>> Good morning, everyone.
We're calling this meeting
to order. Today is Wednesday,
April 16, 2025. The time is now
10:25am we apologize
for the late start. Madam
Clerk, please call the roll
council.
[ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Thank you.
Please rise
for the pledge allegiance led
by Councilman Pineyro.
>> 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.
>> We will now have our
invocation by Tina Floyd from --
>> I want to say hello to all
of you guys. Thank you
for your serving time. Because
we know that
without you anything is going
to happen here in Doral. God
bless you. And God bless you
for all the people that attend
here today. Heavenly Father, we
come before you today
with humility and a cry
for our city. Lord, bring unity
to our streets,
among our families and
within our leaders. Let the
walls of division fall and
raise up a spirit
of love and fellowship. Your
word said in Psalms 131:1
behold how good and how
pleasant it is for rhythm
of will together in unity. May
that unity be the song
of our streets and the peace
of our homes. We pray
for renewed faith
in our hearts,
a living faith that
transformed,
that bring light where they're
in darkness, as Hebrews 11:1
declares now,
faith is the substance
of things hoped for,
the evidence
of things not seen. May that
faith take root
in every corner of our city.
Today we especially cry out
of the mental health
of our youth. Lord, many walk
with invisible boundaries,
with silent pain. You are the
God who sings and heals as
written in the Psalms 34:18.
The Lord is close to the
brokenhearted and saves those
who are crushed in spirit.
Bring rest,
renew minds and heal hearts.
Raise up a generation free
for depression, filled
with purpose and peace. May our
youth know that in you there is
hope and that they are never
alone. In the powerful name
of Jesus.Amen.
>> Amen. Thank you. Okay, we
have the agenda order
of business. Madam City
Manager's office. Do you have
anything? No, Mr. City
Attorney.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Yes. I'd
like to ask
for the item that's going
to be heard in the evening 20b
to be deferred indefinitely.
This is a century PUD item.
And also I have a lay
down item with regards
to a an amendment
to a settlement agreement
with oasis. I'd like
for this item if possible
for the vote to be taken
to permit the lay down and
for the item to be heard later
this evening.
>> Okay. I believe we have
other lay down items. So we'll
take the votes for the lay
down items right
after we hear items
to be pulled. Your lay
down item is noted,
Councilman Pineyro?
>> No, I'm good, mate. Thank
you.
>> Thank you. Vice Mayor
Porras?
>> Nothing.
>> Okay. Councilwoman
Reinoso?
>> No, Mayor.
>> You do have a lay down?
>> I do.
>> Okay, we're going
to hear that right
after this.
>> Thank you.
>> Councilwoman Cabral?
>> Yes. I would like
to pull c, d, m and p. 6c, 6d,
6m and 6p.
>> Just to confirm 6c, d,
m and p. Correct? Okay. Is that
all?
>> Yes.
>> I'm going to go ahead and
pull 6g and defer 9b. Okay. I
need a motion to hear the lay
down items. We will hear one of
them this morning and the
second one this evening. The
city attorney's item will be
heard this evening per the
applicant's request.
>> Motion.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilwoman Reinoso.
>> Second.
>> Second by Councilman.
>> Just a second. You said 9?.
>> Right now we're hearing the
lay down items and then we can
go back
to that if you'd like. So
please call the roll.
>> I have a motion
to approve the two lay
down items and by
Councilwoman Reinoso. Seconded
by Councilman Pineyro.
[ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> Okay. Thank you very much.
You had a question,
Councilwoman Cabral?
>> Yes. I'm just checking. If
it's not my understanding,
you remove 9b.
>> Correct? It is. 9b is being
deferred.
>> So that's the dodge. So it's
my item that you're deferring?
>> We're deferring the item.
>> Okay. You're deferring my
item. So there will be no
discussion, I guess.
>> Thank you very much. Okay.
We will now move on
to public comments. This will
now open our public comments
portion of the meeting. If you
would like to speak
to anything germane
to this council or anything
on this agenda,
now would be the time to
approach. I do have comment
cards. I will start
with those names first. Once we
exhaust those,
you can approach the podium.
If you have not signed up
to speak, please make sure you
see the clerk. After that,
you have three minutes
to speak
in a respectful manner
to this council. We'll go ahead
and start with Adelaide
Ferro. Ferro. Sorry. Adelis
Ferro. Name and address
for the record, please.
>> Thank you so much. Good
morning. My name is Adelis
Ferro. I am a proud
Venezuelan American citizen. I
am here to speak of the tens
of thousands
of immigrants who call Doral
home, many of whom now live
in fear. I'm going to live
in fear because
of a decision that will be made
by this very city government.
The city of Doral's decision
to align with ICE marks a
dangerous shift. One that
threatens the safety,
dignity and trust of the very
people who built this
community. Let's be clear.
Over 30,000 Venezuelans live
in Doral. Many are
in the process of obtaining
legal status right now. Many
fled political persecution,
not just seeking opportunity,
but but survival. Now this city
risk becoming a place
of fear. A place where going
to work, picking up a child
from school, or even reporting
a crime could lead
to detention or deportation.
Let me repeat that. Reporting a
crime could lead to arrest.
Not because someone broke the
law, but because
of their immigration status.
This doesn't just affect the
undocumented. It impacts
families waiting on asylum,
TPS renewals and war permits.
Families who fled regimes that
jail people
for their beliefs. And what
makes this even more painful,
every single one
of you sitting on these dice is
either an immigrant or the
child of immigrants. You know
what it means
to leave everything behind
for a shot of freedom. You know
the fear, the hope,
the sacrifice. And yet today,
you turn your backs on those
walking the same path your
families once did. Turning
Doral's police into an arm of
federal immigration enforcement
destroys trust. When people
fear the police,
they don't report crimes.
Victims stay silent, witness
disappear,
and we are all less safe.
Police are here
to protect and serve, not
to profile or deport. This
decision doesn't make Doral
safer. It makes it silent,
suspicious, divided. This isn't
just morally wrong,
it's bad policy. And one day
you will look back and ask
yourself, did I stand
on the right side of history?
There is still time
to do the right thing. But that
time is running out. I and the
people are watching. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Amanda
Sherlock.
>> Good morning, everyone.
Council members, Amanda
Sherlock. 9960 Costa Del Sol
Boulevard. I have been a
resident of Doral for 20 years
and a US citizen for 13. So,
yes,
am I am an immigrant too. Our
city council is supposed
to be a nonpartisan body
working
to improve the everyday lives
of us as residents of Doral.
Deputizing our police to become
mini ICE agents is not going
to accomplish that. It will not
reduce traffic or the dust
from never ending construction.
Or prevent our children
from getting run over because a
crosswalk signal has been
destroyed again by a semi truck
trailer ramping our sidewalks.
It will not fortify us for the
upcoming hurricane season or
prevent flooding. I believe
this will take up more
of our police forces time.
They will have to do longer
background searches and hold
and detain people. They will
not be focused on what they
should be focused on,
which is making the lives
of the residents of Doral
safer. The memo says it will
have $0 fiscal impact. I
disagree. Because our police
will be less effective and
ineffectiveness costs money. I
don't want my tax dollars
to go
to funding human rights abuses.
That is not something I agreed
to when I became a resident
of Doral over 20 years ago.
It's bad enough it's already
happening with our federal tax
dollars. Instead of feeding
poor children or curing AIDS
in Africa, we are now paying
foreign governments
to disappear human beings
from US soil without due
process. I do not want my name
associated with
unconstitutional callousness
and cruelty. It is shameful,
outrageous,
and a permanent stain
on us and our morality. What
reassurances can we get that
our neighbors who police hand
over to ICE will not have their
human rights abused? I don't
think you can give us any. So
I'm asking you, as your
constituent,
who you represent not
to approve this item.
Especially as a consent item.
It is definitely controversial
and not routine. Thank you.
>> Thank you, miss Sherlock.
Bill Watts.
>> Good morning, city of
Doral. Our mayor and council.
You all look wonderful up there
and everybody here, welcome
to you as well. My name is
Bill Watts. I am one
of the original founders
of the city of Doral and I'm a
veteran and also have a
nonprofit called Vet Info that
works with disabled veterans.
One of my missions several
years ago was
to bring the city, the
residents and the military
together. So I'm here today as
there has been changes
with the way things are done
in appointments of advisory
committees as a resident
to request from the city that
on Memorial Day that we please
have the park open, have it
available if the city could
also, as they've done
in the past,
provide a reef. I will work
with some
of the local nonprofits such as
Vet Info and Bristol Hospice
to see
about getting sponsorship
from some of the small items.
But if we could have the park,
a reef and maybe two police
officers available that day for
a informal event that we've
done since 2018
to show our gratitude to those
that have given their lives
in service for this country.
So with that said,
I thank you very much. And
hopefully the council and mayor
can fulfill that request.
Thank you.
>> Thank you very much, Mr.
Watts. We will make sure
to talk to administration
to accommodate those requests.
Okay. Zora Qureshi.
>> Good morning. Zora Qureshi
at 8475 Northwest 34th Drive.
Good morning,
mayor and council members. My
name is Zora Qureshi, and I
stand before you not just as an
attorney, but as a daughter
of immigrants, a mother,
and a proud member of this
diverse city we call home. I am
not Venezuelan,
but I feel compelled to speak
on behalf of the thousands of
Venezuelan families who may
never have the chance or
opportunity to stand here
for themselves. Today you are
being asked to vote on a
resolution that would allow ICE
to train our local police
officers under the 287g program.
But this isn't just a policy.
It's a gateway to fear, family
separation and racial profiling
in a city that thrives
on the courage and resilience
of immigrants. Doral is home
to the largest Venezuelan
population in the United
States. Families who fled
persecution,
hunger and violence
with nothing but hope
in their hearts now live,
work and raise children here.
They are not criminals. They
are teachers, small business
owners, churchgoers,
students. And yet
with this resolution,
you risk make them feel hunted
in their own neighborhoods.
The 287g program does not
increase safety. It deputizes
local police officers to act as
federal immigration agents,
often without training,
oversight or accountability
to understand the nuances
of immigration laws. This has
led to racial profiling,
wrongful detentions,
and a chilling effect on
communities that no longer
trust the police,
not because they're guilty
of anything, but because
they're afraid their skin
color, their accent or their
immigration status could cost
them everything. Let me be
clear. This is not
about politics. It's
about people. It's
about mothers too afraid
to call 911 when they're
abused, workers too afraid
to report wage theft, and
children terrified that their
parents won't come home. You
were not elected to represent a
party or a political agenda.
You were elected
to represent the people of
Doral, their safety, their
dignity, and their right
to live without fear. We are
not asking for favors. We are
asking for humanity. Please
reject the Resolution 6P say no
to 287g. And show this
community, our community,
that your loyalty is not
to the higher powers that be,
but the people who built the
city and believe
in the promises you made
to keep them safe. Thank you.
>> Juan Cuba.
>> Good morning, Mayor and
council. My name is Juan
Cuba. Address is 165 Ponce
Salem Boulevard. And I come
before you to talk as a
father of a three year old son
and a one year old daughter,
as an immigrant who was born
in Lima, Peru, whose father
came here with a promise that
this country made
to start a better future. And
we have. And like many
immigrants that leave
everything behind
with that promise of refuge,
some with a promise
of protection
from oppression and communism,
with status that is now
precarious because this
administration is stripping
that away from Venezuelans,
Nicaraguans, Cubans, Haitians
and others. The agreement that
is before you. And I want
to thank Councilwoman Cabral
for pulling it from the consent
agenda. 287G was
around before,
under less toxic times. It was
pulled in 2012
after investigations by the
Department of Justice because
it had led
to racial profiling, famously
in Arizona and North Carolina
and even in the panhandle of
Florida. We are in much more
toxic times where there's
attacks
on immigrants directly coming
from this president and the
White House. When there's talk
of even. You hear Stephen
Miller and Steve Bannon,
Stephen Miller being in the
White House, talk about
potentially denaturalizing
people. I'm naturalized. This
impacts me. An agency that
feels emboldened because we
have an administration that's
ignoring due process and
ignoring court orders. I want
to tell you also that some
of you might feel
like this is required of you
by state law, and it's not.
Governor DeSantis had made
proposals in the first special
session that would have
required this. There was a
requirement for every city
to enter into the task force
Model agreement. There was a
requirement for 10%
of your police force to be
designated as ICE officers.
Those were soundly rejected
by the legislature. It was
special sessions B and C where
they actually passed and
created the state Immigration
Board. The city of South Miami
has a lawsuit currently filed
in Leon county that is asking a
judge, hey,
is this required or not?
Because what's. What you're
being told by the governor and
by the AG is that every city
must sign this thing and you
cannot. Or under threat
of removal or under threat of
other political repercussions.
That is not. Again, I would ask
that you all wait to see how
that lawsuit ends up. There's
no deadline in state statute
that says you have
to sign this today. You can
defer the item, give it time to
see what the judge says if this
is actually required
by state law.
>> Give you 20 more seconds,
please,
to wrap up.
>> I just, you know,
you should listen
to what the State Immigration
Board is telling participating
agencies. They want you
to collect data. If you think
that you're just going
to have one or two officers.
The pressure from Sheriff
Botieri and Sheriff Grady Judd
and Larry Keefe and the
governor is telling you
different. They're going
to push for you to get 10% of
your police force designated as
ICE officers. They're going
to push for you
to collect data. They're going
to push. It's going to lead to
legal liability and honestly,
more fear, fear in this
community. I appreciate the
extra time. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Cuba. Laura
Kelly.
>> Good morning, Mayor. Good
morning, council members.
Laura Kelly, 4321 Northwest
81st Avenue. I've been a Doral
resident for over 11 years. I'm
an immigration attorney and a
Doral business owner. I urge
you to oppose any effort by
Doral to enter into a 287g task
force model agreement
with ICE. Let me be absolutely
clear. This agreement is not
required by state law.
