by your constituent rather appoint I'm sorry I'm sorry you were appointed for for mayor just Soul me excuse me but you represent your constituents you have a a very serious decision to make tonight not only will will your decisions affect the future of this city it'll also and its citizens your vote will determine what's going to happen with development without a city manager to guide us we're going to be like a ship afloat without a Rudder at the end of the day you will look at yourself in the mirror you will know whether you did the right thing or not you report to the citizens just like everybody else but you are the key vote in this tonight so I would beckon you and call on you to do the right thing not be swayed by uh other things and other people that might not have the best interest thank you thank you for your comments Howard good afternoon Howard tonen 12600 Griffin Boulevard I'm also a small business owner in North Miami I'm going to read this because I'm nervous I'm actually a little bit afraid um since I was kicked off the Planning Commission I stopped attending Council meetings and divested my energy from my energy from the city that I live in and that I love I did this out of fear afraid of Retribution from Council if I say one wrong word the same fear the city manager must feel simply for being fiscally responsible at a certain point however silence becomes complicit it's like watching the city I love go to hell as parks are destroyed ancient trees come crashing down all over town and then through more turmoil Russia is appointed city manager and for a moment I breathe a sigh of relief thinking sanity would return to the city streets that I that have never looked worse this is not a monarchy we do not need parties most people that live here don't know anything about your parties what happens when we do get hit by a hurricane will you stop throwing parties then we do not need another party until our water supply is secured into the future until sustainability is taken seriously until our tree canopy is restored and until the homelessness crisis in our city is addressed all this chaos and drama will seem like a tragic and sad waste for our city if we really do get hit by a hurricane let Russia do her job and please stop throwing parties we don't need and taking trips to Africa and France and wherever else that we don't need it doesn't help us thank you thank you for your comment sir good evening my name is Kevin cied I live at 12665 of Northwest 8th Avenue I've been a representative and member of our city for most of my life I'm extremely disappointed in this unwarranted decision to terminate a city manager who finally has what it takes to look you in the face and say no when you want something that you absolutely should not be asking for to say you were disrespected we are the ones who are disrespected by your action councilman Charles you have the Swing Vote we know what you campaign for we know your what you profess to be your position on ethics and we're deeply disappointed that you are allowing yourself to go down this road and we call upon you to change your vote tonight and reinstate this city manager thank you thank you for your comments Randy good afternoon Randy Grace 40 Northwest 124 Street North Miami Florida 33168 uh vice mayor council members this is the city of progress tonight I don't feel like this is Progressive uh this piece of legislation I would encourage your you all to reconsider uh we've had an overwhelming show of support for the city manager tonight um the city manager has affected the hearts and minds of residents across all districts in the city of North Miami uh the support is there uh I support her being here I would hope that you all change your mind and support her and uh continue to work with the city manager uh a change in the city manager in a time as this will be extremely Cru crucial uh pushing Us in the wrong direction so I I strongly encourage you to go ahead and retain the city manager and uh thank you all for your time thank you for your comment Claudia Claudia pasino 13504 noreast 23rd Place I too ask that you guys please reconsider and keep our city manager she's been great I'm also disappointed when I have to explain to my family and my nieces why I'm asking to leave work early and why I'm in a rush to find a red shirt cuz my other red shirts don't fit me no more cuz I gain rate they're like wait what they're like they're acting like high school kids why do they want to fire her and I'm like I really don't know and so I know some of you are Educators some of you are parents and have siblings when you have somebody in your family or in the classroom who have a disagreement you try to work it out you tell them talk it out we got to come together so you guys are professionals you are City electeds and you're not giving a concrete reason why you want her fired and especially again somebody said we are being disrespected you guys know this is a crucial year elections we're getting this money and you guys have no regards to us it's like um actions speak loud in the words what is showing it is that is something's personal what it's showing is how can I trust you guys to represent me in Tallahasse when you guys cannot among yourself resolve things don't parents do what's best for the sake of the children so for what's the best sake for this residence for North Miami please work it out have a consideration talk it out I don't know when you guys have meetings if the City attorney have to be there or get a third party but please have consideration again be an example we have a youth board how's the youth board going to how you going to tell young people work it out talk it amongst yourself no hatred when you guys cannot lead by example so please keep our city manager thank you for your comment hi um Deborah Davies 1165 Northeast 127th Street I strongly opposed the firing of Russia camo the timing of this was suspect at the last council meeting you proposed and then tabled $100,000 giveaway for a music festival then at the last minute you propose firing Russia and bringing back the $100,000 giveaway to coincide with her firing at the May 14th council meeting can we assume that Russia was opposed to this wasteful spending and why on Earth would you deliberately leave the city with no leadership just as Anisha Daniel also has also left the city we are getting almost daily emails about breaks in our Antiquated water system by firing Russia you are jeopardizing the federal funding she and Anisha works so hard to secure to fix our water system this city must stop must finally start prioritizing the real needs of its residents your constituents the people who elected you you well most of you you have never seen a new development you don't like yet you won't fix the infrastructure to provide for all these new residents Russia has been trying to deal with the city's real problems and you thank her by firing her you roll out the red carpet to lobbyists and developers while rasia does the hard work of collecting on delinquent water bills from Big landlords as the bisc times wrote we have a 1962 water plant held together with Bing wire rubber bands chemical treatments and heroic staff quote this is no time for unbudgeted parties Council pay raises foreign trips or fancy hotel stays they're talking about you not Russia who was finally starting to put the city back on solid Financial ground thank you very much and I really hope you think about this especially um councilman Charles thank you thank you for your comment Markel Markell Southwest Dade I lived in North Miami until about a year and a half ago can you address the and I write for the biscane time occasionally can you state your address for the record please 15413 Southwest 105th Avenue okay thank you there you are you're on the ledge you're about to jump Okay jump but let's step back from the ledge for a minute picking up on what Scott said last time would this help how would this help whom would this help first think of the employees of this city what do they think about it if you had were to have a referendum among them take another step back from the ledge think of the residents how is this going to help the residents it could be in Keystone Point they could be reders on 6th Avenue anywhere this is a city let's look at some numbers shall we each of you makes 77,000 almost 70 almost 880,000 a year you put it together you have 58.6% in the state retirement fund the total cost is for each of you is $247,000 now take out the advertising 20 or the discretionary 50 that's $177,000 pretty good cabbage earn it earn it table this now please respectfully thank you thank you for your comment ma'am you want to go Robin and Marshall tisdall 2120 hibiscus Circle North Miami Florida esteemed residents of North Miami city council members good evening I stand before you today as a voice my strong support in favor of our city manager Rasha Kimu in relatively brief time she has been at the helm she has proven herself to be a capable dedicated and fiscally responsible leader of our great City when Rasha first took office about a year ago our City's financial situation was precarious at best years of overspending and mismanagement had left us to ing on the brink man Madam manager immediately got to work rolled up her sleeves and thoroughly examined and understand our finances with a Keen Eye for the inefficiencies and a commitment to the responsible governance she made the tough but necessary decisions to reign in spending cut wasteful programs and Implement money-saving initiatives thanks to her leadership we have dramatically improved our financial position in this short period but miss rasha's impact goes Bey well beyond just balancing the books she has leveraged her proven management skills to streamline City operations delivering Services more efficiently to Citizens City departments are running well more like wed oil machines employers are happier residents are happier hell we're getting a water plant perhaps most impressively she has accomplished this financial turnaround by protecting the vital services that make North Miami a place where you want to live I love this city I've been in this city for 20 years since I moved to Florida not left it our parks are getting much needed TLC our streets are safe and well-maintained and our community programs are thriving and growing under R rosha an Exemplar of public servant somebody who wakes up every day focused on how to make our city better stronger and more vibrant for all residence her Integrity is unimpeached endorse Miss Kimu as our city manager and hope that you will join me in maintaining her and our beloved City thank you for your comment Karen delion 1935 South Hibiscus councilman galin councilwoman ese thank you for listening right now I don't feel that Miss Timothy or Mr Charles are actually listening to us Mr Charles I'd appreciate your attention for two minutes please intelligent capable longrange you got my ears and I'm paying attention apprciate to I'm sorry I apprciate let's let's restart her clock please okay thank you thank you sorry it's scary to be up here it is Karen dillio 1935 South Hibiscus dri intelligent capable longrange thinker leader thoughtful good listener Problem Solver focused kind perseverant Brave these are just a few words that describe what I have come to know of rash's character I've been a resident for 35 years much of those years I par participated in our homeowners association eight of which as president I have worked with approximately 10 managers or interim managers Rasha is the best most accessible that I worked with