In fact, the city of South
Miami has filed a lawsuit
challenging the state's
overreach. And during the most
recent legislative session,
lawmakers explicitly rejected
proposals to make 287g task
force agreements
for all police departments.
The legislature had a chance to
require this and chose not to.
What they did create is a state
immigration Enforcement council
which is already burdening
local police departments that
choose to participate with
these problematic directives,
including collecting and
reporting detailed data on
every stop involving suspected
undocumented immigrants,
gathering personal information
even when there's no criminal
conduct,
and pressuring departments
to deputize at least 10%
of their force as ICE agents.
This isn't
about public safety. It's
about turning local police into
immigration agents and
advancing a political agenda
that undermines community
trust, diverts local resources
and exposes the city
to legal liability. Our police
should focus on keeping Doral
safe
through community policing,
not immigration enforcement.
When police start acting
like ice, it creates fear,
not safety. Immigrant families
stop reporting crimes,
stop cooperating as witnesses,
and stop calling 911. This
makes all of us less safe. And
let's not forget who ICE is
targeting under this mandate.
These are not people
with criminal charges. These
will be people pulled over
for minor traffic infractions.
We're talking
about TPS holders,
asylum seekers and parole
recipients, people who were
here lawfully and are being
stripped of their legal status
without due process and are now
subject
to detention or worse,
being disappeared.
To second this, this kind
of agreement opens our city to
costly litigation and public
backlash. It erodes public
trust in the local law
enforcement and jeopardizes the
very relationships that
community safety depends on. I
strongly urge you
to ask the following questions
of your police chief. How does
Doral PD define reasonable time
to detain someone under only a
civil immigration warrant?
Given the Supreme Court case,
Rodriguez v. United States, how
will Doral ensure it complies
with a state exception
protecting victims and
witnesses of certain crimes
from immigration enforcement?
And how many officers are
expected to be deputized? And
is a department prepared to
meet the state's ongoing data
collection and enforcement
directives?
>> 20 seconds.
>> There is no deadline
in the state statute for
signing this agreement. I ask
that you agree with
Councilwoman Cabral and pull
this for today. Save it
for another day and at least
until you get a ruling
from the South Miami lawsuit.
For the safety,
trust and values
of our community,
please say no to 287g. Thank
you.
>> Thank you, Ms. Kelly.
>> Thank you.
>> Fernanda Gomez.
>> Good morning, everyone. My
name is Fernanda Gomez. 9874
Northwest 52nd Terrace,
Doral, FL, 33178. First
of all, I want to say I feel
deeply aligned and very
grateful
for all the comments shared
by the residents today who
spoke for me. So now I just
want to thank the organizers
and the city of Doral
for the incredible run Doral
done this past Sunday on April
13th. As a resident who had the
chance to experience it, I can
truly say it was magical and
beautifully organized. It
brought together family,
health and community in a way
that left a lasting impression.
Events like these represent us
as a city,
reflect who we are as citizens,
and set an example
for other cities to follow.
Thank you so much
for making this possible.
>> Thank you, Ms. Gomez. That
has exhausted our comment
cards. If anyone else would
like to speak on any item
on this count on this council
meeting agenda or anything
germane to this council,
please approach the podium.
Opportunity going once,
twice. Public comments is now
closed and we will move on
with our agenda. Thank you
for everyone who came
to speak today. All right,
I need a motion
on the consent agenda
before that. Madam Clerk, can
we please read the order
of the agenda?
>> Absolutely, Mayor. It'll be
all of the Items on section
6, with the exception of 6c,
6d, 6g, 6m and 6p.
>> Yes, correct. And we will
hear those at the discussion,
at the end of discussion. Then
we'll hear Councilwoman
Reinoso's lay down item, and we
will hear the city attorney's
lay down item.
In the evening session.
>> Sounds good. Mayor. Thank
you.
>> Thank you very much. Okay, I
need a motion to approve the
consent agenda.
>> Motion.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman Pineyro.
>> Second.
>> Second by Councilwoman
Reinoso.
>> All in favor say aye.
>> Aye.
>> Please show the consent
agenda passed.
>> Item 7A. Approval
of minutes.
>> I need a motion
on the approval
of minutes.
>> Motion.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman Pineyro.
>> Second.
>> Second by Councilman
Reinoso. All
in favor say aye.
>> Aye.
>> Please show the minutes
passed unanimously. Will now
move into presentations.
>> Item 8 a presentation keep
draw beautiful business award.
>> Thank you, Mr. Del Toro.
Please join us.
>> Good morning honorable
Mayor, Vice Mayor, members
of the city Council, Madam
Manager, Mr. Deputy Manager,
Mr. City Attorney, Madam
Clerk, Danny Del Toro,
Assistant Core Compliance
Director. This month we are
pleased to recognize Seagis
Property Group
for their outstanding
commitment to keeping Doral
beautiful. The property for
which they are being recognized
is located at 8315 Northwest
27th Street. Seagis Property
Group has been in the city of
Doral for 20 years. This
property is approximately
248,000 total square feet and
home to two local businesses.
Seagis Property Group is a
leading owner of warehouse
distribution facilities
focusing on acquiring and
developing industrial real
estate properties
in strategic locations. Some of
the ongoing maintenance efforts
to keep the property in optimal
condition include annual
trimming and planting
of landscape
with bi weekly service,
weekly porter service to
address immediate needs and bi
weekly inspection
by a maintenance technician.
It is with great pleasure that
we make we name Seagis
Property Group for the Keep
Doral Beautiful business award
for their continued efforts
to keep Doral beautiful.
Madam Mayor and council here
to accept the award on behalf
of the property is property
manager Eddie Felipe.
>> Thank you for joining us.
Mr. Felipe, would you like
to say a couple words?
>> Hi, my name is Eddie
Felipe. I'm the property
manager for Seagis Property
Group. I manage most
of their properties in Doral. I
just want
to say we're committed to
keeping our properties
beautiful and if anything, just
give us a holler and we will
fix whatever we need to fix.
>> Thank you very much. Would
you like to come up here
for a photo? Yeah. Thank you.
Okay, Madam Clerk, we're going
to move on to the discussion
items. I do want to mention
very quickly because I just
noticed the time. Time it's
10:55. I was going
to recess the meeting at 11:30
today cuz we do have a funeral
we need to go to of current an
elected official that passed
last week. I know that there
was a lot of items pulled.
When we recess the meeting,
these will be taken up
in the evening. But we do have
a commitment that we need
to get to. So the I think the
latest we can go is 11:45. So
we'll try and get to
through as much as we can,
but there may be a recess
till the evening. Okay, thank
you.
>> Item nine. A resolution of
the mayor and the city council
of city of Doral, Florida
supporting a partnership
with the Alpha421 group for a
temporary black box theater
Dural Cultural Arts center
for the performance of the
Walls Have Ears, La Paredes
Oyen, providing a timeline
for setup and performance days,
providing for authorization,
implementation, incorporation
of recitals and an effective
date.
>> Thank you, Madam Clerk.
This is my item. I'm going
to be as brief as possible. So
for quite a while now we've had
a lot of requests
to have theater
in our community. We have an
incredible cultural center that
I think could be utilized
for a lot of creative,
culturally driven events which
we've done. One of the things
we haven't done is immersive
theater. And so in exploring
these opportunities, I met this
incredible group a while ago
from Las Paredes Oyen. I
actually got to see their play
at the Westchester Theater
about two years ago. I think it
was right after COVID. Right.
Sometime after COVID. Four
to one group. The Alpha421
group received a grant
from the state of Florida last
year
on the Anti-communism Bill
to teach students the dangers
of communism. And so I'm going
to ask them
to come up and very,
very simply what we're asking
for is
to turn our cultural center
into an immersive theater for
about a month. They will need
some time to set up. So this
will start as of June 1st.
They will start to build the
theater and will run hopefully
through the end of July.
That's our expectation. They do
have a grant that they'll be
using to build all this and
some sponsorship which we're
committed to getting. The
city's participation would be
in an in kind of the community
center so that they could have
these plays for several weeks
and they would also be
encompassing and incorporating
our students
in the activities. Not only
will they be able
to come see the play
for free,
but they can actually partake
in the acting
in the backstage. So part
of the grant they received
from the state of Florida and
they can touch more about this
on this is
to encourage students
to get involved
through theater, through these
arts programs and learn
about the dangers
of communism. So I'd like
to call Robbie and Gabriel up
here who are going to do and I
think you have someone else
with you today that I have not
met yet. And they're going
to do a quick presentation on
what we will be seeing should
this be approved
in partnership with the city.
Thank you guys
for being here today. It, do
you have the presentation?
>> Right. Thank you Council for
having us here.
>> I think the,
the mic I can project. We're
good.
>> Okay. I thank you guys for,
for allow here today. Mayor,
it's, it's truly an honor
to be here presenting this in,
in, in front of all of you. My
name is Robbie Ramos. I'm an
actor. But I, I,
I took a chance
at writing and I started to
write a play that is loosely
based
on what my grandfather went
through as a political prisoner
in Cuba. I wrote it as a love
letter to him. And as we did
the play more and, and more,
we've done it twice before.
What I realized is that I had
written a love letter
to the really all Cuban
political prisoners and the
Cuban diaspora. It's a story
that is really emotionally
charging for me and I have a
team here now
beside me that is going
to help me bring it
to life this third time here
in Doral, which we're really
excited about, considering the
community that you guys have
here in the Venezuelan
community as well that we
really want to bring out
to see the play. If you can
turn to the next slide,
please. Oh, okay, perfect. So
the play is a one act drama.
It goes, it's, it takes place
during the Cuban Missile
Crisis and it goes back and
forth between a Cuban prison
and a Miami radio station in
1962. The, sorry, how do I.
There we go.
>> What's other one?
>> Nope, not doing it.
>> There we go.
>> This play is really a play
that I wrote
about four years ago and it's
for the American public. You
know, I really wanted
to make sure that the,
the message of freedom
of speech and expression is, is
one that I carry very deeply
and that I think is squarely
in the narrative
of this story. And now that
we're being able to have, you
know, students come
to see the play for free,
it's really going
to open up our horizon
to be able to bring in this
younger generation that I think
it's a message that,
that they really should hear.
Let me see if I can move this
next one. Yeah, we did it twice
before. We did it at the
Westchester Cultural Arts
center and at the American
Museum of the Cuban Diaspora.
Both times the play was
extended. And this summer, you
know, we hope to bring it here
to the city of Doral. And
really, you know,
show this play
to a new generation of Cuban
and Venezuelan generation,
and really all
of the citizens here at
Doral. Mayor Fraga here, you
know, I'm indebted to you
because it's really a story
that means so much to us, and
it's a story that we're really
excited to bring here
to the city of Doral. I've got
here Alan Koyaso, who helped us
with the appropriation and can
speak a little more
about that.
>> Good morning, Council. Good
morning, Mayor. It's the
appropriation is another
example of the importance
of the meaning of the play
to the state of Florida,
to our community. There is an
investment from the state of
Florida of $50,000 that will
help put this
on the forerunner.
But we can't really bring it
to life right
without you guys,
without what the city of Doral
is going to do
in providing the space to bring
this immersive theater project
to life. And
through the appropriation,
what we are able
to do is we're able
to provide free entrances
to students, including here
in the city of Doral.
But also,
let's say there's an FIU
student, an MDC student,
someone that wants to come and
see the play and very
importantly, learn
about why we need
to educate our youth
about the evils
of communism. I myself,
I left Cuba on a boat
with my mother when I was 8
years old. So this is very
close and dear to my heart. But
the investment that the state
is making, and
with you guys support,
I think that we can bring this
to a brand new level. We were
just talking as a team,
the type of immersive theater
that this will be is going
to be a whole level
of what we've done
in the other two times. So
thank you guys
for your support.
>> Thank you. Liana. I hadn't
recognized you. Good
to see you.
>> Good morning. My name is
Gabriel Bonilla. I'm the
director of La Paredes Oyen.
I'm just going
to touch quickly on sort of the
immersive component and how
this works. So you guys get a
very quick idea of what we're
proposing and what we want
to do in the space. And so let
me talk
about the actors first. We have
an incredible group
of actors. Susanna Perez, who
really needs no introduction,
but is a staple in the Cuban
community as an actress
in telenovelas,
in theater everywhere. Hector
Medina, who just finished
playing opposite Al Pacino in a
new feature film that should be
coming out very soon. Ariel
Tuxedo is also another staple
in the Miami acting
Community. Diane Garriga, who
just finished an episode of
Law and Order. And we have
Bill Schwartz, who used to be a
police officer and transition
into acting and has been the
biggest gift to us
in this play. It says set
design up here,
and these are old photos
of what we've done
in the past. But I'm going
to walk you
through this real quickly. As
an immersive component,
the space is going
to be transformed
from the moment you walk
in both spaces,
the lobby inside. The way that
this show will work is you can
watch the show about three or
four times and see something
new every single time.
At no points do the actors get
off stage. There's no true
blackouts. The actors may touch
you, they may speak to you,
they may walk around you. You
watch it in the round. And
whatever's happening
on stage is constantly living.
So there are three stages or
three main components. The.
The prison cell in Cuba, the
office of the prison cell,
and a radio station in Miami.
And while things are happening
simultaneously, things may be
quieter on one side, but the
stage is still living and it's
in real time. So you can watch
the show again about 3 and
catch something different.
We're going
to have the opportunity
to have the students as well,
part
of this immersive experience.
So I don't want
to give too much away,
but as you get into the show,
there are areas that are going
to be active and sort
of lively. And we want
to allow the students
to participate and be the
actors in those moments,
as well as backstage,
as assistant stage managers,
costumes, lightings,
they can run our soundboards.
There's opportunity
for anyone who's interested,
and we kind of want
to hold auditions and sort of
like a Make it a fun experience
for the students to showcase
what they're interested in and
their talents and how we can
allow them to participate
with us. And of course,
we're going
to be showcasing the artwork
of Kiki Valdez, who was
inspired
by the show when he came
to a reading. And he came
to us and was like, hey, guys,
you know, can I. Can I do a
series of paintings based
on the show? And we said, yeah,
why don't we do this together?
So these are just a few
of his paintings, but there's
also an artistic immersive
component as well.
Before the show and
during the show, all these
paintings will be displayed as
well. Some of our partners.
Robbie, you want to touch
on partners?
>> Sure, yeah, yeah. Havana
Club, that's now made by
Bacardi, has been a big partner
of ours ever since we did
Amparo a couple years ago.
Cuban Freedom March. Aliang is
one of the founders, and
Kaltura Media House is a
creative agency that we're
working with. So these are
three partners of ours right
now that we're bringing along
for this ride here in Doral. I
think that concludes our
presentation. Thank you all
for having us.
>> Thank you, Robbie, Gabriel.
So, basically,
just two things I want
to point out as well. The play
will be completely bilingual.
Don't leave, guys, just
in case there's any questions.
Will be completely bilingual. I
believe there'll be shows.
There's Fridays, Saturdays and
Sundays. But in the meantime,
there will also be an exhibit
of historical documents and
actual paintings that were
taken from prison cells in
Cuba on display. So it'll be
really just active all the
time. We've talked about
bringing speakers and political
prisoners and doing things
in the center during the time
that they're there
to really make it bring. Bring
it to life, make it immersive
and also educational. So I
think it's a great initiative.
They've got the funding
from the state, plus some
sponsors,
and I would really love
to see how our culture. That
was my first initial
conversations. And I really
want to see how the Cultural
center works as a theater,
since we get so many requests
for it to be theater or
to try and do theater there.
So I think it would be great
to do it with someone who. Or
an organization that not only
has done it before, but also
and understands the permitting
process and everything we have
to do,
but also has the funding.
That's always the hard part
in the city
to put everything it's taxing
on us. So hopefully I have the
support and we can move
forward, and this will come
to life in June. I think the
looking. We're looking to do
our opening night the 13th,
June 13th, and it will run
for a month. And hopefully
sales of tickets are good and
we can go all the way through
July 20th. Also, I want
to mention they're committed
to giving 20%, 15% or 10%. I
forgot we said. I don't recall.
Percentage
of the sales will go to Parks
and Police for Kids for the
tickets. I think we had said
15%, right?
>> Could be. Yeah.
>> 15% of the tickets. They've
been very transparent with
their budget and what it would
cost to pay the actors and
everything. But a percentage
of the sales will go to Parks
and Police for kids
to raise money. So it's a great
cause. And there's any
questions, please feel free
to ask them. And if not,
then we need a motion
to approve. Yes. Councilman.
>> So, a motion
to approve.
>> Thank you, Councilman.
>> Second.
>> Second by Councilman
Reinoso. Any questions? Okay,
being none. From now,
you'll work
with staff. I mean, I know
we've all been working together
with staff as well,
but we look forward
to having a great,
successful event. We're going
to have a media night,
so we hope you all participate.
Thank you, Madam Clerk. If
there's no other additional
questions,
please call a question.
>> Motion to approve may by
Councilman Pineyro. Seconded
by Councilwoman Reinoso.
[ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> All right,
thank you very much. We look
forward to working
with you all.
>> Thank you.
>> Have a good afternoon.
Okay, we move on
to item 9B.
>> Item 9C.
>> Oh, I'm sorry. Yes.
>> The mayor and the city
council of the city of Doral,
Florida, establishing a policy
requiring elected officials
to reimburse the city for
unused event tickets or table
seats purchased
with city funds when they fail
to attend and do not provide a
designated representative
providing for authorization,
implementation, incorporation
of recitals and an effective
date.
>> Thank you. This is
Councilwoman Reinoso's item.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Well, this
item I'm bringing up because,
you know,
I think when the city of Doral
is invited to events,
or we can sponsor or we can
attend, it brings a level
of prestige to the event. And I
don't think it's a good look
for our city when we have empty
seats there that have been paid
for. So my item deals
with fiscal responsibility.
You know, during my research,
I found out that, you know,
--, it is a French word
for responde play. And we all
do a very good job responding,
but we don't do a very good job
attending. So my item brings in
a payback system where if we
paid for a seat, the city
should be reimbursed if you did
not attend that event that you
-- to. And I would like
to make an amendment
on my item in the section 4
originally I have here.
Exceptions to this policy may
be granted
under extenuated circumstances,
such as medical emergencies or
unforeseen conflicts,
at the discretion of the city
manager and end it there.
Okay, that's all. And I'm happy
to entertain any conversation.
>> All right. Is there any
questions regarding this item?
>> Motion to approve.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman Pineyro.
>> Through the chair,
I have a question.
>> Yes, Councilwoman Cabral.
>> To the city manager
through the item. I mean, you
see,
you are the one that going to
approve or accept the absence?
>> Yes, ma'am, that is what the
resolution says.
>> My concern is
that it says that we have
to provide 48 hours
at least notice if, I mean,
there's circumstances where
someone wake up that day or
before going to this event that
they might feel bad physically,
some of their children or
something happens that they are
not going to be able
to be there. How are you going
to handle that? Because
sometimes we don't have 48
hours ahead of time
to let you know. And also if
you request a medical, because
sometimes there's someone that
have a stomach flu,
they don't need to go
to an emergency or urgent care,
they just need 24 hours
to clean up their system. So
how is that going to work?
>> Well, Councilwoman, just
speaking logically, I would say
that if someone is ill and
cannot attend, then they are
ill and they cannot attend.
>> I mean, well,
that's just an example
of illness. But someone,
something happened
with a car, did different
issues. I don't think that it's
fair to put, you know, 48 hours
limit. If somebody have any
issues that will come. I just
wanted
to make sure that it will be
in a fair way that it's going
to be judged. You have a
comment?
>> Absolutely.
>> I see. I see you talking
to the?
>> Through the mayor. As soon
as you're done. So are you?
>> No, I'm not. I'm not done.
So the reason that I'm asking
is just. I just wanted
to see, you know, what will be
a system that many of us,
you know, aside from being here
and serving the community, will
also have jobs that require
sometimes that we have
to be there for. For an urgent
situation and things
like that. So I just wanted
to make sure that this one.
That it will take
in consideration, have it on
the record that if we are not
able to give a 48 hour notice,
you will be able to. You wanted
to say something?
>> Can you please go ahead and
finish?
>> I have five minutes.
>> Yeah, I have not interrupted
you.
>> But you keep trying to push
me and I still have five
minutes.
>> No, that's what.
>> That's how he's conducted
the meeting.
>> No, those five minutes are
ticking right now. Go ahead,
please.
>> That's fine. And I apologize
for the interruption.
So I just wanted to, you
know, to clarify that and make
sure. I know that you are a
very fair person,
but I just wanted to make sure
that that is also taken
in account.
>> Well, thank you for that.
But the only thing I would
like to add is the time is a
policy question. It's not my
call, but yes, absolutely. If
someone is sick, if, you know,
if there was an issue
with a car not working or God
forbid,
a car accident or anything
of that nature,
obviously that will be taken
into consideration. But the
time allotted is a policy
question. So that's something
that you all have to decide.
>> Would you, Councilwoman, be
able then to eliminate the
at the time or at least to have
an excuse that will be then
evaluated
by our city manager instead
of putting a number
into the time due to the
different circumstances that
can happen. And many of us, I
mean, we are glad to be able
to go to the event to,
like you said, to support and
to be there because it is
important for the people that
are performing these events and
inviting us.
>> Through the mayor.
>> Yes, Councilwoman Reinoso.
>> So I think there's a level
of self-reporting,
self-governing that we need
to be responsible for. Right.
And I think your comments are
very interesting because it
kind of gives me a read
on your level of integrity.
Right. Because as public
officials, we have
to have integrity, right. Do
the right thing when nobody's
looking. So if there is a
family emergency,
if there is a medical
emergency, I think it is
to our discretion to alert,
which will now be the city
manager of that excuse. I will
not be making a change, though,
to the time.
>> Thank you.
>> Through the mayor.
>> Any other questions? Yes,
Vice Mayor Porras. Go ahead.
>> Councilman, can you just
clarify? Because the way that I
read it. Is the policy is you
need to notify within 48 hours,
but with an exception. Right.
So is the exception obviously
lower, like less than 48 hours?
>> Right, correct. Section
four. I mean,
let me see where it is.
>> That's the way that I read
it.
>> Yep. Section two,
is that correct? Yep, that
would be the correct way.
>> Any other questions? I do
have one comment. Just to, you
know, clarify something. I
think that this policy is
warranted because there's been
repetitive occurrences. I think
each time we have purchased
tables or tickets to events,
we've noticed that continuously
the same people say they're
coming and then don't show up.
And then we have half a table
empty. When those tickets could
go to directors that rep will
that represent the city. They
can go
to advisory board members. We
can invite members
of the community that want
to participate
in this foundation or
in this, you know,
in this event. So I think it's
wasteful spending and,
and just. I think it's. It's
disrespectful to say I'm going
to go to something and then not
show up. It's disrespectful
to your colleagues,
it's disrespectful
to the administration,
it's disrespectful
to the taxpayer. And there's
been repetitive occurrences.
And so I think this is a great
policy. I think it holds us
accountable. If you're not
going to go to the event,
you simply say,
I won't be able to make it.
And 48 hours should be enough
notice to let the
administration know that they
can invite someone else.
Sometimes people get left out
from our staff because there's
not enough space. And so I
think that this is a respectful
way of taking care of that.
Now, obviously there's
self-governance and I think
that there is common sense. If
you woke up that morning and
you're really sick,
I think that the manager can,
well, excuse that absence. If
there's not repetitive
occurrences. If there's
repetitive occurrences,
then that's just, you know,
someone not being respectful of
everyone's participation and,
and obligations. So I'm going
to be supportive of this. I
think it's good the way it's
written. I think there's common
sense and, and at the end
of the day, common sense is
what should govern. So thank
you very Much.
>> Again, just to clarify,
it's 48 hours. But if there's a
medical emergency,
which would be up
to the manager, too, obviously
there would be some
understanding. And it should
be, if you have an event
in the evening,
if you call early in the
morning because you're not
feeling well, unless it's a car
accident that everybody should
be able to see. Right. Because
there's gonna be some evidence
to it. But if you're feeling
sick and you know you have an
event that evening,
you should be able
to call the manager in the
morning or send a text and say,
I'm not feeling well, you can
go ahead and give my seat away.
And maybe the attorney can join
us, or maybe the manager comes
with someone else,
or maybe a director can come,
or maybe we reach out
to an advisory board member.
Maybe someone else
in staff can join us. And the
seat doesn't stay empty. The
table looks. It looks bad
on the city,
and it's wasteful spending.
It's sometimes $150 plate that
goes unattended because members
of the council didn't show up.
So I think that we can move
forward with the way it's
written.
>> I have another comment,
please.
>> Yes, Councilwoman Cabral.
>> On section four it says
exceptions to this policy may
be granted
under extenuated circumstances,
such as medical emergencies,
on foreseen conflict
at the discretion
of the city manager and
approval
of the city council.
>> That's what Councilman
Reinoso also asked to strike
out and approve
of the city council. It's going
to end at city manager.
>> Manager, just wanted
to make sure that.
>> Yeah, that was the amendment
she made. Okay. Madam Clerk,
please call the question.
>> A motion
to approve is amended, made
by Councilman Pineyro, seconded
by councilman.
[ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> All right,
thank you very much. We'll move
on to the next item. Madam
Clerk, Item 9d.
>> A Resolution of the mayor
and the city council
of the city of Draw Ford
authorizing the city manager
to assess the cost and benefit
of upgrading the electric
vehicle charging stations at
city hall and expanding the
installation of electrical
vehicle charging stations,
city parks, providing
for authorization,
implementation, incorporation
of recitals and an effective
date.
>> All right, this is Council
one Reinoso's item.
>> Thank you, Mayor.
>> Yes.
>> So I spoke to a few
of our residents, and one
of the concerns was, you know,
we are a smart city. This is
2025. And chargers charging
stations do not take multiple
hours to charge a vehicle. So
in our city building,
we have a few chargers. They
take an excessive amount
of time to charge. So I think
we need to revisit the charging
stations that we have and also
provide opportunities
to our city,
provide opportunity
to our residents of having
additional charging stations
at our parks. Right? We want
to make it easy for people
to come visit our city. Our
residents come, charge up the
car and not have an issue
with that. This
in modern times,
modern solutions. And I think
this is a great step to 2025
and the things that we need
to do to modernize our city
infrastructure improvements.
>> All right, yes,
Councilwoman, we have Carlos
Arroyo here,
our public works director. He
has his presentation and will
speak to more or less what our
proposal is for the city garage
and the parks.
>> Great.
>> Morning, Mayor, vice mayor,
council members, city manager,
city attorney, city clerk
members, in the,
in the public. Carlos Arroyo,
Director I'm going to go fast
because I know you had
to leave at 11:30. So we
currently have
at the government center,
the existing infrastructure,
we have four chargers, right?
We have all our chargers are
charge point. We have two dual
pedestal and two single
pedestal, right? We have two
chargers at the training and
community center. One is
single, another one is dual.
All of them are charge point.
And at the parks,
we have four duals at the
Doral Central park
on the west parking lot,
right? So the cost
of these chargers, you know,
we have it here, the MSRP,
for example, the,
the single pedestal is 2800.