in a long time she has long r v Vision she is motivated she listens she seeks Solutions she hires well she believes in Grants until last month I looked at all of you with respect I looked at all of you as if you were rock stars because you chose to have Rashia as our manager with Rasha as manager we were moving forward I had hoped for our future I thought we were the city of progress perhaps I'm wrong perhaps you guys know something I don't know could you please prove it to me show it to me sad despondent lacking hope frustrated disappointed this is how I wake up each morning thinking about the state of our city I red coming here tonight it's just too ridiculous it's too sad it's wrong Rasha thank you thank you for your commitment to our city and our residents thank you for your bravery thank you for the short-term hope you have given me wherever you land you will be fine I sure hope it's with us thank you for your comment ma'am good evening my name is AR dulut I've been a resident at Miami for 35 years thank you ladies and gentlemen for listening to me my address uh my resident is 1315 noreast 137 Street I am here to strongly support my district three vice mayor Mary estimate aen Council woman Cassandra Timothy and councilman Pierre France Char on Resident decision to end the job of the city manager vice mayor Mary has constantly demonstrated dedication to well-being and progress in our community her decision reflect a strong understanding of needs and concern of the peoples special interest group unregistered Lobby meling and The Business of of the city in tonight which are decision to make the city back to the residents like the Bible say in Isaiah 54:17 no weapon form against me will prevail thank you very much everyone thank you for your comment sir good evening Robert Loreno 11690 Northeast uh 18 drive and out of the Keystone I'm I'm sorry one second please if we can have silence so we can restart his time your name your name and address for the record again please sure Robert Lorenzo uh one of the properties we have 11680 Northeast 18th drive I live in ke um so I don't want to repeat everything that uh everyone has said tonight but I would just wanted to show my support for Russia um a couple of the concerns that we had recently uh we reached out to commissioner Galvin and he uh notified her and they were taken care of pretty quickly um I've lived in Keystone or I lived actually north Miami for pretty much all my life 49 years uh and I got to say that uh we've seen a lot of governments come and go and uh we are I am truly truly impressed uh just like Karen said with rasha's commitment and her dedication but I'd be remiss if I didn't say how disappointed I am that that we're here and that you all didn't make tonight a priority to honor the officers who are going to be honored at 6:30 I knew two of those three officers and I wish I was there honoring them instead of being here and I'm very very disappointed in every single one of you all for not taking the leadership to pause this and put it off to another time but I've been supervising leading people for almost TW over 20 years and one of the biggest parts of leadership is realizing when you've made a mistake to take a pause and to try different things before making such a rash decision like firing somebody thank you very much for your time thank you for your comment Dr Rudy moiz Dr Rolf moiz excuse me 650 Norwest 120 Street uh not Miami um I'm also the proud chairman of Muka Museum I me today is the owner of Comprehensive Health Center and a few years ago four years ago I was able to build this beautiful facility uh it cost me close to $4 million but I got 650 from CIA because of this woman if that because of her I wouldn't be able to have such a beautiful building secondly this say this serve as a catalyst to De to develop L 7th Avenue in fact uh we are planning on doing a $125 million project right around the corner and and I met with uh C pi Charles and my partner going to be doing this provide Workforce housing for the area that whole area is going to be transformed because she actually started it so I know all of you I know your heart is in the right place please do not fire Miss C thank you thank you for your comment good afternoon good afternoon Beverly Hilton 12495 Northwest 6th Avenue I just want to at the last meeting um I just want to remind councilman Charles of something he said the reason why he didn't want to have the city manager anymore but um I found this a door hanger of your accomplishment and he shows and I'm looking at this and wait a minute conman Charles said the reason no one listens to him can't get anything done but on this it shows all your accomplishment so I'm just confused if you'll explain you're not getting anything done but this card says different I support the city manager she's doing great job and we need to keep her Al city manager cman Charles and again your the swing boat please check inside okay don't let this be a personal thing think about the community cuz we all going to pay the city manager goes you know okay it's going to cost us a lot of money think about that we have no city manager no Deputy manager manager who's going to run the city okay so please rethink all right thank you so much thank you for your comment citizen or public hearing is open okay Kenneth H 13045 Emerald Drive North Miami I've been connected with this city since 1970 when I joined the police Department never have I ever seen an outpoint of support for a city manager in all the years I've been here right now this city is on the abyss we are on the very edge many years ago when I met with president aristy from Haiti I was with the old Mayor Mike kadney he gave a speech and he said when we bleed we all bleed the same color blood let us learn how to live together work