We purchase them through the
sheriff state contract,
which makes them cheaper
for us. We have the cost here
of the dual two also, which is
$8,000, and we pay for 4,600.
And those are level two and the
level three,
which the MSRP is almost
$40,000. We pay 28,000. So all
these are just a separate note.
All these are installed
by city staff here at the
Garment Center. So here we can
see the location of the
existing infrastructure here,
the parking garage,
we have the two double ones on
the first floor and the single
and the double one
at the third floor.
ChargePoint provides us
with a dashboard, right? We
also have an internal one. The
one
on the top is the one provided
by ChargePoint, which basically
tracks usage, consumption, you
know, session length,
the electricity dispense
energy, etc. Right. And we have
an internal one which feeds
from the one that ChargePoint
provides. Currently, the
service is free for everyone.
So, you know, the average cost
at the government center
for kilowatts per hour is 25
cents. That's from March of
2024 to March of 2025. And the
actual energy dispense, the FPL
bill approximately totals
$3,000 for those vehicles. So
here at the facility we pay
monthly an average of $14,000
in FPL bills. And 3,000 is
for that. Right. So just an
interesting note. And as per
the EBA, every passenger
vehicle emits approximately
4.6 tons
of carbon dioxide per year.
Right. And based
on this value, the cities has
helped prevent the emission of
approximately half a million
pounds of greenhouse gases.
And this is like planting
like 5,800 trees and letting
them grow for 10 years. So we
are the only free chargers
in the area right now. Right.
So we've been discussions
with the city manager's office
to look at the possibility
of charging to recoup some
of these sort of funding's that
we're spending. Right. And also
to promote, transfer, use and
prevent or minimize abuse.
Okay. So some of the examples
in the area,
you have some chargers
at downtown Doral Paseo
boulevard, they charge 125 per
hour. They have a 30 minute
grace period and
after the time has expired,
the rate increases. Right. Per
hour. So the city of Miami
Springs, for example,
they charge 99 cents per
session plus 150 per hour. And
the city of Coral Gables, they
charge 30 cents per kilowatt
hour. And they have also a 30
minute grace period. And after
that the time hacks expired,
the rate increases by 3 cents
per minute. Okay. So as per the
Car and Driver magazine,
the average charging cost In
Miami, it's $0.36 kilowatts per
hour and the average charging
cost in the nation is 55 cents.
Okay, so we're going to look
into the possibility
of an establishing a rate with
the city manager's office and
see how we could charge if
we're going
to move that route. Right. The
current system allows us
to have various options. We can
have not charge some vehicles
or give a couple of hours free
and then increase the charging.
There's various options that we
could look at. So in order
for us
to improve the capabilities,
increase the infrastructure
at the government center,
we apply for a grant. It's
called the EECBG, the Energy
Efficiency Conservation Block
Grant that was awarded by the
Department of Energy. So the
city got awarded $140,000 and
it's going to be used
for these purposes. So we need
to actually increase the
electrical panel output and
also install a new transformer.
Right. So the plan is
to add those, improve the
panel, add the transformer,
install the infrastructure and
then add five dual pedestrian
chargers and one level three
single pedestal Charger, which
will be located
on the first and the third
floor of the parking garage.
So here you have the locations.
We currently have two double
chargers on the first floor.
We're going
to add an additional two. So
we're going to have a total
of four. And one level three,
which is the fast one. And we
are,
we're adding three doubles
on the, on the third floor
of the parking garage. That's
going to give us 17 ports.
And, you know, that's it. If
you have any questions.
>> Thank you very much.
>> I tried to go fast,
but any questions
from the council?
>> Through the mayor?
>> Yes, Councilwoman Reinoso.
>> I would like
for the city manager
to consider,
consider the possibility
of not charging our employees
to use the charging points,
whether it's
in the city building or
at our parks.
>> Through the mayor. Yes,
Councilwoman. So what we have
discussed is that certain the
companies that we have,
they have a way to be able
to obtain codes or be able
to exempt our employees
from doing that here or at any
of the chargers that we have.
So, yes, we are definitely
considering that as well. I
think with respect
to the charging, I think the
conversation that I've had
with staff is really not about
necessarily covering the cost
of the electricity,
although it will go
to cover the cost of the
electricity that we're
spending, but also because we
find that there's a lot of
people that come and leave
their cars
for extended periods
of time here in our garage.
They don't pick up their cars.
There are kids that are going
to school and leaving their
cars charging while they're
at school. And we don't get
to be able to have the service
for everyone to be able
to use it. So not only do we
want to expand the amount
of chargers that we have,
but we want to be able to make
sure that it's being used
responsibly by the user. So
that's one part of it. The
other part is that I also would
like to take some time to look
into which public works is
going to do. There are
companies that also want
to enter into agreements so it
doesn't bring a cost to us
to put the infrastructure
in and that we can enter
into agreements
in that sense. We prepared this
brief presentation
for the meeting
to inform you, but obviously
this would come back should we
decide to actually institute a
policy and do everything else.
So I thank the council woman
for bringing this forward. And
we're, we're definitely want
to move in this direction and
if it is the will
of the council.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you very much. Any
other questions?
>> Motion to approve.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman Pineyro.
>> Second.
>> Second by Councilwoman
Reinoso. If there's no
additional questions, Madam
Clerk, please call roll.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman Pineyro. Seconded
by Councilman Reinoso.
[ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> Thank you very much. All
right, we're going to take up
this last item and then we're
going to recess and hear the
rest when we come back. So let's
go ahead and take up item E.
>> Item E. Advisory boards,
committees and commission
member nominations.
>> All right? So, Madam
Clerk, you put this item. I
think everybody put the fourth,
their names as best as possible
with the changes that was made
to the policy was very
difficult because there was a
lot of people who wanted
to participate for the first
time and reasons why I was not
in favor of amending the policy
last time. It creates an undue
burden on residents who want to
start getting involved and
haven't been able
to participate in the past. So
in the evening, we'll be
amending the ordinances again
so that people can be added.
So I foresee that we will be
bringing back more names in
May. In the meantime,
if there's no objection,
we can go ahead and move
forward with an approval for
the current list that's being
provided so some of the boards
can start meeting.
>> Motion.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman Reinoso.
>> Second.
>> Second by Councilman
Pineyro. If there's no
questions, Madam Clerk, please
call the roll.
>> Motion to approve made by
Councilwoman Reinoso. Seconded
by Councilman Pineyro.
[ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> Okay. If everybody is
amenable, I'd ask for a recess
of this meeting. We will take
up the rest
of this agenda first at 6
o'clock this evening.
>> Motion to recess.
>> Motion to recess by
Councilman Pineyro. Second by
Councilwoman Reinoso.
On favor. Say aye.
>> Aye.
[RECESS]
>> Good evening, everyone.
To our April 16 council
meeting, evening session.
We're now calling this meeting
to order. Madam Clerk, please
call the roll.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Mayor we have quorum
>> Please rise to a pledge
of allegiance led by
Councilwoman Reynoso.
>> 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.
>> Okay, agenda, order
of business. Do we have
anything additional
from this morning? No, I think
we're going to continue
with the order that we had
from this morning. All right.
We will now go
into public comments. Public
comment is now open. Please
approach the podium. If you
would like to speak
to anything on this agenda or
anything germane to this
Council, you have 3 minutes
to speak
in a respectful manner
to this council. If you did not
fill out a comment card, please
visit the clerk so that you can
fill one out. State your name
and address for the record.
Now would also be a good time
to put your phones on silent,
please. Anybody who would like
to speak. Being no public
comment, we will close the
public comment portion
of this meeting. Madam Clerk is
the record. Flecker1 has chosen
to speak at this time. Okay.
We will now go into our morning
items that we left pending.
>> All right, so, Madam
Mayor, if it's okay,
we'll start with the two lay
down items and then we'll go
to the items
on consent that were.
>> Actually, let's go ahead and
go into to
in the same order we were in,
and we'll do a lay down
at the end.
>> Okay, sounds good. So then
we will go to item 6C, a
resolution the mayor and city
council of the City of Florida
approving a settlement
agreement with Novara providing
for implementation
incorporation recitals and
providing
for an effective date. This was
pulled by Councilman Cadre.
>> Okay. Councilor Mc, this is
your item.
>> Thank you. I just want to
say that I already have the
information that I needed
from the city attorney. So,
thank you for taking the time
this afternoon and meeting
with me.
>> You're welcome.
>> Thank you.
>> Would you like
to place a motion
to approve?
>> Motion to approve.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman Gabali. Need a
second.
>> Second.
>> Second by Councilman P. If
there's no other questions,
Adam. Clerk, please call the
vote.
>> Motion to approve by
Council Ma. Seconded by
Councilman P. Council Monad.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion Passes.
>> Okay, next Item.
>> Next item 6D. A resolution
on the city council
of the state to Florida
approving a settlement
agreement with L Stores
of providing for implementation
incorporation recitals
in an effective date. This is
pulled by Councilman Cabral.
>> Okay, Councilman Cabral,
this is.
>> I already have the
information about this item
through the. The city attorney.
>> Okay, thank you very much.
I'd like to place a motion
to approve.
>> Motion to approve.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman Cabran.
>> Thank you.
>> Second by Councilman
Pinero. Madam Clerk, please
call the roll. There's no
additional questions.
>> Motion to approve me by
Councilman Cabral. Seconded
by council. Pinero. Council
man.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> Okay, next item. Item 6.
>> Item 6G. A resolution
of the mayor
in the city council of city
of Draw Florida approving the
award of fiscal year 2025 cycle
community-based organization
grants in the amount of 33,350
to Mary Post Community
Services Corp. 2450 to the RA
Contemporary Art Museum. 3150
to Do Arts Inc. 3750 to
Everlasting Dance Foundation.
3750 to Miami Dynasty 43 to
Passion for La Vesca. And 4250
to SVC foundation providing
implementation incorporation
recitals and an effective date.
>> This was Paula.
>> Mayor Fryer.
>> Thank you, Madam Clerk. So I
just wanted to bring it to
everybody's attention. I
actually reviewed all the
applications for each of the
organizations that applied.
There was three that were left
out which I felt were not only
beneficial to the community,
but also equally deserving.
And so I'd like to ask for us
to fund them at $2,500 apiece.
If there's any questions. I
spoke to the CFO and the
manager's office and there is
funding that we can allocate.
And so I would request that we
please go ahead and fund those
three organizations as well.
If anybody has any questions,
it is. Give me one second. So
one
of them is memory OK corp. The
other one is power 2 voice
corp. And the other one is
education for all. All
of them nonprofit. If there's
no objections,
I need a motion.
>> Motion to approve.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman P. Second. Second
by councilmember. Madam City
Manager or city Attorney, do
you need additional
clarification on the funding
or. I believe the funding
source was identified
by the CFO.
>> No, the funding source was
identified by the CFO.
>> We're good on that.
>> Okay.
>> Just want to make sure it's
clear on the record. Okay,
there's no more questions.
Final Clerk, please call the
roll.
>> Motion to approve named
by council Anto. Seconded
by council. Madrigal.
Council.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> All right.
>> Thank you very much
for your support. We move on
to the last pooled item.
>> Second to last name.
>> This is M. I'm sorry. I
missed.
>> M only had P. Item 6M A
resolution in the man. The city
council of the city of D.
Florida, pursuant to section
2,322of the city's code of
ordinances authorizing C
minority to utilize the
General Services
Administration Contact
Contract Number GS07F0031W
negotiated with Millennium
Products in an amount not
to exceed $1 million
for the purchase
of license plate readers,
LPR and equipment. Authorizing
the city manager
to expend funds from account
number 001-600-5500647,
providing supplementation
corporation recitals and an
effective date. This was pulled
by Councilwoman.
>> Okay, thank you very much.
Councilwoman Cabral, the floor
is yours.
>> Thank you for meeting
with me,
the city manager and se
Attorney for providing the
information that was not
include, and I understand it
was, let's say,
sensitive information. So,
thank you for sharing that
with me and going over it.
Okay.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman Cabral.
>> Second.
>> Second by Councilman
Pinero. Any other questions
being? None, Madam President,
please follow.
>> Motion to approve made by
Councilman Cabral. Seconded
by Councilor Pinero.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> Okay, start now. We're going
into the final poll. Item.
>> Item P. A resolution remain
in the city council city
to draw forward. Authorizing
the city to enter
into memorandum
of understanding with the
United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement ICE,
the component of the
Department of Homeland
Security DHS as a participating
United States governmental
agency. Authorizing the city
manager execute,
set agreement and
to do all things necessary to
effectuate this resolution
providing for authority,
implementation, incorporation
recitals and an effective date.
This was pulled by council
Mona.
>> Okay, Madam Clerk, thank you
very much. Councilman Cabral,
you pulled this item.
>> Yes, thank you. I decided to
pull this item because I know
that it's offensive item. And
so many residents that have
already reached
out asking questions. And I
know that they're very
concerned
on how things might be handled.
How things, unfortunately,
have been handled in some other
states and municipalities.
So, I know that this was our
police chief who plays
in the agenda. And I wanted to
through the mayor,
to the manager. I would like
to ask some questions
to our chief.
>> Yes, Chief, if you could
come up.
>> Please, to the mayor,
to the councilwoman. If I can
lay down just a couple
of facts and issues
with regards to this
before the Chief speaks.
>> Yes, Mr. City Attorney.
Yes, absolutely.
>> Thank you very much, Madam
Mayor. Thank you, Council. I
just wanted
for the council members to
understand the reason why this
item was brought before you.
This is an item that pretty
much all
of local governments,
sheriff's offices, municipal
police departments have been
asked to enter and the
Attorney General, James
Oatesmeyer has taken the
position that not signing the
letter is violative of
Florida Statutes. 908102 what
908102 is, it's called the
Sanctuary City Law. Sanctuary
city, the definition is a local
government that adopts or a law
or policy that has that impedes
a law enforcement agency
from complying with either
immigration law or impedes a
law enforcement agency
from communicating cooperating
with a federal immigration
agency.
In this letter that they sent
The City of Fort Myers on
March 18, 2025, the Attorney
General opined that the council
disapproving the signing. It
was a 33 vote. So it died the
motion and by dying it said
that the city had violated the
Sanctuary City Law 908102 and
that it could, and I quote,
states sanctuary policies are
not tolerated or lawful in
Florida. Immediate corrective
action is required. Failure to
correct the council's action
will result in the enforcement
of all applicable civil and
criminal penalties, including
but not limited to being held
in contempt, declaratory
injunctive relief and removal
from office. By the governor.
Recently, two days ago, on
April 14, 2025, in the city
of Orlando, the counsel who had
signed 287 decided to take an
action or pass a resolution
that would somewhat minimize
what the police department
could do. And
in a similar fashion, the
Attorney General sent a similar
letter threatening that it
violated 908, 102 and that
by doing so the city of
Orlando could face criminal
civil penalties and a removal
from office. I can tell you
that in the case of the City
of Fort Myers, what ended up
happening is that the city
reconvened and they did pass
the 287 and I believe that the
City of Orlando is also not
passing that resolution.
Attorney General's opinion are
not necessarily binding, but
they are persuasive and most
local governments follow their
lead. I can give you one
example. Earlier today we did
pass a resolution authorizing
myself as a city attorney
to take action
against the tax Collector.
Should the tax collector decide
to withhold the 2%? That whole
argument is based
on attorney general opinions
from 1970s. The City of Doral
does not allow for certain
electronic participation
to count for quorum based
on an Attorney General's
opinion of what quorum means
and their interpretation
of statute. And that's followed
by the entire state. So
attorney General opinions are
extremely persuasive and they
are followed and they're.
Besides that, the Attorney
General does have the authority
to do what he is stating here,
enforcing criminal penalties
and civil penalties amongst all
of you passing this is painful
for all of us. We're all
immigrants. I'm an immigrant.
Everyone here is. We all have
families that derive from
different places where right
now there's great suffering
for what's going on
in confusion. Nevertheless, we
all took oaths to defend and
protect the. I took my oaths
and you did as well. And this
is one where we have very
limited discretion
on what we can do. We're being
mandated by the state
to take certain actions,
and if we don't,
we're being threatened
with criminal penalties. So I
just. I kind of wanted
to put that out there. This is
not something that the city
wants to do. I know, but it's
something that the city is
pretty much being mandated
to do.
>> Thank you, Mr. City
Attorney. Madam Councilman, you
had a question?
>> Yes. Like I said, the reason
that I call this item is
because
of how sensitive it is. And I
know that there are many
questions from our residents
and I just want to go through
those ones. I don't know if you
have some
of those answers already or
then for you to keep in mind,
because I would like you
to answer those ones then later
on because I think they're
important for our residents.
So within. One of the first
questions is that I wanted
know. Have you already been
in contact with ICE? Have you
already met with them prior
to this meeting,
to today's meeting?
>> No, no,
I haven't had any
communications with anybody
from the ICE office. This is
just a preliminary.
>> If you can get closer
to the.
>> Yeah, I haven't had any
communication
with any supervisory staff
from ICE regarding this item.
So, it's just in the infancy
stages right now and, you know,
after today, we'll see based on
your vote how we move forward.
>> Okay. So, I just wanted
to proceed with some of the
questions that I know that are
concerned from our residents.
And like you said,
you haven't met yet with them.
But anyway, maybe you have
already an idea or you will be
able then
to answer those questions.
Later on. So, some
of them is, what are the
department policies regarding
detained requests from.
>> Well, we have a multitude of
MOUs memorandum understandings
with law enforcement agencies,
not only
in the local and state level,
but
at the federal level as well.
Already we have under carl
of law, a duty
to act and assist our, you
know, partnering agencies. We
haven't been requested
at this time to agree
to assist in any dealings
in terms of immigration. Our
primary focus is not
immigration matters
in our community. It's
something that as a police
chief, as a son
of immigrants, you know,
and been here two and a half
years, I have a deep love
for this community,
especially the Venezuelan
community. A lot of them are.
Have become close friends
of mine. But we have a duty to
act as well and follow the law.
And we have an amazing legal
team as well. And the current
interpretation is that this is
a mandate and we will follow
the law. My opinions come
second. Our duty to act and be
responsible comes first.
However, the primary focus
of the Doral Police Department
is the safety and security
of residents
in this community. And our
officers are not currently
trained or equipped,
nor is it our mission
to enforce immigration laws
in our community. When we
conduct a simple traffic stop,
our officers are not.
>> Sorry to interrupt you.
It's just because I have a few
more questions.
>> Maybe what I'm saying is
answering some of it.
>> No, no. So that's why I just
wanted to go over them and try
to have a short answer so then
I can go
over the concerns.
>> Sure. I wanted to just
finish a statement. I was
saying, and the primary focus
of our officers
during encounters with citizens
do not involve questioning
regarding their immigration
status. We are here to serve
and protect each and every
person in this community,
regardless
of their immigration status.
Now, during the course
of our investigations, first
extreme felonious acts or
anything related
to that matter. If during our
investigative process,
it comes
to light that the person is
in this country illegally,
there may be additional charges
that that person may face. But
the primary encounters that we
face on a daily basis, not me
here, but for me to stand up
here and say that I do the work
of the men and women
behind me.
>> I know I'm going
to cut you, please. Because
then I have to go
over and we have a mini.
>> Let me. Let me clarify
something, Councilwoman. Your
time is not counted when he's
responding,
because he's responding.
>> It's not about my sign.
>> I'm speaking right now.
>> It's not about my five
minutes. I have a set
of questions and I just wanted
to go over it. It's great that
you're putting your statement,
and that's great.
But the thing is that some
of the questions it might be
within already,
and I don't want you
to be repeating. So it's just
that.
>> That.
>> It's just that,
Councilwoman, when. When the
chief is responding,
he's not just responding
to you, he's responding to all
of you.
>> I understand, but I'm the
one making the questions,
not you.
>> But I'm chairing the
meeting, and that's okay.
>> But I am. I already request
that I want
to ask some questions. It's
been granted to me. So this is
my time, tell you what,
and that's okay.
>> Here, here's. Here's how
we're going to handle this. No
one will be interrupted. If the
chief needs
to finish his statement,
he'll finish it. And then you
will have the time
to ask all your questions. No
one is going to take that away
from you. However, I think it's
unfair to not allow someone to
finish a statement when you're
asking very sensitive
questions. That's how we're
going
to conduct ourselves here.
>> Let's do this.
>> Could you please then give
your statement at the end? If
there's something that is not
included within the questions
that I'm asking you,
I would love for you
to give your statement.
Listen, I am not here
to attack anybody. I'm just
here to make this. This is
like how it sounds like I'm
asking these questions because
these questions are important
for our residents.
Like you said, we are here
to protect them.
Like you said,
I am also the daughter of an
immigrant. I am an immigrant,
too,
because I came here when I was
25 and expecting my second
child. So I know how it is. I
went through the process too,
like everybody else. So I just
want to ask these questions
because I know that there are
many people that they want
to hear the answer. And
like I said, if there are some
answers that you don't have
right now, that's okay. If not,
we can have these. You can give
those answers later
on because I know that many
of them might be
after you already have. You
know,
the plan that you already have,
sit down with ICE and whatever
other agencies that have
to be within. So it's not. We
do understand and we know that
you already have shown that
you're here
to protect the community,
to look after us. And I do
understand that, and I'm pretty
sure that everybody knows that.
But I just wanted to go
through these questions and
like I said, there's some that
you might not have the answer
right now, and that's okay. So
it's just that.
>> I understand what you're
saying, ma'am, but the
statements that I am making
reach far
beyond the communication
between you and I and those
in this room, the officers, my
officers that encounter these
questions every single day out
in the community. It's
important for them
to recognize that the
leadership in this city
respects the valuable work that
they do every day. And we are
not communicating amongst
ourselves only. We have media
outlets here. We have residents
here
in this community that love
Doral, that love our Police
Department. And my responses
are not only
to your questions, but to the
questions that we get every
single day. The men and women
behind me that are behind the
scenes doing the work every
day. So even though I am
stopping you.
>> To be able to do comments,
but.
>> That's the reason that I
may be expanding a little bit
on my responses and to.
Please, I don't speak often up
here, but give me the chance
to address
from a global perspective.
Thank you.
>> I am not stopping you
to answer. I'm not stopping you
to be able to give your
statement. I just wanted to go
through the questions and then
you will have all the time that
is allowed by the council
for you
to say everything that you want
to say.
>> Thank you.
>> And yes, I do appreciate the
Police Department. I actually
was the chair for the. The vice
chair of park and Police for
Kids here. So how do you
balance. How do you plan to
balance enforcing local law
while ensuring immigrant
communities feel?
>> Safe reporting crimes by our
actions every single day,
ma'am. Whether it's a copper
service, whether it's a coffee
with a coffee event,
whether it's one of the mayors
or the vice mayors or any
of our elected officials,
amazing events that go on.
This committee community. Our
officers are there hand
in hand each and every day.
The backbone of our agency is
community policing. The
relationships that we've made
with this community far exceed
any law in this country. The
bonds of relationships
in our schools,
our school resource officers,
building the rapport
with the students,
our community outreach unit,
visiting homeowners'
associations
on a daily basis,
are the number
of warnings that we give
instead of citations
in the community. The
educational campaigns that we
embark on
through social media platforms,
communication platforms,
through digital media,
through a host of channels,
that's what ensures the trust
in the community partnerships
that we have established
in this community. Not only for
the last two and a half years
that I've been here, but
over the 17 years that the men
and women behind me over the
17 years that those two majors
have been in this department
over the 17 years that that
lieutenant over there has been
in this department,
they have laid the groundwork
for the trust that we have
in this community. And I've
taken the baton, and my job is
to take it to the next level,
which I'm doing.
>> Are you planning to increase
personnel and how many? If you
already have a plan
to be able then to work
within this test as well?
>> Well, through the support
of our entire elected body,
our city manager, we have been
increasing the number of police
officers here that we have for
the last two and a half years.
When I came, we had a little
over 130 sworn officers. Now
with the folks
in the academy, we have about
170. We will continue,
but we will be continuing to
staff our officers so that we
can put extra costs
in schools, extra costs
in our intersections. Like
every time there's someone that
drives into our community,
every single day,
there's marked police cars
with their lights on,
deterring crime. We have
over a 40% reduction in crime
over the last three years. One
of the safest cities
in this country. And that comes
on the heels
of adding additional officers,
not adding additional officers
because of this bill. Adding
additional officers
to create. Create additional
community trust and deter crime
that we've been doing.
>> Understand that these are
questions that are brought
to me, and I'm just the voice
of residents that want.
>> I love. I love the
questions. Bring them on.
Because all we do is keep
highlighting the good work
of those behind me.
>> And that's. And that's how.
That's why you see all your
love and all the. Our police
officers,
we always are very grateful
for all the work that they do.
So like I said,
these are not questions
to criticize. These are not
questions. What have.
>> These are just simple
questions.
>> No, no, I just want.
>> I'm passionate because I
love. And I. Not only do I love
them, but I see the work that
they do every day
behind the scenes in the face
of adversity, often
in the eyes of criticism. So
it's not a popular job. It's a
thankless job. And they go
above and beyond,
and we are successful because
of their work. So I love the
questions. It gives you an
opportunity, a platform to
highlight their good work.
>> I know how it is. I have a
cousin that is a police
officer, and I also have a
cousin that he's a military,
too. That might be already.
Like I said in some
of your statements, you might
be already answering some
of these questions, but I'm
just asking you these as part
of the respecting our residents
are asking questions. What
measure are you planning
to put in place to build trust
in immigrant communities given
the presence of ICE
in the area?
>> Well, I think I answered
that.
>> That's why I was telling
you, you.
>> Know.
>> How are you going to handle
situation when victims are or
witnesses of crime may have
concerns about their
immigration status?
>> By this, by being able
to communicate
during these times,
we are able
to use our platforms that we do
to communicate. We're embedded
into the community. So this
provides opportunities
to communicate. I feel
at the root
of it that our residents,
visitors, people that come
to school here,
people that come
to play here, have trust
in us. Yes, we use calls
for service to educate the
community as well. It's not
only us responding to a call
for service. We, we have a
multitude of training,
whether it's
in crisis intervention, whether
interpersonal skills
de-escalation. We know how
to handle situations. We know
that some situations are best
handled with silk gloves and
not maybe an arrest, looking
for alternatives to arrest.
And many times,
we do that.
>> Thank you. What will be the
process for handling complaints
or concerns regarding potential
overreach
in collaboration with?
>> Well, we have an internal
affairs unit that handles
internal complaints. We also
have a state attorney's office
here that, you know,
investigates certain matters
involving police conduct. So we
have the infrastructure
in the backbone established,
ready to investigate.
But because it's
in the infancy stages, because
a memorandum understanding
hasn't been drafted yet
by our attorney's office, this
is just a preliminary list
today provides an opportunity
to start exploring the
partnership so that we are
compliant with the law.
We'll have those detailed
items forthcoming.
>> What kind of training will
the officers receive regarding
federal immigration law and
their limitations?
>> That's yet
to see.
I have yet to meet
with any personnel from ICE to
see what training our officers
are going to receive specific
to any duties that are required
by law. But in order for us
to be compliant by law,
we will partake in any training
that's needed. I'm pretty
convinced that officers already
have a skill set in how
to deal with certain matters.
But any training,
new training that comes
out that we got
to partake in, in order
to be compliant with the law,
we'll have to partake
in it.