together love together then we will prosper together under this lady's leadership we are now prospering for the first time in many many years I have felt a sense of confidence a s of a sense of progress in this city I've seen her change the lack ofical attitudes of some of our employees to bring forth to the citizens the services that they deserve you know people might not like that but that's the truth first of all before I said anything what are the charges against her we would all have liked to heard that before we come up here I want to know what what she did that was so terrible maybe there's something that is wrong I don't know but I we didn't hear any charges against her but I can tell you in unison we are all in support of her we are on the abyss right now if she leaves it's almost like I don't want to almost like North Miami Beach we pitting people against each other this is wrong this is not why I live here I respect each and every one of you I supported you guys when you went for uh your your your positions please listen to the people tonight my dear friend councilman chars you have to look at all the evidence many years ago JFK thank you Chief thank you for your comment thank you citiz I mean public hearing is still open good evening um Eric reel 12418 North bayor Drive I think it's unfortunate that we're here this evening um to take time out of our busy schedule I've been a resident for 25 years and probably like everyone in this room had some interaction with the city whether it be a Code Enforcement issue paying a water bill talking to elected officials or contacting staff regarding new development my experience in the past 25 years has been challenged in and I'll tell you frustrating um my interaction with elect officials has been positive for those that have contacted me back unfortunately those that didn't contact me back I did not have the opportunity to voice my opinion upon contacting and interacting with the the new city manager personally I will tell you she's extraordinary she's a city manager that will contact you back answer your email and follow up I know this because I've been a public servant for 40 years I've worked in local governments it's very rare that you have a city manager contact you and follow up the previous city managers I've written to many times I've never gotten so much as a response this come out was the best example of what you want as a city manager to run government and since she's been employed here she has put Personnel in place that's responsive courteous professional to serve the residents I understand the city manager Council form of government I understand but you all work for the residents of the City all four districts not just one District um since since the employment city manager I'm confident the city is in good hands and the future is back on track um we have had city managers whose neighbors could not get a call back City staff did not respond to emails let's not return to that standard operating procedure in closing I request each of you if you determine the city manager has not served the needs of the residents provide specific instances events bring it upon yourself to vacate her from this office the residents here you are owed we are owed that detail not just general specifics in a resolution thank you thank you for your comment ma'am hi my name is Maria R I live in uh 451 noreast 126 Street I usually don't come here because I feel like it's very hopeless it's always the same never change it's always 3-2 I already call you 32 because there's never enough vote um when I moved here um I had a really good experience with Scott Galvin um we had an issue we got together he came he looked at it and the problem got solved very nice I feel like with Russia it was the same experience I reached out I didn't even know anything because I'm not engaged anymore and she reached out I had a problem got solved another problem if she not answer herself somebody else answer for herself and if things get done and that is a very good feeling as a resident I don't feel ever represented from my Council woman the only time I saw her that was when doing voting some neighbor had an issue with the sewer the same day she came in person the street got ripped open the the problem got fixed so it can be fixed things can be fixed fast it's very complicated why is it not like in the in your house you know you have a issue you're solving but you don't have money you take the Buckle and you you save money you don't spend more money and things have to be fixed I'm waiting for all this good things that we get promised cogne Park live for I live almost 20 years here trees get cut down there no replacement for what reason I don't know these days I don't feel environment is any issue here a new building and another new building and another new building oh and that gets done very fast the thing get approved next day we're going to start so when is that things happen for us you need to keep people that are capable to do things for the resident I'm a neighbor you're my neighbors I don't feel you're like something else that's what you for like your neighbor and you help each other thank you for your comment thank you Evan hi Evan Shields 2481 Northeast 135th Street I mean listen I I've been a homeowner a small business owner here vice mayor councel I've worked literally with each of you and our city manager the last four years as chair of our affordable housing uh advisory committee and as a member of our Board of adjustment I mean listen we're at a Crossroads and we've got a fantastic city manager in place and we have no backup plan I mean there's been zero transparent reasons why she should be removed and let me give you six why we should keep her I mean one she commands significant respect of our community I think you've