>> How does your department
will educate officers to
identify potential civil rights
issues in collaboration with
ICE?
>> I'm sure the training will
cover that.
>> So those were the questions
that were referred to me. And
my duty is to be able
to be the voice
of the community for those ones
that are concerned as well.
Those Ones are also that
already have their status
already in place. So.
Because, as you know and
everybody knows,
our community is based
in many immigrants. And there's
some that they're within, you
know, in the process
of getting their status.
Others, unfortunately,
haven't been able to. So,
anyway, we represent everybody
that lives here in the state.
So that's why I wanted
to ask you these questions,
because it was important
for them. Like, they say that
they want to hear from you.
So, like I said, again,
this is not attacking anybody.
This is not trying to put you
in a difficult spot.
But they wanted those answers.
And that's my duty as well as
to thank you and the
department. I always are
grateful
for everything and everything.
Every work you do, every day,
the job that you do, you go
over beyond your job
description every day. So, I
love the department and I
always looking forward to work
with all of you.
>> I mean, I appreciate the
question. It gives,
like I said, an opportunity
to highlight the work
of those folks. I love the
Venezuelan community. I come
from, you know, my mother
from Spain, my dad's Cuban, so
I'm very sensitive
to the needs
of the immigrant community.
And my parents still don't
speak English. So it's, you
know, for me, it's home.
But we have a job to do,
but we're going to do it
from an amazing place. We have
amazing people here. We're
sensitive to the needs. And I'm
grateful that I have the
opportunity
to explain the role
of the police and what may come
of this. I ask you to give my
personal cell phone number.
You have my personal cell phone
number, although you rarely use
it. I ask you to give it
to any resident or. Or visitor
in this community that has any
questions regarding our roles.
Please give them my personal
cell phone number,
and I'll be happy
to answer any question.
>> And I do understand why I
was trying to cut you a little
bit short because
of the questions that I have,
that it was going
to be redundant, you know,
for you to be able
to answer those ones.
>> Give them my cell phone
number. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Thank you
for answering. Okay.
>> Any other comments or
questions?
>> I have some good questions.
>> VICE Mc Chief. Hold on.
Don't go.
>> Thank you. I'll be brief
because I know the resolution
was amended,
so it answered a lot
of the questions that I had,
actually. First, I want
to thank you for all the great
work that you do, your
commitment, your dedication,
the dedication
of all your offices, and I
think we do have the best
police department in all of
Florida. So, thank you
for all the Great work.
Obviously, there's a lot
of fear. There's a lot
of questions,
and I've been trying to answer
them as well. I obviously do a
lot of work within the
community. I'm an immigration
lawyer, so I hear a lot
of people, I help a lot
of people. And there's a lot
of bad narratives. There's a
lot of myths, there's a lot
of lies. And so, I want
to take this opportunity to ask
you just a couple questions so
that we can clarify some
of that. The first one is,
will suspicion of unlawful
immigration status be a primary
basis for a stop or questioning
someone?
>> No. No. And profiling is
another term that's been thrown
out, you know, but no,
we don't partake
in profiling due to any.
For any reason. And that
definitely will not be
happening with the Doral
Police Department.
>> Okay.
>> There was also a rumor that
the Doral Police Department
participated in ICE rate here
in Doral.
>> Is that true?
>> That is not true.
>> Okay.
>> I think those are the only
two questions because the
resolution really changed a lot
of the wording. And I think
that just to understand this is
an initial step towards
discussing an agreement. It's
something that I think will
help the Police Department.
It's going
to also help the City of Doral
to remain in compliance with
both state and federal
mandates. I think it's an
important step in maintaining
public trust as well, because
our police department does a
lot
of community work already,
and anyone that lives in the
city knows that we can trust
our police. And you've done so
much work to build that trust
that I'm fully confident that
you're not going
to abuse that. And we're not a
city that weaponizes our police
department. And so, for me, I
think that I just really wanted
to make it clear that one,
while we don't have an actual
agreement,
and this is an intent
to discuss one, it's not going
to be designed to discriminate
against anyone, nor obviously
would this council ever support
doing it or for that purpose.
And as I said, I know that we
will make sure that our
law-abiding citizens and
residents are not negatively
affected. We do want to ensure
that we are applying and also
enforcing our laws because we
want to continue
to have a safe community. And I
think that this is something
that as a city, we are going
to work hand in hand
with you, with the community to
make sure that it does get
supplied correctly. So I just
wanted to mention that, and you
have my full support.
>> Thank you, Vice Mayor.
>> Thank you. Any other
questions, comments?
Councilman Pinero.
>> Thank you, Mayor. I also
want to thank you, Chief,
for clarifying and for your
statement because I think that
it really answered a lot
of the concerns out there. And
I want to start by saying that
because unfortunately I think
that for the past couple
of weeks have been a lot
of misinformation
out there and especially from,
not only from certain part
of the media, but so-called
community leaders that start
spreading some rumors and, and
things that we're not planning
to. Certainly, we have never
done it in Doral and I'm
sure that we're not going
to do it now. And that's why I
want to say that I trust
in your judgment.
>> Thank you.
>> And I trust
in all the men and women
behind you. And I do say that
we do have the best police
department in Miami Dade county
in the state of Florida. And
that is recognized by other
agencies and the numbers that
we have since we had the lowest
crime rate in Miami Dade
County. So, I want
to thank you for that and I
know that we're going
to make sure that it continues
to be that way. You have built
that community policing that we
have been talking about
for a year, two years, and you
have done an incredible work
on that. But I also want
to use this time as the only
Venezuelan American
of this group to,
to ask especially again, those
so-called community leaders
to stop using the Venezuelan
community as the target.
Because what is going on or
what we're discussing right
now, it really doesn't have
to include the Venezuelan
community at all. I mean,
this is not to target one
particular community. And I
think that it's unfair. That
only creates more division,
more panic
out there than trying to find
out how this is going
to move forward. And we have
to look back how we actually
got to this point. We're
dealing with this,
unfortunately, because
of four years
of open border policy. That was
a disaster, disaster. And now
our communities are facing the
consequences. Unfortunately,
the Venezuelan community is one
of those. But I want
to make sure, and I want to be
clear that as I understand the
fear that many in our city
feels right now because we're a
city of immigrants, I mean,
it's a fact that we have closed
that. 40% of our Doral
residents are Venezuelans and
most of them fled the country
for persecution, oppression,
humanitarian crisis as
Cubans, as Nicaraguans and
other members of our community
from different parts
of the world. And certainly,
there are no criminals. We know
that. We know that there are no
criminals. There are small
business owners, there are
students, there are
professionals, there are
families that are contributing
to our community every. And
it's something that I wanted
to leave on the record because
I recognize that too. I also,
as I have been mentioning and
saying for the past two weeks
to different media outlets and
reporters, you know, this
agreement we're looking forward
once it's signed,
certainly I know is meant to
target individuals who have
committed crimes, not
to roundup of law-abiding
citizens. I do believe that no
one should be targeted because
of how they look,
as I have been saying
in the past, or the language
that they speak. And I will
certainly make sure,
as we have heard
from my colleagues as well, to
ensure that our police
department certainly keep
acting with dignity and
upholding the rights
of everyone in our community.
So as having also mentioned
to the media, for me it's not
an option. I mean I'm not 100%
in support
of everything that is going on.
Absolutely. No, I mean this is
not,
we're not proposing this.
We're not,
I'm not the one moving forward
in this. It's the state law.
We're just following the law,
we're following the rules. And
it's something that people have
to understand as well. But
at the same time
to understand that we're here
to make sure that not only that
we're following the law,
but that we're going to make
sure that this is done the
right way. And for me, this is
not just a blank check that
we're signing to the state of
Florida. If
by some reason we have to bring
back and have a discussion
about it,
I'll be more than glad
to do it. So, but I want to
make sure the residents
understand and especially the
media that is here as well,
that we're here to do the right
things and we're going to make
sure that is done the right
way. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Councilman. Any
other comments? Councilwoman
Reynoso?
>> Okay, love first Chief.
>> I think you did an excellent
job answering the questions. I
think that brought a lot
of clarification to our
community that was extremely
needed at this point. I want to
thank all our police officers
as well.
>> I know that they worked
really, really.
hard day in and day out.
And what I would hate to come
out of this agenda item is
for that hard work
to be affected
in a negative way. And I have a
message to the media. I hope
that the media will use their
platform to clarify what has
been reported and help our
police and help our city send
the right message to our
community that public trust
should not be affected because
of this MOU the mission is very
clear. Our police is here to
serve and protect and that
immigrants, all people
within our community, will be
protected and taken care of.
That's my comment.
>> Thank you, Councilwoman. I
do have some final comments
before we take up the item. So
first, I also want to thank the
chief police and the entire
police department. I think you
guys do a great job of being
out there and building
relationships
with our residents. And it's so
important. And I think it's
always been a priority
of this department.
Unfortunately, as it's been
stated here today,
and I passed out a folder,
as we did a lot
of research before,
we were told that this needed
to come forward, and we had
to do this to be in compliance
on the obligation that had been
put on us by the state
to comply. We have a. We have
an obligation and a
responsibility
to follow the law. It would be
hypocritical of us
to tell any community,
you need to follow the rules
and follow the law,
and then we go around and do
something different. We don't
just take red lights because we
don't like red lights. It is
the law and we have
to follow the law. And while we
may not like it, as
Councilman Pinero very well
said, we didn't make the law.
Can we sit here and watch
things that happen
in court and then repeal it?
Absolutely. And we'll do that.
And I think that no other
community has spoken up for its
community as much as we all
have, because we can be from
the same party and have a
difference of opinions and do
it respectfully,
but doesn't preclude us
from having
to comply and follow US law.
So I want to thank you for your
comments because I think it
very clearly stated where our
priorities are and where the
heart of this city and this
police department is. And we
want no one to feel threatened
or victimized or feel anxious
about what's happening.
Although I know all those
things are hard to put aside
with what's being experienced.
I've made it very clear in
every time I've been asked that
we are not here to weaponize
our police department. I think
that you humanize what the work
of police officers do,
which is a very difficult job
to do. And it's harder today
to find people who want
to come into the line of public
service and law enforcement
because of its stereotypes.
And so obviously legislation
like this doesn't help that
understanding the intent
of why it's done many times.
And so I think our job is
to continue
to raise the voices of those
that we know that come here
to do the right thing,
those who are here following
the law, those who are here
to provide,
to be productive members
of our society. But I think the
most important part of this is
this resolution is not the
memorandum of understanding.
This is giving direction for
our legal department and
administration to enter
into a man of barranda
of understanding.
With that being said, there
were a couple items I asked
to be included
into the resolution,
which is now before all
of you and Councilman Cabral, I
believe this answers the
questions that you ask more
than anything. And so it's
important
to highlight what is actually
in front of us. One of the
whereas clauses says it is
desired the city council, that
an agreement be executed that
fulfills the city's obligations
under Florida law without.
Without exceeding budgeted
funds. We cannot provide
resources we don't have. So
we're not going
to take officers off
of our patrol, our officers
off of our HOA fraud unit,
or officers off of certain
units that serve a purpose to
do a purpose that we're not
responsible for having
to serve. Additionally, we
added in the final where, I'm
sorry, in the final section,
in section 2 in the last
statement says as a
participating United States
government agency to protect
for operational assistance
pertaining to the enforcement
of laws
to combat illegal immigration
to the extent necessary
to comply with Florida law,
which means no one's going
above what we need to do
to comply with our obligation
by the state of Florida. So
while many of us may have an
understanding that this is a
difficult item that we are not
proposing, rather doing
ministerially because we have
to comply, I think the
department has its direction
on what its priorities are, and
I don't think it's ever lost
its way on that. And this
for sure won't steer them
in any wrong direction.
But we do have an obligation
to comply and we will continue
to watch what happens in the
courts and everything else
that's being challenged so that
we have an opportunity
to act should we need to
in those cases. So I want to
thank also our city attorney
because he worked quite some
time on this. I really drove
him crazy
in making sure we had all
of our legal. So the city
wasn't in any liability
on either side.
On either side. Because I think
that overall the moral
obligation
of our police department is
to serve and protect everyone.
So thank you all very much
for what you do. And we look
forward to continuing
to support our men and women
in blue. And every single
resident that lives
within the City of Doral will
continue to lift the voices
of those who are deserving
of that.
>> Thank you, ma'am.
>> I'll ask for someone
to place a motion. Motion?
Motion to approve by
Councilman Reynoso. Second by
Councilman Pinero. Madam
Clerk, please call the roll.
>> Motion to approve I by
Councilman Reynoso.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> All right,
thank you very much all
for your patience
on this item. Thank you,
chief. Great job. All right,
we're going to take council
Moreno to lay down. Yes.
>> May I read it
into the record, ma'am?
>> Yes.
>> A resolution of the mayor
of the city council
of the city of D. Florida
expressing support for House
Bill 983 sponsored
by state representative Juan
Carlos Por, providing for the
middle incorporation recitals
and an effective date.
>> All right, Councilman
Reynolds, so this is your lay
down item.
>> Thank you, Mayor. This laid
out lay down item has to do
with House Bill 983. It was
proposed by Representative
One Card Harvest for us. It has
to do with homeowner
association reform. Why does
this matter in Doral? Many
of our neighbors in Doral are
run. Many of our neighborhoods
in Doral are ran by HOAS. And
we often hear the complaints
about lack of transparency,
financial issues,
not having access
to important records. And this
bill helps protect homeowners
and gives them more rights and
oversights. For that reason,
I thought it was very important
to bring it to this agenda
to hopefully get the support
of my colleagues as well
to support the bill that
Representative Torres is
proposing.
>> Thank you. Thank you.
>> Councilwoman, any comments?
Motion, motion to approve by
Vice Mayor Porras. Second by
Councilman Pinero. If no one
has any comments,
I do have two. First, I want
to thank you, Council
Marinosa,
for bringing this forward,
for being attentive
in all the meetings,
for participating during our
Tallahassee visit in all of our
meetings and taking this and
running with it. We had an
extensive conversation about
HOA reform because it affects
us deeply. And I think the most
important part of this bill,
if it passes,
is it allows local authorities
to investigate an audit and be
more part
of catching those fraud. And a
lot of times we see our senior
citizens fall as victims more
than anybody. So thank you
for running with this. I think
it was extremely important and
time sensitive so that it gets
in the hands of legislators and
hopefully we see it by path and
can help more locally our
residents that are affected
by HOA criminalization and.
And. And abuse. So, thank you
very much. I'd like to be a
co-sponsor if that's okay.
>> Absolutely. Thank you,
Mayor.
>> Okay. Madam Chair, please
call.
>> Motion to approve made by
Vice Mayor por. Seconded by
Council Anto.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> All right. Thank you very
much. Okay, now I believe we're
going to go
into mayor's report.
>> The city attorneys lay
down item.
>> Do you want to take that up
now? We can take it up now.
Are you good with that? I.
Yeah. Okay, we'll take it up.
>> Get into the record. Yes. A
resolution of the Mayor
of the City Council
of the City of Doral Florida
approving a modification
settlement and release
agreement with Draw Costa
Capital LLC. Draw Costa
Manager LLC and OAS is a Draw
1 manager providing
for limitation, incorporation
of recitals and an effective
date.
>> Okay. Mr. Covier. Yes. Your
item.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor.
So, this item that's
before you is. As many
of you are aware, back in
2023, the city entered
into a settlement agreement
with Oasis, as commonly known.
It is a development of Multi
Family. It was running under
what is commonly known as the
Live Local Act. That agreement
covered most things as far as
height and intensity, but it
was not completely clear as far
as parking. And parking has
become kind
of a sticking issue in this.
The applicant, which is here
today, being represented by
Vanessa Madrid from Holland
at night, has been wonderful
in working with us. We've been
meeting diligently. I want
to thank Michelle Lopez and
Edna and the rest
of the staff, who we've also
met, the mayor, the manager,
everyone in trying to come
to some kind of an agreement.
So what you have
before you here is an amendment
to the settlement agreement
that provides for a percentage
of parking that is acceptable
to the applicant. And we've
made some concessions. And so I
think it's a good compromise.
It avoids having this drag
on or become litigious,
and it will allow the project
to move forward. And Ms.
Madrid, if I've left anything
out, feel free to.
>> Thank you very much, Mr.
Covilla. If there's any
questions,
that would be the time.
Otherwise, I need a motion
to approve.
>> Motion to approve.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman P. Second. Second
by Councilwoman Reynoso.
Madam Clerk, please call the
roll.
>> Motion to approve made by
Council Pinero. Seconded by
Councilman Reynoso.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> All right,
thank you very much. So, we're
going to take up the reports
at the end
of the evening. I'm going to go
ahead and take the public
hearing items Now.
>> Yes, Madam Mayor. Mayor,
please throw
in the witnesses. Yes. If
you'll be presenting testimony
in the public hearing, I.
>> Items.
>> Please stand up,
raise your right hand and
repeat after me. I do solemnly
swear that the information that
I'm about to present shall be
the truth or nothing
but the truth. Thank you very
much.
>> Thank you.
>> First item, item 20A,
a resolution of the man,
the city council of the city
of Doral Ford approving a
special exception
for smash title courts
for the Property located at
8080 Northwest 58th street
in the City of Doral,
Florida, pursuant to Section
68, 849 other City's
on development code providing
for implementation
incorporation recitals and an
effective date.
>> All right, thank you very
much, Madam Clerk. I'm going to
go ahead and open up the public
hearing item. The public
hearing for this item. Public
hearing is now Open for item
25, 6110. Anyone who would
like to speak on this item,
please approach the podium
at this time. Okay. Seing none,
public comments is now closed.
If the applicant would like to
approach. I don't know if there
will be any questions. If
there's any questions. I don't
know if there's. Staff. Staff
presentation. Okay, we'll let
staff present and if there's
any questions,
then you can come up. Okay.
>> Good evening,
mayor and council. The
applicant, Blast Sanchez, is
proposing a project
by the name of Smash Paddle
Courts. The applicant is
requesting a special exception
approval to permit fitness
sports facility services,
including health and exercise
centers that are larger than
5,000 square feet pursuant to
Citi Code section 6849
for approximately 2.05 acres
of property located at 8080
North 58th Street. The proposed
project is an indoor paddle
facility in an existing
structure totaling 36,612
square feet, located
in the adaptive reuse area
to include seven paddle courts,
a self-service concession area,
some offices. The site plan
also proposes enhancements
to the parking area,
landscaping, the addition of
some bike racks and
incorporation of public art.
There was a zoning workshop
held on January 22, 2025. So
this is a little bit
of a unique request. And so I'm
going to give you a little bit
of background
on the adaptive reuse.
>> Explain that.
>> Explain special exceptions
to better assist the community
in understanding this process.
So in our city we have an
overlay called the Adaptive
reuse. It's also referred
to as the Downtown Doral Art
district. And it's just north
of the city hall facility
bounded by Northwest 58th
street to the north, Northwest
54th street to the south.
Northwest 79th Avenue
to the east and Northwest 87th
Avenue to the west. And the
purpose of the district is to
take buildings that already
exist that are previously
heavier in commercial and
industrial use,
and convert them to more
commercial uses that promote
the city's arts,
culture and wellness. So an
adaptive reuse is essentially a
change of use
of an existing structure
from unauthorized use
to an authorized use in which
the structure was not
originally designed for. And so
in our code we have a series
of uses that are permitted by
right or uses that are
permitted
through supplemental or with
conditions and limitations. So
in this district,
uses permitted
by right include uses permitted
in the underlying zoning
districts,
alcohol and beverage
establishments,
cultural activities and
exhibitions, eating
establishment, indoor pet
centers, retail services,
retail services for fitness,
sports services, including
health, exercise centers,
limited to 5,000 square feet,
parking structures,
et cetera. There's also
supplemental uses and
conditions with limitations.
There's three
in this category. The first is
prohibited uses, which means
your zoning code says we cannot
have any of these uses
in this area, which include
residential, hotels, lodging,
medical uses, assisted living
facilities, facilities,
educational facilities,
funeral homes, et cetera. The
second category is special
exception uses in which this
application falls under. And
those uses may include
self-storage facilities,
indoor outdoor halls for hire
for more than 200 people,
fitness sports services,
including health exercise
centers that are larger than
5,000 gross square feet.
Again, this project,
as previously stated,
the structure is 36,600 2012
square feet. So this specific
site
for this specific use falls
under this category. And the
third category is use is
subject to supplemental
conditions which include auto,
truck, van sales, rental,
storage, repairs, storage,
etc. And then fitness board
services, including 5,000
square feet, including under
5,000 square feet. And so,
so what does all this mean
in terms of use? So,
in our code and
in other codes,
we have two types of changes
of use. When you have your
zoning and your land use in
place and they're consistent,
you're going
to either have uses
by rights or uses
by special exception. And so
uses
by right only require a review
by your planning and zoning
department and your building
department. Uses by special
exception have an added layer
of review, which include review
and approval by the city
council and then your
administrative process,
which is a review and approval
by your planning and zoning
department and your building
department. This specific site
is zoned industrial,
with a future land use map
of industrial as well. It's
surrounded
by industrial districts
on all four sides. The future
land use category on all four
sides is also industrial. The
overlay is adaptive re use.
And then you've got Warehouses
through the north southeast
with medical center
to the west. So all the uses
are consistent and it's exactly
what we want to see
on our maps. On the screen
before you,
you have perspectives from the
south and the north and then an
overhead perspective
of the site.
>> Again.
>> The site plan proposes seven
paddle courts, self-service
concession, office spaces,
enhancement to your parking lot
area and landscaping, addition
of the bike racks and
compliance with public art.
All
of the zoning data is
consistent with your code.
There's 48 parking spaces. And
with that, staff recommends the
mayor and council approve the
proposed special exception to
permit fitness court services,
including health exercise
centers that are larger than
5,000 square feet pursuant to
City Code Section 6849 for
Smash Paddle Courts located
at 88 and Northwest 58th
Street. Thank you so much.
>> Much. Thank you, Michelle.
Okay, is there any questions
for the applicant otherwise or
for staff? Just for the SH
Board.
>> Any motion to approve?
>> Motion to Approved by
Councilman Pinero.
>> Second.
>> Second by Councilwoman
Cabral. If there's no
additional questions, Madam
Clerk, please call the roll.
>> Motion to approve made by
Councilman Pinero. Seconded
by Council Maso.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passed.
>> All right,
congratulations. Look forward
to having you guys
in our city. A lot
of people wanting paddles. Get
it all the time. All right,
thank you very much. We'll move
to the next item.
>> We're now going
to first readings. Item C,
an ordinance of the mayor
of the city council,
ordinance number 2025 14,
amending Article 3 board
committees and commissions and
ordinance of the mayor, City
council of the city of Gu
Florida, amending Article 3
board committees and
commissions and Chapter 2,
administration
of the city's court
of ordinances, revising the
census provision or appointment
requirements providing
implementation, incorporation
to the code,
survivability conflicts and
in effect.
>> All right, I'm going to go
ahead and open up the public
comments for this item. Public
comments is now open. If anyone
would like to come speak
at this time, please do so.
This is item 256137. All right.
No one has chosen to speak.
Closing the public comments
portion. I'm surrogate
director. No one has chosen
to speak at this time. And this
is my item. Basically, we're
amending the ordinance for
boards and committees once
again, as I mentioned earlier
when we were approving the
committees,
it's very difficult
to meet some
of these standards. We don't
even impose them on ourselves
as elected officials. I wasn't
supportive
of the change initially. So
we're going to roll it back
to the way it was,
which has worked for 20 years.
So if there's any questions,
I would need a motion
to approve.
>> Motion to approve.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman Pinero.
>> Second.
>> Second by Council Marina
also. Madame Clerk, please
call the roll.
>> Motion to Approve
Ordinance Number 202514 on
First Reading May by council
Pino. Seconded by Council
Mondoso.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> All right, thank you very
much, Madam Clerk, next item.
>> Next item D. Ordinance
number 2025-15 amending chapter
8 petal solicitors and
canvassers. An ordinance of
M. City council of the city
of Florida Amending Chapter 8
Business Article 3 Pedal
Solicitors Caners providing
supplementation incorporated
corporations. Local
severability is an effective
>> All right, thank you very
much. We're going
to open up public comments
for this item. Item 256126 is
now open for public comments.
Anyone would like to speak,
please approach the podium
being none. Public comments now
close. Ma'am, the record
reflects and no one has chosen
to speak at this time. And we
will hear
from the city attorney.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor.
So, this item is one that I
worked with the clerk. And
basically, what occurs is that
anyone that is a canvasser,
peddler, it could be someone
that owns a fumigation company
and wishes to go to door
to door
to sell their services, needs
to first apply for a permit
with the city. The way that it
was currently reads is that the
permit has to be sought
by the city clerk. Which is
somewhat strange being that the
clerk is not the main person
in the city to deal with a
permit safe especially dealing
with uses that would be the
planning and zoning department.
So should you adopt this
ordinance, it would change
from the city clerk
to the planning and zoning for
folks that are canvassers or
peddlers. This has nothing
to do with political speech or
religious speech at all. This
is just
for commercial purposes.
>> Thank you very much.
There're no questions. I need a
motion to approve. Motion
to approve by Councilman
Reynoso. Second by Councilor.
Madam Clerk, please call the
roll.
>> Motion to Approve
Ordinance Number 202515 on
First Reading made by Council
Manoso. Seconded by Council
Pinero.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> Next item. Madam.
>> Check item E. Ordinance
number 2025 16amending officers
Inspector General duties. An
order to the name
of the city council of city
of Florida. Amending Chapter 2
Administration Division 5,
Section 2185, Office of
Inspector General providing
for implementation
Incorporation into the closing
severability and an effective
base.
>> All right, I'm going
to go ahead and open up.
Public comments. Public
comments now Open on item 25
6118. Anyone would like
to speak,
please approach the podium.
At this time seing none.
Public comments now shows.
Madam Clerk, the record
reflects no one has chosen
to speak
at this time and we will turn
over
to the city attorney.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. In
November of 2024, the City of
Doral residents made a charter
amendment opening the
establishing the office
of the Inspector General.
Subsequently, this council
passed an ordinance creating
the actual rules and
responsibilities of the
Inspector general. There are
certain sections
of our code that do not deal
with the general public
but really deal
with the internal functions of
the council and administration
as a whole,
especially chapter two
for those. There are no set
violations and there's no set
force format
for enforcing those. So, it's
appropriate that since now we
will have an inspector general
that the Inspector general be
given those authorities
under chapter 162 to be able to
act as that code enforcement
officer for the city. Should
you receive any notifications
of citations and investigate
them and find that a citation
is warranted, those citations
that are received may be
appealed to the Miami Dade
county court as provided again
in chapter 162. And that's the
evidence before you.
>> All right, thank you, Mr.
City Attorney. Any questions
from the council being none.
>> Motion to approve.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman P.
>> Second.
>> Second by Council Marinoso
Minor. Clerk, please follow.
>> Motion to Approve
Ordinance Number 202516 on
First Reading by Council P.
Seconded by Councilman
Reynoso.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> All right,
thank you very much. Next Item
M K. Item F. Ordinance number
2025 17. Penalties
for violating rules
of conduct. An ordinance
of the man
of the city council is
to draw Florida amending
Chapter 2, administration or
equal to City Council and
creating Division 5 penalties
providing for implementation
incorporation recitals.