heard that here today I don't need to say any more about that two I've worked with two different parts of our staff I've worked with several people uh listen she has built camaraderie and respect amongst our staff you can see it three we have so many pivotal projects infrastructure and otherwise that are ongoing how are we going to Evin any confidence of the federal government and any of our private or nonprofit sector partners with no manager no uh Deputy city manager behind her or even folks in public works or other folks in staff who might get poached if she leaves what is our backup plan and listen we on top of that we have critical development projects I've seen that on our Board of adjustment there's never been a time where we've had more investment than now what can we do to build up that confidence last five and six we're in a critical election year this is not the this is the first time our city is ever having elections during a presidential election we've got president US Senate incredible ballot initiatives on the ballot along with our city council the majority of which who are up how are we going to get through this election year right now without a city manager and six this should be the opinion of our next city council to make this decision thank you for your comment than sir yes I'm James Nelson I'm from 1155 no 155 11 Northwest Northeast 13th Avenue Russia is not a good person you guys everybody cheer cuz Community is good we working without her and everybody is following their own paths it's not the first time she she had somebody lose their jobs and get fired everybody in this world it's it's getting better without her so we don't need Russia around all right everybody enjoy thank you for your comment mayor good afternoon Kevin Burns 2065 Alamanda drive it's very reclaim my time and go Kevin Burns 265 Alamanda drive it's very disappointing to to be here tonight to discuss the removal of the city manager normally when you have these type of proceedings there's a presentation that is made by the legal staff or by the people leading the charge for the replace the removal and outline 1 2 3 4 five this is our reason the residents get to understand it and then they get to come up and and voice their opinion you opened up public uh comment right away and a lot of people ask well what did she do that was so bad other than balance the budget get rid of a lot of Deadwood employees that thought they were untouch untouchable got rid of the friends and family program that we had in this city for so many years we've had many City attorney I mean city managers that have stayed around well longer than they should have rash is one that we should keep she's the most accomplished professional patient American public servant that there is in all the Miami day County and that says something I'm quite proud of that I was in D County uh City Hall the the County Commission meeting and it's already a topic of conversation down there they're already saying here we go again with North Miami here we go do you think the federal funding is just going to continue along when there's nobody no captain of the ship right now all that people watch there's repercussions to everything you all do especially when you remove one of the most accomplished city managers in this community or in this County the other thing is any of you it's the easiest thing to do is fire somebody it is so simple for you all to fire somebody what's more difficult is having to work with somebody that you don't necessarily eye to eye with that's when leadership comes in and you work towards something I have seen Russia take on difficult constituents difficult developers thank you for your time mayor Jim Jim Garrett 247 Britney D Beach Florida 33446 I drove 74 miles here good evening Madame clook good evening City attorney good evening city council good evening Madam manager I'm going to tell you this please take a step off the cliff please I seen this when I moved into the city in 1972 I came to a council meeting it was empty except for councilman lafredo and the and the city clerk e may ail or city council or manager or City attorney two directors were all indicted and removed from office we this city has a bad reputation in treating good city managers you um Frank Yori the first city manager from 1953 to C we got we fired him he went to Leland for 20 years and built the Leland service center which they named the conference center after him Woody Hampton 64 to 66 he got fired he ended up at pimp Pine 70 to 89 they named the city hall after him Larry Casey 1973 and 1991 Scott can tell you this there was a Katon up here between the mayor and councilman and councilman Wen and councilman Prem they first meeting and a former city council woman tried to be the city manager we had Lee Foreman for six years and we had Anita of Fame that was escorted out of this building we treat our city managers like like garbage we have someone good you my question is when you put the ad out there in the National City National League of cities ad to find a a replacement no one is going to go to going to come and interview for this job because you want to know this the world out on the street is this place is is your is your ending stop of your career I ask you you guys someone guess what I haven't been around you guys for a year and a half because you guys been good honestly thank you for your comment Jim ma'am my name is Chala Moret I'm the chief of minority business and Workforce division for the US Department of energy I'm here to actually educate people on how to do business with the federal government and I couldn't ignore what's happening I cannot misuse my position to influence you I'm asking you to stand for something or fall for anything you have a very important important role what's out in the hallway is monumentous thank you for showing up thank you you are supposed to be physically responsible 2009 million who will manage it responsibly if you get epa's money she has worked incredibly hard because I know how difficult it is to obtain These funds stand for something or fall for anything thank you thank you for your comment Sebastian hello everybody Sebastian semla 822 Northeast 125th Street um I'm a forever Optimist that's who I am as a person and so what I do see tonight in this room is it's the first time that I've seen so many people come out in support of something so thank you to everybody who's come out and and and shown the support for our city manager uh clearly we don't always have to agree it's a democracy it's America um and that's the beauty of our country I do want to speak however of the efficiencies um that I've seen in the city of North Miami first of all I want to say that staff has been unbelievable um from everybody in the building department to Planning and Zoning to the people in public works I've had nothing but great experiences so for any other developer that's listening out there yes this may be uh a little bit shaky of a time but in general the city has been fantastic to work with I had a major emergency a couple days ago something that could have set off my project by months I made an emergency call to our city manager it was resolved within almost 24 hours if not even that much and this is what's important to us as developers that there is consistency that there is a staff that stands behind a city manager um so whatever your decision is tonight I hope that you can appreciate how much support our city manager has um and you know what is important to us for the development of the city is making sure that you know that we don't rock the ship that we have a lot going for us and this is not the kind of publicity that we want so you know I I do ask of you to please thank you for your comment thank you ma'am ma'am thank you I'm Jessica Machado 13355 Northeast 10th Avenue I've been a resident of the city for about eight years and I have seen the progress in that short time and I am very concerned of the direction that this council is moving in it is at a minimum your responsibility to be fiscally responsible and you have not it is at a minimum your responsibility to lead and govern through difficult times and Be steady and you are showing yourselves unable to do that at the very least consider yourselves you can see what kind of support Russia has this election is a presidential year so there will be a high turnout at the very least consider your jobs because you know what happens when the people who vote don't trust you we will clean house I promise you that thank you thank you for your comment Steve Steve pillo uh my address is projected under Florida statute 119 I know most of you know me I worked here for seven years I've been gone for two and a half I worked here under five different city managers and my only comment is what are you guys thinking you finally have somebody that's riding the ship let her do her job thank you thank you for your comment public hearing is still open jod sobrino 1805 Alamanda drive and first of all I don't ever come to these things it's probably been about 3 years and when I heard what was taking place I told myself I need to come out here and see what's going on and secondly I want to address this quickly to councilwoman Timothy who has not lifted her head maybe one time since this whole thing has been going on with a smirk on her face like she's just indifferent to everything and this is a very very important matter at hand right now and she still won't lift her I me this is bothering me I mean we have a great city manager right now I don't know it what happened maybe you guys will tell us as everybody has asked what happened but you don't fire somebody because she maybe said no to you or clearly no to her because she she can't even look up I mean if if I will interrupt you for a second can please address don't address it to a specific person well she's the one who's not paying attention to the meeting go ahead ma'am go ahead good your comments that's what I'm saying she's just smirking and it's it's frustrating thank you that's all I have to say but when we have a good city manager keep her don't let her go this is one of the best things for this city that's all I have to say thank you for your comments public hearing is still open public is still is still open okay hello my name is mar Soul Medina 1270 Northeast 124th Street I'm here just to speak in favor of keeping Russia you've heard a lot from a lot of people I hope that we do as the community is speaking I know you guys are four but we are many and hear us that's it thank you for your comment I'm last MH go ahead name and address for the record please 14150 Northwest 6 Court dri Val the truth doesn't change based on your ability to stomach it okay so let's talk about some truths most of North Miami is made up of work class people who are at work right now okay the voice of the people is not made up of just a few it's made up of a large group of workingclass people let's talk about some truths as well too some more truths you don't have to tear anybody else down to build anybody else up okay so I'm not here to disparage anybody's record but I am here to support the councel the vice mayor France Charles and Cassandra Timothy most of the people moaning and most of the people jering at them don't pay taxes in North Miami they don't live in North Miami most of them don't let's do a fact check most of them laughing don't live in North Miami let's do a fact check most of the people live in a small area of North Miami and they feel like they want their voice to be heard their voice can be heard but I'm here to support the council the