Incorporation to the code
severability and effective
date.
>> Okay, we're going to open up
public comments once again
for this item. Item 25 6140.
Anyone would like to speak on
this item and this item alone,
please. Being none. Public
comments now closed. I'm clerk
Director, Reflector One has
chosen to speak at this time.
We will turn it over to the
city attorney once again.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor.
So, this is the companion item
to the one that we just heard
before which allows the
Inspector General
to make citations of
Violations of Article 2 2,
Chapter 2, Article 2. City
Council. This Division 5
creates penalties and sanctions
and it pretty much lists
out what those sanctions are,
including fines. 500
for the first violation, 1000
for the second and 1500 for
third and subsequent
violations. Should you pass
this,
this would be the schedule of
fines that would be applicable
if there's a citation is
received by the Inspector
general given. Commander.
>> Thank you, Mr. City
Attorney. Any questions
from the council?
>> Motion approved.
>> Thank you very much.
Councilman Pinero. Second,
second by council member. I
think the fines are kind
of low,
but I'll support it.
>> My motion to Approve
Ordinance Number 202517 on
First Reading made
by council imp. Seconded by
Council Marinoso.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passes.
>> Okay, thank you very much.
Last item to the night
before your report.
>> Yes, I second reading.
Item G. Ordinance number 2025
13amending rules
of procedure. An ordinance
of the mayor
of the city council the city
of Draw ford amending Division
3 rules are procedure of
Article 2 City Council.
Chapter 2, administration
of the city's court
of ordinances providing
for limitation incorporation
to the code. Incorporation
recital and effective date.
This was approved
on first reading on March 12th.
>> All right, we're going to go
ahead and open up public
comments for item 25 6050.
Anyone would like to speak
on this item,
please approach the podium
at this time. All right. No one
has chosen to speak
at this time. We're closing
public comments. And this is.
This is my item. So this is
to amend the rules of procedure
as we did last time,
which will just th e efficiency
of the meeting. So starting
next month we'll start
implementing these rules.
Anybody has any questions?
There is no changes from first
to second meeting.
>> Motion to approve.
>> Motion to approve by
Councilman Pinero.
>> Second.
>> Seconded by Councilwoman
Reynoso. Any closure questions?
>> I have comments.
>> Okay. Councilwoman Cabral.
>> Well, I know that I have
expressed
before that I have a lot
of concerns
with these rules. I really,
I really. My feeling is that
it's just giving the effect of
being a strong major when
that's not the type
of government that we have.
Reduced transparency and
participation,
limiting council members
to represent constituents,
risk violation,
first amendment and due process
of protection. And
like I said, and I know that
somebody questioned when it
comes to section 273 and number
10 that says no member shall
have regular council leave a
regular council meeting
without permission
from the mayor. Any
non-permitted exits from
regular council meeting shall
result in a non-excused
Absence. And
like I said before, I
understand that maybe you're
bringing this to yourself,
because I remember when I was
here and you were a
councilwoman, how many times
you would just stand up without
not even letting know anybody
what was going on.
>> And I know that I said at
that time that I have here the
either absence or no presence
to vote. And I'm going
to be able
to share this because
in my case, I think I just
have, what, one in almost seven
years that I've been here.
Absence without an excuse. And
there have been other
with excuse,
but have not been granted. But
from 2013 to 2020, because I
want this to be
in the record when it comes
to resolution. Discussion item.
In 2013, Mayor Fraga had one
item that she missed. Nine
consent items, and on 2014 was
15 consent items that she was
not present. On 2015, she has
16 consent items and four local
planning agencies and six city
ordinances. On 2016, it was 55
consent items,
five local planning agencies,
and three city ordinances.
2017, two discussion items, 54
consent items,
one local planning agency,
four city ordinance,
and one rezoning resolution.
Then in 2018, one local
planning agency. Then in
2019, one discussion item,
one city ordinance,
and one rezone resolution. On
2023 consent items she
wasn't present,
two local planning agencies,
and with a total
of those eight years of four
discussion items that she
missed, 172 consent items, 13
local planning agencies, 14
city ordinance,
and two rezoning resolutions,
with a total of 205 items that
you were absent. So, I don't
think that this is fair because
we sometimes, like I said,
we need then permission even
to excuse ourselves, I guess,
to go to the bathroom and all
of that. Like if we are
in a kindergarten set. And
there are many different things
here that I really think that
is a violation of the First
Amendment rights
for me and any other member
of this council.
>> Motion to approve.
>> We have a motion to approve
by Councilman Pinero.
And I would like to add this to.
the record.
>> I will give you a copy.
>> Second.
>> Second. By Councilwoman
Reynoso. Thank you,
Councilwoman. The important
thing is I have perfect
attendance now.
>> Yeah. So, yeah,
eight years. Eight years,
actually.
>> I've actually served for
14, but eight years. Okay.
>> All right.
>> We have our motion
to approve. Or the second.
Second. Please call the roll.
>> Motion
to approve ordinance number
202513 on second reading made
by Councilman Pinero. Seconded
by Council Marinoso.
>> [ CALLING ROLL ]
>> Motion passed.
>> All right,
thank you very much. We're
going to go
into our reports now.
>> Mayor's report. Yes.
>> So, I have my report first.
>> All right.
First, I just wanted to
thank my colleagues and also
our city manager, our chief
of police,
and everyone that came to the
Tallahassee trip. It was very
fruitful and I think that we're
going to, or at least we're
on the right track to get the
funding that we need as well as
see the legislation that would
affect us pass. And so I just
wanted to thank everybody for
their participation and joining
us in all those meetings. Our
city attorney also participated
and was present. So thank you
very much. Also, I wanted
to invite everyone to our
National Day of Prayer exhibit
and worship concert that we're
going to be having on May 1st.
It's going
to be an incredible event.
We've been very hard work
planning it, and I wanted
to thank it as well as Parks
and Recreation and Public
affairs for their commitment,
as with my staff,
to this event, all the churches
that are participating
in pastors, it's been great.
We did an open call
to artists and got a lot
of requests. Also, I wanted
to thank Juicy from Public
Works for helping us with the
Mayor's Philanthropy Day and
the keeping our city beautiful
street cleaning. Councilman
Pinero and Councilwoman
Reynoso also joined us. So
thank you for participating
in that. And I wanted
to give a special shout
out and thank you to Mr.
Fernando Casamayor. He was
extremely instrumental
in the fight ferocity
to save the 2%, which is over
$40 million that you helped us
save to each municipality
on the 2%
from the tax collector. Those
funds are going
to be well utilized back in our
community where they should be
utilized, serving the public.
So thank you, Fernando, because
I got calls from every single
mayor and the managers
association saying how
instrumental you were in
putting together the
presentation to help us
convince the tax collector
to back off
of our tax dollars,
which we use
to fund important resources
in our community. So round
of applause. Thank you. I was
very proud and I just want
to wish everybody a very happy
Easter this weekend
with your family and friends.
May God bless you always and
your families and our
community. Thank you
for being a part of.
Of the City of Doral. That's
it. I don't know if I can
mention. I think I can because
it's already on our calendars.
But Doral Central park opening
will be on May 17, so we'll be
putting that out very soon.
And we hope to See our
community there. But that's the
tentative date. I think it's
the finalized date we will have
for the opening
of second phase of Doral
Central Park. So we look
forward,
it's been long awaited. We look
forward
to seeing you all there. That
concludes my mayor's report.
>> Council comments.
>> All right. Any council
comments? I do.
>> Okay.
>> Councilwoman Reynoso, thank
you.
>> The Mayor April is Autism
Awareness Month. Just want to
recognize that this month and
every month that we are always
aware
of that community that we have
to take care
of and should be taken care of.
Next, we together with
Councilwoman Vice Mayor
Porras, Councilman Pinero,
Mayor Fraga and myself,
we did the sixth annual
Autism Bike Ride that Miami
Dade County Fire hosted,
which was an amazing event.
Our Doral PD did an amazing job
also taking care
of us and putting us
on the right ride. We also had
a productive time in
Tallahassee during day days.
We spent incredible amount
of time meeting with our local
representatives advocating
for needs that are in Doral.
>> I want
to say that they are.
>> Doing an excellent job up
there in Tallahassee
representing our needs,
especially for our police and
parks extravaganza was an
excellent event. Our community
enjoyed it so much and it was
great to have it in our
Central Park. I can't wait
to see how next year is going
to look. Our community garden
grand opening at Doral Parks
in honor of Earth day on the
22nd. I hope our community will
come out there to see the
garden that has been built
over the last couple of weeks
and wishing everybody a happy
Passover and Easter
to all those who celebrate it.
Thank you, Mayor.
>> Thank you, Council. Any
other comments? Councilman
Pinero?
>> Thank you, Mayor. I also
want
to echo what you just mentioned
about the Tallahassee trip. I
think that was a very
productive trip to
Tallahassee. Very positive
comments that we heard
from legislators over there,
especially our representatives.
They all happy that the route
is back
on track and they look forward
to have a great year especially
to help us to continue
to help us
in our city. I also want
to take the chance
to also recognize and say
thanks to Miami Dade College
West Campus. As you know,
towards the end of March, my
office hosted a job fair which
we call Entlerty 2025. We had
and the Mayor was present too.
We had over 1000 participants
with the collaboration of
over 45 different organizations
and company, not only local
companies, but nationwide
companies as well. And that was
a great event that we look
forward to hosting once again
towards the end
of this year. I also want
to thank our Parks department
because they, as Councilwoman
Reynoso mentioned, they. I
think they did a great job
in the extravaganza event. It
was huge. It was packed, a lot
of people. So great job. And I
also want to thank Parks
because they and our police
department because they were
present at the 5K run event
that took place this past
Saturday at Doral Meadow. And
let me tell you,
that was close to 2,000 or
over 2,000 people participated.
That was amazing. It's the
first time that we have such a
large crowd. And I want to
thank our departments because I
know everybody was involved.
And obviously I want
to thank the organizer, Clan
Destino, Eduardo Orozco, all
his team, because they did an
incredible,
amazing run and activity
for everyone that participated.
So I look forward
to certainly the opening of
Grass Central park next month.
We're all excited. I know next
month is also Mother's Day.
We're celebrating Mother's
Day, and I want
to thank our city attorney,
our city staff, for everything
that you guys keep doing. The
feedback
out there is amazing.
Everybody's happy with the job
that you guys are doing,
and we're the face. So want to,
every time that I have the
chance, I want
to say thank you
to you guys and thank you
to the city manager,
because everybody's talking
about how amazing the city
manager is,
and everywhere that we go,
they just speak highly
about our city manager. So
thank you so much.
>> Thank you, gentlemen. Any
other comments?
>> I do. I would like to begin
by recognizing the recent
passing of Commissioner
Manuel Louis from the city of
Mayan. His dedication and
service left meaningful impact
on his community and beyond. I
had the pleasure to work
with him
with some issues that he had
at one point,
and my deepest condolence to
his family and his loved ones
and all his colleagues and
staff. I also would like
to provide a brief update
on my recent trip to
Tallahassee. I was able
to meet with different elected
officials, local elected
officials, as well as our state
legislators. And I had a very
productive meeting
with the ones that I met, even
though there was a tremendous
effort
to jeopardize my meeting with
Mr. Stofski, who is the
director of the Dutch Tasks.
But I was able to meet
with him. We had a very
productive meeting. So I'm
thankful that he gave me all
his time and went
over a few things
with me when I was there.
Unfortunately, my item, as you
may know, has been removed
from the agenda.
But we're going
to keep working on transparency
and making sure that things are
done the right way
in the city.
>> Thank you very much. Any
other comments being none,
Madam City Manager, it's your
report.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Well,
first of all, I just want
to let everyone know that City
hall will be observing the
Good Friday Holiday.
For those that observe that,
and that will be on Friday. We
will be closing early at noon
for Good Friday. Also, I wanted
to update council regarding
in January, Councilwoman
Reynoso brought forward an item
regarding our feasibility study
to implement a tree protection
ordinance and permitting
program. So thank you so much
to Public Works and to Dulce,
Carlos and Rita who went out.
They have requested proposals
and we now have a proposal.
They got three quotes. The
lowest quote was actually by
New Lease Environment LLC, who
provided the assessment report
back in 2019. So they will be
updating that for us. And I
will be keeping you guys
updated once that returns
regarding this. That's all I
have. Thank you so much. We did
have a very productive meetings
in Tallahassee, and I was happy
to be there. And I can only say
that I'm very proud after
having missed so many years
in between,
because I didn't do that in
Coral Gables. I didn't go up
to see the respect that
Dorothy Corral garnishes now
with the city, with the state
legislature and how welcomed we
were, how much we got done on
the state agency that I
visited. And I'm very proud of
that and the job that our
lobbying firms are doing in
Tallahassee for us. So, thank
you so much and that's all.
>> Thank you, Madam Manager,
Mr. City Attorney.
>> The only thing I want us
to do is echo everything,
the sentiments
of the council, the sentiments
of the city manager.
With regards to the trip to
Tallahassee. I think it was a
wonderful event. I was truly
enjoyed being part of Team
Doral up there and all the
meetings with the
representatives and especially
the meeting that we had
with the state agency. There's
great things to come.
>> Awesome. Thank you, Mr.
City Attorney and Madam City
Clerk.
>> The report is attached.
>> The report is attached
to the backup. W.J. and I did
not go to Tallahassee.
>> You were missed.
>> For the record,
you were missed.
>> All right,
that concludes our meeting
for the day. Thank you very
much for joining us. This
adjourns our meeting.
>> If I have a motion.
>> We have a new motion
to adjourn by
Councilwoman Reynoso.