council has done a great job France Charles he's done an excellent job I have businesses in this District I'm a stakeholder I own property in this District I'm not a renter like some of the people in here like like most of the people in here but I'm not here to disparage anybody thank you for your comments go ahead sir good evening Alan edgert 11950 West Dixie Highway I'm just appalled by the council's lack of respect for anybody in this room the two of you haven't looked up but once you're disgusting individuals there's accountability no I'm talking don't disrupt me I'm talking going there's accountability there's accountability and when the state attorney is done I hope you wind up in jail you cannot and we made this comment early you cannot slender and be disrespectful we are allowing you to make any comments that you want but you cannot disrespect people here thank you Mr eger so are you ready to make comments without disrespecting anyone well maybe they should look up and not disrespect me and look at me I understand that but goad ahead Sir with your comments about the the issue thank you kindly and we'll go ahead and restart your comments as long as there's no slander if there is you will be asked to leave thank you thank you so much go ahead and restart the clock Alan edger 11950 West xie Highway when will we have accountability is there ever going to be accountability after you terminate the only good city manager we've had in the past many years we we are finally on a track forward with somebody that's Progressive and all you want to do is pull back because you're being told no as a councel for what you want for your Personal Agenda your personal gain not our gain it's our tax dollars it's our city we unfortunately made the unfortunate mistake of electing some of you Scott I thank you for your 25 plus years of great service you are an incredible individual and I thank you personally and I think everybody in this room does as well I have nothing else to say outside of there needs to be accountability and I hope that accountability comes soon in the most treacherous way to you council members thank you for your comment ma'am my name is Gail corn blo I live at 12785 Maple Road I have been a taxpayer and homeowner in North Miami as most of my neighbors own their homes too um I've been paying tax for 32 years I've attended more City Council meetings than I ever wanted to I'm 80 years old I'm ready to give it up but I am insist with what I am am seeing North Miami was a laughing stock for a long long time North Miami Beach was a laughing stock their government for a long time the same names keep coming up all the time there are controls that are are not in the control of the people who have elected you for the first time this past year I see city employees coming to work in my neighborhood and they're actually working I cannot begin to tell you how many times I approached Public Works Vehicles over the years and ask them if they needed a bottle of water if something was wrong with their vehicle they're sitting there they're playing games on their computers and on and the laptops and on their phones and nobody was working for the first time under the guidance of this city attor city manager we are seeing workers work in the city the morale has been so much better I I don't understand I would love to hear your reasons and why you feel this this termination has to take place thank thank you for your comment you'll be the last comment go ahead Georgia skaro 2120 Northeast 124 Street resident of North Miami formerly of the lobby majority ofone in another in a Lobby was from North Miami what this looks like unfortunately is if you're not on the team you're off the team you don't go with the flow you're going to get thrown overboard that's what it looks like there's no benchmarks we don't know anything that's a generalized statement lack of leadership no vision come on I get better excuses for my kids when I put him in timeout why is she being fired no one's answering the question why Al I have one question why oh thank you thank you I vote to keep the city manager don't make a mistake thank you for your comment public hearing is now closed we have a motion in a second at the table Madam vice mayor I apologize cuz I was about 10 minutes late when I got here what was the motion that was on on the table so the motion is to to go with the preliminary resolution and to um and to to establish anabo Emanuel as interim um city manager right may I absolutely if there's any discussion go ahead thank you and um uh miss kamo you have been a fantastic city manager I have appreciated working with you I did a quick uh sketch out here um I've in my 25 years had 13 city managers uh that I've had the privilege to work with you uh stand above them all sorry Lea Feldman because I know you're watching um but I greatly appreciate everything you've done for the city and all the time that you've put in and yes I've had differences with you and you've got some late night phone calls from um but thank you for everything you've done for the city of North Miami all right go ahead Madam clerk I have a motion made by vice mayor EST Irvin to approve the item at tab a and to appoint anabo Emanuel as the inm city manager the motion was seconded by councilman Charles all in favor I any opposed the motion car sorry no worries the item passes with a 31 vote thank you um move to ajour we have um citizen for I have folks come on come on come on let's let's move to a journ because the citizens forum is just going to rehash all of this all right so there's a motion to move to a journ move to a journ second all right I have a motion made by councilman galin to adjourn seconded by councilman Charles all in favor I any any opposed the motion carries with a 30 vote the time is now 6:49 p.m.